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Tuesday, May 13, 2008 SEARCH  


Below is an excerpt from the feature story in the May/June 2008 issue of KETC Guide . For information on how you can have the Guide delivered to your home, call (314) 512-9199 or become a member online.

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MAXING OUT

KETC Guide

Get the maximum from your vacation with tips from professional tourist Rudy Maxa.

Where is Rudy Maxa when you need him? Well, when this issue of KETC Guide was being written, the travel expert was in Japan preparing one of the final episodes of his new series Rudy Maxa’s World. So Maxa obligingly took our e-mailed questions and interviewed himself about the show, his travel tips and the current state of travel.

To begin, how did you choose where to shoot?

I wanted the shows to be a surprise each week. To have a wider variety of destinations than we’ve had in the past in order to introduce viewers to a wider range of cultural and travel experiences. So I chose places I personally liked and have long wanted to share with an audience.

Our 13 episodes this season include St. Petersburg, Russia, and a look at the hottest destination in Eastern Europe, Estonia. We did two shows in Turkey—Istanbul and the Turquoise Coast—and three shows in Thailand—Bangkok, the gorgeous Andaman coast in the south, and the lush Golden Triangle in the north.

For the first time, we went to South America and produced two shows in Argentina—Buenos Aires and another on Mendoza, the gorgeous wine-producing region at the base of the Andes. In Japan, we did a Tokyo show and a Kyoto show. And also two wildly colorful episodes on destinations in northern India. One is called Delhi and Agra, the other is titled Rajasthan.

How did you get started traveling?

I’m an Army brat, so I moved every year or so as a kid. I traveled extensively (and by design) for The Washington Post during my first 13 years as an investigative reporter and, later, during nine years as a senior writer at Washingtonian magazine. I’m on the road all the time now for the television shows as well as for National Geographic Traveler magazine.

I try to bring a journalist’s eye to our shows in addition to working to make a destination accessible to first-time travelers. The proof, I hope, is in the 13 new episodes of Rudy Maxa’s World for 2008.

For the complete interview with Maxa, check out the current issue of KETC Guide.



Tune In: The new series Rudy Maxa's World airs Sundays at noon beginning May 18. Maxa’s previous series, Smart Travels—Europe With Rudy Maxa, continues on Saturdays and Sundays at 5:30 a.m., and Monday–Friday at 6:00 a.m.