You Be Trippin' - Afghanistan w/ Giulio Gallarotti | You Be Trippin' with Ari Shaffir

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

Go watch Guilio’s new special! It premiere's at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET on March 4th, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcz4UxDvm24 Check out Giulio’s YouTube Video Places You Can Go - Afghanistan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_KXfZwAgbo SPONSORS: -Start your new morning ritual & get up to 43% off your @‌MUDWTR with code TRIPPIN at https://mudwtr.com/TRIPPIN ! #mudwtrpod On this episode of You Be Trippin, Giulio Gallarotti shoots travel videos and has dinner with the Taliban in post-pullout Afghanistan. He also has the worst day of his life when he takes a long drive through a nightmare tunnel and ends up having to make a “donation” to the militant group. On the show, he and Ari talk about starting a school, female roles, hiring a local guide, and the difference between the Taliban and ISIS. Other topics include: the Blue Mosque, drugs, outfits, Rwanda, and guys holding hands. Mashallah! You Be Trippin' Ep. 56 https://www.instagram.com/arishaffir https://www.instagram.com/youbetrippinpod https://store.ymhstudios.com Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:05 - Intro Giulio & Afghanistan 00:05:09 - Went to Rwanda 00:09:07 - Getting into Afghanistan 00:18:16 - Having a Guide & The Taliban 00:22:25 - Having to Wear Local Clothing 00:24:45 - A Long Scary Drive & Taliban vs ISIS 00:33:35 - Food & Drink 00:36:37 - Got Stopped by the Taliban & Dinner with the Taliban 00:40:53 - Had His Stuff Searched & Donating to the Taliban 00:48:23 - The Next Day & Blue Mosque 00:49:47 - Shooting a Series 00:51:30 - Started a School 01:01:44 - Smoking & Hiking 01:03:45 - Low Crime & Head Coverings 01:08:55 - It's Easy to Go Now & All Places Have Something Cool 01:12:00 - Travel Tips 01:15:21 - Where To Next Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I remember when I saw you at the stand and I was like, wait, you're going where? You've always been like that. Kind of. Yeah. But I was actually I appreciated your take on it because it was like a more measured, like relaxed perspective, which I really needed at the time because it was like an onslaught of negativity. Don't do it. Don't do you crazy? Don't do it. Don't do it. Not worth it. Why? What did I say? You're like, yeah't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Not worth it. Why? What did I say? You're like, yeah, dude, do it.

Hi everybody. Welcome to you be triin an exciting new episode of a travel podcast where we me and a guest go all over the world it's the only podcast in Vladimir Putin's top five podcasts American only American podcast of Vladimir Putin's top five today is guest is a fucking well more traveled man than me Which is nice Julio Galarotti Thank you for coming. So Yeah, where I've been trying to get you on here for a bit. Where are we going? So we're gonna Afghanistan Afghanistan Say this is a treat for me because I feel like more often than not People don't care about this topic as much as I feel like they should.

Yeah. And I'm like, all right, well, you're feeling yourself, DJ, like people want to hear what they want to hear and that's it. So like when somebody really is interested and wants to take a deep dive, it's like such a treat. Even when I put my stuff out, like it's a series of me making videos, putting them out, nobody watching them. And then maybe even really sad and then like saving up a bunch of money and doing it again and rinse and repeat. It's crazy, I mean I can't tell you about the making money part,

but like the stuff out there, just a little clip I saw of, and I didn't even know you were doing them like that, I just thought you were going to go. Oh no, I'm shooting like full length things. What are they called? I mean this particular part of it is called Places You Can Go. Places You Can Go. So there's like a few episodes.

That's to mean like you actually can go there. I guess. I guess the theme is just sort of like going to places that you just assume you wouldn't be able to go to. I'm not suggesting that you necessarily should depending on which place. However it's certainly doable and I would say lower risk than might meet the eye potentially They had I have two two stories this like real traveler lady. I met Now she's like an environmental activist, but I met her out somewhere and she was talking about Iran Mmm, and I was like you can go to Iran. She goes oh Like I was definitely the first person to react that way and goes, you're thinking of like three of the 27 regions.

Oh, interesting. And it's like, yeah, don't go to South Side Chicago. Right, right, right, right. But like near Wrigley, no, you're fine. Interesting, interesting. That's cool. And I was like, oh, and then the other question was like, can Jews go there?

And it's like, oh, that I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, there is a separate travel guide for Jews. That, yeah. And gays too, actually. Yes. The gay part is easier to hide, obviously. And especially in these countries, dude, people are very touchy.

Men are very touchy feeling with each other. It's just such an interesting thing. You see these tough guys fucking holding hands are heavily armed. And it's a pretty interesting. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Like Taliban dudes holding hands with each other. What? I'm not even kidding, dude. Frolicking around, which I do have a video of actually. So these guys are. Where'd you get this outfit? Oh, you, you, you basically need that outfit if you're going to be over there. Uh, so they fit you up and then you can buy more. But here, these are two Taliban guys. Wow. Holding hands. I mean, that is Williamsburg.

Wow. Holding hands. I mean, that is Williamsburg. Isn't that crazy? What? Isn't that crazy? Where are you with the iron fence around? So we're at this sports facility. This is in Bamiyan, which is actually interesting.

It's where the image on the map you pulled up is. That is a shell of this thing that used to be a. This guy? This was a, it is a UNESCO world heritage site. There was a giant Buddha in that cocoon at one point and the Taliban destroyed it when they were, you know, a little more backward than they currently are. With them, they're more forward now.

No, they're not forward by any means, but this is just Taliban progress, which should not be measured the way regular progress would be made. But at the time that they destroyed this, the sort of rationale was, when we go to heaven or whatever, God will be like, you couldn't even destroy a Buddha.

Like, what the fuck are you doing? Like, you couldn't destroy a rock thing. I think that was sort of the official explanation at the time. I wonder if they would still do the same thing today. They might. This is in no way saying that the time that they had a progressive in England.

We were just trying to show our independence. Now that we are, we're like, yeah, we're just a little relic. Yeah, I mean, they're just learning a bit more and, you know. Better safe than sorry. Probably easily still in the top five worst governments in the world. And by going there, I wasn't like, they're not that bad. I feel that way still.

Okay, hold on. First of all, why was calling to you about Afghanistan? OK, so I guess is backstory appropriate? OK. Yeah. OK, so I made a video in Africa in 2018. Where? In Rwanda.

I did a comedy festival and whatever, did a video. So. So, so, I do not think of comedy when I think of Rwanda. whatever, did a video. So. And. I do not think of comedy when I think of Rwanda. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So the whole thing was interesting. I read an article in like a, in a political magazine saying how there was comedians and I was like, oh, well how interesting.

So anyway, I was messaging, I messaged them and they invited me and we were going back and forth. And it was actually funny because they were suspicious of me. Really? It should theoretically be the other way around. Remember that night scam that was like your uncle died in Nigeria and he left you $9. So it's funny that like it was the other way around.

Long story short, I go last second, I invite my boy who now travels with me on all these trips and my other friend to like film and help me put a thing together. And, uh, I remember just being shocked at how different it was than I thought it was going to be. So it might be obvious to some people, but to me, I was like, Oh, like last time I heard about this place was, you know, the civil war hotel, Rwanda. Yeah. And here we are. And I'm doing all the stuff I do in New York. And this is so interesting. So anyway, from there, I kind of became interested in that.

When was the Rwanda thing? I did that in 2017 and I, okay, it came out in 2020, I kind of became interested in that. When was the Rwanda thing? I did that in 2017. And it came out in 2020, I think. 2021. I didn't know how to edit it. I didn't know how to do anything. And I sort of, for years, tried to wrap my head around it. Ended up putting together this eight, nine minute thing. Was that the first wild place you'd been, Rwanda?

No. Well, it depends what you mean by wild. I mean, I've been to the Middle East. I've been to Lebanon. Okay. Wild. You're just Italian. Yeah, I'm Italian. I had a Lebanese friend who was who was studying abroad in

Jordan and his parents were like, hey, he's lonely. If we pay, would you go? And I was like, yeah, hell yes. Hell, it's like 23 or 24. So I went there for a month and then I went all around. So anyway, I had sort of the itch to to because, you know, that that feeling when you're somewhere so different and how like special that is. So anyway, I became fascinated with the idea of, here's a place that people are telling me I'm gonna die

if I go to, and lo and behold, it could not be further from the truth. Rwanda is like the safest place ever. Like you can easily go to Rwanda, even like- Alone. Eat, dude, it's a hundred times safer than New York. And that may not be a good thing.

Maybe there's too much, they have too good of a grip on stuff. And maybe don't say anything bad about the government. But the crime rate is zero. They talk about that as a reason, but it's like that doesn't impede, so they shit on Mayor Adams for whatever. But when, when they use bring up the school system, like that doesn't affect me at all. But he said he was going to fix up the parks and they all have a lot more flowers this year. So from what I'm seeing bang up jobs. You know what I mean?

So it's like the same thing with China. Like just don't talk about the government. I don't know anything about the government. Right. Right. All right. No intention of doing that. And it isn't one of those things where like they're going to be wrong because that's that's a stressful thing. If they think you're a spy or something. Ron does not like that. Booming tourism. Kigali is like a metropolitan city. There's there's dating apps. There's Uber Eats. There's ride sharing. Oh, and this is like 2017, bro. This is a while ago, too. So I was a single at the time I was going on Tinder dates. I was like having the time of my life. So anyway, so fun. And I was like, that's crazy. I wonder if I, I wonder if this is what it's like in general everywhere. So from there I started making these videos.

So I did that one and it's funny. I was actually going to let that one die because I finally put it together. It sucked. The audio socked this, this, that I share it. No one's watching it. I'm depressed that I have random Sunday afternoon Schultz. I'm like, I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym.

I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym.

I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the that I share it. No one's watching it. I'm depressed that I random Sunday afternoon Schultz happens to see it and share it. And it like did super well relatively speaking. And if he hadn't have done that, we probably wouldn't be sitting here talking about this. Whoa. It just goes to show how fickle things can be. You know, that's cool. It lives. It keeps living. So anyway, I ended up like pushing it to the limit here to some degree where like I went to Iraq, I went here, I went there and sort of like

the same story everywhere that I went. Yeah. So I was like, I wonder if Afghanistan will be the same thing. And while, you know, much more chill in a lot of ways than you would expect, potentially bit off slightly more than I could chew in some capacity. Really? In some scenarios. So you land at the airport or are you met with any instant like? Well, I'd say there's always like the smell is different. The signs are different. Like, what do you see?

That's already like, oh, yeah. Yeah. So, OK, first of all, there's a bullet hole in the the thing that you get off the whatever that thing's called. The tarmac? No, the gate. Whatever comes to push you. There's a bullet hole in the thing that you get off the, whatever that thing's called. The tarmac, no, the gate. Whatever, yeah. The thing that comes to push you. Yeah, the thing that comes to the, well.

The tube, yeah. Yeah, exactly, the tube. Bullet hole in the tube. Really? Which I can show you as well. Would take me a second to find it, but I mean, it's a bullet hole. Okay, you can send it to me.

What's that? You can send it to me. I'll write these down. Yeah. Yeah, and I can even send you like a file of the video itself because it's in all the stuff is in the video. So then you can easily just like rip whatever you want. Okay. So anyway, bullet hole. Like, okay, that's crazy. But whatever. Obviously it's it's cool to look on the map, see where you are. You're like, this is nuts. But then it depends where you are. Like some places are prickly, but they're developed.

You know what I mean? In Afghanistan? In general. So like, for example, Guayaquil is a place that comes to mind for me. Guayaquil, yeah. And I know you helped me with my Ecuador trip and I appreciate that.

But Guayaquil is like nice, but it's just like dangerous. It's dangerous. Like I was driving. There's too much gangs. It's worse now. Like there's like a yoga studio There's like sushi restaurant, but there's games so that's like different than what this is like Afghanistan is just like Behind it's traditional

They've had war during the entire time the modern world modernized so they're just behind so when you get there It's a much more lax process than it would be landing in Russia, where if there's a letter wrong in your name, you get you can't enter the country. And Afghanistan not like that. That's happened to happen to me in Russia, by the way. Really? Yeah. Got to Dan, it was a pain in the ass. But here it's chill. You get there, some guy helps you. Where'd you land? Kabul? Kabul. Yeah, Kabul. From via Dubai, which by the way,

hilarious juxtaposition of the most modern place in the Muslim world going to the least modern place in the Muslim world in a 12 hour period of time. Damn. Pretty cool. But they all break for fucking bow downs? Here? Everywhere?

Yeah, but it's not like yeah, I mean yeah, it's it's the most heavily concentrated Muslim population of any country on earth as percentage of the population really 99.8 You know what the most Muslims total country Indonesia Total country Indonesia boom got it India number two But anyway, yeah, so it's cool because so you need a visa to go here which is also a funny thing I feel like I didn't even know what a visa was until I was like 21 or 22 Yeah, because like you go you want to we go right most you'd be going to. You don't need a visa.

So anyway, you need a visa to go here. It's not that hard to get. It seems more difficult to get than it is. There's a Afghan consulate in Dubai that is still the same people who worked there during the old government. Wow. Really? They're just stationed there and like no one called them home. They just live there and they're not going back Yeah, why would you yeah? It's rich here some sort of fear of retribution Maybe I'm not totally sure but it's super easy and they treat you really really well too

Like you landed sort of an awkward time and my guy was like, oh you should have let me know last time Or you should let me know because I would have booked your hotel for you so that you could have just checked in when you arrived So they they show up they take your passport and then they come back in three hours and you have your visa. Oh, okay. And then the flights to Kabul at the time were like pretty gnarly. The times it was like there was a 3 a.m. and a 4 30 a.m. out of Dubai to Kabul and you land as sort of the sun is rising over. It's like they know, oh damn, it's snow. It's like they know that people are just jumping off from this place to another place.

So like, you're gonna wanna land at 5 p.m. and not 2 a.m. Right, right, exactly, yeah. They figure it out for you. So anyway, that makes it a whole like, even more sort of. Exhausted when you land. You're exhausted, but you're also sort of feel like you're dreaming.

It's such a, the only, now I think Fly Dubai flies there, which is a better airline than Cam Air, but Cam Air's fine. That was sort of like the national airline. Guys, I'm gonna break in real quick to let you know a little bit about Julio. He is, first of all, like, Hall of Fame comedian, traveler.

He, like, when he told me, I didn't realize what he was doing. And he first told me, he like, yeah I'm just going on a trip. I'm like where? He goes, Iraq. I'm like what? He went to Iraq. He called me to ask me about Ecuador since I'd lived there for so long and I gave him some advice but I thought he was like, I thought he was like a resort kind of person and he was like no not at all. I mean, you talk about getting your hands dirty. It's him, bro. I mean, I'm going to have him back on this podcast like 30 times. The guy rules. And he's got a new, I don't know if you wouldn't be called a special, I guess it's a documentary about Afghanistan. It's called On The Map. It's available at his YouTube channel, uh, YouTube.com slash at not Julio.

It's J U L I O. Uh, definitely check it out. His trip to Afghanistan. This whole episode is fucking wild. I mean, he really goes for it. And he's learned so much about like the hijab and how they don't really have to wear it and not, yeah, it's just a ton. He rules.

He's also on the road. You get tickets at a Julio Gagliari gi you Lo ga LL a R. Oh TTI com Pound shows it's gonna be the dead in Chicago comedy detection in Providence Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Washington DC at the comedy loft that place rules and

And Charlotte, North Carolina. Get all tickets right now. Myself, I'm also on the road. I've got Schomburg, Illinois with Adrian Apolucci. Shows added there. Then Atlanta and Portland with Adrian. Atlanta at the Tabernacle. I'm fucking super stoked on that. It's where Joe Rogan recorded one of his specials and I've been trying to get there for my honestly my entire career. So get tickets for Atlanta, the Tabernacle. I'm fucking super stoked on that. So Joe Rogan recorded one of his specials and I've been trying to get there for my honestly my entire career. So get tickets for Atlanta, Georgia right now, uh, San Jose, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and finishing it. That's through April and then finishing it off with Anchorage, Alaska for my

last show until 2017, 2027, excuse me, the farewell tour for AriSchafer.com. Also, we are continuing to take submissions for the UB Trippin' Trip Around the World where we're sending somebody, maybe you, around the world. Send in your, why you think it should be you. If you have time off, if you really wanna go see things and why you wanna do it my way,

it's gonna be off the grid a little bit. Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask that much of you. You know, if you have time off, if you really want to go see things and why you want to do it my way, it's going to be off the grid a little bit. Um, don't worry. I'm not gonna ask that much of you. I'm gonna ask you to weigh in a little bit, like once every month or so find a, you know, a computer at a hostel and just like send us updates. But, uh, if you want to go either send a DM to at you'd be tripping pod on Instagram, or you can email you'd be tripping podcast at gmail.com Caitlin here will be checking the DMS and the messages however you want to do it guys she's open to anything either video or audio of like why you're free

time it's gonna be like ten months to a year so you get a free time you got to say why you want to go. And just like, I don't know why you should be the person we sent. She's going to be leafing through them, getting rid of all the chuds. Um, do you have any suggestions for what they should say? Yeah, no loser influencers. Um, and then yeah, guys, it's going to be a great time. So that's it. Thank you for leafing through all those

and we'll figure it out in like a couple months. Also, if you wanna sign up for the Patreon to help me finish off paying for it, it's patreon.com slash at you'dbetrippin and then we'll wrap up the Patreon. Yeah, that's it. Also send DMs if, no, that's it. Great, thank you.

Let's get back to the episode. Oh I took a break from the break to tell you that Julio has a special out guys! On the map! Julio Galiarati. It's on his YouTube page. YouTube.com slash at not Julio because everyone spells his name wrong. N-O-T-J-U-L-I-O. On the map, come see the new special from the new- Oh crap, I'm moving. Oh, comedy's version of Anthony Bourdain, not who the- Watch it now, guys, the new special. It's the most exciting thing in our lives. Legitimately. Go get it right now. There'll be a link at the bottom of this on YouTube and on Spotify and everything.

Go support our comics. You land and then your guide picks you up, which I highly recommend if you intend to do this trip. I'm not recommending it. How much was the guide? I think it was probably like 200 bucks per do this trip. I'm not recommending it. How much is a good I Think it was probably like 200 bucks per person per day. There was two Wow, that's a lot which is a lot, but they hold your hand for 24 hours and Afghanistan is probably the cheapest place I've ever been what um, how'd you find them? I'm in this like Facebook group that sort of helps pair extreme travelers with guides and

Mostly talks about solo travel book group that sort of helps pair extreme travelers with guides and mostly talks about solo travel, which we were talking about this before we started recording solo travel to me is overrated. Like I don't mind having a guide holding my hand. I see what you're saying. Especially in a place like this, like, dude, if you were to do this trip by yourself and it might be a little different now, I went, I went at the end of 2022, but like you're going to just be hanging out with the Taliban the whole day.

What do you mean? So you'll get stopped by the Taliban if they hear you talking. One fun fact about Afghanistan, super diverse. So if you or I were to walk around and not talk, no one would think we weren't from Afghanistan. Isn't that cool? Really? Yeah. Cause there's just different shades, dude.

Like, no, like everything. Like there's redheads. Really? Dude. Why? Cause like the Russian state after enough years? No, I just think it's not like, it's not an Arab country. There's like, there's a mix of ethnicities. So it's like Pashto, Pashto people. There are sort of Tajik people, Uzbek people.

Uzbek, yeah. Hazara people. Wow. It's a big mix. So there's a bunch of different people. Uzbek, yeah. Hazara people. Wow. It's a big mix. So there's a bunch of different people. I mean, borders were almost up against, or does it border against China? There is one part that does the walking corridor

right there, yeah. That's a really beautiful part of the country. And to be honest, that was a place people would go before because you could sort of cross the border there and it wouldn't really be like a traditional Afghanistan experience. Walking National Park, that seems fucking bad ass. Crazy mountains.

Wow. Some of the best mountains in the world. Damn. Yeah. Sick, right? Yeah, you went there? No. Okay.

That's a more expensive trip to go up there. Before you could cross the land border from Tajikistan if you did the Pamir Highway, which is a really fun, outdoorsy mountain trip you could take. I don't know that that's still a possibility, I'm not totally sure. All right. So, okay.

So you get there, so this guy's taking you around. So wait, wait, wait, no, I'm sorry. You were gonna tell me, if you go alone, you're just gonna be talking to Taliban whole time. Yeah, you're just gonna be hearing about the Taliban the whole day. What does sorry you were gonna tell me if you if you go alone You just be talking to tell me here with the Taliban the whole day What does that mean? So like they're if they hear you speak English or they're the big they check your passport They're like, oh you're American and they sort of just like don't know if they're supposed to do something

So instead of just letting you go they take you to the police station and they'll be cool to you Like they'll let you play with their gun. They'll give you tea They'll be all nice and shit, but you're just going to be there all day. I want to go walk around till their boss is like, no, let this guy go. He's, he's a foreigner. Like we're nice to foreigners now. And then they're like, listen, if anything you need, let us know if you want to become a Muslim, that'll make the mullahs really happy. Just saying you don't have to, but if you want to throw this out there for them, here's my number if you need anything.

And you're like okay. And that's not that intimidating. Who's Akbar, it is Allah. Oh yeah, they make you do the whole, is that an actual thing? No, there is like a thing like that. What do you mean? There's like this, I forget what it's called and I don't want to say it wrong,

but there's this like thing you're supposed to say that means that you recite a thing. That you're cool with everybody? No, it there's this like thing you're supposed to say that means that you're, you like recite a thing. That you're cool with everybody. No, it's like, it's like an Islam thing. And they tell you to say it. You say it and they film you and it's like weird. I didn't do that. But, uh, it's a thing that I've heard that. Wow. It's like a star spangled banner. They just say it when you get in here.

It's like sort of like a star spindle. But dude, so if you, you know that that's a possibility before you go and if you have a guide, it's fine. So for the most part, that encounter's not as intimidating as it sounds, besides the initial suspicion, which very quickly turns warm. But you know, we did have some prickly moments too, but I guess we can sort of get into that a little later since you wanted.

So you land, you meet the guide, they got to suit you up in the local clothing. What do they do? Take you to a store to get all that? They take, so they already bought you an outfit. Okay. Which by the way, they only, my guy only got me one. I'm like, bro, I'm not wearing this for 10 straight days. No, you'll smell like us. It'll be great. We need to go shopping for clothes. So we did that that day. I bought like five different outfits. So you can, no one's there with just jeans and a t-shirt? It'll be great. Yeah, exactly. We need to go shopping for clothes. So we did that that day. I bought like five different outfits.

So you can't, no one's there with just jeans and a T-shirt? Only people who are working or children. Wow. Isn't that crazy? So they tell you to get that? I don't even think it's the rule. It was just like weird. It would be like you wearing a blanket

instead of clothes here. When I was in Chiang Mai, they were trying to make a thing to all the tourists. Like, hey, don't, it's not a beach, hey, don't it's not a beach town. So don't treat it like a beach town. This is a walled old city. And they're like, you wouldn't walk around like a New York city with no shirt on. And I was like, actually I do that all the time.

I will get good, weird looks, but that's a bad example. Cause I'm doing that constantly. Is that on the beach? What? No, but the people treat it like a beach town because they're like on vacation. Right, right, right, right. That's funny. Is that on the beach? What? Chain line? No. But the people treat it like a beach town because they're like on vacation. Right, right, right, right.

That's funny. Yeah. That's sick. Yeah. I gotta go there, dude. Okay, so you get this outfit. You get suited up and then you sort of just fucking hit the streets, dude. We had a plan.

So when I go on these kinds of trips, I try to make sure that they... I sort of know what's good for the camera now at this point, versus what isn't. So like, I want to try my best to integrate with with people as much as possible. I feel like that makes for better content than just like, this is where Genghis Khan went once. This is a tour guide. That's like that's like a lonely planet book. It's not I'm not interested in it as much. Agreed, agreed. I'm down, but I'm- Fun fact? Okay, sure. I don't mind the fun fact, but. Okay. Inevitably along the way, interesting things will happen in all these places.

I've found that the museum experience in these kind of countries can be pretty unique because it's just so fucking random. Some random dude will hijack you and try to chill with you the whole day and show you every single thing in the museum. It can be funny but in general so I'm trying to like cook it bro yeah yeah yeah I try to push you have to push sometimes because the guides don't understand that you don't want to do like the bucket list like British person trip

right British person trip because I think they are the most adventurous group of people as far as destinations visited. Interesting. This is a pretty unique meal that they made me. They cook chicken in the ground with hot rocks. I've seen some of it in South America too. And they put chicken in cloth. Is that Cachetabubil?

Yeah. They heat it up. It's really fucking good. It's called huluji. Huluji? Yeah. Wow. This ended up being one of the worst days

of my life actually. Why? This was a nice morning. So, okay. That's so great. You have this great mice morning and you're like gonna be pretty shitty. So, okay, we were supposed to leave early.

I guess this is, we can just, unless you have any specific questions, I can tell you the story. Yeah, go ahead. Okay, so we are, we go over this guy, the guy at the uncle's house for breakfast. Okay. And we have this chicken that is cooked in the story. Yeah, go ahead. Okay, so we are, we go over this guy, the guy at his uncle's house for breakfast. We have this chicken that is cooked in the ground. They tie the chicken up in silk

and put it in this hot stone hole. They bash the rocks, let it sit there for 40 minutes. Why do they bash the rocks? Because the heat, it like makes the heat sort of like a heat mound over it. And then, so anyway, we do this and we get started late because of that. We were driving from,

we were driving from here to Mazar-e-Sharif, which is a city in the northern part of the country. I had heard that this drive is sort of perilous. It lived up to the hype. And we got started so late that we ended up having to drive at night, which they say don't do in Afghanistan and we sort of found out why. Yeah, why?

So let me get you there. So the Google Maps to where I was going, to where I was going says it only takes two and a half hours because not enough people have driven the route for the Google Maps to go. Dude, Google Maps sucks in not well-trended, it's just like, in Ecuador, we're like, double. Just double it.

Double it, and that means like, well, we're not gonna make it one day. No, you're right, so think of a place to stay. Dude, 100%. So this drive takes 12 hours. What, and it's a two and a half? Yeah. What?

So, and I'll show you, I have a video of this too, which I'll show you, but dude, so this drive sucks. Where to where? So, okay, you're driving from roughly roughly just for all intents and purposes because I ended up starting a school while I was there and I'm trying to hide the location yeah so what do you mean you started a school yeah I've founded a school yeah what are they teaching crushing it they're teaching science math English and literacy and boys and girls

All ages legally operating what I started charity. Yeah, I know crazy, right? What? I have a bunch of video I See, you don't get a location of it. Yeah, so just say for this all intensive purposes Kabul to mazari Sharif Okay Yeah, so just say for all intents and purposes, Kabul to Mazar-i-Sharif. Okay. I think it should take you a similar way. Let's see, Mazar-i-Sharif. Mazar, it'll come up. Yeah, there it is.

Mazar-i-Sharif, okay. Yeah, so that I think. Oh, it caught up a little now. It knows, now that you've traveled it, now it knows it's eight hours. Still 24. So it takes about three or four hours to get to this Salang Tunnel.

And you have to drive past the Panjshir Valley, there's sort of like an active insurgency. There's some like- Is that happening? Is it like groups trying to overthrow each other? Yeah, there's a little bit of it. There's like ISIS, there's a lot, there's more suicide bombings in Afghanistan every year,

sort of three or four fold over everywhere else. So that's just like, not great. It's just their way. Uh, the Taliban have a stronghold on the country, but they're fighting ISIS and they're fighting, uh, but, but it's not like a full on civil war, I would say. It's more of just sort of like a simmering insurgency between them and then some of the other like groups that used to be in control or whatever. That's interesting. ISIS and the Taliban are enemies. Yes, very much so. Interesting.

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Up to 43% off your entire order, plus free shipping and a free rechargeable frother when you use the code TRIPPIN. That's right up to 43% off with code TRIPPIN at MUDWTR.com. After your purchase, ask how you found them. Please show your support. Let them know I sent you. Keep your energy natural and refreshing all year long with mud slash WTR because life's too short for anything less than clean delicious energy. Let's get back to the episode. I remember when it shifted over where like we hate ISIS and like we hate the Taliban. I'm like, Oh, is that just another way to say the same thing?

Yeah. No, no, no. Yeah. So a Taliban, the problem with the Taliban is they sort of allow some of these groups to sort of do whatever they want. Yeah. And it's one of, it's uniquely the only place like that. So that is the problem. The Taliban don't really have imperial aspirations, but they allow some of these groups to operate there. Dude, I gotta be honest, after meeting a lot of these guys,

and maybe this isn't a good example, but I think that a lot of it has to do with just naivete and incompetence over bad intentions Oh my what do you mean? Like I don't they're just like dude. They're like mountain fucking people They don't know anything like they've been hiding in the mountains for years Once they they like took the country back over they came down from the mountains and they were all getting into car accidents Cuz none of them know how to drive We driving down this road and the guide would

casually be like, oh yeah, this is a place where there'd be a Taliban sniper up there. And he was just like shooting people who drove by and killing them. And this guy, I know he just got shot in the head and then they killed this other guy for no reason. Like, he's like, but they have changed this. It was a bit like it wasn't him vouching for them. It was just him being like, they're not, they don't do that anymore, but

they're still shitty, but they're not quite, they're very shitty still, but they don't, they're not as bad. So anyway, from where we were to this tunnel, it's probably four or five hours. And this drive is the scariest drive I've ever been on the selling tunnel. I want to say it's like 10, it's like 10,000 feet in the air or something. It is six miles long There's a smile on tunnel. Yep. It's it's one of the highest mountain tunnels in the world If you look up selling towns, you just look it looks like a hellhole. I'll show you the video. I have a video of it Oh, yeah, somebody no ventilation and cars just break down and you could fucking die if the Soviets built this tunnel

Wow the Soviets build it it is a does like It's so cool. They can build a fucking tunnel through a mountain and that road is so shit Like it's so bumpy and bouncy and terrible and like. In it. Like getting there, getting out of it, in it. It is like nightmare fuel. And I think now that the dust has settled, one of the scariest, like the way back it was fine

because there was no traffic. But on the way there, we got stuck in the fucked up traffic, It was really scary. Here we go. Oh my God. These are cool videos, man. Thanks, dude. It's not like time will happen through there.

Dude. It's from one region to another? Look how scary that is. Oh my God. There's no lights in there? The car's broken down. What? In one lane under a mountain?

Through, like not under a mountain. Dude, you're 10,000 feet in the air. You're like high elevation. You're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're in one lane under a mountain. Yeah, through like not under a mountain. You're dude, you're 10,000 feet in the air.

You're like high elevation, scary shit. The way back there was no traffic, but on the way there, we were stuck in there for 20 minutes. And there are these giant coal trucks that are going back and forth in Pakistan. Oh my God. That are disgusting. And they're like, they jingle.

It's almost like, dude, full on nightmare fuel. Wow. And then you get out, you're like they jingle it's almost like dude full on nightmare fuel Wow and then you get out you're like finally yeah super fucked up man so anyway how much is food there how much you spending a day on food oh my good dude you can eat an awesome meal for five people everybody drinks soda and shit there's's no alcohol, obviously. But like I ordered sodas for entrees for everybody. It'll be like eight total dollars. What?

Yes. Pack of cigarettes. Ten cents. What? Everybody drinks energy drinks there, which is pretty funny, including like you'll see a good five year old drinking a red boy. Really?

They're kind of like a lot of them are like knockoff. But yeah, you got a bull on it. Yeah. Yeah. The X bull. And it's Chicago Bulls bull. What are you smoking? So I'm going to say, just like a long thin cigarette.

10 cents a pack. Do people offer you cigarettes there? No. I think smoking is sort of like slightly frowned upon. The Taliban don't like vice stuff, so like they tried to sort of make all the opium addicts, like they sent them all to rehab when they took over. They don't like smoking.

If you ask for a drink, people look at you like you're fucking insane. No drinks. No drinking. You know Yoshi? No. I gotta get him on. He'll be the only other one that'll do Afghanistan.

He went to Kabul when it was a, were those people that worked for the US government? Oh, like defense contractors? Yeah, contractor town. And the front lines was like 10 miles past, so they were safe there. And then when they left, they're like, guys, it's time to, you gotta get out of here.

So that city doesn't exist anymore. But he was like, can I bring anything? They're like, Jack Daniels, can I bring anything like Jack Daniels bring us two bottles of Jack Daniels and we can have a bar for a month and there's super watered-down mixtures no straight shots yeah so yeah wait so you eat you eat like a fucking king oh yeah what was the food it was good it's sort of like a combination it was like a mixture of like what you think Indian food would be like and sort of like

Middle Eastern food. Okay. Good bread. It's a little rustic. You know, like the chickens will have bones in it that you didn't know were in chickens because you're used to eating fucking GMO chickens, you know? Yeah.

But overall the food's pretty good. South Asia is like a pretty big hotbed for food poisoning. So I was like really cautious. I ended up getting sick anyway, like cautious of what food poison all of it. So I just didn't eat a lot and I ate slow and I was fine while I was there. And then when I got back to Dubai, I got really sick and I was sick on the plane, which saw shit, you can't go anywhere. It's the vegetables they always tell you to be careful of. I was on the

flight when they hit me though. Wow. Laying in the bathroom shirtless, on the floor of the bathroom. Shirtless. On the plane. Why shirtless? Because I don't know, it just makes me feel better. Yes sir, you need the air. You can't question it.

During food boys you can't question your motives. Yeah, don't care. You don't want to get it on your, I don't know, whatever it is. Yeah dude. So anyway, we get out of this tunnel. Sir, do you need help? Yes, desperately, but you can't give it to me. Dude, also.

You're some stewardess, get the fuck away from me. They were not very nice. They're like, go to the bathroom in the front of the plane so you don't disrupt the other passengers. I was like, oh my gosh. I'm dying, bro. As Emirates flight too. I was like, I thought you had to be nicer, yeah.

Oh really? They're hot. Well anyway, so we get out of the tunnel, we're fine. I'm like, feeling pretty good. And we still have quite a bit of driving. We get on some solid road, it starts to get dark. We get stopped by the Taliban. Now usually when you get stopped by the Taliban,

it's fine, like during the day. They just look around, they don't suspect anybody in the car is a foreigner, they just let you keep going. If they find out you're a foreigner, they don't believe it at first. Then they find- Why, because not a lot are in that region? There's a foreigner ever and so did your guide be like, hey, just be quiet. I'm gonna do the talking. Yeah But if they asked him straight up these guys foreigners, he'd be like, yeah

Yeah, he'd be like they're American they'd be like no way and he'd be like, yeah They'd be like show the passport and then he'd show the passport and dude I swear to God a lot of times he's gonna be like a 16 year old kid and they look at the passport and they're just like Like they're so happy they can't believe there's an American and they're like oh they think that that means that they're like doing a good job so then they're like we gotta take a selfie so then you take a selfie with them and then they're like anything you need let us know like they're so excited but also like how am

I gonna call in that favor oh yeah what's your name yeah okay I'll call you yeah yeah I'll give you a call. You know, I need a good chicken spot in the pocket. There's next town. Exactly. So that's usually just what would happen. So it ended up being fine. It wasn't even that like scary. They were happy to see you. You're American. So I did that. It was like, what the fuck? Yeah. Um, once they like rule out that you're not a soldier, which is ridiculous that they even need to do that.

But the fact that you go through that every time is not the best, to be honest. You're just sort of like, hopefully this will be fine, like it always has been. We get stopped at night at this one particular. Yeah, was there any worry of like, well, an American killed my dad, and I've always wanted to meet one of you motherfuckers.

You wanna know why? No, because they are able to be like, oh, you didn't literally kill my dad, you're just some random guy. We can't do that, which I know I've always been impressed by that. And that's typically what I've gotten traveling to these sort of places. And Vietnam was like that about America, like, hey, America, like, no, that was the China that China helped them then.

But now they're like trying to encroach. Right. Right. Right. No American is bothering them currently. Right. Right. Right. I appreciate that the pragmatism there. So anyway, we get stopped. They make us get out of the car, which is normal, but then they'll sit on the side of the road with us and have dinner. And we're like, okay, we hadn't really had to do that.

You can't say no. No, you can't say no. And dude, six or seven guys, so heavily armed. I was too afraid to film this part, but I made a cartoon that's kind of long, so I'm not gonna show it to you here, but I'll send it to you there if you're interested but Then they had dude they had a giant container a Gatorade container full of beans That's a Gatorade on it like full of beans. Yes, the one you like pour on the coach

And then they're like, sorry, we only have beans and I was like, it's fine And they're feeding us beans and And I was like, it's fine, dude. Like, all good. And they're feeding us beans. And then we're talking, we're talking, blah, blah, blah. They're asking us all the same questions. They're like, what do you think about the Taliban? And I have to lie.

You know what I mean? I'm like, I think they're great. Like, just insane. And then they're like, wow, that's so cool. Then they're like, you need to meet the commander. And we're like, okay, great. Like, where is he? They're like, he's like over there.

This is nighttime. So this is what happened during the day? Pitch dark. Anyway we're like, okay, great. Like, where is he though? He's like over there. This is night time. So this sound happened during the day. Pitch dark. Anyway, go ahead. No, no. So this, something like this wouldn't happen during the day. They kind of hang around, bro, almost like a gang. You know how like a gang will like hang out at night. They just sit there and don't do anything until, until there's gang activity to be had. This is sort of how they operate too. Uh, and they are not not a gang, by the way. They basically are a gang. So anyway, so we're sitting there and then they're like, you have

to go meet the commander. The commander is not close. So they send their guy with us in our car and they follow us and we drive to the commander. This is an hour drive out of the way. It's nighttime already. So we're and this guy has a fucking gun. So this sucks. This whole thing is scary already. Right. We get out of the car So we're and this guy has a fucking gun. So this sucks. This this whole thing is scary already right, we get out of the car, we're at this like compound Taliban compound and We walk in the commander. Welcome He has his deputy who speaks English who's super nice. This guy's sort of nice But he's sort of being like an alpha dog. You have no choice but sit there. Let's know the guide is showing him videos on my standup

Really? Look, he's a comedian. The guy has no idea what he's looking at. He's like, Oh, English. Not really. That guy didn't speak English, just the deputy. Wow. So we're sitting there for a long time. And eventually the dude who searched us in the parking lot comes in with my suitcase, throws it on the ground and is like, we're going to search you. And I was like, Oh, I thought we were friends. He's like, we are. That's what you're going to search yourself.

So that's why what that's what you're going to search yourself. So by the way, and I know people listening to this story are probably like, good, this is what you get. Like fair. I didn't want this to happen. I wasn't searching for this sort of thing. This is not. Oh yeah. It's like when they say like some like real celebrities, like that's what you get. You get like you're trying to break up with your wife and some waiter is going to come for your picture. Like that's not what they wanted. This is not what I intended. So I'm showing them every single thing in my bag. So I'm like, this is a sock. This is underwear. Like literally. And dude, I go in my toiletry bag. I'm like, these are Tums. The commander's like, what's that? I'm like, you know, like indigestion, the guide can't translate the word indigestion bag. I'm like these are Tums The commander's like what's that? I'm like, you know like indigestion The god can't translate the word into this. So I'm like, you know like

They don't have that and he's oh, so I'm like I give him Tums and he eats him. He's like, oh these are Come like they're pretty good right? He's loving it so they don't find anything we go in the parking lot and we're just standing in the dark in the driveway, which at this point I'm like, this is closer to some of the scenarios that are really not that fun to think about than I would like to be. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm just a couple, I'm a few, even if I'm 10 steps away, I'd rather be 100 steps away. I'm fine probably right now, but like this is not fun. But also like at this point, you're not really in control. Yes. And the guide isn't either, right? Which was scary. They're in control.

The guy did not want this to be happening and he was acting like it was fine. And like after we left, he was like, I'm so sorry. And like he wasn't giving off that vibe while we were there, which made it even scarier. I was like, Oh fuck. Like you had no control over the situation. We went to Canada, we were doing a bus tour, and our last stop was Toronto, and we were like, hey, let's Clorox everything, let's do whatever,

let's make sure the drugs are gone, even the weed, but definitely the coke, like definitely, definitely. And then the bus drivers, they should just generally just kind of take a look at our passports and leave. They might step on, but that's it. And then this time they're like, oh, they're kind of going through the bus. They're asking us to open it up.

And the bus driver was like, this usually doesn't happen. He's like, you guys got rid of everything, right? And I was like, yeah. And then Colum was like, I mean, I put it on my bed. I put it under the pillow. And they're like, no, Colum, what the fuck, man? It should be fine. What are you doing?

Oh no. So then it's like, at that point, it's nothing like this. It's out of control and we just would be refused entry. And you hear this story about like a tour bus all the time. All the time, yeah. The amount of people who get taken down because of their tour bus. Right.

It's a high number, so you're like fuck. But yeah, like related. Out of your control. Out of my control, now we- But also there's no chance of us getting lined up and shot. Right. Before it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, no, no, wait, wait, we can talk, we can talk.

It's like, no, no, we're taking care of it now. Yes. So- Damn. And in my head I'm like, okay, I know that that's not happening now, but you always sort of worry about the chain of command there because there is a chance that you run into a guy

who like didn't get the memo yet. Mind you- Or you look the wrong guy in the eye, you're like, why didn't you? I don't know the customs. You don't know what's up. This you. Or you look the wrong guy in the eye. You're like, why didn't you? I don't know the customs. You don't know what's up. This is only a year after they had taken over.

So there's a chance that the message, the messaging had not gotten there, bro. This is like a very traditional place. Like you wouldn't like, it's not shocking to think that a guy might not get the memo for a while. So you're kind of like, eh, this kind of sucks. And these guys picture the scariest Taliban guy you can picture, this is who we're talking about here. Most of them are being nice, whatever.

But now we're in the driveway. In the house, it was nice, we're drinking tea, but there's like, the walls, imagine this room, but just the walls lined with giant guns, bro. Including like the gun from Heat. The like Val Kilmer double handle, like artillery bro. Crazy. American weapons?

I'm not totally sure. I think it was a comp, there's probably Kalashnikov, it's probably a combo of everything. And then they finally find an envelope of money, and I'm like, oh, this is like what was happening. So I tried to be clever, I spread my money out just in case that they couldn't take it all, but that ended up working against me

because the envelope that was in my iPad, they don't know about an iPad, so they didn't know to open the case. So they never, they go, okay, I'm like, this is an iPad, they're like, all right. They never would have found that. They end up finding the envelope that has the most money in it too.

Oh, fuck. And you need a lot of money when you visit Afghanistan. You can't take money out of the bank, obviously, and they only exchange new issue hundreds, and if they aren perfectly crisp you get a worse exchange rate Wow, which is interesting, right? I do that a lot of places. Yeah crazy. Sometimes they're just going no Anyway, they find the money they count all of it and the guy has his boy record So anyway, they find the money they count all of it and the guy has his boy record Record him counting it and then when he's done counting he hands it back to me turns off the camera He's like, I just didn't want you to be able to tell anybody that I took money from you. I'm like, okay

That's that's nice. I guess wait. I didn't want you to tell him that I took money from you I didn't want you to be able to here's your money back. Yeah Oh, but he's about to steal it Well counts it all hands it back to me, and goes, I don't want you to be able to tell anybody we took money from you. Then he goes, but what about a donation? However, I am taking money from you.

I'm like, very clever. So then I'm like, oh, this sucks. All this money's about to be gone. Shakedown, yeah. Shakedown. Are you thinking like, how much can I keep? I'm thinking he's taking it all. Yeah.

And you're not in control. The school plan had just sort of popped up that earlier that day. So a lot of this money was supposed to go to starting the school. Now they take the money. There's no school problem. Right? So I'm like, fuck. Then dude, this is the funniest part. He goes, I'm like, how much does he want? It was $5,000. He goes $5,000. Well, that's going to be a life changer for him. He goes a I'm like, how much does he want? It was $5,000. He goes, $5,000. Well, that's going to be a life changer for him. He goes a hundred bucks.

I was like, are you serious? He's like, yeah, just a hundred, just a hundred. And I was like, yes, absolutely. Like, yeah, there you go. And then he goes, no, no, don't give it to me. Give it to him. And I give it to the guy. Everybody in the driveway is looking down at the ground because they're all embarrassed, bro. Why? Cause you're not supposed to do this, which is why he didn't take it. He asked for it. And there's all these things you're not supposed to do. They're not, he's not supposed to be doing this. And they all felt like this is shitty. They're like, this is shitty. If this guy's boss found out,

he'd be in trouble at the time. It's, you can't process all this. You're just happy. Also for a hundred bucks, you're not going to be like, no, no, you can't process all this. You're just happy. Also for a hundred bucks you're not gonna be like, no, no, you don't get this. Oh dude. Fine, call him. Call the general, wake him up. And I was told later that if I had said no,

that it would have been fine. Which I'm like, how are you gonna know? What the fuck are you talking about? So anyway, I give the guy a hundred bucks, no problem. He gives it to the other guy. The deputy guy apologizes to us. And they're like, we're so sorry, and nobody looked me in the eye, and then we left.

It was the fucking weirdest thing in the world, dude. Next day, school gets started, I was joking, I'm like, in this hilarious plot twist, our secular progressive school in Afghanistan would not have been possible without the generosity of the Taliban. You're like, however, we are short of 100 bucks for the weenal pencils this year.

Correct, correct. Wait, that was the pencil money. No wood for the wood stove this year. Wow. So dude, after that I was like, that sucked. I want to go home. You were soured. I was just like, that was just, that was just shitty. And the further away I get from it, like the less scary it sounds and feels to me, I don't know how it feels to everybody listening, but like it was super scary in the moment and

Dude, we had to do that drive back. There's only one way to get back So we have to pass that checkpoint again We have to drive through the tunnel again, and now we're just chilling in mazari shari for two days We go to this blue mosque, which is this UNESCO heritage site Wow, but I'm just thinking about the looming prospect of this drive I'm like just get me back to the village where we're starting the school I felt safe there like I just want to back to the village where we're starting the school. I felt safe there. Like, I just wanna go back and then I wanna go home. Blew my, yeah.

It's beautiful. They made the point that since- This one? What? No, no, no, no, no, no. I think that's, it looks like turkey. Or maybe. Yeah, yeah.

Look up Blue Mosque, Mazar. It was kind of not looking its best because the, yeah, this is it. Wow. Since there was no, so many sanctions and stuff, it was just like dirty. You know that's good, it didn't really get. It didn't look as nice as that, but it was cool.

Oh, it's a real pigeon, I thought that was, I thought that was a statue, yeah. Was it hot there? Mazar is hot. Because, because it's low altitude Kabul is not Kabul is like 8,000. I think Kabul maybe 6,500 feet. I want to say yeah, so it's like mountain It's like Arizona weather if you're at high altitude like oh, right, right northern, Arizona. It's like hot in the day cool at night Dusty dry cool. Yeah, sick. But anyway, just scared of this drive drive home the whole dry. Yeah, it was sick. But anyway, just scared of this drive home the whole time.

Yeah. So. How many days were you there for? In Afghanistan, I think, I want to say eight or eight nights. Do you, when you're filming this stuff, does any part of you go, hey, let's put this away, experience it for a little bit, and then once we figure out what to film, then we'll pull the shit out? Or are you just like, as you go, going like, get this, get this, get this. I'm in a constant state of attempting to balance the two things. Yeah.

Because I know you're filming something for a thing, but everyone has the same problem. You're filming stuff for your friends back home. Well. Everyone has this problem of like, how much memories do I make, how many pictures do I take? Right, and so it's interesting because I'm wearing a lot of hats. How much memories do I make? How many pictures do I take? Right, and so it's interesting because

I'm wearing a lot of hats. I'm sort of, I'm trying to construct this story where there is no story, and I don't wanna plan it too much because I don't wanna ruin the experience. So I'm like, I'm gonna sort of allow the story to unfold. If we get nothing, no one's gonna fucking watch this. I mean, dude, like, I put this out as a five-part series and it got, very few people watch it. I mean dude, like I put this out as a five-part series and it got

Very very few people watch it. What's it called? Where's it called places? You can go Afghanistan I re-released it on my channel and a couple weeks ago has like 7,000 views but the original one did okay, but See what pops up because you Afghanistan. That's great. Nice SEO. Maybe just put Julia Yeah, so this is the series but there's like curiosity there's the full like That's great. Nice SEO. Maybe just put Julio here. Yeah. So this is the series, but there's like a- Curiosity. There's the full like- What a fucking good site for a goddamn intro. Yeah, dude.

Look how gorgeous that is. That's sick, right? How pretty was it all there? It was fucking gorgeous, bro. So anyway, yeah, I'll send you the link of the full video because I want that one to sort of pop off, but this is like- What city is this?

This is Dubai. Oh, interesting. This is before we left. Around the river there. And this sort of ends with the school thing actually, which it might be a good thing to go to theoretically if we're gonna talk about that next. So yeah, so the idea for the school came from this.

We visited a school that's in a cave. Yeah. And it was so, it was hard to hear these kids be like, we want to be a doctor when we grow up. And it's like, you're not going to be able to do that, bro. Look at this girl, bro. This girl could be a model. Why did you bleep her out?

She'll be in trouble. She ended up fleeing the country. They told me I needed to bleep her out? She ended up fleeing the country. They told me they asked me these really profound questions on the spot. I wish that I had prepared for these. Like these are I want to give good answers to these, you know. So they ask you they're like, what? What do you have advice for us? You know, where would you like to go? I forget. I forget exactly, but like shit like that.

Just like really thoughtful questions. And I think maybe they are used to this. I'm sure they have visitors and people would donate and stuff. So I go to this school, it feels kind of heavy, but also you don't wanna be condescending. Like just cause it seems like, you're God, they must have it so tough.

That is worse than just treating them the same as people You know imagine somebody coming to like I mean this happens in New York all the time Actually your friends come to visit you you're in the nicest apartment ever been in and they're like You just walk through that kitchen that's not an actual room. You're like, come on man. How much do you buy was happy about my But here I mean dude like right as we had kind of gotten there, they had made this rule about the girls can't go to school past a certain age and all this shit. Really?

Yeah, which is just so fucked up. And they think that it's like chivalrous. They're like, we love women. That's why we don't want them to have to do anything. Oh, interesting. Guys, this is backward, I'm sorry. So anyway, we have this whole experience, and it was so nice. And a guy I know had

given me some money to sort of hand out to people, which is just sort of a more difficult thing to do than it sounds. Because if you give money to someone, everyone's gonna want money. So you need to be kind of careful how you give it where you give it whatever. And I find out how much these teachers make. And it's not a lot. It's like 100 bucks a month. And it's like a good it's like a decent wage. And I was like, Oh, shit, like, do you know any teachers? And the guy's like, lot. It's like a hundred bucks a month and it's like a good it's like a decent wage and I was like, oh shit like Do you know any teachers and the guys like yeah

And I was like is there places for the kids here to go to school and he's like like not really and also the parents Like don't care so they like don't think to send it But if we were to go and be like, hey, you should send the kids they would and I was like, okay And I was like is there a place that we could do it and they're like, yeah, you could just do it here There's no red tape in Afghanistan. You just go use the skill school building. And they're like, well, just what just use this is you can just use the school building that's already there. We've we've since rebuilt it. And now all the visitors who

visit my guide donate to it. So it's become this like, nice thing where I'm also paying the salaries of all the teachers are so cost to keep a school going? So it's a hundred bucks per teacher. Per what, month? Per month. We have five teachers. I pay this guy, or no, six teachers. We hired another teacher for this school because that lady left.

So we hired someone for this. And then we pay the guide on sort of admin fee for bringing the money. These little girls got adult face. I know dude, look how cute these kids are. So anyway, it's a bummer and also. They started a fucking school? Dude, you go to a place and you think that, you're like, oh, they're used to this.

They're like from there, they're used to it, which is wrong. Nobody is used to this. So anyway. Oh, they're not used to it. No bro, like they wanna go to school and they're not used to it. No, bro. They want to go to school. And they have a nice attitude about it.

But with the proper infrastructure and the proper governance or whatever, all people theoretically have a good shot, which is why it's such a bummer that most of the world lives in fucking corrupt, under corrupt governments. So anyway, we end up starting it. But dude, look at this. This is so nice. Uh, it really ended up coming together. I had this like really nice meeting where we met all the guys and we,

so we interviewed all the teachers. There's male and female teachers. Is that totally allowed female teachers? Yeah. Okay. The woman thing is like, you can have jobs like that like a teacher doctor if you just travel between provinces You need a chaperone Which is ridiculous. Somebody told me in Syria that they got you know similar not the same But they get real weird if like it's like you and just like your other hostile friend is like gonna hang out in your place Like no, no, no, no, no, no, why don't do that. You're not married. What are you doing? Yeah, so girlfriends traveling girlfriends and boyfriends are like, what in your place. You're like, no, no, no, no, no, no, why? Don't do that, you're not married, what are you doing? And so girlfriends, traveling girlfriends and boyfriends

are like, what do you mean you're not married? Why are you in a room together? Syria's a modern country too. That's the thing that's weird about that. Iraq was like that too. My guides were like, yeah, we had to get married because it was weird that we were sneaking off to Kurdistan to spend the weekend together in a hotel.

So anyway, and I don't want this to seem to like virtue, actually. Yeah, fuck. I don't want this to seem to like virtue signally. To what? Just like, we're trying to like get press for the school and stuff. So like. Well, that's okay.

That's kind of cool. I'll just pull it up. But anyway, it ended up being like a really nice, so we meet with these teachers, we hire them, I spend the whole day with these guys, it was super fun. And we're discussing. I mean, all the money you're sending to the school, you could be spending on YouTube Premium.

Yeah, right, yeah, I know, shit. Okay, so let's go right here to the end. So we have this full day with these guys, we discuss how it's gonna work, we discuss who's gonna be who, we sit and we have this whole like, tribunal basically discuss how it's gonna work We discuss who's gonna be who we sit we have this whole like Tribunal basically it felt like game of some Game of Thrones Always tea, huh?

Yeah, always always with the tea always tea and always on like a blanket. How was the tea great? Yeah, really good actually and this is this is in the middle of like an apple field and like apples grow The apples that you'd like eat at the store grow naturally there and are delicious. And anyway, so at the end here, like within a couple weeks this is what ends up happening with the school which is super fucking sick. And it's nice when you get these updates. How the fuck did you start a school?

Dude, the thing is I've never done this thing before. I have no charity background. And what it showed me is just like, with ever so slight amount of effort It's not that hard to do some shit like this So this is like the the sort of final product here of the school and end up being like such a great thing These are all the kids like being lined up to get shot Yeah, it's seen some stuff

It's just like a nice looks like. Yeah, it's seen some stuff. It's just like a nice thing. Whoa. Look at these cute kids, bro. It's very rewarding. So now they're all in a fucking school in some small town. Yeah. And I think there was another school, like you know what I mean,

it's just like adding to the existing infrastructure. People on the right, bro, those are housewives who go to the school. They're not supposed to. They're just learning how to read And so the no red tapes you can just be like start it. There's like there just do whatever you want So we had to get a permit from the

We had to get a permit. They pronounce your name Yeah, mr. Giulio. They can say the Joe. Yeah, they taught them how to do it. This is them. Mr. Judeo? Doing their little lessons. So anyway, really nice, really nice thing. Wow, wow. And yeah, man, I'm very proud of it. It's been- How long did it take you to get that together? So-

I mean, you were only there for- I know. A couple weeks. It was quick. So anyway, like, you know, it almost sounds too good to be true, right? So it's like, all right, accountability, this and that, like they still are sending videos.

It's the same people in all the videos. Like there's no reason for me to think that it's not going well. And I had a neutral third party visit the school recently. Okay. He listens to my pod who like does my itineraries. Yeah. He went, he's like, dude,

it looks like it's going pretty fucking well. Wow. So that's sick. So anyway, he's like, dude, it looks like it's going pretty fucking well. So that's sick. So anyway, it wasn't that hard, dude. We just like picked the people and then I was going back and forth with the guy. Now the thing that was hard, we had a legal thing, like a legal corporate lab look over all of our stuff to make sure we weren't violating

any international laws and stuff. Who chose the curriculum? We did, we sat and we talked at this sort of lunch. And did they tell you like, Oh, you can actually can't know that book. We'll never go. You can't do that here. So it wasn't as specific as the book itself. It was just sort of like broadly what would be taught and that it wouldn't be a religious school.

And they said they're okay. That's fine. Yeah. They're like, no, the kids kids need to learn how to fucking read and shit. Read and do whatever. If they're gonna have any hope of doing anything, they need to have decent school. Wow. Yeah, I mean, correct. Right?

Yeah, but again, for that preconceived notions idea, it doesn't go with that. The preconceived notion is like, no, no, no one can be educated. Right. But that doesn't make sense. So like, what do you mean we're going to be a country? We need like dams built.

We need to know some math. No, dude, totally, totally. And I think that that's part of why it's fine. We forget like, so yeah, we have a permit, official permit, and the Taliban are different in the different areas too. So in this particular area, some of the people who we knew, knew the Taliban people, blah, blah, blah, made it easier to get all this stuff off the ground. And as long as the money is being sent to non-sanctioned individuals,

it's no problem. So we background checked everybody who worked there. We background checked the guide. We background checked, blah, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, so still going, blah. Anyway, so still going man. And we raised a good amount of money just from a couple Instagram stories. Yeah, and I look linked up with a couple of people who've been helping. And it's been sort of like, I wouldn't call it a lot of work, but there is responsibility, like I need to send the money to them. I actually have to send it to the guy today. So like, it's interesting how you're right. they do look different. They looked white, looked Asian. Yeah, I have that video too, which is like, we took like. How old the fuck is this kid? I know it is. This kid's a fucking one.

That's a tiny ass kid. Dude, you'd see a kid like that ripping a Red Bull. Really? Yeah, bro. Wow. Was there like, wow. And the food was just like Middle East with a lot of bread? Lot of good bread, lot of rice, chicken, lamb.

Lamb, dude. Dude, and some of the nature was super sick too. Like aside from all this kind of stuff, like beautiful nature. Also I got pretty baked one day. This one dude got me super high. What, what, what was it hash? Wow. Hash is legal there. Like it's not illegal, but I think like,

how she should they call it? I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Um, it's fine. Yeah, you can smoke it. And this dude's, uh, this one dude was kind of a burnout. Like in my country, you rule. Yeah, exactly. Uh, and he's like, this my country, you rule. Yeah, right, exactly. And he's like, this stuff's super strong. And I just got super high and paranoid. I was like, this was a mistake.

But yeah, and then we went to this, one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life, this giant sort of crater lake. That's just like, it's called Bandy Amir. Do you have pictures of that? I do, yeah. It's close to the smoking session called Bandi Amir. Do you have pictures of that? I do, yeah. Oh, oh, oh. Especially the smoking session with this dude right into the...

Look at that, look at the mountains behind you. Serene environment, got super high. You're fucked up there? Dude, blazed. Cause you know, I'm leaning into it. I don't, you know, I normally would not be smoking like that in the middle of the day. But also if somebody offers you something,

don't you feel kind of like, I have to? Yeah. Unless it's gonna like like fuck you up. Yeah. When I was in Egypt and I was waiting for a bus somewhere and I'm just kind of like waiting and the guy, the bus driver guy sees me and he's just like cigarette and I was not smoking at the time and I was like, yeah, for sure. Yeah, absolutely.

I can't be like, nah, I don't want to get hooked again. Absolutely. When in Egypt, bro Fucking smokey smoking a fucking yeah. So this is like I took this from like a music video. That's about it But there's like actual footage coming Damn How long is the hike to get up there? Wow, not we pretty much like drove up crater Lake. Yeah, I think second We pretty much like drove up crater Lake. Yeah, I think second And no one ever you were never like besides that checkpoint never got like Rob pickpocketed anything like that never bro That's kind of shit doesn't happen in this that kind of shit doesn't happen in these places. It does not

Yeah, it's like the I guess the good thing about Religious fanaticism is like religions gonna run it's like, I guess the good thing about religious fanaticism is like, religion's gonna run it. Oh yeah, nobody's gonna steal from you, everyone's gonna invite you over. So there's the political component where the worst case scenario of that is worse than getting your iPhone stolen, but you will get your iPhone stolen if you're walking around Quito with baggy pants. That shit will never happen to you here.

Maybe in Kabul, maybe, but like- Right, no one's gonna look at you weird for holding hands with a girl in Quito. Right. But they're gonna steal your iPad. Correct. Right. And here, like, yeah bro, you don't have to worry. People are super nice and they're super innocent.

You don't have to worry about that kind of shit in general. I find, you know, in a lot of the Middle East. So you wanna say what you felt about the about the head coverings? Oh, yeah. That was really interesting. That was cool for sure. Yeah, it was interesting because the rule is that you have to wear a head cover. And there's like all these like fully covered. We have all heard that. Yeah.

And the signs of head to toe with a big fucking knapsack. Yeah, with the full thing, which is really it's jarring to see it when you see it a lot. But, dude, in the city and depending on where you were, not everybody was doing it. And you'd see these women walking right past the Taliban face open, nothing. So it was a lot of it's like rhetorical. Like they say that, but then they don't enforce it because they're like, women are like, we're not wearing a fucking face covering and they're like, okay,

what are we going to do? Wow. We'll let you have this one. Uh, in good faith since we're trying to be the government now and get people to like us. So they're just like, it's cool, this is a big city? Yeah, and the people of Afghanistan are scared of the Taliban too. So when they first became the government,

people were really freaked out because they weren't sure what was gonna happen. Yeah, how bad are they gonna be? But aside from the obvious things, like it's so poor there because of all the sanctions and all the lack of access to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, nice. I love it.

So all that shit. But yeah, like as far as stuff like that, like they are not as bad as people thought, but still are the Taliban are still bad. So bad. Yeah. But they wouldn't make them cover up in the big city. That's so interesting. Yeah. They were just chill with it. Yeah, dude. They're just like, yeah, the Taliban are just kind of like, all right, I guess, I mean, I guess it's like, it's like, it's so hard to like, I saw this guy in Montreal once, religious Jewish. I wouldn't say rabbi, but certainly could pass.

And letting out from his car a big fat black hooker. And it's just like, what? Yeah, not everyone's a good anything. Totally. Everyone's trying their best. I've heard about this in Brooklyn too. Oh yeah, they love black hookers. And it's like, and it's like, well yeah, they're not, they're not doing it right.

We're like, I don't know. I'm not a hunt. I'm not that fanatic. Dude, totally. Still gotta get a black hooker once in a while. Not a lot of flat black chicks in the Orthodox Jewish community. Everybody's human, bro. So this is just you seeing the- Anyway, this is just sort of like, I'm trying to repurpose all this stuff to try to get people to watch it. So I'm just kind of like picking whatever. But yeah, this is

interesting. So there's all these signs like that. A lot of women not covered. The women are just not covered. You got a bunch of outfits. Yeah. Yeah. I got like you still have these. I do. Yeah. Nice. And when I first got back, bro, I'd throw them on. They're super comfortable. Really? Yeah. Wait, do you not wear underwear? Does it just free flow? No, you do. It's super fucking comfortable. Yeah, when I was back, I would get hammered on my couch

and throw this on. I like the top of that yarmulke. It looks like a mosque. It's sick, right? Like the front, the way it goes up. Like ornament, yeah, that's true. Consistency with the design. Go for the ladies.

Wow, so they don't make it layout. Like that's nothing, nothing. A ton of chicks not wearing it. I'm calling them chicks, dude. But yeah, like she's not bad. I mean, yeah, she may as well be wearing a covering. Oh, it's a lot of tooth gone. And then that's a full fucking duffel bag. And right behind her some skank showing off her nose like a fucking, like she's flaunting it.

Right. So that's official policy. And then there's actual policy. Official policy and then what's enforced. So in Ecuador, they had the official, it's one of the only countries, if not the only one where the rights of environment's one of the only countries if not the only one where the the the rights of Environment are protected in the Constitution And we were like, wow, that's so cool. We asked me there and they just started laughing

I was that not part of the Constitution and he was like Yeah, it's part of the Constitution. But like we're constantly fracking and doing Like as he throws up your constitution, you can't spy on Americans What are you talking about? fracking and doing everything. As he throws up some can. Is it your constitution you can't spy on Americans? Right, right, right. So like what are you talking about? Right. That's funny. No, it totally makes sense.

Damn. There were some good, I appreciate you helping me with that trip, dude. There was like good day trips and shit. In Ecuador. We'll be back on to do that one. So you gotta come back, buddy. Yeah, for sure, man. That was so fucking sick.

What a cool trip to Afghanistan Nobody goes there. Yeah, it's a tough one. And you know, and I will say this too Yeah, if anybody here has listened to me like wow, like this sounds like something I want to do The Taliban are like way better about visitors, you know there's some conflict conflict in my brain about like Visiting am I somehow being like a traitor by doing that? But like, I have nothing to do with anything. And either do the normal ass fucking people there. There's no reason why I can't go and enjoy the customs

that predate any sort of fucking, any sort of like disputes that are going on and enjoy people and hang out. Like this has nothing to do with sides to me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And also, I saw someone come up to Michelle Wolf for performing in like Dubai, UAE or somewhere, I don't know, whatever. And she's like, yeah. And also, I saw someone come up to Michelle Wolf for performing in like Dubai, UAE, or somewhere, I don't know, whatever.

And she's like, with the female rights, and she goes, wouldn't it be cool though, to show them what an actual free female could be? Yeah, that's true. Should I not show them that version of womanhood? And she's like, fuck off. She was just like, eat a dick, I'm going to fucking perform. Dude, 100% agreed, and I always land there as well.

But this is- And you're curious. Very much so. This is becoming an easier trip to take. I'm seeing on some of the accounts of people who I follow who are over there, Taliban now take photos of people, they didn't used to do that.

They're getting a little bit more used to it. So it's easier to do this trip than it used to be. If you want to do. Wow. Which I'm not recommending it. But there are places that I do recommend. Iraq, fully recommend that as a vacation. Wow, oh you gotta come back for that one. Yeah, yeah, that's like a vacation, bro.

That's a vacation. That's a vacation, I swear. I mean that, and I'm not just being this guy. You'd see if you went, vacation. But yeah, Afghanistan, it's a little more of an adventure, but very doable if you want to do it. It's such a cool place to have been. Does any part of you, while you're somewhere,

okay, listen, I'm skiing in Vail. I'm like, it's fun, right? And then my brother took me to, we were gonna go to Zermatt in Switzerland, and he was like, I had no snow, let's shift, let's go to Lavinio. And it was like, this is cool to be skiing in Lavinio. It's cooler than Vail.

So when you're in Afghanistan, how much of your girls, this is cool? Dude, like very much so. This is sick, great experience, but I try not to get too desensitized because I still enjoy Brussels. Right, right, right. I truly, not to sound like a fucking

really obnoxious positive person because I'm definitely not that but I really do Try my best to enjoy every single place that I go Even if it's not obvious what the place has to offer because if you pay attention every place does something well Yeah, even if you're in fucking, Indiana You know, I mean like every place right true has a thing they that they do and that they offer that's different than anywhere You've ever been so you just have to be Willing to pay attention so I do feel that way about Afghanistan, but it doesn't make me not want to go to Tokyo, right?

I still want to go to Tokyo. I still want to go to same bars. I still want to go to all these places Well, I got two more questions for you. What like what in general what's to let you think about the first one Well, I asked you a second one. Okay travel, just in general, I would always do this. Also, where do you wanna, what's on your horizon for next? Just a country or two that I definitely wanna hit that. Oh cool. And then also, before we get to either one of those, what would you tell somebody headed to Afghanistan,

oh make sure to do this this or stay away from this mmm, like some advice interesting, um, I would say You probably have a better experience if you fly on like a Quote reputable airline. Okay, peace of mind. I mean, I think you'd probably make that decision by default So there's no reason to any sort of like like random, so okay, you need a guide. Obviously nobody listening is probably even gonna go at all

and probably would never consider going without a guide, but you need a guide or you hang out with the Taliban the entire day. Well yeah, but my thing is I'm like, I don't need a tour group guide, but a guide is different than a tour group guide. That's the beauty of this, you pay the same price you pay for a group to have a solo guide.

I was not with a group. You can't make a video with a group. I've tried before, it's impossible. Cause it was a, come on. You're cringe, you're fucking sneaking off, it sucks. It's such a vibe killer. So you need the guide and you can go in small groups if you want, it'll make it less expensive,

but it's the same amount you'd spend on a big vacation. I mean, depending on what you're doing. If you're gonna take an international vacation, this falls in the same amount you'd spend on a big vacation. I mean, you know, depending on what you're doing, if you're going to take an international vacation, this falls in the same sort of price range. Yeah. Um, so yeah, if you're going there, go with the guide, uh, ask me before you go, because I give you a recommendation and they'll tell you everything, everything you need to know. Fortunately, would you tell them like, Hey, pack a heavy and light because

it's, um, cold and warm check the, yeah, check the forecast. Um, I would say don't go during the winter because it's cold and warm. Check the, yeah, check the forecast. I would say don't go during the winter because it's like a heavy winter, heavy snow. Like definitely, yeah, try to go during, the best time to go is probably during the fall, which is when I went. It's like desert weather. It's like, it's really hot in the afternoon.

It's cool at night. It's like Utah. Nice. Looks like Utah too, to be honest. Wow. And then as far as travel tips in general, assemble your travel toiletries over time. Because you never,

you never need to feel like you're that far away from home. You know how unpleasant it is when you're like, I don't have my moisturizer. I don't have my toothpaste. I don't have whatever. You can curate all that stuff for yourself. And it's worth it to do it. What do you mean?

So like every single thing you have at your house that you can just default go to, if you assemble travel versions of that over time, you'll have everything you need to always. Oh, so you just bring your travel toiletries thing. You don't go like, oh fuck, I forgot to put my toothpaste in, it's already in there. My travel toiletries are always assembled.

Wow, smart, ready to go. That to me, because I never feel, Oh fuck I forgot to put my toothless and it's already in there my travel toiletries are always assembled Wow Smart's ready to go that to me because I never feel I always feel at home on the go Yeah, even more so because I'm not bogged down by the fucking Bullshit protocol of my life. I can't possibly sit at my desk because I'm gone. I'm on the road Yeah, you know I mean I don't know somehow that like frees me up what I do I like bog my day down thinking I need to do more than I actually need to do and I decide it's gonna take me seven hours To do something and then I hear it. Yeah, it doesn't or then I think I need to be doing other productive things But I'm on the go

I feel light and I feel like I can look back at my life or whatever So I want to curate an environment nice where I don't feel homesick when I'm gone. Okay. Okay. I like that Yeah, have your okay nice. It's and now Wales. Where do you want'm gone. Okay, okay, I like that. Yeah, you have your, okay, nice. And now, what else, where do you wanna go? Okay, so, it depends on what you mean by that. I think like, from a where do I wanna go. What's calling you? What's calling Iran. Iran, yeah.

Yeah, when she said Iran, and talked about how beautiful the mountains were and stuff, and she goes, there's only a couple regions, probably along the border here, but I don't know. But she's like, the mountains were sick. She goes, only a couple regions probably along along the border here but I don't know but she's like the mountains were sick she goes you didn't have to wear a hijab except in a few places yeah for a girl for Swedish girls like she was like said it was fine that's great yeah but she goes as an American you need a chaperone wherever you go yeah and there's a little bit of like looseness with that but you need a registered tour

person right as an American I'm working working on getting my Italian passport. I'm hoping that happens at some point in which case that trip becomes more approachable. It's easier to get the visa, et cetera, et cetera. But I mean, dude, it's a developed country. They have the biggest mall in the world in Iran. Really? Like it's bougie. Like it to some degree, like you can find out, you can seek out a bougie experience in Iran, you can't really do that in Afghanistan. That's just interesting to me. So like Iran is definitely up there. I would say that Central Asia in general,

like these countries, Tajikistan sounds super interesting. Yeah. All of them actually. Turkmenistan is like weird and interesting. I started learning Russian a little bit to go to Tajikistan and then it was like, this is so hard, I should just go Spanish. What am I doing?

To use in like a very, maybe, maybe trip to take once. Was, did you go? No, but when I was in Myanmar, everyone was talking at a hostel about like, places to go and some lady was just like, the stands. And I think Tajikistan in general, she was like, it's uncharted, but it's still like, outgoing.

And one of them is like, no you'll get taken and the other one's like so friendly which is the take I don't know I gotta look for I think Tajikistan is one of the ones who actually and I'm correct me correct me if you know that I'm wrong but I don't think that they speak as much Russian there I think they speak Tajik which is kind of more like Farsi interesting maybe I don't know Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Russian will help a lot I think Kyrgyzstan too I don't really know I don't know. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Russia will help a lot. I think Kyrgyzstan too. I don't really know what's up in Turkmenistan.

Interesting. Turkmenistan is like in North Korea. It's like impossible to go big, beautiful cities. There's no one there. Oh really? It's super weird. Turkmenistan? Yeah, interests me a lot for sure.

Ashgabat. Yeah, Ashgabat is like the marble city or something they call it. It's like gorgeous, huge, whatever. Cool. There's just like nothing there. So that sounds interesting to me. I'd also like to do some sort of like Buddhism thing somewhere in Southeast Asia maybe or in Korea. Buddy, right here. So Buddhist. You've been there? Yeah. You've mentioned it before. What was it like?

It's very Buddhist. Very. So much of that. They're literally killing the Muslims Yeah, they called they said they are either Hitler Buddha or Nazi Buddha one of their main higher-ups was just like again that it raised the most ideal You're not supposed to step on a fly, but they're like, yeah, but the Muslims gotta fuck. Yeah It's like that fly you protect but not one of these fucking Muslim. They're like what your Buddhist You fly, you protect, but not one of these fucking Muslims. They're like, what? You're Buddhist. Brutal.

But where'd you go? So you can't go everywhere. This whole northern region, there's one place you can go, but you can't get out of your train. It's a 10 hour train. You can't get out as a foreigner. Once you get there, it's a little like, almost like a embassy.

Like, along these grounds, you can go out. Anywhere else, no. But that's just, you wouldn't go there anywhere. You don't want to see the- All these areas. You don't want to see the ethnic cleansing. But people are, I. But that's just, you wouldn't go there anyway. You don't wanna see all these areas. You don't wanna see the ethnic cleansing. But people are, I mean, it's only in regions, but yeah, but that region, right,

they don't want you to see it. You can't get a motorized vehicle, only electric, or bike. And then, but since it's so Buddhist in a real way, like people are actively trying to help you. That's right. It's like, this is a real big cool thing for me if I can just help you get where you're going. And they're not trying to help you. That's really nice. It's like, this is a real big cool thing for me if I can just help you get where you're going. And they're not trying to take advantage.

100%, and it makes it an experience so much better because when you get greeted by the fucking gringos or even parts of Africa, I haven't really traveled all over, but I gather that a lot of some of these countries can be like that, not hospitable, and people are just shaking you down constantly, that gets old. Yeah, we got off in a place we weren't supposed to be, sort of like, let's stay the night, let's try.

And some guy was like, where are you headed? We're like, this place. No, we're fine, leave us alone. Still got that xenophobia, I know you're trying to get over on me. And he's like, I can take you guys, I've got a motorcycle, I can take one of you, you and then take another one it's like a mile and a half I could just like you know fair you guys like what do you want man like what are

you up to something right and he goes all right you got me I was trying to practice my English it was great I like, I gotta stop assuming things. That reminds me of something, Iraq, and I know you wanna do an episode about this, but this is like a fun thing. The first time I was there, our guides were like, they were like, sorry, we can't meet you till tomorrow. So we're just like alone in Iraq for 24 hours,

which was completely fine. But like, again, you don't want curve balls the day you arrive in Iraq. Curve balls, no, you don't. So anyway, they're like, yeah, you'll be fine, but like again, you don't want to, you don't want like curve balls the day you arrive. So anyway, they're like, yeah, you'll be fine. Like whatever. So we feel kind of comfortable at the hotel, we're like, we're going to go to dinner. They're like, okay, they're like, we'll call you a taxi. Use this number to like call the taxi when you come back.

We're like, okay. So we go to dinner, we have a great time, whatever. Nobody speaks English, but we're pointing, we're eating, have a great meal. Then we like somehow can't figure out the taxi, so we go to just hail a cab. So there's marked cabs, so we're kind of like, and then just this random car pulls up,

and we're like, oh no, dude. And it's like a Toyota Camry, the dude just kind of looks like dirty and little, and like, I don't know, that's rude to profile somebody, but you know, he's like, get in, get in, and we're like, fuck, so we show him a picture of the hotel and we're just sitting there. Oh my god Oh my god, and then he drops us off at the hotel and we're like, oh, thanks. We're like how much do we owe you? He's like no. No, don't worry. He's like, it's free. Please. Please welcome. What? Yeah, isn't that crazy?

Didn't nobody let you pay for anything there, dude It was like that the whole trip Wow. I know I was like that's wild. That was a really nice Experience damn Alright, well do though Galarati Thanks, buddy. Yeah, you got to come back on for sure This is cool. Yeah, thanks. It's a treat to get to talk about this stuff. I appreciate Yeah, so what Rolf says is like when you get home he goes gonna be met with two people You probably experience this we're gonna wrap this up anyway, but like he goes, you have this

amazing kind of life-changing experience or just wild for sure and someone's like, how was you? Like, oh my god, it was so cool. I went to a monastery in the mountains and they go, oh yeah, I've been to a monastery. Hey, what, what, you see the Dune yet? And you're like, oh really? You're just gonna change the subject on me? Yeah. You're out of the skies. It's so much cooler than anything you've done this week. Dude, how much I relate to that is crazy

and I kinda understand it, but yeah, I don't wanna be annoying. Yeah, you're like, all right, if you're not asking, am I gonna push? Now that I've been in so many places, I have things that I can add and I try to be sparing with that because I don't wanna to be annoying. Right.

I don't want to have something better to say than you have to say. But this podcast is like, I want to hear it. And dude, it makes me feel bad for people who've been to war, to be honest. They come back from war and like, not only does nobody understand what they've been through and they probably don't even want to talk about it, but like how little they understand must be really difficult. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it kind of fucks me up thinking about it, but like how little they understand must be really difficult Kind of fucks me I'm thinking about it, but

Yeah, man, I just I really love traveling to maybe do a fault and I intend to continue letting her up Yeah, nice. All right. Good. All right. Thanks, man Hi guys, well, that's the episode as always I like to avail myself, get it? Pun? Oh, of interesting places to shoot. Oh shit. Ah, this was a mistake. I can already tell you this is a mistake. Ah, this is dangerous. If you liked Julio, please check out his special

On The Map at youtube.com slash at not Julio guys he's the Anthony Bourdain of stand-up comedy I'm not joking you think it's me it's not it's Julio he goes to way wilder places than me does way wilder and more dangerous things if you want to see him back listen he's come back either way but if you want to incentivize them to come back sooner click on his special on the map. Shit, how do I make this jump? Atnaudhulio. Shit. And tell him you heard about his special from this. Tell him your favorite joke, but also tell him you were sent here straight from Afghanistan. No, that's all mogul.

That's all mogul. How do I make this turn? Oh! Jerry! Oh shit. Oh shit. Ah fuck! Oh shit! We're safe. Guys, I have a couple big announcements. One, if you're looking to enter for the trip around the world, it's not really around the world, it's either Southeast Asia or South America, maybe it's around the world.

Maybe that would be more fun. If you're a guy or a girl, so interested in going, please send a DM to at ubtrippinpod on Instagram or ubtrippin account it might be you be tripping pod a Gmail account too. Please put it up. Tell Heather and Caitlin why you want to be you, what time you have, why you want to travel, what you're hoping to get out of this. By the way you're gonna do it my way. That's the deal. You're gonna leave your phone behind. You're gonna leave your phone behind. You're gonna lock yourself out of all social media and your email.

And you're gonna be off the grid. You're gonna make friends. That's the way I want you to do it. That's the way I think you'll get the most out of it. Whoa! Fucking shit. Hey, why is it better light here? No. Oh, that's a nice shot. Um, that's it.

We're gonna hopefully choose by, hmm, April and then send you off in May. Uh, today's episode is edited by, oh, what is this? Little Wonderland by Alan Caffey. Woo! Produced by Your Mom's House Network. I can hit this. Send it! Send it!

And now I've got a massive announcement. It's not now, but it's coming next week. Adam Rowe is next week talking about India. Fucking great bike trip in India Really good episode as you know by now different experiences different places. It is not Duncan Trussell's Spiritual journey in India. No, it's Adam Rowe's disgusting journey But I have a massive massive massive announcement for any stand-up comedy fan for every fan of stand-up comedy and the history thereof.

There will be a presale announced for something on Monday's episode. Presale will start on Wednesday. You want to get the first codes for that. It might be on Tuesday, I'll be honest. We'll find out. get the first codes for that. It might be on Tuesday, I'll be honest. We'll find out. He's coming Monday when the pre-sale is. And that's it. All I can tell you is that's a hint.

Full announcement, that's straight Cliff. Full announcement next week. But you wanna tune in for that. Anyone who's been a fan of mine for a long time, anyone who's a fan of mine for a long time, anyone who's a fan of good ones. North Korea. We got North Korea coming with Michael Malis.

Dude, it's just so many. Please subscribe, wherever you're watching or listening. And uh, oh fuck. Fuck. God damn it. Fuck. By the way, this is a new jacket. I had to buy a new one because fucking North Face is bullshit. I said the zipper's broken. You fix it.

They go, yeah, sure, but you got to bring it in. I'm like, can you just like, can I just fix it myself? No, they said, no, if you do it yourself, the fucking warranty is lifted. So I sent it in. I took it all the way out to where the fucking Cat City is in Austin. Dropped it off. They shipped it straight back to the city. I was like, oh, I'm it myself? No, they said no, if you do it yourself the fucking warranty is lifted. So I sent it in, I took it all the way out to where the fucking cat city is in Austin, dropped it off, they shipped it straight back to me, these fucking cunts,

idiots. They shipped it straight back to me instead of to the fucking repair. So then I get it a month later, I'm on the road, God I like the jacket too! I get it back a month later, let's go ski. And then what do they do they say oh Yeah, sorry I'm like, okay your employee though, right? And they go, yeah Okay, so can you fix it and they go? Yes send it in I'm like, alright, how long does this take? It's just a zipper and they go. Yeah, it's just a zipper should be no time two weeks So I mail it in a fucking month passes

Nothing, they stop responding to emails Two different threads. I'm on they just keep saying send it back. We'll send you a fucking shipping label You sent me the fucking shipping label. Oh and now it's fucking up March fucking North face And now it's fucking March and I still don't have it back and then you won't even respond to emails. So that's fucked. Get fucked North Face. You screwed me. You screwed me royally.

I had to go through my whole fucking winter with this and then I had to buy this. Now I'm going to return it. It's going to be ruined. I'm into materials. I'm materialist. I don't want to waste things. And North Face made me waste stuff. Until next week everybody, at-ta-lam-le-kem. Thanks Julio. Everyone subscribe to this stuff. Oh, did you see me on the road? Schaumburg, Illinois. This week, show

added on Thursday with Adrian Apolucci. Tabernacle in March in Atlanta. Then Portland... April... I mean March 16th. Tabernacle is March 15th Portland April 16th Tabernacles March 15th March 16th and Portland show was added both those shows with Adrian Apoluchi the Dark Queen and then I gotta finish this the Vancouver Seattle Edmonton Calgary all the Canadian days have a show added because they're all sold out San Jose I don't know what else is there guys Orlando's almost gone no shows will be added there. Well, second show's already added,

but then, and then Fort Lauderdale. That's it, let's go, I think I'm done. I don't know what else there is. Tampa was sick. All right, guys, oh, also, I got recommendations of the week. The Heavy Heavy, check out the Heavy Heavy, you've never done it. My new thing, I'm gonna do a recommendation

at the end of the week, it's a band, they're like Led Zeppelin. I saw them live once in New York. It's a tiny little fucking place. They fucking rule. You gotta get their album. I don't know what it's called, but I think they only have one. I had the vinyl. They signed it for me. That's how small they are. They're gonna be in arenas fucking soon. So check out the Heavy Heavy. Until next week, Salam aleikum. Thanks to Alan Caffey for editing. Thanks for your Moms House for producing. Goodbye and check out next week on a row for that announcement. Also, we'll start reading off some of the submissions. Not by name. Okay, goodbye.