Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Travelling
This is my second attempt to discover where you guy's have travelled too. I am interested in tales of foriegn travel. I would love to hear about your adventures and exchange travel stories. I doesn't have to be Tibet, Thailand or India and it doesn't have to be Buddhist related.
So were have you been and why?
So were have you been and why?
0
Comments
My wife and I backpacked around Italy.
We took the Queen Lizzie II from New York to Southhampton UK.
We went to South Korea to bring home our adopted daughter.
Mexico, Aruba for mindless vacations.
France countless times for snowboarding trips and a visit to the Le Mans 24hr race.
Germany for a weekend visiting the Xmas markets.
Bruges for a weekend as well - absolutely stunning city.
Andorra (also snowboarding).
The Gambia - brilliant holiday for 2 weeks. We ditched the hotel reps and hired a local guide who showed us all the parts that the tourists don't get to see. The highlight was going back to his sister's compound and sharing a meal with their family from the communal eating bowl. I also met the local witchdoctor, stroked a crocodile and got chased down the beach by a large lizard!
Dublin for my stag weekend.
Went to Vegas and San Francisco for our honeymoon 3 years ago. One of the highlights was a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon and a stop off at a working ranch. I rode a horse for the first time but it had a mind of its own and decided to walk me through every tree on the trail. I decided horses weren't for me after that !
New York last October for our anniversary.
Off to Norway in March for another week snowboarding.
Places I'd love to visit include New Zealand, Japan, China and a grand tour of the US and Canada by motorbike.
Been to China, HK, most of the Asain countries and into Europe. Though this was when I was a wee boy of about 8-10. Travelled with the family. Home base was HK though, school was their too!!!! It was an American school, I was the only Aussie there.
Haven't travelled recently though as I'm a bum and a poor one at that......plus the people I take care of would miss me too much, HA!!!!:scratch:
Italy, where my parents live (I'm half-Italian)
France, (where I now live)
England (Where I shall live again)
Turkey, (long weekend but brilliant!)
Tunisia, (with my family, years and years ago, but I still have vivid memories)
-and
Norway (Where I developped a taste for a remarkable and unique Norwegian cheese called Jet ooste (pron. yet oost) and I'm dying to taste it again.. it resembles a block of fudge and is of the same colour... it has a distinct 'soapy' sweet flavour...
Now you all know I'm odd - !!
In my mind I have travelled everywhere.
Jason
The places I loved the most were Nepal, Malaysia and Brazil. Nepal for it's incredible landscape, Malaysia for it tropical forests and Brazil for the best fun on earth.
I want to go to Yunnan and I would love to go back to Hanio. In Europe you cannot beat Aix en Provence, Rome is my favourite city and I love the train journey from Graz to Munich in late November.
I am quite curious about Tibet and I was hoping some of you guy's would of been there.Burma and kashmir are on my list but until they sort themselves out I'll ive it a miss.I think I would also like to visit Florence.
Man I love to travel. Maybe there is a niche in the market for cool Buddhist travel.
We went to Lake Garda for a week where I discovered Bardolino wine!
I also took Tracy on a day trip to Rome for a birthday present. The day was manic with a really early flight from Gatwick and a rush tour of the city before the flight back home but it was well worth it for the "romantic" element!
Italy
Sardinia (Used to live there)
Cyprus
France
Scotland (Used to live there)
Germany
Quite a boring list really. I really need a holiday outside of europe. One place I really want to visit in the near future is Iceland, I love strange places.
I deleted my first entry because everybody was just listing places and not answering HH’s question, “So where have you been and why?"
I told why, and it all made me look so silly, since I went into such detail and nobody else did.
I wondered about why this was HH’s second try. IS NO ONE INTERESTED in telling any travel stories?
I think that would be a shame.
I’ve only been to France, England, and Holland, and once to Spain, and although I’ve been several times, each journey has its own wonderful story. I think people who are widely traveled are very interested people, and usually very interesting, too. We all know it takes money to travel, but it also takes vision and planning and resourcefulness.
I’d like to go to South Africa, China, Greece, India, Italy, and all of the countries on the area which once was known as Indochina. I notice that Zenmonk Genryu has visited all these places, save perhaps China. I must admit, I'm a little wary of catching a bad disease or something in India, but would love to see Laos, Cambodia, Vitenam, & Siam. Does anyone know how to do this on a budget? I want to see the Buddhists and the Catholics (from the French influence) and the cities and the temples and the colors and taste the foods and smell the incense.
It would really be cool if people would share travel stories on this site, whether on this thread or another.
Canada (lived there)
America
France
Germany
Austria
Italy
Holland
Switzerland
Nepal
India
Japan (living here now)
Why:
To discover the flimsy nature of the boundaries we put between each other and around ourselves.
Story:
I met a guy in India who asked me where I lived in the UK and he could tell me my local postcode from memory!
I met a gentleman in Saigon at the main post office.I believe he was a retired english teacher. He would sit there all day lond helping people who could not read or write to send letters to their loved ones.
Can you imagine if you put these guys together. You would have one hell of a direct mail service.
Germany/ East and West
Holland
Belgium
Greece
Crete
Israel
Egypt
America
Italy
Jamaica
Tobago
Switzerland
Spain
Portugal
Israel was interesting as I visited Masada, Jerusalem, The Dead Sea, Bethlehem etc.....
The most visually stunning place was the Grand Canyon:wow:
The friendliest people were in Jamaica
I've camped in Vermont in the U.S. many times.
I've been to Florida many times for vacation and Spring Break (March). CRAZY during Spring Break. Tons of drunk kids falling off hotel balconies, packed beaches, stupid bars offering cheap booze and wet t-shirt contests. Very LOUD.
I've been to Venezuela, also for vacation. That's when I realized I was a northern girl. The climate did not agree with me. But the people were beautiful. Very BIG spiders! JUMPING spiders. I tried to kill one (small one, way before I became a Buddhist) with my friend's shaving cream. And cologne. And antiperspirant spray. Big mountain of foam and the spider popped out the top and then onto it's back, legs wiggling feebly. Then died. My friend came back to the room drunk and laughed so hard he threw up.
I did my third year of university in Wales (Lampeter) and it was the best year of my life. I traveled all over Ireland and Scotland (mostly the Highlands) and many parts of England and Wales. Spent Hogmanay (sp?)(New Year's Eve) in Aberdeen and two of my friends got arrested just before midnight and spent the night in jail. Midnight in the town square was fabulous. I've never hugged so many people in my life. Wales remains my favorite place on earth and I wish I was still living there. Sometimes my heart aches when I think a of it. Here's a pick up line for Buddhafoot (ie. the "I feel like a loser" thread): When I first met my Welsh boyfriend Owen, he asked me what my heritage was and I told him Irish and Scottish. He asked me "Do you have any Welsh in you?" I told him no. He said "Would you like some?" OMIGOD!!!! I was completely shocked and laughing my head off. Didn't know WHAT to say. I was sitting on his lap at the time. It was horrible. And hilarious. Just terrible. Wish I'd had the wisdom to say "I do now, you silver tongued devil!" Horrible. Horrible, wonderful man. He turned out to be the sweetest man in the world and the most respectful. I miss him very much. He came to Canada to travel and visit me the next year but I was so busy with Greenpeace that I didn't give him the time he deserved. He even went to my parents' farm to visit them when I wasn't even there. He'd never met them before. What a guy! Ah, regrets. I also met one of my best friends in the world when I was there. Her name is Eirlys and I miss her very much. I used to go to her room (we were in the same corridor in the college) and ask her to speak Welsh for me just to calm me down or help me fall asleep at night. Welsh was her first language and she was from Balla in the north. Her accent was the most beautiful music I've ever heard.
Oh, my. I'm really rambling! The stories I could tell!! Simon, if you use any Welsh words in your posts can you give the English translation, too? To remind me? It's been 15 years since I was there.
And that's all. I loved traveling. Didn't go many places but liked to stay for a long time when I did.
Oh, have to tell this short story. Sitting on my bed in my tiny room at college in Wales, writing an essay. Alone. Feel someone staring at me. Hairs go up on the back of my neck. Look around, outside the window (three floors up), no one. Look around again. Movement catches my eye. On the floor, next to the door, the BIGGEST spider I have EVER seen. Sitting there. Staring at me. Thatched roof spider. Was arachnophobic at the time. Dropped a heavy book on it. Couldn't live with it in the same room (building, country, planet). Picked up the book. TONS of blood. TONS. Like I had killed a small mammal. Hyperventilating. Have since cured myself of arachnophobia. And become a Buddhist. But still don't know what to do about mosquitoes (Live in West Nile Virus Zone. Deadly disease carried by them).
And in case anyone's wondering, no, I didn't do any crazy stunts (Direct Actions) for Greenpeace. Just fundraising. Fantastic education, though. And some of the coolest, weirdest, smartest, craziest, most wonderful people in the world.
That line has long be part of the subtle mating ritual that surround Welsh lads coming of age. It's is more often than not followed by the song"There be a welcome in the hillside".
From my experience welsh girls usually give you " Is that a gun in your pocket etc".
You must no be offended by this. It simlpy means they want a shag.
If you go to Cardiff on a Saturday night you could even be luckly enough to experience" "you wants it, innit". Which I believe is featured on Charlotte Church's new CD.
By the way I am totally impressed by you devotion to our planet. Respect.
And this is why the slang term for Welsh Rarebit is "a Cardiff Virgin".
There is also TG'S probably the most famous rock venue in the world for bands who are about to break through. Bands such Oasis, GLC and Charlotte Church have all cut their teeth there.
They also have one of the UK greatest parlimentarians Paul Flynn (Brother of Bryan Flynn)
Man he roles the biggest cones.
A trip to the Gwent Hospital is to be avioded should you feel unwell. You are sure to contract some unmentionable infection.
Trains travel to Newport is once a week. And they have electricity most days.
Whose tool was exceedingly bent.
To save himself trouble,
He put it in double.
Instead of his coming, he went.
The Men of Gwent were the archers of the English Army and considered by the french as elite troops.When entering into battle many hundreds of defiant Welsh men would raise their right hand and show them their two fingers. This would strike the fear of god into the french. And was considered very ill mannered by the french generals.
If during the battle the Gwent Archers were caught by the french soldiers they would have their two string fingers cut off as punishment. His would be considered by the welsh Archers as a fate worse than death. This action rendered the Gwent Bowmen useless in battle and meant they would face ruin without their Army income. Some might say typically bloody french.
The fact is, this is where you get the rather rude two fingered salute of today and I guess this salute has mutated into what has become known as "the finger" Stateside.
So next time some sales rep cuts you up on the freeway or a farmer refuses to slip into second gear down a country lane and you want to give them the universal sign of disapproval, just remember your Welsh.
Dosbarth
HH
She obliges all who accost her.
She welcomes the p**k
Of Tom, Harry, or Dick,
Or Baldwin, or even Lord Astor
Where's everybody else been goin' and How and Why?
Let the road ahead be welcoming and full of ecstasies,
May your pathway be littered behind with potent seeds and strands of bliss,
May your very name be Bliss!
Hate to shoot you down in flames, but it's a fallacy.....
"An often-repeated legend has it that the insulting version originates from around the time of the Hundred Years' War. According to the legend, the sign comes from a French threat to amputate the distinctive calloused bow fingers of captured Welsh archers, as without those fingers they would be unable to draw their bows. Likewise the Welsh might have used it themselves as a gesture of provocation (i.e. "Watch out - I've still got my fingers!"). There is little actual evidence to support these historical explanations, but the legend is certainly part of the cultural context of the sign."
From Here
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign
Sorry HH.....
You guys are so great. I feel as if I've been transported back to my beloved Wales. And you know what? Owen was from Barrie!!! (sp?)
HH,
Thankfully it wasn't I who was thrown in the slammer. It was two friends of mine (a guy and a girl) and it was over the silliest thing. We were in a bar in, oh, wait. I forgot. It was DUNDEE. I spent Christmas in Aberdeen and Hogmany in Dundee.
O.K. We were in a pub in Dundee sitting at a table next to a creche (Nativity scene) that was protected by a glass partition. My scottish friend stood up and reached over the partition and picked up one of the wise men. It was innocent curiosity. He dropped it back into the Nativity Scene by accident and all hell broke loose. Nothing was broken but the pub was packed and the people were very unfriendly. I immediately went up to the bar to get lost in the crowd and distance myself from my friends (very courageous) and my two friends got stopped by the angry mob and held until the police came. I sneaked out of the pub with another friend and we made our way on foot to the police station. The police were pretty nice about the whole thing (luckily I had stopped yelling "You'll never take me alive, coppers!!" by that time) and informed us that our friends would be let out at 6:00am. My friend Richie and I could do nothing for them so we decided to head to the town square anyway. It was getting on to midnight and it would have been illogical to make us ALL suffer. The town square was in stark contrast to the pub. Everyone was lovely and happy. Everyone was kissing and hugging and passing around champagne in the bottle. It was absolutely brilliant! Then, after a few restless hours of sleep, we picked up our two friends at the jail and spent a miserable Jan.1st, as is the time honoured tradition.
Another that always upset the local rossers is"Oink Oink". But it'll get you now where in the long run.
The best line I have ever heard was a police man asked my friend who for some weird reason was wearing winkle picker boots"Do your feet go to the end of your shoes". My friend responded with " Does your Head go to the end of your helmet".
When you have had seven pints it hard not to laugh like a fool.
Did you ever see Barry's Chemical Factory by night.......Man it's beautiful.
(Speaking of police helmets; who said "Come in and take that tit off your head."?)
That was on "The Young Ones" in the episode where Neil had joned the police and was investigating a complaint at a friends' party !
Heading towards the town he drew near to a police car, caught up with it at the first traffic lights, wound the window down and shouted "I wish to report a herd of elephants on the rampage officer!" ................ wrong police car!
Frizzer, excellent memory!! I used to love that show. Remember the filthy bathtub they all bathed in? Yuck!