Curious Pavel - History meets Travel

Welcome to Canada! Today we are meeting with Sydney Wong who will tell us about Montreal: what the city is famous for, a food chain in an abandoned shopping centre, a church with elevators, the transportation in the city, and much more. You know that Canada is famous for its maple syrup, don't you? After all, the maple leaf is on their flag. But did you know how the syrup is made and how it is collected? And when? That was a very curious bit for me.

Enjoy!

Mentions in the Podcast:

Jean drapeau - island made of garbage

Atwater market and jean talon market - places to visit as one provides specialized items like local pates and cheese and the other feels like a European farmer's market

Sugar Shack (Cabin a Sucre)

Poutine - La Banquise has 100 different poutines and is open 24 hours

5 a 7 - great way to try new "terraces"

Schwartz - look for the line up on Boul. St Laurent.

Kam fung - in an abandoned mall in Chinatown!

St Joseph Oratory - church with elevators (so you can go to the vending machine)

Festivals:

-Fireworks festival (go to La Ronde to see it)

-Montreal en Lumiere

-Nuit Blanche

-Jazz Fest

-Just for Laughs Festivals

-Grand Prix

-Cirque de Soleil

About Sydney Wong:

Sydney Wong is an author, female Canadian entrepreneur, and Founder and CEO of VenturX, a conduit for startups to track metrics. As a successful entrepreneur, Sydney likes to share the tips and tricks that she uses to be productive and efficient, while keeping an emphasis on the importance of having a balanced life.

Sydney's book:

"How to Have a Good Day": https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/how-to-have-a-good-day-8

Find Sydney Online:

• https://www.instagram.com/venturx_team
• https://venturx-team.medium.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/venturx
• https://www.facebook.com/venturx.ca
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeGEA8Dh4FEEdWqOJNxlzAw

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Let's connect: www.curiouspavel.com/links

🇬🇧 My Podcast Equipment: www.curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment

🇺🇸 My Podcast Equipment: http://curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment-us/

•••••••••••• Music By •••••••••••••

Rising Spirits Jay Man - OurMusicBox

http://www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

#Canada #travel #montreal

Episode 16 brings us back to Asia. In this episode, I will meet you with one of the first travel bloggers out there. Seeing a fair deal of the world, Barbara has chosen to live in Thailand. I picked up her brain in this episode to understand her reasons. Of course, we touched the usual subjects like FOOD, DRINKS, CULTURE, and WHAT TO DO IN THAILAND.

You can now join the conversation, connect with guests and other listeners by using #curiouspavelpodcast on any social media network. Join in. Drop a post with the hashtag with questions, thoughts, or a country you want to hear about.

About Barbara:

After years of working 70-80 hours per week at jobs that paid the bills but brought no joy, a serious illness made Barbara Weibel realize she felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside but empty on the inside. In 2007, at the age of 54, Weibel walked away from her successful career, sold or gave away most of her material possessions, and began traveling around the world in pursuit of her true passions: travel, photography, and writing. These days she makes her home in Thailand, which provides a base for traveling six to seven months each year. She writes about her adventures at Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel (https://holeinthedonut.com)."

Mentions in the podcast:

BANGKOK:

Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (home of the Emerald Buddha)

Wat Pho (home of the giant reclining Buddha)

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Chinatown

JJ (Chatuchak) Market (enormous weekend market)

Longtail Boat tours on the Chao Phraya River and small side canals

Shopping at the high-rise malls in Siam Square

Sampling stinky Durian fruit

Being alert about scams before going

Riding the Sky Train and Metro

SOUTHERN ISLANDS, WITH THEIR GORGEOUS BEACHES AND TROPICAL WATER:

Koh Samui

Phuket

Krabi and Railay Beach

Koh Phi Phi

Party places vs R&R places

CHIANG MAI:

Walled Old City, with its three important Temples, Wat Chedi Luang (home of the City Pillar), Wat Phra Singh, and Wat Man

Wats outside the city center that are important: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in the nearby Doi Suthep Mountains, Wat Suan Dok (where members of the Lanna Royal Family are interred within the chedis

The importance of respecting customs and traditions, like not pointing feet at the Buddha, covering your arms and knees in temples, not touching Thais on the head, etc.

Day tour to see the local crafts being made (lacquerware, paper umbrellas, hammered tin and silver, silks, celadon pottery, etc.)

Night Market for souvenirs

Walking streets on Saturday and Sunday nights (focus on crafts)

Street Food!!!! Hot and spicy northern-style food, fruit shakes, curries, Thai tea.

Hill Tribe trekking

Let's connect: www.curiouspavel.com/links

🇬🇧 My Podcast Equipment: www.curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment

🇺🇸 My Podcast Equipment: http://curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment-us/

•••••••••••• Music By •••••••••••••

Rising Spirits Jay Man - OurMusicBox

http://www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

#travel #bangkok #Thailand

Episode II features a familiar guest! As I promised you last week, we will have Eisa as a guest once again. Here he is with another story and here is what he has to say about it:

"On this episode, I share a story about how I was able to adapt in a very uncomfortable environment where I spent 2 weeks living on a pier of a small island in Cambodia with 5 hours of power, no running water, mosquito-infested, and extreme humidity while scuba diving every day working on a marine conservation project. The adaptation story is from a trip to Cambodia, on an island called Koh Rong, here is the video (vlog) I recorded on my first day arriving on the island: https://www.instagram.com/p/_mUhKknnL-/ "

About Eisa: Born and raised in the UAE having Kuwaiti parents, Eisa Alhabib grew up with a passion for making videos. At the age of 18, he moved to Canada to pursue higher education and is now completing a Bachelor's degree with a minor in Film Studies. During his studies abroad, Eisa travelled across the world documenting his trips that included volunteering in 6 different countries and meaningful adventure-seeking. In 2019 he spoke at a TEDx event in which he shared his unique experiences. Eisa has also taken part in numerous video contests in which he has received prizes. Most notably, he won the Young Creatives Award by the International Emmy®️ Awards in 2017 for his short film Domestic Cycle.

Find Eisa on:

Instagram: @eisayo

YouTube: Eisa Alhabb

Twitter: @EisaAlhabib

Let's connect: www.curiouspavel.com/links

🇬🇧 My Podcast Equipment: www.curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment

🇺🇸 My Podcast Equipment: http://curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment-us

•••••••••••• Music By •••••••••••••

Rising Spirits Jay Man - OurMusicBox

http://www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox #travel #eisayo #travelstories

Hey Curious Nation! This is the FIRST EPISODE WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO A COUNTRY WE HAVE BEEN BEFORE! We are once again coming to India but instead of Mumbai (West India), which we visited in EP 14, we are now travelling to Kolkata (East India). Soumen has some curiosities to share with us, in addition to his contagious laugh.

About Soumen:

“Father of 2 dogs, 1 bird, married to a superwoman, a photographer turned market analyst & loves podcasting. I love reading storybooks, I am also a passionate street photographer who prefers roaming in the streets with my camera. Of-Late I have started podcasting & enjoying my journey”.

Socials:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/soumen.sengupta.716

Twitter: @soumenjoy123

Mentions in the Podcast:

Kolkata is well connected with flights. From the airport, you can use OLA & UBER for transportation

Kolkata is known as Calcutta until 2011. It is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in the Eastern bank of Hooghly river

Howrah Bridge: Officially opened in 1943 the bridge crosses Hooghly river to link Kolkata with twin city Howrah. The bridge has a single span without any pylons connecting it to the river bed & its one of the largest bridges of its type.

The Indian Museum is one of the oldest museums of the world boasting some of the most exquisite collections of ornaments, fossils, skeletons, antiques, armours, mummies, and stunning Mughal paintings.

St. Paul's Cathedral: an Anglican cathedral, said to be the first cathedral built in the overseas territory of the British Empire. The church was completed in 1847.

The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building, which is considered to be the pride of Kolkata. Built between 1906 and 1921, it is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria. Now, it is a museum and a popular tourist spot under the Ministry of Culture.

Fort William is a fort built in Kolkata on the eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the major distributary of Ganges, during the early years of the Bengal Presidency in British India. It was named after King William III of England.

Ledikeni or Lady Kenny is a popular Indian sweet from West Bengal, India. It is a light fried reddish-brown sweet ball made of Chhena and flour and soaked in sugar syrup. Ledikeni is named after Lady Canning, the wife of Charles Canning, the Governor-General of India during 1856-62.

Let's connect: www.curiouspavel.com/links

🇬🇧 My Podcast Equipment: www.curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment

🇺🇸 My Podcast Equipment: http://curiouspavel.com/podcast-equipment-us/

•••••••••••• Music By •••••••••••••

Rising Spirits Jay Man - OurMusicBox

http://www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

#travel #kolkata #India

Episode 4 is a really excited one for me! I not only met an amazing human being but learned a lot about a country I want to visit. ICELAND! DID YOU KNOW that locals do not pay electricity?! I had a chat with Sigrun- a local tour guide. We talked about what you can do in Iceland, WHEN to visit and more useful tips and tricks. Enjoy!

About Sigrun:

Sigrun is a solo traveller, cultural anthropologist & Tour guide and Leader in Iceland, Japan and Spain. Being an emotional coach studying the spiritual old ways, she lives with shamans. Sigrun has a deep connection with Tomb Raider games and novels. She loves Celtic, Egyptian and Víking history, Folklore & World ancient History.

Find Sigrun:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sigr%C3%BAn-de-almeida-8a0812188

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midnightsunprkl/

Mentions in the episode:

• Golden circle: Þingvellir, Kerið, Laugarvatn Fontana, Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall (4-6h roundtrip)
• South Coast: Reykjadalur hot river IN Hveragerði; Seljalandfoss waterfall; Hekla volcano ; Eyjafjallajökull volcano; Lava center; Lava Cave; Skógafoss waterfall; Reynisfjara (Black sand beach) ; Vík; Sólheimarjokull glacier; National Park of Skaftafell and Glacier Lagoon
• Best places to whale watching: Snaefellsness Península for Orcas in Ólafsvík; for blue whales, humpback and minke whales Húsavík up north after Akureyri

Let's connect:

• Website: https://curiouspavel.com/
  • Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/curiouspavel
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curiouspavel/
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/curiouspavel
• Facebook: http://Facebook.com/curiouspavel
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@curiouspavel
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CuriousPavel
• Podcast RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/130888c/podcast/rss
  

My Podcast Equipment:

Microphone: https://amzn.to/2AMrDZG

Microphone stand: https://amzn.to/3dPdp8E

Microphone foam cover: https://amzn.to/3dEevnU

Sound card: https://amzn.to/3eUClvF

•••••••••••• Music By •••••••••••••

Rising Spirits Jay Man - OurMusicBox

http://www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

#podcast #travel #iceland