Recorded live at the HoT Podcast Festival in Henley 🎙️
For Travel Secrets’ very first live recording, Tanya was joined on stage by someone who really needs no introduction: actor, national treasure, king of the jungle and one of the greatest storytellers around, Christopher Biggins.
Christopher is also a dear friend of Tanya’s, a former Travel Secrets guest and someone she has been lucky enough to travel with herself, making him the perfect person to bring Travel Secrets to life in front of an audience.
And he certainly didn’t disappoint.
From flying to New York on Virgin Atlantic’s first flight and taking a rather unconventional military plane to see China’s Terracotta Warriors, to an unforgettable party in St Petersburg, meeting Hillary Clinton in full Austrian costume and encountering a professional mermaid on a cruise around Japan, Christopher takes us around the world in his own completely inimitable way.
He also shares why he still loves the Maldives, his memories of sailing to Easter Island on an unforgettable world cruise and the very different side of travel he has experienced through his work with the HOPE Foundation in Kolkata.
Funny, outrageous and occasionally rather moving, this was such a special evening and we’re delighted to finally be able to share it with you.
Chapters:
00:00 Christopher Biggins’ travel stories
01:00 Welcome to Travel Secrets LIVE at the HoT Podcast Festival
03:20 How travel changes as you get older
05:17 The joy of travelling by private jet
07:12 Christopher’s childhood holidays at Butlin’s
09:14 China, the Great Wall & an unforgettable flight to Xi’an
11:41 The Peace Hotel in Shanghai
12:09 The unfortunate story of the terracotta horse
13:11 Travel Secret #1: New York
16:31 Most unexpected experience: the Maldives
18:30 Overrated or underrated: the Isle of Man
19:34 Cruising the Mekong & arriving in Saigon
21:30 An extraordinary party in St Petersburg
24:05 Meeting Hillary Clinton in Austria
25:07 Christopher’s top travel tip
25:58 Meeting a professional mermaid in Japan
27:28 Sailing to Easter Island on an unforgettable world cruise
29:19 The photograph that sums up travel for Christopher
29:28 Kolkata & the HOPE Foundation
31:15 Private jets, first class & the other side of travel
Places mentioned:
• New York, USA
• Great Wall of China, China
• Xi’an & the Terracotta Warriors, China
• Shanghai & the Peace Hotel, China
• The Maldives
• Isle of Man
• Mekong River, Vietnam
• Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam
• St Petersburg, Russia
• Japan
• Easter Island, Chile
• Tonga
• Tahiti, French Polynesia
• New Zealand
• Sydney, Australia
• Kolkata, India
• Dubai, UAE
Listen to Travel Secrets wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to the channel for more conversations with some of the world’s most fascinating travellers.
