The Travel Show: Oahu; Cancun All Inclusive

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Travel Show. I'm Lari Gelwick's get away Guru.
Now in my thirty fourth year of hosting the Travel Show.
What a ride it has been. And may I thank
you because you are the star of the show. Without you,
I don't have a radio show, and without you, I
don't even have a job. At Morris Columbus Travel. The

(00:28):
Travel show is sponsored by the Best of State winner
four years in a row, is the number one travel
company in the great state of Utah. Of course, we
have clients and customers and friends all over the United States,
particularly here in the Inner Mountain West, who deal with
Morris Columbus Travel. Check out their website at Morriscolumbus dot com.

(00:52):
That's Morriscolumbus dot com. Well can you believe we're at
the end of October? I mean, this is crazy. The
Halloween is next week. In fact, next week I'll be
leaving for well, you know where I'm going, Thailand and Vietnam.
A wonderful group of travel show listeners we leave next

(01:13):
week and we'll be enjoying. Now, this is a new
tour I've never done. Of course, I get to you know,
I get to Thailand three or four times a year.
I'll tell you one of the funniest stories is there
was a stretch. Oh, it was a little over a year,
about a year and a half. I made seven separate

(01:36):
trips to Thailand. And in the Gelwick's family, we never
miss a chance for cheap and shameless humor. So it
was December of that year. Kathy, my lovely wife, was
driving me out to the airport to drop me off,
and I had a company. See there's two ways I

(01:58):
go to Thailand. One is with you and we have
a wonderful group of travel show listeners. The other. A
big part of Morris Columbus travel is meetings and incentives. Now,
incentive travel is when a company will offer their best
employees or best customers over the top five star deluxe

(02:22):
trips somewhere if they hit certain performance levels. Now some
companies say, well a safety record and we take this
big trip. Or brokers and sales, or with customers, you
do so much business with us, and we'll take you
on this trip. Well, I had a company that was
planning to take two hundred and fifty of their employees

(02:46):
for performance requirements to Thailand, and I was going with
the president and the vice president and their spouses to
kind of a pre trip a site in inspection. They
want to see the hotels and everything, make sure this
is the right thing. And I do that a lot.

(03:07):
So Kathy's driving me to the airport and she says, now, Larry,
now keep in mind we're cheap and shameless. Humor. Kathy
not so much. She kind of fell into this one,
but me and the kids totally cheap and shameless. Kathy's
much more refined. She says, now, Larry, isn't this your
seventh trip in about a year and a half to Thailand?

(03:29):
I go yeah, And then with a smile on her face,
she turns to me as she's driving and says, okay,
what's her name? And I just I blurted out, fong
Ling's the first thing that came to my now. Fong
Ling is one of my favorite restaurants in Hong Kong.

(03:51):
I go there all the time whenever I'm in Hong Kong.
And that has become the joke of the family because
the kids say to me, Hey, how's the other family
doing us? All kids are growing up so fast, they're
back in school. Fong Ling's doing well. All of this
and Kathy just closes her eyes, shakes her head and says,

(04:11):
I never should have said anything. So if you see me,
you can ask, Hey, Larry, how's the other family in
Thailand doing well? Yeah, so we're leaving. We're going for
the Lloyd Kretong Festival. Now, Lloyd Kretong is the biggest,
most exciting festival in all of Thailand. It's celebrated all

(04:34):
over the country. It's a one day official holiday, but
celebrated a week or more on either side, kind of
like Christmas. You know, Christmas is December twenty fifth, but
we celebrate at pre and post the Christmas day. So
it is with Lloyd Kotong. Now, Lloyd Kretong is an
interesting festival because it's a combination of Christmas, New Year's,

(05:00):
Valentine's Day, Ramadan, the Day of Atonement, Pioneer Day, Thanksgiving.
It's a celebration of everything. So what it is. It's
on the lunar calendar, but it's always in November, but
it moves around. It's a day of renewal. Now, Kretong

(05:20):
is a large or small but it's a banana leaf.
And what you do on Lloyd Kretong is you take
the banana leaf. The kretong have a candle and maybe
a little food offering to the gods, and with it
you push it out on a body of water. And

(05:41):
with as you push it out, you also emotionally and
psychologically and spiritually load onto that kretong your bad feelings,
your hurts, your disappointments, people who your hard feelings, your sins,
your mistakes in life, you had your bad karma. You

(06:05):
load this all on the kritong and push it out,
and you are renewing. You're forgiving people. Your sins are
past you, your bad luck will turn to good luck.
All of these things on and we're going to actually
be doing that now. The epicenter think of the North
Pole as the epicenter, or Macy's on Fifth Avenue in

(06:27):
New York as the epicenter of Christmas. The epicenter of
Chris of Lloyd Kretong, although it's celebrated all over the country,
is the city of Sukkotai. So we're first going to
go to Bangkok and then suko Tai is about halfway
between Bangkok and chang Mai, which is in the northern

(06:49):
part of Thailand in the foothills of the Himalayas, and
so we'll be in Tsukotai at an ancient temple for
a sound and light show, and then we'll have the
opportunity to each push a kretong with our bad feelings,
our bad luck, our sins, our mistakes, our disappointments, are hurts.

(07:09):
We're going to push that out on a water. And
I've said, well, if this is our mistakes and bad karma,
I don't need a kretong. I need a freighter, you know,
to push all my stuff out there. Gonna be a
lot of fun. So next week I'll actually be coming
to you from Bangkok, and then the week after that,

(07:33):
I'll give you a full report on Lloyd Kretong. Then
we're gonna head to Vietnam and we'll do Hanoi, Saigon
out to Holong Bay. If I showed you a picture
of Hollong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you would recognize.
And we've chartered a houseboat, a liverboard, twenty cabins, so
we've got forty people going and we got the whole

(07:54):
boat for three days and do all sorts of fun things. Well, listen,
last Saturday, I'll give you a report by the way
from Thailand and Vietnam. Hope you can join me on
one of these trips. Last week we broadcast live from
the Fall Utah Travel Expo, the biggest and best fall
travel expo in the entire Inner Mountain area, with travel venors.

(08:18):
We had airlines, cruise lines, safari companies, hotels, resorts, everything
related to travel. Now, the good news is we had
the Fall Travel actual first we've ever done. The bad
news is the travel show is over because they had
exclusive expo discounts. You want some more good news, Those

(08:41):
travel deals have been extended to the end of the month,
which is October thirty first, this coming Friday, Halloween Day,
and they these are things that you can only get
at Morris Columbus Travel, the sponsor of the travels. Let
me give you a couple. I mean, there's tons of these.

(09:04):
Here's one I really like with Norwegian Cruise Line, exclusive
to Morris Columbus Travel. You cannot get this anywhere else.
Your prepaid service charges, which you know you usually run
about one hundred and twenty bucks more if you have
a suite, about one hundred and twenty bucks per person
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(09:25):
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(09:45):
you sail by the end of February twenty twenty six,
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(10:08):
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How about one hundred one hundred dollars on board credit.
That's free money to spend on board per booking. Oh,
there's so many more of these, Armor Waterways for new
individual bookings, one hundred dollars free money to spend on

(10:30):
board and Regent seven c's free first cross airfare. Well,
I'll be reviewing some more of these as we go
through the show today and coming up next, I want
to tell you about a new program that you're gonna love.
In twenty twenty seven, Selody Cup and welcome to the

(10:58):
Travel Show. Of course, Sawadi is the native greeting in
my other home in the Kingdom of Thailand. Why not
fun talking about Lloyd Kertong. Hey, listen, I'd love to
have you join me here on the show with a
question of comment. What are your suggestions? What have you
experienced in travel? Give me a ring. We're live on

(11:19):
the air eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six.
Eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six. And if
you're too shy to join me, and by the way,
I'll make it real easy. Denny, our crack producer, just
leave the question or comment with him and he'll relay
it onto me. And yeah, we'll give you a shout
out for that. Okay. You know a question that I

(11:43):
have asked all the time constantly is Larry, you've traveled everywhere?
I've been to one hundred and seventeen countries, most of
them many many times over. Yeah, I'm a hopeless travel junk. Yeah,
have been my whole life. When I was a kid
growing up in San Francisco, US. Down to the Marina
and watch those big ships push out and sail under

(12:04):
the Golden Gate Bridge. Dreaming that someday I could go somewhere.
When I got my driver's license, I'd drive out to
SFO San Francisco International and there was no security TSA
back then, and I would just walk around the terminal
and watch planes take off and land, dreaming that someday

(12:24):
I could go somewhere, And laying in bed at night,
I read National Geographic and had I had a World Atlas,
and I would turned page after page, dreaming that someday
I could go somewhere. Well, that dream has been realized,
that and more. But the question I'm asked is, Larry,

(12:45):
what's your favorite place to go? And I have to
answer that question with a question, what's the purpose of
the trip? What are you trying to experience? Because if
it's for sheer, absolute physical beauty that overloads the senses,
oh that's easy. French Polynesia, Tahiti, Bora, Bora, Nukuhevahiva or

(13:10):
Reietea Rangiroa, Moorea, French Polynesia, the islands of Tahiti, and
the other I mean the sunrise, the sunset, the colors
of blue and green. It overloads the senses, never to
be forgotten. Now for something exotic, different, exciting, wonderful people,

(13:34):
first class medical care, great food, a culture of vibe.
We already know the answer to that, don't you. Thailand. Yeah,
if it weren't for the kids and grandkids, Kathy and
I would live there. I guess I could do the
show from Thailand, couldn't I? Denny? I think so. Denny's
our crack producer, not our producer on crack. That's listening

(13:56):
to the show. Now for history, by the way back
to Thailand, you have everything from world class beaches to
the foothills of the Himalayas, the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
I don't know if you ever saw the Leonardo DiCaprio
movie Beaches, but that was all filmed in Thailand, and

(14:20):
there's a scene where they show a beach and in
the audience at the theater you can literally hear gasps.
It's so beautiful, exotic. You got it. For history, it's
pretty tough to beat Europe and the Middle East, I mean,
come on, I love those places. Now for adventure, I

(14:41):
would say there's so many great places, but my favorite
would be a safari in Africa on the Great Migration,
which only takes place in July, August and September and
only in the countries of Kenya and Tanzania, the largest
land animal migration on Earth. It is overwhelming. You know,

(15:06):
two million wildebeestes on the move, half a million zebras.
By day three you will have seen fifty or more species,
not including the birds. We actually give you a little
booklet with color photos and descriptions of you know, fifty
sixty animals that you're likely to see. You've heard me
talk about this before. It is My wife Kathy was

(15:29):
hesitant to go. She thought it was all going to
be chuck a rama for the lions. But it's not sure.
Everybody has to eat, starting with me. But there's so
much more. Although I have to admit I've never I've
never tracked down a zebra or gazelle for dinner, and
you know, like the lions, but that's my favorite animal.

(15:51):
Kathy's is the wart hog. Now I can't even figure
that one out. Wart Hogs and wildebeest give a new
meaning to the word dumb. They're just dumb animals. In fact,
they make a car bumper look smart. So that's where
I would go. So I've got a new twenty twenty
seven program and you know where I'm going. It's interesting.

(16:15):
I take a group to Thailand and Cambodia every year.
I'll be leaving January fourth with a group of travel
show listeners and that was put on sale last February.
It sold out in a week. So what do we
do this fall? I said, Okay, I will take another

(16:37):
one in February of twenty twenty five. It's sold out
in about a week to ten days. And of course
this week I'm leaving on the Loyd Kretong to Thailand Vietnam.
Sold out, so I've got a new Thailand and Camboda.
This is my signature tour, the one that I'm the
most proud of. I've been doing this one and we

(16:59):
keep the group small on this one, to about thirty
six people. It's a deep diving culture and food, world
class hotels. We see the expected and the unexpected attractions
and sights of Thailand Cambodi. We will get to places where, Frankly,
trust me on this tourists don't go perfectly safe, but

(17:20):
to see things that are just off the wall with
local guides, and of course I will be there. The
dates for twenty twenty seven January twenty fourth to February seventh.
Now we put this on the website, I think just
this week Wednesday or Thursday. It's already two thirds sold

(17:40):
out in just three days. So if you're interested, call
Morris Columbus Travel and you can talk to any of
the agents or have them transfer or call to me.
I'm probably the best one to talk about this. Keep
in mind I'm leaving Thursday for Thailand, so call me
Monday or something, but give them a call. And it's

(18:04):
Thailand and the Legends of Siam January twenty four to
February seventh, twenty twenty seven. Now it's all just a
little over a year away. That's Thailand. If you want
to go to Cambodia, you'll come home on the tenth.
We'll see Anchor what one of the great Wonders of
the world. Now, when we come back, I want to

(18:24):
tell you some personal travel stories that'll make you sit
out and say I want to be with Larry. We
have so much fun.

Speaker 2 (18:32):
Love you guys here on the Travel Show.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
You're listening to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks, the
get Away Guru, and so glad to have you here today.
I'd love to have you join me here on the
show eight hundred excuse me triple A five seven o
eight o one to oh, triple A five seven o
eight oh one zero with your questions suggestion. I would

(19:05):
love your travel suggestions and recommendations. And if you don't
want to come on the air with me, leave your
question or comment with Denny, our producer here, and he'll
pass it on to me, just as he did from
Bill who asked about how my thoughts about plastic or

(19:25):
esthetic surgery in Thailand, which is actually very popular. First
of all, I don't give medical advice. I can tell
you what I know. I neither encourage nor discourage any
medical procedures anywhere in the world. Okay, that was my
legal cya, wasn't it. Okay, Bill, thank you so much
for listening, and thank you for joining me. The note

(19:50):
says that you'll also be with Kathy and I on
the Pearls of Asia cruise now that will be in
April of next year. And oh my gosh, was I
excited when I saw this itinerary. Here's what we're going
to do on Pearls of Asia. We'll spend you know,
we'll have an opportunity to see Singapore, so we'll spend

(20:12):
some time there, then sail from Singapore to Vietnam to
Hong Kong to Taiwan to South Korea, and then I
think four stops in Japan ending in Tokyo. What an
exciting itinerary. Anyway, Bill, let's talk about plastic surgery the

(20:36):
most as I understand, again, I don't give medical advice, recommendations,
or discouragement. I'll tell you what I know because I
get this question often, and I say, talk to your
own medical professional. But liposuction is the most common esthetic
surgical procedure that I'm aware of in Thailan. I'm very popular,

(21:00):
and it's known for being budget friendly and typically cost
between fifty and seventy percent lower than in the US
or Europe. Thailand has many world class hospitals You've heard
me say that for years, and clinics with experienced surgeon,
advanced technology including vaser vasr liposection with very high standards

(21:26):
of safety and hygie. I think some of the key
things to consider, Bill, in the wide range of treatment
and options would certainly include the cost. For many people,
they can go to Thailand get the surgical procedure, have
a vacation, fly home, and still save thousands of dollars.

(21:46):
You know, I've already talked about the quality of care
world class hospitals. One of the most globally recognized leaders
in cosmetic and esthetic surgery, as I understand it is
located in Bank. It's the Kamal Kamol Cosmetic Hospital, and
the hospitals in Thailand are regulated by the Ministry of

(22:10):
Public Health and follow very strict safety and hygiene standards.
So first go online, do some of your own research,
bill and then make an informed decision, always seeking the
advice of medical professionals. Thank you for calling, Thank you
for listening. You know something that happens to me all

(22:30):
the time, and I'm so grateful for is You know
I've been hosting this show for thirty four years. I
get giddy just looking forward to Saturdays, coming down to
the studio and sharing this time with you and oh,
I don't know, at least a half a dozen times
every week, I'll be somewhere in a store, at a

(22:55):
fine Scottish restaurant named McDonald's, at a foot ball game,
at a basketball game. Last night, at a rugby game,
I took my grandson see the BYU Utah rugby game.
It wasn't even close. Sorry yout fans BYU who I
played rugby for for three years. Yeah, we won a
national championship. Really had the best of the day. But

(23:21):
people will say it happened to me last night at
the rugby game. They'll say, hey, I recognize your voice.
Last night I was walking past just talking to some
people and the total stranger, Hey, Ilarry, is that you.
I recognize your voice and then we stop in chat.
I am so grateful that you do that. And did

(23:43):
you know that I kind of serve as a traveled
news reporter for ku TV Channel two. Every Monday, I'm
on the noon news talking and it's not a commercial.
I do commercials, but this is not a commercial. And
I give a travel report. You know, Princess Cruise is
having a good sale. Your passport requirements have changed. What's

(24:06):
the effect of the federal government shutting down on travel?
And that usually is aired on chair between twelve forty
and twelve fifty every Monday. And let's go to the
lines from Salt Lake City to our listener. Welcome to
the travel So who am I? I guess we don't

(24:26):
have them? Hey, I saw you call in and do
call back if you have a question. Maybe it's going
to Denny. All right, So you know, I'm very appreciative
by the way. You know, what's kind of funny about
KUTV pre COVID. I would go on the set and

(24:49):
you know, just as a reporter and give a travel
news what's happening in travel, and doing that for sixteen
seventeen years of Channel two, the CBS affiliate for this
part of the country, and they're always in suits and
nice dresses. I always wore a loud, bright Aloha shirt.
It was branding. It stood out and people would even say, hey,

(25:12):
I recognize that shirt. And then with COVID, they said, okay, Larry,
we want to reduce the foot traffic in the studio,
so just film your travel report, travel news, not a
commercial travel news, and email it into us, which I
did for the couple of years of the COVID. Then

(25:33):
post COVID, Channel two said okay, Larry back in the
student I said, no, thanks, this has been so good.
I can film this segment anywhere in the world. Now,
some may be live, some may be taped, but I
send it into that, you know, So I mean I'll set.
I'm going to send some channel to video clips from Thailand,

(25:58):
from Vietnam. You'll see this again every Monday on KUTV
Channel two, the number one news station in the market,
and it usually airs between twelve fifty or twelve forty
and twelve fifty every other Tuesday. I'm on Fresh Living
one o'clock on Tuesdays, is a talk show as a guest,
and of course I do commercials on radio and television,

(26:22):
so that's what we're doing. So please say hello. I
want to give a shout out to a man I've
never met. You are an Idaho farmer, and you were
talking to some of our travel advisors that you are
a travel show devote. Now you're somewhere in Idaho. I

(26:42):
wish I knew your name. I wish I knew where
you are living. But this gentleman said that as he
gets in his tractor closes the door on Saturdays, he
always tunes into the Travel show and listens to our discussion. So,
mister Idaho Farmer, we send our love and best regards

(27:05):
from the Travel Show and from me, the Getaway Guru,
thank you for calling. You know, one of the questions
that people ask me all the time I told you
last segment about the question, Larry, where's your favorite place?
You remember how I answer that, What is the purpose
of your trip? What are you looking for? We call

(27:27):
that experiential travel. You're looking for experience. And now I'm
not talking about climbing Mount Everest, although I could arrange
that for you if you wanted nothing death defying your dangerous,
but just experiences with your family, with your spouse or partner,
with your friends, by yourself. You're looking for an experience. Now,

(27:51):
I say there's a big difference between a tourist and
a traveler. One's not better than the other. They're both wonderful.
But a tourist is more like I'm going to spend
a week at Waikiki. I'm going to kick back in
Porto Vyarta at an all inclusive resort, probably never even
leave the resort, although I wish you'd go into colonial
Port of Yarta on the Mali khan Zono Romantica, the

(28:14):
Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But that's a tourist,
and there's I am a tourist sometimes, but often I'm
a traveler. A traveler is looking for an experiential adventure.
Perfectly save. It can be an easy adventure, it can
have some more hills and vales in it. But let
me tell you of a great story. Now, this is

(28:37):
probably something you wouldn't do. But you know, I've spent
a good part of my life in the South Seas
and Polynesia, in the South Pacific. I can speak enough
tongue and I don't call myself fluent, but I'm conversational.
You know, I can get by, and I have been
to Samoa. Now you have American Samoa. Oh the way,

(29:00):
I met one of the LDS missionaries from America from
last night. He and three compadre missionaries were at the
rugby game. You know, I thought that was kind of interesting.
Maybe they had an investigator playing or nothing else to
do on a Friday night. I had a wonderful what

(29:21):
a nice young man. All these guys were just fantastic.
But you have American Samo, which is a territory of
the United States. Pango, Pango is the capital city there.
Then you have Western Samho, a sovereign nation. Two primary
islands Upolu and Savai. I've been to both of them,
of course, been there's so many many times. Well, one

(29:43):
of my dear friends. LETTI Sayili lives out near Lefanga
and Matareva, unbelievable beaches. And you know I love the
Samoan foe. Paulusami is one of my favorites that you
you know that is it's tero leaves cooked and coconut

(30:06):
cream and they'll add some onions and corned beef. Then
you have seafoods and noodles of coco. Samoa, the Umu ovens.
This is a wonderful country. Anyway, Letty, he's passed away
and in the true Samoan tradition, he was buried in
his front yard, not a cemetery. They bury you right

(30:28):
in the front yard. My last trip to Upolu, Western Samoa,
I went out and visited his wife and kids, had
a wonderful reunion with them. But when I come back
in the next segment, I want to tell you about
one of the greatest experiences. This is experiential travel that
I had in Samoa with my son and I think

(30:52):
four or five of his friends. They were sixteen seventeen
years old. These were rugged kids, all playing football at
Highland High School on the rugby team, and we did
kind of a white Knuckle Adventure Club with nothing dangerous,
but I mean went to Australia and went backpacking in

(31:12):
the outback. This was a trip to some Moore had
taken them to California and Highway had taken them to
New Zealand. You will go nuts? Would I tell you
what we did in Samoa? Welcome back to the Travel Show.

(31:37):
I'm Larry Gelwiz, the Getaway Guru. The travel show is
sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel, winner of the Best of
State for four years in a row. What you're doing
when you talk to Morris Columbus Travelers, you're talking to
the experts, and Morris Columbus Travel the largest seller of
leisure travel, vacations, cruises, every thing in the entire Inner

(32:01):
Mountain area. The frankly get deals that you simply can't
get anywhere else. I talked to you about that exclusive
Morris Columbus Norwegian Cruise Line. Your gratuities which for a
one week cruise or two hundred and forty to two
hundred and fifty bucks or more if you have a
suite or mini sweet are paid for. You can't get

(32:23):
that anywhere else. Give them a call at eight hundred
Triple nine forty six forty six, or check out the
website at Morriscolumbus dot com. Now, if you already have
the telephone number of your favorite Morris Columbus travel advisor,
call them direct. Skip the eight hundred number and just
go to them direct on that. Okay, back to Samoa.

(32:46):
I told you this. I would take my son. They
were sixteen seventeen years old and about four or five
of his friends. They all played football for for Highland
High School. They play on the rugby team won national championship.
These were tough kids, and one year I took them

(33:08):
to Samoa, went to Hawaii for a few days and
then flew down to American Samoa. Pango Pango spent some
time there and then traveled over to the nearby Western Samoa,
and we visited both the islands of Upolu which is
the main island, and Savaii. So I had did kind
of an airbnb. I rented a house through some friends

(33:32):
down there that we lived in. Had a truck, a
big truck where they could all sit in the back,
and we did everything, you know, jumping in off waterfalls, swimming, canoeing, everything.
But we went out to my friend Letty SAILI. By
the way, Robert Louis Stevenson is buried in Samoa. He

(33:54):
spent the last years of his life in the South Seas.
So what I asked Letty to do is I want
to do like a billet. I want these boys to
live with a local family. Go native. And by the way,
the most traditional Polynesian lifestyles are in some of most

(34:15):
of the population still lives in the well. We call
it the grass hut. But most of them have corrugated
iron on the roof now, but open sided follies. A
folly is a house. You sleep on the floor. There's
smooth river rocks, and you put down woven mats enough
to make it kind of soft. All the meals are

(34:36):
cooked over an open fire. There's no western toilet. You
have a little outhouse, you know. And so that's what Letty.
By the way, he worked for the government, had a
great job made to Tala an hour about a dollar
fifty an hour. Very few people have cars. There is
a bus, but don't even pay attention to the schedule.

(34:57):
It shows up when it shows up. And a walk
wherever they go. So I said, Letty, I want you
to to have them a real native experience. So he
contacted some really good families there. He was bishop of
the local ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of

(35:19):
Latter day Saints. We had some families in his ward
that he knew very well. And each of the boys
not they didn't go in Tuesday, went singularly and I
took them in the truck, and you know, these are
these are tough kids. But I remember the looks on
their faces as I took them letty and I drove
them from family to family, dropped them off and said,

(35:41):
you know, we'll see you in three or four days.
And I mean there was looks of concern. What have
I got myself into with this? And but they went.
They went native. They ate with the family, They worked
in the fields with the family, They fishing with the family.
They dressed in lava lavas, which is the male wrap

(36:05):
around a women too. With them everything the local natives did.
No telephones, no internet, no vehicles, no cars, no trucks,
no no anything, no texting. And I went back about
oh three or four days later, and without exception, they

(36:29):
and their families wept and they hugged, and you know,
they said goodbye and I'll never forget you. They had
an experience that was life changing. This is experiential trouble.
I'm not suggesting this is right for you. I'm saying
for these tough kids I mean, and I say tough,

(36:52):
I mean physically strong and tough on the football field.
They were good kids, not trouble made. They're really good kids.
But it changed their life. And this is what experiential
travel can do. I told you Kathy was hesitant to
go on the Great Migration Safari. She went, at her words,

(37:17):
life changing. She was so moved by the experience she
came on the radio and has been on the radio
with me a couple of times talking about how it
really changed everything. The circle of life. We have that
when we go to Thailand, I've people come with me
two and three times on the same tour. They say, Larry,

(37:38):
this trip to Thailand and Cambodia completely changed my life,
my outlook on life. It's experiential travel. One time, my
daughter Emily was an exchange student in Western summer and
one time I was flying from Auckland to la We
flew right over a pea that night light. I looked

(38:00):
out and said, my daughter is down there in those
lights more when we come back. Welcome back to the
Travel Show, our number two. We are the best two
hours in radio, here with you every weekend at this

(38:22):
time on this very station. We're syndicated on nineteen radio
stations now, most of them in the Inner Mountain area,
but also stations in Texas and Florida. And we have
so much fun. Well, have you got to spare one
hundred million dollars laying around? If you do, would you
send it to the Governor of Hawaii effective January first,

(38:46):
twenty twenty six. That's just next year, if my high
school math holds up. The state of Hawaii is implementing
a new tourist tax. They say they need the moneyI
we already taxed tourist lodgings at a rate of ten
and a quarter percent. They want to raise that on

(39:08):
time shares, vacation rentals short term so that what they're
doing is there's a new fourteen percent increase in taxes.
Eleven percent will go to the state, three percent will
go to the county. You know, tourists. I think all
governments have never met a tax they didn't like. This

(39:29):
is going to affect not only hotels, and resorts, short
term rentals, Airbnb types, but cruises also. What you'll be
done is they will add fourteen percent to a pro
rated amount of time you're in a port. Now, when
you're at sea, it doesn't take effect because you're at

(39:50):
c but when you're in port, they're going to add
this to it that takes effect. What this highlights is
the need for a really good travel advisor. There are
still some deals, but I'm gonna be honest with you
as I always am, Hawaii has gotten expensive. The number

(40:10):
one best value in travel right now, hands down, is cruises,
both river and ocean cruises Mexico, all inclusives where everything
is including even your tax, tips, gratuities, transfers, meals, most activities, drinks, airfare, everything.
There's some really really good deals, but there are ways

(40:31):
to get around the high Hawaii prices. Let me give
you one now. All promotions and rates vary by departure
date and are subject to availability and change at the
time of booking. Let's start with Honolulu. You know I
love Honolulu. You've heard me call Waikiki the Tiawan of
the Pacific. I say that with affection. I love Waikiki

(40:53):
Beach I really do. I love Handlu, I love Hawaii.
Believe it or not, this is a true number. I've
been to Hawaii one hundred and seventy times. And by
the way, if I visit say three islands Oahu, Maui,
and Kawaii, that's one trip, not three. Shortest trip was
five hours. I flew over for a reception, arrived at

(41:14):
five o'clock and went to the men's room at the
Honolu Airport for my superman change, put on some nice
clothes from my sweats that I wore on the plane,
went to the reception, caught a cab down there, came
backs one of those receptions with people you have to go,
and was on a ten o'clock flight back out of Honolulu.

(41:35):
And I remember as we took off, I could see
the lights of Waikiki, and I thought, I'm here in
Hawaii for five hours. Why aren't I staying for a
few days? But I had an appointment the next day
in Salt Lake. I had to get back for anyway,
so I took some winter dates. I was looking at
jen twenty to twenty second to the twenty seventh, six days,

(42:00):
five nights hotel. And you used to take the Red
Eye back, so you end up getting six days in
Hawaiian Now you can add more time to this, but
that's kind of a standard package. Six days, five nights
at the first class four star Oheo Waikiki Studio, apartments,
round trip air taxes and the resort nine hundred and

(42:26):
forty two dollars. I'm flat out telling you that's almost
the cost of the airfare alone, nine forty two per
person based on double occupancy. It's a nice hotel couple
blocks from the beach, four star, first class. But if
you want to upgrade, now, I love this one. Do
you know what the Hilton Hawaiian Village, you know that
have the big rainbow on the side of one of

(42:46):
their buildings. Beautiful beach part of Waikiki at the five
star Deluxe over the top Hilton Hawaiian Village, one thousand
and ninety dollars. Now for another one hundred and fifty bucks,
I would go from the four star to the five
star and you won't. We're going to again. You can
add more time to that. Now, these are specials where

(43:09):
you got to go to Morris Columbus Travel to get
this deal. You know, as far as Mexico, all inclusives.
How about Cankun, same dates in January. A four star
at the Ocean Corral or Coral eleven twenty seven per person.

(43:31):
Five star at the five star Ultra Deluxe Catalonia Riviera Maya,
twelve seventy seven. Now that's your airfare, your round trip
transfers from the airport to the resort. Be careful about
taxis there in Mexico a five star deluxe resort. All
your meals, all your drinks, all the non motorized activities.

(43:53):
You want to rent a boat, a motor boat or
a jetskit, You're going to pay for that, but everything
else is included, your taxes, your tips, your fees. Ever,
you could go without a peso over in Porto Vayarta.
I like this one at the four star. This is
early February four Star Crystal Porto Vyarta. Ready for this

(44:17):
nine ninety nine, that's February fourth to the ninth. By
the way, the Crystal spelled with a K is a
really good hotel chain in Mexico. You want five star
over the top deluxe at the Ibiro Star. Now there
is a very good hotel chain, a bio star selection
Plamita just thirteen sixty seven. Some great deals, but there

(44:41):
is ways to get around the cost. Well, what if
you go in the winter time and it's raining and
you're in Honolulu, you can't let You're not going to
lay out by the pool, You're not going to lay
out on the beach. So here's some suggestions of things
I like to do on a rainy day in Honolulu.
Have you heard of the Eel Palace Iolani? It was

(45:05):
the only official royal palace in the United States. It
was the official residents of Hawaii's monarchy, and Kingua and
his sister, Queen Lilio Kalani, were the last royals to
live there. The monarchy was overthrown sadly in eighteen ninety

(45:26):
three by a group of American and European businessmen supported
by US Marines. Now, why these businessmen oppose Queen Lilio
Kilani's proposal to give more human rights, more voting rights
to native Hawaiians and lessen the influence and power of

(45:48):
foreign businessmen. Well, these foreign business and all they saw
were dollar signs, and so they overthrew They engineered it.
And why the American military, the US Marine specifically jumped
in the fray. I don't know, but a sad note
in the history of the proud people of Hawaii. Then,

(46:08):
of course the iconic International Marketplace. You know, it is
the ultimate tourist trap. But it's fun, it's exciting, restaurant shopping,
it's just a very fun vibe. And it's right between
the main drag Kalakawa Avenue, the on the ocean side,

(46:29):
and Koheu Avenue on the back side of the International Marketplace. Now,
I gotta go to the Alamawana Shopping Mall right across
from Alamajuana Beach. You can take a city bus down
that's called the Bus. In fact, it's a buck and
a half for an adult for a ride down there.
But you know, if you want a cheap sightseeing tour

(46:50):
kind of weird but fun, you can get on a
bus that completely circles the island for a dollar and
a half. If you get off, you have to buy
another ticket, and they have some senior rates too. But
the Alamauana Shopping Center is massive, and they have one
of the greatest food courts of any mall anywhere in
the world, perhaps only eclipse by the Siam Paragon Mall

(47:16):
and food Court. Where else in Bangkok, Thailand, The Siam Paragon. Yeah,
I'll be there next week. Then the Bishop Museum. You know,
this is Hawaii Onna founded in eighteen eighty nine by
Charles Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Pauahi Bishop,
who was the last descendant of the Royal Maya family

(47:42):
in Hawaii, and it's all Hawaiian history. Then you have
you know, it's fun on a rainy day. Well, I
love Pearl Harbor, but you're going to be outside on
that one on a rainy day. But the Pearl Harbor
Aviation Museum is indoors. I also love a shopping center
right in the heart of Waikiki, kind of opposite on

(48:05):
the ocean side of the International Marketplace is the Royal
Hawaiian Center. It is three blocks of shopping and yeah,
they have a cheesecake factory there too, which I love.
And then the Waikiki Aquarium that is over by the park,
right at the foot of Diamond Heads. So lots of

(48:27):
things to do on a rainy day. And do give
Morris Columbus Travel a call for the discount Hawaii. Keep
in mind January first, the wise Knuckleheads in Hawaii are
raising the taxes. They've never met a tax they didn't like.
So get that book. Now when we come back, I

(48:48):
want to.

Speaker 2 (48:49):
Talk about a new river cruise that I'm going to
take you here on the Traffic Show.

Speaker 1 (49:06):
Welcome back to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks that
get away Gory. Thank you for joining me here on
the Travel Show. Now I've promised you that I would
share a brand new river person. I love river cruising
because it's so easy. You've got one hundred and sixty

(49:28):
to one hundred and ninety people. You just walk on
and off, no long lines, no put you know the
airport type, check with security, and you know in the
dining room. It's over the top for me. They can
do things for one hundred and sixty one hundred and
ninety people you can't do for five thousand people. And

(49:50):
you see the heart of Europe, the big cities, the
small cities, hamlets and villages, mixing with the local people
and getting a flavor. And what's nice is all of
your shore excursions are included. Now typically on an ocean cruise,
you're going to pay anywhere from say at the low end,
one hundred to one hundred and twenty bucks to the

(50:11):
high end three or four hundred dollars per person per
shore excursion, but not on the river cruise. They're all
included and usually have about a choice of four or
five cruises or excursions per port stop you can pick.
When they also give you an activity level of you know,

(50:32):
is this more active or is this a little easier
and less strenuous. Some years ago, my uncle and aunt
joined us on a Ryan River cruise. She was in
their late eighties. She's now ninety three and still going strong,
but she used a walker. They had tours appropriate for

(50:55):
her and others that had some mobility issues. They also
have you, I mean, at the other opposite end, you
can join a bike tour. The other thing you can
do is take bikes out on your own. A friend
of mine, Dale and I, we were with the Andersons
on a Dale and Mary Anderson on a river cruise
on the Danube and Dale and I took bicycles out

(51:19):
there in Vienna and what a great experience that was. Well,
I have a new one that we've never done before
with Alma Waterways, the ultimate five star deluxe river cruise.
They just do it over the top This one is
on the Senn River, the River sen Sin, and it's

(51:41):
in twenty twenty seven, June seventeenth to the twenty fourth
round trip from Paris. You know what's good about that
for those flying out of Salt Lake City, we have
NonStop service, non stop with Delta Airlines Salt Lake to Paris.
And so we're going to We will offer a pre
cruise couple of nights in Paris with all the sight

(52:05):
seeing and then to the ship. And now you can
go early, you can stay late, you can explore the
I mean, you're in Europe, why not see a few things.
But let me tell you this it or of course
we'll see the city of lights Paris. But then we
sail on the sind River north towards the North Sea

(52:28):
and the English Channel to Normandy. This is the D
Day landing beaches. Of course, D Day was June sixth,
nineteen forty four. You know, there were four beaches. This
was the turning point in the war. The US landed
on two beaches, Omaha and Utah Beach, the British landed

(52:49):
on two beaches, and the Canadians landed on one. I
was with a group in this summer in July and
we to Omaha Beach, which was the bloodiest of all
the fighting. The bunkers are still there and thirty four

(53:10):
thousand Allied troops Americans, mostly young men, many teenagers, landed.
Many of them lost their lives. There is a cemetery
there that we'll visit, called the American Cemetery. There's also
a German, British and Canadian cemetery, but over nine thousand,
mostly young men, many teenage boys, are buried there in

(53:33):
a war that was not ours, but went to fight
for liberty and democracy in Europe. And you want to
be there. At four o'clock. At four o'clock, everything stops,
everyone stands at attention and in reverence. The play taps

(53:54):
as they lower the American flag, and you look across
and you think all of these people had lives, had
personal lives, and it's very emotional, very move They have
a beautiful visitor center and museum there. Also, what's interesting
in the cities and the villages around the American Cemetery

(54:17):
and around Omaha Beach, you will see year round American
flags flying at private homes at businesses. They remember that
without the Americans coming into the war, Europe would have
been lost. And so we'll visit the d Day Beaches,
all of that to han Fleur, Roenn, Vernon, Los Angeles, Lejave.

(54:42):
It is an incredible trip. You know, Roen is one
of my favorite stops. It's a medieval city. It's like
walking back in time. They have a beautiful, magnificent Rowen Cathedral.
Its Gothic architecture and you know Garth excuse me, Gothic
art chitectures a European style of masonry building that really

(55:05):
emerged in France in the twelfth century and it's very
popular throughout Europe from the twelfth to the sixteenth century.
That is characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.
The style was used to construct tall, bright spaces, especially
cathedrals and churches, by directing the weight of the vaulted

(55:27):
ceiling downwards through the pointed arches to thinner exterior walls.
Gothic architecture. You know Monet, the famous painter, painted the
Rowenne Cathedral. Also the tomb of Richard the Lion Heart
is there and it's very famous for the stained glass windows.

(55:49):
You have the old market place where now the Saint
Joan of Church has been built which commemorates her execution
right on the in the year fourteen thirty one. Charming
medieval streets filled with half timbered houses, and you know
the Palace of Justice, which formerly was a courthouse, a

(56:11):
beautiful example of Gothic culture. Anyway, we have bought half
the ship. Our discounts per cabin range anywhere from about
sixteen hundred dollars to over three thousand dollars per person,
discount off the published rate if you bought it straight
to Lamba Water which go to Morriscolumbus dot cog. Check

(56:33):
out this one.

Speaker 3 (56:33):
Another's who used on the group tourist cruises more when
you come back, you're listening to the Trap Show.

Speaker 1 (56:48):
I'm Larry Gelwicks, that get away Guru. The travel show
is sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel, where you always travel
More and pay less. Winner of the Best of State
as the number one travel company in the great state
of Utah for four years in a row. We hope
we'll make it five. Thank you for joining us here.

(57:09):
I was just talking about that New Adventures on the
River senn Paris and Normandy Rowan that's Joan of Arc
that is such a medieval city, cobblestone Street, you're stepping
back in time on floor, and of course d day
landing beaches and normandy sailing round trip from Paris. I

(57:29):
want to give you one example of the savings. Now
river cruises wherever you go. Are not your two ninety
nine kmart special blue light. Okay, you got that, but
just about everything is included, even soft drinks, beer and
wine at lunch and dinner and happy hour. You don't
have to buy a drink package. The shore excursions, the

(57:52):
upscale dining, easy on, easy off, seeing the heart of
Europe or wherever you're going. You can go to Africa southeastdays.
You don't forget. I have the Maykong. How much do
you trust me? How much do you trust me? Because
I'm telling you that the Maykong. It's November ninth, the

(58:14):
sixteenth in Cambodia and Vietnam on the Maykong with Alma
waterways with huge discounts because we bought half the ship,
and why did you come with me? You're going to
save thousands of dollars over the published rate. I think
the lead rate is like twenty nine ninety five or something,

(58:35):
subject to availability. And then on I would definitely get
a balcony on that one. Anyway, back to the river Sinn.
Let me give you an example of what buying half
the ship. We bought it. It's ours, we own it.
The dates again are June seventeen to twenty four, twenty

(58:58):
twenty seven. Now the the what we call the lead
category fixed windows, fixed upper windows. The published rate right
on the Alma Waterways website is five thousand, five hundred
and seventy nine dollars. All of these you got to
add some tax to it. Our rate for the same cabin,

(59:19):
the same date everything is thirty eight sixty nine. That
is a savings per person of one thousand, seven hundred
and ten dollars for a couple three thousand, four hundred
and twenty dollars thirty four hundred dollars savings by buying
it from Morris Columbus, same date, same cruise. Love to

(59:42):
have you join me. I'll be talking more about the
sin in the weeks to come. For that. Hey, one thing,
if you have booked a cruise direct with the cruise line,
consider this call Morris Columbus Travel. Talk to your favorite
travel advisors and see if we can add to it

(01:00:03):
now you've booked it directly with a cruise line, but
we can take over your booking if you've booked it
direct with the cruise line with your permission, and the
cruise line just has to assign it over and see
if we can add to it. Many times we can
add extra amenities, freebies here and there. It all depends

(01:00:25):
on the departure. But you'll have a professional travel advisor
looking out for you. So now, Kevin, one of our listeners,
called in and asked for suggestions. Left his message with
Denny about Ireland and Scotland and are you hosting anything

(01:00:47):
in Ireland or Scotland in the coming year. I love
the UK, of course, Ireland's the Republic, Ireland separate country.
Northern Ireland's part of the United Kingdom. There are so
many highlights. What I want you to do is I
hope you're listening to the Travel Show every week, but
on November the eighth. Abby Bannell a well known radio

(01:01:10):
talk show host here in the Valley with station k
n RS, where we originate the Travel Show. She's from Britain.
Lovely lady, personable. She leads tours just about every year
to England, Wales and Scotland. And she grew up there

(01:01:31):
in a out there in kind of the countryside, and
you'll be visiting her village where the first year people
do they put out American flags when they know Abby's
tour is coming. But the highlights of you'll start in London,
you'll visit the Cotswalds, all the major sites. You'll visit

(01:01:51):
Wales and then up to Scotland including Edinburgh. The dates
next year she always goes in September is September ninth
to the nineteenth, twenty twenty six. If you go to
the morriscolumbus dot com website morriscolumbus dot com, scroll down

(01:02:12):
about on the homepage about the third item and click
on Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours. Then click on the geographic
destination or if it's a cruise, click on Cruises. You'll
see all the details of Abby's twenty twenty six England,
Wales and Scotland with a true brit Just click on

(01:02:35):
Europe now for Ireland mark Folmo just he does an
annual Ireland The guy is a leprechaun and every early
October he does an Ireland trip. That's over the top.
Now there's nothing up yet. He just finished twenty twenty six.
He will be doing an early October twenty twenty seven

(01:02:59):
Ireland program Kevin that is comprehensive and look for that
to come up. I spoke to him yesterday. He's putting
the tour together now, so so appreciate you joining me.
And if you want to come with me on the
May Kong or the sin or the Christmas Markets of
Europe river cruise, just click on cruises on Morris Murdoch

(01:03:20):
Escorted Tours. Let's turn our attention to the Holy Land
and welcome back to the show. Dan hone one of
my best friends in life. We've been great friends for
over fifty years. Shallom Dan.

Speaker 4 (01:03:33):
Shallom also, I should say, as we're visiting some of
the Arab community as well as the Israeli community, and.

Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
Bring us seas okay, let me get Dan is too
humble and modest, a character trade I've never been accused of,
and so his background. We sat next to each other
and graduate school. My graduate studies included Hebrew and Coptic,
being one of the Egyptian religions and languages. Also, first

(01:04:07):
I studied first century Christian literature. Dan God was one
of the founding members of the Byu Jerusalem Center, lived
in Israel for some almost ten years. God his graduate
degree from an Israeli university and in my view as
one of the great scholars of the Holy Land. Now, Dan,

(01:04:30):
we've had a fragile cease fire in place. Of course,
Gaza is hundreds of miles from any place a tourist
would go in Israel, Jordan or Egypt. But what is
the status of travel Holy Land travel right now? And

(01:04:52):
where do you see it going next year?

Speaker 4 (01:04:56):
Well, as you know, Morris Columbus has a group there
right now, right now. That's Greg Aufler. It's a great
person over there. I've been in contact just this week
with receiving calls. Instead of me calling them, they've received
to tell me how life is back to normal the
way it was before this October seventh events, and back

(01:05:18):
to where they're expecting large numbers of tourists to return
this coming year in twenty twenty six. And they're telling
me everything's safe, particularly up in the gallery right now.
As who's given me calls, I've had more than one
call this week, but those that are over there, and
it's an exciting time to think that we can finally

(01:05:39):
go constantly back to that part of the world. And again,
as you said, even though the country itself is quite small,
Goddess Area is only twenty five miles long. It's the
same size as Utah Lake, except it's half the width.
And that's what we're talking about. On the making and

(01:06:00):
isolated down in the ne Gift right.

Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
Nobody goes there. You know, how does a Holy Land
experience affect the traveler?

Speaker 4 (01:06:14):
You know, it's both of us have been there together, Clarie,
and we have seen you know, I've helped over sixty
thousand over the last fifty three years. They go to
and from there, and without question, there's very few that
have a terrible experience. In fact experience you even have
a bad experience, they've got had a wonderful experience. When

(01:06:34):
they come home, almost invariably they talk about wanting to
jump back into the scriptures. You know, this coming year
for Latter day Saints, we're sending the Old Testament, followed
by the New Testament the following year. This is a
great time for preparation.

Speaker 1 (01:06:50):
And understanding, really is, and almost.

Speaker 4 (01:06:52):
Everyone says it opens their understanding of the of the Bible,
and of even for latterday Saints with a Mormon doctrine,
kinds for the Great PRIs, all of which have origins
with that part of the world. You know, it's important,
it's changing, as they say, Dan.

Speaker 1 (01:07:11):
It's important not only for members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, but for all Christians
or non believe is just from a historical perspective, there's
more than just religion on these and ancient religion on
these tours. It's history. Now. Two quick comments. Dan leads

(01:07:31):
some tours himself. Dan and I also lead some tours together.
I can't wait to get back there. But two comments,
and then I want to highlight the Morris Columbus Holy
Land tours. One is what I hear people say. I
can't wait to read the four Gospels again and the
Life of Jesus. Another statement you mentioned for Latter day

(01:07:55):
Saints they're going to be studying the Old Testament next year.
There is a statement a tributed to Jay Golden Kimball.
Reportedly he said, I read the Old Testament once, and
if the Lord promises to forgive me, I promise never
to do it again. So I don't know if he

(01:08:16):
really said that. But Dan, let's talk about Holy Land.
You know, we have some great programs. Go to Morriscolumbus
dot com, scroll down on the homepage to Morris Murdoch
Escorted Tours, then click on Holyland. You know some of
our advisors in addition to yourself is Jared Dirk, Matt

(01:08:39):
Kay Godfrey is a well known Tim Taggart, the Ostlers, Oh,
the Mannings, Joel Judd. I. You know, I gotta I
don't have time for a story about Joel. That's just endearing.
The proctors are going there, you know, it's just just great.

(01:08:59):
But let's focus on your to First. You have an
Egypt and Dan, we're coming to the end of this segment.
Can you hold over the break for just a minute
or two? Yes, okay, I want to talk about a
February Egypt with an option to Jordan, which is steeped
in biblical history. And then again, you'll be going to

(01:09:21):
the Holy Land in October. October is a great time
to go. Stay tuned for more on the Holy Land
here on the Travel Show