People on The Road Less Travelled

As you may already know, just over two years ago, Shane Dallas and I founded a Twitter chat called “The Road Less Travelled” which we use with the hashtag #TRLT. Shane, most commonly known as The Travel Camel, is a fellow adventure traveller from Australia who has been nomadic for the past three years. The Twitter chat which we created was prompted because both Shane and I had been to Afghanistan, a destination rarely discussed on other Twitter chats. We decided to join forces to create a chat for those of us who have been to the more remote places, and form a community that could discuss places like Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Belize. Of course, #TRLT is open to everyone.

The chat was such a hit that it ended up being more than either of us ever expected and we knew we had to start expanding. Anton from South Africa and dear friend Jessica agreed to take on the position of permanent hosts! Together we have formed an even stronger community and each week we have new and interesting topics with intriguing question chosen from members’ suggestions every Tuesday at 1pm ET. If you want to join, we are more than happy to welcome you! Feel free to start by joining our Facebook group where you can share your travels, suggest weekly topics and question and even ask members for travel tips if you’re planning an adventure of your own. On Monday Shane flew into Utrecht, Holland from Kenya for just three days to attend the Vakantiebeurs, an annual travel fair with booths from all the big cruise lines, hotels, tourism boards and airlines. I attended last year for the first time and always find it fun to rediscover the world through all the different displays and stands.

Shane was a keynote speaker on Wednesday and blew us all away. He says when he gets on stage something magical happens and he is 100% right about that. Everyone sits at the edge of their seats, waiting with bated breath for the next words to be spoken. I felt like a celebrity when he pointed me out a couple of times during the speech and am honoured to work with him.

The night before, we gathered together from 5:30-10:30pm with #TRLT members in-person. What a treat! It was the first tweet meet where we had 3/4 of our #TRLT team, Shane, Jess and I, in the same place. We had Dutch, Canadian, Hungarian, Ugandan, American, Australian and German members come together after the Vakantiebeurs for a Twitter discussion on PEOPLE. A more than appropriate topic with a group of 15 people from 7 different countries from 4 different continents. A real global bunch!

The Grand Hotel Karel V was more than gracious to host this event and I can truly say they went above and beyond in their efforts to host our tweet meet. I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say we were treated like royalty. Before the Twitter chat started with the rest of our members worldwide, Anouk who managed the event, gave a tour of the beautiful, historic, 5-star hotel. Jess, Mom and I were lucky enough to actually stay in the hotel for the two nights we were in Utrecht to attend the Vakantiebeurs. Willem, the doorman, was our first friend we made at the hotel when we arrived like paparazzi insisting he pose in our pictures.

Hein, our personal waiter for the night was an absolute star. He made sure we had everything we could possibly need. The private venue with the tall ceilings, flickering candles, delicious wines and a seven course meal was incredible!

Thank you Richard from Hungary, Miriam from Kagera Safaris  and guest from Uganda, Mom from Canada, Jessica and Emily from U.S.A., Maria from Germany and Shane and Sam from Australia for joining us. An extra big thank you to Hein and Anouk for hosting #TRLT and making a special night even more unforgettable.

PS. Please show your appreciation to Grand Hotel Karel V  for their support of #TRLT by following them online:

 

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