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 |   ON THE WRITE PATH: travel journal for Around-the-World in 2015, 16, 18. |
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For there are many paths.  A tlog. A travel blog. A keeping-track of my trials, er.. travels. February 26, 2015 until ... June 18,2015. January 12, 2016 until February 15, 2016. November 13 to 30 2018 ... 2019, 2020: Taiwain. I went nowhere in 2021. 2022: Portugal, Thailand. Will include: Hawai'i, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Untied Arab Emirates, Portugal, Norway, Ireland and... (2015) ... Norway and Estonia (2016), México (2018), Taiwan, Balkans, Baltics, Turkey, Costa Rica, Nicaragua. Vi får se.  "Where I have traveled, stayed and visited. Over 181 places."     |
| Stik asks about travel... What first comes to mind when you see or hear the word travel? Movement from one place to another for any reason; destination doesn't matter. But traveler? Not the same as a destination tourist or someone with a bucket check list. A traveler is someone who is interested on the road taken and what surprises await one on the journey. i'm more of a traveler than a tourist. That said... wish I were more flexible with schedule and money. How much time and money do you think travel requires? Many who want to learn French go to Paris but would never go to Québec City or Dakar. Many who want to learn Spanish think Sevilla but shudder at Bogotá and would never cross the street to the Mexican or Dominican side of their hometown. Most here at WDC insist that the locals speak English. So... VERY EXPENSIVE for middle-class middle-age Americans who are traveling for the first time to London, Dublin, Sydney or Auckland and must stay in a 'decent' hotel or AirBnB. Not as expensive to visit English speaking enclaves in Mexico or the Americas; but, one or two weeks is a vacation or a beach holiday. Yes, it's technically travel but 'beam-me-up-beam-me-down-catch-the-hotel-shuttle' barely counts imo. Me? It takes more time to arrange than money as I travel cheap. I prefer to stay in hostels. I also prefer one-two months especially on long trips with not-so-cheap airfare. As I age my lack of energy limits me more than time or money. What do you make of the term wanderlust? I don't think adventure tours or cruises or resorts usually count as they seldom have anything to do with wandering. Me? I always want to see new places but I have no energy. I'm a tortoise with wanderlust not an energizer bunny with a sugar-daddy and a six-figure bank account. Do you think travel is important? There's nothing wrong with living in the same house all your life. You can read. You can invite people to see you! Me? I did that for years (specifically 1981-2003) but I've traveled extensively since. Others watch videos of exotic places; but I can tell you what Taipei tastes like, feels like, smells like. Travel brochures and Vlogs only show a certain p.o.v. Going there gives you personal stories and perspective. 4829 |
![Merit Badge in Travel
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For giving great travel advice in my newsfeed challenge! Thanks!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Travel-1975.gif) Travel I wrote back to IceSkatingSugarCube: Thank you. I could write a travel tome (but I won't). Your trip is "your trip". You will notice that the language isn't the same. You'll hear accents you may have heard before (Irish is common in Montana) on television or elsewhere. You'll notice reality doesn't square with pictures or what you were told or believed. There will be a (hopefully hilarious) misunderstanding along the way. Relish it! Take notes. I travel solo and groups are difficult for me. But... it will be easier getting around with a guide and if the guide is chatty and knowledgeable it might be a joy. Personally, I like getting 'lost' but that's not a good idea with a group. And weather... nothing like Idaho!!!! Caution: one of you might catch the travel bug; one of you might hate the experience. Regardless, learn from it what you can. Enjoy! Jen is going on a trip with her son and husband to Scotland, Ireland and England. She might be amazed that it's seldom like gothic novels and Brit-coms.  But that's okay! My vacation to England in 2011 was just that... a vacation. 3 weeks of history, odd places, eccles cakes and one dear friend trying to kill me with a full English breakfast. Not to mention ducks, chocolate, longboats, a rope factory, minsters, museums... Still vivid after over 12 years and I have pictures to remind me of when we all were a tad younger. But... no tome today. I could go on-and-on about the many places I've visited. I've learned something from all of them. |
| Just around the next bend? Truthful wisdom? A fool's end? Hard to say before one tries. Sky's the limit? Landlubber here, but I've visited 46 countries, flown through more. Go around the next bend? YES! Even if there be monsters. |
| https://mag506.com/expatriation-is-a-journey-into-the-unknown/?fbclid=IwAR3KWkU5... "The desire to leave one’s native country to settle in another is a phenomenon deeply rooted in the human spirit. This urge, which seems to emanate from the depths of the soul, is not limited to the mere search for a better or different life." I'm not sure about this. So I need to reread and then write a response from my own experiences both pro and con. |
| Today, I got up early and went to the annual commemoration of the founding of Udon Thani by Prajak. It's held every January 18th. Everyone wears orange. I did (but it's my favorite color and the color for Thursday regardless). The provincial tree has an orange flower that blooms this time of year. Thousands gather around the monument and dance. Winter is cool in the morning, usually in the 60s. It warmed up to the 80s later. One gets used to it. Montana was 30 below this past week. Buffalo was buried under snow. Isaan in Northern Thailand is thirsty. Winter in Thailand begins when it drops below 23 degrees Celsius (around 73F) and lasts about 3 months. It's dry in the NE in Isan and can go down to 50F. In more northerly areas it can drop to 40F with frost on the mountains. Usually the sky is blue unless crops are being burnt. That's... common. If so, the horizon gets an orange tint. Orange may be my favorite color; but, orange air is barely breathable. Last year that happened in February. Hopefully it holds off until March. Rain clears it out. That could be sometime in April... if we are lucky. While Isaan has been mostly dry, there are floods in the south as heavy rains and winds are seasonal. Bangkok? It's the usual... a steam-bath. I'll be there next week. 4238 |
| I'm supposed to be happy in Paradise... but every "paradise" has "parasites" and worse. Get sick in Thailand or any tropical clime? Get checked out before you fly to somewhere they cannot properly diagnose nor treat whatever ails you. If you come from a country with expensive medical care it may actually be better and cheaper to have it dealt with locally. Same with legal and social issues. Sometimes it needs to be sorted out first. Other times ? LEAVE. Plan on never coming back. A Life Lesson that most of us learn the hard way. In Thailand: Don't get married until you know the family, community and culture. People aren't individuals here. Don't cross the street thinking that drivers will notice, care, or try to avoid you. Don't eat at MacDonalds and Starbucks. You are wasting your money. Don't be that Barbie-doll bitch-in-bikini sashaying your butt down the soi to attract attention. Don't act that way on the beach either. Don't disrespect the culture. Learn what to do and not do. You don't own this place. Travel brochures aren't reliable. They leave a lot out. Criticizing the local culture or mentioning obvious-to-you problems may end up with a jail-date or deportation. Yes, the locals here in Isan are basically kind and wonderful. But people avoid the police. Paradise has pitfalls. You don't want to fall into one. 4140 |
| Travel... I want to be in Udon on the 18th, but I need to return to Montana by March. Would like to visit Taiwan in February. So: BKK/DMK - TPE/TSA = 3.000-5.000 baht on January 23rd. TPE - MSO = 25.770 baht on Starlux for various dates in February. BKK/DMK - ICN/PUS/GMP 5000-7000 baht around January 24th ICN-MSO 29.777 baht with Asiana on January 29th. BKK - MSO = 29.000-30.000 baht on January 23rd. 26.950 with Asiana on January 26th. BKK/DMK- HAN = 2100 - 2500 around January 24th. HAN-MSO = 24.762 with EVA on January 30. BKK/DMK- DAD = 1600-2000 around January 23rd. DAD-MSO = 26.783 with EVA on January 30th. BKK/DMK- SGN = 2288+ around January 24th. SGN-MSO = 24.700 with EVA around January 30th. BKK-XMN = 4.235 with Xiamen on January 24th XMN-MSO = 27.017 with Phillipines via MNL on January 29th BKK/DMK - HKG = 2.700 most every day. HKG-MSO = 30.000-32.000 with EVA/Asiana most every day. The computer is starting to act up; so, I need to save and edit later. One thought is to go directly back to MSO and go to Taiwan around February 7th. And from there back to Thailand or return to Thailand before the end of May (March = Morocco ? April = Portugal? May = Norway?) and stay for two months till July. 4108 |
| Walked to Ingetorp. Nothing but pine woods and hazelnuts. Nothing to inspire a person to more than survive. The mixed emotions of my ancestors must've turned to joy when they left it behind. These gravestones do not bear their names. |
| Proclaim how Perfection's the enemy of the Good. Calvinists in search for purity choked all joy out of living. I escaped the grey towers of Geneva and crossed the river Arve to Carouge. There in Old Savoy... I could breathe. |
| The policy of One China weighs heavily on the streets of Lukang where fishermen used to visit their cousins in Xiamen. Both eat rice, speak the same language, fish the same fish, and neither is eager to bow to Beijing. |
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