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In this episode we discuss the pros and cons of travelling solo or with a buddy. Malcolm discovers an unlikely resemblance to a famous film star and David shares some ideas on how to make a success of a holiday when travelling with a smaller group of friends and how this may change for a larger group.

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In this episode we discuss Malcolm and David's previous safari experiences, including your traditional guided safari and your less traditional self drive safari. We talk about Malcolm's experiences with malaria and the safety procedures in place for camping while on safari, including how not to keep mosquitoes out of your tent and how to prevent monkeys getting to your food. You can learn from our mistakes.

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In this episode we discuss David's recent island hopping trip in the Philippines. We will delve into: the activies on the trip, the food, the other people on the trip as well as the Filipino support crew. There is a discussion of toilet facilities both on land and on the boat. And Malcolm reveals a surprising fantasy, although David always suspected as much 😜

The trip was organised and hosted by Seatours Palawan:
https://seatourspalawan.com/

We also compare this trip to David's 2016 diving live-a-board trip in Indonesia to Komodo island. What safety protocols were ignored and would travel insurance have been void if the worse had happened 😱

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In this episode we discuss the wine culture of the Czech Republic (Czechia if you are under 30, Czechoslovakia if you are over 60 and the Austro-Hungarian Empire if you are dead).

In particular the South Moravian wine growing region where Malc happens to spend quite a lot of time.

We will be talking about the small villages and cellars (sklepy).  What a wine tasting is like, when and how to just drop by to try and buy and how much you might pay.  In other parts of the country how to buy your small producer wine from Vinotekas.

This very helpful website has loads of information on the topic: https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/things-to-do/places/gastronomic-tourism/wine-tourism/g-wine-culture-south-moravia

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Today we are discussing a necessary evil, estate agents do make a surprise appearance, but the topic is planning.

Too much planning stifles the enjoyment and spontaneity.

Too little planning, well you would never get out of your front door.

We discuss the pros and cons, when to dig deep, when to free wheel.

Planning successes, failures and some epic near misses.

And then an update from David's trip to the Philippines, today his move to a new location and diving including with Whale sharks.

If you have a story to share or some advice on what to do in a Philippine bridal suites just contact us at [email protected]

Our theme music is Traveler's Blues by Jerzy Gorecki from Pixabay (with licence)

https://pixabay.com/users/jerzyg%C3%B3recki-2233926/

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Well, we were going to talk about Safaris and catch up with Dave after he landed in Cebu.  But as he was right royally messed around by hosts through Booking.com, instead we discuss how it went.  What to do and not to do when your accommodation falls through not once, but twice. 

Is once unlucky and twice careless?

Will Dave get a refund?

Will the world's tiniest violin make an appearance?

Will anyone answer the awkward question of why he is alone in a Bridal suite? 

You will just have to listen to find out.

Of course we also discuss the wider context, refunds, comms while travelling and Malc gives a hosts perspective for balance.

If you have a story to share or some advice on what to do in a Philippine bridal suites just contact us at [email protected]

Our theme music is Traveler's Blues by Jerzy Gorecki from Pixabay (with licence)

https://pixabay.com/users/jerzyg%C3%B3recki-2233926/

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In this Episode Malc and Dave discuss Winter breaks and escaping the Grey.

As is often the case, Malc tends to go on shorter breaks, commonly the Med Islands at the beginning of January or to Central Europe where it is cold crisp and blue.  Whereas David migrates to: India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and now the Philippines, to escape for longer periods.

We discuss both, looking at bargain travel, the advantages of going on holiday when everyone else isn't and the mental benefits of escaping the grey.

If you have a story to share or some advice on escaping the grey just contact us at [email protected]

Our theme music is Traveler's Blues by Jerzy Gorecki from Pixabay (with licence)

https://pixabay.com/users/jerzyg%C3%B3recki-2233926/

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We are old school friends (yes old), we have traveled together often, and separately much more.

Whenever we meet we spend out time talking about our travels, with one eye whistful and nostalgic, and the other fresh and experienced.  Add to the mix that we both have a foot in the business of Travel, Dave with his walking holidays and Malc with his AIrBnB hosting, it means we have a broad and unique perspective on all aspects of travel.

This trailer has a few clips and an intro with background etc. to give you a feel of what we are about.

We are launching with five episodes and will be posting weekly from the middle of January.  Is there a reason we are going live on Blue Monday? Other than our enjoyment of New Order (actually more so Joy Division), it is also that we all need cheering up to look forward to the holidays to come.

If you have a story to share or some feedback to give just contact us at [email protected]

Our theme music is Traveler's Blues by Jerzy Gorecki from Pixabay (with licence)

https://pixabay.com/users/jerzyg%C3%B3recki-2233926/

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If you have never done any international or long distance home country travel for business it probably sounds glamorous and interesting; spoiler alert...it really isn't.  It is a pain in the proverbial.  However, there is a way to take the edge off it and that is what we are looking at today.

Malc and Dave talk about their experiences of business travel and the bonus experiences they have got from it that they would have struggled to achieve otherwise.  The hacks and tips about booking and planning, who to ask and what to ask.

When you go somewhere for work you meet and spend time with people from that place, they are usually incredibly proud of their home and willing to share the best of it with anyone willing to listen, so if in doubt just ask.

We cover countries including: Saudi Arabia, India, USA, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore and many more.

Dave discusses which offers to accept and which to politely decline in Saudi Arabia and Malc talks about planning in advance and why trucks and airplanes should not be allowed to mix.  

If you have a story to share or some feedback just contact us at [email protected]

Our theme music is Traveler's Blues by Jerzy Gorecki from Pixabay (with licence)

https://pixabay.com/users/jerzyg%C3%B3recki-2233926/

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In this first full and long episode Malc and Dave talk about their Interrailing in the early 90s, spilling the beans on newbie travel and the lowest of low cost travel around Europe.  Talking about the formative effect it had on our future travel lives and the joy of not planning.

The episode covers all the major European cultural centres Paris, Florence, Hull, Amsterdam, Venice, Munich and did I mention Hull? We cover city center camping, sleeping on trains, sleeping on stations and how not to cook Calamari.

In the 2nd half we talk about our more recent experiences of rail travel and friends recent EuroPass travel experiences (Interrailing) how much it costs and how we might do it differently these days (with much more travel experience behind us).

Coming in Episode 3 - Corporate holidays (fitting in travel around business trips)

If you have a story to share or some advice on Interrailing just contact us at [email protected]

Show notes:

It looks like the campsites we used in Amsterdam and Florence are no longer there, but this one looks decent: https://www.campingzeeburg.nl/

Also see this helpful video for how to convert the six person seating zones in European trains into three beds: https://youtu.be/qB9Fs0ceUGI?si=1YQZtLJ2BavDgcMP

Our theme music is Traveler's Blues by Jerzy Gorecki from Pixabay (with licence)

https://pixabay.com/users/jerzyg%C3%B3recki-2233926/