Do you consider yourself well traveled and what would you say were the most interesting countries and cultures you have visited?

[Mahseer]

11 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

:-) did it by bicycle ( ran tours) back in the 80's  

Great stuff how long did that take? Trips these days by 4x4 take 5-8 days from the border depending on side trips. I was in Nepal in 83 and considered heading north but settled on wandering the Annapurnas details of which I can still recall to this day. Amazing times.

 

Cheers

[transam]

I DROVE all over the USA, found out how different States were in many ways..Thoroughly enjoyed it...

[VocalNeal]

20 hours ago, Mario666 said:

Obviously being a Brit I will not be popular with some Argentinians if I go there,

There is almost zero animosity. Even during the conflict the expat Brits were still having a great life.  

[Odysseus123]

5 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

Well traveled?  Not really.  I have been to a handful  of countries.  Have lived and worked in 15 of the USA states.  I have been in all 48 continental states.  I been to Jamaica, Mexico, three of the Canadian provinces, Japan, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Thailand.  Thailand culture has turned out to be a bit disappointing, although it did motivate me to actually learn about Buddhism which I have come to appreciate greatly.  Frankly, some of the straightforward policies in Canada appealed to me.

 

What defines a culture?  Music?  Food?  Dance?  Dress?  Marriage and Dating concepts?  Religion? Moral concepts?  Laws and governance (giving Thailand a low mark on this feature).

 

Agreed and please add in the age old saying "One man's meat is another man's poison" so what I have enjoyed in my travels others might not.

 

Staying away from resorts infested by Westerners has been very high on my list for the past 20 years or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[phuketrichard]

24 minutes ago, Mahseer said:

Great stuff how long did that take? Trips these days by 4x4 take 5-8 days from the border depending on side trips. I was in Nepal in 83 and considered heading north but settled on wandering the Annapurnas details of which I can still recall to this day. Amazing times.

 

Cheers

1st exploratory trip , 5 days by 4 wd, ( with side trip up to Everest bc on Chinese side)  '85  1st bicycle trip non supported 28 days 85

2nd /3rd trips supported with 2 4 wd's and 4 paying customers 22 days

did Annapurna circle with side trip to bc once walking, once on mtn bike  (40% riding)

I love Nepal

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by phuketrichard

[VocalNeal]

Mario,

 

It doesn't matter if one has been to 95 or 78 countries. It is what you bring back from a spiritual point of view. 

 

You have to think why (activity) you want to go rather than where.  Walking? Sitting? Riding? Diving? Eating? Drinking? Old ruins? Close? Far?

 

South America is Ok but again why?  They have cars and beef and tango. Spanish? One of the largest of them doesn't speak Spanish! 

South Africa? they have cars, biltong, wine?  

 

Why go? That is the key. If you don't go for a reason some countries end up being like the '60's. If you can remember them you weren't there.

Edited April 23, 2018 by VocalNeal

[transam]

Two weeks cruising the Norfolk Broads is heaven....

[Odysseus123]

9 minutes ago, transam said:

Two weeks cruising the Norfolk Broads is heaven....

Geez..it was perfectly horrible when I sailed off there as it rained every day...I tell you what Trans..the Coral and Bismarck seas and sailing down the slot bound for Guadalcanal..

 

 

I will grant you this..tough,hardy bar stewards, those North Sea sailors.

 

I do realize that the broads are uncommonly beautiful.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Odysseus123

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, transam said:

Two weeks cruising the Norfolk Broads is heaven....

Quite... It often amazes me how often I 'leap-frog' over those many incredible areas closest to home and the Norfolk Broads is on my list.. (hopefully it will be out of fashion with the stag partiers).

 

That said, the most Amazing Skies - Kazakhstan and New Zealand

... the most Amazing mountains - Alps and Himalayas

... the most Amazing (and positive) Culture shock - Japan 

 

 

 

 

[transam]

5 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Geez..it was perfectly horrible when I sailed off there as it rained every day...I tell you what Trans..the Coral and Bismarck seas and sailing down the slot bound for Guadalcanal..

 

 

I will grant you this..tough,hardy bar stewards, those North Sea sailors.

 

I do realize that the broads are uncommonly beautiful.

 

 

I can tell you that the pub in the background serves an excellent carvery lunch and ale too please.....

 

 

 

[Justfine]

Shouldn't Thailand be no 1 given you are living there or visit there the most.

 

 

[honu]

I've visited a good bit of Asia and Europe and of those China and Russia stood out.  There wasn't any one thing in either country that was really amazing (beyond the subway systems in Moscow and St. Petersburg), just interesting to see what those places are like, especially as an American.

 

We visited the Arctic, to Murmansk, when visiting Russia this past New Years.  That's not as cultural as related to natural setting, covering a nice range of winter themes, which was new to me even though I lived in the mountains in Colorado.  Northern Lights are something else.  Russians can seem a little gruff initially but those two cities were amazing for lots of reasons.  Seeing ballet in St. Petersburg was nice, as typical culture themes go, but I liked a space museum in Moscow more related to my own interests, and my kids preferred a circus.

 

Awhile back I visited East Berlin just after the Cold War ended, and Prague as well then, and it made for a nice follow-up of sorts.  Chinese cities are almost disappointing for being too modern and Western influenced but Russia still has its own feel.

 

Japan stands out for having it's own style.  Rougher developing countries would be more novel in different ways but not more unique.  Thailand is nice, of course.  People are friendly here, and there's plenty of local culture to experience.

[transam]

47 minutes ago, Justfine said:

Shouldn't Thailand be no 1 given you are living there or visit there the most.

 

 

Why....?

 

I love the Norfolk Broads but I wouldn't live there...

[Odysseus123]

1 hour ago, transam said:

I can tell you that the pub in the background serves an excellent carvery lunch and ale too please.....

 

 

 

Lovely,Trans,lovely.

 

For me it is all about context,adventure and spontaneity.

 

I was once fortunate enough to fall in with a group of Zulu guys in Durban who were off to visit their families in KwaZulu.So I climbed onto the tray of the ute and we were off on an hilarious and rather hair raising two week adventure.

 

Off to the Drakensbegs,up to Colenso and Ladysmith down the Tugela to Rorke's Drift and Isandlwhana and on to the heartlands.

 

The hospitality and courtesy of the Zulu people were truly wonderful.

 

Someone mentioned skies..and the skies of that part of Africa were spectacular as well.

[Mario666]

6 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

There is almost zero animosity. Even during the conflict the expat Brits were still having a great life.  

Well life is strange....Both my grandfathers were involved in World Wars primarily against Germans in WW1 and WW2.

 

My Dad's father went to war aged 16 (in 1914)....He was at the Battle of the Somme amongst others......it is "Sketchy" because he mostly refused to talk about it?

 

My grandfather on my mother's side was involved in the second World War, but did not see "Action" until "D-Day".

 

He had been a training sergeant with the DLI (Durham Light Infantry) but sick of seeing kids he had trained get killed and having to write letters to their mothers he volunteered for the Normandy Landings aged 28.....he had many stories.....After the advance into France he ended up at Remagen bridge.

 

From his battallion only 8 survived the battle....including him.

 

He got a medal from Monty.

 

However, I do have some German friends.....when I say some...... I can count them on 3 fingers so three!

 

But they are great guys so unless I am feeling a bit nasty and or hungover or probably both,  when I am with them I mostly don't mention the Wars or even England"s victory over Germany in the World Cup 1966.

 

 

[VocalNeal]

reminds me of " I can count the number of chainsaw accidents I have had on the fingers of my right hand"

 

Have you decided why yet rather than where?

Edited April 24, 2018 by VocalNeal