A bit of news for a change

[psipsy]

Yay, my passport has arrived!

Now the big question for everyone that reads this: What countries should I visit?

And the_mind_of_gil, I know you have much wisdom to offer on this matter.

Comments

[danosan.livejournal.com]

if you're listening to lemon jelly, you should already know the answer, and that is "patagonia"

[psipsy.livejournal.com]

Making flight reservations now!

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

oooh, I vote Ireland. 'Specially the west, and of course Killeigh. The countryside is really calming.

But if you like the hustle and bustle of New York, you might like London.

Iceland looks neat, too.

Word of packing advice from one who has successfully broken not one, not two, not three, but FOUR pieces of luggage? Don't overstuff your bags. Take an extra empty one if you think you'll buy lots of souvenirs.

Bring me back a shotglass and a sticker if you go somewhere I haven't been!!

[psipsy.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, including one that was mine. But it was only a matter of time before that one broke anyway.

Ireland is duly noted.

[animedude.livejournal.com]

Go to Latveria.

[psipsy.livejournal.com]

Yes. I've heard much about it.

[animedude.livejournal.com]

They have a fantastic system of government.

[jamuko.livejournal.com]

Australia! I've always wanted to go there.

And I don't think you need anybody's assistance in order to think of Japan.

It's too bad these countries are pretty much as far from here as you can get....

[psipsy.livejournal.com]

Australia has always sounded interesting, so I think I shall add that to my list.

Japan...

[the-mind-of-gil.livejournal.com]

...is exorbitantly expensive!

Re: Japan...

[psipsy.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've heard legends about how expensive it can be.

Travel [*sighs deeply and gets misty eyed*]

[the-mind-of-gil.livejournal.com]

Well, sorry I didn't look at your LJ since you posted this one. But I assume you weren't planning on just picking up and heading for Europe or somewhere within the next week.

Of course there are three or four factors to take into consideration: distance, which is something one has to consider based on how much time one has available for traveling; culture, type of same and how exotic it is because you may not want to be adventurous and end up in a country where no one speaks a language that you know, for example; things that you like to do and see: nature? museums? places where your ancestors came from? quaint villages? mountains? beaches? and so on; and relative cost of living in target country.

I can only speak from my own limited tastes and assets. Sadly, most of Europe has become ridiculously expensive, though if you get out of Dublin and go off season, Ireland is not too high-priced. Although Costa Rica has increased in priciness, it is still, I think, affordable as a vacation destination and has a lot of varied scenery in a fairly small area: volcanoes, beaches, mountains, wildlife sanctuaries, among them, and though not everyone speaks English, all of those in the tourist industry do, along with enough other people to keep it from being a problem. I like both of those countries a lot.

Now, if you're going to really go all out, if you have some significant time, and are willing to spend some major bucks on airfare, the next thing to heaven on Earth is New Zealand. Get hold of a Lonely Planet guide to New Zealand and browse through it, and you'll want to hock or sell off all your electronic equipment or go deeply into debt to raise the money for an airline ticket to get there ASAP.

Australia is interesting geographically and scenically, but the Aussies are, for the most part, boorish, rude and negative in their attitude about almost everything. At least that was my experience, though I only got to Sidney and environs, Canberra, and a few small outlying towns like Dubbo and Lucknow.

In Asia, Thailand is splendid as long as you don't have sex with anyone of any sex or any age. India equally splendid. You can travel a lot for not a whole lot of money in either place as long as you are adventurous and don't check the cleanliness too closely in India. I've spent a few months in each of those two countries and loved the food, the strangeness, the people, and the scenery.

Places that I've spent a year or two that I would not recommend due to the danger of death right now are Angola and Afghanistan. I just thought I'd throw that in even though I didn't figure you had those on your list of possible destinations.

Finally, I personally would not hesitate to go back to Venezuela, though the unrest and the attitude of the U.S. government toward it make some people very nervous. Cesar Chavez is one of my offbeat heroes because he thumbs his nose at Washington and gets away with it...well, so far, even though they've tried to assassinate and/or depose him at least once. I love traveling in Venezuela, but you really need some Spanish to enjoy the experience.

I have friends who have traveled to Arab/Muslim countries in the past four years. I had enough unpleasant confrontations because I was an American, even before 9/11, to make me want to avoid them. Places like Egypt, Tunisia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and so on are fascinating, but I'm just not willing to put up with the aggravation or the danger.

Finally, a major point: the capital and big cities anywhere (Bangkok, Dublin, London, New Delhi, etc.) are always much more expensive for lodging, food, and attractions than the small out-of-the-way places. Not only that, they're often not as interesting as places that fewer people travel to. London is the exception to that, as far as being interesting. I do love London, but I can't afford it (or much of anywhere else at this point).

I hope you do get the travel bug and begin exploring the world big time.

Re: Travel [*sighs deeply and gets misty eyed*]

[psipsy.livejournal.com]

If all goes well, I will have a well-traveled passport before too long.

The closest I plan on getting to Afghanistan at this point in time is by looking at it on the big world map hanging on the wall at work. Global hotspots aren't very high on the list.

One of my coworkers went to New Zealand about a year or so back, loved it, and took a zillion pictures to show for it. He also got back from Germany not long ago.

Thailand: No sex with anyone of any sex or any age; check. Then again, it's that practice that keeps me out of trouble anyway?

Re: Travel [*sighs deeply and gets misty eyed*]

[the-mind-of-gil.livejournal.com]

Re: "Thailand: No sex with anyone of any sex or any age; check. Then again, it's that practice that keeps me out of trouble anyway?"
Hmmm! Must be some chromosomal thing we share.