flynboxes' VirtualTourist Home Page

New picture time and a quick disclaimer:
DAO - I know I suggested meeting up here later this year. Later came sooner than planned so will have to meet in Africa again.....
Machu Picchu is one of the last places I thought I would see. Why you ask???? Too many tourists - this place is like an assembly line for wanna be explorers. It ranked up there along side of Giza as far as my desire to visit. What got me here???? My other half wanted to see it after a trip to Thailand feel apart (no tourists there either; P )
Anyway now I just need to hit Ecuador and Bolivia to have the W. coast of S. America covered. One week in Peru does not make me an expert on the place but I do have a few good tips since I benefit from having a close friend who has lived here for the past 4 years. Check out my pages..might get a laugh.

Why are you reading this????? I'm having a hard time explaining why I am writing it it. I guess you could say I am no fan of My Space.
I've done a little bit of traveling and can offer a tad bit of advice on some of the places I have been. I also like talking to other travelers.
Couple of things to keep in mind. English is my first and only language (speak horrible Spanish and know a handful of words in a few other languages) but my grammar/spelling stinks from time to time and VT has no spell check...dictionary is next to me but too lazy to use it at times.
Please don't look here for something you can find in a guide book.
I am a bit of a smart ass and can be a bit satirical at times. I try and offer my perspective and try and be a bit funny at the same time. Some people here like to write long winded posts with info that came out of a book and tend to get featured on the VT home page....you probably will not see my tips highlighted here.....They may even be edited at times by VT..I don't double check them after posting. I will not insult people (except those that try and talk you out of visiting a place). Hence I do not like posting warnings.....because I have a bad experience does not mean you will. I may warn you about something but will never tell you not to try it and if I do by mistake let me know.
Also if you have not been to a place then stay off that board with your comments..I know it is a free country but the US had a pretty liberal banking system and look at where it is now........
If I listened to friends..(most of whom do not travel much) for travel advice I would never go anywhere.
Also....
If you are flying somewhere and have a bad experience with the airline keep this in mind...
Airlines hire their share of fools to put it mildly (like any other business)
Killing an agent with kindness will get your further than being a jerk as you are not going to call/tell them anything they have not heard before..... especially those that work in the lost luggage office.
We had an irate passenger punch a pregnant agent in the stomach..he felt better for the moment having showed her.....but in the end he was probably as bit pissed since he still missed his flight after being taken to jail...I think the same goes for any service employee.

Home is Palos Verdes....30 min south of LAX. I know my intro or header say's Redondo Beach but that is just where I shag....well, acutally a bit more than that ; P I was born and raised here..not much to do except hike, bike, swim and surf (surf Lunada Bay and you might come back to some flat tires and scratch marks on your car) try Bluff Cove and be a little respectful of the locals. New York Prick (Aka Trump) National is a great place to swim or take the dog to the beach. Dufuss Trump has to provide public access to the beach below the course in order to operate there. Parking is limited next to the Pro Shop but free. The folks inside the Pro Shop/Club House are nice folks and you can get a good meal there along with a tacky hat to enlarge Trumps fat head even more. Anyway the beach is down to the left of the pic below..off of PV Drive South?
Want advice on LA...I know the major sites along with the airport fiarly well but don't keep up to date on the shopping and bars up there...I am not a big drinker and hence do not know much about LA bars. Molly Malones is a cool place and home of another band I like but aside from that place and the Rainbow Room and a few others my knowledge is limited but I can ask friends that live and socialize up there.

Some of the coolest people I have met and stay in contact with are those I have met on the road. I have met some very kind strangers on the road. Not being 100% extroverted and the fact that most of my trips are solo I rely a bit on the kindness of strangers. The world has yet to let me down.
Have met a few writers, pilots, local business people etc...on the road.
Just got back from Minnesota where I attended a burial for a classy lady I met in Amsterdam 8 years ago..RIP Pat.
When I travel I do not hide the fact that I am an American and if somebody wants to mess with me they are not going to do so because I lied to them about not being an American. Americans like to say that everybody hates us..don't agree with that (Maybe G.B. but that's another story and even he has his fans abroad). Since I try and stay in contact with some people I've met I can also offer real time advice on places like Yemen, Mali, Amsterdam, Japan and Ethiopia (VT'er DAO knows the same person and others through).

Don't stay in enough hostels.....I tend to like having my own clean toilet/squat hole. The good thing is that often you can find a hostel with private rooms for a few more bucks. Dorms are great for meeting cool people and being light on the wallet....I've spent time in a few including the hammock below. I try and avoid the chain hotels. For an 1/8 of the cost in some cities you can get the same great service (sans the pool/gym which I don't use anyway at a mom and pop joint...also in some places with disgruntled locals...blowing up a Marriot or Hilton makes for great news headlines....not an 8 room inn on the edge of town. I will stay in them for work but not when it is on my own dime.

Scary stuff huh.......Hey we have it in the US...ever been to Idaho or the backwoods of some southern states.....Is the US a bad or dangerous places as a result of the Oklahoma City bombing? Many places on earth have their share of bad apples. I think places like Yemen get a bad wrap as a result and not everything that goes pop over there is a result of terrorist out to topple America and the West.
Being the blonde hair, blue eyed geek that I am I can say that I feel safer in places like Damascus and Sana than I do in NYC and Amsterdam. One thing is for sure I don't have to worry about my wallet getting legs when I am in an Islamic country (Touristed places like Cairo are a notable exception). Arabs due to their nomadic heritage tend to be kind to travelers if you are aware of their culture. I have been invited into homes for tea in Sanna, YE and Madaba, Jordan for example while wandering around these cities. These people often have facinating stories to tell and maybe old pictures to show.

The good kind at least. You can get Hep shots for free at most free clinics in the US. Other drugs/vaccinations will cost you but it is cheaper to get them than to risk getting sick on a trip. I like Larium for an anti malaria since I am lazy and you only have to take the pill once a week and this mutes out any side effects I may or may not feel. You will hear people talking about anti malarials not working. While treking in Mali a few months ago my guide got malaria.....we both got bit by mosquitos so go figure......While I ended up visiting the hospital and a French speaking Dr. that only Abdou could talk to it was not for any bug/virus.
People including myself also like to take Cipro to kill any food bugs you might get. I like to try local food but my stomach does not like it as much. Cipro can knock down a number of things...keep in mind that a side effect of the drug is that it can weaken your achilles tendon and if that goes out on you while you are treking..it can be a big game changer......just like being tied up with Malaria in a hospital with no clean needles.
See a doctor prior to heading out to some places with limited medical care.

I guess we all have our reasons.....I tend to get tired of the same old, same old.....Some people are perfectly comfortable never leaving a 50 mile radius from their home. Not for me.....mom was a flight attendant so I sort of grew up on planes so to speak. She started showing me the world (where I needed a passport) when I was 8-9 yrs old. Most of the places I went to were beach destinations....Merida and Sydney did not do much for me when I was young so I always talked her into taking me to places like Fiji or to Cancun (way before it became overrun with Springbreakers).....Now I am a bit older and tastes have changed. The Historical cities now interest me plus it is often a good way to stay out of the sun.....however my recent trip to Colombia reminded me how much fun it is to be out hiking in the fresh air or swimming in the ocean.
Travel has become my drug or escape depending on how you look at it. I guess I would call it, continuing education. I like to read but since I am also a visual person it is nice to actually see a place and meet the people.

I've spent my share of time looking out over distant horizons....Every now and then I have to remind myself to look down at bit. Would not trade anything for the experiences I have had on the other sides of the oceans but being close to home is also a comfortable place for me. The US has plenty of open spaces and often the people you meet at or near them are just as interesting. Hey this may be my own personal bias so please if you have not done so...check out your own backyard when you get a chance. I'd hate to be a Russian and due to the shear size of the place it would be difficult to see all of it...I remember how little I saw and this was after riding a train thru the middle of it.