Hear how immersive travel experiences challenged stereotypes and deepened Marissa’s commitment to community-led tourism. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Travel creator Marissa Strang shares how immersive travel experiences across Cuba, Egypt, Jordan, Iceland and India shaped her approach to culture-first travel and community-led tourism. She reflects on studying Afro-Latin dance in Cuba, taking her first solo trip through Iceland, honeymooning in Egypt, and experiencing Jordanian hospitality while challenging common Western stereotypes about the Middle East. Marissa also discusses visiting women-led businesses in India, learning about tourism as a tool for economic empowerment, and using travel storytelling to highlight local communities and underrepresented perspectives. This episode explores cross-cultural travel, women-led tourism, identity, hospitality, and the impact of intentional travel experiences on the way we understand the world. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU: See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally You can buy me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

389: Culture-First Travel: Marissa Strang on Egypt, Cuba and Centering Women’s Stories in India

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Hear how immersive travel experiences challenged stereotypes and deepened Marissa’s commitment to community-led tourism.  ============================  Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.  ============================  ON THIS EPISODE Travel creator Marissa Strang shares how immersive travel experiences across Cuba, Egypt, Jordan, Iceland and India shaped her approach to culture-first travel and community-led tourism. She reflects on studying Afro-Latin dance in Cuba, taking her first solo trip through Iceland, honeymooning in Egypt, and experiencing Jordanian hospitality while challenging common Western stereotypes about the Middle East. Marissa also discusses visiting women-led businesses in India, learning about tourism as a tool for economic empowerment, and using travel storytelling to highlight local communities and underrepresented perspectives. This episode explores cross-cultural travel, women-led tourism, identity, hospitality, and the impact of intentional travel experiences on the way we understand the world.  → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.  ============================  FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU:  See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads  See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads  See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)  Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn  See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend  See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)  ============================  ENJOYING THE SHOW?  Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation  Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally  You can buy me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

The Maverick Show is a global travel podcast about what really happens when people cross borders and build lives across cultures. Hosted by full-time world traveler Matt Bowles, each episode features intimate, unfiltered conversations (often over a bottle of wine) exploring the human stories behind global travel and what the journey teaches us about the world and ourselves.  Guests include expats, digital nomads, women and diaspora storytellers, worldschooling families, and human rights advocates, all sharing travel stories that are funny, moving, and deeply human.  In addition to hearing about extraordinary places and the people who live there, you’ll learn what it’s really like to move abroad, build an expat life, or travel long-term, as guests open up about their personal journeys navigating culture, race, power, identity, and belonging in an unequal world. If you’ve ever felt that travel changes you in ways no one talks about, you’re in the right place.  The Maverick Show hit the Top 100 on Apple Podcasts (including #1 in Places & Travel), was ranked in the Top 1% of podcasts globally by Listen Notes, and was named the #1 Digital Nomad Podcast and #1 Remote Work Podcast by Million Podcasts — with hundreds of five-star listener reviews.

The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond Borders

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