How to Scratch Your Midlife Travel Itch with Guest Rae Dillon

Do you have a bucket list of dream travel destinations... but keep hitting pause on your globetrotting? The time never seems right, what with juggling those Midlife commitments. And as for saving for that trip of a lifetime... hmmm.

Well dust off your passport, and join me and my guest Rae Dillon, founder of CopywriteRight, for insights, inspiration and top travel tips. 

Connect with Rae

https://www.instagram.com/persephone_travels/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/raedillon/

https://www.facebook.com/raedillon.01/

copywriteright.co.uk

linkedin.com/company/copywriteright

facebook.com/copywriteright

instagram.com/copywriteright

Book a one-to-one with Rae here: https://calendly.com/copywriteright/call-with-rae-dillon 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Midlife Unlimited, the podcast for women who want more. I'm your host, Kate Porter, the Midlife Metamorphosis Coach, and I know what it's like to feel stuck navigating the midlife maze. I've looked in the mirror and thought, who is that woman? So Midlife Unlimited is here to let you know you are not alone. You don't have to put on a brave face and put up with it. You don't have to play it safe. Midlife Unlimited is all about ripping off that mask and telling it like it really is. Nothing is off limits because together there's no limit to what we can achieve. So, welcome to today's episode. Now, do you have a bucket list of dream travel destinations? I do. But like me, do you keep hitting pause on your globetrotting dreams? The time just never seems to be right. What with juggling all our midlife commitments? And as for saving up for those trips of a lifetime, well, dust off your passport because I'm delighted to be joined by my guest today, Ray Dylan, founder of copywriting and editing business, copyright right, to talk about how to scratch your midlife travel itch. So welcome, Ray. It's fabulous to have you here.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Thank you very much. It's fabulous to be here. Thanks for inviting me.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Well, I love travel and I don't do enough of it to be honest. I I've been to places over the years, but now I'm thinking, where would I actually like to go that I've not been? And I think an alternative title to our episode could have been How to Become a Midlife Globetrotter, because you've set yourself a rather fabulous challenge, haven't you?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

I have indeed, yes. So I've done quite a lot of travelling, which we'll talk a bit about. But my challenge that I've set myself is to visit a hundred countries by 2038, because that's when I turn 60.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

What I should have done, using the word should, sorry folks, is I should have actually totted up how many I've been to, because it's it's it's probably about average. But I'm delighted later on you're going to be sharing your top tips because obviously your traveling as well. It combines your passion for writing with your passion for travel, which we're going to talk more about as well. When it comes to actually packing that bag and deciding where you're going, I mean, where do you decide? Do you is it that of the old days when you used to see people spinning that globe and sticking a pin in it? And is there any rhyme or reason? Is it just reactive? Do you hear something and think, do you know I fancy going there?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

It's a bit of a mixture, really. Like there's certain places that obviously I know a bit about from reading about them or other people telling me, and I go, oh yes, I'd love to go there. And then others are really random based on cheap flights I can find. Basically. So some really good, like long weekends I've had have been to places that I honestly had never even heard of before I was looking at flights and found some good deals. For example, Plovdiv in Bulgaria, which I've never heard of, second biggest city in Bulgaria. We spent a week there a couple of years ago, and it was really, really lovely. Lots of um Roman history there, it was part of the Roman Empire, so they've got a Roman theatre that they still use for shows.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

And they have uh free concerts in the city centre in a Roman amphitheatre that was has been excavated and is below the main street. So there's all kinds of things like that, and it's a really lovely city. You can just wander around, it's all pedestrianised, you can walk around it. I'd never heard of it before I started looking for flights.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

I love that because I've done my my boy and I, who I talk about a lot on this show, um, we love doing mum and finlay weekends away and tend to be obviously city breaks. So we've done Paris, Berlin, Rome, Edinburgh, and we love them. We actually, Paris, we did back. We we did back, we went back. But talking to people about going to capital cities, because especially with social media now, we are inundated, aren't we? We're deluged with other people's photographs, other people's images. And I mean, I remember the first time we went to Paris, we were standing in the Louvre, and Finney and I were actually looking at the Mona Lisa, but we looked to our left and right, and everyone else was looking through a tablet or a phone. They weren't actually look, and I think so often now it can be almost a disappointment when you see these cities. I mean, I don't know if that sounds weird, but to actually experience them for the first time because you know, we we've almost built up, it's like Christmas, we've almost built up this huge expectation of oh my gosh, we're gonna go to Paris and it's gonna be this and it's gonna be that, and you get there and it's like, oh, it's lovely, but it's not quite as exciting as all. So I think I love the idea, without sounding rude, of going for the number two. I think that's a brilliant idea. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

I've had some fantastic holidays in cities that aren't the capital city or aren't the main city that people go to. Definitely. That's there's some wonderful places out there, and you're creating your own, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:26

No, not off the beaten track, but you're because you're going with a fresh pair of eyes, it really is a new experience, isn't it? Untainted by all these other not stereotypes, but uh well, say we you're gonna be sharing your top tips, and I obviously that I'm guessing is gonna be one of them. And you mentioned about um uh my brain's gone, about flight prices, etc. Um, yeah, and there are so many things, and I think as well, we did talk in our little chat where, ladies and gentlemen, guess where Ray was when we had our little brainstorm. He was only in the Dominican Republic. I was like a little Grinch by the end of the conversation, seeing here in, I think it was Rainy Buckinghamshire. Uh but uh another thing that I do hear a lot from the women I talk to, when they when I say, Look, what do you really want more of in your life? What do you want more of? And they go, Yeah, the travel bug. They'd love to do it. They've got this bucket list, and the whole idea of travel and holidays now is really changing, isn't it? Because you know, if you've if you've got kids, the idea of the family holiday, the kids have left, or if you've got a partner, not necessarily kids, but you've got a partner and you've done certain holidays before. But now we hit 40s, 50s, and our tastes have changed. They might want to do a golfing holiday, and we want might want to do something completely different. So, again and again, it's that idea of do I dare? And I don't really like the word dare, go on my own. Do it bloody hell. Absolutely. So I think we'll delve into that as well. But can we go back a little bit?

unknown 7:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Where did this travel bug come from? That's a good thing. Where were you bitten? Where were you bitten?

SPEAKER_01 7:10

I first went abroad when I was 16. My aunts and uncle live in California near San Francisco. And when I was 16, I got a part-time job and I saved up money so that I could go and visit them because we'd we'd never flown, my parents aren't big into travel. Um, my mum likes it, my dad doesn't. So the first experiment when I was a kid was Norfolk, which is fine. Norfolk's lovely. Um, but I wanted to go to California, so I saved up the money. I went there, it was my first time on a plane, it was a 12-hour flight to San Francisco. Absolutely loved it, absolutely loved it. So that's probably what gave me the travel blog in the first place. And then when I was like an adult and I went into teaching as a career, um, I wanted to teach abroad. And so that was something that I really wanted to do. And it got to a point of my life where the school I was in, I loved working at, but there was no kind of chance of progression because everyone was in management, they'd been there forever, they weren't about to leave. So if I wanted to progress career-wise, I had to leave anyway. So I thought, well, why not apply for some jobs in other countries? So I literally, a bit like you were saying earlier about spinning the globe and sticking a pin, I just applied for a load of jobs in countries I'd never been to and always wanted to go to. I love that. And ended up in China. So I moved to China in 2011, and I was there for nine years teaching in a British international school, and I absolutely loved it. And because of how it was there, you have obviously where I lived in China is in the south, a city called Shenzhen, which is just across the border from Hong Kong. So from there, it's really easy to get to other parts of Southeast Asia. It's actually quicker to fly to the Philippines than it is to fly to Beijing from there, which is quite funny. So it's a bit like um, you know, go to Europe from here, but Southeast Asia. So I did most of Southeast Asia while I was living in China. Um and just the cultures are amazing. I absolutely love Southeast Asia. And yes, it's expensive to get there from here, but once you're there, you can live really cheaply and really affordably. Um, you can do it really expensively as well, uh depending where you stay and everything, obviously. But it's a really affordable holiday once you've paid for the flights. So that's another kind of thing to look at.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Because that's the thing, isn't it? There's there's no hard and fast rule because there's gonna be wonderful women listening that think, right, I don't, you know, I don't go anywhere that hasn't got Egyptian cotton sheets and this, that, and everything else. And there are others that are like, sod it, let's see what we can get for our money. So but the tips that you're gonna be sharing, I think will really resonate. There's gonna be something there, whatever your budget, whatever your sta I mean, standards, I don't know if that's the right word, but I I love what you were saying just now about using China, using China as a base to do Southeast Asia. Basically, yeah. I mean, did one thing I'm I'm really want to know, which is slightly off subject, but did you have any Chinese, any Mandarin before you went, or was it like No? Not really, no. And it's not one of those languages that you kind of hear in conversation in co-op, is it? It's like no, it's really hard.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

It's learning Mandarin is a bit like learning two different languages because they don't have an alphabet, like we have an alphabet, they have characters, and each character is a word, so you can't figure out what the signs say from you know figuring out the letters because there aren't many letters. So you have to learn the written Chinese, is one thing, and then you learn the pinyin, which is like the spoken Chinese, and you write it in English letters, basically. So you're learning two different things because the easiest characters are not the easiest words and the words you need to know. So I know how to say things like, hello, how are you? I'm a teacher, you know, give directions to taxi drivers, buy things in shops, basics. But the characters I know are things like exit and fire and people and trees and rice, because they're the easiest characters. But I couldn't tell you what the words for them are to say them. So it's like learning three languages at once. It's yeah, and then are you continuing it? You've got my the tones as well. So how you say the word completely changes the meaning. So, for example, the word tang, which we would spell T-A-N-G, whether you say it tang, tang, tang, tang, either means hot soup, sugar, or lying down. And I've probably said those in the wrong order.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

But I thought English was difficult. I mean, English is meant to be one of the most complex because we have so many synonyms, don't we? And antonyms. As a journalist, I should really know those. So I I love that. We we talked just now about spinning the globe and putting a pin in it, and kind of the antithesis of that is a vision board, really, or a bucket list, a wish list. And a lot of the women I I work with, I encounter vision boards, you know, are something they whether they do at the beginning of the year, but it can it's you know manifesting or just giving us a focus, giving us, you know, yes, this is what I'm doing this for, this is what I want. But how how do we get from having X location on the vision board to turning that into the nuts and bolts of right, I've booking it, I'm I'm packing my bag. I mean, it is it is a leap, really, isn't it? From the ethereal idea, the beautiful image, to actually saying, right, I'm not making any more excuses to myself. I'm putting I mean, do you is the first step going right? I'm booking off time. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

And then say Yeah, the first thing I do, um, me and my partner do, is we block out time in the calendar. And that might change a little bit if like prices are better on a different day or whatever. But we go, right, we're gonna have a week-long holiday in say April, we're gonna do two weeks in September, you know, we we had two weeks in January, um, and then we might do uh a week in June or something as well. So we we put it in our calendar and say that's when we're going on holiday. And depending on how my work's going, I might have some client work turn up and whatever. But the beauty of my job is I can do it from anywhere. So if I do need to do a bit of work during the holiday, so like when we're in the Dominican Republic in January, I did do bits of work, but I did it sitting by the swimming pool and then, you know, went for a swim um or a walk along the beach or whatever. And I really don't mind doing that, you know. I love what I do anyway. I love writing, I love helping clients with their writing as well. Um, so you know, it's not a hardship for me to do that. But that's the first step I would say. Block out the time in your calendar and say, right, I am going away somewhere here, or doing something. It doesn't have to be out of the country, you know. But this is a non-work week. And it's funny because one of my colleagues, when I had a full-time job as a copywriter, she always used to do that thing of getting to December and suddenly had four weeks' holiday to take. And so she'd end up losing half her holiday. And I was like, right, no, block it out, book it in January, book it for the whole year, and then it's done. And if you need to move it, you can move it, but you've got it planned out then. And she started doing that, and she actually took all her holiday the next year.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

So I think that's a brilliant idea. Brilliant idea. And and and going back to one thing we talked about earlier about going away on your own. It is, I mean, you've got some brilliant stories about actually doing it. And I think you said Copenhagen was your first solo trip. It was, it turned out very memorable, didn't it?

SPEAKER_01 15:12

It did turn out very memorable. So it was, when would it have been? 2010. And I wanted to, I knew I was going to move into China the next year. Um, was it then? No, it wasn't. It was before I even knew about moving to China. Anyway, I wanted a holiday, and all my friends were either working or had kids or couldn't afford it or whatever. So I was like, sorry, I'm just gonna go. I'm gonna go somewhere. So I literally looked on EasyJet, found the cheapest flight for kind of the vague dates I wanted, um, and booked it and ended up going to Copenhagen. And when I first got there, there was, they were setting up for it, turned out it was Copenhagen Pride the weekend I was there, which I didn't know until I got there, which was fantastic. So I was having a look in like the town square, and this random guy came up and started talking to me, and he was a little bit dodgy and you know, started telling me he loved me and all this kind of stuff. And this woman came up to me, and I'd kind of said, I oh, I was waiting for my friend, and this woman just came up to me and started to like, hi, great to see you, you know, all of this kind of thing. So I was like, Yes, this is my friend, great, because she obviously was walking past and saw that this guy was hassling me, and so he left us alone then, which is brilliant. Anyway, we became really good friends, and it turned out she was quite new in Copenhagen, she was living there and working there, um, and it was her birthday in two days' time, and she invited me round to her house for tea and cake, and I was like, that would be lovely, you know. Who doesn't like cake? Absolutely. I know, exactly. And we met up the next day for lunch as well, so you know, we got on brilliantly. So I turned up at the metro station where she was meeting me, having been out like all day, and it was the middle of summer, so I was really hot and you know, sweaty and just in my wandering around town clothes. And we were walking down this street, and the houses were like mansions, they were huge, and I was kind of like, where are we going? It turned out she was the au pair for the Canadian ambassador to Denmark, and so we were having tea and cake in the Canadian Ambassador's house with the Canadian ambassador and his wife in the green drawing room.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Was it a bit swish? Was it a bit swish?

SPEAKER_01 17:25

No bit, yeah, yeah. It wasn't the other drawing room, it was the green drawing.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

The green drawing room.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Well, of course, of course. But they were so lovely, and they even invited me back for dinner another day before I left. You know, it was they were really lovely people.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

No, because it is it is all about creating the memories, isn't it? And I can your face is just like lighting up as you tell this story, and that you're you're very like me, and I think that's why we connected because you you're all about well, you're you're a creative, you're a writer, I'm a journalist by trade. I mean, obviously, midlife unlimited was born from my love of words and conversations and stories. And I love how you're combining. I mean, listeners may well have read your well, is blog the right word for it? Yeah, I have a travel blog. Where in the world series? Because obviously blogging is yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

So I do my Where in the World series on social media where I'm going through all the countries I've been to in alphabetical order, and it's I'm really enjoying doing it actually. So we're on what's this week? I think it's Spain, we're on number 60 of 73. And I'm really enjoying doing it because for some of them I've had to dig out physical photos. So, like for Egypt, for example, I went to Egypt in 1999, so I had to dig out physical photos and scan them to be able to put them on social media. But it's been really lovely kind of going back and going through my photos and seeing what I did in order to write the post and everything and kind of reflecting on all those different places I've been. It's been really lovely. But I do have a travel blog as well, persephoneytravels.com, which I started when I moved to China so that I could kind of document it was a because we weren't sure what the situation would be in terms of you know having access to Facebook and that kind of thing. So I started a travel blog to kind of document what I was doing and my life there and everything, and so people at home could kind of see what I was getting up to and everything. And it just kind of went from there basically.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

I love that idea. Why Persephone?

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Oh, was it literally Greek mythology? Yeah, the the Greek goddess of uh of summer and winter and all the seasons, just because well, it goes back to a fancy dress party I went to when I was about 18, and it the theme was Greek gods, and I went as Persephone. Just I thought it was apt with regards to all the different places I've been, some are summer, some are winter. Lovely seasons. I've done all the seasons in lots of different places. Um, I think minus 22 was the coldest I've been in. Wow. That was Harbin in the north of China, where they have a snow and ice festival every winter, and it's amazing. Honestly, I look at the pictures of it. They build buildings out of blocks of ice from the river, like the I've seen the ice hotels in certain places. Think that, but they're like replica. So there was like a replica of the Colosseum when I went, for example. But then if when you go at night, they're all lit up different colours as well. Oh, wow. Yeah, look it up.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I just I really need to see more of your photos, and I'm gonna go off after you finish recording, but yeah, obviously, visual memory. I mean, I'm a very visual person, so and it's it's a tough question, but obviously that is a memory that struck stuck very strongly in your mind. Were there any other places that particularly going for the the number two option? Sorry, it makes me giggle. Um, but when you actually turned that corner, you were like, wow.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

That is a good question. I mean, Plovdev is probably one of them that I mentioned in Bulgaria. That was such a lovely city. Other places have been like um Konos in Lithuania, that was lovely. Um, Koshica in Slovakia is really nice as well. And then there's lots of places in kind of China and Southeast Asia. Um, like I went to Chengdu and I held a baby panda, and that was my favorite thing ever. Because pandas are my favorite animal and have been since I was tiny. And I got to hold a baby. I say baby panda. He was 10 months old, but he was massive.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

Oh, they're just hilarious. I remember when Finney and I were in Berlin, we went to Berlin Zoo and they had little baby pandas there. Yeah, and they're just mesmerizing the way they just fall over. Yeah, they're so funny. I shouldn't laugh at things falling over, but it's No, but they're so funny, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 21:57

They just kind of tumble about all over the place.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Yeah. Let's all get no, we can't get baby pandas. No, they're probably endangered, aren't they? They aren't. But I you do love that kind of the moment of my takes your breath away moment, like picture postcard moments.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Oh, another one would be Myanmar. I went to Myanmar um nine or ten years ago now. It used to be called Burma. It's next to Thailand. Yes. Kind of borders with Thailand and China. And that was an amazing holiday. I went with one of my friends for Chinese New Year. And the only thing we had booked was the first hotel we were staying in when we first got there in Yangon. Everything else we booked as we went. And one of the things we did was a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over Bagam, which is part of the country where there's a huge plain with about 4,000 temples on it.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

So you see across the whole like vista with all these temples. And it was sunrise, so the sun was just coming up. There was like mist across the field. It was beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

What was the actual balloon? Because I must admit, I I I'm not afraid. I'm afraid of, and I never remember what the proper word is. I'm afraid of falling off things. So I'm rubbish with balconies. Basically, anything that involves a sheer drop that I could, in theory, climb over the edge, like the Eiffel Tower. Yeah. Not great at the edges. And so I don't think I think I would probably hyperventilate and pass out if I got in the basket for a hot airburner.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Well, the the basket is really high though. It's like chest height. So you wouldn't be easily able to climb over the edge of it.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

It's just that I'm I'm I'm gesticulating, listeners, but it's that idea that you could you could fall off it, you could fall out of it.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

You couldn't just fall out because it's the basket we were in is big. There were like 12 people in it plus the pilot, um, like six people each side, and then the pilot in the middle. So it was like a big rectangle. The the side of it was kind of chest height, so it's not like you could fall out. You would have to climb up onto something and actually climb over this. It was an effort to get in. Never mind, get out.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Because I face it, I make myself do it. I make myself literally feel the fear and do it because the relief and it oh, you it's a high when you actually think, I've done it, but it's the it's the thinking beforehand, it no matter how much work you do on yourself, listeners. That that terror, that terror, but that's why I'm all about helping other people with it. But I digress slightly, I digress slightly. Well, I think it'll be good. I mean, we we've alluded to obviously your blog, and later on you will be sharing details of how listeners can get in touch with you because that's what you love helping people with copywriting and writing, a woman after my own heart. Um, and obviously, all your contact details are on the show notes for our episode and on the Midlife Unlimited podcast website. But before we go into more details of how listeners can connect with you, which we'll talk through verbally, can we circle back and start talking through your top tips? Because the first tip that springs to mind, and I know I I saw a dear friend of mine was going away, and she was talking about the idea of, you know, is it okay to overpack? Well, of course it's okay to overpack. But nowadays there's always stuff on the news about flights, they say, oh, it's only X amount to flight, but the minute you take anything larger than a handkerchief with you with anything in it, you you kind of double, triple, quadruple the price. So when it comes to we're talking about how to get a decent deal, but also is the first step you've blocked off your time. Yep. Is the next step to actually get yourself a will go anywhere hand luggage that is the right size for everywhere?

SPEAKER_01 26:04

Yeah, so we got bags um that were exactly that, the exact right size to fit under the seat, according to the airline with the smallest size measurements. Yeah, that's the thing. Because they do vary. Yeah, they do vary. But if you go for the one that fits the smallest size measurements, and the one I've got has got a load of different pockets. So I can fit my laptop in, I can fit my Kindle in, I can fit my chargers, I can fit clothes. Um so for a long weekend, that's the only thing that I will bring with me. Just that. And it is kind of packed to capacity, but if you think if you're just going, say flying Friday morning, so you've got the hut, you normally arrive around lunchtime, um, so you've got the rest of Friday, one night there, full day Saturday, another night, and then kind of Sunday morning, leave Sunday afternoon to get back Sunday evening. So you've got one full day and kind of two half days. You only really need one t-shirt or top and two lots of underwear and socks. You can wear the same jeans, wear shoes that are comfortable to walk around in and do whatever, um, and wear your coat or jumper on the plane, and then you're not packing it. And that's it. You know, if you need to bring a laptop, bring a laptop or Kindle or book or whatever. Um have miniatures of all your toiletries. Um, so I you can get, or sometimes you can get little sample pots from places like Lush and the Body Shop.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

I don't know if it's only like in the summertime, but definitely the little refillable pots.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

Right, exactly. So get some of those, and then you could decant your moisturizer or whatever into those tiny pots, and then you can bring with you whatever you want. Um, you know, if you are on a more expensive flight and fly, you know, business class A, you get those little pouches still which have got miniatures of moisturizer. Keep all of those. If there's no one in the seat next to you, keep theirs as well, because then you can use those when you do the little weekend trips.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

You know, and like in hotels as well, if you're allowed to absolutely have a little bit of the news the other day, but again, this isn't really relevant if we're going for a short trip and just using as minimal luggage, but how some airlines are actually doing away with the minimum volume on liquids. So that's something if you're going away for long.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

A lot of even if they don't have that on the way out, a lot of countries have that for the way back. So I would still recommend the minutes.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

I was gonna say I would air on I don't do it with many things in life, but with this, I would air on the side of caution for risk having your bits thrown, not your bits thrown away, but having things confiscated. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

They'll they'll just confiscate it and throw it away, and then you're without whatever that thing is. So just stick to under 100 mils or solid things. I have solid shampoo and solid conditioner. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, the little bars, and then it doesn't count as a liquid.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

That's a good idea. Yeah. So I'm I'm thinking now, if you're going to be a f a frequent globe trotter in midlife, you've got the bag. Obviously, you can't keep all your electricals and stuff that you use every day, but you could actually have it almost ready to go with your knickers and your socks and your t-shirts, all your products already bottled up. Perhaps even invest in because they're not that expensive, the chargers and plugs. Because I mean, how many different there are quite, or is it just Europe, America's?

SPEAKER_01 29:38

No, I have I have like a world adapter, which yeah, so you can plug different things into it, and then it has different plug endings that you can like push out with buttons. So I've just got that. I take the one with me, and I've got one charger that will charge my laptop and my phone and my power bank and my headphones.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Yeah, so do you take a power bank as well?

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Yeah, always take a power bank to carry around with you. Um, especially if like you're using your phone to take photos, that's gonna use more battery or videos, that's gonna use more batteries, so it's definitely worth having a power bank with you. Definitely, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

And I suppose, I mean, you see all the again, the old good old social media scrolling. The minute you kind of type in the word holiday, you're suddenly going to get inundated with all this stuff, aren't you? But are there any kind of I won't say gimmicks, but any things like not like a charger, obviously. We all know we need a charger, but something that you bought thinking, oh, that's that's a really good idea, but actually then thought, what on earth? Why why did I bring that? It's just something else to carry. I mean, things like I always when I used to go away like for two weeks, always used to take those plug-in mosquito repellent. Oh, yes, I don't bother with things like that anymore.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

No, one thing I do have, which is useful, actually. I found if you're flying a short haul, normally there's no entertainment, you have to entertain yourself. So if you download stuff onto your phone or tablet first, you've got it all ready to go. And I've got a little gizmo that clips onto like the tray table, um, and then you put your phone in it, so you're not having to hold your phone the entire time, it's like clipped in, so you can watch it like a little TD. That's really ideal.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

Yeah, I use my glasses case, but no, that's then it's quite low on the tray table.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

If you do it when the tray table is closed and then it's more at eye height, yeah, go. I've actually got it.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

And then you're not neck ache. These little reels. I'm sure someone used one of the sick bags and did a bit of origami with that and turned that into some sort of I'm digressing. I'm digressing. So we've got our time booked off. We've got our bag that's ready to rock and roll. How do we go about? Are there certain sites that we can mention all of them? We're not sponsored sadly by any of them. If you want to come and sponsor Midlife Unlimited, please do. Little sites. Um, are there any that you'd say use these as the first ones to go to? Do you go direct to an airline? Do you go to a comparison site?

SPEAKER_01 32:12

So a good way of doing it is look on Skyscanner, particularly if you're not bothered about where you're gonna go. If you just want to go with the cheapest flight, you can search everywhere for particular dates on Skyscanner. So then it will come up, it'll always come up with UK flights first. But if you scroll, scroll down a bit, it will start coming up with ones in Europe, and then that will tell you where you can go for the cheapest prices. Then book direct with the airline would be my advice. Because I've had issues before. So sometimes you can get a better deal by going direct with the airline, and especially if you have like become a member, you can get air miles, that kind of thing. Um, so another one I use is Wizair. Wizair is really good, um, especially if you live kind of in the Midlands, because they fly from Luton to a lot of places in Europe that are again a bit off the beaten track. So when we went to like as I was in Koshitzer and Konos and um Plovdiv, all those flights were like 50-60 quid return.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

And that was actually the cost. That wasn't when you got there, you then had to pay an extra that was actually the cost.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

Um, so yeah, so it's worth looking at like the budget airlines. And as I said, if you can travel light as well, then that is actually the price you pay. So you can get some really good deals that way. The other thing with Sky Scanner is that you can also search by a whole month. So if you don't mind what date you fly, you can search by the whole month and it'll tell you the prices for that whole month, so you can pick the cheapest date.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Love that, love that. Which which leads me into the next question, and I think I I think I definitely think I know your answer, but travel insurance, yes.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Yes, if you're gonna be flying somewhere more than once a year, get an annual policy because it'll work out cheaper.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

That's what we used to do, definitely. Yep. And it's one less thing to worry about.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

It is having said that, when I lived in China, I never had travel insurance because they won't insure you if you're living in a different country.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

So I had to just make do. So when we missed our flight in the Philippines, we we just missed it. But the airline was really good and booked us on the next one, so it was fine. We just ended up missing our connection to Dumaguete, so we had an extra night in Manila that we weren't expecting, but there was free Wi-Fi on the plane, so I found a hotel for us to stay in when we got there while we were on the plane.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

So it's an unexpected, unexpected bonus, but I'm I'm guessing that's the kind of I mean we talk a lot about mindset, but I think if you're gonna be globe trotting, if you're gonna be scratching this midlife travel itch, expecting things to go as you've got to be open to things not quite going to plan and go with the flow a bit.

SPEAKER_01 35:19

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, my trip recently to Dominican Republic, we had a delay on the way there and we had a delay on the way back. Um, but you you've got to look at the bright side. So one of the things is we were in the airport, so we could still go and get food, go to the doo, you know, all that kind of thing. So we were comfortable, that was fine. Second good thing about it was because it ended up being over four hours, we got compensation from the airline. But you have to apply for that. So if you're delayed over three hours, I think it has to be a minimum of three hours to get anything. But if you're delayed, we were like, it got to three hours and we were like, come on, four hours. Yeah. Because it doubled. Because it doubled from three hours to four hours, the amount doubled with the airline we were with. Um, so check the compensation rules. And if you're delayed a long time, don't get stressed about it. Just because there's no point. You the only person you're putting out is yourself if you get stressed about these things. So that's one of my tips is always bring something with you to do in the airport as well. So that if you do get delayed, you've got a book to read or you've got a game to play or you know, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 36:27

We always take a pack of cards.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

Yeah, pack of cards, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

Monopoly deal is great, yeah, or travel scrabble, yeah, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 36:35

Rummy curb, dice to play dice games, yeah, bananagrams, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

And again, they're all space savers, aren't they? They're small ones. Yeah, absolutely. For anyone listening, then who's thinking, right? Ray has made me think I'm gonna do this. I'm I might go on my own, I might go with friends, I might join a Facebook group of women that are looking to go away, and we'll all go on a big group. What would be your your takeaway piece of advice?

SPEAKER_01 37:07

Be prepared for anything, have a flexible mindset, because especially if you're traveling by yourself, then one of the great things about that is like if I'd been traveling with someone else, I would never have met my friend in Copenhagen, you know, I wouldn't have gone to a help because I would have been with someone else, you know. Um, so I've met some brilliant people, so just kind of go with the flow. And a practical tip always carry tissues, especially in Southeast Asia, and hand sanitizer would be my advice. Because a lot of the toilets don't have tissue in Southeast Asia.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

Because that's not how they do things.

SPEAKER_01 37:46

That's not how they do things, they have um like a B-day, like a hose instead of it. Yeah, so always carry tissue. It's just useful generally when you're out and about, um, you know, and hand sanitizer is good because there's not always soap everywhere you go. Um, but yeah, just be flexible, go with the flow, have an open mind, try different things, talk to people. You'll meet amazing people when you talk to them.

SPEAKER_00 38:11

One thing we always try to do as well is learn just a couple of words, even if it's just please and thank you, because that goes a long way.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

Yeah, definitely. That's always worth doing. Um, but these days you've got translations apps on your phone. Yeah. So just make sure you download everything before you go. Um, if you want to be able to have data, get an e-sim. If your phone is a new enough model, you'll be able to get an e-sim because they are much cheaper. Um, and you just need to activate it while you've got Wi-Fi. There's normally free Wi-Fi in the airports when you arrive, so you can do it there or just before you go. Um, but download everything like languages to the translation app on your phone. And then even if you do learn a few words, because that is always a good thing to do, like you said, then for something more complicated, you've got the translation on your phone as well. Makes it so much easier these days. Another good thing app to have on your phone is uh XE.com is a currency conversion app.

SPEAKER_00 39:06

I was about to say money, because some places cash is still queen, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. So always bring some cash with you or check before you go whether it's somewhere that does take cards regularly or um it normally has cash. So, for example, when I went to Myanmar, I think this has changed a bit, but when I went there, you could only get their local currency when you were in the country, but they also took US dollars, but they would only accept pristine US dollars. So they couldn't be folded or anything, they had to be like smooth, like new US dollars, and larger bills were better. So there were some places we went, they wouldn't take the money we were giving them because it had a crease in it, because that was how we'd got it from the like travel agent.

SPEAKER_00 39:54

So I think it was I was watching a documentary the other day, as you do, because I do like a travel documentary, about Egypt, and they were saying that Egypt it's cash very much rather than cards and because now we're so used to me. I don't actually have for anyone who wants to nick my phone, there's no money app on there, so don't bother. It's just loads and loads of photographs, but you know, it is very much the swipe mentality, isn't it? So to go from that to I mean that's another thing. Money belts, do you leave? Do you travel when you're going out of your room? Do you leave your passport in your room? Do you have it on you?

SPEAKER_01 40:32

Normally lock it in the safe in the hotel room. Most safe, most hotels have safes these days. So um, yeah, valuables I would normally put in the hotel safe. Um, but always have a photo of your passport on your phone or a photocopy if you've token around a battery, so that you've at least got that with you. Some countries are stricter than others, obviously. Um places like China and Russia, yeah. Not that I go to Russia right now, um, but I have been there and it's a lovely country. Um, yeah, you are supposed to carry your passport with you at all times, but I never did in case I lost it.

SPEAKER_00 41:09

So that's the thing, isn't it? Because I know some places do like you to have it on you.

SPEAKER_01 41:13

Yeah, but as long as you have a photo um on your camera that you can show them regular uh readily, then that kind of covers that.

SPEAKER_00 41:21

No, and there's one thing I won't pick your brains about it now, but I'm gonna mention it so that listeners can go and check it out themselves. But in terms of passports, to make sure that you've got the correct amount of time remaining on your passport, because I know increasingly I've heard of people that think they're all right and they only had a year. I'm not I don't know what the the actual amount of time you need is, but for certain countries, they were actually not allowed to travel because they had, even though it was a 10-year passport or whatever, they were below the minimum requirement for that country.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

You normally need to have at least six months remaining on your passport and three blank pages, especially if it's a country where you're getting a visa, so there's space to put it in. Um, some countries I think are a year, you have to have a year left, but I think it's usually it's six months. But there is a there is a thing with UK passports now that we're not in the EU. In the UK, you traditionally you can add on a few months when you renew your passport. So I was able to add on like nine, I think it's up to nine months you can add on. So then your passport validity is 10 years and nine months. But in the EU, if you're going in there, they will only accept up to 10 years. So that extra nine months doesn't count. So you have to count the 10 years to the date of issue, not the expiry date, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 42:42

Well, I think, yeah. Listeners, if in doubt, consult the goddess of Google or whoever you use.

SPEAKER_01 42:48

Look on the UK government country. The foreign travel advice is a good place to look.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

I'm loving this. I am loving this. I I really want to go away now. Finley, I'm coming for you. I'm not sure where I'm not sure where we're gonna go next, but we're going somewhere. But before we go into your three questions that I ask each of my fabulous female guests, do you know where's next for you?

SPEAKER_01 43:12

We're looking at probably Morocco in April. That's the idea.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

I know. Finley and I, we literally were on the brink, because going back a couple of years now, of booking Morocco. We were literally hovering over the book it, yeah, and then we thought, oh, we'll sleep on it. And then that awful um earthquake hit. Yes, wow. I know that's one of those moments you think, oh my goodness, me. Yes, absolutely. On that note. So no, Morocco, enjoy Morocco. Enjoy. I've heard wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 43:43

Yes, I have as well. So quite looking forward to that. I love going different places. No, so that will be country number 74. 74. Oh my goodness. And then 75, do we know yet? Nothing, no, nothing planned yet. We are looking at maybe next. year doing a trip to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Oh a friend of mine did Galapagos. Oh my gosh. I know a couple of people and they said it was amazing. I love wildlife trips. Any kind of trip we see.

SPEAKER_00 44:11

So much is changing now that it's one of those places that if you don't go soon, yeah. Exactly. It's going to be almost too late. And I don't like saying anything's too late, but so much is changing like Egypt, so many of these wonderful destinations. Right. Well we're going to go into your three questions now before I turn into the Grinch and go all green with envy. So your first life and first life your first question is I'm so excited and I want to know do you listen to this? Do you have like a playlist?

SPEAKER_01 44:40

Your midlife anthem my midlife anthem is Feeling Good by Muse, the Muse version of Feeling Good. I've always loved that song. I love Muse as well. I love the original Feeling Good but obviously so many people have covered it. But the Muse version of Feeling good I just really love it.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

Do you know it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. The vocals on that are just ridiculous. Yes. That is going that is going on the the list.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

Yeah and you just you can't listen to it and not feel good at the end of it.

unknown 45:17

No.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

You know it's like a journey it's one of those songs that just takes you on a journey.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

Oh a journey travel how apt is that absolutely so anyone would think we wrote in advance we didn't so question number two your midlife mantra has it got a travel theme at all well it is related to some of my travels um so very brief story but during the pandemic obviously I was living in China when it all started I ended up getting stuck out of the country and staying with friends in uh various countries for what ended up being nearly six months living out of a suitcase a hand luggage suitcase at that and ultimately had to come back to the UK because I couldn't go back to China. I was supposed to go to my Amma for a job there couldn't go there either because their border was shut too um and then where I was in Thailand my visa was running out so I had to leave. So I had to come back to the UK and you know obviously it was a difficult time for a lot of people I didn't know whether I was coming or going ended up teaching online in my Amma for a year but from the UK so starting work at 3 a.m every day because of the time difference. But I also met the love of my life got married bought a house started a business and all of this kind of thing. So if all of that hadn't happened I wouldn't be here now talking to you. Oh my mantra is it all works out in the end and if it hasn't worked out yet it's not the end oh that's so romantic so where did you meet we met in Mel Keynes so because this is where I'm from originally this is where I I came back I was staying at my best friend's house.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

I love that you can go all around the globe come back home and there they are and all work out.

SPEAKER_01 47:19

So yeah meant to be exactly yeah so it's really funny so all the ups and downs and everything but yeah all the way down well in that case then all this is going to be included in your autobiography what are you going to call it.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

Now this this is going to be good because you are a writer you're creative we expect fabulous things from this no pressure no pressure no pressure at all so I was thinking about this last night and I think my the main title but I'm going to have a subtitle as well so the main title is going to be I hugged a panda because that was like as I said that absolutely highlighted my life it was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 48:01

I'll show you the photo later you can see the look on my face um and then the subtitle is Living in China Traveling the World and my pandemic adventures love it.

SPEAKER_00 48:13

Love it love it I look forward to reading it I look forward to reading it. Now we've mentioned your blog we've mentioned your writing how can listeners get in contact with you I say all your details are on the show notes for our episode and in your midlife unlimited podcast guest profile but talk us through your links and anything you've got coming up as well.

SPEAKER_01 48:35

Yeah sure so there's a few ways LinkedIn you can just search my name Ray Dylan um you can find my business copyright write so copyright as in C-O-P-Y W R I T E and then write R-O-G-H-T so do it in the right way um that's my tag on Facebook and LinkedIn and Instagram um and things I have on offer at the moment I have a membership to support small business owners with their writing because not everyone can afford to hire a copywriter if you would like to I'm available. But businesses need to have good quality writing especially blogs. So I have a membership called the Create Captivating Content Membership. If you search the back you should find it um which is currently I've got a special offer 35 pounds a month and we have monthly accountability sessions QA sessions where you can get personalized support from me with all your writing uh there's a library of resources content ideas and I have guest speakers come in and talk about different aspects of business. So all kinds of things going on.

SPEAKER_00 49:40

And is that on your website they can find details? Yes that's on my website yeah which isco.uk excellent excellent oh well head over and connect with Ray absolutely and I'd love your feedback on today's episode. So it'd be great if you could leave a review or you can email or text me via the link in the show notes and come and join the Midlife Unlimited podcast Facebook group. Again the link in the show notes where you'll find the website link to with details of how you can join the wait list for more my award-winning all-in-one coaching programme for fabulous females. And there's also details of Pop Your Podcast Cherry Wanderwands that I've still got some spaces for. So thank you for joining me Ray it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for listening. I look forward to tuning in next week because don't forget Midlife Unlimited has a new episode every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts. So here's to being fabulous and flourishing together and living Midlife Unlimited. Thanks Ray it's been brilliant bye thank you very much bye bye