Inspiring a year of global travel with our best international destination recommendation for every month of the year. We give you the best place to visit outside of the U.S. for each month of the year including the weather you can expect, sights to see, things to do, and the reason that month is the very month to visit. 

We recorded this episode in late 2021 so we also take into account the safest international travel destinations for 2022, but stand by these monthly recommendations for any year. 

If you’re looking to find the best international travel destinations for an upcoming trip, this episode and the transcript below will help you weigh the pros and cons of each.

• January: Philippines
• February: Dubai, UAE 
• March: Cuba
• April: Japan 
• May: China
• June: Peru 
• July: United Kingdom
• August: Slovenia 
• September: Italy
• October: Mexico 
• November: Thailand
• December: France 

Best International Travel Destinations – Episode Transcript

3 (55s):
Welcome to episode 118 of the Travel Squad podcast. Today, we’re going to go over the top international places to visit by month here in the year 2022,

2 (1m 9s):
We’ve all been lacking a little bit over the last two years in our travel. Well, maybe not so much, but the world in general kind of lacking, but we’re going to make up for it this year with travel recommendations, for where to go outside of the U S for every single month of the year, we’re talking the best weather, the most optimal visiting experience for each month. We’re not only going to tell you what country to go to, but we’re going to say what destinations to visit while you’re there.

1 (1m 35s):
Yeah. And so, like we said earlier, it’s the new year. We have a whole fresh year of travel ahead of us, and I’m super excited to talk about these destinations as we haven’t done many international episodes due to the lack of international travel that we’ve experienced over the last two years. But I’m so excited because we actually leave for Morocco in two weeks and we’re so excited to travel internationally, but for now we’re going to reminisce and share these international locations. And we’re so excited to get this.

3 (2m 3s):
Yeah, I hope we really inspire you guys with us. I know this one here is airing the first couple of days here of January. So if you’re feeling really motivated book this January one, and I feel like we should get right into it. And I’m just going to say it January. The squad here is recommending the Philippines.

2 (2m 20s):
I’ve been dying to go there since you went on trips. When we were back in high school.

1 (2m 24s):
Yeah. You know, my mom is Filipino and she has taken my family and Jamal to the Philippines several times. And it’s, I feel like such an underrated location to visit. It’s beautiful most of the year. And it’s super cheap. So your dollar goes a really long way.

2 (2m 43s):
I remember when you were there and one of your more recent trips you texted me and you said, just got a massage, I think for like $6.

1 (2m 52s):
And then I tipped $4. So it was $10 for an hour full body massage.

2 (2m 57s):
Nice.

3 (2m 58s):
Well don’t we have January 20, 23 as the squad to the Philippines. I feel like we mentioned it. And I don’t know if we’re there Lebanon 20, 20 vibes. Like we were been doing since 2017 and we made it happen. So we need to be really hard on that Philippines, January 20, 23 for the squad for it and manifest it.

2 (3m 18s):
But 20, 23 squad

3 (3m 21s):
Trip. Yeah. Philippines, I’m excited about it. But as we are talking about it and coordinating our own squad plant, Brittany, tell our listeners why they need to go to the Philippines in January.

1 (3m 32s):
So the Philippines is known as a country with a hundred islands because there’s so many different islands to visit. And we’ve gone to a few of them. One of them being Baraka and Baraka is definitely like resort life. Like that’s what you go there to enjoy filled with beaches. You can walk from one side of the island to the other because it’s a very thin island, but the beaches are pristine white sand beaches. You can rent a boat like island hop and just go snorkeling any day that you want to great food on the island as well. And I actually woke them all up one day about like four or 5:00 AM for the most beautiful sunrise adverse.

3 (4m 9s):
It was really nice. You know, we were staying at a resort on the west side of the island, but where does the sun rise on the east side? So we had a wake up go from a resort on the west side, walk all the way across to the east side. And it’s small enough to do it. Granted it was a longer walk, maybe 30 minutes, but definitely capable to do it.

2 (4m 27s):
It was 30 minutes to walk from the west side to the east side. Oh.

3 (4m 32s):
So not too bad at all you say, oh, does that sound like a little too long for them?

2 (4m 36s):
Oh, it’s extremely short. The entire other side of the island is a 30 minute walk away

1 (4m 42s):
Island.

2 (4m 42s):
I see.

3 (4m 43s):
Very, very thin. And

2 (4m 44s):
So could you see the sunrise though from the west side then since it’s not that

3 (4m 49s):
Well, you could, but not over the water account. So the whole point was to see it rise from

2 (4m 53s):
Over the water in a rooftop bar,

3 (4m 56s):
Maybe, but you know, I don’t think they had rooftop, ballers vibes going on.

1 (4m 60s):
Well, you gotta do is you gotta walk. If you’re staying on the west side lake weeded, you gotta watch it. The east side, watch the sunrise on the beach. And then maybe when sun sets walk over to the west side, go to a rooftop bar and then watch the sunset over the wall.

3 (5m 14s):
It’s a really cool island because yeah, you can do that. We’re going to watch sunrise and I’m going to watch the sunset over the water in the same place and the same day. I mean, it’s really unique in that sense, but Borak eye is famous for the snorkeling that clear blue crystal waters. And I don’t know what its current ranking is, but for the last literally decade, it’s ranked one of the top five white sand beach places in the world’s to go like Borak I, Philippines is world renowned for beach life.

1 (5m 41s):
And Jamal says it like a white person. It’s called Barack guy.

2 (5m 45s):
There’s that Filipino accent.

1 (5m 48s):
That’s my mom had told me,

3 (5m 49s):
But before we get to some of the other islands and places that you should go in the Philippines in January, why we’re recommending January is it’s not rainy season. And this is when it’s not really hot or humid either. I mean, we’re talking literal islands in the Pacific. If anybody knows anything, you could imagine it’s going to be humid and hot, but January is the perfect time. Weather-wise and you are not there during rainy season or typhoon season for that matter. So good time in January.

1 (6m 15s):
Yeah. We’ve gone in June before and we flew through a typhoon. It was probably the scariest thing we’ve ever done

3 (6m 20s):
And no exaggeration. We almost died on that plane flight. I think even the flight attendancy yelped when our plane dropped from the sky before it re caught itself. But that

2 (6m 29s):
Was it worse than the turbulence coming back from Dubai.

3 (6m 34s):
The turbulence was bad on that flight. That turbulence coming from Dubai was worse, but we didn’t have a major drop, like literally on that flight through the typhoon when we were there in the month of June one time, like literally we had a drop that everyone on the plane screen thinking we were actually going down. Luckily we did not as we are here today for you guys to know that, but let’s talk about another awesome place to go in the Philippines Palawan

1 (7m 0s):
Palauan

3 (7m 1s):
Palauan is Brittany Palawan. This island is just absolutely amazing. There’s many different things that you can do there. The capital and main place that you’re obviously going to fly into is Porto Princessa. And what do they have in Porto princess of Brittany?

1 (7m 17s):
There’s a lot to do in per throw Princessa. It’s a hotspot, but they have this huge bay called Honda bay. It’s really, really great for snorkeling. We’ve done some snorkeling there. We saw some huge clams while we were snorkeling.

2 (7m 29s):
Oh, are they swimming? Or are they on the floor?

1 (7m 32s):
They’re on the floor

3 (7m 32s):
Clams or in the shelf, Kim, are they swimming? That just cracks

2 (7m 37s):
Me. You never seen in clan, like in the ocean,

3 (7m 39s):
They’re in a shell almost kind of like an oyster. So they’re not out there swimming. They’re like anchored to rocks.

1 (7m 45s):
Okay. So really good snorkeling and Honda bay also Puerto Princesa is known to be like a hub for a place called the underground river, which is super, super, super amazing. It’s this river that goes into a cave and goes miles and miles deep. And you can actually book a tour or rent a guide and they will canoe you into the cave. And it’s pitch black in there and they’ll bring a light and you’ll see all of these beautiful stalagmites and stalactites and all of these beautiful structures. We’ve done it more than one time. The first time the guide just talked out loud, but this the last time that we went, they actually had earbuds that you put in so that you protect the natural ecosystem and not disturb like the bats that live in the cave.

1 (8m 26s):
And so they tell you all about the cave and they point out features and structures and the guide puts his light on them. So you can see them.

3 (8m 33s):
It’s actually really cool. I mean, it’s super, super unique. I think it was voted a UNESCO world heritage site. Is it not Brittany?

1 (8m 40s):
Yeah, I believe so.

2 (8m 42s):
I think we should do an episode on UNESCO world heritage sites.

3 (8m 47s):
We’ve been to quite a few of them. They’re

2 (8m 49s):
Amazing.

3 (8m 49s):
Yeah, absolutely. Well, the underground river and Porto Princessa is one of them. And just picture this mean it’s on an island, obviously all of the Philippines aren’t islands. But what I mean from that is you’re on one of the main islands, you have to take a boat to a very much smaller island, which is very tropical lush, jungle vibes. I mean, there’s big monitor lizards and sometimes even monkeys out there that you can see and then you get in the canoe and then you go into a cave on the island. But that cave will, that has the river is then flowing into the ocean. So you board the canoe and like an estuary of the ocean and this tropical place. And then you just sail it. I mean, really, really unique experience. Super awesome.

1 (9m 30s):
So this is actually where we went. Where’s Jamal had to get off a boat and a rogue wave hit him. Ooh.

3 (9m 37s):
Yeah, this is when I got out of the boat and the road wave hit me

2 (9m 39s):
Infamous. It crashed you onto the shore and you were there like a and

1 (9m 45s):
His phone didn’t work.

2 (9m 46s):
Oh

3 (9m 46s):
Yeah. A few months after having to buy a new phone because my phone got stolen from me in Mexico city. It got ruined by the rogue wave as I was getting out at washed me ashore quite literally. And I was sitting there soaking wet. That was the second time that we’ve done this. I mean, that’s how awesome it is. We’ve been to the Philippines multiple times. We did this one twice. Really cool,

1 (10m 5s):
But on your way to, or from the underground river. And when you had backed up worth of Princessa, there’s an experience called the rock adventures and you can actually repel and Spelunk and then zip line from the top down to the bottom,

3 (10m 19s):
Really, really fun and capping off Palawan. Cause I feel like we’ve spent quite a bit of time here on the Philippines, but that’s how awesome it is and how site we are about it is a place north on the island called El Nido. El Nido became famous because I think one of the famous boat chase scenes in the Bourne identity or part of the series was filmed out here. And so this is a really great place to do some island hopping, again, more snorkeling sandbar action and lots of lots of caves. So this is a unique place it’s starting to become really more commercialized now. But when we went last time, it was at the start of it. Like people knew of it, but it’s still building itself up to be super commercialized.

3 (11m 1s):
So get there soon before it’s too crazy, but really awesome out there.

2 (11m 5s):
I follow the hashtag for El Nido on Instagram and the crystal clear blue waters and all of Philippines pops up on it. And it’s just so beautiful. I cannot wait for January 20, 23 to take this trip. But in the meantime, squaddies, if you’re interested in learning more about the Philippines, we do have a whole episode on it. You can go back to episode 54 when we go into so much detail on all of these places.

3 (11m 30s):
Oh my gosh. I mean, we’re on one 18 episode, 54. I almost forgot we had a Philippine episode and I feel bad saying that, but yeah, go back and listen. We talk way, way more in depth about it and yeah. Squad trip 20, 23, super excited for the Philippines. Again,

2 (11m 45s):
Getting into February. The place that we’re recommending is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. We actually went here, not in February, went in January, but we would recommend February here’s the weather is absolutely perfect. It can be really, really hot there. And the weather in February is pretty good. It’s about, you know, high seventies, low of sixties, fairly nice.

3 (12m 7s):
And that should be what the weather is in January. Quite honestly, there’s not really too much of a difference, but interestingly enough, when we were there, we did the water park at the Atlanta’s Palm. And for whatever reason, the day that we had the free time to do the water park, it was a little bit chilly. So I think February a warm up a little bit and keep you from having that happen. Nonetheless, still good weather in that timeframe. But yeah, February, it would be rock solid to go because I would hate to be out there when it’s a hundred plus degrees and it definitely will do that.

1 (12m 36s):
Yeah. So the nights and mornings are a little chilly. And so you might want like a light sweater, but during the daytime, you really don’t need a jacket at all because whether it’s great and if you go, we went all out and we stayed at the Atlantis resort, highly, highly, highly recommended it. We loved our state. It’s a beautiful, beautiful resort. You really don’t even have to leave it. If you don’t want to, they have the water park. Like they mentioned my God, we have some of the best, but EJ of us going down the water,

2 (13m 4s):
That was so fun. And it

1 (13m 6s):
Was so much fun and

2 (13m 7s):
It’s free if you stay there.

1 (13m 9s):
Yes. They also have an aquarium within the resort itself. You can actually see it as you’re going through some of the shops and some of the main areas, but they also have this restaurant called Asciano and the restaurant has the aquarium inside of it. And so the whole front wall of the restaurant is just the aquarium. So you have this beautiful view the whole time.

3 (13m 31s):
I mean, you’re pretty much dining under water and it’s fine dining. It really creates this awesome ambience in a place like Dubai. That’s pretty much Vegas without gambling. It’s just real showy and opulence on steroids. You do want to splurge and do these types of things out there. So I would highly recommend going out there to Atlantis, but beyond that, there’s lots of stuff to do. We did the sun rise camel tour with breakfast,

2 (13m 54s):
So,

3 (13m 54s):
Oh yeah. I mean, you go out into the desert, you ride a camel at Dawn and

1 (13m 60s):
I’ve been just getting to the desert location. Like we were a four wheeling over the sand and the se

2 (14m 5s):
Sand dune.

3 (14m 6s):
Oh yeah. And then they had the tent set up breakfast, everything. So that was a really, really fun experience to do. And then just the metropolis that is Dubai. I mean, they have the world’s tallest building. One of my biggest regrets is that we did not go up all the way to the top when we were there. I would like to do that. I think in hindsight, at the time we were just like, I don’t really want to pay that much to go all the way to the top.

1 (14m 28s):
It was like $80 or more.

3 (14m 30s):
I know just to go to the top, I think we should. And Kim, I’m going to say this, maybe this will change your mind about going back there. Not that you said you haven’t wanted to, but I know we said, I feel like we got enough to do there in those two days

2 (14m 41s):
That we were there two days.

3 (14m 43s):
I think they have a high tea experience in there

2 (14m 47s):
And the

3 (14m 47s):
Burj Khalifa tallest building in the world. If it’s not there, it’s at the Burj Al Arab, which is, they say the only seven star hotel in the world. And unless you are actually staying in that resort, you can’t get there. We tried to go in there. They wouldn’t let us because we weren’t staying there. But I would love to go experience that. It’s fun to just see the opulence. That is the city of Dubai.

1 (15m 7s):
Yeah. That hotel that you were just talking about, you have a Butler at your service,

3 (15m 11s):
All hotel rooms have the Butler. So I mean, that’s the type of price that you’re going to be paying for.

2 (15m 15s):
I think it was around 1500 a night, right? The lowest price one.

3 (15m 18s):
A minimum. Yes.

1 (15m 20s):
Yeah. And we met up with your cousin there, Jamal in Dubai.

3 (15m 23s):
Yes. As you guys may know, my dad is originally Lebanese, so I’m Lebanese by descent. I have cousins who still live over in the middle east and work and live in Dubai. So we did meet up with my cousin, which was really, really fun to do. And you know, it was definitely a fun city and a lot of people really, really hype it up. And I think, unless you’re really going to go and spend a lot of money. Yes. You can have a lot of fun. I don’t want to say we were being cheap or anything like that. Cause we really weren’t, but it’s fun to see. But if you’re not going to be spending a ton of money with the opulence, you only need a couple of days there.

2 (15m 56s):
Yeah. I would hardly say a $300 dinner is being cheap.

3 (15m 59s):
Exactly. I said, I wouldn’t say we were being cheap, but I mean, people who are over there have oil money and these were talking like millionaires and billionaires. Yeah.

2 (16m 7s):
Yeah. You know, it was crazy to see the women dressed in the, I’m not sure exactly what they’re called, but the dress wear with the face coverings. And they’re just wearing like T Ziner purses and Louis Vuitton heels. It was so funny. But squad tip for you per Dubai Dress conservatively. There is no drinking in public places. But what you can do is smoke hookah on the boardwalk, looking out to all of the yachts and the skyscrapers, which is pretty cool.

3 (16m 36s):
Yeah. So in public you do want to be a little bit more modest out of respect. And what I mean by that is like no tank tops like super short skirts for women. But when you are at the resorts, there is the drinking. They have lots of beaches. So you can feel free to wear like a bikini and stuff. And it doesn’t really matter. But when you’re out, like in public, outside of the resort areas, you do want to just adhere to the local traditions and be respectful in that sense,

2 (17m 3s):
Moving into March the spring season, we’re taking you to Cuba. I have been here and Brittany and Jamal haven’t, but I know you guys would love it. There it’s really fun.

3 (17m 13s):
I really want to go to Cuba. I’d be really excited to go. You went with O G squad member Zayna and my sister, you guys had a really, really good time out there. And every time I hear about it, I just think about how awesome of a party time you had out there.

2 (17m 25s):
Yes. It’s definitely a place to enjoy yourself. The reggaeton music is everywhere. There’s, you know, in March specifically, the weather is pretty good. You might catch some rainstorms that come in, but that’s the Caribbean for you, but you’re going to skip out largely on that super humid, hot weather, but it’s still warm enough to go swimming in the ocean, wear shorts, wear dresses. So a couple of places that I would recommend you go, obviously Havana is the main city in Cuba. It’s where the flights come into. So you’re going to spend time there. Old Havana is beautiful. He definitely check out this colonial architecture there. And then there’s a couple other places. But the only other place that I went was Trinidad, beautiful beaches, amazing people.

2 (18m 6s):
But what really is the draw here is the cave nightclub.

1 (18m 11s):
The one you got LinkedIn.

2 (18m 12s):
Oh my gosh. Me and Dana both got licked by this Cuban man

3 (18m 15s):
By the same guy, right?

2 (18m 18s):
He probably leaves a lot of women that night. But anyway, this cave is so big. I mean, thousands of people can fit in it. And it is a nightclub that rages till I don’t even think it closes, but we left around 5:00 AM and it was still going strong. But Cuba is also really known for its Cuban cigars, pina coladas, dancing it’s culture that people are so nice. Beaches and American classic cars. Where else in the world, can you go and see American classic cars everywhere on the roads still?

1 (18m 47s):
Yeah, that is pretty unique. And I’ve seen some of your pictures beautiful to the cars are pristine.

2 (18m 53s):
Not all of them are, but a lot of them have been restored.

3 (18m 56s):
Aren’t the buildings really colorful, also like whitewash with pink and other bright colors and things of that nature.

2 (19m 2s):
A lot of them are. Yeah. And they’re also just really beautiful, like colonial style architecture. But we have a whole episode on this episode. Seven way, way back.

3 (19m 12s):
Yeah,

2 (19m 12s):
I know that’s crazy. And Zane is on that one and we go all into detailed. All the parties, all the fun, all the adventures. Cuba is definitely a place you need to do your research on you. Can’t use your internet. You can’t use American money and you can’t even trade American money there. So go back and listen to the episode if you’re trying to go.

1 (19m 30s):
So for April, we definitely recommend that you head on over to Japan. Kim hasn’t been, but Jamal and I spent two weeks in Japan and we recommend April because it’s the start of cherry blossom season.

3 (19m 41s):
Yes. And we’re recommending April for you guys because of the cherry blossom season, the good weather. But we have to be honest with you guys when Brittany and I did go, we did go in January. So it was cold there. We missed out on cherry blossom season. I tell her all the time that I want to go to Japan again. Cause I loved it so much, but I want to go for cherry blossom season. We have two episodes, all about Japan episodes, 42 and 43. So for more information, go back and listen to that. But before we get into the things to do and places to go, cherry blossom season, I really want to go. I know I said that already, but I’m stressing it again. I really want to go for that.

2 (20m 18s):
I think

3 (20m 18s):
That’d be amazing.

1 (20m 19s):
Yeah. So we went to a few different places in the two weeks that we were there. Of course we went to Tokyo, which is obviously a huge metropolis, but they have so many things to do. We went to one of the unique cafes and we decided to pick a hedgehog cafe.

3 (20m 35s):
Yeah. So Whitney says unique cafes. I mean, it’s a cultural thing in Japan that they have places to go. You can get drinks and play with animals,

2 (20m 42s):
That other kind of cafes. So they have

3 (20m 44s):
Cat cafes. They

1 (20m 46s):
Had

2 (20m 47s):
Owl

3 (20m 48s):
Owl. You want to play with a bird? Yeah. Go to the owl cafe that they have out there. Corgis. Yes, we did the hedgehog one. So we were playing with these small little tiny hedgehogs in our hand, feeding them little grub worms and things like that. And it was really, really fun, really unique experience. But you could do all sorts of that crazy stuff, but even just exploring the metropolis that is Tokyo. We went to the top of Tokyo tower, which almost looks like a replica of the Eiffel tower obviously is like painted a bright like red or orange. And it’s really an antenna tower that they have for some of their national broadcasting. But it gives you amazing 360 degree views of Tokyo all around and on a clear day, which we were up at the top on a clear day, we saw all the way to Mount Fuji.

1 (21m 32s):
Yeah. We did a day trip with Viator to Mount boujee. We also went to the Imperial palace and most importantly in Tokyo, we went to Tokyo, Disneyland and Tokyo Disney, see

2 (21m 42s):
Disney, see

3 (21m 43s):
Disney, see Tokyo Disney sea is ranked the best themed Disney park in the world. Mind you.

2 (21m 49s):
And how did you think it,

3 (21m 51s):
It was exceptional. It was exceptional. I loved it so so much. And I mean, I really Disney geeked out in the episode 42 that we talked about Tokyo and we talked about Tokyo Disney, sea and Tokyo Disneyland for that matter, but really, really loved it out there.

2 (22m 6s):
Did Disneyland have bad days in the bathrooms?

1 (22m 10s):
I want to say yes.

3 (22m 12s):
I’m really trying to remember. I think they did. And I’m glad you brought this up cause can we have a Travel Squad episode without talking about the bathroom situation that bathrooms in Japan are the best bathrooms I’ve ever been into in my life. And I’m just going to say it right now. I don’t know what episode it is, but it is coming up. We’re talking about best and worst bathroom experiences going to have a complete episode on it. No, it sounds crazy, but it’s going to be bomb and fire and Japan’s going to be on there and re repping it hard. So

2 (22m 40s):
Very passionate about the bathroom

3 (22m 42s):
Is awesome. And I’m trying to get our listeners and squaddies passionate about that upcoming episode.

1 (22m 47s):
Yeah. So definitely subscribe. So you don’t miss that episode for sure.

2 (22m 51s):
That’s going to be a good one,

1 (22m 53s):
But we went to so many other places in Japan. We went to Kyoto and we went to the famous bamboo Grove and monkey park there and they have the famous golden temple. That’s surrounded by water. So lots of really beautiful shrines and temples in the area. We also went to neuro where they have the famous deer that like bow down to you

2 (23m 14s):
And kind of you with their heads on your butt,

1 (23m 17s):
A little aggressive at times, if you have food,

3 (23m 20s):
Brittany almost ate shit. Like literally, if you imagine a football player ramming another football player, that’s what the deer did. A Brittany at. Ramdas straightened the ass and she almost fell over. I wish I had a camera for that moment, but it lives in my head rent free. I’m telling you, I just really remember flying through the air and she caught her valance and landed no doubt, but it could have very easily been a spill and roll situation how bad it hit her because she turned herself away and did not feed that deer or didn’t feed it enough to its liking. But minus the aggressiveness, they really are truly gentle. You can pet them, feed them super, super fun experience. In Nara.

1 (23m 59s):
We also went to Hiroshima. We saw the peace park where the atomic bomb site was on a more serious subject. And then from there, we actually took a train to me as Jima island, which has the famous floating shrine, which is on most of the Japanese a bucket list.

3 (24m 15s):
You said a train. I think you meant a boat, Brittany, because it’s an island.

1 (24m 18s):
True. We did take a train first, then a boat then made onto the island,

2 (24m 23s):
Quite the Trek.

3 (24m 24s):
It really is. And obviously forgive our pronunciation on it, but just Google floating trine in Japan. And you’ll see the image. And I guarantee you’ve probably seen it before. And one of my favorite places that we went to in Japan, it’s hard to really pick a favorite. Cause I loved everywhere that we went, but if you’re real food, you’re going to enjoy Osaka. And when we went to Osaka, we ate the best food that we ate in all of Japan when we were here. And I would definitely recommend it simply for the food tasting.

2 (24m 51s):
Yeah. It sounds like a really epic trip minus the cold. I’m kind of sad. I wasn’t there, but we have two episodes on this. We said 42 and 43. They’re both really good. But 42 is so funny. It’s one of my favorite episodes. So definitely go back and listen to it because there is a ton of detail there.

3 (25m 9s):
Yeah. Whenever I listened to it, I always still get a good laugh. And Kim, if we win in April, as we’re suggesting to our squaddies, you probably would have enjoyed it. You were intimidated by the cold in January, but brilliant. I can handle it. But for most people who are probably in your life mindset, that’s why we say April and cherry blossom season. I’m going to say it again. Cherry blossoms.

2 (25m 28s):
Yes. I’m all for that.

1 (25m 30s):
Hey travelers, let’s take a quick detour to talk all about our Travel Itineraries that we’ve created just for you. We now have six different trip itineraries one week in Kauai

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1 (26m 18s):
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3 (26m 32s):
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2 (26m 44s):
May. We’re recommending China and we’re recommending this because we actually took a squad trip to China in may God. What year was that? 20 17, 27. So it’s been a while, but China blew us away. It was amazing. And may was the perfect time to go.

1 (27m 0s):
When we were telling people, you know, we’re going on a trip to China, people are like, why China? And you know, it kind of set my expectations a little low. I knew I was going to have fun regardless, but my expectations weren’t super high

2 (27m 11s):
And it was never on my bucket list of places.

1 (27m 15s):
And then we went and I was like, oh my God, every single day was amazing. We had a great time. The food was amazing. It was awesome.

3 (27m 22s):
Yeah. And we went on this shout out gate one, favorite gate one. So it was a guided tour. And why we’re recommending it in may is obviously earlier months can definitely be colder out there. And then even when we were there in may, it was starting to get hot. And we were advised by our tour guide. Yes, you’re here in June, July. It’s definitely going to be warm, hot, not very comfortable. So may is really, truly that perfect time for you to go.

2 (27m 49s):
We went to three places when we were there and these are three solid places to visit. If you go, I mean, China is huge. You could spend months there and not even see it all. But if you go Beijing Shiyan and Shanghai, you definitely have to see

3 (28m 4s):
Yes. And Beijing, if you’re familiar is the capital of China. You can see the great wall. Amazing. I mean, where can you see one of the wonders of the world, which is the great wall crazy. And we got to hike it no easy days for us ladies. Right. Okay.

2 (28m 18s):
I did want to say, I was thinking the great wall. You know, you see these pictures of it being filled with people, so crowded and that’s what I was expecting. Nobody was on the great wall and the place that we were at.

3 (28m 30s):
Yeah. That was really nice. I really enjoyed that aspect of it too. Cause I hate going to really popular places. And then having it been really crowded, it really pulls away from the experience itself. And I feel like in a way, you’re right, we almost had it all to ourselves, but maybe it’s because we chose the hard side to hike and everybody in the crowds were on the easy side to the other side. Maybe,

2 (28m 52s):
Maybe. So go go with the easy day.

3 (28m 56s):
And then we also went to the zoo out there and we saw the pandas, which are native to China. That was really fun. The Imperial palace and Tiananmen square. So really lots of history and crazy classical architecture to see when in Beijing plus with the modern metropolis that it is.

1 (29m 13s):
And from Beijing, we went to Sheehan and we saw the terracotta soldiers. If you guys don’t know what that is, look it up. Super impressive, huge piece of history there. I was so impressed. Being able to see all of the Terra, cotta soldiers, standing in lines and lions and how much excavating they’ve done and like how much detail was put into them as well.

2 (29m 32s):
And to know how much excavating still needs to be done. I think they’ve explored like three out of 17 pits.

3 (29m 40s):
They said within the last, what is it? 50 or 60 years, they’ve discovered it. And supposedly it’s a tomb for one of the old emperors of China. So every soldier that is guarding the tomb, that’s lined up that Bernie’s talking about, looks unique. It is designed to be that exact person and soldier who was guarding that emperor, different looking horses and their carriages. I mean, it is crazy and you’re right. They barely scratched the surface on really what can be excavated out there. But what you see is very, very impressive.

2 (30m 11s):
One of the coolest things we did in Shyanne too, aside from cultural things was we went to this park gate. One took us there in the mornings. This is where the seniors, the Chinese seniors will go in the mornings and do Tai Chi and they’ll play hacky sack. They’ll sing and just do like small exercises because I guess, which is really cool. The retirement age is 50 in China. Yeah. So we actually went and got to dance with them. It was almost like they were putting a performance on for us. And we were part of it. They had a whole orchestra there and saying us songs. They called us up to the front and sing us songs.

1 (30m 49s):
Yeah, that was super cool. But what’s also really funny about this cultural park. This outdoor park is when the retired people go there, they go there to gossip about their families and hook people up in their family. Like my granddaughter is looking for a husband. They, they do all of their gossiping and like matchmaking at the park.

2 (31m 6s):
Only my grandma could find me a husband

3 (31m 10s):
If only right. But of all the cities that we experienced in China, I think I could say without a doubt, our favorite was Shanghai. It’s a very modern metropolis, has its old colonial history with it just as well. But we did so many amazing things. One of my favorite things that we did on the entire trip in China was do the Bund Knight river cruise, which we’re riding the river that runs along Shanghai. And you just get to see all the modern buildings lit up at night, all the different colors. I mean, wow. I mean, what a unique, awesome experience that was. I, I truly will never really forget that one. I enjoyed that a lot. Okay.

2 (31m 48s):
Buildings look like Jetsons 30, 30 futuristic. So cool.

3 (31m 54s):
I love it. You’re not even keeping it in the 20th century or in the 30th century over there. Yeah. I mean, but you’re right. They are crazy looking buildings. It’s just super wild out there.

1 (32m 4s):
We did so much in Shanghai. You know, Jamal said the river cruise, they also went to an Acrobat show, which was very impressive. We went to a Bazaar where we got to like negotiate for fake Michael Kors.

3 (32m 14s):
Yeah. If you want to go buy all your rip off China gear. I mean, I hate to say it in that sense, but the truth is it’s the reality. We went to the Bazaar where you can get all that stuff and it was a fun experience. I really enjoyed it. Yeah.

2 (32m 26s):
Just be careful. I had a Chinese ladies pulling my arm into back rooms as I got separated from everyone. So be careful.

1 (32m 34s):
And then I had a free day in Shanghai and we all went to Shanghai. Disneyland, which I have to say is the best Disney park in the world. It was so much fun. We had such a great time. We also met another couple on this trip. Shout out to cache and Ryan, they went to Disneyland as well. They were on the same page with us. Like that was their plan to do as well. We had a great time together.

3 (32m 55s):
Yes. China is where we met our honorary squaddies Casha and Ryan. So really fun trip all around and may perfect time to go to China.

1 (33m 3s):
If you want to hear all about China, we break it down and episode three.

2 (33m 7s):
Wow. That was one of the very first ones.

3 (33m 10s):
All right. Squatty. So we’re halfway through the year here. Now we’re moving on to June and our recommendation for you guys is going to be Peru. Lots of things to do in Peru. But specifically we’re talking to, this is the perfect time to go to Machu Picchu. Let’s not kid ourselves. Right ladies.

2 (33m 27s):
Hmm. We went in June actually, when we hiked the Inca trail to Machu Picchu and it could not have been better weather. It didn’t rain on us. It wasn’t too hot. It wasn’t too cold. It was absolutely perfect for a four day, three night trip. And so obviously you’re going to see Machu Picchu. Maybe you’re taking the train. Maybe you’re doing this several day hike to it, which I would recommend, but just in Cusco alone, there’s tons of stuff to do. Like the free walking tour. Oh, I’d highly recommend that.

1 (33m 57s):
And we did that right off of the Plaza de Armas. And you get to see a lot of cool things in the city. Like at one point he took us up to like a rooftop of some soar and you got to see the whole Cusco valley. It was so beautiful. Cusco is actually in the shape of a Puma.

3 (34m 12s):
Yeah. So the city itself originally was designed to be in the shape of a Puma.

1 (34m 17s):
So you learn a lot of history and that’s one thing I really like about walking tours. Cause you can visit any location on your own, but you don’t really learn about the history unless you have like a guide or someone there. And these free walking tours, a lot of them are, well, all of them are free. And so they work off of tips and so they want to make the experience as enjoyable for everyone as possible. And so they have a lot to offer on them. We got to feed them llamas. We went to a market where we got these amazing smoothies And off. It was a really great time. We also got drunk at the chocolate museum cause it was pouring chocolate core in our mouths. And we had an easy day to Christo Blanco.

3 (34m 53s):
Yes. Crystal Blanco was almost like if I’m going to give an equivalent Christ, the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. So it’s the version of Jesus Christ at the top of the hill. All in white, we made our hike up. Cusco is at such a high elevation that you almost get altitude sickness. And we got a little bit winded making our way up there, but Cusco all around real fun city to visit. And while you’re there, you have to do a day trip to rainbow mountain. Oh

2 (35m 21s):
Ooh. Yes. That’s even higher elevation than Cusco, but gorgeous. Like the stones that make up the mountain have naturally turned from the elements into these gorgeous colors of purples and pinks. And it looks like a rainbow mountain

3 (35m 36s):
Greens, yellows, purples, and you can see the striations of the colors in it, but it’s at an elevation of like 14 to 16,000 feet. So definitely be prepared for the high altitude. We were sold on this because we’re like, no, we can’t exert ourselves before we go to Machu Picchu. And they’re like, no, no, no, you can go ahead and get yourself some horses. They weren’t horses. They were like donkeys or mules, not fit for our American sizes fit my size. And every time we had to go uphill with it, which is when you would really want the horse mule Maggio and not really horse, oh you gotta get off. It’s too tough on it. So don’t be fooled by that, but definitely worth the view and the site’s absolutely beautiful.

3 (36m 17s):
But the highlight, and again, why we say specifically in June is if you are going to match a Picchu, this is when the weather is perfect. There’s always going to be rain. We got really lucky with none, but this is the least rainy time of the year to go, not too hot, not too cold. And Machu Picchu was amazing.

1 (36m 34s):
And if you want to hear more about Machu Picchu or the Inca trail, we have two episodes on them. It’s episode 10 and episode 16. So we’re going to make our way to the United Kingdom in July and Jamal and I have been to London. I know Kim is high on your list.

2 (36m 49s):
I am dying to go. And

1 (36m 51s):
We recommend July because the UK and London is kind of a dreary place a lot of the year. And so in July, the highest are only the mid seventies where a lot of places would be scorching in July. And there’s so much to do in London. We spent three to four days there and we saw big Ben Buckingham palace. And we also went to the London eye, which if you guys aren’t familiar with it, it’s a very large encapsulated Ferris wheel.

3 (37m 17s):
Yeah. That’s going to give you really the best views of downtown London, big Ben, Buckingham, palace parliament, all of that all along the tames river. So really ride the London nine. Most people would think something like that as a tourist trap and it really is. But the views it gives you or are unparalleled.

2 (37m 32s):
I am here for city Ferris, wills. Hello, Miami. Wasn’t that view?

3 (37m 38s):
Good. You’re all about that.

2 (37m 39s):
I will be on the London eye when I go.

3 (37m 42s):
And when we go to Vegas next time, Kim, I still can’t believe you haven’t written the high roll,

2 (37m 46s):
The high roller. I will be there in the open bar cart,

1 (37m 49s):
But there’s so much to do in London. Like we went to the Westminster Abbey, we saw them and do the chortle, which is like a choir, which was really, really nice to see. And Jamal arranged for us to do a double deck bus tour. Okay. It’s London. And so that really gave us a really good overview of the city because we did that right when we got there just really nice. And if anyone loves some history tower of London, that’s where they house the crown jewels. Super cool to see it’s where a lot of people have actually been executed as well. And it was really unique and interesting to see.

2 (38m 22s):
I have two questions. Okay. Number one, the main draw of London for me is the high tea. Where did you have high tea here?

1 (38m 30s):
Claridges, which is a hotel, but they do have a very, very nice elegant high tea experience. And for each course, they ask you which tea that you would like per course. And they have a recommendation.

2 (38m 43s):
Ooh. So fancy

3 (38m 44s):
Claridges is ranked one of the top five places to get tea in London for afternoon tea. I mean, once in Churchill used to go here for it. Princess Diana used to go there for it, Kim. It was amazing. We’ve showed you photos. I’m not going to lie. You’ve taken a dump on it because they don’t have the tiered trays that you want

2 (39m 3s):
With it.

3 (39m 4s):
Well, they bring everything out on this beautiful China where and trades is just not tiered, but it is unlimited really good food. And yeah, I would highly, highly recommend Claridges. It was an experience not to be missed if you’re wanting to do high-tech

1 (39m 18s):
We got double sandwiches because why not?

2 (39m 21s):
I’m always so stuffed after just the tiered tray.

3 (39m 25s):
See how she mentions the tiered tray. But no, it was really fun. And we also did a day trip to Stonehenge also. So I mean the UK really fun place to go. I’m excited to go back again. I really do want to go, but July would be the perfect time because like Brittany said, normally kind of dreary throughout the year, but July optimal weather,

2 (39m 45s):
We’re going to stay in Europe for August and recommend Slovenia.

3 (39m 50s):
Yes. So Brittany and I had gone to Slovenia. It was one of the countries that we went to on another gate, one tour when we did the Adriatic coast, which is along the Mediterranean. And my gosh, like Sylvania was one of the most beautiful and scenic countries that I’ve ever been to. There’s so much to do there so much to see in this small country, lots of different landscapes. But one of my favorite things that we did was go to the, and forgive me. I know I’m going to mispronounce this, the post Johnno caves, which is the largest showcase I think in Europe to see. And it’s so deep that you actually have to take a train further into the cave, to it gets to the point where you can see the stalagmites and stalactites.

3 (40m 33s):
And then from there you are free to roll around and experience.

1 (40m 36s):
No, I never really hear people say, you know, I I’d love to go to Slovenia.

2 (40m 40s):
I never actually, I don’t even think I’d ever heard of it until you guys went. And

3 (40m 45s):
It’s

1 (40m 46s):
So underrated. We literally stayed at a hotel that was on the lake bled and we got there in the afternoon. We had dinner and then at night there was a little cafe along the lake and we got coffee and dessert cause they had these like famous cream cakes there and you’re looking out to the lake and the lake has an island in the middle and on the cliff side, there’s a castle and it’s lit up at night and it’s so beautiful. So I just feel like Slovenia is super underrated.

3 (41m 13s):
Yeah. And that area along lake bled, I mean, just so beautiful for those surrounding features that Brittany had just mentioned. And the lake is large enough that you can actually take a horse-drawn carriage around it, but also small enough that if you want it to do the walk yourself, you could and a decent amount of time, but just scenic beauty all around, out there and good food, good scenic views and nature all around. Just beautiful.

1 (41m 39s):
Yeah. We even went to a national park out in Slovenia as well and had a beautiful glacial lake, which is the largest permanent leak in Slovenia. And you’re surrounded by Julian Alps. So it has so much scenic beauty as well.

3 (41m 52s):
Yeah. And then just another highlight. They do have the bled castle. So that’s that castle that Brittany was talking about at the top of the cliff, it’s 400 feet above. So you get these amazing views looking down onto the lake. And I mean, I just can’t stress this enough. Like Slovenia was a country in Europe that most people probably don’t even have on the radar. And I think it’s absolutely perfect to go in August before it starts getting too cold into the winter right there. Cause you’re at the foothills of those Julian Alps and it will get cold and will snow.

1 (42m 19s):
So we’re actually staying in Europe for September as well. And we’re headed to Italy.

2 (42m 25s):
I love Italy. It’s one of my favorite countries in this globe

3 (42m 29s):
In this globe. This

2 (42m 30s):
Globe is wide wide world.

3 (42m 32s):
You know, I’m jealous of your trip to Italy, Ken, because Brittany and I have only been to Italy once actually to visit we’ve been on a layover and Rome, but that doesn’t really count because we didn’t go out. And as a matter of fact, it’s funny when we were done in Slovenia, on our tour, our flight was supposed to fly out of Venice, but we weren’t supposed to spend time in Venice. So Brittany and I said, we’re going to extend it and do a day at Venice. So that’s really been our only experience, fun, awesome place. But you have really all the details because you truly went all around. Yes.

2 (43m 1s):
And I took my trip in April, but I would recommend September because it can be warmer and you can enjoy just like warm nights. Maybe if you’re spending any time near the coast, it would be really nice to go swimming. So September is perfect. You don’t want to go in August. They shut down for a couple of weeks. And so the, you know, restaurants, stores, that kind of thing will be closed.

3 (43m 22s):
And September is the start of shoulder season. So I mean Europe, a lot of places, especially Italy would be completely crowded during the summer. So you’re at that end right there where it’s not going to be too crowded and you could probably get good sales and deals on hotels.

2 (43m 35s):
Yes. Now I would love to go back to Italy and visit more of the Southern country like Positano the whole Amalfi coast. Ooh. Yes, yes. But I didn’t do any of that on this trip. However, I would still recommend these places. Some of the main places there, Rome, you have to see the Colosseum, but you guys know how much I love ancient ruins.

3 (43m 56s):
They get you off really

2 (43m 58s):
Go in. The Coliseum is absolutely amazing, but that’s not the only ruins you’ll see there. You’ll see it all over the city everywhere you’re walking. It’s pretty cool. So you definitely have to hit up Rome. You have to go to Venice, which you two have also been to. I did not write in the gondolas, but if I went back, I would,

3 (44m 17s):
I would too. I’m not even going to lie to you. Squaddies I was too cheap. I thought to myself, hundred-year I? Yeah. I literally thought to myself, you’re going to charge me 80 to a hundred euros to riding a gondola for 10 to 15 minutes. And when I was there, I thought to myself, that’s like, ridiculous. I can’t do it in good conscious. And now that I’m back here and hadn’t done that, it’s one of those things like, yes, it’s ridiculous. Yes, they’re overcharging. But I mean, it is quintessential Venice to write in a gondola and I regret not doing that

2 (44m 45s):
And I would have done it. But since I went in April, it was raining and it wouldn’t have made for a good gondola experience. If you go in September, definitely do it. The trick there though, you can put more than two people in a gondola. So if you’re with four people that slips the cost, if you have two strangers that you meet and you become friends with, you can split the cost just outside of Venice. There’s a little town called Burano that is completely lined with colorful homes. Every single home is pink. Purple, blue, yellow, green. I would highly recommend taking a water taxi out there to see that too. Oh. And then going back to Rome, definitely go to Vatican city. It’s worth spending a day there seeing it, the Sistine chapel.

3 (45m 26s):
It’s this whole other country. Quite honestly, not a lot of people know that you leave. When you walk into another country, the Vatican city is its own country.

2 (45m 34s):
That’s true. But in my mind, I’m just like, they’re the same.

3 (45m 37s):
It is. But it’s its own country. So you could get a twofer in that sense. Right?

2 (45m 42s):
We like to first you can spend some time in Florence. I would definitely recommend this as well. This is the wine region of Italy castles leather.

3 (45m 52s):
Brittany, when are we going to go to Italy in September? What year?

1 (45m 56s):
I don’t know what year? Maybe

3 (45m 58s):
20, 23, 20, 23. Are you going to go back Kim? Is it going to be a squad trip? Alright.

2 (46m 3s):
Yeah, maybe, maybe.

3 (46m 5s):
All right. I’m looking forward to it. We got January 20, 23 for Philippines and supposedly Italy 2023.

2 (46m 12s):
I mean I could eat pasta all day long. Catch up at bay in Rome is where it comes from. You have to get it. It’s so fucking good. Also in Rome, Rome just had really good food. I mean everywhere did, but the other amazing dish I had in Rome, Gorgonzola stuffed, you know,

1 (46m 28s):
Ki. Oh, that sounds so good.

3 (46m 30s):
I love Gorgonzola

2 (46m 31s):
And table wine for eight euros for a jug of wine.

1 (46m 34s):
I was just about to say you haven’t said wine once.

2 (46m 37s):
Why wine? Wine, wine,

3 (46m 39s):
The best for last exactly. How can you go wrong with an eight year old jug of wine at the table? I know

2 (46m 44s):
You can’t. It’s amazing.

1 (46m 45s):
All right. So we’re moving on to October in October, we recommend Mexico and we have been all around Mexico. We’ve been to Cabo San Lucas. Motsa Lon Bertha via Artha via Guadalupe to loom Cozumel to you wanna Rosarito

3 (47m 2s):
And Sonata one. Oh, Watteau Mexicali all over the place. So obviously certain times of the year weather-wise may be more conducive than other places, but you always have those coastal areas, whether we’re talking Cabo or in Cancun, where for the most part, the weather’s always going to be good during that.

2 (47m 20s):
I would just say skip it during the summer because the humidity and the heat are really extreme.

3 (47m 26s):
Yes. But what I mean by beach weather, it’s not going to be frigid or cold, but yes. I mean, I hate to experience the heat and humidity and definitely don’t want to do that during summer. And again, that’s why we’re talking October out here.

2 (47m 38s):
October’s the time to go. And there’s just so much to do. You can eat 500 million tacos and still want more. Oh

1 (47m 46s):
Yeah.

2 (47m 47s):
The nightlife is fun. You can get anything in Mexico. You can have coastal, you can have hot Springs. You can have

3 (47m 55s):
Mountains, even

2 (47m 56s):
Mountain cenote days, wine regions. We have a few episodes on Mexico because we’ve been several places.

3 (48m 3s):
Yeah. Episode one, Mexico city. We have a via to Guadalupe episode, which is Mexico’s wine region, almost their equivalent of Napa to the United States.

1 (48m 13s):
And while we’re on that, we actually have an upcoming trip to Byetta Guadalupe in March. And we’re staying on a vineyard in this bubble hotel. If you haven’t seen it, look it up. It’s like a bubble hotel, invited Guadalupe. We actually got the one with the hot tub in the back and humane and I can’t wait to go.

3 (48m 31s):
Absolutely. So, I mean, we’re not really pinpointing one location in Mexico because Mexico is just an amazing country in general. So we’re giving you all those highlights, pick your poison, but October is definitely a good time to go.

1 (48m 42s):
Yeah. We have another episode too, called five places to visit in Baja, California that’s episode 1 0 1, Kim actually just recently got back from a trip from and we have an upcoming episode on that believe that’s episode 1 25.

2 (48m 55s):
We’ll want to hear that one. That is an artsy colorful theater, creative dancing town and the nightlife and the caves like it’s so cool.

3 (49m 4s):
Brittany has been talking about one a Watteau for like two, three years now for us to go. And in that timeframe, you’ve already gone twice now.

2 (49m 11s):
So Nesco site,

3 (49m 13s):
We need to go and I know you liked it enough that you would go again. Right? Okay.

2 (49m 16s):
I definitely would. And it’s, it’s amazing, but I want to tell you squaddies, if any of our Mexico episodes, you go back to go back to number one. Our very first episode is on Mexico city. We’ve been several other times since, but that is a good episode. And it will tell you all the fun things to do the best highlights to see the best bathroom in Mexico city. So you have to hear,

3 (49m 39s):
We always got to talk about the bathrooms and that was a good bathroom. Although from what you ladies described, the female bathroom was better than the male bathroom. Mine was cool, but not as cool as how you ladies described that one. Do you want to know what we’re talking about? Go back and listen to that episode.

1 (49m 53s):
And there’s so many ways to visit Mexico. We’ve driven across the border. We’ve flown into Mexico, we’ve taken cruises. I have stopped in ports in Mexico. So you have tons of ways to get to Mexico.

2 (50m 3s):
November. My birthday month, the place to visit is Thailand. Why November? Because of the weather. It’s the perfect time of year for warmer season. It’s not as rainy, but it’s not as hot. And it’s also technically their shoulder season just before it starts get busy again for new year’s Eve. So it’s the perfect time with crowds and prices. It’s just amazing. Thailand is so fun and I’m really glad I went in my twenties because it’s also

3 (50m 31s):
Because we know Kevin or third is, you

2 (50m 35s):
Know, I’m glad I went in my twenties because it’s very much a place that caters to backpackers, to young people, to people doing gap years or, you know, digital nomad type life. I would love to go back and see how it’s changed now that COVID kind of has disrupted how people work and all of that. But it’s also a major party country. Every single place you go in Thailand, there will be Rangers all night long.

3 (51m 1s):
And you talked about cheap buckets. So beer. I love myself. So beer,

2 (51m 5s):
Not beer, a little bucket of red bull vodka,

3 (51m 9s):
Even better. I love me. Some red bull bought for

2 (51m 11s):
Five bucks. The prices are extremely low. We’re talking massages earlier in Philippines. Same thing here. You can get a $6 Thai massage. I got one from a lady. Boy, you can get oil massages for

1 (51m 25s):
Six. Your nipples.

2 (51m 27s):
Yes, I got, that was my first breast massage ever.

3 (51m 30s):
How was it? I liked it. You liked it all lit up.

2 (51m 34s):
Yeah, it got a little close down south, but yeah, that was funny. So definitely get the massage.

1 (51m 40s):
I feel like we need to have another episode on Thailand because you did talk about the full moon party and episode 37, but you did so much more in Thailand and you really haven’t hit on that in any of our episodes. So I definitely think we should go back and do a full Thailand,

2 (51m 54s):
Which is why I was saying, I’m glad I went in my twenties because the main attraction was the full moon party that happens once a month in Copenhagen. It’s just an all nighter neon lights, literal, flaming jump rope games, party on the beach. It’s just so, so much fun, but I was there for 11 days and that was one of them.

3 (52m 11s):
So I’m of the mindset of Brittany. I think we should have another episode on Thailand talking about more. However, I would ideally like to do that episode once Brittany and I go to Thailand.

2 (52m 21s):
Now,

3 (52m 22s):
I’m going to be honest. We know this amongst ourselves, maybe our squaddies here, pick this up. Certain places. Kim likes to go by herself because she thinks Brittany and I aren’t at her party level. That used to be the case in the twenties, not in the thirties. If I’m being honest with me and Brittany can outdo Kim in her thirties, but that’s neither here nor there is neither here nor there. I think if you’re down to go back again, would you allow us to go with you and not think that we’re going to hold you back on the fund and Thailand, Kim, now that you’re in your thirties,

2 (52m 50s):
I would a hundred percent go again. And I think you guys would also have fun because you don’t have to rage all night. There’s plenty of other things to do. I did an elephant sanctuary to like swim with elephants and be around 30 elephants at once. We did beaches. They really cater to you too. So you can be laying on a day bed on the beach and they’re just bringing you your drink. And the water is warm and clear and they’re gorgeous. You can go snorkeling. You can do day trips. You can play with monkeys. Like there’s so much to do. There’s so much culture. And I didn’t go to the north of Bangkok into the more cultural jungle area. And I would love to see that

3 (53m 24s):
Too. So November all around for Thailand,

2 (53m 27s):
Then November 20, 24, 20 24,

3 (53m 30s):
We got to push it off. Yes. I agree with you on that one, but it’ll be coming up and I really do want to do Thailand also, but closing out the year, my gosh, we gave you so many good recommendations from January through November. We’re going to hit you with a solid one here for December. Maybe someone might say that this location that we’re giving is a little cliche, but I don’t think so because of the timing in which we’re telling you to go here and that is going to be to France. Now, most people, I don’t know necessarily I’m going off of Kim. Don’t like the cold, so they may not want to do Europe in the cold, but I will tell you this. If you go to France during December, it’s going to be a beautiful winter season. Yes, it’s going to be cold, but you’re going to get an experience, a lot of different, unique things.

3 (54m 13s):
You’re not going to be there really with the tourists. So you’re almost going to kind of experience it like a local. They have the traditional Christmas markets at that time, which is something uniquely European and who doesn’t want to spend time and winter in the French Alps. So there is lots of stuff to do in France in December. And I think a really solid time to go.

1 (54m 33s):
Yeah, that’s actually where we spent part of our honeymoon. We went on a Danny river cruise and then we spent a week in France. France was amazing. Jamal and I really love mountain towns and the French Alps in Shawmanee perfect place to visit for that because

3 (54m 49s):
Yeah, Shawmanee is almost like the equivalent of what an Aspen or Breckenridge or Vail or something to that effect. It’s somewhere famous within Europe where people go to go skiing. It’s tucked in the corner. It’s still within France. It’s at the foot of Mount Blanca, which is the tallest mountain in the Alps itself. But when you take the gondolas to the top, you’re overlooking into Italy, you can actually ski or snowboard directly into it from the top of Montblanc. And then you’re looking into Switzerland and on a clear day, you could even see as far as the matter horns. So, I mean, it just gives you amazing views of the Sharmini valley at the top, literally the top of the Alps and all the amazing things that you can do in France, let alone Paris.

3 (55m 30s):
I mean, Eiffel tower, the lieu of arc, they try on so many different things. Disneyland. Yes, we did. Disneyland Paris, also France and December really good time. Recommend, just be sure to brave the cold, but I think it gives you a unique experience all around that. Most people who go to Paris, if they do it during spring or summer, don’t really get to see.

2 (55m 49s):
I’m excited to go to Paris might have to be 20, 25, but I’ll make my way there.

1 (55m 54s):
Oh my gosh. And this year during Christmas, as we were putting up our tree, our Paris ornament broke. So definitely going to have to go back and pick up another pair of soreness

3 (56m 3s):
And that Paris ornament, I actually picked up at one of those Christmas markets that I was talking about. Brittany handed it to me and then I fumbled it in my hands. And that’s the first ornament that we’ve gotten from our travels that is actually broke. And quite literally it slipped through my hands. So sat on that. So another reason to go back so we could get that Paris ornament.

2 (56m 22s):
All right, there you go. Squaddies you have a full year of travel, have fun out there. Now it is my favorite time of the week questions of the week. This question is coming in on Instagram. Kim wrote in and said I’m from Pennsylvania. So I do a lot of mid Atlantic Sasha Midwestern travel. And I’d say maybe 50% of big six plus stall bathrooms have toilet seat covers. Are they super common elsewhere? Great question, Kim.

1 (56m 58s):
Well, if you’re traveling internationally, I would say they’re not that common at all, but here in the us, I would say on the Western side of the states, they are more common.

2 (57m 8s):
Yeah. West coast, best coast. We use toilet seat covers.

3 (57m 14s):
So she’s saying like half of the bathrooms that have least six stalls will have that. Wait, that’s the way I understand the question.

2 (57m 20s):
Mid Atlantic Midwestern only with six plus bathrooms. Maybe have them one bathroom, two bathroom, three bathroom, four by them.

3 (57m 28s):
But once you get six plus 50% have them, but yeah, I guess west coast, best coast, they are over here. I feel like every place has them, but it’s one of those things you go internationally, you hit or miss. And that’s why I’m excited about that bathroom episode that I was talking about earlier. We’re going to talk about it all. Some places don’t even have toilet seats and it will be the ball. It’ll be the bowl. Yes. Not a Squatty toilet, but you still got a squat because there’s no seat. So you don’t even need the toilet seat covers that you, at that point,

1 (57m 52s):
I remember when we were in Chicago, you and Sandra kept saying, there are no toilet seat covers anywhere. Yeah. But I feel like it’s very, very common here in California. And on the west coast,

2 (58m 2s):
I was just in Tennessee Nashville, Gatlinburg. And I would say about 50% had toilet seat covers

1 (58m 8s):
50% off there.

2 (58m 9s):
Even in the single stalls though.

3 (58m 13s):
We’re hovering around 90 to a hundred out here.

2 (58m 16s):
Yes. Yes.

1 (58m 17s):
So another question that came into us, it came in anonymously. It reads for international trips. Is it better to go with a hotel or an Airbnb? And you know, this is a really good question, but I really think it depends on where you’re going internationally and how long you’re going to be there and what you plan to do while you’re there

2 (58m 34s):
And what you plan to

1 (58m 34s):
Spend and what you plan to spend. So that all is taken into consideration. You know, if we’re going to be in one area for a long time, like for a full week, for example, I’d probably go with an Airbnb because it’s nice to have a home cooked meal every once in a while and not eat out every meal. But if we’re going to be, you know, going to France and going to several cities and changing the location every two to three days, I may opt for a hotel some of the time, because you’re just on the run.

2 (59m 2s):
I would also say personally for me, I would first look at hotels and if the prices are okay, I would normally go there. If they’re not, then I do go to Airbnb. And that’s what I did in Italy. And everything was fine with the places. It was just more difficult to get into the place. My phone doesn’t work or maybe unreliable phone service is an issue getting in contact with the Airbnb owner to say, you’re there. And you’re ready to get in. A lot of Airbnbs will have different codes on the door that you can punch in with. But some of them, they used my international experience. They have to meet you there and let you in. So when I showed up in Rome, there was an issue there and ended up just like sitting on the doorstep for like an hour waiting for them

3 (59m 44s):
That are like an hour before checking. They’ll send you those final instructions on how to get at

2 (59m 48s):
Whatever it is.

3 (59m 49s):
Right. And so maybe if you don’t have internet service, it makes it more difficult. So I think a lot of factors go into that. And I don’t think we could really give a definitive question as good a question as it is. I think it just truly depends on the circumstance

2 (1h 0m 2s):
And do your research. Yeah.

1 (1h 0m 3s):
And I know this isn’t internationally, but in may, we’re actually going to Savannah Georgia, and there are a lot more Airbnb options in the downtown Savannah area. And there’s not really a lot of hotel options in the downtown area. All of the hotel options are on the outskirts of downtown. So that’s just, you know, one other thing to consider

2 (1h 0m 22s):
Yes. Do your research and look around, make the best decision for you. Squaddies thank you so much for tuning into this week’s episode. Keep the adventures going with us. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Travel Squad Podcast, and tag us in your adventures with those questions of the week.

3 (1h 0m 37s):
Have you found the information in this episode be useful, or if you thought we were just playing funny, please be sure to share it with a friend that would enjoy it too. And as always guys, please subscribe, rate and review our podcast and tune in every travel Tuesday for new episodes,

1 (1h 0m 51s):
Stay tuned for next week’s episodes. We have some more amazing adventures and tips in store for you.