Paul is solo on this podcast, without Rich, answering questions about our travel lives from dear friend Commissioner Nancy Ward as she guest-hosted with Brady Preheim on the program Odd Friday on KOHI radio in Scappose, Oregon, USA. Topics discussed include Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority, the view of America from abroad, practical considerations when traveling like safety, money, medical tourism and more.
After our month in Auroville (see Part 1 - podcast #18), we stopped on our way back to the Chennai airport to visit the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. As one of India's popular tourist sites, Mahabalipuram is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu monuments. We then spent the night at the wonderful Trident Hotel Chennai near the Chennai airport. This is our third visit to India. It’s such a welcoming country. We love the food, the culture and the people!
We arrived for a one month’s stay in a wonderful Airbnb apartment in Auroville, Tamil Nadu — just north of Pondicherry and about three hours south of the Chennai airport.
This is our third visit to India. So much felt familiar and we felt an excitement because such a fast moving society was likely to have changed significantly since our last visit in 2020. It’s such a welcoming country. We love the food, the culture, the people — and the cows who were just as likely to be sauntering down the middle of the highway as they were to be grazing in the gorgeous green open space behind our apartment building. We didn’t even mind that walking to dinner our first night, in the dark along the main Auroville Rd., our village hometown this month, that Paul squarely squished a fresh cow pie (shit) under his left shoe. That’s India. Take it in stride. By the way, our US$8.50 dinner of veg paneer with gravy, masala chicken, jeera rice, phulka and sweet lassis that night was intoxicating. More please.
We arrived in Sri Lanka in late May 2024. It was our second visit to the pearl of south Asia and we stayed a month including two weeks of relaxation on Nilaveli beach, north of Trincomalee, on the eastern coast — an area we did not include on our first visit in 2018. Our itinerary also included some familiar spots worthy of a return visit. We wanted to see again the exquisite 4th century BCE Dambulla caves filled with beautifully preserved Buddhist carvings. Our good friend Ayesh, a young Sri Lankan man we met six years ago, was our host and guide the entire month.
We visited Bali, Indonesia in April and May 2024. It’s a great time of year south of the Equator to enjoy Asia! This is our second visit to Bali, and a first time visit to Java, including the ancient and mysterious megalithic site near Jakarta of Gunung Padang. Most of the spots on Bali were clothing optional. All on Java were historical or spiritual. We started in Denpasar and exited from Jakarta. Affordable paradise! We went back to Bali in mid-July 2024 visiting all the clothing optional places again as we love them all!
Dreams Do Come True — Our Second Visit to Japan We spent three weeks in Japan in 2018 and ever since we’ve attempted to jockey our itinerary for more, more, more! We tried in 2020, just before the Covid lockdown, with what was to be an albeit inadequate three night stopover in Tokyo between Thailand and Portland, Oregon USA. But that got nixed.
So in late March 2024, we arrived in Tokyo for a second three-week visit, to this alluring, gorgeous country. In addition to visiting Tokyo we took a Shinkansen (bullet train) south to Naoshima, a destination commonly known as Japan’s art island and also enjoyed several spots around Osaka/Kobe.
We recap the end of our 2023 South American travel with stories from the wine country of Mendoza, Argentina to celebrating Mardi Gras in Brazil and our visit to Iguazu Falls ending with a retelling of our experiences on Easter Island. We start with our incredible emergency plane landing story! Listen to our informative and lively conversation below. Moderated by Nancy Ward.
We turned to the Swedes for inspiration and practicality as we drastically downsized our personal belongings and freed ourselves from the burden of too much stuff! Listen to our informative and lively conversation below. Moderated by Nancy Ward.
Listen in as we reflect on recent travels in Turkey, Peru and more. We’re wrapping-up our year-long Discover Tour. Listen to our informative and lively conversation below. Moderated by Nancy Ward.
Listen in as we reflect on recent travels in Egypt, Europe and more. We’re wrapping-up our year-long Discover Tour. Listen to our informative and lively conversation below. Moderated by Nancy Ward.
Mid-August 2023 we were guests on our beloved friend, Paul Galloro’s, Heart2Heart - The Living Spirit-fully podcast. We instantly connected when we met Paul in Spain this summer who was also attending a wonderful week-long men’s tantric workshop. Listen now.
During our 2017 travels we sipped our way through south India's tea region and Sri Lanka's fabled tea highlands. But these regions are just a small part of south Asia's tea industry. Throughout our journey, northeast India's distant powerhouse tea regions of Darjeeling and Assam kept calling us. Our discovery there had to wait until another visit.
So this year, our Heart-to-Heart tour began September in Darjeeling, North Bengal near the end of the regions persistent monsoon. So charming. With sweeping Himalayan vistas. Surrounded by lush tea plantations!
In Darjeeling, we met Rajiv Mitra a dynamic local tea merchant. Darjeeling produces the oft-described champagne of teas. Rajiv purveys only single-estate, premium teas at teaemporium.net. We became good friends. Listen to our informative and lively conversation below.
Who are we? Get to know the Hotel Guys! Listen to our more in-depth introduction podcast.
The Hotel Guys are on the road again! Our six month visit to India in 2017 left us yearning for more. More. More! We’ll drink tea in Darjeeling. Take a river cruise in Assam. Visit remote carved temples. Ride rickshaws in teeming cities. We’ll see old friends and undoubtedly make many new ones. After three months touring incredible India, we’ll push on to Thailand to integrate on the beach in the south and then meander the old city of Chiang Mai in the north. By February 2020 we’ll still have more than three months of our “Heart-to-Heart” excursion remaining. Enjoy listening to our podcast now and then join us throughout our adventures! Keep traveling!
For more Hotel Guys Podcasts, go to Podcasts Archives. Topics there include:
#7 — Mistaken as Assassins? And Other Central America Travel Stories
#6 — Expat Living In Panama: The Deeper Truth
#5 — Money Laundering in Panama
#4 — Stroke: Medical Emergency in Panama!
#3 — Christmas Eve Fire in our Costa Rican Casita
#2 — Our First 72 Hours in Costa Rica
#1 — Our world travels past and future
Who are we? Get to know the Hotel Guys! Listen to our more in-depth introduction podcast above or watch a light-hearted, brief introduction video below!
We share insightful hotel reviews and travel highlights from destinations worldwide. We're Rich and Paul - the Hotel Guys.
We love discovering cultural and historical sites in big cities and small. But just those destinations alone don't make the trip complete! Connecting with local people and other travelers is our passion. See a lot of these incredible people on our Friends page.
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There are no affiliate links and we receive nothing for any hotel we review (other than a good night’s sleep).
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