Travel Tips

Virtual Tourist has an uncanny ability to bring together people from around the World both electronically but also on a more real and personal level, too. Look around on different member's pages and you will see long lists of different VT members that they have met. There is always a plethora of VT gatherings somewhere in the World - some gatherings that bring together people from all over the World to help break down prejudices - maybe reinforce some? - share travel stories or simply offer to help others see a little of their World.

I signed up on the website back in 2002 and have used the site as a place to put pictures and some of my ideas and research out in the miraculous ether making up the internet. The act of writing has encouraged me to study the places I visit both before and after a trip, making the trip, itself, that much richer. But, I have also come into contact with people the World over that I never would have otherwise. This has introduced the opportunity for travel experiences on a more personal level, whether it is meeting other VT members on their home turf: Andy (hopkid) and Mark (Travelfrosch) in Virginia; Karen (karenicalifornia), Andreea (Andraf), and Katherine (Callavetta) in San Francisco;...

... Elane (ZanieOr) in Joseph, Oregon; Andrea (Andal13) in Montevideo; staying with Marko (jmarko) in Dovje, Slovenia or climbing to the top of Grintovec with Zoran(Zo72), also in Slovenia. Or on the road, meeting up with Ingrid (trekki) one evening in Buenos Aires. Or the others who have visited me here in Portland: Claus (cachasiero), Ellen (Ellielou), Sally (shrimp56) and Marit (Rusket) - there was a surreal meeting of my ex through VT, but that is best left for the second volume of the X Files.

Which brings me to the latest VT member that I have had the pleasure of meeting, Dilek (mirliya). She had actually been visiting her daughter in Portland for three months before she discovered some of my VT pages. I tried to prove to her that it doesn't always rain on the Oregon Coast and while it didn't rain, there was not a whole lot of sun, either. But to introduce old sights and experiences to new friends is always fun. What is old, becomes new in your eyes, as well. These are a few of the possibilities and experiences that make the virtual tourist experience a model in realistic adventure.