RONNY CHIENG Proposed In Vietnam

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers" Episode: RONNY CHIENG Proposed In Vietnam Release Date: January 14, 2025

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1. Navigating Natural Disasters in California

Hosts: Seth Meyers (Sufi) and Josh Meyers (Pashi)

The episode begins with Sufi and Pashi addressing the recent wildfires engulfing California, sharing personal anecdotes and expressing empathy for those affected.

• Pashi's Experience:
  Pashi recounts being in Mammoth, California, skiing when the fires began. Despite the chaos, he managed to stay safe while his wife prepared to evacuate their horses.

  "We're fine, our things are fine, but we know plenty of people who have lost their homes. It's crazy. It's truly apocalyptic."
  (02:00)

• Impact on Families:
  The hosts discuss the trauma faced by families, especially those with young children, emphasizing the emotional toll of such disasters.

  "The most important thing is everybody is safe. But I can only imagine the trauma of being a young kid and maybe not having the perspective of how lucky you are just to be okay and safe and losing everything."
  (02:17)

2. Personal Health Journey: Pashi's Battle with Skin Cancer

Speaker: Pashi

Pashi opens up about his recent diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma, detailing his proactive approach to treatment and prevention.

• Diagnosis and Treatment:
  After noticing a suspicious spot on his nose, Pashi sought medical advice, leading to the removal of the cancerous cells.

  "I got this laser done to try and prevent myself from getting cancer. But also I might look like a nice fresh-faced young fella in about a week."
  (08:15)

• Emotional Reflection:
  He reflects on the experience, comparing it humorously to snowboarding to explain his post-treatment appearance.

  "I was like, oh, maybe you were, like, snowboarding. And I was like, oh, I was skiing."
  (09:33)

3. In-Depth Interview with Ronny Chang

Guest: Ronny Chang

Ronny Chang, a comedian with a diverse background, shares his life story, career journey, and personal experiences.

a. Early Life and Family Moves

• Migration from Malaysia to the USA:
  Born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Ronny moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, at the age of three. The relocation was part of his parents' pursuit of higher education.

  "My family trip was my parents moving to Manchester, New Hampshire, for college, but they went to college really late in life."
  (13:03)

• Impact of Deception:
  Ronny reveals that his parents initially deceived him and his sister about the permanence of their move, fostering a sense of displacement.

  "They straight up lied to our faces that we will come back to Manchester, New Hampshire. And they knew."
  (15:08)

b. Comedy Career and Edinburgh Fringe Festival

• Starting in Australia:
  After completing law school in Melbourne, Ronny pivoted to comedy, finding his footing in the Australian comedy scene before expanding internationally.

  "I started doing comedy in Australia. The Australian comedy, the way we do comedy there is we do the one-hour show for better or for worse."
  (32:19)

• Challenges at Edinburgh Fringe:
  Discussing the rigorous nature of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Ronny highlights the intense preparation required for stand-up comedy and improvisation.

  "It's like a marathon. It's 20 shows in a month, probably 28 shows, and that's your own show."
  (28:51)

c. Personal Achievements and Netflix Specials

• Netflix Special "Love to Hate It":
  Ronny talks about his latest Netflix special, filmed in Honolulu, and the personal significance of proposing to his wife in Vietnam during their travels.

  "I proposed to my wife there. She can speak Vietnamese, they were able to show me around. It was incredibly charming and amazing."
  (53:15)

• Connection with Family:
  He shares heartfelt moments about his father's support during his early career and the emotional journey of dealing with his father's passing.

  "There was a crew guy at the Daily Show who actually works at SNL now. He told my dad, like, man, your son is great, man. He's super funny. We all love him here."
  (56:17)

d. Recent Travels and Personal Reflections

• Trip to Malaysia:
  Following his father's passing, Ronny visited his father's hometown in Malaysia to settle estate matters, encountering extended family and reflecting on his heritage.

  "I had to handle some legal matters, which is always more emotional than you think."
  (63:56)

• Balancing Cultural Identities:
  Ronny navigates his Malaysian roots and experiences living abroad, emphasizing the blend of cultures in his personal and professional life.

  "Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country. I'm from Southeast Asia, but I never once thought of Vietnam as a destination to go to. It never crossed my mind until I met and married my wife."
  (53:17)

4. Heartfelt Goodbyes and Final Reflections

The episode concludes with the hosts and Ronny engaging in light-hearted banter, sharing laughs over past experiences, and discussing future aspirations. They express mutual respect and admiration, highlighting the importance of family and personal growth.

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Notable Quotes:

• "It's crazy. It's truly apocalyptic." – Pashi
  (02:00)

• "We know plenty of people who have lost their homes." – Pashi
  (02:00)

• "I can't imagine how unmoored those people must feel." – Pashi
  (02:41)

• "I might look like a nice fresh-faced young fella in about a week." – Pashi
  (08:15)

• "They straight up lied to our faces that we will come back to Manchester, New Hampshire." – Ronny Chang
  (15:08)

• "It's like a marathon. It's 20 shows in a month, probably 28 shows, and that's your own show." – Ronny Chang
  (28:51)

• "I'm so glad I went. We went to Hanoi, Hoi An, Sapa Valley, Halong Bay, and then Saigon." – Ronny Chang
  (53:15)

• "He's super funny. We all love him here." – Crew Member (Referenced by Ronny Chang)
  (56:17)

---

Conclusion

In this episode, Seth and Josh Meyers provide a platform for Ronny Chang to delve into his multicultural upbringing, the challenges of balancing familial expectations with personal passions, and the resilience required to navigate a career in comedy. The hosts also share their personal struggles and triumphs, fostering a sense of community and understanding amidst trying times.

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For those interested in Ronny Chang's work, his latest Netflix special "Love to Hate It" is highly recommended for its insightful humor and personal narratives.

Transcript

[Sufi]

This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn [e-mail] Here we go. Hey, Pashi.

[Pashi]

Hey, Sufi.

[Sufi]

I want to just start off because a lot of people have been reaching out on social media. You live in California. How have you been holding up?

[Pashi]

I am embarrassed to say that when the fires started, I was skiing in Mammoth, so everyone was sort of in a real panic back here. And I was not unconcerned, but I was having a lovely sort of time in the mountains. But my wife had gone up to where a lot of her equestrian clients are. She's a trainer and a rider, and so she was there with her truck and trailer in case she needed to evacuate some horses. We had friends that had to evacuate their house, and they came to our house because we weren't here. And then when I was about an hour away from home, we got an evacuation order for our house. So I pivoted and went to where she was, and the people who were in our house came out there as well. Everyone was set to come back last night. This is a while ago now from when we're recording this intro, but I came back and then MacKenzie got the word that there was a new fire and she did indeed have to evacuate those horses. So it's been a lot. We're fine, our things are fine, but we know plenty of people who have lost their homes. And it's just. It's crazy. It's truly apocalyptic. And I've got a couple friends in particular. You know, the stuff in the Palisades is gnarly, but I haven't seen any sort of firsthand from a friend video from there, but I have from the Eaton fire, which is in Pasadena, Altadena. And it's. You just. I just can't imagine what it would have been like to be out there.

[Sufi]

And it's.

[Pashi]

Yeah, it's insane. So we're fine, but it's a bad scene. And, yeah, I feel terrible for people who have lost things. And I know it'll be a bounce back, but it'll be a long bounce back. And it's. Yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

I have so much empathy because so many of the people we know who've been affected have young children. And obviously the most important thing is everybody is safe. But I can only imagine the trauma of being a young kid and maybe not having the perspective of how lucky you are just to be okay and safe and losing everything.

[Pashi]

Yeah. I mean, at some point, you know, one of MacKenzie's this, you know, teenage girl who she's been teaching for a while. Their house is gone. And, you know, at some point for her, it'll be a story about this awful thing that happened to her. But in this moment, it's just like it's everything. And you're so. I can't imagine how unmoored those people must feel. But, yeah, it's.

[Sufi]

We're on a text chain with our Boom Chicago friends. And, you know, these are a lot of people who live in Los Angeles. Most of them do. And it's amazing to live in New York City and just see how much you're all sharing information about alerts and evacuation orders and how an hour later, when somebody packs up their whole family, the evacuation order is rescinded. And obviously, I'm not being critical. I think that it's been an incredible job by emergency services and certainly the fire department trying to keep people safe and informed, but it does. You know, people just been saying to us, like, how hard it is even to go to sleep because you just are waiting for that ding on your.

[Pashi]

Phone that tells you so. Yeah, it's been. I feel like everyone in LA is pretty exhausted, and it's weird that some regular life stuff still goes on, but obviously it does. But I feel like everyone's playing catch up a bit. Like, even at my building right now. Someone cleared the roof yesterday. We're not in any immediate fire danger, but they blew everything off the roof. And today we're going to clean it up in the courtyard just because you don't want a loose ember to set the roof on fire. And then, you know, then we scramble. But I do, personally, I feel like, you know, things are things and things can go away, and if people get out and animals get out, then, yeah, that's enough to rebuild from. To have.

[Sufi]

And horses. Mackenzie. Horses. Safe and sound.

[Pashi]

Safe and sound. Yeah, they. They're horses. They're good.

[Sufi]

She.

[Pashi]

She moved 15 of them yesterday and to a new place. And she was like, yeah, they got food and they. They, yeah, are completely unfazed. But I drove when she had to evacuate the horses. She had the dogs. And I was like, let me drive and I'll come get the dogs. Which I drove through, you know, smoke pouring across the 101 freeway from the Kenneth Fire and bad traffic going up and worse traffic coming back. And, you know, when I drove into this equestrian neighborhood, there were fire trucks there. There were so many trailers making their way out. And it's just. Yeah, it's very unsettling and very unnerving. And they had a big fire up there in 2018. And so people have not so distant memories of, you know, what can happen. And I feel like that's sort of a thing that's going to stick with a lot of these people, particularly from the Palisades and Pasadena Altadena.

[Sufi]

On the text chain with all our friends, most of who live in la. I have shown some restraint because I have wanted to text the group. Is no one going to say anything about how awful it is that I lost the Golden Globe for best stand up special? Good restraint, right?

[Pashi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

Now I want to also this is. And again, I'm not just pointing people over to YouTube, but your face has something going on.

[Pashi]

It does. I got. Now I'm not a big fan of cosmetic surgery, right? I'll say now.

[Sufi]

I want everybody right now, whatever they're picturing, it's not. Keep going.

[Pashi]

So a couple years ago, you know, I'm a fair skinned gent living out here in la, pretty outdoorsy. I saw my dermatologist, he says, where are you from? I said, new Hampshire. He's like, where are you getting all this sun? And I was like, well, I've lived in Los Angeles for 20 years, 20, 22 years or something. And I had this spot of a squamous cell carcinoma on my nose, on the bridge of my nose, which is cancer. But it was, you know, caught it early. I go see the dermatologist twice a year.

[Sufi]

And so then when they did the surgery, did it make you squeamish?

[Pashi]

I was a little squamish. Not as squeamish as mom would have been.

[Sufi]

Okay, plenty squamish.

[Pashi]

So when I had that removed, the surgeon was like, look out in the waiting room of this place, it's all people older than you and they've all got band aids on their faces and maybe you don't wanna be one of them, so you should maybe get this laser that knocks out a lot of pre cancerous stuff as a side effect. It will resurface your skin. And so I got this laser done yesterday and it looks like a bad sunburn and it's gonna get a little leathery and then it's gonna. But I've done this to try and prevent myself from getting cancer. But also I might look like a nice fresh faced young fella in about a week.

[Sufi]

Two things I wanna ask. One, do you think there's a chance because this is Los Angeles that that doctor hires extras? Old People extras to sit in a waiting room with band aids on their faces.

[Pashi]

I mean, they are cheaper than you think, I bet. Yeah. Old people to sit in a waiting room with band aids on their faces. So, yeah, it'd be a smart move.

[Sufi]

That's. I have a second thing, but now I'm doing a tangential thing, which is at the Golden Globes, seat fillers. If, you know, people get up, seat fillers come and sit down. And there was a young woman sat next to me and leaned over, and she was like, can I tell you something? And, you know, I would love to receive a compliment. You know, not immune to that. I was like, what's that? She was like, I had your mom as a French teacher. Well, that was pretty nice. Pretty nice to meet. Yeah. My second thing is this posh. You do have sort of a red face.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Right now at a time when your city is on fire.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

I think if there are heroes that walk on the earth right now, they are the Los Angeles Fire Department. And you kind of look like you maybe have been fighting a fire. Is this a case? Do you think you're gonna be accused of stolen valor, perhaps?

[Pashi]

Yeah, I did. I was walking the dogs this morning, and I saw one of my neighbors, and very quick. And I embarrassed to even say, like, I got a face laser. I got a face laser. He's like, oh, I thought maybe you were, like, snowboarding. And I was like, oh, I was skiing. So maybe that's a better thing to say is I was skiing. And then I came back. But if I was skiing and this happened to my face, then people would be like, what's wrong with you? Why didn't you put any sunscreen?

[Sufi]

But I do. I'm just warning you, like, don't do a second thing. Makes it look like you're pretending to be a fireman. Like, don't. Don't, like, put. Throw your hose over your shoulder and just go, like, trudging. You know what I mean?

[Pashi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll keep my hose. I'll keep my hose in the closet.

[Sufi]

This was recorded before all of this happened. Today's conversation. But it is a delightful conversation with Ronny Chang, and we talk about it during the interview. But I really highly recommend his new special on Netflix as well. It's really funny.

[Pashi]

I watched it while I was wrapping Christmas presents, and it was. It was a delight. Yeah.

[Sufi]

What a good dude. Pashi. I'm so happy you're safe. And I do want to just say one more time, if anyone's listening, and they are living through this natural disaster. We send our love and we, you know, we pray for your safety.

[Pashi]

Yeah. Pray for la.

[Sufi]

All right.

[Ronny Chang]

Family trips with my brothers. Family chips with my best brothers. Here goes.

[Sufi]

Ronnie. Hey, how are you?

[Ronny Chang]

Hey. I'm okay. Morning. Morning.

[Sufi]

It was so exciting when you first came on my show because I was thrilled to talk to somebody who had lived in Manchester, New Hampshire, and now Josh gets the same thrill.

[Pashi]

I know. I couldn't believe it.

[Ronny Chang]

Let's talk about it. Yeah, let's talk about it. I'll save it for the podcast, but I can't believe you guys are doing a podcast this morning.

[Sufi]

Yeah, well, guess what, Ronnie? The podcast has started. This is it.

[Pashi]

This is the podcast.

[Sufi]

We're not gonna waste any of this gold right now. Yes.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no, don't. Hold on.

[Sufi]

I'm glad our listeners can finally hear how our guests are at how early we do it.

[Pashi]

Where are you in the world right now? You're in New York.

[Ronny Chang]

I'm in New York, yeah. I'm in New York right now. Yeah. Yeah. I'm impressed at how early you guys are doing it. I'm impressed that you're doing it. I'm impressed that you guys maintain a great relationship as siblings. I'm impressed that you have to go to work after this. I mean, the whole thing is very impressive.

[Sufi]

What is your sibling situation?

[Ronny Chang]

I have an older sister who is in Australia right now. She's like an anesthesiologist.

[Pashi]

Oh, gotcha.

[Sufi]

So I imagine that means you don't see her often.

[Ronny Chang]

No, unfortunately, I don't get to see her that often. But she's. She's a valuable, contributing, hard working member of society. Not like over here. Microphones.

[Pashi]

You're making people happy. Entertaining Some value in that. At least that's what I tell myself.

[Sufi]

But that is true that when people say to her, like, you probably don't see your brother much, she's like, not only that, he's adding nothing to society.

[Ronny Chang]

I'm taking you away. Take you away from.

[Sufi]

Yeah, maybe even that. It's attractive. You. So you were born in Malaysia.

[Ronny Chang]

Yes.

[Sufi]

And then how many. How many years in Malaysia?

[Ronny Chang]

I was in Malaysia for I. I left Malaysia when I was two and a half. And then actually no closer to three. I was three when I left. And then we. We went to the great Manchester, New Hampshire. And then I left Manchester, New Hampshire when I was seven years old. And that is my family trip.

[Sufi]

Yeah, there you go. That's a big family trip. You took a trip to where our Family lived and had no idea.

[Ronny Chang]

Well, actually, I think about my family trip. It's interesting that you think that you're seeing my family trip as leaving Malaysia. My family trip was my parents moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, for college, but they went to college really late in life, so they had two kids, and then they went to college. So they brought two kids to Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester College, Community College at the time, which has since merged with the University of Southern New Hampshire. So they put themselves through college while supporting two kids from Malaysia. And when they graduated, they graduated with my mom with her MBA and my dad with his master's of economics. And, sorry, they also did the undergraduate there. When they graduated, they told me and my sister, hey, we are going to go to Singapore for just a little bit of a vacation. And I was like, okay, so we're coming back, right? And they're like, yeah, we're coming back. And I was like, so I don't have to pack all these Ninja Turtles, right? They're like, no, you don't have to pack any. We'll come back. You'll see the Ninja Turtles again. And then we went with them to Singapore. And it took me until, like, I was 30 years old before I could come back to America. I left when I was 7, and for, like, 23 years, I've been trying to come back to America. And that. That was the longest family trip I could.

[Sufi]

We. And based on location, we might have been the ones who ended up with those Ninja Turtles. Probably.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. Well, if you could help me find Michelangelo, that would be.

[Sufi]

Did they. Did they know they weren't coming back, or were they just lying to you guys?

[Ronny Chang]

No. Yeah, they knew. They lied. They straight up lied. They straight up lied to our faces that we will come back to Manchester, New Hampshire. And they knew. And looking back, there were all these clues that we weren't going to come back because they would make us watch, like, VCR cassette tapes about Singapore. And so we were, me and my sister, you know, she's three years older than me, so she was like. I GUESS she was 10 and I was 7. And we would be like, why are we watching these videos about what Singapore life is like? In a way, they were actually quite modern. Right. To prepare your kids for what a country could be, you show them some video. Right. Which I don't think people thought of doing back in the day. So in that sense, they were very modern. But in the sense of lying to their children, they were very old school and not just telling us that we were moving And I don't know, it just created this chip on my shoulder for, like, 20 years.

[Pashi]

It also seems like the amount of time that you were in New Hampshire seems like it was exactly long enough for people to go to college and graduate. And as soon as they were done, they were like, all right, and we're out.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. Yeah. I was there for four years, but my parents actually took my sister to New Hampshire like, two years before me. So they kind of left me behind for, like a year because I was just too small. It's just too difficult. And then I joined them when I was like three, three and a half years old. And so, yeah, the whole time in Manchester, New Hampshire, I was like, this place is great. I love that. You know, the whole world is like three places. Let's see, four places. It was the park, Webster Elementary School, the library. And then on special occasions, we go to the back room, which I've since learned is called the Puritan back room. But we did. I didn't know. We never called it the Puritan backroom. We just called it the backroom. That was like our special place. And the whole world was like, these four places. And it felt so. It felt huge, you know, And Manchester, New Hampshire, was the kind of place where you could. You didn't have to lock your car door, you know, and it would snow that very iconic New England snow. And I don't know, it was like a dream. And then you get pulled into Singapore where people are yelling at you for not speaking Chinese. And then. Yeah, it was quite a family trip that 20 years.

[Sufi]

Did you. Who did you stay with the year your parents and your sister were in New Hampshire?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, we stayed at. In a small apartment. But, no.

[Sufi]

When they left you behind, who did you live with?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, I lived with my. I was living with my grandmother and aunt in Malaysia when they went to Manchester.

[Sufi]

Do you have any memories of that, or were you just too young?

[Ronny Chang]

A little bit too young. I got some photos of it, but all the people I live with, I always stayed close family with, so I never. It never. It never felt like a memory. It just felt like a continuation of these family relations, you know, my grandmother, my aunt, and all that.

[Sufi]

So it wasn't like they left you with a weird dude and you're like, yeah, I have some memories of this very weird guy. Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no, they didn't. They didn't go that far with it, but yeah.

[Sufi]

And how is. How did you. Did you get used to Singapore pretty quickly?

[Ronny Chang]

No, it was. That family trip was a rough Trip. It was a rough trip. For all its benefits, Singapore has, which is many. You know, Singapore is very advanced, first world country, very safe. It's kind of like the Wakanda of Asia. If you ever get a chance to go, I've been, oh, yeah, then you know what I'm talking about. Yeah. But as a school kid there, the problem was not just culturally, a completely different fit. Like, imagine an American kid going to Singapore at eight years old in the public school system. But also the language barrier was just like, Like, Chinese teachers are very old school and they don't take kindly to Chinese kids who cannot speak Chinese. So they would literally like, beat it into me, you know, it was, it was, it was a brutal learning process to learn Chinese from scratch.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

What did your parents speak at home when, when you were in Manchester, were they speaking.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, they spoke English. They only spoke English. And it's we. I mean, that they're fluent in English, but only as an adult did I realize, like, they're not actually. I don't think they, I don't think they think in English or at least, you know, when they were in America, they were probably, you know, after five, six years and you're doing a master's in economics, you probably start thinking in English. But that's not their first language. You know, they, they, they were brought up in their own dialects. And so my wife always finds it very interesting that they only spoke English to me, my sister and I, because most immigrant parents, they speak their native language to their kids and then the kid will answer in English. With my parents, it was always, they spoke to me in English and I answered in English and it was just. And I didn't even think about it too much.

[Sufi]

Do you think they didn't know they were going to take you to Singapore? Because I assume if you knew in advance you were going to go to Singapore, you might have thought to speak Chinese.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, I agree. I don't know. I actually asked my mom, why the hell did that happen? But maybe, I don't know. Yeah, maybe they were trying to be nice parents and not, Not. I don't know, maybe they're trying to get us so that we could acclimatize to the US schooling system quicker, you know, without a language barrier. But they, and they did, they just didn't have the time to teach us Chinese formally because they, they were working and studying the whole time. So. Yeah, so I think that's probably what happened.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

What did you speak before you moved to the States? Forgive me, I don't know what the language of Malaysia.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no. We, we. My ethnicity is Chinese, but my nationality is Malay Malaysia. And so Malaysian and so in Malaysia they speak the Malay people speak usage people Hassan, Malayu, Malay. And then the Chinese people will speak Chinese and various dialects like Cantonese, Hokkien, just Mandarin Chinese. So there's Indian people that would speak their mother tongue, you know, Tamil or Hindi. But basically, to answer your question, I don't think I was speaking before I got to America. So I got to America, I was already thinking in English. My first thoughts were in English. So I didn't really. Yeah, the language thing never, never seeped in.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

For some reason, you know.

[Sufi]

Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. It's time to fuel your inner adventure in the award winning Nissan Rogue Rock Creek.

[Pashi]

Hey Seth.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

Tell me about your inner adventure. Are you a rocky trails guy or more of a snow roads bird?

[Sufi]

I'm a snow roads bird. Like to go up my snow roads, maybe pull over at one point, pop off a couple snow angels back in the car. Keep on rocking.

[Pashi]

Yeah. I was gonna say your snow angels are some of the nicest snow angels I've ever seen.

[Sufi]

They look as though an angel fell from heaven and just splatted into the snow.

[Pashi]

Yeah. One thing I will say a note on snow angels.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

You don't have to do them face down.

[Sufi]

What? This is gonna be a game changer. What about you? Posh rocky trails or snow roads?

[Pashi]

Well, I mean, I'm a bit of both. I do love when you're in a vehicle that can handle some rocky terrain, I like driving slow and feeling a big old tire sort of creep over a rock and sort of waggle you back and forth. And that's the kind of feeling that you can get with some confidence in the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek.

[Sufi]

And I would say a lack of confidence in the car we drove in high school, which was a Renault le car. And if it was even a little bit rainy, you wouldn't go outside.

[Pashi]

Whatever kind of adventurer you are, the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek is ready for you thanks to its intelligent around view monitor. With off road mode, the Rogue Rock Creek helps brave adventurers like you and also Seth to navigate around narrow obstacles in tough terrain. So thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips. Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn [e-mail] intelligent ground view monitor cannot.

[Sufi]

Eliminate blind spots and may not detect every Object drivers should always turn and check surroundings before driving. See owner's manual for safety information. Support for family trips comes from Airbnb. Hi, Pashi.

[Pashi]

Hi, Sufi. Airbnbs are exceptional. We've stayed in Airbnbs in Pittsburgh with the family, but also at my wedding. I know we've mentioned that it was at a hotel, but at the same time we couldn't have everyone stay there. But there were all these fabulous Airbnbs in the area. And one thing that just warmed my heart to no end is I had a group of friends from New Hampshire, childhood friends who came and they all stayed in one Airbnb. And I was getting pictures throughout the weekend texted to me of them getting ready of my friend Randy Suazo and his West High half shirt, which is just a classic thing in our, in our childhood and from our youth. And to think that my marriage got that group of people to stay together for a weekend in an Airbnb, something they probably would never have done otherwise, just made me so happy, even though I never went there. And I know that they had just the best time. And that's the kind of experience you won't get if you're not in an Airbnb because you get to have your meals together, you get to get up and you get to have your coffee together, you get to sit around in a living room together. And it was really special. And even as someone who wasn't there, it is one of my favorite things about my wedding.

[Sufi]

Well, that's so lovely to hear. Book your next awesome trip. [e-mail] support comes from delete Me. Hey Bashir.

[Pashi]

Yes, Sufi?

[Sufi]

I am aware of people in my life who have been doxxed. Their information gets published and those with ill intents get a hold of those addresses, get a hold of that contact information and make their life deeply uncomfortable. That is why I personally use Delete Me. Delete Me is a subscription service that removes your personal info from hundreds of data brokers. Posh. You're not a fan of data brokers?

[Pashi]

I. I don't like to use the term hate, but I hate them. I hate them. They're just bad. There's no redeeming quality in data brokers.

[Sufi]

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[Sufi]

Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Deleteme now at a special discount for our listeners today. Get 20% off your Delete Me plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com Trips and use promo code TRIPS at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is to go to JoinDeleteMe.com trips and enter code TRIPS at checkout. That's JoinDeleteMe.com Trips code TRIPS. When you were living in Singapore, were you. If you went on vacation, where would you go? Would you go home and visit family?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We go to Malaysia. But Malaysia and Singapore for me is. It's like New Jersey, Manhattan.

[Sufi]

Got it.

[Ronny Chang]

Because the part of Malaysia I live is just across the bridge from Singapore. So that's why when I say like I'm Malaysian and I lived in Singapore, for me, you know, people think I'm like pandering. I'm trying to claim every single country. But it's like for. If you're from Johor Bahru in Malaysia, that's like New Jersey. Like it's you. Singapore and Johor Bahru are like, it's just a bridge. Yeah, you go across and, and we, I go across. I used to wait when I was going to school in Singapore, I used to wake up in Malaysia and take the school bus to Singapore.

[Pashi]

Okay.

[Ronny Chang]

And then go to school and go back to Malaysia. Yeah. So it, it, you know, it took, it, it took time. Like, you know, I had to wake up at like, you know, 4:00am but, but it wasn't like a huge deal. We didn't think too much about it.

[Sufi]

So this podcast isn't that early, you know.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no, this is a very, very humane 10am Call time.

[Sufi]

I did a. In the late 90s, if I'm getting the time right, I performed at the Singapore Comedy Festival and it was the, it was so exciting. It was at the, Is it the Raffles Hotel? Is that the.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

And it for me was, I'm sure something that you've experienced a great deal more than I have in my career as someone on stage. But it was the first time where I was in front of an audience. It wasn't majority white and it was really exciting. It's really fun when you can make People laugh that are a different culture.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, for sure, you guys, you know, and I'm sure you killed it. Like, who was the. Who was else? Who else? Who else was on the show?

[Sufi]

I was. It was a two person show that we had done at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. So it was like a sketch improv show, but it was a blast. It was just the two of us.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no. Who was it?

[Sufi]

Oh, her name's Jill Benjamin, but she's my. My old comedy partner. But it was great.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, yeah, yeah, No, I used to do Edinburgh as well. I did Edinburgh. Like. Yeah.

[Sufi]

What was your first year of Edinburgh? Josh did it too.

[Ronny Chang]

My first. Oh, my first year Edinburgh was 2012. 2012. Yeah. And then I did three years and it was. What if you've been to Edinburgh Fringe Festival? You know, it's what, a marathon?

[Sufi]

Yeah, it's a marathon. It's 20. A stand up has to do probably what, 28 shows in a month?

[Ronny Chang]

Sure, yeah. And that's your own show. And then there's other spots around town you can do. And then you. You kind of have to fly for yourself because otherwise no one's going to come. So you have to be on the street, like, trying to get people to come in. And then you're in the Artist Bar, like, you know, drinking all night, and then you just. It's like grind. Groundhog Day.

[Sufi]

Yes.

[Ronny Chang]

And you come out just extremely mentally and physically unfit.

[Sufi]

And if you like, you can barely make enough money to pay for your drinks.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, basically. No. But I'm always interested to talk to Americans who've been to Edinburgh. I mean. So, Josh, you've been to Edinburgh?

[Pashi]

Yeah, I did three years. I think you did three as well, didn't you?

[Ronny Chang]

Like a prison sentence?

[Sufi]

Yeah, I did a spot.

[Pashi]

99 through 01, I want to say. Or 98 to. Yeah, something like that.

[Sufi]

We went. Oh, the best. Loved it. But we had a different experience because we did it through the. We were working at an improv theater in Amsterdam. So we like went over with the troupe.

[Ronny Chang]

Yes. Sorry to interrupt, but I did, you know, I was in Amsterdam just two months ago doing a show and I walked past.

[Sufi]

Yeah, Boom Chicago.

[Ronny Chang]

Boom Chicago. And your face is prominent.

[Sufi]

Oh, yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

They definitely. You should be suing someone over there because they definitely.

[Pashi]

They're dear friends.

[Sufi]

They gave us our start. Where did you perform when you were in Amsterdam?

[Ronny Chang]

Okay. I did this theater that was quite large. And we go into the theater and the backstage is like a fake apartment. And so I just thought like, oh, maybe It's a quirky backstage. Or maybe this was a musical, like prop. Right. A prop for a musical. And I do two shows in Amsterdam. And then afterwards, as we're leaving, one of my agents tells me like, hey, you know this place is where they do the Anne Frank musical.

[Sufi]

Oh, wow.

[Ronny Chang]

So they built the set of the Anne Frank. The whole thing is like an Anne Frank musical thing. And I was like, wow, I can't believe we just did comedy in this thing and they only do the Anne Frank musical in this venue. I can't remember the name. It's not called like, it's not called the Anne Frank Theater, but yeah, that's correct. Yeah, it might as well be because that's the only show they do.

[Sufi]

They had a hard time selling tickets for comedy night at the end.

[Pashi]

Yeah, I can't believe there's an Anne Frank musical.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, I know it's a play or musical and they. It's like, I don't know if, to be honest, I don't know if it's still going, but it definitely was big. And I think the problem was that it was such a big story that no one else could use that theater because the capacity was like no other musical play could, could be put in there for some reason. So they had us in the, you know, us like comics, one of, you know, a show, doing shows and it was like just trying to do these jokes in Anne Frank's house.

[Sufi]

The one other thing I want to say about how much I think you had it harder in Edinburgh than we did is standups have to build an entirely new hour in a year if you want to go back to Amsterdam. And I'm sorry if you want to go back to Edinburgh, but I do feel like that must have been a helpful tool as far as being a stand up the rest of your career if you managed to write four different hours in four years.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I mean, first of all, this is the constant battle between standups and improvs. Right. Or like vampires versus werewolves.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

And we, and we forget like, we should be like this because our goal is to kill people. So we shouldn't be talking about who's better or who has it harder. But everyone has it hard, you know. But I think, yeah, I was trained because part of my family trip after leaving Manchester, New Hampshire was I went to Singapore. I was in Singapore for 10 years and then I went to Australia for 10 years still on my family trip to go to college. And in Australia that's where I started doing comedy. And the Australian comedy, the, the way we do comedy there is we do the one hour show for better or for worse. You know, a lot of people probably shouldn't be doing it at, you know, some early stage of their career, but we're just trained to think in terms of an hour every year. So, you know, it becomes a little bit self indulgent and a lot of stuff only works in the context of the show. But yeah, you, you write out an hour and that was, we, we took it as. That's what you're supposed to do, you know, and which is the Edinburgh model. Right. You do it now.

[Sufi]

I do think it's easy if you start there. I do think it's easier to go the other direction, which is nice that like later in your career, like, it just must be, I feel, I don't know, it's like going to like a really intensive musical school where you learn everything and then you.

[Ronny Chang]

Sure. I mean, there's different things. Like we would go to the Australian guys and I, we would go to JFL just for laughs and meet the American comics for the first time. And we would be so in awe of everyone. And everyone would have that super tight 10 minutes. Yes. And you know that, that New York 10 minutes. People at JFL is just unstoppable. People would have these 10 minutes, but then we would later learn that, oh, they've been doing that 10 minutes for like six years.

[Sufi]

Yes.

[Ronny Chang]

You know, and so, and I'm not even trying to take anything away from anyone, I'm just saying, like it was someone's 6 year old 10 minutes versus our, you know, brand new hour. Brand new 10 minutes that we pulled out of an hour that isn't so we would always feel like we were on the back foot there. So I don't know which one is harder to do. I think they're both pretty hard. But I, I think there is something to say about work ethic and doing one hour and not being daunted by it and not being scared to, you know, condense it down a bit. And I think people forget in Edinburgh. I mean, you guys know in Edinburgh how, how much is going on. Like the, the Edinburgh Fringe is the Fringe Festival. There's still at the same time, there's the Edinburgh Festival proper.

[Pashi]

Right.

[Ronny Chang]

Which is, you know, ballet, opera, these traditional art forms. And the fringe was like the, in response to that, which was like the, the magic and burlesque and comics and, you know, whatever dumb crap you could do live, like piercing your face in front of a crowd and then, and then in. And then the, the Fringe became too commercialized. So in response to that, they started the Edinburgh Free Fringe. So there was like three different festivals going on, and comedy was only this much of it, but comedy was like, you know, it was like everywhere, but it was only this part, this much of the. Of the Fringe festival. The rest of it was like music. People brought like musicals. You know, these kids will bring like six people musicals. And I, I remember watching these guys do a musical with like just six people, but they, they, it wasn't like tongue in cheek, you know, they were doing it properly like a proper musical, just that they only had like six people. So someone was like playing the piano and then other people were singing it. I think it was the Bill Clinton musical that I thought it was great.

[Sufi]

Yeah, yeah, I saw, I confirmed it when he was on my show. But I saw Cillian Murphy in a two person play in like 1999 called Disco Pigs. And I. It like. And slowly over his career, I was like, I know I've seen this guy before, and it was so rewarding to go into the dressing room and be like, disco Pigs. He's like, get out.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, wow. But then the question becomes, if you guys liked it so much and why didn't you guys go back?

[Pashi]

We have dreams of going back. But then Seth has this theory that is fair, I think, which is. Which is that you'll never be 20 again at the Fringe. Like, we're older now and sort of to be there and hitting the streets and flyering at 20, at 21, there was something that was like, we had that energy. And now if you were out there and if you had to fly her and you were like, oh, do I really? And people would be like, yeah, you do. And it'd be like, well, then I hate this. Then I don't want to do this. And like, going out to the Artist bar and drinking to all hours is just getting harder, I guess.

[Ronny Chang]

I know. I mean, now obviously this is a bad idea, but I mean, what made you stop going? You know, you were three years old.

[Sufi]

So I think that for me, I started on snl, and then all of a sudden, oh, there you go.

[Ronny Chang]

You got the.

[Sufi]

I got. I got the I. And I will say, Ronnie the Great, you'll appreciate this. Greatest summer of my life. I got cast on SNL in July to start in September, and I had already booked Edinburgh, so I went to Edinburgh knowing I had snl. And it was just, I think maybe the happiest month of my Life.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. You know, that's exactly kind of what happened to me because I was in Edinburgh when I got hired on the Daily Show.

[Pashi]

Show.

[Sufi]

Wow.

[Ronny Chang]

So. So same. Same idea. It was like I was there. I was doing. I did two weeks, and then I found out I got hired on a Daily Show. So the last two weeks of Fringe, I was like, oh, great. I mean, this is just bonus now. And I gotta be honest, I was. I was hating that Edinburgh season. So getting the Daily Shows, I think I'm. I don't. I don't come back here.

[Sufi]

So to go Back to your. So 10 years in Singapore, that was basically all of high school.

[Ronny Chang]

Yes.

[Sufi]

And did you ever. Were you guys a family that ever went on a big trip or were your big trips just like the massive moves?

[Ronny Chang]

You're still trying to get me out to the.

[Sufi]

Yeah, I'm just trying. Josh likes it.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no, everybody likes it. I'm not trying to be a dick, but we didn't go on vacations. Yeah, we didn't go. We didn't go. I mean, we went for one vacation as a family, which was a cruise. A cruise ship. Like, we went on a cruise ship from Singapore to, like, Penang or something, which is, like, Malaysia, and we just hated it. So my family just does not travel well.

[Pashi]

What wasn't good about the cruise ship?

[Ronny Chang]

It was like being in a mall. You're trapped on the mall for five days or something. And I don't know, my family, we just didn't like to take vacations together.

[Sufi]

Do you think it was the cruise ship or was it your company? Did you like spending time together?

[Ronny Chang]

No, we didn't. We didn't like spending time. Yeah, my family was like. We were like, better. What better? When we're, like, apart. Like, when we're apart, the messages are very loving and. And the emails are flowing and they talk about the love of each other and how nice it is and, dad, what lessons can you teach me? For what? What? When you turned 40, how did you feel when. You know anything I should know, when we're in the same room, it's like, oh, my God, like, what? We came in it. So we used to stop. We didn't travel, we just stopped. But now, as an adult, I'm taking my mom to travel with me sometimes. So she actually came to. I was on tour in Florida this year, and she actually came with me to Florida, which. My mom lives in Singapore. So far, to come over and be on tour is like a. You know, to see my mom in Miami is like I don't know. It's so jarring to me because it's like two separate lives.

[Sufi]

But did you have to convince her or was she on board right away?

[Ronny Chang]

She was, surprisingly on board. And she's not someone who gets on board with traveling, mainly because of the costs, and so she doesn't. She never wants to me to spend money on her or anything. And so she. She was very. She's very stubborn with not traveling. But I think. I think my. My father passing away made her more like, okay, I better come out. Otherwise, you know, time is limited. So. So I brought her out to Florida, and she came on tour with me, and in my show, I talk about my dad a little bit, and then I bring my mama at the end, and she's, like, crying. And so, like, you know, like, my tour manager had to, like, push her on sticker. I was, like, calling mom. My mom's everybody. My mom's never in America. You want to meet my mom? Hey, mom, they want to meet you. And she's, like, crying. So our family trips always end in tears is basically what the.

[Pashi]

When your mom hits Miami, does she want to, like. Does she want to go shopping? Does she want new outfits? Or does she have.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no, no. She hates spending money, so she's just, like, hanging out with me, and I'm trying to show her around America. And it's weird, you know, like, the food is. Is so foreign to her. You know, like. Like, Mexican food is so. Cuban food is such a different world to her. She's not American like that at all. You know, she's so used to, like, Singaporean food. So even getting her to eat, like, a quesadilla is like. She's like, what is this? What? Yeah, she's not used to it.

[Sufi]

Would she like Chinese food in America, or would she think it was inauthentic?

[Ronny Chang]

She's okay with it. She's okay with it. Yeah, she's. She's not. She's not, like. It's the best she could get, I think. So she'd be okay with it.

[Sufi]

Better than quesadilla?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, better than quesadilla. But she. Yeah, like, we lived here for, you know, like I said we were. She went to school in New Hampshire, and we would go to Boston as a local Chinatown. So she's, like, down. You know. I mean, she's down with it, but she's been in. You know, she's been away from America since 1993. So it. Some things just. It's too different.

[Sufi]

Has she visited You. Before the Florida trip, she must have come over.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, she came with my dad. That's the last time I saw my dad, actually, was when he came to New York City to Visit me in 2016, 2017. And the only thing he wanted to do was, you know, talk about a New Hampshire guy. He just went straight to a Dunkin Donuts.

[Sufi]

Great.

[Ronny Chang]

And just. That was the only thing he craved. He said, I just craved Dunkin Donuts and a. And a donut. And a donut. Like, the coffee and the donuts. He went straight it. That was like. His dream was to have Dunkin Donuts and walk and go visit Wall Street. That was his thing. Can you imagine this guy?

[Sufi]

That's so funny. I. I always talk about it. I think I've probably talked about on the podcast. Literally. I remember the day Bedford, New Hampshire, got its first Dunkin Donuts as one of the formative moments of my life. The idea that we could stop. We would drive to high school, you could stop and get a Dunkin Donuts on the way. And I was like, this is it. We have everything we'll ever want now.

[Ronny Chang]

And now, as an adult, do I only realize and appreciate what a random place Manchester, New Hampshire, is?

[Sufi]

Totally.

[Ronny Chang]

You know, like, as an adult in New York City, I'm like, oh, that is a pretty random place to go to and be from and live in, you know?

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Have you gone back and done. You mentioned Southern New Hampshire University, which is the Birds, you know, that's the. That's the big theater there now. Have you done shows there?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, no, I have. I. I did a college in Manchester, New Hampshire, but not the University of Southern New Hampshire. It was another college. And I took the trip. I took the chance to go. To go visit my old spots.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

Because in my head, these spots, they live for, like, 30 years as memories in my head, like the. Like I said, the park with the cannonballs and the. And the canon and the library and my apartment, my old apartment building and Webster Elementary School, and they just live. It's like a fog. And so when I got to go to New Hampshire to do a college gig, I took the special trip to go visit my old apartment building and just stand outside it and look at it. And it was like, I. I can't explain it. Like, as someone who's. Who was trying to. Who left unwillingly. And in my head, I always wanted to go back and then to go back and see, like, the apartment building and like, oh, it's so much smaller than I remember everything is so shockingly small. Right. It seems so big at the time and, and how some it changed a little bit, but not that much, you know. And the, I guess American elementary school always smells, always has that weird like milk smell, you know.

[Pashi]

And did you go back to the Puritan back room?

[Ronny Chang]

I did, I did. I went back there to eat and I discovered it was called the Puritan backroom.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

Because my family was always, we always called it back the back room.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Was there any, when they, when you moved there, was there a, was there a Malaysian, was there a Chinese community in Manchester?

[Ronny Chang]

No, absolutely not. And yeah, so no, it's just, it was us. There was like another family, Asian family, but they weren't from Malaysia. So it's just my sister and I in Webster Elementary.

[Pashi]

And now we're going to take a quick break to hear from one of our sponsors.

[Sufi]

Hey, Bashi. Hey Sufi. You know what you have that not a lot of people are lucky enough to have?

[Pashi]

What's that?

[Sufi]

A great head of hair.

[Pashi]

Oh yeah. Thank you.

[Sufi]

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No.

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But then, I mean it's gonna make your kids be like, look at dad, he's got a nice head of hair.

[Sufi]

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[Pashi]

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[Sufi]

Trips is brought to you by Nissan. It's time to fuel your inner adventure in the award winning Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. So, Josh, tell me about a recent time you connected with your inner adventurer.

[Pashi]

Well, anytime it rains in la, which isn't very often, I throw my gear on and I get out in it and my dog Woody loves to get out there with me. And we'll start on a trail on sort of a big fire road trail, but then we find those smaller trails where you need to crawl and get your hands dirty. And the wetter you get, the better you get. And yeah, that's what we like.

[Sufi]

I love it.

[Pashi]

What about you? Have you connected with your inner adventurer recently?

[Sufi]

You know those squirrel suits where people jump off the sides of cliffs?

[Pashi]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

I just watched a YouTube video of that. My tummy, it gave me, like, made my tummy feel weird.

[Pashi]

Yeah, yeah. Careful, don't watch too many of those. Whatever kind of adventurer you are, the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek is ready for you thanks to its intelligent around view monitor with off road mode, the Rogue Rock Creek helps brave adventurers like you and also Seth to navigate around narrow obstacles in tough terrain. Plus, with lava red stitching and rock Creek embroidery, you're surrounded in style no matter where you go.

[Sufi]

Up on Rogue Rock Creek, she sends me, right?

[Pashi]

Yeah, we don't have the rights.

[Sufi]

We probably can't clear that. So thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn [e-mail] intelligent ground view monitor cannot eliminate blind spots and may not detect every object. Drivers should always turn and check surroundings before driving. See owner's manual for safety information. Hey everybody, if you're listening to us, you like podcasts and we want to talk to you about another podcast called Comedy Bang Bang, which has, as podcasts go, maybe maintained a high quality for longer than any other podcast I've ever listened to.

[Pashi]

Yeah, a really fun sort of unique take on a podcast format that lets you hear some of the world's best improvisers appearing on this show as fictional characters sort of folded into an interview show. It's so unique, it's so fun and, and the people on it are so good. It's people like Nick Kroll, Lauren Lapkis, Paul F. Tompkins, Ben Schwartz.

[Sufi]

Classics. And it's that great thing, which is it is an expanding universe of a podcast. The longer you listen, the more you feel at home with the in jokes, with the callbacks. That's not to say you can't jump in anytime, but they have built a world, a world that, in my mind, laps the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[Pashi]

Agreed.

[Sufi]

And as with all great podcasts, it has a consummate host. Scott Aukerman is a fantastic interviewer and he is at the helm of this incredible show. So give it a listen. So check out new episodes of Comedy Bang Bang every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcasts. What did your parents think when you presented to them that comedy was the way you were gonna trend?

[Ronny Chang]

Well, I don't know. I didn't tell them. I just went to do it. I just went to go do it. This was in Australia. I was, you know, we were in separate countries, so I just graduated from law school and then I just went to go do comedy and I didn't tell them. And I felt like I didn't really want to tell anybody I was doing it. I just wanted to go do it, you know, I mean, I didn't make a big deal about it at the time. I wanted to kind of test to see if I could do it.

[Sufi]

Did they think you were getting a job as a lawyer, though, or were they, like, checking?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, they checked in. And, and the, the, this is my legal loophole was I was technically studying to pass the bar in Australia, so. Which was true. I just took. I just took my time to study for the bar, that's all.

[Pashi]

What made you go to Australia?

[Ronny Chang]

My sister was there at the time doing medicine, studying medicine. And Australia offered undergraduate law degrees, so it was kind of like a cheaper, easier way to get a law degree. And also it was almost, it was nearer. It was nearer to, yeah, Singapore than. Than America, you know.

[Pashi]

So did you go to the same school as your sister?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, I did. I did end up going to the same college, same university, University of Melbourne. And yeah, studied. Did, did law school there. And that was my chance to go to America after, to go to college. But I didn't take it. I just went to Australia. Just a path of, like, least resistance, really.

[Pashi]

Would you and your sister hang out at all? Would you grab like lunch once a week when you were there or would you see each other?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, we lived together for a bit. Yeah, we lived together for quite a bit. Yeah. And then she graduated and then she had to move to Sydney, like a different city. So. But we lived together when we when we were first there, that was the idea, was that, you know, I should go to Australia because my, my sister's already there.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

You know. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Do you think your sister, if she was here, would say you were a good roommate?

[Ronny Chang]

That's a great question. Probably not. Yeah. I don't think she said I was great. I don't think I was horrible, but I wasn't. I don't think she said I. Great. That's a great question. I shouldn't ask her. I should ask her that.

[Pashi]

Just trying to get on trips. Maybe not family, but if you were.

[Ronny Chang]

I know.

[Pashi]

If you're going to college in Australia and then there's like, there's a break, there's a week break or whatever, would you go somewhere with friends? Would you travel around Australia? Would you just go home?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, yeah, I would go visit my parents in Singapore. Yeah. Okay. That's what, that's what happened in Australia. I would. In between. For, for vacation, like university vacation. I'll go back to Singapore. Yes. Okay.

[Sufi]

Was it relatively inexpensive to fly from Australia to Singapore?

[Ronny Chang]

It wasn't. It. It was okay. Yeah, it was okay. It wasn't. I, I mean, I. Who am I kidding? Like, it was. It wasn't cheap, but it was something I could do at least once a year, you know, to go back and visit them. Because it was a seven hour flight.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

So, you know, it was international, but it's a seven hour flight.

[Pashi]

And would your parents ever come visit you guys in Australia when you were studying?

[Ronny Chang]

They just. No, I told you, they don't travel. Yeah. I'm just sorry. I wanted to do this podcast so badly, but I genuinely. We never went on family trips that were.

[Pashi]

But they wouldn't come for, like, there wasn't a parents weekend or something?

[Ronny Chang]

No, no, no, they wouldn't come.

[Sufi]

I think that's never uniquely American parents weekend. It seems like such an American.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

What about you met your wife in Australia?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, I did. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what is okay if you want a family trip? Yeah, she took me to Vietnam. How about that?

[Sufi]

Is she from there?

[Ronny Chang]

She's Vietnamese, but she's from Australia, but her family's from Vietnam, so she took me to Vietnam and it's weird. Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country. I'm from Southeast Asia, but I never once thought of Vietnam as a destination to go to. I, I can't explain it. Like, it, it never crossed my mind until I met and married my wife and she was like, hey, you should come Vietnam to visit. It's very Cool. And so I was like, okay, I'm. I'm game. And so we went to Vietnam, and she. Because she can speak Vietnamese, they were able to show me around. And so we went from north to south, and it was incredibly charming and amazing. I'm so. I'm so glad I went. We went to Hanoi, Hoi An, Sapa Valley, Halong Bay, and then Saigon. We took a train down and it was beautiful. Everyone's super friendly. The food was great. I proposed to my wife there.

[Sufi]

So you knew, you knew before the trip, obviously you're going to propose.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Okay.

[Ronny Chang]

Well done. Yeah. Yeah. I had to ask for. I asked for permission from my mother in law and my father in law, and they said, yep, that's great. They were like, are you sure? Are you sure you want to do this? And I was like, yes, yes, I want to do this. And then they freaking. As soon as I left, they immediately called my wife to tell her that I was doing it. And Hannah, my wife, was like, I don't think you should have told me that. Like, they were telling. She told her mom. Like, I think it was supposed to be a secret.

[Sufi]

Did you. Did she then pretend not to know?

[Ronny Chang]

Yes.

[Sufi]

The whole trip she pretended to be a great partner. That's a great partner to do that. Yeah. She's like, I'm not gonna ruin it.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, she pretended not to know the whole trip, but then she kept. She kept like, having these, like, anx, like, stressful moments when she thought I was about to propose, but really I wasn't. I was just like. I literally said, hey, everybody. Hey, everybody. You guys gotta see this. You guys see this? And I'd be like, showing them like a YouTube video and she. She would think she would tense up because she's like, oh, oh, is it. You're gonna. Is it gonna be here right now? You know, so the whole trip she had these, like, adrenaline spikes that I didn't even know about.

[Sufi]

When did she admit to you that she had known?

[Ronny Chang]

She told me after, you know, she.

[Sufi]

Okay.

[Ronny Chang]

She said. She said, yeah, mom told me, like, weeks ago. No, had you met.

[Sufi]

Had you met her parents before the Vietnam trip?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sufi]

Okay, good.

[Ronny Chang]

I met and I met, hung out with them, and we always got along and they were actually surprisingly okay with, you know, this. This guy who was trying to do stand up comedy and had, you know, no money and nothing. And they were okay with, I don't know, they were just okay with it. I don't know why her parents were so cool with it to Be honest.

[Sufi]

Your dad. So your, your dad passed away, but at that point you were successful in this career. But that's great. Like, I'm glad he said, I don't know.

[Ronny Chang]

I don't know if I was successful. I was at the Daily show, you.

[Sufi]

Know, you were, you're a guy who is doing stand up. Did he get to see that it out? Was he proud of you?

[Ronny Chang]

I don't know. I don't know. He passed away very suddenly, so I don't know.

[Sufi]

I'm sorry to hear that.

[Ronny Chang]

I actually talk about this in the new special that's coming out in December, but I, I, I don't know. Ultimately, I, I'll never know how he actually felt. But he did come to New York and he saw me at a Daily show and he, there was a crew guy at the Daily show who actually works at SNL now. And he, he said, he told my dad, like, man, your son is great, man. He's, you know, he's super funny. We all love him here. And that was what kind of convinced my dad that I was doing okay.

[Sufi]

That was great.

[Ronny Chang]

The crew guys just, you know, like, like vouching for me was the best and, and unprompted as well.

[Sufi]

That's probably. I, I get that. I think a dad would recognize, like the, if the, when the blue collar guy says it, they're not, they're not the BS guy. When the agent says it, you're like this.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. When, when, when your son says that, you don't believe it.

[Sufi]

Of course not. Your new special is Love to Hate It. It's your third. Is this your third Netflix special?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, the Netflix special. Yeah.

[Sufi]

And you filmed in Honolulu, is that right?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, I filmed in Hawaii. And your name actually came up because Neil Brennan came afterwards and he was just talking about you. He said, yeah, he said, like, yeah, Neil Brennan, for some reason living in Hawaii now.

[Sufi]

Oh, that's right. I missed that connection. Yeah, he is living there. That's great.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, so I filmed it in Hawaii and he came afterwards and he, you know, Neil is like, he's such a friendly guy, but he also can't turn off the writer's mind. So he's watching, you know, and obviously I appreciate it. And so he's like, you know, giving me tips on stuff and all that, but I'm already filming it at this point.

[Sufi]

I know that's a Neil thing. He can't turn it off. Yeah, he went up to somebody else, he told me recently, and he, an hour after that, I, sorry. A month after they'd filmed their special before he came out, and he's like, you're going to hate me. But I just came up with the best tag. Like, you don't have to tell him, Neil.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I appreciated him making the trip. And, you know, he watches a lot of comedy, so the fact that, like, him wanting to watch my set was like, I can't believe you still have energy for this. And, you know, he gave me some good tips that we managed to make some adjustments for the second show, which I always appreciate. Yeah. Film day in Hawaii, probably my. I'm. Yeah, I'm pretty happy with this one, you know, so hopefully I'm very excited to see it.

[Sufi]

I've loved your previous specials. You have one of my favorite jokes that I think about all the time, where you ask. Where you ask the audience.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

[Sufi]

On the count of three, everybody yell out there. Which race is the worst? I think I'm. Am I. I'm paraphrasing it badly. It's about it.

[Ronny Chang]

That's about right.

[Pashi]

That would work.

[Sufi]

That delivery would work. It's such a fucking funny bit.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, thank you. That's very kind.

[Sufi]

Also, I just had Jimmy on my show last night.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, yeah? Yeah.

[Sufi]

The first episode of Interior Chinatown. Fantastic.

[Ronny Chang]

Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you so much. Yeah, Very, very proud of it. Very sophisticated show, and I hope people can get behind it a little bit because it looks so fun.

[Pashi]

I just watched the trailer this morning, and it just looks like.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, thank you. Wild.

[Sufi]

It's on Hulu.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. Well, as storytellers and professional TV people, I mean, I think you guys will appreciate because it's meta commentary on television and the nature of storytelling. So it. The whole thing is a meta narrative. So it's, you know, it's. It's people in a TV show.

[Sufi]

I'm very happy anytime I see something that I know AI couldn't have written. You know what I mean? Where you're like, this is great. This is completely unlike anything else. I also. I feel like I see you. So you're so clean cut on stage and so clean cut on the Daily show that it was like a full, like, third scene where I was like, wait, is that Ronnie? In a really good way, like, you. You sort of. I was like, oh, he's also a really good actor. Cause I didn't know it was him for the first couple scenes.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, that's very kind of you. Yeah, I'm trying to. Yeah. Trying my best to hold my own with These other actors and also. So I kind of really enjoyed playing out of type a little bit, playing a character and them trusting me to do it. So.

[Sufi]

All right. We did some research. So I feel like we have at least one trip to ask you about, which is that you recently went to your dad's hometown. When was that?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh yeah. So that was. Wait, who did you talk to about this?

[Pashi]

We didn't talk to anyone.

[Sufi]

We do our job here.

[Ronny Chang]

Damn. Okay. I went to his hometown to settle some estate matters after he passed away. And there's some stuff in Malaysia where it's so old school you have to be present for it in pen and paper. So I had to go back to his hometown, which I kind of was trying to avoid doing for various reasons. But I got a lot of lovely family there, so that was nice. Seeing my family was nice. But it's a weird. This cityawan in Malaysia. It's this very small town Malaysian village. And it was weird to organize the trip without him because he's usually the guy who picks the whole like, what hotel we're staying, where we're gonna eat and he does everything and who we're gonna go visit. And so. So I actually had to do it this time. And it was kind of like jarring to be like, oh yeah, he was the one who planned the itinerary. And so I got to pick the hotel. And so I was like looking for the best hotels in Sitaawan. And Sitaewan is known as a poor town, or at least not a very wealthy town. So whenever we went with my dad, we either stay at family's house or we stay in like a not so great motel. And so I just assumed there were no good hotels in the area. So when I Google city one hotels myself, organizing this for the first time, I found out there's like a five star resort like in the same neighborhood, like down the street. And I was like, why do we never find out about this place? And it just turns out that this guy, yeah, he just never wanted to spend the money to stay, which I get like, you don't. But the narrative I get not wanting to spend a bunch of money on a weekend trip with your family to. But the point is that they told us our whole lives, like, we're just farmers. And we, you know, just like, there's no running water here. And this, this, you know, it's. It's very like, lower your expectations, stop being so spoiled. And meanwhile, there's like this goddamn like international five star resort just down the street.

[Pashi]

So is that where you stayed?

[Ronny Chang]

No, I didn't stay there. I didn't even end up staying there because I could. In honor of my dad. I was like, I can't stay here.

[Sufi]

Like, that's like parents telling kids like, there's nothing to do in Orlando. Yeah, this is.

[Ronny Chang]

That's exactly what it was.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

So shout out that resort in City One. If you ever go to City One, you can go visit this very five star resort. It's like, it's not. It's kind of. Yeah, it's. It's a. It looks beautiful. I wish I. I wish I could go.

[Sufi]

I just like that with the theme is that when your parents had something they just didn't want to tell you, they just didn't tell.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

They were like, what's the easiest way to break it to them? Just never, ever tell them.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. Relationship of lies. These parents, I don't know why they never told me. I think they thought I couldn't handle it. Right. They thought I would kick up a fuss, which I probably would not be able to handle, to be honest, if they told me I was leaving America forever. Oh, man.

[Pashi]

So you got back together with a bunch of extended family on that trip with your back to your father's hometown.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, we did. I had to handle some legal matters, which is always more emotional than you think. Right. Because you're kind of like signing off your dad's stuff. You're like closing some loops in his life.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

And then I got to see extended family, and my extended family always comes out to come and see me. You know, they're literally farmers. And they'll come and they'll come out and we'll just, we'll go for lunch together. You know, we have to. We'll have to rent out like three tables at a restaurant because everyone will show up. Because I got like tons of family there. Like, literally. My grandmother had like 150 descendants.

[Pashi]

Wow.

[Ronny Chang]

So it's like. Yeah, she had like 11 kids and her first kid had like nine kids. And. Yeah. So that everyone is there. It's like a good old, you know, Irish family, I guess. They just.

[Sufi]

That's fantastic.

[Ronny Chang]

Kept reproducing and so that when I'm there, it's like, man, everyone comes up. And I always appreciate, you know, they was very nice and dude, are they.

[Sufi]

Are they impressed that you're the. You're the cousin who sort of made a name for himself?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, I don't know. I don't know if they are. I mean, that's kind of for them. Do know my aunts and uncles are always very, very, very. Always very happy to see me. Always very nice to me. And I think they know I do something in America, but they don't really fully get what it is. And, and, you know, I, I'm glad that, you know, they, they, they don't have.

[Sufi]

So you're saying they don't have Paramount. Plus.

[Pashi]

Once. Once they do, they'll probably say, hey, why don't you get three tables over at this five star resort?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, I know. Yeah.

[Sufi]

You got to keep it quiet. If they find out how well you've done, you're going to be at that resort next time for sure.

[Ronny Chang]

No, no, they're very nice and I always love to see them.

[Sufi]

All right, this has been wonderful. Ronnie, thank you so much for your time, buddy. And congratulations on the new special. Love to hate it.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, thanks for speaking to me. You know, you guys, you guys are. You guys are comedy legends, so thanks so much. I've been watching. I've been watching you guys for.

[Sufi]

Josh has some questions for you before you go.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, please, please.

[Sufi]

All right.

[Pashi]

You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous or educational?

[Ronny Chang]

Relaxing. Adventurous or educational? Relaxing.

[Pashi]

What's your favorite means of transportation?

[Ronny Chang]

Walking.

[Pashi]

Lovely. If you could take a vacation with any family, obviously not your own family, real or fictional, they could be from history or from now, what family would you like to take a vacation with?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, man, that's a good one, man. Is it weird to. Is it weird to want to travel with. Yeah, man, that's a good one. I was gonna. Is it weird to say I want to. I want to travel with the Kennedys?

[Sufi]

Nope.

[Ronny Chang]

Is that weird?

[Pashi]

As long as you're not around for one of the tragedies, it's probably.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would it be?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, can I pick my wife?

[Pashi]

Yeah, okay. Totally fair.

[Sufi]

Good. Safe pick.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

Although I hate for it to be stranded with me, but. Yeah.

[Sufi]

She's like, don't pick me.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, don't pick me.

[Pashi]

What do you consider your hometown?

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, man, I feel.

[Pashi]

Man, yeah, you're all over the place.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. I can't. I feel at home everywhere. I feel at home everywhere.

[Pashi]

But you were born in Johor Bahru, is that right?

[Ronny Chang]

Yes.

[Pashi]

Would you recommend Johor Bahru as a vacation destination?

[Ronny Chang]

No, I love Johor Bahru. Don't. Not vacation destination.

[Pashi]

Okay.

[Sufi]

Thank you for your honesty.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, yeah, no problem.

[Pashi]

And Seth has our final questions.

[Sufi]

Have you been to the Grand Canyon, Ronnie?

[Ronny Chang]

Yes, I have.

[Sufi]

Did you really? Did you like it? Was it worth it?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, I loved it. It was worth it. I didn't go down into it. My wife actually spent a few days going down into the canyon. I just only walked up to the edge and I saw it. It was great. I recommend it. I took a bus from Vegas, I think. And. And. Is that right? Yeah. And. And surprisingly, no safety guardrails.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

You could just fall in and die if you.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Too big. Too big for guardrails.

[Ronny Chang]

That's what they say. Yeah. So there's a. There's an element of danger, which I think makes it cool but truly beautiful and make you appreciate a desert vista, which sometimes can be a bit underrated and natural beauty. Yeah, it's. Yeah. Why. Why are you asking?

[Sufi]

We just. That's how we. That's our closing question to everyone.

[Ronny Chang]

Okay, cool.

[Sufi]

That's the most. We feel like it's the most American family trip destination.

[Pashi]

So we're gonna.

[Sufi]

We're gonna put. That's why we're going to mark you in the yes column. And on our hundredth show, we're going to do the score of what? The Grand Canyon.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, that's great.

[Sufi]

Thanks, Ronnie.

[Ronny Chang]

Thank you.

[Sufi]

Have a great day. Keep it up. Lovely talking to a fellow person who lived in Manchester.

[Ronny Chang]

Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for speaking to me, guys.

[Pashi]

See you, pal. Ronnie Chain Ronnie Jane Ronny Jane Ronny Jane Ronny Jane Ronny Chain got food at two years old he moved to the Granite State he love everything was great he went to Stark park the Puritan back room he took a family vacation Was told they'd come back soon Ronnie Chain, Ronnie chain Ronny Chang got.

[Ronny Chang]

Food.

[Pashi]

Now young Ronny Chang.

[Sufi]

He loved.

[Pashi]

The library and his Ninja Turtles and Webster Elementary Then one day his parents said, you like this song some more? Watch some videos on Singapore Thought it was just for a couple weeks but they knew that they were coming back and that is how Ronnie Chang Ronnie Jane Ronnie chain Ronnie Ch. Ronnie Chang got.