In Reality It Is Always Just TV - And Not Reality

Today I am snug as a bug in a rug! Yesterday...

It is true a day can make a difference. Yesterday I arrived in Bucharest. I had a few wrinkles upon arrival. First, I could not get money from the ATM. Not good! I decided not to buy any Romanian currency before hand so I was in a pickle. After calling the bank from my computer, which required me to search the airport high and low for wifi first, I got things sorted and was able to make a withdrawal. Relief, crisis conquered! Next, feeling a bit a drained I decided I would take a taxi instead of the bus to my hostel. I knew I'd probably get taken for a ride financially if i took a cab so I originally planned on using the awesome instructions for the bus provided by Holiday Hostel. However, I really didn't plan on being drained after an ATM ordeal so I decided on plan B. I'd read online about catching a taxi from departures not arrivals as they would be cheaper. So that's what I did but the cabby still ripped me off. He charged the rate from arrivals and then some. I was so grateful just to have made it to the hostel and have access to money that I just let it go when on top of overcharging he then short changed me. Driving for 45 minutes with the "Empty" gas light on was no picnic on my nerves either. On the bright side, I made it! Safe and sound and in no time I had met some people to talk to. One even gave me a beer!

What's has this got to do with TV? Good question! During and shortly after my cash and cab troubles a thought had occurred to me that I wasn't getting all this on film. Now that I've had a night to sleep on it I'm actually glad. Why? Well the answer is simple. I don't find reality shows that entertaining personally and it's not the sort of TV I want to make. I feel good knowing I can share my adventures and misadventures right here on this blog. As for any shows I make I think I like choosing what to film and when, as apposed to trying to catch every moment, under the guise of creating something real. TV isn't reality in my opinion and I feel better about not rolling camera all the time.

On that note today is a new day and I've had an awesome rest. This hostel is amazing. There is just one small issue... I woke up for the day not long ago and the time now is 6PM. I guess I am a bit jet lagged!

Making TV

WVITV © 2012 Created by: Michael J Trojak

Call it TV, call it television, I like to call it TRAVEL VISION! I just completed my latest pilot for a show about hostels called Hostel Review. 

"Hostel Review is as the name implies, a show about hostels and how the host scores them on various factors, including: amenities, feel & flavor, cleanliness, etc. This is the pilot episode where the concept for the show is presented. The idea for this show is to give the viewer the same information they would get when reading the reviews from the hostel/backpacker sites, while putting that into an entertaining audio/visual format."Michael Joseph WVITV

Check it out  on this blog @ WVITV Shows OR by clicking on the links below...

WVITV 

WVITV Youtube

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for watching!

Prineville Not Nashville and Romania Not RIO (at least not yet Brazil & Tennessee)

I just spent the summer in Southeast Asia. What am I gonna do now? I am not going to Disneyland.

Alright, summer is over! I'm still on the move and life is still showing me who's boss! As usual I've a ton of ideas about what I might do and where I may head off to. Somehow though, I wonder if this is really up to me or if it's part of some plan that's bigger than me? 

Anyway, I was contemplating a trip to Nashville upon my return from Asia. I thought a little southern hospitality from my home country was in order. Also, I was invited further south to Rio De Janeiro. Pretty awesome right? I think so. Well, my itinerary as of now includes neither destination. So, what the heck happened? It's simple really. I can only do so much at one time, "life happens when you're making other plans" and I change my mind often. I'll explain...

While I was in Asia I was considering my options. I had initially planned on more travel throughout Asia but decided Thailand and Malaysia was just right for this trip and a change of pace was in order. Thinking carefully about my budget and what I was in the mood for Nashville came to mind. Okay, I'd fly back into Portland from Kuala Lumpur and take Amtrak to Tennessee. I love riding the train! I would get my southern hospitality fix and I could even head on over to Memphis while I was at it to see all the memorabilia of the King. A rather cool trip in my opinion and certainly in the budget. Oh but wait, I still have Brazil to consider! First of all, I have had South America on my list of places to go for a long time; with Rio being at the top of the list of cities there that I would like to survey. Apart from that, I had an invite which included a place to stay! What to do? This is the part when "life happens when you're making other plans", comes into play. After I got back to the states I wanted to unwind and see some friends. The next thing I know I'm attending a wedding and I hook up with a friend that I haven't seen in around 20 years. She lives in Prineville and came up to Portland just for the wedding. We seemed to have fun together so I decided I wanted to hang out with her more. In comes Prineville. I have not visited Central Oregon much, (if at all) so, I thought it would be a bonus checking it out on top of spending more time with my friend. I was right. I had a wonderful time visiting with her and I really liked visiting the small town life in Prineville. I decided the charm I was craving from a trip like Tennessee was satisfied by this unexpected reunion and unplanned side trip. (Check out pictures of the town and our side-side trip to Reno by clicking HERE). 

What about Rio? This is where changing my mind often comes into play. As much as I still want to go to Brazil and many other countries in South America for that matter; I just felt like a return to Europe lately. Hopefully, I'll be able to take my other friend up on her invite to Rio an other time. As for now...

Romania has come up in conversation a couple of times. Perhaps it was a sign? Besides, I have loved Europe since my first visit back in 1985. In '04 I went back and made my way around to about a dozen countries mostly in the west. I have yet to make my way to that many countries in the east. So, after milling it over I decided Bucharest here I come! My flight is booked for 10.15.12. Lets see what happens from here...