The Elliott Podcast

Vanuatu doesn’t show up in many top 10 lists, so of course we had to go. If you look at a map of the South Pacific, you’ll find it just west of Fiji. Since we’ve been based in Sydney for the last few months, it was only a 3.5-hour flight. Efate, Vanuatu’s main island, is a relatively flat jungle once you get outside of Port Vila. The soil is rich, dark volcanic, the palm trees are an impossible sh...

People visit Queenstown, New Zealand, for the thrills. But maybe that’s a mistake. You can ski the Southern Alps in August or drive a speedboat on the rapids of Shotover Canyon in January. You can even go bungee jumping off the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge. There’s more to this part of New Zealand than adrenaline. We were smitten by the beauty of this place—the jagged mountains (cue the Lord of...

Melbourne is a collection of the world’s most intriguing flavors. From the Jewish heart of Caulfield to the Greek streets of Oakleigh and the Vietnamese pulse of Windsor, we wanted to see how the city’s diaspora keeps its heritage alive through food. So we did. Where’s the fluffiest pita in the Southern Hemisphere? Our first stop was Caulfield, home to one of the largest Jewish diasporas in Austra...

Christchurch, New Zealand’s resilience is on display everywhere you look. From its jarringly contrasty architecture to its surprising diverse food scene, this city has reimagined what a modern urban center can be. But is it the world’s most interesting city? Hmmm, let’s find out … Architecture born of necessity Christchurch’s skyline is a curious blend of the old and the new. Following a series of...

Wellington is a city of vertical hills and horizontal rain, a place where the sophisticated hum of Parliament meets the raw, salt-sprayed edge of the Cook Strait. It’s the next stop on our around-the-world adventure—and as we quickly learned, “Windy Wellington” is more than a nickname. Technically, it’s late summer here, but the Antarctic gusts didn’t get that memo. We nearly got swept into traffi...

Auckland is a city of skyscrapers and cedar masts, a place where the high-gloss world of international business meets the cobalt embrace of the Hauraki Gulf. And it’s the next stop on our around-the world adventure. New Zealand’s seasons are famously temperamental. Technically, the calendar says summer, but the air begs to differ. It’s a hoodie-and-shorts kind of weather. It’s been a minute We mad...

Bula from Fiji! We’ve just returned from a whirlwind tour of these South Pacific islands. And we saw a lot . Before we get into it, here’s this week’s question: What is your favorite island? It’s that time of year when everyone is thinking of visiting a warmer place, so please cast your vote in the comments. Ah, the famous overwater bungalows! We didn’t stay in them, but they sure took a nice pict...

Ia ora na from Tahiti. This is our first stop on our South Pacific tour. We’ve never been here and I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to discover this part of the world. Before we get to it, here’s this week’s question : Have you ever had a farm-to-table experience in your travels? It’s a big deal here in the South Pacific, where responsible tour operators have doubled down on locally sourced...

Hello one last time from Arizona. This week, the three of us were tourists in our adopted home state. But before we talk about what we did, here’s this week’s question: What’s the largest group you’ve ever traveled with? Usually, it’s just the three of us. But we’ve also been part of much larger groups, like tours with busloads of people. Tell us your stories of being part of the crowd. The hikes...

Howdy from Phoenix! Yes, we’re back in the U.S. for a brief visit. I know, I know. It feels a little weird. Before we get any more weirded out, here’s our question of the week: Have you ever returned from a trip to find things were not as you left them? Please tell us about it. We hiked to the top of Camelback Mountain earlier today. Oh boy, that was a real thrill! Half of Phoenix was there to get...

Hej med jer from Copenhagen! It’s our last podcast from Europe, and this one is a little different. Before we get to the details, here’s this week’s question: Have you ever visited a place that you liked so much that you wanted to move there? (And did you?) We’re asking because a lot of Americans are drawn to Denmark and end up moving here because of its high quality of life. We like it here, too....

Goddag from Denmark! We’re on a whirlwind tour through this nordic country, and we have a lot to talk about today. Before we get to that, here’s this week’s question: What’s the most you’ve ever spent on food while you’ve traveled? (Denmark’s food prices have left us with sticker shock, but we love the bread here.) Here’s the inside of Frederik's Church in Copenhagen, and 18th-century Lutheran chu...

Hello from Paris. We just spent more than two weeks here trying to do the opposite of what most visitors do. We avoided the touristy areas. We walked in lesser-known neighborhoods. In short, we behaved like locals. (Well, kinda .) Before I go into detail, here’s this week’s question: Have you ever gone on a trip and done nothing? We’d love to hear about it. As always, we’ll read your comments in o...

Bonjour from the Loire Valley in France! We have an exciting podcast for you today, including a river tour, a visit to a mushroom farm and lots of delicious food. Before we go there, here’s this week’s question : What’s the most clichéd thing you’ve ever done in your travels? (Like, I don’t know, visiting Paris?) We admit, we’ve done it! We’ll read your responses in our next podcast. This is the C...

Greece is a hot but beautiful place in August, and today we’re going to tell you what happened to us when we visited. Before we do, this week’s question : Where’s the must unusual place you’ve gone swimming in your travels? We saw people swimming in the Seine this week. Insane! I remember when I was growing up, no one would go near the Seine because it was so polluted. Now, it’s not (we’ll have mo...

Hello from Paris. In today’s long-awaited podcast, we’ll tell you about our adventures in eastern Germany. But first, this week’s question : What’s the buggiest destination you’ve ever visited? We ask because there’s no air conditioning in our apartment, and we opened the windows last night, and … well, you’ll have to see the rest. Our tour took us from Frankfurt all the way to the Germany’s Balti...

Hello from Lenzen, Germany. We’re halfway between Berlin and Hamburg in a small town along the Elbe. Did you miss us? It’s been weeks since our last podcast, so we have a lot to talk about. But first, our question of the week: Have you ever traveled to a place to do something that you thought you would like, but ended up not liking? (We have. We’ll tell you about it in the podcast.) Okinawa is one...

Lí hó from Taipei! It’s been two weeks since our last Elliott Confidential podcast, and we have been on the move. We’ll do a lightning round on hotels, and we also have a hotel-related question of the week: In all of your travels, what’s been your favorite hotel experience? The Grand Hotel in Taipei. This is a landmark in the Taiwanese capital and well worth a visit just to see the lobby. Our hote...

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...

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 Kua...

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 ro...

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...

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 sti...

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 Rame...

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 poo...