Winging It Travel Podcast

James Hammond interviews Marie Walker about her journey as a digital nomad, covering the realities of balancing business and travel, the differences from backpacking, and challenges like loneliness and over-tourism.

This episode features an interview with a Buddhist nun at Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery in Bhutan, discussing her life, the nunnery's role in educating nuns, and their emphasis on both spiritual and practical education.

James Hammond interviews Ama Om, who has run a traditional homestay near Punakha, Bhutan for about 13 to 14 years, with Parbati translating.

James Hammond opens day four in a traditional gho, a knee-length robe tied with a kera belt, before attending the Druk Wangyal Festival at Dochula Pass, created in 2011 to honor the fourth king.

Mark Phipps, owner of Lost in Paradise Travel, tells host James Hammond how he travelled solo to Mongolia for 10-12 days in peak winter, arriving from South Korea in flip-flops at minus eight.

Ugyen Rinzin, a Thimphu resident originally from Paro, explains to Winging It host James Hammond why Bhutan kept television and internet out until around 1999, calling the delay "a very wise decision" for a country "hemmed in between two giant countries".

James Hammond recaps days 1 and 3 of his December Bhutan trip with Breathe Bhutan, after flying from Bangkok to Paro on December 10 for about $1,400 CAD return.

James Hammond's eight-day Queensland trip centers on Brisbane's free Skydeck, a train day trip to the Glass House Mountains, and Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.

James Hammond counts down 10 low points from his travels, opening with a stomach illness at the Bodh Gaya Buddha tree in India and a night in a "prison"-like hotel in Vanuatu.

James Hammond wears a traditional go, tied with a woven kera belt, to the Druk Wangyel Festival at Dochula Pass, about 3,100 meters above sea level.

James Hammond ranks 15 travel podcasts for 2026 on Winging It, an annual list that leaves out shows with famous hosts because they are "not the type of people you'd meet on the road." The list runs from Globetrotters at number 15 to Winging It at number one, and it includes Rick Steves at number eight and Travel in 10 at number five.

Winging It host James Hammond reviews 2025 with 22 flights, 120 hours in the air, 15 airports and 12 airlines, covering nine countries including India, the Czech Republic, Germany and Bhutan.

James Hammond revisits a 2021 episode on solo travel, sharing personal stories from Bolivia, the Caribbean, and beyond to argue for its benefits.

James Hammond revisits his 2013 trip to Bangkok, comparing it with a 2025 return to reflect on how the city and his travel style have changed.

The host hikes the Tiger’s Nest Monastery Trail in Bhutan.

She talks about the kind of travel that leaves a mark, from long bus and train stretches to the books and stories that came out of them.

This episode takes listeners through Eswatini with a traveler’s eye for the useful and the strange, then shifts into safari stops in Kruger National Park and a private reserve.

James opens the penultimate Bhutan chapter.

The host maps out where to stay in Vancouver for the 2026 World Cup, using the neighborhoods near BC Place as the anchor.

James Hammond counts down 16 places new to him in 2026, opening with Scotland at number 16 and closing with French Polynesia at number one, framed as a stop-gap between Bhutan episodes rather than a bucket list.