Firelight Chats Ep034 | Crash Landing on Taiwan w/Ryan Axelson

In the episode of Firelight Chats, Ryan Axelson crashed into the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about his time in Taiwan. As this particular 3-year stint comes to a close, Ryan shares his "Why Taiwan?" story, his first encounter with Kane at the Christmas Gold Card party, his boys' experience with the Taiwanese education system, the bicycle crash that left him with titanium implants, the Taiwanese healthcare and hospital system, his favorite trips around the islands, his favorite places and foods, the perfect location for his Taiwan tattoos, spiritual journeys, spirit animals, and his hopes to try chewing on some binlang (betel nut) before he departs.

As two lovers of culture and travel, Ryan & Kane also indulge in stories about his recent trips to Uzbekistan and Indonesia. Among the topics covered were the silk road, Marco Polo, Emir Timur, cultural relics, goat polo, resource extraction, anointing the queen of Fruits, sun bears and orangutans named Bachelor & Rambo, and deeply emotional reunions with his host family and friends after 32 long years.

Ryan Axelson is a Taiwan Gold Card holder, proud father of a pair of twin boys, a MTATW, a sales & CRM professional, and the founder of a sales & management consulting company called Brass Carrot. A native of San Diego, California, Ryan and his family will soon be returning to the Bay Area for the next chapter of their lives.