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This week we are excited to be chatting with Kenny Rayman about traveling in Russia!
Kenny is a Russian history enthusiast, speaker, and writer. In his writing he focuses on helping change the perception of the culture in other’s eyes and loved the thrill of learning from the source rather than a textbook or documentary. Apart from Russia, his historical interest includes the former Eastern Bloc countries.
Kenny documents his travels on his site, Where The Heart Calls You (https://www.wheretheheartcallsyou.net/).
Today in our conversation we talk about why Kenny fell in love with learning about Russian history, what his first travel experiences were like, and what the reality of traveling in Russia is like. We also talk about how diving deep into the history of places that interest you can add so much to your travel experiences.
If you would to get access to the past and future episodes of our nomad series as a World Wanderers Insider, head on over to Patreon. Thank you so much for your continued support!
What we talk about in this episode:
- How travel came to play an important part in Kenny’s life
- How Rocky IV actually led Kenny’s journey into learning about Russian history
- What it was like to set foot in Russia for the first time (with having no previous international travel experience)
- What friends and family thought when he was planning his first trip outside of the states, and he told them he was going to Russia
- Common fears about travel to Russia
- What the attitude and impression he got from Russians towards his interest in them and their culture
- What you might want to consider traveling to Russia (if you haven’t thought about it at all)
- After St. Pettersburg and Moscow, what was on the top of Kenny’s travel list in Russia
- What it is about Russian history that Kenny found and finds particularly interesting
- The cultural and personal side of Russian history vs. the political history we focus on
- How our own personal learning can change and improve our travel experiences
- Unique challenges of the day to day when traveling in Russia
- Getting used to using a currency with a very high nominal value
- Finding fulfillment from exploring and diving deeper into cultural and historical travel instead of the more stereotypical travel destinations
- What are some good starting points and itinerary ideas for a trip to Russia
- Good starting point books and resources for learning about Russian History: Robert Massey and Susan Massey,
- And much more… Here’s the episode!
Connect with Kenny at:
If you would to get access to the past and future episodes of our nomad series as a World Wanderers Insider, head on over to Patreon. Thank you so much for your continued support!
You can check out our travel community on Facebook where you can ask questions, get travel recommendations, and find community members in your area!
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Music Credits:
www.bensound.com
