S2, Ep. 27: The Charmed Life of Travel with Sebastian Modak

No Blackout Dates

Sebastian Modak is living the dream. As the 52 Places Traveler for The New York Times in 2019, he visited 52 places around the globe in a single year – and turned around a dispatch about each of them. A “third culture kid” who grew up as a vagabond between the US, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, and elsewhere, Sebastian is accustomed to picking up and moving on to the next place. Now, as editor-at-large for Lonely Planet, he continues to make this lifestyle his full-time gig. On today’s show, Sebastian and Tim shoot the breeze about travel trends, over-tourism, and how random, unplanned experiences often pan out to be the best way to learn about a new place. The two cover how identity plays into the travel experience, and Sebastian explains that when traveling long-term and away from a loved one, being open to, and accepting of, the inevitable emotions that arise align the way is the best way to handle loneliness. Fortunately for us, he also offers advice on how to do so.