Travel Stories That Stay With You

A long haul trip can hand you the best view of your life, then toss you onto an overnight bus that makes you question every choice you’ve ever made. We sit down with Toronto author and Fly Travel Radio host Melissa Rodway to talk about the kind of travel stories that don’t fit on a postcard: chaos in Southeast Asia, the strange kindness of strangers, and the moments that turn into the memories you keep for decades.

We also get practical. Melissa shares how she builds meaningful adventure into a regular working life, including taking time off without pretending you need to “quit everything” to travel. We dig into budget travel strategies like self guided planning, finding local operators, house sitting, and volunteering, plus how the internet makes research easier while still requiring smart screening. If you’ve ever searched for affordable travel tips, solo travel confidence, or how to plan a trip without feeling like an imposter, you’ll feel seen here.

Closer to home, we celebrate Canada as a top tier outdoor travel destination, from Ontario canoe country to the culture and winter energy of Québec City and the pull of PEI. Along the way, Melissa challenges influencer perfection and the myth that experienced travellers always have it together. We love this conversation because it’s human, funny, and grounded, and it’ll leave you with a clearer sense of what adventure can look like at any age.

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Melissa

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hello and good day. Welcome to the Super Good Camping Podcast. My name is Pamela.

SPEAKER_01 0:04

I'm Tim.

SPEAKER_02 0:04

And we are from Supergoodcamping.com. We're here because we want a mission to inspire other people to get outside and enjoy camping adventures such as we have as a family. Today's guest is a fellow Torontonian, spent some formative years surprisingly close to where Tim and I grew up, has adventured in such far-flown places as Nepal, is the host of Fly Travel Radio, and the author of The People You Meet, which is a book about candid travel stories, relationships, bus rides that didn't play out as expected. Please welcome Melissa Rodway.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

Hey, welcome. Thank you. So nice to be here. Thank you so much. How are you? I'm great. How are you guys? Good. Staying dry on this rainy kind of day.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Soggy day.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

It is dark and rainy, that's for sure, but better things to come.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Well, spring, spring.

SPEAKER_03 0:52

All right.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

All right. Spring aqueducts. Spring-ish. So rain, at least we don't have to shovel it.

SPEAKER_03 0:58

Yes, there we go. I'm shoveling. Yeah. I'm a winter lover, but it's always nice when spring comes.

Winter Sports And Loving The Cold

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Yes. Well, we when we were coming back from the Hamilton Adventure Expo, it's the end of January. We were getting Toronto was getting hammered with man. I think we got pushing two feet of snow that that day. Uh and yeah, I saw a post from you skiing along the waterfront.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Oh, yes, I was out. I think I was out for 11 hours that day. I just loved it. So I'm that weirdo.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Do you so I so obviously I know you do cross country? Do you do downhill as well?

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Well, that's a funny, a very funny question. I um I used to, and then I took a very long pause and I revisited it three years ago. I did a I did a stint in Quebec City for five weeks just to embrace winter. And so I went up to- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, it was one of the best things I've ever done. So, yes, I did ski there, and then I was like, nope, never again. I'm done. I just felt very nervous. And then a few weeks ago, my friends uh in Collingwood convinced me that I had to try it one more time, and I have to say, I could be venturing back into that world again. So never say never.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Very cool. And Collingwood's a great place to ski. We uh we used to be hardcore skiers. Uh once once the kids sort of fled the nest, that was kind of that was the impetus to get out and do stuff. So now I'm just a lazy bum on the couch.

SPEAKER_03 2:28

Well, that's fun too. I like that sometimes also.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

So I'm I'm curious to know about the bus rides that didn't play out as expected. Because we're putting a hook like that in there, we got to know what the story is behind it.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

I had a feeling when you said that in the intro. So, yes, what comes to mind uh in this story of the people you meet is one. I mean, we took many, many bus rides. We were traveling through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China. And the cheapest way to do that, of course, is by bus. And often these were very long, hot bus rides, and some were better than others. But the worst one, which I'll tell you about, was in Laos, I believe. And we decided to take an overnight bus. And is have if anyone has traveled a lot, overnight buses will already like even saying overnight bus might um bring a little bit of PTSD into your nervous system. But there we were, so we decided to do it. I think it was like 10, 11, 12 hours. I can't remember at the moment, but it was long. And it was just awful. It was driven probably by a 16-year-old kid. I mean, that's what he looked like. Um, the bus itself felt like it was not being held together. You could feel almost every bolt and screw and whatever. We were driving on serpentine roads, so you know, S-shaped roads, like with cliffs on the sides. There was barely a headlight, and it was wild. And I remember trying to sleep, although that seems ridiculous. And I would be thrown against the window sometimes because the turns were so sharp. So that would wake me up. The men on the bus were always screaming. Um, we would stop at the side of the road so that everyone could get off, and like all the a lot of people smoke in that part of the world, so the Laosan men would get out and smoke and pee and scream and holler and whatever. And then uh it was just it was awful. And then I remember just thinking, you know, this is it. So goodbye, everybody. But you survive, but in that part of the world, too, they do hand out a lot of like um small black plastic bags for either spitting in or barfing in. So um that just tells you what it's like to do bus trips in that part of the world. It might have changed, that was a long time ago, but these are the things you do when you're crazy.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

It certainly sounds like it keeps it from being boring.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Uh oh, yeah, that's where the stories come, you know? These are these are where we find our creative juices.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

That's what everybody says. It's like if it if the trip went all smooth and like no no hitches, yeah. There's no story.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

There's no story, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Wow, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

But when you break a leg and you're, you know, three days into the bush, then there's a story there.

SPEAKER_03 5:33

Oh, yeah. I mean, let's hope that never happens to any of us. Has it happened to you before?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

No, thank goodness. I know. But as I get more senior, it occurs to me that I don't we I I tend to do backcountry with our eldest. Um, and I don't want him to have to lug my sorry butt out from three days in or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

So we started to take stopping lad, though. So I he is we should probably do it.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

I don't I don't like dragging my butter and I can't do that. So you're being disranded there, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

It's funny, like we you do think about those things. What I would like is to have um, I would like to have an elective appendectomy because my biggest fear is being on some crazy play island or wherever you are and you have appendicitis. I do not want that. So a friend of mine recently had her appendix out, and I was actually jealous. I was like, how do you do that? I just want to know. Yeah.

A Childhood Move That Sparked Travel

SPEAKER_01 6:37

So the uh the people you meet being being, you know, uh uh stories about about traveling, what what started the traveling bug for you?

SPEAKER_03 6:48

Uh it's a really good question that I think when I think it started when I was about seven, my dad was a teacher. So in 1981, we moved to Australia. So we lived outside of Toronto in Port Perry, which, if you're familiar, you know, back then it was smaller than it is now. And we went from our small town to an even smaller town. I don't even know if you'd call it a town. So we were outside of Perth in Western Australia in a bush town, and we walked through a rainforest to get to school. It was actually really wild. I mean, this is the 80s, so there was no helicopter parenting, and our parents, once we were familiar, were like, okay, bye. And we went. I remember there were a few kids from the neighborhood, but we all walked through this wild, you know, path where who knows what was in there, but we did it. Our school was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by rainforests. Um, so I'd say that that was a really good introduction to the fact that you can have adventures anywhere. And my dad was a big advocate for saying that life can be recreated, you know, anywhere. You don't have to stay in your town. And it was funny, the three, I'm the youngest of three, and we all cried miserably when we found out we were going to Australia. I was seven, my brother was ten, my sister was eleven. And of course, a year later when we had to come home, we were crying again because we didn't want to come back. So, yeah, we had accents. My parents rented a van multiple times, so we um, you know, traveled around a lot of Australia. I think the only part we missed was the Northern Territory. It's a very, very big country. We went to Bali. No one was going to Bali at that time. Uh, it was the dirt roads and hardly there were no tourists really to speak of. I had very, very white blonde hair, and all the locals would come up and give us chocolate and put their fingers in my hair, and they were trying to marry my sister because she was very tall, and my mom was not thrilled about that part, and we went to New Zealand. So I just think that probably planted the seed at a very young age, and then I would think I think at like 29 is when I really it made it became a big part of my life.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

And so Nepal and uh where else have you?

Making Time Off Work For Trips

SPEAKER_03 9:16

Oh my goodness. Um Nepal, Jordan, Turkey, Croatia. I mean, lots, lots, lots, lots. I've been to a lot of Central America, a lot of South America. Um I'm a late bloomer to Europe. That's new for me. I did an exchange in high school to Belgium, so I I'm a fairly decent French speaker, so uh that's been fun for me to kind of start tackling Europe a little bit. I think I wanted to do the harder stuff, you know, when I was younger, but now Europe's looking pretty nice. Um and then of course Southeast Asia. The only place, like the only continent I really haven't been to at the moment, I think, I think, is Africa. So I haven't done anything there yet. But um, I've done a lot, but there's others who have done much more than I have. But um, you know, we're just fortunate to be able to do it. It's a real privilege to travel.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Uh if you don't mind me asking, what's your day job that allows you the time to go and visit all those places?

SPEAKER_03 10:18

Yeah, I think that's a really important thing because well, my day job is uh I work at a university, I work at U of T in Toronto, and um I think that people assume sometimes that you have to quit your life to do these sorts of things, and I'm a very normal person, and I have been able to create spaces for adventure within a r kind of a regular life. But I am very lucky in that in 2023 I took a year off. So because I come from teachers who I'm very well aware were doing like four over four over fives and things like that, I was I looked into it at the university and they let me do it. So that was pretty awesome. Um, so I was 48 and I did some big bucket list trips for me. But when I did this trip that the book is about, I was 35 and I hated my job and I quit and off I went. So I don't know that I would recommend that again, but um that it's good to do it once.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

All right, I'm gonna quit with an act.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

Yeah, I would love to quit too.

Turning Travel Emails Into A Book

SPEAKER_01 11:29

The uh what was the process like to write the book? Like just do you do you journal a ton while you're traveling in that and so that you had notes and stuff, or were you just picking it out of your brain? And then how do you how do you put that on paper, man? Like I don't I can't even fathom doing, you know, whatever 14,000 words or you know, whatever the book is, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:51

So the story is this it was not on purpose. I was traveling with a partner around Southeast Asia who was doing research for a luxury travel business in the future. We had met years before. Uh he was from England, I was obviously from Canada. We met in Cuba on a cycling trip, and so we just started traveling together and he moved to Canada, blah, blah, blah. That's a whole other story. And then we decided to go on this long haul trip. So even though we had traveled together extensively and we had a rhythm, I mean, we were backpackers at heart. He had done way more than I had ever done, and I will credit him with introducing me to even learning how to travel because um there's a there's a lot to it sometimes. But we would go on these amazing trips that were like adventurous and we'd be roughing it, and then we'd also stay in luxury from time to time because that was the world that he worked in. So we knew how to do that together, but when you are on a long haul trip, multi-month trip with somebody who has a purpose in meeting people in hotels and having meetings and doing site inspections, and you know, they're working towards a future goal, and then you're me, the plus one, who's like la la la, it's it's different. And we had not really ever thought about what that would look like. And I'm someone who, you know, I was still young and I I still loved the thrill of adventure, but after a few weeks, you can get a little bit cagey, and I'm my brain is always going, so this is a very long-winded answer. But what happened is that I was on these long buses and trains, and I started creating these stories in my head about what I was seeing and what I was doing. And once a week I would find an internet cafe and I would send these massive emails to my friends and family, and that became my job, that was my release. And if I had been smart enough, I would have started a blog, and you might be talking to me from a very different place at the moment, but that's not what happened. And so there you go. That was sort of I needed something, so that's what I did. And people started sending it off to their friends and family, and the response was so good that it just kind of inspired me to keep doing this. And then I over the years was like, do I, don't I, do I, don't I put this into a book? And then I decided two years ago that I was gonna dust it off and put it out there. And to be honest, I mean, the things you said in 2010 we would not get away with now. So I'm actually relieved I didn't have a blog because I probably would be canceled. So it was for the best. And I think also that you you have to like learn. Like, I don't think if you put something out immediately when you've done it, you don't really know what you're talking about. I think you can describe it, I think you can have a few reflections, but it actually took me in revisiting this story to understand what I learned, what happened to me, where like all of it was quite something. So I'm actually really glad that I that I waited so long.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

Yeah, so great to have that record of the whole thing. Yeah. Being able to reflect on it now and and with you know, added wisdom. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The benefit of time.

SPEAKER_03 15:14

Yeah, the benefit of time. Yeah, I mean, I try to stay 35 as much as I could in that story because that's that was the story, but um, but I still think you don't, yeah, you just don't know. I think in when you're traveling, you're in survival mode. You're I think a lot of people think you're having these massive epiphanies every 30 seconds, and it's not really like that. It's more like, uh, where's the bus? And what am I gonna eat and where am I sleeping? Like you're in that mode. You're not it's not always about what will I do with my life. It it's you don't really have the time in some sometimes you do, yes, on long haul trips and whatever, but it's not always this fairy tale world that people think that it is.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Yeah, I I have done I've done none. We we talked about skiing. That's literally been that that and jumping into canoe and going away from people, but that's the entirety of my travel. Like it's the interior of BC sort of deal.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

So oh, that sounds very good too.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

I I do I do miss those days. I'm sure. Yeah, I'm sure. That's that's my experience with uh Europe. I skied in France and Italy, and I have I've never seen Europe without snow on it.

Finding Adventure Across Canada

SPEAKER_03 16:30

So well, that's all right too. And that's the thing, right? Um everyone is built differently and has uh their own need and uniqueness to how they see and do things, if it even if it's on your in your own backyard, and I love that. I love you know, I love these subjective experiences for people, it's so important.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Do you get out and about here, like here at home?

SPEAKER_03 16:55

I try to. I mean, that's really funny because anytime I visit any part of Canada, I think, why do I go anywhere else? It is so beautiful, and there's so much here. So, yes, um, I do really love Ontario. I've done a few canoe trips like Tamogamy and um another one that I can't remember at the moment. I my sister and I used to do some canoe trips in the summers, which I absolutely loved. Um and I lived out west, I lived in Jasper, I lived in Victoria, I lived in Montreal. Um but I'm a big uh fan of the East Coast, so that really has my heart. I had to do a work trip to PEI in October. And have you been to PEI? Oh my goodness, it's magical that that little island. And it's not so little. I was really annoyed actually because I didn't have a lot of time there, and a few people said, Oh, you can just rent a car and you'll see it in a day. I'm like, well, if you don't get out of the car, you'll see it in a day. But if you actually want to do things, you need a long time. It's a it's much bigger than we realize. So I just yeah, I think that part of the country is really magical. I love the uh culture and the people and the music, and I don't know. I just think it's beautiful. So, yes, I try it to see Canada as much as I can. Ontario as well. Ontario is beautiful. I just went to something from Nash the National Geographic. Uh, there was this like lecture on wolves, and there was this amazing man there. Were you there?

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Okay. She was there. I was what was I? I was sick or something. You were sick.

SPEAKER_03 18:40

Well, you missed out. And this guy has seen it all, and he, I'm sure you heard him say, Ontario is underrated as one of the most beautiful places in the world. And it's so like it's so subtle, you know, but it is such a beautiful, beautiful province.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Yeah, I I totally agree. We uh we have we've we've interviewed a number of guests that aren't from here, and you talk to them, it's like, oh, that sounds really cool. I would like to go check that out. But I'm not I'm not done with Ontario. I don't know that I'll ever be done with Ontario. Not that I'm adverse to going somewhere else, but there's so much to see, to do here. I just it's so fun.

SPEAKER_03 19:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Yeah, it's my the my stomping grounds because it is awesome. Not that I having done some East Coast stuff, I totally get that. And I mean, look at look at CBC. How many of our hosts and stuff are all from the East Coast because they have that art thing going, right? Well that artist thing going.

SPEAKER_03 19:34

So yes, yes, definitely. And I mean, Tobermori, all I all of it. It's just oh my gosh. Even I mean, I like, I'm sorry, I like backcountry, but I do love car camping as well. So um, yeah, it's good. And even some pla I we were spent a summer a few years ago just going to as many places as we could, and shockingly beautiful, like everywhere, like Bonneco and ever it's just oh yeah, there's nothing like it. So I feel that we're very lucky to live here. And I love the seasons, you know. I when I was living in Victoria, I absolutely hated it. It's spring all year round. I do not like that. I love Ontario weather.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Yeah, somebody else the the other day, you know, we're we were talking about just where where we came from, where it stops along the road, and and uh I said, again, I haven't seen much of BC that didn't have snow on it, but I said it's it's beautiful with all the mountains and stuff. And one of the guys said, I lived out there for four years and I wanted to kill myself. It it rains all the time. Like it's just that you're never it's like the sun breaks out for about 37 minutes and and that's it for this week. Yeah, wow, I never even thought about that.

SPEAKER_03 20:47

I couldn't live like that.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

No, I think if you're from here, it's really tough. Uh if yeah, and I just I think it's fun to have new sports every four months and new clothes and new attitudes and a reason to lie on the couch sometimes. And it's awesome. But it's interesting for all the places around the world I've seen. My the five weeks I spent in Quebec City were the like that was one of the best things I've ever done in my entire life. So, you know, yay for Canada, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 21:21

Yeah, our two boys and I went to Quebec City not that long ago, a few years ago, and went just loved it too. It was like middle of winter, it was miserable as far as cold and windy and snowy, and but but it's such a great city. It's such a I mean, the food is so good, culture again is so good, and architecture.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

Yeah, and but it there's so much to do there. I mean, I was there in the winter too, and uh you can s cross country ski and skate in the middle of the city for free, and it's not it's good, like it's challenging stuff. So I love their outdoorsiness there. I feel like they don't care how cold it is, they all dress for it. Everyone is outside doing things, and I just love their attitude. I I could move to Quebec City like tonight if someone would let me.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Well, yeah, that's there's no bad weather, just the wrong clothing.

SPEAKER_03 22:15

Yes, absolutely. Yes, yes, yes.

The Strangers Who Change You

SPEAKER_01 22:17

That's very true. So I haven't read the book, so I don't know, I don't know entirely. I are were there people, the people that you meet along the way that that really stood out as part of that journey?

How To Travel Cheaper And Smarter

SPEAKER_03 22:32

Yes, many. However, I will say that I do a lot of different types of travel. And when you travel with a partner, it's a different existence because people are less prone to coming into your orbit. I mean, when you're I'm often by myself now and uh you meet more people. So when you're with a partner, it's a little bit different. However, yes, certainly we met tons and tons of people. Um I would say there's two people, well, there's more than two, but the two we'll talk about in this interview that impacted my life. One of them taught me a very valuable lesson. So there was one woman that we ended up traveling with for about a week. She was in her 50s, and she had done more than any person I've ever met then or since. She was traveling with her 10-year-old daughter, and she was just the coolest lady. And one day we were waiting to buy tickets to get on this uh slow boat that takes you up to the river to like another wild and wonderful village in the middle of nowhere. And there were these two young girls there with backpacks on in their 20s, and she just started watching them, and then she looked at me and she said, Those two need to go home. They're done. This is over. And no one had ever talked to me about that. And it was really interesting about how you have to recognize when it's time to go home. That's just as important as knowing when it's time to go on an adventure. And there's a lot of ego and attitude sometimes in everything that we do, unfortunately, but certainly in the travel world as well. There's a lot of people that will be out there, certainly in the backpacking community, that will be like, oh, I've been on the road for 23 months, and the next person, well, I've been out here for 36. Like it just goes on and on. And there can be a lot of people that just stay for the sake of bragging rights, but that that is not helpful to anybody. It's not helpful to the country that you're in because you get to a point where you're kind of miserable, right? Like after months and months and months, is not, it's not easy. And there comes a time when you've seen too much, you've done too much, and you have to say it's over. But a lot of people push through that. So she we had just this phenomenal conversation about this where no one no one talks about this stuff. So to me, it has now um informed my decisions for long-term trips. I was out there for four months, I knew I knew I was done by the fourth month. And if I hadn't gone through that with her, I too might have fallen prey to like ego and pressure and whatever. So moving forward, I actually implement that in a lot of parts of my life and just like dialing into listening to yourself. And so that was very, very interesting for me. And she came along at the right time. Um, and then there was this other wild, wild woman from Israel. She was in her 70s, she had been traveling by herself through China, through India, through the countries that we were now in with her. And I meet a lot of older people on the road who just like, you know, you'll always meet 20 somethings, 30 somethings. But when you meet people in their 70s who are slinging backpacks and not staying in fancy places, and they're doing exactly the same stuff that you're doing, those are the legends on the road, and you must pay attention to them. Sometimes they're they can be a bit, you know, interesting personality-wise, and she sure was. I mean, we had no idea what was gonna happen with her, but I will never forget her. Like it's it's these are not easy countries to go through. I mean, certainly in Southeast Asia, there's a lot more people out there traveling, but India and China are tough countries, and so I mean, I will never forget, I will never forget my time with her. She was also, you know, batshit crazy if I'm allowed to swear on your podcast. And you'll read about her. But um, and since then, you know, I was just in Italy last summer and I did some hiking in the Dolomites, and I was the youngest at 50, well, second youngest at I was 51 at the time, 50 at the time. And a lot of the people were in their late 60s, early 70s. And let me tell you, I was the last one coming off the mountain. I mean, certainly going up, I'm very fast, but coming down, I am 95. I'm not 73 because I'm terrified of like knees and ankles and all of that. And I also met a man in Bolivia, he was in his 80s, he was from Australia, he was a doctor, and we hung out for a few days. Like, these are the people that I will remember. I never remember a 25-year-old. I always remember these legends, so they are like it's fascinating, and it, you know, travel is not limited to certain ages, adventure is always there for you, and it's it's a very good reminder to keep going and doing these things. It's wild who's out there.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

Oh, I love hearing that, but I also the other barrier that comes to my mind anyway is like costs. Like, how can I afford to go to Italy and hike in the Dolomites? Like, how what would you say to people like that that are concerned about I can't afford to do that?

SPEAKER_03 27:55

Yes, well, I also should probably look at my bank account too. Um, I think there's always a cheaper way to do things. So I do a lot of guided stuff because I don't trust myself to go hiking in the dolomites alone. So there you have, you know, a mountain guide and they're kind of looking out for you. And I also really, really love the camaraderie of strangers. I find that very exciting and fascinating. However, it's not cheap to do it that way. Um, but I think if you're with somebody, if you do stuff like this on your own, self-guided, or I think if you also hire a guide once you get there, it's much, much cheaper, right? They're gonna give you a lot of the same things. You just, you know, you're kind of winging it a little bit. But the internet has made this world so much easier to navigate. You will always, always find local operators that will that you can do these things with. So you don't always have to go with like these fancy companies that you know get your money months before you get there. So that is one way. And again, it comes down to like uh accommodations. I have a friend who's been traveling for probably almost 15 years as a permanent nomad, and she one year did not spend, I don't think, much more than$300 on accommodation because she was like like uh house sitting and volunteering places, and you know, so these are all the ways that you can save money to do things like this. Um there's a million things out there nowadays. The internet, I think, has changed everything. So it just depends what your comfort is as well, because you know, like that's always a factor for people, like you it's a thing to take into consideration about if you can handle that, like sleeping on someone's couch or in a stranger's house or looking after their pets or whatever it is that you know it calls for that. But if there's a will, there's always a way for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

So is that is that part of your your research? Like can you can you find those sort of things when you're sitting at home planning your trip?

SPEAKER_03 30:06

Oh, I think certainly these days, yes, but I'm lazy. I don't I often opt for group travel or I have uh I've been very blessed with certain people in my life that are very good at these things and together, um, you know, it it doesn't if you like rent apartments through Airbnb and all that kind of stuff, it there's it's so plentiful, like blogs and just there's so many resources. And it's also word of mouth. I mean, when my radio show is on hold at the moment, but I had so many people at my fingertips. And it's just sometimes, you know, you can interview someone who I I had a friend who went and stayed in Havana, and I heard about that, and then he's sent me a link to the apartment that he stayed at, and then I stayed there too. So it's also having very good listening skills, you know, you've got to perk up when you hear people talking about certain things. But again, like this person I was referring to earlier that's been on the road forever, she um like she lived on boats. She so she would she went and cooked for somebody on a boat for like a week, or actually, I think it was I think months she did that, so she didn't have to pay a cent in accommodation. There's a million resources out there, but you also have to make sure that you're looking at the right resources because there's all you know, 90% of the people are good in the world, but there's a few that aren't so good. And you also have to make sure that it's a bit of a fit. But I think there's more screening now. Like I think because you know, you can meet somebody on Zoom or whoever you need to meet them, you can sort of do some preliminary checks on what you're getting yourself into. Whereas before in the good old days, you just sort of here I am, let's see what happens. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

Yeah, I took a trip to Italy in my late 20s and it was like that. Yeah. And it was like, uh, well, I'll walk around and see what I see and hope for the best.

Social Media Travel Myths Debunked

SPEAKER_03 32:09

Yes, I also had a trip like that at 19. It's very questionable now how I survive that, but good memories though. Yeah, but it's uh you have to I I think the thing is uh social media has it's a blessing and a curse because I think there's a lot of people out there that post things that you know we have these influencers now. I could go on about that, but everybody looks perfect and beautiful, and that they know exactly what they're doing, and they have the best clothes and equipment and gear, and it's such a lie because if even if you've traveled a million times, you're still learning as you go, you're still making mistakes. I I don't love this term expert. I mean, certainly there's a lot of people who've been doing this a lot and they know things, but they're also making mistakes, they're also like getting their bearings every time they land somewhere. And certainly you you do learn along the way and you pick things up, but we're all just human, and so I think that can deter people sometimes, regular people from thinking that this is these are things that they can do. It is for everybody. No, trust me, like no, not everyone out there looks like a supermodel and has their act together. It is just normal people that are out there for a sense of adventure and they're looking for something. But I I that's what I always stress is like do not think that we all know what we're doing when we're traveling. It is a lie. It's like, you know, it's like anything in this world. I'm sure even skiing, you know, or backcountry camping, I'm sure you are also still learning every time that you go out there. That is life, but there's this lie that we're selling each other that we that we have it all figured out and that we look amazing doing it. It's just BS. And I guess for me, um when I post things, I'm pretty transparent and um I don't really subscribe to that. So even in my book, I mean it is full of my flaws and things that go wrong, and um, and I think that's why people like it because it's very human, and I think that's we need that more than ever these days.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

Yeah, agreed. I'm really glad that we don't have smellow vision when I post stuff when I'm coming from the backcountry, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_03 34:26

Uh oh yes. I did a jungle trek in um Colombia a couple years ago, and we smelled so bad at the end of that. There were like 10 of us from all over the world, and we were out there for about four days, and it was not easy. But I remember this German guy I was traveling with, like when we got back to out of the wild, and we were standing in this hotel lobby, and he's like, I'm gonna be sick. Like, all of you smell so gross. Like I cannot stand it anymore. Yeah, dude, you smell too.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

Just saying.

SPEAKER_03 35:03

Yeah, that's what I did. I did tell them that.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

That's excellent. Yeah. Oh, where can they get your book?

SPEAKER_03 35:12

Oh, yes. Uh well, in Toronto, they can get it uh on uh Indigo online, but also in the beaches area. So uh Book City and Kohl's, and then everywhere else uh in the world or in Canada on Amazon. So just look for the people you meet by Melissa Rodway, because what I discovered is I don't have the only book with that title.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

No kidding.

SPEAKER_03 35:35

Can you imagine? No. That's wow, interesting.

SPEAKER_01 35:40

Well, it's a great title then. Maybe that's the thing.

SPEAKER_03 35:43

It's the awesome subtitle, which is uh Luxury Leeches, Love and Lao Lao with a host of interesting characters in Southeast Asia. Leeches. That's that's a subtitle. Yeah, that's a good subtitle. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:58

Awesome, awesome.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

That's it for us for today. Thank you so much to Melissa Rodway from the book, The People You Meet. Please do check her out. Check us out while you're there. We are on all the things YouTube, uh, Facebook, Instagram, and like and subscribe and share and do all the things. And if you want to talk to us, please do email us anytime at hi at supergoodcamping.com. That's H I at Supergoodcamping.com, and we will talk to you and soon.

unknown 36:22

Bye bye.