Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast

Latest Episodes:

AT#287 - Travel to Alaska Jul 03, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Joe Bickley of Alaska Backcountry Consulting about traveling to Alaska, particularly the interior and back country. Alaska is a bug state and Joe lives in the center of it near Fairbanks but at the northern end of the Alaskan road system. Joe gives us some directions on places to go to see Alaska’s vistas and encounter its wildlife. He takes us above the tree line at Denali National Park (aka Mt McKinley) which is not quite half the size of the state of Rhode Island. At that Denali is not even the largest National Park in Alaska. That honor goes to Wrangell-St. Elias. Alaska also has the largest National Forest which is Tongass National Forest. Joe takes us to one of his favorite spots off the Denali “highway”. He also directs us down to the Kenai Peninsula known for great fishing and also to the town of Homer with its artist culture. Learn what some Alaskans call those bells that a tenderfoot might wear to scare off bears.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#286 - Travel to Southern South Korea Jun 25, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Rease from 2 Nomads, 1 Narrative about South Korea. Rease and his girlfriend Nicki taught English for a year in Southern South Korea and also took time t travel around the country. We start in the city of Busan which also called Pusan and the only part of South Korea not to fall to the North in the Korean Conflict. Rease recommends we see Busan fish market and some of the old temples and then move on from Korea’s second largest city to the ancient capital of Gyeongju. Gyeongju is over 2000 years old and includes ancient temples and burial tombs and also has the largest of the Buddist temples in the country. Then Rease recommends we move along to some of the beaches, seaside towns and islands on the south coast which most western tourists don’t visit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#285 - Travel to St. Louis, Missouri Jun 18, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Rease Kirchner about her hometown of St. Louis Missouri. St. Louis is known for its iconic Arch and is known as the gateway to the west. Rease claims that St. Louis has the largest urban park in the U.S., and now boasts about a surprising array of ethnic restaurants including a Little Italy area with toasted ravioli and a Little Mexico around Cherokee street. The city has an art museum made of entirely recycled materials, and Rease’s favorite the City Museum. Rease also tells us where we can find traditional St. Louis food including gooey butter cake and a slinger which she describes as “everything that can kill you all on one plate”. St. Louis is famous for Budweiser and for the associated Busch stadium which is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, but now also boasts micro-breweries and NFL and NHL teams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#284 - Travel to Wiltshire in England Jun 11, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Keith Kellet about the area around his home in Wiltshire England. Wiltshire has been inhabited since the end of the last ice age and has a rich depth of history including the icon site of Stonehenge. Averbury which is an even older stone circle can also be found there as well as the Salisbury Cathedral and the ancient town of Sarum. Keith describes this verdant region with its chalky hills, its rich lowlands, its ancient barrows, and its industrial age canals. Wiltshire is only about an hour out of London on high speed train so it can even be visited as a day trip from your stay there. We have forgotten more about its history than we have remembered so its ancient sites are covered in mystery and speculation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#283 - Travel to Gibraltar Jun 04, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to San Francisco Chronicle Travel Editor Spud Hilton about Gibraltar. This little patch of England at the bottom of Spain is more than just a place where you can see a large rock and get good fish and chips with your tapas. Explore the "rock" and meet the "apes" of Gibraltar. Hear about some of the history as well as the unique traffic challenges of this tiny peninsula. Also learn about Winston Churchill's secret World War 2 monkey plan for Gibraltar. Along the way let me introduce you to Spud Hilton who is one of my favorite travel editors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#282 - Travel to the Guangxi region of China May 28, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Shawn Farris about his recent trip to the Guangxi region in China. Guangxi is a lesser known but spectacular region in south western China known for its rugged karst mountains and green terraced rice paddies. Shawn explored the area hiking, biking and even kayaking through the countryside. Shawn describes it as a region that still has that “wide open, blue sky, rural feel to it.” The region can be accessed through the cities of Guilin or Yongshuo. During his trip Shawn met the strongest lady he had ever met as well as two of the most enterprising sellers of soda.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#281 - Travel to Sydney, Australia May 21, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Alix (of Alix and Jace’s Amazing Adventure) about her hometown of Sydney Australia. Alix has many ideas about fun things to do in Sydney so you don’t just end up with the rest of the tourists on Darling Harbor. After you have climbed the Harbor Bridge and visited the Sydney Opera House she recommends a beach walk by word famous Bondi Beach, a chance to sleep with the animals of the Taronga Zoo and the out of the way Manly Beach. She tells us what’s the best day of the year to see Sydney (although also the most expensive). Alix also gives us a dizzying list of Sydney restaurants to try.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#280 - Travel to England's Lake District May 14, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Zoë Dawes from TheQuirkyTraveler.com about England’s Lake District. This beautiful pastoral area was made famous by the poets and artists in the romantic period, most notably William Wordsworth. Not far from industrial Manchester, the lake district is still a refuge for hikers and and other tourists tucked away in northern England. Zoë describes some of her favorite hikes like the coffin trail along the shores of Lake Windermere and favorite villages like Ambleside.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#279 - Travel to Cyprus May 08, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Roni Weiss about his visit to the divided country of Cyprus. Roni went to Cyprus in part to complete a quest to visit every country in Europe. Roni couchsurfed which gave him a chance to stay with Turkish and Greek Cypriots as well as a Turkish resident. T

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT#278 - Travel to the Four Corners Region in the American SouthWest Apr 30, 2011

Show notes

The Amateur Traveler talks to Erik Smith again about his trip to the Four Corners area in the American southwest. Four Corners is the spot where 4 U.S. states meet: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. While the Four Corners spot itself is just a photo op (an probably at the wrong place), the area around it contains some amazing scenery and historic sites. Erik gives us a state by state break down of the area. He tells us about National Parks nearby like Arches Canyonlands, Hovenweep, Moab, Canyon de Chelly, Rainbow Bridge, Mesa Verde , Chaco Culture, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Petrified Forest and Aztec Ruins. The area also boats the spectacular and iconic scenery of Monument Valley and a stretch of road known as the “Million Dollar Highway”. It has many Native American sites including those like Canyon de Chelly run jointly by the Navajo nation and the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected