{"id":64654,"date":"2023-09-27T12:22:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T02:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=64654"},"modified":"2026-04-03T07:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:32:44","slug":"intrepid-leader-san-tao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/intrepid-leader-san-tao\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel globally and think locally with Intrepid leader San Tao"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>With 11 years of tourism under his belt, Intrepid leader San Tao understands you can\u2019t fight change \u2013 you have to change with it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s an art to crossing the street in <a href=\"\/vietnam\/hanoi\">Hanoi<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re waiting for a break in the current of motorbikes and mopeds \u2013 some lugging towering bags of ice, crates of eggs or even live fish \u2013 you\u2019re doing it wrong. No, you must simply walk confidently into the stream, and the city will accommodate you, opening a pocket of safety in the traffic so you can get where you\u2019re going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it\u2019s this act \u2013&nbsp;adapting to change and finding the signal in the noise \u2013 that makes San Tao, an Intrepid leader of 11 years, so very good at his job. For him, tourism isn\u2019t about checking popular landmarks off a list. Quite the opposite. He\u2019s always searching for the local secret down the alleyway, the unexpected dish at the humble market stall that somehow delivers an entire sense of place on the plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\"><blockquote><p>In five years, this place will change. And we\u2019ll find another route to go.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At university, San studied a mix of psychology, history, and hospitality. This multidisciplinary approach shapes the way he showcases Hanoi to his travellers, and by extension, the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;Tourism is blooming now,&#8217; he says, against the rise and fall of cicadas, signalling the advent of summer, and with it, the blossoming of purple crape-myrtle flowers. &#8216;In five years, this place will change. And we\u2019ll find another route to go.&#8217;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San\u2019s thoughtful approach to tourism reflects the question at the heart of Intrepid: how can people ensure travelling to the places they love doesn\u2019t change precisely what they love about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;It\u2019s a global company that supports local people,&#8217; he says, pointing to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theintrepidfoundation.org\/t\/vun-art\">Vun Art<\/a>, an initiative that empowers those with disabilities in Vietnam by providing job training and employment opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spurring global travel while preserving local culture may sound like a contradiction \u2013 but Hanoi is a place of powerful contradictions. French caf\u00e9s sit nestled alongside 1500-year-old pagodas adorned with lotus flower statues. Memorials to the Vietnam War are in dialogue with street art inspired by the Italian graffiti movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For San, trying to boil all of these influences down isn\u2019t the point. Because Hanoi isn\u2019t one thing; it\u2019s everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The real challenge is in trying to form genuine connections with his travellers, especially if they\u2019ve only signed up for a single food tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what\u2019s the fastest way to get to know someone? \u201cBeer is good for people to open their hearts, to share everything,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From crossing the globe to crossing the street, we\u2019ll cheers to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Get to know Vietnam with San over a cold beer. <a href=\"\/vietnam\">Check out Intrepid&#8217;s small group adventures here. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With 11 years of tourism under his belt, Intrepid leader San Tao understands you can\u2019t fight change \u2013 you have to change with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16312,"featured_media":64664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[286],"tags":[1351,385,41],"class_list":["post-64654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-local-leaders","tag-south-east-asia","tag-vietnam","ipf_region-vietnam"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.3.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Travel globally and think locally with Intrepid leader San Tao 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