JG
“Whether it’s Thailand, Cambodia, or Vietnam
I adore the people,
the culture and
the food.”
AO: How many different countries have you been to?
What country do you want to revisit most? Why? plete a single episode? What preparations are in-
volved?
JG: Confession: I’m a shameless country-counter, so I
definitely know the answer to this question. My current
count is 103. However, I ducked under a border fence
to stand in Angola and drove into Senegal only to be
interrogated and turned around by a soldier who put
a gun put in my face. But as long as you get two feet
on native soil—it counts in my book. As for revisits, I’m
a sucker for Southeast Asia. Whether it’s Thailand,
Cambodia, or Vietnam, I adore the people, the culture
and the food. I’m always eager to go back. JG: Funny enough, there really isn’t a typical day on
Expedition Unknown. The only thing the days have in
common is that they’re long, unpredictable and usually
end with everyone covered in dust, mud or sweat.
Each episode of Expedition Unknown takes about two
weeks to film, but preparations can take months. Even
though these are truly unscripted expeditions—per-
mits, visas and logistics are often complex. This year
we did an episode on efforts to clone the woolly mam-
moth in Siberia. We had to take four flights, jeeps and
spend 10 hours in a hovercraft just to reach the camp-
site where tusk hunters and scientists were collecting
specimens. To say nothing of the mosquitos…
AO: What does a typical day of filming Expedition
Unknown consist of? How long does it take to com-
84 | Summer 2017 | Adventure Outdoors