LA: I have to say, it’s quite reassuring to know that you have traveled probably more than [laughs] most people in the world, and yet you still forgot to get your bag onto your second flight.
JN: [laughs].
LA: So, [laughs]-
JN: Right.
LA: … it’s nice to know that we can screw up regardless of how much experience we have. But to that point, I think do you need to stick to plan to make a trip feel productive or are you open to the chaos and the unpredictability of letting things sometimes go a bit awry.
JN: Oh, I’m still open to the chaos. I love the chaos. I’ve never really been someone who likes to subscribe to plans. I’m super open to just letting whatever happen. So I love spontaneity and, you know, you meet people and you, I ask for recommendations and that, I sort of let that guide me, versus like having a prescriptive plan.
LA: What are some of those recommendations that have led you somewhere surprising?
JN: Well, when we were in Uidai Port in India, I love Indian food. One of my favorite cuisines and we had been in idea like three days and I just hadn’t had good food. And so, I asked this guy who [laughs] like worked in the market and I was like, “Where can you recommend us for lunch? And I was like, I don’t wanna see any tourists. I wanna go where you eat.” So he sends us to this place, and obviously most Indians speak English, right? We went to a place where nobody spoke English. I was like, “Yes. This is perfect.” And we were just pointing. And I did not touch the water in the carafe that they sent over, but the food was amazing. And so, you know, like, I think sometimes people get nervous, and they’re like, oh, deli belly and all that. I never got sick on the road. Well once. But [laughs], um, that wasn’t-
LA: I, I won’t pry.
JN: … but yeah [laughs].
LA: I won’t ask you the, the gory details [laughs].
JN: I’m like, well… But you know what I mean? So, it was like trusting a local person and they know what good food is and so we ended up at this delicious restaurant where no one spoke English and we ate there twice ’cause it was so good.
LA: Wait, what did you eat?
JN: Some sort of chicken curry ’cause there was no English anywhere. I don’t really know what it was, but it was [laughs] some sort of chicken curry and like, chapati [laughs].
LA: I made you laugh, I made you cry [laughs].
JN: [laughs] Right. This is a good catch up. It was an-
LA It was-
JN: … emotional rollercoaster [laughs].
LA: … very overdue.
Thank you for listening. I’m Lale Arikoglu and you can find me, as always, on Instagram @lalehannah and follow along with Women Who Travel on Instagram @womenwhotravel. You can also join the conversation in our Facebook group.
Allison Leyton-Brown is our composer. Jennifer Nulsen is our engineer. Jude Kampfner from Corporation for Independent Media is our producer.
Next week, living and working abroad. For some people it’s for a significant period, and others just for the immediate future. Sometimes living aboard can be indefinitely. So I ask what do you leave behind as well as what enriches you when you move?
