WEBVTT - Plan the Ultimate International Vacation with Alexis Bowen 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:05.880 Hey Bessies, Hello Sunshine. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.440 Today on the bright Side, we're spilling the secrets to 0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:12.720 planning the ultimate international vacation with travel expert and co 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:16.960 founder of the travel company Elsewhere, Alexis Bowen. She's here 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.640 to reveal the three essentials for making your trip absolutely 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.080 unforgettable and why going solo might be the best part. 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:28.319 Plus, stand up comedian and TV host Jesse Crookshank joins 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.640 us to talk the sexiness of mothers and minivans. She's 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.600 also taking us back to performing Improvent High School with 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:38.960 none other than comedian Seth Rogen and Nathan Fielder. It's Monday, 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:42.199 August twenty sixth. I'm Danielle Robe, I'm Simone Boys, and 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:44.800 this is the bright Side from Hello Sunshine, a daily 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.800 show where we come together to share women's stories, laugh, learn, 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:55.040 and brighten your day. Happy Monday, Danielle. All Right, you 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.600 know what we gotta do? Hmm, It's Monday. We got 0:00:57.640 --> 0:00:59.240 to kick off the week with on My Mom Monday. 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:01.840 It's our op ortuinity to share stories that motivate us 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:05.679 inspired curiosity and provide a fresh perspective for the week ahead. 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.160 What you got, Okay, I'm gonna give you a little 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:10.800 bit of a curve ball, but stick with me. I 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:14.480 think quitting is underrated. What's the best thing you've ever quit? 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:20.640 My job? Okay, when did you quit your job? I 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:24.240 quit my job two years ago, being a reporter. Yeah, 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:25.479 that was the best thing I ever quit. 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:29.400 Did you have any like fallout after? Did you cry 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:30.440 or were you relieved? 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:34.320 No? I didn't cry. I quit it with the most 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.560 piece that I've ever had making a decision. 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.840 I've quit a few jobs in my life. I'm like, actually, 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:42.680 the Queen of quitting, are you really? 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:43.759 Yeah? 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.240 Because here's the thing. I think quitting gets a bad rap. 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:49.279 Quitting can be like taking off a pair of shoes 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:51.600 that are too tight, or taking off your bra after 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:54.600 a long day. You just feel like, why didn't I 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:55.400 do that earlier? 0:01:55.840 --> 0:01:57.160 Was instant relief? You know? 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.080 I think whether it's leaving behind a stress job, or 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:05.200 an exhausting friendship, or even a hobby that doesn't bring 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.320 you joy, quitting can clear space in your life for 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:10.040 things that truly make you happy. 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:13.240 I'm going to quote Steve Harvey. Okay, he says, you. 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:15.359 Can't buy a new car when the old car is 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:18.200 in your garage. You gotta make space, And so for me, 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:20.800 quitting is not about giving up. It's about giving in 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:23.040 to yourself and honoring what works for you and what 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:24.280 truly brings you joy. 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:25.640 Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.919 Well, I came across this article about quitting, but it's 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:30.880 about quitting a book. 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:34.120 We ever quit a book. I have strong feelings about this. 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.800 I'm unable to quit books. Oh, I have to finish 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:39.840 them once I start. Okay, So I actually totally disagree. 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.880 So we're gonna have it out ready, Yes, I'm going 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.320 to give you what the article says, and then we'll disagree. 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:45.600 Okay. 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:50.560 Sophie Verschbau wrote a piece from The Atlantic giving all 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:53.160 of us a rubric for deciding whether it's time to 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.799 put a book down without finishing it, which is hard 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:58.359 to do for a book lover. But before I begin, 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.840 there are those of you, you like Simone, who struggle 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.600 with abandoning a book and feel like you gotta finish 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:05.240 no matter what. 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:06.400 And I see you. 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:09.880 I feel like life is too short to ever read 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.880 something you're not thoroughly thrilled with. So as we go 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:16.320 through this, I want you to determine if you're a Simone. 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:17.160 Or if you're a Danielle. 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:21.840 Okay, So she says Number one, before dropping a book, 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.360 you need to figure out what's motivating you to stop 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.440 reading it. Is it bad writing or is the author 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.000 experimenting in a creative way that might push you as 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:31.600 a reader, but you're sort of uncomfortable with. 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:34.720 So the book that I'm currently thinking of, the writing 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:36.760 was just bad. Oh yeah. 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:39.120 See. I always feel bad saying the writing is bad 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:40.600 because it's like, maybe it's just not for me. 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:42.880 Is it bad writing? Like who gets to decide that? 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:45.120 I think if you've read enough books, you can decide 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:49.279 what's bad writing and just bad storytelling, like flat characters, 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.840 you know, not well developed. Right, that's a good point. Yeah. 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.200 Well, She says that reading is linked to empathy, increased empathy, 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.800 which I think is cool and one of the best 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:02.400 opportunities we have to digest experiences and opinions that we 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.640 don't agree with or haven't considered is reading. So sometimes 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:09.280 you got to like push through Number two. Time constraints. 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:13.480 She says, for busy people, reading is a luxury, So 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:17.200 I kind of have a page constraint. I'm like fifty pages. 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.799 If I'm not in I'm actually lying I'm being generous. 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:23.840 If I'm not in in twenty pages, I'm out. That's nothing. 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:25.279 I know. I feel like you got to give it 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.279 one hundred. I can't do it. I don't have time. 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:29.839 There's too many books I want to read. I feel 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:30.760 that very strongly. 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:32.920 Do you ever Sometimes I go into a library and 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.680 I get anxiety because I look around and I'm like, 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:37.360 I don't know anything. 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:40.200 I need to read all of these books. I do 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:43.400 feel that. I also feel the tension between we have 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:46.720 books at home and I want to buy this book. Yes, 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.680 that is so relatable. Yeah, okay. 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:53.520 Number three, she says, you got to stop gamifying reading. 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.680 Don't just push through for the sake of bragging rights. 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.000 I'm looking at you. It's not bragging rights, it is. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.320 That's not bragging rights for me. It's a personal thing 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:04.719 for me. It's like I made I bought this book, 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:06.800 which means I made a commitment to read it, so 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:08.880 I'm going to finish it. It's like it's a personal 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.440 covenant that I make with myself, even if it's like 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.880 a six hundred page book. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.159 six hundred pages, that's a big commitment. I don't read 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:19.279 a ton of six hundred page books. I gotta be honest. 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:21.719 Well, the next one is sort of funny because she's 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:22.839 kind of going back and forth. 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:23.599 She might agree with you. 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:26.520 She says, if it's a trendy book, that you have 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:28.520 to keep going so that you can hate on it 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:31.240 intellectually with your friends and be a real critic. 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:33.600 I love how real this is. That's so you can 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:37.200 walk up into the book club like guns blazing. Yes. 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:39.840 So I have a friend named Brooke who is like 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.600 my reading buddy, Like she always reads. 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:44.280 She has so much time on her hands, way more 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:45.200 than me, and so she. 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.680 Reads all the books, especially the trendy ones, as soon 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:49.960 as they come out. And she told me this year 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.279 I have to read The Women and all fours and 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.159 I haven't started either, and it's killing me. 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:55.680 The Women is on my list too. 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.640 Yeah, yeah, okay. 0:05:57.920 --> 0:05:59.840 The last one is lean on the Live. 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:03.000 She said, there's no sunk costs, like you said about 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:04.880 buying a book and not finishing it if you didn't 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:05.400 pay for it. 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:09.320 I'm currently fighting with my library. Why because they say 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:11.760 that I haven't returned like ten books from my kids. 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.720 So I try to have returned them so when I was. 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:17.360 Growing up in Chicago, there was always a day in 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:20.960 April where you could bring in a ton of canned. 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:22.560 Goods to the library. 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:24.880 It was like a drive of a can goods drive 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:27.160 and if you brought in enough, they would waive all 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:28.159 your overcharges. 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.279 I need to see if that's an option at my library. 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:32.040 I swear I've returned these books. 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.920 Okay, So have I convinced you otherwise? Are you still 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.279 on your page? So to speak? 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:41.600 These are good, you know, questions to think about. I 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:44.080 think that for me, if I'm going to get really deep, 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:48.440 it's like I don't want to make a commitment that 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:54.120 I can't keep. So like I it's like, what, that's 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.039 so funny that you attribute books to that. Yeah, it's 0:06:57.160 --> 0:06:59.720 it's part of Yeah, it's just part of like an 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:01.920 over writing life philosophy. Like if you say you're going 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:04.520 to do something, do it. Yeah. Yeah, but maybe I 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:06.599 need to loosen up a little bit. No, I don't. 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:09.680 It's I think if you've like, you know, tied those 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:11.960 two things together, that's that's totally fair. 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:15.320 Yeah, Okay. A book that was really easy to finish 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:19.280 was Wild Mmmm. That is a book, It really really is, 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.000 And it's a book that got me thinking a lot 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:24.640 about the role that travel plays in my own life. 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:28.400 Research shows that traveling is beneficial to personal growth. It 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:32.360 leads to greater emotional agility, creativity, and empathy. But if 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:36.520 you've ever had an international journey that's deeply touched you 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:38.760 on a personal level, like, you don't need to see 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:42.360 the research. You know how transformative travel can be. A 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.320 recent Forbes article actually cited a survey that revealed that 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:48.440 eighty percent of all travel decisions are made by women. 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.400 Isn't that really Yeah, that is not the case in 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.920 my house. My dad is our travel agent. Interesting, what's 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:57.080 your mom's role in all of it? 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:01.920 Everything else? I thought you mine in the house. No, no, no, 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:04.680 Like when it comes to travel and planning, travel's way 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:08.880 too much travel and planning trips. My mom's the restaurant gal. Nice. Yeah, 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:11.120 she makes the reservations, so she'll like go through the 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:13.560 Yelp reviews or whatever they're in that country. 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:17.520 Yeah, how about you, Oh, he does the reservations in 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:17.880 your house? 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:21.520 You are, Michael Gosh, that's a really good question. I 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:25.320 think it's kind of shared. I think it's shared marriage 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.920 in twenty twenty four, But you have completely different travel approaches. 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.520 Like I'm a wanderer. I just want to I just 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:34.440 want to go to a city without a lot of 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.800 structure and wander. Although I do think there's there has 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:42.520 to be a balance between structure and spontaneity. I call 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:46.040 myself a traveler. My husband prefers vacation, and there's a 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:49.040 difference between travel and vacation, big difference. I think travel 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.400 is about discovery, vacation is about relaxation. 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:53.920 I think if you go and travel, you need you 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:55.040 need a vacation after. 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.360 Sometimes, yeah, I think it's good to like try to 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:59.400 weave in the vacation elements in the travel. 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:01.920 But my dad has this travel rule. He says, you 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.280 always end on a beach. So, like if you have 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:07.040 eight or ten days of like tough touring, because he 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.920 wants to tour from like eight am to eight pm. Yeah, 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.320 that somehow you have to end two or three days 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:12.800 on a beach. 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.280 That's smart. Yeah, that way you come back feeling rested. 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:18.880 Oh another travel hack. So whenever you return, make sure 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.240 that you've taken a day off, a buffer day, so 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:23.719 that you don't go right back to work after making it. 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.960 I'm laughing because I want every single ounce of the 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.080 time off I have. I will take a red eye 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:32.320 and show up to work at eight am that morning. 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:37.000 I hear you, but there is something really nice about 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:39.920 having a day to adjust. Totally agree, I just it's 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:42.360 not me. Well, our next guest has had the travel 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.199 bug since she was thirteen years old. Alexis Bowen went 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.880 on to create Elsewhere, a travel company that was eventually 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.760 acquired by Lonely Planet, and together they're on a mission 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:54.560 to make tourism better, more sustainable, and more ethical. And 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:57.600 today Alexis is telling us about the solo trip that 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:01.240 changed her life, the benefits of traveling so and how 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:03.920 to do it safely. That's after the break, stay with. 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:16.760 Us, Alexis, Welcome to the bright Side. 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:18.760 Hi, thanks so much for having me. 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:22.240 You've traveled all over the world. Is there a solo 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:26.040 trip that has changed your life? Oh, that's such a 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.840 hard question. I've done a lot of solo trips. I 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:31.520 would have to say my first one has to be 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.920 the most formative for sure. Actually, I took my first 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:38.240 international trip solo, which is kind of wild, and I 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.520 was thirteen years old, so I mean it was a 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:44.520 totally new experience that blew my mind and really got 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:45.160 me the bug. 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:47.000 Where did you go? Would you tell us a little 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:47.840 bit about that trip? 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.760 I went to England and Ireland. I always wanted to travel. 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.440 I always wanted to see the world, and I grew 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:55.800 up with Irish grandparents, so I grew up with people 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:58.160 who came from a different place and talked about it, 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:00.720 and so I just wanted to see where they came from. 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.120 I didn't grow up traveling. My parents didn't take us 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:05.719 all over the world. And I think a lot of 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.040 people who end up in the industry got the bug 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:10.440 from that from their parents, But for me, it was 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:14.360 just totally innate. I've always had this sense of adventure 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:16.600 and wanting to see kind of what was out there, 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:18.360 and always just wanted to see the world. 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:20.040 So at twelve, I was like. 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:21.880 I'm gonna take this in my own hands, and I'm 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:24.480 gonna get myself a passport and I'm gonna buy a 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:25.719 ticket and I'm gonna. 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:26.920 Go, Wow, that's incredible. 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:28.560 Wow, Yeah, it's kind of crazy. 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.160 So I convinced the owner of this cafe down the 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.400 street to let me be a bus boy on the 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:36.680 weekends during their brunch rush, and it took me about 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.960 a year, but I saved up enough money to buy 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:42.240 a plane ticket and got myself a passport and I went. 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:46.120 You turned your passion into a profession because you started 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.840 a new travel company called Elsewhere, And I think the 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:54.280 mission is so brilliant. It's about curating itineraries defined by 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:56.120 local communities, and I have a. 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:57.200 Personal investment in this. 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:00.600 I hate a tourist trap, Okay, I really do any 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:05.319 place that, like everybody tells you on a blog or 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:07.920 any sort of list to go see, I want to 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:12.480 go see something two or three steps like more distinct. 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:12.680 To that place. 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:16.480 So I'm so curious how you incorporate local businesses and 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:19.760 these local recommendations to enhance the travel experience. 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:22.440 Yeah, this, Danielle, this is something that's so important to 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:24.880 me and was really what we thought about when we 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:28.360 were building Elsewhere. So the traditional travel industry, you work 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.000 with an agency, they're probably based in the US, and 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.320 they actually work with other companies all over the world, 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:35.720 And we knew that it was really the locals and 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.560 those local agencies who had their finger on the pulse 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:40.319 of what's new, what's cool. 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:40.680 You know. 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:42.800 Also, like you said, the things that you should avoid, 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.240 those tourist traps, and so we kind of we wanted 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.240 to cut out the intermediary. We wanted to connect travelers 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.960 directly with these local experts on the ground who grew 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:55.120 up there, know their home country inside and out. 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:56.760 Love it, live to share it. 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:58.920 And so that's what Elsewhere is about, where a travel 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:02.320 platform that connects travelers to these local experts to plan 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:03.360 and book your trick. 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:07.160 So, alexis we are part of the Hello Sunshine family, 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:11.080 and Cheryl Strade, the incredible author of Wild who walked 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:14.840 the Pacific Crest Trail alone, is as well, and she's 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:17.400 become one of my travel inspirations. And this quote of 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.920 hers really sums it up for me. She says, it 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.800 had nothing to do with gear or footwear, or the 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:26.840 backpacking fads or philosophies of any particular era, or even 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.560 with getting from point A to point B. It had 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:31.640 to do with how it felt to be in the wild. 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:36.120 And that is that's the reason why I travel. I 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:39.160 just want to be wild and feel wild. And I 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.720 know that we both share this philosophy of trying to 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.400 go to the destination that's not where everyone else is going. 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.000 So how do you choose where to go and what 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:49.440 would be your recommendation for people who are looking for 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:50.319 the right destination. 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.360 There's a reason that bucket list places are bucketless places. 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.720 But I love this term of second city, So that's 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:01.640 the Marseille instead of Paris, or like I did recently, 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:03.959 I went to the Ecuadorian Andes in the highlands and 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:07.760 Ecuador instead of Peru, which is largely touristed. And you 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.680 do have a better experience, because I mean, for me, 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:13.240 I do think a better experience is kind of boils 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.600 down to a tourist to local ratio. 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:17.760 When you are more immersed in. 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.760 The place, you can have authentic exchanges with people. You 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:24.200 can see things without a million selfie sticks or cameras, 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.080 and that's what's so great about traveling is getting you 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.160 out of your space. I think what's so amazing about 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:31.840 travel is that you know it's in the real world, 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.320 but it's a world outside of your own, and it's 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:38.560 full of these unpredictable experiences and it's hard to do 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:42.120 that when you're just on the same circuit as everybody else. 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.840 And I think as well, in choosing these second cities 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:48.120 or these places that are off the beaten path, like 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:49.480 I said, It gets you out of your head a 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:49.840 little bit. 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:51.240 We're totally siloed. 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:55.080 We're like constantly fed things that reinforce our interests in 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.800 our opinions, and travel gets you out of that loop, 0:14:58.040 --> 0:14:59.280 and I think that's really powerful. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.560 How I planned my solo trip to Southeast Asia, I 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:06.040 knew a lot of people were going to the beaches 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:08.920 in Thailand and they had become super overrun. So I 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.960 decided to go to Laois instead. And honestly, when I 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.720 went to Luwong Probong, it completely like exploded my world 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.400 and opened up my mind in a way that completely 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:21.840 changed my life. I know you went to Southeast Asia 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.800 too on a solo trip. I did tell me some 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:25.560 of the highlights. 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:30.640 Yeah, I mean again, no plans. This is also pre smartphone, 0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:32.920 So I think there's a beauty in the pre smartphone 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:35.800 era as well, is because you have less plans, you 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:37.840 have to talk to people to figure out what you're 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.480 going to do, what's good, how you get where you're going. 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:42.920 And I actually kind of have a nostalgia for that 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:46.760 era now. But yeah, I was eighteen years old. Everyone 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:50.080 was doing their Europe trips and Southeast Asia was more 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:52.640 exciting but also a lot cheaper, so I decided to 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:55.760 buy a ticket to Bangkok. All the flights in Bangkok 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:58.400 land at two in the morning. I don't know why. 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:00.720 And I show up and two in the morn in 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.560 the middle of Bangkok with no plans at all. And 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:06.440 you know, the beginning was a little rough. I'm not 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:08.120 gonna lie. I took a while to get my footing, 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:10.440 but once I did. I also ended up in Laos 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.080 because I was close to overstaying my thirty day tourist 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:15.880 visa and I had to jump the border, and I 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.960 thought about Burma. Burma was not possible at the time. 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:20.960 It was quite dangerous and actually I was close to 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:24.640 the border of Burma on a bus when these Burmese 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:27.400 guards came in onto the bus, stopped the bus in 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.720 the middle of the street. Came in armed guards. Everyone 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:31.720 started to kind of freak out. I had no idea 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:34.040 what was going on. People were pulling out their passports 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:37.160 and I realized they were looking for Burmese refugees, and 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:38.920 so they kind of laughed at me as like this 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.040 young girl by herself. But Burma was out of the question, 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:44.080 so I went to Laos instead, and Laos I had 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.080 the same experience. It was absolutely amazing. 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.520 Alexis, how many trips do you think you've planned so 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:50.680 far professionally? 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:55.040 Oh, my gosh, I mean thousands. I've been in the 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:56.920 industry for a long long time. 0:16:57.040 --> 0:17:00.560 So having planned thousands of trips, what do you think 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.280 are the three pillars or a great trip? 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:07.080 You should know somebody on the ground, not so much 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:09.600 for a safety reason, but just to really get beneath 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.119 the surface of a destination and be able to experience 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:16.879 it from their perspective. I think that's really important. Another pillar, 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.520 I would say is having some structure, but not too 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.720 much structure. You want to leave it open enough that 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:26.240 you can say yes to an opportunity that arises or 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.360 something unplanned that's exciting. I think those are the moments 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:33.119 that really make your trip special. And the third pillar, 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.720 I'd say, and this is kind of like my personal 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:39.480 travel philosophy, is to always take that extra bus whatever 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:43.000 that is, if it's a bus, about the extra plane ride, 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.679 Just go to the next town that you want to 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:47.679 go to, and there you're just going to have a 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:52.119 better experience. Less tourists, like I said, but more authentic exchange, 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:53.360 immersive experience. 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:55.880 And I just find that It's always been a good 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:56.600 decision for me. 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:01.399 When you start planning, obviously, fo cuisine restaurants are a 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:03.919 big thing. If you don't know somebody on the ground, 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:04.679 where do you start. 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:06.159 I like talking to people. 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:09.080 I know people turn to Google, and Google can be 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:13.399 a great resource, but I really do just like asking people. 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:17.800 I also like seeing what restaurants are crowded. I don't 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.919 like restaurants that have an English menu. If they don't 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.840 have an English menu, that's a good sign. If they 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:26.040 don't have a long menu, that's a good sign too. 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:28.320 They've only got a couple dishes, it means it's fresh. 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:31.760 If it's fresh, the restaurant is packed with locals. It 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:36.159 doesn't matter if it's you know, Michelin starred or a 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:38.560 hole in the wall, it's going to be great. And 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.040