Pathinator Travel Lounge

Tips while on the road or here at home includes when to fight and when to go with the flow and when to cut your toenails. 

These are travel (and life) tips. Included is traveling light, meaningful travel and how to travel so you don't wake up with a rat on your face.

Robert Mugabe's leadership in Zimbabwe is the antithesis of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Where Mandela emphasizes his responsibilities, Mugabe stress his rights at the expense of others. His "Clean Up the Garbage" plays a big role in destroying a country which once considered him a hero when he was a rebel leader. 

Through this episode, we look at the vast freedoms we have while traveling and the corresponding responsibilities we have our others. A trip to South Africa and allows us to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. His remarkable story illustrates how he balanced his rights with society's needs.  

I've heard that a definition of a vagabond is someone with seven dollars in their pocket at any given time. I'm not sure if that is true, but in my travels I meet many people that would be considered nomads or vagabonds. Are these vagabonds introducing me to a new reality or are they escaping reality? Travel allows for immense personal freedoms but what about our duty to help fellow humans? At what point is expressing individual freedoms taking from others? This podcast looks at these questions through a look at a couple fellow explorers.  

Harar, Ethiopia is an attractive city to visit. The walled, old city is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is a lively market, the people are friendly, there are many historical buildings and narrow alleyways to explore. Occasionally at night, visitors hear a high pitched squeal in town. The sound is coming for hyenas who are visiting. This may be a bit scary, but humans and animals have found a way to coexist in Harar through a cleaver plan a local farmer had. 

In order to take pics in South Sudan, one needs a permit from the government. I didn't get one and I took pic. The result was me getting, thrown to the ground by 2 men, a gun to my head, being saved by an wise old man, before being transported to downtown Juba to meet the "big man" in the government. Big Man Syndrome is the idea of abusing the power you have and one can see it at work, at home, with friends or any group you are part of. How did I survive the Juba big man and how can you survive your interactions with the "big man". 

We start with a conversation I had with a man from The Gambia. He bluntly, but kindly, tests me on what helps and what hurts when trying to fix the issues people face in Africa. His view on what helps and hurts may surprise some as he rebukes conventional wisdom. However, we both agreed that Big Man Syndrome (detailed through a story where I get whipped in South Sudan) is a major impediment to helping others.  He challenges others to look beyond lions, AIDS and slavery when discussing Africa and see the real potential of Africa. His views help us look at alternative solutions to our problems. 

This is an introduction to the Pathinator Travel Lounge (PTL) podcast. It largely gives background on the host, Joseph Koch, but also explains the PTL podcast. The main goal of the podcast is to explore issues and solutions through travel.