The Travel Show: Live from Hawaii!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Aloha Melina Maii, Maui, Maui no ka Oi. Yes, the
Getaway Guru has just returned this week from Australia New Zealand.
But it finds me today here in Maui, and so
I greet you here in Maui. Of course the Getaway
Guru fluent in Hawaiian and all languages. What I said

(00:25):
is welcome to Maui. Maui is the best to the
miracle of technology, I can be anywhere in the world.
And my faithful friends, including the one and only John Potter,
who's back in studio doing what he does best. He
works so that I can travel. John, welcome to the

(00:45):
Travel Show.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Thank you. I wish I was with you.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Well, we wish you were here too, John. You're one
of the best, one of the best. Yeah, you know.
I just got back from the most incredible Australia and
New Zealand cruz and two. We went to Sydney, stayed
in a beautiful hotel right that perfectly located for three days,

(01:08):
saw everything down there, and then made our way to
the cruise ship down at Circular k and we cruised Australia,
New Zealand. We visited Sydney of course, and then Melbourne
properly pronounced Melbourne or Mebn, not Melbourne.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
I know when people say Melbourne, I just cram cringe.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
And then we cruised to Tasmania. The island of Tasmania
we did, actually did. It's a land animal and it's
you don't want to mess with it. It has big teeth.
And then across the Tasman Sea and we visited both
the North and South Islands of New Zealand, starting with

(01:56):
Milford Sound. And now we actually visited three fjords. This
is Fjordland, John, this is Lord of the Rings country.
Think of the geography, the topography that you saw in
those movies, that's exactly where we were. But it even
got better later on. So then we visited Dunedin, christ Church.

(02:17):
Christ Church, you think you're in England, Tudor, landscape, gardens,
everything about it. I think the highlight for me and
christ Church was the International Arctic Center where all the
Arctic's expeditions leave. And right across is the airport, and
in the airport is a US air base where the

(02:42):
planes going to the Antarctic depart from. Now here's a
bit of trivia that in the Antarctic, you have penguins,
but no polar bears in the Arctic or North Pole
you have polar bears but no penguins. We are a
kids and penguins and take them up to the North Pole.

(03:02):
Santa would like that. Oh yeah, anyway, you have all
of this introduction to Antarctic. And then there's a room.
You put on gear and they have simulated what it's
like to be in a storm in the Antarctic and
they have wind blow. It is bone chilling cold. They

(03:23):
only leave you in there for four hours. Yeah, okay, yeah,
and no you're in there for a bit, I don't know,
five minutes or something. You can leave any time you want.
But it was a great experience. They got penguins there.
Then from christ Church we went up to Taranga and

(03:44):
wrote to Rotaru is the epicenter of the Maudi people.
The Maoris are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The
original name they gave the Maoris gave to what we
call now New Zealand is alta Aroa, which translated, of

(04:05):
course the getaway Guru fluent in Maori and all languages.
Is landed along White Cloud. Yeah, and then up to
the Bay of Islands perhaps the most beautiful, well maybe
next to Milford Sound. The Bay of Islands is just spectacular.
And then down to Auckland. We spent a couple of
days in Auckland. One of the highlights is that we

(04:30):
took an excursion down to Hobbiton. Now this is the
setting where of the Hobbits that were in Lord of
the Rings, the village, the shire. Remember all those Hobbit
homes that are built right into the mountain with circular
doors and the Green Dragon Inn. Everything is still there. Wow,

(04:53):
and it is unbelievable to have that experience. You know,
you want to go back and see the movies.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
It was a.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Fun, fun experience. Now, Auta Roa was the original indigenous
name of New Zealand. It was Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer,
the first European. We can't say he discovered it because
people were already living there, but the first European to ever,
we'll call discover Alta a Roa, and he renamed it.

(05:26):
He was Dutch. And there's a province called Zealand. Oh
and just as in England, there's York and we have
New York. Right, there's Jersey like the Jersey Islands. In England,
we have New Jersey, so he named it New Zealand

(05:47):
after the Dutch province of Zealand. I did not know that.
Also they named the tasman See after Abel Tasman. He
was the first European to set foot on Tasmania, Tonga, Fiji.
He was a Pacific explorer long before Captain James Cook. Well,
it was an absolutely incredible, incredible experience. By the way,

(06:12):
I will be repeating this lightning strikes twice.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
Next year, twenty twenty six, I will be doing a
Sydney Auckland cruise tour and it cruised about two weeks. Yeah,
and we'll offer a pre cruise Sydney post cruise Auckland,
and I hope you'll join me. The dates of the
cruise February fifteen to March the first of twenty twenty six.

(06:38):
You can contact John or any of our Good Travel
Morris Columbus Travel advisors for that.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
And it is filling up. We're getting bookings left and right.
It's a real way. Or you might be disappointed.

Speaker 1 (06:51):
S's news and you lose. Now I've got two cruise
tips for you, okay that these are tried, true tested.
If you have fixed dining, I always like to dine
anytime I do too. But if you have fixed dining,
here's what you want to do. That means you have
the same waiter or server, the whole cruise.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
Table twelve every night at six.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
All there you go. They get to know you, what
you like to drink, what you like this on all
of that. But you know, most cruise lines have a
service gratuity automatically answered to or post it to your account,
and they have a calculation, a formula of who gets what,

(07:36):
and your room story gets a big chunk of it. Yes,
you know, but here's what you do. Oftentimes I like
to leave. If someone has given me great service, I'd
like to leave him a little something etched, and I
just give it to him personally. Tip your waiter the
first night, give him twenty bucks. Doesn't have to be

(07:58):
a hundred, give him twenty bucks. We're going to get
the tip at the end. They will fall over themselves.
I mentioned this to several people and one of our
you know, Lou and Sharon are two of our great
traveler Absolutely Lou took my advice on this, and he said,

(08:18):
Larry's the best advice you've ever given me. He tipped
the waiter the first time they were on this trip,
sitting to Auk, and he says, this guy was killing
himself with service, because if you want to say thank
you with a tip at the end of the cruise,
well that's nice, but there's no more service you'd give
it to him. Give it to him in the first

(08:38):
Here's the other one. Have you noticed on embarkation day,
you you finally get on the ship, it's impossible to
get an elevator up to your Yeah, Or on disembarkation
day you get it down and they're all full. Or
you come back from a short excursion and everybody's on

(09:00):
that entry floor and it's packed. Yes, So on embarkation day,
you're gonna be on one of the lower levels. You're
gonna go up to you know, whatever level you're on,
whatever floor, hit the down button, Oh, get on, go
down a floor to and then hit the up button
and you've got your place. And there's fifty people out

(09:22):
there waiting and get on. You'll recognize them and they'll
wonder how did he get on? Now on disembarkation they
do the same thing. Hit the up button and then
just go up a couple floors and go down the
same thing on tours.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah, where it'd be like John and just take the stairs.
I rarely use elevators on a cruise.

Speaker 1 (09:42):
Chathy always says, if you take the stairs, you can
have dessert. If you take the stairs, you have dessert. Okay, listen,
I want to talk to you about later on in
the show, reasons why cruise sh will deny you boarding

(10:04):
at the embarkation day. Okay, you think you have everything
set Now coming back from the break, we're going to
talk to Tim Taggart.

Speaker 2 (10:12):
He is a great tour he's a great guy.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yet well, he of course wants to follow in my
footsteps and he is taking a land tour to New
Zealand this year this October. Now, remember when it's wintertime here,
it is summertime down under. So October this year will

(10:36):
be springtime in New Zealand a lot more when we
come back. Welcome back to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks,
the Getaway Guru, joined today by Pluto himself, John Potter,

(11:00):
one of our fine Morris Columbus travel advisors. John is
in the Bountiful Office and John, if people want to
get a hold of you direct. It's eight oh one
four eight three fifty two, fourteen fifty two fourteen. Well,
I mentioned in the last segment that just this last

(11:21):
week on Sunday, as a matter of fact, March the second,
we returned with a wonderful group we visited Australia, New Zealand. Well,
not to be outdone, we want to welcome back to
the show our friend Tim Taggart, who is headed to
alta Aroa land of the Long White Cloud.

Speaker 3 (11:40):
Tim Kira Kiora, Hi, Larry, It's good to be with you.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
You've been to New Zealand before.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
I have. That's so beautiful.

Speaker 1 (11:51):
What is that going back? What is it that draws
you back to New Zealand?

Speaker 3 (11:56):
You know, it's it's one of the most beautiful places
on earth, with so much variety. The landscape is fantastic
and the people are wonderful. It's just a great place
to visit.

Speaker 1 (12:09):
Well, now you have a tour going. It's a land
tour October eighth to the twenty second of this year,
twenty twenty five. We'd mentioned that last segment as we're
starting to talk about your tour, Tim that the seasons
of course below south of the equator are reversed. So
this is springtime. The flowers are out, it's green. It's

(12:32):
as green as Ireland. Why don't you run us through
some of the highlights of your tour.

Speaker 3 (12:38):
This is the springtime in New Zealand. Is just fantastic.
We have an opportunity to visit both the North and
the South Island and get an opportunity to visit a
lot of the small colonial towns and some of the
most fantastic landscapes anywhere. We fly into Auckland, so we
have the beautiful city, the Bay and Aufekland and the

(13:02):
city experience, and then head down to Hamilton. Will be
able to stop by the Temple in Auckland as rolls
the Temple in Hamilton, and then have the opportunity of
going out to Hobiton the Middle Earth experience. I'm really
excited about that. That is fantass in New New Zealand. Yeah,
they didn't have that.

Speaker 1 (13:23):
Tim one week ago. Today I was at Hobiton. How cool.
And I have been there before. You know, it's Lord
of the Rings, the Hobbit movie. It's the Shire and
those those Hobbit homes and the Green Dragon Inn. They're

(13:43):
all there. Now. From Hamilton and Hobiton you head to
Road to U a kind of the epicenter of the
Maudi people.

Speaker 3 (13:52):
Yeah, and the geothermal activity which New Zealand is famous for.
It's it's like yellow Stone on steroids. As well as
all of the indigenous people. The Maori experience with music,
the food, all of those in Rotarua are just fantastic.
Talk about making a memory.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
Oh, it really is.

Speaker 3 (14:14):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
You'll be introduced to the Maori culture. And also the
White Tomo glowworm cave. Now that that John is so unique.
You on at Waitomo, you actually get in these small boats.
It's underground in caves and there's a water flowing through it.
But these worms glow and there's an illumination from the glowworms.

(14:40):
Now following the Whiteitomo you had, of course you said
to Rod to excuse me. Rote Tarua Watopu, the thermal
wonderland down there. And then from Road Tarua, you're going
to be flying to christ Church. Introduce us to christ Church.

Speaker 3 (15:02):
Christ Church again, what a beautiful setting right on the ocean,
so incredible. You have both the old and the new
parts of the city so beautiful, with the cathedral that's
been rebuilt. Just a marvelous experience. And then from christ
Church we have one of the great travel experiences of

(15:25):
a lifetime heading over to Graymouth from the Transalpine Railroad.
This train journey goes through some of the most fantastic landscapes.
The journey across it's like going through the Alps.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
It's just amazing, you know, Tim, I've been on that
train myself, the Trans Alpine Express, and it's about or
one hundred and forty and fifty miles. It takes about
four and a half hours. Sixteen tunnels, five viaducts, and
the southern Alps of New Zealand rival anything you will

(16:05):
see in Norway or Alaska.

Speaker 3 (16:08):
Absolutely and so easy to see with our experience, you know,
going across like that on the train, you're in comfort,
You've got food and drink and fantastic windows watching the
scenery go by while you're visiting with your friends. There's
just a marvelous experience. When you get over to the

(16:29):
other side over the gray Mouth. Then we get in
the bus and head south to the French Joseph area,
and the amazing experience with seeing the the ice and.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
The glaciers there and Tim, we have about a minute
and a half, so let's get down to Milford Sound
in Queenstown.

Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, so we had we head from there down to
Queenstown and then do a cruise out of Milford Sound,
which is so fantastic, secret the mountains coming right out
of the water. We're on a beautiful boats, so you
have so many different experiences there. We have the opportunity
in Queenstown. Then we go up to the lakes. We

(17:13):
have the opportunity of going out on the water on
Ticapo and we have this marvelous barbecue lunch and a
ranch out on the water. We're on actually on the
water several times as well as in the glaciers. We
come back to Lake Takuppo and then head up to

(17:36):
christ Church and fly home from there.

Speaker 1 (17:38):
All right, Tim, we've got about Tim, We got about
thirty seconds left. So the dates again are October the
eighth through the twenty second. This is the Enchanting New
Zealand Adventure. Tim Taggert will be your guide. I know
Tim and he is such a great guy. You can
get all the details and the brochure go to Morris

(18:00):
Columbus dot com. Morriscolumbus dot com. On the homepage, click
on Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours. That's the brand name. It's
like General Motors and Chevrolet, same company. That's our brand name,
and then click on South Pacific. Tim. Thank you for
joining us and we'll look forward to your New Zealand

(18:21):
tour when we come back. What are people calling John
and the other advisors about? Hello, haa and greetings from

(18:42):
the beautiful island of Maui. Yeah, Kathy and I are
here in Hawaii. We just we got back this past Sunday,
March the second, from Australia, New Zealand, and I just
want to say thanks. I know most of our tour
members are listing in. I just send my love and

(19:04):
thank you. We had such a wonderful time.

Speaker 2 (19:06):
But I bet your body is so confused as so
what time zone you're in it is?

Speaker 1 (19:11):
You know, it's crazy. Yeah, I got home those first
few days, I was going to bet I taken double
sleeping pill, still going to bed at two am. Yeah,
my body is permanently jet lagged. When you think of Sydney, Australia,
what is an iconic symbol.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
The opera House, the opera house.

Speaker 1 (19:31):
Well, I learned a couple of things. You know, those
weird shapes represent sales as an sails right. Well, the construction,
it's very modernistic. Construction started in nineteen fifty nine. Wow,
it was way ahead of its times, and then it
kind of stopped for a while. Took fourteen years to complete.

(19:55):
Queen Elizabeth the sid opened it in nineteen seventy three,
and there's various concert halls and some small meeting areas
and then the big hall there became a World Heritage
Site in twenty oh seven. And this is really interesting.

(20:15):
The roof has over one million tiles. What color is
the roof, John.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
I'm guessing white?

Speaker 1 (20:23):
Yeah, almost every other tile is white. Then a very
light light tan color. Okay, but from a distance they
were afraid if they put all white tiles on it,
it would be too glaring in the sunlight. And you
get really bright sun down there, so to temper the glare.

(20:48):
And it's a very light, very faint tan or beige
color to it. I never knew that, and I've been
to the operas many times, but on this tour we
got to go up and kind of touch the tile
roofs or the tiles on the roof. Now I hear.

Speaker 2 (21:04):
The acoustics are just amazing in their unbelievable They change
every year.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
Fifteen thousand, five hundred light bulbs. Wow it is now.
We took a tour out to the Blue Mountains. This
is the Outback and they're called the Blue Mountains because there.
I don't know what causes it, maybe the heat, the moisture.
There's a blue haze over the mountains and it's a

(21:30):
it is a dense, dense jungle. We take this this
funicular that is like it feels like it's almost straight
down right into the jungle, and then on elevated walkways
we do a jungle walk if you want to, and
then come back up the The mountains themselves are over

(21:53):
three hundred million years old, but some of the rocks
are dated four four hundred and seventy million years ago. Wow,
that is just mind mind bowing. Over four hundred species
of animals, including our cuddly koalas. Now, one thing, John,

(22:15):
the group gave me the title of or the honor
of changing the weather. Okay that Larry can change the weather.
And what we did is we drove up to the
Blue Mountains and there's a little turned around to the
bus area. It was bright and clear as can be.

(22:38):
Maybe two minutes later we walked down to the overlook
and it's all foggy. You can't see a thing. And
then I happened to say, you know, if you don't
like the weather, stick around. And within a couple of
minutes all the fog disappeared. It was clear as the bell.

(22:59):
Those are you on the tour know exactly what I'm
talking about. And I don't know what it was, but
the weather gods were with us because where we'd go
it would suddenly stop raining. Wow. So I told him
next year on the because I'm doing this Sydney to
Auckland cruise next year February fifteen to March first, twenty

(23:19):
twenty six, I thought I would raise the ocean.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
Okay, yeah, what do you think? I think you're trying
to take over Moses' position?

Speaker 3 (23:26):
There?

Speaker 1 (23:28):
Wait till I part the Tasmanian c We had such
a great time. Have you ever had a long delay
at a hotel check in?

Speaker 3 (23:39):
No?

Speaker 1 (23:40):
Do you know where I get the long delays is
at car rental? Yes, yes, they're understaffed and they're slow
on that Well, Las Vegas. Las Vegas visitors about a
week ago said they waited up to seven hours in
line out at the Resorts World check in pro in

(24:00):
which the hotel Casino attributed to a software upgrade gone wrong. Now,
the Resorts World is a beautiful property. Oh yeah, it's
the world's most expensive resort, built on the Vegas Strip
at a cost of four point three billion, as in
with a B. But it completely melted down, NBC News reported,

(24:23):
and that, as I mentioned, gifts were waiting for hours. Well,
the frustration level was so high that fist fights broke
out on the elevators. Near the elevators in line, people
were so frustrated. You're cutting in front of me. Fistfights
broke out. Oh well, good grief, so uh enjoy you

(24:45):
stay there in Las Vegas. Well, John, you're on the
front line. You're in the Bountiful office. You can talk
to John. Eight oh one four eight three fifty two fourteen.
What are people calling about?

Speaker 2 (24:57):
I think the two main things is I a lot
of Europe, but mostly Italy. Everybody wants to go to Italy,
and we're getting a lot of request still for Alaska cruises.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
And Alaska not only twenty twenty five, but twenty twenty
six is phillyp By the way, I'll be hosting a
Alaska tour. I've got one this year in August. August
thirteen to the twentieth. You still can join me. We're
sailing from Vancouver to Anchorage. We'll have two glacier days,

(25:29):
not only at the Big Daddy, which is Glacier Bay,
but College Fjord. In that Fjord you'll see thirteen different glaciers.
But there are some trends happening right now. While this
summer promises to be a very busy one for Europe,
you're getting a lot of calls for Europe.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
Yes we are.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
There are indications that visitors are increasingly shifting the destination
to some more off the beat or out of the
way places. Some of that's because of over crowding. You know.
Venice is restricting the number of visitors and in the

(26:11):
summer mins you have to pay an entrance feed to
even go in the city. They've restricted large cruise ships
from the Grand Canal. Barcelona. Barcelona's having some problems. I
like Barcelona. You stroll down La Rambla and the Gothic Quarter,
but they're having a problem with locals resenting tourists, and

(26:34):
in Barcelona, locals, not everyone, but too many have taken
to going up to tourists and squirting them with squirt guns.
I mean, how insulting. You're bringing tens of hundreds of
millions of dollars into the city, so they are restricting
the number of cruise ships that can park right at

(26:57):
the marina, at the terminal. The build another terminal further
down the peninsul. It's quite a ways to get into
the city. So we're see we're seeing trending destinations that
are typically less traveled than say London, Paris or Rome. Now,
based on travel already booked for this summer, that European

(27:18):
destination with the most year over year sales growth is Slovenia.
I of course have been to Slovenia. The destination is
up four hundred and seventy three percent over last year.
Oh wow, you know it's a wonderful country too.

Speaker 2 (27:36):
Yeah, I've never been there.

Speaker 1 (27:37):
Ladaslava is another high destination. Yeah. Other destinations that are
enjoying increased sales this summer Croatia. I love Croatia to
brove nick, Malta, Turkey, Austria, the Czech Republic, I could
live there in Prague and Hungary are all up by

(27:59):
tripled dig It's Montenegro and Germany, Deutschland, the Fatherland is
up double digit. Now. The biggies in Europe will always
be the UK, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Greece are seeing
increased interest there too. The other thing that we're seeing,

(28:19):
you know, it can get very hot in the summertime
in Europe. This last year, when I did the Rhine
River Cruise, we had delightful weather. But two years ago
I did a group cruise on the Rhine and it
was one hundred and four degrees in Amsterdam. Well, i'll
be Amsterdam, Yeah, broke all records there. In Germany it

(28:43):
was one hundred degrees and that's just too hot there.
So what we're seeing is another trend during the summer
months is booking European cooler destinations cooler as in temperature,
including Scandinavia, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. They're all
up two hundred and sixty three percent over last year. Wow,

(29:07):
there's a trend there.

Speaker 3 (29:08):
Well.

Speaker 1 (29:08):
Anyway, Europe bookings are very strong, you know. The other
big thing that we're seeing is river cruising in Europe
has really taken off. Now, I love the river cruise.
You're going to have one hundred and forty to one
hundred and sixty people on average. They kill it in
the dining room, they do so well. The on and
off is what and you park right downtown for in

(29:34):
these small villages or big towns. With that, now I
want you to introduce You're going to one of my
favorite places in France on the Senn River next year
with a river cruise.

Speaker 2 (29:47):
Yes, doing it next year August twenty seventh through the September,
the fifth and round trip from Paris. We were going
to go in. If you book the tour before March
thirty first of this year, you get your two free
nights in Paris as a landstand. That's your five star hotel,
daily breakfast, shore excursions, included your airport transfers in the

(30:11):
heart of the city.

Speaker 1 (30:12):
And now that typically would run twelve thirteen.

Speaker 2 (30:15):
Twelve to fifty a person. Yeah, so it's a very
good deal to get it free. And so again by
if you book it by the end of March of
this year, that's free. And we're going to Normandy that
is D Day, Yeah, D Day, the Landing Beaches, this
US cemetery when I was there the last time I
did Disneyland Paris. Of course you did, and I did Normandy,

(30:36):
and I like Normandy better. What Yes, that's how awesome.
Normandy is just the humbling feeling and.

Speaker 1 (30:44):
The cemetery there.

Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, it's just just an emotional experience. And of course,
being John Potter fashion, we're going to offer an optional
post Disneyland Paris.

Speaker 1 (30:55):
Of course, of course. Okay, the dates again.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
August twenty seventh through September fifth of twenty twenty.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
Six next year. And to get the free it's a
three to the Travel Show on Talk Radio one oh
five nine knrs. Just listen and you'll know Welcome back
to the Travel Show. Hey. Just a reminder that that

(31:24):
you can join John Potter on his Paris The Seine
River Normandy d D. Bitch's Hand Floor is one of
my favorite stops in that area. Beautiful. You want to
talk to John direct on that particular cruise or any
of your travel, give him a ring. His direct line
is eight oh one four eight three fifty two fourteen

(31:48):
eight oh one four eighty three fifty two fourteen now John.
One of the trends that we're seeing in travel is families.
What are you hearing as you're again on the front line?

Speaker 2 (32:00):
M a lot of cruising. I don't book that much
Disney anymore. I'm booking cruises and grandparents are taking their
grandkids and their children and their grandkids on cruises, multi generational,
and I bet I do four or five every day
just because they're so popular and curs good value.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
Yeah, cruising is your absolute best travel value. You know.
I had a group of travel show listeners January of
twenty three and I it was a Mexico cruise from
La down and some stops in Mexico. And Kathy couldn't go.
So my daughter Sarah, you know Sarah. She and her

(32:41):
son Oscar, who at the time was seven is nine
years old now, and his nephew another grandson, Jenny's daughter,
Jenny's son my Low. Yes, yeah, also age seven. The
two boys are one month apart. We took them along.
They lost their mind and for two years they call

(33:04):
me Papa, Papa, when are you taking us on a
cruise again? Well, for Christmas, Kathy and I gave our
whole family, our five married kids and their spouses and
all twelve of our grandchildren, although we'll be thirteen when
the gift.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
Is actual actually delivered.

Speaker 1 (33:22):
Yes we have. I tell people we have twelve and
a half grandchildren. Huh. Another one on the way. We
gave them a five day, four night cruise. Now what
I looked at is the date was critical because I
checked that most not all, but most of the Utah

(33:42):
school districts in twenty twenty six. Next year, their spring
break is Monday through Friday April six to ten. Then
you have the two weekends on either end. So Royal
Caribbean and that's a great cruiser one. Oh they really are.
And their kids programs, teen programs. The water park not
a water slide, a water park.

Speaker 2 (34:02):
It is a park.

Speaker 1 (34:03):
They have a miniature golf course. They have all these activities,
rock climbing and dining. I think Royal Caribbean is one
of the best.

Speaker 2 (34:12):
Yeah, and they have the best lemonade of any curse
that you're a lemonade.

Speaker 1 (34:16):
I like their diet coke. But anyway, catch this. We
said we will give you, We'll pay for your cabin,
we'll give you an inside cabin, we'll pay the cruise fair,
that tax is the fees. You get yourself to LA
and you pay your gratuities. If you want to upgrade,
you can do that, but you pay for it. Now,

(34:37):
a family of four, it's two adults, two kids. Right now,
that cabin is per person for a five day cruise
is three hundred and fifty six bucks. Oh my god,
for just two, like two adults, it's it's a little
over four hundred dollars. Now when you think you can

(34:57):
take family kids on a five day cruise with all
your meals included, entertainment included, for three hundred and fifty
six dollars, Wow, I mean that is a wow, a
total walk. The cruise dates are April sixth to the tenth.
I will let you suggest what you could do before

(35:18):
and after.

Speaker 2 (35:19):
And I bet your daughter Jenny and her family's doing it.
That's exactly what they're doing Disneyland. Before and after, you.

Speaker 1 (35:26):
Can drive down. There is a parking lot, a private
lot owned by the city. It's just off the main street.
It's a private fenced yard with security. You get out
of your car, you walk across right across the street.
It's a private road and you get on the ship
or you can fly down whatever you want to do.
Now the dates again on April sixth to tenth. Check

(35:48):
out that that's six here's the itinerary. We leave from La. Now.
The port of La is really San Pedro, just south
of Lax and very close to Long.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
Long Beach Shairport.

Speaker 1 (36:00):
And so we have a sailing that after. I love
the days at sea. The kids are in the pool,
the kids are in the kids programs, all the ice
cream you can eat, you know, and then on that's
on a Monday. It prosists on Tuesday. Tell me about
Catalina Island because that's where we'll be.

Speaker 2 (36:18):
Yeah, it's in California, and it is a beautiful island.
It's like old time. Yeah, that's a great description of beach. Yeah,
and Wriggly family, the Chewing Gum family has this huge
mansion up on the hill. That's beautiful. You can rent
mopeds and golf carts and you can go all.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
Yeah. It's really a throwback to the Coney Island board walk.
That's a great descriptioniful sand beach there. Yes, well that's
on Tuesday. Wednesday is the day at sea, all the
activities on on Thursday, we have a stop in Mexico
and that's fun. The kids get out, they'll buy their Well,

(37:00):
your parents will buy the vanilla. You're junk.

Speaker 2 (37:04):
Yeah, I've still got a pun show I bought there
that I wear all the time.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
Well, you know what I say. Most of the junk
we buy is here today, di I tomorrow. But it's
fun stuff, you know, and it's cheap. And then Friday
back to LA It's a five day, four night cruise
and I'm just giving you the rates as of today.
Now keep in mind that all rates and promotions are
subject to change and availability at the time of booking.

(37:30):
Three hundred and fifty six dollars over spring break, that
kids don't miss school or just the parents, just two
adults want to go. It's a little over four hundred
bucks for a five day cruise. How do you get
a hold of this? So we can call John at
eight O one for three fifty two fourteen or any
of our great Morris Columbus travel advisors more when we

(37:52):
come back. Welcome back to our number two of the
travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks, that get away guru, and
I got away tomorrow. Yeah, well I just got back

(38:13):
this last week on Sunday from Australia and New Zealand
with a wonderful group of travel show listeners. We had
a riotous time on that visiting Australia New Zealand, the
cruise between the two. And remember, I'll be doing an
Australia New Zealand cruise next year with Holland America. John

(38:35):
tell me about Holland America.

Speaker 2 (38:37):
They're a deluxe cruise line. They have wonderful food, wonderful service,
and of course everybody refers to them as the Damn
cruise line because all the ships end in dam Well,
you're on the door damn, I believe if I remember right,
uh huh.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
And so they do it. They really do a good
job and they're not the mega ships. It's about twenty
five hundred people is about an average, so it's easy,
easy to get around. That will be February fifteen to
March first next year, twenty twenty six. Now this has
sold so well. If you're interested, give your favorite Morris

(39:13):
Columbus travel advisor a call, or you can go on
to Morriscolumbustravel dot com. On the homepage, click on Morris
Murdoch Escorted Tours and then click on Cruises look at
twenty twenty six. I'm a food Are you a foodie?

Speaker 2 (39:31):
Not really?

Speaker 1 (39:32):
Not really?

Speaker 2 (39:32):
I eat to survive, you know, I know by looking
at me.

Speaker 1 (39:36):
But I survived to eat. I really am a foodie,
and I can remember meal. I can't remember a lot
of things, but Cathy says, you can remember meals from
forty years ago that were good. Some I'm not so good.
It used to be said that the best British food

(39:58):
was Italian and India, because British food can always had
a reputation as rather bland. I think one of the
favorite meals is called a carvery. It's like the Sunday
roast in the crock pot or something, or roasted with
the potatoes and carrots and cauliflower and all of that.
Here are some of my favorite foods. You tell me

(40:20):
if you know what they are? Should we start easy?

Speaker 2 (40:22):
Sure? Fishing? Now?

Speaker 3 (40:26):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (40:27):
Well you know what.

Speaker 1 (40:29):
I have not forgiven the English for is? It used
to be they were wrapped in newspaper. But someone determined
that was injurious to our healthy ink. I thought it
lubricated the joints and the heart, so that has to
be wrapped in paper. How about Shepherd's pie.

Speaker 2 (40:48):
Oh yes, it's spashed potatoes and vegetables and meat. I
think it's like hamburger meat at the bottom and gravy.

Speaker 1 (40:55):
Yeah. Now, a true shepherd's pie is minced lamb. I'm
a lamb either myself. Kathy loves lamb, she really does.
But a true shepherd's pie is minced lamb with vegetables
and potatoes, usually mashed potatoes on the top. A cottage

(41:15):
pie is beef. How about bangers and mash?

Speaker 2 (41:20):
That is, come on sausages, sausage.

Speaker 1 (41:25):
And mashed potatoes with peas and gravy. This is pub food.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
Toad in a hole, Yeah, toad in a hole is
sausage in Yorkshire.

Speaker 1 (41:36):
Pudding Now is that like chocolate pudding?

Speaker 2 (41:40):
No?

Speaker 1 (41:41):
No, Yorkshire pudding is a batter. Think of a corn dog.
It's not rat, but it's puff it puffs up. It's
a batter. It's called Yorkshire pudding. And I'll tell you
my favorite. Now. They I ate these almost every day
that I in Australia and New Zealand. They even had
a on the ship. It's a favorite in the UK.

(42:03):
It is a must eat in Australia, New Zealand. Hot
pies and you hold them in your hand, so there's
a delicate crust. Don't think of a banquet meat pie.

Speaker 2 (42:15):
You know, that's where I was going.

Speaker 1 (42:16):
Yeah, that's awful. You know, that's trash food. But these
have a very flaky, light crust, and then there's stuffed with.
My favorite is either beef, steak and cheese or steak
and mushroom. You can get it with lamb. With chicken.
You can get butter chicken, you can get thie chicken,
chicken teak. It's a filling. You can get vegetarian with that, vegan,

(42:40):
whatever you want. But my favorite is steak and cheese
and steak and mushrooms. John, I'm sure you're aware that
the UK, which is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Ireland is part of the EU, an independent nation, and
the others are not part of the EU. They broke

(43:02):
away during Brexit. But the UK United Kingdom is the
number one travel destinations for overseas travel. I'm not talking
Canada or Mexico overseas across an ocean, including flying to
South America. Sorry Carlos, but the UK is the number

(43:25):
one destination for Americans.

Speaker 2 (43:27):
Why they speak the language.

Speaker 1 (43:30):
Well, a former. Yes, they tell me I have an accent.
They kept telling me in Australia that I speak with
an accent. I don't speak with an accent. You speak
with an accent.

Speaker 2 (43:39):
Yes, But what is our love of all things? I
think the royal family has a lot to do with it.
We don't have kings here, we don't have the princes,
and we all look up to them. I remember I
was a big fan of Queen Elizabeth before she passed.

Speaker 1 (43:55):
She was wonderful, she was.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
And it's just something we don't have here. So I
think that so.

Speaker 1 (44:00):
Much our country's history comes from Britain. I'll be personally
hosting a UK tour. We still have a few spots left.
It is Scotland, Wales and England. Do you remember did
you ever see the movie How Green was My Valley?

Speaker 2 (44:19):
Long time ago?

Speaker 1 (44:20):
It was released in October of nineteen forty one. It's
a black and white it's a classic.

Speaker 2 (44:29):
For both of our times.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
Yeah. Well, Carlos was there and the story chronicles life
in the South Wales coal mines, the loss of that
way of life and its effects upon the family. It's
the family, their sons becoming coal miners and their sons
and hoping that the children could break out because it

(44:54):
was a death trap, you know, with inhaling coal dust
and low wages. But in the movie they show these
rows of coal miners houses all connected together, the rowhouses,
and it's still that way, and it's a black and
white movie. It's an absolute classic. How Green was My

(45:15):
Valley released October twenty eighth, nineteen forty one, and it
is a heartbreaking story. But on this Scotland, Wales and
England tour, we will start in Edinburgh and I first
of all, Edinburgh is fantastic, the Magnificent Mile there, of
the Royal Mile and everything about Scotland. But when you

(45:37):
think of Scotland, you think of what bagpipe? Bagpipes. Well,
the world's largest bagpipe festival is held for a couple
of weeks every year in August. Tickets are impossibly at
because it's held inside the Edinburgh Castle, which is on
a mountain and the city surrounds. At any part of

(46:00):
the city you can see Edinburgh Castle. Well on the
grounds they set up some seating and they have bagpipe
troops from all over the world last I mean from India,
from Asia, from Australia, New Zealand, South America, North America,
all from Africa. They come up and they will also

(46:22):
be marching through the city up on their way. And
then you have the drum Course, American Military Drum Course.
Go there. It is viewed by over one hundred million
people worldwide and we have tickets to it. Now that's
one day of the tour, but it's something not to

(46:43):
be missed. We will visit Scotland. We make our way
into Wales. This is how Green was my valley country.
And they speak differently in Wales than they do in Scotland.
They and different in England than they do here in America,
and different from the Scots and the Welsh. We will

(47:05):
visit York. Now, York is one of my favorite cities.
York itself was founded by the Romans in seventy one AD,
the Vikings, the Normans, even the English Civil War fought
over York. You remember a Brave Heart movie. Oh yes,
and when King it was King Richard, King Edward, where

(47:29):
the King of England? He said, they sacked York. Remember
that scene? They sacked York. They can conquer all of
the south of England. A great Gothic cathedral dating back
to twelve twenty. We also visit Stratford upon Avon, this
is the home of Shakespeare. Then down to London. I

(47:52):
would love to have you join me. The dates are
August eleven to twenty one. August eleven to twenty one
this summer. This year's England and Wales and scott and
I got just a few spaces left. Kathy and I
will be your tourists. We're keeping this to one bus.
It's an intimate affair. You may never have a chance
to attend that festival.

Speaker 2 (48:12):
Go to YouTube and look up Tattoo Festival and you
will want to go. When you hear those bagpipes kick in.

Speaker 1 (48:17):
Yeah, you know it's interesting. It's called the tattoo Festival.
The bagpipe and everybody thinks we're talking about body art. No, no,
It dates back to the sixteenth century when the soldier,
you know, the sergeant and a drummer would go to
each of the taverns, each of the pubs and yell tattoo, tattoo, yeah,

(48:38):
which over four hundred years has become tattoo. That was
a signal to turn the taps off, send the soldiers
home more. When we come back, welcome back, to the
travel show. I'm Larry Gelwicks to get Away and Guru,
And as I've told you, i just got back last Sunday,

(48:59):
March the second, from Australia, New Zealand. And here it
is March the eighth, and I'm in Maui. I was
home two days. John left on Wednesday. And we have
some friends, believe it or not, that have a time
share over here. And every year we met them in

(49:21):
California while we were serving down there. I was a
man of the cloth and we just became friends. We've
kept this friend show up. They lived down there in California,
but they have this time share and for the last
five six years they've always invited us to go and
we always with a group tour during their time. Well,

(49:41):
they've been called as mission leaders, mission President. They'll be
leaving this summer for Mexico. And they said, hey, Larry Cathy,
you're invited again. If you can't make it, that's okay,
but it'll be another three or four years before we're
back here because they'll be in Mexico. Well i'll give
visit you in Mexico, go down see you anyway. So

(50:01):
we just said they've been down there already two weeks,
so we just came on Wednesday. We go home in
a few days. Their time is up. But it was
kind of fun to get away.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
Just Kathy, you're on vacation. Wow, I never go, But
I tell.

Speaker 1 (50:17):
You I have this weird emotion, John, I feel the
need to walk around kind of poly beach and organize people.

Speaker 2 (50:26):
Yeah, I believe it.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Line them up, tell them what to do. As I said, John,
I'll tell you.

Speaker 2 (50:30):
Where to go, and you do frequently.

Speaker 1 (50:33):
Thank you very much. You know I mentioned I just
got back from this tour and we'd do our own
short excursions and the pre and posts on the land.
What advice would you give to people if they're going
to join the tour and what are the benefits of
a group.

Speaker 2 (50:49):
Well, the benefits are you see everything, You're not relaying
on Google Maps to get you somewhere, and you're driving
not missing all the scenery. But I think the biggest
thing is when you go to places, for instance, like
the Sistine Chapel, you don't wait in that great, big
long line, You go right in.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
You have a reservation time.

Speaker 2 (51:09):
Yes, yes, the groups have better options and you see
it all. It's just a great way to.

Speaker 1 (51:15):
Go it realized what advice would you give people?

Speaker 2 (51:18):
I would say the number one advice is show up
on time, because amen, the group isn't going to wait
for you. If you're late, you might not be going, or.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
You hold the group back. For example, when we do
a short excursion off a cruise, we may have the
bus for say five hours. Yeah, but it's not five
hours when we get on the bus. The clocks doesn't start.
The clock starts at the expected pickup time. And if
we have to wait for someone that five hours then

(51:50):
becomes four and a half hours.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (51:52):
And so a group is only as efficient as the
slowest member.

Speaker 3 (51:56):
Yea.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
You know.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
The other thing I think is you're looking at particularly
short excursions or even a land tour. Are the tours?
Is the land tour or the individual shore excursions appropriate
for your mobility? True? We love having all people, but
is it appropriate for a wheelchair guest? Now that's no
diss on wheelchairs. No, And I'll tell you the other

(52:20):
thing is when you're in a foreign area bit in
the US, but especially overseas, and you get off the
bus at a stop, look around at landmarks, look around
at buildings, so that you could be you can get
disoriented very quickly. Yes, you know, I remember some years

(52:41):
ago one of the most touching stories. We had a
cruise group that stopped at Ho Chi Minh City. What
we remember is Saigone. Well, the port city of who
my Vietnam is about an hour, hour and ten minute
drive if there's no delay, right, and so we get
off in the morning. We had a wonderful tour and

(53:02):
I always end my Saigon tour at the Benton Market.
It is a massive market, some of it covered, some
of it out. You can buy any of them, clothes, souvenirs, wood, carvings, watches, knockoff,
I mean whatever. It is massive. And so when we

(53:23):
got off the bus, I'm saying, now look around. Look,
here's this big building with a sign. You could see
that anywhere. And you have my telephone number. You have
the local guides telephone number, and I gave that to everyone. Well,
the ship was sailing at seven, which meant I wanted
to leave at five. It's an hour or so back

(53:44):
to Foo My And you know they always say all aboard,
usually thirty minutes prior. I like to get there an
hour prior. You know, you can go on YouTube and
see some sad but funny videos of cruise passengers miss
their boat. Yeah, because they didn't get back on time.
And the cruise lines are going to wait for you

(54:06):
because sometimes they have to leave because there's another ship
waiting to come into that spot. So we went to
the Bentan Market and I said, okay, we got there
at about three point thirty A least have shopping time
on your tours. Yes, and I said, be back. We

(54:26):
got to leave by five. Look around. I pointed out
the landmarks, this, you have all that. Well, everybody's coming back.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
We have it.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
Everyone's back on about four fifty four to fifty five. Okay,
we're missing one couple. It's five o'clock. The absolute nightmare
for a tour host is do I have to leave
somebody behind? Yes, but I can't risk a whole busload
of forty people missing the boat. So okay, we'll wait.

(54:57):
It's five or five, five ten. This was a wonderful
couple older folks and five point fifteen. John. It got
to five thirty and I'm still The local guide is
very nervous. He says, we've got to go, and at
some point, John, I have to make that decision. When

(55:18):
do I pull the trigger because I can't risk forty
people missing the boat. And I said, just give it
a couple more minutes. I'm calling their cell phone, no answer,
and it got to five thirty five and he's and
the local guy said, we have to go. And I
knew we had to go. But this couple, I knew

(55:40):
John would never make it. Their passports are on the ship.
Who knows what money they have in a foreign country.
It's getting dark. They would not survive. I knew that.
And I and the men on the on the bus side,
let's get off and find I said, no, do not
get off anyway. I stepped off the bus. I actually

(56:03):
said a prayer. I said, Heavenly Father, they won't make it.
They will not make it. I don't know where they are,
but you do. I need to find them. No angels,
no voices, just an impression. Turn to your right, walk
and turned to my left, and there they were. I
found them. I'll finish the story when we come back.

(56:37):
You're listening to the travel show. I'm Larry Gelwicks to
get Away Door, joined today by John Park, one of
our excellent travel advisors. John works in the Bountiful office
of Morris Columbus Travel. May I just express my appreciation
to all of you. You know you'll join us every
weekend for the show, and without you, we don't have

(56:59):
a show. Without you, John, we don't even have a job.
We don't know And so I never take it for granted.
We're syndicated on nineteen radio stations now and just a
wide listing on it's most of those stations here in
the Inner Mountain area. I was talking about this story,
John of the travel host Nightmare, Do I leave a

(57:19):
couple behind? And this a delightful people, elderly. I knew
they wouldn't make it, John, they would not survive this,
and yet I am now at five thirty five, it
is pressing on and the local guide says, get this
an hour to an hour and ten minutes, we've got

(57:41):
to go. We've got to go. And I knew it's like,
what when do I pull the trigger and leave them behind?
Calling him they're not answering, and that's when I said,
I stepped off the bus. I said a quick, silent,
Heavenly Father, they will not make it. They won't survive this,

(58:05):
literally not survive this. Their passports are on the ship.
I don't know if they have credit cards. I don't
know if they have money. I don't. It's getting dark
and they're by themselves. They won't survive. And that's when
I said, I gotta find them. I got to find them. Now.
I don't know where they are, but you do. And

(58:28):
as I said, there's no angels, no voices, no thunder,
just that impression. Because I do either go to my
right or left. And I went to my right, and
I walked about a block or so, and then just
the thought, go to your left. And I walked down
an alley and I ran right into him. She was sobbing.

(58:49):
They thought they'd been left behind. They wanted to apologize.
I said, let's talk later. Get on the bus. So
now it's about five forty and it's an hour plus
and the ship sails at seven and all aboard. At
the very lastest, we were not going to make six thirty,
and I just said step on it. And the traffic

(59:10):
gods were with us. There was no wreck, there was
no tie up. Took a week. We pulled up at
about six forty five, well pressing on to six fifty,
and they had already taken down one of the gang planks.
They were loosing, you know those big ropes at the
front and back. Those were coming down, and our bus

(59:33):
pulls up. I run so that they can see we're coming.
We all made it back on. It's one of the
most touching stories. I've told that story to a few groups,
and I said, don't tempt the Lord with lightning striking
twice that I can say. I don't know where they are,
I said, I got that one time. Just it's crazy

(59:59):
Hawaii Mexico. We see a lot of interest. Hawaii is
is there, but it's a little price here. I've got
some great deals. The Mexico All Inclusive are selling like
I shouldn't say hotcakes, like hot tortillas. Yeah they'ress Yeah,
here's a couple of specials. Now. The prices are valid

(01:00:20):
as of today. All rates and promotions are subject to
availability and change at the time you book it. So
I go on and give it to it what it
is today. Well, I'm on the island of Maui, but
over at Honolulu. I love Honolulu. I Loveaikiki. Yeah, I
call it the Tiawana of the Pacific. But I say
that with affection.

Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
Oh, I love it.

Speaker 1 (01:00:40):
Yes, there's so many activities on Oahu, Pearl Harbor, the
Cemetery of the Pacific, the Mighty mo where Japan surrendered
the both In attack submarine from World War II. Why
may obey? The north Shore, the Polynesian Cultural Shack. Oh
my gosh. Yeah, fun. How about john a five star hotel? Now,

(01:01:02):
the dates I'm looking at for Honolulu, Cancun and Porto
Irta are May eighth to the thirteenth. That's a couple
of months away. Yeah, all right, and again rates vary
by departure date and availability. This is a five star
hotel de La the Romart Waikiki at the Ambassador. Five

(01:01:24):
star includes round trip air. Your hotel in Taxis. The
resort fees have to be collected there, so that's only
in Hawaii. They are evil. Yes, Biden said he was
going to get rid of him. I guess he forgot. Yeah.
I'm doubting Trump will do it because he owns hotels.

(01:01:46):
You know, I don't expect that to happen. No resort
fees in Mexico. No, But in Hawaii for round trip air,
five star Deluxe hotel, six days, five nights. You can
add on more if you want one thousand and seventy
seven per person. Wow, for a five star hotel in
the five star That's very good. That really is. How

(01:02:07):
about Cankun, By the way, I tend to avoid Cancun
late summer in the fall because of the sargassum wi
seed epidemic that hits the Caribbean every year, not so
much the Southern Caribbean, but Mexico. And it piles up
sometimes a couple of feet deep on the beach. Yeah,
and smells. Now, the nice hotels clean it up. But

(01:02:31):
this would be at the Catalonia Yucatan beach. All inclusive.
What does all inclusive include?

Speaker 2 (01:02:37):
That is all of your meals, drinks, both alcoholic and
non alcoholic. It is all of your gratuities. It is
all of the on site non motorized water sports, taxes, taxes,
round trip airport transfers.

Speaker 1 (01:02:51):
Round trip hair, round trip air one thousand and forty
dollars per person for six days. Had an all inclusive
It's it's a first class four star resort. I love
Puerto Ayarta. I just have an Infinity walk along the Malikan.
It is about a mile of no cars, all pedestrians, shops,

(01:03:12):
Cantinas restaurants, street performers.

Speaker 2 (01:03:17):
Local artists out there painting.

Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
It is and it's right along. It's called also the
Malikan boardwalks right along the ocean on the ocean at
the Crystal Grand Nuevo Vayarta, a first class four star thing.
Now this one is mind boggling. Remember airfare, transfers, resort meals, drinks,
tipscratuities ninety bucks. Wow, that's nine hundred and forty dollars.

(01:03:42):
That is absolutely insane. Yes, it is. Contact your favorite
Morris Columbus travel professional for Hawaii, Europe, Mexico, wherever you
want to do cruises for that. Okay, sir John. We
are seeing a real uptick in interest. We talked about Europe,

(01:04:06):
but the other area of the world. There's two areas
of the world that we're seeing a huge uptick and
we've one is Australia, New Zealand. Huge interest in that. Yes.
The other is Asia, but not all of Asia. Where
are people focused on right now?

Speaker 2 (01:04:25):
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan.

Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
Japan is huge right now, it is Well, we're not
seeing a lot of interest in mainland China.

Speaker 2 (01:04:36):
No, I think people are still scared of the covid bats.

Speaker 1 (01:04:40):
Well you can have bat soup, rat fried rice.

Speaker 2 (01:04:46):
Chicken wings, bat wings.

Speaker 1 (01:04:49):
Yeah, sweet and sourish snake. No, just kidding, just kidding. Yeah,
you know, Asia does something for Metheast Days and I
love Japan. I'll be taking a Travelers travel show listeners
group to Japan in May. I did that two years ago,

(01:05:09):
maybe I'll do it again in two years. We do
kind of a land portion and then get on a
usually a ten to eleven day cruise ship of Japan
and Korea. And that's a great way to see Japan.
Is all spend a few days in Tokyo, but the
cruise ship takes you to you know, Hiroshimo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagasaki,

(01:05:33):
over to Korea. And it's a great way to see
it because you know, you don't have to get on bus,
you don't have to get on the train. But for me,
I love Southeast Days. It's the people, the culture. There's
a graciousness in the food. Don't even get me started.
It's exotic everything from tropical islands, rice patties, elephants, and

(01:05:56):
the foothills of the Himalayas. You know, it's the foot
massage is mandatory. Massage is part of the culture, very
appropriate and very very cheap. With that, it's a place
that off a river cruise. Now a couple of years ago,

(01:06:20):
I'm thinking no, it was more than that. It was
about three years ago, three or four years ago. We
did a May Kong river cruise, remember I do yes,
And we started in sin Reap, Cambodi. That's Anchor Watt,
a World Heritage site. We offered a pre cruise Bangkok,

(01:06:41):
Thailand for three or four days and seeing all the sites,
and then flew to se and Reap and there you
have Anchor Watt anchored Tom the tomb Raiders. Remember that
you can actually go to where they ran out of
that door with the vine growing all over it, and

(01:07:02):
there's so much more to see there in Cambodia. Well,
the ship starts there at Anchor Watt and it's a
one week cruise with Alma Waterways. We will actually be
doing that in twenty twenty six. The actual cruise dates
are November ninth to the sixteenth, so you're home plenty

(01:07:22):
of time for Thanksgiving, but we are going to be
visiting on the ship Cambodia and Vietnam. The villages, the
big cities, everything about it. It's a great way to
see an Amawat. What can you say about Alma.

Speaker 2 (01:07:40):
Waterway, Oh, they are just the best. I just absolutely
love Alma.

Speaker 1 (01:07:45):
Well, we will again offer a pre cruise option to Bangkok,
a pre cruise option to Anchor Wat, Anchor Tom, all
of that, and then we disembark at Saigon and we're
going to offer a post cruise visit. You can get
off ship fly home if you want. But you haven't
seen Saigon. I even take you to the ben Tan

(01:08:06):
Mark and show you where I found these people. And
I don't want to lose you while you're there. Lightning
doesn't strike twice. The cruz dates again November ninth to
the sixteenth, twenty twenty six, will keep it to a
relatively small group with Alma Waterways, all your short excursions
are included, deluxe gourmet meals, everything. And it's the smallest ship.

(01:08:27):
It only holds it like eighty ninety people. So where
do you find this? Go to Morriscolumbus dot com. Morriscolumbus
dot com. On the homepage, click on Morris Murdoch Escorted
Tours and in the next segment, I'll tell you why
we have two names, and then click on cruises and
go to twenty twenty six. They're listed chronologically. You can

(01:08:51):
you can see ours in November of twenty twenty six.
That is the may Kong River Cruise. I'd love to
have you join me. We you know what we did.
We chartered half the boat, and our our rates are
running anywhere from several hundred to one thousand dollars less
than if you bought it directly from Almah Waters. They

(01:09:14):
have the other half. We bought the cabins and we
can offer it with these savings. Well, when we come back,
we're going to get a Disney update,