The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
Where does your wanderlust lead you?
To Melbourne’s cafes or the vast deserts of the Empty Quarter, a New Zealand vineyard or the pavements of New York… what’s your neighbourhood?
Join travel journalists and editors Kirstie Bedford and Belinda Jackson for inspiring stories and inside information from across the world.
Website https://theworldawaits.au
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The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
EP 124 Last-minute travel Christmas gifts & how to max your holidays in 2026
Shopping for the traveller in your life this Christmas? Tune in as our tech hound and sound producer Alaisdair Leith teams up with host Belle Jackson to bring you our best last-minute gifts.
Also, get planning for your 2026 travels and get holiday maxxing - the art of maximising public holidays to get more time away, without the pay cut.
Our Christmas wishlist includes three great Australian designed products from Belle and Alaisdair's Techxmas trio, with a bonus cheapie perfect for summer holidays.
Zoomlite Glide top-opening suitcase Ditch the space-hogging clamshell suitcase with this Australian-designed case, a smooth-wheeling, hard shell that opens with a lid (and the traditional clam). In in seven colours and three sizes including the Glide Lite, Australia's lightest carry-on wheeled case, at 2kg, zoomlite.com.au
Bahama Flexibraid Fedora travel hat: Crushable, water resistant, UPF50+, packs flat and stylish, this fedora hides bad hair days and protects your skin on your travels, tinamcopenhagen.com.au
Lake Eyre 100% Silk Scarf Take a piece of Australia on your travels with this large format silk scarf featuring the aerial photography of Australian grazier David Taylor, australiascape.com.au
Timekettle Translation Earbuds Lost in translation? Translate 42 languages with these earbud, one for each speaker, and the earbud will translate both ways! timekettle.co
Baseus Universal Travel Adaptor Charge your phone, watch and laptop all with the one charger, all around the world; includes USB C and USB A ports. In black or white, baseus.com
Vacbird Travel Bags For the overpacker in your life, these vacuum compression bags come with the tiniest, USB-powered vacuum. Great for stuffing your daybag full, without the bulk vacbird.com
and a bonus cheapie that's the best little buy...
Torras waterproof phone pouch Before you jump into that lazy river or dive deep in the Maldives, the Torras holds your earbuds, your keys and it floats! Also, touchproof through the watercasing, torraslife.com
Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au
Welcome to the World Aways. Travel Tales to Inspire Your Wonderlust.
SPEAKER_00:Hi everyone. Welcome to the World Aways.
SPEAKER_02:I bet you thought Kirsty had a really, really bad head cold, but um, or you're on the world. It's me, Belle here, but with me today in our studio, well, not in the studio at all, because we're never together, um, is our audio producer uh for the world of waves, also a prolific music uh news reviewer, and to reviewer Alastair Lee. So he is riding Shotgun with me today.
SPEAKER_00:Hello, it's so good to be back. It feels like it's been a very long time.
SPEAKER_02:It has, yeah. It's been absolutely ages. I mean, you're always behind the scenes, um, tinkering away with the podcast. But um, I like mate, come on, chat about the movies that you've been seeing and take as well, which is what we're gonna do because that's what it holds you on today, is to to talk about um the things that we should be buying our travel loving friends for Christmas. Because, like Yuri, like me, you probably haven't bought all your Christmas presents yet. Have you bought yours? Are you done?
SPEAKER_00:No, no. What about you? Where are you up to?
SPEAKER_02:Oh my god, no, I haven't done a single thing. Um, I mean, we had we had our crisp cringle for our like my extended family, but everybody either brings jump or alcohol, and that's about it. So um sometimes you know, pick through the wine and try to find something really interesting. Um and I yeah, I did go for a couple of Victorians because I was being very patriotic. So um uh had a little number from uh I love this label, it's by Sal's Wines. They are on the they're on the road outside going up to from Melbourne to Sydney, um about an hour out, and they have a label called Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch. And the label all of that wine series have gone women in 1920s dungarees with hunting rifles. And I'm like, I curiously I identify with that. I'm like, bring that wine to me. So so that was my contribution. So, but before we get into the tech guide and and and um you know, let's all cry about the things that we haven't got organized before the end of the year. We've got a really great holiday hack um for you, which um this is prepping for next year's travel. So the trend is actually called holiday maxing, so which is the art of maximizing your holidays so you get more time off, but without a whacking great pay cut. So lead us in, Alistair.
SPEAKER_00:Look, I'm guilty of this. If my boss is listening, he will be laughing, going, Alistair does this every single year. Uh the when we're back in January, I send through my leave for the entire year and it revolves around public holiday every year. Every year. It's just it's just how you gotta do it.
SPEAKER_02:So if you haven't organized for Christmas yet, tell us about how you can, like if you are able to sneak it in. You were talking about getting organized for the whole year, but what if Christmas is up and you haven't got your shifts organized?
SPEAKER_00:So look, Christmas this year, and I only realized this last week, is on a Thursday. Uh so 25th of December is a Thursday. Uh Boxing Day is on Friday. Uh, and then the 1st of January as well is another public holiday. Um, so look, you've got seven days of annual leave. So you've got the 22nd till the 24th of December, and then the 29th till the 31st of December, and the 2nd of January gives you a whopping 16-day break from Saturday, the 20th of December, right through till Sunday, the 4th of Jam.
SPEAKER_02:Um main thing. Oh, yeah. The trick is you've got to find where to go for that now because it is getting kind of late to be booking stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Um Well, rumor is you're not using you're not going down to the um to the peninsula this year to use your your little holiday kind of. Is that correct?
SPEAKER_02:I am yeah, I'm just kind of gonna have a nice nice lie down. Yeah, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna face plant on the sand, and that's and that's about it. So that's like an hour, that's an hour from home. I mean, look, it's environmentally sustainable, right? Because I'm not burning in my own yeah, yeah. Well what about you? What are you doing over your Christmas holidays?
SPEAKER_00:Um, I'm not actually this is the first year I'm not going away. Um usually, so my family are in New South Wales, so usually it's a epic affair um to yeah, travel to do the tour from Sydney to Newcastle to Gold Coast, Harvey Bay, and travel around. And this year I've just left house, so we're just not doing it. And I couldn't be all thrilled to just have this time to myself to do what I want. And I made no plans apart from pool, beach, and just it's been a year, so I think just decompressing after this year. Um, I cannot wait. Cannot wait. Hopefully we get more summer weather, please, Melbourne.
SPEAKER_02:Well, is that a sign you're getting older when you're thinking, oh, I just want to have a bex and an ice lay down over Christmas?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I don't want a bex, I want a margarita.
SPEAKER_02:Um have you got plans for New Year's Eve?
SPEAKER_00:Um, well, actually, so the building that I've just moved into is one of these build-to-rent comics uh with all the fancy mod cons. Um these do New Year's Eve on the rooftop, and you can see uh from one side you can see the city, um, and the other side is right onto um Port Melbourne. Um so I will be in that rooftop wine room having drinks with my neighbors um and a couple of select friends with some lovely food. Um, yeah, so I can't wait. What about you? Where will you be at New Year's Eve?
SPEAKER_02:There's talk of a house party down on the peninsula, and I'm I'm seeing if if the if the um fire conditions allow me, I'm thinking fire pit. I'm thinking um I'm literally going to be dancing around the fire pit and howling at the moon. And then what everybody does what everyone does down on the peninsula is just before midnight, you run down to the beach. Um some people have been known to skinny dip down there, but I'm I'm not advocating that. I'm not saying night free. Well and everyone even jumps in the water or runs around with marine flares, do not do this at home. Um we watched you not naked with marine flares, no. No, okay, so not naked with flares. Um, and then you watch the fireworks as they run down the coastline from from um Sorrento to Rye, Rosebud, Romana, Mount Mazar, and then you see sometimes the city ones as well, sort of popping in the distance. So we've just got to hope fingers crossed for when on. But that's how you can get 16 days from Saturday, the 20th of December. True, true. It's Sunday, the 4th of January, if you haven't already workshopped it. Um so I'm actually looking forward to the next one, which is Australia Day. This is incredible because you could take four days of annual leave and get nine days off, like straight off the cuff. If you didn't get yourself organized for Christmas and you're actually working the shifts in between, then this is the one you need to be working on next. So the public holiday, of course, hits on Monday, the 26th of January, which is like an automatic um long weekend, right? So if you take four annual leave days from Tuesday, the 27th to Friday, the 30th, you've got nine days off from the 24th of January to the 11th of February, which is which is a an a cracker, because then of course you're out of the school. You know, the peak season is closing down because the schools have gone back, and they always say that the best weather is happens um in Victoria anyway, the the the week that the kids go back to school.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, so get the plan, get the diaries out. Where do we go next?
SPEAKER_00:All right, so Easter. So 10 days off with just four days of annual leave. This is my favorite one. Um so Good Friday is the 3rd of April, Easter Monday is the 6th of April. Um so you can have four leave days from Tuesday, the 7th of April, till Friday, the 10th of April, and enjoy a 10-day break from the 3rd to the 12th. Um now, if you are in the lovely, lovely state of Tasmania, uh public service employees also have Easter Tuesday as a public holiday. How do we advocate for that here? Uh so they only need three annual lead days. That's crazy.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my goodness. So, yeah, so I think you've got to get the diary out and work out those other um, you know, the long weekend hacks you've got King's Burns playing.
SPEAKER_00:Always a good interest a trip, that one. If you use that hack, a good 10 days, 10-day break is a good go to Queensland. It's starting to get a bit cooler here. So two or thought up there, get some last bit of summer sun.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, to keep keep that tan going through the winter of discontent. Um, we've got all of those long weekends too happening um all around, you know, so that so the for the way in, you know, for the rest of the month, like June, you've got the King's Birthday. It's still weird saying that actually, instead of the Queen's birthday. Yeah, I know, it's still kind of still kind of weird. Um, King's birthday on Monday, the 8th of June. So that gives you an automatic long weekend, um, except if you're in Queensland because they have this in October and September in WA. Um, so yeah, take the fr tape the Friday off, then you you know, take all the Monday, and then you've got that four-day weekend, put the put the extra couple of days in there, four days, and then you've got a nine-day consecutive holiday. Um, Labor Day holidays as well, um, which are all over the shop. I mean, you've got that's in March in Victoria, yay, and in Tassie. Um, and in October in New South Wales. It's all honestly Labor Day, I never understood it. But um, and if you're in Melbourne, because you know, I am and you are, remember Alice dear, Cup Day, Cup Day, Love Cup Day, because it's on a Tuesday. Everybody bunks off on the Monday. I mean, schools, I think the schools have just given up because most school was like, um, yeah, we're not we're not even turning up on Monday. So you've got a four-day weekends there. So um, we took those extra three days. You've got the Monday and the Tuesday off. We took the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Again, it's nine days holiday to play it with, and you're only taking three days of annual leave. That's how I got to the null deeps just recently without a footy screen.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. Just work to there over that over that long nine days. Flew out on Friday afternoon and got back on Sunday, exhausted for work and school on the Monday, but nobody cares because you've come back looking fabulous and tanned and refreshed and and flying around the malls. Still living on it, baby. Still living on it. So have you got I mean, have you got any actual plans locked in for 2026?
SPEAKER_00:Look, nothing's locked. I have an open ticket. Um, so I shall be going somewhere at some point. Uh, I did have a a trip planned for earlier this year that I had to obviously postpone because you have to move house and you just don't think about how much it costs to move house.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:And not even financially mentally draining, it is. So I'm looking at the first yeah, I think over Christmas I'll be locking in some plans. Um, but I'm up to very high level on Duolingo Um with my Spanish, so I'm feeling a little bit more confident um to go somewhere and I can at least ask for coffee and directions to a hotel if I missed it.
SPEAKER_02:Because you were looking at Colombo, weren't you? Um Columbia. Is it gonna happen?
SPEAKER_00:And then yeah, and then moving happened. So now I'm going back to the drawing role. What do I actually want to do? Um, and all I need to do is listen to 120 episodes uh of the World of Waits for inspiration and advice. What about you, Lord? What are your what are your travel plans for 2026?
SPEAKER_02:Well, look, I don't want to bring it up again, but I want to bring it up again. When I won the um Travel Rider of the Year Award, Hair Tog, um I actually won. I had to say hair toss because you can't see me tossing it, but Alice Deer can. Um I actually, the the prize for that was from Dirging Australia, and it was two business class tickets um anywhere on their short haul domestic uh domestic or short haul international clients. Unfortunately, it meant I can't go to Doha because I would naturally know I'll be back and in straight into the Middle East. But um, you know, they go um they as well as flying all the round Australia, they go into the Pacific, they go, you know, they're into Fiji and um and I think New Caledonia as well.
SPEAKER_00:So Fiji could be nice.
SPEAKER_02:Fiji could be nice. Yeah. I'm just you know, you've got to weigh it up. They are business class ticket. Is that long enough? Do I just want to do that?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, what's the thing work? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So I'm workshopping that you're your holidays.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I'm personally really bummed actually that Virgin isn't flying to Japan anymore. I don't know why, considering the numbers are just it's really rude. But um that would have been my first call. Um, I you know, I wanted to do some of you know, off-piste. Everyone talks about the overcrowding in in Japan, but really a lot of that's centered around the big humps of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. And then outside that, um, I've spoken to so many regional tourism boards who were like, please come down here, come to your animal joint, and we want some of that overcrowding.
SPEAKER_00:So the Goyer. Go to Nagoya.
SPEAKER_02:I haven't been to Nagoya, and I don't really ski. I'm a shopping skier, I'm embarrassing. So um, I just shame myself. So we didn't go there for the ski. But um, I'm hoping, you know, I'm I'm hoping to get back into the Middle East, of course. I'll be back there at some point to um at least to hang out in Egypt um to see family and you know, just update all of my product knowledge there. Um yeah, I've got a few places. My brother is in Estonia at the moment, so I may go over and visit him in Estonia because the other one's in Sweden, which is just across the ditch. It's 45 minutes away. So um if that meant that we had to meet in Finland, I'd be okay with that.
SPEAKER_00:What oh, you could do that. Easy.
SPEAKER_02:I could do that. Yeah, I just gotta save off a bit more. Buy me at coffee on coffee.com. Fast.
SPEAKER_00:All right, let's get into our Christmas guide for tardy travelers. Um so look, I feel like so much has changed in in travel tech this year when it came to choosing. It really is, I'm saying back to basics. Um, but some of the basic things are infused with tech to elevate them to a must-have item. But before I get stuck in, I know that you love a bag.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, love a good bag, do you know?
SPEAKER_00:So I know you have one, so please lead us in. We'll be bagging up bad 2026.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, the must-have bag for 2026. I've got an actual example, but it is a trend. It is a bag trend, um, and a growing trend. And look, I'm actually going to attribute this to a former guest on The World of Waits, which is Kevin Maloney of the Channel 9 series Travel Guides. You know Kevin. Love Kevin. He's such a great guy. Um, and you never know where he and Jet are going to be in the world. Because the incredible thing is when they're dueling that show, um, they just get told to turn up at the airport and given a list of uh degree temperatures of where they're going to um uh where they're going to be, and they have to pack their bags for that. So um, so they don't know where they are. But the thing, and they also don't know where they're gonna stay. So they could be staying at the Bellagio, or they could be staying, which is the last time I saw them when we were both on the road, was in the back end of nowhere in um in Borneo, in Malaysian Borneo, which was completely random, and they were staying in some tree houses. And what he said to me was they never take, they never ever carry with a suitcase that opens in the the clam shell format that we've seen um has become so popular in the last decade. He said that he always travels with a top opening suitcase. So that was the way that suitcases used to be, you know, they had a lid and then they had a big base underneath them. So the problem with those clam ones that you've got, like it if you are like my husband and like to travel kind of heavy, but shocking, shocking overpacker. Um he doesn't have three shirts. Oh my goodness, three shirts a day. We have a running joke, actually. He he literally packs three shirts every day. So if he's away for 10 days, he has 30 shirts in his belt. Um, I think he put Oh my goodness, you're terrible. So the problem is you go to your hotel, you put your bag down, and you put it on those flimsy little weird um um bag stands. When you open it, you can't you can't hold the whole thing, like it doesn't hold hold it open. So you've got to keep shutting up, but you crop it up against the wall. If you have a top opening suitcase, you're just unzipping that top level, glupping it up, and then you've got all of your suitcase underneath it. Um and so I was looking around for them, and the best one that I found that does not take up that precious real estate in your hotel reel, which is what Kevin Neiva's talking about, was I went to Zoom Light, which is an Australian brand. It's actually a Melbourne brand. Um has been pr has been producing suitcases. Um in here it well, they designed them in Melbourne, they're made overseas. Um put a confessional on this one. Um the suitcase that I then then they have been working on these ones so that you can either open them for the lip that falls about, or you do the top opening on them. You could do them either way. So their glide suitcases come in a carry-on, they've got a medium size, and then they've got the large coffin size, which is the size that my husband's looking at. Beautiful colourways, like, you know, um, that sort of soft beige that a lot of people are looking at, the gentle light, dusty pinks and pebbled. They've also got a really smart midnight navy that I was have been crushing on, and I have been putting it to the test. They've got the gold standard in wheels. They've got four wheels on the suitcase. These are these Japanese Inoko wheels. Um thing about the Zoom light is they they don't sell in stores. So you you won't see them in stores. So they sell direct to consumers. So you've got to order from their website. Um, but they do have a 100-day return policy. And if you want to return the suitcase, if it's new, um, if you haven't, of course, taken it to the Maldives or something like that and bobbed it up, they will actually send you a label to send it back. So you're not thinking, oh, I can't return it because it's gonna cost me 70 bucks to send it back. Um incidentally, in that range, the glide range, they have one called the Glide Light, which is the lightest carry-on case in Australia, they tell me. At just I know. Amazing. So I would totally have a look at Zoom Lite. So zoomlight.com.au, um and the glide is an absolute banger. So I think that is my top bag tip for you.
SPEAKER_00:Love it.
SPEAKER_02:There you go. So now um you tell me then, because you're the tech guy, and and um you know the thing that I have actually lost three sets of these this year. Tell me. Tell me what you are.
SPEAKER_00:Or earbuds are we talking about?
SPEAKER_02:Uh go on, tell me tell me a first tip. Tell me a first tip.
SPEAKER_00:All right, so this is the uh Tim Kettle translation earbuds. Um now it will be completely up front. It does use AI. However, this could be AI finally used for something good. So the earbuds have uh 42 languages built in, and they can detect 95 accents and dialects. So basically, the eye in your ears, you give one earbud to the person you're talking to, and you keep one in your ear. You can have a conversation in your native language, and the earbud will translate both ways.
SPEAKER_02:Like, you know, the babel fish from the Hijaka's Guide to the Galaxy, where you stuck a fish in your ear and it just translated everything.
SPEAKER_00:Very similar. I hate to say this very similar. Um so if you're off to stardine out in Epkinch and you're only on level five on your Duolingo Italian lessons, uh, this could be a lifesaver for you. Um it's I don't know, I find this intriguing. Um, you know, Google and Apple both have their own kind of translation apps on their phones. So you can do this already on your phone. However, you may not have phone signal or you may not have enough data to do that translation. Uh, and these earbuds don't don't require a 5G connection um or any kind of data. So it's all built in. Um, so you don't need that connection for this to happen. So a really good thing for you if you're off somewhere quickly or you've made a decision and you just don't, you know, can't have someone with you to translate, this would be a really easy way um, you know, to get around uh without you know difficulty. Now it does come into models. Uh so there is, you know, these earbuds, which are around about 400 AUD. Uh, and then there is a more, we'll say, economical model. Um, and instead of using earbuds, it uses a screen, a little screen, not too much bigger than a phone. Um at that is around about$300 AUD. So it's not a huge difference. It just depends on you know what what you're looking for.
SPEAKER_02:And where do you buy them from?
SPEAKER_00:Uh so you can either buy them direct from Tim Kettle, but you can also buy them on Amazon. Um, and they are, I think, oh, when I did this, they were on special, but that was over Black Friday. Um but yeah, regular, they you know go around the 400. Um for the earbuds, 300 for I'm told the screen version.
SPEAKER_02:Amazing, because there are some languages that are really tricky. And Sheikh, I'm looking at you because they say that um the Czech language is the hardest language in the world to learn, even harder than like Japanese, which is difficult to be, but you know, easier to pick up on first pronunciation. Um amazing. I love it. Well, that is a fantastic it just it's just kind of a little bit mind-blowing. And we're gonna put these in the show notes as well. Um, and you can see we'll put photos of them on the socials too.
SPEAKER_00:Now, speaking of uh traditional things that you talk about, it was no surprise for me to hear that you had a hat.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, the color. Am I that am I that cliche? Because I love this hat. Like I love it. I love it so much. I cannot stop recommending it enough. It is a game-changering hat. Um, this is the um these uh if you know Flexi Braid, it is uh uh it is a fabric that's been developed in Australia to create a crushable hat. Um the designer is a very uh very clever woman um and who's given a name to the label, Tina in copenhagen.com.au. That um look, the reason I the reason I love this hat so much is that usually when you're traveling with a hat that you really like, you don't want it to get crushed. So you put it in your overhead luggage and then you leave it there and you never see it again, and it just circles around and around the world until it finds a lost property to live in and decompose for the rest of time. Um, because this one you can just shove it in your luggage, it pops up literally new when you reach your destination. So you're never gonna leave it there. Um they the group makes um hats under a number of different labels, including Social the Cancer Council. So you've got the fact that it's got the 50 plus sun protection, which for me, like you, Alistair, I mean, we are whitey, you know, we are like like look at the sun, watch them burn. Absolutely. So um I'm really conscious of of wearing hats um when I'm about. And I have had I have had a black one. Um actually I've had several of them, and um I've absolutely thrashed it. I have worn it in um, I've worn it on boats, I've worn it in height when I'm hiking, because it's got an adjustable band on it as well, so you can tighten it to your hand. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't wear it in a gale, but you can stand on the front of a ship and have a small Titanic moment and your hat most likely won't fall off, right? Um they dress up an outfit. Um, but as I said, I've I've taken them hiking. Now you're in museums, you're at summer parties. Um, they are super lightweight, they are water resistant, they've got that little band on them. Um, if you are having a bad hair day, but you still need a photo, all you do, shrug this hat on. You have instantly fabulous, and you just like, you know, cut a little bit of hair out. You just cover the the the absolute horror story of hair that is happening at that moment in time. Travel is not always pretty and glamorous and stuff like that, but with its hat, you're pretty damned close. Can I say Queen Mary of Denmark wears them? Can I say she is a very stylish woman? Like she is fantastic. So there's new colourways have just come out and released for 2026. And styles, if you want to jump onto the website and take a look at them, they retail. I mean, it is an investment for a hat. They retail between 75 and 85 dollars, but guaranteed, as I said, you're not gonna leave them on the on the plane. And it's going to protect you from all of the skin cans of horrors and stuff like that. And you're gonna look fabulous still, all you get photos because a hat just stresses everything up. Cannot recommend the tina and copenhagen.com.au, cannot recommend it highly enough. Love it. Love it. So look, this is I mean, I'm not giving you anything that is high tech, right? I mean, I'm talking about a suitcase, although the I think that Zoom Lite would argue that their suitcases are actually very high tech.
SPEAKER_00:A hat that doesn't crush is high tech.
SPEAKER_02:That is high tech, yeah. But it's got I've got no cane, I've got no cables and I've got no cords online either. I am leaning on you for that one. So it hit me with your next um essential Christmas gift.
SPEAKER_00:So uh it is a it's a a universal travel adapter. I know it sounds boring. But stick with me. Um, much to the absolute display of my partner when I pack a powerboard in my suitcase. Uh, this little device can help with space. Uh, it can also charge your mobile devices as well around the world. So you don't need to be lugging every single plug uh and power pack you have with you. So it's from um Basus. It is the Universal Travel Adapter. Uh so it works in Europe, USA, Asia, and Australia for wall outlets. It also has built into this adapter USB-C and USB-A. So that automatically eliminates your phone charger, your iPad charger, your tablet charger. If you charge headphones with a USB-C charging um things like gaming devices, so Nintendo Switch 2, your handheld gaming, Steam Decks, all of that can charge through this one travel adapter. You do not need anything else. That's pretty big for me. Um, you can also charge your laptop. And if you have an Apple smartwatch, uh you can also um just throw your watch on the travel adapter attachment uh and charge your Apple Watch. So for me, it's a game changer because I don't need to, I no longer need to put my seven plug outlet into my suitcase, the big long thing. Um this will just do it all, which um, you know, also for you know, for you, Bell, if you're traveling a lot while working, you don't need to pack your laptop charger and all of that. You could do it all from this one adapter. And it's quite small, it's not big at all. So it's from Asus and it's a universal travel adapter.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. So roughly how much of these ones?
SPEAKER_00:Bell, there are color options if you want to go that one step further. Uh so the set the 70 watt black is 48.75. The 70 watt off-white is 53.32. So you're playing paying a premium for your free colour option there. Um, and if you want the 45 watt version, that only comes in black, um, and that's$60.94. It's probably uh good to know that you can charge up to six devices at the same time. Uh, so if you want to do seven, eh, no luck. Um, but yeah, you can do six, which you know is handy if everyone had one of these. There's all your devices done and dusted. Um just a little disclaimer, it's not a voltage converter. Um, so if you did need to convert the voltage, you would need to plug that into this device first.
SPEAKER_02:Right. Okay, I think they're great. I do travel with a with a with a multi-adapter. What I like about these is when you are sometimes when you're actually using the power in the seat on the flight, and they are not and they're not universal. Um, so you've got to have an adapter with you. Like I think that's a really clever little thing to to have it. Like it's small enough that you could have it in your in your bag and just whack it in on the plane when you're if you're working on your laptop or something like that while you're traveling. That sounds like a that the yeah, that is, I mean, these are really essential things that that we use when, you know, when we're traveling, these sorts of things, you know, these these um, I mean, those translation earbuds I've never used and they sound fantastic. But these other ones, like if you are looking for a stocking stuffer, that is a fine, fine stock stocking stuffer. Um and and I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say, well, I keep calling them my tech, but they're not really. I'm going to give you um another, another, another of the um products that I always travel with, which is scarves. I obsess about scarves. I have the most phenomenal scarf collection, which started long before I started working in the Middle East. Um, and they do, they have really good scarf action. I um I have a number of really large format scarves. And the great thing about them is that they can be used um to dress up an outfit because for a very long time the standard travel riders outfit was black trousers, black shirt, and a different scarf, maybe some big earrings on there, and everybody had this and with just the scarf that changed. Like if you had to travel you know, sometimes around doing light aircraft stuff and you could only take a seven kilo suitcase or something, you know, um soft bag or something like that. It was all about the rotating scarf. And and I've got a travel writer friend, Bev, I'm shouting out to you, who actually culls her scarves each couple of years and and shares them around to her friends to give them an extra life, which I think is really lovely. Bev Melza, shouting out to you. Um the scarf, the the the the print techniques for scarves have really evolved um in particularly in the last decade. We're seeing a lot of photography that's placed on large format scarves. So if you've got um if you've got a scarf with a particular print on it, um, I did go for an Australian, uh, an Australian one because you can get um, you know, you're just taking a little piece of homeless you want people like ours to have a look at your scarf and you can say, well, actually, this is an aerial photograph photograph of Lake Air, which is of course beautiful, yes, stripes of different colours, like you've got the the the white whites, but then you've also got, you know, at sunset, you'll have the red earth and then um the dusky purples as the as especially if you've got water or wildflowers even at the time whenever they're shot. So I have been crushing a little on this hundred percent silk scarf um by uh by a group called uh you can buy it on a website called Australian Skate. And these are um they're 100% silk um and just a gorgeous gift because also remembering that silk hacks down to absolutely nothing. And that's what um and that's what makes it such a great gift to give travelers because it's also great for it, you know, it doesn't catch your skin, so it's really good for your skin if you've got it designed for a long period of time. Photographs are taken by an Australian grazier, his name is David Tamer, and so he's flying over Australia all the time in light aircraft, remembering particularly those fixed wings fly really low to the ground. If you are hunting for stock that you've got, you know, if you've got cattle running around in the middle of nowhere, and he started taking photos of it from the air and um and then it became this series of silk scarves. They are around$150 each. Um and like this is not a it's not a unique gift, but it in the sense that you can you can get all sorts of things printed on scarves and scarves, you can get all sorts of prints from all over the world. But I just like that they were Australian landscapes that you're taking on.
SPEAKER_00:I think that proves a very unique territory.
SPEAKER_02:I think you could Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for that. All right, so that's mine. That is my last one. What about you? Come on, hit me. Right, tell me what improve my travel life.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, well, this might not improve your travel life, but uh if you're if your husband is listening, uh this might be for a great gift for him. I promise that she did not put me up to this. I added this of my own of my own volition. Uh now it is backbird travel bags. Um, though I will admit I am a horrendous overpacker, intent on packing for every single season and situation. These are an absolute godsend. Uh, so they easily will let you pack as much as you need uh and then shrink it down in your luggage. Um, they also come in different sizes. So if you're going on a day trip, uh so if you're gonna do a cursey and cycle through um towns and towns and towns, you can take your swimwear, towels, all of that. Um because the actual pump to um to vacuum down the bags is tiny. I'm talking like palm of your hand tiny. Uh and it's USB C powered. Uh, so it also is perfect for travel because you could team that up with your um Basus travel adapter, and you're good to go. And you can there are you can buy many different sizes. Uh so there are you know different costs depending on what bags you need. Um, the largest bag uh is$86 AU. Uh so it's actually not a bad price, especially if you do travel regularly. You can also use them at home if you just want to um, you know, vac down your winter clothes um or your summer clothes in the off-season, you can do that as well.
SPEAKER_02:So that's the problem. Wait a minute, we're in wearing Melbourne. So one day you're gonna be wearing your winter clothes, and then the next day you're gonna wear your summer clothes.
SPEAKER_00:You know, you say this, and I literally last last week, two weeks ago, packed my winter clothes and I put them into my storage locker in my in my new house, which is you know, two towers away, uh, and realize that I left myself with no jackets or jumpers, and what a mistake that was.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, because we just froze our chops off.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Even today, anyway. Uh so look, will this stop me from overpacking? Definitely not if they encourage me to do more. But it will help with my luggage limits. And I think that um the thing that I'm probably most excited for is if you do go on a day trip, I feel that backpack to the brim, baby. Uh so this would be a great little um a great little device to kind of make some more room for other things that aren't just Alistair's clothes, because who knows when I might need that third t-shirt.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I tell you, honest, honestly, like that's phenomenal. So I think you're both singing from the same hymn sheet from that one. I think that would just make him absolutely pack even more. I th I think that's a great device because we all know that size matters, right? So I mean, look, interestingly, I've just received a clutch of compression stacks from Zoom Lite to try out. So I'm gonna report back on them in a later podcast because that's and I'm just gonna hold them up for you, Alice, dear. That's what Wheel Lights actually originally famous for, and they've got a set of three um in there. So I'm gonna give them a little run as well. Yeah, so not the vacuum pack, not the vacuum packed section. But honestly, my bag becomes an absolute dog's breakfast by the end of my trips as well. So I think they're gonna try to organize me a little better. And I reckon I've got a trip coming up in late February, so I'm gonna give them a run for that one. Um, so that is our six. Have you got anything else we need to tell them?
SPEAKER_00:Look, we're coming into summer, so I did want to throw in just like a bonus tip. Um, because I think a lot of people forget about their phones. So most phones these days, I'm gonna say 99% are waterproof, which is fantastic. If you know you accidentally fall in the pool or someone pushes you in as a joke, you're not gonna completely lose your phone or do that thing where you have to stick it in rice that may have worked, may have not. I'm on the house.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, it didn't work, it didn't work.
SPEAKER_00:So look, it's great, but when they are submerged, water gets inside. And look, it can take hours for them to dry out before you can charge them again. So if that happens when you're on low battery, your phone's probably gonna die. I also have uh concerns about wanting to keep the phones for longer. So if you're having water inside them regularly, it's not great for their longevity. So before you jump into that lazy river or dive deep into the male dives with Bill, um grab one of these. They work. Really well at home and abroad. Um, I did put a link in the show notes to one that I recommend from a Taurus. Uh basically, it is like a lanyard that you get at a festival. Now, stick with me. You can put your phone in here, but it also has touch access. So even if your fingers are wet, you can still press the buttons through the fabric and use your phone as normal, which is fantastic. That's what you want. You can also put your earbuds in here, your keys. What? And bonus, it floats. Oh so if you want to go to the lazy river at Wet n Wild, you can have this tied to your arm or around your neck and flow down that river, baby, and not be concerned about your devices. They will be kept dry and intact in one of these. Um, I think it's something that's gaining more traction. I've seen a lot of travel bloggers using these recently and saying that yeah, they will now no longer travel without them because they're just it's also a great replacement for a bag. If you're having a beach day or a water day and you don't want to lug stuff around with you, or you have to put stuff in lockers, you can still have your phone and some essentials with you as well.
SPEAKER_02:I think you've got to check though, too, whether or not it fits your phone as well, because they are they do come in different sizes done. They I mean the round that when I appear that I mean I've got it Samsung, sorry. Um, yeah, it's the one that I took a look at that because I went and had a little squeeze on it for you. So this one was uh about$33, which is um rehamped value, I think. Um and that fit uh well it just said a Samsung Galaxy and a Galaxy Z fold as well as as the iPhones. So because that's the problem with a lot of that waterproof housing in the past, you had to buy it very specific for the phone that you had. And then if you lost that phone 10 seconds later or somebody nicked it from you in London, ha ha, um, then yeah, I mean, you know, you've lost the housing or you take the housing off. You just have to chuck that housing away because it dated when the phone's dated as well. But this is it's like a it's essentially like a ziplock bag, isn't it? Like a heat.
SPEAKER_00:Essentially, yeah, just a little bit better quality. And I guess if you're not if you're not iPhone like me or Samsung with Bell, um, it also covers a lot of other brands, though Google Pixels are all in there as well. Um, from the two right through to the 10. Uh the Sony Feriors, the Asus Rogue Phones, um, Huawei and Oppo One Plus and Xiaomi are there as well. Um wow. Two colour options, black or white, uh, which is great. I'm a white person when it comes to accessories. Um and look, if you've got Amazon Prime, they're currently on sale um for 41.13. They're usually 54.85 for the white or 39.48 for the black.
SPEAKER_03:Gosh.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think I gave you the US dollar price. I mentioned the US dollar price earlier. Which is which is brilliant, because I'm I mean, I I I'm always a bit fearful of these, but I actually did see quite a lot of people using them in the Maldives recently, and they were selling them at the dive shops. And everybody was swearing that it was it was it was fine. I mean, I was I was relying on some GoPro footage um that that the hotel had been shooting. So I was like, oh, I don't know. I'm I'm you know, I'm a bit scared, but but I reckon having seen them now in action, I think I'm going to I'm gonna come good with them. Yeah, maybe I'll take them out in the bay in Port Shmilot. Because you know you can swim with seals out there. There's some seal colony that you can go swimming with you just out like literally 20 minutes offshore from Melbourne. It's absolutely amazing. So maybe I'll Yeah, yeah. So um that's that's one of my things that I keep, you know, um I've been writing about recently is about these gorgeous seal colonies. I mean, the dolphins are there, but they sort of run around and then they get sick of you. Where seals are basically not they are the Labrador of the Sea. In fact, Arabic Arabic name for seal is Kalgulbach, which is dog of the sea because they are so dog-like. And nobody goes and plays with them. And so when you turn out, they're like, oh my god, let's go! And they are just incredible. And these would be such a great thing to take. What a great little last-minute Christmas present, Alistair. I actually think out of all of those, I mean, the translation earbuds are phenomenal, but this is also like 45 bucks and you're going underwater and trolling underwater. Amazing.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And you know, even if you're just going to the pool, you can just use it there as well.
SPEAKER_02:So what are you gonna fill there, though? That's not what are you gonna fill in the pool?
SPEAKER_00:Well, it's more about browsing, I think. Um I've yeah, been spending a lot of, well, the two nice afternoons we've had. Um I spent just watching reels in the tool, and it's been fabulous.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, right. Okay. All right. I I had not thought of that one. Awesome suggestions. I mean, I did think in Sylvia's All I Wanted for Christmas was a new power bank. But um, I'm going to change it to that um little cracker of a Taurus um silk cover, uh like waterproof diplock bag for my phone. I'm gonna I'm gonna change that. Look, I'm just I'm such a cheat date, honestly. So awesome. All right, William. So we're going to put those all in the show notes. We'll throw some photos up, take a look in socials as well, because we will put a flat lay of all of the images that we've chosen. We've chosen white. Um so just to wrap it up, we've chosen my three, which are the zoom light top opening suitcase, the travel hat by Tina M. Copenhagen, which is a um squishable hat. And then I've also got those gorgeous silk scalps from Australianscake as well. And Alistair's three and a half, three plus bonus, which are yours.
SPEAKER_00:Uh so I've got the Tim Kettle translation earbuds. So if you're popping off to another country on a whim, you can take these with you and not worry about not being able to speak with the locals if they're using a different language. Um, the basus universal travel adapter, so you don't need to lug around your extension board and embarrass your partners. Uh the Vacbird travel bags, uh, so you can stuff more into your suitcase. And then the last little bonus one was the waterproof phone pouch. Uh honestly, if there's a body of water, I'll be jumping into it. So this is a must-have, must-have for me.
SPEAKER_02:Me too, absolutely. All right, gang, get into the water and get with those gifts. We are next week kicking off our summer series, some of our favorite interviews from the past year. So you can kick back in the pool with your newly covered phone for some evening listening from around the world. So thanks so much, Elista, for joining us. Gorgeous to have you on.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for having me. Have a great Christmas and new year, everyone.
SPEAKER_02:And you'll see us again next week. And Alistair will see you back in the background. And it will defrost you next Christmas, just like Mariah Carey.
SPEAKER_00:I will I will take that mantle.
SPEAKER_01:That's a wrap for the world awaits this week. Click to subscribe anywhere you listen to your favorite pods. Thanks for listening. See you next week.
