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I’m Andrew Benfield…

A very curious traveller, writer and broadcaster. Over twenty years ago, feeling that I didn’t quite belong, I left my home in England to go to see the world. And somehow I’ve never quite made it back.

Let me bring you along on my adventures as I discover breathtaking place, remarkable people, and maybe just a whole new way of seeing and being along the way.

For my full story, including what this ‘Particular Bear’ business is all about, please see here 🙏.

Yeti

Yeti is a BBC podcast and radio show that sees my friend Richard and I adventuring across the Himalayas in search of the truth behind this legendary creature - and soon discovering we’ve bitten off far more than we can chew…

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Quickies
The Forgotten Frontier
The Forgotten Frontier

A forbidden journey into Upper Burma unearths some remarkable secrets buried deep in the jungle.

Published in Mpora Magazine

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A Slap-Up Good Shrine
A Slap-Up Good Shrine

The Bangkok place of worship offering to redeem your body as well as your soul. Just so long as you don’t mind getting slapped around a bit.

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No Reservations
No Reservations

The Art of the Clueless - why the best travel plans might just be the ones you never make.

Published in Nikkei Asia

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Magical Medicine?
Magical Medicine?

How magic mushrooms changed my mind.

Published in Nikkei Asia

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Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon

The remote Indonesian islands where mythical creatures have come to life.

Published in Nikkei Asia

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Getting to the Point
Getting to the Point

Just why exactly are Malaysian Tamils skewering their own skin in the pursuit of happiness?

Published in Nikkei Asia

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Basket Cases?
Basket Cases?

Why the Vietnamese might not be as crazy as they first appear.

Published in Nikkei Asia

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For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow?
For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow?

Welcome to the “Memorial Hall of Anti-British” - Tibet’s answer to the Royal Geographical Society.

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Flight Shaming
Flight Shaming

Can the train really beat the plane? I ride the rails from Bangkok to Singapore to find out.

Published in Nikkei Asia

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Cultural Appreciation
Cultural Appreciation

What’s really “yours” anyway? How you appropriated your own culture.

Published in Nikkei Asia

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Happy Beginnings
Happy Beginnings

Anyone for a spot of prison massage?

Published in Nikkei Asia

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Quickies
I do love a good BBC podcast (even one I’m not in) and a recent edition of this one is an absolute corker! It sets out the science behind why Tai Chi and Qi Gong are some of the very best things in life you can do to yourself - a conclusion I