Travel Secrets

Recorded live at the HoT Podcast Festival in Henley 🎙️

For Travel Secrets’ very first live recording, Tanya was joined on stage by someone who really needs no introduction: actor, national treasure, king of the jungle and one of the greatest storytellers around, Christopher Biggins.

Christopher is also a dear friend of Tanya’s, a former Travel Secrets guest and someone she has been lucky enough to travel with herself, making him the perfect person to bring Travel Secrets to life in front of an audience.

And he certainly didn’t disappoint.

From flying to New York on Virgin Atlantic’s first flight and taking a rather unconventional military plane to see China’s Terracotta Warriors, to an unforgettable party in St Petersburg, meeting Hillary Clinton in full Austrian costume and encountering a professional mermaid on a cruise around Japan, Christopher takes us around the world in his own completely inimitable way.

He also shares why he still loves the Maldives, his memories of sailing to Easter Island on an unforgettable world cruise and the very different side of travel he has experienced through his work with the HOPE Foundation in Kolkata.

Funny, outrageous and occasionally rather moving, this was such a special evening and we’re delighted to finally be able to share it with you.

Chapters:

00:00 Christopher Biggins’ travel stories

01:00 Welcome to Travel Secrets LIVE at the HoT Podcast Festival

03:20 How travel changes as you get older

05:17 The joy of travelling by private jet

07:12 Christopher’s childhood holidays at Butlin’s

09:14 China, the Great Wall & an unforgettable flight to Xi’an

11:41 The Peace Hotel in Shanghai

12:09 The unfortunate story of the terracotta horse

13:11 Travel Secret #1: New York

16:31 Most unexpected experience: the Maldives

18:30 Overrated or underrated: the Isle of Man

19:34 Cruising the Mekong & arriving in Saigon

21:30 An extraordinary party in St Petersburg

24:05 Meeting Hillary Clinton in Austria

25:07 Christopher’s top travel tip

25:58 Meeting a professional mermaid in Japan

27:28 Sailing to Easter Island on an unforgettable world cruise

29:19 The photograph that sums up travel for Christopher

29:28 Kolkata & the HOPE Foundation

31:15 Private jets, first class & the other side of travel

Places mentioned:

• New York, USA

• Great Wall of China, China

• Xi’an & the Terracotta Warriors, China

• Shanghai & the Peace Hotel, China

• The Maldives

• Isle of Man

• Mekong River, Vietnam

• Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam

• St Petersburg, Russia

• Japan

• Easter Island, Chile

• Tonga

• Tahiti, French Polynesia

• New Zealand

• Sydney, Australia

• Kolkata, India

• Dubai, UAE

Listen to Travel Secrets wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to the channel for more conversations with some of the world’s most fascinating travellers.

What happens when a life of travel begins with a modelling trip to Acapulco at 16 and goes on to include touring the world with The Rolling Stones, climbing to 17,000ft in Tibet and even spotting a UFO in Brazil?

This week, Tanya is joined by Jo Wood, model, entrepreneur, writer and founder of Jo Wood Organics, whose extraordinary life has taken her all over the world.

Jo started travelling as a teenage model, but when she met Ronnie Wood at 22, she began joining him on tour and, as she tells Tanya, thinks she has now been to “most places in the world.”

In this episode, Jo shares:

Why Japan is the one country Jo thinks everyone should visit

Touring Japan with The Rolling Stones and seeing how dramatically the country changed between visits

Why Buenos Aires completely surprised her, and arriving there with The Rolling Stones to scenes she describes as “Beatlemania”

Spending a month travelling through Tibet with Sadhguru and climbing to 17,000ft at Mount Kailash

The night Jo and Ronnie saw what she describes as a “proper UFO” while on holiday in Brazil and her other unexplained sightings while travelling in South America and Zanzibar

Taking her own home-grown organic potatoes to Paris while on tour

The restaurant hidden in the Spanish mountains that she recommends

Her travels through India, from Kerala and Goa to Mumbai and Rajasthan

Why she loves Zanzibar and keeps going back

The Seychelles trip and photograph that sums up travel for her

Her favourite restaurants and what she always takes with her when she travels

From rock ’n’ roll tours to remote pilgrimages, this is a life very well travelled.

Subscribe to Travel Secrets for a new episode every week, as Tanya asks her guests to reveal their six travel secrets and the holidays and adventures that surround them.

And remember: this podcast might not change your life, but it might just change your plans.

Chapters:

01:20 How has travel impacted the person you’ve become?

05:44 What’s the one destination everyone should visit once in their lifetime?

08:38 What’s your most unexpected travel experience?

10:52 What’s your most overrated or underrated destination?

20:36 What and where do you love to eat and drink when you travel?

24:39 What’s your top travel tip?

27:58 What’s your most poignant travel memory?

31:51 What photograph sums up travel for you?

34:33 Where are you going next?

Places mentioned

Japan and Mount Fuji

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tibet, Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash

Nepal

Brazil, including Recife and São Paulo

Zanzibar, Tanzania

The Seychelles

Egypt

India, including Coimbatore, Kerala, Goa, Mumbai and Rajasthan

Acapulco, Mexico

Paris and Cannes, France

Tenerife and mainland Spain

Los Angeles and Miami, USA

London

Award-winning broadcaster, travel writer and disability rights advocate Sophie Morgan joins Tanya Rose to share the journeys that have shaped her extraordinary life.

At just 18 years old, Sophie was paralysed in a car accident. In the months that followed, she believed the adventurous life she had imagined was over. Then one unforgettable trip to Canada helped her realise it wasn’t. It reminded her that adventure was still possible and marked the beginning of a lifetime spent exploring the world.

In this episode, Sophie shares:

why Scotland is the one destination everyone should experience

the snowmobile ride in Canada that transformed the way she saw her future

what she learnt from a gruelling expedition through Nicaragua

the most memorable meal she’s ever had, at the White House

riding a motorbike across America

why “accessible” doesn’t always mean accessible

the reality of flying as a wheelchair user and why airlines still have so far to go

an extraordinary safari in South Africa that shows what’s possible when accessibility is truly considered

learning to scuba dive in the Maldives

why she’s determined to become one of the first wheelchair users to travel to space

Chapters:

00:00 Highlights

00:35 Introduction

02:05 How travel helped Sophie rebuild her life after paralysis

05:39 Visiting the White House & campaigning for disability rights

06:40 Why everyone should visit Scotland at least once

10:52 The Canadian adventure that helped Sophie believe she could still live boldly

16:18 Nicaragua, adventure, resilience & knowing your limits

20:40 Sophie’s most memorable meal

30:35 Why you can’t trust the word “accessible”

44:13 Learning to scuba dive in the Maldives & why luxury travel should be for everyone

46:21 Sophie’s favourite travel photograph

49:20 What’s next: painting, television… and going to space

Places:

Scotland • India • Canada • Toronto • Nicaragua • South Africa • Kruger National Park • Maldives • Washington D.C. • The White House • Los Angeles • Yellowstone National Park • Grand Teton National Park • Oregon • Pacific Coast Highway • London

Celebrity stylist Elizabeth Saltzman joins Tanya Rose to share her Travel Secrets.

Having dressed some of the world’s most celebrated women, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh, Julia Garner and Saoirse Ronan, Elizabeth has travelled the world for decades. Along the way, she’s come to believe that travel is the greatest education of all.

In this episode, Elizabeth shares:



why she believes everyone should visit the place their family comes from

the trip to India that gave her the greatest culture shock of her life

the destination that disappointed her more than anywhere else

the one packing rule she swears by after decades of travelling

why she wore exactly the same outfit to Fashion Week every day for two years — and nobody noticed

why she is building a family home in Costa Rica

the terrifying hike in Maui that helped her understand the power of nature

her favourite restaurants, bars and hidden local spots around the world

the legendary Paris bar where she started one of her favourite travel traditions

Chapters

02:00 How travel became Elizabeth’s greatest education

10:04 Secret #1: The one place everyone should visit

12:58 Secret #2: Her most unexpected travel experience

16:36 Secret #3: Most overrated (and underrated) destinations

21:40 Secret #4: Favourite food, restaurants and hotel bars around the world

29:13 Secret #5: Elizabeth’s best travel tip

41:54 Secret #6: Her most poignant travel memory

Places mentioned

New York City

The Carlyle Hotel, New York

London

Russia

Poland

India

Las Vegas

Grand Canyon

Costa Rica

Maui, Hawaii

Palm Beach

Los Angeles

Wisconsin

Mexico

Venice

Paris

Hemingway Bar, Paris

Harry’s Bar, Venice

River Cafe, London

Croatia

Kenya

Hydra, Greece

St Barths

East Hampton

The Hamptons

California

Shanghai

London Hampstead Ponds

Serpentine, London

Award-winning interior designer Kelly Hoppen CBE joins Tanya Rose to reveal the travel experiences that have shaped both her life and her extraordinary career.

From spending every Christmas in South Africa as a child to designing some of the world’s most beautiful homes, hotels, yachts and private jets, Kelly explains why travel has been her greatest source of inspiration.

In this episode, Kelly shares:

why Kelly believes everyone should experience Asia at least once

how childhood trips to South Africa shaped the designer she became

the unforgettable hike to Bhutan’s Tiger’s Nest

the hidden side of Beijing and Shanghai

the best meal she’s ever eaten in Capri and her favourite hotels and restaurants

her top travel tip for packing and planning every trip

the final holiday she shared with her father in Sicily

why a sunset in Mallorca is one of her most treasured travel memories

Chapters

01:32 How travel shaped Kelly’s life and career

06:20 Secret #1: The one destination everyone should visit

10:18 Secret #2: Her most unexpected travel experience

13:49 Secret #3: Most overrated (and underrated) destinations

19:36 Secret #4: Favourite food and restaurants around the world

24:18 Secret #5: Kelly’s best travel tip

31:02 Secret #6: Her most poignant travel memory

35:25 Designing cruise ships, yachts and hotels

37:16 What’s next for Kelly Hoppen?

Places mentioned

South Africa

Asia

China

Hong Kong

Beijing

Shanghai

Japan

Bhutan

Finland

Antwerp

The Cotswolds

Capri

Ravello

Lake Como

Sicily

Mallorca

Ibiza

Puglia