Speaker 1: What's up, everybody. I'm Gammy and this is Positively Gam.
Speaker 1: As many of you know, I love to travel, especially
Speaker 1: just hanging out and chilling at the beach. There's a
Speaker 1: lot about traveling I don't know, though, and wanted to
Speaker 1: have a travel expert on the show to learn where
Speaker 1: the best destinations are, how to get cheap travel rates,
Speaker 1: and to find out where I should be visiting. So
Speaker 1: let's get into the episode. I'm so excited to introduce
Speaker 1: Glow ATNMO. She's a travel entrepreneur and creative educator, venturing
Speaker 1: to over ninety one countries across six continents and telling
Speaker 1: the stories of destinations around the world. She's the host
Speaker 1: of the Glow Show podcast and the founder of the
Speaker 1: Social Educators Academy, where she helps people leverage their social
Speaker 1: platforms to make a difference and make a living doing
Speaker 1: what they love. She also has written an e book,
Speaker 1: From Excuses to Excursions, How I Started Traveling the World,
Speaker 1: in which she talks about everything that has led up
Speaker 1: to where she is today. Welcome to Positively Gam. Glow
Speaker 1: so glad to have you on. Thank you gam for
Speaker 1: having me. Cheers from BALI. I'm so excited to be
Speaker 1: on and talking to you today. Yes, we're excited to
Speaker 1: have you. I actually grew up traveling with my parents,
Speaker 1: and my parents who were traveling, and they felt like
Speaker 1: travel and your traveling experiences and your education is something
Speaker 1: that no one can ever take from you. So I
Speaker 1: learned to love traveling. What sparked your interest in travel?
Speaker 1: I love that, And yet what an honor that your
Speaker 1: parents were able to expose you to the beauty of
Speaker 1: travel at such a young age. For me, I always
Speaker 1: grew up thinking, oh, what my parents told me, this
Speaker 1: is the way the world works, and even culturally, oh
Speaker 1: the American way is the way. And you trouble and
Speaker 1: then you learn that and you find out that's not
Speaker 1: quite the truth, and then it's no longer about right
Speaker 1: versus wrong. It's just different. Like so many things that
Speaker 1: we think about the world, the ways that we live
Speaker 1: in this world, it's not a matter of right or wrong.
Speaker 1: It's just different. And that difference humbled me. Is just different. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree with you. One. It gives you an opportunity
Speaker 1: to really see and experience and understand different cultures, and
Speaker 1: it teaches you to just be tolerant like Americans I
Speaker 1: think are really elitist in that attitude where you know
Speaker 1: everything that we do is the best, and there are
Speaker 1: people that are quite happy where they are in their
Speaker 1: own country with their own cultures, and of course we
Speaker 1: have some freedoms and um perfectly happy being here, but
Speaker 1: it is wonderful to experience other cultures. My first out
Speaker 1: of the country experience was in Jamaica. What was your
Speaker 1: first out of the country travel experience, Oh, Mines, wasn't
Speaker 1: as exotic. It was the UK so London, okay, I
Speaker 1: was twenty two. It was actually the study abroad And
Speaker 1: funny enough, I was not a drinker, Like I never
Speaker 1: drink alcohol, and then when I learned i'd be study abroad,
Speaker 1: I was like, oh British, I heard they're big drinkers,
Speaker 1: and I have to represent America, so let me start drinking.
Speaker 1: I can keep up with the pub culture. So literally
Speaker 1: that is that was like why I started drinking alcohol,
Speaker 1: just to be able to represent America well around the world.
Speaker 1: Oh that's hilarious, hilarious, sad, Oh my goodness, that's funny.
Speaker 1: What kind of things do you think older people should
Speaker 1: look for when picking a travel destination. Yeah, so I
Speaker 1: think one of the biggest things that people fear in general,
Speaker 1: no matter what their age, is the language barrier. So
Speaker 1: I would recommend like a place where it's either English
Speaker 1: is the first language or English is the second or
Speaker 1: third language, and so most people can speak it, or
Speaker 1: at least signs are in English. So I love Ireland
Speaker 1: and Scotland for those reasons. But if you're looking for
Speaker 1: something a little bit more exotic, Namibia is one of those.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, if more people knew about it, because
Speaker 1: I think in the African continent, South Africa is like
Speaker 1: people's first stop, but Namibia it is so otherworldly, it
Speaker 1: is so beautiful, and I think and it's so safe.
Speaker 1: So I think people who are over forty, over fifty,
Speaker 1: over sixty would really enjoy Safari's relaxation glamping in the desert. Wow.
Speaker 1: Now I'm writing this down because that is not some place.
Speaker 1: I've been to South Africa a couple of times, and
Speaker 1: I've never thought about going to Namibia. Wow. And if
Speaker 1: you could drive there from South Africa as well, I drove, yeah,
Speaker 1: which is also an experience. Okay, okay, Now you are
Speaker 1: currently in Bali, yeah, and I've read that you've been
Speaker 1: there over thirty Times. What sparked your interests about Bali?
Speaker 1: Now I've been to Bali too, so it is a
Speaker 1: beautiful country and I definitely want to go back. But
Speaker 1: what what is it that with Bali? You and Bali?
Speaker 1: What's going on? It is this love affair that I
Speaker 1: can't get enough of. Gam Um No. I think there
Speaker 1: are certain places that you go to and it's just
Speaker 1: they receive you with such warmth and every time I
Speaker 1: come here, like I teared up walking through the airport
Speaker 1: when I landed, especially after quarantine Indonesia closed their borders
Speaker 1: and so I couldn't come here for over two years.
Speaker 1: And I'm so connected to this island that it was
Speaker 1: so emotional just walking through the airport because I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: my goodness, these are my people, and I'm so connected
Speaker 1: to this place that I started learning the language because
Speaker 1: I come here and I take photos, I take memories,
Speaker 1: I take souvenirs. So I'm like, let me learn the language.
Speaker 1: That I'm meeting them halfway and they don't have to
Speaker 1: translate to meet me halfway. It's like I'm showing reverence
Speaker 1: and effects to the culture by just is welcome to Bali.
Speaker 1: So I've been studying for seven months, um and it's
Speaker 1: incredible now when I was there, I remember it is
Speaker 1: being a very spiritual place. Is that has been that
Speaker 1: your experience? Absolutely? I think Japan is my favorite country
Speaker 1: in the world, but very close second is Indonesia and
Speaker 1: Bali specifically because of that spiritual essence that you get.
Speaker 1: And I always feel like the closer you are in nature,
Speaker 1: the more present God is, and the quieter your soul
Speaker 1: and your mind, the louder God could speak to you.
Speaker 1: So I love being around nature. Like I wish I
Speaker 1: could turn my camera around and just show you my
Speaker 1: villa is surrounded in this lush greenery with in front
Speaker 1: of my pool, so it's just and you can really
Speaker 1: live like royalty here for a fraction of the price. Actually,
Speaker 1: my girlfriends and I are trying to plan a trip
Speaker 1: to Bali next. One of my girlfriends just retired and
Speaker 1: we're very interested in going back to Bali just by
Speaker 1: ourselves because our husbands typically don't like to travel those
Speaker 1: long distances, which is fine, We're just going to leave
Speaker 1: them home for this trip. But what are some of
Speaker 1: the best hotels for us to stay at? Or you
Speaker 1: said you're staying at a villa. Yeah, so tell us
Speaker 1: where we should be staying and what we should be doing. Yes,
Speaker 1: one of my favorite features. So this is not a
Speaker 1: plug for Airbnb, but I have to plug them because
Speaker 1: Airbnb has this new feature where if you go on
Speaker 1: their homepage, it says let your curiosity do the booking.
Speaker 1: So that's what you're gonna click. It's like the second option.
Speaker 1: Instead of typing the destination, just click on let your
Speaker 1: curiosity to do the booking. Because when that happens, you
Speaker 1: can now search for all of the incredible variety of
Speaker 1: things that you have places that you can stay. So
Speaker 1: if you want to stay in a castle, in a dome,
Speaker 1: in a private villa, on a private island, on a houseboat, like,
Speaker 1: it'll bring up the most unique type of accommodations that
Speaker 1: this island has to offer. So I recommend doing that
Speaker 1: just to see the options that are out there, because
Speaker 1: sometimes you don't know what you want until you see it.
Speaker 1: You're like, oh, I want to stay in the dome
Speaker 1: on top of a treehouse. You know, you can really
Speaker 1: just go on Airbnb and just search private villa and
Speaker 1: you will just hundreds, if not thousands of options, And
Speaker 1: I can you know personally send you my list off
Speaker 1: the top of my head. I'm staying right now at
Speaker 1: a place called Desa Hay, and it's in a small
Speaker 1: village area called Mengwi, and that's near the Chonggu area,
Speaker 1: which is a little bit west of the island or
Speaker 1: midwest of the island. But I stayed at well over
Speaker 1: a hundred villas on this island alone, because I love
Speaker 1: experiencing a different bantage point. Every three nights, I'm in
Speaker 1: a different villa because I just want to experience as
Speaker 1: many beautiful sceneries, as many gorgeous Balinese architecture. Look at
Speaker 1: this custom door panel that leads to my restaroot. Everything
Speaker 1: that's beautiful. Yeah, but it sounds exhausting, like okay, only
Speaker 1: because I have to say. Let me just say, when
Speaker 1: my parents traveled, they typically when they would traveled out
Speaker 1: of the country, it was my mother. My poor father.
Speaker 1: She dragged him around. All he wanted to do was
Speaker 1: just he always wanted to go to Hawaii. He never
Speaker 1: made it there. She took him to Russia, they went
Speaker 1: to where else did they go? India? When they went
Speaker 1: on trips, she went for knowledge and to experience the culture.
Speaker 1: I just typically just want to go to relax, So
Speaker 1: I'm typically looking for a beach. Now. My husband, on
Speaker 1: the other hand, he's the one that wants to go,
Speaker 1: and he wants to go to ruins and experience historial
Speaker 1: He's bored to death just being on the beach. What
Speaker 1: I can't see myself doing. I'm not gonna do that.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna go somewhere and then pack up after
Speaker 1: three nights and go stay someplace else, and stay there
Speaker 1: for three nights and all my stuff up and go
Speaker 1: someplace else. I'm exhausted just listening to you. I appreciate.
Speaker 1: And the other thing I want to ask you too
Speaker 1: is do you always travel alone? Oh? Yeah, so out
Speaker 1: of like the countries, I would say seventy five or solo.
Speaker 1: And here's the thing about traveling solo, because, as you mentioned,
Speaker 1: everyone has a different intention or reason why they want
Speaker 1: to escape or just change up their day to day routine.
Speaker 1: And so I think the intention guides might travel. And
Speaker 1: so if I'm very conscious about I'm going to boy
Speaker 1: this time for a creative sabbatical because I need a
Speaker 1: new inspiration to bring back to my business, Like I
Speaker 1: want that to be the only thing driving me forward.
Speaker 1: I don't want to have to worry about maybe sitting
Speaker 1: or catering to the needs of the group around me.
Speaker 1: So it's very liberating to travel solo. But I also
Speaker 1: think that, yeah, when you aren't travel with a group,
Speaker 1: and let's say you're coming to Bali next year, have
Speaker 1: a group intention. If you all have the same intention,
Speaker 1: it'll be easier to make decisions on where you stay
Speaker 1: and what you do, and even have pockets of solo time.
Speaker 1: Have a day if someone wants to go definitely a museum, Yeah,
Speaker 1: let them do their thing. Someone wants a beach day,
Speaker 1: let them. So I think it's all about we definitely
Speaker 1: believe in that, Like everybody doesn't always have to do
Speaker 1: everything together the whole vacation, you know, that's not a requirement.
Speaker 1: Like people want to break off and and do their
Speaker 1: own thing and and have some time to themselves. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I can definitely see that. Another thing I realized about
Speaker 1: traveling solo is that I'm so much more approachable because
Speaker 1: let's say I'm in a restaurant, and let's say it's
Speaker 1: a very local restaurant. If I'm here with my friends,
Speaker 1: I'm focusing on my friends. I'm with my family. I'm
Speaker 1: focusing on family. I'm present with them, and so maybe
Speaker 1: I'm not as open to having a conversation with someone
Speaker 1: who work there. But if I'm there solo, all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, I become this fascination. I'm like, whoa. Everyone
Speaker 1: wants to talk to me, everyone wants to approach me,
Speaker 1: everyone wants to know, Wow, this black American with braids
Speaker 1: is in my country. Who are you a celebrity? What
Speaker 1: did we do to deserve you to sit at our restaurant.
Speaker 1: It's just they roll out the red carpet because they
Speaker 1: feel like you must be someone special to be here solo,
Speaker 1: and just because I'm also a very colorful dresser, so
Speaker 1: they just assume, Oh, Serena Williams is someone I've been
Speaker 1: mistaken for in many countries. Yeah, which is funny. I
Speaker 1: think they just see a black person and they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: she's and she's black. Yeah. So it's just very interesting.
Speaker 1: What particular sits do we need to see when we
Speaker 1: travel to Bali. Yeah, So again going back to the intention,
Speaker 1: if you want a little bit of adventure, I always
Speaker 1: love recommending the Monkey Forest because you will never get
Speaker 1: the same experience because monkeys are so unpredictable. You will
Speaker 1: see them hump in front of you. You'll see them
Speaker 1: steal someone's phone, they'll throw food. Okay, I'm already cringing
Speaker 1: at the thought, but go ahead. I'm not a fan
Speaker 1: of monkeys. Just okay, we're gonna go ahead the monkey forest.
Speaker 1: We're gonna We're gonna stay. No moving. Next, Okay, there's
Speaker 1: a place. My thing is I always travel to experience
Speaker 1: something that I can't at home, and so my goal
Speaker 1: is always to do the most adventurous and exotic things,
Speaker 1: and you won't find that at home. But I would
Speaker 1: say near that area it's called near there is this
Speaker 1: place called tag Alt along rice patties, and that is
Speaker 1: the quintessential Balinese rice patty view and just trekking among
Speaker 1: those rice patties. It's a very easy trek, like maybe
Speaker 1: takes ten minutes just to get to the view spot.
Speaker 1: But it's beautiful, and I think that's great to get
Speaker 1: the quintessential. I've been to Bali photo and then of
Speaker 1: course there's dozens of waterfalls throughout the lands, so I
Speaker 1: think you definitely have to go to a waterfall and
Speaker 1: just experience the serenity in that environment. I went there
Speaker 1: when I went with my daughter for Mother's Day one year,
Speaker 1: and I think we we did the rice patties and
Speaker 1: waterfall and we did white water rafting as well. That
Speaker 1: sounds fun. I've never done that here. How about the
Speaker 1: Bally Swing. Are you familiar with the Bally Swing? Uh? No, okay,
Speaker 1: So basically in the middle of the jungle anywhere in
Speaker 1: ubud there's probably seven or eight now, but you can
Speaker 1: go on this swing. And the swing is a attached
Speaker 1: to to really tall coconut trees. So again it sounds
Speaker 1: very sketch, but it's the travel way. You just have
Speaker 1: to trust that this is gonna hold me up. But
Speaker 1: you swing into this gorgeous view. It's in the middle
Speaker 1: of the jungle and I can send photos to Irene
Speaker 1: and just to send to you, but it's really just
Speaker 1: one of those I can't get this view at home
Speaker 1: and oh my goodness, this world is so beautiful, like
Speaker 1: you have those moments when you're on it. Wow. That
Speaker 1: sounds exciting. Yeah. And the last recommendation, yeah, um is
Speaker 1: past temple. It's a little towards the north, but it's
Speaker 1: like this holy temple and it's surrounded by a lake.
Speaker 1: It's beautiful. It's just it's a place to appreciate Balinese architecture.
Speaker 1: Indonesia itself is a majority Muslim country, but the island
Speaker 1: of Bali is majority Hindu, and so you see a
Speaker 1: lot of Hindu temples, Hindu statues, And even though I'm
Speaker 1: a Christian, I can always appreciate another religion. I can
Speaker 1: appreciate other customers cultures. So it's a really serene place
Speaker 1: as well to just appreciate Balanese traditions. Now, tell us
Speaker 1: some of the dudes, and don't we need to think
Speaker 1: about We've all seen the movie Take It. What do
Speaker 1: we need? What do we need to be careful about
Speaker 1: when we're traveling to these two foreign countries. My biggest
Speaker 1: thing especially at airports, because I think airports that's the
Speaker 1: place where you can easily be identified as a target,
Speaker 1: as like someone who's clueless. So, depending on the country, taxis.
Speaker 1: Taxi drivers can be the most aggressive type of people
Speaker 1: in every country because it's that's a dog eat dog world.
Speaker 1: It's scrappy. They're literally fighting their income against hundreds of
Speaker 1: other taxi drivers, so they will push and not push physically,
Speaker 1: but the badger and like aggressively want to sell you know,
Speaker 1: I can tell you I can take you, and so
Speaker 1: you cannot the minute you land and you're like going
Speaker 1: towards the exit. You need to look like the most
Speaker 1: confident person and you need to walk with a purpose.
Speaker 1: Do not walk looking around, huh, where is my driver?
Speaker 1: Where is the taxi? Right? Get your luggage? Walk out
Speaker 1: with the purpose like I've been here before. I am
Speaker 1: not a tourist. Listen, I'm here to meet friends. Oh
Speaker 1: there you are. Point at someone random with a purpose,
Speaker 1: because the minute you look confused, you are a target
Speaker 1: to be taken advantage of. And as unfortunate as that is,
Speaker 1: people especially after the pandemic, are so desperate for cash,
Speaker 1: so they're just looking for anyone that looks like they
Speaker 1: could be easily manipulated. So how would we get a taxi?
Speaker 1: Then it advanced. Is that something that we need to
Speaker 1: arrange with the villa that where we're staying. Absolutely, so
Speaker 1: anytime you book that first, if you're staying at the
Speaker 1: same villa the whole time, like always ask and request
Speaker 1: for transportation services and request them to be specific about
Speaker 1: where you meet. They'll usually say okay, once you exit,
Speaker 1: you're going to make a left and we'll be standing
Speaker 1: there with a sign with your name on it. Yes.
Speaker 1: And I always think as well, if you can take
Speaker 1: the extra effort to learn five to ten words in
Speaker 1: the local language, just in case, like someone is trying
Speaker 1: to badger you. But if you can just like, like,
Speaker 1: one word in Indonesian is suda, and so that means
Speaker 1: I already have. So if I'm walking and I could
Speaker 1: just be walking on to the market somewhere, and of course,
Speaker 1: like motorbikes and taxi drivers are slowing down and be walking,
Speaker 1: they think that I need a ride, and so I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: And as soon as I say that, they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: she not only doesn't mean us, but she said it
Speaker 1: in my language, and so they're quick to leave me alone.
Speaker 1: But if I go no, they're like, oh are you sure? No, miss,
Speaker 1: just tell me where you live and I can help you.
Speaker 1: I'm like, suda, Suda will shut them up and leave
Speaker 1: leave me. So just five five words five or ten
Speaker 1: words of the basics, please, yes, no, thank you, whine.
Speaker 1: What are some of the good apps that you could
Speaker 1: um download if you don't speak the language. Oh, I
Speaker 1: guess well, Google translates such a and that's for any country. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think Google Translate is if you can download, like
Speaker 1: you can have an offline dictionary, so of the download
Speaker 1: the full dictionary offline of the language that you need.
Speaker 1: That way, even if you don't have wifire Internet, you
Speaker 1: can always pull up any type of translation that you need.
Speaker 1: Are there certain countries that you um would suggest that
Speaker 1: that are safer like you already mentioned Namibia? Yeah, and
Speaker 1: obviously badly because you've been there thirty sometimes are there
Speaker 1: other countries that you would recommend for particularly for single women,
Speaker 1: not even necessarily older women like myself, but just for
Speaker 1: single women who want to travel by themselves. Absolutely. I
Speaker 1: have three that immediately come to mind. But first as Japan.
Speaker 1: There's a reason it's my favorite country in the world. Japan.
Speaker 1: I think not only do they live ten to twenty
Speaker 1: years in the future, but there's something about them culturally
Speaker 1: where they are oh communally respectful and my favorite thing
Speaker 1: I think the first my first sign of like how
Speaker 1: they are as people is I'm in the airport and
Speaker 1: there's two lines for going through to check in, and
Speaker 1: one line is says if you're in a rush and
Speaker 1: you have less than fifteen minutes. Here's the speedy line.
Speaker 1: You can come to this line. And then there's the
Speaker 1: other line that says, here's the standard line. There was
Speaker 1: a hundred people in the standard line, nobody in the
Speaker 1: urgent line. And it goes to show that they are
Speaker 1: so honorable. No one's cheating the system. You take the
Speaker 1: bus and there's a sign that says, please keep your
Speaker 1: phone on silent to respect the zen of your neighbors
Speaker 1: around you. I'm like, listen, if you don't come on,
Speaker 1: I don't know nothing about that. Are okay? So, and
Speaker 1: one time I was looking for I think a bus
Speaker 1: station or a train station, and I asked someone if
Speaker 1: they could help me. Not only did they like point
Speaker 1: me to where it was, they walked me there. I
Speaker 1: was like, I don't deserve you. So Japan is not
Speaker 1: only incredibly safe, but people are so kind. They don't
Speaker 1: accept tips like I try. I tipped someone at a
Speaker 1: restaurant and they chased after me with the money. It's
Speaker 1: their honor to serve. They don't do it for the
Speaker 1: extra tip. So Japan first and foremost. My second recommendation
Speaker 1: is Norway. Scandinavian country is also are very futuristic. Norway
Speaker 1: is the north of European area, so you want to
Speaker 1: make sure you're going there in the summer because it
Speaker 1: can get cold if you're there in the winter. But
Speaker 1: it's incredible. Solo traveled there for two weeks and I
Speaker 1: rented a car and I just drove around the entire
Speaker 1: country and if I got lost, I would just pull up,
Speaker 1: pull over and someone would help me. They're like, oh,
Speaker 1: just follow me ten minutes this way. And there's this
Speaker 1: inherent like your gut, your intuition is the best thing
Speaker 1: that you can have when you're traveling, and you can
Speaker 1: feel when I don't trust this, but I never there,
Speaker 1: and there's just this I don't know if it's the
Speaker 1: way they're raised or just them culturally as people, but
Speaker 1: some countries just you just have this innate trust because
Speaker 1: of who they are and how they act. So normal
Speaker 1: would be number two, and then Scotland would be number three.
Speaker 1: I absolutely love Scottish people. I love Scotland, and that's
Speaker 1: a country I've been to over ten times. Just incredible, banter, incredible.
Speaker 1: They also are kind of big drinkers, so that they're
Speaker 1: just fun people. I I no longer drink, but it's
Speaker 1: just always great to be around people that just know
Speaker 1: how to let loose and banter and communicate with you. Now,
Speaker 1: as a woman of color, did you have any challenges
Speaker 1: traveling in some of these countries. Let's just be real.
Speaker 1: Let's let's go there. Let's go there. So I was
Speaker 1: about I was nine years nomadic. I've been like nine years.
Speaker 1: I lived out of a suitcase and traveled full time.
Speaker 1: So in those nine years, in the beginning, I was
Speaker 1: going to a lot of like familiar countries like Spain
Speaker 1: and France, and I was like, oh, it's cool. And
Speaker 1: then the further east I went, like Eastern Europe. That's
Speaker 1: when I started to have more in just seen experiences.
Speaker 1: I will say the most negative experiences I've ever had
Speaker 1: probably happened in Prague, Czech Republic Um and then in
Speaker 1: Real Njanio, Brazil, which is unfortunate. So in Prague what
Speaker 1: happened exactly, So those experiences are very different. But in Prague,
Speaker 1: I actually I was like not that it mattered how
Speaker 1: I was dressed, but you know, it was colder, so
Speaker 1: I was wearing a trench coat and I'm just walking
Speaker 1: minding my business. And the first like strange thing I
Speaker 1: noticed is there was a couple walking in the opposite direction,
Speaker 1: but the wife or the girlfriend got her husband's head
Speaker 1: and turned it around like away from me, and I'm
Speaker 1: just I just noticed it, like casually. I was like, huh, okay, what.
Speaker 1: I don't know what that was about. I continue walking.
Speaker 1: A car slows down and spits at me. It doesn't
Speaker 1: land on me, but it like lands towards my feet,
Speaker 1: and it's like this sign of what are you doing here?
Speaker 1: We don't want you here. And I later learned that
Speaker 1: there were a lot of like African prostitutes that were
Speaker 1: trafficked in that area, and so they lumped me in
Speaker 1: that category and assumed I'm there to sleep with local
Speaker 1: men to make a living, and that was really There
Speaker 1: were restaurants that wouldn't serve me, and they made it
Speaker 1: very obvious, like no, no no, we don't want you here.
Speaker 1: And that was tough. So I ended up staying in
Speaker 1: my hostel the whole time and I just cried until
Speaker 1: it was time to go. And then in Brazil it
Speaker 1: was also It's interesting because when we look at like
Speaker 1: slave history, like in between the America's, it was actually
Speaker 1: Brazil that imported the largest amount of Brazil and so
Speaker 1: the colorism issue there is so right. And I was
Speaker 1: there doing a campaign and working with a brand. They
Speaker 1: put me in this really nice hotel and by the
Speaker 1: time I landed, it was about midnight, so I go
Speaker 1: straight to bed, I check and go to bed. The
Speaker 1: next morning, I'm there for breakfast and I'm just eating
Speaker 1: and a lady comes to me, like works there, speaking
Speaker 1: at me in Portuguese, speaking to me in Portuguese, yelling
Speaker 1: at me and telling me to leave, and again again.
Speaker 1: Because I learned some of the words, I'm like, Anni,
Speaker 1: follow Portuguese and we'll follow. I don't follow. I don't
Speaker 1: speak like I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying.
Speaker 1: But I can tell that she's angry, and she's, oh, no, falla,
Speaker 1: no falla. And then she goes to the reception and
Speaker 1: then she sees that I'm actually a paying guest, but
Speaker 1: she thought I was there soliciting customers again, assuming that
Speaker 1: I'm a sex worker and trying to find customers. So
Speaker 1: that image or that assumption is right in some countries.
Speaker 1: And before they hear me like I'm black, first, then
Speaker 1: they're assumed I'm African. Then they assume I'm a prostitute,
Speaker 1: and then it's oh, when I speak, oh, she's American,
Speaker 1: and then she's a tourist. So there's all these layers
Speaker 1: of subconscious judgments that people can make before I even
Speaker 1: get a chance to open my mouth and say who
Speaker 1: I am. So that that is really unfortunate, But I
Speaker 1: would say it makes up less than five of my
Speaker 1: travel experiences. That's good. What are the hot spots to
Speaker 1: visit around the world right now? I've been to some
Speaker 1: of the world's wonders. I've been to four of them.
Speaker 1: Come on, yeah, I've been to I've been to the
Speaker 1: Great Wall of China. I've been to Chitsanitsa in Mexico.
Speaker 1: I've been to the Great Pyramids in Egypt and the
Speaker 1: Colosseum in Italy. Nice. Nice, nice, Okay. When I think
Speaker 1: of it places, I'm gonna say countries, because the first
Speaker 1: one that comes to mind is Sri Lanka. Now, Sri
Speaker 1: Lanka is not a place exactly, it's the They call
Speaker 1: it the tear drop of India, so it's right underneath
Speaker 1: the country of India. So it has the rich and
Speaker 1: vibrant culture of India. But it looks like Bali. So
Speaker 1: and for me, it has the best of both worlds
Speaker 1: because it's so culturally rich the food, but with Sri
Speaker 1: Lankan cuisine, my goodness, you would think it's like a
Speaker 1: black grandma in the kitchen my back. There so many flavors.
Speaker 1: I'm like, yes, so I love Sri Lanka. And there
Speaker 1: were so many beautiful exchanges that I had with young women,
Speaker 1: like teenage women. They would come up to me because
Speaker 1: I'm there solo traveling, and they would look at my
Speaker 1: skin and they would compare it to theirs. They're like, wow,
Speaker 1: it's it's beautiful. So you're also brown. They could they
Speaker 1: could recognize that we shared the same skin tone, but
Speaker 1: that I was a different ethnicity, and they would just
Speaker 1: be like beautiful, Oh like me beautiful, And I'm like, yes, beautiful, Yes, Yeah.
Speaker 1: That must have felt really good. Yes, because the skin
Speaker 1: whitening creams that you see line the shelves of Asia,
Speaker 1: no doubt it affects a lot of the psyche of
Speaker 1: the women there, So I think they were really excited
Speaker 1: to see beauty reflected in a different way in another
Speaker 1: dark skinned women. Yeah. Another place I would say is Granada.
Speaker 1: I think if you're looking for places that's a little
Speaker 1: bit shorter distance from the US. Granada I think has
Speaker 1: the best food, kindest people, most beautiful beaches um in
Speaker 1: the Caribbean. I just I found it to be such
Speaker 1: a country of surprises. It's so I think when you
Speaker 1: go to the Caribbean St. Lucia, Jamaica, you have the
Speaker 1: places that most people flocked to because it's like common
Speaker 1: and well known. But Granada took me by surprise. And
Speaker 1: that's a place where I'm like, I wouldn't mind going
Speaker 1: there every summer every year. So yeah, Grenada. Wow. What
Speaker 1: about Turks and Caicos. I've not been there before, but
Speaker 1: I heard that they had the best beaches. It's still
Speaker 1: a little underdeveloped, so there's not a lot to do
Speaker 1: their other than beach. I heard that their beaches are fabulous.
Speaker 1: That is very true. Turks and Caicos. I don't think
Speaker 1: water gets more blue or turquoise or I mean, Turks
Speaker 1: and Maldives probably have the most beautiful water I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: I'm like, God, okay, showing out like beautiful. But like
Speaker 1: you mentioned, you have to go there for strictly to relax.
Speaker 1: Because I didn't find it to be I didn't have
Speaker 1: much to do and so I'm just on the beach reading.
Speaker 1: But I don't mind that it wasn't a very adventurous trip,
Speaker 1: but it was great for real. It wasn't Yeah, that
Speaker 1: was how I felt about the Maldis. It it was. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was just a very relaxing trip. But I was
Speaker 1: glad that I went, and I would definitely go back
Speaker 1: if I was looking. And I want to mention the
Speaker 1: Maldis really quickly because I think it is a honeymoon
Speaker 1: destination that a lot of women wait to go with
Speaker 1: their partner. And I would say I went um four
Speaker 1: months after the pandemic started because I was one of
Speaker 1: the only countries that was still open to Americans. And
Speaker 1: I was like, I'd been four months locks in my apartment.
Speaker 1: So I was like, Okay, I need water and I
Speaker 1: need space and I need nature, and so I'm like,
Speaker 1: let me go somewhere in social distance, safely and by
Speaker 1: the water. And the Maldis because it is so spread out,
Speaker 1: there's so many islands, they were like social distancing, like
Speaker 1: three villas in between each person, so we had a
Speaker 1: lot of space. And I will say I'm really glad
Speaker 1: that I went there solo because I think a lot
Speaker 1: of women, especially, we wait for love and partners to
Speaker 1: create these memories. And if we were born alone, we're
Speaker 1: gonna die alone. Let life not pass you by without
Speaker 1: creating memories that are just for yourself. And I think
Speaker 1: that's super important. That really is. I like that you
Speaker 1: said that. What kind of tips and tricks do you
Speaker 1: have for how to be an efficient pack? Or I'm
Speaker 1: getting better, but I typically do tend to overpack. What's
Speaker 1: what kind of trips do you have? Do you fold
Speaker 1: or do you roll? Listen? How about neither? How about
Speaker 1: I stuff? And I sit in Isaiah and I feel
Speaker 1: like the ultimate imposter. Tell you, I ain't got it.
Speaker 1: I ain't got the answers. Is that possible? The way
Speaker 1: you travel, you got to have so when you The
Speaker 1: first acting tip I have is I recommend carry on
Speaker 1: only if you can. It is not worth. Here's the thing,
Speaker 1: it's there are suitcases where okay, let's say you guys
Speaker 1: your twenty outfits out like you're like, okay, these are
Speaker 1: the twenty outfits I want to bring, because Lord knows,
Speaker 1: we bring twenty outfits, we wear three like that's how
Speaker 1: it is. But bring an empty pillow case, empty out
Speaker 1: of pillow case and then layer out or fold a
Speaker 1: bunch of clothes and put it in the pillow case
Speaker 1: and then kind of roll it down. So when you
Speaker 1: bring that pillow case, like the flight attendant will think that, oh,
Speaker 1: this is just a pillow to sleep, but it actually
Speaker 1: is carrying like a bunch of your clothes. But they
Speaker 1: don't have to know that because you can bring a
Speaker 1: pillowcase and it's not going to count as a carry on.
Speaker 1: So you can actually have your two carry ons plus
Speaker 1: your pillow case, and the pillowcase almost serves as a
Speaker 1: third bag. That is sneaky. Can't too many people know
Speaker 1: this though, otherwise we're gonna get, you know, exposed. But
Speaker 1: I've been doing this dam for years and I've never
Speaker 1: been caught. Another thing that I try to do is,
Speaker 1: let's say again, I'm like, man, I got like this
Speaker 1: book or this camera. There's something that just can't fit
Speaker 1: into my carry on, but I don't want to have
Speaker 1: to check in this bag. What I'll do then is
Speaker 1: I'll go to the duty free inside of the airport
Speaker 1: and I'll buy you something rundom like a box of
Speaker 1: crackers and anything that can take up a lot of space.
Speaker 1: Once I get that bag, or they give me the
Speaker 1: duty free bag. I now have again a third carry on,
Speaker 1: so I might give the crackers away, eat the crackers,
Speaker 1: I don't know, throw it away. But now I have
Speaker 1: a bag and I pretend I'll put like either a
Speaker 1: cushion or I'll put like the receipt on top. But
Speaker 1: I empty out the duty free bag and I put
Speaker 1: my actual belongings in it. So they see the duty
Speaker 1: free bag and they think, oh, she just shopped at
Speaker 1: the airport. It's no, this is the stuff that couldn't
Speaker 1: fit inside on my suitcase. So you can do that too.
Speaker 1: That's interesting because I had a friend that went to
Speaker 1: do but maybe it was because it was alcohol they
Speaker 1: had to check it. Yeah, I think it's they do
Speaker 1: that for alcohol or come. Yeah, but if you buy food,
Speaker 1: like just buy like a craft cookies, they're not going
Speaker 1: to check that. It's not a large purchase. But some
Speaker 1: of my favorite suitcase brands I'll mention are Away Luggage Americans.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I've seen that Away brand and I
Speaker 1: was going to check it out. You like that so durable.
Speaker 1: I think they have a lifetime warranty. I think I've
Speaker 1: had to switch it out once and maybe six years,
Speaker 1: So I mean it's just it's worth the investment. People
Speaker 1: see the price tad but it's like a suitcase is
Speaker 1: like a lifetime investment. You're always gonna be to go
Speaker 1: somewhere at some point, So I would say invest in
Speaker 1: a sturdy suitcase. So I love Away Luggage. Sam Tonight
Speaker 1: is also great, and American Tourist or American Twister is
Speaker 1: a little bit more affordable for people on a budget.
Speaker 1: But I've had good experiences with those three brands. Last
Speaker 1: thing I want to mention about what's a pack is
Speaker 1: Extra Patients, Grace and Compact Ashion. There are a lot
Speaker 1: of people who are rusty. There are a lot of
Speaker 1: countries that they're quarantine and their COVID regulations and protocols
Speaker 1: are changing by the day, if not the week, and
Speaker 1: so there's sometimes the airport and just it's chaos. And
Speaker 1: even to come to Bolly this time around, there were
Speaker 1: about eight things that you needed to check off, like
Speaker 1: eight things that you needed to have insurance with twenty
Speaker 1: five thousand coverage blah blah blah. But there's it's a
Speaker 1: very strict list, and there are a lot of people
Speaker 1: that like you can see them get turned away. You
Speaker 1: can see tears, you can see phone calls, you can
Speaker 1: see anger, and so I've seen I've never seen airports.
Speaker 1: It's almost turning into war zone. So many fights, so
Speaker 1: many like fingers pointed at flight attendance, and it's just
Speaker 1: for my family, Like, how dare you term me with
Speaker 1: so many scenes of just emotion? So pack extra patients,
Speaker 1: grace and compassion because we're all still figuring things out
Speaker 1: and a lot of things are changing, and it can
Speaker 1: be a stressful time to travel if you are going
Speaker 1: to a far away country, so just be mindful of that.
Speaker 1: So do you feel like it's best to book with
Speaker 1: a travel agent who can apprise you of all of
Speaker 1: these different rules and regulations and things that you need
Speaker 1: to have in order to get in and out of
Speaker 1: the country. That's a great question. And when I think
Speaker 1: about travel agents, I'm sure they've been out of work
Speaker 1: for a couple of years, so it would be great
Speaker 1: to support travel agents business. But if you are someone
Speaker 1: that like you don't mind doing research, you are meticulous
Speaker 1: and looking up things like for me, coming this round,
Speaker 1: I think I took about two days to to fact
Speaker 1: check about twenty different sources. Okay, this is what this
Speaker 1: website says, but the government site says this, let me
Speaker 1: check these forums. So for me, it was almost like
Speaker 1: a game. I was like, let me see all the things,
Speaker 1: like I enjoy the process because it's for me. Travel
Speaker 1: planning is a lot of the enjoyment of travel to
Speaker 1: begin with, so someone like me, I enjoy it. But yeah,
Speaker 1: if this is us full, I would absolutely say get
Speaker 1: a travel agent. And if you don't, then it seems
Speaker 1: like you have to check the government rags for your
Speaker 1: own country as well as a country that you're trying
Speaker 1: to visit. Correct yes and no. So with the U. S.
Speaker 1: Embassy and the travel dot gov page, they are quick
Speaker 1: to put a country as like alarm four, alarm five,
Speaker 1: and then I'll actually be in the country and I'm like, wait,
Speaker 1: what I'm like, if any country should have the red banner,
Speaker 1: it's it's the country where there are killings and shootings
Speaker 1: every single day. And it's just amazing the way the
Speaker 1: US government categorizes the danger in other countries. And so
Speaker 1: I would say, if you want to check them, feel free.
Speaker 1: But almost every country is going to be a red flag,
Speaker 1: Like I've checked them recently. And I'm like, wait, why
Speaker 1: is Indonesia level four of like, don't go there. I'm like,
Speaker 1: I'm here and it's everything is fine. So it's there's
Speaker 1: a lot of paranoia that the government's views. So I
Speaker 1: would say I wouldn't even check the US government page.
Speaker 1: I would check only the government page of where you're going,
Speaker 1: because they'll have the most updated information US passport holders.
Speaker 1: Here's what you need, here's what to have. So where
Speaker 1: should we look online for the best deals? Do you think? Yeah?
Speaker 1: So I love sky Scanner. I've been using them probably
Speaker 1: for a decade. So if you go to skyscanner dot
Speaker 1: com and you start with your home airport in your
Speaker 1: travel or in your searching or destination area, type in
Speaker 1: everywhere or there's an option that says everywhere, and what
Speaker 1: that's gonna do. It's gonna show you the cheapest flights
Speaker 1: from your home city to anywhere in the world. So
Speaker 1: you're like, I wasn't even thinking of going to Peru,
Speaker 1: but it's a one dollar flight to get there, so
Speaker 1: I guess let's go to Peru. And a lot of
Speaker 1: my travel destinations, I would chase the deal, not the destination.
Speaker 1: So I'm like I'm okay, I go to for under
Speaker 1: two hundred dollars and I'm like, oh, Argentina, let's see
Speaker 1: what's up. And so I would be going to like
Speaker 1: wherever it was cheapest to get to and then going
Speaker 1: from there. So yeah, I would say that Scott Scanner's
Speaker 1: a great website for that. Is it a myth to
Speaker 1: purchase on a certain day is cheaper? Tuesday and Wednesdays
Speaker 1: are historically the days where yeah, it's true, it's true,
Speaker 1: it's true. Degree Tuesdays and Wednesdays if you can check
Speaker 1: for yeah, book your fight on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Also,
Speaker 1: make sure you are searching incognito because every time, let's say,
Speaker 1: if I go to Google on my regular browser and
Speaker 1: I'm searching for travel deals to Spain, the cookies are
Speaker 1: going to be collected now, and all of a sudden
Speaker 1: you're gonna see ads for trips to Spain and Spanish
Speaker 1: hotel else. But all that day it's being sold and
Speaker 1: it's being passed around, and so you're gonna see like
Speaker 1: the next day that you check, oh wow, why did
Speaker 1: the flight increase fifty dollars, because it's like now the
Speaker 1: cookies have track that you are looking for a flight
Speaker 1: to Spain, so it's going to keep raising the price.
Speaker 1: But if you browse incognito exactly, it's so corrupt. Brows
Speaker 1: incognito so that cookies aren't being collected. And then change
Speaker 1: this sounds really bad, but change the country in the
Speaker 1: top to a developing country rather than the US. Don't
Speaker 1: say that you're booking from the US because some of
Speaker 1: these prices are based on the economy of the country.
Speaker 1: So pretend that I'm in a different country, but I'm
Speaker 1: actually booking it out of the US, and you'll see
Speaker 1: that there's like a two price difference if they think
Speaker 1: that you're booking from a different country. Yeah, she shook. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to. I'm trying to figure that out. I'm
Speaker 1: trying to figure out good to. It's an option on
Speaker 1: the website, So if you're going on if you're on
Speaker 1: like Google Flights, it'll say what country are you in,
Speaker 1: what currency, and what language, So just go on the
Speaker 1: top right. You can keep the currency as US dollars,
Speaker 1: but pretend that you're in India and they'll adjust the
Speaker 1: flight to accommodate people in India that are traveling to
Speaker 1: that country. Because if the flight prices won't be the
Speaker 1: same based on the country that you're traveling from, So
Speaker 1: so I have to act like I'm in India, Yes,
Speaker 1: flying from Baltimore to really, oh my god, so corrupt.
Speaker 1: These are things you picked up and and my friends
Speaker 1: would be like, hello, you just save me three on
Speaker 1: this flight. I was like, you're welcome. It's just fun.
Speaker 1: I just like to share. Okay, all right, now that
Speaker 1: we're wrapping up, is there any other pieces of advice
Speaker 1: or tidbits or any thing else, Any other jewels that
Speaker 1: you need to drop on us before we get out
Speaker 1: of here. Yeah, whatever, whatever ideas, preconsumptions, assumptions that you
Speaker 1: have about any country, any culture, I advise you to
Speaker 1: book a trip there. And when I think about just
Speaker 1: I've been thinking about death lately, and I don't want
Speaker 1: it to sound morbid. Well, we'll get into that about
Speaker 1: the book recommendation. I'm just like, man, life is so precious,
Speaker 1: and the moment you realize we're all dying more than
Speaker 1: we're living, like, how are we spending our days? Are
Speaker 1: we living as fully as possible? Are we taking advantage
Speaker 1: of this beautiful world that we get to occupy while
Speaker 1: we're here? Are we doing all the things that terrify us?
Speaker 1: Are we being present? Are we just making memories of
Speaker 1: loved ones? And so, my goodness, travel has opened my
Speaker 1: eyes and I feel so blessed and privileged to live
Speaker 1: this life. And I know it's not everyone's dream a
Speaker 1: travel full time, but one trip a year. Use those
Speaker 1: vacation days. Stop thinking that you're gonna get a promotion
Speaker 1: if you never use your vacation days. Listen, you know
Speaker 1: your boss wants you to think that. But take time off.
Speaker 1: You deserve the recuperation, you deserve the renewal. Travel such
Speaker 1: a beautiful gift. I see it and I hear it
Speaker 1: as I'm talking to you, and I feel like I've
Speaker 1: I've not done my due diligence here. I think I
Speaker 1: need to to stretch out a little bit more, because
Speaker 1: really I go on vacation sometimes two and three times
Speaker 1: a year, but I only want to go to the beach.
Speaker 1: It drives my husband crazy, trust me. So I feel
Speaker 1: like I definitely need to do better and I need
Speaker 1: to expand my horizons a little bit. So it's been
Speaker 1: a joy and a pleasure talking with you. Now it's
Speaker 1: time for the segment. Wouldn't you like to know what
Speaker 1: book are you currently reading? Yes, so A Year to
Speaker 1: Live by Stephen Levine has been so humbling and so
Speaker 1: so sobering, And I'm just I'm embarking on a project
Speaker 1: and I'm going to document it on social media soon.
Speaker 1: But I'm going to act as if I have one
Speaker 1: year left of life and I'm gonna share the journey.
Speaker 1: What would I do all the wrongs of the forgiveness
Speaker 1: that I need to extend. I'm so scared because it's
Speaker 1: it feels it feels like the most vulnerable journey I've
Speaker 1: ever been on. But I think it's give me so
Speaker 1: much healing and peace. So I'm excited. Wow, that sounds exciting.
Speaker 1: I definitely would read that. Awesome. Yeah, what is the
Speaker 1: one thing you want to get off your chest? Let's see,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put it. In regards to travel, especially to
Speaker 1: black people, I feel safe is outside of the country.
Speaker 1: I know, with the racial reconciliation that we've been going
Speaker 1: through over the last two years, there is nothing better
Speaker 1: than feeling like you are human and you are worthy,
Speaker 1: and I get I feel like I don't have to
Speaker 1: perform or audition for people's respect when I'm traveling, and
Speaker 1: of course the five percent aside, like you are treated
Speaker 1: like when you're seeing as human first in black second,
Speaker 1: that it does something to you, and I want more
Speaker 1: Black people to experience what that's like. Especially in the
Speaker 1: Asian continent. It just feels like you're treated like royalty.
Speaker 1: So I would really just recommend more Black Americans travel. Now,
Speaker 1: that's interesting. That is really interesting. You feel that more
Speaker 1: in the Asian continent for sure? Wow. Interesting. Okay, what's
Speaker 1: a model that you live by? Oh? I adapted this
Speaker 1: from my ski instructor. I want skiing for the first
Speaker 1: time for New Year's Eve, and she said, glad you
Speaker 1: love it or hate it? Oh lord, Actually it takes
Speaker 1: a lot of I love being. Yeah, it's fun to
Speaker 1: do things that humble you. Because I was a collegiate
Speaker 1: basketball player, so I'm like, oh, I this what sport.
Speaker 1: I got this. But yeah, it was tough. But one
Speaker 1: thing that she said is like glow, the person having
Speaker 1: the most fun wins. Look out there, everyone falling, the
Speaker 1: person having the most fun, they win. So that's my
Speaker 1: model in life. The person having the most fun wins.
Speaker 1: Love that that was awesome. It has been a joy
Speaker 1: and a pleasure talking to you, Glow. We'll just have
Speaker 1: to have you back on. Maybe I'll have you back
Speaker 1: on after we take our journey to Bali and we'll
Speaker 1: let you know how that goes. Okay, Yes, I would
Speaker 1: love to tell us our listeners where they can find
Speaker 1: you on social media. Yeah, you can find me on
Speaker 1: Instagram at Glow Graphics g l O Graphics, or my podcast,
Speaker 1: The Glow Show, anywhere you can find podcasts. Thanks so much, Glow,
Speaker 1: We'll talk to you soon, my pleasure. Thank you so
Speaker 1: much BYEGAM. Al right, bye bye. So my biggest takeaway
Speaker 1: from this calmversation with Glow is if you can take
Speaker 1: advantage of travel like just to experience the world and
Speaker 1: recognize that there is life outside of your neighborhood. And secondly,
Speaker 1: don't forget your pillowcase. And that's our show for this
Speaker 1: week of Positively GAM. You can follow me online at
Speaker 1: gammy nars and help us out by leaving a five
Speaker 1: star review on Apple Podcasts and by hitting the follow
Speaker 1: button on I Heart Radio. Stay great for y'all. Positively
Speaker 1: Gam is produced by red Table Talk Podcast and I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Executive producers are Adrian Vanfield Naris Valin Jethro
Speaker 1: and Jada Pinkett Smith. Our audio engineer is Calvin Bailiff,
Speaker 1: and our associate producer is Irene Bischoff Burger. Our theme
Speaker 1: song is produced by DBATS three.