Elliott Confidential Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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Elliott Confidential Podcast

Christopher Elliott

Society & Culture

News

Frequency: 1 episode/11d. Total Eps: 109

Straight talk about consumer news and travel. It's the podcast the travel industry doesn't want you to hear.

www.elliottconfidential.com

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Data updated on 04/07/2026

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Hong Kong Confidential: Our adventures in China

Saturday, May 17, 2025 • Duration 17:47

Hello from Hong Kong!

We’ve been exploring this fascinating city and hiking around town for the past few days. We’ve also taken a side trip to Phuket, Thailand, and we’ll share details in this podcast.

But first, this week’s question. Last week, we asked where you’ve felt the healthiest in your travels. This week, we want to know where you’ve felt the most unwell.

This is Tai Kwun, the old Central Police Station in Hong Kong. It’s now a shopping and entertainment complex with a museum.

We had lunch at LockCha Hong Kong, a tea house and restaurant. Yummy dim sum!

Today we went hiking with our friend Gabi from Dragon’s Back to Big Wave Bay, a local beach. It’s not the kind of experience you would expect from Hong Kong — lots of lush vegetation and birds and a white sand beach.

The Anantara Layan Phuket Resort’s new Layan Life medical spa. If you’ve got a problem, they will fix it. I had a bad shoulder and they got it back to almost 100 percent.

Here’s Aren with their physiotherapist, Pat. She showed us a few exercises to keep us in shape while we’re on the road.

Don’t forget to answer this week’s question: Tell us about the most unwell you’ve ever felt in your travels. We’ll read your responses in our next podcast.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

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Laos Confidential: On the Mekong in Luang Prabang

Sunday, May 11, 2025 • Duration 22:42

Sabaidi from Luang Prabang, Laos!

We’re coming to you today from Phuket, Thailand, but we just got back from Laos and we have a lot to share with you.

Before we get there, here’s this week’s question: In all of your travels, where have you felt the healthiest? (I’m working on a series of stories about wellness, so I will have more on this topic soon.)

One of the highlights of our visit was the Kuang Si Falls, which are some of the most beautiful waterfalls we’ve ever seen. We’ll have more about the falls in our podcast.

The National Museum in Luang Prabang contains artifacts from the old royal capital. It’s a must-see stop on your tour of the city. Although Laos is a communist country, they’re not preachy about it. People here love tourists and they are extra friendly.

Everyone gets around on mopeds in Luang Prabang. If you want to fit in, all you need to do is rent one. We recommend helmets.

Although Luang Prabang has lots of hostels, but also a few high-end hotels like the Avani. We were lucky enough to stay here a few nights. We’ll have details in the podcast.

Hey, don’t forget to answer this week’s question: In all of your travels, where have you felt the healthiest?

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

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Yokohama Confidential: Our wellness adventure in Japan

Saturday, April 26, 2025 • Duration 18:43

Hello from Yokohama, Japan!

We’re in Japan’s second-largest city today at the Westin Yokohama. I’m researching a series of stories on wellness (I’ll have more on that soon). In the meantime, we’re just checking out the place.

Our question of the week: Since it’s Golden Week here in Japan, we thought we’d ask — what’s the one holiday you’d never travel on? (Golden Week is four national holidays rolled into one, so it’s got our vote.)

Yokohama is more spread out than Tokyo. There’s space to walk around. We’ll tell you more in the podcast.

Here’s our room at the Westin Yokohama. Maybe you’ve heard of the Heavenly Bed 2.0. This is the first property in Japan to have all-new Heavenly Beds. I wrote about the Bed Wars many years ago, which were actually started by Westin. We had a chance to try the 2.0 bed, and it was very comfortable.

Ginza is nothing like Yokohama. It’s a frenetic shopping district in Tokyo with crowds of tourists. We stayed at the Yotel Ginza, a hotel for a younger crowd that emphasized efficiency (much like Japan).

Here’s Iden checking into the Yotel. It’s all automated, so you don’t have to talk to anyone if you’d rather not. Iden is a people person, so he also struck up a conversation with the hotel employees. Such a friendly guy!

Don’t forget our question of the week: What’s the one holiday you’d never travel on? We’ll read your comments in the next podcast.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

Mejiro Confidential: A walk around the neighborhood

Saturday, April 19, 2025 • Duration 15:57

Hello again from Tokyo! This week we’re going local with trips to a Japanese grocery store, a park with lots of Americans (and one with almost none) and we have more funny signs.

Before I get to that, here’s this week’s question: Since this is a holiday weekend in the U.S., we wanted to know — what’s your favorite holiday to travel?

This is Mejiro, our neighborhood. We live on the 16th floor of a high-rise apartment (here’s a view from our balcony). But behind us there are homes and a much more residential feel. It’s perfect for walking.

Shopping for groceries is an adventure. There’s a three-step checkout process — the cash register, payment and bagging. It’s very efficient, but it takes a little getting used to.

We discovered two vast green spaces in Tokyo, and they couldn’t be any more different. Meiji Park, with its beautiful temples, is where you go to meet other Americans. Yoyogi Park is where all the tomin go to ride their bikes or hike.

We liked them both, but Meiji was a little crowded. (In this photo, Iden and I are marveling at all the tourists in Meiji. Honesty, I felt like I was back in the States.) We’ll have more on the parks and Tokyo’s urban spaces in the podcast.

Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s your favorite holiday to travel? We’ll read your comments in the next podcast.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

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Japan Confidential: Cherry blossoms, vending machines and funny English signs

Saturday, April 12, 2025 • Duration 17:23

Kon'nichiwa from Tokyo.

We’ve been here for more than a week and are adjusting to life in Japan. Early April is the perfect time to be here — the weather is still cool and everything is in bloom.

That brings us to this week’s question: What's the longest vacation you've taken?Where did you go — and was it worth it?

We thought the cherry blossoms would be gone by now, but they aren’t. You can still walk around Tokyo and see the famous sakura. We’ll tell you more about this famous Japanese spring performance in our podcast.

Everything must be kept clean in Tokyo. Sweeping up the cherry blossoms is a full-time job. The moment they’re finished, the sakura resume their fall — it looks like a blizzard — and the process starts all over again.

Tokyo is also famous for its camera stores. Here’s Iden with a lens we would never buy (where would we put it?), but it sure takes terrific pictures. The camera retailers carry all the Japanese brands you know — Sony, Fujifilm, Nikon. And the prices are pretty decent, too.

And then there are the vending machines. You can buy almost anything from them, but most of them carry a variety of cold beverages. Iden’s favorite is a peach soda. We’ll have more on the vending machine scene in the podcast, of course.

Our Tokyo adventure will continue next week.

Don’t forget this week’s question: What's the longest vacation you've taken? We’ll read your comments in our next podcast.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

Tokyo Confidential: We're back in Japan — and we have a surprise!

Saturday, April 5, 2025 • Duration 18:13

Surprise! Iden has joined us after almost two years of traveling abroad and starting a gaming channel. We’re so happy to have him back.

Yep, it’s cherry blossom season in Tokyo. You can see them everywhere!

Which brings us to this week’s question: Have you ever visited a place that you keep coming back to? For us, it’s Japan. And New Zealand. And Qatar. And … well, the list goes on.

We love Ramen. This is from one of our favorite places in Shinjuku called Ippudo.

Spring is absolutely spectacular in Tokyo. If you have a chance to come here this time of year, take it! We know it’s special because all the locals were out enjoying the blossoms and taking pictures. (They have the best cameras here.)

We’ll have more on cherry blossoms, a full Iden update and all the news from Tokyo in this podcast.

Don’t forget this week’s question: Have you ever visited a place that you keep coming back to? We’ll read your comments next week.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

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Singapore Confidential: Here's what we found in "instant" Asia

Saturday, March 29, 2025 • Duration 25:30

Greetings from Singapore. They call this place “instant” Asia because it’s diverse and multicultural. But nothing could have prepared us for what we found.

Before I get to that, here’s this week’s question: What’s the safest you’ve ever felt in your travels? It can be a safe destination, like Singapore or Doha, or a safe mode of transportation, like flying on EasyJet.

Here’s the view from the pool deck of the Marina Bay Sands. Monsoon season just ended, but it’s still a little rainy here.

The hotel is an instant landmark in Singapore. You recognize this building, don’t you?

Singapore is incredibly safe and clean. We’ll have some initial impressions in this podcast (we’ve only been here two days, but we’ll have a full review next week).

This was the view from our room. Pretty spectacular!

We’ll also share our thoughts on the end of our Malaysia tour, including our visit to the Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas on the eastern coast of the Malaysian state of Johor. Here’s Aren learning how to prepare Thai food in the kitchen. The hotel chain’s Spice Spoons program gives you an opportunity to learn to cook with the locals. I just posted a story about the Anantara in Forbes this morning.

Have you ever been to Malaysia or Singapore? We’d love to get your thoughts in the comments. Also, don’t forget this week’s question: What’s the safest you’ve ever felt in your travels?

Be sure to tune in to next week’s podcast — I have a big surprise for you!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

Kota Kinabalu Confidential: Our adventures in the rainforests of Borneo

Saturday, March 22, 2025 • Duration 24:14

Hello from Borneo!

We’re in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia’s Sabah state. It’s on the northern tip of Borneo. And wow, what an adventure it’s been!

Before we get to that, here’s this week’s question: What’s the most remote place you’ve ever visited? Borneo is definitely a contender, but we’ve also been to the Antarctic, and that’s pretty remote.

This is the Mari Mari Cultural Village, which features five different indigenous tribes. These guys love to have fun, and we felt like we were at a party. They showed us how they make rice wine, shoot blowdarts and dance. Like I said, it was a party. We’ll have more in the podcast.

The long-tailed macaque didn’t seem to mind our presence. They are not shy, whereas the Proboscis monkey definitely noticed our presence. We’ll tell you what they did in the podcast.

Being here in the rainforest of Borneo made Aren feel like he was on assignment for National Geographic. I worked for National Geographic for 16 years, and I can tell you it was nothing like this. Our experience was more of a celebration of food, culture and exotic animals that you normally see in a zoo.

Speaking of food, we have a segment on Malaysian food that you won’t want to miss. We’re grateful to our friends at Amazing Borneo for helping create our itinerary for this part of Malaysia.

Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s the most remote place you’ve ever visited? We’ll read your comments in the next podcast.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

Borneo Confidential: What we discovered in Kuching, Malaysia

Saturday, March 15, 2025 • Duration 19:49

Hai from Borneo!

We’re in Kuching, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. We’ve spent this week discovering the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty of East Malaysia.

This week’s question is inspired by Southwest Airlines’ move to end its “bags fly free” policy. Have you ever stopped visiting a place because of a change they made? Maybe prices went up or a favorite attraction closed down. We’ll read your comments in our next podcast.

These dancers at the Sarawak Cultural Village were having a lot of fun when we visited. The Malaysians we met in Borneo were friendly and seemed happy to see us. There was a lightheartedness about them that we really liked.

We had the rare privilege of seeing an Orangutan in the wild at Semenggoh Nature Reserve. I just realized I’ve never seen one outside a zoo. I should get out more often!

The Bidayuh Tribe put Aren to work making tea from foraged pandan leaves. The tea is made in bamboo over an open fire, and it’s delicious.

I didn’t do as well. A few minutes after Aren took this photo, I spilled the contents of my bamboo rice cooker all over the woman on the right. I’m so sorry about that!

Hey, don’t forget this week’s question: Have you ever stopped visiting a place because of a change they made?

We’re adding Borneo to our “return soon” list — it’s one of the most interesting places we’ve ever seen.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

Outback Confidential: Our adventures in Australia's Northern Territory

Saturday, March 8, 2025 • Duration 20:53

Werte from Alice Springs in the Australian Outback.

Wow, what an adventure! We’ve been to Uluru, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs in the last week, and we have so much to share that we had to turn this podcast into a video.

But before we do, here’s this week’s question: Have you experienced xenophobia or anti-American sentiment in your recent travels? I ask because many of our listeners have asked about the dangers of traveling abroad. (We’ll tell you about our experiences in the podcast.)

We loved the minimalist scenery and red rocks of the Northern Territory. It’s the perfect place to contemplate life.

The Kings Canyon Rim Walk at Watarrka National Park. It’s so quiet and beautiful out here. I could have stayed here and hiked for weeks. And at night, you see all the stars.

The road to Uluru, taken early in the morning before our hike around the rock. I almost hesitate to write a caption for this, because I want it to speak for itself.

I took this picture a few minutes later as the sun was rising. You have to see this place at least once in your life.

Our lives are forever changed because we have visited Uluru.

Thank you for watching our podcast this week. I’d love to know what you think of the video. And please don’t forget this week’s question: Have you experienced xenophobia or anti-American sentiment in your recent travels?

We’ll read your comments next week when we’re in Kuala Lumpur.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe

Elliott Confidential Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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Elliott Confidential Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other23

Forbes10

Youtube5

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other23

Forbes10

Youtube5