From delayed flights and cancelled hotel reservations to budget shortage and baaad hangovers, some trips just aren’t meant to be perfect as planned.
The Montero Brothers: Troy (left) and KC
Blame it on the Chaos Theory – meaning the science of surprises, of the non-linear and the unpredictable – or, for celebrity brothers Troy and KC Montero, well, “s*** happens.”
In an exclusive interview with Bulletin Entertainment, they shared anecdotes about their so-called “worst vacation ever.”
“So, we went on a European cruise together. Unfortunately, we had engine problem so we’re stuck in the middle of the sea for almost two and a half hour,” KC said. “The thing is, he (Troy) has motion sickness and he was not really feeling good at that time. You know what happened to him? He vomited on the captain’s neck.”
That was gross.
“Yeah! It was,” KC agreed, laughing. “And the captain said a lot of bad words to him.”
KC and Troy understand that at one point or another, things can go awry. Still, they’d rather not call it bad luck. They believe that at the end of the day, there’s much to do when things go downhill.
Just go with the flow and don’t take everything too seriously, was Troy’s advice.
“Everyone will go on a bad vacation sometime no matter how very well they planned it. You could possibly experience horrible things like cancelled reservations or whatsoever but mind you that it’s not a bad thing at all,” he noted. “We don’t believe in bad luck because we don’t take our steps so seriously. Remember that no matter what happens, you just need to simply enjoy the moment.”
‘Worst’ travel show
As everybody is hung up on the pursuit of the perfect getaway, the Montero brothers aim to achieve the exact opposite via Discovery Channel’s newest show aptly titled, “Worst Vacation Ever.”
KC and Troy host and produce the show. It has five episodes.
According to them, in this day and age of social media, it’s hard to have a bad vacation. Well, that’s because of the well-curated Instagram feeds and Facebook posts of many people.
But that’s not always the case, KC noted.
The Montero brothers meticulously scour the Internet for horrible reviews among tons and tons of recommendation, setting out to recreate and dissect the elements of the worst vacation ever.
“It’s funny because you don’t usually find this kind of travel show,” Troy said. “We did extensive research on the Internet about the horrible travel experience (of people) then we compiled it and made a show that is totally different from the others. There’s a lot of travel show out but there’s nothing like this.”
Some of the antics shown on the show are getting drunk tattoos, trying out Cambodia’s infamous “happy pizza,” boxing with midgets, looking for paranormal creatures – a whole lot of crazy stuff from Makati to Cambodia.
The two, who grew up watching the American reality series “Jackass,” said they really love doing crazy things as they are “crazy people.”
Each episode also features a moving conclusion that many have always known but find hard to believe: The best vacations do not depend on time or place or budget.
KC said, “My job is to make Troy’s vacation worst but his job is to make mine the best ones. The whole journey is not scripted at all and we’re not pushing it too hard. We’re simply having a good time, that’s it.”
“Worst Vacation Ever” premieres on Jan. 29, 8:10 p.m. on Discovery Channel.
Travel tips
The two have literally circled the globe. Combining their learning from years and years of travel, KC and Troy shared some pointers which backpackers should heed.
Troy begins his travel journey with research.
“You have to be prepared. You have to take note of your itinerary. As a backpacker myself, I need to know the basic things of my tour so I could manage my agenda well.”
The Filipino-American actor reminds travelers to time taking their trips during the best season.
Third on the list is to be “open minded.”
A scene from 'Worst Vacation Ever'
“Welcome the culture of others because it will definitely shock you at first. You have to be cool and be respectful. Show them well because you’re a visitor there,” he disclosed.
This summer, the hunky brothers plan to visit Batanes, Sagada and Siargao or maybe Vietnam and South Korea.
Like most people, KC and Troy have travel essentials. In Troy’s bag are sunglasses, maps and of course, cell phone.
How about KC?
“Underwear, well not actually much,” he quipped. “But I also bring my cell phone and of course the charger because I cannot use my phone without batteries.”
A quick scroll through their Instagram feed shows their passion for travel.
“I always post photos and videos about our travel however my editing skills are so behind, that’s why some of it really sucks,” he said, laughing.
Close bros.
“I have no choice,” KC joked when asked about working with his brother.
KC and Troy Monteo
Turning serious, the actor shared, “We are brothers and we are close enough that we can travel together. Yeah, I’m stuck with him but seriously he’s fun to be with.”
He believes there’s always an advantage and disadvantage to having a brother who is into travelling.
“Troy travels a lot and he brings Aubrey (Miles) with him so the hardest thing is… his son kicks on my front door and sometimes it’s not my front door but my bedroom door!” he said, laughing.
KC recently got engaged to Stephanie Dods, his girlfriend for almost three years now. There are no wedding details yet as of this writing.
The 39-year-old host popped the question on Christmas Day and according to him, it was Troy who helped him do so.
He narrated, “It was so funny because when he told me about it, he was sitting and watching TV then he said, ‘I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna ask her.’ I was like, ‘Ask her what?’ So we got the whole thing planned out. Actually it was bound to happen a day before Christmas but things didn’t go well. So he was like, ‘Maybe tomorrow?’ The worst part is the next day, when he is about to get some picture, Stephanie said, ‘So you’re gonna propose to me?’ We we’re like ‘Ah-uh. S*** happens.’”