Travelling

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

The only country I'd travel to is the United Arab Emirates because I have family living there, I will be flying out there shortly and I aim to go there once every 2 years.

Saudi Arabia I will go once in my life for religious reasons. Pakistan, probably not, I don't hate the place or anything, I think its a beautiful country with great people, but I'm not close enough to my distant family there for it to be a priority when the Emirates itself is exhausting enough.

A lot of people flying from Europe to places like China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, etc. have layovers in the UAE or Qatar.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

When I was super young, my dad took me across mainland Europe basically but since I was like 5, I don't even count it as I hardly remember anything of it.

All the places I've been to otherwise are Pakistan, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

My dad is a huge travelling buff, he travels like 2-3 times a year. He always asks me randomly when I'm travelling when we're together and it absolutely drives me nuts.

What used to be a "I'll think about it" in response to him asking me when I'm touring Europe has turned into a blunt Never. I can't even fake being interested anymore lol

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

When I was super young, my dad took me across mainland Europe basically but since I was like 5, I don't even count it as I hardly remember anything of it.

All the places I've been to otherwise are Pakistan, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

My dad is a huge travelling buff, he travels like 2-3 times a year. He always asks me randomly when I'm travelling when we're together and it absolutely drives me nuts.

What used to be a "I'll think about it" in response to him asking me when I'm touring Europe has turned into a blunt Never. I can't even fake being interested anymore lol

I'm jealous of your dad. A pity you don't like travelling because many people would love having a dad like that

[FredWolfLeonardo]

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

My grandad hated travelling too and didn't care about anything aside from his work and home life.

Maybe the boredom got to my dad who started travelling really young. But now that my dad has pushed that lifestyle on me, I've returned to what my grandpa was like.

And so the cycle continues.

[Prowler]

Btw, do you guys prefer travelling alone or with company?

I'm a very lonely man so I travel alone always. Last time I traveled with someone else was with my mother when I was a teenager. A an adult I've exclusively traveled alone.

I don't have anything to compare solo travel with anymore. And traveling with a parent when you're a kid is a whole different experience from travelling with, let's say, friends or a gf when you're an adult, I assume.

[sdp]

Even if the distance is longer, the difference in culture between California and New York or Texas is not all that different between them. Go to France and Spain and you get a very different feeling despite being so close.

[CyberCubed]

I'd probably like to travel more but a few things prevent me from bothering:

1. Too expensive. Plane ticket, the hotel, a possible rent-a-car, then food/dining...add this all together and even if you only go away for 1 week, it could very well add up to thousands of dollars.

2. I don't really get enough time off from work to bother. Going away for only 2-3 days would not be worth it.

3. The language barrier. I only speak english, traveling to foreign countries and not knowing the language is rough. And I know a lot of them speak english too, but the issue is reading signs, dining/eating, or basic interactions.


And last but not least, I am "El Cheapo," meaning I don't want to spend a lot of money on 1 week that I'll forget about in a few months. Maybe when I'm retired.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I'd probably like to travel more but a few things prevent me from bothering:

1. Too expensive. Plane ticket, the hotel, a possible rent-a-car, then food/dining...add this all together and even if you only go away for 1 week, it could very well add up to thousands of dollars.

2. I don't really get enough time off from work to bother. Going away for only 2-3 days would not be worth it.

3. The language barrier. I only speak english, traveling to foreign countries and not knowing the language is rough. And I know a lot of them speak english too, but the issue is reading signs, dining/eating, or basic interactions.


And last but not least, I am "El Cheapo," meaning I don't want to spend a lot of money on 1 week that I'll forget about in a few months. Maybe when I'm retired.

1. I do wonder now... is it more expensive for Americans to fly to Europe than vice-versa? I know the Euro and the British Pound are stronger than the US dollar, but not all countries use the Euro. Scandinavian countries, Poland and Czechia don't, for example. Neither does Russia. The Czech krone is definitely not that strong. The Polish Zloty seems fine in terms of strength.

2. I forgot about the fact you Americans get so little vacation time and that you don't even get paid vacation days. That sounds terrible.

3. I understand the anxiety but do you really think I speak Polish, Czech, Swedish, Irish, Danish or Norwegian? I could barely pronounce the basic Polish words for thank you and please when I went there. Most people will travel to countries they don't speak the native language of at all. People in the tourism sector will usually be bilingual, at least.

Anyway being European is a great advantage when it comes to travelling. Our continent is rather small and easily connected. And if your country is a EU and Schengen Agreement member, you don't even need a passport to travel to many other nations. I can just travel to Poland, Czechia, Croatia, Slovakia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium, etc. without needing a passport. I just need my national ID and they only ask to see it at the airport before I board the flight. No dealing with immigration officers in those countries.

Visas? I literally never needed one in my life. And if I ever decide to visit Japan and South Korea one day, I won't need one either. Just a passport. Portugal is one of those countries exempt from visas for places like Japan and SK. It's actually a very powerful passport. More powerful than a US one in fact: https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php