BEST OF EXPLORER: Where’s Wallis? No Guidebook, No Google, No Clue with Best-selling Travel Author Brian Thacker

Follow best-selling travel author Brian Thacker on a unique, mad-cap adventure to three of the remotest countries on Earth. Inspired by the intrepid spirit of explorers of old, Brian decided to tear up the guidebook, switch off the phone and turn up to a country knowing absolutely nothing about it in advance.He picked three countries at random: the east African country of Togo, the South Pacific islands of Wallis & Futuna and the Central Asian mountains of Kyrgyzstan. He boarded the plane with absolutely no clue of the language, culture, where to stay or what to see. He was simply rolling the dice and letting the universe decide what kind of trip he would have. Like his heroes of the golden age of exploration, when much of the world was still undiscovered and no one knew what wonders awaited beyond the horizon, Brian was taking a step into the unknown.But, unlike those legends of adventure, Brian’s just an ordinary bloke. He wouldn’t be risking his life searching for lost tribes in the Amazon or crossing deadly deserts, he was just traveling, like all of us do, in search of good times, new experiences and the pure joy of exploring this amazing planet. Brian’s story inspires all of us that we needn’t be extreme adventurers to be real explorers, we just need to tear up the guidebook, turn off your phone and step into the unknown.CONNECT WITH BRIANBrian’s book of this story if called ‘Where’s Wallis: Travels Without a Guidebook’, you can find out more about that and all Brian’s other books at www.brianthacker.tv. Instagram: @bthackerBrian writes and presents a bunch of our other podcasts, if you enjoyed this one check out The Travel South Dakota Stories podcast. Scroll back and look for the episodes about Palm Springs too!CONNECT WITH USIf you enjoy the show, please subscribe on whatever podcast player you’re reading this on right now. Go on, do it. It means you get to choose what episodes you listen to, rather than the algorithm guess (wrongly) and kick us off your feed. Following the show on socials will definitely maybe bring you good travel karma!Facebook: @armchairexplorerpodcastInstagram: @armchairexplorerpodcast Armchair Explorer is produced by Armchair Productions. Aaron Millar and Jason Paton presented the show, Charles Tyrie did the audio editing and sound design. Our theme music is by the artist Sweet Chap. Mentioned in this episode:Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of the Voyascape Network, a collection of some of the world’s best travel podcasts. Explore more at Voyascape.com. For advertising or sponsorship opportunities across the network, see the link below.Voyascape Podcast NetworkCheck out the Smart Travel PodcastThis week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel at the Link below:Smart Travel Podcast