Everyone knows the tourist traps.

You could spend 10 hours at the Louvre trying to peer over hundreds of heads to get a peek at the surprisingly tiny Mona Lisa, you could climb the well-worn paths up Mt. Fuji, or you could take a cheesy picture of someone pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. You could even take the equally cheesy picture of all the people taking all the “holding up the Leaning Tower” pictures.

I’m much more interested in the true culture of these places and the people that inhabit them. I’m not trying to discredit the more touristy places, they’re clearly busy for a reason (My top bucket list item is climb Mt. Fuji). Furthermore — full disclosure — I’ve never really traveled anywhere interesting. I’ve been to Los Angeles, which was pretty cool, but apart from that I’ve never left Canada.

I have to think, however, that all of the interesting facets of humanity exist outside the most crowded places, partially because people in large crowds tend to act more like animals (be they sheep or apes) and these places tend to be doctored to a certain extent in order to help the area seem more clean and appealing.

I say all of this to build a foundation. To roll out the red carpet, if you will, for Parts Unknown, Anthony Bourdain’s amazing descent into different cultures from all over the world. From Japan to Southern Brazil to Copenhagen we are presented with the stuff no one sees.

One of the most refreshing things about this show is Tony’s taste in food. He is equally comfortable in a 3 Michelin star restaurant as in a greasy hole in the wall in the middle of Who-Gives-a-Shit, Afghanistan. He appreciates the finest sushi, requiring decades of training and practice to perfect, but he holds equal value in sloppy street food and hangover cures.

Arguably the most memorable episode takes place in a remote village in Borneo. He is welcomed into the village and spends the next set of DAYS just drinking, eating, and sleeping. One big long party. He is offered the honour of slaughtering the pig for the days-long feast and jumps at the chance. Bourdain the closes of the trip by getting a tattoo in the centre of his chest in the traditional manner by the village’s resident artist. “At this point, I think my body is like an old car,” he states in voice-over, referring to his brand new ink. “One more dent ain’t gonna make a whole lot of difference.”

Parts Unknown fits an interesting niche. It’s food, it’s travel, it’s culture all at once. No other show does so much, especially not this well. You see the care that is put into ever single piece of food. You see the struggles of people against their governments, against nature. You see happiness and joy amidst chaos and through it all humanity survives. Thrives.

There are eleven seasons of Parts Unknown. I’d love to sit here in the dark, in my less-than-comfortable chair and tell you that you have many more to look forward to. You don’t. Anthony Bourdain took his own life on June 8, 2018. He was filming a new episode of Parts Unknown.

I’m gonna break here for a second to say that if you need help, it’s out there. If you need immediate help, this is a list of International Suicide Hotlines as well as a list of Canada-Specific Hotlines. If you need any of these resources, please do your best to use them. I know it’s tough, but it’s worth it.

If you need ongoing assistance, consider checking out Better Help. They have many different options for types of therapy, as well as ways to get it. Text, video chat, phone call, online chat, etc. They even have a financial aid program you can apply for if you need.

Now that that incredibly important message has been said I’m going to move on. I’ve said this before to family and friends, Anthony Bourdain’s death has been the hardest celebrity death for me to get over. He’s truly brought so much joy, wonder, awe, appreciation to my life. Appreciation for my life, ironically. And that’s a bitter irony.

There are maybe two people in the world who I could listen to endlessly and (sorry sweetheart) none of them are my family. They are New York Times bestselling authors John Green and Anthony Bourdain. I’ll get into John Green another time. This is Tony’s article.

It struck me the other day while nearing the end of Parts Unknown that Tony spoke a certain number of words. That number is not infinity. Of course, this is true for all of us, but I don’t really want to listen to most people as much as I want to hear his deep baritone tell me about the intricacies of french cooking or the gelatin seeping out of the pig foot in his bar soup.

I still have lots of episodes of his shows to watch. There are only eight seasons of Parts Unknown on Netflix and I was out of the house while my family watched a bunch of them. There’s also his other popular series No Reservations, a similar show also well worth a watch.

However, I have trouble coming to terms with the fact that eventually my supply of fresh Anthony Bourdain will run out. I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can while I have it, but there’s always the slightest bit of melancholy at the back of my brain saying, “This will never last you until the end of your lifetime. It probably won’t even last the rest of the year.”

All things considered, I consider myself lucky to have discovered his work. I consider myself honoured, really. He really makes it seem like he’s made this all for me specifically.

He is one of the most artistic, passionate people in the world. I dread the day I have to hear him say something for the second time.