Zero To Travel Podcast

Unplugged Travel, Trekking Nepal, and Pushing Past Your Comfort Zone with Tony Fletcher

What happens when you plan a trip with one goal: to disappear from your phone, your inbox, and the news for as long as you can stand it? Tony Fletcher is a British music journalist and the author of seven books, including the bestselling Keith Moon biography Moon and the definitive R.E.M. biography Remarks Remade. He started the fanzine Jamming! as a teenager in London and has spent decades interviewing artists across the music world. He now lives in New York's Catskill Mountains, where he writes about music, travel, and running. Tony just got back from a solo month in Nepal, where a big part of the trip was a deliberate digital detox: two weeks completely offline, no email, no social media, no news. He joins me to talk through how he planned it, what it actually felt like to disconnect, and the unconventional route he took into the mountains. This is a conversation about what happens when you actually let go, not just of your phone, but of the need to always know what's going on. Tony went in with real doubts about whether he could pull it off, and those doubts followed him further into the trip than he expected. What came back out the other side surprised even him, touching habits and instincts he wasn't trying to change. There's also a quieter thread running through it about choosing the harder, lonelier path on purpose, and what that choice does to how you experience a place. Have you ever taken a real break from your phone or the news while traveling, and what did you notice about yourself in the quiet? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. Tune In To Learn: How he prepared mentally in the week beforehand, and how many times he nearly talked himself out of it Advice for planning a trek that starts right from your hotel room instead of taking transport to the trailhead Why he chose a quieter route over the two most popular options How trekking solo and unsupported changed the pace of each day What quitting coffee and alcohol on the trail taught him about resetting his habits How stepping away from his phone opened up more conversations with strangers Why he gave himself an extra week away from the news even after getting back online Advice on budgeting, accommodation, and food costs on a multi-week trek The story of nearly losing his phone for good, and what it says about staying present And so much more Resources: Sign up for our FREE newsletter Tony's Substack Nepal Trekking and the Great Himalaya Trail by Robin Boustead CalTopo Trekking Nepal: Your Adventure Guide podcast by Zero To Travel Want More? Life-Changing Trips, Interviewing Music Legends, Backpacking the World, and Fostering Transformative Connections with Tony Fletcher Immersion Travel: Becoming a Porter in Nepal with Nate Menninger Walking the World with Alexander Campbell and Tom Turcich Thanks To Our Sponsors Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app Earn points on rent and mortgage payments. Apply at joinbilt.com/zerototravel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to Be Norwegian (Cultural Concepts Worth Stealing) with Lorelou Desjardins

Why does a tiny Nordic nation with just 5.5 million people feel impossible to summarize in a single sentence?  Lorelou Desjardins has been writing about Norwegian culture since 2013 at her blog and publishing house, A Frog in the Fjord. She has published six books in Norway and internationally, along with 250 articles in mainstream media including Norway's largest newspaper. Her latest book, How to Be Norwegian, offers a crash course into 55 essential Norwegian cultural quirks. She lives in Oslo and is now a Norwegian citizen.  In this episode, Lorelou and I dig into Norwegian culture and what makes this country so unique, covering the surprising scale of Norway's geography, the country's cabin culture, social dynamics among Norwegians, food and drink customs, the quirks of Norwegian English, and a Norwegian concept worth stealing for your own life.  Norway can feel like a country of contradictions: vast and remote in parts, intensely social in others, shaped by long winters and short summers that flip the whole rhythm of daily life. This conversation moves between practical travel insight and a more personal look at what it is actually like to live here long-term, even after becoming a citizen. Whether you are planning a trip, exploring your own Norwegian roots, or just drawn to borrowing a little wisdom from another culture, there is something here for you.  What is one custom or tradition from somewhere else in the world that you have brought into your own life? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.  Tune In To Learn:  How long Norway actually is, and which European capital it would touch if you spun it on its southern tip  Why a growing wave of travelers are choosing Norway over traditionally hot summer destinations  What Norway's "freedom to roam" law actually allows you to do  How cabin culture works, and how travelers can access cabins most visitors never think to look for  Why Norwegians have a reputation for being emotionally cold, and the bus ride that put that reputation to the test for me  Why Norwegians are so eager to talk about their own cultural identity with outsiders  The surprising history behind Norway's strict modern alcohol laws  Why frozen pizza and Friday tacos became beloved national traditions  The Norwegian concept that's similar to hygge, but with its own colder, deeper edge  And so much more  Resources:  Sign up for our FREE newsletter  A Frog in the Fjord  Lorelou's website  How to Be Norwegian  The Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT)  Want More?  Cracking the Cultural Code, Ethical Travel To Indigenous Areas, & Life in Norway With Lorelou Desjardins  Hidden Norway: 7 Off The Beaten Path Gems You'll Love, Popular Norwegian Concepts Worth Stealing, Trekking In Bhutan, & Living At The Crossroads of Magic & Science w/ Torunn Tronsvang from Up Norway  Top 7 Hidden Gems in Oslo, Norway with Curtis Rojak of Viking Biking  Thanks To Our Sponsors   Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel   Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app   Earn points on rent and mortgage payments. Apply at joinbilt.com/zerototravel  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Manifesting Your Ideal Lifestyle (Practical Tools and No BS) with Heath Armstrong

What would it look like to build a life that reflects exactly who you are and where you want to go?  Heath Armstrong is an entrepreneur, author, and co-founder of Rage Create, a company known for its unconventional affirmation and oracle card decks that have raised over $200,000 through crowdfunding. He spent years living and working nomadically, including a period traveling full-time in a self-built van across the United States. He now runs Deck Creators, a community for people who want to create and launch their own card decks, from his farmhouse in the mountains of North Carolina.  In this episode, Heath and I catch up on his journey from the early days of location independence to the businesses he's building now. We get into his approach to freedom lifestyle design, what it actually means to take inspired versus forced action, and the daily practices he's used to move from vision to reality.  This is one of those conversations that works on multiple levels. On the surface, it's about entrepreneurship and building a life around your values. But underneath that is something more personal: how to recognize when you're operating from fear versus genuine alignment, and what it takes to keep moving in the right direction even when things get hard.   Heath's been through real darkness, real financial uncertainty, and real pivots, and he's thought deeply about all of it. Whether you're designing a lifestyle business, mapping out your next travel chapter, or just trying to figure out what you actually want, there's something in here for you.  What's one thing you could do this week to move closer to the version of your life you actually want to be living? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.  Tune In To Learn:  Why Heath draws a sharp line between inspired action and forced action, and why that distinction changed everything for him  How the note card practice he started years ago still shapes his daily routine today  Why visualizing your goals in the present tense only works if you actually believe them, and what to do if you don't  How to tell the difference between resistance and intuition when they can feel nearly identical  What Heath's "totem pole" framework looks like in practice, and why it brings long-term vision and daily action into alignment  Why your environment and the people around you matter more than most productivity advice will tell you  Lessons from van life that Heath still carries with him, including why nature and isolation sharpened his business instincts  What Heath did when a tariff crisis threatened to sink a shipment, and why he frames problems like video game bosses  Why Heath thinks moving toward the life you want and being happy in the present moment are actually the same thing  Hidden gem destinations that left a real mark on Heath, including a spot in Oregon most people have never heard of  And so much more  Resources:  Sign up for our FREE newsletter  Interested in the Being Box? Email Jason  Heath's website  Rage Create  Deck Creators Community  Heath on Instagram  The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn  The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale  Love Money, Money Loves You by Sarah McCrum   Want More?  Digital Detox: Downsizing Your Digital Life to Create Freedom + Reboot Your Lifestyle Business with Corbett Barr  Building, Growing, and Enjoying a Successful 7-Figure Lifestyle Business with Dan Andrews from Tropical MBA  How to Pivot to a Life With More Freedom (And Travel), Get More Free Time, and Unlock Your Intuition With Jenny Blake  Thanks To Our Sponsors  Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel  Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app  Earn points on rent and mortgage payments. Apply at joinbilt.com/zerototravel  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top 7 Uganda Hidden Gems with Lynett Nakamanya

What if one of Africa's most diverse and rewarding destinations has been hiding in plain sight — and most travelers only ever see a fraction of what it has to offer?  Lynett Nakamanya is a tourism professional and Kampala native who has worked across the East African travel industry for over a decade. She holds a master's degree in management science with a focus on project monitoring and evaluation in tourism, and is affiliated with the Uganda Tourism Board. She also runs her own trip-planning platform focused on sustainable and meaningful experiences across the region.  In this episode, Lynett shares her list of Uganda hidden gems and travel recommendations, the state of tourism in Uganda today, and the real impact that responsible travel can have on local communities.  Lynett brings a perspective that's hard to find — someone who grew up in Uganda, has spent her career inside the tourism industry there, and thinks seriously about what travel can and should do for local communities. She makes a compelling case for doing a little research before you arrive, because the gap between a standard itinerary and a genuinely memorable one often comes down to simply knowing what to ask for. She also shares a Ugandan saying about travel at the end of this one that's worth sticking around for.  What experience from this episode most surprised you, and has it changed how you think about where you want to go next? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.  Tune In To Learn:  Why a beautiful crater lake just 20 minutes from Uganda's most famous attraction is almost never visited — and why it's worth the detour  How one of East Africa's most rewarding mountaineering experiences sits in Uganda, largely off the radar of international visitors  Why Uganda's 56 tribes make cultural immersion more rewarding when you focus on just one or two  What one of Uganda's most historically significant religious sites reveals about the country's layered cultural past  How a massive collection of islands right next to the airport offers everything from white sand beaches to wildlife encounters that most visitors drive straight past  Why one eastern Uganda destination pairs three waterfalls with some of the world's highest-graded Arabica coffee  Why doing your own research before a trip is the single best way to unlock experiences that never make the standard itinerary  How responsible travel creates a ripple effect through local families and communities that most visitors never see  What cultural mistake tourists commonly make in Uganda that creates more harm than help  And so much more  Resources:  Sign up for our FREE newsletter  Uganda Tourism Board  Uganda Wildlife Authority  Explore Uganda  Want More?  Top 10 Hidden Gems: East Africa (Beyond the Safari) and Transitioning to Travel With Sasha and Megnote Lezhnev  5 Surprising Experiences in Africa, How to Transition to a New Career After Travel, and Exploring the African Diaspora With Jay Cameron  Safari 101: How To Plan A World-Class African Safari (Without Going Broke)  Thanks To Our Sponsors  Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel  Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app  Earn points on rent and mortgage payments. Apply at joinbilt.com/zerototravel  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reconnecting to Nature with Adventure, Purpose, Fun, and Travelers’ Curiosity with Alastair Humphreys

What if the travel mindset you bring to far-off places is exactly what's needed right where you live?  Alastair Humphreys is a British adventurer, bestselling author, and speaker named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. He spent four years cycling 46,000 miles around the world and has since canoed 500 miles down the Yukon River, rowed across the Atlantic, walked the length of India's Kaveri River, and crossed Iceland on foot and pack raft. In recent years he has become one of the most well-known advocates for microadventures and local exploration, and his newest book is Unwilded: Finding Our Way Back to Nature.  Alastair joins me to unpack the ideas in his book, including why our growing disconnection from nature matters personally and planetarily, and how a travel mindset and nature connection can be tools for changing both.  Alastair has made this case before on the show, but Unwilded takes it somewhere new. This isn't just a conversation about microadventures or getting outside more. It's about a specific kind of blindness that builds slowly across generations, and what it costs us without anyone quite noticing. Alastair brings the same practical, adventure-first framing he always does, but this time it's in service of something bigger: a way to take the traveler's curiosity you feel on the road and put it to work where you actually live. The episode ends with a surprisingly simple exercise that can help you turn the world's overwhelming problems into something personal, actionable, and genuinely fun to pursue.  What's one small thing in your immediate environment that you've stopped really noticing? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.  Tune In To Learn:  Why the traveler's curious, enthusiastic mindset is exactly what's needed at home, and why most of us leave it at the border  What "shifting baseline syndrome" is and why understanding it changes the way you see the world around you  How two apps transformed Alastair's relationship with his daily run, and how to try the same thing  Why spending 15 minutes in nature daily is harder than it sounds, and why that's actually the problem  How connecting with even a tiny patch of local nature can deliver the same buzz as a far-off adventure  What the Overton window has to do with how we approach climate change, travel, and everyday behavior  Why Alastair stopped flying and moved to a vegan diet, and the surprisingly positive effect it had on his life  What the 5-25 exercise is, and how it can help you identify the issues closest to your heart and take action without burning out  How the Netherlands transformed its streets in a generation, and what that says about what's actually possible  The vision Alastair wrote for the world 25 years from now, and why it's closer to reality than it might seem  And so much more  Resources:  Sign up for our FREE newsletter  Alastair Humphreys' website  Unwilded: Finding Our Way Back to Nature  Adventure + Purpose newsletter by Alastair Humphreys  Follow Alastair on Instagram  Merlin Bird ID app  Seek app by iNaturalist  4,000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman  Want More?  How To Have An Adventure On Any Budget With Alastair Humphreys  Exploring A Single Map: A Travel Adventure For Everyone With Alastair Humphreys  Is Your Summer Vacation Destroying The Planet? w/ Seth Kugel  Thanks To Our Sponsors  Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel  Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices