NationStates Jolt Archive

who likes to travel? where you been? any hints, tips or advice for your fellow travellers?

i ask in part because i am hoping to go travelling round parts of continental Europe this summer with a friend, probably travelling by rail (http://www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail/index.htm) and staying in Youth Hostels (http://www.hihostels.com/openHome.do). its kinda a cheaper, shorter, late GAP year :)

i love to travel and see different parts of the world and have been to New York twice, California twice (the second time we hired a car and drove from LA to Sacramento), and (to cut a long list short) continental Europe many times. whenever we go on holiday as a family we don't do the whole 'resort' thing, we usually just fly there, hire a car and go see what we can find for ourselves. but that's the problem, while i enjoy travelling and experiencing new & exciting places (i honestly think travel its one of the best things in the world :) ), i have only ever been with my family, so this will be my first time travelling alone as it were.

so, advice, hints, tips? :)

Cruises are pretty cool. I went to Jamaica, Haiti and Mexico once. Thats the only place I've been outside the US(although Holland is top on my list of places to go*sigh*). I live in the Southeast USA....Georgia to be exact in a little town called Rome. We're driving cross country to Oregon this year and I will be visiting Cananada after we get there.
I want to go to Europe. It seems like the world has so many beautiful places to see. I hope I get to take advantage of as many places as possible in my lifetime. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I haven't got too many opportunities to travel. I've been to the states and Italy, and that's it.

I would actualyl suggest getting one of those pouches that go under your clothes for your wallet, especially if you're taking public transportation. That seems to be where they get people.

And yes, it probably sounds horribly stereotypical and whatnot, but watch out for the gypsies.

When I went to italy, I got my pocket picked on a bus by a gypsy and this other girl in a group who went to France lost her wallet to a gypsy on a train. It seems they're a bit of a problem to me.

Whoo. My job and life is pretty much traveling, except lately. If I even attempted to list them it would take half an Epage.

what you do is you put your money in your front pocket or in your shoe(if you can handle walking on it). That Includes credit Cards, but my segustion is use cash that you have changed to local currency.

In the States:
California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Hawaii and Virginia

Outside the States:
Mexico, (southern)Germany, (northern)Italy, (northern)France, Switzerland and Luxembourg

As far as tips are concerned. Live and learn on your own damnit. Travelling is in essence a personal experience and you are best served by following your own impulses. Researching your destination so as to give some context to your impulses is always a virtue.

In Canada, there are a lot of interesting places, the Rockies is my fav place right now. If you're into French, the province of Quebec is wonderful, especially Tadoussac. There's a youth hostel and the people are most welcoming. Whale watching isn't bad either.

Haiti was an adventure, but then again, I went in 1989 and the socio-political situation was a bit different.

The first and last time I went to Europe I was touring with a group and only went to France and Switzerland (near the French Alps). Besançon was really beautiful and friendly.

yeah money and safety are major issues. thankfully no problems in my previous travels, but thats cos we've always driven everywhere...
gonna have to be careful this summer...

oh and btw, this is the first plan for our journey i just made. we'll probably get rid of half the destinations on there (i'm being over-ambitious i know), but its a start. plus, we might not do this whole travelling thing at all (haven't suggested it to my mate yet), but my heart is set on it :)

http://www.hlj.me.uk/image_map.gif
thats a 13,000+ mile round trip! :eek: :D

#s 1 and 34 are Dover, and #s 5 and 33 are Amsterdam (will probably want to chill out a little when we're on our way home ;) )


and just for Peech... some of the beautiful places i hope to visit (i'll take plenty of pics :) )

Dover:
http://www.cheryllavender.com/Dover%20Sailing.jpg

Paris:
http://www.aetoma.com/paris/lg_x20011110-15h52m10s-P.jpg

Strasbourg:
http://www.cyberelk.net/sue/gallery/albums/Strasbourg/aaa.jpg

Brussels:
http://diden.net/photos/2003/brussels/small/03_grand_place.jpg
hehe i was right there looking at the building last week :D

Amsterdam:
http://www.guideforeurope.com/amsterdam.jpg
was there in the city last week too!

Kiel:
http://www.kiel-canal.de/bilder/layout/port-of-kiel.jpg




... and the rest... this is taking ages! lol

http://www.hlj.me.uk/image_map.gif
thats a 13,000+ mile round trip! :eek: :D

#s 1 and 34 are Dover, and #s 5 and 33 are Amsterdam (will probably want to chill out a little when we're on our way home ;) )


and just for Peech... some of the beautiful places i hope to visit (i'll take plenty of pics :) )

Dover:
http://www.cheryllavender.com/Dover%20Sailing.jpg

Paris:
http://www.aetoma.com/paris/lg_x20011110-15h52m10s-P.jpg

Strasbourg:
http://www.cyberelk.net/sue/gallery/albums/Strasbourg/aaa.jpg

Brussels:
http://diden.net/photos/2003/brussels/small/03_grand_place.jpg
hehe i was right there looking at the building last week :D

Amsterdam:
http://www.guideforeurope.com/amsterdam.jpg
was there in the city last week too!

Kiel:
http://www.kiel-canal.de/bilder/layout/port-of-kiel.jpg




... and the rest... this is taking ages! lol

:eek: :fluffle: :eek: :fluffle:
HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!! I have GOT to get to traveling! I'm gonna switch up my credit card companies so I can earn travel points or something!! PM thank you darlin'.....you send me pics wherever you go and I'll do the same!

I've got one piece of advice - if you are forced to seek shelter in somebackwards village on a windswept moor, where the locals seem to eye you up as a hot dinner/plaything....

...don't go to sleep. And find a gun. Preferrably a shotgun.

I've got one piece of advice - if you are forced to seek shelter in somebackwards village on a windswept moor, where the locals seem to eye you up as a hot dinner/plaything....

...don't go to sleep. And find a gun. Preferrably a shotgun.
Just another night in Longton for you isn't it :p

HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!! I have GOT to get to traveling! I'm gonna switch up my credit card companies so I can earn travel points or something!! PM thank you darlin'.....you send me pics wherever you go and I'll do the same!
:fluffle: :) well i'm sure i'll post some of the best pics on here for a start... you do the same :) and make sure you do go travelling - its the best thing in the world and it not only broadens one's experiences but opens the mind too :)

i'll start - here's one of the favourite pics i've ever taken while travelling (its from the USA but thats travel for me :D )

http://www.hlj.me.uk/graphics/P2104229.jpg

http://www.hlj.me.uk/graphics/P2104220.jpg
both taken on the San Francisco bay tour. second one is just a bonus nice pic :cool:

Brussels:
http://diden.net/photos/2003/brussels/small/03_grand_place.jpg
hehe i was right there looking at the building last week :D
Hey, I live in a bourdering town... then again it isn't so impressive, is it. :rolleyes:

Anyway a tip:
Never except Heineken offered by strangers, family or friends!

Wait, you were in Belgium?

I forgot I have this picture. Although I've never been to Arizona, a friend of mine has and he took this picture while he was out there. I thought it was so beautiful, I had him have one blown up for me, and now it is displayed on my wall in a frame as a piece of art.

Arizona Sunset (http://img201.exs.cx/img201/1904/sunset8zb.jpg)


EDIT: The image on the comp just doesnt do it justice.

Cruises are pretty cool. I went to Jamaica, Haiti and Mexico once. Thats the only place I've been outside the US(although Holland is top on my list of places to go*sigh*). I live in the Southeast USA....Georgia to be exact in a little town called Rome.

You live in Rome? How lucky! You have minor league baseball, don't you?

You live in Rome? How lucky! You have minor league baseball, don't you?


Indeed! I'm going to opening day next week! They built a really nice new stadium here and moved the Macon Braves here to Rome. Not much to do in this small town so its going over pretty well. Where are you?

who likes to travel? where you been? any hints, tips or advice for your fellow travellers?

I have a great job that takes me to all sorts of foreign destinations. In the last year, I've seen the Sikh Golden Temple, the Taj Mahal, Dozens of places in Delhi, the Wailing Wall, Mount Carmel, the Dead Sea, the Jordan river, Haifa, Jaffa, the site of the first atomic explosion, Prudhoe Bay... It just goes on and on.

Best advice I can give anyone is to never turn down a side trip. What I mean is that if your main purpose is to change planes in Paris, but you can squeeze in enough of a layover to see some sights, do it. I made a day's delay and saw quite a bit of Paris that way. There's always time to sleep on the plane.

Indeed! I'm going to opening day next week! They built a really nice new stadium here and moved the Macon Braves here to Rome. Not much to do in this small town so its going over pretty well. Where are you?
Other side of Atlanta, in Lawrenceville. We don't have minor league ball. I think Macon or Greenville is closest. I've been known to watch high school games on occasion, though.

I forgot I have this picture. Although I've never been to Arizona, a friend of mine has and he took this picture while he was out there. I thought it was so beautiful, I had him have one blown up for me, and now it is displayed on my wall in a frame as a piece of art.

Arizona Sunset (http://img201.exs.cx/img201/1904/sunset8zb.jpg)


EDIT: The image on the comp just doesnt do it justice.
oooh now even on my pc screen that's a picture :eek: i wouldn't mind a framed version of that either! i love sunset pics... i dunno why but i just have a thing for them :)

Hey, I live in a bourdering town... then again it isn't so impressive, is it. :rolleyes:

Anyway a tip:
Never except Heineken offered by strangers, family or friends!

Wait, you were in Belgium?
yep, went with parents from Southampton here in the UK to Calais, Amsterdam, Osnabruck and then to Brussels. very nice place with great architecture (that square is magnificent) but the traffic there is the worst i've ever seen! :p


I have a great job that takes me to all sorts of foreign destinations. In the last year, I've seen the Sikh Golden Temple, the Taj Mahal, Dozens of places in Delhi, the Wailing Wall, Mount Carmel, the Dead Sea, the Jordan river, Haifa, Jaffa, the site of the first atomic explosion, Prudhoe Bay... It just goes on and on.

Best advice I can give anyone is to never turn down a side trip. What I mean is that if your main purpose is to change planes in Paris, but you can squeeze in enough of a layover to see some sights, do it. I made a day's delay and saw quite a bit of Paris that way. There's always time to sleep on the plane.
i want your job ;)

Just another night in Longton for you isn't it :p
You...you've been to Longton before then?

You...you've been to Longton before then?

Only whilst the sun was in the sky.


(Honestly no I haven't really. )

You...you've been to Longton before then?


No- but I'm coming.

*takes the only chance she can ever say that without being banned*

Youth hostels are fantastic, If you go to london let me recommend the Astor Hyde Park Hostel on inverness terrace in Bayswater, I stayed there for two weeks for new years and the experience was completely good.

i want your job ;)
It's pretty darn fun, now that the kids are in college. We can afford an extra ticket now and then, so my wife comes with me when it's reasonable. She didn't make the Islamabad trip by mutual agreement, but Israel seemed pretty safe, so she came along.

When the kids were younger, trips like I take now were a major headache. I hated to be away from them, they hated for me to be gone...

It's pretty darn fun, now that the kids are in college. We can afford an extra ticket now and then, so my wife comes with me when it's reasonable. She didn't make the Islamabad trip by mutual agreement, but Israel seemed pretty safe, so she came along.

When the kids were younger, trips like I take now were a major headache. I hated to be away from them, they hated for me to be gone...
yeah i can imagine being away from family would be hard... :(

what is it you do anyhow?

yeah i can imagine being away from family would be hard... :(

what is it you do anyhow?
I work for a satellite telecom company. I did work in the modem division, but in the last couple years, I have started working in the antenna division. That's were the travel has started to pick up. That's good, as it means we are getting many more foreign orders.

I work for a satellite telecom company. I did work in the modem division, but in the last couple years, I have started working in the antenna division. That's were the travel has started to pick up. That's good, as it means we are getting many more foreign orders.
ooh i wasn't expecting that one, but travel picking up after kids have gone off to college... nice timing ;) :)

I've been around Asia a bit: India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
I've also travelled around South Africa (since I lived there), Swaziland and Mauritius.

I've been around Australia a fair bit, although I'd like to explore the top end.

My mum is really keen on going around the hills stations in India at the end of the year, and taking me along. I guess it will be fun. As long as I have a clena bathroom I'll be cool. ;)

My mum is really keen on going around the hills stations in India at the end of the year, and taking me along. I guess it will be fun. As long as I have a clena bathroom I'll be cool. ;)

In India? Good luck with that...

ive been to all four parts of the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Romania, the US, and Argentina

in Romania i spent two weeks volunteering in an orphanage with some people from school, and we stayed in the orphanage....which was an experience

in Argentina i spent a month doing various things...10 days hiking in the Andes (got up to 4450m, spent a night staying in a schoolyard in a wee tiny village), then a few days kayaking through a rainforesty bit, then some time resting, then some time working on reforestation of the rainforest, then we spent two days in Buenos Aires. The resting bit and Buenos Aires was spent in hostels, the rest in tents

I just spent 6mths Stateside and although most of the time I was studying in Dallas I took a holiday in California using a tour group: TrekAmerica. It was young people, fun camping..quite a bit of driving but I flew out and stayed a few nights in LA (Disney & Universal \o/ + Hollywood of course), went down to San Diego, crossed over with a couple of tourmates to Tijuana, back for SD zoo, next day -> Las Vegas couple of nights in a hotel there (dang underage...plenty of free stuff tho ;) ) -> Death Valley -> some part of the CA coast -> San Fran. Next day took a greyhound back home. 11 nights I think. Basically you don't have to spend a fortune to see a lot. And travelling in a group is safer.
I already had a bank account but travellers cheques are better. Usual safety things like not drinking Mexican water/ice, eating off stalls, watching for thieves, walking alone at night etc.

On side trips...when I was in Shanghai with my mum she decided to book a short trip, but of course had to use a Chinese Travel Agent. We ended up at a hotel designed for Chinese businessmen end the taxis took very roundabout paths to the hotel. The train ticket was also booked a day early (dumb man) 5yrs earlier when I went with both parents we ended up in a room with 2 beds, communal washing...that was supposed to have a tourist license, unlike the much better hotel nearby. (My dad's a Chinese citizen honest!) Not to mention the train to Suzhou...plastic green hard things, smoking, those portable stereo things, chickens, Chinese men leering at me...ugh. We too first class back...but it was 11yrs ago. The latter trip had nice doubledecker trains so now...
But beware taxis.

Always carry the business card of your hotel. Bumbags look dumb but can be a lifesaver...on the same note always use safes.
Watch the weapon laws, if you normally carry pepperspray or a cabuchon it could be illegal.
Don't pack your suitcases full! You'll want other things. Also check weights and prohibited item lists on the airline's website. Hard suitcases = more protection, soft = easier and more space. Luggage straps makes it easier to identify luggage.
Make copies of your passport and visas, birth certificate etc. and put them in each of your luggage. Spare photos are also good.
Think that's it...