1. IrvingSnodgrass - April 20, 1999 - 10:18 AM PT
Do you have travel plans for this year? Where are you going? What was the best trip you ever took? What was the worst place you ever visited? Where would you like to go, if you could go anywhere? What travel books do you recommend?
2. ProfEmeritus - April 20, 1999 - 10:31 AM PT
Indonesia, of course. The more distant from Jakarta, the more interesting. Starting with Bali, you go east to Lombok, which more and more is becoming like Bali, overrun by tourists, then Sumbawa, which gives one a taste of the exotic and remote. There are good accommodations in Bima.
The most beautiful island of all is Flores which is only beginning to be developed. If the Sea World resort is still there, just outside Maumere, it is one of the most secluded and lovely spots on earth. One can continue east to the even more remote small islands of Lomblen and Alor. I think the most interesting places are those that are still relatively primitive and unspoiled by modernization. I have had much experience in these undeveloped areas, mostly pleasant. The interior of Irian Jaya is still in the stone ages, and visits can be arranged. But keep away from East Timor for the time being.
3. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 11:06 AM PT
I'd like to visit Australia and New Zealand. Also Istanbul and Rome.
Actually the "Big Sky" country was great to visit: Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Bad Lands. Beautiful country.
4. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 11:07 AM PT
Athens too. And Moscow & St. Petersburg.
5. RosettaStone - April 20, 1999 - 11:15 AM PT
This Friday we're driving to a family wedding in Maggie Valley in western North Carolina. It's going to be a five-day weekend.
The wedding is Saturday but we're leaving a day early to visit the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and plan to travel on the Skyline Drive. We've been on parts of the highway before, but never the whole road.
I'm a little nervous about it because the road is so narrow and winding.
6. patsyrolph - April 20, 1999 - 11:25 AM PT
I've reserved a cabin on a cruise ship to the Black Sea in August. To see the last total solar eclipse of the century......maybe. I believe it is a sign of _immense_ if not incredulous self absorbtion that I fear the Balkan war may cancel ny trip.
7. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 11:53 AM PT
As soon as I learnt that my German-Iranian friend's annual vacation in Iran nearly coincides with my summer travel plans, I decided to alter the travel itinerary that I had previously posted in the international thread, to include Iran.
Revised & quasi-final summer itinerary:
On May 12, I fly to Munich to meet my friend, staying overnight only, and then accompany him to Tehran for a night or two at his parents' house. During my last trip to Iran, I found the Iranian railways quite advanced, so I will proceed by train to Kerman, a town in southeastern Iran and the eastern outpost of the system. Then I must get to Zahedan by means still undetermined, but probably bus or hired car, in order to cross the Iran-Pakistan frontier by train and onto Taftan.
From there by train to Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province. Now, I prefer to cover the route from Quetta to Karachi (the capital of the Sind province and Pakistan's largest city) by bus. But since dacoits and brigands tend to waylay buses & cars in the deep interior of Baluchistan and Sind I will traverse the two provinces by train, via the Bolan Pass.
8. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 11:54 AM PT
I'll be in Karachi just long enough to take a flight out to Peshawar, Pakistan's "Wild West" and the Taliban's home away from home, where I will stay with relatives and then hire a car to navigate the Karakorum "Highway", which nearly parallels the Indus River. Along the way are hundreds of Buddhist stupas, frescoes and rock carvings, as well as some of the most spectacular scenery in northern Pakistan, like the Hunza Valley. (See also a greener part of Hunza.) I've been to this very spot (Passu-Gojal) before, but being reminded of how outrageously beautiful it is, I'm about to explode in child-like anticipation of seeing it again.
9. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 11:59 AM PT
I don't plan on doing anything but rushing through Iran and Pakistan (except Quetta), since I've seen much of both countries before. The meat of my destination is beyond Pakistan.
The Pakistani KKH ends and the Chinese KKH begins at the frontier controls of the Khunjerab Pass, where the elevation is between 4500 and 5000 metres. The last time I was there, I had ascended too quickly during the drive from Gilgit, got rather ill and thus could not cross the frontier with China. But this time I will arrive by easier stages and linger in lower elevations right before the Khunjerab Pass in order to acclimate. Anyway, the pass itself is supposed to be very short, and once past it, the elevation is reported to fall to the tolerable 3500 metres, which is not much more than the Hazara district, where my great-uncle lives and which I have been visiting since 3 or 4 years of age.
10. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 12:00 PM PT
Just past the Khunjerab Pass from Pakistan is Xinjiang, aka Eastern Turkestan, China's western most province. My first major stop (by car) in Xinjiang is the border town of Tashkurghan, reportedly populated by Tajiks. It's also the jumping off point for Kashgar, the Silk Road oasis town I've dreamt of for years. The end of my overland route is the city of Urumqi on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert. But time, weather and stamina permitting, my journey to Urumqi will make a detour to Turfan and the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves.
In Urumqi, I hope to catch one of the weekly flights to Moscow, my final destination, where I will spend whatever remains of June and all of July with my fiancée. She'll be working there, but I will confine myself to masterly & purposeful inactivity.
11. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 12:04 PM PT
In August, I will travel with her to the area around Chelyabinsk in the Ural mountains; Lake Baikal in central Siberia (just above Mongolia); and the Kamchatka Peninsula, whose eerie landscape and colderas are among the other many things I've longed to see. The method of travel to these places is not yet determined, but both the Trans-Siberian Railway and Russian domestic flights are ridiculously cheap.
In late August we'll return to Moscow, she'll stay there and I'll head home by train to Munich, where I'll board my return flight to the USA. Instead of returning to the USA by way of some place as boring and unexotic as Munich, I'd prefer to cross the Bering Sea from the Kamchatka Peninsula to Alaska, especially since KP is where I will be near the end of August. Although I have old reports of a cheap passage between Russia and Alaska, the idea seems a bit farfetched. Anyway, I had to buy the NY-Munich round-trip to get the cheaper fare, and the flight home from Alaska is too expensive.
Of course, many things will not go according to plan. I've certainly given up on the idea of knowing beforehand the date of my arrival in Moscow. But I do hope to arrive sometime in by late June.
12. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 12:14 PM PT
By the way, some might think this would be an expensive trip, but that is very far from the truth. Although the final costs will surely run over my projected budget, most aspects of the trip are laughably inexpensive and well within the means of most people (except for the fact that most people don't have someone to stay with for two months in Moscow). That's because basic accomodations, riding buses, hiring a car, or taking the train in most of these countries mentioned is frequently a matter of a few dollars. Even domestic plane flights, as long as bought within the country, are quite affordable. For example, the Karachi-Peshawar flight by PIA (Pakistan International Airlines, aka "Prayer in the Air") amounts to about $40 one-way; and an Aeroflot flight from Vladivostok to Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula is about $80 one-way.
In fact, the only significant costs are the NY-Munich round-trip fare and the Munich-Tehran one-way, which eat up about half of the estimated total cost of my summer (not including food in Moscow).
The only thing that might hold back a traveller with normal resources is disinclination and the fear of discomfort and unpredictability.
13. PsychProf - April 20, 1999 - 12:29 PM PT
PE....what a fascinating tale of adventure...
14. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 12:50 PM PT
Pseudoerasmus
I envy you! Have you ever been on the Orient Express?
Ah yes I forgot to mention Berne Norway, a most beautiful place.
And Alaska is another place I would like to visit. I have been to 42 of the States so far and have yet to get there.
15. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 12:51 PM PT
I also thoroughly enjoy visiting Amish communities in the US.
16. hashke - April 20, 1999 - 12:55 PM PT
PE:
While in Iran look up Kiarostami to see what his next work might entail.
17. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:00 PM PT
incognito: No, I've never been on the Orient Express. Too expensive, and (presumably) too comfortable.
18. vonKreedon - April 20, 1999 - 1:02 PM PT
Cog - If/when you go to Alaska I recommend that you drive. From Vancouver BC take the highway N. to Prince George, this takes you through the impressive Thompson Rive Gorge. At Prince George go West, do not take the Alcan, which loops east and then north and west, as it is long AND boring. Instead go west towards Prince Rupert. About two thirds of the way between Princes George and Rupert there is a road called the Dease Highway that runs due north through the coast range. The term Highway is misleading, this is a good loggin road, 1 3/4 lanes of good gravel road. The scenery, if you can see it through the clouds, is magnificent. Watch for black bears, deer, and moose. The Dease Highway reconnects with the Alcan just west of Lake Watson. Follow the Alcan through the Yukon and into Tok Junction Alaska, take the turn toward Anchorage. The drive to Anchorage takes you past the Matanuska glacier. From Anchorage you can go south to the Kenai Peninsula, visit Seward and Homer, or north to Denali.
This trip is one of increasing magnitudes of awe inspiring scenery. Every time I start to get complacent, "Oh hum, more stunning mountains." the mountains take another jump in magnitude, culminating with Mts. Sanford and Drum, two 16000'+ volcanos sitting side by side rising out of the plain SW of Tok.
19. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:07 PM PT
I've always wanted to do Alaska and British Columbia spending a whole summer, but I've always said to myself: "Alaska and BC will always be there, unlike ___, which could be closed off by political conflagration". Just imagine the lost opportunity to go to Iraq just because one went to Mexico.
20. TheDiva - April 20, 1999 - 1:09 PM PT
Pseudo
What a magnificent itinerary. Will you be posting tales of your trip?
21. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:12 PM PT
In the 19 years, there was one window of opportunity to travel more or less anywhere in Iraq -- 1989. Earlier there was the Iran-Iraq War and later the Gulf War & sanctions. Thinking about that, I now kick myself for being where in the summer of 1989? I think it was Mexico.
22. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:13 PM PT
Message #20
Yes, when (or if) I return, just as I did with my trip to Vladivostok.
23. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:14 PM PT
errata Message #21
in the LAST 19 years.
24. pellenilsson - April 20, 1999 - 1:26 PM PT
PE
Interesting trip. I would go for it 20 years, ago, but now, I'm afraid, creature comforts start to impinge on adventerous plans. Looking forward to your reports. But why wait until coming home? From what I hear and read there are Internet Cafés in the most unlikely places.
25. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:40 PM PT
Message #24
Well, my relatives in Pakistan have computers with internet connection. But I won't be staying with them long enough to bother.
There are internet cafés in Moscow, but they are hideously expensive. My fiancée won't have a computer at her apartment there, either.
Last December/January in Vladivostok, I used the computer at her office to post a couple of messages in the Fray. But this time I don't think I'll be allowed to do the same at her Moscow embassy office, because I won't be carrying my USA passport on my trip.
So the reports will have to wait, most likely, until September.
26. davidtudor - April 20, 1999 - 1:41 PM PT
What a wonderful summer you have planned, Pseudo.
I suspect the most dangerous aspect will be certain of the streets (I somehow don't picture you as becoming a habitue of the club scene) in Moscow.
Enjoy.
27. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 1:43 PM PT
vonKreedon
Ah you just reminded me of another beautiful place, Vancouver! One of those cities that I would love to live in if given the chance.
Thanks for the driving route from BC to Alaska. Much like Pseudeerasmus, I kick myself thinking about BC and Alaska. About 10 years ago I had the chance to do exactly that, drive up from Vancouver to Alaska, but opted to not do it. As I recall I wanted to get back home to see my girlfriend.
She could have waited another week! I doubt I'll ever get the chance to drive that route again.
28. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:44 PM PT
Tudor: I've been to Moscow five times (four of them on business, during my brief period of not being a parasitic wastrel). It's not dangerous unless you go looking for danger. The famously wild clubs of Moscow are now dead, or so I hear.
29. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 1:44 PM PT
Another "wild" place to go if I could go anywhere would be Antartica. No I'm not into freezing my butt off, but the place has always intrigued me.
30. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:47 PM PT
Message #29
I've thought of that, but it's impossible to travel there independently, and so it's very very expensive.
I think AzureNW once mentioned penguins in Patagonia. I understand that you can roam among millions of penguins in Antarctica.
31. davidtudor - April 20, 1999 - 1:50 PM PT
Yes, I understand that Moscow is a lot tamer than, say, two years ago. But, I would still bet that some of the steadiest work in town is in the high-class mob funeral/headstone genre.
I knew perhaps 20 Americans working and somewhat living there over the past three or four years. All gone. Only two actually left with a large part of the money they had made there. Only one got shot (an innocent bystander in the way of a mob rubout.)
32. vonKreedon - April 20, 1999 - 1:53 PM PT
PE - Yes there are other places who have limited windows of opportunity for visiting. My trips to Alaska were all motivated by money; I hitchiked to and from Kodiak to process sea food, so visiting Bhutan or Afghanistan (two places with closed windows of opportunity for me) was not an option until quite recently.
Cog - Antartica intrigues me as well. I have a couple of friends who took a trip to Antartica, they raved about it, but the price, oooh lala, $30,000 for a few days. In a similar, though northern, vein, I do plan on taking a trip to Baffin Island in a couple of years, but that should be quite a bit less expensive.
33. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 1:55 PM PT
30 gs?! Egad!
I'll scratch that off my list now!
34. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 1:57 PM PT
I am the type of person that just likes to say, "Yep, I've been there." So I'll go out of my way just to drive through a part of a state I haven't been in yet even if I don't see all that much there.
As long as it doesn't cost too much of course. I wouldn't spend big bucks just to fly through a country when all I can do is sit in the airport!
A friend and I have a sort of "competition" to see who can get to the most countries. I have him beat on # of states but on countries is has me beat by a great deal.
35. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:58 PM PT
vonKreedon (Message #32)
Surely the only major cost of travelling to Bhutan is the fare to Delhi or wherever one arrive first.
Whenever I've checked into air fares to Alaska (from the Northeast), I've always found them expensive enough -- and the costs of staying in Alaska high enough -- that going to a cheap foreign country was a competitive proposition.
36. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 1:58 PM PT
Easter Island is another place I'd just like to pop in and see although other than those statues I don't think there is much else to see there.
Also Rekjavik (sp?). Wouldn't mind living there for 6 months.
37. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 1:59 PM PT
No, no, you can do Antarctica for about $3000. But that's usually only about a week, and it doesn't cover the air fare to Chile, South Africa or New Zealand or wherever you must depart from.
38. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 2:03 PM PT
Actually I'm starting to worry myself. I've mentioned Alaska, Iceland, Norway and Antartica!
39. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 2:04 PM PT
Message #36
I've also looked into the possibility of Easter Island, and it's quite quite expensive. You must get to Chile first, which is fine, but you'd blow your money on Easter Island when there is the whole of Chile to be seen.
40. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 2:06 PM PT
I love mountains, deserts, coastlines, rivers, lakes, etc. etc., but there are two things I don't much care for -- underwaterworlds and all-round snow & glaciation. I don't understand what the attraction of Baffin Island could be, unless you're really into monotonous white. Or does Baffin Island have a summer without snow? I find that unlikely, given how north it is. Isn't it in the Arctic Circle?
41. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 2:09 PM PT
I would have loved to "hang out" with Michael Palin on his little jaunts around the world!
Pseudoerasmus the obvious difference between you and me is that I would "like" to see some of these places but you have actually looked into them!
42. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 2:11 PM PT
Message #32
Re Afghanistan
From message #15822 in the international thread:
Speaking of Afghanistan, I'm told that the Mohmand and Kurram tribal agencies are now organising expeditions into Afghanistan for very adventurous tourists. Actually, there's never been any problem entering Afghanistan from Pakistan. Visas from the Taliban agent in Peshawar have been available for years now, and if you've got Pathan relatives like I do you could get smiling & well-armed tribal escorts. But the problem is those Soviet mines! The two times I thought of seriously going to Kabul or Kandahar, relatives anxiously & furiously prevented me on account of the land mines.
________
But for travellers the Taliban consolidation of power will soon be a blessing in disguise. They've taken control of more than 75% of the country, and become serious about removing the mines.
43. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 2:14 PM PT
Message #41
I'm constantly researching when and where I could go for how much.
44. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 2:15 PM PT
The main reason I want to see the world is for photography. I love taking photos and getting beautiful shots that I can blow up and hand on the wall.
Snow can make for fantastic photos if shot properly. Deserts are great places too.
45. vonKreedon - April 20, 1999 - 2:17 PM PT
Baffin Island is above the artic circle, but they do get summer there along with 24 hour sunshine. The attraction of artic landscapes is the vastness, the immensity of the mountains rising above huge glacial valleys, the way that the cliffs rise stark rock directly out of the ocean, the scattered gems of flowers hidden in the low brush, the animal life that is almost oblivious to my existence, the unpredicability of the weather. And of course the mosquitos!
46. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 2:20 PM PT
So there is something other than snow & glaciation on Baffin Island during the summer?
47. vonKreedon - April 20, 1999 - 2:25 PM PT
PE - Yes, the snow completely melts off of the valley floors and rock walls. Supposedly the spring flower bloom is stunning, if short.
48. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 2:28 PM PT
I hadn't even heard of the place until now. I'll have to add that to my list of places I'd like to see but will never be able to afford!
49. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 2:31 PM PT
vonKreedon: Did you see my links on the Hunza Valley?
50. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 2:33 PM PT
Skardu, along the line of control with India, in the Northern Administrative Territories of Pakistan.
51. patsyrolph - April 20, 1999 - 2:37 PM PT
I have a vision: pseuder will spend some of his creatively relaxed time writing a travel book about his future and past adventures. I and countless others will buy his book since it will have tales of places we readers may never get to vist, will be well written _and_he can write this summer's as well as future exploration expenses off his income tax,
52. patsyrolph - April 20, 1999 - 2:38 PM PT
I have a vision: pseuder will spend some of his creatively relaxed time writing a travel book about his future and past adventures. I and countless others will buy his book since it will have tales of places we readers may never get to vist, will be well written _and_he can write this summer's as well as future exploration expenses off his income tax,
53. patsyrolph - April 20, 1999 - 2:42 PM PT
Sigh, I kept getting a "publisher can't receive" message.
54. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 2:45 PM PT
some visions are nice to have more than one time!
55. vonKreedon - April 20, 1999 - 2:54 PM PT
PE - Oh yeah, the Karakorums would be very high on my list of places to go except that my required level of interpersonal safety prevents me from going to Pakistan. I may be misinformed about the danger i Pakistan, that would be lovely, so let me know. Concordia, the confluence of glaciers in the midst of the Karakorums is VERY high on my list of places I would like to visit.
56. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:12 PM PT
Pseuder,
You are a lucky stiff. That trip sounds outstanding. Are you doing any special reading for it?
BTW, that German site with the photos is outstanding.
57. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 3:18 PM PT
vonKreedon (Message #55): I can let you know now. I've been to virtually every inch of Pakistan (except Sind and Baluchistan) and I have relatives living within spitting distance of the Hindu Kush and the Karakorum Ranges.
There are really only five places truly unsafe in Pakistan: Karachi, the interior of Sind province, the interior of Baluchistan province, the tribal areas of the Northwest Frontier Province (which foreigners aren't allowed to enter anyway, except the Khyber Agency), and Chilas & Astore in the Northern Areas. People in Peshawar are wary of foreigners, and foreign women are generally not welcomed, but otherwise it's OK.
The rest of Pakistan is quite safe, even though you may be pickpocketed and your hotel rooms rifled through, especially in Lahore.
58. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 3:21 PM PT
Really, Pakistan is quite suitable for independent budget travelling. There is no reason not to go, unless you are unwilling to get sick occasionally, have an aversion to unfamiliar ways, or hesitant to brave filthy hostels (though you'd be surprised how many clean & nice & cheap ones can be found in the remotest places).
59. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:22 PM PT
Whoever it was who mentioned Bhutan should know that only small groups of tourists are allowed in the country, strictly monitored and for outrageously high prices considering the spartan facilities available.
The country is worth it though, gorgeous unspoiled mountain landcapes and wonderful monasteries.
60. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 3:25 PM PT
A dilemma of long-term travelling.
Since the company one finds on long plane or train or bus rides can often be quite dull, and the view outside just as often featureless or monotonous for long stretches of time, bringing along an adequate supply of reading matter is very important. However, most things with conventional narrative or well-written expository prose, one goes through them too quickly.
So, on the one hand, you have to be equipped with something of a portable library. On the other hand, carrying books during long journeys presents a serious logistical problem.
Of course you can carry books with the intention of throwing them away after you've finished and then plan to replenish your supply locally. But surely some of the books you will want to keep -- especially if like me you enjoy buying hard-to-find titles at stalls or dirty bookshops in places like Lahore and Peshawar. In the past I have on occasion mailed home those books which I didn't want to throw away or acquisitions which were becoming too burdensome to carry. But that's an expensive thing to make a habit of.
A truly efficient alternative is to bring along something guaranteed to be a slow read. Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake" is a good example. Or perhaps Einstein's "Meaning of Relativity", the dumbed down précis that still requires at least undergraduate math. A handy solution of mine from past travels has been to travel armed with a text in Greek, along with a pocket dictionary. With my hazy school-learnt Greek it takes me nearly an hour to read a random page from, say, Plato's Republic. But that's ideal for those 20 hours you might be marooned on a train immobilised by nonsense at frontier controls.
61. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 3:26 PM PT
Since on my many (relatively short but still tedious) train rides to Washington last year I had been killing the time with a Hebrew grammar, I had thought of carrying a pocket Pentateuch with glossary on my summer trip this year, but then I remembered what countries I would be travelling.
Well, I can't wait for the day they come out with the so-called "last book" which would contain a whole library of books.
62. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:33 PM PT
Hmmm.
When I travel I like to take along several guide books covering the place and at least one fat book on something completely unrelated which requires a certain amount of contemplation. In the past, I've travelled with a statistics textbook, the Satanic Verses, and the Bible.
However, I obsessively buy newspapers and magazines wherever I go, even if they're not in English.
Pseuder,
You should consider getting Naipaul's 'Beyond Belief' for your trip. It's the purported follow up to 'Among the Believers'.
63. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:37 PM PT
I also always travel with notebooks and lots of film and my trusty camera. One notebook I try to fill in advance with all the data on the country I'm visiting (demographics, historical time-lines) and a few pages of phoenetically spelt-out useful phrases (preferably gleaned from a native speaker).
In the case of China however, even this was useless, since nobody could understand even the meticulously prepared potted phrases I was armed with. I should have gotten the lines written by a fluent Chinese beforehand.
64. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:41 PM PT
I've found it's a useful rule to travel only with things you're willing to lose (except perhaps for a camera). If you travel with things like a computer, you're tied to it and its security.
In any case, who would want to sit on a train reading from a digital book? No matter how nifty it is.
65. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 3:41 PM PT
Message #63
Well, carrying notebooks & guidebooks is understood, obvious. So is buying newspapers & periodicals wherever you go.
I have a hard time believing you've even glanced at a statistics textbook. (Don't get upset, it's a joke.)
66. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 3:44 PM PT
Message #64
"In any case, who would want to sit on a train reading from a digital book?"
But it's supposed to have the look & feel of real books. That's the point.
Anyway, what would you do if you found yourself stuck on a train for 20 hours at a border control, the scenery was uninteresting and the company dull, other than read a book?
67. uzmakk - April 20, 1999 - 3:47 PM PT
Good Lord. I shall lurk and read. I fear I have little of interest to post. Does anyone want to hear about my trip to the grocery store?
68. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:47 PM PT
On guidebooks, I find only The Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet uniformly useful and informative. I buy the Insight guides as well for photo ideas in advance.
Every other guide-publishing company pretty much sucks.
69. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 3:48 PM PT
Message #62
I will not carry Naipaul. It will be a waste of space. I'll finish it by Munich.
Message #63
In China, I carried a little notebook on which I would write some kanji in order to communicate my meaning. Why attempt to pronounce those tones? Might as well as attempt the clicks of Khoisan.
"Data and historical time-lines" are part of pre-travel plans. Who the hell carries GDP data while ambling in the Kashgar Sunday Market.
70. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:52 PM PT
Pseuder,
I doubt very much that your fellow train passengers this summer will be dull.
In any case, if I were stuck in a cabin for twenty hours I'd immediately start meditating, and peacefully enter a trance-like state for as long as necessary.
71. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 3:57 PM PT
"Who the hell carries GDP data while ambling in the Kashgar Sunday Market."
I do. Well, lots of data like that anyway. No matter how much you've looked at the numbers before, they take on a different, superior, aspect while you're actually observing the country close-up. It also helps greatly in discussions with people there. I've found this little trick extremely valuable.
72. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 4:13 PM PT
I think it's feasible, Marzipranks, to retain key data in your head.
73. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 4:16 PM PT
One of these days, I want to do a Cairo to Moscow trip -- via Sudan, Ethiopia, around Arabia (skippping SA), ferry to Bandar-e-Khomeini in Iran from Dubai, to Armenia, Georgia and Russia. I wonder how long that would take.
74. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 4:20 PM PT
no planes involved, of course.
Another trip idea is Athens to Goa: Athens, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, ferry to Trebizond, bus to Van, then train to Baku in Azerbaijan, ferry to Iran, train to Gorgan, car to Turkmenistan, then Tajikistan, China, Pakistan, India.
75. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 4:26 PM PT
I fear I'll never again have time in my life for months-long intrepid travel of the kind you mention. But both those options sound terrific.
76. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 4:28 PM PT
Message #75
That's why one should be an academic who eschews the summer conference circuit in favour of such trips, or an independently wealthy school teacher.
77. vonKreedon - April 20, 1999 - 4:32 PM PT
I aspire to be an independently wealthy school teacher!
A year from now I and my family will begin a three month vacation in Europe. I lived in Normandy for four years when I was small, 4 to 8 years old, so we are spending a month in a gite in Normandy. Also spending a month in a gite in the Verdonne gorge in Provence. Other pins on our wall map are the Lake District and Legoland in England, Chamonix, Colmar, and Florence.
78. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 4:32 PM PT
One also needs to be single, childless, and without other pressing responsibilities. Enjoy it while you can, lucky stiff.
79. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 4:37 PM PT
Message #78
Well, surely, a married couple could withstand the occasional 2-3 months of separation. Plus, one of these days Iridium will become cheap and you could maintain daily telephone communication in the middle of the Gobi desert.
If not one can go with the spouse, and procreation could be delayed. Or the sperm & ova could be frozen for later use.
Please, a standing ovulation for my suggestions.
80. incognito - April 20, 1999 - 4:38 PM PT
uzmakk how exciting was your trip to the grocery store? :-)
81. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 4:43 PM PT
Pseuder,
How little you know about marriage.
82. patsyrolph - April 20, 1999 - 4:46 PM PT
PE and Marjori:
Ohhhhh, the projected travel plans are so enticing.
Time is of the essence. There comes a time when age becomes a factor (sob) and stamina is more important than free time and money. Gender is also sometimes a problem--you've both noted places where single women will not be welcome. Nonetheless your tales are fascinating glimplses of places I will probably never see.......but, hey, it's a very large world....I have yet to visit Bali for instance.
83. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 4:49 PM PT
You're saying you can't be separated from your wife for 2 months, say, every two years? Or your wife can't go with you on a long journey?
And what's the point of aged parents and in-laws if you can't deposit the kids with them for a few months?
That often happened to me when I was little and school was out. I was deposited in various places with relatives -- England, Pakistan, Japan, Germany -- while my parents went about their business.
84. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 4:53 PM PT
By the way, PatsyRolph, you said you're cruising in the Black Sea. First, watch out for the oil spills & toxic fumes from Serbia. Second, I've taken a ferry from Sinop to Trebizond (for less than $10, if I recall right). It was one of my worst transport experiences in terms of comfort, but the coastal views were tantalisingly...antique? And make sure to go to Trebizond, it looks more Byzantine & Greek than the rest of Turkey.
85. marjoribanks - April 20, 1999 - 4:53 PM PT
Pseuder,
It is hard to imagine being able to justify two months of gallivanting at this stage in my life. I hope it'll change, but you must realize that you are providently situated to undertake such trips at this moment. In any case, I look forawrd to hearing what you have to say when you return.
86. hashke - April 20, 1999 - 4:58 PM PT
PE:
I hope you remember where 'a standing ovulation' came from? I perceive no credits!
87. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 5:04 PM PT
Message #85
Well, I'll be married by the end of 2000. But fortunately she and I will be living in some distant place conducive to serious travel (unless she gets transferred to Ottawa or Nassau, the dread thought....).
Message #86
As avid a fan as I am of your puns and near-puns, I don't recall this particular one by you.
88. hashke - April 20, 1999 - 5:09 PM PT
PE:
Tsk, tsk. I'll look it up. I think it is in Language.
Are 'near-puns' anywhere in the vicinity of 'far-puns'?
89. webfeet - April 20, 1999 - 5:21 PM PT
Bon voyage, pseuder and congratulations, too. It sounds like the trip of a lifetime and Im sure it will more than surpass your expectations. It's smart that you're bringing a passport other than one from the US, im sure it would eliminate a lot of problems. I've often thought it will be a lot easier travelling when I become a French national, a US passport can be like a firecracker going off in your pocket. All the same, bonne chance and be careful. I don't know why im picturing snakes right now, it must be this Indiana Jones image of adventure, but im sure before you go will get all sorts of inoculations.
90. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 6:35 PM PT
Message #89:
Thanks.
I almost never travel on my USA passport, rarely even take it out of my desk. It's pretty useless for travelling purposes, since I don't need it to reenter the USA and it's not superior to other passports as a travelling document.
But I'm not sure that a USA pasport is all that problematic, unless you're interested in going to Iran or Cuba or North Korea or Libya. It's just that for travelling purposes holding both USA and EU passports is redundant. Virtually wherever you can go with a USA passport easily (= no visa, or readily obtained visas), you can just as easily go with an EU passport.
Of course, you might have been thinking in terms of anti-American sentiments, but on the whole I don't think they're a serious problem for travellers. And UK and French citizens don't fare better than Americans anyway. Inasmuch tourists are targetted in some countries at all, it's Western tourists, not American tourists per se.
91. hashke - April 20, 1999 - 7:29 PM PT
PE:
Thanks to CalGal's #3963 in Language, which linked to Suggestions, the original was not lost to posterity. ;-)) Ya hear, CalGal? Thanks again!
Pseudo, I'm satisfied that you produced that pun entirely independently, or that it was only an unidentifiable echo in the erasmian subconscious.
In reference to your Message #79 be sure to freeze the gunk ova easy to ovoid ovakill.
21336. hashke - April 4, 1999 - 11:49 AM PT
Dan:
Thanks! I'm sure Rusty will join me in thanking you for that standing ovulation!
92. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 7:30 PM PT
By the way, the March issue of the Atlantic had an article about a trip the hopelessly naive author took through the Khunjerab Pass, though in a direction opposite to my plan.
93. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 7:32 PM PT
I like mountains and trekking and all that, but I don't understand why anyone would want to climb a mountain any higher than Kilimanjaro. Why Everest or K2 or even Nanga Parbat? I do understand (though I don't generally share) the interest in seeing widespread glaciation and pristine snow-white landscapes, but in the right places you can see such things at much much lower altitudes than than those legendary peaks. Surely above 5000 or 6000 metres the glaciation and the snow simply become monotonous. Not to mention the infamous hardships associated with climbing above those elevations. Just why bother with all the nonsense for such meagre rewards?
94. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 7:34 PM PT
"gunk ova easy to ovoid ovakill".
O voy, that's too much.
95. hashke - April 20, 1999 - 7:44 PM PT
Message #94
Yeah, I tend to go for baroque.
96. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 8:05 PM PT
che uovo ingegnoso!
97. hashke - April 20, 1999 - 8:29 PM PT
PE:
Non voglio cercare il pelo nell'uovo, ma è l'uovo di Colombo -- meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani!
Che c'è di n'uovo?
98. CalGal - April 20, 1999 - 8:39 PM PT
Hashke,
That's too funny. The only pun run I've saved so far is just the one you need? I love it.
99. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 8:48 PM PT
"Che c'`e di nuovo?"
Neuf oeux.
100. Pseudoerasmus - April 20, 1999 - 9:00 PM PT
Neuf oeufs