Veteran journalist Andrew Conway has been to India four times, but this time he's doing things differently. His latest month-long sojourn was self-funded, and he took his husband, Greg, who had never been to India before.
Andrew talks about how having a personal driver (details below) changed his entire experience and lets us in on some of the lesser-known places to go in this often chaotic country.
1 Hotels opened its first property in Australia recently, and host Kirstie Bedford was there to review it, while host Belle Jackson was among the first to stay in the new villas at Alba Thermal Springs & Spa on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. We also cover all the other new hotel openings in Australia you need to know about.
And, love a good roadie? We cover off Australia's best road trips with Rollin' car insurance.
Contact Andrew's driver Manoj via email: agmtourntravels@gmail.com
Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:00):
Welcome to The World Awakes.
Travel tales to inspire yourwanderlust.
Welcome back to The WorldAwakes.
We hope you enjoyed our specialcelebration episode last week.
Yay! We were celebratingturning, or having, our 100th
episode, which is prettyexciting.
Jointly, we're 100.
(00:20):
No,
SPEAKER_02 (00:21):
let's not say that.
Celebrating our 100th episode,yeah.
Waiters 100, we are not.
SPEAKER_03 (00:27):
We're experienced.
We're experienced.
That's all that says.
And if you didn't listen to it,then please head on back and
take a listen because we have atropical holiday to give away to
Avani plus Kau Lak, thanks toAvani Hotels and Resorts.
And we also chatted in thatepisode about some of our
favorite episodes, which you cango back and listen to.
And we asked each other, wealways thought we should do this
(00:49):
at some stage, and so we askedeach other the question we ask
all our interviewees, which iswhat's the most bizarre travel
experience you've ever had?
SPEAKER_02 (00:57):
Oh, they were so good.
We had animal fluids.
We had flying pigs and we hadguns.
It was all there.
We tell the stories thatinspired you to Apple, right?
SPEAKER_03 (01:07):
Love
SPEAKER_02 (01:09):
it.
And look, if that prize Kirstymentioned sounds like your cup
of tea, that is a trip toThailand's Phang Nha Province,
which leading away, just jump onour Instagram page, the World
Awaits podcast, or scroll backto the last episode.
And the prize is, it's fabulous.
It's four nights for two peoplein a deluxe room at the Avani
Plus Khao Lak, which is on theAndaman Sea beachfront resort in
(01:32):
Southern Thailand.
And the prize includes daily bedand breakfast and dinner as well
as round-trip airport transfersand even a Muay Thai boxing
class if you want to let all ofthat stress go with a few
well-placed kicks at thetrainer, not at the person that
you're taking with you.
Hey, listen, Kirsty, speaking ofgiveaways, we also have five
(01:55):
lucky winners of our bookgiveaways back from episode 97.
That was an interview withauthor Tony Park about going on
safari in Southern Africa.
I loved it so much.
I love Tony's advice.
And I've actually read quite afew of his books.
His upcoming book is called ToDie by the Sword.
And publisher Pan Macmillan isgiving away five copies to these
(02:18):
Lucky listeners who entered thecompetition on our Instagram and
Facebook pages.
And the winners are...
They are...
So, you will all get a copy hotoff the press when the book is
(02:39):
released in Australia on the...
29th of July and I'll becontacting you as well to get
your postal addresses.
So if you are listening to thison Playbat, jump back and take a
listen to Tony's tips becausehe's got some awesome
suggestions about how to go onsafari without busting the
budget.
And also, can I just say, keepan eye on our Instagram page
(03:01):
because there will be othergiveaways and our Facebook page
too.
Look, giveaways.
We're giving away a tropicalholiday at the moment, right
people?
So...
following tag and superexciting.
So let's jump into our weeksthis week.
What has your week been besidescelebrating and looking
glamorous as buggery with yournew profile pic, Kirsty?
SPEAKER_03 (03:26):
Yes, we do have a gorgeous new little tile for our
podcast.
And as Val mentioned, make sureif you're listening to this on
playback, just remember that,yeah, we will have other
giveaways too.
So even if you're listening onplayback and you've missed out,
On this one, we will have otherones.
And yeah, gosh, this is the kingof all giveaways, right?
I was lucky this week to be oneof the first to stay at the very
(03:50):
first Australian One Hotel.
So that's their first brand inAustralia, which is in
Melbourne.
And it's Riverside and theDocklands area that makes it a
little bit quieter than ifyou're staying in a hotel in the
city.
I love that.
When I was taking note of that,because I do find city hotels
are very light sleeper and Ireally struggle with too much
noise.
So it was nice being Riversidebecause you definitely didn't
(04:12):
hear any traffic noise.
But the key to this place is...
It's all about, the hotels areall about sustainability and
everyone's talking aboutsustainability, right?
And the travel industry is, andthere's a lot of greenwashing
going on.
But these guys do it really welland they actually are renowned
for it in their properties allover the world.
And so they've done the samehere in Melbourne.
(04:33):
So they even went so far as to areally key part of the design
feature of when they, beforethey even started the hotel was,
was to restore this 1941 MalcolmMoore crane, which is right
outside the hotel, and theymoved it so that they could keep
it there and have it as a keydesign feature.
And when you walk into thelobby, you can see it through
(04:55):
the windows and the main bar isnamed crane bar after that
particular crane.
And there are also 7,000, canyou believe that?
That's remarkable, isn't it?
7,000 plants inside the hotel.
and 4,500 square metres ofreclaimed timber.
So when you first walk into thereception, there's the actual
(05:16):
desk, the actual reception deskthat you check into, was made
with repurposed elm trees fromMelbourne's Metro Tunnel Works.
I love that so much.
And an artwork above it wasactually created from 60
kilograms of textiles that wereotherwise going to go to
landfill, and they made thisincredible piece.
artwork, which is so beautifulwhen you walk in this kind of
(05:38):
very nature vibe.
In the lounge, they've useddecommissioned railway bridges
for the staircase.
And even the floor is off cutsof timber that have been hand
cut into tiny little tiles.
So they just look like littlefloor tiles, but they're
actually hand cut timber.
And the vibe's all calmingbecause of all those plants.
Like when you walk in and youwalk down into the bar across
(06:00):
the floor to ceiling windows arejust all these beautiful plants.
And it's all like neutral tonesin the wood.
And it also, the plan is forthem is to make it a bit of a
local community hangout.
So they don't just want the barand the restaurant and the
spaces to be for guests.
They want it to be a place wherelocals can come and have dinner
(06:21):
or have a meeting, have somelunch.
There's a great little, in themain lobby, When you walk in
where that Crane Bar is, there'sthis great little cafe called
Neighbours Cafe.
And it looks like a littleminiature general store.
It's so cute.
And they sell goods there andyou can get coffee and grab some
food.
And then above that is aspeakeasy style cocktail bar.
(06:43):
And then there's also thesignature restaurant, which is
downstairs next to NeighboursCafe.
It's called From Here by Mike.
And they're really focusingthere on dishes using coffee.
really hyper-local produce.
So things like Port ArlingtonMussels and Port Phillip Bay
Calamari, and 40% of the wineson the list are local.
So that's pretty impressive.
And the cocktails are actuallyalso all crafted with repurposed
(07:07):
ingredients.
So they're making sure thatthey're using wastes, things
that would otherwise go to foodwaste.
I personally think it's probablybest suited to couples who are
looking for a little kind ofeco-romantic getaway.
And there's lots to do if you'recouples there without even
leaving this property becausethere is an amazing spa.
And the gym is you can work outwhile you overlook the river.
(07:32):
And there's like a living wall,a green wall where you can work
out to as well.
And the pool area is on.
So when you got to level three,there's one door that leads to
the pool area, one door to thegym and then the spa.
And the pool is indoor.
And there's a little plunge pooland beautiful windows
overlooking the river as well.
So yeah, definitely one to puton your radar if you're next
visiting Melbourne.
(07:53):
And the room rates range from$450 to$6,000 if you're going to
splash out and stay in thepenthouse.
And you can read my full reviewon Carry On, which is
k-a-r-r-y-on.com.au.
And now you had an amazing staytoo, Val.
We were both super lucky to havesome local getaways.
SPEAKER_02 (08:14):
Yeah, absolutely.
Very different vibe to yours.
I was quite interested thatyours had a bar called
Neighbours Cafe.
I wonder if it's like ArleneMinogue or Alf is going to serve
you a drink in the bar.
SPEAKER_03 (08:27):
Ah, it's not.
Neighbours Cafe is not a bar.
That's the general store.
SPEAKER_02 (08:32):
Oh, that even sounds more Neighbours-y.
But yeah, that sounds absolutelyfantastic.
It's a part of Melbourne.
That part of Docklands isreally...
just been neglected.
It's really nice to see itfinally activated there.
So mine, my getaway, totallydifferent in a lot of ways, but
also quite similar.
So I was down on the MorningtonPeninsula, back down in my old
(08:54):
stomping ground at Alba ThermalSprings, which if you, if Alba
Thermal Springs are opposite thehot springs, the peninsula hot
springs, which they both tapinto the same aquifer of water.
And the vibe here is that thesprings have been there some
time, but what's new is theaccommodation.
And I was one of the firstpeople to stay in the
accommodation, which just openedthe night before.
(09:17):
So there are seven rooms andvillas, five villas, which are
built on the hillside.
So they're overhanging thebushland.
And I was in villa number five.
They call them sanctuaries.
So I was in sanctuary numberfive.
Take a note of that one becauseeverybody said to me, this is
the one with the best views.
And And characteristically forme, Kirsty, I got up early on
(09:38):
the morning of my stay.
I got up before sunrise, beforefirst light even, to watch the
dawn as it was coming up overAfton's Seat.
So I was actually looking backup the peninsula.
I was looking north and the suncame up and it just broke over
Afton's Seat and it flushed allof this bushland that I was
looking at, all of theKazirines, the Sheoaks and or
(10:00):
the natural Australian bush justflooded with this incredible
golden light.
Great for photos, but also greatfor putting your swimmers on and
going down and having an earlymorning jump into the thermal
pools because this is the wholepoint of it.
Even if you're staying for justone night, but I would advise to
stay two, you come in theafternoon, you have access to
(10:20):
the day that you check in andthe day you check out.
You have access to all of thethermal pools.
So which if you are staying onthe weekends can get quite busy.
So what this gives you is thatreally quiet early morning dip
where you soak in theseincredibly mineral rich houseful
hot waters and have all of thosebathing experiences in a really
(10:41):
beautifully designed space.
The architecture in thisproperty is phenomenal.
So the package for these villasincludes things like two days of
thermal bathing, And you alsoget breakfast in time
restaurant, but I wouldn't haveit in the restaurant.
I would order it and take it upinto the villa because that
gives you that sense ofattachment from everybody,
(11:01):
especially if you're floatingabove the bushlands.
And there's yoga and meditation.
There's yoga mats and guidedmeditation soundtracks in the
villa.
So you can sit there and justhave that time away from
everybody because, of course,you're wrapped in a frittata
robe.
If you know your Italian linens,this is the robe.
to bolt down onto your body forthe entire time that you're
(11:23):
staying there because it's sogorgeous.
And in keeping with Albert, ithas made itself a very
Mornington Peninsula experience.
The mini bar, which is allincluded, except for a couple of
cocktails.
The wines are from 10 Minutes byTractor, which is a local, one
of the local producers downhere, and fantastic.
I've got to say, you know, bangon, my friends.
(11:46):
But then also all of the coffeeis from Little Rebel, which is a
local roaster based in Drumana.
All the breads, the nuts, thepeanut brittle, all that stuff
that I just lay around and stuffmy face with for the entire time
I was in the minibars is allsourced locally as well.
So it really does keep thatsense of a very peninsular
experience, which is reallyphenomenal.
(12:06):
So...
Five villas, two rooms.
The rooms are priced from$900 anight and the villas are from
$1,400 a night.
So this is not a, hey, let'sjust go and have a little quick
getaway.
They are two things.
They are going to book upincredibly quickly.
They were fully booked from themoment that they even opened
bookings on those villas in apre-release.
(12:28):
And I think they're going tocontinue to be heavily booked as
well.
And so the price point is prettymuch a kind of a, it's a special
getaway.
It's an occasional.
I get away, but when you add inall of the other extras, it does
build itself into being a reallyspecial experience.
It does give you access to oneof the three private bathing
experiences that Alba has there.
(12:50):
So we did a float tank, which isbasically like going to the Dead
Sea, but without going to theDead Sea.
So you go into a float pool, ahighly salted float pool, and I
put these weighted iron mastson, and then you've got weighted
floatable pillows as well.
And so you bob for about 40minutes in the salt.
And your body actually crusts upwith salt.
But it's very good for you.
(13:10):
And then you scour yourself downlater on.
So really fabulous bathingexperiences.
We also put dinner in TimeRestaurant for the night before.
And the food is phenomenal as adining experience on the
Mornington Peninsula.
Because you can just go in thereand have dinner as well.
Friday night was completelypacked.
Cassie, I'm saying even at 8.30,quarter to nine, there were
(13:31):
groups of bathers coming inbecause the the spring stay up
until 10 p.m.
So people are coming in andnobody wears their regular
clothes.
They just come from the pool,throw their robes over their
swimmers and schlepping to thisfabulous restaurant for dinner,
a glass of sparkling, some localwine.
It's super, super local.
Like it's hard pressed to findthings that are off the
(13:53):
peninsula.
Yeah, like nobody is here notwearing clothes.
We actually did change out ofour swimmers because I was
thinking I can't sit and dinefor two hours in my wake.
People wear one piece, but yeah,really beautiful experience.
That is at Alber ThermalSprings, which is
alberthermalsprings.com.au.
I was driving that for ExploreTravel, which you can find.
The review will come out in theCanberra Times, Border Mail, and
(14:15):
all of those kinds of things.
So there you go.
That's my experience.
Yeah, two great experiences inVictoria.
SPEAKER_03 (14:24):
And Australia is definitely having a bit of a
moment at the moment becausethere's some other really cool
properties that opened this yeartoo.
Journey Beyond opened MonatoSafari Resort, which is in South
Australia's Murraylands.
I love this property.
God, it looks amazing.
It's actually a luxury lodgethat's set within what is the
largest open air safariexperience that you can have
(14:45):
outside of Africa.
How cool is that?
And there are 500 animals in thepark.
SPEAKER_02 (14:51):
And another exciting opening this year is the EVE
Hotel in Sydney, which was thetransformation of a derelict
shopping centre in Redfern.
I've got to say, it was shabby.
And it's been turned into thisfive-star hotel and dining
precinct called Wonder Lunch.
main precinct.
It's at the bottom of CrownStreet in Sydney.
And I have to say, it's allabout biophilic design.
(15:12):
So bringing nature into thearchitecture.
And I ate at its Greekrestaurant Olympus last time I
was in Sydney.
And the best tables are the openair ones.
So if you are making areservation, which I highly
recommend you do, And in
SPEAKER_03 (15:25):
Queensland, the Mondrian Hotel opened on Burley
Heads.
This is definitely one of themost luxury properties in the
Gold Coast.
And it is beachside and therestaurant is oceanfront and the
pool overlooks the water.
It looks absolutely spectacular.
There's no mistaking when youare when you stay here because
obviously it all just opens outto that beautiful ocean.
(15:46):
And as you would expect for thisbrand of hotel, it's also uber
stylish.
And we will put a link to all ofthose points in the description.
properties in the show notes.
Welcome to the show, Andrew.
SPEAKER_00 (16:30):
Thanks Kirsty, thank you for having me.
Always a pleasure.
SPEAKER_03 (16:33):
So nice to have you back on The World Awaits and
let's start by tell us a littlebit about your background and
how you came to work in thetravel industry.
SPEAKER_00 (16:42):
Oh goodness, I don't want to give away any trade
secrets here but I've been ajournalist since I was 19.
I can't quite believe it.
That's almost 45 years ago.
First as a news reporter andthen a feature writer, but I'd
always had a real passion fortravel and I'd traveled fairly
extensively as a younger man.
And then about 30 years ago, oneof my editors at what was then
(17:06):
Fairfax newspapers asked me if Iwould take on the role of travel
editor.
And I'm like, wait a minute, youwant to pay me to travel the
world?
And he said, well, have a thinkabout it.
And I said, no, I've thoughtabout it.
It's good.
I'll do it.
And suddenly I was the traveleditor of the Sun Herald and
then the Sydney Morning Herald.
(17:28):
And then I was founding editorof Luxury Travel Magazine.
And now I'm the editor-at-largeof Signature Luxury Travel and
Style magazine, which is basedin Sydney, one of the really
lovely travel and lifestylemagazines.
And I've had a wonderful lifeand career running around the
world like a kid in a candystore.
So very lucky, very blessed.
SPEAKER_03 (17:50):
Yes, you are.
And Signature Media do havebeautiful publications.
And I was also assistant editorof Essential Asian Travel and
Style.
So that is how we know eachother.
And Andrew, you are anabsolutely beautiful writer for
anyone who's ever read yourwork.
What about for that?
And what an incrediblebackground you've had in the
industry.
So let's jump straight intoIndia because this is a specific
(18:12):
trip that I'm so excited to hearabout.
Now, this is your fourth time.
So tell us a bit about what madeyou decide to do this one a bit
differently to the other tripsand how you did it differently.
SPEAKER_00 (18:23):
I've always loved India.
People say you either love Indiaor you hate India.
There's no halfway house withIndia.
And I'm one of those people thatlove it.
And I went for the first time 40years ago.
But I've always been hosted inIndia as a travel writer, and
hotels or airlines or resortshave kindly invited me in the
(18:48):
past.
But I'm getting to the age nowwhere I want to see things with
a different eye.
I'm looking for more authentic,perhaps unfiltered travel
experiences, seeing it throughmy own eyes and at my own pace.
So My husband and I, Greg, itwas his first time to India on
this trip, and we decided thatwe would do a fully self-funded
(19:13):
trip for a month in northernIndia.
No hostings, no freebies, noupgrades, no special treatment,
and it certainly wasn't a cheapholiday.
We opted for higher-grade hotelsalong the way, but I can't tell
you how refreshing it was, howliberating, and just to be
(19:34):
traveling as any other normalperson and paying for it.
And it really makes adifference.
So we decided to do this trip innorthern India, essentially
retracing a trip I'd done almostexactly 40 years before.
And I'd always traveled by trainbefore in India.
And India has an extensive andpretty reliable train network.
(19:56):
And this time we decided we'dchange it up.
We're in our mid-60s now.
We just...
couldn't wrap our heads aroundsort of the hassles of stations,
train stations and rigidtimetables.
And to be honest with you, we'rejust too old to be getting down
and dirty.
I'm not saying that 65 is old.
(20:16):
I'm just saying we're gettingolder.
65 is the new 40.
It's just, we're just a bitbeyond the backpacking and
getting down and dirty.
So We'd heard about the networkin India of cars and drivers.
We absolutely didn't want todrive in India.
It's absolute madness for anyoneto do that.
(20:39):
It's so chaotic.
But there are cars and drivers,and we were recommended someone
based in Delhi via friends inSydney, and he turned out to be
an absolute gem of a travelcompanion.
He, having the car, it was aToyota vehicle with room for
(21:00):
five.
There were only two of us in thecar with the driver.
And it just took all the hassle,the day-to-day, minute-by-minute
sort of hassles of traveling inIndia, from the minute he met us
at the international airport inNew Delhi.
And he was, I can't tell it,Obviously, it's a more expensive
(21:22):
option than doing it by trainbecause you're paying him a
daily rate.
We still thought it was veryreasonable in Australian
dollars, but he was absolutelyworth his weight in gold.
No question about the best moneywe spent in India, bar none.
SPEAKER_03 (21:37):
And did he stay with you, that one driver, the whole
way?
And tell us a bit about where hetook you and where you went.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
He did.
So we booked him for the month.
Obviously, he needed time offand he got time off as we went
around.
Generally, he would pick us upfrom the hotel if we were
leaving the hotel to go to thenext destination in the morning.
His car was pristine.
He was in a uniform.
He was always perfectly washedand clean in the car and
everything.
It was basically like having atraveling hotel room.
(22:07):
If we hadn't quite packedproperly or we were in a bit of
a rush, he was there to justsmooth things over for and we
spent most of our days with him.
And then a few meals, we wouldinvite him for dinner.
But car drivers in India,there's a network of roadhouses
and they take off in the eveningand they go to these roadhouses
(22:27):
where they meet up with theirother driver mates and they do
their own thing.
They have their own meals andeverything.
But we did dine with him fromtime to time, maybe four or five
times through the month.
And that just added to, we gotto know him very well and super,
super guy.
So our itinerary, we started inNew Delhi.
which is the pretty obviousgateway for northern India.
Agra, of course, for the TajMahal.
(22:50):
Ranthambore, which is a littlesouth, but on the road to
Jaipur.
Ranthambore is a tiger reserve,and we'll talk about that a
little bit later.
Jaipur, the pink city of Jaipur,obviously.
A little place calledChhatrasagar, which we'll talk
about later, which was anabsolute revelation.
And then back to the big citiesof Jodhpur.
(23:12):
Udaipur, Jaisalmer, really thebest of Rajasthan.
It's like the Golden Triangle,but we went further west as far
as we could go towards thePakistan border, really, in
Rajasthan.
SPEAKER_03 (23:24):
Amazing.
So what actually made it such agreat way to travel?
Obviously, like you said, youhave someone with you all of the
time and he can just pickeverything up at the last
minute.
But obviously also you, soyou're paying him a certain day
rate and he's just got the cartopped up and ready for you
whenever you need be.
And is it because you canobviously also get into places
(23:46):
that maybe were a littlechallenging without the car?
Was that something you found?
SPEAKER_00 (23:51):
Well, places that we wouldn't have seen by train.
Again, the train network isgreat.
You're going to see lots ofcountryside by train.
But as you're traveling by roadand you start to move further
west out of the bigger citiesinto the desert country of
Rajasthan, the only route forhim is to travel through very
(24:12):
remote, little-known andotherworldly villages and small
towns and villages It justopened our eyes to parts of
India and Indian people who justwelcomed us with open arms
wherever we drove into, that wejust couldn't have dreamed of
(24:33):
seeing in India.
But beyond that, the joy of itwas in the car itself, because
his name's Manoj Kumar, and he'sNew Delhi-based, but he lives
outside of Delhi.
He's married with children,young children.
He's a fully licensed driver.
He's been driving for 20 years.
He's worked with productioncompanies on some major films
(24:57):
like The Best Exotic MarigoldHotel and He Pray Love and
Victoria and Abdul and SlumdogMillionaire.
So he's got this reallyinteresting sort of history to
him.
He's been doing it for 20 years.
But Part from the driving, andI've mentioned the driving, is
beyond chaotic in India.
It's organized chaos, but it ischaos.
And you really have to closeyour eyes because there is all
(25:20):
manner of human, animal, andvehicular life on those roads
going in all sorts of differentdirections all at the same time.
But He became, he's not a guide,a licensed guide, but he became
a very insightful guide.
He was incredibly helpful as atranslator in the areas where
(25:45):
there was no English beingspoken.
He was like our personalshopping assistant.
He took us to the best stores.
He took us to the mostinteresting restaurants.
He did our laundry, for goodnesssake.
We would be going four or fivedays, and then he'd look at us
and say, I think you need towash your clothes.
(26:05):
And he took our clothes and justwashed them overnight, brought
them back.
He was a funny man.
He was full of stories aboutIndian culture and life and
religion.
He talked about his family.
He...
It was such an insight intoIndia.
That was one of the greatsurprises.
(26:26):
We never...
ever thought that would happen.
And we still talked to him onthe trip six months ago.
And he called us the other nightto see how we were going.
And we called him and we got toknow his family a little bit.
And it's more expensive.
I'm not going to lie about that.
But for the cost effectivenessof what he offered across the
(26:48):
board and the way it opened upIndia was a no-brainer.
Absolute no-brainer for us.
SPEAKER_03 (26:54):
Yes, and I can imagine after working on all of
those film sets and what witheveryone so keen to do jet
setting these days and setjetting, I should say, and
follow in the footsteps of andsee some of these places where
these films were shot, I canimagine that he must be finding
that quite busy.
So what were some of the placesthat you particularly went to
that were most surprising orthat, because you've obviously
(27:18):
been before, so what was it orwhat were some of the places and
things that you did this timethat really inspired were really
special or took you by surprise?
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
Well, I kept the itinerary to the major icons
because it was Greg's firsttime.
So I wanted him to get the realoverview of India.
So of course we did the icons.
We did Agra for the Taj Mahal.
We did the pink city of Jaipurand Fatehpur Sikri in between,
an absolute must visit.
We did the blue city of Jodhpur,the lake city of Udaipur and out
(27:49):
into the desert in Jaisalmer.
But there were two places thatabsolutely blew us away and much
lesser known.
One was Ranthambore NationalPark, which is not directly
between Agra and Jaipur.
So you have to head south andthen back up again to Jaipur.
It's a national park.
(28:09):
It's been going for decades.
It's the home of the Bengaltiger.
And I went there 40 years ago,backpacking.
There were no hotels there.
I stayed in a very primitivesort of house really with no
electricity in the middle of thepark and there was a jeep and he
took us around we never saw atiger 40 years ago we saw
(28:32):
footprints we saw spore but wenever saw a tiger because a lot
of them had been wiped out overthe years 40 years later they've
had a regeneration program therei cannot tell you the place was
crawling with bengal tigers ofall ages and We took a couple of
(28:52):
jeep safaris there.
And to be within feet, within acouple of meters of these
majestic animals with that Andthen a very small place,
Chatsrasagar, which is betweenJaipur and Jodhpur.
And this was part of a hotelgroup that we picked three
(29:13):
hotels that were sister hotels.
One in Jaipur is part of the RASgroup, R-A-A-S, small boutique
hotels, heritage largely.
And one of their hotels is in abird sanctuary called
Chatsrasagar.
And it's a tented camp.
like an African safari type ofthing, but an Indian safari set
(29:37):
up.
The tents are set up on a dam,an old dam that was built to dam
the lake.
and to bring water to the area.
And as that lake has filled,it's brought with it an
extraordinary, I'm not a birdperson, but an extraordinary
collection of, I think, 250species of birds.
(29:58):
And you get up in the morningand you go on boat safaris on
this lake setting with petrifiedtrees in the middle of it.
exquisite bird life and it'sbeyond idyllic so chatrasaga if
you can put it on a an itineraryvery much very much worth
looking at and the tents werehand embroidered with indian
(30:24):
thread And on the inside, so youlooked up from your bed into the
sort of the ceiling of the tent,and they were hand-embroidered
with birds, withsilk-embroidered birds flying
across the roofline of the tent.
Again, not cheap.
We're talking high-end luxurykind of safari camp, but worth
(30:46):
every penny that we saved up forto go there.
So those would be two absolutestandouts for me.
SPEAKER_03 (30:53):
Amazing.
And what about for Greg?
What did he say about what weresome of the highlights for him?
I
SPEAKER_00 (30:58):
think he was surprised.
I think he felt that he wasgoing to be really challenged
with India.
And India is challenging.
There's no question.
And I feel like India almostneeds demystifying.
It has this thing, oh, is itsafe?
Am I going to get sick?
What about the water, poverty,the pollution?
(31:22):
It's a country of 1.4 billionpeople.
And it has challenges.
Any country would have that sizeand volume of people.
But he took to India like a duckin water.
And I was so intrigued to watchhim settle into India after the
(31:43):
craziness of Delhi, because thefirst five days were full on.
But he settled into the rhythmof India and he got to
understand sort of the pace ofit and even better than I did 40
years later or for the fourth orfifth time for me.
So first time visitors, I'dencourage you not to be put off
by a lot of the sort of negativepress or the negative stories
(32:06):
about India because it reallyis.
Have you been
SPEAKER_03 (32:09):
to India?
I haven't.
SPEAKER_00 (32:12):
Put it on your radar screen because I think you would
love it.
I think you would love it.
The history, the culture, thefood.
I thought, you think I'm goingto get sick, so deli belly and
I'll lose a few kilos, whatever.
No, no, I put five to ten kiloson the food.
(32:35):
It was so good.
And who knew that India madewine?
good wine.
We were thinking we're going todrink beer and maybe go
vegetarian.
And what?
No.
In Delhi, we found that Indiamakes wine and we drank really
good quality wine as we went.
Made outside of Mumbai inMaharashtra state on the eastern
(33:01):
side of the country.
Just huge surprises.
But Manoj, our driver, simplyopened our eyes and our hearts
to India.
He was the catalyst.
He was the conduit and the carby association to show us India
(33:22):
in a way that I had neverexperienced before in four or
five visits before this trip.
SPEAKER_03 (33:28):
Amazing.
And you're so right.
It's such a good point to make,isn't it, about the perceptions
we can have of a place and yetthe Sometimes, whether it's time
or just looking at things in adifferent way or where you
particularly travel within thatcountry can give you such a
vastly different experience.
So what would your sort of toptips be for those who are
(33:49):
planning to travel who havemaybe never been to India
before?
SPEAKER_00 (33:55):
I would encourage to up the budget.
Look, if you're younger or ahardy person, older soul and an
experienced traveler, by allmeans, plan your itinerary, do
it by train or bus even, and gofor your life if that's how you
want to do it.
(34:15):
And it can be done veryeconomically.
I say save up the pennies likewe did and go for a higher
quality hotel.
The car and the driver was ano-brainer for us.
And Then trust your guide.
Trust your guide wherever youare.
You're going to pick up guideswith or without a driver.
(34:36):
Our driver was not our guide.
Everywhere we went, he arrangedguides for us in the major
cities and destinations.
Trust your driver.
Trust your guides because theywill show you things that you
wouldn't ordinarily seeotherwise.
And invest in better qualityhotels.
The driver will take you to thebest restaurants, the best
(34:58):
shopping.
Well, throw in a tip here.
India is about shopping, notshipping.
Okay.
We made a bad mistake.
We've just, we built a new housein Australia on the New South
Wales coast.
We're trying to fill it withfurniture.
We thought we'll shop in Indiaand ship at home.
And we bought quite a few largerpieces and the shipping home
(35:21):
issue was awful.
It, uh, Hours and hours ofpaperwork, a lot of extra money
to get it through customs inAustralia, a lot of hassle.
So I would advise, if you'regoing shopping, just buy what
you can carry home with you andwatch the excess baggage amounts
and all that sort of stuff.
But India's, the only exceptionI would say to that is carpets.
(35:43):
They're very, India's very adeptat sending carpets and rugs home
very quickly.
And there's no sort of customsside of things with rugs.
So that's an easy thing to buy.
And then will ship it for you.
India's about clothes andfabrics and artwork and things
that generally can fit in asuitcase you can bring home with
(36:05):
you.
Poverty, pollution.
begging, you can't escape it.
I'm sorry, there's nosugarcoating it.
It's there.
It's right in front of you.
And you have to turn a blind eyeto it.
I know it sounds awful, but it'sso everywhere and so prevalent.
But giving money away is not thesolution to it.
(36:28):
Talking about giving money away,India relies heavily on tips.
So we found that we were tippinga lot of people everywhere.
We were a very small amount likeminuscule amounts of money, but
it would be good to take someIndian rupees with you in small
denominations because a lot ofpeople survive on small tips
(36:50):
that get handed out.
Food and water we found fine.
The water is not an issue inIndia now.
Obviously, you're not going tobe drinking it out of a tap in a
roadside village or whatever.
In the major cities, bigger, thefiner hotels, not even the finer
hotels, most hotels, all thewater is sanitized now and
you're unlikely to get sick, butobviously you should take all
precautions before you go toIndia.
(37:11):
It can get very hot, very dry,very dusty, so just drink lots
of bottled water.
And finally, the volume ofpeople, 1.4 billion people.
I think we met 1.3 billion ofthem.
I said to Greg, We will never bealone from the minute we wake up
in the morning to the minute wego to bed.
(37:32):
And he said that was very true.
There will always be someonestanding next to you or in your
field of vision, always.
But Indians are lovely.
We love Indians.
And there were a couple ofshout-outs, a couple of small
shout-outs.
If you want a soft landing intoDelhi...
The Imperial Hotel, an absolutegem of a luxury heritage hotel
(37:57):
built in the 1930s.
It's almost 100 years old, butit is maintained meticulously.
And the facilities, therestaurants, again, I paid for
it.
This is not a promotion.
There were no freebies, servicelevels, and they've just...
Levated the spa and beautifulgardens and swimming pool.
(38:19):
Absolutely highly recommended.
And in Udaipur, the lake city,the lake palace, I'm sure
everyone's seen pictures of thisgorgeous white palace hotel
sitting on a rock in the middleof Lake Pechala.
It looks like it's just floatingon the surface.
And...
You go out by boat.
It sits in the middle of thelake.
It's all white.
(38:40):
It looks like a big wedding cakeor a Christmas cake.
And at dawn, when the sun comesup, and at dusk, when the sun
goes down, it is one of the mostmagical places you could...
It's just dreamy.
Absolute dreamland of abeautiful space.
But again, you might have tomortgage the house.
(39:04):
These hotels...
Do not come cheap.
I am warning you now.
Unfortunately,
SPEAKER_03 (39:12):
we are running out of time.
So we're going to ask thequestion, the last question that
we ask all of our interviewees,which is what's the most bizarre
thing that's ever happened toyou on your travels?
And it can or cannot be inIndia.
SPEAKER_00 (39:25):
I'm going to go to the very south end of the
planet, down to Antarctica.
And I went on a almost amonth-long trip with Aurora
Expeditions.
So shout out, full discretion,it was hosted.
And we went down to the ArcticPeninsula and to South Georgia
and Falklands.
And I went polar snorkeling.
(39:46):
It is a real thing.
You snorkel everywhere.
around icebergs.
You snorkel in a dry suit infreezing cold waters.
You swim with penguins.
You splash around with baby furseals.
And I would have to say it wasthe most bizarre but most
incredible experience of mytravel life.
(40:08):
Polar snorkeling.
Who knew?
Unbelievable.
SPEAKER_03 (40:12):
Well, that's incredible.
Gosh, everyone will have to putthat on their bucket list as
well.
Look, it's been so wonderfulchatting with you today and
thank you so much for your time,Andrew.
SPEAKER_00 (40:21):
Thank you for the opportunity, Kirsten.
We'll see you soon.
SPEAKER_02 (40:26):
I loved Andrew's text about using a personal
driver and we will put a link tohow you can contact his driver
in the show notes.
UNKNOWN (40:40):
Music
SPEAKER_02 (40:44):
Our tip this week is for those who love a good road
trip.
And car insurance experts atRoland analysed 22 of
Australia's most iconic roadtrips and created index scores
and rankings to highlight thetop picks across the country.
So these are the road trips youdefinitely want to put on the
to-do list if you love nothingmore than a good scenic drive.
SPEAKER_03 (41:06):
But the data found that the most loved road trip in
Australia is...
drumroll please, Victoria'sGreat Ocean Road.
And so this trip is a 243kilometre roadie from Torquay to
Allensford, probably most famousfor the Twelve Apostles.
And this trip received 83,900monthly searches in Australia
(41:27):
and more than 33 million postson TikTok.
Jeez, I absolutely love thispart of the world.
I have driven it many times, butnot all of it.
And it was actually the firsttime I saw a koana in the wild
after living many years inAustralia.
We were driving along near Lawnand we pulled over because all
these other people had pulledover and there were a whole lot
(41:47):
of koalas up in the tree and itwas the first time I'd seen it.
So that was pretty exciting.
And that's what I think of everytime I think of the Great Ocean
Road.
SPEAKER_02 (41:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
And second on that list was, Imean, it's no surprise that the
Great Ocean Road is there.
Second on the list of mostpopular drives around Australia
was New South Wales GrandPacific Drive, which goes
through rainforest starting inthe Royal National Park over the
Seacliff Ridge, which isphenomenal.
I drove it late last year andgosh, I was in a Polestar, one
(42:17):
of those Swedish e-cars.
And so it was really quiet and Iwas just shushing along the sea
cliff bridge.
It is so incredibly photogenic.
If you have not done it, youreally have to do it.
This one had like, you know,bazillions as you expect on
social media, 24,000 monthlysearches for it and loads of
(42:39):
TikTok posts.
And this coastal route hasclick-hugging roads.
It's got plenty of Insta-worthystops.
And it winds from the NationalPark all the way down to
Shoalhaven.
And it's just spectacular.
I cannot write about it enough.
SPEAKER_03 (42:53):
Amazing.
Rounding out the top three isthe Great Beach Drive in
Queensland, which connectsSunshine Coast and Gary, which
is formerly known as FraserIsland.
And it's a 380 kilometre trip.
And while searches on that were,the research said that the
searches on that were quite abit lower than the other two, it
is really renowned, obviously,because it's a bit of an iconic
(43:15):
stretch and there's lots of sun.
and sand and, you know, just atypical sort of what you'd
expect on Australia roadie.
But it still had 622,000Instagram posts.
SPEAKER_02 (43:25):
And Sydney to Melbourne is the next, the road
trip.
Look, I have to say I've driventhis route countless times.
So the scenic route is, you cando it two ways.
One is it's fast and dirty,literally gunning it down the
Hume Highway.
And the other is the scenicroute, which is following the
coastline.
So down the south coast of NewSouth Wales, through such
(43:46):
highlight towns as Huskersen,Jarvis Bay, gorgeous, gorgeous,
and Mallacoota in the farnorthern Victoria.
So it's just absolutelybreathtaking.
There is no point in rushingthis trip.
It is one that you really needto build a couple of days into
and just stopping on the way,especially if like now it's in
Wales flooding season.
(44:06):
And of course, you know, theHume Highway, much faster,
unless you're pulling off theroad to discover those villages
in the high country, it isdefinitely simply a means to an
end.
SPEAKER_03 (44:15):
And how many hours does it take to do that trip?
SPEAKER_02 (44:17):
So if you are doing the scenic road from Sydney to
Melbourne, they say about 10 to12 hours, but really it should
be done over two days becausethat's a lot of driving.
And why would you want to missall of those gorgeous little
places to pull in for a cuppa,for fish and chips and stuff
like that?
That's what makes it, I think,that's what makes it a great
road trip.
It's not the, you know, ifyou're doing speed, you're doing
(44:39):
the hue.
But yeah, so 12 hours, but yeah.
Really, a couple of days, threedays at best, I
SPEAKER_03 (44:47):
reckon.
I agree.
The best road trips I've everhad have been when you pull in
and find these amazing littleplaces to stay and incredible
little cafes and general stores,which Australia does so well.
And not surprisingly, WesternAustralia's Gibb River Road was
fifth, and this is a660-kilometre four-wheel drive
(45:07):
track, which is really renownedby off-grid RVers.
So if you've got a good off-gridcamper or motorhome.
And it starts in Derby, but itwas originally constructed, this
is really interesting, in the60s to transport cattle from
outlying stations.
And you go through Winjana GorgeNational Park and into Western
Australia's oldest cave system,Tunnel Creek, and Drysdale River
(45:27):
Station, and you end atKununurra.
And we will put a link to all ofAustralia's most loved road
trips in the show notes.
If you'd like to help supportour production costs, you can
buy us a coffee at coffee.comslash the world awaits.
That's ko-fi.com slash the worldawaits.
So we can continue to bring youinspirational travel interviews
(45:50):
with the world's best.
SPEAKER_02 (45:52):
Next week, we are going into our winter series and
we're bringing you some of thehighest rated episodes over the
last six months.
So we are taking you back to theAmalfi Coast and the south of
Rome for the Italian episode.
We are going to travel by trainand hop a few islands in Greece.
We're also following in thefootsteps of two of our favorite
(46:12):
women explorers and we head tosome of the country's best
beaches and island escapes,including the Cocoskeeling
Islands where Kirstie was a fewmonths ago.
Don't forget to enter ourcompetition with Avani Hotels
and Resorts, where you can winfour nights for two people in a
deluxe room at the Avani PlusKhao Lak on the Andaman Sea.
And the prize includes daily bedand breakfast and dinner,
(46:34):
airport transfers, and even aMuay Thai boxing class.
Just listen back to last week'sepisode to find out how you can
enter.
SPEAKER_03 (46:42):
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us a
rating and review on ApplePodcasts.
Click on our profile, scrolldown to the bottom to ratings
and reviews.
And if you're on Spotify, go toour main page and click the
three dots underneath our photoor simply drop us a line at
hello at theworldawaits.au.
We love nothing more thanhearing from our listeners.
SPEAKER_01 (47:01):
That's a wrap for The World Awaits this week.
Click to subscribe anywhere youlisten to your favourite pods.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
Welcome to The World Awakes.
Travel tales to inspire yourwanderlust.
Welcome back to The WorldAwakes.
We hope you enjoyed our specialcelebration episode last week.
Yay! We were celebratingturning, or having, our 100th
episode, which is prettyexciting.
Jointly, we're 100.
(00:20):
No,
SPEAKER_02 (00:21):
let's not say that.
Celebrating our 100th episode,yeah.
Waiters 100, we are not.
SPEAKER_03 (00:27):
We're experienced.
We're experienced.
That's all that says.
And if you didn't listen to it,then please head on back and
take a listen because we have atropical holiday to give away to
Avani plus Kau Lak, thanks toAvani Hotels and Resorts.
And we also chatted in thatepisode about some of our
favorite episodes, which you cango back and listen to.
And we asked each other, wealways thought we should do this
(00:49):
at some stage, and so we askedeach other the question we ask
all our interviewees, which iswhat's the most bizarre travel
experience you've ever had?
SPEAKER_02 (00:57):
Oh, they were so good.
We had animal fluids.
We had flying pigs and we hadguns.
It was all there.
We tell the stories thatinspired you to Apple, right?
SPEAKER_03 (01:07):
Love
SPEAKER_02 (01:09):
it.
And look, if that prize Kirstymentioned sounds like your cup
of tea, that is a trip toThailand's Phang Nha Province,
which leading away, just jump onour Instagram page, the World
Awaits podcast, or scroll backto the last episode.
And the prize is, it's fabulous.
It's four nights for two peoplein a deluxe room at the Avani
Plus Khao Lak, which is on theAndaman Sea beachfront resort in
(01:32):
Southern Thailand.
And the prize includes daily bedand breakfast and dinner as well
as round-trip airport transfersand even a Muay Thai boxing
class if you want to let all ofthat stress go with a few
well-placed kicks at thetrainer, not at the person that
you're taking with you.
Hey, listen, Kirsty, speaking ofgiveaways, we also have five
(01:55):
lucky winners of our bookgiveaways back from episode 97.
That was an interview withauthor Tony Park about going on
safari in Southern Africa.
I loved it so much.
I love Tony's advice.
And I've actually read quite afew of his books.
His upcoming book is called ToDie by the Sword.
And publisher Pan Macmillan isgiving away five copies to these
(02:18):
Lucky listeners who entered thecompetition on our Instagram and
Facebook pages.
And the winners are...
They are...
So, you will all get a copy hotoff the press when the book is
(02:39):
released in Australia on the...
29th of July and I'll becontacting you as well to get
your postal addresses.
So if you are listening to thison Playbat, jump back and take a
listen to Tony's tips becausehe's got some awesome
suggestions about how to go onsafari without busting the
budget.
And also, can I just say, keepan eye on our Instagram page
(03:01):
because there will be othergiveaways and our Facebook page
too.
Look, giveaways.
We're giving away a tropicalholiday at the moment, right
people?
So...
following tag and superexciting.
So let's jump into our weeksthis week.
What has your week been besidescelebrating and looking
glamorous as buggery with yournew profile pic, Kirsty?
SPEAKER_03 (03:26):
Yes, we do have a gorgeous new little tile for our
podcast.
And as Val mentioned, make sureif you're listening to this on
playback, just remember that,yeah, we will have other
giveaways too.
So even if you're listening onplayback and you've missed out,
On this one, we will have otherones.
And yeah, gosh, this is the kingof all giveaways, right?
I was lucky this week to be oneof the first to stay at the very
(03:50):
first Australian One Hotel.
So that's their first brand inAustralia, which is in
Melbourne.
And it's Riverside and theDocklands area that makes it a
little bit quieter than ifyou're staying in a hotel in the
city.
I love that.
When I was taking note of that,because I do find city hotels
are very light sleeper and Ireally struggle with too much
noise.
So it was nice being Riversidebecause you definitely didn't
(04:12):
hear any traffic noise.
But the key to this place is...
It's all about, the hotels areall about sustainability and
everyone's talking aboutsustainability, right?
And the travel industry is, andthere's a lot of greenwashing
going on.
But these guys do it really welland they actually are renowned
for it in their properties allover the world.
And so they've done the samehere in Melbourne.
(04:33):
So they even went so far as to areally key part of the design
feature of when they, beforethey even started the hotel was,
was to restore this 1941 MalcolmMoore crane, which is right
outside the hotel, and theymoved it so that they could keep
it there and have it as a keydesign feature.
And when you walk into thelobby, you can see it through
(04:55):
the windows and the main bar isnamed crane bar after that
particular crane.
And there are also 7,000, canyou believe that?
That's remarkable, isn't it?
7,000 plants inside the hotel.
and 4,500 square metres ofreclaimed timber.
So when you first walk into thereception, there's the actual
(05:16):
desk, the actual reception deskthat you check into, was made
with repurposed elm trees fromMelbourne's Metro Tunnel Works.
I love that so much.
And an artwork above it wasactually created from 60
kilograms of textiles that wereotherwise going to go to
landfill, and they made thisincredible piece.
artwork, which is so beautifulwhen you walk in this kind of
(05:38):
very nature vibe.
In the lounge, they've useddecommissioned railway bridges
for the staircase.
And even the floor is off cutsof timber that have been hand
cut into tiny little tiles.
So they just look like littlefloor tiles, but they're
actually hand cut timber.
And the vibe's all calmingbecause of all those plants.
Like when you walk in and youwalk down into the bar across
(06:00):
the floor to ceiling windows arejust all these beautiful plants.
And it's all like neutral tonesin the wood.
And it also, the plan is forthem is to make it a bit of a
local community hangout.
So they don't just want the barand the restaurant and the
spaces to be for guests.
They want it to be a place wherelocals can come and have dinner
(06:21):
or have a meeting, have somelunch.
There's a great little, in themain lobby, When you walk in
where that Crane Bar is, there'sthis great little cafe called
Neighbours Cafe.
And it looks like a littleminiature general store.
It's so cute.
And they sell goods there andyou can get coffee and grab some
food.
And then above that is aspeakeasy style cocktail bar.
(06:43):
And then there's also thesignature restaurant, which is
downstairs next to NeighboursCafe.
It's called From Here by Mike.
And they're really focusingthere on dishes using coffee.
really hyper-local produce.
So things like Port ArlingtonMussels and Port Phillip Bay
Calamari, and 40% of the wineson the list are local.
So that's pretty impressive.
And the cocktails are actuallyalso all crafted with repurposed
(07:07):
ingredients.
So they're making sure thatthey're using wastes, things
that would otherwise go to foodwaste.
I personally think it's probablybest suited to couples who are
looking for a little kind ofeco-romantic getaway.
And there's lots to do if you'recouples there without even
leaving this property becausethere is an amazing spa.
And the gym is you can work outwhile you overlook the river.
(07:32):
And there's like a living wall,a green wall where you can work
out to as well.
And the pool area is on.
So when you got to level three,there's one door that leads to
the pool area, one door to thegym and then the spa.
And the pool is indoor.
And there's a little plunge pooland beautiful windows
overlooking the river as well.
So yeah, definitely one to puton your radar if you're next
visiting Melbourne.
(07:53):
And the room rates range from$450 to$6,000 if you're going to
splash out and stay in thepenthouse.
And you can read my full reviewon Carry On, which is
k-a-r-r-y-on.com.au.
And now you had an amazing staytoo, Val.
We were both super lucky to havesome local getaways.
SPEAKER_02 (08:14):
Yeah, absolutely.
Very different vibe to yours.
I was quite interested thatyours had a bar called
Neighbours Cafe.
I wonder if it's like ArleneMinogue or Alf is going to serve
you a drink in the bar.
SPEAKER_03 (08:27):
Ah, it's not.
Neighbours Cafe is not a bar.
That's the general store.
SPEAKER_02 (08:32):
Oh, that even sounds more Neighbours-y.
But yeah, that sounds absolutelyfantastic.
It's a part of Melbourne.
That part of Docklands isreally...
just been neglected.
It's really nice to see itfinally activated there.
So mine, my getaway, totallydifferent in a lot of ways, but
also quite similar.
So I was down on the MorningtonPeninsula, back down in my old
(08:54):
stomping ground at Alba ThermalSprings, which if you, if Alba
Thermal Springs are opposite thehot springs, the peninsula hot
springs, which they both tapinto the same aquifer of water.
And the vibe here is that thesprings have been there some
time, but what's new is theaccommodation.
And I was one of the firstpeople to stay in the
accommodation, which just openedthe night before.
(09:17):
So there are seven rooms andvillas, five villas, which are
built on the hillside.
So they're overhanging thebushland.
And I was in villa number five.
They call them sanctuaries.
So I was in sanctuary numberfive.
Take a note of that one becauseeverybody said to me, this is
the one with the best views.
And And characteristically forme, Kirsty, I got up early on
(09:38):
the morning of my stay.
I got up before sunrise, beforefirst light even, to watch the
dawn as it was coming up overAfton's Seat.
So I was actually looking backup the peninsula.
I was looking north and the suncame up and it just broke over
Afton's Seat and it flushed allof this bushland that I was
looking at, all of theKazirines, the Sheoaks and or
(10:00):
the natural Australian bush justflooded with this incredible
golden light.
Great for photos, but also greatfor putting your swimmers on and
going down and having an earlymorning jump into the thermal
pools because this is the wholepoint of it.
Even if you're staying for justone night, but I would advise to
stay two, you come in theafternoon, you have access to
(10:20):
the day that you check in andthe day you check out.
You have access to all of thethermal pools.
So which if you are staying onthe weekends can get quite busy.
So what this gives you is thatreally quiet early morning dip
where you soak in theseincredibly mineral rich houseful
hot waters and have all of thosebathing experiences in a really
(10:41):
beautifully designed space.
The architecture in thisproperty is phenomenal.
So the package for these villasincludes things like two days of
thermal bathing, And you alsoget breakfast in time
restaurant, but I wouldn't haveit in the restaurant.
I would order it and take it upinto the villa because that
gives you that sense ofattachment from everybody,
(11:01):
especially if you're floatingabove the bushlands.
And there's yoga and meditation.
There's yoga mats and guidedmeditation soundtracks in the
villa.
So you can sit there and justhave that time away from
everybody because, of course,you're wrapped in a frittata
robe.
If you know your Italian linens,this is the robe.
to bolt down onto your body forthe entire time that you're
(11:23):
staying there because it's sogorgeous.
And in keeping with Albert, ithas made itself a very
Mornington Peninsula experience.
The mini bar, which is allincluded, except for a couple of
cocktails.
The wines are from 10 Minutes byTractor, which is a local, one
of the local producers downhere, and fantastic.
I've got to say, you know, bangon, my friends.
(11:46):
But then also all of the coffeeis from Little Rebel, which is a
local roaster based in Drumana.
All the breads, the nuts, thepeanut brittle, all that stuff
that I just lay around and stuffmy face with for the entire time
I was in the minibars is allsourced locally as well.
So it really does keep thatsense of a very peninsular
experience, which is reallyphenomenal.
(12:06):
So...
Five villas, two rooms.
The rooms are priced from$900 anight and the villas are from
$1,400 a night.
So this is not a, hey, let'sjust go and have a little quick
getaway.
They are two things.
They are going to book upincredibly quickly.
They were fully booked from themoment that they even opened
bookings on those villas in apre-release.
(12:28):
And I think they're going tocontinue to be heavily booked as
well.
And so the price point is prettymuch a kind of a, it's a special
getaway.
It's an occasional.
I get away, but when you add inall of the other extras, it does
build itself into being a reallyspecial experience.
It does give you access to oneof the three private bathing
experiences that Alba has there.
(12:50):
So we did a float tank, which isbasically like going to the Dead
Sea, but without going to theDead Sea.
So you go into a float pool, ahighly salted float pool, and I
put these weighted iron mastson, and then you've got weighted
floatable pillows as well.
And so you bob for about 40minutes in the salt.
And your body actually crusts upwith salt.
But it's very good for you.
(13:10):
And then you scour yourself downlater on.
So really fabulous bathingexperiences.
We also put dinner in TimeRestaurant for the night before.
And the food is phenomenal as adining experience on the
Mornington Peninsula.
Because you can just go in thereand have dinner as well.
Friday night was completelypacked.
Cassie, I'm saying even at 8.30,quarter to nine, there were
(13:31):
groups of bathers coming inbecause the the spring stay up
until 10 p.m.
So people are coming in andnobody wears their regular
clothes.
They just come from the pool,throw their robes over their
swimmers and schlepping to thisfabulous restaurant for dinner,
a glass of sparkling, some localwine.
It's super, super local.
Like it's hard pressed to findthings that are off the
(13:53):
peninsula.
Yeah, like nobody is here notwearing clothes.
We actually did change out ofour swimmers because I was
thinking I can't sit and dinefor two hours in my wake.
People wear one piece, but yeah,really beautiful experience.
That is at Alber ThermalSprings, which is
alberthermalsprings.com.au.
I was driving that for ExploreTravel, which you can find.
The review will come out in theCanberra Times, Border Mail, and
(14:15):
all of those kinds of things.
So there you go.
That's my experience.
Yeah, two great experiences inVictoria.
SPEAKER_03 (14:24):
And Australia is definitely having a bit of a
moment at the moment becausethere's some other really cool
properties that opened this yeartoo.
Journey Beyond opened MonatoSafari Resort, which is in South
Australia's Murraylands.
I love this property.
God, it looks amazing.
It's actually a luxury lodgethat's set within what is the
largest open air safariexperience that you can have
(14:45):
outside of Africa.
How cool is that?
And there are 500 animals in thepark.
SPEAKER_02 (14:51):
And another exciting opening this year is the EVE
Hotel in Sydney, which was thetransformation of a derelict
shopping centre in Redfern.
I've got to say, it was shabby.
And it's been turned into thisfive-star hotel and dining
precinct called Wonder Lunch.
main precinct.
It's at the bottom of CrownStreet in Sydney.
And I have to say, it's allabout biophilic design.
(15:12):
So bringing nature into thearchitecture.
And I ate at its Greekrestaurant Olympus last time I
was in Sydney.
And the best tables are the openair ones.
So if you are making areservation, which I highly
recommend you do, And in
SPEAKER_03 (15:25):
Queensland, the Mondrian Hotel opened on Burley
Heads.
This is definitely one of themost luxury properties in the
Gold Coast.
And it is beachside and therestaurant is oceanfront and the
pool overlooks the water.
It looks absolutely spectacular.
There's no mistaking when youare when you stay here because
obviously it all just opens outto that beautiful ocean.
(15:46):
And as you would expect for thisbrand of hotel, it's also uber
stylish.
And we will put a link to all ofthose points in the description.
properties in the show notes.
Welcome to the show, Andrew.
SPEAKER_00 (16:30):
Thanks Kirsty, thank you for having me.
Always a pleasure.
SPEAKER_03 (16:33):
So nice to have you back on The World Awaits and
let's start by tell us a littlebit about your background and
how you came to work in thetravel industry.
SPEAKER_00 (16:42):
Oh goodness, I don't want to give away any trade
secrets here but I've been ajournalist since I was 19.
I can't quite believe it.
That's almost 45 years ago.
First as a news reporter andthen a feature writer, but I'd
always had a real passion fortravel and I'd traveled fairly
extensively as a younger man.
And then about 30 years ago, oneof my editors at what was then
(17:06):
Fairfax newspapers asked me if Iwould take on the role of travel
editor.
And I'm like, wait a minute, youwant to pay me to travel the
world?
And he said, well, have a thinkabout it.
And I said, no, I've thoughtabout it.
It's good.
I'll do it.
And suddenly I was the traveleditor of the Sun Herald and
then the Sydney Morning Herald.
(17:28):
And then I was founding editorof Luxury Travel Magazine.
And now I'm the editor-at-largeof Signature Luxury Travel and
Style magazine, which is basedin Sydney, one of the really
lovely travel and lifestylemagazines.
And I've had a wonderful lifeand career running around the
world like a kid in a candystore.
So very lucky, very blessed.
SPEAKER_03 (17:50):
Yes, you are.
And Signature Media do havebeautiful publications.
And I was also assistant editorof Essential Asian Travel and
Style.
So that is how we know eachother.
And Andrew, you are anabsolutely beautiful writer for
anyone who's ever read yourwork.
What about for that?
And what an incrediblebackground you've had in the
industry.
So let's jump straight intoIndia because this is a specific
(18:12):
trip that I'm so excited to hearabout.
Now, this is your fourth time.
So tell us a bit about what madeyou decide to do this one a bit
differently to the other tripsand how you did it differently.
SPEAKER_00 (18:23):
I've always loved India.
People say you either love Indiaor you hate India.
There's no halfway house withIndia.
And I'm one of those people thatlove it.
And I went for the first time 40years ago.
But I've always been hosted inIndia as a travel writer, and
hotels or airlines or resortshave kindly invited me in the
(18:48):
past.
But I'm getting to the age nowwhere I want to see things with
a different eye.
I'm looking for more authentic,perhaps unfiltered travel
experiences, seeing it throughmy own eyes and at my own pace.
So My husband and I, Greg, itwas his first time to India on
this trip, and we decided thatwe would do a fully self-funded
(19:13):
trip for a month in northernIndia.
No hostings, no freebies, noupgrades, no special treatment,
and it certainly wasn't a cheapholiday.
We opted for higher-grade hotelsalong the way, but I can't tell
you how refreshing it was, howliberating, and just to be
(19:34):
traveling as any other normalperson and paying for it.
And it really makes adifference.
So we decided to do this trip innorthern India, essentially
retracing a trip I'd done almostexactly 40 years before.
And I'd always traveled by trainbefore in India.
And India has an extensive andpretty reliable train network.
(19:56):
And this time we decided we'dchange it up.
We're in our mid-60s now.
We just...
couldn't wrap our heads aroundsort of the hassles of stations,
train stations and rigidtimetables.
And to be honest with you, we'rejust too old to be getting down
and dirty.
I'm not saying that 65 is old.
(20:16):
I'm just saying we're gettingolder.
65 is the new 40.
It's just, we're just a bitbeyond the backpacking and
getting down and dirty.
So We'd heard about the networkin India of cars and drivers.
We absolutely didn't want todrive in India.
It's absolute madness for anyoneto do that.
(20:39):
It's so chaotic.
But there are cars and drivers,and we were recommended someone
based in Delhi via friends inSydney, and he turned out to be
an absolute gem of a travelcompanion.
He, having the car, it was aToyota vehicle with room for
(21:00):
five.
There were only two of us in thecar with the driver.
And it just took all the hassle,the day-to-day, minute-by-minute
sort of hassles of traveling inIndia, from the minute he met us
at the international airport inNew Delhi.
And he was, I can't tell it,Obviously, it's a more expensive
(21:22):
option than doing it by trainbecause you're paying him a
daily rate.
We still thought it was veryreasonable in Australian
dollars, but he was absolutelyworth his weight in gold.
No question about the best moneywe spent in India, bar none.
SPEAKER_03 (21:37):
And did he stay with you, that one driver, the whole
way?
And tell us a bit about where hetook you and where you went.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
He did.
So we booked him for the month.
Obviously, he needed time offand he got time off as we went
around.
Generally, he would pick us upfrom the hotel if we were
leaving the hotel to go to thenext destination in the morning.
His car was pristine.
He was in a uniform.
He was always perfectly washedand clean in the car and
everything.
It was basically like having atraveling hotel room.
(22:07):
If we hadn't quite packedproperly or we were in a bit of
a rush, he was there to justsmooth things over for and we
spent most of our days with him.
And then a few meals, we wouldinvite him for dinner.
But car drivers in India,there's a network of roadhouses
and they take off in the eveningand they go to these roadhouses
(22:27):
where they meet up with theirother driver mates and they do
their own thing.
They have their own meals andeverything.
But we did dine with him fromtime to time, maybe four or five
times through the month.
And that just added to, we gotto know him very well and super,
super guy.
So our itinerary, we started inNew Delhi.
which is the pretty obviousgateway for northern India.
Agra, of course, for the TajMahal.
(22:50):
Ranthambore, which is a littlesouth, but on the road to
Jaipur.
Ranthambore is a tiger reserve,and we'll talk about that a
little bit later.
Jaipur, the pink city of Jaipur,obviously.
A little place calledChhatrasagar, which we'll talk
about later, which was anabsolute revelation.
And then back to the big citiesof Jodhpur.
(23:12):
Udaipur, Jaisalmer, really thebest of Rajasthan.
It's like the Golden Triangle,but we went further west as far
as we could go towards thePakistan border, really, in
Rajasthan.
SPEAKER_03 (23:24):
Amazing.
So what actually made it such agreat way to travel?
Obviously, like you said, youhave someone with you all of the
time and he can just pickeverything up at the last
minute.
But obviously also you, soyou're paying him a certain day
rate and he's just got the cartopped up and ready for you
whenever you need be.
And is it because you canobviously also get into places
(23:46):
that maybe were a littlechallenging without the car?
Was that something you found?
SPEAKER_00 (23:51):
Well, places that we wouldn't have seen by train.
Again, the train network isgreat.
You're going to see lots ofcountryside by train.
But as you're traveling by roadand you start to move further
west out of the bigger citiesinto the desert country of
Rajasthan, the only route forhim is to travel through very
(24:12):
remote, little-known andotherworldly villages and small
towns and villages It justopened our eyes to parts of
India and Indian people who justwelcomed us with open arms
wherever we drove into, that wejust couldn't have dreamed of
(24:33):
seeing in India.
But beyond that, the joy of itwas in the car itself, because
his name's Manoj Kumar, and he'sNew Delhi-based, but he lives
outside of Delhi.
He's married with children,young children.
He's a fully licensed driver.
He's been driving for 20 years.
He's worked with productioncompanies on some major films
(24:57):
like The Best Exotic MarigoldHotel and He Pray Love and
Victoria and Abdul and SlumdogMillionaire.
So he's got this reallyinteresting sort of history to
him.
He's been doing it for 20 years.
But Part from the driving, andI've mentioned the driving, is
beyond chaotic in India.
It's organized chaos, but it ischaos.
And you really have to closeyour eyes because there is all
(25:20):
manner of human, animal, andvehicular life on those roads
going in all sorts of differentdirections all at the same time.
But He became, he's not a guide,a licensed guide, but he became
a very insightful guide.
He was incredibly helpful as atranslator in the areas where
(25:45):
there was no English beingspoken.
He was like our personalshopping assistant.
He took us to the best stores.
He took us to the mostinteresting restaurants.
He did our laundry, for goodnesssake.
We would be going four or fivedays, and then he'd look at us
and say, I think you need towash your clothes.
(26:05):
And he took our clothes and justwashed them overnight, brought
them back.
He was a funny man.
He was full of stories aboutIndian culture and life and
religion.
He talked about his family.
He...
It was such an insight intoIndia.
That was one of the greatsurprises.
(26:26):
We never...
ever thought that would happen.
And we still talked to him onthe trip six months ago.
And he called us the other nightto see how we were going.
And we called him and we got toknow his family a little bit.
And it's more expensive.
I'm not going to lie about that.
But for the cost effectivenessof what he offered across the
(26:48):
board and the way it opened upIndia was a no-brainer.
Absolute no-brainer for us.
SPEAKER_03 (26:54):
Yes, and I can imagine after working on all of
those film sets and what witheveryone so keen to do jet
setting these days and setjetting, I should say, and
follow in the footsteps of andsee some of these places where
these films were shot, I canimagine that he must be finding
that quite busy.
So what were some of the placesthat you particularly went to
that were most surprising orthat, because you've obviously
(27:18):
been before, so what was it orwhat were some of the places and
things that you did this timethat really inspired were really
special or took you by surprise?
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
Well, I kept the itinerary to the major icons
because it was Greg's firsttime.
So I wanted him to get the realoverview of India.
So of course we did the icons.
We did Agra for the Taj Mahal.
We did the pink city of Jaipurand Fatehpur Sikri in between,
an absolute must visit.
We did the blue city of Jodhpur,the lake city of Udaipur and out
(27:49):
into the desert in Jaisalmer.
But there were two places thatabsolutely blew us away and much
lesser known.
One was Ranthambore NationalPark, which is not directly
between Agra and Jaipur.
So you have to head south andthen back up again to Jaipur.
It's a national park.
(28:09):
It's been going for decades.
It's the home of the Bengaltiger.
And I went there 40 years ago,backpacking.
There were no hotels there.
I stayed in a very primitivesort of house really with no
electricity in the middle of thepark and there was a jeep and he
took us around we never saw atiger 40 years ago we saw
(28:32):
footprints we saw spore but wenever saw a tiger because a lot
of them had been wiped out overthe years 40 years later they've
had a regeneration program therei cannot tell you the place was
crawling with bengal tigers ofall ages and We took a couple of
(28:52):
jeep safaris there.
And to be within feet, within acouple of meters of these
majestic animals with that Andthen a very small place,
Chatsrasagar, which is betweenJaipur and Jodhpur.
And this was part of a hotelgroup that we picked three
(29:13):
hotels that were sister hotels.
One in Jaipur is part of the RASgroup, R-A-A-S, small boutique
hotels, heritage largely.
And one of their hotels is in abird sanctuary called
Chatsrasagar.
And it's a tented camp.
like an African safari type ofthing, but an Indian safari set
(29:37):
up.
The tents are set up on a dam,an old dam that was built to dam
the lake.
and to bring water to the area.
And as that lake has filled,it's brought with it an
extraordinary, I'm not a birdperson, but an extraordinary
collection of, I think, 250species of birds.
(29:58):
And you get up in the morningand you go on boat safaris on
this lake setting with petrifiedtrees in the middle of it.
exquisite bird life and it'sbeyond idyllic so chatrasaga if
you can put it on a an itineraryvery much very much worth
looking at and the tents werehand embroidered with indian
(30:24):
thread And on the inside, so youlooked up from your bed into the
sort of the ceiling of the tent,and they were hand-embroidered
with birds, withsilk-embroidered birds flying
across the roofline of the tent.
Again, not cheap.
We're talking high-end luxurykind of safari camp, but worth
(30:46):
every penny that we saved up forto go there.
So those would be two absolutestandouts for me.
SPEAKER_03 (30:53):
Amazing.
And what about for Greg?
What did he say about what weresome of the highlights for him?
I
SPEAKER_00 (30:58):
think he was surprised.
I think he felt that he wasgoing to be really challenged
with India.
And India is challenging.
There's no question.
And I feel like India almostneeds demystifying.
It has this thing, oh, is itsafe?
Am I going to get sick?
What about the water, poverty,the pollution?
(31:22):
It's a country of 1.4 billionpeople.
And it has challenges.
Any country would have that sizeand volume of people.
But he took to India like a duckin water.
And I was so intrigued to watchhim settle into India after the
(31:43):
craziness of Delhi, because thefirst five days were full on.
But he settled into the rhythmof India and he got to
understand sort of the pace ofit and even better than I did 40
years later or for the fourth orfifth time for me.
So first time visitors, I'dencourage you not to be put off
by a lot of the sort of negativepress or the negative stories
(32:06):
about India because it reallyis.
Have you been
SPEAKER_03 (32:09):
to India?
I haven't.
SPEAKER_00 (32:12):
Put it on your radar screen because I think you would
love it.
I think you would love it.
The history, the culture, thefood.
I thought, you think I'm goingto get sick, so deli belly and
I'll lose a few kilos, whatever.
No, no, I put five to ten kiloson the food.
(32:35):
It was so good.
And who knew that India madewine?
good wine.
We were thinking we're going todrink beer and maybe go
vegetarian.
And what?
No.
In Delhi, we found that Indiamakes wine and we drank really
good quality wine as we went.
Made outside of Mumbai inMaharashtra state on the eastern
(33:01):
side of the country.
Just huge surprises.
But Manoj, our driver, simplyopened our eyes and our hearts
to India.
He was the catalyst.
He was the conduit and the carby association to show us India
(33:22):
in a way that I had neverexperienced before in four or
five visits before this trip.
SPEAKER_03 (33:28):
Amazing.
And you're so right.
It's such a good point to make,isn't it, about the perceptions
we can have of a place and yetthe Sometimes, whether it's time
or just looking at things in adifferent way or where you
particularly travel within thatcountry can give you such a
vastly different experience.
So what would your sort of toptips be for those who are
(33:49):
planning to travel who havemaybe never been to India
before?
SPEAKER_00 (33:55):
I would encourage to up the budget.
Look, if you're younger or ahardy person, older soul and an
experienced traveler, by allmeans, plan your itinerary, do
it by train or bus even, and gofor your life if that's how you
want to do it.
(34:15):
And it can be done veryeconomically.
I say save up the pennies likewe did and go for a higher
quality hotel.
The car and the driver was ano-brainer for us.
And Then trust your guide.
Trust your guide wherever youare.
You're going to pick up guideswith or without a driver.
(34:36):
Our driver was not our guide.
Everywhere we went, he arrangedguides for us in the major
cities and destinations.
Trust your driver.
Trust your guides because theywill show you things that you
wouldn't ordinarily seeotherwise.
And invest in better qualityhotels.
The driver will take you to thebest restaurants, the best
(34:58):
shopping.
Well, throw in a tip here.
India is about shopping, notshipping.
Okay.
We made a bad mistake.
We've just, we built a new housein Australia on the New South
Wales coast.
We're trying to fill it withfurniture.
We thought we'll shop in Indiaand ship at home.
And we bought quite a few largerpieces and the shipping home
(35:21):
issue was awful.
It, uh, Hours and hours ofpaperwork, a lot of extra money
to get it through customs inAustralia, a lot of hassle.
So I would advise, if you'regoing shopping, just buy what
you can carry home with you andwatch the excess baggage amounts
and all that sort of stuff.
But India's, the only exceptionI would say to that is carpets.
(35:43):
They're very, India's very adeptat sending carpets and rugs home
very quickly.
And there's no sort of customsside of things with rugs.
So that's an easy thing to buy.
And then will ship it for you.
India's about clothes andfabrics and artwork and things
that generally can fit in asuitcase you can bring home with
(36:05):
you.
Poverty, pollution.
begging, you can't escape it.
I'm sorry, there's nosugarcoating it.
It's there.
It's right in front of you.
And you have to turn a blind eyeto it.
I know it sounds awful, but it'sso everywhere and so prevalent.
But giving money away is not thesolution to it.
(36:28):
Talking about giving money away,India relies heavily on tips.
So we found that we were tippinga lot of people everywhere.
We were a very small amount likeminuscule amounts of money, but
it would be good to take someIndian rupees with you in small
denominations because a lot ofpeople survive on small tips
(36:50):
that get handed out.
Food and water we found fine.
The water is not an issue inIndia now.
Obviously, you're not going tobe drinking it out of a tap in a
roadside village or whatever.
In the major cities, bigger, thefiner hotels, not even the finer
hotels, most hotels, all thewater is sanitized now and
you're unlikely to get sick, butobviously you should take all
precautions before you go toIndia.
(37:11):
It can get very hot, very dry,very dusty, so just drink lots
of bottled water.
And finally, the volume ofpeople, 1.4 billion people.
I think we met 1.3 billion ofthem.
I said to Greg, We will never bealone from the minute we wake up
in the morning to the minute wego to bed.
(37:32):
And he said that was very true.
There will always be someonestanding next to you or in your
field of vision, always.
But Indians are lovely.
We love Indians.
And there were a couple ofshout-outs, a couple of small
shout-outs.
If you want a soft landing intoDelhi...
The Imperial Hotel, an absolutegem of a luxury heritage hotel
(37:57):
built in the 1930s.
It's almost 100 years old, butit is maintained meticulously.
And the facilities, therestaurants, again, I paid for
it.
This is not a promotion.
There were no freebies, servicelevels, and they've just...
Levated the spa and beautifulgardens and swimming pool.
(38:19):
Absolutely highly recommended.
And in Udaipur, the lake city,the lake palace, I'm sure
everyone's seen pictures of thisgorgeous white palace hotel
sitting on a rock in the middleof Lake Pechala.
It looks like it's just floatingon the surface.
And...
You go out by boat.
It sits in the middle of thelake.
It's all white.
(38:40):
It looks like a big wedding cakeor a Christmas cake.
And at dawn, when the sun comesup, and at dusk, when the sun
goes down, it is one of the mostmagical places you could...
It's just dreamy.
Absolute dreamland of abeautiful space.
But again, you might have tomortgage the house.
(39:04):
These hotels...
Do not come cheap.
I am warning you now.
Unfortunately,
SPEAKER_03 (39:12):
we are running out of time.
So we're going to ask thequestion, the last question that
we ask all of our interviewees,which is what's the most bizarre
thing that's ever happened toyou on your travels?
And it can or cannot be inIndia.
SPEAKER_00 (39:25):
I'm going to go to the very south end of the
planet, down to Antarctica.
And I went on a almost amonth-long trip with Aurora
Expeditions.
So shout out, full discretion,it was hosted.
And we went down to the ArcticPeninsula and to South Georgia
and Falklands.
And I went polar snorkeling.
(39:46):
It is a real thing.
You snorkel everywhere.
around icebergs.
You snorkel in a dry suit infreezing cold waters.
You swim with penguins.
You splash around with baby furseals.
And I would have to say it wasthe most bizarre but most
incredible experience of mytravel life.
(40:08):
Polar snorkeling.
Who knew?
Unbelievable.
SPEAKER_03 (40:12):
Well, that's incredible.
Gosh, everyone will have to putthat on their bucket list as
well.
Look, it's been so wonderfulchatting with you today and
thank you so much for your time,Andrew.
SPEAKER_00 (40:21):
Thank you for the opportunity, Kirsten.
We'll see you soon.
SPEAKER_02 (40:26):
I loved Andrew's text about using a personal
driver and we will put a link tohow you can contact his driver
in the show notes.
UNKNOWN (40:40):
Music
SPEAKER_02 (40:44):
Our tip this week is for those who love a good road
trip.
And car insurance experts atRoland analysed 22 of
Australia's most iconic roadtrips and created index scores
and rankings to highlight thetop picks across the country.
So these are the road trips youdefinitely want to put on the
to-do list if you love nothingmore than a good scenic drive.
SPEAKER_03 (41:06):
But the data found that the most loved road trip in
Australia is...
drumroll please, Victoria'sGreat Ocean Road.
And so this trip is a 243kilometre roadie from Torquay to
Allensford, probably most famousfor the Twelve Apostles.
And this trip received 83,900monthly searches in Australia
(41:27):
and more than 33 million postson TikTok.
Jeez, I absolutely love thispart of the world.
I have driven it many times, butnot all of it.
And it was actually the firsttime I saw a koana in the wild
after living many years inAustralia.
We were driving along near Lawnand we pulled over because all
these other people had pulledover and there were a whole lot
(41:47):
of koalas up in the tree and itwas the first time I'd seen it.
So that was pretty exciting.
And that's what I think of everytime I think of the Great Ocean
Road.
SPEAKER_02 (41:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
And second on that list was, Imean, it's no surprise that the
Great Ocean Road is there.
Second on the list of mostpopular drives around Australia
was New South Wales GrandPacific Drive, which goes
through rainforest starting inthe Royal National Park over the
Seacliff Ridge, which isphenomenal.
I drove it late last year andgosh, I was in a Polestar, one
(42:17):
of those Swedish e-cars.
And so it was really quiet and Iwas just shushing along the sea
cliff bridge.
It is so incredibly photogenic.
If you have not done it, youreally have to do it.
This one had like, you know,bazillions as you expect on
social media, 24,000 monthlysearches for it and loads of
(42:39):
TikTok posts.
And this coastal route hasclick-hugging roads.
It's got plenty of Insta-worthystops.
And it winds from the NationalPark all the way down to
Shoalhaven.
And it's just spectacular.
I cannot write about it enough.
SPEAKER_03 (42:53):
Amazing.
Rounding out the top three isthe Great Beach Drive in
Queensland, which connectsSunshine Coast and Gary, which
is formerly known as FraserIsland.
And it's a 380 kilometre trip.
And while searches on that were,the research said that the
searches on that were quite abit lower than the other two, it
is really renowned, obviously,because it's a bit of an iconic
(43:15):
stretch and there's lots of sun.
and sand and, you know, just atypical sort of what you'd
expect on Australia roadie.
But it still had 622,000Instagram posts.
SPEAKER_02 (43:25):
And Sydney to Melbourne is the next, the road
trip.
Look, I have to say I've driventhis route countless times.
So the scenic route is, you cando it two ways.
One is it's fast and dirty,literally gunning it down the
Hume Highway.
And the other is the scenicroute, which is following the
coastline.
So down the south coast of NewSouth Wales, through such
(43:46):
highlight towns as Huskersen,Jarvis Bay, gorgeous, gorgeous,
and Mallacoota in the farnorthern Victoria.
So it's just absolutelybreathtaking.
There is no point in rushingthis trip.
It is one that you really needto build a couple of days into
and just stopping on the way,especially if like now it's in
Wales flooding season.
(44:06):
And of course, you know, theHume Highway, much faster,
unless you're pulling off theroad to discover those villages
in the high country, it isdefinitely simply a means to an
end.
SPEAKER_03 (44:15):
And how many hours does it take to do that trip?
SPEAKER_02 (44:17):
So if you are doing the scenic road from Sydney to
Melbourne, they say about 10 to12 hours, but really it should
be done over two days becausethat's a lot of driving.
And why would you want to missall of those gorgeous little
places to pull in for a cuppa,for fish and chips and stuff
like that?
That's what makes it, I think,that's what makes it a great
road trip.
It's not the, you know, ifyou're doing speed, you're doing
(44:39):
the hue.
But yeah, so 12 hours, but yeah.
Really, a couple of days, threedays at best, I
SPEAKER_03 (44:47):
reckon.
I agree.
The best road trips I've everhad have been when you pull in
and find these amazing littleplaces to stay and incredible
little cafes and general stores,which Australia does so well.
And not surprisingly, WesternAustralia's Gibb River Road was
fifth, and this is a660-kilometre four-wheel drive
(45:07):
track, which is really renownedby off-grid RVers.
So if you've got a good off-gridcamper or motorhome.
And it starts in Derby, but itwas originally constructed, this
is really interesting, in the60s to transport cattle from
outlying stations.
And you go through Winjana GorgeNational Park and into Western
Australia's oldest cave system,Tunnel Creek, and Drysdale River
(45:27):
Station, and you end atKununurra.
And we will put a link to all ofAustralia's most loved road
trips in the show notes.
If you'd like to help supportour production costs, you can
buy us a coffee at coffee.comslash the world awaits.
That's ko-fi.com slash the worldawaits.
So we can continue to bring youinspirational travel interviews
(45:50):
with the world's best.
SPEAKER_02 (45:52):
Next week, we are going into our winter series and
we're bringing you some of thehighest rated episodes over the
last six months.
So we are taking you back to theAmalfi Coast and the south of
Rome for the Italian episode.
We are going to travel by trainand hop a few islands in Greece.
We're also following in thefootsteps of two of our favorite
(46:12):
women explorers and we head tosome of the country's best
beaches and island escapes,including the Cocoskeeling
Islands where Kirstie was a fewmonths ago.
Don't forget to enter ourcompetition with Avani Hotels
and Resorts, where you can winfour nights for two people in a
deluxe room at the Avani PlusKhao Lak on the Andaman Sea.
And the prize includes daily bedand breakfast and dinner,
(46:34):
airport transfers, and even aMuay Thai boxing class.
Just listen back to last week'sepisode to find out how you can
enter.
SPEAKER_03 (46:42):
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us a
rating and review on ApplePodcasts.
Click on our profile, scrolldown to the bottom to ratings
and reviews.
And if you're on Spotify, go toour main page and click the
three dots underneath our photoor simply drop us a line at
hello at theworldawaits.au.
We love nothing more thanhearing from our listeners.
SPEAKER_01 (47:01):
That's a wrap for The World Awaits this week.
Click to subscribe anywhere youlisten to your favourite pods.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
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