Travel stories

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Palliata -> Travel stories (3/26/2011 2:12:44 PM)
So travel is one of my great passions, as anyone who reads my profile knows. I'm off to Belfast (again) at the end of next month if all goes to plan, so I thought in honor of that we should have a travel thread. Where have you been, where do you want to go, what interesting things have you done and seen?

needlesandpins -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 3:07:34 PM)
the best trip i have taken so far was to poole in dorset on the uk south coast a couple of years ago. i've lead a very sheltered life travel wise and had not been on holiday since i was a kid. so i decided that i was going away without my family and was going to organise everything myself. i chose poole because of a book i'm writing and i wanted to visit cern abbas and the giant. i went on the train and on the way down there it snowed as it was the beginning of march. by late afternoon though most of it had gone and the weather became rather warm for the time of year. this trip has very special meaning to me in so many ways but sitting on a hill with a man and his cock out, then stalking deer on the other side are just a few bits. [image]local://upfiles/1175178/74AE8F9CB58047EDA76ECA40A663CB6B.jpg[/image] the lay of the land is very deceptive though, it's almost vertical up the side of the giant! it's a climb and a half. needles

Arpig -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 3:15:59 PM)
Where have I been... India (3 years) [New Dehli, Mumbai, Calcutta, Agra, Nani Tal & many other places], Cambodia (2.5 years) [Pnomh Penh, Angkor. Sihanoukville, Kep, Siem Reep & many places I don't remember the names of], Japan (5 years) [Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Hiroshima, Nagasaki & innumerable other small towns], Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City (when it was still Saigon), China [ Beijing, Xian, Urumqi, Turfan], Bangkok, Penang, Singapore, Rangoon, Kuala Lumpur, Aden, Suez, Port Said, Venice, Rome, Bern, Geneva, Paris, London, Canada (30+ years) [Ottawa (30+ years), Halifax, St John, Fredericton, St. Stephen's. St,. Andrew's, St. George (6 months), Quebec City (1 year), Montreal, Toronto, Sudbury, Banff, Jaspar, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria (8 months) & innumerable places in between these], U.S [Chicago, San Francisco, Reno, NYC, Honolulu, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Springfield (Mass), Gorham (NH), Bangor (& northern Maine)]. That's about it off the top of my head. Where would I like to go? Australia, Malta, Gibraltar, San Marino, St. Petersburg, Petra, Cairo, Istanbul, Budapest, Berlin, Munich...and on...and on...and on... What interesting things have I seen and done? Climbed Mt Fuji in a typhoon and watched the sunrise from the top the next morning, drove through the Rockies, walked on a glacier, walked the Great Wall, visited a city sacked by Ghengis Khan, drove through the Gobi Dessert, sailed through the Suez Canal, the Embarcadero, the Colesium & the Forum, been up the Eifel Tower (and Tokyo Tower as well), seen the Great Buddha of Kamakura, captured stone fish & sting rays with a bucket and my bare feet, ridden on an elephant and a camel, swum in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Had a 4' monitor lizard in the kitchen, had cobras in our bathroom and front yard, seen the mongoose man called to get rid of said cobras, Holi, the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort, the Forbidden City, the famous clay soldiers (and yes, every single one is unique), visited the spa where Chiang Kai Shek was held prisoner by Chou En Lai, been to the top of The Peak, seen both Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, seen Venetian crystal being blown the traditional way, seen a white tiger, took a train through an ice tunnel in Switzerland, took an old fashioned steam train from Calcutta to Delhi, horse riding in the Himalayas, seen Les Invalides, swam at Waikiki Beach (and failed to pick up a girl), lived in a log cabin built by my grandfather in 1918 (spent my honeymoon there), stood at ground zero for the 1st atomic bomb, toured a British helicopter carrier, a Canadian destroyer and a Japanese submarine, touched one of the 18" shells from the Yamato, seen the original 3 monkeys & sleeping cat at Neko, shook scorpions out of my shoes every morning, climbed the cliffs at Quebec City, played on the ice floes in the St. Laurence, raised a family (always interesting), swum in the Mekong, watched flights of B-52s fly overhead on the way to and from bombing Hanoi, burned leeches of my legs with a match, been to the Lake of Heaven, flown in a DC-3, lived through a black out & air raids, took a cruise ship from Mumbai to Venice, seen the northern lights, skied in the Japanese Alps, met the present Emperor of Japan when he was the Crown Prince, met Pierre Trudeau, ridden in a cyclo-taxi during the monsoon, bicycled 10 miles through Tokyo to watch the sun rise over Tokyo Bay on New Years day, danced with an unknown girl to the music of a street minstrel til the sheer beauty of it reduced us both to tears, made love on the roof of a 40 story building, on a rocky outcrop 1/2 mile from shore, and in a snowbank, seen a gibbon braid a woman's hair, watched the sun go down over Mt Fuji every evening from our cottage, had a pet monkey, seen the Musical Ride, skated on the Rideau Canal, fed the feral cats on Parliament Hill, slept in the same room as a foot-and-a-half long gecko, petted a cheetah, debeaked free range turkeys, been chased by jackals... and whole lot more I can't think of off the top of my head.

sunshinemiss -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 3:46:07 PM)
There are many ways in which my life is imperfect, incomplete. This, however, travel... ahhh I spend my time, money and energy on this. I've been to a few places in So. America, Europe and Asia. I've traveled the USA quite extensively. I've found out how small the world can be - I've run into people from one place in a completely different place. I've also learned how alike everyone is - we all want to love and be loved, have work we are proud of, be visible and acknowledged. (at least the greater majority of people do) I've fulfilled a number of dreams in my life - seen the Appian Way, been inside the Coliseum and the Sistine Chapel. I've gazed upon the Mona Lisa, Primavera, David, the Duomo. I've an affinity for Italy because of the incredible art, and I love the Renaissance. (Must be a past life regression thing in there). I've been loved by men from all over the world, I have friends in every time zone, and I love that I can go anywhere and meet good people and share a family evening with them - dinner, wine, helping in their garden, attending their weddings and christenings, feeding the animals with them. More than once I've been to events where I was the only gringo, waygook, foreigner. I've been accepted into these people's lives. What a blessing. I've eaten guinea pig, dog soup, pigeon, silkworm larvae, snails, raw fish (in sushi and ceviche), rhubarb pie, freshly killed turkey and deer. I've learned to cook in the kitchens of people whose language I couldn't speak and have recipes tucked away in my scrapbooks that were given to me by little old ladies with gnarled fingers and from four star chefs in their own hands. I've sat down to dinner with a bottle of wine, some friends and the chef and sung old Irish ditties with them. Yes, I've sung for my supper. I've hiked on several continents and have the arthritis to prove it from the broken bones that occured when I fell and hurt myself. I've snorkeled in Hawaii and ridden in a tiny airplane above the desert and saw the Nazca lines. I walked on an island that had been woven from sea reeds - it was nothing but a large floating raft. I've sat at the edge of a cliff with birds flying by so close I could reach out and touch them. I've stood in awe at the art work of Michelangelo, Fiorentino, Chagall, Rothko, Rodin, Matisse, O'Keefe, Kahlo, Monet, and the street grafitti artists in New York and Paris. I've seen the ancient grafitti in Rome. I've seen textiles in folk museums all over the world. The beauty makes me cry. I want to go to a lot of places in Asia. I want to go to Morroco, Egypt, Nmibia. I want to see cave paintings in France and Stonehenge in England. I'd like to see the running of the bulls in Spain. And even though I don't believe in animal cruelty, I do want to see a bull fight. (It's weird, but it's true. Don't know if I'll ever have the moxey to pull it off, though). I want to see the Northern (or Southern) lights. I want to see the Grand Canyon, but I don't want to see it alone. It seems like the kind of place where you need someone to stand with you and be in awe of the beauty. (Same for Angor Wat in Cambodia). I'd like to walk on the Great Wall of China and here a bagpipe player in the mists of Scotland. I want to ride my bicycle across a country. I'd like to sit in a chair, with a beer at my side and listen to an old man tell a yarn that makes me laugh until I cry. I want to fall asleep in the arms of someone I love and have chosen to walk the path with. I live my life. I am awake. best, sunshine

needlesandpins -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 3:54:38 PM)
yeah i'm just going to sitover here in a corner with my tiny little story [>:] you know i'm really not sure whether i envy you guys or not. i chose horses instead of travel which i don't regret, but i wish i'd had the cash for both. needles

sunshinemiss -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 4:02:05 PM)
Needles, Please don't do that. I love to hear stories. Your "small" story is no different than mine. I happen to have a few more of them than most people. Please share your story... especially if it involves horses. [:)] What folks don't realize is that people who travel a lot are often seen as "different" and that can be really separating. I don't want to be separated from people. On the other hand, I don't want to pretend my stories aren't valid. Please share your story. It's just as valid as anyone else's. And that's what connects people - shared interests and experiences. sunshine

Jennislut -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 4:59:39 PM)
ive been to - - -<looks up at the earlier posts> - - - never mind :(

Palliata -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:13:26 PM)
Yeah, so those are damn tough acts to follow. Hopefully those with slightly less extensive resumes will still participate though - travel, after all, is not a competition, never about having been more places or seen more things than those around you, and as I'm quite certain both sunshine and Arpig will agree having a single transcendent experience abroad is more than enough to be worth telling. So, in that spirit, my humble achievements. To date I've been to Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, and as a child Canada and the East Indies. The place I'd most like to visit is probably Budapest or perhaps Istambul, but honestly given the chance and the resources I would see every square inch of every country on the planet before I stopped. Anyway, the place which was the most interesting to talk about, though perhaps not the most interesting to visit by some strange aberration of logic, has to be Naples (which I still have trouble using the English word for despite not actually speaking Italian beyond "please give me food I'm so hungry and American"). Having just come from Rome, where everything is polished until it gleams, Naples is a shock - the place looks like it was the victim of a recent bombing. The buildings are all quite old and historical, but unlike the capital they have not been kept up. Even the famed museum looks like it is slightly less sturdy than would be required of an American warehouse. Yet there is a beauty to the place which is hard to explain. Perhaps it's just because I have a love of ruins and unkept places - I once saw graffiti in Prague which read "What if we don't WANT a cleaner city" and knew I'd finally found home - but it was amazingly inspiring simply because no one had bothered to force themselves on it. It was neither modernized nor maintained, and simply allowed to evolve or devolve according to the whims of physics. It was architectural art, but not the regimented things you think of - it was art in flux, like a play. No two visits, no two DAYS, could be the same.

sunshinemiss -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:20:50 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Palliata having a single transcendent experience abroad is more than enough to be worth telling. Quoted for truth. Although, I would change that to a single trancendent experience anywhere. One of the most amazing experiences I've ever had was in my little hometown in Nowhere, Ohio. But that is not what this thread is about... You know, when people on the boards talk about their extensive experiences in other areas, I don't choose to keep silent about my one experience. It is as valid as everyone else's gobs o' experience. It seems that travel is one of those areas where people turn all US vs. THEM. I hate that. It's the absolute opposite of what travel does - travel brings people together.

Hillwilliam -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:24:48 PM)
Coolest trip ever. Floating a river in Western Alaska for 11 days with some friends and eating salmon at least 2 meals a day. They forgot the tents when loading the airplane but we had one of those big blue tarps and did just fine.

GreedyTop -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:26:03 PM)
I want to go EVERYWHERE!! I've BEEN to: 48 US states (not Hawaii or Alaska) Almost every province in Canada. Rotterdam/Amsterdam/Maastricht Netherlands Paris London, B'Ham/Manchester area of England Luxembourg Been THROUGH Belgium (as a drive by)

sunshinemiss -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:28:59 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam Coolest trip ever. Floating a river in Western Alaska for 11 days with some friends and eating salmon at least 2 meals a day. They forgot the tents when loading the airplane but we had one of those big blue tarps and did just fine. That sounds amazing!

sunshinemiss -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:30:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: GreedyTop I want to go EVERYWHERE!! Wanna meet me at the Grand Canyon? The Great Wall? Angor Wat? *smooch

GreedyTop -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:36:05 PM)
name it!

maybemaybenot -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 6:59:03 PM)
I've traveled most of the contental US, Scotland, England, most of the Canadian provinces, Mexico, Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico. My 2 favorite places to travel are: British Columbia - kayaking the lakes and the Columbia River, hiking the mountains, 4 wheeling up the side of a mountain, camping and just plain enjoying the beauty of it. I prefer the Kootenays and the Okanagon to VanCouver. Some of the most peaceful days of my life were spent in a kayak on Watchan Lake and the Arrow Lakes, just drifting slowly watching the Bald Eagles, Osprey and wild mountain goats Mexico-Yucatan Peninsula- Snorkeling the reef, mountain diving, jumping off a tree into the frigid waters of a cenote, exploring the underwater caverns, kayaking, sailing. I found a very cool little place to snorkel where there are tons of sting rays and the sea turtles come in to mate. Amazing site if you catch it at just the right time. Trekking thru the jungle, watching and listening to the Hollar Monkeys and all the other critters, but I do love the Hollar Monkeys. A peaceful afternoon on Tulum Beach under " my tree ". It's a huge < thickness > palm tree that is breathtaing, very short for a palm and grows wildly. I travel a few times a year, but one of my trips is always to one of the above places. mbmbn

GreedyTop -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 7:01:35 PM)
ooh.. I forgot.. I went to Mexico too. been to Tijuana and La Paz (sailing frm La Paz.. AWESOME!!)

peachgirl -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 7:08:26 PM)
Adventureland, Tomorrow-morrow land, Fantasyland and New Orleans Square. Oh yeah, and England, France, Italy, Germany, Iran, Lebanon, Mexico, Puerto Rico, several of the Caribbean Islands and also working on the 50 states. By far the most magical place has been Florence with a close second of arriving in Venice in the middle of a rainstorm. I look forward to exploring my favorite travel spots with my kids. To me, showing another person the beauty and wonder of another culture, another world is exponentially better than doing it alone.

Palliata -> RE: Travel stories (3/26/2011 11:52:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: sunshinemiss quote: ORIGINAL: Palliata having a single transcendent experience abroad is more than enough to be worth telling. Quoted for truth. Although, I would change that to a single trancendent experience anywhere. One of the most amazing experiences I've ever had was in my little hometown in Nowhere, Ohio. But that is not what this thread is about... You know, when people on the boards talk about their extensive experiences in other areas, I don't choose to keep silent about my one experience. It is as valid as everyone else's gobs o' experience. It seems that travel is one of those areas where people turn all US vs. THEM. I hate that. It's the absolute opposite of what travel does - travel brings people together. True on all counts. And the worst of it is that the (slightly inexplicable) competitiveness that develops leads a lot of people to spend 1-day sojourns in places simply because they want to up the Places I've Been count slightly. I spent a full month in Ireland, a full month in Italy, and 5 months in Czech Republic and I could back to any of those places and find more to learn and experience without even having to search. I can't imagine going places and wanting to leave after a couple days.

myotherself -> RE: Travel stories (3/27/2011 4:21:43 AM)
I've been to: Germany (both sides before the wall came down, and a tearful visit after the wall came down) France (got chatted up by the most convincing MtoF crossdresser EVAH!) Belgium (ate roast swan...not my fave) Switzerland (met Steve Jobs and Stephen Hawking - on the same day!) Denmark (beer) Sweden (more beer) Norway (yup...you guessed...beer) Finland (went to a nightclub with a tractor in it) Monaco (met Prince Albert, widower of the late Grace Kelly) Italy (including Vatican City) Spain (found out that male flamenco dancers should ALWAYS wear underpants if their trousers might rip...blush) Portugal (fell in love...briefly) Greece (beer) Turkey (acquired a stalker by the name of Hitler...for real!) Went to the US many times - mostly big cities (NY, NJ, Boston, Washington, San Jose, Disneyworld [:'(] ) I want to go to China to do tai chi in the streets with the locals...and to Canada to fall in love with wide open spaces again [:D]

KMsAngel -> RE: Travel stories (3/27/2011 4:32:02 AM)
more of y'all need to come down here. and DON'T tell me it's not worth coming to, like it's the size of texas. it's the size of the whole of the freaking continental US! (i'm still a bit tetchy from my parents saying that)[:D]

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