There’s no denying it, Welsh people abroad stick out like a sore thumb.
The unmistakable accent, the sunburn, the drinking, the flip-flops and, yes, even the bumbags.
Whether it's soaking up the sun or hitting the slopes, Welsh people can be pretty consistent when off on their jollies.
1. Bump into other Welsh people
They say you’re bound to bump into someone Welsh wherever you go in the world.
Whether you're watching the Northern Lights in Iceland or queueing for a slide at a Spanish waterpark - you're guaranteed to come across someone Welsh.
It usually ends up with something like this: “Oh my god, are you Welsh? Come and have a couple of drinks with us.”
And you'll probably know their friends, cousins, brother's daughter, are somehow distantly related or went to the same school.
Happy days!
2. Eat local (to Wales)
You’re abroad, in a far-off land, soaking up the different sights, smells and sounds.
You work up a hell of an appetite doing touristy things. So what do you do now?
Do you carry on experiencing everything this new and foreign place has to offer? Do you tuck into an unusual dish or local delicacy?
Of course not, you head to the nearest British restaurant and tuck into a full Welsh brecky with a pint of British lager.
Lovely, mun!
3. Drink all day, every day
There’s just something about being on holiday that drives us to it, isn’t there?
Sometimes we don’t even have to wait until 11am before cracking open the cervezas and Fanta Lemon.
Just don’t expect us to wake up anytime before noon the next day.
4. Swap pints for fancy cocktails
On that note, there's something about being in the sun that makes us want to swap the traditional pint for a Tequila Sunrise and Pomegranate Sangria.
It's filled with juice, tastes nothing like alcohol and goes down like a bottle of water on a hangover.
I mean, it's not really a holiday without a paper umbrella and a sparkler in your drink, is it?
5. Make friends for life
It’s no lie that us Welsh are a friendly bunch.
No more so than when we’ve got a week off work and we’re jetting off somewhere sunny or exciting.
The endorphins are heightened, the purse strings are loosened, and the stress levels start easing (this obviously has nothing to do with the amount of alcohol we’ve been drinking, of course).
That said, making friends while on holiday just becomes second nature to us. But it doesn’t just stop there. Oh no, not with us Welsh folks.
When we meet someone on holiday we end up spending the rest of the week with them drinking, chatting and singing Tom Jones on the karaoke.
By the end of the break we’ve swapped numbers, become best friends, and have already planned to meet up for our next holiday again in September.
6. Dress inappropriately
To be fair we’re more used to the rain than to boiling temperatures or Arctic blasts in Wales.
So when we head off on our “holibobs” you can’t blame people for stripping down to their vest and flip-flops (or the odd Iceland carrier bag ).
It’s like we’ve never seen the sun before.
Or the snow for that matter – ever see a Welshman wear shorts in freezing temperatures? Yeah, me too.
Oh and there’ll definitely be a bumbag and some socks and sandals in there somewhere too.
7. Wear sunnies when it's not that sunny
We don't really get to wear them in Wales, OK?
So whenever we get the chance - we're going to take it, even if they end up on top of our head all day.
8. Over-pack
We've got 15kg.
We've known for a whole year that we've only got 15kg - since we booked the holiday.
Yet when we get to the airport, the first hour at check-in is always spent pulling things out of the suitcase to make it lighter.
No way are we spending an extra £50 on luggage. We'd rather sit there with three jackets, two pairs of trousers and an extra pair of shoes on.
9. Find places with Welsh names
You’re the other side of the world, and come across another Cardiff, Swansea or Brynmawr.
Cue the next 20 minutes spent taking pictures and selfies with the signs.
This also applies to street names.
The excitement of coming across another Stuart Street/Davies Street/Ninian Street is unlike anything else.
This also becomes magnified if you come across a place or street with your actual name in it.
10. Bombard social media
If there's not at least 15 snaps on social media by the end of your holiday, did it really happen?
You know, it's not really a holiday if you don't make all your friends jealous that you've got such a great, summery social life.
This includes checking in to every tourist attraction, using the butterfly Snapchat filter to hide your make-up free, sunburnt face and aggressively filtering pictures of cocktails/scenery and food on Insta.
Thank god for Wifi.
11. Complain about the weather
Raining - it's too wet.
Snowing - it's too cold.
Sunny - it's too hot.
We just can't win.
After the week's over, we'll spend the rest of the year complaining about how much better the weather was when we were on holidays.
12. Check the weather back home
Because if it's not raining back home when we're away, we can't really enjoy ourselves.
Weather warning in Wales? Ha - it's 32°C out here *sends message to What'sApp group to let them know*.
13. Explain to everyone Wales is not in England
"Where are you from?
"Wales."
"Oh, is that in England?"
"Doh!"
14. Find a bar to watch Welsh sport
Being on holidays is just NO EXCUSE to miss the game.
Refer also to point number 1. because you're guaranteed to bump into other Welsh people here.
15. Take your local paper with you
Because how else are you going to keep up with the 'Look who's been in court' section?
16. Hang a Welsh flag on the balcony
When in Rome (or Spain, or Turkey or Portugal), one needs to mark one's territory.
It is therefore essential to decorate any temporary accommodation with patriotic symbols of home - in other words, hang a Welsh flag up.
Yes, walking down the Benidorm strip can easily be mistaken for Chippy Alley on game day.
Welsh flag beach towels also apply.
17. Learn the lingo – or try to at least
We’ve all been there.
You’ve spent days learning a bit of the lingo before jetting off – just the important words like “beer”, “paracetamol” and “where’s the toilet?”
And you can’t wait to put the hard work into practice.
You’re ready for it.
Standing by the bar, steadily repeating the word over and over again, waiting for the barman to approach, a look of steely determination on your face, only to panic under the pressure and forget the word you’ve spent so long learning. So instead, you just speak like a three-year-old child ask for a "beeee-uuuur" while over-gesticulating to help describe what you mean.
18. Teach people Welsh words
If all else fails, you end up teaching the locals some traditional Welsh words and phrases.
Nothing too difficult, just things like popty ping and Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Just in case you've got your own holiday coming up, here are some words for for you all to practice.
Icelandic = Bjór
Spanish = Cerveza
Portuguese = Cerveja
French = Bière
Turkish = Bira
Welsh = Cwrw
You’re welcome...
