How it began... The Podfrey story
There is no better feeling than being in a new city and
discovering exciting and memorable locations; whether that be a
restaurant, museum or a hidden away cafe enjoyed by Locals.
Travelling for business, often on my own, meant spending many a
night at dinner for one with a well worn book as my dinner companion.
Even on holidays, it always takes me days to discover the true gems of
each city. Invariably, on my way back home, I often think about how
good it would be to avoid the tourist traps that a city offers up. I
also wish I had just a few more days to experience some of the
attractions I missed during my stay. If it is for business, I often
curse myself for not being prepared to take advantage of those precious
few moments of down time.
I have tried travel guides in book form, but often I only start
reading them on the plane, and by that stage it will still take me a
few days to get through the book and decide exactly what attractions I
want to see in the city I am visiting. Whilst I find travel books very
interesting, some locations turn out to be very different to what I
thought I was going to experience. Referring to a travel guide whilst
exploring the streets of a new city is a beacon for everyone to ‘spot
the tourist’, and being a little on the stubborn side, I would prefer
not to have to refer to a map or book for directions.
I have a recent memory of visiting Shanghai during winter and
refusing to use a travel guide because I didn’t want to look like a
tourist. After leaving my hotel on the Pudong side of Shanghai, I
proceeded to walk in the freezing cold in the wrong direction for over
an hour wearing only jeans and a tee shirt. If only I could blend in, I
thought.
The development of podfrey is not only a result of my own personal
experiences. There have been a lot of good people and organisations who
have assisted us in getting this far. I am very thankful to them all,
and some of them, who wish to remain nameless, receive my heartfelt
thank you. I also wish to thank the many
content partners who have assisted podfrey during the launch phase of
this service.
And then there is the team of people who have all worked extremely
hard to pull off this significant undertaking over the last 9 months.
By that, I include all the production crew, the various confidants who
have offered great support and also valuable insight, and the marketing
& branding team who have assisted with getting podfrey this far
(and are already hard at work on new cities).
Podfrey’s mission is to provide you, the traveller to Sydney, with
the most entertaining and honest view of the sites and sounds of
Sydney. I hope you enjoy using podfrey as much as we have had making
it (even the late nights seem worthwhile now that it has launched). We
value your opinion, including possible new cities that podfrey may
film. We have also established a content partners’ page on this website
and if there are any attractions in Sydney that we have missed, we
would love to hear from you. We have already identified new ways to
provide you with the most informative and innovative travel guide on
the market, and we will be making announcements on this website on a
regular basis. Please feel free to drop me a line at any time...my
details can be found on the contact page of this website.
Travel safe,
Andrew Bettman
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