WEBVTT - Thou Shalt Throw Out The CheckList 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:07.200 Welcome to Everywhere, a production of I Heart Radio. Hi. 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:15.040 I'm Daniel Scheffler, and this is Everywhere. Every week you'll 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:19.360 hear me talk about travel commandments. God needed ten, I 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:24.160 needed just a few more. This week's travel commandment thou 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:36.000 should throw out the checklist. So I never think of 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:39.720 travel as a list with little boxes waiting for checking. 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:44.880 I see travel more of a continuum where it sort 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:49.400 of never stops, because it never really began. With this 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:54.200 philosophy comes many where am I wake ups into my 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.560 husband's great frustration exclaims like what side of the road 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:02.840 am I supposed to drive on? Long live my optimistic 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:06.600 sense of adventure, I say, But as much as I 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:09.160 don't have a list, there are obviously places I have 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.560 dreamed of going my whole life and would be so 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:17.520 honored to go to. Mongolia was definitely one of those. 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:24.080 A country of shamans and nomad's where falconry, horse racing 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:28.560 and wrestling in very tight jackets and speedos. It's just 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:32.280 another day in Legobi. Mongolia is one of those places 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:35.280 where everything and nothing is what makes it so special. 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:40.759 They aren't any must see destinations, and nothing about Mongolia 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:47.000 takes off an Instagram perfect photo opportunity. It has a quiet, 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:51.400 soothing way about it that invites you, as an outsider, 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:56.240 to observe and to marvel. My plan was to leave 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:59.360 the capital city of Ulan Batar and for ten days 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:03.440 just to horseback ride a big loop throughout the country. 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.640 After about a week in Mongolia, it becomes like a 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:12.280 healing bomb. My cheeky horse finally starts to evolve it's 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:17.280 friendly trot to a freedom inspiring cantor across these verdant plains. 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.919 Now that my body has started to move as one 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:24.480 with this being, I was able to feel the vastness 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:30.959 of open space. In Genghis Khan's homeland, Mongolia was once 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:34.600 the largest empire on Earth, and today locals celebrate this 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.880 legacy with a reverence for Khan. He valiantly comes up 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:43.160 in every single conversation you have. Actually, I was feeling 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:49.000 a little Genghis Khan myself. I was galloping around the 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:52.639 steps and all I could see was the biggest sky. 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:57.640 I felt like a valiant and proud explorer of the 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:02.800 unknown on my speedy horse. Of course, at some point 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:07.919 during my trip, mother requested a photo, and her response 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:12.320 to the photo was is that a pony so yes 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.640 Mongolian horses are a little smaller than other horses, but 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:20.320 did not determine I was a powerful explorer. On pony back. 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:26.760 My hands felt thick after a few days as I 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:30.679 clenched these leather rains, and my thighs were getting their 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:35.800 best Jane Fonder workout. Ever, I felt that the vastness 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:39.120 of Mongolia needed a guide, and so a travel operator 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:43.520 gifted me Zobi. He reminded me of Poe from the 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:47.040 movie Kung Fu Panda, as he had the same sweetness 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:53.120 and that appetite, and so together, mostly in silence, we 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:58.840 let the landscape become our contented distraction. Of course, Zobe 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:02.360 would every now and then, out of nowhere start belting 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:10.360 some traditional throat singing somewhere between a frog and edge shearing. 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:15.040 Was this beautiful sound floating around the Gobi Desert. With us, 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:20.960 we charged across this beauty of Mongolia, with dry air 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:23.960 coming off the Congo sand dunes and more of the 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:28.839 step spreading out aimlessly in all directions. In the distance 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:32.400 the Altai mountains, and tucked into these mountains are these 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:37.080 amazing permanent glaziers that have now started to change shape. 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:41.560 And melt thanks to global warming, but they still contained 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:45.479 some mystery in the spacelike formations. I think Star Wars 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:49.600 should come film here. And really that is exactly how 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:55.960 Mongolia feels a little otherworldly, like you're traveling into another universe. 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:01.040 But besides for these mountainous fishes, in the southern side 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:06.080 of the country, there is mostly just open land, endless 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:11.839 open land. Just think about the luxury of endless open land. 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:17.760 So wherever you go across the country you find these 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:22.320 piles of rocks, somewhat giant piles as big as homes 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.520 and others just a couple of dozen rocks heaped on 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:30.039 top of each other. Locals ladies rocks down combined with 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:35.200 blue ribbons, and it's called an ubu. It's a shamanistic 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:39.800 worship to rock and sky. And when you travel, it's 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:44.840 customed to stop encircle an ubu three times, moving clockwise 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:48.280 in order to have a safer journey. Of course, if 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.040 you happen to have Mare's milk with you, a little 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:56.200 splash on the rocks is considered a good offering. I 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:59.400 was fortunate enough that Zobe had family all over the country. 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.960 Some of them had extra yurts was Mongolians call him 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:08.239 gears for guests like me. A yurt is around house, 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.440 almost like a tent, but a little more fun, and 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:15.400 since his family was nomadic, we had an interesting time 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:19.360 finding them. Entering a gear camp is done with no knocking. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:23.800 Mongolians have an open door policy for all the motley 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:27.920 duo that we are entered and sat down with Zobe's 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:33.840 large extended family, uncle's, aunt's, grandparents and a host of 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:38.480 toddlers and newborns. Russian and Mongolia were offered to me, 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:41.400 and since I didn't speak either, I settled for a 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:46.719 translated version from ZOBEI food here is meat plus dairy 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:51.000 heavy and handed out our mass. Of course I received 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:54.880 the usual are you married? Question, but a Mongolia the 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:59.120 more important question is can you ride a horse? Due 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.920 to all the goats I think cash Mare nomads enjoy 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:06.680 the simple boiling or open fire roasting of meat with 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.920 some herbs or plants found on the step. Milk, on 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:13.800 the other hand, one of the only Asian countries where 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:18.200 it is celebrated, filters into every meal and even snacks. 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:23.480 Fermented Mare milk sits in waiting before entering. A Buddhist 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.440 temple all over the country, and as a sort of 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:31.200 sign of welcome, this almost alcoholic watery fluid is handed 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:36.440 out as visitors arrive. Besides for the slushy delight, Mongolians 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:40.600 love to snack on cookies called bortsch, which is simply 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:44.440 milk curd dried in the sun and then sometimes fried 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:52.320 and dried again, delicious surrounded by somewhat surreal elements. The 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:56.760 country's nothingness is its greatest privilege, and also it's great. 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.560 There are no road signs, no real road oads, even 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:05.480 just the step in the sky. Ever, so often a 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.560 dust tornado comes up out of nowhere and takes the 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:13.440 meditation a little deeper, and then out of nothing a 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:18.960 gear tent appears with a family of smiles waving us by. 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:23.480 For a country of open spaces. Finding the Buddhist temples, 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:28.600 wild horses and what I would call the Mongolian Olympics 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:33.000 of archery, wrestling, and of course horse riding can be tricky, 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.760 but they there if you keep your eyes and ears open. 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:40.959 Some smaller festivals you just happen upon, and they're often creations, 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:45.000 just from different families challenging each other. I rode up 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.200 to a small festival one morning, and Zobee suggested we 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:53.960 pick a family and join the festivities. First off, male wrestling. 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:59.400 Genghis Khan considered it to be one of the three 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:03.600 man skills, the other two being archery and horse riding. 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.240 When it came to wrestling, I knew how to pick 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:10.680 a team, the one with the best abs. Of course, 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:17.720 I watched these stocky wrestlers started their hypnotic gamble. Nothing 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:21.240 felt disrespectful or conceded or done for the silly fame 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.840 of it. It was just a spawn one for the 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.360 honor of the family, as a way to continue these 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:31.160 old aged traditions that Mongolia just loves. In fact, they 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.280 found some cave paintings in a province dating back to 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:38.880 the Neolithic Age of seven thousand BC, showing two naked 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:44.480 men grappling with surrounding crowds. In the inner Mongolian version 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:48.280 of wrestling. Anybody part other than the feet touching the 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:52.439 ground signals defeat. I of course, would lose this match 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:56.840 right away with my pathetic kneeds. There are also no 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:01.720 weight classes, age limits, or even time limits in a match. 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:06.040 This I found amazing, So it's not uncommon to see 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:10.479 a toddler wrestling a grown man. During these Nadam festivals, 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:16.439 archery seemed a little more serious to me. The Mongol 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:20.720 bow was re curved and composite, and I was ready 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:24.560 to geek out on bows right there, right now. But 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:28.079 I'll give you the smaller version of my study. Basically, 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:31.320 the distinctive recurved shape means that the tips of the 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.080 bow to which the string was attached is bent in 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:39.320 the opposite direction of the draw, dramatically increasing velocity and impact. 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:44.120 And composite means various elements were melt into each other, 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.840 cured and left for years in a storage room where 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:52.600 humidity and temperature was regulated. At the end of the 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:56.960 curing process, bows were tested, and if the procedures weren't 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:00.440 followed precisely, the bow would buckle or ripper part in 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:04.720 the archer's hands while being drawn. I watched the speed 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:08.400 of the arrows and the precision of each archer's ability, 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:15.079 and I knew exactly why I wasn't competing horse riding 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:17.720 as a competition. I understood better than the other two. 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:20.600 I've spent many a day at the races in England 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:25.480 playing defend the hat. I struggled when the Royal family arrived. 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.160 Because some of those hats I really just couldn't defend, 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:32.720 But I digress. After spending a day at basically the 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:36.480 Mongolian Olympics, I really felt I was starting to understand 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:40.439 the Mongolians. They had such pride in country, such love 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:47.040 for doing activities together, that they basically engineered flash Olympics everywhere. 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:51.120 I took to my horse and started to ponder about 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:56.840 this great country. I was experiencing the unexpected, with no 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:01.440 formal plans. I was letting Mongolia's or me, and the 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.160 moment I let go of these checklists and I have 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:09.920 to see ideas, Mongolia just bloomed. I was without plans, 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:16.160 and Mongolia rewarded me with its spontaneity. As the sun 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:19.160 was coming down over the step, I felt the country 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:23.760 was so eternal and borders seemed so far away that 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:28.679 I couldn't evengauge at sizing. Genghis Khan was smiling down 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:31.920 at me from the sky and through every pebble and 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:35.560 every bush. Maybe he was even ready to challenge me 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:39.600 to a little horseback riding, and I was ready for anything. 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:54.520 Now for a slight respite, and we'll be right back 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:59.040 with everywhere after a word from our sponsors. Thanks for 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:05.920 sticking around his more of everywhere. As much as Holly 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.760 doesn't remind me of Genghis Khan, she does love a 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:15.360 good Genghis Khan, so here she is. Yeah. So one 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:17.920 of the really interesting things that's come up in recent 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:22.000 years is genetic study around Genghis Khan. Like you mentioned 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.920 that he comes up all the time when you're visiting there, 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:28.319 and it is entrenched in their culture. Starting in the 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:32.240 ninety nineties, there was an interesting genetics project where it 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:35.920 became apparent that there was a really unusual mutation on 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:38.040 the Y chromosome. I don't know how much you know 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:41.480 about genetics, but the Y chromosome is associated with your 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:43.839 sort of standard male model. Those are the what are 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:47.520 considered the male genes. I know about male models. You do, Oh, 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:49.080 great with the work. Fine, it's going to be a 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:54.600 different story now. But but this one mutation they found 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:58.480 in eight percent of the males in sixteen of the 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:02.079 Asian populations they were studying. It sounds like a small number, 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:05.080 but it's a large percentage for a genetic mutation. And 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.679 it was also determined that the most recent common ancestor 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:13.640 of this group that had this mutation lived approximately a 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.880 thousand years ago, and the thing that started showing up 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:20.640 in headlines was that approximately sixteen million men around the 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:24.600 globe are probably related to Genghis Khan. There was a 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:29.240 scientific paper done about the study, written by tatianaal I 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:32.760 may be pronouncing that wrong and her colleagues, and they wrote, quote, 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.680 the pattern of variation within the lineage suggested that it 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:40.400 originated in Mongolia approximately one thousand years ago. Such a 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.720 rapid spread cannot have occurred by chance. It must have 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:47.400 been a result of selection. The lineage is carried by 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:51.240 likely male line descendants of Genghis Khan, and we therefore 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:54.280 propose that it has spread by a novel form of 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:58.840 social selection resulting from their behavior. That's fascinating, it is 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:04.520 so this whole idea is that because we have long 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.520 heard of how Genghis Khan conquered and took over places 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.960 that basically like he was spreading this gene so quickly 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.840 that it has become pervasive throughout a lot of these populations. 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.280 So his son did a similar thing. His son Tushi 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.400 apparently had forty sons of his own. Then if they 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:22.440 were reproducing a similar rate, you see where we get 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:26.280 to this sixteen million number over generations. But here's the thing. 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:29.280 All of this is conjecture. I mean, it's some scientific evidence, 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:33.920 but the only way that we could ever say absolutely 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.040 Genghis Khan is the nexus point for this happening would 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:40.440 be to test his DNA. Well, that's not going to 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:43.560 happen right Well, as I'm signing into my twenty three 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:47.120 and me account while we speak, I cannot see that 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:50.360 I'm related to Genghis Khan. I do, however, see that 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:54.400 I'm I share a paternal line with King Louis the 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:59.040 sixteen Ah, which makes sense. It makes sense why I 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:02.120 love you so much, because you know I love King Louis. 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:05.320 He was a mess, but I he caused many problems, 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:06.760 but he's one of those people that I feel like, 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:10.080 if you took him out of the the world stage 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:12.720 and the royal position he found himself in, if he 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:14.600 were just a kid that I had met in high school, 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:16.600 He's exactly the kid I would have tried to take 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:18.800 under my wing and protect, which is what you do 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:22.240 with me, but less because I'm a mess, you don't 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.800 really need it. So here's the thing, though, do you 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:26.640 want to know why it's going to be impossible to 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:29.960 test his DNA because we don't know where he is. 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.800 Very purposely, no one knows where he is. So the 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:37.920 legend so he died when he was on a military 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.480 campaign in China. We don't know the cause of his death, 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:48.280 but the legend goes that his successors actually killed anyone 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.320 who saw his funeral procession. They didn't want anyone to 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:55.480 have seen him in anything but his strongest position. So 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:58.760 being dead is not your strongest position usually, And so 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:02.080 as his body was to taken back to the Mongol capital, 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:05.280 they were just killing anybody who saw them along the way. 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.479 So there were eight hundred soldiers in this entourage and 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:12.119 they the estimate is that they killed more than two 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.879 thousand people while they were traveling back with his body. 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:17.679 But then once they reached their destination, those eight hundred 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:21.960 soldiers were also killed. And then his corpse was buried 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:25.720 in an unmarked grave. They wanted his rest to be undisturbed. 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.119 Horses trampled the ground so that there would be no 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:32.560 evidence of a recent burial. There are some rumors that 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:36.800 say a river was actually shifted purposely to cover the site. 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.280 We don't know if that's true or not. But even 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:43.160 though there are lots of scientists and historians and researchers 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.400 always trying to kind of triangulate the most likely position 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.240 of his remains, odds are long we will ever have 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:51.479 them to test and find out if he really is 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.679 the source of this genetic mutation that has become relatively 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:57.919 common in a in a genetic sense. Well, isn't that 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:02.800 a fun trip to do? Tracing the history of Genghis Khan? 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:06.120 I mean, I went to Mongolia with this idea that 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:10.000 I wanted to understand a little sense of him because 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:14.800 I'm fascinated with him. Biggest empire, this incredible warrior and 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.440 all on a little pony. And I mean, like all 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:22.480 of the really large scale claims made about him in 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.280 terms of how many people he massacred, and how efficient 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:29.640 he was, and how ruthless he was in his approach 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:32.520 to seizing power. And then when you do put it 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:34.800 in the perspective of on a little pony, then it 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.600 becomes slightly comedic. But really, I mean, this is a 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:40.920 figure that is so massive it's still a huge part 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:44.000 of Mongolian culture. To talk about him today, well, what 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:48.520 I loved him out Mongolia, and there's this incredible reverence 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:53.080 for their culture and love for country. Ellahan Ella my 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.959 dog who's here with us today. As per usual, she's 0:18:57.040 --> 0:19:01.359 soon to have her doggy DNA done because I spend 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:03.680 my whole life with people stopping me in the side 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:06.520 of the street, especially in Central Park, telling me what 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:11.080 breed is. She's a Vishla. She's a Vishla. I'm like, 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:15.840 why am I speaking to you? Who are you? Or 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:19.359 people stopping there like I see a ridge back? Great, 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.400 thank you so much for this information. Imagine I did 0:19:22.400 --> 0:19:26.920 that to your child in Estrola. I see a little 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:29.520 gangas Khan and him, and oh my goodness that that's 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:32.159 a fast way to get slapped, I think probably. And 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:34.199 it's interesting because twenty three and me, I mean, it 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:38.560 has spread in a way than is really fascinating. As 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:42.640 much as I'm related to that king, good old Louis 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:49.000 my husband direct descendant of no other Marie Antoinette. Isn't 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:54.879 that romantic? It is deeply somehow our genetic streams have 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:58.280 pulled us not to be related. When you seek direct 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:01.720 descendant of her, then he too would have to be 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:07.239 related to Louis sixteen. You mean like from their child. Right, 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:09.560 If he's a direct descendant and Marie Antoinette, he would 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:11.840 have to be the child. Did she have children? Yes? 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:17.000 How many with him with Louis? Yes? There, come on, 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:21.639 she had children with everyone. No. Didn't she sleeput around? No? 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:24.399 The rumor is that she in axel Von person and 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:28.080 fair and potentially resulted in a child. But she and 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:31.000 Louie definitely had children together. I think that I put 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.639 like our family trees together, and it showed that he 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:37.400 comes from her side of the family and I come 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:41.080 from his. So yes, he's probably from the Austrian side, 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:44.560 but not her issue. And then you're probably from the 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:47.320 French side. I'm a lot more French than what I 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:51.600 thought I was. Maybe that's right. Adore you so oh sweet? Okay. 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:52.960 So the other thing that I would love us to 0:20:53.000 --> 0:20:57.240 talk about Mongolia is it's one of the only Asian 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:01.160 countries that really celebrates daring in a way that I've 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:04.640 never seen that anywhere else. These cookies that I kind 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:07.119 of got obsessed with while I was there, that's just 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:11.439 basically like fermented milk dried and it's beautiful, delicious thing, 0:21:11.480 --> 0:21:14.919 and they make them by hand. Like these cookies have 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:19.760 fingerprints from the lady who's making them. Yeah, you mentioned 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:24.880 like it's kind of a dried milk hered essentially. How 0:21:24.920 --> 0:21:28.000 sweet is it as a cookie? Well, it's most sour. 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:33.119 It's really my palate. It's that like surry strange fermented 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:38.080 kaffir taste, which Michael hates. I know, you don't seem 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:42.280 thrill them either. So this is what I also really 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:48.159 love about Mongolia. They do their tea with salt. It 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:52.920 Oh yeah, so unbelievably delicious. It makes perfect sense to me. Well, 0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:57.359 they call it sutai, which is basically just tea with milk, 0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:00.760 and then they add a little salt and they use 0:22:00.840 --> 0:22:06.960 green tea for this, and that's unbelievable. So Mongolians take 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:11.000 milk from cattle, from camels, from horses, from yaks, from goats, 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:14.280 and from sheep, so it's kind of this amazing thing. Yeah, 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:18.280 that's a vast range of sources. And then arach is 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:22.879 this milk alcohol that comes from the fermented mare's milk. 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:26.040 And I almost wish that everyone in the whole world 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:29.159 can taste this because it's so unique. It's just like 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:34.720 almost alcoholic milky substance. It tastes like water down Keffer, 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:37.720 but more fermented, and you have it as you as 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:40.000 you're about to go into a temple. You'll have a 0:22:40.000 --> 0:22:43.879 little swig and you lave Vanka. This is like a 0:22:44.000 --> 0:22:48.439 milky version of Vanka. Oh interesting, Yeah, I might like it. 0:22:48.960 --> 0:22:53.520 I think you will. Now everyone for a time out, 0:22:54.040 --> 0:22:57.280 except for sponsors. We'll be right back with more everywhere. 0:22:58.920 --> 0:23:02.479 Welcome once again to everywhere. Let's half back to it. 0:23:07.160 --> 0:23:10.240 Welcome back. Now. I'd like you to meet John Reed, 0:23:10.440 --> 0:23:13.760 who's based in Bhotan and is the head guru of 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:25.560 the Amman Resorts, possibly the best hotels in the world. Morning. John, 0:23:26.320 --> 0:23:29.040 it is such a pleasure for me to be talking 0:23:29.080 --> 0:23:31.880 to you once more. Thank you so much for spending 0:23:31.880 --> 0:23:34.680 time with me. Daniel, It's great to see you again 0:23:34.760 --> 0:23:37.280 and and have you joined us on your journey through 0:23:37.640 --> 0:23:41.440 the country. Let's talk a little bit about throwing out 0:23:41.440 --> 0:23:46.040 the checklist and how you do that yourself personally, and 0:23:46.080 --> 0:23:51.480 how Bhotan slash Asia is all about throwing out the checklist. 0:23:52.720 --> 0:23:55.840 Wow um, throwing out the checklist? I mean, I'm I'm 0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:58.120 going to start that by saying that I always think 0:23:58.160 --> 0:24:01.239 getting lost is the best thing that can happen to you, because, um, 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:05.280 you end up discovering a nook or cranny of a 0:24:05.400 --> 0:24:08.119 of a small city or town or just out in 0:24:08.160 --> 0:24:11.160 the countryside, and you end up walking into a little 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:13.800 hole in the wall or being invited into somebody's home 0:24:13.840 --> 0:24:17.800 and having the most beautiful experience with the local persons. 0:24:18.359 --> 0:24:21.000 Of course, when I go to a destination myself, I 0:24:21.000 --> 0:24:22.719 I do look at some of the highlights of what 0:24:22.760 --> 0:24:25.600 I should perhaps take in, but then a lot of 0:24:25.640 --> 0:24:28.120 what I personally like to do is just start walking 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:31.560 and enjoying the neighborhoods in the districts, and and taking 0:24:31.600 --> 0:24:34.240 him what's there, and you suddenly come across so many 0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:38.320 beautiful things that that are never on a tourist checklist 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:41.200 or or even on your own checklist. So to say 0:24:41.280 --> 0:24:44.320 that's what makes travel so special is if you are 0:24:44.400 --> 0:24:47.080 so bound to a rigid schedule and minute by minute, 0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:49.639 you're not gonna have fun. I mean, you're you're you 0:24:49.680 --> 0:24:53.160 truly are busy checking the list. And travel is about 0:24:53.160 --> 0:24:57.680 the journey, It's not about the destination. Right, How does 0:24:57.760 --> 0:25:03.520 the average person, the average aspirational let's call them traveler, 0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:07.240 how did they tap into that? Because I guess the 0:25:07.240 --> 0:25:11.720 amman in some ways, that's prohibitively expensive for some. Flying 0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:15.520 across the world is prohibitively expensive for some. So somebody 0:25:15.880 --> 0:25:18.080 like I talk about you can go to New Jersey 0:25:18.080 --> 0:25:21.919 and have an amazing time. How does that average person 0:25:22.000 --> 0:25:26.600 tap into this philosophy you think, I think we're it's 0:25:26.600 --> 0:25:29.080 a matter of taking that step, so to say, and 0:25:29.240 --> 0:25:32.920 just letting go. You know, I come from Louisiana, and 0:25:33.640 --> 0:25:36.080 every time I go home for a visit, I as 0:25:36.160 --> 0:25:38.600 much as I enjoy in New Orleans, and New Orleans 0:25:38.600 --> 0:25:40.600 has so much to offer. I love to just get 0:25:40.680 --> 0:25:43.840 in the car and drive north south east west and 0:25:43.960 --> 0:25:46.200 just stop at a little dinner, have a great meal, 0:25:46.280 --> 0:25:49.680 interact with whoever's there, chat with the people behind the counter, 0:25:49.760 --> 0:25:52.200 find out what's going on. You know, sometimes you never 0:25:52.240 --> 0:25:54.320 know there's a little state fair or something going on. 0:25:55.119 --> 0:25:57.280 I think, you know, often the most important thing is 0:25:57.359 --> 0:26:01.639 taking that step of of engaging um and communicating and 0:26:01.640 --> 0:26:05.000 and doing it with no no agenda, And suddenly you're 0:26:05.040 --> 0:26:09.000 introduced to many things which people wouldn't otherwise come across, 0:26:09.160 --> 0:26:10.879 or it certainly wouldn't be it would never be on 0:26:10.880 --> 0:26:13.960 their checklist. But more than that, you are you're engaging 0:26:14.000 --> 0:26:17.240 beautiful people who as well, very often they're so keen 0:26:17.320 --> 0:26:20.360 to share. I think it's so important just to let 0:26:20.400 --> 0:26:25.200 go and and be guided so to say. Well, I 0:26:25.240 --> 0:26:27.600 think to me, the kind of key to that, to 0:26:27.800 --> 0:26:32.639 overcome the fear of travel is to tap into love, 0:26:33.080 --> 0:26:35.520 like if you can just put that into the world 0:26:35.640 --> 0:26:38.600 instead of fear. I think a lot of people travel 0:26:39.000 --> 0:26:42.840 and they're scared to speak to strangers, they're scared to 0:26:42.920 --> 0:26:45.240 open up. But once you let go of all that 0:26:45.680 --> 0:26:49.000 and you just able to pull that love into your heart, 0:26:49.840 --> 0:26:53.240