Those Who Wander Ivan the Intrepid

This was supposed to be the intro for every podcast episode... I can't stand it now but worked too hard on it at the time to not at least share it. We all deserve a good laugh. :)


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I interviewed Tom because it was immediately clear that he was a brother in arms when it came to travel styles and desires. Tom is a big Aussie who is actually now my boss and colleague on various tuktuk and travel related ventures. Tom was one of the cofounders of tuktukrental.com and spent a lot of time working for a social venture in the slums of India. He has a fascinating perspective on life and travel and I was excited to pick his brain on these topics and learn about his experience starting a business in Sri Lanka. 



Notes:

Why are you in Sri Lanka?

Creating documentary in India about traveling environmentally responsibly, riding bikes and had an accident that caused injury to film-making partner, rented 16-year-old Tuk Tuk, and fell in love with Tuk Tuks. Visited Sri Lanka after India and thought it was a better place to start a business.

Importance of social business

Tuk Tuk mafia

Struggles setting up a foreign business in Sri Lanka

Language barrier (biggest barrier), understanding the system, getting the right information

Perception around Tuk Tuks being a vehicle for the lower class

52:45 Tom’s experience in the slums of India

1:07 India has magic

1:11 Eco-friendly traveling

Using reusable water bottles, changing culture - plastic, eating meat

1:17 Specific goal in India

Zero carbon, sustainable tourist, opportunities to make change

1:19 Eco-friendly traveling tips

Don’t go to the big hotel chains, large restaurant chains; transport: bus, train, boat instead of planes; support locals; consider your impact on local economy: drugs, alcohol

1:23 Vegetarianism

Eats on basis of carbon emissions, not wasting food

Mentioned

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Pollinate Energy - social business Tom worked for in India

TED Talk - The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong specific to nonprofit sector, overhead ratio

Vipassana Meditation

www.tuktukrental.com

Instagram @tuktukrental

FB Tuk Tuk Rental


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I interviewed Mana because, oh Mana I love this guy! He offered an interesting cultural perspective on travel based on his background and also infused his love of food and cooking into the mix. We spoke on a beach in Sri Lanka where we dove deep into his interesting angle on traveling the world. 


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I technically didn't interview Lanka... but it kind of went that direction since I love to answer questions. While traveling Sri Lanka in a tuktuk, I stopped at a beautiful monastery outside of Ella. Lanka had joined several months earlier and spoke amazing English. He took it upon himself to share his knowledge of this branch of Buddhism with visitors to the temple. This is what he shared.

Update: I revisited the monastery in 2019 and, unfortunately, Lanka was no longer there. 


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I interviewed April because we clicked immediately when we met at a hostel in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Her personality is contagious and I was excited to learn that she had been living and working in Asia for several years. She was solo traveling in Sri Lanka and shared with me many stories and experiences from along the way. Oddly enough, she encountered one of my good friends from home while in a hostel in Romania. She proved, once again, just how small and wonderful this world is. 


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I interviewed Alex because the man's a legend. I made friends with a group of Brits while traveling in Rajasthan, and one night when we were all at dinner, I got to listen to some of Alex's entertaining and hilarious exploits. Surprisingly, we didn't even get into many of them on this podcast and instead shared some surprisingly deep conversations about the guilt that comes with traveling in places like India. He also is the one who inspired me to go travel Vietnam by motorcycle, which I finally did at the beginning of 2020!


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