Following the incredible success of Season 1, Hidden Cities Extreme is back with bigger stories, crazier antics and more unusual discoveries by actor and filmmaker Simon Yin!
From rat catching in the Philippines to swallowing coconut worms in Vietnam you won’t believe what Simon has planned and what he’s willing to endure!
We chat with this adventurous (and gungho) host through a phone interview to find out more about the upcoming season of Hidden Cities Extreme Season 2, premiering on HISTORY Asia 25 February 2014, Tuesdays at 10pm!
InCinemas: Hi Simon, how is it like to be back on HISTORY's Hidden Cities Extreme?
Simon: It’s been amazing! I get to do more challenges and go out there to attack them full on! We are able to go out there and tell great stories, do a couple of crazy things and stuff that people will like. I think the 2nd season is really, really good that people are going to be excited for it.
InCinemas: How do you think this upcoming 2nd season tops the first?
Simon: Well I
think season 2 is all about giving everybody more fun. There’s more
episodes, more wackier and crazier stories in the episodes where we really get down to the nitty-gritty of a lot of things.
I travelled to Korea,
Japan, Inner Mongolia, India and so on where everything is just really quite
impactful this time round, some of the stuff we did were so
interesting and crazy. We went to India and drank the cow’s pee, went to Phillipines and I chased and ate rats. None
of the episodes are similar to each other at all; each have a
different feel, a different taste and a different attitude, so it becomes
really, really interesting.
InCinemas: Tell us about the journey or episode that left a great impression on you.
Simon: That depends. You want the good impression or the bad impression? (*chuckles)
InCinemas: Let's hear both!
Simon: The journey in Inner Mongolia was a tough one because there was a segment where I had to drink the horses' milk. The Inner Monogolians believed that the milk is used for the cleansing the soul, the spirit and a good detox for the body. Well, I drank it and it sort of detoxed me really bad! We’re talking hardcore crazy diarrhea, muscle convolution, and super bad stomach ache! That was the first few things that I did so the entire week when I was there, I was in serious trouble and serious pain. For me, those experiences were really intense and crazy I was having so much medication I couldn't remember much!
One of the cooler ones for me when I was in India. It was unexpected! Everyone has stereotypes and quick notions of India but when I got to Mumbai, it was such a beautiful city, it’s so colourful and the culture there is so vibrant!
InCinemas: From rat catching to coconut worms and eating a hagfish, what’s the worst that you did from the 2nd season?
Simon: The
worst thing that I ate was in Vietnam where we had to eat coconut worms. It was so gigantically huge and wriggly and disgusting! They come from coconut trees that are dead and rotting but you
just have to go and find it. It smells like rotting coconut tree and you
have to go in there and really dig inside it with your fingernails to pull out these gigantic coconut worms. It’s 4-inches long and about 2 inches wide in diameter
around, really thick, big, fat juicy worms.! So what happens when you
chew it, the guts exploded in my mouth and it’s all disgusting, the
thing is still moving...
InCinemas: Oh wow, how would you describe the taste of that.
Simon: It tasted like rotten mozzarella cheese stick with rotten, cream cheese and rotten milk!
InCinemas: Ewww.. You’re always out on an a venture doing extreme stunts or trying out exotic food. How do you mentally prepare yourself for it?
Simon: I
think you just have to be mentally prepared and step up to the
challenges itself to actually complete the entire process. From the travel to
the actual challenges, it's all different and exciting at the same time. Then when you're communicating with the people, language barrier
can be a difficulty but you just have to prepare yourself for the things are gong to get
weird and crazy! Just prepare yourself for the worst and just
go with the flow.
InCinemas: Lastly, use three words to describe yourself as the host on 'Hidden Cities Extreme'.
Simon: (*laughs) Fun, energetic and hands-on!
Look out for Simon Yin in his exotic adventures in 'Hidden Cities Extreme 2', premiering 25 February 2014, 10pm on HISTORY channel!