I have been a journalist since 2008, currently working as a pricing analyst for an international firm in London. I hold a Bachelor of Arts, honours degree in journalism from Edinburgh Napier University. My work has been featured by travelmag.co.uk, traveldudes.org, Agence France-Presse, Global Journalist magazine, the Estrella de Arica daily in Chile, Nepszabadsag Travel in Hungary and many international titles in London.
I have also been interviewed by NPR Radio in the US and France24 in Paris whilst reporting from the Kolontar chemical disaster. In addition, my previous blog featured in an interview in French magazine Marianne.
I also have a passion for rail travel and so I was also editor of two regional railway related websites in Sussex between 2015-2017. One of them was South Coast Mainline and the other was Saint Leonards and Hastings Rail Improvement Programme, with the aim of bringing faster trains to the region.
Hospitality Experience
I used to work in the hospitality industry as a receptionist and barman for the Holiday Inn Express and Ibis chains at various locations in Europe. During those years I learned what travellers were interested in and also gained an insight into the hospitality industry. I also learned how business people were travelling and decided how I would do it differently.
Fast forward a few years and I graduated from Napier University in Edinburgh with a journalism degree. I got a job at AFP, the French News Agency in Budapest which involved some domestic travel in Hungary. My next job was with ICIS, a price reporting company in London. Here I had to travel quite frequently to far flung places.
Doing It Differently
But what I did differently is that whenever I travelled I always took a few days off before or after the conference. This way I wasn’t only working but also enjoying the sights and scenery.
Most companies are OK if you tag on a few days as holiday, so I never understand why most business travellers only stay in the hotel and then dash off to the airport when business is done. Of course, a lot of them are worried about crime, being mugged and so on – which are completely silly things to worry about! I’ve never been attacked or anything in 16 years of travelling!
Also, many business people have families at home so they would like to spend time with them instead of hanging out in a beautiful town. This is why I think most bleisure travel is done by millennials as they have the time and the disposable income to tag on a couple of extra days after a business trip.
Thanks to my employer I can work remotely and take holidays before or after almost every business trip. I can also work in any location around the world using my laptop. Yet, I am on a company’s payroll, doing a full time job. So I want to tell others on this blog how it is possible to be a travel blogger without giving up their jobs.
That’s why I’ve decided to set this website up to educate novice travellers how to combine business and leisure to make it bleisure! It is not difficult at all and you will soon notice that it improves your work performance.
Going for a long walk in town after a busy day in a foreign location can help you switch off! It can also work for companies: it improves employee loyalty to the firm. So instead of discouraging it, this should be encouraged on both sides. At the end of the day combining work with leisure always pays dividends. No wonder you see these quirky offices with all the fun and games at Google, Apple and Facebook. So just open up and enjoy business travel a bit more!
The Name
Solaris Traveller stands for this: most business travellers travel alone (solo) and they do it in the solar system. So I have combined my love for the solar system and solo business travel and came up with the name Solaris Traveller.
Travel History
I have been travelling since I was 11 years old. My first trip took me to the neighbouring town to the spa. My father wouldn’t take me there so I sneaked out with my best friend! The punishment duly followed – but I became addicted and have been travelling ever since.
A couple of years later I dragged my friend along to Budapest – again not telling anyone. We both lived in a small village and Budapest was 200 kilometers away. My friend’s father forbade him to see me for a few weeks after this trip but my father was OK. I guess he figured he couldn’t stop me anyway!
It took another three or four years before I went abroad on my own. I saved some money and bought a train ticket to the Croatian seaside. I loved every minute!
Since then I’ve travelled far and wide and thanks to my work I’ve seen some truly beautiful places!
This website’s focus is the millennial solo business traveller, also known as bleisure traveller. This person is an aspiring businessman or woman who is looking to get ahead but also seeks to enjoy life. He or she is not a workaholic, as he understands the need for a work/life balance but at the same time works hard to build a career.
The Solo Millennial Bleisure Traveller
A 2014 report by Bridgestreet calls this kind of business traveller the “Bleisure Traveller”. The millennial business person makes the most of each travel opportunity instead of jumping on the first available plane/train back home.
He/she relishes the opportunity to discover a new city and makes every effort to stay on after a business trip. These trips will last for at least a day or two, or if possible, a long weekend.
The bleisure traveller and the employer understand that staying on after a business trip helps to unwind following often stressful business meetings. The flexibility to stay on also creates a stronger bond and loyalty between employee and employer.
The Definition of the Millennial Bleisure Traveller
The millennial bleisure traveller (unless he/she works for Goldman Sachs) stays in hotels with a budget of £50-150/night, plus an extra £35/day for food allowance. The budget for short haul flights often only allows Ryanair, Easyjet and BA or equivalent in each geographic region.
The millennial business traveller uses frequent flyer programs and is also a member of at least one or two hotel loyalty programs.
He or she also pays using hotel or airline credit cards to take advantage of opportunities to accumulate free flights or rooms, provided by frequent business trips. These points will then pay for extended stays during bleisure holidays.
The millennial business traveller has a budget of about £70-100/meeting for two for client meetings and entertainment.
The bleisure traveller also often:
- rents a car at the destination, as part of the business trip or for the extended weekend trip.
- takes a taxi/uber to the airport.
- might look for cafes, restaurants or bars with free wifi to do work at the destination.
- seeks to use co-working locations or will choose to work in the hotel lobby, by the pool or in the bar.
Solaris Traveller: An Expert in Bleisure Travel
I’ve been doing this kind of bleisure travelling for nearly seven years. It has worked out really well and I love this lifestyle!
Portfolio
While I was a reporter at AFP I had a press pass for the Hungarian Parliament where I was regularly briefed (along with other journalists) by the Prime Minister and other important officials about policies, laws and current affairs. I also paid regular visits to the various ministries and embassies as well as cultural organizations where I represented Agence France-Presse, a leading global news organization.
For the past six years I’ve been producing global market reports on fertilizers, petrochemicals and feed additives. Speed, accuracy and a reputation for intelligent, sensitive reporting are the ingredients that have made my reports respected by leading company executives engaged in the day-to-day business of buying, selling and trading commodities.
Using Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook I’ve been monitoring market developments and competitor activity. In addition, I’ve kept a close eye on agricultural commodity developments, mining and other industries and how this impacts world trade, shipping, demand and prices.
In my free time I am also the webmaster of the St Leonards and Hastings Rail Improvement Programme website and the southcoastmainline.com website, both railway related.
Janos Gal Article Portfolio
I wrote these two articles below as Skyscanner Elite’s contributor influencer.
Things to Do in Portland, Oregon – on Skyscanner Elite Blog
Pros and Cons of Travelling by Amtrak’s Acela Express
Best Video Project At Tapas Day
My video was awarded the “Best Video Project” award at the 2017 Tapas Day Evening in London by the Spanish Tourism Board. The prize was a week-long holiday to Granada to discover what the region has to offer.
Video link on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ibz5tIJjyc
Holiday Autos & Argus Car Hire
Three complimentary car hires to review their customer service and to create three 90 second videos and accompanying text and photos. Partnership also included Instagram and Twitter promotions and possibility to guest blog on the Holiday Autos blog.
Moroccan Tourism Board
Two partnerships – one with MuchMorocco promoting my trip to Fes in the north of the country and another with the Marrakesh Tourism Board promoting activities in and around Marrakesh.
Vancouver Tourism Board
Following a meeting in London at the World Travel Market the Vancouver Tourism Board agreed to tweet about my trip to Vancouver as part of a bleisure adventure.
Jaen Tourism Board
Partnership to promote the area’s olive oil industry – visited the Oleicola San Francisco and created a video and text post with photographs. Article now ranks on page 1 of Google.
Andalucia Tourism Board
Collaboration with the Spanish and Andalucian Tourism Boards to promote the sites of Granada and surrounding areas such as Ubeda and Baeza as well as Pinar.
Maniva Ski Resort
Following a meeting at the London World Travel Market in November 2017 Stefano invited me for a couple of nights to review his hotel and ski resort in the mountains of the pre-Alps.
Ambra Cortina Hotel in Cortina d’Ampezzo
Elizabetta offered a weekend stay at her luxury hotel complex in Ambra Cortina following a meeting at the WTM in November 2017. I created a post with photos and a video as well as text.
EPIC Museum of Immigration in Dublin
Following a meeting at the Travel Blogger Exchange (TBEX) in Killarney, Ireland in October 2017 I met the directors of EPIC and we agreed that I would review their museum. They promoted my post on Twitter in November 2017.
Travelcast TV Video Production
I created four videos for Travelcast TV about various US destinations, including Texas, Florida and New York.
SEO Expertise – Google Page 1 Rankings
Try the below keywords and see where Solaris Traveller appears in the Google results. Many articles I have written rank on page 1.
- Marufo Vega Trail Death – page 1
- Vancouver San Francisco Road Trip – page 1
- Backpacking from Singapore to Cambodia by train – page 1
- Ultimate Texas Road Trip – page 1
- Self guided walking tour Buenos Aires – page 1
- Presidio TX to Terlingua TX – page 1
- Cal Auto Israel Reviews – page 1
- Two week Israel holiday itinerary – page 1
Favourite Post
The below articles are interviews I created with famous travellers:
Hitch-hiking on Bolivia’s “Death Road” Through The Rainforest
Articles Related to Business & Politics
The 2010 Alumina Plant Disaster in Hungary
I was AFP’s correspondent at the Kolontar alumina plant disaster in October 2010. My job was to report for two weeks from Kolontar, Ajka and Devecser. My reports featured in the Guardian, France24, Global Journalist, India Times, Hindustan Times and a number of Canadian and Australian dailies.
It was pretty interesting reporting from the scene. I got up nearly every day at 4am and worked until midnight filing breaking news stories. I was often called into the office on short notice so I had to rush up from Devecser to Budapest, only to be sent back down the next morning again.
Breaking News from the Kolontar Disaster
I was the first to lead a team of photographers and a cameraman to the cracked dam, before the official press tour took place. I made contact with a local who knew the countryside roads and he showed me the road to the dam. The next morning I lead a team of photographers and cameramen behind the police and army lines in the dark. Here we waited hours until sunrise to take pictures of the crack.
When the sun rose we approached the crack surrounded by police. While I spoke to the police and army personnel and distracted them, my colleagues could take a dozen good close up photos of the crumbling dam. The police thought we were the official government photographers – you should’ve seen their faces when I told them who I was!
That same day the government had organised a press tour to the dam. I think it was because we broke in and there was no point in hiding the fact any longer. It was apparent that the crack was larger than they said: I could fit in through the crack yet they reported it was only 2 inches wide. At any rate, we got our photos out well before the rest of the press. Listen to the podcast below in which I talk about the disaster with KBIA-NPR radio station in the US.
Marianne Magazine Coverage
The second largest French magazine, Marianne, with a circulation of 300,000 per week featured me in a four page spread in 2012. Elodie Emery, one of their reporters contacted me in March 2012 to request a quote from my article titled: “The Irish Debt Crisis and the Sick Celtic Tiger”.
The Original Article
The article was about the Irish debt crisis and my views in general. Elodie also asked if she could interview me or get a quote from the article. Of course, why not, a bit of publicity never hurts!
I hooked her up with my friends in Dublin and I also recommended French places to visit where she could network with local French people.
Other Articles
Georg Habsburg from Red Cross Hungary (grandson of Emperor Charles I of Austro-Hungary): I interviewed him for various projects including the Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt donation to the Kolontar Disaster Fund.
Sandor Fazekas, Agriculture Minister of Hungary: Article about Kolontar disaster and its immediate aftermath.
Hungarian Minister of Economy: Various interviews about a number of subjects such as Hungary’s IMF loans, credit ratings and economic outlook.
Dunja Mijatovic, head of Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe: Interviewed her about the press crackdown in Europe in 2010.
Jiansheng Ding, CEO of Wanhua Industrial Group: Interview about the company’s global plans and outlook. Wanhua is the second largest isocyanate producer in the world.
Zsolt Petho, CEO of TVK, a major Hungarian chemical plant owned by MOL: interview about company’s future plans and growth.
Alistair Steel, Executive Director of Euro Chlor – interview about the European chlor-alkali industry’s future outlook. Euro Chlor represents the European chlor-alkali industry.
Damien Perriman, Vice President of Genomatica, a biotechnology company developing renewable petrochemical feedstock.
Tim Staub, Vice President of Business Development at Green Biologics: interview about renewable petrochemicals.
Captain Philip Haslam, Chief of Staff for EU NAVFOR – A special Insight about piracy off the coast of Ethiopia and Somalia and its effect on global petrochemical shipping. An analysis about the increasing cost of piracy premiums and how this is impacting shippers.
Fazilet Cinaralp, the Secretary General of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) – special feature about changing tyre labelling legislation in Europe.
Books
The Falklands Conflict and the Argentine Media
A book about the crisis and how it was reported by the Argentine press.
Fertilizer Articles
Changing Global Sulphur Supply Trends
A report about changing sulphur supply trends.
Migrant Crisis
Migrant Tide Tests Hungary’s Hospitality
Reporting from Hungary’s razor wire fence.
Natural Disasters
Hungary village evacuated as new toxic flood ‘likely’
Reporting from the Kolontar toxic flood.
Human Negligence – Toxic Sludge Boss Arrested
Reporting from the Kolontar toxic flood.
Petrochemicals
How sustainable are bio-based chemicals
A report about bio-based chemistry and sustainability.
Press Freedom
In Hungary a shift to the right stifles press freedom
A report about Hungary’s press freedom issues.
In Cuba Words Can Captivate You
A report about Cuban Press Freedom.
Quoted in the Press
Wanhua Group Website
The firm used me as a reference on their global website. The company is the third largest polyurethane producer in the world.
Janos Gal’s Travel Videos
A collection of my videos shot on my Canon EOS 200D, my GoPro and various Iphone versions.
Testimonials
