Solo Female Traveller Hospitalized in Thailand with Kaila

This week on Travelling Through Life: A Podcast on the Go I chat with an extraordinary woman named Kaila. She's a recreational therapist from Toronto, Canada who makes the most of her holidays, exploring locally and internationally. We chat about the impact of growing up in a family that hosted international students, which led to her first solo international trip to Colombia at age 14. We also talk about the not-so-great side of travel, like being hospitalized in Thailand. Kaila's curiosity has led her to learn Finnish, Spanish, and how to travel with points and miles. You're going to smile the whole way through this episode!

JOIN THE TRAVEL with TMc COMMUNITY:

Instagram
Blog
Facebook Group
Help TwTMc Grow OR Get a Shout Out!
YouTube
TTLAPOG Spotify Playlist
Points & Miles Course

MORE RESOURCES & LINK FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

Rotary Club Exchanges - https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/youth-exchanges
GigSky eSIM - https://gigsky.pxf.io/rajyED
Lonely Planet Guidebooks - https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/
MP TOURS - https://www.mp-tours.com/
Kacie Rose - https://www.instagram.com/kacierose_/
Roncesvalles (Toronto) - https://www.destinationtoronto.com/neighbourhoods/high-park/roncesvalles/
The Pairing - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199440249-the-pairing

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction to Kaila
04:14 First Trips & Childhood Experiences: Family Trips, Hosting International Students, Visiting Colombia at 14-years-old
11:18 How to Choose Where to Travel
13:51 Solo Female Travel vs. Travelling with Others
15:12 Travel Traditions
17:07 Pandemic Effects on Travel + Dengue Fever in Thailand
18:36 Scary Travel Experiences: Dengue Fever in Thailand
22:31 Travel Crushes
23:39 Language & Travel: Spanish & Finnish
30:28 Impact of Tech on Travel Style: Cameras & Phone Roaming Plans
33:58 Prepping for Travel: Lonely Planet, ChatGPT, & YouTube Vlogs
35:24 Documenting Travel Memories: Photography & Instagram Reels
37:08 Personal Impacts of Travel: Global Horizons, Expectations Setting, Directions
45:33 Untried Types of Travel: Guided Tours & Mini Euro Trip
47:27 How to Respect Other Cultures as a Foreigner
50:38 Where is Home? Living vs. Travelling Abroad
53:18 How Are You Different when Travelling than at Home?
54:48 Where is Home?
57:44 Unique Travel Experiences
58:53 Using Points and Miles for Travel
01:02:03 Necessary Travel Items
01:04:32 Safety Tips for (Solo Female) Travellers
01:06:05 How to Deal with Post-Trip Blues: Reflection & Home Comforts
01:07:00 Spotify Travel Playlist: Kaila's Choice
01:09:38 Speed Round: Roncesvalles, The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, Best Travel Gift
01:20:11 Until Next Time!

Transcript

Tara (00:06)
Hello! Welcome to Travelling Through Life: A Podcast on the Go. I'm your host Tara and the founder of the blog Travel with TMc which is where you'll find free destination guides, points and miles consulting for Canadians, a little bit of van life behind the scenes and much more. Travelling Through Life: A Podcast on the Go is a fun and quirky show that delves into everything travel and adventure, whether from the road, in the air or in between here and there. Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen or watch.

Yep, we're on YouTube as well. And leave a 5-star review or a thumbs up. Both of these quick and easy actions make a huge impact on the show being able to reach a wider audience. So thank you for your support. In Season 2, my guests and I cover a wide range of travel topics. It's my hope with the show that you'll hear yourself and see yourself reflected in the guests and the conversations that are had. I also hope that you'll be inspired to try something new for people who travel in a way that you might not have considered before.

This week on Travelling Through Life: A Podcast on the Go, my guest is Kaila. She's a lifetime family friend and an absolute ray of sunshine in everything she does and is. Kaila is a rec therapist who lives in Toronto, Canada and makes it her mission to travel both locally and internationally whenever possible, be that extended weekends or longer stints abroad when she was in university.

On the podcast with Kaila we talk about the life-changing impact on a young girl when her family would host international students. We also talk about her first solo trip as a 14-year-old to Colombia. Then we talk about how she got hospitalized in Thailand, the unusual things that she does with her phone when she's away, and travelling together with siblings as adults, a very unusual and super awesome thing that I would like to do more of with my siblings.

She also goes into the 5 trips that she's taken on points and miles so far and how she's been learning Finnish and Spanish. It's an awesome episode. You'll be smiling the whole way through, and I hope you enjoy. Alright, let's dive in.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (02:14)
you

Kaila (02:16)
Hello! Hi Tara.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (02:17)
I'm so

pumped to have you on Travelling Through Life: A Podcast on the Go, Season 2! For anybody who's just tuning in, Kaila and I go way back, like you were a baby and I was a little toddler way back. Our moms grew up together and our families have been linked ever since.

Kaila (02:24)
Woo!

Yup. Yup.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (02:45)
Kaila's family ⁓ is 1 of the coolest and kindest and most wonderful families that I know and I am so thrilled to have Kaila here today. Not only is she a great human, but she has some super awesome travel stories that I cannot wait to share with everybody or to have you share with everybody. So thank you for being here. Yeah. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, who you are, what you do, and where you're calling in from today.

Kaila (03:03)
Thank you.

Okay, well yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. A little bit nervous, but mostly excited. I am, so yeah, my name's Kaila. I think similar to Tara, my name is frequently mispronounced, so it is not Kayla, but it is Kaila. And I am calling in from Toronto today. I am a recreation therapist here. That's my 9 to 5.

And yeah, I've been almost a lifelong traveller. I think I went on my first trip, family trip, when I was 5 to Disney World in Florida. And yeah, I have travelled ever since and just like really, really love and value travel. And I'm excited to talk about it today because it's one of my favourite things to talk about.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (03:53)
.

I think this is 1 of the reasons why you and I connect so much. Even though there's a little bit of an age gap, I feel like you're a kindred spirit that way. So yeah, definitely. Where did the travel bug come from for you? Because you talked about you were 5 and going to Disney, but like, was it that? Was it something else?

Kaila (04:09)
Yeah.

Yes.

I think travel has just always kind of been a part of my life. when growing up, my parents signed our family up for hosting international students to stay with us for a couple of months at a time. So we had students from Japan, from Russia, from Colombia, which was definitely eye-opening. I mean, being from a small town, little old Midland, Ontario.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (04:52)
Shout out to Midland!

Kaila (04:54)
Midland, Ontario, not the most

culturally diverse place. And so I think it was, yeah, I really think that's kind of where where it started, like it started at least broadening my my my horizons of what else is out there in the world. ⁓ And it was actually a relationship that I developed with 1 of the students that we had. She and her sister, her sister came and stayed with us first when I was maybe about like

Tara (Travel With TMc) (04:58)
you

Kaila (05:21)
10 years old and we got along really well. She fit in with the family. And then her younger sister actually came a few years later to stay with us because she had had such a good time with us and in Canada. And so it was her younger sister that we became kindred spirits and just like we really clicked. her name's Anna, Anna Maria.

After she stayed with us, she actually, her and her family invited me to come visit them in Bogotá, Colombia. So that was my first solo trip. I don't know. Yeah, don't know. And I don't know how I was able to convince my parents at the age of 14 to fly to Bogotá, Colombia on my own.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (06:02)
Great for a solo trip!

Your

parents are cool already, but when you were 14, that's when you went?

Kaila (06:19)
Yeah. Yeah. And, and I've said that to them too. I'm like, how, how were you okay with that? And they said, they're like, Oh, well you were mature and we were confident in you. And like, we, we knew like Anna's family and that they were going to meet you at the airport and everything. And so, yeah. And I just kind of like, I mean, yeah, first like international, mean, I guess Florida is international, but international, you know what I mean? Um,

Tara (Travel With TMc) (06:44)
Yep, I hear you. For anybody

who's listening internationally, we're Canadians and oftentimes we feel like the States is not quite an international destination. It's too close.

Kaila (06:51)
Yes.

Yeah,

exactly. But yeah, that just really ignited my love for travel. And I've been very, very fortunate and privileged to do a lot of travel since then.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (07:11)
Super cool. So your upbringing has like definitely impacted your interest in travel and where you go and what you do.

Kaila (07:19)
Yeah, yeah.

⁓ Actually, and just quickly too, my my Auntie Mare has also been a really big influence as well because she always talked about her backpacking travels throughout Europe when she was, I think she was 17, if I'm remembering correctly. ⁓ But just how much travel she always did and I've always looked up to her. so that was definitely an influence as well. ⁓ And yeah, my my parents have also just

Tara (Travel With TMc) (07:26)
Yeah.

Kaila (07:48)
always encouraged to travel. I'm that it's so important. So I've been really, really grateful for that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (07:53)
Amazing.

What were family trips like for you guys growing up? Because like the world doesn't know your family like I know your family but your family's fun. Like you guys, you guys are so much fun. What were family trips like growing up?

Kaila (08:08)
So for context, there's my mom and my dad, and then I'm the youngest of 3. So I have a brother, Kris who is 5 years older than me. And then we have a sister, Britt, who is 9 years older than me. So there is quite a gap between us. So I mean, growing up, trips definitely were, I don't know, they look different than they do now, which I'm sure we're going to talk about a little bit, but.

Yeah, we, as a family, we did a lot of like car travel. So we travelled to the States. drove to Florida. I don't know how many times, maybe like 4 or 5, going to different places in Florida, hitting up the amusement parks, we're a big roller coaster family. And also like camping in Ontario, just car camping. Yeah, that's pretty.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (09:06)
like the Rachel

Parks kind of thing or?

Kaila (09:08)
Yeah,

yeah, yeah, I can't, we went to Killbear. That's really the only 1 I'm remembering right now, but yeah, lots of car travel. yeah, I mean, so sometimes it was in a van, so we had more space as a family, tall, tall family of 5. For context, we're all around 6 feet tall. Yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (09:17)
Yeah, fair enough.

True, you guys are, yeah.

Or taller.

Kaila (09:35)
⁓

there was a lot of room in the van, but then there was 1 or 2 times where we travelled, the 5 of us and, I think it was a Buick LeSabre So it was just a sedan and the 5 of us. Yeah. Yeah. So that was quite an experience too, but bonding, bonding.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (09:48)
Legends.

Yeah,

honestly, road trips are the best for bonding. It's yeah. When was the first international trip as a family and where did you go again outside of the States? Like where was that with the 5 of you? Was that when you went?

Kaila (10:06)
You know what? I

don't think that we ever have all, like all 5 of us travelled outside of North America. ⁓ I've travelled with my mom to Finland, our mother country, ⁓ and that was with some other family members too, like cousins and stuff. ⁓ And then I've travelled, yeah, with my siblings, just the 3 of us internationally, but yeah, never the 5 of ⁓ no, yeah, no.

Never the 5 of us.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (10:37)
Okay, and we didn't talk about this beforehand. I didn't give you the heads up on this, but ⁓ again, for people who are just tuning in and don't know Kaila personally, Kaila and her siblings travel together as adults. Like they go on fun sibling trips. So I'm putting it out there. Kris, Britt, Kaila, if you guys want to come on and do like a group pod.

I'd friggin' love that. It's so unusual for adult siblings to do that and to make the time and to enjoy each other's company. Yeah. Anyhow, I'm putting it out in the universe.

Kaila (11:08)
Yeah.

I

think that would be fun. That would be fun. ⁓

Tara (Travel With TMc) (11:14)
Good, good, okay, cool.

So I guess like coming into the present a little bit more then, how do you choose to, where to travel now? You're fresh off of your first weekend trip away, you've travelled internationally, you've travelled within Canada and the States, like how do things make it onto your list of where to go and what to check out?

Kaila (11:35)
Yeah, I think a lot of it is like word of mouth and like my the people in my life who I know love to travel as well. Like I really value their opinions and their experiences and hearing about them. But yeah, my travel like kind of mindset has changed over the years because I've done a lot of solo travel and like when I was in university, my university days,

I travelled for long periods at a time. I was in Thailand for 2 months. I was in South America for 7 months. I was in Argentina for another trip for 2 months. ⁓ And so I just always had it in my mind, like, well, travel is only worth it if you can go for an extended period of time. as a full-fledged adult, I've had to learn that that's not feasible.

And it's actually your mom who I remember saying when I was in Waterloo and she took me under her wing. ⁓ I remember her saying that in life you only, you have money or time. You never have both at the same time. And it's so true. It's so true. That is stuck with me and has as.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (12:51)
You

Kaila (12:59)
always comes up. like, she was right. ⁓ but anyway, so yeah, I really had to, ⁓ change my mindset and, and be okay with going for shorter periods of time and, and realizing that that's just as valuable. Like, yeah, like you said, I just went on my first weekend trip. it was 3 days in Banff, Alberta.

And it was actually another friend who had inspired me to do that. She went, she's also a big nature lover like myself. And she said, Kaila, like, you got to do it. Like 3 days doesn't seem like it's a lot. Three or 4 days doesn't seem like a lot, but it is enough. Especially because you're so intentional when you have such a short amount of time. And I know, yeah, you've done some short, quick travels too. And it's really opened my eyes. I'm like, okay, we can do this.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (13:51)
cool, I love that, amazing. There's so many things I wanna get into too about how you, we'll get there, we'll get there. Do you enjoy travelling alone? Like I know that you've done some of these big trips, you've lived abroad, which we'll touch on in a little bit. ⁓ You've travelled with siblings, you've travelled with family, with your partner, so on. Do you like travelling alone? Do you prefer to travel with others? Does it depend on the kind of trip that you're doing?

Kaila (13:52)
Yeah.

think I like a mix of both. definitely have enjoyed my solo travels. I think simply for the freedom, you just do literally whatever you want when you want. But it can also get really lonely, like really lonely, especially if it's for an extended period of time. I've experienced that on each of the long trips that I've gone on. Yeah, it gets lonely.

And I'm just, yeah, so thankful for technology to be able to connect me back to family and friends when I'm feeling like that. yeah, no, I think I like a mix of both. Like when I was in Thailand, I travelled by myself for a month and a half, but then at the end, my brother Kris came to join me for the last 2 weeks. ⁓ And that was so nice and such a nice way to end that adventure too. So I think I like both.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (15:11)
Nice.

Do you any travel traditions, whether it's something that you do before you leave or while you're on the road or something that you do when you come home around the travel that you've just had?

Kaila (15:25)
I think...

I don't know. I ⁓ mean, I guess a new kind of tradition is making a little reel, highlight reel. ⁓ Thank you. I really enjoy it. It's like, it's definitely a form of ⁓ like creative expression for me as well. ⁓ But it also, find like, I love taking photos as well, but I find like little snippets of videos. just like, it's different. You get like more of a feel for the trip.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (15:38)
which you're so good at.

Kaila (15:58)
in that way. I guess that's kind of a new tradition. A tradition that I used to do that I don't do as often anymore, but whenever I would come home, I would always get Tim Hortons. would always, right at the airport, I would get a vanilla dip donut and I don't know, maybe a coffee or something. Yeah, no, I can't think of anything else more concrete than that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (16:26)
Yeah, no worries. ⁓ Side note, I'm always wondering how you get your reel ideas because they're so fun and I'm like, I need to steal this idea. I'm saving your reels all the time to replicate them and I never do but I should because they're fantastic. They always make me smile.

Kaila (16:43)
Aw thanks, it's very fun. It's exciting to like, okay we gotta, yeah because I've done it with Roxy now, the, yeah, you know. But yeah, it's exciting to remember to take these little snippets so that we can then at the end of the trip, or experience, of sew it all together.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (17:07)
Yeah. ⁓ Did the pandemic affect any of your travel plans at all? And if so, what was that like? ⁓

Kaila (17:19)
I mean, not past what everyone felt that we were just kind of like landlocked, right? ⁓ I was fortunate I didn't have anything planned. And I think it actually kind of had a positive impact on me in that I learned to find what was in my own backyard. And like I really, especially in that first year, I really connected a lot with

with nature and going on little day trips and just going to High Park in Toronto and yeah, just stuff that was local, which I had never taken the time to do before because, I can do that later. I can do that later.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (18:02)
Yeah, I can so relate to that. And it's very like you to see the positive in a situation as well. Flipping that though, I'm curious to know, have you ever missed a flight or had any scary experiences on your trips?

Kaila (18:19)
No, thankfully uh knock on wood, I have never missed a flight. ⁓ I've run for a flight a couple of times, ⁓ but I've always made it, luckily. I guess maybe the scariest thing that I've experienced is when I got dengue fever in Thailand.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (18:43)
Okay, yes.

Tell us more.

Kaila (18:47)
Yeah, so this thankfully was at the end of my 2 month adventure. ⁓ And yeah, when my brother and I had connected and were travelling together. ⁓ So we were travelling through southern Thailand and kind of island hopping, checking out all the beaches and everything. And there was 1 hostel that we stayed at that was super cool. It was a...

a hostel in like in and amongst like trees like it was like a treehouse hostel. ⁓ and so yeah, super pardon. Not off the top of my head, but I can I'll look it up to like, you know, although I think that's where I think I think that's where I got the dengue. So because because it was all outside, there were like there. Yes, there was mosquito netting, but like

Tara (Travel With TMc) (19:19)
Remember the name of it? Do you remember the name of it, sword interrupt?

Yeah. Okay, maybe not a recommendation. Okay.

Kaila (19:41)
there were definitely holes in it and like I just, remember waking up full of mosquito bites, ⁓ but felt fine other than being itchy. ⁓ But then it was like a few days later that I had just gone back, gotten back to Bangkok. I had a couple of days left before I was to fly home and I was out at the floating market just outside of Bangkok and I was like, something's not feeling right.

like, just started, yeah, feeling like woozy and nauseous and just like not well. And so I rushed back to the hostel. ⁓ And it was my parents who like urged me after, I don't know, I don't even know how long it was, but they were like, you should probably go to a hospital. And so I went to went to a hospital in Bangkok, which was actually an amazing experience. I will say, I will say it was like staying in like,

staying in like ⁓ a 5-star hotel. Like it was the nicest hospital I've ever seen in the world. But yeah, and actually I left against medical advice because my flight home was like scheduled for the next day and they were like, we think you should probably stay for a little bit longer to make sure you're like stable. And I was like, nah, get me the F out of here. I'm going home.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (21:06)
Okay, so for anybody who hasn't had dengue fever, what does that look like and that like treatment and how was that flight home?

Kaila (21:16)
Yeah,

so I mean, just like it was like the felt like the worst kind of flu I've ever had. just got like high fever, shakes, just feeling like so weak, nauseous, vomiting, like anything you can think of. That's what you get. And the treatment was, I think it was just,

like just a pain reliever and like to help bring the fever down and then just IV, just IV fluids to keep me hydrated. And honestly, don't remember too much of the flight home.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (21:58)
Maybe that's for the best.

Kaila (22:00)
Yeah,

yeah, yeah, I was, I was, I was really disappointed though, because I had a layover, ⁓ quite a, like maybe a 20 hour or something layover in Beijing. And so I was supposed to do this, this quick little like day tour to the Great Wall. They were going to pick me up at the airport, bring me to the Great Wall. I was going to see it, do it, and then come back and then go home. And so I had to cancel that. So that was really disappointing. but then, it took me a couple of weeks to recover from, from dengue. So.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (22:16)
Ugh.

Kaila (22:29)
10 out of 10, do not recommend.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (22:32)
noted. Have you ever fallen in love on a trip? Side note: I love your boyfriend. He's amazing. But are there any other stories?

Kaila (22:45)
Yeah, so when I was in Argentina in high school, I did an exchange program with the Rotary Club. And so I was in Argentina in this small town for 2 months, staying with a host family. And I went to school with my host sister, ⁓ not for like any credit or anything, it just for the experience, but 1 of the other students and a friend there.

Yes, I had a mad, mad crush for his name was was Fede short for Federico. And he he he like that's when I was learning Spanish and but he spoke really good English and so that definitely helped too.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (23:18)
I love ⁓ it.

Solid,

solid. Love a little love story on the road. ⁓ Speaking of Argentina, so you and I are both polyglots and we share Spanish as an additional language of ours. Like where and when did you start learning Spanish? Was that because of travel? Was that in school? Why Spanish?

Kaila (23:36)
Yeah, yeah, it was fun.

So it was also thanks to ⁓ the girl I mentioned before, Anna Maria, who came to stay with us. remember really in high school, well, and in school in general, I really enjoyed learning French. ⁓ But then when Anna Maria came along, she started to teach me a little Spanish. And I was like, ooh, I kind of like this better than French, because it's so much easier.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (24:23)
Yes? It is.

Kaila (24:26)
The French definitely helped, like having that base of knowledge, but Spanish I definitely find easier. And I just love the sound of it and everything. And so that was my exposure to it. And then when I did the exchange in Argentina, ⁓ I actually didn't choose Argentina. I just applied to this program and they were like, okay, you're going here. I was actually supposed to go to Brazil, but then...

that got changed to Argentina. And so, yeah, then I was learning Spanish in Argentina. I had borrowed a Spanish 101 textbook from someone that I knew to kind of teach myself along the way. And then obviously, immersion is the best way to learn a language. And so, yeah, became pretty decent after 2 months in Argentina, I will say. And then I ended up...

loving it so much that I decided to do a minor in Spanish in university. Nothing to do with my major, but so it was just, it was nice to have that opportunity to do that. And then knew that I wanted to go back to South America and so use that Spanish minor to do a semester in Santiago, Chile, ⁓ where I like really ⁓ honed my skill.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (25:51)
I will never forget, and I don't know why this sticks with me, but I forget if it was while you were there or when you came back and you were saying, before you went to Chile, you felt like you had a decent grasp on Spanish. And you know where I'm going with this. And then when you were there, you were like, I don't even know if I know Spanish anymore. I don't understand what's going on. was it because the like endings of the words get dropped there? So you're like waiting for the rest of the word to come, but they're already onto the next thing. Yeah, you're shaking your head.

Kaila (26:19)
Yes, yes, that's

so funny. Wow, I haven't thought of that in so long. You just brought that memory back. But it's so true. I felt like, like pretty confident, at least with like a basic level of Spanish. But I felt like I was starting from ground zero because, I mean, all throughout South America and the world, like we do in English, there's different accents and ⁓ dialects and things. And so, yeah.

I think Chileans are known for their unique accent and pronunciation of things. because it was, so I think I had been in Santiago for a couple of months by this point and I went on, like all of the international students, we went on a weekend trip to Mendoza in Argentina. And I remember just the relief I felt

be like, my God, actually can understand Spanish. I understand so much more than I realized it was a good morale booster.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (27:26)
Yeah,

definitely. you, okay, so you grew up learning French in school, then tacked on Spanish, but you speak some Finnish as well or no? No, okay. didn't know. You didn't have any from there speak, right? Some?

Kaila (27:37)
No, like,

yes, they do. They can, yeah, for sure. And we always curse them. My siblings and cousins, we always curse them for never teaching us. ⁓ Because it's a very hard language to learn. Like my cousin, Callum, and I took 1 semester, we took a Finnish 101 here in Toronto together as like an extracurricular thing. And it was hard. It was really hard.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (28:02)
Thanks.

Kaila (28:07)
So I know like very, very basic words and phrases, but that's it.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (28:12)
Yet, do you have any favourite words or phrases in any of the languages that you know?

Kaila (28:19)
Yeah, there's actually there's 1 in Spanish, "Vale la pena". So, yeah, translating to like, "it's worth the struggle, worth the pain". And I actually use that a lot this just this past weekend and when we were in Banff and hiking, like just it was a tough hike and I just kept repeating to myself, vale la pena, vale la pena.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (28:26)
Do you want to translate?

Yes.

Kaila (28:46)
And it did, it was worth it, it was worth it in the end. ⁓ But yeah, that's definitely 1 that I learned in my travels that has stuck.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (28:55)
Cool. Do you use any of your language skills in the workplace, like as a rec therapist? Especially living in Toronto.

Kaila (29:01)
Yes, yes.

Yes, and that's one of my favourite parts of the job too, is being able to practice all different kinds of languages. Sadly, not enough Spanish. ⁓ There aren't a lot of Spanish speakers that ⁓ come into my environment, but I've been learning more more Italian, which is fun, which is very, very fun. Yeah, yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (29:24)
I love that! Cool.

Kaila (29:28)
Italian, know, and I know how to say hello in like a lot of different languages because yeah, it's a very multicultural population that I work with. So it's very fun.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (29:40)
Amazing. What do you do when there's a language barrier, whether you're on the road or at work? Like what's your go-to way to muddle through it?

Kaila (29:49)
I mean, I feel like classically Google Translate, it's really good. If I have access to that, and if not, then love me some charades. It's always good.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (29:55)
You

Yeah.

I feel

like that would be very entertaining to watch.

Kaila (30:06)
Yes,

or if it's like, if it's one of the Romantic languages, I will try and like take from what I know in Spanish and like put a French spin on it or put an Italian spin on it and try. I'm like, ⁓ Because sometimes it works. Sometimes it works. ⁓

Tara (Travel With TMc) (30:21)
Yeah.

I love it. Speaking of tech, so it's 2025, it's April 2025 for whenever people are listening to this episode and we're living in this like wild, crazy, unbelievable time of technological proliferation and AI and all these other things going on. And I'd love to know.

Kaila (30:28)
Zzzz

Tara (Travel With TMc) (30:50)
like your thoughts and opinions on travel and technology and that dance between the 2, like how has tech changed the way that you travel?

Kaila (31:00)
Yeah, I mean, before, because I mentioned that I really love to take pictures, and so I used to travel with like a DSLR and a, like a Canon, like just like a little like point and shoot.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (31:20)
Which are trendy now, by the way. How is this a thing and how are they like a retro? Anyhow, I'm dating myself moving on, but like I see people with them in an ironic sense and I'm like, no.

Kaila (31:33)
just going on this tangent for a second, I kind of like it because it, I don't know, because I feel like we've become so tethered to our phones. And so it's kind of nice to have like a camera again, but it's funny. I do agree how it's just like how, how has it come back for sure.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (31:35)
Yeah.

So yeah, for sure.

separate.

I think

I'm just more ornery that it's showing my age than anything. But yes, let's go there. ⁓

Kaila (31:57)
you

So yeah, used to travel with cameras, plural, but now I only travel with my phone because the camera is just so good and it's just so bulky to carry all this other stuff. Plus, I feel like it ⁓ kind of put the target on your back too, a little bit, especially if you're carrying around multiple cameras. Anyway, so yeah, definitely.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (32:22)
You

Kaila (32:28)
The phone in general is just like such a very, very useful travel tool. ⁓ But I'm also super duper cautious ⁓ when I'm travelling to not be on my phone like all the time and only using it when I absolutely need it. And like when I'm ⁓ yeah, outside of ⁓ Canada, I guess, ⁓ like I'm not buying like a roaming plan or anything like that. I understand that.

Sometimes people have to, for whatever work or emergency or stuff, but I find that it just really helps to keep me present and in the moment to like just not have access, constant access to my phone.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (33:09)
I love that you do that.

Kaila (33:11)
I saw the first time the first time I got like an e-sim was was when David my partner and I went to Italy a few years ago, but I got like the very like basic plan and I only turned it on when we like absolutely needed it So I had it as like an emergency backup ⁓ But did not use it. Yeah frivolously because I kind of like the the ritual of being out all day

taking pictures, just yeah, being in the moment ⁓ and then coming back to the hostel or the hotel at the end of the day and it's kind of like you get to reflect on the day and like look through stuff and maybe that's when you're posting on Instagram and that's kind of a reflective process as well for me. Yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (34:00)
You just keep on getting cooler. You're inspiring me. Prep wise with tech, what do you do to prepare for your travels? Are you into the blogs, the podcasts, the YouTube, social media, guidebooks, talking to people? What's your shtick?

Kaila (34:19)
Yeah, I feel like that's definitely changed over the years too. Definitely always used to love a good Lonely Planet guidebook. But I've definitely moved away from that now with the vastness of the internet and the ease of AI, like chat GPT. I've started, I'm sorry, I've started.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (34:44)
I retract my

previous statements! No, I'm just joking.

Kaila (34:51)
I've

started using it just as like kind of to narrow things down a little bit to give me like a bit of a skeleton and then I will go into the blogs and like kind of and YouTube as well. do like ⁓ being able like I'm a very visual person and so being able to see people's ⁓ like vlogs and kind of like, you should go here, go here. Like especially for tips too for places like do's and don'ts.

rely heavily on YouTube for sure.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (35:24)
Very cool, very cool. And we touched on ⁓ your documenting a little bit. You love to take photos and you love to do the reels and such. Are you a writer at all as well? Or I feel like you usually have pretty thoughtful captions. You're shaking your head now.

Kaila (35:36)
Well, so I guess

I'm a writer in the sense that yeah, if I'm posting something on my Instagram, yes, I'll write something there. ⁓ But I don't really do it outside of that. I would really, really love to be a travel journaller, like just for myself. But I'm always too tired by the end of the day and I just like, I don't do it. So I've just accepted that about myself. ⁓ And instead,

Tara (Travel With TMc) (36:01)
I guess. ⁓

Kaila (36:06)
I kind of treat the like taking pictures as like a photo journal of sorts. ⁓ And just on that note, I feel like there's such a fine line too between taking like enough pictures, but like also being present and like just letting it all soak in too. ⁓ So that's something I'm always, always ⁓ struggling. That's not the right word. ⁓ Dancing, yeah, yeah, I like that, dancing.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (36:30)
See soon, guys.

Yeah. It's

like that shimmy reel right now that's going around.

Kaila (36:37)
Yeah, yeah, for sure. like even, yeah, it's a constant,

it's a constant dance because like in Banff like everything was just so beautiful. And I was like, oh my God, I have to take a picture of this and of this and of this. I, I, there were multiple times where I was like, Kaila, stop it. Just be in the moment. You already have a picture of this and often the picture isn't even as good as, as the real thing. So anyway.

True.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (37:08)
True, Transitioning a wee bit. I think this is a bit of a conversation you and I have had in the past off the podcast, but impacts of travel is an interesting topic in these experiences and often it's a 2-sided coin that's, I feel like a lopsided conversation in North America because we talk about.

how it personally impacts us and the benefits that we receive personally. So I wanna start on that side, but then I wanna shift to the other side of the coin as well. Especially because I know that you're like a very conscientious person and considerate of others. So let's start with like, we've touched on it a wee bit, but how has travel impacted your life positively or negatively or, you know, changing the trajectory of things for you?

Kaila (37:42)
Yeah.

Yeah,

yeah. So when I was applying for ⁓ that exchange program with the Rotary Club, I remember my dad helping me, helping me write it, kind of get wordsmithing a little bit with me being, yeah, a wee teenager. And him, just this 1 phrase really stuck with me that he said and...

It was asking me something like, why, yeah, why do I want to travel or why do I want to do this? ⁓ And he suggested putting ⁓ to, yeah, to expand my global horizons. ⁓ And I mean, those were just some fancy words at the time that looked good on an application, but it's so, it's very, very true and has come true. Like it just, I don't know, you see when you travel and to places that are like very different from where you

live and have grown up, ⁓ you just see that there's so, so many different ways to live and to be happy and that also, especially coming from North America too, I think we kind of grow up thinking that we need so many things in order to be happy, but then you travel to places where they have so much less and they're maybe even happier than you.

And so you kind of learn like you don't need all that other stuff. Like you just need, I don't know, yeah, connection with people, to enjoy yourself, to have joy in your life in general, do things that make you happy. Yeah, I think that's that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (39:41)
Yeah, definitely. there been anything and maybe that's 1 of the things, has there been anything in your travels or in your time living abroad, times living abroad ⁓ where you've either surprised yourself or a place has really surprised you?

Kaila (40:01)
⁓

I think the first thing that's coming to mind here is ⁓ when I was in Santiago, Chile. And so I had been to Argentina already and had done my 2 months there. And that was a number of years before that. And like, just, had such a love ⁓ for Argentina, for the country, and also for the people and the culture. Like there's just, it's just such a warm, really warm culture.

And so I was very naïvely was like, well, because I only had, ⁓ I knew I wanted to go back to South America for my semester abroad. But the only spot that was available was in Santiago, Chile. And so I was like, ⁓ it's fine. It'll be exactly like Argentina. No, that's so silly. That's like, I mean, now I know that.

Now I know that's silly to think like that just because it's on the same continent that it's going to be the same. But it was different. ⁓ I think, yeah, it was different in that like it's ⁓ a more reserved culture and like they're not as like as as kind of warm and welcoming to strangers. And like that's fair, but it was just like a mismatch of my expectations. And so I did really I did struggle.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (41:03)
you

Kaila (41:25)
in Santiago, Chile and I just yeah remember just feeling really like disappointed I was like like I just want to be in Argentina and I mean once I kind of got past that I definitely grew to love Santiago as well and Chile and like again meeting people there too and getting to know people really helped but yeah that was definitely definitely a surprise when I I've travelled.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (41:52)
Yeah, that's such a good point that you make. like how you phrased it, a mismatch of expectations. Because I find oftentimes before we go somewhere, we do have expectations and hopes for what it will be. Oftentimes it can not be the trip itself that's disappointing, but our expectations not being met. That is, I guess, issue for lack of a better word.

Kaila (41:58)
Yeah.

Yes, yes.

Yeah, that's

definitely a lesson that I took away from that experience was to not, to not, like not go in with no expectations, but just like be, have an open mind, have an open mind and realize that yeah, the country is not going to be the same as, yeah, you know what I'm saying.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (42:29)
but yeah.

Right. Yeah, no,

definitely. Are there any skills that you've honed from your experiences abroad that you continue to use or you didn't think were skills that you would gain or, yeah.

Kaila (42:41)
You

I

mean, I talked about it a little bit, but my skill of speaking Spanish, that definitely has come in handy and comes in handy, especially when I travel too. I definitely have a bias to want to travel to Spanish speaking countries because it's just so fun to be able to use it. And I always like, it feels like I feel really good when I can use it when I'm travelling with my family or partner and they're just like, whoa.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (43:25)
It's a good little ego boost,

Kaila (43:27)
Yeah, exactly, So

yeah, definitely that. And then also just my like directional skills in general. umm Definitely, definitely strengthened through travel. ⁓ Because yeah, when you're travelling, you're constantly lost. And so you're kind of forced, you're forced to figure it out and to figure out tools and ways to do that. So yeah, I definitely have travelled I think for both of those.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (43:34)
Hey!

Do you find, because maybe I'm projecting how I feel when I'm abroad, but do you find because you're more alert maybe when you're in a different place and figuring it out, that helps to tie? And I mean, you're not using the Internet as well, so you have to rely on different strategies.

Kaila (44:07)
Yeah, I mean, so just

to clarify, I do, like Google Maps, don't, yes, you don't, I know you know that, that you don't have to be connected to the Internet, but I love that still like the GPS feature still works. And so like, yeah, I'll download the map or like have it in, like I am using that, but even still like learning my like North and South and East and West and.

⁓ It's all been very helpful to...

Tara (Travel With TMc) (44:44)
um bit of a side tangent here, but you mentioned north, south, east and west. Like as a culture shift for me when I moved to Toronto, and I don't know if you felt the same, everybody in Toronto gives directions north, south, east and west. And like, I knew what those things were beforehand, but in KW or other places, yeah, we don't give directions that way. We're like, go left here, do this here, yada yada. But then they're talking about the north side of the street and the south side. Did you find that when you moved to Toronto as well? Yeah, I see you're like shaking your head.

Kaila (45:00)
In practice, yes.

Yes. Yes.

Yeah, definitely the same. And I think it's so much easier to do in Toronto because it's such a more of a grid than, I mean, especially KW, because I've lived there too. It's like the roads go like this.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (45:27)
I

think a drunk person designed the roads in KW and it's not getting any better right now. Anyhow. ⁓ Are there any types of travels that you haven't tried yet that you'd like to and why haven't you tried them yet or why do you want to give them a go?

Kaila (45:31)
Yeah.

Hmm. I really love the idea of like a guided tour. just like, like some actually like something that your mom does. woo woo woo.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (45:56)
Shout out MP TOURS! That's season

1! I'll link it up below!

Kaila (46:02)
⁓

A little plug there. But truly, because I mean, being a working professional full-time ⁓ while planning for a trip is very exciting, it's also can be very exhausting and overwhelming as well. And so I would, I just, I love the idea of just like signing up for something and just showing up and letting them do everything. And I mean, I haven't done that as of yet because it's expensive.

And I've been a very frugal traveller up until more recently. yeah, it would love me a guided tour.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (46:43)
Cool, alrighty. ⁓

Kaila (46:46)
And also

actually something that's in the works is like a mini Euro trip as well. I've always wanted to do like a Euro trip and again how I said that I used to think that it had to be for an extended period amount of time. Now that I am in the mindset that it doesn't have to be that long, that's why I'm calling it a mini Euro trip. But I'm thinking this year I...

I'm going to go to London, England, and then go to Paris and then Amsterdam. ⁓ Yeah, that's in the works.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (47:19)
Amazing.

Love it. I can't wait to hear more about that. Okay, so flipping to the other side of this conversation. I'd love to know how you approach the way that your presence your experience in another place ⁓ impacts that place and those people that you're visiting like, what would you

Kaila (47:25)
You

Mmm. Uh-huh. ⁓

Tara (Travel With TMc) (47:49)
How does that look for you or is that something that you consider and yeah.

Kaila (47:55)
Yeah, yeah, definitely. like first and foremost, I always want to be respectful of a place that I'm travelling to. Like I'm a visitor there. And yeah, I just want to be respectful. So what does that look like? I mean, I always learn like hello, at least hello and thank you in like the language of the country that I'm going to.

Because I feel like that always goes a long way, like not assuming that just like everyone speaks English. Because that is a really big pet peeve of mine when I hear other travellers being like, they don't even speak English. I'm like, no, you don't speak their language. You are in their country.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (48:41)
Yeah.

Yep. I'm so with you on that. That's 1 of my biggest travel pet peeves.

Kaila (48:49)
Huge, huge, huge, huge. So always make sure to do that. And also along with respect and yeah, just like a smile goes a long way too, just being, yeah, a positive presence in their country. And always like I like to look up like customs before going too.

When I was in Thailand, they said when we went into any sort of temples or anything to have our shoulders covered and like it's like and legs too. And like it's hot. It's hot in Thailand. So like that wouldn't have been like ⁓ a thing that I would just do naturally. ⁓ But out of respect, ⁓ I made sure that I knew that and did that. ⁓

Yeah, just not being an a-hole.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (49:45)
As you say that so sweetly as well. ⁓

Kaila (49:49)
Well, I don't

think I can swear on this podcast.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (49:52)
Go for it! I think Paula

dropped a couple in her episode.

Kaila (49:56)
Just not being an asshole. Like just

being respectful. Yeah. And actually something that just came to mind too, like when I'm at like an artisan's market or something, like not haggling so much. Like these people put a lot of work into their art and to these things that they're selling to us. And so like it just...

Tara (Travel With TMc) (50:02)
Yep.

Kaila (50:23)
Like I was brought up being like, get the best price. But I like, don't, I don't really like identify with that anymore because it feels, I don't know. It doesn't feel right. They, they, they get what they, yeah, they deserve.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (50:26)
Thank you.

Yeah, fair enough. Awesome.

Yeah,

yeah, yeah, all good things to consider. So you've lived abroad once, would you say, or a few times, would you say? Because your extended stays, like, how would you?

Kaila (50:50)
I would say 2, I guess. Yeah, like Argentina, like short term living abroad. Yeah, 2 months in Argentina during high school and then in university. was in South America for 7 months, 5 of those months being in Santiago, Chile.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (51:12)
And so with the live abroad experiences and maybe also your travel experiences, is there anywhere that you've been like, oh my God, I could live here longer term, whether that longer term is like a year, couple of years or life, you know, I feel like everything's going to temporary. But has there ever been a place where you've been like, wow, this feels like a place I could make home?

Kaila (51:28)
Yeah.

Yeah, I don't think anywhere but Canada long-term. But I've definitely like travelling to Italy, travelling to Italy a couple of years ago. ⁓ boy, I really love that place a lot. And like I just I want to go back so badly and think it would be really fun to to live there even like temporarily, like maybe like 6 months to a year.

Again, for the language piece as well, immersing myself in a culture, I think would be really fun and challenging. I've also thought, when I was younger, I really wanted to live in New York City for ⁓ 6 months to a year, again, just short-term. ⁓ I don't know that I would do that now, but ⁓ that definitely was something. And then thirdly, another place I thought that it could be fun to live is

in Finland, in Helsinki. I don't know the language at all as ⁓ I mentioned, but ⁓ maybe I would if I lived there. And yeah, for context, I have a Finnish background. My mother was born there and we were brought up with a lot of Finnish culture. And so I just think it would be really neat to live there for a little bit.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (52:37)
No?

Super cool, super super cool. I don't even know if I realized that your mom was born there. I think I just assumed that she was born in the Soo, but that's super neat.

Kaila (53:08)
Yeah,

yeah, when she was 1, when she was 1, they moved to Sault Ste. Marie and then my aunt was born in the Soo. ⁓ But yeah, she was born there. hmm

Tara (Travel With TMc) (53:19)
Is there anything that you do when you're abroad that you don't do when you're at home?

Kaila (53:24)
like

pack my schedule full like every there there's some sort of like travel adrenaline that runs through us I think when we're yeah when we're travelling it's just like you want to make the most of the trip you want to see everything do everything ⁓ and it always amazes me especially in these last few years of going on shorter trips like how much you can pack into 1 day it is wild it's wild

Tara (Travel With TMc) (53:28)
Thank

Kaila (53:53)
⁓ And then how long the trip feels because of that too. So just jam-packing and it kind of like puts, I don't know, yeah, puts some time into perspective too because then you realize like at home you probably, you can do a little bit more too. Yeah, I'm trying to think is there anything else? ⁓ No, I think that's it. I think that's really the biggest thing that I do differently.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (54:21)
Yeah, it is interesting. I think it's kind of similar to people who have kids and they're like, I get so much more done now. How did I not do this beforehand? ⁓ Yeah, yeah, because they have to squeeze things in or make things out. Like the intention has to be there, right? Whereas if we have all the time in the world, like, I'll get to it at some point and then we don't, right?

Kaila (54:31)
Like with kids? ⁓ wow.

True.

yes. yeah.

Yeah, no, that's a good point. ⁓

Tara (Travel With TMc) (54:48)
Yeah, ⁓ this word has come up a few times, but what does home mean to you and how do you create home when you're somewhere else?

Kaila (55:00)
I think, yeah, home, and this is maybe a little bit cheesy, but it's more of like who I'm with than where I am. So mean, home is definitely with my partner David. And so as long as I'm with him, I feel like I'm home.

Although I will say that when we were travelling together in Italy, we both really missed our cat Trudy. So maybe it's wherever David and Trudy are. Yeah. ⁓ and if I, if, if I'm travelling without David, then it's connecting with him, like through, through, our phones, just doing video calls and just sharing pictures and stuff with each other. ⁓ love technology for that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (55:35)
Package seal.

Nice.

Yeah, I agree. I don't know this just came to me right now. I don't know if you can relate to this at all. I don't feel like I've ever been homesick. And I think that that's because I've always had Skype or phone like WhatsApp or whatever else like, I, I don't have to go any period of time without connecting with family or friends because of tech. And for that reason, like, anytime I've lived abroad or travelled extensively.

Kaila (56:19)
You've never, never once felt homesickness.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (56:21)
never felt homesick. There have been a couple times where like there are things that I've missed, but it's I wouldn't call it homesickness. I don't know. Maybe I'm missing the point of what homesickness is then.

Kaila (56:30)
Mmm. Yeah, no, I definitely have.

I definitely, no, I've definitely experienced homesickness. ⁓ Yeah, when I was in Santiago and going through the realization that it was not what I was expecting, ⁓ I definitely felt some, yeah, felt some there. And it's just, I guess it feels like just a longing to like, like I just wanted to go home, just wanted, I mean, at that time, yeah, I wasn't with David, so home was with my family and my parents. And so, ⁓ I mean, technology definitely helped with that, like connecting with them. ⁓

Tara (Travel With TMc) (56:45)
Right.

Kaila (57:07)
And I remember my sister sent me a little care package too, which was so nice and definitely helped. ⁓ But I remember too feeling just like a smidge of homesickness when I was in Thailand. And I think it was because of the length of the trip too. Yeah, and if you're going through a low mood or anything, then that certainly doesn't help. Luckily, it's short-lived, but yeah, I've definitely experienced it.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (57:37)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's the weirdest place you've slept?

Kaila (57:44)
I mean, maybe a toss up, a toss up between that tree top hostel that I was talking about where I got dengue. Weirdest and coolest simultaneously, or like a small little sleeper train also in Thailand. But I was definitely too big for the...

I was definitely too big for it, ⁓ but I slept there. And I remember it being like this skinny too. So not only like short in length, but also just being like narrow. Yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (58:12)
Thank you.

Yep.

Yep. Have you been to Vietnam yet? I forget. Okay. So my, the, I think similar thing to that is in Vietnam, they have these like overnight buses that you can take. And I did not fit in those at all either. I was like, good thing I like, you know, can sleep like a fetus kind of thing. Cause these legs were not getting into that berth there. I can only imagine. Yikes. ⁓ okay.

Kaila (58:29)
No.

No, no, no, no, no.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (58:53)
Changing tracks a little bit again. We have talked a little bit about ⁓ the whole money and time thing, ⁓ but you've also been able to take care of the money components a little bit by travelling with points of miles.

Kaila (59:10)
Thanks to you!

Tara (Travel With TMc) (59:13)
to you because you wanted to do it, right? Like I can talk about all I want and tell friends and family, but if people don't want to get into it, it's not going to get them anywhere. What was the kicker for you? Why did you want to start learning how to use points and miles?

Kaila (59:15)
Yes.

Yes.

You, you, truly, you just really inspired me and just like talking about how, you were going on all these trips and like we're only paying a fraction of the cost. I was like, well, I want that. And ⁓ yeah, with our relationship too and just feeling comfortable with chatting with you and everything. I was like, yeah, why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't I talk with her about it? And so yeah, it's been really nice. don't like, I'm not...

Tara (Travel With TMc) (59:29)
Thank

Yeah. ⁓

Kaila (59:57)
⁓ very intentional about like the points earning. It's just kind of like an added bonus. I just like use my credit card for everything. ⁓ And then when I want to go on a trip, I'm like, do I have enough points? like so far for each one I have, every trip I've wanted to go on since, yeah, since doing this points program, I have been able to. So that's...

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:00:23)
You've done how many trips now on points? Or how many flights I should say on points?

Kaila (1:00:29)
⁓ So Banff did points, San Francisco did points. I'm pretty sure I did Italy on points too. Yeah. And ⁓ our family trip to Vegas and Palm Springs I did as well. yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:00:43)
I think you had mentioned that.

Wow.

No way!

Kaila (1:00:57)
I guess I spend a lot of money outside of travel.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:01:03)
That's amazing. Okay. ⁓ that makes me so happy that you've done all that.

Kaila (1:01:08)
Yeah,

yeah, and I mean, I and I definitely have enough for like that little mini Euro trip that I was mentioning. I definitely have enough for to do that, too. So, yeah, I'm set, man. I'm Yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:01:20)
Cool.

For context for the listeners, when we're talking about points and miles, we won't get into the nitty gritty here, but the gist is you spend money, you put it on your credit cards, you earn points, and then you redeem your points for flights. And like Kaila said, they're a fraction of the cost. So I think your birthday trip to San Francisco, what was it, like $70 for the return tickets from Toronto?

Kaila (1:01:47)
Yeah, something in and around there. Yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:01:49)
Yeah, and

that's like, I don't know, between let's say $7- and $1,100 typically Canadian. So, steel. Nice! Awesome! A+ student over there. What are 2 or 3, or 1 if you just want 1, items that you always travel with? What are must haves?

Kaila (1:01:57)
Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

So, definitely my passport. And I check about 37 times before I leave the house to make sure I have it. Do we have time for a quick passport story? So, luckily I learned from my sister's mistake of when she was flying out to work on

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:02:29)
Yeah!

Kaila (1:02:42)
cruise ship. The whole family, we all loaded up in a van, drove from Midland to Pearson Airport and she went to check into her flight and she realized she did not have her passport and then remembered that she had left it in the scanner because she was taking a copy of it back in Midland, which is a 2 hour drive from... Have you not heard this story? Oh man, legend.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:03:06)
I have not heard this story!

Kaila (1:03:11)
And so long story short, we have a very good family friend who broke into our house with permission, grabbed the passport and like sped down the 400 to the airport and got, I think they delayed the flight a little bit for her. So thanks to them for that.

But needless to say, we have all learned our lesson from that and it's just like a running thing in our family. Like, do you have your passport? Do you have your passport? So never, never travel obviously without my passport. I also love my, I have a little travel pharmacy because I've had my fair share of little sicknesses on travelling and it's not fun when you don't have stuff like on hand. So I've got something for every ailment.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:04:01)
Yeah. ⁓

I'm proud of things.

Kaila (1:04:07)
And

it's nice because it's nice and compact so it doesn't take up too much space. Yeah, one that I made. yeah. And then probably my Kobo as well, my little e-reader. ⁓ I just love how portable it is and it really helps to pass time when you're on a long flight or train ride or, yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:04:10)
Is it one that you made or one that you purchase? You it? Okay.

Yeah,

definitely. Any safety tips, whether it's as a solo female traveller or just in general travelling, you've talked a little bit about not having a bunch of cameras hanging off you and being a target that way.

Kaila (1:04:43)
Yes,

yes, definitely that. ⁓ And then also ⁓ something that has always been stressed for my parents is to be aware. Like I just, every time before a trip, my dad will say, be aware of your surroundings. And it's so true. Like you can't be aloof because that's when you get taken advantage of. ⁓ And so I am always aware, like not.

having my head in my phone or a book or whatever, just always having, yeah, being aware. ⁓ Yes, exactly. ⁓ And just like also, especially as ⁓ a solo female traveller, like I think I'm 5 foot 11. And so I think my stature definitely helps ⁓ in terms of safety. Like I think I'm maybe less of a target.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:05:16)
Let's go.

Kaila (1:05:39)
but I also walk around with lot of confidence and purpose, and I think that really helps too. not, even if you are lost, try not to portray that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:05:50)
Yeah,

I think that's such a great piece of advice for people. Look like you know what's up and where you're going, for sure. It also helps you get into places that you might not otherwise. But that's a trick learned from Terry and we're not gonna go there again. How do you deal with the post-trip blues?

Kaila (1:05:56)
Yes. Yep.

⁓

Honestly, I'm typically pretty happy to come home. It's just such, and we talked about this recently, that it always feels so nice to come home. Yes, it's sad that the trip is coming to an end, but there's so many little creature comforts at home and just the familiarity of everything and not having to be as on high alert.

as when you're travelling is just always a relief. But then I really like to reminisce and like, yeah, making my reels, making my reels and like posting my pictures and stuff. That's a very reflective process and helps me kind of tie a bow on the trip.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:07:00)
Yeah, Perfect. Speaking of tying bows, we're coming to the end of our chat. It has flown by. ⁓ So as a bonus for the listeners, with all of my guests' help, I have curated a Travelling Through Life: A Podcast on the Go Travel Playlist for them to listen to on their own trips. So what is 1 song that either sums up your travel style or that reminds you of 1 of your trips has been like an anthem?

Kaila (1:07:05)
It flew by. Yeah.

Mmmmm.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:07:29)
for 1 of your trips.

Kaila (1:07:31)
Yeah, I feel like definitely the latter. I feel like there are a few different, there are songs that remind me of specific trips. One ⁓ that really throws me right back to Italy is Piccolo Piccolo by Robertino.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:07:55)
Great! We're going with the proper Italian song! I love this!

Kaila (1:07:57)
Yeah, yeah,

because so leading up to that trip, the Italian trip, like I made a little Italian playlist of like just classic Italian songs. ⁓ And then David and I listened to it like while we were in Italy, too. And so now that playlist, like whenever I play it, just like takes me right back and it's it's so nice.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:08:07)
Yeah.

I love that idea that you made your own playlist of music from the place before travelling there. That's so cool!

Kaila (1:08:25)
I haven't, I think that's the only time I've done that was yeah, for Italy, but I definitely liked it. I've also heard of a tip ⁓ to listen to a brand new album. It doesn't necessarily have to like tie into the place you're going, but just a new album to you, listen to it while you're travelling because then you will forever associate that album with your trip. And I haven't tried that yet, but I would definitely want to do that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:08:49)
you.

Yeah, tying into this a little bit, I don't know why this made me think of this, but you know how you messaged me the other day about Bon Iver's new album drop? I had never really listened to him before Ireland. I had always associated him with you, actually, because you loved him so much. Yeah, and then I saw him live there (in Dublin), hated the concert, ironically enough, and that's where I saw The Staves open for the first time and loved them.

Kaila (1:09:07)
No... I guess.

and then introduced me to The Staves.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:09:21)
Yeah,

we've got all the circles coming together right now. But every time I hear that now, I think of you and Ireland because it's the first time association. Yeah. Okay. This is the last part of our chat. We're going to do the speed round. ⁓ So answer in 1 word, 1 sentence. But if you really got to sneak in a story, that's okay too. Okay. So where was your last trip?

Kaila (1:09:23)
Yes.

Awwww. That's nice.

Okay.

Okay.

Banff, Alberta.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:09:52)
And where is your next trip?

Kaila (1:09:54)
A mini Euro trip. So starting in London, going to Paris, then to Amsterdam.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:10:00)
Perfect. And what is your dream destination?

Kaila (1:10:09)
I don't know. I don't know. ⁓ Maybe Norway, actually. Yeah, Norway, because I have some Norwegian roots on my dad's side, and so I think that would be cool. Norway, let's say that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:10:22)
Now I understand

why you guys are all so tall. ⁓ Would you prefer to see many places or get to know 1 really well?

Kaila (1:10:32)
These are hard questions. I can't decide. Both, both. If I have the time, then sure, get to know a place. But if, like right now, I only have a little bit of time, then kind of see a number of places.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:10:34)
Mm.

Alright, we'll cut it to 12.

Yeah, bougie or budget.

Kaila (1:10:58)
Mmm, budget, but with some bougie, like, extras.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:11:05)
I like that.

Ocean or outer space?

Kaila (1:11:08)
Ocean. ⁓

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:11:11)
Your face on that was like, what kind of question

is this? Favourite travel YouTuber, blogger, podcaster, or just content creator in general? For real though.

Kaila (1:11:23)
Travel with TMc

When I was planning our trip to Italy, there was a, ⁓ a podcaster or no, sorry, not podcaster. she was on TikTok. ⁓ shoot. think Casey. I'm going to have to, I'm going to, can I get, it to you later? Yeah. She, she is an American living in Florence. ⁓ and like, she just has really great content. I really enjoyed it.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:11:49)
Yes, and it's a new book.

Cool, all righty. Favourite mode of transportation.

Kaila (1:12:03)
I like a streetcar, really, or something above ground where I can see, or like a train where I can see scenery as I go.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:12:17)
Nobody said street car before, I love that!

Kaila (1:12:21)
Well yeah, because then I'm not the one having to drive so I can actually like pay attention and see, right? yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:12:26)
Yes.

Makes sense. All right. Planned or spontaneous trips.

Kaila (1:12:34)
The type A in me says planned.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:12:36)
Underpacker or overpacker?

Kaila (1:12:42)
If I had to lean, definitely overpacker but I've gotten really good at being like an adequate, like appropriate, appropriate amount packer.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:12:51)
Okay,

all right. Most overrated destination.

Kaila (1:13:03)
I really don't know. actually, Yonge and Dundas Square in Toronto.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:13:11)
Throwing her own city under the bus. ⁓

Kaila (1:13:15)
Specifically, Yonge and Dundas Square and like Yonge Street

in general. Like I feel like that's where like, yeah, the travel places like tell people to go, but don't go there. Don't go there. There's so many better places in the city.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:13:27)
Where's 1 place you would send somebody in Toronto who hasn't been before?

Kaila (1:13:31)
Definitely like Roncesvalles, Roncesvalles neighborhood and High Park. Yeah, actually, quick little story, met a German woman in Banff and she told us that she was travelling to Toronto and so yeah, that's what I told her. I said, don't do that. Don't go to like the main streets.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:13:40)
Yes.

Yeah, cool. Like it. Most underrated destination.

Kaila (1:13:59)
I think South America really like no one travels to South America. No one and it's amazing. It's so friggin beautiful. I ⁓ man Yeah, just the nature, the culture, the people, everything South America as a whole definitely underrated

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:14:19)
Yeah, what home comfort do you miss the most when you're away?

Kaila (1:14:24)
My little cat Trudy.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:14:25)
I

knew you were gonna say that! ⁓

Kaila (1:14:28)
But

yeah, that's the thing I can't bring with me.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:14:32)
Yeah. What's the best piece of travel advice you've ever received?

Kaila (1:14:39)
that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. And so to push yourself to do the things that scare you, kind of tied in with that, feel the fear and do it anyway. Be okay with a little bit of discomfort because so many opportunities and experiences come from that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:15:02)
Yeah, nailed that on the head. Worst piece of travel advice you've received.

Kaila (1:15:14)
Worst piece of travel advice.

Oh, that Rome is not worth it. That Rome is overrated. I loved it. very sadly, I heard a number of people told me that it was overrated. And so I didn't plan too much time there. We only had 24 hours, but I was really sad about that because I really wanted to spend more time after seeing it. So that was definitely the worst advice.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:15:47)
Cool. If you had to choose between house sitting, couch surfing, hostels, Airbnb or hotels, what's your gut reaction? Where would you go?

Kaila (1:15:59)
⁓ gut reaction Airbnb.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:16:02)
Okay, window seat or aisle seat.

Kaila (1:16:05)
Mmm... Depends on the length of the flight. If it's a long flight aisle, if it's shorter than 5 hours, window.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:16:13)
Cool. ⁓ Describe yourself as a traveller in 3 words.

Kaila (1:16:21)
adventurous.

Conscientious.

and fun-loving

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:16:33)
So appropriate. Three characteristics that make for a good travel buddy.

Kaila (1:16:38)
you

Being able to spend time independently as well as together.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:16:47)
Mm-hmm.

Kaila (1:16:51)
Someone who also can like kind of go with the flow and like doesn't get too stressed out when things go awry.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:17:03)
Because they will.

Kaila (1:17:05)
Yep.

And yeah, I think it's important to have the same kind of travel goals as well. Like if you're both looking for adventure or for food or whatever, it's important to have similar goals. Yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:17:17)
be on the same page for sure.

What's the best part of travelling?

Kaila (1:17:24)
I think the memories and like that, like you're going to take those with you for the rest of your life. Like I had, I had so much fun kind of reflecting like for like this today. ⁓ just like going through pictures and stuff and just like reliving everything and like, I'm gonna, yeah, I'm going to have that for the rest of my life. So I think, I think the memories.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:17:43)
Very cool. And the worst part of travel?

Kaila (1:17:48)
⁓ I think like the environmental impact. Yeah. Yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:17:53)
Yeah, that's a good point.

I don't know how much this applies for you, but best travel app.

Kaila (1:18:00)
Hmm... I mean, I cannot travel without my Google Maps, so I will say that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:18:09)
That's a popular favourite.

I didn't give you a heads up on this 1, but do you have a favourite travel book or movie or something that's like set somewhere else? It doesn't have to be a travel story per se, but something that's brought you through the pages or the screen somewhere else.

Kaila (1:18:28)
Actually, yeah, I recently read a book by Casey McQuiston called, I think it's called The Pairing. And it's about this queer couple who they like had planned this this ⁓ Euro trip together, but then they broke up and then a couple years later they end up like both somehow going on this trip anyway. And so, yeah.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:18:55)
Together? didn't

know if it was like a random they ran into each other deciding separately to do the trip.

Kaila (1:19:02)
So sorry, no it was, it was random. Like they had to use the trip up or something and so they were both like, fine, I guess I'll go and then they show up and then they're both there and they're like, Oh my gosh. And so, yeah, it was really fun because they travel through like Italy and France and Spain and so you, and the author does a really good job at like describing these places. So yeah, I really liked that.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:19:14)
We love this.

What did you say the name of it was?

Kaila (1:19:29)
I'm pretty sure it's called The Pairing.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:19:31)
The Pairing, okay, awesome. And last question, answer this how you would like... the best gift for a traveller.

Kaila (1:19:42)
Give currency money money in the currency in the currency of the place they're going to I have received that a couple of times and it's so nice. It's so nice, especially for like kind of more obscure places than if you're going to like the States it's where you have to like take the extra time to like Get that like order it from the bank and stuff. Yeah

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:19:53)
See you then.

Yeah, cool. That's a great one. All right. Kaila! This was so nice. I love talking with you so much. We don't do it enough. You just exude such positivity. You're a ray of sunshine. You have such cool insights and interesting stories. And yeah, I love you so much. Thank you for coming on the podcast.

Kaila (1:20:08)
Yeah.

Thank you. Love you too. This was really nice.

Thanks for having me. I'm really, really honoured that you asked me. So thank you. ⁓

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:20:34)
Please, you've been on my to

talk with list for a long time. Is there anything else that you want to add before we go? If people want to get ahold of you, you're welcome to share your information or you can remain mysterious.

Kaila (1:20:39)
Thank you.

I'm going to remain mysterious. Thank you.

Tara (Travel With TMc) (1:20:51)
Okay. Awesome.

If that's it, we'll catch you in person hopefully sometime soon. Bye.

Kaila (1:21:00)
Yes, bye!