You can learn a lot about cities around the world by their transportation options. In this episode, you’ll hear why you’ll probably die trying to cross the road in Hanoi, and why taxi drivers in India don’t have any kids. Oh, and we’re in Australia now!
Opportunity has brought us to Sydney, Australia, where we’re busy soaking up the sights in between freak rainstorms down under! Special thanks to our gracious hosts Kevin and Imp for giving us a cheap (read: FREE!) place to stay in one of the world’s most expensive cities. Kevin’s a body painter, and you can check out his work (which often features Imp and do I really need to put in the NSFW label?) over at The Painted Body.
We share two travel stories on today’s program, one from Hanoi, Vietnam and one from Bangkok, Thailand:
1. Death By Motorscooter
Music: The Lift by Kevin MacLeod
On our first night in Hanoi, we took a walk around the city. And were almost immediately killed by traffic. Of all the countries we’ve visited in southeast Asia, Vietnam has the worst traffic. And that’s oddly quaint.
The preferred method of transportation? Motorscooters. They outnumber cars hundreds to one. They seem to have their own set of traffic rules that are completely unrelated to other vehicles or pedestrians. The right of way? Clearly it goes to the scooter traffic. Respect this, or you’ll be crushed.
(Well, not crushed. Or even ran into. Which is a strange for what looks like utter chaos. But it kinda works!)
2. All Who Are Hyphenated Are Not Married
Music: Quirky Dog by Kevin MacLeod
Cassie Fox-Percival -- we housesat for her in Bangkok while she was in Tokyo -- relates a story of a taxi ride when she was in India. But first, Evo made the mistake of asking about her hyphenated last name. After a few bottles of wine.
Apparently, taxi drivers in India are under the impression that Westerners don’t get married. Which isn’t accurate, but we certainly do have a different view of marriage from a cultural level. There, marriage isn’t an option. According to him, it happens. And oddly enough, proximity isn’t a prerequisite for wedlock.
Cassie has a lot of stories to share, so we’re cutting this one short. But she’ll be back from time to time, as she’s funny!
And that’s the show!
Huge thanks to our good friends and dynamic author duo Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris. They lent their voices for the intro and outro of this season. And they happen to be talented writers, as well. If you’re into steampunk, check out their websites for links to their work. Tee and Pip, thanks for making our show sound awesome every week.
Special thanks to Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com for our theme music Upbeat Forever and all of the music used in this episode.
Funding for this podcast and all the great content we produce is made possible by listeners just like you. Visit ShEvo.wtf/postcards to pledge your support, and get a hand written postcard each month as we travel abroad.
Additional funding provided by TravelSmith. Inspiring people to go places they've never been, and keeping us looking smart and well-outfitted on our journey.
And if you want to travel the world… it’s cheaper than you think! Visit ShEvo.wtf for more details, and click on the Housesitting link to find out exactly how we afford to travel the world in style.
New episodes of the The Opportunistic Travelers Podcast are available every Tuesday. Of course, Tuesday can be a very different thing depending on where we are in the world. Cheers
