Chris_T's VirtualTourist Home Page

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This is the pair of us - Sam's the pretty one

So - whats so bad about the UK ?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the UK is such a bad place to be. I've lived here all my life and been pretty happy with it. At the same time, I've watched friends go off travelling and there's always been some reason that I had to stay in the UK. Suddenly, not anymore - I got divorced a while ago (not a great time but I feel free now...), I don't have business ties because I run my own business and I should be able to palm it off (at least for a while) and all the other reasons that meant I "had" to stay have paled alongside the desire to go elsewhere. Aslonside this, my girlfriend, Sam, is in a similar position and is looking forward to travelling with me so, all in all, I see no reason to stay.

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Part of my locality - this is Brunel University

But why go off round the world..

Its a big planet. You'll see from my travels so far that I've never been south of the equator, to the Russian Bloc or even round quite a bit of europe. At 35, don't want to run through another 10 or 15 years and then look back wishing I'd done it after all - so I'm going as soon as I can. Sam's been with me to France and Spain now but there are so many other places we haven't seen yet....

OK - I have a couple of businesses which are doing reasonably and I've put my house on the market. Plan is to take what we can get and invest the money in something which will give us an income. Then grab a ticket (not sure whether to get a RTW or just buy them as go along - feel free to offer comments) and go - after that, its just see how each place takes us and move on from there...

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Saint Foy (San Fois....) in the Fench Alps

Tips for other travellers....

Can't say I feel particularly confident about giving tips cos I amagine most people who are likely to read this will have much more exprerience than me but I have spent quite a fair amount of time in the French Alps and done a lot of reading preparing for the up-coming trip so if you're planning on going to France or are totally new to all this and want some early advice, read on...

For people thinking of visiting France, its probrably Europe's most beautiful country and well worth a visit. I'm particularly fond of the Savoie region of the Alps but there are a few guidelines that work well all over France. Firstly, how ever little French you speak, have a go. The French respect people for attemting to communicate in their language and will generally be happy to speak English or maybe Spanish with you - if you don't try at all, they'll rattle off in French and expect you to manage. Second, be patient - the French don't really have a sense of urgency so if you're in a massive hurry, I suggest you take a deep breath and be prepared to wait....they'll do what you ask eventually, but when they're ready.
Finally, and quite importantly, if you're trying to stress a point or have a go at a French person and they give you a big shrug of the shoulders - FORGET IT. That's the most sense you're going to get and any further attempts will be met with bigger and more meaningful shrugs.

For the newcomer, the most significant thing I've read so far is "don't plan too much". Planning is vital and necessary (jabs, visas etc) but too much is likely to lock you into an itinerary that you may want to vary - try to be flexible and leave room for little jaunts off to other countries and areas you may never even have heard of. Talk to other people who have travelled (and try to listen even more) and generally gather as much info as you can without writing yourself a complete "travel plan" from day one. There are dozens of books on the subject (I recommend the Backpacker's Bible) so get reading and finally.....

JUST DO IT !

Right - I'm a 35 year old bloke who loves adrenaline and new experiences - what kind ? just about anything... so far I 've learned to Ski, Snowboard, Ice Skate (though I found out recently that this is a skill you lose with time...), Dance - to competition level, Fly a powered plane, drive (including a forklift and motorcyle licence - though not both at the same time), ride horses, climb rocks, SCUBA dive, bunjee jump, indoor skydive (still waiting for the outdoor sort), roller skate, skateboard, drive a speedboat, etc - getting the picture yet.

I've also tried bobsleigh, had a ride in a piste basher (skiiers will know how hard that is), done some motocross, a bit of rally driving, go-karting and ice-go-karting, paintballing and been paragliding (as a passenger).

Alongside all this, I'm a computer guy (though no small glasses or desires to go trainspotting) and I now run my own company in the UK - doing OK, though I don't try that hard - I prefer to work for a bit then go off on holiday...

I'm basically an adrenaline junkie who gets off on having a good time (preferably scary) and working as little as possible - there, that just about covers it.......

Well, as I write, the house is on the market and we've had plenty of visitors (though no definite offers yet) and both me and Sam are spending a few hours a night either reading up or doing things like VT.com to find out about other peoples experiences. Funny thing is - Sam likes to plan loads and have folders for things and printouts and all that - me, I'm kinda ready to just grab a ticket and go ----- somewhere in the middle, we might make it all work out (I suppose).....

There are a few bits of advice I'd like (from as many people as possible)

1. From the places you've been, are there any "strange" local laws or customs I need to know about ?

2. From the places you've been, is there somewhere you would call a 'must see' ?

3. Have you come across any a) Scams I should be aware of or b) Blags I can pull while I travel

4. Is there anywhere (especially recently) that you've been that you would recommend avoiding...

5. What's the one "essential item", not mentioned in the normal books, that you think I should have in my backpack/suitcase/travelling trailer etc...

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What can you offer in return...?

I've travelled quite a lot in France and parts of Spain (plus a few places in America)...

I'm more than happy to share this experience (humble as it may be) with anyone who wants to know - if I can help, send me a mail

FINALLY - I'm not much into plugging BUT if you like your snow / skiiing/ Snowboarding etc - visit HTTP:\\www.chaletchardons.com - this one is close to my heart