The Better Show
Unpacking the secrets of better vacations
Episode Summary
Why vacations can improve your health, happiness and even your career. We'll dive into tactics for making the most of your vacation time and creating memories that'll last a lifetime.
Episode Notes
On this episode, we discuss why vacations can improve your health, happiness and even your career. We'll dive into tactics for making the most of your vacation time and creating memories that'll last a lifetime.
Show Notes
- 1:54—The difficulties of getting caught cashless in China — or any other foreign country
- 6:05—The dangers of drinking the tap water in countries where you might not be acclimated to the water.
- 8:42—Tip: check CDC.gov/travel for precautions about drinking water in various countries.
- 10:00—We hear from Michael about a challenging situation in Italy when his group didn’t quite have enough Italian language fluency.
- 12:12—Darren shares a story about a delightful conversation he had with an Italian cab driver where neither of them could speak the others’ language.
- 13:23—March shares his experience trying to find a common language with a farmer in the Czech Republic.
- 15:46—We get some advice from a listener, Kira, who shares her experience in Moscow when she didn’t know much Russian.
- 17:08—Ian shares his recent experience with an attempted mugging while visiting London.
- 18:51—March also narrowly avoided a mugging many years ago thanks to his Goth attire. Yes, you read that correctly.
- 22:13—We hear from a listener, Elona, about her experience cycling in the dark in rural Ireland and nearly running over seals.
- 25:09—We learn a little trivia about The Princess Bride and The Cliffs of Insanity.
- 28:42—Beware of pick-pockets…even in the Vatican.
- 31:28—We hear a hilarious story from a listener and friend of the show, Randy, who had his luggage stolen twice on the same trip…actually on the same day.
- 33:31—Tip: pack one change of clothes in your carry-on bag in case checked luggage gets lost.
- 35:14—Why vacations are important
- 37:14—How different countries have different attitudes towards taking vacations.
- 38:49—More than half of American workers left some vacation days unused in 2015 amounting to almost 200 million lost vacation days.
- 41:04—Ian gets advice from a mentor on how taking time off to visit family might not always count as the kind of break you need to recharge.
- 45:36—We discuss some things that companies are doing to encourage employees to take time off and recharge.
- 50:50—Darren shares a story from listener Ashton’s 7-day cruise that teaches us a valuable lesson on vacation insurance
- 53:12—Ian gives a little-known secret feature that most credit cards provide that you aren’t taking advantage of
- 54:54—March shares his favorite vacation tips, including learning a new skill and the power of anticipation
- 58:39—Ian explains his concept of “vacation momentum” and how to maintain it with group vacations
- 1:03:12—Listener Jillian recommends choosing your vacation partners wisely and why it matters
- 1:04:53—Darren shares his best money-saving vacation tips after working at Expedia and learning some secrets
- 1:09:05—Does Hotwire really save you money on hotel rooms?
- 1:14:13—Using the power of packing lists to reduce travel prep stress
- 1:15:32—Listener Alex recommends an app, Boxcryptor, to digitize your important travel documents
- 1:17:04—Ian shares one of his favorite travel apps, TripIt and some secrets of its Pro app you can use to have better vacations
- 1:22:09—March, Darren and Ian share their upcoming vacation-related experiments they’re going to test out and report back on in a future episode
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