Japan vs. Albania - Which is better to visit? (Real Stories from Travelers)

Join me and Soozie for Episode 4 of Travel Across Time Zones – she is a world-renown traveler, backpacker, and one funny British gal.

Living in Bologna, Italy, she joins me for a talk about traveling through Japan, Thailand, almost getting married in Albania and so much more.

She loves languages, tasty food, good drinks, being adopted for Christmas, and is one heck of a funny gal!

Transcript

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Welcome to Travel Across Time Zones, the podcast that takes you beyond borders, across continents, and deep into the heart of the world's most fascinating destinations. I'm John, and we are going to bring you real stories from real travelers, adventurers, and nomads who have explored the far corners of the Earth. We are going to uncover the experiences, the insights, and the unexpected moments that make travel truly life changing. Or just really fun. Now let's go meet some amazing people. www. travelacrosstimezones. com That's the only time in my life I've been close to committing murder. I don't know if it was myself or the lady who was gonna Safety's optional, which makes it more fun. When you do monkeys in Thailand, they're terrifying. They are just mammalian terrorists and all their live force terrorize you. They're not cute and they're terrifying and their teeth are huge and they just come up to you and they rob you. I forbid you carry a white plastic bag. You're going to get straight up robbed by the whole horde at that point. Stop it. I washed my groceries in my bathtub in Serbia. I feel like you want to talk about that. I need some therapy. John, you're gonna die. Don't ever leave your apartment. And I was like, oh, okay. I'm gonna die. Um, I don't know what being ready feels like Susie woodrow wilson's daughter Okay. I don't know if there's any truth in those last names or not, but it's fun. No, we're not related. I don't think if I was, I'd want to brag about it. So we'll just leave it there. It's okay. I don't know anything about history. Clean slate. 28th U. S. American president. Yeah, I knew that. Just wanted to test you. Okay, that's the only thing I know. Also, not a good guide, but then again, How much do you know about the U. S. President? Okay, so I don't know if I'm supposed to do intros for this stuff or not, but let's introduce the lovely Susie from England. England. Yes. England land. I wish you guys would have done a better job with our language. It's very difficult language to sound out. Okay. So just, you know, could have done better with that just so you know, tire also really confusing spelling T Y R E and we met Susie and I met when Albania, didn't we? We met in Tirana. Yes. Absolutely. In 3 a. m. 3 a. m. Is that when we met? We did. With the opening line of, What do you think about men who have beards? Did I say that? Uh, either you did. Oh my gosh, I know exactly who said that. Don't name any names from that place, though. I want to keep some of my relationships positive. But it was asked to me. I basically came back from a night out, and that was the question that was fired at me. And I was like, I'm going to go to bed. But before I do, I'm going to answer this question. And then I think it was like 7am or something. Yeah, pretty much. That's how it happened. Yep. That time, there's so many good stories to tell, but you can't tell, because the people who are listening to this are going to know everybody involved. Okay. Yeah. What happened there. During our, uh, worldwide lockdown, that was really funny. You could write so many stories about who was staying there, what they were doing. Yes. And if I could get an interview with the owners of that hostel, I think it would just be a riot. I absolutely bet you could. You realize that is the only time we've ever met. In real life was in that hostel. We've never seen each other again since then. And how long ago was that? There's, there's the real test that would've had to be 2021. Yeah, I imagine it would, yes. August.'cause I, I came back in 2021 and I went to South America in 2022. Yes. And then that blew my mind in all good and bad ways. Yes. And then I sort of forgot everything that happened before that.. Yeah. Okay.. Cool. Yeah. That was it. When you just fear being stabbed and shanked every day, your memories go, no, I'm kidding.. No. I had that fear. Oh, it's a good one. It lets you know you're alive. It really works out the muscles in the back of the neck. Yeah. But even though we only met then, somehow we stayed in contact. We had a great chat then. We talked about all sorts of things under the sun. You reminded me apparently we talked about Ukraine. I think you were in the Galapagos and we had a chat then on the phone. Did we? Yeah, I was there. We did, yeah. Yeah, we had a chat at that time. We had a chat when you were somewhere else. We had a chat like two months ago, I think. Yeah, that was a great catch up. I forgot all the things that we had talked about and you were, like, reminding me as we kept talking. I was like, oh my god, I told you that? I didn't know you knew what happened in Ukraine. I know a lot of things. I retain information quite well, which is kind of Yeah, disturbing for other people at most times. And I'm like, oh, how's that thing going? They're like, didn't realize I told you that. I'm like, yep, and I remember it. And I will ask you about it in the future. He's showing up at 3 a. m. at a hostel. You know, everyone just sort of assumes you're not going to remember anything. Everything you say is just going to go into a black hole. And Susie's like, surprise! It's all on record. And it's coming back to haunt you at any, if any moment of my choosing. But you have sort of, actually, I don't know about your travels and your adventures. I know about Italy a little bit. Where else have you traveled and explored and gone? And how has it been to do that as a solo female traveler? I say that the half jokingly and then half, because maybe some people might wanna know. Yeah. Uh, so am I going to the beginning of the beginning? Where am I starting? Need to organize mind. Well, birth is usually a good start to begin. I mean, it's a journey. It's a journey. It's, it's so cramped., yeah. And c not sure I would recommend it, but that's, bye. The bye. Um, in the face. Yeah, uh, no I travel quite a lot, uh, usually to meet people, I like meeting people with the possibility of then possibly visiting them in the future, not obviously with the idea that they can also come visit me, it's not just that I'm staying with you, you can't come to Italy, or wherever I happen to be, which is quite good, but yeah I've been to a lot of places, as a sidebar to that I'm now working in a hotel, so I get to talk to people about where they're traveling, why they're coming here, and I keep telling people from Indonesia usually, that I've been to Indonesia three times. To which they always go, Oh, you've been to Bali? And I'm like, Yes, and many of the other islands. I do realize from my appearance and my age. And Many other factors that you think I've just been to Bali, but I have been to other islands. My appearance and my age. The fact that I am from this island in Europe means I'm really only allowed in Bali. Yes. They don't even let me out. I was obviously reading Eat, Pray, Love on the beach in Bali as well, of course, because that's what we are. Taking a photo of your hot dogs with the beach in the background. Yes, legs are hot dogs. And the book strategically put on the side. Yes. Next to a cocktail. Of course. And it better have a little umbrella. To be fair, if I'm somewhere where it's hot, I want every drink that I have to have a little umbrella. It's hot enough for me. I need an umbrella. My drink needs an umbrella. What about the environment, though? The environment? We can get the environment an umbrella, too. I think you might need one. Yeah. Down there it might be. Have you ever been some, is the ozone super thin there, right? I think so. So I remember I was somewhere in Vietnam and I was like, I've got 15 minutes outside before my white ass is going to burn. Okay. I understand that. Yeah. No, no, no, no, no. 15 minutes. I was sunburned for the next five days. I mean, you had to put like, uh, you had to do like black face on your whole body just to not get sunburned. Interesting story. Uh, because I did a lot of snorkeling when I was in Indonesia. And getting sunburned in that specific situation, called the Indonesian flag, because if you know, it's a rectangle and the top half, or the back half, is red, and then the underside is completely white. So if you go snorkeling for too long and you haven't got actual water, not just, you know, water resistant, but waterproof sun cream. Like, there's a kind of line down the side of your body and the whole thing from there back is just lobster. And the whole front of your body is just, There's palers when you arrive! I love it. British lobster. A very Spain of you. Yes. Yes. Indonesian flag. I did suffer from that illness. Well, tell me something cool from Indonesia, because all I know is that Bali is full of Australians, Kuta is a horrible place to go, there's some beautiful places to go, but it seems so cliche for some people, they hate it, and then other people love it, and I know nothing outside of Bali. I didn't even, I just figured Bali was its own little country, so many people from Australia go there. I'm really trying to put together all the stories that I remember, I think about five came into my head in the same moment. It was the first place I ever got pickpocketed. Never? The first place I ever got pickpocketed. Oh, ever? Yeah. It was like, uh, it was a motorbike setup. So walking down a really thin path, a motorcycle drove by. One of them got off in front of me on this tiny path. And obviously I was carrying everything I had. And I was looking at this guy like, are you kidding me? I'm gonna have to get down off this really high curb onto the road and back up again. You can see I'm carrying everything I own. This is so inconvenient. Then he pretended as I went and passed him and came back up, he pretended I'd dropped something on the floor. So I would turn, then his friend would try to grab my wallet. Oh damn. Yes. And he got your wallet? Yeah, but there's nothing in it because I had a fake wallet.'cause your backpacker that I keep in a little pocket is very, very obvious, which has absolutely nothing in it. Then I have, you know, like the secret pocket money belt thing. Where you keep all the documents and the big kind of wad of cash money, secrets. So I'm like, yeah, I actually kind of want you to steal this wallet, because if I would be stupid enough to have all of my belongings and money in that wallet, I deserve to have it stolen. So he opened it, realized there's nothing in it, and just drove away. And I was like, yes, of course. Of course there's nothing in it. Just look at him, you're like, bro, told you, backpacker. Backpacker. Not entirely stupid. Can't be stupid in certain ways, but not in this way. The, um, so were you just sort of standing there like a turtle on his back and he's just like, yoink? No, I don't know. So I stepped down off a curb. This seems like the easiest, friendliest pickpocketing ever. And honestly, I feel sorry for the pickpockets because you let them down. No, no, I would. It was quite exhilarating in the fact of, I was like, he was still trying to rub me, despite whether he got anything on that. No, no. Stepped down off a curb, stepped back up onto the curb, and then he tapped me and said I dropped something. So I turned and the other guy grabbed the wallet. It was a two fold, two pronged approach. Try and get my catch. Little bastard. Yeah. Where that in Bali? No. Was it on Sumatra? I don't know. I don't know where it was. I'm digging back into all of my memories. Turn your brain on. Turn your brain on, Susie. No, I'll have to have a look at them all. Who are you sponsored by, by the way? Who am I sponsored by? I don't know. Who should I be sponsored by? What, the wine I showed you earlier? You ruined it. I'm gonna have to cut that part out and make it seem like No, but no, I can't. It's the only thing I can imagine getting my hands on. Are you in prison? Is there something we should do? No. No. Yeah, okay, let's not do that. Story number two. Story number two. Again, place names I'm really struggling with. We went to go see a semi dormant volcano, uh, that we were complaining about because it hadn't actually erupted. Not fun story. Very shortly after that, as in about a year, within a year later, it did erupt and it was a huge disaster. That was not good. We weren't there at the time. There's a video of it online and it's like never ending ash cloud that's coming at all these boats that went there for tours. No, no, that was the one in New Zealand. That was in New Zealand. This was somewhere in Indonesia. But yeah, it was basically the beginning of the trip. It was just a full fail. I remember that. Everything that could have gone wrong absolutely went wrong. You know, staying in hotels with like, damp kind of mildewy bed sheets and yeah, I think every mark we tried to hit we missed sorely to the fact that we went out to go try and find some food and it was torrentially raining, absolutely torrentially raining, and I ordered an egg on toast. This is all I wanted, I couldn't find anything on the menu that I wanted, I just wanted something very simple. And I got this piece of white bread, not complaining, being British loving the simple white bread, with a fried egg on top of it, loving it so far. And they'd just taken a container of chocolate sauce and just drizzled sweet chocolate sauce all over this egg on toast and I was like And it was at that moment that me and my friend I was traveling with, because we are quite good humored, you know you get to that point in a trip where you're so ground down, you're just not okay, like on any level, you're just Yeah, pretty much destroyed. We just looked at each other. It was that moment where we were gonna start sobbing, just actually sobbing because everything had gone wrong or just laughing. And I remember we looked at each other, we locked eyes and we just started laughing to the point where everyone and the family and all the chickens in this little shed are just staring at this piece of egg and toast and chocolate sauce. And we were just crying and like beating the table with our because it was just the most, nothing could go right. Nothing at all. It was, it was, Yeah, it was kind of funny how when you get to a certain level, you just expect nothing to go right. And then you're just like, that's how it is supposed to be. I'm not supposed to be comfortable. I'm not supposed to feel good. I'm not supposed to get what I ordered off of the menu. Uh, I remember when I was in, uh, that stupid party island in Thailand, um, for the full moon party, only three or four people died that night. And. Okay. I'm leaving the next day or the day after that, and I'm dying, basically, and I just need some food, and I go to, you know, a restaurant, it's just a hole in the wall with some plastic chairs, everything is plastic chair, and there's this big, beautiful Belgian waffle on the menu, like a photo of it. Just the most amazing fake made for TV Belgian waffle. And then she comes out after 30 minutes and gives me a Toaster Eggo waffle. One of those frozen ones, where like half of it is still frozen. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's the only time in my life I've been close to committing murder. I don't know if it was myself or the lady. I didn't know who, yeah, I thought it was gonna be you, the lady, or just the next person that happened to cross your path. They'd be like, hey bro, you're like, yeah. You're getting it now. Yeah, it's just there's, you know, the context is just your whole day has been going downhill and finally you think you're going to get something that will make your life a little bit better. These waffles will redeem me. These waffles will redeem me. And they didn't. No. Absolutely nothing. So what was the, did you get to see the big lizards in Indonesia? Yeah, I went to Komodo Island. Yeah, I went to Komodo Island, walked around. I've got a video of one of them running, sent a video of that to my friend's son, who's obsessed with Komodo dragons, and yeah, they are terrifying. We learnt a lot about how they kill things. They're pretty cunning. As you're like on the beach with them? I mean, were they running at you guys, or how does that work? No, no, they were all kind of, they were all on the island, they were all gathered around the base of the kitchen building, to which all the guides were insisting, we don't feed them. We definitely don't feed them. We've never fed them. We don't feed them. Well, mate. But they're all gathered around the ca Not believing that. And it was, I mean, obviously I felt very secure walking around the island because all the guides that were with us had a very long wooden stick, like a Y shaped wooden stick, to protect us. So if one came running and says, they were always going to put this around each side of its neck just to hold it off. I mean, these things could run faster than humans. And their bites are poisonous and there is basically probably no cure for that poison. But yeah, he had a long wooden stick in a Y shape that he could definitely defend all of us with if they decided to turn on us. Don't you love how much more fun countries are where you can't sue people? Like if you die on their tours. I've never really thought about that. I think Italy likes certain people a lot. There's a lot of lawyers there. Everyone you meet is a lawyer or a doctor. That's fine. But they, I think they get legal processes involved quite frequently. I've never imagined ever being sued. It's not a fear I've ever had. Maybe just, I'm living in this little bubble of Well, as like a tour operator, I, I feel like if they lose a gringo, they're not so worried about losing their business. As long as, you know, the whole gringo is eaten, so there's nothing to take a photo of and put it in the news back home. You just say No evidence. Susie who? I don't know who that is. She definitely got on the boat. She definitely left the island. Absolutely left. Yes. It's probably that party she disappeared to. That everybody saw her at. Absolutely. Just close ranks. When I was in Vietnam and I went on one of those canyoning tours, it was really cool. But then there was one part where they have you jump off, and I understand everybody there is about five feet tall and 75 pounds, but all of us gringos are a little bit bigger boned and there's this one part where you jump off and you go into the water and a few of us hit the bottom and And you're jumping off of like 7 meters, so 23 feet, 24 feet, something like that. And when I jumped off, thankfully I was going enough forward with momentum that when I hit the water I went like that. But my back and my entire body just smashed on the bottom. Like just BAM! Yes. And after that, I think I was just done with tours in Vietnam. I was like, yes, it's all bullshit. There's zero safety here. They don't care what happens. Like when you sign up for a zip line things in, um, let's say countries like New Zealand or anywhere in Western Europe, they have like two things that hook on to it and you're super safe for three things. And then you go in Vietnam and you're lucky if you get like one rusty hook to go on top. But while you're holding the Goodness me. Yeah. Safety's optional, which makes it more fun. I've done a bit of zip lining. A little bit of zip lining, but I don't know. Did No, we've never done that. I don't think I'm particularly interested. I don't know. Yeah, I'm not doing that. No, no, I'm not. You just see one video, and you're like, mm mm, mm mm. I think I need to skydive at one time in my life. Yeah, that would be fun. I have to. I want to do hang gliding. I know that's not without risks, but I think the idea of soaring like an eagle is one that I actually genuinely want to do, not one thing that I think I have to do. Hang gliding sounds good. Uh, second that, would love to do that, and whichever one, there's one where you, there's paragliding, there's hang gliding, um, like there's one where it's a wing that you're under, and then there's one where it's like a big parachute, and either one of those would be awesome. Yeah, yeah, I think I mean hang gliding. That's what I mean. Yeah. Where else have you been outside of Indonesia in that region? Went to Japan. Where'd you go in Japan? Uh, I can't say everywhere apart from Tokyo, but we didn't go to Tokyo. Uh, we went to Osaka and then basically up and then round to Hiroshima and then back down to like Kyoto and Nara and places like this. That was a bullet train. Did you see the deer? Yes, we saw deer. Didn't see the monkeys who chill out in the, in the hot, in the hot pools. That would have been cool. That's up north, isn't it? In Sapporo? Yeah, didn't go, didn't go north. Did you see any monkeys? No, I don't think so. Okay, I'm gonna say my monkeys are gone. Okay, go. There's a little bit of a delay. Um, I want to tell you my monkey story and then I want you to tell me your deer story because I'm so mad. I tried to take the public transit to go to Nara to go to the deer which is chill out in the city and they bow at you and it's so awesome but I got super confused and nobody speaks English. And after an hour and a half of trying to get on the right terrain I just went home. I did, when you do monkeys in Thailand they're terrifying. They are just mammalian terrorists, and all they live for is to terrorize you. They're not cute, and they're terrifying, and their teeth are huge, and they just come up to you, and they rob you. They legit rob you. They know how to bargain with you now, don't they? They know that they can steal your phone, and give it back to you for the correct amount of food, and they'll hold out until they get as much as they think they can. They now know that's what will trigger the giving of stuff to get the valuables back. Yeah. We need like a little BB gun when you go into monkey territory, not something that's going to kill them, just like sting them a little bit. Just a little like, ooh, yeah, don't do that. Or like a taser, yeah, like a monkey, a little, bzz, bzz. But Timothy, we're going into their environment. I don't, you know, if I was sitting on my sofa, watching something, and someone came in intruding my stuff, and then if I decided to kick off about it, they're like, I'm going to tase you. No, just leave the monkeys, just, just, just leave them alone. You know, I feel that sentiment for the first five minutes that I'm interacting with monkeys in Thailand. And then after that, when I'm like, I have to have my hands on all my pockets at all times, even if I'm not carrying food. God forbid you carry a white plastic bag, you're going to get straight up robbed by the whole horde at that point. Even if it's just a water bottle. Yep, absolutely. So, in Japan, There's this one mountaintop and you walk up to it. It's only like 30 minutes. It's not so bad And they're just so organized so orderly. It's so amazing. There's monkeys sitting around everywhere None of them come up to none of them pay attention to you. None of them touch you They might sit next to you on the bench And then look over the beautiful vista of the city below the mountains on the side of it Yeah, but they're not gonna do anything to you at all and then they have this Big sort of room in the middle with wire mesh like chicken wire. Yeah, the monkeys are all like this big and What you do is you go in there? It's like got a double door system so the monkeys can't go in and then you buy peanuts for a dollar Or you buy something else for a dollar. And you feed them through the cage. So they only learn to get food if they put their hands in the cage. But you are not allowed to feed them outside the cage. And Japanese being Japanese, they follow the rules. So nobody feeds them. So the moment that you leave the cage, they just don't associate you with food at all. That's good. Amazing. It's so cool. And you can't believe you're like, no, it's not possible. Monkeys will never leave me alone. They'll be fighting each other over there, but they'll never harm you. And it was, it costs like almost no money. It was so great. Yeah. Now I don't think I interact with anyone. Tell me one of your favorite stories from Japan because it's such an interesting place. I found like all the stories about it to be true. Let me think. It was so organized. So wonderful. It was, the rules are very strict. I remember at one point we showed up to, uh, a hostel and the check in time was 3pm and we arrived about 10 to 3, you know, again, backpack, front pack, all coats, it was a little bit drizzly. And they basically were like, yeah, check in's at three, we're just standing outside like Okay. What? It's 10 to 3. It's 10 to 3. Just let us in. I think they eventually took pity on us in some way. Let us come in. But again, to sit down in a place and they wouldn't even look or talk to us after that until 3pm. Of course, it wasn't much, much time. It was just like, okay, now it's 3. Now we will do your check in. I was like, the robot turns on. Well, yes, but if the room's ready, anyway, yeah, it was very, uh, no, check in's at 3. That was it. Which, by the way, for people who don't stay in hostels, they don't understand how uncharacteristic that is of hostels. Yeah. A lot of hostels, if they're family friendly, which a lot of family, I mean, if they're like family type hostels, where you feel like you're part of the family when you're there. Exactly. Yes. They'll let you check in whenever the bed is available. You come at 7 a. m., bed's available. They're like, oh, you've been traveling all night. I know it's empathy. Yeah, they let you go in there and they're, they're really, really nice about it. Then the corporate ones, if the front desk person likes you, they'll let you check in early. But yeah, they're usually not strict. It's not, um, hardcore. What did you find about their super politeness by the way? And like bowing? Yeah, that was just really nice. It was really lovely. I don't know. I just, I genuinely had a nice time. They were all very interested and kind and curious, but also quiet, you know, just very nice. Okay. Yeah, not amazingly chatty, but just, hmm. No, very cordial people. Also, going back to the point you just made. I think guests and travellers should really remember, not just talking about my current job, but of course it does relate to that. Just, if you do want an early check in, just don't be an arse. Like, as you said, some places they have the empathy, they're gonna let you in, whatever. If you really do want to get in, don't go in there demanding stuff, don't go in there making a fuss. Ask very nicely. And, as you said, the person on the desk does have the power. And I think some people just bustle in and go, Oh, I've had this worst time, and they start with all these things. And you're like, if you want to get in, just remember to be, you know, at least be funny, at least be something. You may be tired, but just be funny. It's so charming that Susie wants to go on a date with you. No. No, but if you're annoying, I'm going to make you leave your bag, and I'm going to make you get off the premises, and you can come back at two. And that's how it's going to be. So if you can at least be like, you know, if the room's not ready, I don't mind. Wait, just give me it. Not like get in my room right now. I'm like, I'm the gatekeeper. Stop it. There are some people that are just straight up entitled. And it's really funny when you get Americans who are fresh off the boat. I was at one hostel and 30 of them came in and they were all gals in their late 20s and early 30s. And somehow they're. Corporate office was trying to save money or something. So they booked them all in a hostel and they'd never been in a hostel before. And they asked the front desk girl to bring their luggage up the stairs for them and I'm sitting in the common room drinking a beer and you know, I'm really chatty and she just bursts out laughing. I just can't control herself. Like sweetheart. Do you know where you are? Yeah, there isn't a lift. You're on the third floor. Have fun with that. Bye. And that's how it is. I mean, unless someone is injured. Like, people are nice. Of course, yeah. Backpackers are the friendliest people ever. And no one is, uh, usually no one is entitled. Yeah. It's funny when you hear that. Do you remember, sorry, I'm switching back to Albania again. Well, I was there. I presume you were there at the same time. There was some lady who said she wanted to stay for free because she brought her own hammock. Do you remember her? You set up the hammock in the garden. She's like, but I'm not gonna pay to stay here because I'm not using any linen. I'm not using the bed. I mean, I presume she was using the washroom. I didn't ask for details. But she set up a hammock in the garden and said, I'm not gonna pay because I'm not using money for your services. Or like, I'll pay a couple of euros to do this or whatever we're doing. I don't, sorry, I've realized. What did they do? They were just, I don't know. That's not how it works. So, well, surely I should get a reduction because I brought my own hammock. I'm just gonna sleep outside. They're like, yeah, but these are like decorative trees. These aren't load bearing trees. Do you remember the tortoise that was in the garden? And I was always scared that somebody was going to step on it when they came back drunk. There's a little tortoise just roaming around the garden. Do you remember that tortoise? Uh, I remember a few things. Did you step on it? Is that why you're blocking it out? I haven't stepped on one. I haven't stepped on one yet. But the last time I was there The seasons were changing and they had these hard things falling from the trees. The macadamia nuts, no chestnuts, that were falling down and would like break your laptop if it fell on it. So it was a fun little like dive bombing experience. Yes. But maybe we should have done the Albania stories first. What else happened when you were there? What else happened when I was there? I don't know. Didn't you go to Egypt right after that? No, I've never been to Egypt. Oh, our mutual friend is from Egypt. No, no, we're gonna have to edit this out because he's gonna get really, really mad. Then let's just not say it. Let's swing back to your other adventures where nobody will get in trouble. Buddhist monks don't have a lot of things. If you don't have any limits, then tell your craziest stories. I'll think about it. I'll warm up to them. But yeah, my, my side story. Have some more of your nature's water or whatever. Yeah, I will. I don't have a name for it. But yeah, now my side story is, you may already be aware of this, but Buddhist monks have lots of stuff. Do you know that? They have so much stuff. I went to Sri Lanka, and I did the pilgrimage, again, my To what? My memory of You've gotta go up to the top of this mountain, it takes about, I don't remember, five hours to walk up there? And it's just all uphill, the whole thing, all the way to the top? I will have to fill in the details of what this is. Yeah. Yeah. Apparently, but it's, basically there's all us tourists trying to get up there and we're all like, hissing and moaning, like oh god this is taking forever, we'll never get there. And there's like, older people, one leg, walking sticks, three children strapped to them, just silently doing this religious pilgrimage, and we're like, goodness this is difficult. Just really, really disrespectful that we're all just kicking off, and then we see these people and we're like, maybe we should shut up, and just get on with it, we're here by choice, we're just doing this because it's fun. Anyway, we got to the top, to watch the sunrise, and These buddhist monks were just pulling iPads out of their robes to film it. And I was like, hang on a minute. I'm sure that doesn't work like that. How have you got an iPad? I haven't got an iPad. What? And then just more and more things kept coming out of the robes like, you know, snazzy iPhones and things like this. And then I realized that over there, they're very much into like sports cars, iPads. Lots of things like this. It's very They're pro consumer monks. Yeah, exactly! I don't Don't get me wrong, my knowledge of Buddhism isn't as broad as it could be. I think I know the basics as most people do, but not having stuff, I think, is like rule number one. Maybe it's just a fashion statement now. Like weird curly hair. Weird curly hair is a fashion statement. And over there, I don't know, maybe orange robes. Just look cool. Mm hmm. Wait, I know this isn't the point of it. Are young men getting Their hair permed? Is that cool now? Suzie, how old are you? Yeah, they have this horrible like curly fro thing that they're building on the top of their head. Especially like the 18 to 22 year old crowd from your island. Have you, have you been back to England in the last 10 years? I'm here right now. I'm here right now. And I haven't been seeing this, but I don't know. You could be in a prison in Syria. I wouldn't know. Maybe that you're one of those journalists that got kidnapped. No, I'm not curious enough. I'd be a terrible journalist. Anyway, um, no, I'm gonna have to look this up because I didn't know be a great journalist. You'd be on the top of that mountain. Bro, where'd that iPad come from? What the hell? Aren't you supposed to be poor? I don't know. I think I'd, although if, if I could be any journalist, I would like to be I prefer to be like a female version of Louis Theroux, just completely innocuous, completely unthreatening. So my God, she won't cause any harm. Then you can ask really in depth questions and people just think you're actually a bit of a simpleton. So you get like, Oh, bless her. She's not asking for any particular motive. She'll get away with it. I want to be that. And then you just hit them upside the face with the big questions. Yeah, they're like, oh, she doesn't really know what she's asking. I'll just answer her anyway. And I'm like, yeah, I do know what I'm asking. You just think I don't. Yeah, that would work. That would be better. I have decided at this point in my life that if I was going to be a journalist, I want to throw people off by saying ridiculous things. And just being ridiculous. I hate sounding too smart. I don't, I'm not that smart. Anyway, cut this part out. Tell everyone I'm super smart. I've just spent so much time in my early life debating and being super like, and I don't feel like it added much value to my life. And I don't feel like winning arguments added much value to my life and just being right at a much value laughing so hard that you get a new wrinkle. Made me happy. You know, those 3am chats in the hostel where you're just telling stories and laughing and being ridiculous. Like, that's what added so much value. So, I don't think I want to be serious anymore. It's just not fun. I've been talking to my new housemate recently. I have, I have a bit of a problem. It depends which way you look at it. It could be clusters, if there's a problem. Depends how you're framing it really. Anyway, I listen a lot. So you're dating. It's not that I'm not chatty, but especially with people I disagree with, I just listen a lot. Like I don't usually offer my opinion. I just ask them how they got there. But it ends up that I'm this little sponge who just absorbs everything that other people say. I don't really give anything out. I come away going, I think I learned a lot, still don't agree with people, but I just feel like, but why don't you voice your opinion? Why don't you give them what you think about it? Am I? I don't know, I know what I think about it. I just want to hear how you got there. I really want to hear about it, but you don't add anything in, I'm like, That's why I like you, Susie. So few people are actually curious enough to do that. Yeah. I mean, you don't really get anything from showing or trying to show that you're right. You get something by trying to understand how they got where they are. But yeah, it's kind of the thing, if you're having a conversation with someone, they say something you don't agree with, you go, well, you're wrong. I'm like, that's not useful. Please. Please. How did you get there? I mean, if at any point, which they never usually do, they go, Oh, so do you agree with what I'm saying? I'm like, okay, this is the point at which I actually voice that I really don't agree. But in the meantime, people are usually happy to be just wound up. And watch them go, you know, at which point I'm like, I'm along for the ride. This is absolute madness and I need to hear all of it. I haven't got enough time to hear everything you have to say. My favorite people to listen to like that are the conspiracy people who get super excited. I don't care what the conspiracy is, as long as you have bought 100 percent into it, and you are giving me the full rundown. I mean, it's like a live theatre production in your face. Yes. And they'll tell you everything, the experience they've had, and how it's come together, and how they decided this, and I'm just fascinated. Just fascinated to hear what's going on. It's just, yeah, it's great. Really good. That's probably why you love travel so much. Because you're so curious about everything. Yeah. Although I think the negative part of it is, a lot of people think I like them a lot more than I do. And people go like, oh, she's great. I had a wonderful time with her. And I'm like, you didn't ask me a single question. You didn't actually ask me anything. I just listened to you for two solid hours, which I was very happy to do. You can't come away from this, like, meeting, this, uh, yeah, having met me, going, she's got a lot of substance. I'm like, you don't actually know a single thing about me. You just used me as a mirror to look at yourself and went, damn, I look good. You are, I feel like you are talking about me when we met. No, but you opened, you asked me a question straight off the bat. You did ask me something. You're like, how do you feel about men with beards? And I'll be like, okay, I'll play this game. I'm already in. Here we go. Let's talk about it. So, yeah. Something must have happened. And, you didn't need me to have a particular opinion. You weren't, like, hoping I would say yes, or hoping I would say no. You were genuinely just interested in what my opinion on the matter was. You know what I mean? You weren't like, Angie, I need her to be this or to be that. You were just accepting of my answer, whatever it might be, which is what I like about people. Yeah. That's awesome. Mm-hmm . It's, I'm glad that it was so awesome that day. Mm-hmm . I don't exactly remember , everything.. Rookie, but rookie. I remember. That's all. I remember that we hit it off really well. Yeah. So I think that you were good at listening for two hours and you tricked me into becoming your friend Mm-hmm . I don't actually like you at all. We've got that so far. I just listen to you a lot and therefore you think I'm a great person? No. That's good enough. It's better a good lie than a bad truth. Ooh, wisdom. Quote me. Quote me. That's my quote. I don't think it was. I think I've heard that somewhere before. That is my quote. Is it not? Isn't it that famous guy who wrote, like, The Alchemist? You're sure it wasn't him? I have not read any books ever, so it's completely my quote. I actually do think it's my quote, um, because I came up with it probably when I was completely isolated during the worldwide shutdown, where I couldn't touch a person for months. Because then I'd immediately die. Mm hmm. Again, it's all egocentric. Because you would die. Not because they would die, but because you would die. Here you go again. I washed my groceries in my fucking bathtub in Serbia. I feel like you want to talk about that. I need some therapy. I think, yeah, I think you need someone to listen to you on that topic. That's actually why I'm doing this. Yeah. That's it. It's okay. It's a huge ruse. He just needs people to listen about his Yeah, laundry and vegetable washing in a bathtub in Serbia. No, it was like plastic packaging, cans of tuna, uh, bottles of ketchup, anything that came from the store. I washed it. Yeah, I was so scared. I mean, I had reason to be scared. The whole world scared me. I have asthma from when I was a kid. Never had an issue since then, but then they're like, it affects your lungs, uh, which it does, and they're like, John, you're gonna die. Don't ever leave your apartment. And I was like, oh, okay, I'm gonna die. Um. But what, sorry, the sidebar, were you traveling at the time? You said you did leave your apartment, or was it the Serbia apartment you couldn't leave? It was the Serbia apartment, yeah, which was funny because everything was really dangerous until the incumbent president re won his election, then magically it wasn't as dangerous, and we could go outside again. Yes. Everything was very goofy, and then they, uh, would not renew my visa. Even though it was supposed to be super emergency time. So they told me that I had to leave the next day. So I had to get all my stuff and then take a private shuttle. Cause there were no buses running anymore to Zagreb, Croatia. And the border guards were basically freaking out because they didn't want to take anyone because you could spread something unless you had dual citizenship, which pretty much everyone in that entire region has because their history is like a quilt. Very colorful, which meant they were immune. No. Uh, huh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Citizenship means you're immune, especially if you're one of the transportation drivers that drives the shuttle. Especially. Yes. Yes. It was so they just had me so terrified. And then I get to Zagreb and everyone's like, bro, chill out. Let's go have a beer outside and a meal. They quarantined me in a hotel and I get to the hotel and the owners and I said, Hey, uh, so, uh, I guess I'm supposed to be here for two weeks. And he goes, what the fuck are you talking about? You don't have to stay here for two weeks. You're just stay as long as you want, man. And I said, well, I think someone's going to like, check in. He's like, bro, it's Croatia. Enjoy your fucking life. We're all out here at bars drinking and eating and everything and I was like, I can go outside. I can eat. Okay. But you weren't aware of that before you went over. So you were just like, okay, I do actually have to stay in. Like, you really, really don't. Yeah. No, I didn't know that. I didn't know. Well, Serbia was very strict. They were very, very strict. There were some times where you actually couldn't leave your apartment for four days in a row. So you physically were not allowed to walk out the front door of your apartment. Um, other days you just couldn't be outside with anyone who isn't related to you. And everybody that I knew left the city and turns out my relatives aren't Serbian. So it was just weird, but then one of my friends made it to Zagreb and we just had a great time for a week and a half chilling out at the pool in the hostel, getting Coronas delivered to us as we're sitting in the little floaty things. Yes. Like life was, hostel life can be really cool. Yeah. Alright, I realise, or go on, looks like you're thinking. No, I was trying to think of best hostel experiences, but I don't know. I don't know, I still have to categorise them. I think I should have done more prep before I did this podcast of really thinking should have, you are a failure. I'm like, yeah, like I said, the pilgrimage thing in Sri Lanka, can't remember what it's called. The island where I got pickpocketed in Indonesia, can't remember what it's called. I'm not supplying any details, any actual, tangible details to anything I did. Well, you can talk about Um, bigger things, like how was your, was your Asia trip like an Asia trip or just sort of a tail end of another trip or how did that work out? Yeah, it was all individual. For, so I had a pattern for a very long time of doing maternity cover jobs. That's how I got to travel as much as I did. Um, basically when job hunting, I'd look for any jobs, which is maternity cover. So when the lady goes off from work for six to eight months to a year, she leaves her post, but somebody has to fill the post. And then when she decides she wants her job back, you gotta get out. Of course you do, because she's taking her job back. It was never yours, you were just filling in. So, I think from the age of like 21 onwards, really, when I was taking, when I was choosing which jobs I wanted, I would just take these jobs because obviously most of the people don't want them because you know they've got kids, they've got a mortgage, they need security, they've got to pay things on time, whereas all I would do was get that job, whirl away as much money as possible, and then this lady would be like I want my job back and You got it. And of course, you come back to get the job. And they're like, but we haven't got anything else for you. You're gonna have to go. I was like, I 100 percent understood that when I took this job. And they're like, yeah, but we really don't have any, there's nothing else you can do. I'm like, no, I know. I've saved X amount of money. I'm off. And they're like, I'm sorry, what? I'm like, no, I'm really cool with this. This is why I wanted to do it. It also means that now my CV is about six pages long. Because I've done everything you can possibly do in maternity covering, which is also great because you get to try on each job, learn the appropriate skills for the job you want to do. If you like it, you've got the skills to do it, if you're like, that was a waste of time, I never want to do that again, you've had a six to eight month taster, you can write it off. Completely. That's awesome. And if anybody ever asks why you got fired, you're like, well it was a short term contract, because I was filling in to help this lady, to keep her job going, in the meantime, then she came and took it back, so I didn't get fired for any misdemeanors, I just left, because the contract was up, and then I went to go do something, because I was jobless, and now I'm back, like, Oh, that seems legit, which it is. And there's absolutely no blame as to why, you know, you didn't just take a long term career path in a year and go, Ah, I'm going to Thailand again. Screw you. Like, didn't happen. You just had to leave anyway. That's awesome. And then you would just fly, travel for a few months, wait till the money ran out, come back, and then again, apply again, tell them the same thing I told the last people, like, yep, maternity cover. Saved his money, went traveling, back now ready to work for six or eight months till she wants her job back and then it's all hers. Done. And one of those trips was through Japan. Yes, although I can't remember what was before and or after that in terms of job. Yeah. But I remember it three or five weeks I spent there. Wow. Because you know, that's the money burner. This and the next, but yeah, it was good. Did you like the trains? Yeah, it was actually, Hmm. It was actually a 10 year anniversary trip for me and my friend. That's why we went. Oh, that's so cute. I had mine like two years ago. Hey, very nice. Where did you go? Paris. Back to the start. Very nice. Lovely. Paris is my B. I don't take any shit from Paris. I just Is Paris trying to give you shit? That's all it tries to give you. Shit and macaroons. Can you tell the difference? Very important. Paris, Paris for me is like that little kid that's like, That, uh, grabs the cat that wants to get away from it, and he just refuses to let the cat get away from it, and he's just hugging it. Despite, like, losing blood. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me go. Okay, yeah. Some homeless guy once, um, he kicked me when I refused to give him a cigarette. Uh, I was smoking at the time and he just like sort of hit me with his body and then kind of goes to the side, yells for a cigarette, asks for a cigarette. I say no. I keep walking. Middle of the day, middle of the day, Central Paris. And then he kicks me right in my butt and then I turn around. To address the situation, as I turn around, he's so drunk, that when he tries to run away, he falls over on himself, like he trips on himself and falls on the ground, and it's right outside the metro station, there's hundreds of people everywhere, and I just walk up to him, and I'm like, you are so pathetic, man, you're so pathetic, and just walked away. I don't have to give you my cigarettes, I don't have to, and this is what happens, this is absolute karma. Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah. So that was, yeah. Uh, anyway, back to you. That's okay. Japan was supposed to be crazy. I have a problem. No, it's okay. We're all good. Japan was supposed to be crazy. We booked it because we were like, oh, Japan's crazy. It's just insane. It's just going to be just chaos in the middle of everything and everyone and everywhere. We got there and we're like, yeah. Damn, this place is clean and organised. And everything made sense! And everything was on time! And everything was very clearly labelled inside! And the people, when you asked them, were really sweet and very curious and everything worked! And I'm like, okay, this is the tenth year of travelling together, and we've been in crazier places. You know, the little hut with the egg on toast with the chocolate sauce? That kind of stuff, where everything just fell apart. And they were like, oh, it's that way. There was no haggling, there was no mismanagement of signing. I mean, yeah, check in time was precise, but it was very clear. It was very clear. You know? Yeah. It was all good. And we're like, Ah, this actually, Although it's a very different culture, In no way was it like being Air dropped into the middle of nowhere. It was like, Actually this makes more sense than my hometown. The thing that Even though I knew beforehand, I still couldn't believe is the long distance trains are accurate to the minute and there will be multiple trains coming within a 10 minute time span. Yes, and the people on the platforms, they really will take care of you. And if they think that maybe you're getting on the wrong train or just for any reason, they'll help you out. Oh, no, that comes in 2 minutes. Like, what do you mean? It comes in 2 minutes. There's a train here. Already. They're like, oh no, in the span of two minutes, this train is going to leave, another train is going to come, all the people are going to get off, and then all the people are going to get on. In the span of two minutes. Yes. I think, I think this is probably common knowledge, but for anybody who doesn't know, you know, in, I'm going to call them trash cans, so I can fill in with, fit in with your culture. Uh, there aren't any trash cans in Japan. I think, not to say that, not to say that my mind is this small or the highlights of my trip would be this. But one of my Japan highlights is this wonderful woman, I don't remember anything else about her, young woman, with those tiny little, you know, sweets, like a toffee or a candy that you'd open just by pulling the corner off, you have to pull it down rather than unwrapping it twisty style. And she pulled off the corner of it, and it floated down the street, and she's like, And she went after it! She went after the tiny corner of plastic that blew out of her hand when she'd ripped the bag open. And she went to go get it, and she picked it up and put it in her pocket, and she's like, Ah, I'm like, this is actual magic. There are no bins everywhere, but there's no litter anywhere, I mean, Osaka aside, you know. All of a little village is not a speck of any plastic, straws, cigarette butts, nothing. Anywhere. And, yeah, she would have never forgiven herself. She would have like gone home and flogged herself, had she let this tiny corner of plastic float away in the wind for further than it did. She got it, and the relief that overcame her was just, it was beautiful. I was like, that's conscientious. That's so nice. You don't realize how clean a place can be until you go to Japan. And they're quite famous for being racist. They're quite famous for being racist there. And let's say ethnocentric. I tell you, after two weeks. I was racist against my own people. Maybe I need to cut that out. But after two weeks, I was like, why can't we be better like this? Why can't we have cities without cigarette butts on the ground or trash on the ground? When I arrived in Tokyo. It was so clean. It was 10 p. m. at night. I'm standing in front of my hostel. Nobody spoke English. It was so hard to get to the right place. And I'm just looking at the glow on the street. Nobody around. Everything too clean to look real. Just amazing. You could eat off the street. It's unbelievable. It is absolutely unbelievable. Like, you know, in what culture would that tiny piece of something fall on the floor and be like, Is it worth it? You'd at least have a second of like, I know I should, but will I really? No doubt in that woman's mind. There wasn't a second where she was like, I'm gonna have to leave it. No. No. It would dishonor our whole family if she'd let that tiny piece of plastic go down the street. They'd lose their samurai status. Absolutely. Yeah, that's great. It was just a wonderful thing. I forgot that that's the only place where I would come home with trash in my pockets. Yes. Every day. Because you're walking around, you're snacking, and then you just have trash in every single pocket. Because, like you said, there's no trash cans anywhere. There's nowhere to put it. You have to take it home with you. Everything you just had, put it in your pocket and take it home. If you're smoking. Because we just don't. Yeah. You have a separate container for the cigarette butts. Yeah. Yeah, you do. It's very manageable. It just makes it your responsibility. You don't put it on a council or, I don't know, a community to then go around emptying all the bins from everywhere. You've just got to deal with it yourself. And they do. Wonderful. I think that's something that a lot of us have heard before we go to Japan. It just doesn't affect you until you see it in practice. And then once you actually see it in practice, you're like, I should be better. Yeah. I don't need to throw my cigarette butts on the ground. No. No, I can not do that. Also, I have a question that we may need to cut. I don't know. In terms of Japanese racism, what's the hierarchy? Do they hate everyone who's not Japanese? Or is it specifically the people who smell a lot like sour milk being us? I thought we smelled like wet dogs. Oh, I thought we smelled like sour milk. I know we have a scent. What the hell are you eating? That's unusual. What do you smell? Okay. Well, we eat lots of dairy. We eat lots and lots of dairy, which they don't. So I thought that's why we smelt like curdled milk. You're making it worse every time you describe it. Take a shower. We as people, not, I don't know. Okay, set up, we're in a Japanese beer garden at 3 a. m. Somebody walks in, that I don't know, who happens to be from Japan, and I go, Do I smell like sour milk? Opening question. That's how I'm making friends. 3 a. m. Beer garden. Absurd question. At a stranger. Done. Fixed. In Japan? Or this is the next thing you're gonna do? Well if that's how I meet friends, I think next time I'm in a beer garden at 3 a. m. someone walks in I don't know. I'm just gonna hit them with a question. Do I smell like sour milk? What do you think of men with beards? That's like the beginning of, of your own story. The how I met your mother story. How I met your father. How did I meet your mother? I smelled like curdled milk. And he said, I don't know. Let's grab a drink. Could be. I'm not convinced. I think that generally Of course, it's a generalization, but for anyone who's gone to Japan, it's so, it's just so abundantly apparent. It's so clear. I think they put themselves above everyone and then below them. But like, clearly, because some people say they do this everywhere. It's particularly in your face in Japan. Below that, I'm sure there's a hierarchy. I don't know exactly what it is. I know in China, there's a. Very clear and well documented hierarchy below them, but in Japan, I don't know. Exactly. It's just, you'll go to certain places. Like, 1 of my favorite neighborhoods, golden guy in Tokyo, where they have 100 or more of these tiny little bars. That can see between 8 and 20 people depending on the size. Yeah. That was redundant. And about a third of them outside will have signs that say Japanese speakers only. Ah. Japanese is not like Spanish or French or German or Italian. Yeah. It is, it, the barrier to learning the language is extremely high. And then what I learned is that, yeah, that's just so only Japanese people will go in there. And then we found one bar. There's a bunch that don't have that on it. But then we found one that said English speakers only. Because the owner, each one is owner operated. The owner wanted to talk to foreigners. And we went in there and he spoke very little English. But we spent hours drinking and having the best time with that guy. And he's showing us all of his baseball memorabilia because it's huge there. He's got signed baseballs from all the big famous Japanese stars. Wow. Anime. He's got, uh, animes huge there, like their version of cartoons. Um, and he's got signed drawings, custom drawings from all the top artists and everything, and just the coolest dude I ever met. But yeah, as far as hierarchy goes, I think it's just Japan first, everyone down here, and then down here is probably a few different levels. We did get, uh, rejected from a few eateries and restaurants where they just said, we're closed. And we looked around, I'm like, It's six o'clock and there's literally 150 people here. Yeah, I can see you're still veg prepping. Like, you haven't shot anything. You're actually still doing that. Yeah. There was one guy who just left his stall when we walked in and it was me and I didn't even have a big beard. So I looked more like, I don't know, presentable. Yeah, and a gal who looked presentable from the hostel and we just walked in and right as we walked into his it was like a hole in the wall stall with maybe four people inside and then eight people sitting on plastic chairs outside in the middle of Tokyo super cool. We walk in he's cooking chicken and he immediately just walks out. He doesn't say anything. He just left. And we didn't know what was going on. So we stayed there for like 15 minutes because we're like, Oh, he's just going to get some more ingredients for the food, but he didn't even turn off the fire. So the chicken is burning, there's smoke coming up from it. And then we realized the four people in there had stopped talking. The people outside had stopped talking and we're the only two foreigners. And he's not coming back. No. He's like, till they go, I'm out. Yeah, but nobody told us, so. He risks burning down his business by over serving you. He's like, I'm gonna leave that on. I'm not even gonna turn that on. I'm gonna leave that on. And if it all burns down to hell with it, but I don't have to see their faces. I'm not serving god damn foreigners. Yeah. Although, as another Japan story, I was there at Halloween. I was there for Halloween in Osaka. And I've never seen so many Spider Men together. I think there was like a group of 27 Spider Men going around together, all as themselves. Although the only other thing that I thought was different, they do many traditional, you know, uh, traditional Characters you'd expect on Halloween. Lots of American Army uniformed Japanese people. I would not have expected that to be a preferred costume. Didn't really think about it, but I was like, Oh, Halloween. Ah, American Army soldiers. Yeah, I think. From which era? I don't know, just the general, like, camouflage that the, um, the black, brown and green with the boots was like a, yeah. Yeah. Lots of them. I was like, okay, this is a thing. Okay. Got you. Yeah. Mm hmm. I see we've gotten over some things. Mm hmm. Yeah. It's not like, I'm just too observed. Didn't think that would be Okay. I didn't realize until I spent more time over there and I started to make friends over there. Because you just don't know until you go there, right? You're, everything you learn is just based on where you're from. Yeah. Countries and groups of people over there, the hatred that they have for each other is so far beyond what we can even understand. Yeah. And I don't remember if it's between South Korea and China or China and Japan or all of the different countries like South Korea, China, Japan, and then some of the other ones down in the more southerly parts, but they like some of the things that happened in World War Two, you know, they still talk about them. They still bring them up. It's still really affects them. Yeah, and that's why it surprises me to hear you say that, but I think their animosity for each other And I don't know that much about it. Someone correct me is just you know, like they tell us in the u. s How much all of us hate each other? We really don't just the politicians taking advantage of you and then once you oh my gosh I know a lot about the Balkans once you get your ass over there You know, you're taught in the u. s. That you hate someone because of how they look that's what they teach you Right, you don't even know that you hate them, but you do. Oh my god. Anyway, you get over to the Balkans and You'll be In an area where two cities, they're all like blood relatives. Everyone looks exactly the same and they've hated each other for like 10, 000 years. Yes, this running feud that's like going on and on and on. Yeah. It's very interesting. It's very crazy, but I love Japan. I always had a nice time there. Whenever I was not allowed to be somewhere, they were always super polite about it, which made it even more funny and confusing. Interesting. Yes. And, um, bowing. I love that. I love when you buy something in 7 Eleven, how they give you a little bow. And you're like, Arigatou gozaimasu. And then if you bow back at them, because I didn't know what else to do. Yeah. Then they bow. And I'm like, oh. Could we keep this going for all afternoon? Like with other customers queuing up and you're saying, I'm just getting on with this thing, yeah. I don't know when to stop when it's too fun. Because usually the 7 Eleven employees in America are like, get the fuck out of here. Yeah, that's the right change, whatever, get out, yeah. I don't know, but Don't make eye contact. I think that's a way of kind of trying to connect with people in other cultures, isn't it? That you kind of mirror their, their What they do you kind of try to do it back even though obviously it looks absurd when we do it We know this isn't you're handling thing with two hands to us feels really weird But if they get I do that as I try and do it back. Yeah, I love that. I still do that to this day It's so fun and it's like Reverence for the money and for the person you're giving it to I forgot that they do that. Yeah, I do that now That's really sweet. Although I suppose is it A negative part of that, if I meet people who have quite a significant stutter, I do stutter back at them because I'm trying to mirror them to make me feel more comfortable. That's not how it works. No, and they think I'm, you know, taking the piss out of what they just said. And I'm like, no, I'm just absorbing your behavior and mirroring it to put you at ease. And they obviously look at me like, you don't have a s But, you know, actually, small side story, I went to Australia the first time. I, uh, lost my voice. I don't know if it's because of the altitude or the humidity. I don't know what happened. It was a random phenomenon and for about a week, I had no voice. I just couldn't speak and it didn't matter who I spoke to. I'd go up to them and be like, bus ticket. And they'd just be like, the heck did you want to go? You can speak. I can hear you. But I get like, It doesn't make my stuttering back at people who stutter so weird now. Because they're just like, no, I'm not talking like this because it's funny or because I'm hiding from someone. I, my voice is, well, you don't have to, fine, just give me the bus ticket. We need to do this experiment. Everyone, all seven of you watching this, just whisper to the cashier the next time you buy something. Yeah, and don't do it too much. Don't do the little, don't, no, but don't do the little, like, like, don't do that first. Just go, just don't act like you're on the run. Just, just whisper to them and see what they do back, if they whisper back, like, well, you can actually talk, what you do. Can I pay with it? No, it's just awkward. That sounds awesome. I love that. So all the Arzies were whispering. Mm hmm. Yeah. My wine has gone. What are you on? Red? Classic red? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. I didn't like white. That's a couple drops. Better than zero drops. I didn't like white wine that much until I had a good white wine in Croatia. Right on the main drag was a little expensive, but I figured let's try it. It's my first time allowed outside since COVID or outside enjoying myself. And then when I went to Southern California, I don't know, middle California. Napa Valley's like, middle, whatever, who cares. It's all on fire now. Um. I've heard about that. Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah. I accidentally, I just can't help myself. I accidentally might have asked people if they're bringing marshmallows. Like the people who are there and sending me videos, like, can you go get some marshmallows? And then it just got way worse. I don't know, it seemed funny. You know, you give 10 jokes, maybe one is funny. That's good enough. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's good in the future. Yeah, but that's how some of the comics work it, don't they? They have those kind of, um, you know, trial nights where they go and they're like, right, I'm going to tell you all the material I've got, test it on the audience, see how much it makes them laugh, see if it's changed a couple of words, see how they get on with it, and I'll just filter it all out. It's like a massive audience sieve process, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, I think so. I don't know what the hell sieve means, but, um Sieve! Civ. Like what? Civilization? No! Like, when you get flour and you put flour in a thing with the metal Oh! In a sieve! Yeah! To sieve. To sift. Are you making up words, British lady? Sieve! No! A sieve! Like for flour! Well, I know the word sift. I didn't know it was sieve. Civ. I'm sure it's Civ. I knew it was Civ. My English is amazing. Especially when they tell me to sound out French words. Who's telling you to do that? Stop hanging out with them. With who? British people? No, who's telling you to sound out French words? I have trauma from grade school. Ah, okay. It was a thing that was happening. It's not happening anymore. Stop now. Okay, we're good. No, but I love French people. I just really love French people. I didn't realize how well I'd get along with French people until I came to Europe. The guys, the gals, I love them. They're just a riot. Do you speak French? No, not really. Um, it doesn't matter. It was just a curious question. I'm quite good at getting everything that I want in French, but I think my level of French embarrasses them. So they all magically speak really good English after I speak French to them. Yes. Okay. Um, but I do actually like So those examples are not copying your behavior. They see what you do and go hard the other way. Yeah, they're, they're pretty much offended. They think I'm butchering their language. And then I'm like, tell me how you say 90 again. It's really weird. It's like 40 times two plus 10, something like that. It's a really goofy, but anyway, I love French. I love French people. My French is hilarious and it's very oriented to what I love to do there, which is manger, blah, blah, blah. I like to enjoy cultural and historical experiences. Um, but no, I, the attitude of the people there is just so great as long as they're not from Paris. I mean, I love me some Paris people, but the ones that are outside of Paris are just so awesome. So down to earth. They are dicks about their food, but the passion that they have for their food is Exciting. It's beyond exciting. You just watch them talk about their food from home. I'm like, you're such a dick for not eating the local food here. But I do love to hear you talk about the food at home. I was just gonna say, are you trying to tell me about living in a place where people are really super proud of their food? Is that how it is in Bologna? Italy as a whole thing. So, you know, I don't know if you know the story of why I decided to learn Italian. I figured you eat, pray, loved your way there. Well, I went to Bali first, I did it the wrong way around. Where did she go? Wait, she goes to Italy, she goes to Bali, then she goes to, where did she go? I don't know. I didn't, I skipped the pray part, so I just did eating and loving. India, of course, pray, India. Don't know where I haven't been since. Flawless, flawless. Anyway, so I learned languages in school and obviously being, you know, from England, English speaking country, we did German for one hour a week. And of course, when you're 13, raging hormones, everything going around. Of course, what you're really focused on is a language that you believe is completely useless and nobody actually speaks and they all speak English anyway, so fuck them. Because that was what we think. And so, outside of the one hour a week, of course, where you're also not paying attention, you don't use it at all. And then in the third year of secondary school, we started, we started learning French. And I think I learned what you just talked about, 80 is 40 times 2 plus 10. And I was like, no, no, no, I will not be learning this language. No, that was it. I was already decided in that whole year that I learned it. So those, you know, 40 hours that I learned it that year, I was already out. I was completely not playing that game. And then I remembered from my German lessons, the thing, the only thing I liked about learning German was the episodes. Talk about the lessons where the speeches. Yeah. No, no. Where we learn about how to order food. I was really interested in that. If I can go to the country and make sure I get the food that I want. Yeah. I can talk about the ingredients. I can talk about all of these things. Those are the only lessons I actually paid attention in. And then I was like, when I finally grew up, I was like, so I don't want to speak a second language. Like I want to learn a language that basically only ever talks about food. Cause that, that really interests me. And I was like, There's only one answer. There's only one answer, because about 60 to 70 percent of all of our conversations are about food. I was in a bus station in Bologna not long ago, listening to a man describe in great detail exactly how to make this aubergine dish. on the phone to someone. And I was sitting there like, it's true. It's actually happening. I know. I know you said eggplant. It was so amazing. It was so cool. I was listening to him. He's like, you put this and you put that and make sure you get the tomatoes from here and not there and this and then season with this, leave it for this long. And I was like, this is an actual conversation he's having on the phone, in a bus station, talking someone through making this dish correctly. Just, I can't get enough of it. I cannot get enough of it. It's so good. Best language in the world. Sorry. Every other language. Yeah, it's beautiful. I love it. But we got to do a little uh, french tour sometime. I keep every time I do one of these Types of tours. I end up doing them on my own Scheduling is just a bitch Um, but when I went to dijon and I was there for a few days And I didn't know anything about it except for that there's the mustard, but I had a rule. So I learned a lot about it when I was there in the wine region. And, uh, what is it? What is it? What is it? Burgundy. That's the region. And I had a rule, which was that I can only have one wine. At each cafe and every morning I have to go to a different bakery for breakfast and I have to eat a different item. So that's the rule. So if I want anything else, I have to go to a 2nd bakery. If I want another glass of wine, I have to go to a 2nd cafe and I just made it into a fun little game. And so since all the places there have their regional wines, the wine menus are the same. So you just start at the upper left and then you go down. One. Yeah. Then you go to the next bar. Number two. Number three. As long as you can last until it's time for dinner.? Yes and yes. It was just so fun and I was like, yeah, re rouge. I know my French is perfect. Done but by the wine. The end of the day. And what you're done. You got your wine mission accomplished. Yes. And by the end of the day, and after a few wines, I started to get a good accent, and it was really fun. But did you? Or was that just in your head, because you'd drunk enough wine? You know what? Nobody likes you, Susie. It was a question! It was so much fun. It was so the funny thing is people are very nice when they find that you have a good attitude and when you're not in the biggest tourist city. So you're not in London. You're not in Paris. You're not in shithole Berlin or Brussels. Um, and. They loved how much I loved their stuff. Yeah. And I said, listen, I only want wine. I'm sorry? I'm not proud of that stuff. I love it so much because I'm so tired of people in America and some of the places I hang out going, Oh, I hate what we have. Oh, I hate us. Oh, it's this. Oh, it's that. I'm like, bitch, you have a dryer. So I don't know if you know this, but I'm on a big shtick, a big thing about dryers. It's like the whole world doesn't have dryers. Everybody in America has a freaking dryer. So you don't, if you have a dryer, you don't get to complain to me about anything. I don't have a dryer. Yeah. It's like a normal thing to not have a dryer. We just don't realize it. We don't have that perspective because we don't go anywhere where there is no dryer available to us. And then it's really funny. The first time you don't have a dryer, all your clothes come back way too big. Because when you have a dryer, your clothes expand when you wear them, and then they shrink back to your normal size. But then we get the Europeans who come to the U. S. who've never used a dryer, like their t shirts. And not to make a generalization. But with my general knowledge of the state of American food, you're going to need those clothes to be a bit more expanded rather than having them shrinking now, yes? Yeah, if you want to indulge in our culture, you better buy some clothes a few sizes too big at the start of your journey. Actually, fun story, when I came to, because I've only ever been to New York, so by this state, I'm not, I'm not saying that, you know, I've been to America, I spent nine days in New York and I know everything, but the first thing I did when I got there, Almost. Whereas I went to, uh, an American pharmacy, and I wanted some teeth whitening toothpaste. Because I know that you guys will let any chemicals through. You know what I mean? You'll let all the chemicals in. I'll be like, look, this shit's gonna work. Like, in the UK, it's basically just baking powder with a bit of lemon juice in it, it's all nothing. I was like, this stuff is gonna burn the enamel off of my teeth and expose the white bone center of my teeth. I know it is. I was so happy. Congratulations. They worked a treat. Yeah, you don't have the stereotypical British smile. You've got a very lovely smile. No, not so much. Very straight, no braces. Do you call them braces? No braces. That's impressive. What did you say? What do you, what do you, do you call them braces? Is that what you call them? Teeth braces? Yeah. Okay. We just say braces. I also did not have braces, but now I kind of wish that I had them. They pretty much look good, except for the bottom, has like, two little things, but I I like that you said that, but then specifically just went Yeah, I'm feeling them. and didn't show your teeth at all. Yeah. I'm gonna grow my mustache over it. Mm hmm. Yeah, that was a funny thing. When I went to the UK, not everybody has, uh, teeth like Jeremy Clarkson. When I went to France, turns out the women do shower. I think we should bust through some stereotypes. I think we should do that. I think we should use this podcast to get through them, because I don't stereotypes. It's very annoying. Although I found that the Japanese ones to be incredibly accurate, and that's what was so funny for me. But in, in Europe, what, yeah, what are some Italian ones? I bet they have a ton for themselves. I don't know. I don't, I don't know. I'm gonna, I'm gonna not play ball on this one and not perpetuate any stereotypes. And I think this just could, could be. Because of my, I'm going to say slight, which is not true, my trauma of trying to date in Italy, which is most people are like, Oh, you're English. And then they just barrage you with stereotypes of what English people do and this and that and that and this. I'm like, okay, but, oh, you could just talk to me. Some of these things will be true, some of them will not, but you haven't actually had a conversation with me at all. You've just told me. About what you think I am, or who you think I will be, without actually talking to me at all. And I'm like, surprise, I will remember you tomorrow. Yeah. And you're like, oh, do you snap spaghetti? Do you like drinking cups of tea? Do you like doing this? And I'm like, where's the conversation? There is no conversation. I have to say, when I am traveling and I meet someone from a country, especially if it's a country I don't see them very often, and if I can understand that they may take it well, I'd love to throw out a ton of stereotypes, just to sort of see how they react, and just to sort of see if they're like, how much you like McDonald's? My abs are one of my pet peeves. I think it's just because I was absolutely like, bludgeoned to death with stereotypes so often. And I was like, I love a cup of tea. Not all of us do, but I do, and it's fine, but just ask me if I like tea, don't just Alright, listen. Yeah. What? This is important. How much do you love crumpets? Oh my god. I would give one of my limbs. Absolutely. Also, fun question. I haven't asked any people this recently. No, it's true. But it's just The holes are there so you can just absorb more butter into the holes like it's a sensory experience the teeth Yeah, I'm giving a limb, I'm giving a limb, that's how I'm exchanging it. I don't care. I love that. I just yeah, it's like asking an Australian how much they like Vegemite Oh, I do love Vegemite as well, actually. Yeah. I don't understand. I don't think I've had it correctly, because they were just taking the piss out of me when I had it in London. So I had a spoonful do with it? I had a spoonful of it. Get it neat. Get it raw. Scoop it out on a spoon. Yeah. And they were recording videos. Actually, I think it was my video. And it was just a disaster. It was horrible. It was good fun. My roommates were horrible and amazing at the same time, some of them are probably in jail. Um, they were doing the lovely two year work stay visa in the UK that all the Aussies do. Yeah. We just lived in, it wasn't the worst apartment, it was just horrible. I'm sure there are worse, but we all knew Are you saying that because it didn't have a dryer? That's a good one. That's a good one. Get over it. Yeah. The um, we all knew that we were safe with each other. So that was good. Because some of the apartments you go to there, you're like, I think my roommate's gonna murder me. I don't know that I feel comfortable here. Uh, anyway, we're on like three separate tangents. Was it the stereotype thing? What was before the stereotype thing? Before the stereotype thing? We did copying other people's behavior. I love that whisper thing. I like to try that. We did, yeah, stereotypes. Talking about languages, languages where you, uh, talk about food, we talked about that. What other Asian countries did you, did you go to Thailand? Uh, yeah. Yeah, I did. I was very, very young. It was my first ever solo trip. Well, it wasn't a solo trip, actually. It was best of my plan myself. 19. Five weeks. Oh, that special age that you were talking about earlier. Yeah, American boyfriend at the time. Yeah. Aw, very cute. Ended like a trash fire. Anyway. He left you for the ladyboy. Say again? He ended up with a ladyboy? He left you for the ladyboy. Don't know, not to my knowledge, but, I don't know. Did you go there with him, or were you on your own? Yeah, I booked the whole thing, so I organized our visas, got everything sorted, we went there together, spent five weeks together. Oh, you're a little planner. Yeah, I used to be, I don't plan anymore. Yeah, I don't plan anymore. I don't plan anymore. I think COVID ruined me because I had so many plans of everything I wanted to do and all these things and like massive like police boards with the red string and tape and stuff and everything, how everything was going to go and then COVID just shat on it and now I'm just like I don't plan even tomorrow and it's very frustrating for many other people like what next week? I'm like next week? Next week isn't a time frame that I reference I don't know what next week is so don't have any more long term goals no long term plans I can see a couple of days ahead, but I don't really, don't really do future stuff much anymore. Ruin me. How did you get to Italy? What made you go to Bologna? Uh, well, a job contract was finishing at the same time I was moving out of my house, at the same time that Brexit was finalizing, and I haven't got any European family connections, not even Irish. As in, it's all landlocked in the UK, and much as we've been talking about, I love to travel. And I knew that it was coming in, and I think that, I don't know if it's in a calendar year, or in six months, I don't know. After Brexit finalised, you can only spend 90 days. in Europe and then you had to go back and stay there. I'll go somewhere else. I don't know what it is. But for the rest of the year, for the rest of the six months, you couldn't even enter again. I was like, that doesn't sound very good. I'm going to go see if I can get in. And if I can, great. And if not, I don't suffer much from shame. I tried it. It didn't work. I went home and it worked. I'm still there. That makes sense. That's good. Yeah. That's what we have to do. We get 90 days. It just sucks that you're so much closer and you have the Euro star and everything. But that's all, it's all our own fault. It's all our own fault. We voted for it. So, when I say we, obviously I didn't vote for it. But I mean, it was voted for. We, we discussed it. We agreed. We don't want to be part of Europe. So, I just tried to vote and then I voted with my feet. Put myself in Europe. So what were you doing in Albania? I was there for a birthday party. Whose birthday party did you go to Albania for? An Albanian girl. That makes sense. Yes. Her family lived around the corner from the hostel, you see. So she was one of four sisters. Yes. Poor dad. Yeah, one of four sisters and it was her birthday. So we'd gone there and then I was sitting at the hostel so I could go around there. I think maybe I came back from her birthday party when I met you. I can't quite remember it all blows together. But yeah. That was a good time. What did you think of Albania when you were there? It's really Interesting. My resounding memory of it was that it was, it was August and everything was just warm. It was warm from the moment you woke up to the moment you went to sleep. It was just boiling, boiling hot. Yeah. I'm glad I had friends there already. I'm glad that I was already friends with the Albanians that I knew and the Albanians that we met and picked up along the way. I think that helped a lot. Uh, but from my understanding of Albania, it's mainly everything happens in Tirana. There's a little bit of stuff on the South coast, but You know, everybody is in Tirana, basically, I could be wrong, but that's it. Yeah, I spent a bunch of time there. It's getting worse now every year because now that, um, girls realize that they're safe there, they're planning girls trips there. And that's a sign that it's going the way of Thailand. Everything is just going to get overrun. I won't go there over the summer anymore. I'm just done with it. Okay. How long were you there when you were there that time? Was it August, 2021? Yeah, if we remember rightly. So, wow, I actually spent a long time there. So that would have been nine or ten months. Okay. It was a pretty bleak nine or ten months though, uh, because there would be more rules than no rules, than more rules, and the hostel was closed, but they had some interesting permanent guests. Yes. Which I would love to be able to tell the story of. It's just, I gave one guy five dollars. To buy cat food. And then I heard that he was eating the cat food. The guest. He said, can you give me five? It's not euros is it? They don't work on it. Yeah. Yeah. So 500 lek basically. Yeah. He said, can you give me 500 leks of cat food? You said yes. Yeah, because there were cats that were there. But you didn't No, no, no, no, no, no, no. He did not divulge the purpose of what he was using the cat food for, and you didn't ask. You fulfilled your part of that bargain, he went and he did genuinely buy cat food. Yeah. And those poor little cats did not get fed. Well, exactly. Of course, if he'd said Hey bro, can you give me five hundred leks so I can go and buy some cat food and eat it myself? You're like, no, you have serious problems. Go away. So of course he left out the part of how that was benefiting him. And the benefit to him was not watching the joyous little kittens get some food. It was him having some nutritious cat food. Do you just see him? Is he just in the common room just eating the cat food? I have to tell you these stories when it's not being recorded. There's so many. They're so funny. Are they all centered around this guy? Not just him. No. But like that whole time frame, things were beyond crazy. Yes. And I don't really know how, you know, I'm a saint. No. If I say that, I should cut that, because if I say that and say nothing else, then people will think that I did bad things. Anyway, there are stories that I'm not, uh, ready to share in a recorded format yet. Yes. Absolutely. That's the beauty of traveling, is that you meet so many interesting, different people. From all walks of life. Yeah. And especially if they are older, they have stories to tell. If you see anybody over 50 in a hostel, buy them a drink and ask them stories. And they will happily talk to you. Absolutely. I don't know about Natalie, but I don't want to talk to them. That's not, no. Never happened. Yeah. And they'll tell you stuff like one of my friends, he's over 70. He travels, he doesn't stay in hostels as much anymore, but pre COVID things were a lot different. And so we would frequent a lot of the same hostels together and travel together sometimes. And it's really fun to listen to him and other people in his age group, tell you about traveling before the wall fell in former Soviet countries or in Yugoslavia. When you're with an old, older fellow like that, an aged, a learned man. Yeah. You will also get entry to the old men of the country that you're in. Because they do old men stuff and they welcome them. And so we got to hear a lot of the stories of Albania when they still had, I think it was, was it Hoxha? Is it Invar Hoxha or am I thinking of a different country? Anyway, when their dictator was there, you'll hear people tell about stories and it's just so interesting and so crazy and so different from what we have now. Like they didn't have refrigerators, no one could afford a refrigerator, just crazy little things like that. It's very interesting. Hmm. I think I'm not so I wouldn't say I'm particularly worried about aging, but there is something I am worried about which is that I mean, I moved to Italy when I was 31 and basically every year. I've been adopted for Christmas, like a lovely Italian family, and it's always been a different family, by the way. They've just picked me up, and had Christmas dinner with me. I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll come in, let's all have Christmas together. They're very welcoming, wonderful, lovely people, couldn't recommend them highly enough. Obviously, they can also teach me about their food. Wonderful conversations, I understand completely. But, there will come a time in my life, you know, you can't adopt, like a 57 year old woman and take her home for Christmas. Like, why don't you have a family of kids? Are you alright? Did you find her at a bus stop? You know, being like, you know, early 20s, late 20s, possibly early 30s, there must be a time limit. In which you can't say, oh we found a 63 you can't, you can't be adopted by a family for Christmas when you're out age, the oldest, you know. No, I don't want this to stop. I don't wanna stop being adopted for Christmas. Mm-hmm. And I'm not just for, I'm not for life. I can just be for Christmas. That is okay. That can be my tagline. I'm fine with that. You can then release me back into the streets. I just would like a meal and a hug. That'd be nice.. Well just adopt me for a Christmas. That's like a be nice and drunk and kick me out again. It's like we're all good. Maybe they were just trying to hook you up with their son, Giuseppe. Not just Giuseppe, you know. No, they actually didn't try and do it. No, they didn't do that either. They're not trying to do that either. I'm surprised when I was three, I think two months, maybe, maybe three months, two months and one of the beach towns in Albania during its low season or mid to low season. So there was pretty much nobody there after a month. I like routines. And after a month of going to the same coffee shop between five and 6 a. m. Because the sunrises are really nice. You want to be on the beach for them. It's worth it. The gal who ran it, who we just called the mayor, because that was the only coffee shop that was open. So everything would happen there. All the police would go there. Everyone who woke up early. It was the hub, the epicenter of everything. And she managed it because she gave out the caffeine in the morning. Yes. Yeah, and also alcohol. Rakia. Brandy. Oh yeah, yeah. The old men. It's like once I get over 60, they need one of those in the morning to loosen up the joints. And at one point she asked me how long I was going to be there and if I would like to meet either her daughter or some other gal who is from there. Yeah. Okay. And I thought it was, it was, it was funny. It was cool. It was interesting. It was exciting. It's like, I'm being accepted as a local now. Also they don't have enough men here. They're trying to like, take me, get me to keep the village population alive. I, I'm now thinking of two. Separate things. One of them which we might have to cut, but you can obviously be the judge of that, you know what you're doing, I presume. Um, lots of people did offer me money in Albania to marry me. But I think that was for passport reasons. How much money did you get off? You're talking about like 20 bucks? I don't, I camels were you worth? It was definitely money, money. Not, not, you know. Really? Yeah, it was money, money. But I didn't entertain the conversation long enough to, because they seemed quite enthusiastic about it. I thought it was like, well, how much money? They'd think I was open to actually discussing the possibility, the possibility of it being real. So I just, again, shut that down immediately. I was like, well, for you, I was like, no, no, don't tell me how much. I just, I'm not going to do that. And then once you learn, it's not a joke, you're like, Oh, let's not, I knew pretty soon on. Cause again, I was friends with some Albanians who were then like, yeah, he's not joking. So I was like, okay, they're like, do not entertain this. Shut this down as soon as possible. So I did. So I don't know prices. I don't know what it is. Someone else can do that research. I was not into that. So I went to a party with the friend and lots of her relatives. When I first arrived at the first night before I came and checked into the hostel. And there was a lovely lady there. Lovely lady. Absolutely lovely. Uh, she danced with me at this birthday party. Albanians like to dance. You probably know this. They're wonderful at dancing. They're so great. They were very glamorous and it was just, I don't dance. That you can't, by the way, you can't say that. Go to an Albanian birthday party. I, I dare you to say I don't dance and think you can just stay sat down. You cannot stay sat down. You have to go and you have to dance. Anyway. And so I was dancing with her. She was really lovely. She was great. We were having a wonderful time. And then obviously I've visited the family home a few more times and everything throughout this, you know, little trip while I was there. And, uh, at some point I hadn't seen her at any more family gatherings and I was like, oh, where's, where's she? Where's she gone? She's really nice. I remember she was very welcoming, very kind, and they all kind of looked at each other like, and I was like, why? What's happened to her? Where is she? What's, what, is she okay? They're like, yeah, she's okay. We just, I didn't really want to tell you about it. I'm like, okay, I'm really freaking out now. And I'm really generally accepting of most things, including the thing that I was then told, which was apparently the fact that she'd, in the few days after we'd met, she'd got into a van and smuggled herself into the UK. Thought into a Ry, I thought were gonna something way worse. No. Got got into a lurry, gone somewhere to a ferry port, gone across in the ferry port was now illegal living in the uk, which is to my knowledge she's still doing. And I was like, yeah, I don't care. Like I genuinely don't care. As long as she's happy, as long as she's doing well. And I, you know, I've spoken to other people about this not in serious way, her, the how dare she shouldn't be. I was like, no, I'm not bothered. I don't literally know the fuck's given. But then we really didn't wanna tell me this. And I was like, well, that's all she's. I, I don't, I don't really have an opinion on that. Um, you know, like I'm not so worried about her. I was at her birthday party. I mean, she also asked me to marry her and I said no. So she obviously realized she had no other options. So she got herself into a fight. But it's more that my concern was, is she okay? I mean, I know that doing these, not from personal experience, but doing these ferry crossings and sneaking into vehicles and, you know, going through all of these, like, there's a serious risk, you know, people have closed themselves in fridges, not realizing that obviously you can't breathe for very long inside a fridge. You can really. No, my only concern is, is that lovely woman that I met a few days ago okay? And then she did arrive in the UK, and she's fine. This is like an old babushka? No, I think she was younger than me. Oh, I imagine some hobbling old lady's like, I'm going to the UK for some tea and crumpets, bye bye! No, I think she was younger than me, she was just looking to have It's, again, I'm not saying this from my own perspective, she wanted a better life, she wanted better opportunities, she wanted a place to be with better something, more security, I don't want to put words in this woman's mouth, I don't know what she was looking for, but that's what she wanted and she couldn't find a way to get in, as I said, I turned her down for marriage, another person, gutted, heart ripped out. So they really did, uh, want the visa. Yeah, no, they did. Yeah, no, I genuinely believe it, which is why I didn't say, oh, by how much are we talking? Because they're going to a cash point. I'm like, no, no. There's a lot of them that have citizenship in Italy, a ton, ton, ton, ton, ton. And a lot of them that also went to Western Europe as well because of what happened in the 90s. It's super Interesting, but not happy. Um, his recent history. Yeah. But I didn't know they were still doing that. Yeah. Yeah. Albania is super interesting. But the one thing about it, it has, did you ever see the movie Taken? Liam Neeson. Yeah. Yeah. No, I've never seen it. Paris gets kidnapped. No, no, I've definitely never. I haven't watched. A lot of films. I haven't seen many. Oh wow, okay. Minus 5 I do know that you shouldn't piss off Liam Neeson. I am aware of that. I don't care what's happening. Never on the wrong side of the You're never gonna win. Even when he's 80. He'll Steven Seagal you. They have a certain reputation in Western Europe. Albanians. But in Albania It's so safe. It's just so unbelievably safe. They don't shit where they eat. Wonderful. So wonderful. So nice. Yeah. And I have not been anywhere else in Europe where I've been so often offered things and you can form good relationships with people very quickly and genuine relationships with them. I mean, I became friends with a guy I met at the print shop and occasionally we message each other on Instagram. Yeah. And friends with a guy where, uh, I used to eat like for the places I used to eat friends with the waiters. Yeah. And just really nice, genuinely welcoming people. Yes. And these are places where you're either not tipping or not tipping a lot either. Just a great culture. I remember driving through small little towns and I was with two evil German girls. Not that Germans are evil, but these two, maybe they're from Austria and a fella. And the girls had to stop for, yeah, maybe you got that joke. Girls that stop for a pee break. So we stopped in the middle of nowhere at a gas station that is completely empty. And there's a really funny story about all the empty gas stations in Albania. It's really goofy. Some of them are mafia fronts and some of them you're it's just really weird. So we go there. They use the toilet. There's no food inside though. There's just four guys sitting outside at a circle table drinking beer and liquor in front of the fake gas pumps. I mean, it just looks like it was made for a movie. They dispense beer. I'm sure they don't on camera. That would be great. And they said, no, we don't have any food. And we said, oh, okay, that's okay. Then they offer us some weed. And Albania makes a tremendous amount of weed and sells it to Europe. It's quite famous for that, and we say, no, no, no, no, you know, we don't know what's going on. These four fellas here, and we're in their little village, and we're in a little gas station. And then they say, but you want some food? You want some food? We go, no, no, no, that's okay, that's okay. We're not that far, just a couple hours from our destination. So then the guy leaves, and the girls come back. So two of the guys leave, and right as we're getting in the car, the two guys that left come screeching back in their car. You know, really fast, stay on the brakes, get out with two bags of snacks, chips, drinks, water, cookies, and they just hand them to us. They don't accept any money for it. Then they hand, uh, the other guy who, uh, enjoyed this type of thing, a bag of marijuana, and he takes that. You know, I don't know. Bag like that big I don't know how much it's worth. It's in Albania. Yeah, and then they offer us some cocaine They're like, oh, but you you know, you need to stay awake on the drive. So you should have some cocaine We're like, well, it's only two hours and 3 p. m I'm not risking falling asleep, but okay We just didn't know how to take it. So then we just get in the car. We didn't take that. But they offered it and they were lovely. They accepted no money. They didn't ask for any money. There was no awkward silence. We just got on our way uh, with a bag of weed and a bunch of snacks. I mean, so many snacks for like eight people. I like that they provide the weed and the snacks. You know, they're not just like, I have some weed. You're gonna have to get in some trouble later. And like, we like, I need to get some. No, no, no. No. It's fine. We got that. It was so awesome, and the two, uh, German girls were in the front, like, freaking out at the guy who accepted the weed. Like, we're gonna, we're gonna get arrested, what's gonna happen, blah blah blah blah blah. I'm just sitting back there eating Doritos. Until that one comes up. I have just realized in this moment, I have one million stories. I actually just should have organised myself better for this podcast. I don't know if we should not generally do it again. But what I mean is, We can do it. I have got a million stories, I've just not organised them all. I'm like, ah, I remember this, I remember that. None of them are linear. None of them are making any sense. I don't have to connect them all together. But it's more that now that I'm digging, Like, you know, uncovering more and more stuff. I'm like, Oh no, I haven't done this. I love it. Well, Hey, we should definitely do another episode because what I've realized, we don't have to end it now, but what I've realized from the previous three that I did is, yeah. Our stories are never ending. Oh, absolutely. Once we get talking about them, it's just so many places, so many things, so many people, so many funny and horrible and crazy and outlandish things. And it's really fun to talk about. It's all just slowly, like, When you told me some story about some crazy character, I'm like, Crazy characters, like, you know, uh, it's all just very, I haven't unlocked these memories in quite a long time, and then I start, like I said, I start digging, and they're just coming up, and I'm like, There must be more layers upon layers of crazy things that I don't even remember. We just think these stories are normal because of the people that we hang out with and then you come back to the real world and everyone thinks you're crazy. They just can't believe what you've done and where you've been. You're like, and then you're like, what are you talking about? Like, I know so many people that have done 10 times more than I have. And so you feel very small compared to those people. And we sort of lose our perspective on our experiences. Yes. Um, I think I told you about this last time I had a phone call, though, because I talked to you about. And I'm going to get this wrong again, like I do every time. There was a study that I read back when I was in university, many, many years ago now. It was about called like, anywheres and somewheres, I'm sure I spoke to you about this, and it's this longitudinal study of happiness about the people who, you know, were born in their hometown, basically stay in their hometown, had their kids in their hometown, they went to the same secondary schools, and how happy they are overall, versus the people who usually start university in another state, another city, another thing, you know what I mean? And this kind of like, usually, not always. Kickstart something, but then go traveling around the whole world and doing all these things. The level of contentedness, hopefully a word, having only known this, but knowing what it is, and knowing your place, and knowing how you fit in. And the certain level of, I've seen everything, and I've seen all this stuff, and there's so much more to see, and being so excited about it, but then being like, but now I can never fit back in my box, because I broke out of it, and now it doesn't exist, and it's, Not that either one is necessarily happier. It's just knowing what you know, good study. Very good study. Mm hmm. Yeah, I'm I'm in this story and I don't like it. You can't go back in If you've never seen it, you don't know you miss it But you could always wonder what was out there, but if you know what was out there, then you can't, you know You literally just missed the best That's what she said joke or you failed to acknowledge it and I failed to acknowledge it You Absolutely felt acknowledging. Yeah, we need to talk about that. Um, I, I've thought the same thing. I've talked about the same thing before, and I feel the same way. And, you know, the grass is always greener on the other side, but I do feel oftentimes with here's the thing we can talk about this between us. You can never talk about this to people who haven't traveled like we have traveled or who haven't lived like okay Do an episode of a podcast of someone who's never left their hometown. That would be that would be really great I wonder I don't know. I don't know how that would go, but that'd be really interesting Mm hmm. I think it would be really fun to hear them be passionate about A way of living that I haven't experienced. But I do often sort of wish that I had never left. And then I had like started a family at 21 or something. I don't know. The high school sweetheart thing is super appealing. It's so cute. Like those people that have been together and they build a life together and they got a big yard and a white picket fence. Yeah, but for them. I love the people who've done that. I just don't think I could have ever done that. I mean, things were different for me before COVID. Because before COVID, I had a plan. I didn't have the crazy wall like you with all the red strings. But I had a plan and that completely destroyed my plan and threw my life into the air. Disarray. And chaotic. In a way that is difficult for me to want to continue living. So I'm currently trying to settle down, but still have this hunger for travel. So maybe just do it in little bursts, but really badly. I want to drive all the way across Africa. I want to get a car. And I want to van life that shit all the way down or up. I just think it would be so much fun. Airplane, airplane travel. Once you do Europe, it's kind of funny. Your first travels do Western Europe. Yep. Then you'll move to Eastern Europe. Then you'll never want to go to Western Europe again, because Eastern Europe is so much more fun in so many more ways. And you just, you have so much fun. Do Asia as well. It's a lot easier than you think it'll be. Then you sort of work your way up to more difficult countries. Not everybody does this, but a lot of people do South America. I did not understand how crazy that would be or central America, but it is, unless you're doing five star resorts and, um, secure transportation everywhere. It's just insane place. I mean, even in Panama and Costa Rica, Oh my God, I've got the worst hostile story in Costa Rica, it's just, I can see you physically shuddering. It's trauma. It's trauma. It's so bad, actually, that I'm not going to tell it, because I want to encourage people to stay in hostels, and when you've stayed in so many hostels, and, but you only tell the crazy stories, people think that happens every night. And it just doesn't happen every night. But I think it's important to tell them. I think we should I do actually have a worst hostel I've ever stayed in story. Oh, that's good. And I've got the worst hostel I've never stayed in story, which is actually more of a public service announcement. Again, it will need a little bit of fact checking because I didn't stay there, but I basically met some others. No, Sicily. I've heard some horrible stories about Athens. Worst, worst hostel I ever stayed at was in the middle of, of Australia and Coober Pedy, okay? Are you just making up words now? No, no, no. No, I remember, I actually fact, I remember the actual place and the thing I was talking about. Just give me some kudos a minute here. And the worst hostel I know about but didn't stay in and I was in a group of multiple girls who all stayed there and all shared exactly the same story, having stayed there at different times. It's in Sicily, in Palermo, worst, worst hostel. Oh, I didn't make it there. All right, well, you've got to tell. Not now. Okay. Cuperpiri was amazing. It was the only hostel open. There were cockroaches in the kettle, and so basically, we knew we couldn't touch anything, so I think we went to the Australian diet? Like, did they just add it to the tea? No, everything was just filthy. It was, we were, yeah, we arrived by, um, Greyhound bus, you know, the ones that travel overnight. Oh my god, there's another storyline into that. I'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, and so we arrived at this hostel, and we decided we couldn't touch anything. We went to the local supermarket, which wasn't amazingly local, at some point during the next day. Like, look, we realized we can't use the forks, we can't touch anything. Everything just needs to be bleached or burned or, like, it's just not okay. Yeah, we found cockroach we were like, we got a pot noodle or some You know, version of a pot noodle. Boiled the kettle, poured the water, and we're like, we're fine, we can just sit this off the edge and just use the noodles with the fingers or whatever. We had a little bit of, uh, internet difficulty there. Sorry, everybody. Elon Musk, he turned off the satellites for a couple moments, and he turned them back on. After I gave him a billion dollars, we were dealing with stories in Australia it's mainly we made pot noodles. We drank the pot noodles feeling that we'd overcome this terrible ordeal and then the next day I think I picked up a kettle to refill it with water and was like, there's dead cockroaches in that kettle. We thought we'd done this and we didn't. We just absolutely just drank cockroach legs and droppings and bits of shell or whatever they had or some cockroach boiled inside, I don't know. But yeah, we thought we were like, we're clever enough, we can outsmart this dirty filthy hole of a hostel. Which we did not. That was, so it was a dirty hostel. It was dirty, the owner was rude, it was basically, it was the only hostel in that little zone in the middle, middle, middle, middle, middle of Australia. That was your option. And he knew it, he was like, this is it, you sleep here, or you're getting eaten by cooties or whatever the hell else is around, so you're in. So we were in. That was it. And we tried to outsmart the dirty system. And we drank cockroach legs and that's, yeah. I love it. One of the reasons I don't want to go to Athens, I've seen a lot of beautiful ruins. I'm sure they have some beautiful ones there. Everyone keeps taking photos there, so I see them. But, I've just been traumatized by two stories. The first person I met who went there a few years ago said someone was shooting up heroin outside the window of her highly rated hostel. That freaked her out that freaked me out and then I've heard many many many stories between them But one story that I heard when I was in Lisbon, which is not really my favorite city by the way, I think it's overrated by a lot She was just in Athens her and her brother and they were in like an eight bed dorm high rated hostel No problems with any of the guests, lock their stuff up, and then they come back to their room. There's blood on the floor. Okay, as there is sometimes, sometimes things happen. Then she notices the windows broken open. Blood dripping up to the window. Then she notices that the luggage containers are pried open. Someone broke into the hostel, got themselves on the window, pried open the lockers for their backpacks, and stole everything. Just everything. Just took all the bad facts. Yeah. And this was a high rated one. Yeah. So I'm like, Hmm, I don't need to see those ruins. Yeah. I've seen a lot of ruins. They'll still be there. I was at Delphi's Hangout. Yeah. Yeah. I had a great time. I was at Meteora. Had a great time. Yeah. I don't really need to go to Athens. Yeah. It sounds from the stories that I've heard that shithole of Greece with a few beautiful ruins. That's what it sounds like to me. Correct me if I'm wrong. I've been twice. I don't really care. I had a nice time both times. It was all fine. It was all fine. Food's amazing. I hear that too. It was amazing. But I had a good time where I went, so I just don't feel the urge to go. I don't know. I don't feel the need to go. Yeah, just to not counterbalance that with amazing outlandish like, Oh my god, this is the best place ever. But I went twice. Everything's fine. How, was it really, like, how would you compare what you saw in Rome to what you saw in Athens? With the old stuff? Yeah! All old, all good, recommending it all. I've still never been to the Coliseum. I've been outside, I've not been in it. I'm waiting for someone to come visit, who wants to go in with me. Cause you know when friends come to visit, and you're living in another place. Right, I'll take that museum. I've already been to. I'll take that thing I've already been to. Some things, I am saving. I had a friend who visited October last year in Bologna, and I'd never been to the, um, Museo Civico. It's just south of the center. It's only three or six euros to get in. It's very, very cheap. But I've never been in there. I was saving it. When someone would come to me and be like, I've been in here before. This is really good. That's good. I'll wait for you in the coffee shop. Whatever, whatever. I was like, let's experience this together. Like, I know I live here. And I know I like being a tourist in my own town, not that I own it or anything, I don't have that much connection to it, but you know, I live there. I like to say a couple of things, that when friends come to visit, I'm equally as excited to experience the new thing, rather than being full tourist, tour guide mode, sorry. I can go tourist mode and be like, let's see this village, experience it for the first time, it's nice. Yeah. You know, I spent a lot of time in Paris. A lot, a lot of time. And, uh, it's one city I love showing people around. But also what I love about it is there is so much to explore. And so much to see. And what I've done when I'm going around places I've been before, the only place I really hate going to is the Champs Elysees. It's just so stupid. But the Arc de Triomphe is cool though. So just go to the top. Take the metro down to the garden. It's really fun. Then walk your way to the Louvre, really beautiful. Nice. And you can, the gardens in France are so cool because the French people are so lazy. So they have all those reclining chairs that are like, you know, 45 degree angle in all the parks and just sit by the fountains and put your feet up. Uh, I've also started adding drink stops between visiting places. So like you'll go and you'll do something touristy and then you'll go and have some wine. And then you'll go to something touristy again, and then you'll go and have some more wine. And then it becomes a fun day out with your friend. And by the end of it, everything is awesome. Yeah. But I think, I don't know if we've talked about this before, but I do love, I can't say it, you know, it's the entire European drinking culture. Of course, I'm referencing Italy. In the fact that in the comparable ways, if I ordered a glass of wine at 9 a. m. in the UK, people would be like, are you all right? There's a certain time. It's like usually after lunch or whatever, then you can start ordering drinks. You can order as much as you want, but just there's a certain morning time where people are like, you don't need to start that early. But then obviously what we're massive binge drinking culture, obviously most of our culture is drinking. That's what it's all surrounded about, you know, in terms of what we do on a daily basis. But you can get shit faces. Obviously in England, you can be shit face. You can be vomiting in the streets. Everything just, just absolutely nightlight. It's completely normal, but just don't start drinking in the morning. That's the rule. Whereas in Italy, you can order a spritz, you can have a glass of wine at 9am with your nibbles, with your pastry, with whatever. But the Italian drinking culture is you can set, stay basically reasonably tipsy on like this kind of wavelength. All day, like you said, going to do a thing, having the wine stop, going to do another thing. Having a wine stop, so you could do, kind of work it off out of your system, then you top up again, and then you continue, it's all very gentle, whereas in the UK, we're kind of generally sober, and then we clocked off work, or it's Friday, or the weekend, or whatever, and we just go from being completely sober to horrendously, regrettably sober. You don't get drunk in Italy. You shouldn't be drunk in the streets. I mean, probably you should never be drunk in the streets in your life, but it's really shameful to be shit faced in the streets in Italy. Don't do it. It's not nice. It's not respectful. It's not It's just not okay. But start in the morning and just keep yourself in that nice little tipsy wavelength that whole day. Even if it's a Tuesday. We're all okay. Just don't take it down to that level where you become embarrassing to the people around you. It's just, yeah, so much better. That's beautiful. That's a perfect way to say it. Don't take it to the level where you are embarrassing to the people around you. Yeah. Yeah. We have the same problem with the drinking culture in the US. It's um, nothing or all. Yeah. Now that I'm the older fellow abroad, so it's kind of annoying. I want to just look at everybody the same, but then people are looking up to me and I said, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys. You don't just have to drink, like you said, after 7 p. m. You don't just have to take tequila shots. If we get buzzed through the day. All of the experiences that we do are going to be way more fun. You want to make the paintings and the Louvre come alive when you've had a few drinks. I mean, and then you're laughing with your friends. It's just, it's so fun. And you stop for snacks. You become hungry. So you're going to eat more snacks. You're going to eat more of the interesting food from that place as well, or try the street food or that. And you've made the whole day like a festival. Yeah. And yeah, like you said, you didn't drink too much. Yeah. You just had a great time. Uh, I remember I was in, living in London at the time, and I was outside of one of the bars. And just like you said, right when they're done with work, it's on. Now, I love that you don't just go home right after work. I do love that. I rather enjoy the drinking culture in London when you're having a normal job. But I'm outside having a cigarette years and years ago. And I'm talking to my friends and we all have a cider. I love how much you guys drink ciders up there. So sweet. Yeah. Do you love them? I did. I got to a point, I think, where somebody made the, uh, comparison that drinking a pint of cider is like drinking an entire pint of ketchup for the amount of sugar that's in it. And something just switched in me and now I'm not, I'm not in it anymore. I'm not in the cider drinking culture. Alright, uh, remove the last seven seconds from my memory. Thank you. Okay. I'm going to make that better. Yeah. And this little, tiny, five foot tall secretary or lawyer, look the same, uh, just like falls into me from behind, like trips and falls in and then turns and I turn around and see what's going on. And then she starts cursing at me and trying to start a fight with me. She's going to you, saying, Hey, what are you doing? You're like, and then her coworkers grab her and they're like, Susan, or what are you doing? Please don't mind her. Please don't mind her. This happens every day. But what I, this isn't a story about how you shouldn't drink so much that you knock into strangers and then start a fight with them. All the, all the coworkers were hanging out together. They didn't just go home to their sad little empty apartments or houses and drink a glass of wine while watching The Bachelor. No. Definitely not referring to anyone at all. No. That's just such an American thing and it's so goddamn lonely. So I love that about London. Well, I think one of the biggest problems I have in terms of terminology, I don't like the term binge drinking. I understand what it is. But the thing is, because the UK, as other places do, have a massive, massive drinking culture. And they're like, well, what we're saying is that, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday till Friday evening, afternoon, you don't drink anything and you pack it all in to Friday and Saturday night. And I was like, well, yes, but what's the alternative to that? We are just shit faced seven days a week. Like, yes, we save it to the times that we know. We're not getting up Saturday morning to do anything. We're not getting up Sunday morning to do anything. Whereas, you know, usually through the week we'll play it pretty safe and keep it all above board. I don't know if I'll have one in an evening. Like, yeah, but you save it up and then you just binge in those times. And I'm like, would you rather we binged at another time? Monday morning during the opening meeting. Like, I know what they're trying to say, but I'm like, but It's planned. You're not unable to stop it. You're doing it because that is the time where you can really let loose. So it's not great for you. Of course it's not, but it's got some sense in it. It's not just chaos. Well, it will become chaos. You're keeping your life structured and sound by doing it. You know, you've written off a day of the week. That day is in the bin. It's going to be in the bin from Friday at four, Saturday at four. You'll be drinking, embarrassing other people asleep, and then regressing everything in a cycle for those 24 hours. It's booked. It's already done. Yeah. Oh, those are such good times, and I love all the people you meet, especially when you're a foreigner somewhere. People know you're a foreigner. They're more oftentimes, a lot of caveats, right? If you're in a super touristy city, it's not true if they're locals, but they love meeting you. They're almost like a little mini celebrity, like the people who wanted to marry you to get citizenship. You have all of this attention that you don't have back home. And it's really fun. And it's exciting. Um, yeah, and you get that in those types of experiences and going out and drinking. I remember it pissed me off. One doctor told me that drinking six beers counted as binge drinking. And doctors hate it when you question them. I have a lot of experience of dealing with doctors because of other things than what my parents do and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. They hate it when you question them. A lot of them. Anyway, I don't want to say too many mean things. I love doctors. Save me. But was it that you questioned this when they said six beers has been shrinking? You questioned this. It's been shrinking. When I said, at the time I was a lot bigger than I am now. I was weightlifting a lot. So I was like I don't know, 30 percent heavier? No, 20 percent heavier. And I said, well, what size are the beers? And he goes, it doesn't matter. And I said, well, What alcohol content do the beers have? And he said, it doesn't matter. And I said, well, if I, at 270 pounds, drink 6 beers, or this 5 foot girl who's 95 pounds drinks 6 beers, is it still binge drinking for both of us? And he goes, yes. And I was like, great, man. How can I respect anything else that you say when you say something so stupid? I'm, I'm almost three of that person. And anyway, that's just an old story from an old experience in Boston at Beth Israel Medical Deaconess Hospital, a very good hospital. So I love me doctors. Yeah. Especially cause I'm, I'm a two out of 10 hypochondriac. And I just wish doctors in the U S. Had a bit more time to care about you. Anyway, I don't want to go on a doctor. It's something I don't know. Oh, you know, I tried to get a doctor's appointment at the NIH in the UK. And I got to tell you guys, is that the NIH? H I N? I don't know. What, what are you going to be doing? Is it a specific hospital? Are you talking about the NHS? Yeah, that one. Yeah. Your whole system in London. I was in London. I'm all about it now. It's like the NIH is like the. National Infirmary of Huddersfield. That's very specific. It's very, very specific. I don't know, yeah. National Institute of Harry Potter. Absolutely. Platform nine and three somethings, I think. Did you ever go to that? No, I'm not a Harry Potter fan. I never went. High five. You got your five points back. Interesting. Five points to Slytherin. Thanks. Slytherin somewhere. That's what she said. I lived right next to that train station. I never went there. I just, it's a, it's a cool movie. I don't care. Um, what the hell am I saying? Oh, they wanted to only charge me. Yeah. NHS. You have to charge non citizens a lot more to use the hospital service. There. I just made everything better for all of you UK citizens, okay? Because I came after traveling for like a year and you get sick and things happen and generally you're like, I should probably have a checkup, you know, see what's going on. And so I go for an appointment and they say it'll be 50 pounds. I think this was. five or six years ago, 50 to register or something like that. And then You're in the system and you can get whatever you need. You don't have to pay any more. And I was like, Oh, I think you should charge more, especially since I do have health insurance. Like you should make more space for you British people, maybe, uh, not me. But then they wouldn't, they didn't understand preventive care. So they're like, what's wrong with you? And I said, I don't know. And they said, why do you want to come in? I said, to make sure nothing's wrong with me. And I said, okay, but what's wrong with you? How do I make an appointment if I don't know what's wrong with you? I'm like, I don't know. I don't know what's inside my body. Take a look and tell me something's wrong. No, I don't think we do that. I don't think we do that. Yeah. Yeah, even we do yearly checkups. It's like a, yeah, no, we don't do that. We go when we're like, I did hear a number to link to back to the Albanian story before they go, if they're actually dying, we go for, we have an ailment. We do not go at any point until we're like, Oh, this actually really hurts. Oh, this is how it's been going on for a week. I didn't have an American friend. And she told me, this is her words, not mine. I think I was in a park one day and I said I got a headache. And she had some painkillers in her bag. She said, do you want a painkiller? I was like, no, I'm alright. I think I'm just dehydrated. I need a nap. I had a glass of water. I'm just gonna fix it. And she just started laughing. And I was like, why, why, why are you laughing? Because if I was American and anybody had a mild ailment and I whipped out this, you know, buffet of things, they just take one instantly with all of you British like, no, no, no, I'll fix it myself. I'll suffer through, I'll be fine. You'll tell me there's something wrong, but you won't medicate. You'll just go and get it sorted or just breathe or relax or whatever it is you need to do. But everybody will just be like, yes, give me a tablet. I'm American, give me a tablet. So I don't know. We don't do preventative though. We don't really. Was she from California? No. They're from New York, but I don't remember now. Oh yeah, New England. I think. I think. Yeah. Well, there's a growing movement to, um, anyway, I don't want to get on that subject. I've got a lot of thoughts that cross a lot of things. I've been to, since I had that crash in Vietnam, I've been to a few different hospitals in a few different countries. You live abroad, you go to hospitals eventually. Dental work I got in Albania was epic. Got my teeth whitened in Albania. Yeah. Yeah. I got my teeth whitened in Albania. Yeah, the four Albanian sisters were like, We're all going to the dentist. Do you want to do something? I was like, I don't need anything. You get your teeth whitened, it's pretty cheap. You're not paying cash for that. I was like, It's the most cosmetic thing I've ever had done. But I was like, Okay, let's try that. How much was it? I don't remember. And it was all in LEC as well, so I don't, I really don't remember. But it wasn't a lot. It really wasn't. Oh, I love it. My friend got her, uh, one of her wisdom teeth removed for, I think, a little bit less than 40. Yeah. And she didn't have to have anything major, no restrictions on eating. No. They didn't put her under completely. So she didn't have issues when she came to, like, it was just amazing. U S dentists. Anyway, let's get off the dental subject. Let's go to the subject. I feel like we lost a little bit of energy for the story I wanted to tell for Cambodia. But that was because. Where we cut the video, they won't, they'll miss like 15 minutes of us talking. Sorry about that, guys. Do you need me to hype you back up? Do you need a hype, man? Have you been to Cambodia? No, not been. Well, we, maybe we should do it for, save it for another story, because it was basically about relationships abroad. And relationships that people have, and how some people have, uh, more interesting relationships. Some people have more reserved relationships. Some people have really interesting stories around all of the above. I could definitely actually scribble something down in the relation of knowing things and stuff and no names, but just trying to You know, make a spider web of my red pin diagram of the things that I know of what I've done and other people have done and where we've got to and all this stuff. You wanting to tell that now or are you saying you're going to write out a story and then edit it? No, I mean, I think I should actually Collect myself a little bit better and be more prepared for this. I don't mean just to notify the worst hostile experience, best hostile experience, craziest person you've met, but if I had more of these, because everything's now coming to the surface well, that's perfect. This is a new thing for me as well. This will either be episode four or three based on what we have to do with episode two so anyway, we're all kind of learning as we go. And I think that the more that you think about these old times and these memories, the more things that come to surface. As you remember, like the monkeys in Thailand that robbed me, I only have a fucking water bottle in that bag. Not even snacks. You little bastard. And then they take it up to the tree and pour it on you while they're laughing. Yeah. I'm like, now I'm going to die on this island because a hundred million degrees. Anyway, it's fun to relive the old stories. That's what I mean. For not now, but the next episodes, I will be more prepared. We just talk about the work away platform work away. Oh, have you used it? Yes, absolutely. Horrifying. That'll be great. I want to hear some bad stories about that. Yeah. All right. We're going to try to end this episode a bit more professionally with three amazing traveler questions. All right. Are you ready? I believe I am. Yes. All right. Let's go. Go with. Go with. Your least favorite country you visited, favorite country you visited, and we'll end with the country that you have not been to, but you would most like to visit and why. Absolutely. All over it. Um, I have absolutely no desire to go back to Dubai. I spent a month in Dubai. I went with some crypto bros. It's a whole thing. I'm just not interested. I didn't do all of it. I didn't go sleep in the desert. I didn't do all those little bits I guess I could do. But there are other deserts you can stay in. It was, it was lovely for what it is. I stayed there probably two weeks too long. A month is too long. It's fine. But it's not a place that inspires me to return to, basically that. You didn't find Aladdin? I wasn't looking for him. But, no. No. I'm just not so bothered. It was fine. Yeah, it's all good. Best country, Thailand. I know we've already talked about it a little bit. It was my first trip that I planned. I was completely in control of it. I'm a little lonely planet guy with my little post it notes, my pencils. And we got around everywhere. We did like every section. It wasn't just that we stayed here, we stayed there, we stayed here. We went. It was amazing, riding around on motorbikes in the rain, eating ridiculous food that we've had, just, sculpture gardens, puppet, like, shadow puppet shows, just, mmm. It really, it, that's what, I went from Australia to Thailand, Australia was fine, lovely, great, couldn't rate it enough, but me planning the Thailand bit, obviously that was more off the beaten track. That was my first non English speaking country as a, you know, traveller, and it just blew my mind. I'm sure that Thailand's changed a lot now, I'm sure it's a completely different place, we're now talking, not quite 20 years ago, close enough to 20 years ago, so I'm sure it's very different, but it will always have, Yeah, a huge place in my heart for what it was And that was with your, I think, uh, that was with your boyfriend at the time, right? Mm hmm. That was with my boyfriend at the time. That's so cute. That's such a cute travel story. It was a cute travel story. At some point in the future, you have to tell that, because I love cute travel stories, and I hate it when people say that you can't talk about beautiful, romantic, or cute stories from the past. Yeah. Tell us a cute, beautiful, amazing, romantic story about you. Scootering through Thailand and being chased by monkeys and ladyboys. I don't know. No, it was all, it was, it was great ups and downs, but overall the whole thing was just, yeah, I know it felt so free just being organizing myself, knowing what I was doing, just also was violently ill for some of it still wouldn't change a single day. Yeah. I love it. It's such a beautiful adventure. All right. Next time we meet, I want a full story on that. I'm going to bring two bottles of wine while I listen. By God gave us two hands. Um, and I think, so my place that I really want to go to, top of my list, it's absolutely up there. I've already done a bit of research. I don't think it'll be this year. Unfortunately, I'm not currently working maternity of a job. I actually have a real job. I don't have as much holiday as I want, which definitely needs to change because it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. I think you've been there. I want to go to the Philippines. Ooh, exciting. Absolutely. Yeah, if I could. in terms of money wise, time wise, everything wise, I'll be on a plane tomorrow. What do you want out of the Philippines? Or what are you excited for? Kind of, this probably isn't true. And as I said, I haven't been. Probably everything that I got from Thailand when I was that much younger, on steroids. That's what I want. Like islands, like adventurous little boat trips, you know, it's also why I love Indonesia, although I only ever go Asia side, I've never been to South America, I went to Panama, and I went to one other place, again, escaping me, but I haven't really done South America, and it's not that it's not beautiful, it's not loads of stuff to do, but I'm very Asia centric. That's how I am, that's what I want, that's what I'm interested in, so, yeah, island life. That's it. Simple, rustic island life. That's what I want. I want it right now. I am currently in the UK for a week because my mum's birthday is tomorrow. That's why I'm back. Aw, that'll be nice. Yeah, that'll be nice. Well, I think that's a good note to end on. What do you say? Yeah, I'm content. I'm happy. It's been a pleasure. Would you like to come back and do another one? Refresher memory? Yeah, hopefully from the Philippines. You can just call me, I'll be there. Again, with the drink, with the little paper umbrella that's terrible for the environment. With my Eat, Love, Pray book next to me being the complete, uh, Completely stupid white tourism that I am. You can just call me from there. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, my dear Susie, it has been epic. Thank you for joining. Yes, thank you for inviting me. And I can't wait to see you next time. Yeah, I'll be back. Without a doubt. Bye!