MANILA, Philippines – When you’re a vacation, you think of relaxation, fun, and adventure. But there are many instances when the vacation becomes a nightmare – and the Montero brothers are no different from us.

In an interview with the two for their new show, Worst Vacation Ever, which premiered on Monday, January 29 on the Discovery Channel, the brothers shared with Rappler that one of the worst vacations they had together was during a trip in Tijuana, Mexico a few years back.

“It’s actually our first time in Tijuana. We did [this] a few years back… We’re from Washington state and we used to have a low-rider car. We really wanted to have it re-upholstered, so we drove all the way down to Tijuana, Mexico,” Troy said.

“So we went on this giant roadtrip to have our car re-upholstered over the weekend… while we were there, they said it was going to take take a day or two… so we ended up going to a bar and they [had] some crazy shows and things going on [in] the bar… long story short, we ate the wrong food, we drank too much. KC ended up waking up at the other side of the boarder by himself. I woke up [alone] on the streets, we got separated and he ended having to kind of hitchhike back across the boarder.”

What was worst according to the two was that they never got their car back, with KC joking that the car was probably used to smuggle in drugs to the US.

The experience, though, is just one of many midadventures that became the inspiration behind their show, which takes them across Asia.

Asked if there were any cultural myths they debunked during the making, both said that having lived in the region for a long time opened their eyes to things they don’t know about.

“It’s funny because this is our first show together. We’re also producing the show and when we were traveling other countries, we were a bit worried. We’re not just there as hosts, we’re not just there as people on vacation, we’re there to shoot a show for Discovery. So we’re also were thinking, ‘Gosh, I wanna represent. I don’t want Discovery to get mad at us and get [ourselves] into trouble. Still we want to do these crazy things in this county without hurting anyone… it was kind of difficult, it was [challenging],” Troy said.

KC added: “We’ve lived in Asia pretty much most of our lives already, so we don’t have any of the stereotypical [ideas] like maybe if we lived in the States or [the] Western hemisphere in terms of myths and things like that.

“[Except] maybe when we went to Siquijor, because there is mythical nostalgia type of folklore happening down there. We went down there to find out if it’s true or false.”

 Both consider the trip to Siquijor as memorable trip because it was their first timeto the province and were surprised by the number of foreign tourists – a lot of French and German tourists, especially – going there. KC shared that locals would even sell gas in coke bottles for the tourists’ scooters. 

“You’d be amazed,” KC said of the foreigners they met in the tiny island. “Like you go to Boracay, you expect to see foreigners. You got to Palawan, you go to Siargao, you’re likely to see foreigners. But Siquijor… Well…”

“It’s beautiful there, but how did it attract so many foreigners? So we went there to check it out. We had no clue that it would be part of our storyline when we got there,” Troy said.

Back on TV

Worst Vacation Ever also sees Troy back on TV after appearing on ABS-CBN’s A Love To Last. Asked what it feels like to be on television again after taking a step back to concentrate on family and his businesses, he said, “We wanted to produce something together. To be honest, we wanted to produce something and we said that might as well do something [starring] us as well. So [while] I was not really aiming to do a TV show myself, it turns out that this is [what Discovery] wanted and liked so much… so we had to put our money where our mouth is now and do it. I’m excited for it and happy to be part of it.”

KC, who is known for his hosting stint with MTV, considers this one of the biggest projects he’s undertaken and at the same time it’s a chance to be with his brother.

“The main difference is I’m with him (Troy). The whole effort of putting our heads together, coming up with a show, then finding someone to say yes and giving you money to [make it happen], to you [actually doing] it and it’s airing…that’s crazy. I mean, I never thought that would happen.”

Even with the after the project was greenlit, both admitted that they were still pinching themselves in disbelief. They have currently shot about 5 or 6 episodes of the show, and the excitment has been palpable, with some of their friends messaging the brothers that they were looking forward to see their (mis)adventures even before the actual premiere.

“Actually our director was there [in Thailand] and he said people were clapping when they saw the commercial. And these were all foreigners who just arrived in Bangkok. And I think other foreigners –[who may not necessarily come from the States but are familiar with our country and the rest of South East Asia] –  if they watch it, I think a lot of them will actually want to do some of the things we do,” KC said.

“Though they’re supposed to be someone’s bad vacation, they’re not always bad for everyone. It was bad for someone, but [for the most part], when we go there, it’s not really that bad for us.”

“I think what happens is 80 percent of the time, the bad things that happened or the things that we do, we turn it into a fun experience in the end,” Troy said..

The two will try to recreate the bad experiences they’ve researched online on the show. As the episodes are unscripted, Troy said that viewers should expect a lot of unforgettable moments.

“You can see the ways we brothers can have fun with each other,” KC said. “There’s some sibling rivalry going on – there’s little competitions and consequences – it’s our job sometimes to make our vacations the worst vacation for each other.”

Worst Vacations Ever airs every Monday on Discovery. – Rappler.com