Mention a trip to Thailand, and some moron is going to ask about ladyboys. Well… there’s a good reason for that -- there are lots of them here. So… what’s the deal with that? Oh, and our friend Rutavi discusses an endurance race across India.
Remember that new format we announced last week? Well… we’re breaking it this week. Sorry, but Sheila was a little under the weather, and we’d been sitting on this conversation we recorded a few months back. So you’re getting it, warts and all. But don’t worry. It’s still the two of us chatting in an unscripted and uncensored fashion.
We share two stories on today’s program, one from Thailand and one from India:
1. Ladyboys In Thailand
Music credit: Upbeat Forever by Kevin MacLeod
Let’s just get this out of the way: there are a lot of ladyboys in Thailand. After two weeks living full-time in Thailand plus the four months we spent in-country last year, it’s a cultural phenomenon that seems rather well accepted to us. And we’re quite cool with that. But still, it’s hard for us to break the 40+ years of conditioning we’ve been subject to.
We’ve been sitting on this conversation we recorded a few months ago where we have a frank and honest discussion about the topic. Not whether it’s right or wrong (because that’s a stupid question that doesn’t even deserve a response), but why we (and we’re speaking on behalf of all cisgendered Westerners) still react the way we do.
2. Rickshaw Run
Music credit: The Modal Drummer by Kevin MacLeod
Travel aficionado Rutavi Mehta shares her favorite travel story from her home country of India. After listening, you’ll know why she’s known as one of the most (if not the most) adventurous travel bloggers in India. Because driving 3,500 km across India for two weeks in a “rickshaw” seems like insanity to us. (Though not so secretly, Sheila now wants to do the race!)
And that’s the show!
This is the last week to vote for Sheila’s photo. Head over to shevo.wtf/vote. It will only take a second! She could use the vote!
Special thanks to Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com for our theme music Upbeat Forever and all of the music used in this episode.
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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!
