The Travel Show: Mobile Passport Control; Happiest Country on Earth

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks that get
away at Guru. We've got a great show lined up
for you today. We'll be talking about how you can
now renew your passport online, some international travel advice. A
worldwide survey just identified the happiest country on Earth. Why
is there no McDonald's at the Salt Lake Airport? Are

(00:25):
there really secret unpublished airfares? And what are the benefits
of group travel? Glad to have you with us today
every weekend, at this time on this very station. I
want to welcome back to the show my colleague and friend,
Wendy Frakia, Group department manager with Morris Columbus Travel. Wendy,

(00:45):
welcome the show.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Thank you, so glad to be back. It's always so
much fun to be here with you.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Well, thank you. The Travel Show is sponsored by Morris
Columbus Travel, where you always travel more and pay less.
Check out their website at Morriscolumbus dot com. That's Morriscolumbus
dot com. Now, if you have the direct line for
one of the travel advisors at Morris Columbus Travel, we'll

(01:11):
call that number. But if you don't have a personal
travel advisor, call this toll free number one eight hundred
triple nine forty six forty six. Now that's an easy
one to remember, Wendy, one eight hundred triple nine forty
six forty six. Well, travel is back in a big way,
and your passport is the key to adventures. But sometimes, Wendy,

(01:39):
renewing the passport is a pain in the backside.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
You know, It's just one of those things, and you
need to be aware of it because there's nothing worse
than going to book an exciting trip just to realize
your passport's gonna expire, or it has expired and you
don't have enough time to get it done.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
I was driving some years ago my youngest son, Keaton,
one of the great guys I know, to the airport.
He and some others were flying to Mexico and I said, hey,
you know doing the dad thing. You got your passport,
don't you absolutely And I said, well, just pull it out.
He pulled it out. It was expired. He grabbed the raw,

(02:20):
he grabbed passport. So fortunately we had time to turn
around go back home.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
And it's one of the reasons we tell people you
never cheat yourself short on getting to the airport. You
make sure that you get there at minimum three hours
on international travel, just for situations like that.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Do you remember the old OJ Simpson commercials for Hurts
when he would be running through the airport, leaping.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Over chairs, luggage in hand.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah, luggage in hand, getting to the airport just as
they're closing the door. When I was young and foolish.
Now I'm old and foolish. When I was young and foolish,
I wanted to get to the airport with just a
few minutes to spare, maximizing my time. Now I get
there early. We'll have lunch or something.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
To eat, a drink or something.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
It really is well. The good news is that US
State Department has fully rolled out its online passport renewal system,
allowing you to apply for the documents from the comfort
of your home now. The system was first introduced as
a pilot program three years ago. It's now fully up

(03:31):
and running. According to the State Department. The online application
eliminates the need to print and mail a renewal application,
so you can renew online. But here's the deal. The
devil's always in the details. You've got to be at
least twenty five years old currently living in a US
state or territory, have your expired passport having been issued

(03:56):
between nine and fifteen years ago. As you know, adult
passports are good for ten years, children for five.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Well, let's get to know that you can still do
this even when your passport has expired.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, up to fifteen years on the expiration date, and
you must, of course have that old passport with you now.
Applicants must not plan to change their name, gender, date
of birth, or place of birth on the application, otherwise
it all has to be the same as your old passport.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
I didn't that was an option to change your day
of birth.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
A lot of people do it all the time. The
State Department said applicants should not plan to travel for
at least eight weeks after submitting their application. Currently, Wendy,
it's about six to eight weeks. And now when you
mail in documents, there is an expedited service and you

(04:55):
can get it in three to four weeks.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, less than a month.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
This provided service is not available on the online renewals.
So here's the deal. Here's how you renew online. Go
to the US State Department website for travel travel dot
state dot gov. That's travel dot State dot Gov. Then
click on get a US Passport, and then on the

(05:23):
subsequent follow up page you click on I am an
adult renewing online and then simply follow the instructions. Now, Wendy,
you've heard me say many times that on the information
page of your passport's the one that has your mugshot
and your personal data, one should always make three copies

(05:45):
of it. The first and I'm going to ask you why. First,
the first one is a simple photocopy. Color is preferred,
but black and white will do. The second copy will
be a photo on your cell phone or other mobile
device stored to your photo gallery. That's number two. Number

(06:06):
three is you take that photo stored in your gallery
and download it to your server. Now, why do you
suppose I suggest three.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
Copies, because depending on the situation that you might find
yourself in, you might have to go to a local computer,
open up your email, find your digital copy so it
can quickly get a replacement past US embassy. And if
you don't have that b it could be a much

(06:38):
more difficult and burden some process.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
Yeah, but with three copies, So on the first one,
if you lose the photo copy, if it's lost or stolen,
you can go to your cell phone or your iPad
and you can print it off that. So what if
your mobile phone or iPad is lost or stolen, You
can go to any PC or lap top or device

(07:01):
anywhere in the world, connect to your server and print
your copy.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
And you keep saying server, and I think in my brain,
I have to say, my email account. Is that what
you're talking about?

Speaker 1 (07:12):
As long as you can retrieve it exactly for you,
the server is at a local restaurant. I'm not talking
about that, Wendy. So you get those three copies. I remember,
and I say, don't take it out, leave it in
your hotel safe, leave it in your cruise safe. I
remember some years ago we had a wonderful program three

(07:33):
days in Rome and then on the Norwegian Epic out
of Chivy Tevekia, which is the port city for Rome,
we sail the med fantastic. I said to people, please
leave your passport in your hotel safe. Well, a woman
didn't follow the getaway Guru's advice, and she thought it
would be safer for her to carry it with her

(07:56):
in her fanny pack.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
You have to love those people who get it from someone.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
Yeah, someone anyway, So it's the morning. We are transferring
to Chivvy Tevekia from our Rome hotel. And at breakfast
she comes up, Larry, I don't know what to do.
I've lost my passport And I said, you lost your passport, Well,

(08:23):
it was in your hotel safe No, I decided, and
I'm going, Oh my goodness, what she had done. She says,
I think I know. I must have lost it in
this bookstore. She was fumbling through her fanny pack and
she pulled everything out to get a credit card and
then put everything she thought back in. She said, I
must have lost it there, so the only time I

(08:45):
took it out. Well, she can't get on the cruise.
She can't leave Italy without it. And I said, listen,
here's what we're going to do. You're going straight to
this about seven thirty in the morning. Pack all your bags.
You're going straight to the US embassy here in Rome.
You're going to it's about ten minutes away, and you're

(09:07):
going to stand in line. I want you to hopefully
be first in line at eight o'clock when they opened.
She did have the photocops photocopy, so I talked to
the front desk. The concierge to make sure that the
taxi driver understood where they wanted to go. Off they went,

(09:28):
We headed to the ship. Guess what, she had her
passport by ten thirty in the morning, took a taxi down.
It said a little over an hour's drive from Central
Rome to Chivy Tevekia, and she met us on the ship.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
And the only way that story is even possible is
by having that color copy photo of your passport. Oh.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
Absolutely, it made all the difference with that. Now, when
we come back, I want to talk about how to
be smart when you travel. I'm not talking about being
I've said before it's not against the law to be stupid,
but stupid has consequences. We're talking how to be a

(10:08):
smart traveler. I've got some great international travel advice. And
then i want you to join me in the South Pacific.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Sounds like a plan. I like it.

Speaker 1 (10:19):
You do. Want to take a look at that website
travel dot state dot gov. It's also got passport information,
visa information. How long your passport has to be valid.
Some countries it's got to be valid for six months
before you enter. Others the day that you enter. It
has to be valid. All that and more on today's

(10:40):
Travel Show. Welcome back to the Travel Show. Thank you
for joining us. I look forward to sharing this weekend
with your Really, I just get getty coming down here

(11:02):
to the radio station. We're syndicated now on nineteen radio stations,
and I so appreciate spending this time with you. Well,
in the last segment, I said we're gonna share how
to be a smart traveler. And one of the smartest
travelers is a guest on the show today, Wendy Frack here,

(11:22):
Group department manager with Morris Columbus Travel. Wendy, you are
a smart traveler.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
Well, I'll take it. Thank you. I like to think
I am, but that's probably when I get myself in trouble.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, I mentioned last segment about travel dot State dot
gov and a fan information. The State Department has another
program called STEP st EP, an acronym for Smart Traveler
Enrollment Program STEP. The website is step dot state dot gov.

(11:58):
Step dot state and by the way, you can also
ask access it at travel dot state dot gov. You'll
see a little icon for it and here's what it is.
You go online. It's a free service and you register
what country or countries that you'll be visiting on your
next international adventure, and it's registered with the embassy of

(12:22):
each respective country or countries, then that embassy will send
you travel alerts and updates specific to that country. It
may give you information it's not going to plan on
your trip, Okay, Morse Columbus Travel will do that, but
it'll give you a heads up if there's a strike,

(12:43):
if there's civil disobedience, natural disasters, things that you want
to know of, and in the case of an emergency,
it makes it much easier for your family and friends
and the State Department to find you overseas. Step step
the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step dot State dot gov.

(13:09):
Here's some good international travel advice, Weddy. First of all,
what would you suggest to people who are going overseas.

Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well, we covered it already, is to not carry your
passport with you. But my number two thing is what.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
You mean by that is out and about sight seeing.

Speaker 2 (13:26):
Thank you, I'm so sorry. Keep it locked up in
your hotel unless you're you know, crossing a border or
you're moving. You're moving exactly. But now the other thing
is to pack light, Pack as light as you can, take,
great shoes.

Speaker 1 (13:39):
Tray, yes, I always take my pedal pushers or something like.

Speaker 2 (13:44):
That, and your stilettos.

Speaker 1 (13:46):
Thank you only for Thursday nights. What we talked about
pack light, I've given the advice on the night before
you leave, put your empty suitcase on the on the bed,
all your cash, all your clothes, cut your and have
including the shoes, and double your money and you'll be
in good shape.

Speaker 2 (14:05):
My favorite souvenir is actually clothing or jewelry or things
like that. It's it's so much fun after the trip
to put it on and remember the trip.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
You know I have. You've seen my office at Morris Columbus.
I have Kathy calls it the junk room. I've got souvenirs.
I've got mementos from all over the world, and every
one of them has a story behind it.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
If they're special, all of them are. But I'll tell you,
as a lady putting on a pair of earrings, it
may not scream Mekinos or anything else to you, but
this morning, the earrings I'm wearing I bought Mikinos and
it meant something to me as I put them on.

Speaker 1 (14:44):
Well good. I've never had problems with earrings.

Speaker 2 (14:47):
Wow, Okay, the ladies listening to the show, you know
what I need you do.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
Here's some international travel advice for your next overseas adventure.
Review all your travel documents, not the day before the
morning that you're going to leave, but weeks ahead. The
spelling of your airline ticket, the spelling of your cruise documents,
the hotel, your transportation, your passport validity. You're just telling

(15:16):
me out a friend who's planning to go on a
cruise in the Mediterranean, I think in is it September
or September one, and has to have six months validity
and he just he Fortunately he looked at it. Now
it's five months. He's got time to get it renewed. Okay,
So first is review the accuracy of all travel documents.

(15:40):
I mentioned travel dot state, dot gov. One thing you
can do if you're traveling on your own is download
Google offline maps. Just put them on your cell phone.
Because you may not always have a data or internet
connection I.

Speaker 2 (15:55):
OW, and that's so invaluable.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
Call your cell phone provider and find out about your
data plan. Some people have unlimited data, some do not.
One thing you can do is most of the cell
phone providers have an international plan it's like one hundred
and eighty two hundred countries, not every country, though I

(16:19):
have AT and T and for twelve bucks a day.
Kathy gets it as a second device for six bucks
a day. We get twenty four hours of calling, meaning
a text or a telephone call to a USA area code.
Now that area code doesn't have to be in the USA.

(16:41):
For example, Kathy and I are overseas as we were
in Japan in May. I'm calling her in Japan, but
on a USA eight oh one area code, and it's
twelve bucks a day unlimited usage on that. We've mentioned
the three passport copies. The other thing you want to
do is check on data. I remember a trip to Thailand,

(17:03):
where I would live if it weren't for my kids
and grandkids. I'm trying to get them to move there
with me. I always turn off my data, put it
on airplane mode or something like that, because those things
are twenty four seven sucking information and data. Now domestically
I have unlimited data. Overseas, I do not. Maybe you

(17:24):
have a plan that gives you unlimited I don't, and
they're very hard to come by. They were in the
early days of cell phone data and I thought i'd
turned it off. I got home to a nine hundred
dollars data bill from AT and T. I called them
pled my case and they were very sympathetic. I got

(17:45):
to give them credit for that. But Mercy did not
rob justice.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
He still used it.

Speaker 1 (17:52):
You know, it's a good idea to call your bank
and let them know you're going to be out of
the country so the fraud department doesn't go crazy on
your credit card. Thoroughly research your destination and compare different
hotel and accommodation's offers. With that, Okay, a lot of

(18:13):
good fun traveling overseas when we come back. A recent
survey worldwide identified the number one happiest country on Earth.
Here on the Travel Show, I'm going to tell you
about it. You're listening to the Travel Show. I'm Larry

(18:37):
Gelwicksteed Getaway Guru in my thirty fourth year as your
friend and host here on the Travel Show. You know,
we started this show thirty four years ago on a
three letter station and it's kind of like a Michelin
Star Wendy. We got so good we were awarded a
fourth letter.

Speaker 2 (18:57):
Fourth letter.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
I moved over here to iHeart NRS in Salt Lake
City is the anchor station, but we go out on
the satellite to nineteen different stations across the country. Well,
travel makes you happy, doesn't it, Wendy.

Speaker 2 (19:11):
Oh, That's why we do what we do.

Speaker 1 (19:15):
Here's a question I get asked all the time. What
is your favorite place? I'm talking about outside the United States?
What is your favorite travel destination?

Speaker 2 (19:25):
Well, I know what you answer. You always answer Thailand,
of course.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
The obvious answer.

Speaker 2 (19:31):
You know what?

Speaker 1 (19:32):
What about for you and art?

Speaker 2 (19:33):
For me? I'm Italy. I'm Italy. That is my favorite
place that I feel comfortable. I feel at home in.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
Any part of Italy that you really love, you know, Tuscany, I.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
Love Rome. I guess I'm a capital city girl. I
don't know. It's just always been my favorite. I'm just
really comfortable there.

Speaker 1 (19:56):
Have you ever been up in Tuscany to a little
fourt teeenth century village sani Mio I.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
Love that one.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
And Sienna, well, Siena of course, the heart of the Renaissance.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
Yes, and you get to that whole area, there's just gorgeous.

Speaker 1 (20:12):
It really is. It really is. To Florence Fitenze.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
Uh just was in Venice last month and it was amazing.

Speaker 1 (20:20):
Yeah. Yeah, I love Florence too. I have some favorite
gelato shops there. But you know, everybody recognizes me from.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
Florence at the wine Windows, No, at.

Speaker 1 (20:30):
The Academi Museum, the famous Larry statue of sculptured by
Michelangelo five hundred years ago. I've often said, Wendy, I
you know, if I had a plea to God above,
I'd say, could I look. Can I go to the
beach just one day in my life and look like
David with a bathing Sudan, but just just to be

(20:54):
ripped like that? Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 (20:56):
You know it's it's such an amazing, amazing statue. And
I think what surprises people the most when they see
it for the first time is the size of it,
because it is larger than life. Yes, I know you're
you're glowing over there. I see you.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
I didn't say a word.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
I didn't say, oh, biceps, man.

Speaker 1 (21:16):
That's right, that's right.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
Anyway, you know, the the David's Statue is a beautiful
piece of art. It's a non sexual piece of art completely.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
No, yeah, it is.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
It is beautiful. Now when people ask me for the
my favorite place, I have to ask what is the
purpose of the trip. For what do I want to see?
What do I want to do? For sheer physical beauty
that overloads the senses for me, And remember your list
is going to be different from mine. There's no right

(21:50):
or wrong. But for me, scenery that overloads the senses
and just inspires me is French Polynesia. I'm the islands
of Tahiti, Moorea, Rightyeatea Bora Bora. In fact, you know
it's interesting, Bora Bora. James Mishner, the famous author, said

(22:10):
that Bora Bora to him, was the single most beautiful
island in the world. It's dominated by Mount Ottemanu and
you got us. What are your mental images of Bora Bora.
It's a small island in the Society Island group. It's
surrounded by motus, which are other little islands or atolls,

(22:33):
and a lagoon. It's a very turquoise lagoon. But it's
great diving. I've gone diving there with the giant manta rays,
which have wingspans up to twenty three feet from tip
to tip.

Speaker 2 (22:45):
That's incredible.

Speaker 1 (22:46):
But one of my greatest diving experiences I've been diving
all over the world is a dive partner. You never
go alone. You always go with a dive partner. And
we went took the boat outside the lagoon into open ocean. Now,
we went to where the reef cascades down at a
pretty sharp angle down to the floor of the ocean.

(23:09):
We were down about eighty ninety feet and we are
surrounded by eighteen sharks. Eighteen sharks some of them. Yeah,
there were nice sharks, like there was a lemon shark.
Lemon sharps not going to body unless you try to
pet its nose or something. Some reef sharks, some gray tips.

(23:31):
There were the aggressive sharks, a bull shark, a hammerman
and great white, a tiger shark. We didn't see any
of those, and yet they're in the area. And we
just backed up to the shelf or the land that's
cascading down so we don't have to worry about anything

(23:53):
coming coming backside, and we just kind of stayed there,
kept our hands to ourselfs. I remember once diving in
the Bahama where a shark eyes down about thirty feet
and a shark got too close and I absolutely punched
it right in the nose. But you never punch it
straight on because it could grab it you punch it
from the side, and I gave him. I gave him

(24:15):
the Mohammad Ali Thrilla in Manila punch, and I think
I probably knocked him out.

Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, I was gonna say, or you knocked yourself out.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
I knocked yourself out. But here's the best part. You know,
there were American troops in Bora bor during World War Two.
They feared I mean Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, French Polynesia
all feared a Japanese invasion. So you can still see
the gun placements and gun batteries from World War Two

(24:48):
on Bora Bora. And you got to think about this
were some of those gis were at Okinawa, Guadalcanal, MacArthur's
return to the Philippines, the Battle of Midway. These other
guys are going native in Bora Bora. There's a lot
of beautiful girls there and it was a great experience

(25:12):
for him.

Speaker 2 (25:13):
That's a good way anyway.

Speaker 1 (25:14):
So you know, French Polynesia, it just captivates me. I've
spent so much time Oko Ley Fuckatonga sec Pay. I
can speak enough tong to get by conversationally, and I
love the islands. Now for something again, my favorite place
is something exotic, exciting, great people, great food, great value,

(25:37):
with pristine beaches and the foothills of the Himalayas. You
know where that is.

Speaker 2 (25:42):
Oh yeah, it's beautiful.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
Right For history, Wendy, it's kind of hard to beat
Europe in the Middle East, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
You know, it really is it. It's overwhelmed.

Speaker 1 (25:52):
You were just in Greece and Italy and.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
Christ Yeah, which was amazing. With the history of Croatia, which.

Speaker 1 (26:01):
You like about Croatia.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
I love Dabrovnik, you know, I love Dabrovnik. I loved
just how clear and beautiful the water was. And we
were on the star Clipper ship so were down at
these small fishing villages and we went sea kayaking and
and it's all rock beaches. I think that was probably
the thing that so many people were shocked about in Croatia,

(26:24):
that there weren't the sandy beaches. Everything is big rock.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
It's the same in Greeceia have the smaller pebbles in rocks.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
It is so different. It is not like what you
have in Polynesia, right, that's right.

Speaker 1 (26:36):
So for history, I like Europe in the Middle East.
For adventure, it's where I was a couple of weeks ago,
a great migration Sfarha which only happens in July, August
and September. It's the largest land animal migration on Earth.
It overwhelms you and only in and Tanzanian. For a

(26:58):
long list of reasons, Ken is the better option. So
those are my choices, and I would love to invite you,
our travel show listeners, to join me in one of
my favorite places, Polynesia, the South Seas, the South Pacific
next year May. Let's see we go May seventeen to

(27:21):
the twenty seventh. It's an eleven day cruise and we're
sailing from Tahiti to Honolulu. We'll be visiting Tahiti, Moorea,
Bora Bora right Yeta, where the LDS Church announced a
new temple. There's also ancient Polynesian temples. Will cruise through

(27:44):
the Tuamotu Archipelago of islands and then cross the equator
and then sail the Hawaiian Islands. Now what's cool about
this Wendy is it has a free airfare offer, which
is really a buy one, get one.

Speaker 2 (28:01):
Norwegian does a great job with this and the first
person pays a respectable price. It's not double what you
would expect to pay. It is a good price, and
the second passenger goes for free.

Speaker 1 (28:14):
I've usually found that first price is equal to or
lower anything you have having yourself. Let me correct the dates.
We board the ship May fifteenth, and we diss in
Tahiti and puppy Ata, and then we disembark in Honolulu
on May twenty seventh. That is a thirteen day, twelve
night cruise. And to sum up my love of Polynesia,

(28:37):
here's something that Robert Louis Stevenson, from Scotland, where I
was a short while ago, sailing in the South seas.
He wrote this July twenty eighth, eighteen eighty eight, when
Carlos Fieda was just a young man. He wrote, quote
few men. He's speaking of Polynesia in the South seas.

(29:00):
Man who come to the islands leave them. They grow
gray where they alighted the palm shades, and the trade
winds fan them till they die, perhaps cherishing to the last.
The fancy of a visit home, which is rarely made,
more rarely enjoyed, and yet more rarely repeated. No part

(29:24):
of the world exerts the same attractive power upon the visitor.
With some sense of its seduction. The first experience can
never be repeated. The first love, the first sunrise, the
first south Sea island are memories apart and touched a

(29:45):
virginity of sense. Close quote that sums up Wendy might
love of Polynesias. So again the dates May fifteenth to
twenty seventh, next year twenty twenty six, and Wendy do
take advantage of free airfare offer? Well?

Speaker 2 (30:01):
Absolutely, And I was even going to mention that when
you talk to your booking agent on this, you can
request a day or two in advance as or after
the crews. Excuse me, so you could take advantage of
being in Hawaii, or a couple of days, a couple
of days your age here in their fairhood. Yeah, since

(30:21):
I'm here, let me take a little extra time, take
advantage of the offer.

Speaker 1 (30:27):
Okay. A Worldwide World Happiness Report worldwide survey for the
eighth consecutive year. This is a Gallup study. Finland secured
the top spot thanks in part to its citizens' commitment
to volunteering, donating to causes, and helping those in need.

(30:47):
And you know, the Fins indicated that they implicitly trust
those around them, with most people responding they think the
police and neighbor, even a stranger would probably return their wallet.
Good luck here, no questions asked. Well Finland, where I
will be next month. There at Helsinki was rated the

(31:09):
number one friendliest country on Earth. I'll give you a
full report when I get back next month in September.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
You'll have to leave your wallet and see if you
get it back.

Speaker 1 (31:30):
Welcome back to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks, the
get Away Guru. The travel show is sponsored by Morris
Columbus Travel, where you'll always travel more and pay less.
Check out their website Morriscolumbus dot com Morriscolumbus dot com
and if you'd like to see any of the escorted
tour programs which are exceptional exceptional. Thank you Wendy Group,

(31:55):
department manager for Morris Columbus Travel. On the homepage Morris
Lumbus dot com, scroll down to the third item, which
is Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours. That's the brand name for
the Morris Columbus Escorted tour programs Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours

(32:16):
and then click on cruises if it's a cruise or
a geographic destination. Europe holy Land, LDS, Church history tours, Asia, Africa,
South Pacific, I mean whatever. And you'll see a wide
variety of tours that in the next segment, Whendy, you'll

(32:36):
be introducing us to some of her favorites. Now, I
have a routine every Saturday, coming down to the studio
for the travel show, I stop at McDonald's and a
couple of weeks ago, I told you why. Scientifically, McDonald's

(32:59):
diet coke tastes better and there's a whole scientific reason
for it. They do it differently, and so my routine
is I stop at McDonald's, have an egg McMuffin and
a diet coke with a free refill, Thank you very much.
I get quite a caffeine boost from that. Now, the
question is you see McDonald's restaurants Wendy at just about

(33:24):
every airport in the world except one big one, Salt
Lake City. Why.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
Because Salt Lake City only allows street pricing, which is
what that is the price. If you go to any
McDonald's in the city, you have to be able, or
any restaurant in the city you have to be able
to buy the same value mill at the Salt Lake Airport.
Every view anywhere exactly.

Speaker 1 (33:53):
Panda Express, shake Shack.

Speaker 2 (33:55):
All of those blue Iguana I love.

Speaker 1 (33:58):
The blue iguaa also though Ed and Chris the owners,
you know, they're not an aero press Squares my favorite
Mexican restaurant, and they have a location out on let's
see Terminal A East. Yeah, it's yeah. They have street pricing,
meaning they're not going to gouge you. That fifty cent
hot dog at seven eleven is now eight bucks out

(34:21):
at the airport and it's been rolling on the rollers
for what months something like that. Uh. When McDonald's submitted
their application, they said, we can't do that, but we
want to be there, and to the credit of the
Salt Lake Airport, they said, we'd love to have you
come back when you agree to the street price. But
there is a burger King out there if you have

(34:42):
a cheeseburger.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
If you need your fast food quick fix, absolutely all right.

Speaker 1 (34:47):
School is back in session in many parts of the
land and here in Utah also, and it's time to
start thinking about spring break. And so we introduced this
several months ago, but I get at schools coming to
an end for most of the Utah School District. Spring

(35:10):
break twenty twenty six will be Monday through Friday, April
six to ten, and you always have the weekends buttressed
up on it to do something. I've found a five
day cruise out of LA with Royal Caribbean on Navigator
of the Seas. That is one of my favorite ships.
It is fantastic. I've sailed on it. I think four times.

(35:33):
Do I have the greatest job on Earth?

Speaker 3 (35:36):
Or what?

Speaker 1 (35:36):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (35:37):
Night Envy Year Shops.

Speaker 1 (35:38):
I go on as a passenger, come off as cargo.
But it's April sixth to the tenth, Monday through Friday.
You can fly to LA. You can drive to La.
Right next, not down the highway. Right next to the
ship is a parking lot and it's a secure parking
lot with a security fence around it. You have the

(36:00):
weekends to visit Saint George on the way, Las Vegas,
the beaches of Southern California, Land San Diego. Do whatever
you want now. I don't dare give you the prices
on these. I'll give you a hint right now. They're
in the four hundred dollars range, depending on the cabin

(36:22):
you want. I'm looking, you know, like a family, and how.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
Many people are in your cabin. And that's the difference.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
Like a family of four, two adults and two kids,
depending on what type of interior room and where it's
in the four hundred dollars range, when you can get
a five day cruise with all your by the way,
that includes taxes and fees.

Speaker 2 (36:42):
I know, I know. And it's with Royal Caribbean, which
is such a fantastic family ship.

Speaker 1 (36:48):
It really is. Now. Cathy and I gave this as
a gift to our children and grandchildren. We have the
whole crew there. We said, listen, we're gonna buy you
an inside cabin.

Speaker 2 (37:02):
And pay the tats. So generous, the last of.

Speaker 1 (37:04):
The big spenders. We'll provide the cabin, and some are
getting balcony cabins. You get yourself there, you pay the gratuities,
we'll pay for the cabin.

Speaker 2 (37:16):
I think that's such a fantastic way. That way, you
and Kathy don't have to plan meals or activities. You
just say this is where we're going to be. Let's
go have dinner, let's go play, let's hang out at
the pool. It's all a lot of fun family.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
Kathy and I'll be there and they have a great
kids program. They have a little water park for kids,
and then the water park for adults and teenagers and ysage.
It's fantastic. We sail from LA. We visit Catalina. We
have day a day at sea time at sea. We
visit Mexico. Back to LA and by the way, a

(37:51):
passport is not required for this cruise. Recommended but not required,
just for use citizenship more in our number two of
the Travel Show. For number two of the Travel Show,
I'm Larry Gelwicks, your humble host. Humility a character trade

(38:11):
I've ever been accused of. You know. Actually I celebrated
a birthday last month and it was so nice. You know,
friends and family came over and they were talking. I
just told some stories of things. And somebody said, how
do you know when Larry enters a room. The answer was,

(38:35):
he will let you know.

Speaker 2 (38:38):
How true.

Speaker 1 (38:39):
I'm joined today by Wendy Frakie, a group department manager
at Morris Columbus Travel. You can check out all of
the escorted tour programs that Wendy and her travel experts
put together, and there's a large variety of just about
anywhere in the world you want to go. Go to
Morriscolumbus Dot com. That's Morris Columbus dot com. Scroll down

(39:01):
on the homepage to Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours. Wendy, why
is the company name Morris Columbus, but the escorted tour
program is Morris Murdoch And that kind of confusing.

Speaker 2 (39:17):
It is except to our fifteen However, are existing clients,
the people who've been using us for the last thirty
forty fifty sixty years, Yeah, saw these many. They absolutely
recognize the Morris Murdoch name. And that's because that's as
long as we've been doing tours, and the company when

(39:38):
we merged with Columbus, really felt strongly about maintaining that reputation.
And so I liked it because I didn't have to
change my website or email address at all. But I
think our clients really like it because we're really easy
to find.

Speaker 1 (39:55):
Very good Morriscolumbus dot com. Scroll down the third item
on the homepage Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours, and then if
you're looking at a cruise, click on Cruises. If you're
looking at a land tour, they'll have a menu a
Holy Land, Europe, Asia, Africa, what faith based tours LDS,

(40:17):
Church history tours, just about anything that you want.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (40:21):
Okay, here's the question that I get asked often because
there's all this talk about secret airfares, unpublished airfares that
people can take advantage of and save a ton of money.
Yet if you talk directly to the airline reservation department,

(40:41):
they don't know anything about them. So number one, and
by the way, secret airfares is a term that I use.
Do they really exist?

Speaker 2 (40:50):
They do?

Speaker 1 (40:52):
What's the real name there?

Speaker 2 (40:54):
I was going to say, they're tour operator fairs? They what?
Which means we have to combine it with a different
element of travel, whether it be a car rental, a hotel.
And as long as we have a minimum additional purchase
with that airfare, you can open up an amazing discount.

Speaker 1 (41:17):
You know. Airlines, like most businesses, can predict the volume
of business and the revenue from historical data, barring flight cancelations,
special events a Super Bowl or Christmas holidays. If you
as Delta Airlines for their one o'clock flight to la
on March fifteenth, they can tell you, with again barring

(41:42):
any of those special events, they can tell you with
remarkable accuracy, how many people are going to be on
the plane. Now, unlike NAPA Auto Parts, where you may
have one hundred spark plugs and you sell twelve today,
you don't throw the other eighty eight out. They have
shelf life, they have value. But on that airplane, when

(42:04):
the door closes and there are empty seats, all revenue
opportunity to sell it ceases. So the airlines want to
fill every seat fair enough. They come to a handful
a select few license bonded tour operators, Morris Columbus Travel

(42:26):
being one of them, and one of the very few
I know in the whole Inner Mountain area, and say, listen,
Morris Columbus and other tour operators.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
We're going to give you these insane.

Speaker 1 (42:38):
Discounts in many cases, these big discounts. But you can't
sell air only. Why don't they want us to sell air.

Speaker 2 (42:45):
Only, because that then, wouldn't it be that would be
competing directly against the distributions exactly, And so and they've
got these other contracts, right.

Speaker 1 (42:57):
So they say you have to bundle it with something,
you have to combine it with something, and so we
do that. It could be and the destination drives what
the minimum component is. In most cases, it can be
as little as two days car rental or two nights hotel.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
You may be staying for a week or two exactly.

Speaker 1 (43:21):
Yeah, you know many in this area will remember the
name Marion D. Hanks. Yes, he was a general authority
for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints,
and when he stepped down from that post and was emeritus,
I was his personal travel advisor and he would call

(43:42):
me and I would take care of the travel. They
had a home in Hannah on the island of Maui,
and they would go there for the winter, and Elder
Hanks family called him Duff. I always called him Elder
Hanks out of respect would call me up and they
would stay for five months the winter time.

Speaker 2 (44:04):
As you should that.

Speaker 1 (44:06):
They had their own car there, so I would book
them the cheapest car I could find. They wouldn't even
pick it up. But the airfare ran a couple hundred
dollars per person, less than buying air only. Now, don't
try to make logic out of listen. Let me give
you an example. Now, I want to emphasize these are

(44:27):
not current examples. These are from two weeks ago that
we talked about on the show. But I'm going to
break it down if the package price and if you
were to buy it individually. So there was a four
star nice hotel in Waikiki and we looked at some

(44:48):
November dates. It was nine hundred and seventeen dollars per
person for airfare, taxes and hotel six days, five nights.
You can always extend your STAN and then the price
is adjusted accordingly. Okay, keep that number in mind, Wendy,
nine hundred and seventeen dollars. I broke it down and

(45:12):
if I bought the air which was six seventy seven, okay,
the hotel four forty one, that is a total of
one thousand, one hundred and eighteen dollars. What number were
you supposed to remember?

Speaker 2 (45:24):
Nine seventeen.

Speaker 1 (45:26):
That so, by buying it as a package for Morris
Columbus travel, you would have saved two hundred and one
dollars per person four hundred and two dollars per couple,
which gives you a heads up for buying a Christmas
gift for me.

Speaker 2 (45:45):
You know, serving about it on we circles back there.

Speaker 1 (45:48):
Thank you. I'll let you know when I enter a room.
Absolutely see these are secret air phrase We talked about
Portovaarta at a great, great hotel all inclusive down under
the Crown Paradise Golden Porto Varte, and I looked at
early December, wintertime when you want to be in Mexico
all inclusive. I looked at that first week of December.

(46:12):
The package price, which included airfare, round trip transfer, is
airport to the resort, all your meals, all your drinks,
your tips, your gratuities, and the resort for six days.
The package price was one thousand and seventy six. What
a deal.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
That's incredible.

Speaker 1 (46:30):
But if I bought it separately using a sale that
they had on at the hotel, I'm going to pay
one thousand, two hundred and thirty And what number were
you remembering?

Speaker 2 (46:42):
One thousand and seventy six.

Speaker 1 (46:44):
That's a difference of one hundred and fifty four dollars
per person times two three hundred and eight dollars a couple,
which gives you a heads up for a birthday gift
for me.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
I was going to say, what about me, I'll take.

Speaker 1 (47:00):
You at lunch, So anyway you want to ask again,
that secret airfare is my term. The examples I gave
you are not current. They're two weeks old, so I
don't know what the prices would be now. But if
you'll call Morris Columbus Travel, you may have the direct
line to your travel advisor. If you do not, call

(47:23):
one eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six, and
that's a geo router that will take you to one
of our travel advisors.

Speaker 2 (47:33):
And the thing is is that secret airfare may be
your term, but as a company, we all know what
that means. So if you ask an advisor on the
phone for that secret airfare, they're going to know what
you're asking for.

Speaker 1 (47:45):
A tour operator fair just talk about an air and
car package at air it's a secret airfare, secret airfare.

Speaker 2 (47:55):
And Larry Gilwick special.

Speaker 1 (47:57):
That's right. Do you remember the supersonic Concord aircraft? Oh?

Speaker 2 (48:03):
I do flew.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
Twice the speed of sound. I the supersonic travel is
coming back and British Airways and Air France flew at
decades ago. The last flight was in nineteen seventy three.
I flew from London Heathrow the JFK in a little
over three hours. That's incredible and we were going mock

(48:28):
two twice the speed of sound. I'll tell you that
story when we come back right here on the Travel Show,
Larry at twice the speed of seven? Does that mean
I talked faster?

Speaker 2 (48:41):
That's scary.

Speaker 3 (48:42):
Actually, Okay, you're listening to the Travel Show.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
I'm Lary Gelwick's State Getaway Guru. The travel show was
sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel. Check out their website Morriscolumbus
dot com. I'm joined today in studio by the lovely
and talented. How's that for?

Speaker 2 (49:10):
I love it, I love it, lovely and talent.

Speaker 1 (49:14):
Wendy Frakia, Group department manager for Morris Columbus Travel. Now,
I had an experience I don't know, long time ago,
must have been in the nineteen eighties where I flew
from London Heathrow to JFK in about three hours and
it was interesting. On the British Airways Concord, the supersonic

(49:37):
jet with the funky nose holds only one hundred people.
The seats were two an aisle and two and the
seats were a little bit better than coach, not as
good as domestic first class, kind of in between that. Well.
The air France and British Airways retired their fleets in

(50:02):
two thousand and three, but the legendary Concord, a supersonic
airliner is slated to make its commercial comeback by twenty
twenty six. Now I remember when I and by the way,
they think they can do New York to London in
two hours in the technology, I did it in three

(50:23):
but two hours. But when I flew we were at
sixty two thousand feet. They had a readout, a digital
readout at the front of the aircraft that gave the
speed in mock mock one being the speed of sound.
We were at mock two, twice the speed of sound.

(50:45):
And when we took off from London Heathroy. Now the
captain will keep his foot on the pedal and re
power up and the plane shakes. This plane shook differently.
Now it's doesn't throw your back or neck or anything
like that, but you just knew you were sitting you
need something takes off and we went subsonic until the

(51:10):
captain came on. Now we're traveling about six hundred miles
an hour, and we had had to clear the coast
of Ireland because once we hit supersonic, there's a sonic
boom which would blow every window out in the south
of Ireland. So we're far enough away. We went supersonic

(51:31):
and it's not like whiplash, but you could feel yourself
kind of the g fource very gently, very gently pushing
you back. And so we're twice the speed of sound.
Landed in New York three hours later. Well, President Trump
signed legislation that lifted the previous band, which was since

(51:53):
nineteen seventy three on sonic booms on the supersonic flight
over land. He did that in June of this year. Now,
the new rule really paves the way for a new
age of travel. And with this rule, Fly Concord Limited
plans to return supersonic flights from the US, and it

(52:17):
will fly with greater speed, less noise, reduced emissions than
the original versions. Come on, we've had sixty years since
the Concord came out. Be fifty percent lighter thanks to
advanced composite materials. Anyway, it'll fly at sixty thousand feet
and they are planning to fly New York London, London,

(52:39):
New York in just two hours. Now. Where they really
need the Concord is on the Pacific.

Speaker 2 (52:47):
Oh, on those sixteen hour flights.

Speaker 1 (52:49):
That's right, that's right. Anyway, you know what's interesting, the
speed of sound. At sea level it's seven hundred and
sixty one miles miles per hour, but at sixty thousand
feet it's six hundred and fifty nine miles per hour.
That just science, right, It must be, It must be anyway,

(53:11):
I'm looking I'm looking forward to that now.

Speaker 2 (53:15):
I think there's a lot of people who want to
see airplane travel shortened.

Speaker 1 (53:18):
That was one of the great thrills of mind. They
even gave me a certificate. Dan Rather was on the
flight before his ignomanius fall from Grace. Now one of
the one of the great joys of my life in travel,
and I've been just about every where one hundred and
seventeen countries. Most of them many times over, are the

(53:38):
Christmas Markets of Europe, a six hundred year tradition where
every town, village, hamlet, big city, small, silly, completely and
totally loses their mind at Christmas with outdoor festivals. It's music,
it's drink, it's dancing, entertainment, and shopping, shopping, shopping is

(54:00):
absolutely wonderful.

Speaker 2 (54:02):
I was raised in a house with a mother who
was obsessed with Christmas, really, and I mean it turned
into Santa's Workshop and every amazing dream. People would come
to our house to see all the different things my
mom set up. So when I had my first experience
at the European Christmas markets, I kind of thought I

(54:23):
would knew what I was in for, but I'll tell you,
I had no clue, and it is it was like
my mom's house exploded all over these amazing medieval cities.
So I'm excited Larry this year because I'm getting to
host a tour to the Christmas markets. But it's not
just one, you know, one country in Germany. Yeah, one market.

(54:48):
We are going to Germany, your very favorite, your very
favorite market. We're going to Austria, and we're going to
Salzburg and are we are going into Vienna.

Speaker 1 (55:04):
Twelve Christmas markets they have in Vienna.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
And then we end in Switzerland. And it is just
a taste of each of these countries how they do Christmas.
It's so similar and yet they each have their own
unique spin to it. And this is such a fantastic
time because it is like the weekend after Thanksgiving. It's
four a week exactly. We leave on November twenty ninth,

(55:32):
and we're back on December seventh, it's fantastic and we've
still got a few spots and we would love to
have people join us.

Speaker 1 (55:40):
Don't you have a special airfare on this?

Speaker 2 (55:42):
We do. We have got round trip airfare out of
Salt Lake City for under nine hundred dollars shut the
round trip? Where do you get that? It's not supersonic though.

Speaker 1 (55:53):
Thank you? You fly Salt Lake two.

Speaker 2 (55:56):
Two, we go into Frankfurt.

Speaker 1 (55:58):
Frankfurter and you fly home from.

Speaker 2 (56:00):
And we fly home from Zurich.

Speaker 1 (56:03):
Where can I get you more information on this?

Speaker 2 (56:05):
You need to go to Morris Murdock ormorriscolumbus dot com,
scroll down, find the escorted tours and then click on
Europe and dates again. The dates are November twenty ninth
through December seventh. This is a perfect gift.

Speaker 1 (56:20):
Will you be along on this?

Speaker 2 (56:21):
I get to host this one and we're going shoppy.

Speaker 1 (56:24):
That's all the reason to go. Hey, when we come back,
I want Wendy to talk to us about some of
the benefits of group travel. You're listening to the Travel

(56:45):
Show in our thirty fourth year. I'm Larry Gelwicks, they
Got Away Guru, and it's been my pleasure to serve
as your host all thirty four years and we hope
for many many years to come. I'm please to introduce
Wendy Fraki, group department manager, who does such a great
job for the Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours. That's the brand

(57:08):
name of the escorted programs of Morris Columbus Travel. Welcome
to the show, Wendy, Thank you, thank you. What do
you see as the benefits of group travel other than
as opposed to doing it yourself?

Speaker 2 (57:23):
I think the best thing is is that we have
got proven itineraries that we are going to make sure
that you have the very best experience at the very price,
with the very best guides. This is what we do
and it is magical to experience it with people.

Speaker 1 (57:42):
A friend and neighbor of mine, Steve. He and his
wife Susan, dear friends. He's retired now, but he traveled
the world extensively, and I kept trying to get him
to he and Susan to come with Kathy and I
on one of our programs that we host, and I
was particularly Thailand. He knew of my love for Thailand

(58:03):
and I'd invite him. He said, Larry, I've been to
Bangkok on business. He blows in for three days or something.
You know, I could finally, finally I got into agree
to it. But he was afraid it was going to
be a cattle car, so regimented no time to do anything.
And he said it was completely different than any mindset

(58:28):
that he had about group travel. With Morris Columbus Travel,
he said, there was plenty of free time, there's expert guides,
everything was included. In fact, he said, the only thing
I had to remember was show up on time. What
time do we meet? The entrances, the meals, everything taken care.

(58:48):
In fact, he was so enthusiastic about group travel that
I brought him here on the radio show as advocate
of group travel, and he and his family later booked
a Holy Land for the whole family travel.

Speaker 2 (59:06):
We hear that often, and you know, one of the
things is that if you've gone to these destinations, don't
think that you won't have a different experience when you
go with a group. There are so many unique things
that we show you that is off the beaten path.
I mean, let's let's talk about Thailand. You want to
talk about Thailand.

Speaker 1 (59:25):
Oh So.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
I was lucky enough this year to get to go
and experience your your theme tour with my January with
January twenty five, and my husband and I got exactly,
we got to go and experience Thailand with you and
see your love and passion for this, for this amazing destination.
And then we got to extend into Cambodia and get

(59:52):
into cm rep and to Anchor Watt exactly, and it
was just a beautiful, beautiful experience. Now I can see
why everybody is dying to go on this tour.

Speaker 1 (01:00:06):
Well, what's interesting. I consider my Thailand and Cambodia tour,
which I do every year in and I like January
because of the weather. The best time to visit Thailand
is November through February, even maybe the first week of March.
It starts warming up. April and May are the hottest

(01:00:27):
months of the year where even the locals get uncomfortable
and then you know, I've been there and it's pretty
darn warm. But I like to go in January to
get away from the snow and the cold, and quite frankly,
I'll use the twenty twenty five tour as an example.
It's sold out in one week with a long waiting list,

(01:00:48):
and you talk to me about maybe doing a second one,
but unfortunately my schedule didn't permit it. In February, Kathy
and I are taking that exciting Australia New Zealand land
tour and cruise three days in Sydney, a two week
cruise with Holland America to New Zealand both North and

(01:01:11):
South Island, and then couple of extra days after the
cruise in New Zealand. I couldn't fit it in, and
yet we had so many people that wanted to go.
We came up with the idea, well, Larry, why don't
you go ahead and put a second itinerary together, which
is basically exactly the same thing exactly, And it's like, Wendy,

(01:01:35):
you know what I do over there, why don't you
leave it. I won't be there, but you will and
it'll be the same itinerary.

Speaker 2 (01:01:42):
Thank you. And that's exactly what we did. We had
such a demand for people who wanted to travel. This
was their year, this was their time. The wait list,
unfortunately on your sold out tour does not move as
quick as most people want to get committed to flight.
So I was thrilled to be able to have this

(01:02:03):
experience to go back to Thailand and to show people
this tour that you have absolutely perfected from Bangkok up
to chang Mai and chang Rai and down to Puquet
and then into Cambodia.

Speaker 1 (01:02:19):
You know, on this last January tour, one of our
tour members had a brother who had worked for the
Peace Corps and other organizations and actually lived in Thailand.
Lived in Asia close to twenty years, but almost all
of it he lived in Thailand, knew the country backwards
and forwards before they signed up for the twenty twenty five.

(01:02:44):
In that fateful week is he sent the itinerary to
his brother, who was living in Thailand, said what do
you think now? I apologize if this sounds like we're
bragging up this tour, but the brother wrote back and said, quote,
this is the finest Thailand itinuary for a tour group

(01:03:06):
right that I've ever seen.

Speaker 2 (01:03:07):
And Thailand is a country that people do on their
own all the time, but they do not get these
same experiences.

Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
They don't know what they don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:03:15):
No offense, no exactly, they.

Speaker 1 (01:03:17):
Don't know what they don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
So Larry, your tour is the beginning of January and
twenty twenty six again, it's long since January fourth. This
secondary tour that we are now offering that I am
just so excited to host is going to be January
thirtieth through February thirteenth, and if you decide to stay
on to Cambodia, it'll be through February fifteenth. What a

(01:03:40):
wonderful place in time to do Valentine's Day. So I'm
I am so excited. This is on our website and
soon we'll have Larry's twenty twenty seven tour out. But
if this is if twenty six is your year to
go to Thailand, I really hope that you will consider
joining us on this tour that we're going to be
doing Larry's tour. But you get me as your as

(01:04:04):
your dure A guide. You know what this is. It's
super fun and we're just we're going to have a blast.
One of the things about our tours is when we
have one that is amazing like Thailand, people want it
more often than the one time that we typically offer it.
I'm as an example, I'll talk about our Journey of
the Apostles tour. Now, this is a tour that begins

(01:04:26):
in Turkey and it starts in Istanbul, it goes to
Ismir and Ephesis, and so you get the teachings in
these ancient cities in Turkey, and then you fly to
Athens and then you spend time in Athens in Currinth,
and then you end the tour in Rome Journey of

(01:04:47):
the Apostles, and this tour typically sells out every year.
We've been doing this tour in January February time frame.
This year we're offering it in November. We still a
few spots in November if you're looking for something special
to end this year with. But we've also were offering
it again next year February twenty third through March fifth

(01:05:10):
with Tim Taggart again Fantastic Eye. Oh my gosh. He
is one of the favorite teachers that people request that
we get to do a lot with. So not to
mention our Israel tours that are starting to fill up again,
we are absolutely having guaranteed departures this fall and this

(01:05:31):
Christmas time specifically, let me talk about we have got
a tour that is over the Christmas holidays this year
to Israel with BYU Professor Garrett Dirkmont, and that leaves
December twenty six and the day after Christmas exactly, you
get to celebrate with your family, start packing, leave on

(01:05:51):
the twenty six and coming home on January sixth. This
is a guaranteed departure as well as when we have
this fall with another retired b why you Professor Craig Osler,
And we've got tours in the spring, so if you can,
if this is in your heart to go to Israel,
it it is definitely something that we are anxious to

(01:06:14):
get back to.

Speaker 1 (01:06:15):
Israel is a life changer, absolute life changer. You know
you're talking about Israel. There in the neighborhood is Egypt.

Speaker 2 (01:06:23):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:06:24):
Don't we have something going to Egypt with the new Egyptian.

Speaker 2 (01:06:27):
Museum, Yes, the GEM, the Great Egyptian Museum. Now this
has just been in the news because unfortunately this is
a museum that has been delayed for like the last
four or five years. But our tour operators that we
use in Egypt have got special permission for entrances to
get into the gym even though it's officially not open yet.

(01:06:50):
So we've got some amazing tours to Egypt because Egypt
has never closed down and it's still one of the
most unique and excite being destinations that I have ever
traveled to. I always said, it's the closest thing I've
ever felt like being in an actual documentary, Like I'm
touching a pyramid, Like in what world does this happen?

(01:07:13):
I'm touching a pyramid. But we have got tours this spring.
Actually Tim Taggart's doing a tour this spring to Egypt.
Actually sorry, he's his tour is in the fall. But
Dan Hone, your favorite buddy man.

Speaker 1 (01:07:29):
Is the ultimately Egypt guide.

Speaker 2 (01:07:32):
Oh they're all good, they really, they really are. Now,
Dan Hone will be going to Egypt in March. We've
got Kay Godfrey going to Egypt also in April. K
is amazing, and all of these tours include a Nile cruise,
a three night Nile cruise where you get the most
unique experience of seeing pyramids that not everybody gets to

(01:07:54):
go to these great temples as you come down out
of Aswan, and they're just life changers, like you said,
and being there with these specialty teachers who can take
it more than just a national geographic experience, but even
bring it to a spiritual level. It is amazing. So

(01:08:16):
I hope you'll go to our website and look at
some of these Egypt tours that we have as well.

Speaker 1 (01:08:20):
Would they be under holy Land?

Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
They would be under Holy Land. But there also we
have a tab that is Asia, Africa and South Pacific
and so because Egypt is.

Speaker 1 (01:08:31):
Part of it, so you're in there also. So the
website Morriscolumbus dot com. Scroll down to the third item
on the homepage, Morris Murdoch escorted tourists click on either
holy Land or Africa. I do have one question. We
visited all these temples. Does it qualify after this tour

(01:08:54):
when your bishop asks if you've been to the temple,
you can say, well, yes, I've been to eight of them.

Speaker 2 (01:08:59):
You know, so you could use that if you feel
good about it.

Speaker 1 (01:09:02):
I feel great about it. Okay. You know these aren't
monster groups. I see some tour companies have two or
three buses and one headliner one you know, top gun
is jumping between them. These are single bus.

Speaker 2 (01:09:18):
It's one of the things we pride ourselves on and
we do not overfill the bus.

Speaker 1 (01:09:22):
Hey, when we come back, I'm going to tell you
about the worst airports for cancellation and delayed flights. Here
on the Travel show