The Trip That Changed Me

Back when John Hudson was a university student and aspiring pilot with the Royal Air Force, he naively volunteered for winter survival training in Germany. Armed with limited supplies, the goal was to travel stealthily through the freezing Bavarian wilderness while evading capture. It was an extreme challenge, but John had an unusual aptitude for it. Years later, he would go on to become the British Military's chief Survival, Evasion, Resistance & Extraction instructor, an author, and the star of Discovery's prime-time show 'Survive That' (AKA 'Dude You're Screwed' in the US).

Learn more about John on his website: JohnHudsonSurvival.com

Follow him on Instagram

Buy John’s book from your local bookstore: 

How to Survive: Self-Reliance in Extreme Circumstances

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Trigger warning: this episode includes descriptions of a violent attack. When Marta Tucci was living in London, pursuing a career in photography, a stranger forced his way into her home and attacked her. Left with PTSD and extreme anxiety, Marta was a shell of her former self. But, with the encouragement of those who know her best, she decided to face her fears head-on with a solo trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In the shadow of a city still rebuilding itself from past trauma, Marta worked on her own healing. A year later she would depart stronger, wiser, and with an established career as a documentary photographer.  

See Marta's work at martatucci.com

Find her on Instagram @martatucci

Visit nayatraveler.com to learn more about traveling with Marta's team 

Check out @nayatravler on Instagram

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Twenty years into a career as a jewelry designer and on the cusp of her 40th birthday, Amanda Keidan was feeling restless and ready for a new challenge when some friends invited her on a trip to the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende to celebrate Day of the Dead. Five days later, she was smitten with the place and browsing real estate with the idea to open a boutique hotel. In 2019, Casa Delphine welcomed its first guests and a year later, despite the pandemic, the property has been celebrated as one of the hottest new hotels by Conde Nast Traveler.

Find out more about Casa Delphine

Follow the hotel in Instagram @casadelphine

Check out Keidan Jewelry

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Legendary NHL defenseman, Chris Pronger, and his entrepreneur wife, Lauren, are the duo behind Well Inspired Travels – a boutique travel company that curates five-star trips with a health and wellness mindset. Before launching the company, both had brushes with injury and illness that served to highlight the ways travel and quality time with the people you love can aid healing.

Learn more about Well Inspired Travels at wellinspiredtravels.com

Follow Well Inspired Travels on Instagram @wellinspiredtravels

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After a New York psychic told Amy Chan – the heartbreak expert behind Renew Breakup Bootcamp – that a love curse was the cause of her romantic troubles, she promptly headed to Bali in search of spiritual guidance. After meeting with more than 20 balians (traditional Balinese healers), one particularly profound session appeared to lift the curse. Just four months later, Amy began dating her current partner. 

Learn more about Renew Breakup Bootcamp at renewbreakupbootcamp.com

Buy Amy's new book: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062914743

Follow Amy on Instagram @missamychan

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Meghan O'Dea is a Lonely Planet editor who inherited a love of travel from her fearless and adventurous grandmother, Florence – a devoted train traveler who befriended strangers everywhere she went. One of Florence's bucket-list goals was to travel by train with each grandchild, so at age 10, Meghan was treated to a special one-on-one, long-distance journey across the US. On today's episode, Megan shares memories from that ten-day trip with Florence, during which they stopped in New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and ultimately Buffalo for a family reunion – enjoying moments of "madcap whimsy" along the way. As a travel writer and editor, Meghan has since completed her grandmother’s goal to visit all 50 states. Later in the episode, she offers listeners recommendations for solo travel, and explains why she still prefers hostels to hotels.

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*Please note, this episode was recorded before the lockdown and worldwide BLM protests.  

Lillian Rafson was living in New York City in her early-twenties when she felt the itch to escape. She decided to travel before determining her next move. On today's episode, Lillian describes a summer of solo travel through Eastern Europe, during which she encountered the concept of surprise travel agencies for the first time. Lillian shares milestones from that journey – through the Pyrenees, Poland and Latvia – which led to a decision to move back to her hometown of Pittsburgh. Shortly after, Lillian hit the ground running with the launch of her business, Pack Up + Go – a surprise travel agency that’s now sent over 20,000 US travelers to 90 destinations nationwide! 

Learn more about Lillian and Pack Up + Go by visiting PackUpGo.com!

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Like many people with an entrepreneurial streak, Andy Levine’s endeavors began at an early age. While studying for a degree in philosophy and business at Denver University, he attempted to organize a bike race (Levine jokes his true major was “fresh snow and mountain biking”), but it failed to get any traction. The day after his graduation ceremony, feeling unsure of his calling, Levine packed up his beloved bike and headed to Beaune, France. It would end up being the trip that defined his working life, inspiring the launch of his luxury adventure and cycling company, DuVine . In this episode, Levine describes the advantages of traveling by bike, from smelling the terroir and meeting locals, to exploring remote areas and making spontaneous pit stops. Find out what a typical day on a DuVine tour has in store, why he recommends that people do less planning in their everyday lives (and in travel), and his personal favorite tours depending on the season.

Learn more about Andy by following him on Instagram @duvineandy and following DuVine @duvine! 

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Fresh off The Bachelor franchise, Danielle Maltby (@dmmaltby) returned to her passion and calling as a NICU nurse, but thanks to newfound visibility from the show she also received some appealing new opportunities. One of them was to work with Lwala Community Alliance, a community-led effort to reduce maternal and child mortality in Kenya. On today's episode, Danielle describes the powerful two-week trip to Kenya that altered her perspective and encouraged her to live fully. She discusses the best way to use social media to spread the word, facing your fears head-on, and the complicated nature of volunteering with privilege.  

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By society’s measures, Jackie Kai Ellis had an extremely successful life in her late-twenties; she was a designer, living with her husband in the beautiful city of Vancouver. Yet Jackie was struggling with depression and felt emptier than ever, trapped in a never-ending cycle of external validation. On today’s episode, Jackie shares the circumstances that led her to enroll in a Parisian patisserie school – an experience that restored joy for life and, most importantly, her sense of self. Jackie went on to separate from her husband, launch Beaucoup Bakery, write a cookbook and a memoir, and eventually relocate to Paris to start another business: The Paris Tours. Listen for Jackie's thoughts on how traveling forces you to be more present, the scariest part of making a massive life change, and why following your dreams, no matter how unrealistic they may seem, is the greatest privilege of all.

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