Living the Dream | Simon Parker

Simon Parker is a Telegraph travel writer, columnist and BBC broadcaster. His show, Earth Cycle, airs on Amazon Prime worldwide. I had the honour and privilege to sit down and talk to Simon about his life and career up to the present date.
Simon spoke to me about how he initially fell in love with travelling. Growing up in north Oxfordshire, he said there were no shops, no pubs, and not much to do, making him eager to get away as he got older. He didn't do much travelling during his early life apart from a few holidays with family. So once Simon had finished school, he bought a one-way ticket to New Zealand, hitchhiked the entire country, and then decided to go and do the same thing in Australia. That was the hook. Simon just knew he had to be in the travel industry after that, and he knew he would find a way.
Simon told me because of his solitary adventure in New Zealand and Australia; he doesn't particularly like to follow the crowd or do activities in big organised groups, which is why he loves the idea of hiking and riding by himself or in a small group.
We discussed how he broke into travel writing and journalism. We talked about journalism as it is today and where it is heading in the future. Our discussion on the speed of news breaking was fascinating. What significant factor has social media had on journalism? Was this why Simon wants to work on articles that take a long time to produce?
I discussed with Simon about his television show, Earth Cycle: Northern Europe, which won Best Broadcast Programme at the Travel Media Awards for 2020. I asked him what it felt like winning the award and whether he had plans for future shows now that it has had recognition.
We also discussed the issues of over-tourism. Simon suggested ways we can all help with this matter.
Another topic we discussed was how fast travelling would pick up once we are out of this pandemic. Simon felt as though there would be a renaissance for international travel, which led to an interesting discussion on the continuing debate worldwide on the impact of travel on the environment. Simon does give a great viewpoint on the subject matter.
Simon talked to me about his public speaking and talking to young people about what travel has done for him and what it can do for them. We again spoke about social media and the impact it has had on travel.
Simon has interviewed many icons and told me about what it was like to interview tennis legend Roger Federer in 2020 for the BBC. He also spoke about what it was like to interview cricket player Ben Stokes in the press room after he scored a double century against South Arica in Cape Town back in January 2016.
Talking of cricket, Simon told me about his passion for the sport. He has played cricket himself all over the world on a non-professional level.
We also spoke about how he balances out his travels with his home life as he is in a relationship.
Simon also talked to me about his future aspirations and his advice to people trying to break into journalism, travel and the media.
It was a real delight to have Simon on the show. I could have spoken to him all day about travel. I look forward to seeing what he gets up to next.
You can also watch the episode on my YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/7uO_U_SvOvA). For people with hearing impairment, subtitles are available on YouTube.
#simonparker #traveljournalism #earthcycle #travelpodcast #podcast
...
Stay connected with Simon.
Website
https://www.simonwparker.co.uk/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/SimonWIParker
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/simonparker1987/
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/simonwiparker/
...
Stay connected with me.
Website
https://shebsthewanderer.com/
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/shebsthewanderer/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/ShebsAlom
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/shebsthewanderer/

Simon Parker is a Telegraph travel writer, columnist and BBC broadcaster. His show, Earth Cycle, airs on Amazon Prime worldwide. I had the honour and privilege to sit down and talk to Simon about his life and career up to the present date.

Simon spoke to me about how he initially fell in love with travelling. Growing up in north Oxfordshire, he said there were no shops, no pubs, and not much to do, making him eager to get away as he got older. He didn't do much travelling during his early life apart from a few holidays with family. So once Simon had finished school, he bought a one-way ticket to New Zealand, hitchhiked the entire country, and then decided to go and do the same thing in Australia. That was the hook. Simon just knew he had to be in the travel industry after that, and he knew he would find a way.

Simon told me because of his solitary adventure in New Zealand and Australia; he doesn't particularly like to follow the crowd or do activities in big organised groups, which is why he loves the idea of hiking and riding by himself or in a small group.

We discussed how he broke into travel writing and journalism. We talked about journalism as it is today and where it is heading in the future. Our discussion on the speed of news breaking was fascinating. What significant factor has social media had on journalism? Was this why Simon wants to work on articles that take a long time to produce?

I discussed with Simon about his television show, Earth Cycle: Northern Europe, which won Best Broadcast Programme at the Travel Media Awards for 2020. I asked him what it felt like winning the award and whether he had plans for future shows now that it has had recognition.

We also discussed the issues of over-tourism. Simon suggested ways we can all help with this matter.

Another topic we discussed was how fast travelling would pick up once we are out of this pandemic. Simon felt as though there would be a renaissance for international travel, which led to an interesting discussion on the continuing debate worldwide on the impact of travel on the environment. Simon does give a great viewpoint on the subject matter.

Simon talked to me about his public speaking and talking to young people about what travel has done for him and what it can do for them. We again spoke about social media and the impact it has had on travel.

Simon has interviewed many icons and told me about what it was like to interview tennis legend Roger Federer in 2020 for the BBC. He also spoke about what it was like to interview cricket player Ben Stokes in the press room after he scored a double century against South Arica in Cape Town back in January 2016.

Talking of cricket, Simon told me about his passion for the sport. He has played cricket himself all over the world on a non-professional level.

We also spoke about how he balances out his travels with his home life as he is in a relationship.

Simon also talked to me about his future aspirations and his advice to people trying to break into journalism, travel and the media.

It was a real delight to have Simon on the show. I could have spoken to him all day about travel. I look forward to seeing what he gets up to next.

You can also watch the episode on my YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/7uO_U_SvOvA). For people with hearing impairment, subtitles are available on YouTube.

#simonparker #traveljournalism #earthcycle #travelpodcast #podcast

...

Stay connected with Simon.

Website

https://www.simonwparker.co.uk/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/SimonWIParker

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/simonparker1987/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/simonwiparker/

...

Stay connected with me.

Website

https://shebsthewanderer.com/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/shebsthewanderer/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/ShebsAlom

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/shebsthewanderer/