BEAR X Boarding Now
INSIDE VOICES
BEAR X Boarding Now
A first of its kind for BEAR - a series called ‘Inside Voices’, where we deep dive people’s travel tales!
BEAR sat down with Sam Kenny from Boarding Now to talk all things adventure!
Give us an elevator pitch.
Hello, I don’t know what floor you’re heading to but how about fucking that idea off for me and instead coming up to the hotel bar and having a few half-priced cocktails? No? As you were.
What is Boarding Now?
Boarding Now is a podcast that I produce as my own form of creative outlet. The idea spawned during Covid when travel seemed like a fun, distant memory. I wanted to have conversations that incorporated people’s favourite past experiences abroad and bucket list items. I only put the wheels properly in motion this year, and from the limited episodes I’ve recorded, I know it’s something I want to put a lot of time in to. I am a uni student, and I am absolutely frothing the degree, but I deem this side project as equally important to who I am. It injects life in a different way.
The basic concept is… Each guest designs their version of a “perfect week” from Monday to Friday and we talk through the itinerary together. It’s a fun way to learn about people’s likes, dislikes, and philosophies regarding travel. The structure provides the scaffolding, but individual preferences and modes of storytelling give each episode its uniqueness.
What is the best stay you’ve ever had?
Best place I’ve stayed, and there’s context to this: Iberostar Selection Miraflores, Lima, Peru.
First of all, I really am a sucker for a hotel. You’re looked after with amenities, air con, comfy beds, breakfast in the lobby. But this stay was special because only hours earlier I was in airport security pleading my case to Chilean border control to grant me entry into their country. Accessed denied. I paid out of my ass for three nights in this place, but it was so worth forgetting the budget for some peace of mind. In terms of the hotel, it had all you need. The location was mint, the staff were friendly (perfect for a solo traveller who is always keen for a yarn and chatting to annoying guests is in their job contract), a good gym and most importantly, a feeling of safety that had been severely missed.
I’d effectively gone straight from the airport in Lima to a bar nearby the hotel for a night out with new friends who had also been knocked back in Santiago for a lack of visa. (that’s a whole story that I’ll swiftly brush over.) I eventually got back to the hotel, went up to the roof and dove into the infinity pool and watched the waves roll in off the cliff. I’d had about 3 hours of sleep over the previous 2 nights, but I was full of adrenaline. A distinct feeling that I will never forget, a bit of that tingling has returned as I type. Thanks for that.
Peru
The next place on your travel wishlist is …
I think I need to go anywhere I can put this ageing body to good use. My whole relationship with my body; image, appreciation, understanding, and acceptance has come through putting it through something physically demanding. How can I resent its appearance when it allows me to climb beautiful mountains, run half marathons or snowboard incredible slopes? It’s impossible to entertain those demons when you’re in that state of euphoria. I have no right to be that entitled. It’s been a little while since I’ve placed myself somewhere that requires the kind of physical effort that reminds you of these things. I’ve been keen on Nepal for a while, so I’ll organise a hiking trip sometime in the not-so-distant future. I’m hoping to be fit and active as the years roll on, but you can’t take this condition for granted. I know it’s far too easy to.
You’re the king of solo travel, what’s the best thing that has come out of travelling alone?
Woo woo woo. I am the King of absolutely nothing, and I like it that way!
The idea of solo travelling was admittedly born from insecurity and a deep-seated desire to be something more. I’d lived too safely, following conventions and coming up short. Time and time again. So, I thought I could keep flogging this dead horse, letting my frustrations grow and self-esteem lessen, or I could do something I considered “drastic” to shift my homeostasis. It was a now or never ultimatum that I gave myself, and I ended up convincing myself it was my only option. What solo travel does give you that the alternative doesn’t, is REAL confidence. Not fake bravado bull shit that’s projected out of insecurity, this is created out of facing challenges, feeling terrified, and making it through to the other side. Enough of that shit and you feel renewed, even reborn. And enough shit WILL go down that you’ll have to pivot, persevere and grow a deeper understanding of your capabilities. They are much harder to realise next to home comforts or companionship.
The trade-off is, from my experience, you begin to live far more individualistic. There’s been periods over the last few years that this fixation or obsession with personal growth has led me to believe I’m all alone out here in the big wide world. When you become hyper-focussed on anything, you risk missing the forest through the trees. The forest in this context is the connections with those around you. You appreciate people, but up until the point that they don’t fit your purpose for the given time. I’m pretty ready to shed that mindset and dive deep into my relationships, travel with them, create shared memories that compound the happiness. I’m going to latch onto some poor f***ers so hard. But I do think the solo experience is what’s readied me for that, so I’m a massive exponent of it. There’s another lesson there, that what works for you during one season of your life is very rarely going to sustain you throughout the rest. Be open to the change you feel within yourself, and adapt.
Tell us one meal you had while travelling that you wish you could have again?
The Japanese do grilled octopus exceptionally well. Ikayaki. In fact, they do most foods pretty fckn well. If you go to Tokyo and do nothing aside from trying everything inside a 7/11, you’re guaranteed a solid trip.
I sat alone in Nakatsugawa inside a little intimate restaurant and watched the team go to work on the hot plate, preparing food that I’d never seen before. I got 2 plates of Ikayaki with a dusting of this elite MSG filled spicy seasoning and a squirt of yuzu mayo. Washed down with a cold pint of Sapporo. I was happy, would like to relive that.
Three songs that belong in every road trip playlist?
New Slang – The Shins
The View Between Villages (Extended Cut) – Noah Kahan
Diamonds In The Mud (Live at Hampden Park) – Gerry Cinnamon
Give me passion filled, melancholic anthems. There’s nothing I like to do more than imagine my life as a movie trailer with an uplifting arrangement of tunes to help demonstrate how significant it all is (centre of the universe complex).
Is there anywhere you’ve travelled that you wouldn’t go back to?
Probably Bogota, Colombia. The highlights didn’t quite outweigh the risk factor. Anywhere that restricts you from going out after dark is going to have a hard time making up for.
Biggest travel fuck up?
I’ve spoken at length about the royal fuck up that threatened my big life changing trip to South America, so I’ll go for something new.
I’ve only missed one flight in my life, and that was getting back from Dublin to Manchester with Ned Absolom. We completely slept through it, waking only when the cleaning service arrived at the Airbnb we were staying in on Ha’penny Bridge. Fuckups lead to adventure though. I’ve found there’s usually more beauty in the chaos than the planned. It meant we had another full day in Dublin, we sat in the Banjos equivalent for hours and learnt more about each other which really helped our friendship blossom. The only feasible solution was to catch a flight to Birmingham that night and get the early morning bus home to Manchester. It handcuffed us to an unlikely night out in Birmingham, we needed proper shelter before the bus arrived.
The best part about coming home is …
Seeing Mum, Dad, and all the other people that have given me the opportunity to leave home in the first place. Travel has undoubtedly become my way of exercising my privilege, but recognising the source of that privilege and giving back as much as you can eclipses just about everything else you see and do in the meantime.
You can find Boarding Now on Instagram @boardingnow_podcast or on Spotify here.
Stray beautiful,
BEAR.