Who has gone traveling and made met really amazing people?

Good job, KiwiChic

What happened to Wilso when challenged on that. And he had the "I do know" in large letters.

Looks like he makes stuff up. He had in this case.

Its that saying the squeaky wheel - perhaps if we (as in society in general) stopped rewarding these squeaky wheels then maybe they would shut up.

In all my travels in Europe, the Americas and Asia I have found that it's the
way YOU approach people, you'll either meet nice ones or the morons.
It really is all about YOU and YOUR mindset. In essence, it's up to the individual to experience good or bad travels/vacation, so don't blame the
people around you, or an entire nation for that matter.

Now having said that, the Krauts can be pretty obnoxious while traveling....

I'm a people watcher. Everywhere I go I observe people, the characteristics yada yada yada.
Americans are a loud, boisterous people unlike, say... the Thai. At times, like in airports or in a quiet restaurant, it can be annoying but at other times, it's those same traits that make them the life of the party. And in other countries, like India, obnoxious behavior is completely normal.

I've found that for the most part the people, who can afford to travel, are generally go-getters not the shy retiring kind.

I'm glad you sought relief from censure by utilising the neat phrase "for the most part". I can afford to spend the rest of my life travelling and I would do if it wasn't such a horrible, humiliating, wasteful and exhausting activity. I don't know how people can spare the time for it let alone the money. It's nosey-parkering in its roots.

I'm a people watcher too. I watch their tics rather than the obvious stuff. Or outward signs of self indulgence.

Tugging short skirts down continuously for example. Looking around a lot. Finding reasons to go from one end of the pub to the other every five minutes to make sure nobody has missed the daringly decolled titties. We don't wait for nature to bring the mating season around.

Hmm.
I would have previously probably said the same thing to someone posting what I post before I went.
I honestly made the best out of the situation that I could.

Queenie,
what you really ought to do is travel with a friend and explore country by
country. This way you'll meet different kind of people and more age
appropriate. When you meet locals your age they'll show you probably
a different side to their country that you otherwise won't see as a tourist.

I remember when I was your age and I went to Italy with a girlfriend - we
simply had a blast and made great friends there.

If you travel alone, you could opt for a language course in Spain or Italy for
several weeks. It's equally fun and rewarding.

Are you serious Cal? Learning Spanish and Italian is hardly fun and I can't see it being rewarding after only "several" weeks of it.

Don't be silly, spendius, the language is secondary, foremost she is with
people her age, and gets to know another country, its people and a bit of
the language. Usually, these language courses abroad are only for a few
hours a day, the rest of the time you explore the surroundings - it is fun!

You do know what fun is, don't you, spendius?

Gosh, you're taking an awful lot forgranted.

I'd say, if you choose to spendius your life in a pub, nosey-parkering the locals, that's your prerogative.... The peacock behavior can be found by anyone, anywhere, this is why people travel. To escape the everyday mundane and enjoy the unusual or the unique aspects this world offers..
C'est la vie.

What can I say Andy: us California assimilated Krauts are just so utterly
optimistic!

All the people on the bus that took me from country to country were my own age, and most of the people in the hostels were too. They just didn't appear very switched on or bothered about what they were seeing, so I couldn't really talk to them about much.
But yes, I did only do a whistle stop tour to have seen a lot and gauge whereabouts I might like to go back to.


Hmm. I might do a language course in Germany if they have the same options. I was shocked at the amount of German I remembered. I used to be able to get by, but not any more.

And yes spendius I know you need to absorb a culture for years or more to gain a comprehensive insight, but I am a girl of limited means.

Oh, this is funny. Although I'm sorry it wasn't enjoyable. I think you might have some success if you orient a vacation around something you're really interested in...you know what I'm saying?

Shacking up with a good looking 35 year old nymphomaniac who owns a nice pub out in the sticks. I once backed all six winners at York races. Arguing with a bunch of uppity feminists about whether equal pay inhibits girls from expressing their true nature. Provoking feminists generally and henpecked husbands. Festering in bed. Playing fantasy football on rjb's thread. Arguing. Playing snooker. Watching Test Matches on the sofa. A2K is pretty good fun.

It was good fun yesterday watching President Obama raising cheers from auto workers about how hard they were going to work and what wonderful folks they all are. If I had a weak bladder I'm sure I would have wet my pants. (The Pants Game was good fun). I like Congressional debates. A big football match with cash on the Performance Index is oohing and aahing fun. And I love to see two five year old girls I know running rings around their parents. I could go on all day about fun.

When I'm having fun I'm not really aware of it.



I'll take your word for it Cal.

It is not nosey parkering. It is neighbourly. A chap in the pub mows my lawns for two pints. Last week I was given 10lbs of damsons and about the same of baking apples. There's chutney on the way when it has matured. I got the details of a "boob job" not long ago. I know where I can borrow foot pumps, ladders, battery chargers and other tools. I get to dance with the younger end of the ladies of a certain age on Sat night.

And I only go for the last hour and drink 2 pints of 3.8% which is not enough to get a baby drunk.

I like "everyday mundane". I don't care for the unusual or the unique. Dylan has a song--"I'll Have the Usual".

One might do a great deal with limited means Queenie.

After saying I'd be quiet I'll add some more comments. Earlier in life I tended to travel with one or two girlfriends (which brings up, there were times people would ask us if we were lesbians and look for proof we weren't.. ha ha). I traveled with a boyfriend several times, and later my husband many times. But - by the time I got to my thirties I sometimes travelled alone to go to conferences or see one friend, and enjoyed adding some days onto that visit to do my own wandering around. I don't think it even took getting used to, as I was already used to navigating around big cities and dining alone in a place that seemed full of couples or groups (actually, depending on where you are, a lot of people dine alone). I ended up really appreciating the restfulness of not having to deal with the decision making that goes on with two or more people and walking just where I wanted to, seeing such and such a place as I wanted to. By the time I was way older and spent a lot of time in Italy alone, I thrived on it - the efficiency of it, the choices. Lonely? I wasn't. I met enough italians for conversations to keep myself out of despond, and besides, I was too tired at the end of the day to be lonely.
I also like it when two people can do this sort of travel together, freer than being a constant matched pair of "tourists".

My experience with tour groups is very limited - one day long bus tour to Chichicastenango, a one day wildflower tour from hell in California, my girl scout group going to Washington, DC for a few days when I was thirteen, a group going through the Filoli gardens where the leader kept urging me to hurry and keep up, a group going through an italian pinacoteca with the leader wanting us all together (from that I learned to call ahead and get permesso for a private tour), a day tour with flight to Tikal - that one was fabulous. I'm happier mapping my own trip, or at least being partners in working out the details.. or partners in "let's get there and just check it out". As I age toward decrepitude, I suppose there are some interesting tours I could enjoy, archeology tours for example.. but I can't afford those anyway, or much travel alone either.

Why do I post this - well, as PQ travels more she may start to enjoy more autonomy.

Yes, when I travel, I'm never alone with my solitude...