Episode 24 - Clarice Pereira's Solo Travel Journey

Ever wondered how to balance life's responsibilities while nurturing a passion for exploring the world solo? Join us in our latest episode featuring Clarice Pereira, an intrepid solo traveler from Singapore. Clarice shares her incredible journey of caring for her family while pursuing her love for travel, offering invaluable insights and practical tips. Discover how she navigates the bustling, multicultural life in Singapore and why she chose Germany for her first solo European adventure, visiting cities like Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Dresden, and Frankfurt.

Explore our packing strategies and the hidden gems we seek out during our travels, such as exclusive European perfumes. From Croatia to Bosnia and Montenegro, hear about our recent trips, the people we've met, and the kindness we've encountered along the way. Clarice and we share our future travel plans in Asia, reflecting on how these international experiences have influenced our hobbies and collections, making each journey uniquely memorable despite the logistical challenges.

Learn the intricacies of solo travel across various regions, with a focus on safety and cultural experiences. We discuss the rich histories of Austria, Germany, Croatia, and Greece, and offer practical advice on navigating the logistics of solo travel. Clarice and we share tips on trusting your instincts, being prepared, and the importance of obtaining receipts to avoid payment issues. This episode offers a mix of personal stories, practical advice, and encouragement for anyone contemplating or currently enjoying the world of solo travel.

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Transcript

Jim Santos 0:19

Welcome to Travels with Jim and Rita. To Travels with Jim and Rita, I'm your host, jim Santos, and in this podcast series you can follow along as my wife, rita and I work out our crazy plan to outfox the real estate market in the US and actually increase our retirement nest egg by spending the next three years or so living abroad and exploring the world. Are we bold, forward-thinking pioneers or just plain nuts? Let's find out together, shall we? Welcome everybody to Travels with Jim and Rita.

Jim Santos 0:57

You know, in my book Living Abroad Challenging the Myths of Expat Life, one of the things I wrote about was what I called the couples problem. You see, not every couple travels well together. Even if both enjoy travel, they may have a completely different style. For example, one may enjoy tours and scheduled activities, while the other prefers to just wing it. Rita and I have been lucky that we work well and travel well together, but we've also met many would-be expats who are thinking of making the move overseas on their own, but they aren't sure if that's a possibility. In fact, more and more often we're hearing from people who, for various reasons, are thinking about striking out on their own to see the world, or have already done so Take, for example, today's guest who has been exploring the world of solo traveling for several years now. Please join us in welcoming Clarice Pereira, who is checking in with us all the way from Singapore. Clarice, welcome to Travels with Jim and Rita.

Clarice Pereira 1:49

Thank you very much.

Jim Santos 1:51

Glad you could join us from the other side of the world. There Must be very interesting living in Singapore.

Clarice Pereira 1:55

Yes, it is. Singapore is a very small country, so that's why a lot of us travel out of Singapore.

Jim Santos 2:02

Well, I see it's also one of the most densely populated countries in the world, though I think it ranks third in population density. That's right, yes, and you were born and raised in Singapore.

Clarice Pereira 2:14

Yes, I was born and raised in Singapore. My mom and dad are actually from India and they migrated to Singapore.

Jim Santos 2:22

Yes, Singapore is kind of just south of Malaysia and a little bit north of Bali and Australia, correct? That's right, yes, so you're kind of close to Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand.

Clarice Pereira 2:35

Yeah, I'm close to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Jim Santos 2:40

Something I thought was very interesting about Singapore when I was looking it up is that multiculturalism is built into the Constitution.

Clarice Pereira 2:48

That's right. Yeah, we have Chinese, malay Indians, eurasians and then the other races also.

Jim Santos 2:59

Yeah, that's very interesting because that's rare. That's what we aspire to in the US but don't always achieve.

Rita Santos 3:05

Uh-huh absolutely it's.

Clarice Pereira 3:09

It's very peaceful over here yeah, for nothing.

Jim Santos 3:12

But good things about it, although I have heard it's rather expensive, especially in singapore city uh, yeah, very expensive, yeah do you live in the city or are you out in the countryside a little more?

Clarice Pereira 3:24

I'm living out of the city. I'm living at the northeastern part of Singapore. Just a 10-minute walk away from my house, you can see Malaysia.

Jim Santos 3:37

Nice.

Clarice Pereira 3:38

Yeah, yeah.

Jim Santos 3:40

So tell us a little bit about yourself. What's your background and how did you get interested in traveling?

Clarice Pereira 3:47

Okay, I've been working all my life in office like doing admin and finance. But you know, in between, like when my mom, she had a stroke, so I had to like work and also look after her even though we had a stroke. So I had to work and also look after her even though we had a helper, and then it was very difficult for me to travel during those years. So after she passed away in 2017, I did a little bit of traveling, but after that my brother had a stroke.

Clarice Pereira 4:24

Oh gosh of traveling, but after that my brother had a stroke, oh gosh. So it was only during the pandemic in 2021. You know when the borders all were closed right but in september 2021, the borders slowly started opening up and our sing Singapore government were like doing a test, and they allowed us to travel to Brunei or Germany. You know, we can go to both these countries.

Jim Santos 4:56

Do you know why those two countries? Brunei is in Borneo right.

Clarice Pereira 5:01

Yeah, I think Singapore and Brunei has always had a very good relationship, and for Germany, I think, because there are a lot of German companies in Singapore.

Rita Santos 5:14

Ah, okay.

Clarice Pereira 5:14

So yeah, so they were doing a test, yeah.

Jim Santos 5:18

Yes, it seemed like two very different countries. It was interesting to have those two.

Clarice Pereira 5:21

Yes, so at that point of time I wasn't working. I left my job, I think about one month ago, and it was because of the stress you know, like handling my brother, all that and working. It just got too much for me, right? So I left my job and I decided to travel to Germany. It was my first time traveling solo to Europe. I've never done it before.

Jim Santos 5:51

That's interesting to us because we're going to be going to Germany ourselves in a couple of months.

Rita Santos 5:55

What?

Jim Santos 5:55

part of Germany did you go to?

Clarice Pereira 5:57

So I booked the flight to Munich and from Munich I stayed a few days and then I took the train to Stuttgart.

Rita Santos 6:09

Oh pretty.

Clarice Pereira 6:10

Yeah, Then from Stuttgart I went to Berlin and then Dresden and Frankfurt. I traveled all these places by train.

Jim Santos 6:21

Okay, so you saw quite a bit of the country.

Clarice Pereira 6:24

Yeah, I was away for three weeks and I had fun.

Rita Santos 6:29

Yeah, that's a beautiful country.

Clarice Pereira 6:32

Oh, yes, I love Germany. Germany wasn't on my bucket list actually, but because of you know the opportunity to go there when I went there. I think I just fell in love with Germany.

Jim Santos 6:46

When you were planning your trip, did you have any concerns about traveling by yourself, especially a woman traveling by herself?

Clarice Pereira 6:53

At that point of time because I was so stressed up that I was thinking I didn't think of like the difficulty, think of like the difficulty. I have been to europe before because my brother he lives in barcelona with his family. Nice, yeah, so I have sisters who live in australia three sisters okay yeah, so one of my sisters and me we have been to, like, uh, visit my brother in Barcelona. So I've been so used to having my family with me and then they will plan everything you know.

Rita Santos 7:32

Right.

Clarice Pereira 7:33

So this was my first time doing everything on my own and I didn't think about the safety aspect, because when I reached Germany, I found it very safe and people could speak English over there, especially the younger generation.

Rita Santos 7:51

Yes.

Clarice Pereira 7:52

So I didn't have any problems at all in Germany.

Jim Santos 7:56

Yeah, on our trips to Europe we've been surprised at how many people speak English.

Clarice Pereira 8:00

Oh yeah, that's right. Me, when I was quite surprised English oh yeah, that's right.

Rita Santos 8:04

Me when I was quite surprised. You know, it wasn't always so. I guess my first experience in Germany was 50 years ago and no one spoke English, and I mean no one. So it was a lot of pantomime and looking at translate books. Ah okay, books to travel.

Jim Santos 8:27

That could be part of the fun, though I see.

Rita Santos 8:29

Right, it was fun because it's such a beautiful country. That's right.

Jim Santos 8:33

Did you stay in hotels on your trip or Airbnbs?

Clarice Pereira 8:37

I stayed mostly in hotels because for traveling solo I'd rather stay in hotels than Airbnb, because in hotels I feel safe.

Rita Santos 8:50

Right.

Clarice Pereira 8:50

There's the reception counter and if anything goes wrong, at least I got someone to. You know, go to.

Jim Santos 8:59

Yeah, it's nice having that support system around you.

Clarice Pereira 9:02

That's right, yeah, and they have concierge services that can find you tours and train schedules yeah, it makes it much easier yes, that's right yeah when you got back from germany, did you immediately start planning your next trip oh, yes, yes, I came back in october of 2021 and you I was like hit with a travel bug.

Rita Santos 9:28

Yes.

Clarice Pereira 9:29

So I decided to go back to Europe. I think I went in March 2021. 22. But I did find a job, a contract job. So I worked at Changi Airport, but not at the airport itself. They are building Terminal 5. So I went to work at the work site at Terminal 5 just for two months, and while working I was planning the trip.

Rita Santos 10:01

Is Terminal 5 London. Where is Terminal 5?

Jim Santos 10:05

Is that the one they're building at Heathrow?

Clarice Pereira 10:07

No Terminal 5 in Singapore.

Rita Santos 10:09

Oh, okay.

Clarice Pereira 10:11

Yeah, because Singapore got four terminals. So now they're building the fifth terminal and it's still under construction.

Rita Santos 10:21

That's supposed to be a beautiful airport, singapore.

Clarice Pereira 10:23

We have not seen it oh okay, yeah, the airport is very nice, very nice where was your next trip? I went back to germany again so you really liked it. Yeah, so for my second trip I flew again to Munich, but this time I decided to go south, so I took the train and went to Salzburg.

Rita Santos 10:48

It was just about an hour.

Clarice Pereira 10:51

Yeah, I went to Austria, and then from Salzburg I took the train to a place called Zal-Amsee and from there I took the train to Innsbruck.

Rita Santos 11:03

Where the Olympics was.

Clarice Pereira 11:05

Ah yes, winter Olympics. And after that I took the train to Zurich, switzerland, because I know that Switzerland is very expensive, but I just wanted to have a look at it. So I went to Zurich. But I mean, it's a beautiful country, but for me I found it too expensive.

Jim Santos 11:29

Right.

Clarice Pereira 11:30

Yeah, I prefer Austria. You can still see the Alps in Spruyck.

Jim Santos 11:35

We were in Vienna, Austria, and really loved it, but would like to see more of the country.

Clarice Pereira 11:41

Yeah, austria is beautiful, really a beautiful country, and it's so much cheaper than Switzerland.

Jim Santos 11:50

I think anything is a lot cheaper than Switzerland.

Clarice Pereira 11:52

Yeah, that's right yeah.

Jim Santos 11:55

So it sounds like you enjoy traveling by train when you're out and about. No, you don't enjoy it. No, actually for these two trips enjoy traveling by train when you're out and about? No, you don't enjoy it.

Clarice Pereira 12:00

No, Actually, for these two trips I traveled by train, but I found it a little bit stressful.

Rita Santos 12:08

Really.

Clarice Pereira 12:08

Because? Yes, because you know I'm alone and I'm quite short. I'm just five feet three, so I always have problem like carrying the luggage on the train, because the steps are steep for me.

Rita Santos 12:24

They are yes.

Clarice Pereira 12:26

Yeah, but I've been very lucky because people in Germany are so nice that every time a guy will volunteer to carry for me. So I did tell my sister if you want to find a husband Germany, you have to go to the train station.

Jim Santos 12:43

you will definitely find a husband take a lot of bags with you and go to the train station, right?

Clarice Pereira 12:47

yeah, I said the guys are so helpful over there. You know, I just found it stressful yeah, I can say.

Jim Santos 12:55

I mean, in some ways air travel is stressful because you have to get there so early and you have to wait and you know you go through all these different checks and everything when we took a train from Vienna to Prague. It just seemed so easy. But I do understand there's a gap between the train and the platform. There is and there's not a lot of space in the aisles or any place to put your luggage.

Clarice Pereira 13:20

Yes, I just recently went to the Balkans and last year also I went to Europe. But last year I decided to try Flixbus. Oh okay, I found it so much better. I didn't have any stress. I just put the luggage in the compartment. I can handle it myself. Sometimes people do help me, but I could manage on my own. And it's like I traveled from Vienna to Bratislava and there's no stops, there's no stress, nothing. It was very good for me, flixbus.

Jim Santos 14:01

So the bus system in Europe is pretty extensive. Yeah, that's right, it just takes a lot longer than the train.

Rita Santos 14:08

Especially going through the Balkans. There's more bus service than probably train service because it's so mountainous.

Jim Santos 14:16

Correct. On the other hand, I guess you get to see a lot of the countryside.

Clarice Pereira 14:19

Yeah, you get to see a lot of the countryside and it's like not stressful at all. I find that in Europe okay. If you were to take example of flight, you know, like if you are going from Germany, maybe like from Frankfurt, and then you want to go to like Czech Republic, oh, no, no, okay, I'll give you an example Germany, I ever from Regensburg. Okay, we took the train to Prague and my sister and me it was smooth sailing. But if you were to take the flight, you know you need to go early to the airport and then there's the check. For me it's like a waste of time. I just want to take the train or the bus.

Jim Santos 15:10

You mentioned the luggage. How do you handle that? Because we've tried a couple of different methods, like all carry-ons, all checked bags. How much do you actually travel with?

Clarice Pereira 15:19

I usually have one big luggage because when I travel, like I take my last trip, Turkish Airlines they allow 30 kg, so I always have one big luggage with me and I will have another spare like carry-on in my bag just in case if I shop.

Rita Santos 15:43

Right, right.

Clarice Pereira 15:45

Yeah, yeah, that's been our problem.

Jim Santos 15:50

Since we sold our home, we were basically traveling with what we have now, so we can't really do much shopping. There's no, I see Our souvenirs are our pictures and our memories. We can't really purchase a shopping. There's no. You know, there's our souvenirs or our pictures and our memories. We can't really purchase a lot of stuff on the way.

Clarice Pereira 16:04

Well, you know, for me, because I'm traveling, like, all the way from Singapore to Europe, and certain things you can't get in Singapore, and one example is like perfume, there are certain perfumes you can only get in Europe. Oh really is like perfume. There are certain perfumes you can only get in Europe. Oh really, yeah, like certain like Lancome perfumes they don't sell here. So when I went to Europe last year I bought quite a number and brought it back.

Jim Santos 16:32

Has all your travel been to Europe or have you done any exploring of like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia? Since you can see Malaysia, I guess it doesn't feel like much of a trip, does it?

Clarice Pereira 16:41

Yeah, I think. Okay, you know what I'm trying to do is, since I'm mobile, I'm healthy and fit right now.

Rita Santos 16:51

Right.

Clarice Pereira 16:53

I'm trying to do those far countries first, like Europe.

Rita Santos 16:57

Right.

Clarice Pereira 16:58

And then, once I reach a certain age age, and then I won't travel so far I will do Asian countries because even though Indonesia is just next to Singapore, the only place I've been in Indonesia is Batam. Batam is so nearby you can take a ferry. I haven't even been to Jakarta, all that. So I'm keeping all these places for later on. But I've been to Thailand quite a number of times, cambodia, india I'm going to India again end of this year because my dad lives in India, so my family, we are having a Christmas reunion in India this year.

Jim Santos 17:44

That should be nice.

Clarice Pereira 17:46

Yeah, because my dad he's 95 this year.

Rita Santos 17:50

Oh, good for him.

Clarice Pereira 17:52

He still travels, that's great. He was in Singapore in April, you know.

Jim Santos 17:58

I noticed on your Facebook page you described yourself as an exercise junkie, a music lover, rapper and dancer and composer.

Clarice Pereira 18:06

Yeah, because I come from a musical family, like my brother, the one who my oldest brother, who had a stroke. He used to sing and he wrote books on Singapore music. He's an author of three books. My third brother he lives in Barcelona, he's also a singer. He has just written one book, but not on music but on soccer.

Jim Santos 18:35

I have a large collection of musical instruments myself that's currently in storage, and that's always a problem when we go traveling, because I see a new kind of instrument and I want to buy it.

Clarice Pereira 18:45

Oh, I see.

Jim Santos 18:47

But no place to store it now, so I just have to wait. So what was the most recent trip you took?

Clarice Pereira 18:53

The most recent trip I took was last month and that was just a last minute plan, you know, because I'm in the midst of looking for a job and my dad was here in April two weeks with me and after my dad left I was like in the midst of looking for a job but something just told me to go for a trip. It said that money you can find anytime, just go, and it's my birthday, like in May 17. So something said just go overseas and celebrate your birthday. Good for you. Yeah. So I booked the flight to Croatia, to Dubrovnik. Yeah, because last year September I went to Croatia and I really like Croatia. So I decided to go back to Croatia, but to Dubrovnik, and then from there I decided to go to Bosnia, because I heard so much about Mostar and then before my trip I read up about the war in Bosnia, you know, to get an idea about the country, and I watched a few videos. So I decided to go there and have a look and it was a very memorable trip, very touching place.

Jim Santos 20:23

Yeah, Well, we're sitting here very jealous of you because last fall, Croatia we actually had planned visits to Croatia and Barcelona, as a matter of fact, but we came down with COVID somewhere between Vienna and Prague and had to cut our trip short.

Rita Santos 20:39

We quarantined in Prague.

Jim Santos 20:42

Yeah. I see we had plans to go to Dubrovnik and a few other cities in Croatia, so we'll get there eventually.

Clarice Pereira 20:49

I see.

Jim Santos 20:50

I'm glad you really enjoyed it, because it looks like it'd be a beautiful place.

Clarice Pereira 20:54

Yeah, croatia is beautiful, and that's not the only thing. The people are very friendly in Croatia. That's why I went back.

Jim Santos 21:04

You know, you've said that about Germany and Austria and. Croatia. That's the interesting thing about travels We've never run into anything but, friendly people. Right and I don't know about Singapore, but in the US there's this constant litany that it's dangerous to go to other countries.

Rita Santos 21:25

We've not found that at all.

Clarice Pereira 21:27

Yeah, same as me.

Jim Santos 21:29

Yeah, we just sound friendly and helpful people. Wherever we go, and I think a lot of it is. If you're friendly and nice, people tend to be friendly and nice back.

Clarice Pereira 21:37

Right. Yeah, that's right, that's true. Right, yeah, that's right, that's true, and I find like when I was in Bosnia I mean Croatia they was very respectful towards them. I will wave my hand, say hello and then they will nod because of the respect I give them. Yeah, I enjoyed Bosnia, but after that I went to Montenegro.

Jim Santos 22:16

I was going to ask if you went to Montenegro.

Clarice Pereira 22:19

Yeah, I did go. I did go to Kota, budwa and Port Gorica. The place is very nice, but I found the people were a little bit rude, especially in Kota. Oh, okay, Because before I went my best friend from primary school she went. She went to Dubrovnik, she went to Kota and she messaged me and she told me that people in Kota are a bit rude and rough, you know. She said like her husband didn't have a good experience. So she said are you sure you're going to stay a few days? And I said, yeah, I'm going. I have booked already. I can't cancel or tweak it. So she said okay, but after I experienced it I told her I know what you mean, I went through it. Also.

Jim Santos 23:16

I told her you know, I've read that a lot of developers and speculators are looking at Montenegro as the next big location. I wonder if people coming in and trying to buy up lands and build new things I wonder if that's kind of turned the people off.

Rita Santos 23:30

Yeah, made the locals upset, I bet.

Clarice Pereira 23:33

Yeah, it would be, but when I was in Port Gorica the people were friendly.

Rita Santos 23:40

Okay, St Port Gorica the people were friendly.

Clarice Pereira 23:41

So in the hotel receptionist I did ask her why are people in Porto like very rude People? In Budwa were okay, but I asked her why. So she told me. She said, like you know, those younger generation who can speak English, most of them they leave Montenegro and go to countries like Croatia to work because the salaries are higher over there right and she said that some even go to US and work.

Clarice Pereira 24:10

She was telling me. So those people in Koto, she said, are some, are like migrants from different parts and they are a bit rough to me Okay and can't speak English. Yeah.

Jim Santos 24:25

Yeah, it's interesting, Even in a small country like Montenegro you can have big differences.

Clarice Pereira 24:30

just a few kilometers away. Correct, correct.

Jim Santos 24:34

So what's your plans for your next trip?

Clarice Pereira 24:35

Like in December, I'm going to India, oh yeah, For the reunion right.

Clarice Pereira 24:41

Yeah, for the reunion, family reunion, but because I'm starting a new job tomorrow, so I think I'm going to focus on my job. So that means I won't be traveling for the next few months, because I've done a lot of travel already these three years. But if I can travel next year I might go back to Barcelona to visit my brother and then maybe go, you know, for a side trip around Spain, if I'm with the family, you know, Because I think 2022, my sister and me did go to Barcelona, yeah, and we went for a side trip to Andorra.

Rita Santos 25:28

Oh yeah, it's in the mountains.

Global Solo Travel Perspectives and Advice

Clarice Pereira 25:30

Yeah, andorra was very nice, very nice.

Jim Santos 25:33

Have you thought about crossing the Atlantic or the Pacific? I guess you go either way and exploring North or South America.

Clarice Pereira 25:40

No, but I did think maybe you know, because I've been to Europe a few times I don't know why few times, I don't know why I'm a little bit afraid of going solo in North America because of gun violence or that. So, if not America, I think I won't go solo. I'm too scared.

Jim Santos 26:02

We do know a lot of solo travelers in South America.

Rita Santos 26:05

Yeah, we do.

Jim Santos 26:07

And a lot of them have expressed the same concern.

Rita Santos 26:08

To tell you the truth, yeah, we lived in South America for six years and it was a wonderful experience.

Jim Santos 26:17

Yeah, we just came back from Mexico, which most North Americans consider to be very dangerous. Yes, we had a wonderful time in a beautiful little village in the mountains.

Clarice Pereira 26:27

Oh, okay.

Jim Santos 26:28

But you also have the same problem that we have when we think about Singapore or Thailand. It's halfway around the world.

Rita Santos 26:35

It's a long flight. Yeah, it's a long flight for us.

Clarice Pereira 26:39

Yeah, very long yeah, but Thailand is very nice, really Okay, and it's a really party place, friendly people.

Rita Santos 26:50

I think everything is cheap over there, you know, and the food is really very nice thai food that's what we've heard food lovers would really love thailand yeah, we'll probably have to do that southeast asia for a year to get every place we'd really like to go yeah, you, you should do it like Vietnam, cambodia, Thailand, malaysia, indonesia. Singapore, Hong Kong yeah.

Jim Santos 27:19

Yeah, that's the thing. If you have a target destination that's so far away, you might as well stay there for a while.

Rita Santos 27:23

Yes, many months, so that you can actually spend quality time in each place you go.

Jim Santos 27:31

Do you have a favorite place that you visited?

Clarice Pereira 27:33

I think I have a few like Austria. I like Austria because of the mountains. I like Germany the people, the architecture, because I really like architecture and the buildings in Germany are are just so beautiful, especially like we go to an old town, you know very nice.

Jim Santos 27:53

and, of course, croatia that's probably an unfair question, because we we hear that too. What was your favorite place to visit? And the problem is that we have so many, all nice you know, yeah, correct I like this about this place and like this about the other place, but but speaking of architecture, uh, have you visited or have any plans to visit places like Italy or Greece, istanbul and Turkey, where you have? Really old architecture and a really combination of cultures.

Clarice Pereira 28:19

OK, I have been to Italy already. So Istanbul I've just been to the airport because I like to take Turkish Airlines, but I haven't really seen the country, but from what I've seen on YouTube, it's very beautiful and maybe I would like to visit someday. What's the other place you said?

Jim Santos 28:43

Greece.

Clarice Pereira 28:44

Greece? I don't think so. I've seen videos of Greece. I don't really like the architecture in Greece. Oh, interesting I mean I did think of going to like Santorini, but when I look at the staircase I don't think I can manage.

Jim Santos 29:02

We didn't make it to the islands. Our ferry actually got canceled because of a strike, but we were in Athens and Thessaloniki up on the northern border kind of close to Turkey actually. And what you said about the people. That was for me what really stood out about Greece. The people there were just so friendly and the food was so wonderful, it was very good.

Clarice Pereira 29:22

I see there's one country I want to go is Albania. I haven't been to Albania.

Rita Santos 29:28

Maybe next year we can do Croatia, montenegro and Albania. That would be really nice.

Jim Santos 29:34

You're all in the same area. We spoke to some people on the show who had spent some time in Albania, and they really loved it.

Clarice Pereira 29:41

Yeah, I've seen on YouTube, Albania is very nice, so if I do plan to go to Albania from Singapore, then I will definitely have to book a flight, I think maybe to Greece. You know, maybe go to Athens. See some of the sites like the Acropolis.

Jim Santos 29:59

Yes, the Acropolis is beautiful, it was gorgeous yes. A lot of the places. It's just the sense of history when you're there.

Clarice Pereira 30:06

That's right.

Jim Santos 30:07

In North America especially, you don't have 2,000-year-old buildings.

Rita Santos 30:11

Right.

Jim Santos 30:13

So when you're in some place that's existed longer than your country. It's really interesting. For people who are considering solo travel. Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for them?

Clarice Pereira 30:24

I would say to go for it. Everywhere is safe and always trust your gut instinct. Just follow your gut instinct. If you feel like something is not right, follow your gut instinct I agree and that's one thing I experienced during my last trip to the balkans.

Clarice Pereira 30:45

when I went previously, like to europe, I stayed in hotels right I I was mentioning earlier and hotels, they always will give you an invoice when you do payments. But for the Balkans I had no choice but to stay in apartments, like in Dubrovnik, because the hotels were just too expensive. It's all like five-star Hinton. It was just too expensive. It's all like five-star Hinton was just too expensive. And I noticed that these apartments, they don't issue you any invoice, any receipt, so if you have a problem, you won't have any supporting documents to back up your claim. Because it happened to me in Montenegro, in Porto, when I went to the apartment, I paid them in cash for my accommodation, not realizing that actually it has been deducted from my account by bookingcom.

Clarice Pereira 31:43

I didn't realize it oh gosh so I've done a double payment and they didn't issue me any receipt and any invoice.

Rita Santos 31:54

Oh gosh.

Clarice Pereira 31:56

So right now I'm with Booking. com trying to settle this issue. So my advice is always to ask for receipt or invoice when you stay in an apartment.

Jim Santos 32:08

Is that what you use primarily when you're making your arrangements booking. com?

Clarice Pereira 32:11

Yes.

Jim Santos 32:12

Because we've used that quite extensively ourselves.

Clarice Pereira 32:14

For me. The issue I had for my last trip to the Balkans is a lot of these apartments have steep stackings, so that was a problem for me, but the host always rendered assistance to carry my luggage up, and then when I'm leaving, they help me out.

Rita Santos 32:33

That's wonderful.

Jim Santos 32:35

Yeah, that's a problem for us too.

Rita Santos 32:36

Yeah, we usually ask for that as well, because if it's a lot of stairs I can't lift my luggage, and it's not good for either of us to be lifting 50 pounds. You know, it's just too heavy.

Jim Santos 32:50

Travel is really an educational experience, too. What do you feel like is the thing that you've learned most from your travels to other countries?

Clarice Pereira 32:58

During my school days I was really into geography. So for me, like when I travel, I like to learn about, firstly, the background of the country you know, like Bosnia, about the war what happened, why did it happen? You know?

Rita Santos 33:18

Right.

Clarice Pereira 33:18

A bit about the background. Yeah, even when I traveled to Germany, like I went to Berlin, I also wanted to know the background about the war, you know Right. So I read up about it. I watched YouTube videos to learn more about the history not only the geography, but the history too of the country.

Jim Santos 33:38

Yeah, they're often related. The geography sometimes determines the history.

Clarice Pereira 33:42

That's right.

Jim Santos 33:44

We've been speaking with Clarice Pereira. She's a self-confessed exercise junkie, music lover, adventure seeker, rapper, dancer, composer, football fan and, most importantly, a solo traveler.

Rita Santos 33:55

Yeah, that's right.

Jim Santos 33:56

Clarice, thanks for sharing with us, and maybe we'll run into you in some part of the world someday.

Rita Santos 34:01

I hope so. That would be great.

Clarice Pereira 34:02

Yeah, if you do come to Singapore, just message me. Okay, you know Facebook, yeah.

Jim Santos 34:08

Yeah, it's becoming clearer and clearer to us that we're going to have to go to that part of the world.

Clarice Pereira 34:12

Yeah we are. Yeah, I think you should.

Costa Rica Travel Contest Announcement

Jim Santos 34:24

You've been listening to Travels with Jim and Rita, now with listeners in 35 countries. Thanks for your support and please continue to like and follow and promote on social media as you are able. And, of course, subscriptions are not required, but are always appreciated. Before we go, a quick reminder that Rita and I will be at the exhibit hall for the International Living Ultimate Go Overseas Boot Camp in Las Vegas, nevada, october 26th through the 28th. You can get more information or sign up at intliving. com/ events. That's intliving. com/ events, but do it soon because it's rapidly filling up. Also, I've just been told that International Living is having another Test Drive, your Retirement contest. This time, the first prize is a one-month trip to beautiful Costa Rica. IL will pay for your airplane tickets, accommodations and even a generous expense allowance. Details can be found online and deadline for entry is July 1st, so you only have a few days to go to intliving. com/ costaricapod. That's intliving. com/costaricapod. All one word to get your name in the hat. As long as we're plugging websites, take a look at our blog on JimSantosBooks. com and you can access my books, audiobooks and short stories at JimSantos. net. We'd love to hear from our listeners as well, so if you have a question or a topic you'd like us to cover, or if you want to tell us about your own travel stories, email us at jim@ jimsantosbooks. com. Until next time, remember we travel not to escape life, but so that life does not escape us.