Travel Devil – Guilt-free Sustainable Travel for Adventure Seekers – Details, episodes & analysis

Can we take selfies with monkeys? Can I feed apes? Why are macaques aggressive towards humans? Can I eat primates? In this episode of Travel Devil, we're exposing the wildlife exploitation in southeast Asia's tourism culture - with Connie Needham.

While Vietnam and Southeast Asia is a backpacker’s paradise, it’s also home to more and more wildlife exploitation marketed as “once-in-a-lifetime experiences.” Today we focus on primates: monkeys and apes. Researcher Connie shares her insights on street-level exploitation of monkeys on chains for tourist photos and how travelers can make more ethical choices. Join us as we discuss the impact of these activities and how to travel with compassion.

How to contact Connie:
https://www.instagram.com/connie.needham
https://www.projectwild.uk

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In this episode of Travel Devil, I sit down with Victor Figèra from La Route du Soja to discuss his incredible long-distance train journey from Paris to Taiwan with his partner Léa. Victor shares how his childhood shaped his passion for sustainable travel and how they navigated a route that emits five times less CO2 than flying. We dive into their most memorable experiences—crossing breathtaking landscapes in China and Kyrgyzstan, a heartwarming arrival in Hong Kong, and culinary adventures in Taiwan. Victor also opens up about the challenges they faced, including illness in China and navigating central Asia as vegetarians. Tune in to hear the highs and lows of their epic two-month journey and how they managed to finance their trip through sponsorships.

How to contact Victor:
https://www.instagram.com/la_route_du_soja/
FREE carbon footprint calculator:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uMGQMJHwxp5gdQp4jyE__QP5BQZLcZWifyBgMB_TK5U/edit?usp=drivesdk

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How to find cheap train tickets? How to travel comfortably? Which countries should you visit by train? Join our host Clara Francken as she shares expert tips, insider secrets, and captivating stories from the rails, guaranteed to elevate your European train travel experience.

Stories from delayed journeys through Belgium and Germany to sun-soaked escapades in Spain and a four-day trip to Greece, this episode is your ultimate guide to mastering European train travel. Discover how to snag budget-friendly tickets, unlock exclusive insights on packing essentials, engaging with locals, and unleashing the full potential of your Interrail pass.

But it's not just practical advice—immerse yourself in the stories and unforgettable encounters that await you on the tracks. Whether it's chance meetings with fellow travelers or breathtaking views outside your window, each journey is a story waiting to be told. 

And don't forget to stay tuned until the end, where Clara Francken answers your burning questions about train travel sent in through Instagram. Get ready to experience Europe like never before. Get ready to find the inspiration you need to start planning your summer holidays!

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What is it like to go long-distance bicycling?  This week’s guest William Spencer biked from the U.K. to India in less than one year, experienced culture shock, danger and profound friendship on the road. Now he's older, but still traveling by bike. He explains which life lessons he learned from being on the road, why age doesn't matter, which challenges he faced and how he overcame those.  William cycled more than 100.000 km across 23 countries. He even wrote a bestselling book about his 14.000 km journey to India called “Far Sweeter Than Honey”.

You will laugh, get inspired and learn a lot from this conversation! 

"Far Sweeter Than Honey" available on Amazon: https://bit.ly/CF_FarSweeterThanHoney_Amazon
Connect with William: https://www.facebook.com/groups/870373953763578
Watch our YouTube video: https://youtu.be/uwJx6EpqiWI

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These female ecoleaders are changing the travel industry by raising their voice.  9 women who will inspire you to travel differently and show that there are many solutions.

1. Tania Muxima
2. Dalisa Camci
3. Emma’s Roadmap
4. Margreen Margarita Samsonova
5. Olivia Piana
6. Jane Goodall
7. Sylvia Earle
8. Wangari Maathai
9. Greta Thunberg

First, I talk about my past interview partners (1-3) who have inspired my own travel journey: long distance cycling, hitchhiking and local travel.
Afterwards, I'm sharing the stories of upcoming and well-known ecoleaders (4-9): sustainable tourism, marine life, preservation, reforestation, sustainable transport.

After listening to these stories I felt proud to be a woman, I felt inspired and loved. I hope these ladies can inspire you as well!

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This guy is traveling to every continent of the world using his own human power. No plane, no car, no engine was used for his journey. He takes us back on his road in Oceania where he took the rowing boat to sail between Java and Papua. He rowed 4.00 km in Indonesia and is the first one rowing this long road. In total he rows and sails 12.000 km and cycles 70.000 km to reach his ultimate goal: the summits of Puncak Jaya (Oceania), Mount Everest (Asia), Kilimanjaro (Afrika), Mount Vinson (Antarctica), Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), Mount Elbrus (Europe).

What is human powered traveling? What are the 7 summits? Why to chose a rowing boat to cross the ocean? How to find food and places to sleep? What is his craziest travel story? ...

Send Jelle a message: share.garmin.com/secutec7summits
Jelle's website: jelleveyt.be
YouTube video about his rowing journey: youtube.com/watch?v=pfQ3hHA-VvY

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In this week's solo Christmas special, Clara is talking about her experience celebrating Christmas for the firs time abroad. Spending Christmas away from the family, in a place surrounded by new friends only. Social life is already hard during winter times, let alone finding people to celebrate Christmas with. Your host Clara Francken explains how her family Christmas tradition looks like, how she spent her Christmas in Turkey, and answers your questions about spending these days away from home. Get ready to laugh and to get cozy!!

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Everything you need to know about a gap year, and more. What is living in Turkey like? Living in a host family? Learning a new language? Travel Devil host Clara shares her own experience in this week's episode. She answers your questions about her year abroad, and explains how she chose to travel with the exchange organization AFS. At first, she opens up about the process of deciding the country Turkey and shares insights of AFS camps. Then she dives into how living in Turkey, Izmir, changed her perspective on life. After that, she answers all your questions which were sent in via Instagram.

If you have more questions, don't be shy to jump into her dm's, maybe she can answer them in a next episode.

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How to explore your home country? Can you travel close to home and have fun? See beautiful destinations? Travel Devil host Clara talked about weekend trips and micro adventures with Emma. She started exploring Belgium when the pandemic hit, and shares her experience on Instagram on @emmasroadmap. In this episode, she'll share the top beautiful destinations in Belgium, how to find micro adventures close to your home, how to plan your weekend trips, and more. This episode is full of fun tips and will inspire you to start explore your own home country.

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Is cargo ship traveling better than boarding a cruise ship? Travel Devil host Clara talked to Joris, he traveled the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger on a container ship. After that life-changing experience, he started his own travel agency CptnZeppos. In this episode, Joris shares everything you need to know about being a passenger on a cargo ship. I promise you will feel good, inspired, and laugh during this episode. 

Want to watch the podcast-related video? Go to https://youtu.be/vJIZgIryJes

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