I’m Andrew Benfield…

...a curious traveller, writer and broadcaster. Twenty years ago, feeling that I didn’t quite belong, I left my home in the UK to go to see the world - and somehow I’ve never quite made it back.

I’m fascinated by the wealth of amazing places and people out there and their different ways of living life, as well as their ability to effortlessly challenge my assumptions and presumptions.

Let me bring you along on my adventures as I uncover some breathtaking locales, remarkable characters, and maybe just a whole new way of living.

Oh, and just so you know, I also do have a little thing about yetis…

For my full story, including what this ‘Particular Bear’ business is all about, please see here 🙏.

Yeti

Yeti is a 10-episode, BBC podcast and radio show that sees my friend Richard and I adventuring across the Himalayas in search of the the truth behind this legendary creature - and soon discovering we’ve bitten off rather more than we can chew...

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Adventures

Dispatches

No Reservations

Man without a plan - what happens when you set out on the road without a clue where you’re going.

Published in Nikkei Asia in April 2023

Magical Medicine?

How magic mushrooms changed my mind.

Enter the Dragon

Discovering both dragons and hobbits in a single adventure!

Published in Nikkei Asia in July 2025

Getting to the Point

Why are thousands of people in Malaysia skewering their own flesh in the name of happiness?

Published in Nikkei Asia in April 2025

Basket Cases

Just why on earth have Vietnamese fishermen taken to putting to sea in oversize baskets?

Published in Nikkei Asia in January 2024

For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow?

London’s Royal Geographical Society meets the Tibetan Memorial Hall of Anti-British…

Flight Shaming

Getting from Bangkok to Singapore: can the train really beat the plane? I decide to find out.

Published in Nikkei Asia in July 2023

Everyone Has a Little Book in Them…

“Everyone has a little book in them and, in most cases, that is exactly where it should stay” - but what if you’re just desperate to get it out? Here’s how to do it.

Cultural Appreciation

What’s really yours anyway? Why many national icons might not be quite as exclusive as you think.

Published in Nikkei Asia in December 2021

Happy Beginnings

Want to add some pep to your wellness routine? A prison massage in northern Thailand could be just the thing.

Published in Nikkei Asia in April 2021

Forbidden Roads and Mysterious Beasts

My article for the China Exploration and Research Society about our journey up a forbidden road to northern Burma, rumours of strange bipeds in the mountains, and a Land Rover with a mind of its own. What could possibly go wrong?

The Forgotten Frontier

My article for Mpora Magazine about a journey to one of the most remote - and most stunning - places in the world. And one that the military didn’t want me to see.