Tales from the vagabonding trail: Discussing “Marco Polo Didn’t Go There”

Deviate with Rolf Potts

“Life’s journey is as rewarding as my travel journeys. It’s been fun to travel the world as a slightly older person.” – Rolf Potts

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and participants in the Nomadic Network book club discuss the stories behind the travel tales in his 2008 book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, including what inspired him to collect the essays into a single book, and why he decided to include endnotes (2:00); which stories stand out as favorites, for both Rolf and his readers, and how Rolf finds stories on the road (12:30); how his writing and his travels have changed in the years since these stories were first written (19:00); what it’s like to create a home amid a life of travel, and how journaling feeds creative writing (26:00); and the new book Rolf is working on now (35:00).

Matt Kepnes (@nomadicmatt) is the founder of TravelCon and the author of Travel the World on $50 a Day and Ten Years a Nomad. The Nomadic Network is a global community of travel-enthusiasts who support and inspire one another to travel better, cheaper, and longer.

Travel essays mentioned:

• “Storming The Beach“ (Thailand)
• ​”Going Native in the Australian Outback” (Australia)
• “Backpackers’ Ball at the Sultan Hotel” (Egypt)
• “My Beirut Hostage Crisis” (Lebanon)
• “Be Your Own Donkey” (Egypt)
• “Turkish Knockout” (Turkey)

Notable links:

• Paris Writing Workshops (writing class)
• ​Travelers Tales (publisher)
• Wilfred Thesiger (travel writer)
• Gertrude Bell (travel writer)
• American Notes, by Charles Dickens (travelogue)
• Herodotus (Greek historian)
• Best Hostel Ever (Deviate episode)
• Whodunit (storytelling genre)
• Bootsnall (travel community)
• Mentawai Islands (archipelago in Indonesia)
• Tracy Kidder (journalist)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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