The Travel Show: Where are your favorite travel destinations?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Travel Show.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm Larry Kelwicks get Away Guru, and thank you for
joining us every week. We love spending time with you
talking about travel.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Now.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
It's been my privilege to travel just about everywhere in
the world. I've been to one hundred and seventeen countries
and I've got some more, some new ones coming up,
and so I've asked questions constantly, some of you call
in here on the show, at my office, at home,
at church, walking around, I'm constantly asked travel questions, and

(00:40):
I'm so grateful that you stop and talk to me
and ask me a travel question.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
But I'm going to tell you.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
The number one question that I'm asked goes something like this, Larry,
you've been everywhere, so what's your favorite travel destination. I
answer that with a question, Well, what's the purpose of
the trip? What do you want to do? What do

(01:08):
you want to see, what do you want to experience?
So outside the United States, my answer would be this
for sheer, absolute physical beauty that overloads the senses. French Polynesia,
the islands of Tahiti, Moorea, Bora, Bora, the marquessis you know,

(01:33):
there's actually five island groups In French Polynesia, you have
the Society Islands which includes Mooreo, right Eeta, Ranguiroa, Bora, Bora,
and then you have the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Marquesas Islands,
the Gambier and Astro groups. I love French Polynesia. So

(01:55):
for physical beauty, French Polynesia. But if I want something exotic,
out of the ordinary, perfectly safe, good value, great food,
incredible people with everything from pristine, untouched beaches to the
foothills of the Himalayas, Yeah, that's Thailand and Southeast Asia.

(02:17):
For history, you know, it's kind of hard to beat
Europe and the Middle East. But for adventure, that's an
easy one. A great migration Safari which only takes place
in the months of July, August and September and only
in Kenya and Tanzania. Now, both are wonderful, but for

(02:37):
a long list of reasons, I think that Kenya is
your better choice. Now, what about here in the United States?
My favorite destinations. We live in such a wonderful country.
I am traveling internationally almost every month, sometimes twice a month,
to different destinations, and I have this emotion every time

(03:01):
I fly back to the United States. Literally, I want
to get down at the first landing, the first port
of call, and I want to kiss the ground and
say thank you God that I live in this wonderful,
wonderful country. And even with the challenges that we have,
there's no place like home. There's no place like the

(03:22):
good old United States. Well, my favorites in the US
would include Highway One, which I've driven so many times.
It goes from the Canadian border to the Mexican border
on the Pacific coast Washington, Oregon, and California.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
And then Alaska.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
You know, the best way to see Alaska really is
an Alaska cruise, and we're going to be talking about that,
two different types of itineraries. And then of course Hawaii.
Now I love all the island. Did you know that
there's one hundred and fifty two islands and atolls in
the state of Hawaii, But there's eight major islands. Seven

(04:02):
of them are inhabited, can you name them? Oahu, Maui, Kawaii,
and the big Island, the Naii Molokai E and Caho
Lave that's.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
The uninhabited one.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
And then the mysterious forbidden private island of Nihihou. That's
eight of one hundred and fifty two. Well, you know,
I was talking about French Polynesia and I love getting
down there. We mentioned the five Island groups. Here is
something you hear people talk about. I'm going to the

(04:35):
Tahitian Islands plural. There is no such thing. Tahiti is
one island. The first known European to visit it was
a brit named Samuel Wallace in seventeen sixty seven, followed
the next year by Lewis Bonginville from France. Perhaps the
most famous visitor was Captain James Cook. You know he

(04:58):
made three voy just to the Pacific. In seventeen sixty
nine he arrived in Tahiti. But equally as famous is
the infamous Captain Bligh. You know, Mutiny on the Bounty.
The HMS Bounty landed at Tahiti. I've actually stood exactly

(05:20):
where they came ashore. There's a lighthouse there now on
the island of Tahit That was in seventeen eighty nine.
And then as they left Tahiti headed back to the
Caribbean with breadfruit, which didn't work out. A mutiny was
led by Lieutenant Fletcher Christian Well. They went to Pittcarron.

(05:42):
It's a great story. James Mishner, the famous author, said
Bora Bora was the most beautiful island in the world,
and it's dominated by Mount Otomanu, And I think I
kind of agree. I love Bora Bora and what should
do there? Just kind of a lazy island. And I
don't mean that in any bad way, lazy in a

(06:03):
very good way. What I like to do there is
the island is surrounded by a reef, which means it
gives it a lagoon and calm waters.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
Inside the lagoon.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
Kathy and I get on jet skis and we circle
the island. We'll stop at a private motu, which is
an island, have a picnic lunch, and the water, the
clarity is like one hundred feet or something. It's just incredible.
I also like diving there. I'm a diver. I have
been scuba diving all over the world. They have these

(06:38):
giant rays with a twenty six foot wingspan. They're inside
the lagoon. One of my favorite memories was a buddy
of mine and I took a boat outside the reef
and went diving. We're down about eighty feet or so
and we notice sharks appearing now isn't too concerned because

(07:01):
I didn't see the aggressive ones like a mako, a tiger,
a hammerhead, or certainly the great white. But there were
reef sharks, lemon sharks. We counted fifteen, so we backed
our backs. There's a steep slope of what they call
the shelf dropping down to the ocean bottom. We're outside

(07:21):
the reef, outside the island, in open ocean, but we
have the shelf at.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
Our back, so we backed up.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
It was kind of weighted it out and pushed at
I got my regulator and just kind of tapped a
few sharks that got too close. But I mean, that
is just an incredible experience. Now, I think the best
island to visit down there, if you only could pick one,
would be MOREA Captain Cook on his third voyage September

(07:54):
thirtyeth seventeen seventy seven, anchored at open no Whu, made
the There's two great bays on the island of Moore.
They have a Robert Trent Jones golf course. There's so
many activities there. There's more things to do on morea
than I think the other islands. But Cook dropped anchor

(08:15):
at Openohu Bay, but they named the other bay after him,
So today we have Cook's Bay and openo Hubay. Now
you probably remember the nineteen fifty eight movie with Mitzi
Gainer South Pacific. I'm going to wash that man right
out of my hair. And you remember the legendary forbidden

(08:37):
island of Bali High. That movie island was based upon
a real Bali High mountain, and that's what we call
it today right there at Openohu Bay. So you've got
the backdrop of open Nohube Bali High Mountain, and it
looks just like it does in the movie. On the

(08:59):
other two sides we have these rock walls that explode
straight up a thousand feet or more. And on the
fourth side it opens to the ocean. I love Rightietaya
the island there, there's an ancient temple and some of
it still exists, called Hawaiki, and the ocean going vessels

(09:24):
would come there to get a blessing from the priests
and then set out into the vast reaches of the Pacific.
The Hawaii Migration really took place in two waves. One
was about the year four hundred coming from the Marquesis,
and the other nine hundred to a thousand AD from
the society islands Rightietaa, including Tahiti. I've often wondered and

(09:50):
archaeologists believe that perhaps those early settlers, those early migrants
that arrived in what we call today Hawaii, we're blessed
by the priest at Hawaiki and hence they named their
new land Hawaii. Well, you know, I'm going to talk
to you about Thailand a little bit as we go

(10:11):
through the show. I'll just kind of throw that in.
I really would live there if it weren't for my
kids and grandkids who have a stranglehold on me right now.
My grandkids are bankrupting me. But I am a willing participant.
Let's go do something with that. But the food, the people.
You want to visit Thailand November, December, January and February

(10:34):
for the weather, Well, listen, we've got more on the
Travel Show when we come back. Let's talk about your
top travel dreams and how to plan the perfect holiday vacation. Yeah,
right here on the Travel Show. Welcome back to the

(10:56):
Travel Show. I'm Mary Gelwick's the Getaway Guru. Thank you
joining us here on the Travel Show. Now, in the
last segment, I gave you my favorite places around the world. Now,
there's no right or wrong answer to this question. Your
list is going to be different than my list. I
gave you mind both domestically and internationally. So what is

(11:19):
on your travel dream bucket list? Here's what I recommend
that you do is grab a piece of paper and
write down maybe your top ten travel dreams. Maybe you
only have five, maybe you have twenty, and then keep
listening to the Travel Show and we'll find you a deal.

(11:41):
So let's say going to Hawaii is on your dream
list unless you have to go to Hawaii this year,
wait for the deal. Look at your list and there
may be some new things that we talk about here
on the Travel Show, and wait for the deal to
come back. Now, once you've got the destination, do Larry's

(12:04):
ABC list. Grab another piece of paper, divide it into
three columns left to right. Name them A, B, and C.
Now the A lists are the absolute must. I have
to see this or I will die. The B list is,
you know, I really really want to see this. It's

(12:25):
important to me. But if things don't work out somehow,
life will go on. The C list is you know,
it'd be fun to see these if it works out.
And then plan your trip around your ABC. One of
the things, let me use Europe as an example. One
of the things you just have to accept going to

(12:45):
Europe is that you can't see it all unless you're
going to spend several years there.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
Most people don't do that.

Speaker 2 (12:52):
So are you gonna do the big capitals maybe London,
Paris and Rome. Are you gonna do more regional you're
in Provence, Scandinavia, Tuscany, the Kotswolds, wherever it may be,
or some combination of some big cities and some regional
That is an important thing. Now on that ABC, start

(13:14):
planning around the A list. The absolute must cease. This
sounds simplistic, but it works. And then fill in the
B and C. And one thing to keep in mind
is don't be running around on a train, bus, airplane
or rental car and see all of Europe that's our example,

(13:34):
or anywhere in the world from the inside of a car.
Get out with the locals, walk the marketplace, sit at
a cafe, enjoy your experience.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
Now you've got the ABC list.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
The next thing to do is grab another piece of
paper and write down the number of days you're going.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
To be gone.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
So let's just assume it's a ten day trip and
you're planning to see London and Paris and things in
the vicinity. So here's what I do. I'd May number one, two, three, four, five, six,
seventy eight nine ten on one I put, I'll use
Salt Lake because that's where I live. Salt Lake, London,

(14:15):
Day two, arrive London, day ten, fly Paris, Salt Lake.
Now suddenly my ten day trip is seven days. So
I got to get from London to Paris. Maybe it's
the urrail, maybe it's the chunnel. Maybe I'm gonna fly,
maybe I'm gonna swim. I don't know what you're gonna do,

(14:36):
but then fill it in and you'll find how quickly
it feels fills up. Now there's some musk things do
to say in London. I think the Changing of the Guard.
If you're there from mid July to mid September, you
can actually go into Buckingham Palace to see the State rooms.

(14:56):
It does require an advanced ticket and it often sells
out very quickly. Over to Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, the
Theater district at West End, of course, the Tower of
London and the Crown Jewels.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
I mean, there's so many things to do.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
You get down to Paris, you want to get out
to Versailles outside the.

Speaker 1 (15:14):
City, maybe Disneyland, Paris.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
So right, just plan it out so that you're not
overscheduled on that. So write down your top travel dreams,
do the ABC list, and then right down day by
day what you're going to do.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
Well. Travels a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
Here is some interesting questions and complaints that have been received,
not necessarily by Morris Columbus Travel, but across the country.
Here's one. Here, here's some complaints. These are real complaints.
The water in the Gulf of Mexico was salty. No
one told me that there was going to be salted

(16:00):
in the ocean. Oh, this guy makes a car bumper
look smart. Here's another one. I hope people don't say
this about the tours that I owsed. Someone wrote into
their tour company we could not enjoy the tour as
our guide was too ugly. You can't admire a beautiful
view when you're staring in a face like that. Oh,

(16:23):
please tell me that wasn't me all right. Here's another
one about Yellowstone. We had to cut our trip short
to Yellowstone because we were informed that they don't cage
the animals at night. Oh my gosh, we had to
stand in line outside and there was no air conditioning.

(16:46):
The beach was too sandy. Well that's a good one.
Here's a question. Does ocean view mean I will have
a view of the ocean.

Speaker 1 (16:58):
Oh, there's a good one. Real question.

Speaker 2 (17:00):
Can we pet the lions on our Africa safari? The
answer is yes, you'll lose an arm, but yes you
can do that. And here's an interesting one. My fiance
and I requested twin beds when we booked, but instead
we were placed in a room with one king bed.

(17:23):
We now hold you responsible and want to be reimbursed
for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not
have happened if you had put us in the room
that we booked. You gotta love these again. These aren't
Morris Columbus necessarily, but there's good ones.

Speaker 1 (17:42):
You know.

Speaker 2 (17:42):
One of the ones I've told you about before is
a caller. We're going to Florida, which beach is closest
to the ocean. What's the What is the best month
of visit Colorado to watch the deer turn into elk
here's a good one. Can you please book the honeymoon
sweet for us and another couple? Okay, swingers, can you

(18:04):
please plan a honeymoon for me, my bride and my mother?
Can I fish off a cruise ship? Are there toll
roads driving to Hawaii? Well, a lot of fun with
travel and we come back, we're going to talk about
are you a traveler or a tourist? Both are really

(18:25):
really good right here on the travel show.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
You're listening to the travel show.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
I'm Larry Gelwicks, that get away guru, and I love
spending the weekends with you as we talk, dream, eat
and sleep travel. You know, we often hear talk are
you a traveler or a tourist? Is one better than
the other. No, they're both wonderful, but it's a different
approach to our travels, and we can be both. Some

(19:08):
trips we may be a tourist. Some trips, we may
be a traveler. If I had to make the distinction,
I would say that travelers by and large are looking
for unique experiences. They like to immerse themselves in culture.
They're more flexible, adventurous. I'm not talking about death defying feats.

(19:29):
I'm talking about safe adventures, but some adventure in their
heart and mind. They will adapt themselves to local customs
and cultures, and they really like to engage more with
the locals. Now, on the other hand, a tourists. Again,
one is not better than the other. They're both wonderful.

(19:50):
I am both. There's more of a focus on leisure
sight seeing with very familiar settings. For example, when Kathy
and I go down to Mexico, what of my art
is are I think is our favorite? And we stay
at an all inclusive resort. We're tourists. We're not travelers.
We're tourists and we're just enjoying getting away. A lot

(20:13):
of my trips to Hawaii, I am a tourist, but
others I am a traveler. You know, I take groups
to Thailand. We're travelers with a deep dive into culture,
great food, interchanging with the locals, seeing all the expected
things and then seeing some of the unexpected in a

(20:35):
very very safe environment.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
So the question is what effect does this have upon you?

Speaker 2 (20:44):
You know, there's a great difference between intellectually or academically
knowing something and having an emotional attachment. Let me give
you an example. You've probably been to Gettysburg and Pickett's Charge,
one of the fiercest, bloodiest battles in the Civil War,

(21:05):
right there on a slope hill where the Confederates were charging.
Once you've stood there and you can imagine the carnage
that took place, you cannot read an account of Pickett's
Charge and be the same standing where Abraham Lincoln delivered

(21:25):
the Gettysburg address. For those of the Catholic faith, especially
going into Saint Peter's Basilica does something to you. Seeing
Michael Angelo's Pieta statue, which is Mary holding her crucified
son across her lap, does something to me. But especially

(21:46):
those of the Catholic faith. You know, those of the
Jewish faith going to the Western Wall, which was the
outer wall of Solomon's Temple or the Second Temple does something.
It does something to me, But those of the Jewish
faith it tears at their heart. Those of who are

(22:06):
members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day
Saints going to Nauvoo or Kirtland or the Sacred Grove
in Palmyra, you cannot read those accounts and ever ever
be the same. So unique experiences, you know, I've I've
had so many experience. When I was a kid, a

(22:27):
buddy of mine and I hitchhike to Mexico. Now, think
about that, young kids hitchhiking to Mexico with our parents' permission.
It was a different era than growing up in San Francisco.
We would take off for days at a time as
teenagers with our parents' permission. We had an old Ford
Falcon station wagon. We just sleep in it, my buddies

(22:49):
and I, you know, and we were surfers. You throw
the board on the top and just kind of live
in the dream. Hitchhiking down and through Mexico was another
great experience. It's I wouldn't do that today. I wouldn't
dare let my kids or grandkids. It was a different era.
We didn't lock our house. I mean if you leave
for a week, yes we would. We never locked our

(23:10):
car at summertime, you leave the windows down. It's a
different era. Well, I've tried to create experiences for my children.
One that I remember is taking my son and five
of his friends to Samoa. We landed in Pango Pango,
western Samoa. We made our way over across the channel.

(23:34):
To excuse me, Pango Poglo, American Samoa. We made our
way across the channel over to western Samo, which is
a sovereign nation, and I have friends there in Samoa
and letty Sail God rest. His soul passed away some
years ago and in the true Samo and tradition is
buried in his front yard.

Speaker 1 (23:55):
And we would always go. Kathy's been with me.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
We go out there, spend a couple of days with
the family, always taking a gift, usually fifty pound bags
of rice. They love the corned beef, you know, Paulusami
some of the great dishes. But open sided folly Sawmoa
still has the most traditional of Polynesian life. And it's

(24:21):
an open sided folly, or you think of the grass hut.
Now most of them use like corrugated iron or aluminum
roofs because they hold up better sleeping on the floor
on mats. The floor are smooth rocks from the river
bed with mats placed upon them, and that's how you sleep.
Meals are cooked over an open fire. And what's interesting

(24:43):
about that is that the children serve the adults, and
as a guest, I ate first, and I have to
try anything, even if it's just one bite. Otherwise the
message is it's not good enough for me. Kids eat
what's left over. That's why the kids are lean and

(25:03):
the apparents and the adults are heavier because the adults
eat first. The kids get what's left over. But they serve,
they clean up, they do all of this. The men
do most of the cooking over the open fire. So
I took my son and they're rugged kids, all football players,
rugby players, you know, starting when they're about sixteen, juniors

(25:26):
and seniors in high school. Took them to Australia out back,
took them to New Zealand. We would spend what a
week or more in California on Highway One. But I
took them, my son and his friends to Samoa. Now
I had rented an unoccupied house where we kind of
made our base camp. Had a truck and you know,

(25:49):
there were driving around.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
They're in shorts and shirt. Let's live in the drip.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
Think of sixteen, seventeen years old and you're in Samoa,
spending time at the beach, interacting with the local kids,
having a great time. But then one day my friend Letti,
who worked for the government for two tala an hour.
That was a great job. About a buck and a

(26:15):
half an hour, and I had made arrangements for each
of these boys as a single guest, to go to
a local family for several days and spend time with them.
And they were all for it until the day came
and you could see the nervousness on their face. And

(26:38):
I piled them in the truck and dropped them off
at these different families. We're out on the island of
Upolu and Lefanga and Matareva areas of the island. And
I remember that just these four they weren't scared, but
they were so nervous. They're living with a local family,

(26:59):
eating with them, working with them, helping them on the farm.
So I had them there for several days and these
anxiety and nervousness. But when I came back and picked
them up, without exception, they wept. The families cried saying goodbye,
I'll never forget you. Their hearts were softened, their hearts

(27:22):
were aligned with the people. Now that is a travel experience,
I'll tell you a great lesson of life. There are
a number of islands in western Samoa, but the two
principal islands are Upolo. That's where Pia, the capital city
is Upolo and Savai, So we took the ferry boat

(27:44):
over to Savai. But the lesson of life coming back
is there's a narrow channel on the coast of Upolo
where the boats come in, and they've they've dredged it out.
They've dredged the coral reef out so the boats can
come in without crashing on the reef. And you know

(28:05):
they have flags to line it up during the day,
But what about at night? They have two big lights.
The top light you can see three hundred and sixty degrees,
you can see it everywhere. But the bottom light is
in a tube, and so you line up both lights.

(28:25):
You could be at any angle and only see the
top light. But if you're moving out in the deep
water and suddenly you see the lower light in the tube,
line up with the top light. You go straight ahead
and you know without seeing the reef it's dark, it's
at night, you know that they're safe passage.

Speaker 1 (28:46):
You know.

Speaker 2 (28:47):
I talked about this with the boys very much. As
you find your own way in life, you find what
guiding star you have, be it a moral compass or
a faith based life is you find those vector points.
That's what we call it in the airline industry. Earlier
in my life, I was CEO of an airline. We

(29:08):
had nine Boeing seven thirty seven jets. That was a
great part of my life. But vector points back then
was where the radar of the aircraft would align and
you'd know where you are. You'd move from vector point
to vector point to vector point along a route. What
are your vector points? What is the guiding star? The

(29:30):
principles that you will live your life by and not
be swayed. Well, that's some of the great things that
you'll learn. Hey, listen before your next flight. Here's some
things I want you to do. Check your passport, your visa,
your ETAs that's electronic travel authorization. Check your passport validity.

(29:53):
You can get a lot of these requirements at travel
dot state dot gov. Confirm the correct spelling and on
all travel documents. And don't wait until the night before.
Confirm your flight to Dales twenty four hours later. You
know flight numbers, flight times, do change check in with

(30:13):
an airline online twenty four hours prior and download the
airline app with flight details, gate assignments, schedule changes. It'll
tell you if your luggage has been loaded on the
flight it's a good idea to weigh and measure your
luggage now. For most flights, let's say international, you get
one suit case, sometimes two that can exceed fifty pounds.

(30:38):
Most airlines, unless you have medallion or credit card status,
are charging for luggage. Domestically, do bring some snacks and
an extra water bottle. And if you got kids, bring
an iPad or games, but stay away from games.

Speaker 1 (30:53):
That have a lot of small parts. Infants.

Speaker 2 (30:57):
Bring extra everything if there's delay, diapers, wipes, food formula.
Just plan for a delay or canceled flights. It's a
good idea to notify your bank and credit card company
if you are headed out of town and finally get
to the airport early. When we come back, I'm going

(31:18):
to give you my personal philosophy of life and take
you to the oldest hotel and oldest restaurant in the world.
You won't believe what I've got for you. Welcome back
to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks, that get away Guru.
The Travel Show is sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel, where

(31:39):
you always travel more and pay less. Check out their
website Morriscolumbus dot com. That's Morriscolumbus dot com. Well I
talked about as a teaser a philosophy of life. My
dear wife Kathy and I have a philosophy of life.

(31:59):
As you know, our kids have grown, they're all married,
they're doing well, They've blessed us with wonderful grandchildren. Here's
our philosophy of life that maybe you want to pick
up to whatever it is you want to do in
life with family, with a spouse or partner, with children, grandchildren, education,

(32:25):
community service, church service, exercise, travel, education, financial, anything, especially
as you get up in years. And this is applicable
at any age. But do this, do it while you can,
go while you can. We all know people who've had

(32:50):
a life altering event. I don't mean a bad day,
I mean life forever or at least a very extended
period of time is changed or ever.

Speaker 1 (33:00):
Now.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
Maybe it's that person his or her health, maybe it's
a spouser, partner, finances, children, environment, could be anything. But
some event changes their life forever and suddenly they cannot
do all these wonderful things that they had planned. So
whatever it is you want to do, do it while

(33:23):
you can. And that's why Kathy and I are total
travel Junkies. We talked about Thailand earlier in the show.
You know, I love Thailand. I have some favorite foods.
Pad Thai, which that's kind of how I judge all
Thai restaurants. It's a noodle dish and the currie. You know,

(33:46):
the curries in Thailand are different than say Japan or India.
They're coconut cream based. Then there's a dish called Kapau
and it's either minced chicken or minced pork stir fried
with that sweet, hot basil white rice. And if it's
really authentic, they put a fried egg on top. I

(34:06):
always as I order that here in the US, I
asked you put an egg on top, and if they
say no, I cancel the order because they don't know
what they're doing. And then Kowsoi that is kind of
a chicken curried soup from northern Thailand. It's not a
strong curry, but it is absolutely wonderful. But perhaps the

(34:26):
favorite fresh mango and sticky rice. Now my favorite. Here's
a great experience. My favorite temple in all of Thailand,
so Buddhist temple is what dois Sutep. It's up outside
of cheng Mai, in the north of Thailand. Wat Wat
is the Thai word for temple. So here in Salt

(34:50):
Lake the LDS, the Salt Lake LDS temple would be
called what Salt Lake. This is what dou su Tep
and it's a sacred temple as I mentioned outside of
cheng Mai, Thailand, with a history that includes the legend
about the discovery of a bone fragment believed to be

(35:11):
from Lord Buddha. Now what we have is a monk
named Sumaterra who discovered a bone fragment, again believed to
be from Lord Buddha that was said to have supernatural powers.
He took the fragment to the Lana King This is
the Lana Kingdom. But to the king Knu Naone, who

(35:33):
had it placed on the back of an elephant and
released it into the jungle. The elephant climbed Doi Sutep
a mountain, trumpeted three times, and died. The king saw
this as a sign and ordered a temple to be
built on the spot. They wanted to have a temple,

(35:55):
but they didn't know where that Believing that elephants are sacred,
The elephant was turned loose in the jungle. After several
days again, climbed to the top of the mountain, trumpeted
three times, fell over and died. So construction at the
temple began around the year thirteen eighty six, and I

(36:16):
always go there. I take groups there. We take a
funicular up to the top of the mountain. It's an
active working temple. It's also referred to as the gold Temple.
People say, oh, there's a little bit of gold.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
No, it is a.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
Gold temple, and we take our groups in for a
priest to give us a blessing. Now here's an interesting one.
Where do you like to dine? What restaurants do you
go to? I seem to go back to the same
ones over and over. I can't risk having a bad meal. Cathy,
and I still fly down to my hometown San Francisco

(36:50):
for a four day weekend, three day weekend, just to
eat well.

Speaker 1 (36:55):
The oldest restaurant.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
In the world that is still operating day back to
the year eight oh three. Come on, that's twelve hundred
years ago and still operating in stiff Keller in Salzburg, Austria.
Stiff Keller Saint Peter is the name of the restaurant
and it's still housed within its original structure twelve hundred

(37:21):
years at Saint Peter's Abbey in Salzburg, which of course
is famous for the sound of music. The oldest hotel
in the world is in Japan, muchI Tan No Yu,
and it's thirteen hundred years old, and it's an a
list of celebrities and politicians.

Speaker 1 (37:42):
They come to.

Speaker 2 (37:43):
The inn has healing waters. Believe they drink the water,
they bathe in the thermal hot spring. But can you
imagine it's still owned by the same family after fifty
three generations, thirteen hundred years old. Hey, when we come
back on our number two the Travel Show, what is
it that airline flight attendant? Welcome back to our number

(38:06):
two of the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwick, the getaway Guru.
The travel show is sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel, where
you always travel more and pay less. Check out their
website Morriscolumbus dot com. Morriscolumbus dot com. And if you're
looking for one of the many escorted tour programs one

(38:27):
of the group itineries, many of which I host myself,
scroll down on the homepage to Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours.
That's the brand name for the Morris Columbus escorted tours
Morris Murdoch. It's kind of like General Motors and Chevrolet.
You know, one car, two names, and then you click

(38:50):
on cruises. If it's a cruise you're interested in, you
can see what escorted programs that we have, and then
for geographic land tours, you click on the geographic area.
It might be Asia, Africa, faith based tours, Europe, Latin America,
domestic tours. It's a great, great website. Well, so you're

(39:16):
boarding a flight, you're walking down the jetway, you finally
step onto the craft, and invariably a flight attendant will
greet you. Have you ever wondered what the flight crew
is thinking as you say hello to them. Turns out
they just might be sizing you up. As one flight

(39:40):
attendant said when boarding the aircraft, we're all happy to
smile and greet you, but we are also analyzing a
number of important factors that contribute to the in flight experience.
Flight attendants, as reported and Travel and Leisure magazine, are
identifying passengers who may be able to help assist in

(40:03):
an emergency, as well as passengers who may need additional
help in an emergency. Situation, such as an elderly or
injured person. Crew Members are also looking to identify passengers
who may be nervous flyers and may need some words
of encouragement. Overall, the number one thing running through the

(40:25):
flight attendant's mind at all times is how to keep
each and every passenger safe from the moment they step
on the plan until they deboard.

Speaker 1 (40:35):
Have you noticed there's.

Speaker 2 (40:38):
Been an increase in unruly passengers You can see this
on YouTube and more cases of the police pulling people
off or disruptive behavior. Well, what are some of the
other things that crew members notice? Here is what a
survey of flight attendants identified, in no particular order, your

(40:59):
behavior and attitude, the seating arrangements, are you in the
correct seats? Any issues with upgrades? How about carry on items?
The size and number of carry on bags to ensure
compliance with their airline policies as their oversized or excessive luggage. Also,

(41:20):
health and safety, flight attendants look for signs of distress, illness,
discomfort which may affect their ability to travel safely. Demographics.
What's the mix of families, business travelers? Special needs that
can influence the board and in flight service dynamics? Punctuality,

(41:43):
the time it takes for passengers to board can be noted,
especially how it afflects the flight schedule. And finally, the
engagement with crew. You know, I make it a habit
to always thank them when they give me a drink.
Yeah they have to do that, but I thank try
not to be a pain in the backside. Now here's

(42:04):
a been a trivia it probably didn't know back in
nineteen it was about nineteen seventy two. I was a
college student and I applied to be a flight attendant
for PanAm World Airways or PanAm. You remember that it
was exclusively international. That's back during the days of regulation

(42:24):
where the government said you can fly here, but you
can't fly there. Now it's open skies. But you know
from my previous shows, I'm a hopeless travel junkie and
I just wanted to see the world. I always wanted
to And I thought, I don't want to make a
career as a flight attendant, but I'll work for two
or three years. I'll go where PanAm is all over

(42:46):
the world internationally. I will see the world. They'll pay
me to do it. I lived in San Francisco, which
was a big hub for PanAm. I thought this would
be great. I didn't get hired. They said, you are
like the perfect candidate. But it was the first big
oil crisis in the early seventies where they were laying

(43:09):
off pilots, laying off flight attendants, grounding aircraft. They said,
come back to us in a few years. Well, a
few years I was, you know, graduating, different things were
going on in my life, met Kathy and decided to
stick around Salt Lake to see how that was. You
know what impressed me about Kathy Not only was she

(43:30):
the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life,
but she actually agreed to go out.

Speaker 1 (43:34):
With me a second time. That was just a rare,
rare occurrence.

Speaker 2 (43:38):
But I've often wondered what my life would have been
like had I worked for a few years as a
pan Am flight attendant. Now here is another question. It's
kind of funny. What is it okay to steal from
your hotel room? Well, you know, a new study shows
that guests at five star hotels are more likely to

(44:02):
steal high value items like tablet, computers, artwork, TVs, even mattresses,
reflecting a trend among wealthier guests. There's been an increase
in theft of more valuable items in the last five years,
including coffee makers, mattresses, tablet computers. Now interesting enough, that's

(44:26):
at a five star at a four star hotel, Many
fridges seem to be the favorite target of theft. The
survey also categorized theft behavior in hotels by nationality of
the guests. Those who steal who are German or British
mainly take towels, bathrooms and toiletries. The Austrians preferred dishes

(44:48):
and coffee machines. Americans we steal pillows and batteries. I've
never stole anything from a hotel like that. Italian favor
wine glasses and let's see competent target TVs and remote controls.

Speaker 1 (45:05):
Well.

Speaker 2 (45:06):
Hotels are increasingly defending against these thefts by adopting digital
no stay guest lists to ban known thieves. Forty nine
hotels recently reported that mattresses have been stolen.

Speaker 1 (45:22):
How do you haul a mattress out.

Speaker 2 (45:25):
Of your hotel room? A holiday inn reported a couple
with a truck and a trailer asked for a room
at the back of the hotel beside the parking lot,
probably making it easier to haul the furniture, even the
bed you know, beds have been stolen, artwork, dresser drawers.

(45:51):
But a Sheraton hotel, I don't know how this happened.
A Sheraton hotel that in the dead of night, where
was the front the grand piano out of the lobby
was stolen.

Speaker 1 (46:05):
How do people do these things? I don't know.

Speaker 2 (46:08):
Okay, let me tell you what I think it's okay
to steal from your hotel room. You know, the little
toiletries like a little bottle of soap or shampoo, conditioner,
things like the little notepad. Did you notice that hotels
more and more are putting pencils or pens without a cap.

(46:30):
Who's going to steal a pen that you're put in
your pocket and you get ink all over it. So
if you want to take the shampoo bottle, the body lotion,
the conditioner, I think that's okay. Leave the grand piano,
the mattresses, and the TVs and artwork alone. With that,
Speaking of hotels, what are some of the biggest mistakes

(46:52):
that we make when booking or checking into a hotel?
In no particular order, not asking about resort fees. This
is a legal scam. Resort fees destination fees. It's an
additional charge that typically runs thirty to sixty seventy dollars

(47:14):
per day per room, on top of your rental cost
and all the other amenities. It's a resort fee. Ask
about resort fees also as for a courtesy early check
in or early or late checkout, a courtesy one. Now,
if you want a longer one, maybe you have to

(47:34):
pay for it. But you know, all they can say
is no. If you're a light sleeper, ask particularly where
the room is. Are you going to be on a
room facing a busy road or highway and a lot
of people forget to do a final sweep of the
room looking for wallets, cell phones, keys, close everything right there.

(47:58):
I like the express checkout out because I don't want
to stand in line. Have you noticed in the morning
how crowded the front desk is? And look at your
itemized bill. Sometimes somebody else's room service or bar tab
is put in it. So, if you're going to be
using public transportation, shopping and restaurants, what is the proximity

(48:23):
call the hotel? Go on a Google map, what is
the proximity to public transportation, shopping and restaurants and whenever possible,
go for a refundable fair on that. Hey more, when
we come back right here on the Travel Show, and
we've got some fun things to talk about. We're headed

(48:46):
to Alaska with two different Who's itineraries and our favorite activities.
You're listening to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks, the
Getaway Guru. The Travel Show sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel.
Check out their website Morriscolumbus dot com. If you have

(49:06):
the direct line to any of the Morris Columbus Travel advisors,
call that number direct. If you don't yet have a
favorite Morris Columbus Travel advisors, it's real easy to find one.
One eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six. That's
eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six.

Speaker 1 (49:28):
You know.

Speaker 2 (49:29):
I've characterized travel plans and destinations in two broad categories.
It one I refer to the first one as one
and done, Glad I went, don't ever have to go
back someplace like Cleveland, Glad I was there, don't ever

(49:51):
have to go back. The other is I can't wait
to get back. I get giddy just thinking about going
back now. Alas I think is best served unless you
have a special interest of hunting or fishing and you
want to spend an extended time with that. Alaska is
best seen from a cruise ship. Now there are two

(50:13):
types of Alaska itineraries, and they're basically the same except
for about a day and a half. The first is
what I call round trip Seattle. That's pretty self explanatory.
You depart from Seattle, you'll return to Seattle. You'll have
the inside passage and some combination of ports including Victoria,

(50:35):
British Columbia, Juno, Ketchikan, Skagway, Icy Strait, Sitka. You won't
get them all, but you'll get some combination of them,
and that is round trip Seattle. Wonderful. It's easy to
get to Seattle. The second itineraries what I call the
North South. It's Vancouver to Anchorage or vice versa. On

(50:57):
the return trip you're going to get the inside passage,
some combination of the same cities. But on the round
trip Seattle you'll have one glacier day, and typically on
the North South you will have two glacier days. I
really like that second glacier day. In a fjord referred
to as College fjord now not all the chips.

Speaker 1 (51:18):
Go there, but some do. It is in that one fjord.

Speaker 2 (51:23):
It is thirteen glaciers that you can see from the
comfort of your ship. Now they're called College Fjord because
they're named after colleges. There's the Harvard Glacier, the Columbia Glacier,
the Yale Glacier.

Speaker 1 (51:37):
I am sure there's going to be a.

Speaker 2 (51:39):
Utah byu Utah State Weaver State Glacier any day now, though,
But thirteen glaciers in one fjord that you can see,
and you've already visited another for Maybe it's Hubbard Glacier.
Maybe it's one of the others that dot alas, but

(52:01):
is one better than the other. The advantage to round
trip Seattle is the airfares lower, it's easier to get there.
You can even drive if you want. What I like
about the North South is the itinerary and you have
two glacier days and you can also explore, say, Denali.
You'll end up in Anchorage Denali National Park, which I

(52:25):
think Mount Denali. President Trump wanted it referred to as
Mount McKinley, so I don't know what we're calling it now,
But that's a great experience. Now some of my favorite
activities in each of these cities. Say, Juno, that is
a great place for whale watching. No, not at the buffet,
but out in the water at the humpback whales. Mendenhall Glacier.

(52:51):
Now you got to get up there. There's a visitor center,
and nearby the visitors center, which is quite interesting, is
elevated walkways over salmon and fishing streams. It's a great
place for bear watching and viewing. You're on an elevated walkway,

(53:11):
but they come there to feed. You also have Nugget Falls,
which is an easy walk about a twenty to thirty
minute walk each way from the visitors set to a
monstrous waterfall that you can get up close and personal too.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
Also in Juno you.

Speaker 2 (53:28):
Have the Mount Roberts tram take you to the top
of a mountain, but only do it on a clear day.
I see some people going on a cloudy day. It's like, well,
that was good. You can see a cloud. Juno is
a great place, and in all of the stops you'll
have float planes. That's just really cool. Now catch you can.

(53:52):
What I like in Ketcha Can are the Totem parks.
You have two world famous Totem parks, Sacman Village and Potlatch.
They both have a collection. I like the location of Potlatch.

Speaker 1 (54:06):
You have to drive.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
Outside the city to see it, and has absolutely seen it.
Wildlife viewing up at Herring Cove just outside of catcha
Can is especially good for bears. When the salmon start
to return, it's like Chuck rama for the bears. Then
Creek Street right in the middle of town, you've gotta
walk down. It used to be the red light district

(54:30):
during the gold rush days and now it's boutiques and
shops and you're walking on an elevated boardwalk right next
to the creek. And it's a big creek there too.
And then they have the Lumberjack show. Now I like this, Yeah,
it's kind of corny. They have the Canadian team and
the USA team, and I think the men switch teams

(54:50):
every day, but they do all the skills of Lumberjack
and one I think Canada wins one day, USA wins
the next day. Moving on to Skagway, it's a great
walking town. But the one thing you want to do
is take the train right on the White Pass and
Yukon Railway. It follows the Canyon where the gold miners

(55:14):
went on the rush up to the Yukon. You'll actually
cross into Canada and the Yukon territory. Now it's a
great walking town. So one of the things, by the way,
if you want to go fishing, I think Ketchi Can
is your best bet right there. You are fishing everywhere,
but Ketchi Can is really good. One of the complaints
I hear about cruises is how slow and expensive WiFi is,

(55:39):
And that's fair. On the Alaska cruise, you can get
free Wi Fi at the public library in every port,
in every town. You don't have to pay those high
cruise ship rates for that. Now, the dread of every
travelers to sit in the middle seat, particularly with two

(56:00):
sumo wrestlers on each side of you. When we come back,
we're going to talk about how to survive the airplane
middle seat.

Speaker 1 (56:11):
How does travel affect us?

Speaker 2 (56:12):
I'm gonna talk a little bit about the Holy Land
and tell you of an experience that changed my life forever.
So we're into the middle seat and the life changing story. Yeah,
right here on the Travel Show. Welcome back to the

(56:40):
Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwick said, get away Uru. You
know the great fear of travelers is that dreaded middle seat.
I mean that is just a real pain. So you
can't always choose your seat, but you can choose how
you show up for the flight. So pack smart, protect

(57:01):
your space when you can, and try not to let
the small stuff get to you. The middle seat might
not be ideal, but with the right strategies, it doesn't
have to ruin your trip. So here's my advice of
how to survive the middle seat on an airplane. Number one,
just kind of know what you're up against. It lacks

(57:23):
some easy access and perks, no window to lean on,
no easy aisle access. Just know what it's going to
be and guaranteed elbow bumps. So you got to mentally
prep yourself for this. So number two is the pack smart.
If you're stuck in the middle seat, how you pack.

(57:45):
I'm not talking about your suitcase, your carry on stuff
can make or break the flight. You can bring a
compact travel pillow that supports your neck, just makes it
easier to sit there and stay in the middle. Noise
canceling earbuds or phones, now these are non negotiable, particularly

(58:06):
if you got some chatty guy next to you.

Speaker 1 (58:11):
That won't leave you alone.

Speaker 2 (58:13):
Put the headphones on, put the earbuds buds in and
it'll block out engine hum, crying babies, or a seat
mate who is talking too much. Bring something to entertain yourself,
you know, download a favorite show or playlist in advance.
Getting absorbed in something can actually make it easier to

(58:37):
forget how cramped you are. Also, planes are unpredictable when
it comes to temperature, so you know, dress with layers
and dress for comfort, and then set boundaries. Now I
want to be very sensitive with this because we don't
shame anybody, but sometimes people they just croach upon you

(59:01):
know that invisible boundary of the arm rest before it,
So don't be afraid to set boundaries with it. The
other thing, if you don't have an island, want them.
And if the FLA the plane is not full, move
when you can. That doesn't mean you're totally trapped if
they're empty seats, take advantage of opportunities. I'll tell you

(59:24):
the best time to move is when the flight attendants
announce the boarding door has been closed. That means nobody
else is coming on. You see an aisle seat, go
for it. Don't wait till you're halfway to timbucktoo, because
somebody else will probably do it. And then hydra excuse me, hydrate,

(59:44):
snack and repeat. Don't you find you're less cranky if
you're not dehydrated and starving. So bring your own water,
a snack or two. Don't bring an egg salad sandwich
or a tuna a salad sandwich.

Speaker 1 (59:58):
It stinks the whole plane up.

Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
But you know, when your seat mate is asleep, you
know it's not easy to get out.

Speaker 1 (01:00:08):
Sometimes you're going to have to wake them up. But
if you have something to snack upon, and.

Speaker 2 (01:00:14):
Lastly, keep your expectations low and your patients high to
survive the middle seat well. We talked earlier about how
travel affects us as a traveler or as a tourist.
Both are good. How does this experience change my life?
I think one of the great life changing experiences is

(01:00:36):
the Holy Land, and Morris Columbus Travel has some incredible
Holy Land tours and Holy Land tour directors. I find
that that is a life changer. You know, you can
understand the events of the Bible and history, but once

(01:00:56):
you're there, you stop your boat on the Sea of Galilee,
you walk into the Tomb of Resurrection. You're there at
the Western or whaling Wall, which was the outer protective
wall of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. You go to
the Mount of Transfiguration, you go to the Multiplication of

(01:01:17):
the Fishes and the loaves, and the Mount of Beatitudes
where Matthew five, six and seven were given. You go
to these and other places, and it is never the
same again. I'll tell you something that deeply affected my life,
not only in the Holy Land but elsewhere, was Missus Liber.

(01:01:40):
I want to tell you about Missus Liber, Missus Lee.
I grew up in San Francisco, went to school there,
and among my graduate studies was Hebrew and Coptic. Coptic
being one of the Egyptian languages in religion, I've always
had a very deep appreciation for that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:59):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:01:59):
With Hebrew, I got to where as a college student
I could read in Hebrew and translate. But you know,
I thought I was really cool because I could translate.
But come on, I already knew the storyline, so I
thought I was cool.

Speaker 1 (01:02:15):
I wasn't.

Speaker 2 (01:02:16):
But that's another story for another day. Well, there was
a Leber's Jewish bookstore on Gary Street in San Francisco
that I started visiting. If you came to my house today,
you'd see a lot of books that I got there
at Leber's Jewish Bookstore. It was owned by the Liber family.

(01:02:37):
Now I never knew mister Lieber because he had passed
away before I came on the scene, and this was
in the early nineteen seventies. But Missus Liber was there
and we just kind of became friends, I thinks because
I had time for her. Son and family ran the store.
But every time I went into Liber's Jewish Bookstore, she

(01:02:59):
was heard to be the same black dress, in the
same black chair, in the same corner, and she started
telling me of her life. Now, Missus Lieber was old,
I mean not just old, but old. I think she
was Moses's wife or something. She was a Russian immigrant
Jewish Russian immigrant pre Bolshevik Revolution that goes back to

(01:03:21):
the nineteen seventeen era, and she and her family came
to Americans settled in San Francisco in that period of time.
But she talked to me about growing up under Tsarist Russia,
seeing the Tsar of Russia in a gilded carriage going
through the streets of Moscow, and how cold. It was

(01:03:41):
in the persecution of the Jews at this time. Now
they were Orthodox ultra Orthodox, which figures later in the story,
and had a very traditional synagogue where the men sat
in front and the women and children sat in the back. Now,

(01:04:01):
a man in Jewish traditional society has been through bar mitzvah,
which is a boy becoming a man. It can start
as early as age thirteen. He can read publicly from
the Torah, which is their sacred book. They don't call
it a Bible, but it's a sacred book. It's really
the first five books of Moses. And so they could

(01:04:23):
read where the women could not. And so what the
rabbi would do is read a verse or a passage
of verses, and then ask every man that's teenage boys
and older to comment, and not comment on the history
of the verse, But how does this affect your life today?

(01:04:45):
With health, education, school, persecution, money, family, friends, everything in
your life, how does this verse help you manage the
challenges of the day. What they really we're doing is
likening the scriptures unto themselves for their profit and learning.

(01:05:07):
How does this affect me today? And so every man
again of our Mitzvah, boy, thirteen, and people on up
to Grandpa's would comment on how this affects their life emotionally, intellectually,
how they could liken the scriptures unto themselves.

Speaker 1 (01:05:25):
And then when every man.

Speaker 2 (01:05:27):
Had finished sharing their insights, their inspired thoughts with the group,
only then would the Rabbi go on and read the
same verse a second time, inviting anyone who had a
follow up thought, some impression, some inspired insight that came
after their turn to share it with the group. So critical,

(01:05:51):
so important were the scriptures the word of God to
this group, they just couldn't take a chance on missing
how it would lie in the scriptures under themselves. And
then when they'd finished a second time, then the Rabbi
would go on and read the same verse or passage
of versus a third time. Another discussion for another day.

(01:06:12):
Is the number three? Very important in Jewish literature and theology,
again inviting people to comment on how does this how
do we use this verse to affect us today? And
then after the third time, Yeah, then he'd go on

(01:06:33):
to a new verse or passage of versus. Well, I
started doing this and it completely changed my life. Now,
maybe I was in his forthcoming with missus Leeber and
the other Jewish friends I made as I should have been.
I never I never told them that I was Christian LDS.

(01:06:57):
I never said I was Jewish. I never that I wasn't.
But I would go to synagogue. I wore I had
a yamaca, perfectly appropriate for a non Jewish person to
wear a yamaica.

Speaker 1 (01:07:10):
I have about six of them.

Speaker 2 (01:07:12):
And I would be seen at synagogue and I could
get by it, could struggle by in Hebrew. And so
the reason I didn't say anything is and I don't
want to be misunderstud I don't want I'm not diminishing anyone.
But in some closed societies, such as some ultra Orthodox

(01:07:37):
Orthodox Jewish communities can be some if you're not one
of them, they don't want much to do with you.
You know, if you're not my religion, my kids can't
play with you, my kids can't date you, or something
like that. But that's why I didn't say anything. I
was learning so much. I was enjoying this so incredibly much.
One day, completely out of the blue, missus Lieber says

(01:08:01):
to me, Letty, you're Jewish, aren't you. I am so busted.
I don't know what to do. I can't say that
I am. And I said, well, not exactly. And she
looked at me and she said three times in this cadence. Well, Letty,
if you're not Jewish, what are you then? And I said, well,

(01:08:27):
I'm a Christian. I'm a Mormon, you know, a member
of the Church.

Speaker 1 (01:08:30):
Of Jesus Christ of Blinity Saints.

Speaker 2 (01:08:32):
And she said three times, A Mormon, A Mormon, Letty,
you're a Mormon. Yeah, yeah, I am. And I actually
stood up holding my books. I figured it was over.
And then with a wave of her hand, she goes, Mormons, Jews,
we're all the same. And I sat right bad and
I said, what did you say? And it never came

(01:08:54):
up again. But missus Lieber changed my life. She taught
me how to read not only the scriptures, but things
of moral principle. How does this affect me today? How
can I use this lesson not a not for history's sake,
but for life's sake and be a better person, be
a better husband, a better father, a better grandfather, a

(01:09:16):
better a better businessman, and a better member of the community.

Speaker 1 (01:09:21):
This is liber Yeah, she changed my life.

Speaker 2 (01:09:23):
Hey, welcome back to the travel show. I'm so glad
to be here with you, and I'm glad to introduce
you to missus Lieber.

Speaker 1 (01:09:34):
It is a life change.

Speaker 2 (01:09:35):
It can be a passage of scripture, a book that
you read, a lecture, a concert, any anything that we
ask ourselves, how does this affect my life? And how say,
one passage of scripture may affect you will affect me
very differently. And that's the way it should be. Just

(01:09:58):
how does this help me be a better person? Well,
nearly three million people fly across the US every day,
and according to the FAA, millions more of course travel
across the globe.

Speaker 1 (01:10:12):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:10:12):
Airlines want to turn the planes around quickly. There's dedicated
cleaning crews that do their best to scrub every seat
before the next passenger files in, but things can sometimes
get missed or stay a little dirty from flight to flight. Now,
according to flight attendants, there are a few spots they

(01:10:34):
call the dirtiest parts on the plane, some place you
may want to avoid. Good idea to bring some hand
sanitizer wipes with you. The instruction cards. Here are the
five dirtiest places on an airplane. The instruction card you
know in the seat pocket. It's how to exit in
an emergency. They never wipe these and people handle them.

(01:10:57):
They never clean these. How about the overhead bit, They
don't usually get wiped down, or they just may use
a cloth, no antiseptic or anything like that, so you
know it's touched by a lot of people. Oh my goodness.
How about a tray table passengers. No, you know that

(01:11:22):
airplanes are riddled with grime, but the tray tables go
beyond general germs. I mean, things are spilled on them.
Things are They are sometimes wiped down, but not always.
The seat covers on the airplane seats are not always
replaced or cleaned as are If you're sitting on an

(01:11:44):
international flight, you may have a blanket or pillow. The
blankets are sometimes just folded up. Some airlines clean them,
some just fold them up. And here's one. Toilets do
get regularly cleaned, but the locks and the door handles
are not. Now, I'm not going to go any detail

(01:12:04):
of the contamination potential of what could be on that
lavatory handle. I'll leave that to your imagination. In a
October twenty twenty three study, they found that the lavatory
sink handle that's the inside handle, to be the grimiest,

(01:12:29):
followed by you guests at the trade table. So take
some wives, take some sanitizer with you. You know you
want to get away for a fun long weekend or
a week or longer. I happen to love Puerto Vyarcta, Cabo, Mazitlan, Cancun.
Let me tell you some of my really fun things
in Puerto Viart Now it's just a little snippet because

(01:12:51):
there's so much to do. What I love about Porto
Wayarta is the old town, the cobblestone streets, the high
whitewashed side. There is a walkway, a boardwalk pedestrian only,
called the Malikan.

Speaker 1 (01:13:05):
It's over one.

Speaker 2 (01:13:07):
Mile and there's no cars on it, but it walks
right along the waterfront and it's restaurants, shopping, canteenas music, dance,
as street performers, everything. And it goes down to Nuestro
Signora de Guadalupe, which is the Church of Our Lady
of Guadaloupe. Every time I go there, I walk in.

(01:13:29):
It's the iconic colonial church. Now, some of the other
things I like in Puerto Ayarta is Zona Romantica, and
there's a restaurant there. I always go to the Margharita grill,
not Marguerita Ville, Marguerita Grill. It's open air and summon
closed seating, and the evening they have strolling musicians. The

(01:13:52):
food's pretty good too, but it's the atmosphere. If you
want the ultimate taco shop, I have one in Cabo
and I have one in port of Areta that are
a mussy El Carbo Sito El Carbocito taco shop, and
Porto viartis right near the molcon with that, so then

(01:14:17):
in Puerto Aarta you have the Marietis Islands snorkeling, there's
zip lines nearby, and the Sierra Madre Mountains. Take a
day trip up to San Sebastian. It's a strong Spanish
colonial heritage. It was founded in sixteen o five by

(01:14:37):
the silver mines, and there's colonial buildings, hacienda, churches, restaurants, boutiques,
and I love the Mercado, the central Plaza. Yeah, port
of Varta is an absolute favorite of mine. Now moving
on to Cabo, It's beaches, although be very careful swimming

(01:14:57):
in the ocean off the beaches, many of the them
have a strong undertow in Cabo. The Plia del Meldano
is Cabo's main beach. You have lands End l Arch Show,
that's that natural arch and what I love is ASII
Asado Taco Shop in Cabo Well, so many things.

Speaker 1 (01:15:19):
Hey, thank you for joining me.

Speaker 2 (01:15:20):
Just a reminder that the Travel Show is sponsored by
Morris Columbus Travel. Check out their website Morriscolumbus dot com
Morriscolumbus dot com. If you want one of the one
of many escorted programs, be sure to scroll down on
the homepage to Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours and then check

(01:15:45):
on a geographic destination or the cruises. Well, that wraps
up another show. Have a great week and talk to
you next week. Thank you for joining me. I'm Larry Gelwick,
siting off on the Travel Show. L