Greetings from Montevideo, Uruguay! Fainá is a flatbread made of dried chickpeas, water, olive oil, salt and pepper. It’s a signature dish of Montevideo — and in this episode, we discover the best fainá in town. And that brings us to this week’s question: What is the most memorable national dish you’ve ever had in your travels? Please leave your comments. We’ll read them and respond to them in our next podcast. Here we are in our tiny apartment in Montevideo, sampling Uruguayan flatbread....

Holiiii from Montevideo! We survived our adventure on the Chilean volcano, crossed the Andes, and now, here we are. This week, we’re talking about Southern Hemisphere hotspots where you can escape the cold. We’ll give you our advice on the best places in today’s podcast. But before we go there, here’s our question of the week. This part of Latin America is famous for its political turmoil, so we want to know: What’s the most unstable place you’ve ever visited? Speaking of instability, here’s...

Mari Mari from Pucón, Chile. That’s how the indigenous people greet each other in Mapuzungun, the language of the Mapuche. We’re in central Chile's Lake District, a place with a blue sky and a large lake overlooked by the not-so-dormant Villarrica volcano. At night, you can see the glow of the lava contrasting against the snow. (We’re headed up there tomorrow.) Last week’s question was about pre-departure rituals. So this week, we’re asking: What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at a...

Hola one last time from Santiago, Chile. It’s out last week in the Chilean capital, so we thought we’d talk about what we do before we leave a destination. And that brings me to this week’s question: What do you do before you leave a place? Do you have a pre-trip ritual or a favorite thing you always do before you go? Our comments are open — and we’ll read yours in our next podcast. The ciabatta in Chile is excellent, and definitley on our our pre-departure list. Throw them in the toaster...

Hola from the Andes mountains. We're in San Alfonso, Chile, at a place called Cascada de Las Ánimas, or Waterfall of the Spirits. What a great place to end 2023. All of which brings me to this week’s question: What was your favorite destination of the year? And where are you going next year? (You can answer both for bonus points!) As always, we’ll read your comments in our next podcast. To get to the waterfalls from Santiago, you have to drive about two hours south and into the Andes. It...

Hello from Valparaiso on the Pacific coast of Chile. This is a city that has seen it all. Ridiculous prosperity in the early 20th century, when the “jewel of the Pacific” was one of the world’s leading ports, followed by a precipitous decline after the Panama Canal opened. Today, the city’s claim to fame is Tomas Slavik’s mountain bike run down to the ocean, captured by drones. Don’t watch it after more than one cup of coffee, or you might jump out of your chair. We never expected to be...

Greetings from Santiago, Chile. We survived multiple illnesses during our Ecuador adventure, and isn’t that what makes it an adventure? This isn’t the high-energy podcast you’re accustomed to because Aren and I are still recovering from whatever we had. But we are still alive! In the last few weeks, we’ve gone from practically zero hours of daylight in Spokane, Wash., to a full blast of summer and 14 hours of daylight. Talk about climate shock! All of which brings us to this week's...

Hello from the Ecuadoran rainforest. We’re in Mashpi Lodge, a three-hour drive from Quito. We’re thrilled to be podcasting again, and Aren and I are happy you’ve decided to join us. This is going to be fun! Here's this week's question: What’s the sickest you’ve ever gotten on a trip? (If you listen to the first few minutes of the podcast, you’ll know why we’re asking.) It’s hard to do the Galapagos any justice with photos. But we’ll try … Here’s our ship, the Santa Cruz II. We had about 75...

Welcome to the new Elliott podcast. Thanks for joining us! We're reporting today from Puerto Ayora, Ecuador. We're on the Hurtigruten Santa Cruz II, an expedition vessel in the Galapagos. We ended our last podcast in Japan. Since then, we've been all over the place, including several destinations in Japan, South Korea, a brief stop back in the U.S., and now Ecuador. We can't wait to tell you about it in this podcast. But before we do, here's this week's question: When you leave your home...

Hello from Kyoto, Japan. This is our final Elliott Confidential podcast. Iden is about to graduate from the University of Florida, and he’s leaving the nest tomorrow to start a new business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We can’t imagine doing this program without him. The newsletter will continue, of course. (I have a blockbuster story on the “sequel” to revenge travel tomorrow, and you won’t want to miss that.) And who knows — we may return to podcasting someday. There’s no question this...

Greetings from Aizuwakamatsu, Japan. We’re coming to you from Northern Japan this week, but during the last two weeks, we’ve been everywhere. We’ll share our impressions in this week’s podcast. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. This week’s question: Please tell us about a trip where you felt out of place — I mean, really out of place. We’ll share our experiences in this episode and read yours in...

Hello from Tokyo! It’s a miracle we made it back to our hotel after wandering around the Tokyo subway yesterday. But there’s still time to get lost in the city’s concrete labyrinth. (Hey, it’s an adventure.) Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s the view from the Palace Hotel in Tokyo yesterday as a typhoon grazed the city. Aren and I went underground while the storm soaked the city. We found...

Greetings from Busan, South Korea! We thought we were on a coastal Japan cruise with Lindblad Expeditions, but yesterday, we took a detour to South Korea. And wow, what an adventure. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. This week’s question: Have you ever taken an unexpected detour on your travels? Please leave a comment, and we’ll read it — and respond — in our next podcast. South Korea had the most...

Greetings from Takamatsu, Japan! We have a lot of ground to cover in this week’s episode. The boys and I traveled from Chiang Mai to the Golden Triangle, then back to Bangkok and finally to Osaka, Japan. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. You probably saw this question coming: Have you ever woken up in a hotel bed and asked yourself, “Where am I?” I did it several times this week. Please leave a...

Hello again from Northern Thailand! We spent this week exploring the ancient city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. What an adventure (and, at times, misadventure). Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. This week’s question: Have you ever stayed in a hotel that wasn’t a hotel? Maybe it was someone else’s home, a castle, or a hostel. I’d love to hear about your misadventures. Please leave a comment...

Xin chào from Da Nang, Vietnam! I never thought we would make it to this corner of the world! I feel so lucky to be here and to be able to share it with the boys. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. (This is a special double episode of the Elliott Confidential podcast. Last week’s episode from Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia, didn’t transmit because of technical problems. Here’s a link to the...

Suostei from Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia. We were ready for a change of scenery, so we headed over to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Before I forget, here’s this week’s question: Have you ever had an unexpected animal encounter in your travels? Maybe you were roaming the back alleys of Istanbul and encountered a cute kitten. Or you were strolling along the beaches of...

Sà-wàt dee khráp from the other side of Bangkok. We’ve moved into an urban jungle of vertical mega-malls and medical offices, and we have much to report. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: We have only one week left in Bangkok. Where should we go? We’d love to get your suggestions. It’s just Aren and me on the podcast this week. Iden is visiting a friend in Vietnam....

Hi again from Bangkok, where we’ve spent the last week hotel-hopping along the Chao Phraya River. And wow, what a mind-blowing experience! Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: What’s the best hotel experience you’ve ever had? I’m talking about the most over-the-top luxurious resort you’ve ever been to. We’d love to hear about it! Here’s the Anantara Riverside as seen from...

Hello from the Big Mango — Bangkok, Thailand! Well, this place isn’t at all what we expected. It’s a huge city — the 33rd largest in the world. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Before I forget, here’s this week’s question: Have you ever visited a place that defied your expectations? For example, we thought Bangkok would be small and provincial (maybe we watched “The King and I” once too often)....

We got the wrong impression of Bali. For the first two weeks, the weather was sunny. Then it started raining … Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Has bad weather ever ruined your vacation? I’m talking rain on a ski vacation or a hurricane when you’re trying to visit the beach. Please share your tales of woe. We’d love to commiserate! Balinese are deeply spiritual...

They call Bali the land of a thousand temples, but it is really the land of a thousand hotels. And this week, we checked out a few of them. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Have you ever done something on vacation that you regretted? As you’ll hear in this week’s podcast, we took surfing lessons in Canggu at high noon and we ended up getting knocked over by monster...

Well, hello Bali! Our next destination is the Island of the Gods, and we have a lot to report today. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: We’ve experienced a real climate (and culture) shock, coming from Auckland, New Zealand, to Canggu, Indonesia. Tell us about your most jarring destination switch. It’s become a summer ritual to welcome Uncle Dustin into our home. This...

Today we are bidding farewell to New Zealand. After two months of exploring Middle Earth, we’re leaving with many happy memories — and a little decision paralysis. Here’s this week’s question: Have you ever had decision paralysis when it comes to choosing a destination? Some countries offer so much that choosing just one place is impossible. I imagine the United States is like that for a lot of foreign visitors. Where do you go? I would love to hear your story. As always, we’ll read your...

Kia Ora from Auckland, New Zealand. This week, we explored indigenous Auckland — and we got high. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Tell us about your most memorable indigenous travel experience. Whether you went to a luau in Oahu or toured a Maasai village in Kenya, we want to hear your story. Please leave your comment. The highlight of the week was hanging out with...