Madventures/Blog

2009, the year in review: what happened? Only everything, that’s what!

But we are not here to compile a list of what went right, let’s just say that it was the best year in the history of the show. If you are reading this, you are most likely one of the people we are very grateful for having been there for us. We can travel the world by ourselves but to make entertainment out of it, obviously we need someone to correspond with, to be our soundboard and our audience.

A cliché maybe but without you we are nothing, so thanks  a bunch for being there, buds and budettes!

A lot of youz are asking about the next season, which must be a some sort of sign that we did something right, so it would be verrrry, very insolent not to answer those queries – the best we can.

And the answer is…well, only Jah knows when and if at all there is going to be another season of Madventures. The name of our production company may be GimmeYaWallet Ltd. but we have never done anything with the main purpose of making money – you will see something new from us when the mood and inspiration hits. We’ve got plenty of ideas, some of them even good, but there are no signatures on dotted line or deals done in the dimly lit backrooms.

And let’s not forget that 2010 will be the year when Madventures premieres in most countries, so let’s  not get ahead of ourselves.

The time certainly runs on a whole different level, when you’re involved with something as intense as Madventures – it feels like we warp drove through the last 12 months, so now it’s time to chill. Not too hard here in the snow-covered, frozen solid Finnish winter wonderland we call our home.

Of course, you don’t have to dig on baby Jesus to have yourself a merry little Christmas – it doesn’t matter what you call it, there has always been a celebration at the end of the year.

To quote unknown thinker “the best holiday is the above the ground day”.

So that in mind, see you next year. Next decade, actually!

Peace.

Riku, Tunna and the Mad Squad

1. So, the deal with Nat Geo! 189 countries – that’s basically the whole world. So where Madventures is NOT available next year?

RIKU: This is totally up to Nat Geo & their providers. They even have rights to air
Madventures in North Korea, but I’m pretty sure there’s only one guy in the
country who has the satellite subscription, if any… Would be pretty
psychedelic!

TUNNA: According to my limited knowledge there are 195 countries in the world. So 189 out of 195 is pretty good? We miss six countries, DAMN IT!

RIKU: Some nice feedback we’ve got from Kuwait & Philippines, so in those areas they’ve started already.

TUNNA: It feels pretty amazing, yet surreal to think somebody could be watching Madventures in Nauru island or in Bhutan!

2. This is a question from MIKKO RANNIKKO: How old were you guys when you
started travelling and how did you get excited about it, and secondly, is there
going to be a fourth season or not? I’m excited about travelling already, thanks
to you guys, and I’m only 17! Keep travelling!

TUNNA: I started travelling around Europe by train when I was sixteen.

I spent the next four summers exploring our own great continent. It soon felt that
Europe just wasn’t enough and I wanted to go farther. When I finished college at
the age of 20, I right away took all my savings from the bank, sold
everything I owned, and bought a one year open ticket to India.

This was in 1994, when traveling to countries like India wasn’t at all as common as it’s nowadays.

The world somehow felt much bigger back then and Asia was way more
distant than it is now, mainly because of the lack of communication means.

There were no cellphones or Internet. If you wanted, you could really be unreachable and
above all, unaware of everything that was happening in the world outside your
travels. That was very liberating for me. I spent the next six months in India,
exploring the amazing otherness of Hindustan. I fell in love from the first
moment and ever since then I’ve been totally addicted to travelling.

I’m very, very happy I could even make a living out of it eventually!

RIKU: I got excited about travelling at the age of 6, when me and my family moved to
Srinagar, Kashmir. We stayed there more than a year and lived a while also in
Pakistan. My dad worked for the UN that time and stayed in the mountains, I
went to school in Srinagar and my younger siblings & mom were at home. The
Happy Valley was a lot more chelaxed place those days, I could walk by myself
on the streets.

Also the 2-month return trip through Iran, Kurdistani areas, Turkey & rest of Europe had a huge impact on me as a kid.

3. This one’s from TANJA GRAHAM: When is Season 1 getting subtitles??!!! Soon please =o)

TUNNA: I just watched couple of episodes from the season 1 after a long time and
boy, it’s been awhile, almost 8 years! It’s really interesting to see how things
change. And especially how you change yourself!

We wanted to show that there are alternative ways to live. It’s possible to
escape from this rat race and be free! We’ve won in the planets birth place
lottery and hence it’s possible for almost everyone in the west to take a
break, leave this hectic babylon behind and travel. Some brave ones even end up
doing it for good!

Freedom and questioning the western work-retirement-death plan’s validity was the main theme of the first season.

What was the question again? oh yes, the english subtitles… Riku can propably
answer to that…

RIKU: This one is difficult… If some international channel would be willing to air season 1 , we could be able to print a new dvd for that w/subs! Season 2 has English subs and naturally the latest, S3 comes with both Finnish & English subs.

4. So, the season 3 is done, the DVD is done – have you been able to relax at all?

TUNNA: I’ve been working with our UK episodes which are supposed to be ready before I
leave to Mother India in two weeks!

And after a long time I’ve finally been able to pause a bit and do regular
meditation. That’s the best therapy for our deep and dark Polar nights. The
light, it comes from inside!

RIKU: I have been returning to read Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer winner Guns, Germs and
Steel, which pretty much explains why the world became what it is now. Highly
recommended!

Then I got a recommendation in Twitter by @jcalsj to check out a
weird series called Xavier The Renegade Angel. I just got the DVD on Friday so
maybe I’ll dive into that crazy stuff this weekend!

5. It’s Thanksgiving weekend in the US, everybody’s counting their blessings. What are you thankful for?

RIKU: If only I could genuinely do this every day, would be good to appreciate some
things on a daily basis… Thanks a million to the billion, but most of all,
I’m thankful for all the love that is around me & my family!

TUNNA: I’m thankful for the fact that the world is heading for the better direction than
it was just one year ago.

I’m thankful for all the people in the world who have enough strength to fight
against the injustices of this world.

I’m thankful for the fact that I am a human, and have possibility for conceptual
thinking and potential capacity to make this world happy.

I’m thankful that humans have a concept of compassion.

I’m thankful for knowing the fact that all the actions of men, wether good or
bad, come from their desire to be happy.

I’m thankful for all you great people out there, who believe that TV can be
something else than just plastic nonsense.

In of addition to its natural beauty, Cambodia has its share of some seriously bleak locations. The top two competitors of the questionable honor of being the most horrifying place in South-east Asia are the Killing Fields and the infamous Tuol Sleng S-21 prison camp, also known as the Hill of the Poisonous Trees.

This former high school was turned into a house of torture, where an estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned from 1975 to 1979.

Through such techniques as waterboarding and other torture methods, S-21 was the final waypoint of the suspected enemies of Khmer Rouge regime before the trip to Choeung Ek extermination center.  Estimated 2 million people disappeared or were executed by the Khmer Rouge in four years.

Everybody thought everyone else was grass and said so, just to save their own lives.

Kang Kek Lew (Kaing Guek Eav), better known as Duch, the leader of this institution and of the Khmer Rouge special branch is being tried by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for his crimes against humanity.

Duch is now 67-years old. The prosecutors in the case are calling for 40-year sentence.

In his on-going trial, Duch has said he is saddened and sorry of his actions.

Of his confirmed 14 000 prisoners, twelve survived.

Twelve people.

He is sorry.

-

1. What is the situation with the promised Madventures Soundtrack?

TUNNA: I’ve been immersing myself deeply in the DVD making lately, so to be honest I don’t have a clue.  Riku?

RIKU: Yes, right now the DVD has taken all our time, but in January we’ll be able to
tell more about the upcoming Madventures Soundtrack album, for sure!

2. Who do you consider the most inspirational people you’ve met and why?

RIKU: This is an interesting question, as after a few minutes I couldn’t get one
single above-the-others situation in my mind – that sounds like a perfect proof
of my narcissism. Of course meeting wise or charismatic people is always
inspirational in a way – like meeting most of the ones we’ve interviewed in
Madventures. But right now I’m more into suffering from lack of inspiration.
It’s November in Finland…

TUNNA: Myself during the Ayahuasca experience. Lately, my Buddhist teacher.

3. This one goes like this: Riku answers about Tunna and vice versa:  
What’s the one thing people probably wouldn’t believe about Riku/Tunna?

TUNNA: Though he looks and acts like nothing would scare him, Riku is terribly afraid of all animals, even the smallest ones. He also frequently files his fingernails.

RIKU: Tunna may casually enter a wine shop and spend FORTY-FIVE MINUTES deciding which
grape or chateau to choose for dinner, then pick up few bottles, maybe even que
for a moment but then – turn around, return the bottles and leave the shop
empty-handed, as none of the wines were, after all, perfect!

Given the fact that most of the directors of the world are perfectionists, that
shouldn’t be difficult to believe, though.

4. If you could go boozing with any historical figure, alive or dead –  
who’d you choose?

RIKU: That would for sure be Hunter Thompson, but most probably I would be under the
table way too soon.

TUNNA: Siddharta Gautama after the enlightenment.

5. If you could ask one question from the people who are reading this, what would it be?

RIKU: What’s is your favorite scene in Madventures and why?

TUNNA: What’s the most bizarre & interesting thing or clip that you have bump into in the web lately?

Do you want to answer these questions? Do so in the comment section below, in Twitter or in Facebook.

Let’s talk about Khat – and to talk about it is only natural, since Khat and conversation go hand in hand in Yemen. Sure, it might strike us gringos a bit odd that the whole country would just throw in the towel after lunch time and spend the next two to three hours chewing these leaves of stimulating effect. But the main reason to do so is largely social. This is the time when men gather together to make decisions, talk politics and ponder the mysteries of life.

Such gatherings are something that is missing from our culture – or is at least they are very occasional and even then, they aren’t as large as the typical Yemeni ones. The Khat parties we attended had dozens of people there, talking about all aspects and problems of their lives with each other. Nobody was overtly intoxicated (except perhaps yours truly, because the rush from the leaf was a bit too much for unaccustomed), the effect Khat had on the chewers was more coffee- or mildly amphetamine-like stimulation that kept the conversation going and the mood positive.

Like anything natural, the fresh produce is always more enjoyable. The khat you can buy from the cities tends to be less than fresh and more dry, so if you have the chance to travel to the valleys and mountains where khat is being farmed, this maximizes the enjoyment. And don’t just chew it in your own company – strike up a conversation and become a part of true Yemeni tradition!

R

Want to see our whole trip in Yemen? Order the DVD here.

Gulf of Aden kind of hit the headlines globally at the same time as we sailed to Yemen. The pirate activity was soon to hit its height but we managed to avoid the cut-throats on our feeble tub. I tell you, the “ship” in question would have been useless in outrunning their guns and boats. Madventures does not recommend sailing too far into the open sea without proper horse- and firepower.

We were loaded in a car as soon as our feet touched the ground in Aden and we started the jeep ride to the capital city of Sana’a. We heard about the recent US embassy bombing by Al-Qaeda and wouldn’t you know it, our first real scare was soon to follow. I made the mistake of pointing my camera to the presidential palace.

Next thing you know, the car door was yanked open and guard screaming loudly in Arabic jumped into the backseat, pointing his assault rifle in my general direction. I didn’t need a translator to understand I was meant to put down my camera and put it down RIGHT NOW. I did as my gut feeling (Read: soiled pants) told me to do and turned the camera off.

Thinking back, it might have made some interesting material for the show, but they would have confiscated everything anyway, if we had got arrested. And honestly, jail time was least of my worries right then, I truly believed this guy was about to put a bullet through the back of my head in the name of national security.

We avoided the incarceration. There was a bit similar situation a couple of days later, when our driver asked if we wanted to see the house where Osama Bin Laden’s father was born. We thought he meant from the high cliff, where we had a perfectly nice view of the village anyway.

No, our driver pulled over right in front of Muhammad Bin Laden’s childhood home’s door. I don’t know if the guys who started to gather at the scene with their AK-47’s were family, but cousins or not, we felt better to hightail out of there before they got too interested in who the two white boys with cameras were…

T

1. So what you guys have been up to since we last talked to you?

RIKU: Mostly just recovering & dropping painkillers, as I had an operation last
Friday… Got a Lounge-Book laptop stand though, so I’ve been able to
coordinate the DVD publishing & pre-ordering issues straight from the comforts
of my futon. That is, all the work has been taken care of by Tunna & the Mad
Team!

TUNNA: Editing our UK episodes. Yesterday I bought plane tickets to a remote Island
deep in the tropics!

2. You make television – but do you really watch it? What are your favorite shows or favorite kind of programs? What do you hate?

RIKU: No TV on a daily basis, but then again I do check out stuff every day in the
web. I just yesterday got the pre-ordered Peep Show season 6 on DVD – that’s
one of my favorite comedy shows.

My all-time favourite (Non-Finnish) tv shows shortlist would maybe include
Wonder Showzen, The Tribe (was it called Going Tribal in the US?), The Office &
Extras, Summer Heights High and Jam… And I can’t wait to continue my BBC’s
Planet Earth blu-ray marathon. The best movie ever made is by the way
Koyaanisqatzi and right now my favorite shorties are made by the French posse
Kourtrajmé.

Hate? I don’t bother to hate crappy TV that much, I’m sometimes curious to watch
almost anything, even TV Shop sometimes as it’s pretty psychedelic! Oh, as a
professional journalist, I of course have to hate Fox News!

TUNNA: To be honest I don’t really have too much time to watch Tv. But when I do I
usually watch quality documentaries. If I love some show or a series I usually
buy it on DVD and watch it when I have the time.

What I really hate in television are reality shows exploiting people. Big
Brother is one of them. You put a bunch of people in one place, irritate them
and then get them to scheme against each other. These shows are based on
pure greed.

In general I hate TV being so conventional and predictable. Networks are
dependent on the advertisement income and therefore have to please as big
crowds as possible. And, when you have to please everybody you have to make
lots of compromises and be very careful that nobody gets angry and change the
channel.

Luckily there are some brave producers who believe that television can be
something else as well. You shouldn’t underestimate the viewers. I believe
there are many of us who demand edgy and more honest shows instead of this
plastic shit where you can’t do or say anything cause your viewers might get
angry.

The highlight during the last few years: Wonder Show Zen (MTV)

3. You’re always preaching the joyous gospel of traveling, but there must negative sides to it too. What are the worst thing about traveling?

RIKU: Of course there’s always the negative side. Difficult to answer shortly, we’ve
written a lot about this in our book… Some things: in case you fly, there’s
the obvious global environmental hazard. It’s possible to reduce that though,
by supporting the carbon neutral traveling NGO’s and by staying abroad a longer
time and keeping your standards there a lot lower than at home – that is no AC,
minimum use of electricity, public transport etc etc. Everyone should keep
these in mind…

Then there’s the inevitable change, the impact of mass tourism for the people &
the environment in a particular location. More travellers are aware of how to
travel sustainably, less negative the impact. Here’s one good text about it.

We of course believe that both on the individual & the global level the positive
sides overrun the negative ones!

TUNNA: In Papua New Guinea we were arguing with Riku if it was right for us to be
there. Somewhere where no white men had been before. Are we planting the seed of
babylon by being there? Should we just leave these people alone and isolated? Do we
change something permanently when they see our cameras and computers? Yes and
no.

Everything changes and that’s a fact. But how it changes, that’s everyone’s
responsibility. We believe that awareness will help to preserve these fragile
cultures which are very vulnerable and will be destroyed soon if awareness is
not raised.

4. What can we expect from the DVD? Give us some details.

RIKU: For our international friends probably the biggest difference is, the DVD
episodes are 50%-100% longer (so-called “1-hour TV eps”), completely uncensored
Director’s Cuts by our own wizards Tunna & Jussi. And a lot of extra for sure.
Here’s the details.

TUNNA: Much longer and totally uncensored episodes! Because of the slot length we were
forced to cut our American episodes to commercial 30 minutes which is only 20
minutes of actual material! We had to cut away great scenes which are now
included in the DVD episodes. As there were no slot requirements anymore we
were able to edit as long episodes as we wanted.

Though we had a great producer in the travel channel who tried to push it to the
limits, we were forced to censor some of the roughest material that couldn’t be
shown on TV – but now everything will be as it is!

10 new behind the scenes episodes! As we were shooting we kept the camera
rolling all the time and managed to get lots of behind the scenes material. We
edited that material together and actually ended up making 10 new episodes of
out of it. These Behind the Scenes-episodes open up the actual episodes a lot and it’s really
funny stuff, too! You can see what a sissy Riku really is when he’s not playing his
macho role. Of course, you can also see what happens to me when Riku finally gets revenge
and wakes me up, very rudely…

5. If the backpacks would have to be packed like RIGHT NOW, where would Madventures travel and make the next episode?

RIKU: I’d say Bhutan. That would be the slowest, most zen-like Madventures episode
ever. Pure chilling in a country which introduced the Gross National Happiness
index… That’s what should be in order right now, slowness.

TUNNA: Bhutan it will be, and the theme is: The great art of chilling out.

Gringo clubbers should not forget to give credit where credit’s due.  The rhythm originates in the whole continent, but especially in West-Africa good beats are impossible to avoid. These are the hoods where such superstars as afrobeat creator Fela Kuti, eighties sensation Youssou N’Dour and Mali duo Amadou & Mariam come from.

Lesser known, but from equally soulful cradle of life rises Afia Mala, whose roots are in Togo.  She has dominated the music scene since the 70’s. She later emigrated to France and has been building career in both Europe and Africa. In 1992 she was chosen as the best female vocalist in Africa.

Her latest album was recorded in Cuba, combining the Caribbean rhythms with ancient African musical canon. Madventures recommends a true aural trip from the french speaking – and singing – Africa!

Lome is a typical African port town. The hustle and bustle never ends, the heat, the humidity and haze hits you like a hammer as you try to make your way through the multitudes that all seem to be selling, buying, exporting or importing something.

It’s no wonder Lome is also the home to a Akodessewa fetish market – a veritable supermarket of bones, body parts and mummified versions of every African animal imaginable.

The practitioners of voodoo – that is, most of the country – find everything they need in their ceremonies in Marche des Fetishes.

We visited a local healer, a bokor with uncanny powers of observation. Without telling him, this medicine man right away noticed that we had underwent through a powerful ritual recently and he asked for our confirmation.

A bit taken aback, we told him about our Ayahuasca experience in Brazil. The bokor nodded knowingly. Hand on heart, there was no way he could have known about something that had took place on the other side of the Atlantic earlier.

Despite the crazy stuff we do in the show, Riku especially considers himself a man of reason and science, but when the bokor told him he must undergo a healing ritual to finish what Don Francisco started in the Amazon basin or otherwise the malevolent spirits might possess him anytime, even Riku felt a cold sensation running down his spine.

We decided not take any risks – this was clearly a serious man who had pride in his profession and I’ve been raised to respect my elders. So, the next thing we know Riku is getting rubbed by a live chicken and standing starkers in the medicine man’s yard, where he started to poke tiny holes in Riku’s love handles with what can be best describe as voodoo vaccination needles.

We’re glad to report that it worked; Riku has not been possessed by any evil spirits since that day.

Africa is often called the Dark Continent. And although the noted explorer Henry Stanley meant it was unknown terrain for white men, the description also fits literally. The fact that the days are mostly filled with almost blinding sunlight only seems to make the darkness more impenetrable.

Traveling through the African night, our thoughts were constantly drawn into the scenarios of the childhood adventure books. Hungry lions stalking in the grass, restless natives pricking their ears to the sound of distant yet threatening drums, the sense of high adventure carried by the night wind.

Of course, the truth is very far from that image.

Colonialism has been happily over for a long time, the tribes cling on to many traditions savage to westerners but massacre of strangers, especially of the Caucasian persuasion, is not one of them. And the lions – I guess they are just too scared of the population centers, cars and other modern conveniences to do much stalking near them.

Yet the point of view of Edgar Rice Burroughs, even Ernest Hemingway and especially Hollywood and all the rest who looked at Africa through a very narrow cultural eye seems to prevail in our minds. Africa still carries the stigma of darkness.

Do yourself a favor and travel there. You might just see the light.

The first two questions this week come from Ryan, who articulated very clearly what many of you have been wondering too. So, without further ado…

1. Are you locked in for 2010 in the USA?

RIKU: First of all, we’d like to thank each and every one of you who has appreciated Madventures, given away your time to watch it and given us feedback or even praise – you just don’t know how much it means to us!

It’s been extremely hard to work with a foreign language and to make a genuinely different “no-compromises” show for American TV and after your feedback, we’re more than happy with where we are now, no matter the dramatic events of this week – this all has been worth the effort!

Especially thanks for those who have expressed their opinions to the Travel Channel, via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or TC’s own message board.

I’m sure they will appreciate direct feedback, too. After all, Travel Channel was the channel that decided to give green light to a fresh but controversial show, so let’s not diss ‘em too much for what happened, huh? Right now there’s a lot of changes going on there, check out the latest news here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ad8ed368-bea2-11de-b4ab-00144feab49a.html

So, finally, to the answer: we’re not yet locked in for 2010, as there will probably be a lot of changes to their programming anyway. But all of us: me, Tunna, the whole Mad team and our great producers in the Travel Channel want the same thing: the triumphant return of Madventures – most probably in the first half of 2010!

The same situation in the UK – programming is not locked yet, but 2010 it’s a go.

And soon we’ll be able to give you other interesting news about 2010 stuff…

TUNNA: Yeah. What Riku said. : )

2. Will you continue to run this blog?

RIKU: Sure! We’ll keep on trucking, updating this blog weekly, sharing clips and pics, posting in Facebook & Twitter and delivering all the news to the friends of Madventures!

TUNNA: Absolutely! Although I myself will soon be in a total radio silence for a month or so, somewhere in the deep tropics, locked inside my hammock. I’ve been editing our huge DVD box for the last two months like a lunatic and now it’s time for a holiday!

3. Jahcure has a question about the latest blog entry, where we discussed the Aghori.

Do these men believe themselves to be above or even beyond local law? Has any sort of government authority ever approached these men, or are their “sacrifices” far and few?

RIKU: When you read Indian newspapers, sometimes you notice news about the most hardcore actions in Aghori sects: human sacrifaces.

Human sacrifice is pretty rare and you’ll have to remember that there’s more than a billion people there – many things can happen, especially when there’s extreme poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and fundamentalism, especially in the rural areas…

According to our research, most of the Aghori taboo-breaking has to do with shocking people, not really actual murders etc. But of course we do not know what kinds of acts Dhobia and his followers have really commited.

One would guess that even in the countryside India you can’t easily get away with a murder. Here’s more about human sacrifice in India.

TUNNA: I assume that Dhobia Baba meant that God will forgive them seven murders, even if people will not.

4. Have you seen Sadventures, the parody made of your program?

RIKU: Yeah! Laughed my ass off, good job guys! You know you’ve reached a certain level of notoriety when there’s a parody about you!

TUNNA: I’ve heard a lot about the parody and people said it’s funny. I just haven’t had time to watch it. Ok, I’m gonna watch it right now!

SADVENTURES

TUNNA: Okay, that IS funny. They must have been watching our show a lot to be able to imitate us so perfectly! Great tribute guys!

My vocabulary seems to consist of one sentence: What the fuck? Well, they are three great words, what else you need!

5. Plans for the rest of the year?

RIKU: I need to rest and get my infection fixed. It’s been around since PNG, got an abrasion while trekking in the jungle and it got infected… There’s been an open wound – from all af the possible places – in my ASS for six months already. Bombo claat!

Can’t bike, can’t sit for a long time, can’t have a sauna, can’t travel into the tropics this winter… Of course this is not really dangerous and I’m lucky to have a good health after all we’ve done, but I have to admit, this starts to get on my nerves.

Today, I go for the operation #4 – time for the good old epidural again.

Until this heals, there’s three assholes in Madventures instead of the obvious two!

TUNNA: What the fuck?

See, I told you those are the only words you need.

No, seriously, my plans are as much hammock as possible.

And that’s it for this week, you all have good weekend.

R & T

EDIT: As I’m uploading this, Riku sent an SMS from the hospital – the operation went well and he should be back home later today. – A