Unpacking Post-Pandemic Travel Prices: A Deep Dive into Market Dynamics and Visa Waiver Programs

Ever wondered why travel prices have skyrocketed after the pandemic? Let's uncover this mystery together with Ashish and I on a riveting journey into the heart of travel pricing and market dynamics. We break it down for you, providing insights into how travel destinations are striving to recover financially after a year of turmoil, and why travel prices are slowly reverting to the pre-pandemic levels. Our aim is to help you understand this shift, not to set off panic alarms. So, buckle up and prepare for a thrilling ride! 

The journey doesn't end here. We also walk you through the labyrinth of visa waiver programs and airport security, unveiling the reasons behind the increased costs of travel. We focus specifically on the visa waiver program for Europe, compare it to the US and Canada's visa processes, and enlighten you on how taxes and fees contribute to travel costs. But, that's not all. We also discuss the potential increased scrutiny some travelers might face due to their travel history. Join us for this enlightening conversation; it's an episode you won't want to miss!

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show to help us reach even more aspiring travelers. Don’t forget to check out our website, visit us on Facebook, Instagram or follow

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Use the following links when planning your own travel!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Have you ever wondered how the pros put together epic tailor-made travel adventures? Welcome to the Intrepid Traveler Podcast. I'm your host, robin Klein, and I'm going to explain to you just how that is done during my conversation with today's guest. When it comes to luxury adventure and expedition travel, the possibilities are endless. In each episode, you'll hear from an expert in his or her field about how these experiences, and more, are created.

Speaker 1: 0:37

This episode of the Intrepid Traveler is brought to you by Klein Co Travel Consultinga luxury adventure and expedition travel planning company specializing in un-Googleable experiences. You can find us on the web at Kleinandcoattravelcom. On Instagram, at Klein Co Travel, we have a private Facebook group you are welcome to join. You can find us on LinkedIn or catch the video version on YouTube. With that said, let's welcome today's guest. So Ashish and I have decided we're having so much fun doing these episodes together that we're going to do it somewhat regularly, and I hope that you'll enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoy recording them. We'll have one of these about once a month, and the subject matter will be what not to worry about in travel. Enjoy, okay. Good morning, and we are here with another episode of the Ashish and Robin show. No, I'm kidding. Good morning America. Exactly exactly.

Speaker 1: 1:45

It's kind of starting to feel that way a little bit, though. Ashish has a podcast called the Sustainable Voice my podcast, of course, is the Intrepid Traveler and once a month we do a co-hosted episode of the newly dubbed Ashish and Robin show and we talk about what is it? We talk about Ashish.

Speaker 2: 2:06

Things we shouldn't freak out about. Exactly, don't freak out.

Speaker 1: 2:10

That's right. We do have some great subjects to talk about today, and we each are bringing one to the table. So today, since I let us off, why don't you lead with? What is your subject not to freak out about?

Speaker 2: 2:25

Yeah, for me and I've had this conversation, so my background is in finance and economics, so obviously I'm a numbers guy, so I have constant conversations with people, not just about travel, but just in general. Things are kind of so expensive and inflation and whatnot, and I'll stop at somebody and say we need to actually take a step back and I'm not bringing politics into this, but you need to take a step back and there's a couple of things that you got to understand. So, first of all, anybody who traveled last year, anybody who traveled 2021, 2020, you know what well, part of 2020, it's almost like this, not for everybody, but for a small percentage of the population.

Speaker 2: 3:06

There's a sticker shock that comes with this year and with 2024 and even 2025. And I've heard explanations and people go well, things are just getting more expensive. But I even had that conversation with an insurance agent. A home insurance agent said well, things are just getting more expensive with the price of inflation and whatnot. That's not a good, that's not a good enough explanation. So why? You know, we shouldn't freak out and we should understand the full reasoning. So let's go back to the pandemic, let's go back to 2020, not mentally or emotionally, let's just go back.

Speaker 1: 3:38

I was just going to say I don't want to go back. Please, I want to go back to that. Don't make me go back.

Speaker 2: 3:42

You can't make me, I'm not going.

Speaker 1: 3:45

Exactly, exactly, no, but okay, but from a historical perspective, from a historical. This can hurt you.

Speaker 2: 3:52

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. Yes, so if we go back to that, you know, everybody in travel rolled their prices back to 2019, not just in travel, but in general. With the exception of cars and houses, everything else was either kept stagnant, but the prices went down a little bit for everything else, yeah, and building, building materials.

Speaker 2: 4:10

Yeah, absolutely yeah, building materials as well, exactly, exactly. So it's interesting because that's part of this, because a good friend of mine actually is involved in home construction. He does, you know, he's a huge part of all new home construction, so he's a good bellwether for what the economy is doing. So, but in travel specifically, right, so in 2020, a lot of places, almost every place rolled their prices back to 2019. So you're now talking about when you do start traveling in later 2020, past 2021, you're paying 2019 pricing. So, almost across the board. We talked to somebody in 2021 and I talked to some people said oh well, 2021 is great, everybody held over 2020 pricing. No, they didn't, they held over 2019 pricing.

Speaker 1: 4:51

Yeah, because there was really no 2020. There was no 2020 pricing.

Speaker 2: 4:55

Everything was rolled back. So 2019 pricing so that was 2021, you're paying 2019 pricing In 2022, you're paying 2020 and 2021 pricing. This year, 2023, you're paying what the pricing should have been in 2022. Next year, you're paying full market value for what the price should be in 2024.

Speaker 2: 5:17

So I use that as an explanation and it works to say look in a lot of these countries you know whether you and Robin, you and I, the countries working 80% of our third level destinations, right, whether it's in Egypt or Kenya, they are hurting for cash. They are short on cash. They owe a lot of people money for different reasons, because they shut their economy down during COVID and realize it's tourism dependent. Their unemployment rates went to 65, 70%. They've got to have a chance to make back that money. In the case of East Africa, you're talking about making seven months of money in 12 months. So we tell them you can't freak out. It's like, literally, if somebody came to you and said, hey, I know you're a travel economy is booming, but I want the price from five years ago. In what world do you get that anywhere? Forget about travel, right, right.

Speaker 1: 6:03

Yeah, I mean go buy a car or a house or groceries. Yeah exactly Nothing is the same price it was. Exactly, there's no reason, this is going to stay the same either.

Speaker 2: 6:14

No exactly, exactly, and so it's basically telling people look, you can't freak out about this. It is the case. We can complain about airfare going up and everything going up and, yes, the cost, everything goes up. But if we drill down to everything whether it's airlines, hotels, tours travel, adventure travel, whatever it is you drill down to everything. We have to remember, right? We were paying 2019 prices in 2020. We were paying 2021 prices in 2022. We were paying 2022 prices in 2023. We are now paying 2024 prices in 2024. Right 2023 and 2024.

Speaker 1: 6:54

Yeah exactly.

Speaker 2: 6:55

The market has to catch up. And the other thing is also that we have to accept that travel is booming. It's not. You know, countries are sitting at 30% occupancy, 20% occupancy, it's 100%, and overcrowding is a concern in certain places.

Speaker 2: 7:10

I was talking to a very good friend from Italy yesterday who owns a company there and she was just talking about the fact that she said we still have to have our stop sell. We're syllable wound. We need to have a stop sell. We just need to be able to control what's happening. She sits on the World Child with Children Council Board with me and she was talking about the fact that over tourism is a concern and we have to be able to connect local people. Well, connecting local people isn't free right Just because somebody's part of an indigenous community. I know Europe is a separate animal, but if you go into places in Africa and Latin America connecting people in a local economy, you got to pay them a fair price because they're from a local community and because they're a minority doesn't mean you get to pay them less, so that's something that's really key.

Speaker 1: 7:52

Yeah, yeah, well, and I mean, I think that that's one of the things that you guys are so great at is that you make sure that when you, the partners that you work with in different countries that people are getting fair wages living wages and you know, I get the thing a lot where people will be like, oh well, that should be an inexpensive destination or that should be cheap, and it's like why?

Speaker 2: 8:18

You know why? Why?

Speaker 1: 8:18

would you, you know, think that? So a lot of it is is educating our clients about why things you know. I mean I have a dear friend who's now departed but he had a great saying was good ain't cheap and cheap ain't good.

Speaker 2: 8:38

You can't have both. It's either good or it's cheap. You can't be both.

Speaker 1: 8:41

Right, Right or well, I mean sometimes, but man, that's getting lucky.

Speaker 2: 8:45

Yeah. But even those times where it's like, yeah, well, this is too good to be true. In about five years you look back and go, wow, it was too good to be true. Yeah, so at some point the wheels come off the bus, the varnish comes off at some point.

Speaker 1: 8:56

That's exactly right. I mean it's you know, it's buying the, you know, whatever it is. I mean, if we apply this to a car, yeah, if you buy the car that is made less expensively, with lower quality parts and all of that, it is not going to last as long. So it's like are you going to pay for it up front or are you going to pay for it later when you have to buy another car because the first one didn't last and rabbit hole?

Speaker 1: 9:28

number one I got to share this with you. Sorry, you laugh hysterically, okay.

Speaker 2: 9:32

So my son is a new driver and so we're looking, we were looking for a car for him, okay, and I remember I had a friend tell me I'll just get him a beater. And of course I'm not, we're not getting him anything new, we're going to get him a beater. But get him a beater, get him something there. And he shows me his car. So look, this car is only this much money, it's so cheap and whatnot. And I said, look, it's still my son. Like I need to make sure it's still safe. He goes.

Speaker 1: 9:55

Oh, it's fine.

Speaker 2: 9:56

So there's the Institute of Highway Safety I think insurance Institute of Highway Safety. They have those offset crashes.

Speaker 2: 10:03

I love watching those just because you get to see our cars, really, really built right, they basically run a car into a highway at 50 miles an hour, sort of like how you're dealing with the traveling machine. You're basically running into a lot of 50 miles an hour. So different than that this is what the fallout is yeah, exactly, Just like all right, here we go, Open holes, and I looked up the exact car he told me he's like oh, this car is too cheap, I want to this thing crumpled like tissue banner.

Speaker 2: 10:29

So I showed it to him and I said Okay, would you put your enemy here? Oh Well, depends on the enemy.

Speaker 1: 10:36

I said wait, hold on, hold on would you really put some of your tears of enemy enemies.

Speaker 2: 10:42

Yeah, yeah, like I did that vindictive when you put the enemy here's like, well, no, of course not, I wouldn't want to anybody there. So why would you put anybody's child there? Little on anything else you know. So it's the same thing. What job? It's the same thing, right? I mean we shouldn't freak out about how the prices are going up and stop and think okay, if our company is offering you something that is 50% less than what the market's giving you, that money is coming From somewhere get. Case in point Galapagos. You start looking all these different products in the Galapagos and the price points is there's a sale here. Free this and free that. Those are coming from guides, payment for the most part. And there's a reason why the best guides don't work with those companies, right, right, right yeah.

Speaker 2: 11:21

So yeah, that's what I tell you don't freak out about, yeah that's.

Speaker 1: 11:25

That's a. That's a good one. That absolutely is so. Okay. So mine is the new quote-quote visa for Europe, and which it is not a visa. We're gonna start with saying it is not a visa. What most of us don't realize is this this is something Europeans have had to do for a long time To come into the United States right.

Speaker 1: 11:46

You know, most of the rest of the world has to do this to come into the United States and what it is, which I Failed to remember right now what the official name of it is, but it is actually a visa waiver or it's something saying that you don't need a visa to enter.

Speaker 2: 12:04

Fill this visa format. Tells you don't need a visa.

Speaker 1: 12:08

Well, but no, it's not. It's not quite that, not quite that. So you, it's not gonna be according to you. You know what we've been told so far it's gonna be a Simple we'll see how simple it is but simple online Form.

Speaker 1: 12:26

You, you know, put your name, your date, your birth, you know, blah, blah, blah in you pay seven euros for it and you're supposed to get a approval within an hour, and what this says is okay, this person is only coming for, you know, two weeks for vacation, and they are not required to have a visa. So the the tripwires are gonna be things like, let's say, you're a student and you're gonna be there long term or if you're gonna be, you know, living there long term for some reason, working there maybe you're you know have a partner or you're some of your marrying or you know those kind of things.

Speaker 1: 13:12

Those are all things that actually require a visa, and it's the same for coming to the United States. When people come here from other countries, you have to fill out this form to say are you coming, you know, for work or for for?

Speaker 2: 13:26

leisure and.

Speaker 1: 13:28

This is. This is all that that is. It's not, it's not a big deal it is right worth freaking out about. It's something that other people have had to do for a long time, and it makes sense quite well, it does I mean I do want to be a fly in that room.

Speaker 2: 13:47

When these people sat in a room and said these people don't need visas, they can enter the country free at will, fantastic. Let's have a fill out a form that says that don't even visa.

Speaker 2: 13:56

I just want to be enough flying when that decision was made, because it just be. I want to hear the pros and cons of how they got to this moment. But you're right, it's not that we got about. I'll tell you. So you know, we, you and I are heading to this conference in Las Vegas. I don't know if you're going this year.

Speaker 2: 14:09

Yes you know, while while was there. So you know that's Saturday globetrotting, that where we bring in. You know. You know we bring in people from different countries all the time one of my guides and whatnot. So, to put it in perspective for anybody who is freaking out about this, there are people that we have in Africa and parts of Latin America. They've been waiting two years for a visa to enter the US just to come to this show that I could bring them there for two years and they've gone to the US Embassy and they're not coming to some questionable country. They're coming from an ally and they're waiting. My wife has family in Europe and they got do that online Etsy visa, whatever the case it is, and they've been denied boarding because there's been a letter wrong or because this is wrong.

Speaker 2: 14:47

So we can't kid ourselves and we can't throw stones from a glass house, right? You know we don't make it easy for our allies and for people that we want to come to the country. We don't make it easy for this country. Let's, let's not, that's not kid ourselves. Yeah, you know, yes, going to the US and Canada, of course, no problem. Us and Mexico, of course, but we need to, we need to think about that. And so if Europe is asking for one little farm to be filled out, Come on, that's yeah, no, it's not.

Speaker 1: 15:15

It is not a big deal and it's not worth freaking out about. And the other thing that's really actually nice about it Is that means we're not gonna have to fill out those dumb little pieces of paper on the airplane anymore.

Speaker 2: 15:25

It's right. Oh, you mean with the flat-tents handed out the gifts in English? Yes, Exactly.

Speaker 1: 15:30

And then they you know they take them from you when you go through immigration and they stamp them and then I'm pretty sure Like they get shut, they go in the garbage.

Speaker 2: 15:39

Yep, then I'm not being read either. I I actually attempted to write Roger Revin on one of those one time in a metro. You can just see what somebody says. I mean I'm already first on an on-ground and a couple of countries I mean you would get turned around like the you.

Speaker 1: 15:52

The one time you do that, the person looking at the form would pay attention. Be like, sorry your, it doesn't match your passport. Go home, roger, or she's whoever you.

Speaker 2: 16:02

But if we're actually this pod, this pod, cancer, things we shouldn't freak out about while that's happening, could you imagine the viewership we would have?

Speaker 1: 16:10

as I'm being deported.

Speaker 2: 16:11

Yeah, it's still not freaking out.

Speaker 1: 16:13

Yeah can't be you. You gotta go back side Right. Yeah, yeah, that would be. That would be kind of like a candid camera moment with rabbit hole number two.

Speaker 2: 16:21

I got to share this with you as well.

Speaker 2: 16:22

This is really funny. All right, so because people do freak out easily. This just happened flying to Canada and I don't know if I shared this with you, but I had you know. So we go with that clear line at TSA. And there was a woman behind me. We call it here flow grown right. Florida grown so, flow grown so, florida grown. Local person here and welcome to TSA clear.

Speaker 2: 16:43

And she's your prototypical right, just a nice lady, nothing wrong. But but this poor TSA agent from Chicago was stops her and says I need to see your driver's license, not to open your bag, I need to see your driver's license. I swear, I think you would think a dog bit her kid. She started just you just railing into this TSA agent. This poor lady had. This poor TSA agent has no control over this whatsoever and it's just saying well, you know, if you fly more frequently, I'm really sorry. You know this is, it's random. She then, of course and I I think I've told you this before I I think I've got a butt whooping coming my way to an airport somewhere Because I, I you have said that because I'm, I'm standing by the bail.

Speaker 1: 17:24

you had jail, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 17:27

Look, there are a lot of things, that things happen. You're like I didn't deserve that, I deserve this. So I turned around and I couldn't say anything. I but I felt really bad for the TSA agent and when it was something like that gets bullied, I it's not okay with me. So she then proceeds to say you know what? I'll go to the regular pre-check line. This happens to me every time. Okay, fine, I'm being profiled. Oh, hell no. So I turned around, looked at her and said I'm sorry, what did you just say? You're being profiled.

Speaker 1: 17:58

And then I don't came over me. Next thing out of my mouth is want to trade places. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2: 18:02

Exactly Try being try being me for try being six foot three brown with a beard walking through an airport and see how you go. Yeah, exactly, you know. So I said what a trade. So she, this is what happened. She looks down, won't say anything. The TSA agent starts laughing hysterically. I looked at her and I said that's exactly why I did that. She goes. What do you mean I go wasn't for her it was for you.

Speaker 1: 18:25

Yeah, yeah, Make your day. Make your day, give you something to laugh about. And when people are freaking out about stupid things.

Speaker 2: 18:32

Yeah, that's it so. I walk right through, no problem. And what happens to her and the woman goes. Oh, come on in. So the woman goes walking behind me. I feel like you're behind me. Oh, no, honey, I still need you to drive his license.

Speaker 1: 18:41

Oh, perfect, yeah, perfect yeah, exactly Well he goes back to things. Just we shouldn't be freaking out about things Well, exactly, and the other thing is is that.

Speaker 1: 18:51

I know that there are plenty of you know conspiracy theorists out there and it's all about big brothers watching and all of that you know kind of stuff. But you know this stuff does keep you safe. It does as well, Because once they do have a well, they already do have the database. But now it's just going to be where things will be done ahead of time rather than once you arrive, which you know, who knows, maybe this will even speed things up on arrival. I think so, because then they're not going to be sitting there waiting while your passport goes, gets run through the thing and the system and all of that, because you will already all this information will already be in there. It'll know when you're coming they will already have done all their checks and whatnot.

Speaker 1: 19:39

And you know I look at it like you know. It's a good thing, because anybody that is questionable for some reason or another will get a little extra scrutiny. And you know, and if we do from time to time, so be it. I mean there have to be random checks as well. Because there's always people that figure out how to beat a system.

Speaker 2: 20:01

I'm convinced I'm going to tell people when they, when they forgot about the farm, say hey, listen, you shouldn't freak out because if you don't fill this form out, maybe they might let me in next to you. You don't want that, so fill the form out, skipping, you say yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:16

Yeah, yeah, Exactly so. So you know, continue on about this, this new thing. Here's my plan as a travel advisor. Okay, it's been announced that this is going to happen early in 2024. That's like all we know right now. Yeah, and people are already freaking out about it and I'm. My plan is one. I'm not even gonna really start talking about it that much until we know one a date. That's what it goes into effect, because you know, I mean we know in our own country, with the real ID.

Speaker 1: 20:53

I mean, how many times has that been pushed back? That's right you know so. So one until we have a date that actually goes into effect, and then two, I'm gonna start trying to educate my clientele About it I'll educate myself first.

Speaker 1: 21:06

So the best that the degree that I can Share that information with them, I will put that information into my workflow. For people that are going to Europe that I'll give them, you know, the appropriate website. Tell them what information they're gonna need to have when they fill out the form that they're gonna need to pay the seven euro fee, which obviously will be done with a credit card because it's all gonna be done online and, you know, just help people.

Speaker 2: 21:36

Before you go any further I got, I got it. I'm sorry to interrupt you. I gotta ask you one thing, because you want something really key. If anybody's freaking out about seven euros, I gotta remind that person. You're paying a hundred dollars to enter Tanzania. You're paying fifty dollars to enter. Zambia, you're paying sixty six plus dollars to enter. Kenya yeah, really seven euros. Yeah, really Okay.

Speaker 1: 21:58

Sorry, I have to say that no, no, no. And then that's a good point, because I think that that's an entitled attitude as well. Right, right, that we shouldn't have to, you know, pay some sort of a fee. I mean, all these things we're doing and, you know, coming into these countries, it doesn't just happen by magic. And, you know, I always love the, the statement the government will pay for it, and it's like we are the government, the people that are actually doing the traveling and actually coming into the country Are the ones that are paying for it, rather than and everybody country taking on that burden and and I think that's fair it's like a luxury tax.

Speaker 1: 22:41

It's a it's a, it's a VAT.

Speaker 2: 22:44

you know, it's a fact, it's a value, it's a cost of doing you want to go here, it is, it is, we know. We must never forget it is a privilege to travel, not a right. Exactly. And yeah, look, and the same people who say, and I will bet you, the same people who say for the government, your people, the same people who complain about taxes being so high, right, so it's the same exact people. You know what? And I actually even have the perfect argument ready. Well, this isn't fair.

Speaker 1: 23:10

What is a rise?

Speaker 2: 23:11

you and this is again. Maybe this is just me just being a smart aleck, or just like I said, deserve a Hope and at some point right. You know what you're right. Here's a list of every single person who signed the Declaration of Independence. Let's go exhume their bodies right now and kick their butt right now for declaring Independence from England, for not being part, for not being loyal colonists. Why did they sign that document? Why did they become independent? We should exhume them right now and ask them why why their decision is making you pay seven euros now.

Speaker 1: 23:44

How's that work? That's a serious rabbit hole.

Speaker 2: 23:50

Myself. He's not lost to me that somebody who looks like me is talking about exhuming the, the founding fathers of this country.

Speaker 1: 23:59

I just wanted to make sure I state that right right now I, yeah, I get that and I respect that and I mean I obviously Am probably one of the in the category of the least suspicious people there are.

Speaker 2: 24:12

Pretty suspicious of you. Hold on, hold on, wait, I'm pretty suspicious. We traveled to the last one. No, no.

Speaker 1: 24:18

I said I'm in the category of the least.

Speaker 2: 24:21

Oh, that's what I said, I meant you're a suspicious traveler.

Speaker 1: 24:25

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I said that I'm probably in the category of the least suspicious traveler there is you know, middle-aged white female. That's right, you know, I mean it's just like. You know, the statistics don't back up that. People like me are causing a lot of problems.

Speaker 2: 24:48

Well, if you do get stopped and secondary and secondary tracked for security, I'm taking a video camera out.

Speaker 1: 24:54

Well, you know, it's interesting. I did have a moment of concern, though, earlier this year, because my husband and I were both up to have our global entry renewed, and so I went online, did the thing and they, like, I did mine maybe a couple of weeks before his, and I kept saying, then you need to do this, you need to get this done. And he did, and then he gets an email like within 24 hours yeah, cool, you're renewed, you know your new car will be in the mail, all good, and I had to make an appointment and I was going to have to drive to Cincinnati and it was like, and I was like, what's the deal? Like you know and obviously the deal was is I traveled a lot of travel to countries and Africa, south America, you know, various places like that. I'm sure that there was a little extra scrutiny because I'm like you know, I mean that one year I went to Columbia three times.

Speaker 2: 25:51

You know I got on a no fly list early on when. I, before I got married, I used to take one way tickets to Canada and I would drive back or drive across the door just to save money on flights to go visit my now wife and so I got a bunch of one way tickets.

Speaker 2: 26:03

They put me on no fly list and you know, that was it. The funniest was actually my mother and apparently somebody with her same person last name different middle initial is on the Interventure Poll Wanted list, and so when she was flying here from Canada she got stopped and frisked and completely interrogated at Pearson Airport Toronto because they couldn't figure out the middle initial. So of course I pick her up an hour or a week or she's lens. She's frustrated and was like I'm so sorry and I'm busting out laughing hysterically. She was why are you laughing? I said welcome to the party.

Speaker 1: 26:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I get that. I finally. They did finally send me an email like a couple months later and said okay, you're approved and you don't have to go to the appointment, and so I was very relieved about that. So I mean not because I'd minded it just to paint to drive up there and you know, go and they take two minutes. Look at you and say yeah, yeah, fine.

Speaker 2: 27:02

Yeah, you're right.

Speaker 1: 27:04

Yeah, but anyway, but I did end up. They did end up renewing me prior to having to have an appointment and all that, so that was good.

Speaker 2: 27:13

But you know, it's the general thing that freaking out about things you have no control. Workers like pushing water up. Right, right yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:24

I mean, that could have been a lot of wasted time and energy on my part if I'd been all indignant about the fact that my husband got approved and I didn't. I mean, what was I going to do? Who was I going to call? Who was I going to complain to?

Speaker 2: 27:37

you know, and would Mr George Washington. Why did we become independent? Why did you arrange?

Speaker 1: 27:44

for this.

Speaker 2: 27:45

Yeah, I mean come on, Right, right, exactly.

Speaker 1: 27:47

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 27:50

And to your point, even if you had gotten upset, let's say you walked into that office and said you people you gave my husband and one just went through. You see how big those guys are, yeah, and you know at what point. They don't have to be nice to you, they could just be letter of the law and you come back and there's nobody to blame but yourself.

Speaker 1: 28:12

Yeah, now, I'd be much better off going in there with a smile on my face than a box of donuts.

Speaker 2: 28:17

Yeah, that's exactly, that's a good idea. That's a really good idea. Actually, do I bring a box of donuts and a bunch of Diet Coke? Do I do that?

Speaker 1: 28:26

Well, you know it's interesting. So I have a friend here in Lexington that owns a nothing but cakes, so she took me to the airport one day and she brought.

Speaker 1: 28:37

They make these little tiny but cakes called Buntini's and she gave me a box of Buntini's so there's 12 in a box and she said, give these the TSA people on your way through. And I was like okay, and so I did. And they were all like, oh my gosh, that's so nice, I can't pull it. You know they're like. You know, people always look at us like the enemy.

Speaker 1: 29:03

I'm like you know, of course I took full credit for it. I was like, yeah, I was like all mine, all mine. I know you work hard and the people are complaining to you all day long, so here have some Buntini's. That's exactly right.

Speaker 2: 29:19

You know what? That's a right idea.

Speaker 1: 29:20

Well, what do you think? You think we've, uh think we've covered our subject.

Speaker 2: 29:25

I think one topic each is going to be enough because, oh my, we covered five topics with one. That means, if I do the math right, we did five with one. We're doing 15 with three.

Speaker 1: 29:36

Yeah Well, you're the math guy, you're the nerd. So yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 29:40

And the sun's coming out hitting my face. I was just going to say I was going to say it's. I think it's a sign, it's just the universe is agreeing with you that all right guys, that's enough. Yeah, time to time to, that's enough guys, you've had enough fun. Now the sun is out, to say okay, basket, mike Laurie, stop basking in your own.

Speaker 1: 29:57

Oh, my goodness. Okay, yes, that is definitely, definitely the cuter end. Um, all right, so next time we do this, we are going to be in Las.

Speaker 2: 30:07

Vegas, in Las Vegas.

Speaker 1: 30:09

We are going to record from there. That's going to be a blast, but once again so. Sheesh's podcast is the sustainable voice. This, of course, is the Intrepid Traveler, and thank you for being with us today. We'll be back next month.

Speaker 2: 30:25

Absolutely, with new topics and new rabbit holes. Absolutely, take care, robin. Bye, see you soon.

Speaker 1: 30:34

That wraps up today's episode of the Intrepid Traveler. Thank you for tuning in and thank you to today's guests for joining me. I'll be back again in two weeks with another exciting episode featuring another guest with a story that is sure to pique your interest. Please subscribe to the Intrepid Traveler on your favorite listening channel and give us a review. Once again, today's episode has been brought to you by Clining Co Travel Consulting, a luxury adventure and expedition travel planning company specializing in un-googleable experiences.