Laughter yoga in Lisbon, bounce and twerk in New Orleans and coffee fortune telling in New York: Two friends tried 84 Airbnb ‘Online Experiences’ in ONE WEEK

  • James Ware and David Windsor went globetrotting using Airbnb experiences
  • They recorded the sessions for posterity – and the footage is incredible 
  • Bounce & Twerk with MoJoe from New Orleans 'was gloriously uplifting' 
  • 'The funniest of all had to be Laughter Yoga with Thomas Cock,' said James

Two globetrotting friends proved that lockdown needn’t be a barrier to travelling the world.

Self-confessed travel-junkies James Ware, 28, and David Windsor, 33, both from London, wanted to ‘go on an adventure and liven up lockdown life’ and found a brilliant quarantine loophole – doing lots of Zoom-hosted Airbnb Online Experiences.

The pair realised they could use these to get their globetrotting fix – and things ‘escalated rapidly’. They ended up doing 84 in one week earlier this month, from laughter yoga with a practitioner in Lisbon to a coffee fortune-telling experience with a reader in New York.

Self-confessed travel-junkies James Ware and David Windsor wanted to ‘go on an adventure and liven up lockdown life’ and found a brilliant quarantine loophole – doing lots of Zoom-hosted Airbnb Online Experiences

Self-confessed travel-junkies James Ware and David Windsor wanted to ‘go on an adventure and liven up lockdown life’ and found a brilliant quarantine loophole – doing lots of Zoom-hosted Airbnb Online Experiences

James and David recorded the sessions for posterity – and the footage is incredible. Hilarious and fascinating.

James, a producer, told MailOnline Travel: ’David and I are both travel junkies, but obviously it’s impossible to get our globetrotting fix with the current situation. Then we tried one of these online experiences and were surprised by how exciting and connecting it was even over Zoom and things escalated really rapidly from there.’

There were many highlights.

James said: ‘Having my fortune told through the coffee stains left in my mug by Uluc, a Turkish legend with a gigantic teddy bear in his New York apartment, was particularly unforgettable. Zumba with an Olympian in Hawaii left me feeling so high I’m surprised it’s not illegal in most countries.

‘Getting to talk one-on-one to an Olympic Gold medallist, Chinese sailor Xu Lijia, was a real privilege and genuinely moving, she was super inspirational.

‘And Bounce & Twerk with MoJoe from New Orleans should have been beyond embarrassing but somehow was gloriously uplifting because she made us feel so welcome despite our wonky waist wiggling replacing her normal superstar clientele.

'Also a noteworthy moment was the ending of the project. It felt like it was sure to be an anticlimax, but then our very last experience was songwriting in Nashville with Anne Buckle, who’s related to Johnny Cash. She just busted out an incredible song on the spot all about what we’d done that week, which just blew our minds.' 

James said: 'I now make such a high-quality tiramisu that I’m awaiting my Italian citizenship'

James said: 'I now make such a high-quality tiramisu that I’m awaiting my Italian citizenship'

JAMES AND DAVID'S 84 AIRBNB ONLINE EXPERIENCES 

Monday

1) How To Write A Book - Australia

2) Flamenco Fiesta - Seville

3) Writing Masterclass- USA

4) Workout With Paralympic Medalist - Colorado

5) Disappearing Hill Tour - Seattle

6) Astrology & Natal Charts - Barcelona

7) Natural Beauty Workshop - Milan

8) Drums Drums Drums - Puerto Rico

9) Chocolate Meditation - Mexico

10) Zumba In Paradise With Olympian - Hawaii

Tuesday

11) Magic Castle Magic - Japan

12) Wine making - Bulgaria

13) Yoga & Slow Living - Florence

14) Storytelling - Catalonia

15) Chocolate Volcanoes - Rome

16) Get In Shape With A Belgian Olympian - Belgium

17) Cow Sanctuary - USA

18) Charity Pancake Flipping - San Francisco

19) Drink & Draw - Lisbon

20) Yoghurt Making - USA

21) How To Spot Fake News - USA

22) Learn To Tango - Argentina

23) Fado Concert - Portugal

Wednesday

24) Soundbath Meditation - Singapore

25) Meet A Shark Expert - South Africa

26) Manga Cartoon Drawing - Japan

27) Chinatown Tour - London

28) Flamenco Guitar - Madrid

29) Children's Book Author - NYC

30) Drag Queen Singalong- UK

31) Mime Masterclass - Paris

32) Trigger Therapy With Olympian - Memphis

33) Introduction To Tango - Buenos Aires

34) Make Sangria - Portugal

35) Turkish Coffee Fortune Telling- NYC

36) Drag Queen Dance Show - Lisbon

37) Collage Art - Australia

Thursday

38) Meditative Forest Bathing - Portugal

39) Pasta With Grandma - Italy

40) Photography Class - Barcelona

41) Rescue Goats - USA    

 

42) Wine Guru - Porto 

43) Sheep At Sunrise - New Zealand

44) Bounce & Twerk With Mojoe - New Orleans

45) Introduction To Mexican Cuisine - Mexico

46) Ideas For Authors - USA 

Friday

47) K-Pop Dancing - Seoul

48) Olympian Flag Bearer - Mozambique

49) Japanese Food Art - Japan

50) Pasta & Opera - Rome

51) Laughter Yoga - Lisbon

52) Cape Malay Curry - South Africa

53) Olympic Gold Medallist - UK

54) Espadrille Shoe Making - Barcelona

55) Magic World Record- UK

56) Calligraphy Class- USA

57) Caravaggio Tour - Rome

58) Tango Posture - Barcelona

59) Healing And Happiness - USA

60) Street Art Tour - Buenos Aires

61) Irish Dancing - Galway  

Saturday

62) Tiramisu World Champion - Italy

63) One Love Meditation - Japan

64) Storyboarding Explained - Russia

65) Flamenco Class - Spain

66) Cello Meditation - Amsterdam

67) Vibe Ride - Detroit

68) Wine Tasting - Paris

69) French Crepes - Nice

70) Day Of The Dead - Mexico

71) Bookmaking - California  

Sunday

72) Judo With World Champions - UK

73) Penguin Pro - South Africa

74) Sake Tasting - Japan

75) Champagne Sabering - Reims

76) Origami Class - Japan

77) Extreme Magic - Ukraine

78) Western Architecture - France

79) Salsa & Passion - Puerto Rico

80) Cat Yoga - Brooklyn

81) Cigar Guru - Miami

82) Meet Vincent Van Gogh - NYC

83) Acoustic Concert- Iceland

84) Songwriting - Nashville 

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The funniest session was, appropriately, laughter yoga.

James continued: ‘The funniest of all had to be Laughter Yoga with Thomas Cock, his actual name, in Lisbon. Using different exercises, you laugh for over an hour. It was amazing how quickly fake laughter turned into the real deal and it felt so cathartic and positive afterwards. 

'He had repeat customers who were doing their seventh session it was so entertaining and beneficial.

‘I also had the first day I’ve ever cried with laughter twice in one day. We had a goat tour in rural New York which, thanks to the world’s worst wifi connection, became more of an immersive animal comedy. Then later, a Mexican cookery teacher flat out refused to let us leave to our next session, so we were held digital captives in an online kidnapping, which was weirdly hilarious.' 

'Having my fortune told through the coffee stains left in my mug by Uluc, a Turkish legend with a gigantic teddy bear in his New York apartment, was particularly unforgettable,' said James

'Having my fortune told through the coffee stains left in my mug by Uluc, a Turkish legend with a gigantic teddy bear in his New York apartment, was particularly unforgettable,' said James

'We were lucky to meet so many extraordinary people,' said James

'We were lucky to meet so many extraordinary people,' said James

The bounce and twerk session, James said, 'should have been beyond embarrassing but somehow was gloriously uplifting'

The bounce and twerk session, James said, 'should have been beyond embarrassing but somehow was gloriously uplifting'

The sessions, James revealed, changed him as a person.

He said: ‘It really inspired me meeting so many incredible people who do things they’re so passionate about. It also really reminded me how connected we all are across cultures and borders no matter what’s happening.’

What’s more, he’s now an expert at something new.

James said: ‘Having been entrusted with the secrets of tiramisu by Silvia in Italy, who genuinely attended the Tiramisu World Cup (an event now high up my bucket list), I now make such a high-quality tiramisu that I’m awaiting my Italian citizenship.’

Airbnb launched the virtual experiences on April 9, with 50 available. There are now over 200

Airbnb launched the virtual experiences on April 9, with 50 available. There are now over 200

The sessions, said James, reminded him 'how connected we all are across cultures and borders no matter what’s happening'. But he wasn't always able to take the expert advice on board, as this image shows

The sessions, said James, reminded him 'how connected we all are across cultures and borders no matter what’s happening'. But he wasn't always able to take the expert advice on board, as this image shows

While the video James and David made is a wrap – their journey isn’t over yet.

James added: ‘We’ve made friends for life and already have been offered apartments to stay in in New York, a free wine lesson in Portugal, a free penguin tour in South Africa and a coffee with an Olympic Gold Medallist. We were lucky to meet so many extraordinary people.’

Airbnb launched the virtual experiences on April 9, with 50 available. There are now over 200.

Visit airbnb.com/online-experiences for more information. If you are interested in hosting an experience visit airbnb.com/onlinehost.

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