Comedian and TV host Mike Siegel (TBS, HGTV) sits down to a lighthearted chat with his friends to hear their best (and worst) international travel stories. Every week Mike welcomes a different guest (some famous, some not) to hear their true tales from lands far away.
Reality TV producer and eternal wanderer Jerry Whitworth finally makes his long awaited visit to the Travel Tales studio! Jerry shares stories of shooting a top-rated show in the wilds of Kenya, Alaska, and the Far East, and waxes eloquent about his many return trips to Thailand. He also shares his hard-learned travel tips, all of which include packing a towel and a jacket. Wise words indeed. While we start packing, enjoy Jerry’s Travel Tales!
Another traveling female duo! This time, repeat guest Reah Chiu (R.) stopped in to talk about her recent trip to Mt. Everest base camp, and brought her good friend and traveling companion Renee with her. The two talk about their trips to Belize, Peru, Brazil, and Mexico among other locales, and yes, Reah does give us the lowdown on Everest. Two guests for the price of one! What am I saying…it’s all free!
This week we welcome German film producer Steffen Schier to the podcast. Steffen sold his car to yours truly before he headed back to to his homeland, but found some time to sit down for an interview before boarding the plane. Steffen talked about growing up in Germany before moving to Connecticut as a teenager, then after college splitting his working life as a banker between Europe and the US. Topics discussed include the Euro, Thai food, and of course, David Hasselhoff. Big thanks to Steffen for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat, and we wish him the best back in Germany. Let’s hope he spreads the word to his pals and the show gets a large following overseas – can you say “Oktoberfest business trip?”
This week we welcome a guest from the international financial sector, the charming and worldly Lindsay Hall. Lindsay grew up an Air Force brat, moving every couple years around the country before settling in Germany at 12 years old. After being most likely the only teenager in Germany who didn’t drink beer, she then headed back to Texas A&M for college and then a career in business. Lindsay has been throughout Europe and South America, and has seen plenty: the fall of the Berlin Wall, a near-fatal blizzard in Austria, and a hellish flight over the skies of Ecuador, just to name a few. It was a pleasure to meet Lindsay, and if she has any financial advice that would allow a guy to travel full-time and make money from it, we’re listening!
We’re headed Down Under this week with American comedian Eddie Ifft, who has performed all over the world and has a huge following in Australia. Among the many stories, Eddie has played gold-mining towns in the Outback, was detained by authorities for 24 hours at the Dubai Airport, and toured for two weeks throughout New Zealand in a van filled with insane comics. Eddie has logged a million miles and has the Tales to show for it. You can find Eddie on Facebook and at the site of his popular podcast, “Talkin’ Shit with Jim Jefferies and Eddie Ifft”. Good on ya, mate.
Let’s hear it for the ladies! Travel Tales welcomes its first guest duo in Jennifer Lazo (L) and Sara Mattison, the team behind the new travel website, Dart and Map. Inspired by a restless nature and copious amounts of wine, Jen and Sara have taken off on numerous “Thelma and Louise”-style road trips together (minus the murder and sexual assault, thank goodness). Their journeys inspired them to encourage others to do the same. They’ve belted karaoke in Wyoming, flirted with Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, AZ, and nearly caused a bar brawl in Utah. They’ve got Travel Tales, and we’re listening. Yee-haw! Check out their website here and also on Facebook.
Rock it out, people! Music was the key that opened the door for Chelsea Lately writer/performer April Richardson to leave her Atlanta childhood behind and see the world starting as a teenager. Her love and pursuit of British rockers like the Smiths and Billy Bragg led her across the pond and all over the USA, and even created life-long friendships with a few of her heroes (like the Smiths’ Johnny Marr, pictured above). April shares Travel Tales of sleeping in airports, being chased down the street by English heroin addicts, getting pinkeye from the worlds most disgusting carpet, and her obsessions with Elvis and Hello Kitty. April obviously rocks, and she’s singing’ our kinda tune. Enjoy!
TV host JD Roberto ( The Better Show) has had some dream gigs in show business: shark diving around the world, and touring Taiwan’s top sites (alongside previous guest Nana Chen to boot!), to name a few. He and his wife Karen are traveling pros, not letting little things like children or jobs slow them down. We talk Cuba, the Middle East, South Africa, Thailand, and much much more. Karen even makes a cameo appearance! To see more of JD and Karen’s travels, check out their website at www.travelgeek.com.
As host of Animal Planet’s Ms. Adventure, she did everything from swim with sharks to stand ankle-deep in bat guano. She regularly opens her home to let strange foreign travelers crash on her couch. She met her last boyfriend on a Rick Springfield fan cruise. Travel has brought many things to comedian/actress/TV host Rachel Reenstra, and they all seem to be a little out of the ordinary. Okay by us! Rachel stopped by to share her Travel Tales, and spread the gospel of Jessie’s Girl. To see what she’s up to next, check out her website here.
It’s meeting people like Jose Reis Santos that makes me love traveling. Through a friend of a friend, I met Jose on my first night in Budapest. He’s a Portuguese national in Hungary as a political science fellow at the university specializing in comparative authoritarianism. I’m not sure what it means either. But he turned out to be a great guy with a lot to say about topics ranging from 9/11, to the EU, neo-nazis, ruin pubs, and his beloved Benfica Football Club. He was also generous with his booze. A great night!
Travel Tales welcomes back it’s first repeat guest, TV producer/street artist/perennial wanderer Jimmy Swift. We caught Jimmy during his brief stop in LA before heading back to Asia. He spent most of last summer organizing and competing in his 2nd Annual Black Sea Run car rally. He then then headed to Goa, India for a winter of beach lounging. Along the way, he posted his art on unsuspecting buildings and even got to visit the famous nuclear meltdown site of Chernobyl. To see Jimmy’s art, find him on Facebook at Swift Art. For info on the car rally, go to www.blacksearun.com. Safe travels, Jimmy!
We’re talkin’ Africa and Korea this week with my longtime actor pal Richard Nason. Richard and his lovely new bride Shue-Ping took a dream safari trip to Tanzania and Rwanda last year before returning back home to start a family and prepare for trips to LegoLand over the next 10 years. Richard also spent some time after college teaching English in S. Korea, and has some great tales from that swingin’ era we call the ’90′s. It was great to reconnect with Richard, and for those thinking of taking an Africa trip any time soon, here is the link to the travel agent Richard highly recommends: http://www.rothschildsafaris.com/. How’s that for a free plug? If you do use them, drop the Travel Tales name for a discount! (not really). Bon Voyage!
Nana Chen gets around. Let me rephrase that- she’s lived in many, many places. Direct from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I sat down with the photographer and TV host to talk about her gypsy life and how she ended up in in the former Saigon. Nana was a fantastic tour guide in Vietnam, and she was nice enough to sit down for an episode of Travel Tales. To see some of Nana’s work go to http://www.nanachen.com/.
Recorded in Tel Aviv, Israel, I sat down for a fun chat with one of the Holy Land’s top stand-up comedians, Yossi Tarablus. Yossi achieved some TV fame in the States after appearing on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, and has performed around the world. We talk all things Israel: politics, the comedy scene, safety, women, and much much more. Yossi was a great guest and Tel Aviv tour guide, and if you have a chance to check out his stand-up, please do! You can find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/yossi.tarablus and his website at www.tarablus.com. Enjoy!
Recorded live in Dumaguete, Philippines on Christmas Eve, I sat down for a chat with comedienne, author, and internet entrepreneur Christy Murphy in her mother’s lovely home. Christy is taking a break from the US to finish writing her book, explore her Filipino roots, and revisit her old nemesis, Oppressive Humidity. Christy and her mother were great hosts and tour guides, and I can’t thank them enough. To see how Christy spends her days in the air conditioning, you can check out her sites at http://www.my-thank-you-site.com and http://www.inspirational-otter.com/. Enjoy!
Recorded in Thailand! My second attempt at an interview with PM Carter (a first session in LA last year was scrapped due to engineer failure. In other words, I screwed it up.) I tracked Carter down at his home in the island of Koh Samui, where he’s lived for the last 10 years, segueing from scuba instructor to successful owner of a destination wedding business. We discuss his life on the island, the Thai sex trade, how USA Thai food has been ruined for him, and numerous other topics. Considering getting married on a beach in Thailand? Well then, Carter’s your man. Find him at http://www.samuibeachweddings.com
*NOTE: As was the case with last week’s episode, this was recorded with a handheld digital recorder, so the sound quality is not as clean as the regular studio episodes. But hey, I prefer to thnk of it as “gritty ambience.”
-Mike
Recorded in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam! Big shot Hollywood screenwriting teacher Pilar Alessandra sits down to share some Travel Tales. Because recording in L.A. where we both live is apparently too easy, I tracked her down in SE Asia, where she was teaching a three-day screenwriting seminar to Vietnamese Aaron Sorkin wannabes. I also got to meet her mother – A win-win. Pilar is a great guest, and why wouldn’t she be? She has her own successful podcast (“On The Page” at Itunes) and website (www.onthepage.tv). Check her out!
Note: All podcasts I recorded overseas were done with a small hand-held recorder, which was great for convenience on a 3-month trip, but lacks the usual sound quality we’ve come to know and love from the show. Hey, cut me some slack – I was on the other side of the world!
Surf’s up! Comedian and goofy-footer Murray Valeriano (Road Stories podcast) shreds his way into the Travel Tales studios to talk about his pursuit of the perfect wave. We learn how a ski instructor from New Jersey found himself an avid surfer chasing swells from Costa Rica to Hawaii. Come spend time with Murray and his dolphin friends, but for God’s sake, don’t toss your cigarette butts down the storm drain. Aloha!
Screenwriter and director Dan Rosen (“The Last Supper”, “Freeloaders”) shares his mother’s sage travel advice: “Take half of what you think you’ll need, and twice the money.” Truer words were never spoken. She should have trademarked it. Dan tells stories as well, from getting laughs from Jacqueline Bissett at a French film festival, to buying the largest order of fries ever sold in Amsterdam. To see more of Dan’s work, check out his IMDB page here.
TV producer Reah Chiu is in the Travel Tales Studios this week to share insight on China, why flexing some muscle in Egypt is a good thing, and how Turkish men trump the Greeks every time. It’s not easy being the free-spirited black sheep daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, but Reah seems to have figured out how to let her traveling freak flag fly. Cool by us!
