Travel Tips & Tricks w/ Glo Atanmo

Glow ATNMO. She's a travel entrepreneur and creative educator, venturing to over ninety one countries across six continents and telling the stories of destinations around the world. She's the host of the Glow Show podcast and the founder of the Social Educators Academy, where she helps people leverage their social platforms to make a difference and make a living doing

what they love. She also has written an e book, From Excuses to Excursions, How I Started Traveling the World, in which she talks about everything that has led up to where she is today. Welcome to Positively Gam. Glow so glad to have you on. Thank you gam for having me. Cheers from BALI. I'm so excited to be on and talking to you today. Yes, we're excited to

have you. I actually grew up traveling with my parents, and my parents who were traveling, and they felt like travel and your traveling experiences and your education is something that no one can ever take from you. So I learned to love traveling. What sparked your interest in travel? I love that, And yet what an honor that your parents were able to expose you to the beauty of

travel at such a young age. For me, I always grew up thinking, oh, what my parents told me, this is the way the world works, and even culturally, oh the American way is the way. And you trouble and then you learn that and you find out that's not quite the truth, and then it's no longer about right versus wrong. It's just different. Like so many things that we think about the world, the ways that we live in this world, it's not a matter of right or wrong.

It's just different. And that difference humbled me. Is just different. Yeah, yeah,

I agree with you. One. It gives you an opportunity to really see and experience and understand different cultures, and it teaches you to just be tolerant like Americans I think are really elitist in that attitude where you know everything that we do is the best, and there are people that are quite happy where they are in their own country with their own cultures, and of course we have some freedoms and um perfectly happy being here, but it is wonderful to experience other cultures. My first out

of the country experience was in Jamaica. What was your first out of the country travel experience, Oh, Mines, wasn't as exotic. It was the UK so London, okay, I was twenty two. It was actually the study abroad And funny enough, I was not a drinker, Like I never drink alcohol, and then when I learned i'd be study abroad, I was like, oh British, I heard they're big drinkers, and I have to represent America, so let me start drinking.

I can keep up with the pub culture. So literally that is that was like why I started drinking alcohol, just to be able to represent America well around the world. Oh that's hilarious, hilarious, sad, Oh my goodness, that's funny. What kind of things do you think older people should look for when picking a travel destination. Yeah, so I think one of the biggest things that people fear in general,

no matter what their age, is the language barrier. So I would recommend like a place where it's either English is the first language or English is the second or third language, and so most people can speak it, or at least signs are in English. So I love Ireland and Scotland for those reasons. But if you're looking for something a little bit more exotic, Namibia is one of those.

Oh my goodness, if more people knew about it, because I think in the African continent, South Africa is like people's first stop, but Namibia it is so otherworldly, it is so beautiful, and I think and it's so safe. So I think people who are over forty, over fifty, over sixty would really enjoy Safari's relaxation glamping in the desert. Wow. Now I'm writing this down because that is not some place. I've been to South Africa a couple of times, and

I've never thought about going to Namibia. Wow. And if you could drive there from South Africa as well, I drove, yeah, which is also an experience. Okay, okay, Now you are currently in Bali, yeah, and I've read that you've been there over thirty Times. What sparked your interests about Bali? Now I've been to Bali too, so it is a beautiful country and I definitely want to go back. But what what is it that with Bali? You and Bali? What's going on? It is this love affair that I

can't get enough of. Gam Um No. I think there are certain places that you go to and it's just they receive you with such warmth and every time I come here, like I teared up walking through the airport when I landed, especially after quarantine Indonesia closed their borders and so I couldn't come here for over two years.

And I'm so connected to this island that it was so emotional just walking through the airport because I was like, oh, my goodness, these are my people, and I'm so connected to this place that I started learning the language because I come here and I take photos, I take memories, I take souvenirs. So I'm like, let me learn the language. That I'm meeting them halfway and they don't have to

translate to meet me halfway. It's like I'm showing reverence and effects to the culture by just is welcome to Bali. So I've been studying for seven months, um and it's incredible now when I was there, I remember it is being a very spiritual place. Is that has been that your experience? Absolutely? I think Japan is my favorite country in the world, but very close second is Indonesia and Bali specifically because of that spiritual essence that you get.

And I always feel like the closer you are in nature, the more present God is, and the quieter your soul and your mind, the louder God could speak to you. So I love being around nature. Like I wish I could turn my camera around and just show you my villa is surrounded in this lush greenery with in front of my pool, so it's just and you can really live like royalty here for a fraction of the price. Actually, my girlfriends and I are trying to plan a trip

to Bali next. One of my girlfriends just retired and we're very interested in going back to Bali just by ourselves because our husbands typically don't like to travel those long distances, which is fine, We're just going to leave them home for this trip. But what are some of the best hotels for us to stay at? Or you said you're staying at a villa. Yeah, so tell us where we should be staying and what we should be doing. Yes,

one of my favorite features. So this is not a plug for Airbnb, but I have to plug them because Airbnb has this new feature where if you go on their homepage, it says let your curiosity do the booking. So that's what you're gonna click. It's like the second option. Instead of typing the destination, just click on let your curiosity to do the booking. Because when that happens, you can now search for all of the incredible variety of

things that you have places that you can stay. So if you want to stay in a castle, in a dome, in a private villa, on a private island, on a houseboat, like, it'll bring up the most unique type of accommodations that this island has to offer. So I recommend doing that just to see the options that are out there, because sometimes you don't know what you want until you see it. You're like, oh, I want to stay in the dome

on top of a treehouse. You know, you can really just go on Airbnb and just search private villa and you will just hundreds, if not thousands of options, And I can you know personally send you my list off the top of my head. I'm staying right now at a place called Desa Hay, and it's in a small village area called Mengwi, and that's near the Chonggu area, which is a little bit west of the island or

midwest of the island. But I stayed at well over a hundred villas on this island alone, because I love experiencing a different bantage point. Every three nights, I'm in a different villa because I just want to experience as many beautiful sceneries, as many gorgeous Balinese architecture. Look at this custom door panel that leads to my restaroot. Everything that's beautiful. Yeah, but it sounds exhausting, like okay, only

because I have to say. Let me just say, when my parents traveled, they typically when they would traveled out of the country, it was my mother. My poor father. She dragged him around. All he wanted to do was just he always wanted to go to Hawaii. He never made it there. She took him to Russia, they went to where else did they go? India? When they went on trips, she went for knowledge and to experience the culture. I just typically just want to go to relax, So

I'm typically looking for a beach. Now. My husband, on the other hand, he's the one that wants to go, and he wants to go to ruins and experience historial He's bored to death just being on the beach. What I can't see myself doing. I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna go somewhere and then pack up after three nights and go stay someplace else, and stay there for three nights and all my stuff up and go someplace else. I'm exhausted just listening to you. I appreciate.

And the other thing I want to ask you too is do you always travel alone? Oh? Yeah, so out of like the countries, I would say seventy five or solo. And here's the thing about traveling solo, because, as you mentioned, everyone has a different intention or reason why they want to escape or just change up their day to day routine.

And so I think the intention guides might travel. And so if I'm very conscious about I'm going to boy this time for a creative sabbatical because I need a new inspiration to bring back to my business, Like I want that to be the only thing driving me forward. I don't want to have to worry about maybe sitting or catering to the needs of the group around me.

So it's very liberating to travel solo. But I also think that, yeah, when you aren't travel with a group, and let's say you're coming to Bali next year, have a group intention. If you all have the same intention, it'll be easier to make decisions on where you stay and what you do, and even have pockets of solo time. Have a day if someone wants to go definitely a museum, Yeah, let them do their thing. Someone wants a beach day,

let them. So I think it's all about we definitely believe in that, Like everybody doesn't always have to do everything together the whole vacation, you know, that's not a requirement. Like people want to break off and and do their own thing and and have some time to themselves. So yeah, I can definitely see that. Another thing I realized about traveling solo is that I'm so much more approachable because let's say I'm in a restaurant, and let's say it's

a very local restaurant. If I'm here with my friends, I'm focusing on my friends. I'm with my family. I'm focusing on family. I'm present with them, and so maybe I'm not as open to having a conversation with someone who work there. But if I'm there solo, all of a sudden, I become this fascination. I'm like, whoa. Everyone wants to talk to me, everyone wants to approach me, everyone wants to know, Wow, this black American with braids

is in my country. Who are you a celebrity? What did we do to deserve you to sit at our restaurant. It's just they roll out the red carpet because they feel like you must be someone special to be here solo, and just because I'm also a very colorful dresser, so they just assume, Oh, Serena Williams is someone I've been mistaken for in many countries. Yeah, which is funny. I think they just see a black person and they're like, oh, she's and she's black. Yeah. So it's just very interesting.

What particular sits do we need to see when we travel to Bali. Yeah, So again going back to the intention, if you want a little bit of adventure, I always love recommending the Monkey Forest because you will never get the same experience because monkeys are so unpredictable. You will see them hump in front of you. You'll see them steal someone's phone, they'll throw food. Okay, I'm already cringing at the thought, but go ahead. I'm not a fan

of monkeys. Just okay, we're gonna go ahead the monkey forest. We're gonna We're gonna stay. No moving. Next, Okay, there's a place. My thing is I always travel to experience something that I can't at home, and so my goal is always to do the most adventurous and exotic things, and you won't find that at home. But I would say near that area it's called near there is this place called tag Alt along rice patties, and that is the quintessential Balinese rice patty view and just trekking among

those rice patties. It's a very easy trek, like maybe takes ten minutes just to get to the view spot. But it's beautiful, and I think that's great to get the quintessential. I've been to Bali photo and then of course there's dozens of waterfalls throughout the lands, so I think you definitely have to go to a waterfall and just experience the serenity in that environment. I went there when I went with my daughter for Mother's Day one year, and I think we we did the rice patties and

waterfall and we did white water rafting as well. That sounds fun. I've never done that here. How about the Bally Swing. Are you familiar with the Bally Swing? Uh? No, okay, So basically in the middle of the jungle anywhere in ubud there's probably seven or eight now, but you can go on this swing. And the swing is a attached to to really tall coconut trees. So again it sounds very sketch, but it's the travel way. You just have to trust that this is gonna hold me up. But

you swing into this gorgeous view. It's in the middle of the jungle and I can send photos to Irene and just to send to you, but it's really just one of those I can't get this view at home and oh my goodness, this world is so beautiful, like you have those moments when you're on it. Wow. That sounds exciting. Yeah. And the last recommendation, yeah, um is past temple. It's a little towards the north, but it's like this holy temple and it's surrounded by a lake.

It's beautiful. It's just it's a place to appreciate Balinese architecture. Indonesia itself is a majority Muslim country, but the island of Bali is majority Hindu, and so you see a lot of Hindu temples, Hindu statues, And even though I'm a Christian, I can always appreciate another religion. I can appreciate other customers cultures. So it's a really serene place as well to just appreciate Balanese traditions. Now, tell us some of the dudes, and don't we need to think

about We've all seen the movie Take It. What do we need? What do we need to be careful about when we're traveling to these two foreign countries. My biggest thing especially at airports, because I think airports that's the place where you can easily be identified as a target, as like someone who's clueless. So, depending on the country, taxis. Taxi drivers can be the most aggressive type of people in every country because it's that's a dog eat dog world.

It's scrappy. They're literally fighting their income against hundreds of other taxi drivers, so they will push and not push physically, but the badger and like aggressively want to sell you know, I can tell you I can take you, and so you cannot the minute you land and you're like going towards the exit. You need to look like the most confident person and you need to walk with a purpose. Do not walk looking around, huh, where is my driver? Where is the taxi? Right? Get your luggage? Walk out

with the purpose like I've been here before. I am not a tourist. Listen, I'm here to meet friends. Oh there you are. Point at someone random with a purpose, because the minute you look confused, you are a target to be taken advantage of. And as unfortunate as that is, people especially after the pandemic, are so desperate for cash, so they're just looking for anyone that looks like they could be easily manipulated. So how would we get a taxi? Then it advanced. Is that something that we need to

arrange with the villa that where we're staying. Absolutely, so anytime you book that first, if you're staying at the same villa the whole time, like always ask and request for transportation services and request them to be specific about where you meet. They'll usually say okay, once you exit, you're going to make a left and we'll be standing there with a sign with your name on it. Yes.

And I always think as well, if you can take the extra effort to learn five to ten words in the local language, just in case, like someone is trying to badger you. But if you can just like, like, one word in Indonesian is suda, and so that means

I already have. So if I'm walking and I could just be walking on to the market somewhere, and of course, like motorbikes and taxi drivers are slowing down and be walking, they think that I need a ride, and so I'm like, oh, And as soon as I say that, they're like, oh, she not only doesn't mean us, but she said it in my language, and so they're quick to leave me alone. But if I go no, they're like, oh are you sure? No, miss, just tell me where you live and I can help you.

I'm like, suda, Suda will shut them up and leave leave me. So just five five words five or ten words of the basics, please, yes, no, thank you, whine. What are some of the good apps that you could um download if you don't speak the language. Oh, I guess well, Google translates such a and that's for any country. Yeah. I think Google Translate is if you can download, like you can have an offline dictionary, so of the download the full dictionary offline of the language that you need.

That way, even if you don't have wifire Internet, you can always pull up any type of translation that you need. Are there certain countries that you um would suggest that that are safer like you already mentioned Namibia? Yeah, and obviously badly because you've been there thirty sometimes are there other countries that you would recommend for particularly for single women, not even necessarily older women like myself, but just for single women who want to travel by themselves. Absolutely. I

have three that immediately come to mind. But first as Japan. There's a reason it's my favorite country in the world. Japan. I think not only do they live ten to twenty years in the future, but there's something about them culturally where they are oh communally respectful and my favorite thing I think the first my first sign of like how they are as people is I'm in the airport and there's two lines for going through to check in, and one line is says if you're in a rush and

you have less than fifteen minutes. Here's the speedy line. You can come to this line. And then there's the other line that says, here's the standard line. There was a hundred people in the standard line, nobody in the urgent line. And it goes to show that they are so honorable. No one's cheating the system. You take the bus and there's a sign that says, please keep your phone on silent to respect the zen of your neighbors around you. I'm like, listen, if you don't come on,

I don't know nothing about that. Are okay? So, and one time I was looking for I think a bus station or a train station, and I asked someone if they could help me. Not only did they like point me to where it was, they walked me there. I was like, I don't deserve you. So Japan is not only incredibly safe, but people are so kind. They don't accept tips like I try. I tipped someone at a restaurant and they chased after me with the money. It's their honor to serve. They don't do it for the

extra tip. So Japan first and foremost. My second recommendation is Norway. Scandinavian country is also are very futuristic. Norway is the north of European area, so you want to make sure you're going there in the summer because it can get cold if you're there in the winter. But it's incredible. Solo traveled there for two weeks and I rented a car and I just drove around the entire country and if I got lost, I would just pull up, pull over and someone would help me. They're like, oh,

just follow me ten minutes this way. And there's this inherent like your gut, your intuition is the best thing that you can have when you're traveling, and you can feel when I don't trust this, but I never there, and there's just this I don't know if it's the way they're raised or just them culturally as people, but some countries just you just have this innate trust because of who they are and how they act. So normal would be number two, and then Scotland would be number three.

I absolutely love Scottish people. I love Scotland, and that's a country I've been to over ten times. Just incredible, banter, incredible. They also are kind of big drinkers, so that they're just fun people. I I no longer drink, but it's just always great to be around people that just know how to let loose and banter and communicate with you. Now, as a woman of color, did you have any challenges traveling in some of these countries. Let's just be real.

Let's let's go there. Let's go there. So I was about I was nine years nomadic. I've been like nine years. I lived out of a suitcase and traveled full time. So in those nine years, in the beginning, I was going to a lot of like familiar countries like Spain and France, and I was like, oh, it's cool. And then the further east I went, like Eastern Europe. That's when I started to have more in just seen experiences.

I will say the most negative experiences I've ever had probably happened in Prague, Czech Republic Um and then in Real Njanio, Brazil, which is unfortunate. So in Prague what happened exactly, So those experiences are very different. But in Prague, I actually I was like not that it mattered how I was dressed, but you know, it was colder, so I was wearing a trench coat and I'm just walking

minding my business. And the first like strange thing I noticed is there was a couple walking in the opposite direction, but the wife or the girlfriend got her husband's head and turned it around like away from me, and I'm just I just noticed it, like casually. I was like, huh, okay, what. I don't know what that was about. I continue walking. A car slows down and spits at me. It doesn't land on me, but it like lands towards my feet, and it's like this sign of what are you doing here?

We don't want you here. And I later learned that there were a lot of like African prostitutes that were trafficked in that area, and so they lumped me in that category and assumed I'm there to sleep with local men to make a living, and that was really There were restaurants that wouldn't serve me, and they made it very obvious, like no, no no, we don't want you here. And that was tough. So I ended up staying in my hostel the whole time and I just cried until

it was time to go. And then in Brazil it was also It's interesting because when we look at like slave history, like in between the America's, it was actually Brazil that imported the largest amount of Brazil and so the colorism issue there is so right. And I was there doing a campaign and working with a brand. They put me in this really nice hotel and by the time I landed, it was about midnight, so I go

straight to bed, I check and go to bed. The next morning, I'm there for breakfast and I'm just eating and a lady comes to me, like works there, speaking at me in Portuguese, speaking to me in Portuguese, yelling at me and telling me to leave, and again again. Because I learned some of the words, I'm like, Anni, follow Portuguese and we'll follow. I don't follow. I don't speak like I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying. But I can tell that she's angry, and she's, oh, no, falla,

no falla. And then she goes to the reception and then she sees that I'm actually a paying guest, but she thought I was there soliciting customers again, assuming that I'm a sex worker and trying to find customers. So that image or that assumption is right in some countries. And before they hear me like I'm black, first, then they're assumed I'm African. Then they assume I'm a prostitute, and then it's oh, when I speak, oh, she's American,

and then she's a tourist. So there's all these layers of subconscious judgments that people can make before I even get a chance to open my mouth and say who I am. So that that is really unfortunate, But I would say it makes up less than five of my travel experiences. That's good. What are the hot spots to visit around the world right now? I've been to some of the world's wonders. I've been to four of them. Come on, yeah, I've been to I've been to the

Great Wall of China. I've been to Chitsanitsa in Mexico. I've been to the Great Pyramids in Egypt and the Colosseum in Italy. Nice. Nice, nice, Okay. When I think of it places, I'm gonna say countries, because the first one that comes to mind is Sri Lanka. Now, Sri Lanka is not a place exactly, it's the They call it the tear drop of India, so it's right underneath the country of India. So it has the rich and

vibrant culture of India. But it looks like Bali. So and for me, it has the best of both worlds because it's so culturally rich the food, but with Sri Lankan cuisine, my goodness, you would think it's like a black grandma in the kitchen my back. There so many flavors. I'm like, yes, so I love Sri Lanka. And there were so many beautiful exchanges that I had with young women, like teenage women. They would come up to me because I'm there solo traveling, and they would look at my

skin and they would compare it to theirs. They're like, wow, it's it's beautiful. So you're also brown. They could they could recognize that we shared the same skin tone, but that I was a different ethnicity, and they would just be like beautiful, Oh like me beautiful, And I'm like, yes, beautiful, Yes, Yeah.

That must have felt really good. Yes, because the skin whitening creams that you see line the shelves of Asia, no doubt it affects a lot of the psyche of the women there, So I think they were really excited to see beauty reflected in a different way in another dark skinned women. Yeah. Another place I would say is Granada. I think if you're looking for places that's a little bit shorter distance from the US. Granada I think has the best food, kindest people, most beautiful beaches um in

the Caribbean. I just I found it to be such a country of surprises. It's so I think when you go to the Caribbean St. Lucia, Jamaica, you have the places that most people flocked to because it's like common and well known. But Granada took me by surprise. And that's a place where I'm like, I wouldn't mind going there every summer every year. So yeah, Grenada. Wow. What about Turks and Caicos. I've not been there before, but

I heard that they had the best beaches. It's still a little underdeveloped, so there's not a lot to do their other than beach. I heard that their beaches are fabulous. That is very true. Turks and Caicos. I don't think water gets more blue or turquoise or I mean, Turks and Maldives probably have the most beautiful water I've ever seen. I'm like, God, okay, showing out like beautiful. But like you mentioned, you have to go there for strictly to relax.

Because I didn't find it to be I didn't have much to do and so I'm just on the beach reading. But I don't mind that it wasn't a very adventurous trip, but it was great for real. It wasn't Yeah, that was how I felt about the Maldis. It it was. Yeah, it was just a very relaxing trip. But I was glad that I went, and I would definitely go back if I was looking. And I want to mention the Maldis really quickly because I think it is a honeymoon destination that a lot of women wait to go with

their partner. And I would say I went um four months after the pandemic started because I was one of the only countries that was still open to Americans. And I was like, I'd been four months locks in my apartment. So I was like, Okay, I need water and I need space and I need nature, and so I'm like, let me go somewhere in social distance, safely and by

the water. And the Maldis because it is so spread out, there's so many islands, they were like social distancing, like three villas in between each person, so we had a lot of space. And I will say I'm really glad that I went there solo because I think a lot of women, especially, we wait for love and partners to create these memories. And if we were born alone, we're gonna die alone. Let life not pass you by without creating memories that are just for yourself. And I think

that's super important. That really is. I like that you said that. What kind of tips and tricks do you have for how to be an efficient pack? Or I'm getting better, but I typically do tend to overpack. What's what kind of trips do you have? Do you fold or do you roll? Listen? How about neither? How about I stuff? And I sit in Isaiah and I feel like the ultimate imposter. Tell you, I ain't got it.

I ain't got the answers. Is that possible? The way you travel, you got to have so when you The first acting tip I have is I recommend carry on only if you can. It is not worth. Here's the thing, it's there are suitcases where okay, let's say you guys your twenty outfits out like you're like, okay, these are the twenty outfits I want to bring, because Lord knows, we bring twenty outfits, we wear three like that's how

it is. But bring an empty pillow case, empty out of pillow case and then layer out or fold a bunch of clothes and put it in the pillow case and then kind of roll it down. So when you bring that pillow case, like the flight attendant will think that, oh, this is just a pillow to sleep, but it actually is carrying like a bunch of your clothes. But they don't have to know that because you can bring a pillowcase and it's not going to count as a carry on.

So you can actually have your two carry ons plus your pillow case, and the pillowcase almost serves as a third bag. That is sneaky. Can't too many people know this though, otherwise we're gonna get, you know, exposed. But I've been doing this dam for years and I've never been caught. Another thing that I try to do is, let's say again, I'm like, man, I got like this book or this camera. There's something that just can't fit into my carry on, but I don't want to have

to check in this bag. What I'll do then is I'll go to the duty free inside of the airport and I'll buy you something rundom like a box of crackers and anything that can take up a lot of space. Once I get that bag, or they give me the duty free bag. I now have again a third carry on, so I might give the crackers away, eat the crackers, I don't know, throw it away. But now I have a bag and I pretend I'll put like either a

cushion or I'll put like the receipt on top. But I empty out the duty free bag and I put my actual belongings in it. So they see the duty free bag and they think, oh, she just shopped at the airport. It's no, this is the stuff that couldn't fit inside on my suitcase. So you can do that too. That's interesting because I had a friend that went to do but maybe it was because it was alcohol they had to check it. Yeah, I think it's they do

that for alcohol or come. Yeah, but if you buy food, like just buy like a craft cookies, they're not going to check that. It's not a large purchase. But some of my favorite suitcase brands I'll mention are Away Luggage Americans. Oh yeah, yeah, I've seen that Away brand and I was going to check it out. You like that so durable. I think they have a lifetime warranty. I think I've had to switch it out once and maybe six years,

So I mean it's just it's worth the investment. People see the price tad but it's like a suitcase is like a lifetime investment. You're always gonna be to go somewhere at some point, So I would say invest in a sturdy suitcase. So I love Away Luggage. Sam Tonight is also great, and American Tourist or American Twister is a little bit more affordable for people on a budget. But I've had good experiences with those three brands. Last thing I want to mention about what's a pack is

Extra Patients, Grace and Compact Ashion. There are a lot of people who are rusty. There are a lot of countries that they're quarantine and their COVID regulations and protocols are changing by the day, if not the week, and so there's sometimes the airport and just it's chaos. And even to come to Bolly this time around, there were about eight things that you needed to check off, like eight things that you needed to have insurance with twenty

five thousand coverage blah blah blah. But there's it's a very strict list, and there are a lot of people that like you can see them get turned away. You can see tears, you can see phone calls, you can see anger, and so I've seen I've never seen airports. It's almost turning into war zone. So many fights, so many like fingers pointed at flight attendance, and it's just for my family, Like, how dare you term me with

so many scenes of just emotion? So pack extra patients, grace and compassion because we're all still figuring things out and a lot of things are changing, and it can be a stressful time to travel if you are going to a far away country, so just be mindful of that. So do you feel like it's best to book with a travel agent who can apprise you of all of these different rules and regulations and things that you need to have in order to get in and out of

the country. That's a great question. And when I think about travel agents, I'm sure they've been out of work for a couple of years, so it would be great to support travel agents business. But if you are someone that like you don't mind doing research, you are meticulous and looking up things like for me, coming this round, I think I took about two days to to fact check about twenty different sources. Okay, this is what this website says, but the government site says this, let me

check these forums. So for me, it was almost like a game. I was like, let me see all the things, like I enjoy the process because it's for me. Travel planning is a lot of the enjoyment of travel to begin with, so someone like me, I enjoy it. But yeah, if this is us full, I would absolutely say get a travel agent. And if you don't, then it seems like you have to check the government rags for your own country as well as a country that you're trying

to visit. Correct yes and no. So with the U. S. Embassy and the travel dot gov page, they are quick to put a country as like alarm four, alarm five, and then I'll actually be in the country and I'm like, wait, what I'm like, if any country should have the red banner, it's it's the country where there are killings and shootings every single day. And it's just amazing the way the US government categorizes the danger in other countries. And so I would say, if you want to check them, feel free.

But almost every country is going to be a red flag, Like I've checked them recently. And I'm like, wait, why is Indonesia level four of like, don't go there. I'm like, I'm here and it's everything is fine. So it's there's a lot of paranoia that the government's views. So I would say I wouldn't even check the US government page. I would check only the government page of where you're going, because they'll have the most updated information US passport holders.

Here's what you need, here's what to have. So where should we look online for the best deals? Do you think? Yeah? So I love sky Scanner. I've been using them probably for a decade. So if you go to skyscanner dot com and you start with your home airport in your travel or in your searching or destination area, type in everywhere or there's an option that says everywhere, and what that's gonna do. It's gonna show you the cheapest flights

from your home city to anywhere in the world. So you're like, I wasn't even thinking of going to Peru, but it's a one dollar flight to get there, so I guess let's go to Peru. And a lot of my travel destinations, I would chase the deal, not the destination. So I'm like I'm okay, I go to for under two hundred dollars and I'm like, oh, Argentina, let's see what's up. And so I would be going to like wherever it was cheapest to get to and then going

from there. So yeah, I would say that Scott Scanner's a great website for that. Is it a myth to purchase on a certain day is cheaper? Tuesday and Wednesdays are historically the days where yeah, it's true, it's true, it's true. Degree Tuesdays and Wednesdays if you can check

for yeah, book your fight on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Also, make sure you are searching incognito because every time, let's say, if I go to Google on my regular browser and I'm searching for travel deals to Spain, the cookies are going to be collected now, and all of a sudden you're gonna see ads for trips to Spain and Spanish

hotel else. But all that day it's being sold and it's being passed around, and so you're gonna see like the next day that you check, oh wow, why did the flight increase fifty dollars, because it's like now the cookies have track that you are looking for a flight to Spain, so it's going to keep raising the price. But if you browse incognito exactly, it's so corrupt. Brows incognito so that cookies aren't being collected. And then change this sounds really bad, but change the country in the

top to a developing country rather than the US. Don't say that you're booking from the US because some of these prices are based on the economy of the country. So pretend that I'm in a different country, but I'm actually booking it out of the US, and you'll see that there's like a two price difference if they think that you're booking from a different country. Yeah, she shook. Yeah, I'm trying to. I'm trying to figure that out. I'm

trying to figure out good to. It's an option on the website, So if you're going on if you're on like Google Flights, it'll say what country are you in, what currency, and what language, So just go on the top right. You can keep the currency as US dollars, but pretend that you're in India and they'll adjust the flight to accommodate people in India that are traveling to

that country. Because if the flight prices won't be the same based on the country that you're traveling from, So so I have to act like I'm in India, Yes, flying from Baltimore to really, oh my god, so corrupt. These are things you picked up and and my friends would be like, hello, you just save me three on this flight. I was like, you're welcome. It's just fun.

I just like to share. Okay, all right, now that we're wrapping up, is there any other pieces of advice or tidbits or any thing else, Any other jewels that you need to drop on us before we get out of here. Yeah, whatever, whatever ideas, preconsumptions, assumptions that you have about any country, any culture, I advise you to book a trip there. And when I think about just I've been thinking about death lately, and I don't want it to sound morbid. Well, we'll get into that about

the book recommendation. I'm just like, man, life is so precious, and the moment you realize we're all dying more than we're living, like, how are we spending our days? Are we living as fully as possible? Are we taking advantage of this beautiful world that we get to occupy while we're here? Are we doing all the things that terrify us? Are we being present? Are we just making memories of loved ones? And so, my goodness, travel has opened my eyes and I feel so blessed and privileged to live

this life. And I know it's not everyone's dream a travel full time, but one trip a year. Use those vacation days. Stop thinking that you're gonna get a promotion if you never use your vacation days. Listen, you know your boss wants you to think that. But take time off. You deserve the recuperation, you deserve the renewal. Travel such a beautiful gift. I see it and I hear it as I'm talking to you, and I feel like I've

I've not done my due diligence here. I think I need to to stretch out a little bit more, because really I go on vacation sometimes two and three times a year, but I only want to go to the beach. It drives my husband crazy, trust me. So I feel like I definitely need to do better and I need to expand my horizons a little bit. So it's been a joy and a pleasure talking with you. Now it's time for the segment. Wouldn't you like to know what

book are you currently reading? Yes, so A Year to Live by Stephen Levine has been so humbling and so so sobering, And I'm just I'm embarking on a project and I'm going to document it on social media soon. But I'm going to act as if I have one year left of life and I'm gonna share the journey. What would I do all the wrongs of the forgiveness that I need to extend. I'm so scared because it's it feels it feels like the most vulnerable journey I've ever been on. But I think it's give me so

much healing and peace. So I'm excited. Wow, that sounds exciting. I definitely would read that. Awesome. Yeah, what is the one thing you want to get off your chest? Let's see, I'm gonna put it. In regards to travel, especially to black people, I feel safe is outside of the country.

I know, with the racial reconciliation that we've been going through over the last two years, there is nothing better than feeling like you are human and you are worthy, and I get I feel like I don't have to perform or audition for people's respect when I'm traveling, and of course the five percent aside, like you are treated like when you're seeing as human first in black second, that it does something to you, and I want more Black people to experience what that's like. Especially in the

Asian continent. It just feels like you're treated like royalty. So I would really just recommend more Black Americans travel. Now, that's interesting. That is really interesting. You feel that more in the Asian continent for sure? Wow. Interesting. Okay, what's a model that you live by? Oh? I adapted this from my ski instructor. I want skiing for the first time for New Year's Eve, and she said, glad you love it or hate it? Oh lord, Actually it takes a lot of I love being. Yeah, it's fun to

do things that humble you. Because I was a collegiate basketball player, so I'm like, oh, I this what sport. I got this. But yeah, it was tough. But one thing that she said is like glow, the person having the most fun wins. Look out there, everyone falling, the person having the most fun, they win. So that's my model in life. The person having the most fun wins. Love that that was awesome. It has been a joy and a pleasure talking to you, Glow. We'll just have

to have you back on. Maybe I'll have you back on after we take our journey to Bali and we'll let you know how that goes. Okay, Yes, I would love to tell us our listeners where they can find you on social media. Yeah, you can find me on Instagram at Glow Graphics g l O Graphics, or my podcast, The Glow Show, anywhere you can find podcasts. Thanks so much, Glow, We'll talk to you soon, my pleasure. Thank you so

much BYEGAM. Al right, bye bye. So my biggest takeaway from this calmversation with Glow is if you can take advantage of travel like just to experience the world and recognize that there is life outside of your neighborhood. And secondly, don't forget your pillowcase. And that's our show for this week of Positively GAM. You can follow me online at gammy nars and help us out by leaving a five star review on Apple Podcasts and by hitting the follow

button on I Heart Radio. Stay great for y'all. Positively Gam is produced by red Table Talk Podcast and I Heart Radio. Executive producers are Adrian Vanfield Naris Valin Jethro and Jada Pinkett Smith. Our audio engineer is Calvin Bailiff, and our associate producer is Irene Bischoff Burger. Our theme song is produced by DBATS three.