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9. It Ends with the Last of Us with Megan Wright · Spooky Butt

• speaker-1: Mm-hmm. hello and welcome to SpookyBut. I'm Claire, your very fearful host, and today joining me in Spooky But Studio is Megan Wright. Megan Wright is a London-based travel blogger and content creator. In 2017, Megan's UK visa expired and she had to wait a year before she could renew it. Rather than moving back home to the US, she spent that year abroad, traveling through Southeast Asia, a time which she refers to as her grown-up gap year. This life-changing year completely altered her perspective on travel, money, and age. In 2023, Megan launched her blog, Travel Writer, which provides people over 30 with travel guides, tips, and tools to help them travel the world on any budget at any age. Megan Wright, welcome to Spooky But. speaker-0: Thank you. I am so excited to be here. speaker-1: I'm so excited for this conversation. so I want to start off by saying that we met, I think, about three years ago, so early 2023, and I found your account via TikTok. So I had a TikTok at the time, and then at that time you were doing consultations for travel and grown-up gap years and that sort of thing. So that's how we connected, and then we just stayed in touch. And then in twenty twenty four I was able to do a really, really fun UK trip, which is how we were able to meet in person. so yeah, that was that was great. Good times. speaker-0: Yeah, that was so much fun. Yeah, we went to that random food hall in the church in central London. London is so full of random quirky things. I'm glad you got to come over and we got to go to a few things together. speaker-1: Yeah. That place was awesome. It was in a deconsecrated Anglican church. And so it was cool because it had like food stalls like in the I guess confessional area. There was like a wine bar. and the food was fantastic. It was so good. Yeah. and then I was mixing alcohol that night, which was not good for me. But it was right. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: It's like whatever. I don't have to drive. It's fine. Exactly. Okay, so Travel Rider started in twenty twenty three, but the Southeast Asia trip was in twenty seventeen. So did you start creating content in twenty seventeen or did you wait until twenty twenty three? speaker-0: Yeah. I mean, I was always a little bit obsessed with the lifestyle that I would see people living online where they were, I don't even know if it was a term back then, but now it's so common, a digital nomad, like people who can travel and work from wherever or have an online business and can work from wherever. So I always followed like the big travel Instagrammers and bloggers, nomadic mat, the blonde abroad. And I would would always think, wow, that would be so cool if I could Make a career out of that one day. So I'm an accountant by day, like the complete polar opposite of a travel creator. but when I went in 2017, because I was looking up to all those other travel creators, I was like, why don't I just try to make a go of it? And I was like, I was very unprepared. Or what's the word? I think I really underestimated how much work actually goes into making a successful travel Instagram and a travel blog. One that you one that you can actually monetize and make money off of. So yes, I was air quote creating content in 2017 on my iPhone 7, and writing a travel blog, but it was never anything that would have been able to sustain me or become a career because Yeah, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that I just had no clue about. But yeah, one it was more just a diary to keep all my friends and family updated about all of my travels. And it's really nice that I have that to look back on. You know how Instagram gives you the on this day, five years ago, you were and it's so cool to be like, wow, I was in Thailand, I was in Vietnam. But yeah, I was creating content, but not like anything serious. And I said to myself, if I get one free thing out of this, it's all worth it. And I got a free dinner out of it one time. So it's like Cool. speaker-1: Yeah, 'cause I like when I first came across your TikTok, you were making reels about or not reels, my god, TikToks. Excuse me, wow. speaker-0: Make a TikToks too. speaker-1: making yeah, you're making videos about your gap year and I was like, God, this footage looks incredible. So I thought it was a lot more recent. It's cool that you with you shot everything on just that iPhone. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah, an iPhone seven. So anytime I I want footage from back then, I've culled through all of the footage and tried to find like the best high quality video. I mean, it's hard from back then. But yeah, everything you see from mostly from Asia, because I've taken a recent Bali trip, but most all the Southeast Asia stuff is iPhone seven. So that just goes to show you you don't need expensive, fancy equipment. It's more about your message and how you connect with your audience and if you're sharing something that people are interested in, then yeah. speaker-1: Wow. that's yeah, that's a great point. so why like what was it about, I guess, twenty twenty three that you were like, Okay, let's rock, let's really dive into this content creation? speaker-0: I just like hit a wall with my day job. I got so fed up at work. Yeah. I was like, so I'm turning forty this year in a couple months. And I think so what, I was thirty-six or thirty-seven back then when I started it. And I was like, my gosh, I still have thirty more years of this. Like I can't do this for the rest of my life. So I was like, I'm really gonna make a go at it. And that's when I started actually studying and paying attention about at what you actually need to do to monetize it and try to make it into something that will actually sustain you. and once I actually like really made a go at it, yeah, it kinda started to gain traction and grow. speaker-1: wow. Was there okay, so you're an American, you live in London, you've been in London for over a decade, and you're now a UK citizen. So I really like this question. speaker-0: God. speaker-1: Like, yeah, good good time to live in speaker-0: Good bathroom. speaker-1: So like were you okay, so like Brits tend to be very reserved and it's like they'll, you know, talk maybe talk each other out of like putting themselves out there. So was there a kind of any like britishness, like hesitation before you were like, I'm gonna go all in and be a travel content creator? speaker-0: No, because you know what okay, maybe maybe I'll come back to the content creation thing, but about the traveling, it was my British friends that encouraged me to take the year off to travel because I feel like it's very much more of a Europe b basically anywhere like anywhere I want to say anywhere but America, but more like the European countries or the UK. I think travel is so much more ingrained in them like going to other countries and seeing more of the world younger at a younger age and It's just completely normal. Whereas I mean, America's huge. When I was a kid, we didn't have to leave the US to go see the beach or the mountains or the countryside. So I think when I told them, hey, I'm thinking about taking a year off to travel, all my British friends were like, yeah, absolutely. Cause they all took their gap years when they were younger as well. So that wasn't abnormal to them. I bet my American friends would have been more hesitant because we y I mean, you know, like Americans are Their work is sometimes so tied up in their identity. Like I always notice difference when I go back home to the US. I talk a lot more about work with my friends than I ever talk to my friends here about work. Like we don't really care about work outside of work. Work is just what makes you money to sustain the life that you want to live. Right. but yeah, they are a little bit more reserved in terms of putting their emotions out there. But they were but my friends are super supportive and They're very outgoing bunch for Brits, I would say. and they were like, This has always been your dream. If you want it, go for it. And I will say, my friends are so supportive. I see a lot of people online being like, my friends never like my post, they never comment, they never do this. My friends, I got so lucky, like they're always liking stuff and sharing it and hyping me up. And so yeah, maybe I just hit the friend jackpot. But my my British friends are like, Yeah, go for it. You've always wanted to do this, go for it. speaker-1: that's so cool. And yeah, it's that's kind of a cool message because I I was kind of hesitant to start this podcast. But I've kind of encountered the same thing. Like the response to it has been incredible. And like I thought I was gonna have to do all this arm twisting and stuff like that to get guests on my podcast. And they're like, no, like let us be your hype monsters. Like Yeah. speaker-0: Mm. speaker-1: Like it's yeah, because there's something that, you know, people I guess think that like, if I were to create content. it would be very, very cringy. But it's like it's crazy once you kind of start and it's something that you're very passionate about, like your friends and like the people who support you will just be so excited about it. So if anybody's listening to this and they're thinking about starting content creation, just go for it. Just try it. Yeah. Like why absolutely you have nothing to lose. speaker-0: And we're also at that age, I think, where we don't give a shit what anybody thinks anymore. speaker-1: Like I had the realization, I was like, Man, I'm gonna look so cringy and then I realized like I'm thirty four. It's it's cringier for me to try to look cool in front of young people than it is for me to create content about something I'm passionate about. speaker-0: So no, and I also think the creator economy is so common now. Like being a creator, being a content creator is is seen much more as like a an actual real job and career path that I think people are starting to understand being an influencer or a content creator isn't cringy because you're making the content that I consume on these apps every single day. I think people understand that a lot more now. So like if I see somebody out in the park filming something, I'm like Hell yeah, I'm probably gonna see that on my reels sometime. You know, I I get it. I mean, I am a content creator, but I think people are more aware of that as well. speaker-1: you like self-taught with the video shooting and editing because what I love about your content and like kind of you in general is you're an accountant, you're a numbers person, all that good stuff, but you have this like incredible eye for design. And your videos are gorgeous. Like they're so well done. They are like it's it's that type of content that really like feeds your brain and it kinda you definitely feel like as a consumer, like I feel like I'm living vicariously through you. Like you just have such a good eye for how things should be shot and like lit and that sort of thing. So speaker-0: This is so nice. Thank you so much. And you know what? Like I I'm always in my head thinking I'm such a numbers person. I'm such a corporate nine to five person that I feel like I my content isn't that good. And I have to make a real conscious effort. I always feel like I have to try harder to do what what I think just comes naturally to others. But maybe they're thinking the same thing I am. Maybe they're looking at somebody else and thinking, wow, she makes it look so easy. And then I'm looking at them thinking, wow, she makes it look so easy. But yeah, it didn't come I I guess I've had a I do have a creative side of my brain. Obviously I wouldn't be able to do this at all, I don't think. But yeah, I've definitely had to s to study things and work at it and learn and trial and error. But thanks for that. That's that's really made my day, my week, my year. speaker-1: Yay. Cause like even I mean, we have to talk about this. Even the iPhone footage you put in your stories at the Bad Bunny concert was incredible. speaker-0: Yeah, that's just an iPhone sixteen. speaker-1: Yeah, you're rocking out at this concert and I was like, Shit, Megan has like the best hack for this. It speaker-0: It looks like you speaker-1: looked incredible. speaker-0: awesome. The Bad Bunny concert. That was absolutely epic. my God. That's like the best concert I've okay, hold on. Top three concerts. Cause I've been to a Spice Girls concert before, I have to say. So yeah, Bad Bunny was the my god, the vibes were so high the whole time. I've never been to a concert that was just like a party from start to finish. It was so good and everybody was just such good mood and such high vibes. It was so cool. speaker-1: Was that during the heat wave? speaker-0: Yeah. It was so hot. my gosh. The whole summer has been a heat wave. Like Europe is on fire right now. the UK's on fire. We don't have air con. that's on my list to buy for next year, though, is portable air conditioning unit for my my flat. I feel I never saw myself, you know, when we're when you're in college in America and you stay in dorms that they they don't always necessarily have air conditioning, so you have to have a fan. I'd always be like, when I grow up, I'm gonna have like a nice air conditioned big house and now I'm like living in a flat with a fan. Like I never thought I'd I never pictured that for myself. But hey, I'm in London. So that's pretty cool. speaker-1: Wow, that's yeah, that's wild. because yeah, it's it's crazy. And then like here, like where I am specifically in the Midwest, it's been very, very rainy. so it's like we're kind of getting like flip flopped weather. So it's yeah, it's gloomy today. It's like this summer it's either been hundred degree days or it's been like downpour. Yeah, speaker-0: Gosh. speaker-1: it's it's weird, but I don't know. speaker-0: I wonder what they've been getting in Ohio because that's where I'm from. I haven't really asked my mom. my mom is coming to visit this year. She's coming right around my birthday 'cause I'm turning forty this year. nice. And she turned sixty last year. So yeah, but I think she'll be okay in the heat 'cause she loves the heat and she'd she would actually make us turn the air conditioning off and open all the windows when I was younger and I absolutely hated it. But now I'm like, okay, you were just conditioning me for for this later in life. So yeah, yeah. speaker-1: She knew When is your birthday? speaker-0: September tenth. speaker-1: September tenth. Okay, great. Yay, Virgo. speaker-0: Yeah, exactly. speaker-1: that's awesome. Do you guys have any big plans? Like, are you doing a big trip for your fortieth? speaker-0: yeah, we just got back from Ibiza. So our friend group, there's like 10 of us in our friend group. Half turned 40 last year and half turned 40 this year. So we just did a combined trip last year and this year. I mean, I say we did it for our birthdays. We do it every year. But speaker-1: No no. speaker-0: yeah, this year it was Ibita. Some people were throwing out random countries. They're like, let's go somewhere new. And I'm like, no, this is my 40th. I want a guaranteed good time. We go to Ibiza like all the time. We know exactly where to go, what we like. And yeah, I mean, it was epic. It was so much fun. We got like a really sick villa in the northeast side of the island. So that's another thing. This is completely off topic, but people all people avoid Ibiza because they think the whole thing is a party island, but there's just one section of the island that's a party island and it's like Brits Abroad. the rest of the island is gorgeous and beautiful, like nice beaches, really chill, Spanish vibes, like it's my favorite place. I love it. So yeah, just got back from there. speaker-1: 'Cause that's what I was thinking like I I was like, Man, I think I'm too old to visit speaker-0: my god, you can go there till you're ninety, till till you're a hundred. speaker-1: 'Cause it has like okay, so it's like one port like one small portion of the island is like the very concentrated party center. And then the rest of it is just like chill Spanish. Okay. speaker-0: Okay. Yeah, there's a place called San Antonio, which you want to avoid like the plague. Like do not go there. and then the rest of the island, it's just my god, it's amazing. So good. speaker-1: Yeah, those videos looked crazy 'cause I saw that from your trip. And you happened to leave Spain only a few hours before the World Cup final. I know. speaker-0: No, my god, I was so gutted about that. that would have been epic to spend one more night for that. Yeah. speaker-1: I was like, Wait, are you still in Spain? Like holy shit like mm yeah, sorry, I didn't go back speaker-0: Yeah, I had to go back to work the next morning or I absolutely would have stayed another day. yeah, that was cool. We almost made it to the the final. The UK did. I mean the US. I feel like we deserved to be knocked out after what happened. I was really rooting. I mean, I always go for US first and then I UK is my backup. via that whole situation with the red card. I was like, Ugh, I think it's tainted now if we go any further. So Feel like it was kind of the time, the right time for us to get knocked out. But I was rooting for the UK and just didn't make it. But well, next time. speaker-1: I was like low key rooting for England. Well just like I thought it would be really funny if England had England won the World Cup in the US on year two fifty of the US. speaker-0: yeah, yeah, yeah. So there was a rumor floating around TikTok that America and England were gonna play on the fourth of July. I mean, I think the odds for that to actually happen, how the bracket was set up, there was like no way that it it was like a one percent chance it would happen. But that would have been hilarious wouldn't. speaker-1: That would have been awesome. That would have been so like the fans would have been crazy. Like, yeah. my God. Man, missed opportunity. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: Anyway, so back to content creation. So like it is, you know, when it comes to editing video, like that's that takes a ton of time. So like how many weeks are how many hours, excuse me, per week do you think you spend on content creation, like outside of work? speaker-0: maybe like fifteen hours, which is a lot actually when you're trying to also keep a social life and keep your mind sane. I definitely hit a wall like in September, October last year, where I was I was just like, I can't do this anymore. I'm burning out. And I took a few months off and I thought, well, that's it. I've killed my entire account. I'm never coming back from this. But I just posted something that I wanted to. like three months later, I was like, I'm just gonna do a carousel of photos, or I did a reel, I can't remember what. And it performed exactly the same, if not better, as right when I took time off. Cool. And I was like, wait, okay, I need to just chill out and stop taking this so seriously. Start start having fun with it again. I mean, I can say that because it's not my full time career. You know, if it was my full-time career, I probably would have been freaking out after I took three months off. But Now I just yeah, I still do 15, I'd say about 15 hours a week, but it's more fun now because I take the pressure off of myself because I don't think I'm ever I don't know, never say never, but I really love my life in London and I love being having my friends right here. Like that's the amazing thing about living in the UK, like they can't all disperse that far, right? And none of my friends really want to leave London. Whereas if I was living in America, I I lived in Chicago before I moved here. All my friends, most of my friends now have since dispersed to other states and and it's so huge. So I do love that about living in London. All my friends are right here. Most of them are never gonna leave London. So I love my life here. I'll definitely take another year off work to travel work if you're listening, earmuffs. But I must yeah. But I probably would go back. But yeah, it's a lot it's a lot of work. But now that I'm more just remembering why I was doing it because it's fun and just having more fun with it, it's It it it doesn't feel like work, it just feels fun now. speaker-1: that's great. Yeah, 'cause I remember that. Like I remember seeing that carousel post and I it's not to sound weird, but I was like, I didn't even realize that you had taken a speaker-0: I was gonna say that. Yeah. And I think you get so in your head, you think people notice things way more than they actually do. So I was like, nobody's watching every little step you take. Nobody can just chill out. But that's I I'm a Virgo and I'm account and I can't end. Like chill out is not really in my vocabulary, but I'm trying. And I think the older I get, the more type B I'm leaning. I will never be quite type B, but it's getting a little bit easier to just kind of. Maybe it's because I'm getting tired too. Just like, gosh, just whatever. Jesus take the wheel. Whatever they say. speaker-1: No, I I feel that 'cause it's like, yeah, it's it's very you you can be pretty self-conscious when you're posting things on like a public account. But no, it's like there's so much content out there, it's you know, people aren't gonna be watching your every move. And then something I was kind of thinking about today is I you know, for a while I was like, Man, why didn't I start content creation sooner? But like I feel like now at this point in my thirties, I'm more kind of confident and comfortable with who I am. And then also like I feel like had I started in my twenties, there would have been a lot of like cattiness and maybe like put downs by like I had a lot of really crappy friends who weren't really friends. They were just drinking buddies. So I think just like the overwhelming insecurity that people feel in their twenties would have made it kind of a nightmare. Whereas in my thirties, my friends we, you know, we've all matured and people have their own hobbies and now it's like, that's so cool. Like good for you. Like keep it up. speaker-0: Yeah, absolutely. And how are you finding it on top of your full time job? speaker-1: It's it actually fits in pretty well. It's good because I I only do audio. So that's actually pretty quick. it takes me maybe about two to three hours to edit a podcast episode. And I typically do that like Saturday, Sunday, and then just kind of put things together. I do research about the guests and whatnot. But it's no, it's nice because I felt before I started this I was just kind of swiping my life away. Yeah. It was just constantly on my phone. I like, I'm not contributing anything. And it was just like freaking me out. So speaker-0: That's awesome that you have a system already in place. It took me a while to kind of grasp that. I was doing everything last minute and like on the fly. And I think that also like fed into the burnout. But that's good that you have you have a schedule. And I all the same thing that you said where you were just swiping your life away. When I took those three months off, I just didn't know what to do do with myself. I had so much free time. I was like, Yeah. How did I used to fill this? I mean, it was fine. I watched You know, I mean, the one thing I've never given up is my Bravo shows. Nice. Like I am a hardcore housewives fan to the core. And I watch all the Summer House and Below Deck and all that. Anyway, but I mean that never slipped while I was doing content creation. But I had a lot more time for Bravo. I had a lot more time for just like cooking at home, like making new recipes. But yeah, it was a nice little break. But yeah, you have to have I feel like you have to have something that kind of keeps you busy and you're Like something bigger than yourself that you're kind of working towards. I don't know. I like having a project like this. speaker-1: Yeah. And it's a great way, like, because I, you know, I go to work and then I come home. Like I'm not, you I'm not in my twenties. I'm not going out to bars on the weekend. So this has been a really great way to reconnect with old friends or like to meet new people. So I'm I'm really enjoying it thus far. speaker-0: Awesome. speaker-1: So on the topic of the gap year, why do you think it's important for people over 30 to take a gap year? speaker-0: I first of all I don't you don't have to be over thirty to do it, but in my personal opinion, I feel like my brain expanded so much more once I got into my thirties and I was really absorbing a lot more around me, paying attention a lot more, wanting to understand the why behind a lot of things. Whereas I did a study abroad semester in college, like I'm sure a lot of people did in in college in the US. And I feel like I was just Going to all just going to all these countries so I could party in a new new country, party in Spain, party in Germany, party in France. Like yes, we went to the tourist attractions and I did learn a lot and it opened my eyes and I'm you know, that's where I I probably really caught the international travel bug. But I think once I did it in my 30s, I also really started to appreciate having a break from from work for a bit and being able to just focus on the travel and not have everything so rushed and be able to really enjoy it and not have to plan everything down to the nth degree. that was amazing. But yeah, I just feel like I was really taking a lot more in. And I was also more aware of probably I don't know how to say this, probably more aware of the world, like just understanding things are going to be different where you're going. People are going to approach things differently. They're going to act differently. It's not going to be just what you're used to back home, whereas maybe when I I don't I don't know what I'm trying to say here, but I just felt like I I was maybe a little bit more prepared, a little bit more mature for doing it in my 30s and maybe got a a lot more out of it. That's not to say you shouldn't do it when you're younger. I think you can do it when you're younger and that'll prepare you for doing it again when you're older, but I think I I definitely think I appreciated it more when I was older. speaker-1: And like with the Americans abroad in Europe and whatnot, like, you know, a lot of people, they the biggest draw for study abroad is the fact that you can drink legally under the age of twenty one. Yeah. 'cause that was just yeah, my my classmates, I remember just were out. I mean, they were just partying nonstop. Yeah. and it's, you know, lots of lots of crazy stories. But it's like, yeah, once you're, you know, a bit older, you can appreciate it more. You can immerse yourself in a culture and just I don't know, you're kind of better at being who you are and kinda, you know, yeah. Interacting with the world around you. So yeah, that's speaker-0: Maybe being a lot more patient as well. Like and understand, you know, well this isn't necessarily the way I'm used to it back home, but now I've learned a new way of doing something like Yeah, even something as silly as like, this is what Italians have for breakfast. You're not gonna get eggs and bacon in Italy. You're gonna get like prosciutto and cheese, maybe a piece of bread or an espresso or something, you know, and I'm a cigarette. cool. Yes. Cigarette. Hell yeah. but yeah. I'm I'm definitely gonna do another year off. I I can't wait. I wanna do South America next time. speaker-1: That was one of my questions. So is there like a gap year in the works? Like do you have like a specific year you wanna take off or like is it just kind of an idea right now? speaker-0: It's just whenever I can finally get up the courage to do it again. Not because I'm scared about doing a gap year. It's more that I have a really cushy, good job. I have a I have really great bosses. I'm very comfortable, like I I know what I'm doing. Like I've been there for six years. so it's more just finally getting the courage to kind of cut that, cut that cord. But I am gonna probably talk to my boss at some point and say, Hey, do you think maybe I could go away for a year and then come back? And if the job's still there, you know. Cause that's what I tell people to do. I'm like, if you don't wanna completely quit and take a whole year off, just ask your employer if they do like a sabbatical. That way you can just take an agreed amount of time off. They don't terminate your employment, they just hold You're just like kind of frozen, like your employment's kind of frozen and then you can come back to it. Unfortunately, ours don't offer that, not in the traditional sense. Like it I mean, they do, but I looked and it's and it's it's so American. It's like, you have to work here for ten years and then we'll give you three months off. And I'm like, Okay. Okay. That's not gonna fly. but yeah, I definitely wanna do South America. I think that deserves I think it needs a year. You could do one country at a time, but I think feel like it would be rushed. speaker-1: Yeah. that's so cool. So would you like would you do all of like Latin America, like so Mexico and the Caribbean as well? speaker-0: Think I've done quite a bit of Central America already. I mean, I've been to Mexico like seven or eight times. It's my favorite country in the entire world. So I think I could probably skip that for the year. Actually, I say that I'll probably still go at the end or something just to celebrate. but yeah, I would do all of d all of South America for sure. I think I would save the more I find that the Caribbean is more expensive. Do you? So I don't know, like I'm not that well versed. I've only been to the Bahamas and Yeah, I think I've only been to the Bahamas in the Caribbean and obviously that side of Mexico, but the Bahamas was so freaking expensive. Like, my God. And it going to a country that expensive when you're backpacking, it just stresses it stressed me out. Like I did that once I went to Hong Kong on a whim. And 'cause I I just found a cheap flight. And I was just so naive. I didn't I didn't know anything about Hong Kong at all. Mm-hmm and so I booked my flight there and then I started looking at accommodation. And it's like London, like hotels are two hundred pounds a night or something if you want to stay on the island minimum. And my budget for that year was twenty pounds a night for accommodation because in Bali that like in Indonesia and Vietnam, that gets you a private room and a nice hotel, you know. but I was stressed out the whole time I was in Hong Kong and I didn't enjoy it. So I think What I'm gonna do is save the really expensive countries for when I'm employed and I have a job and I'm not stressing about it the whole time. speaker-1: That's yeah, that's great. And like I've never been to the Caribbean, but I have coworkers who go like almost every year. They've been to like Curacao and whatnot. But they said that it's so expensive because everything is imported. So speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: it's just like a more like a higher cost of living. So yeah, I I think my boss went one year and was like, it this cost, you know, double what my traditional vacation cost, but he He wanted to go, so he had a great time. Yeah, so when it comes to like solo traveling, what advice would you give to a woman who wants to start solo traveling but is, you know, maybe worried about it, like safety concerns or like even looking weird being a solo traveler? Like what's what kind of has helped you on this path? speaker-0: Well, maybe I'm crazy, but I've never solo traveled before and I just like went to Bali by myself. Like never been to Asia before, never solo traveled before, and I just booked a one-way flight and just went for it. But that's I feel like I've always kind of been like that. I'm like, yeah, whatever, I'll just figure it out. Like my mom raised me to be very, very independent. So I kind of had have that inherent in me. But what I say to people who might be nervous about it is maybe start somewhere close that you're familiar with. Stay in your state, maybe you go to the next town over and just go for a night and just try it out and see how you do on your own. Because I I a lot of people also aren't used to traveling without their friends or their family. see you and solo travel is not necessarily for everyone. Like, I don't think it's weird if people don't like it. You know, it's like I like both. I like traveling with my friends and I like traveling by myself. I don't like always just traveling by myself. Right. So yeah, go somewhere close on your own. Or also another tip is just go out for dinner on your own. Yeah. And if you can do that and just be comfortable, and again, just remember, nobody is everybody else is caught up in their own world and their own lives. They probably are not even looking at you or care about you, no offense to anyone. But like people's minds are just probably always on their own life and what's going on in their in their world. that don't get so caught up and and worry that what people are thinking about you. They're probably not. so go out for dinner by yourself for the first time. go somewhere close by for just a night and just see how you go. And if you like it, then go further, go longer and just kind of work your way up. And I think also I would suggest going to a country that's pretty well known for being a social traveler, back not necessarily backpacker, but more like open and social. So for instance, I probably wouldn't suggest to somebody to go to Santorini, Greece, to solo travel, because that is a very traditionally honeymoon coupled island in Greece. So if you go there on your own or going to like I'm not I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. Like I I wouldn't care, I'd go do it on my own. But I'm places more like Bali, Bangkok in Thailand, the islands in Thailand, that's full of a lot of other travelers who are also on their own and are also looking to make friends because we're very social creatures. We like, we like to to make friends and be around each other. so I would suggest going to a country that's more well known for for that and not necessarily the honeymoon couple destinations 'cause it's gonna be a lot harder to meet people 'cause they're just gonna be in, you know, enjoying their honeymoon and their time together. yeah, that's in a nutshell what I would suggest. I probably missed a few things, but yeah. speaker-1: No, that's perfect. And like another thing too that I've kind of recently realized is people aren't really paying attention to you because everybody's addicted to their phones. speaker-0: Mm-hmm. speaker-1: So that's yeah, it's and also like if I'm out and I see someone maybe having dinner by themselves, I just always assume I'm like, that person's on a business trip. speaker-0: Yeah, that too. Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. You still need to eat dinner. Like speaker-0: Like and also I went to lunch by myself today, and I'm in my home city with all my friends here. But I'm just like, I'm so comfortable now just doing whatever I want whenever I want by myself. You will find it once you do it once, I feel I I feel like you'll find it so freeing and nice. I remember my friend Karen who lives here, she's Canadian. and she'd never solo traveled before, and she's like, I can't believe you do this all the time. Like it's crazy. And then one year she couldn't find anybody that had enough. Spare vacation days to go to I think it was Greece that she wanted to go. And she's like, I think I'm gonna do it. I think I'm just gonna go for a week by myself. And I was like, Karen, watch out now. And she went. She's like, my god, why didn't I do this sooner? This is the best thing ever. She's like, I could do what I wanted when I wanted. I didn't have to check in with anyone. I didn't have to agree anything with anyone. She's like, I'm gonna do it every year now. I'm like, hell yeah, Karen, go for it. speaker-1: Yes. And like that's that's something that I also like I've taken a lot of solo trips here in the US and then I did my big UK trip back in twenty twenty four. And so something that helped me was I specifically planned things that I wanted to do by myself. So for me, that's like museums, walking tours. and like don't go to like romantic places, like don't take yourself out to like a very, very romantic restaurant. speaker-0: Yeah. actually no, go to wine bars. Those are but yeah sorry. Yeah, that was a bad example. Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah, yeah. Make friends with the bartenders. yeah, like don't do like stuff that's clearly for couples and you'll be fine. There's just so much to do and it's it's just nice to be like, Hey, I've been to a museum every day this week and no one's like bitching and complaining. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah. And like you reached out to me and we'd only met on Instagram and we'd had our our like Skype calls or whatever. my god, Skype calls, I'm so old. We'd have like our Zoom calls or whatever. But I but you just reach out to me. I'm like, yeah, of course, let's hang out. And it's like, do that. Like there's there's apps out there that connect you with other travelers. I can't think of the names of them off the top of my head. But like I said, people are very social. We want companionship. We want friendship. most for the most part. So just put yourself out there. And if and if somebody's like, Well no, I'm busy, yeah, whatever. Like, fine. Go take yourself out. Like you said, you went to a museum, like, did did your own thing. So speaker-1: Mm. So do you have any upcoming group trips planned through Travel Rider? Or is that something that you're wanting to work on? speaker-0: to stop doing that for a little bit because I'll give you like it's I I'm always interested here have you there's a podcast out there that's like how to fail or something. So I'll give you one of my my failures. So it wasn't all success. So I did the first trip that I ever hosted was a group trip to Bali. and there were five girls that came and so there were six of us and I'm still really close to all of them to this day. And I always joke with them. I'm like, I could never do a group trip. I couldn't cheat on you guys like that. but I'd had, I had reached well, well, another company had reached out to me to do another group trip. it's called Flash Pack. I don't know if you've heard of it. speaker-1: Like I've heard of them. speaker-0: They do really bespoke high-end trips for people over 30, I think I want to say, which is like I mean, my brand is travel for the over 30s. You would have thought it would have been a home run slam dunk. And I was like, okay, I want to do a Tanzania trip. And we worked on it. We had so much interest at the start, like people signing up to be the first to be able to buy it and whatnot. And I launched it and I don't know it I mean, I don't know why, but it was a complete flop and not a single person signed up for it. I don't know if it was the price point or I I'd had planned it to be between Christmas and like the first week in January, because for me that's the easiest time of the year to be off of work and not have people emailing me thousands of emails a day. So I was like, okay, let's do this over New Year's Eve. So I don't know if it was the dates that put people off, the price, or maybe I just I don't know. But yeah, ever since then I got kind of nervous to ever do another group trip because I was like, my God, that flopped so hard and that should have been so easy. But yeah, maybe one day I will. I have an idea of a group trip that. Also, another thing that put me off is when I did the Bali trip, like it was okay, the trip that they planned and what we were doing. But again, I'm a Virgo. I could have planned it 1,000 times better myself. Yeah. And so I was like, if I ever do this again, I'm probably just gonna plan it myself. and you do have to get like special insurance if you're running trips yourself, but I think it would be worth it because I would be able to tailor it more. And I do have an idea that the next time I do it, I might just do like a villa somewhere. Like like the what my friends and I do now because I find that so much fun. Yeah. As a 30, 40 something, just to get a big group and go to a villa and just chill out all week. You don't have to run, run, run. All the activities can be optional. And I think it's also like harder for people to make big friend groups. Like I'm lucky that I'm still close to my friends. Like we've since my mid-20s, I've had the same group of friends here in London. And I'm I appreciate that and I know that I'm very lucky and I'm in the minor minority for this. So I want to make a trip for other people that might not be as lucky as me in that position and say, if you don't have a big friend group to do a villa with, come come do a trip with me and let's make a new group and whatever. So I think I might do something like that in the near future for the over thirties. And you have to Claire. speaker-1: my god, that sounds like so much fun. Yeah, shit. It'll be a brand trip. Spooky butt podcast. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. my god. That would be and it it needs to be somewhere like sunny and bright and like happy, not in like a cemetery. Yeah. speaker-0: We could do that. We could do that somewhere in Italy and then we can go to some like old school like cemetery or something, man. speaker-1: yeah. Yeah. my god, that would be so funny. No, that's yeah, that's great. Cause like something that I noticed too is like I've done like walking tours and stuff like that when I solo travel and that's a cool way to meet other solo travelers, but you're only with them for like two hours. Yeah. So you can't really like make a you know yeah it's like cool, follow each other on Instagram, goodbye. Like you can't really build a relationship out of that. speaker-0: Yeah. Sometimes though I've like gone on walking tours and then we've carried on to like a bar or a pub after, but that's because I'm again 'cause I don't give a shit. I really put myself out there. I'm like, Hey, do you wanna go for a drink after this? And if they say no, I'll just be like, Okay, cool, see you later. But if they want to, I'm like, Okay, I got friends for the night. So yeah. Don't be afraid. Just put yourself out there. Who cares? The worst they can say is no. speaker-1: Right. Man, so like what's next for Travel Rider? Do you like apart from maybe a big group trip coming up, do have any other stuff on the horizon? speaker-0: I really wanna start up on my blog again and build that up. And I was also, I mean, every time I go on a I always go to the park for a walk and just to like think about strategy and stuff. And I always come up with the best ideas on these walks, but I'm just like, I think maybe yeah, I'm definitely gonna dive into the blog again. I was thinking about reviving my podcast, but also doing video because I really wanna start to Post on YouTube a lot more, like long form content is really taking off. and it's a good monetization tool as well. YouTube pays very good as compared to shorter form content like on Facebook or Reels. And yeah, I'm just now that I'm having fun with my content again, I also want to. I was thinking about this on my walk today. I was like, I want to start to get back to my roots more about things being about. travel for the over thirties because I feel like I've kind of kind of just been speaking way too generically to my audience recently. I've just been talking about travel because I felt like, well, you guys follow me. You all know that I'm travel for the over thirties. But I think to gain new followers, I need to really kind of focus and hone in on who my audience is, who I'm speaking to. So I want to start to talk about grown up gap years again and really dig into how I did it. And yeah, just kind of back to my roots and just go for it. Yeah. And you know what? This is a really random side note. Sorry. Stay with me here. This is a really random side note. But okay, Zara Larson, I am absolutely obsessed with her. She has blown up the summer. I felt like out of nowhere. And I'm like, who is this girl? She is so funny. She is so witty. Such a good singer. Amazing. Come to find out, she's been slogging at it for like 10 years at least. And if you go into her Spotify, she has sung, she is the singer and maybe even the writer. I can't remember if she's the writer, but she has sung so many popular songs that I know from back in the day, from like 2015, 2016. And I'm like, wow, holy shit, is this Zara Larson? and the reason I'm mentioning this is because I've only been doing this for three years and I'm kicking myself because I'm like, I haven't replaced my full-time job income yet. I don't have a hundred thousand followers yet. I don't have all the success that I wanted overnight. And I just want to tell myself, again, chill out. But also it takes time. Like you really have to work at it and be consistent. Like took Zara Larson like 10 years to finally blow up and be a household name for a lot of us. And I I just always I'm like, Okay, whenever I'm down on myself for how far I've come, I kind of think of that and I'm like, No, you just gotta keep at it and like see what happens. You're having fun with it, just keep going. So yeah. speaker-1: Yeah, like there is a saying it's it takes ten years to become an overnight success. speaker-0: I've never heard that before. That is speaker-1: That about Chapel Roan. And it's like, yeah, she went out and she was grinding for like ten years before she, you know, got her big hit. Yeah. But I do think like if you were to go back to more gapier over thirty content, I think there's probably gonna be like a really, really big renewed interest in it because people are just like, I'm not waiting till retirement. The world is on fire, might as well enjoy it now. Yeah. Like I think that's 'cause like people are also getting laid off left and right here in the US. So I think I don't know, I think that's that's like a really good time, to get back into that. So that's great. speaker-0: All right, cool. I'm gonna go for it. speaker-1: Okay, so we have made it to the spooky portion of today's show. so I know that you're a bit of a skeptic. Again. You're a numbers person, and you live in a very well, the most British place. but British people are kind of they're not too skeptical about ghosts and whatnot. But yeah, did you have any like spooky things you wanted to share today? speaker-0: trying to find our conversation w on Instagram when you reached out to me and you're like, I'm launching this podcast. It's about spooky stories. What did I say yet? I'm looking back at what I said. speaker-1: You were like, I think it's a total croc. speaker-0: I went, I'd be so down for it, but I have zero paranormal stories and I think it's a load of croc. Haha. And you're like, that would be great. I'm like, sign me up. So okay, yeah. Here's here's my take on it. I think I 100,000% believe in an afterlife of some sort. do I think it's like a traditional Christian view of it? No, but I think there's definitely a higher power out there because I and like people can disagree me with me and roll their eyes, but I I just feel like it's all too complex and Yeah, and we're just one tiny speck of it in on on our world and just think of how complex it is here and like just mind blowing. I just think it's all too much to just be a fluke and I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. But I think there's definitely like something after. And I definitely believe in people being reunited with loved ones. speaker-1: yeah. speaker-0: and have you ever seen the shows where it's like the near-death experiences and they all have the same story, like that blows my mind. It's yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. Crazy. speaker-0: But in terms of ghosts and like, I don't know, maybe I've just shut the door on it because I'm scared shitless and I don't ever want anything like that to happen to me. Like I am scared of the dark 1000%. Like and also I I remember as a kid, but I would but even as a college student as well, anytime I'd come home My grandparents had this unfinished basement where all the junk went, basically. And I and the washing machine, the washer dryer was down there. So anytime you wanted to get something, you'd have to go down there and then you'd have to turn the light off before you got up the stairs. my god, I'd always run up those stairs so freaking fast. Like I am scared of the dark. I am a baby. I don't know what I'm scared about though. I don't know, like something's gonna grab my ankles. Like, I don't know, a person? I don't know what. But yeah, I don't really believe in any of that paranormal stuff. I think it's just your brain I think it's all just science, which is like rich of me to say after I just said, I think there's there's afterlife. I'm like, just science. speaker-1: Yeah, I think there could be like there's definitely like a I don't know, maybe like quantum physics whatever explanation for it. But I I think it's funny and I wanted to talk to you about this because I've known people who move from the US and they're like complete skeptics and then they move to Europe where it's, you know, so old and then they out of the blue just start having paranormal experiences. So that's what I think is so funny because like to people listening, London is a city made entirely out of bones, entirely on top of bones. Like it's so on top. speaker-0: That's shit. speaker-1: Well like speaker-0: Wait, explain. speaker-1: so like just like aren't there like Roman ruins by your office and there are plague pits everywhere? speaker-0: What yeah, okay, I see what you mean. speaker-1: Crazy. That's yeah, so that's what I mean. Just like there's so I I don't know, but it could also be because there are also so many people there. that maybe it's hard for like something on the other side to get attention. Cause they're it's such a buzzy city, you know, traffic is crazy, everybody's on their phones. So maybe ghosts are just like, you know what? I'm not gonna hunt London. It's just not for me. my god. speaker-0: That's so stu I it's I do not believe in fontains at all. That is where you lose me. I'm like, I'm like, where I what I do believe in is people, maybe your your loved ones that have passed on tried to send you signs. I believe in that a hundred percent. but I don't believe in like, I don't know, but if I believe in that, maybe I should maybe I should believe. Maybe you're opening my eyes to something here. But I've never I've never had anything. spookier paranormal. There is one thing that I there so one time I went to my friend's house. She it's probably a Victorian. my gosh, my friends are gonna make fun of me. I don't know. Like they're really good at knowing what what age the houses are from just by looking at it. I'm not that g versed in like British history that I understand that. But I definitely know the house is older. So she moved to Leicester and they moved into this house. A r like a big house, and I think it's probably pretty old. And I was staying over one night when they first moved in there, and I s I woke up in the middle of the night and I thought the door was opening because I could hear it like scraping across the carpet. And I can't remember if I saw it moving or what. But then I was like, that's weird. And then I just went back to sleep and I thought I was like, maybe somebody just opened the door and like forgot I was in here something. Cause I think they had people over who were sleeping in other rooms and maybe they got they went to the wrong room or something. and the next morning I'm like, did one of you like come up to the room? And they were like, no. And I was like, but me, I just immediately wrote it off as I was just had just woken up and I was just out of it. Like I didn't my mind never thought it was anything more than that. And I still don't think it's anything more than that. Like when I go stay over, it's not like I'm scared or think there's paranormal activity. That's the closest thing I have for you, like a paranormal story that I've had, which is so lame. speaker-1: Yeah, like or if I feel like if you wake up at certain points like in your sleep cycle. So if you wake up at like two in the morning, you might like maybe you cut off like rapid eye movement cycle and so you're like awake and seeing things or whatever. So I think like I think it's called parapsychology is the field and it it tries to give a scientific explanation to like everything. So like hauntings, alien abductions and things like that. It's it's trying to be like, Hey, this is, you know, sleep paralysis or whatever. So it's It's actually a pretty interesting field. it can be a little bit depressing because I love woo-woo stuff and it's like, no, this is actually science. speaker-0: That's for the side I'm on. Yeah. I'm in that side. Yeah. But aliens, don't get me started on speaker-1: He really? speaker-0: aliens, one thousand percent. We're not the only ones in this whole universe. Like that would be crazy. speaker-1: Do you okay, do you believe in like alien abductions? speaker-0: yeah. I think so. I think I do, yeah. speaker-1: So then like I feel like that applies to Spooky Butt because with Spooky Butt it's not just yeah, it's not just about ghosts. Like ghosts. It's yeah basically anything unexplained. I did see a clip recently and Snooky was on a podcast and she's like I 1000% was abducted when I was a teenager. What? Yeah, she was like in her pool. It was like a summer day, and she saw like a a blinking light in the sky and then she like lost several hours. And then the next day woke up with like a hole in like at the base of her skull or something. And she didn't really get more, it was like, what the hell? Like she didn't get more into it. But apparently like that part of New York where she's from, there have been a ton of alien encounters and like abductions. So who knows if it's like a hot spot for aliens or if it's Like, I don't know if there's like toxic waste nearby that's like kind of making everyone loopy. But that was so funny because it's like, my God, this is I completely like this is so on brand for Snucky, I think. speaker-0: my god, we gotta shave her head, see if she has a scar in the back of it. Yeah. But also what she has no reason to lie. Like she doesn't need attention or like there there'd be no reason to make this up. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. speaker-0: I defin I definitely believe in that kind of stuff. There was some I saw something recently, what was I watching, where it was like a whole family had been abducted or something. Maybe it was one of my Bravo shows where it was like Did you know one of the sisters said that all the sisters got abducted one day and they're like adamant that it happened? I have no idea what I was watching now. But yeah, I definitely believe in the alien thing. Not an They don't necessarily look like what we see in Hollywood movies and stuff, you know, like creepy creatures and could just look like a normal human, maybe, but they're just light years away. And I always I always think it's cool to think about how maybe there's all these other civilizations that are so much more advanced than us. And I wonder and I always wonder what they what they think if they like discover discover us and they're like, they're only on like Chapter one of our five thousand. I think that is definitely real. speaker-1: Yeah, I think so too. And like, because like, yeah, human beings are like violent and we're like pretty terrible to each other. And something funny, like Neil deGrasse Tyson said something. He was like, Yeah, aliens are real. Like he 100% believes in it, but he's like, What interest would they have in us? Like, why would they come to our dump of a planet? And it's like, yeah, I kinda, you know, I can see that maybe there's like cases here and there where like, hey, it was actually an alien abduction, but it's not that common. 'Cause like humanity's kind of not great right now. Yeah. speaker-0: Maybe they just want us for our resources. Like I I was reading I can't remember what the name of the book was, but it was like a sci-fi. I love sci-fi movies. Yeah. I love them. Like any end of the also any end of the end of the world movies, I'm a sucker for that. Like Armageddon were what was the series with Pedro Pascal and the mushrooms? It ends with us? The Last of Us. speaker-1: The Last of Us. It ends with us. speaker-0: Whatever. speaker-1: That's the Colleen Hoover Blake Lively. speaker-0: Never mind. Not the same thing. my gosh. Yeah. But I I am so inter But yeah, I was w I was reading a book recently where it was they were taking over Earth because they wanted our resources, because they were running out of something. and there was also like a a po a potion. I don't know what they were calling it, but something that they were taking that allowed them to live forever, but they had to harvest like speaker-1: okay. speaker-0: souls or humans or life stuff. Life forms to be able to sustain it. So I think they were harvesting our world for that. my god, I love that stuff. I'm a sucker for that. speaker-1: that's so interesting. And like I've this is so interesting because I've also met people who because I of course love talking about like the beyond, the unexplained and all that. And there are so many people who it's like ghosts versus aliens, like people who are hardcore into ghosts or like the alien thing is kind of bullshit and it the opposite is true for people who are into aliens. That's just been my kind of first hand experience. And I think that's so funny because they might be connected. Who knows? speaker-0: Yeah, that's true. yeah, I never thought about that. speaker-1: I was kind of thinking about it today, like maybe certain like we have this is sacrilegious, I'm Catholic, but we have like Marian apparitions. So like in Fatima, you know, Fatima Portugal, Mary appeared in like the early 1900s. And part of is like, man, was that was that an alien? Yeah. You know, like so like were some of these like worldly religions that have been around for millennia, like Are these people worshiping an alien? Was this like someone just like from a different planet who wants to like mess with us? speaker-0: I mean like God seems like from a different planet in the Bible, like reading the stories and stuff, like like he levitated back into the sky and like woke up from the dead and stuff. Like that's pretty crazy stuff. speaker-1: Yeah, it's I don't know, it's so funny. And on the sci-fi note, Dune part three comes out at Christmas. Or like around that time. So I that's I've been so excited for I think it's this is the final installment and I just I cannot wait. speaker-0: Me either. I love Dune. Did you is it an IMAX movie? Because I've only ever seen it on like normal television. Okay. speaker-1: Think so. The Odyssey. I haven't I still haven't seen the Odyssey because we don't really have that many IMAX theaters around here. So I I haven't made the journey. speaker-0: Yeah. They're completely no, I wanna see the Odyssey so bad. I've never seen an IMAX film before. I don't think that yeah. I d I've never but apparently it's booked solid for months in London. Like it's hard to speaker-1: Man. speaker-0: get tickets. So I don't that's what my friend said I haven't checked for myself. Maybe I'll have Claude look for me, please. speaker-1: Yeah. He might be extraterrestrial. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah, for sure. yeah, what were we talking about? The yeah, doing yeah, I can't wait for that. that'll be a nice Christmas. Something to do like when I'm bored at home in Ohio. speaker-1: Yeah. so when you were in Southeast Asia, this is kind of funny on like the alien topic. did you like explore any ancient ruins or like temples or anything like that? speaker-0: When I was in Cambodia, I explored Anchor Wat. Yeah. speaker-1: wow. Yeah. speaker-0: That was insane. That was really cool. Felt like Indiana Jones. speaker-1: Were you into the like ancient aliens craze? I think that was when I was in like college, maybe. It speaker-0: No. What do you mean? speaker-1: was well, okay, you were living in London, I think at this time. So it probably wasn't available in the UK, but it was this show, I think, on like Discovery Channel or History Channel. And it was just this like kind of kooky guy talking about how like aliens built the pyramids and aliens built all these, you know, like ancient structures, because like he's trying trying to break it down that like There's no way that human beings could have done this with the technology they had. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: It's I mean, it's been debunked, but it was just like it was such a hit show because he was just so bizarre and it was just like fun. It was like a fun conversation piece. So that's why I'm like, if I ever go to like Anchor Wat or the pyramids of Giza, would I be like, this is alien technology. Yeah. speaker-0: No, I think it it it yeah, no, I didn't think about that at the time, but you should definitely go. speaker-1: I do like I like adventure stuff, so I do like, you know, Indiana Jones and all that fun stuff. Man, that's that's so funny. Yeah. Do you have like are you big into like sci-fi books or anything like that? Just mainly like shows and stuff? speaker-0: stuff? more like movies and TV shows. but yeah, I mean I I love reading. I just have I the content creation gets in the way of reading. because I swipe so much to research and then I lose all my time. But yeah I'm a big reader. So if if you have any sci-fi suggestions, I would love them. speaker-1: So at this point in the podcast, do you have anything you want to end on or any last words? speaker-0: Maybe I'm more of a believer than I thought I was. You really got my p brain thinking now. I'm like, ooh. Yeah. Maybe yeah. So thanks for that. I'm speaker-1: This is what I speaker-0: gonna see an uptick in like paranormal activity and it's all your fault. speaker-1: I know, that's what I'm a little bit worried about. I'm like, did I open a portal? Yeah. speaker-0: No. my God. That reminded me. Do you remember like Are You Afraid of the Dark from back in the day? my God. Like this is how big of a scaredy cat I was. Sorry. This is I know we're supposed to be ending soon. no, fine. I couldn't I hate I would just like to say I also I hate scary movies, but I was I'm such a baby. I couldn't even watch like Are You Afraid of the Dark? I think like There was an episode where there was like a pool monster one time and I was so scared shitless. I think I slept with the lights on for a week and my mom was like, Okay, you're not allowed to watch that show anymore. But yeah, I'm a baby. So like I'm probably gonna close my mind after this. Yeah. Not think about it. But yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. I honestly, when it comes to Are You Afraid of the Dark, I think the scariest thing about that show was the intro with like the screen. speaker-0: my god. And the the candle and the Ouija board and a speaker-1: Wasn't there like a puppet or like a jack in the box or something like something something creepy? But So Megan, where can people find you? speaker-0: you can find me at Travel Writer, but it's spelled like my last name, W R I G H T E R. So that's my handle on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and then my travel blog is travelwriter.net, not dot com. Somebody else had travelwriter.com. Another travel writer in the US. I think he's British, but lives in the US. How random. Yeah, speaker-1: You live an opposite life. speaker-0: exactly. He's like, who is this bitch? I'm trying to steal his domain when it comes up for renewal, but yeah, travelwriter dot net is where you can find me. speaker-1: Great. Thank you so much for joining me today. it's been a pleasure. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: And on that note, goodbye. speaker-0: Goodbye. Mm. speaker-1: Thank you for listening to this episode of SpookyButt. Music by Drew Mantia, artwork by Lauren Seely. Listen to SpookyButt on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Please be sure to like, rate, and subscribe. Follow SpookyButt on Instagram at Spookybutt Podcast. Need to make contact? Send us an email at spookybuttpodcast at gmail.com. We'll see you on the other side. Goodbye.