clueless83's VirtualTourist Home Page

I don't really know what to say here but I guess it should be about travel. Well, I was born in England, UK and I still live there now. As a child we had many holidays around England (along with day trips into Europe), as I got older I began to venture to places a little further and climates a little hotter, school trips into Europe, Family holidays in the Meditteranean.
Now I'm in my 20s I want to spread my wings further, sun and sand holidays are great but now I want to experience things... I want to visit the Taj Mahal, ride a gondola through Venice, see the midnight sun, go on safari...

Last year I was lucky enough to go to Las Vegas (see my page to find out what I got up to!) If you've never been, its pretty amazing, we crammed alot into the space of a week. Since returning from Vegas and back to mundane reality (and the job I need to get the finances for my travels!) I've wanted nothing more than to go back... that was until we began planning this years holiday which lead me to find Virtual Tourist in the first place! :-)

In the recent years I have been bitten by the travel bug I have also been bitten by the photography bug - it seems to me that the two go hand in hand. The more recent the journey, the more photographs I have to show and the more stories and tips I have to share, which is why some of my pages will be blank. For example, the only thing I remember about Belgium was eating Tutti Frutti ice cream (it was quite a while ago!), whereas in Las Vegas 600 photographs was the tip of the iceberg!

Anyway, I would like to think that fellow virtual tourists will find my tips useful and insightful, if not, just enjoy the pictures! I have also added a photo album with photos of some of my holiday souvenirs, if you can tell alot about a person by the places they choose to travel, then surely the souvenirs they bring back says a little about them too..? Hmmm... I wonder what mine say about me...

There are two main English stereotypes, the first being the stiff-upper lip who speak the Queens English and sits around drinking tea all day, the second being the foul-mouthed, lager drinking, kebab eating, football hooligans. Neither of which I am.

The posh tea drinker stereotype I find amusing and harmless, hey, every nationality has one! The lager drinker, however is a different story. I have seen the lager-louts abroad and it makes me feel ashamed to be English. We hate them too! We have a special name for them here (several actually) but I won't tell you what they are as I'll probably be told I'm being politically incorrect or discriminating or something ;-)

I have seen footage of Benidorm, Spain on television and it makes me shudder to think that it looks just like the less desirable parts of England, only sunnier - where's the Spanish charm? When I go abroad I want to embrace the local culture and sample the local food, not go somewhere thats just like home (albeit in a slightly more desirable climate) where I can eat burger and chips every day!

So this is me getting on my soap box because I feel like the English abroad sometimes get bad press because of the despicable behaviour of a small section of the population. Please don't tar us all with the same brush!