Ruth Millington's Extreme Holidays Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In May 2019, world traveller, the Barefoot Backer, undertook an epic 57-day, 952-mile trek from the furthest Easterly point of Great Britain to the furthest Westerly point. Few people had walked the route before, but it wasn’t the only challenge BB, a somewhat inexperienced trekker, faced.  As his name would suggest, BB’s goal was to walk as much of the route barefoot whilst at the same time dealing with his dyspraxia, a condition which affects physical coordination and spacial awareness.

Carrying all his equipment and part wild camping, learn what inspired BB to undertake the challenge, how he planned his route, and the logistics and difficulties he faced each day whilst catching a glimpse of Great Britain in all her glorious geographical and climatic extremes.

You can follow BB on Twitter:
@rtwbarefoot

Also, check out BB’s podcast:
https://traveltalesfrombeyondthebrochure.libsyn.com

YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@RTWBarefoot

Website:
https://barefoot-backpacker.com


Production (for this episode)
Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional music: Greensleeves / What Child is this? Piano - Celtic Harp & Violin by JuliusH

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

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In this episode, I’m delighted to have back in the studio Kyle Henning (Episode 23: Cycling Solo From Djibouti to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro). He’s joined by his friend, James Stevenson, to discuss their new extreme travel challenge: to journey from the lowest point to the highest point of the 21 highest islands in the world. Varying between 3,000 to 5,000 metres and each with its own challenges, Kyle and James will attempt to summit the islands by various means, including cycling, on foot and skis.

Find out what inspired them to take up this new challenge, how they prepared and trained for it, the equipment they are taking and how they have been getting along so far.

You can follow Kyle on Instagram at @FromAfarBook or email him at FromAfarBook@gmail.com

And you can catch up with James on Instagram: @mywaywardsoles, @21islands or via his website: waywardsoles.net

Production (for this episode)
Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional music: Motivation Epic Inspire by LiteSaturation

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

Can faith give you perspective even in the most extreme travel situations?

In 2010, Jurek Schreiner, a photographer, having completed his studies at the Shedra: College for Buddhist Studies in Nepal, was invited with his future wife, Greta Williams, to Bhutan to participate in the 2nd event of the Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Centennial Celebrations. To get there, they caught an overnight bus from Kathmandu to the eastern border town of Karkavitta. Traversing across dangerous mountain passes, they were relieved when they finally hit the relative safety of the flat plains of the Terrai region in the south of Nepal. But fate had other ideas, and the bus overturned on the road just before dawn.  Jurek, suffering from head injuries, was eventually taken to a local hospital to be operated on, but even there they faced challenges including language barriers, sanitation issues and being caught up in a Maoist strike.  

We also discuss how their faith helped them cope, the effect the accident had on their relationship and Jurek’s work with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Jurek Schreiner is a photographer & passionate about outdoor action sports & the teachings of the Buddha.  He’s photographed His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 3 separate occasions & some of this material has been part of an ongoing world exhibit: http://tulkus1880to2018.net/exhibition/ You can find Jurek at https://www.lookofjoyphotography.com and also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jurek.schreiner

Greta Williams has travelled and lived overseas on and off for a couple of decades after completing a Medical Anthropology degree with a focus on Pre-med. While travel has slowed down as a mom and business owner, it is still an important part of how she recharges, connects with friends around the world, & feeds her soul by learning and exploring different places and cultures. You can find Greta at acupuncturefamilycare.com and also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greta.williams.37

Production (for this episode)

Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

Many people are trapped in their careers based on an intense fear of scarcity and poverty and are simply in survival mode rather than following their passions.  Until his mid-30s, Ryan Biddulph was one of them.  He didn’t have a passport and had never left the USA, but inspired by his future wife, Kelly, who was already travelling the globe, he took his first trip to Bali and never looked back.  11 years and 45 countries later, Ryan and his wife are still on the road, the ultimate nomads, and Ryan becoming a prolific blogger and successful entrepreneur with his business, Blogging From Paradise, which assists bloggers reach their blogging goals with practical tips, simple fundamentals and mindset training through his blog, courses and manuals.  In this episode, we discuss his journey from the moment he put on his backpack, to what he learnt on the road and tricks of travelling on a shoestring, to turning his love for travel and writing into a career in blogging.  Learn some tricks of the trade on becoming a successful blogger and how Ryan, through his business, Blogging From Paradise, can help.

Ryan is the owner of Blogging From Paradise. He's a blogger, author and world traveller.  He’s been featured on Richard Branson's Virgin Blog, Forbes, Fox News, Entrepreneur Dot Com and Neil Patel Dot Com and has over 47,000 followers alone on Twitter.

You can follow Ryan at:
Website: www.bloggingfromparadise.com
Twitter: @RyanBiddulph
Instagram: @ryankbiddulph
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloggingfromparadise
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ryanbiddulph/

Production (for this episode)
Creator, co-producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Co-producer: Don Robbie
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music: positive-day by Ale

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

What's it like to explore the world by yacht? In this episode, I speak with extreme world traveller Juana Flores Vegas who discovered her love for sailing in 2010 after travelling every corner of the globe both on foot and by bicycle.  Since then, she has crossed the Atlantic five times, and in 2017 decided to sail around the world starting from Malaga to the South Caribbean and Panama, crossing the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia and onto New Zealand returning via Papua New Guinea and Indonesia until the pandemic stopped her.  Juana discusses how she decided the route, the logistics of arranging the trip, the risks sailing brings, and gives tips and advice for those wanting to start sailing.

Juana Flores Vegas was born 1975 in Malaga, South Spain. She’s a Shiatsu massage therapist. Her travels include hitchhiking around Europe, and Honduras and Nicaragua in the 1990s just after the war. She’s also worked as an NGO in India, Guatemala and Nepal, and lived in an environmental community in Nimbin, Australia.  She has cycled Spain, The Canal the Midi in France, Danube River in Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand and Nepal. She has sailed extensively including starting a round-the-world sailing trip in 2017.

For more information about Juana’s work: www.shiatsujuana.com
And her travels:
https://www.instagram.com/rolandomundotravel/
https://www.youtube.com/c/RolandoMundo

Production (for this episode)
Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music: Waves from Piano and Sea by Julius H

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

In 1994, Kimberly Brown embarked on a lifelong dream of travelling the globe overland.  Her trip innocently began in San Francisco on a hippie bus called the Green Tortoise. She worked the Galway Arts Festival in Ireland, traversed Russia on the Trans-Siberian railway, and rode horses on the high Mongolian plains. If it hadn’t been for a nasty stomach bug she caught in China, she may never have volunteered as a teacher at Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Burmese border in the middle of a war.  Immersing herself in the ways of the Karen people, Kimberly discusses some of the harrowing events she experienced and witnessed (including having her own life threatened twice), the enduring spirit of a country less people, and how the refugees healed her and changed her life forever. 

Now a naturopathic doctor, in much due to her experience with the Karen refugees, you can find Dr. Kimberly Brown at www.sanjoseintegrativemedicine.com
and follow her at:
https://www.instagram.com/drkimberlybrown/ https://www.facebook.com/drkimberlybrown

Production (for this episode)
Creator, co-producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Co-producer: Don Robbie
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music: Thai Lullaby, Sophie Kilroy

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

In 2008, Ian Pilbeam and his wife, Anne, quit their secure jobs just before the financial crisis hit to take their 8 and 10-year-old son and daughter on a year long round-the-world trip. Visiting 21 countries, Ian discusses what inspired them to take the leap, the highs and lows, the challenges they faced and how it changed him as a father and inspired him to set up his own business. Ian gives lots of tips on how to set the criteria for travel, budgeting, managing kid’s expectations, the life skills it will instil in your children as well as how to survive the ever changing group dynamics as a family!  Tune in to this inspiring, educational and entertaining story!

Ian’s book ‘Are We There Yet?: The Year-Long Adventure That Kept On Giving’ is available to buy at all major retailers including Amazon and Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/are-we-there-yet/ian-pilbeam/9781838388201

You can also follow Ian at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/originalfamilytrippers/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ipilbeam
Website: https://familytrippers.co.uk

Production (for this episode)
Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music: Whistling -7412 by Twisterium

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

In 1998, global nomad, keen bicycle traveller and author, Graydon Hazenberg, decided to cycle across the roof of the world from Islamabad in Pakistan to Mount Kailash (Tibet’s Holiest Mountain) with his sisters and their partners.  It was to be a 3-month trip across 2200 miles of some of the world’s most inspiring and harshest terrain.  Along the way, they met many of the fascinating ethnic groups that live in this remote region, but the trip came with some immense challenges: equipment failures, illness, food shortages, abysmal road conditions and efforts by the Chinese Public Security Bureau to stop them cycling to Tibet.

Tune in to find out if they made it!

We also discuss Graydon’s other epic cycle journeys, what inspired him to take up cycling and tips for those who want to explore the world by bicycle!

Graydon’s book ‘Pedalling to Kailash: Cycling Adventures and Misadventures on the Roof of the World’ is available to buy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X6GTK43

You can also follow Graydon and his extreme travels at:

 FB: www.facebook.com/graydon.hazenberg.author

Twitter: www.twitter.com/stanleystravels

Instagram: www.instagram.com/hmstanleystravels

Travel blog: graydonstravels.blogspot.com

Website: graydonhazenberg.ca

Production (for this episode)
Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music: motivational-inspiring-piano-9836 by ZakharValaha

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

In this episode, I speak to Suzanne Buchanan, a British Citizen and the exiled former owner and editor of the Samui Times online newspaper. She has received numerous death threats and there is a warrant out for her arrest in Thailand for articles she published in the Samui Times after she investigated over a dozen suspicious backpacker deaths on the island of Koh Tao. Those investigations also led her to believe that two Burmese men, Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin, have been wrongly sentenced to death for the brutal murders of British backpackers, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, in 2014.

Speaking to me from a safe house in the UK, we discuss the deaths and murders, why she believes the two Burmese men are innocent, and how she copes with death threats and living in exile.  We also discuss Suzanne’s wanderlust for travel and how travellers, especially young women, can keep safe whilst travelling. 

Suzanne’s book ‘The Curse of The Turtle: The True Story of Thailand’s Backpacker Murders’ is published by Wildblue Press and further details of how to buy it are here: https://wildbluepress.com/suzanne-buchanan-the-curse-of-the-turtle-true-crime/?fbclid=IwAR3VQSf9j0Q0nc55KhuqhiMQyslZB7d9bUuXbjk55RcvEUNB2NeVsQ7vnlA

Suzanne is also featured in a three-part documentary series for SKY Documentaries called Death on the Beach about the murders and suspicious deaths airing in March 2022.

You can follow Suzanne at:

https://www.facebook.com/SuBuchanan70/
https://www.facebook.com/SamuiTimes/
https://www.instagram.com/subuchanan70/
https://mobile.twitter.com/subuchanan70

Production (for this episode)
Creator, co-producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Co-producer: Don Robbie
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music: Chasing the Killer's Trail - Dark Detective Thriller Soundtrack (Loopable) by Gioele

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

Listen in to this EXTREME tale of bravery from 9/11 hero and world traveller, David T. Garrison!

How would you spend time off work? Relaxing? Visiting family and friends? David T. Garrison did the exact opposite and went out to help in one of the most devastating earthquakes and tsunamis to hit Japan.  You can’t get a more extreme holiday than this!

On 11th March 2011, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake hit just off the coast of Japan followed by a tsunami that decimated 400 miles of east coastline and severely damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant, north of Tokyo.  As hundreds of thousands of citizens fled the area and ex-pats were told to leave Japan due to the risk of a nuclear catastrophe, David T. Garrison did an incredibly brave thing - boarded a flight from The States to Japan and went to assist those in need.  Partially raised in Japan, David discusses what it was like to go back to the country he fell in love with as a child, the magnitude of the disaster and the work he undertook and strategies he employed in providing relief.  We also discuss the risks he faced from radiation poisoning, trauma, PSTD and the other rescue missions he has worked on including 9/11.  David also reveals his famous ancestor!

David was born in Wilmington NC USA. Part of his childhood was spent in Japan.  At the age of 18 he became an Emergency Medical Technician and then worked in sector including Rescue/Fire, Home Care and Clinical Hospital setting for close to 30 years. He joined the American Red Cross in 2007 and has worked on Disasters in 14 US States including Hurricane Harvey in Texas, the California for Wildfires, and for Hurricane Maria in Costa Rica and 9/11.  You can find him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/david.t.garrison.9

Production (for this episode)

Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music -  Samurai Asian Music for Backgrou

Find out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS

Support the Show
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)

Sponsor
A huge thanks to today’s sponsor HelpYouFind.Me
Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/Extreme10 and get a 10% discount when you sign up!

Share Your Story
Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/