Vacation / Travel

#677
#677
ButchPlz said:
If you post yours I'll happily share, I'm sure MSME will as well!

I'd post mine but it's my name and I'd prefer not to dox myself further than I have on here in the past.
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Hi MSME, thanks guys! Met my wife online in 1999 and flew down to meet her. We married in 2001. We visit there on average once per year.

Vol fan since the 60's as a kid, not just here to talk Peru, lol. Lurked here for years.

I'm at joeltonjet@gmail.com
 
#678
#678
Ulysees E. McGill said:
Where did you go on Safari? No freakin way I would go to South Africa now.
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Kenya. It’s my second mission trip to Kenya with my church. My wife went with me this time and we spent an additional 5 days in Ireland and London to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. Believe me..... it took three years of saving money to do this. This took a lot of planning but it was well with it.

Kenya is amazing. People are amazing and absolutely safe to travel in. We were in a small 15 passenger type van with a Kenya driver but no issues and never felt unsafe at all. I’d move there if I could.....
 
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#679
#679
barknoxbrawler said:
Kenya. It’s my second mission trip to Kenya with my church. My wife went with me this time and we spent an additional 5 days in Ireland and London to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. Believe me..... it took three years of saving money to do this. This took a lot of planning but it was well with it.

Kenya is amazing. People are amazing and absolutely safe to travel in. We were in a small 15 passenger type van with a Kenya driver but no issues and never felt unsafe at all. I’d move there if I could.....
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That is really cool.
 
#680
#680
Here's another long shot of me and my dad after going down a dune out in the desert.
 

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#681
#681
FallCreekVols said:
ButchPlz, my wife is also from Peru. Would like to chat with you sometime about it all. We also intend to live there in the future. Can I post an email addy here?
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A friend of mines wife is Peruvian, beautiful woman. Just landed in Punta Cana and my butler at the resort is also Peruvian. The few I have met are really good people, we will be going there in the next year.
 
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#682
#682
Dutchman, you will enjoy Peru. If you haven't made your reservations yet, Gate 1Travel has some great tour deals to Peru, pricing that is hard to beat on your own. We signed up to receive their emails and are impressed with their flights/tours deals. A close friend has used Gate 1 several times and has always been pleased.

The three regions of the country are very different, coast, mountains, jungle. More low-cost airlines are now in Peru to that helps in-country. Best bus lines are the big carriers like Cruz del Sur or Ormeno.
 
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#683
#683
FallCreekVols said:
Dutchman, you will enjoy Peru. If you haven't made your reservations yet, Gate 1Travel has some great tour deals to Peru, pricing that is hard to beat on your own. We signed up to receive their emails and are impressed with their flights/tours deals. A close friend has used Gate 1 several times and has always been pleased.

The three regions of the country are very different, coast, mountains, jungle. More low-cost airlines are now in Peru to that helps in-country. Best bus lines are the big carriers like Cruz del Sur or Ormeno.
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This place is pretty fantastic. Next year will be a trip to the coast and the mountains.
 
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#684
#684
About to embark on a week-long bike 'n' boat tour of the Amalfi coast (Italy). We boat to a location, bike from the port to tour the coast (some serious climbs) and meet the boat at the next overnight port. Repeat. It's nice to come back to a boat for lodgings - one need not pack every morning nor check into / out of a hotel everyday.
 
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#689
#689
I find traveling to be kind of...overrated. And a lot of the time the long-distance trips seem totally unnecessary for what you want to do.

For example I have had several friends and acquaintances of mine tell me how amazing the beaches in Thailand are. I'm sure they had a great time, but every time I hear this, I admit my first thought is "...but there are great beaches in Florida and it's a 6-hour car ride away." The most beautiful beach I've ever been to is on Grand Cayman, and it is a 2 hour flight from Atlanta. Much closer, and much less expensive. Now I've never been to Thailand; perhaps those beaches are much better than those places I mentioned. I don't know. But is it that much better? It takes 2 full days to get there and back. You're exhausted and jet lagged when you arrive, and just as you start to get energy back and adjust it is time to return home, where you get exhausted and jet lagged again.

I get the impression that a big reason why people go a lot of the places they go, especially the more exotic foreign destinations, is simply so they can tell others the fact that they've been to a far away, exotic destination. It just sounds more interesting than "I went to Destin."

Flame away.
 
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#690
#690
05_never_again said:
I find traveling to be kind of...overrated. And a lot of the time the long-distance trips seem totally unnecessary for what you want to do.

For example I have had several friends and acquaintances of mine tell me how amazing the beaches in Thailand are. I'm sure they had a great time, but every time I hear this, I admit my first thought is "...but there are great beaches in Florida and it's a 6-hour car ride away." The most beautiful beach I've ever been to is on Grand Cayman, and it is a 2 hour flight from Atlanta. Much closer, and much less expensive. Now I've never been to Thailand; perhaps those beaches are much better than those places I mentioned. I don't know. But is it that much better? It takes 2 full days to get there and back. You're exhausted and jet lagged when you arrive, and just as you start to get energy back and adjust it is time to return home, where you get exhausted and jet lagged again.

I get the impression that a big reason why people go a lot of the places they go, especially the more exotic foreign destinations, is simply so they can tell others the fact that they've been to a far away, exotic destination. It just sounds more interesting than "I went to Destin."

Flame away.
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I don't disagree, depends on what a person wants. We like experiencing different cultures and really trying to mix with the locals. Thailand is a place we've talked about going. Never been a fan of FL panhandle but if all a person wants is a beach escape it will get the job done.
 
#691
#691
05_never_again said:
I find traveling to be kind of...overrated. And a lot of the time the long-distance trips seem totally unnecessary for what you want to do.

For example I have had several friends and acquaintances of mine tell me how amazing the beaches in Thailand are. I'm sure they had a great time, but every time I hear this, I admit my first thought is "...but there are great beaches in Florida and it's a 6-hour car ride away." The most beautiful beach I've ever been to is on Grand Cayman, and it is a 2 hour flight from Atlanta. Much closer, and much less expensive. Now I've never been to Thailand; perhaps those beaches are much better than those places I mentioned. I don't know. But is it that much better? It takes 2 full days to get there and back. You're exhausted and jet lagged when you arrive, and just as you start to get energy back and adjust it is time to return home, where you get exhausted and jet lagged again.

I get the impression that a big reason why people go a lot of the places they go, especially the more exotic foreign destinations, is simply so they can tell others the fact that they've been to a far away, exotic destination. It just sounds more interesting than "I went to Destin."

Flame away.
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Stay home then you unimaginative loser..I wish all casual travelers would. 😉


I love the Smokies, but they are nothing compared to the Northern Rockies to me. I love the desert southwest too. I love history and nature both. I love to travel...the farther, the better.


Oh...and St Pete-Clearwater-Sarasota down to Naples or gtfo...f stands for fudge 😁
 
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#692
#692
SaluteToTheHill said:
I don't disagree, depends on what a person wants. We like experiencing different cultures and really trying to mix with the locals. Thailand is a place we've talked about going. Never been a fan of FL panhandle but if all a person wants is a beach escape it will get the job done.
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I've never gotten "mix with the locals." I'm pretty sure every time I've met or talked to a stranger on a trip that person has also been from out of town, and that's what starts the conversation.

If you hang around the touristy areas (which I try not to, but in some cases there are touristy things you need to see at least once), you run into other tourists. If you hang around the areas that the locals frequent, they tend to not want you there because you are a tourist. I used to hold that attitude against locals who are like that, until it occurred to me one day that I'm exactly that way myself (and there's nothing wrong with it). :)

One of the the things I hate about traveling is that it is so hard, even if you are consciously and deliberately trying not to, to not look like a tourist. I can't stand looking like a tourist. There is just something different about your body language, demeanor, or how you carry yourself that instantly gives it away. And obviously if you are in a place that is mostly a different ethnicity than you are, there's absolutely nothing you can do.
 
#693
#693
05_never_again said:
I've never gotten "mix with the locals." I'm pretty sure every time I've met or talked to a stranger on a trip that person has also been from out of town, and that's what starts the conversation.

If you hang around the touristy areas (which I try not to, but in some cases there are touristy things you need to see at least once), you run into other tourists. If you hang around the areas that the locals frequent, they tend to not want you there because you are a tourist. I used to hold that attitude against locals who are like that, until it occurred to me one day that I'm exactly that way myself (and there's nothing wrong with it). :)
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I have traveled more than most and I have never witnessed this. My experience has been just the opposite. If you're not acting like an *******, the locals want to talk to somebody new and different. But that's just me.
 
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#694
#694
Danl said:
I have traveled more than most and I have never witnessed this. My experience has been just the opposite. If you're not acting like an *******, the locals want to talk to somebody new and different. But that's just me.
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I've never experienced that either except in Panama, but we had just blown the crap out of the place so there were a few disgruntled locals.
 
#695
#695
Danl said:
I have traveled more than most and I have never witnessed this. My experience has been just the opposite. If you're not acting like an *******, the locals want to talk to somebody new and different. But that's just me.
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I don't know if I've traveled more than most, but I read somewhere that the "average" person flies once or twice a year so perhaps I have. I get that general vibe all the time, but perhaps it is just me. I don't think I'm a very loud or obnoxious person. I'm going to France next month and actually cringing about that aspect of the trip.
 
#696
#696
I heard a description of flying years ago that still makes me chuckle when I think of it......"Extended boredom punctuated by periods of stark terror".
 
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#697
#697
05_never_again said:
I've never gotten "mix with the locals." I'm pretty sure every time I've met or talked to a stranger on a trip that person has also been from out of town, and that's what starts the conversation.

If you hang around the touristy areas (which I try not to, but in some cases there are touristy things you need to see at least once), you run into other tourists. If you hang around the areas that the locals frequent, they tend to not want you there because you are a tourist. I used to hold that attitude against locals who are like that, until it occurred to me one day that I'm exactly that way myself (and there's nothing wrong with it). :)

One of the the things I hate about traveling is that it is so hard, even if you are consciously and deliberately trying not to, to not look like a tourist. I can't stand looking like a tourist. There is just something different about your body language, demeanor, or how you carry yourself that instantly gives it away. And obviously if you are in a place that is mostly a different ethnicity than you are, there's absolutely nothing you can do.
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You are a tourist anytime you travel. There is no shame in it. I don't give a crap about what I look like, I just try not to be a offensive tourist
 
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#698
#698
05_never_again said:
I don't know if I've traveled more than most, but I read somewhere that the "average" person flies once or twice a year so perhaps I have. I get that general vibe all the time, but perhaps it is just me. I don't think I'm a very loud or obnoxious person. I'm going to France next month and actually cringing about that aspect of the trip.
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I would be cringing more about the French being rude a-holes.
 
#699
#699
Ulysees E. McGill said:
You are a tourist anytime you travel. There is no shame in it. I don't give a crap about what I look like, I just try not to be a offensive tourist
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You know how when someone who isn't from where you are from is talking about the place you are from, and they'll say something like "Man, I've heard XYZ was so cool" when you know for a fact that it's a ripoff, nothing special, overrated, just a tourist trap, locals would make fun of them for getting excited about wanting to go there, etc.?

I always cringe and feel uncomfortable when someone says that, because they are getting excited about something that is probably going to disappoint them, but they don't know any better.

I cringe even more when I think about the times I have likely done that to someone else. I kind of get a kick/get annoyed out of tourists driving/strolling around Chattanooga, obviously having no idea where they are going, going to the tourist traps, generally being in the way and kind of annoying, etc...but I know I've been that person myself when I go out of town and it makes me feel like an idiot.
 
#700
#700
Ulysees E. McGill said:
Stay home then you unimaginative loser..I wish all casual travelers would. 😉


I love the Smokies, but they are nothing compared to the Northern Rockies to me. I love the desert southwest too. I love history and nature both. I love to travel...the farther, the better.


Oh...and St Pete-Clearwater-Sarasota down to Naples or gtfo...f stands for fudge 😁
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See i lived in the Rockies lived in alaska lived in oregon and the smokies are better imo. So lush. As for traveling abroad the experience is great but i would go back to sanibel island before Dominican or st lucia. I do want to check out roatan soon though.
 
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