TRAVEL ADVENTURE JOURNAL
GAP: An Adventure Travel Company to Avoid
January 2010
Since our return from China I've been trolling the web for ideas for our next great adventure. While we had a great time on our China Focus Travel tour, the downside was that it was perhaps, just a bit too programmed. On the other hand, our month in India courtesy of Intrepid Travel was more than just memorable -- hair-raising is more like it! So I was skipping from blog to blog scouting for tips and I came across a discussion comparing Intrepid with GAP, a Canadian travel adventure company that is probably Intrepid's main competitor -- in fact, several bloggers mentioned that the two companies used to work together.
So I decided to check out GAP's website, focusing on travel to Morocco. There was one trip called "Morocco on a Shoestring" that seemed interesting, but when I looked more closely, I was absolutely astonished and outraged to see that they have an upper AGE LIMIT of 39 for this trip!! I guess they figure a 40 year old might need a cane! I don't know what their rationale is, but frankly I don't care -- it's so insulting that I suddenly found myself speechless and inarticulate with annoyance. Anyway, the bottom line when it comes to dealing with this kind of nonsense is to boycott the perpetrator and also try to embarass them publicly.
So I am requesting that readers of this site drop GAP a line and let them know what you think! Their website is www.gapadventures.com. (Just click on the "contact us" link.) You might also want to read up on their "YOLO" policy
Oh, and DON'T USE THEM until they change this ridiculous policy!
Scott
Up Next - China
October 2009
Its hard to believe that its coming up on a year since our amazing travel adventures in India.
Not long after our jarring re-entry into western civilization, we were already debating what to do for an encore - a return to India perhaps?
Of course, I wasn't too anxious to get caught in another street riot or narrowly avoid a terrorist attack, but its odd how quickly you forget the trauma and dismiss the negatives, then begin to selectively recall all the great experiences you had.
It was back in May, just after I'd just finished organizing our European itinerary, when Teresa read out loud an e-mail she'd received from Dinesh. Dinesh, of course, is continuing to lead India tours for Intrepid Travel. In the e-mail, he asked how I was doing and he mentioned that his grandfather, with whom we'd shared a wonderful meal at his family's home in Jaisalmer, had sent his regards and good wishes to us. Dinner with Dinesh's family in Jaisalmer had been, no doubt, one of the highlights of our India experience, and it got me to thinking . . .
Should we do it again?
Its so tempting to do the same thing over and over. After all, if it was good the first time around, wouldn't the second be even better? And as I've mentioned before, travel is an iterative process -- each journey improves upon the last because one's accumulated knowledge and experience enhances the outcome.
However this presents a dilemma: Do you return to those destinations with which you've become familiar and enjoyed previously? Or do you forge ahead, seeking new adventures in strange and unfamiliar destinations while risking potentially disappointing outcomes?
I'll admit that its often tempting to go with what's familiar - after all, its basic human nature to resist change. But when you pursue adventure travel, even when you deliberately try to repeat the adventure, you're likely to end up with something completely different!
So - while a return to India is high on my "to do" list, this will have to wait for another day.
In reviewing some of my prior journal entries, I came across a note dated from mid-2007 in which I had written about several budget tours to China recommended by Arthur Frommer. One of these is an eleven day introductory tour of China offered by China Focus Travel. And since independent travel within China can be difficult to arrange, I've chosen this basic tour to China as our "sampler".
On November 3, 2009, Teresa and I will depart for Beijing and Shanghai, once again accompanied by our three adult children who are such wonderful travel companions!
If you'd like to check out our itinerary, click here: http://www.chinafocustravel.com/tour/HC10
sssssss Reflections on Budapest: Discovering the "New" Old Europe
July 2009
The post-war period in Western Europe -- the years during which Europe rebuilt itself -- had essentially ended by 1979. It was during the Carter years that governments within the sphere of U.S. influence and dominated by the American economy began to assert their independence. The European Common Market (ECM), consisting initially of a handful of pro-western economies operating in a loosely coordinated fashion during the 1960's, was evolving into something more significant both economically and politically. What had been a loose economic union was determined to expand into a larger political entity in order to compete economically with the U.S., as well as to achieve greater global influence politically.
By the 1980's, the original members of the ECM had fully recovered from the devastation of the Second World War, and the era of inexpensive European travel for Americans had ended. Arthur Frommer's 1960's bestseller, Europe on $5 a Day, now had a quaint ring to it, and of course had long since been replaced by a complete library of Frommer's travel guides.
In short, travel to Western Europe had become institutionalized, with all but the most daring travelers following well-worn paths to London, Paris and Rome as laid out by Frommer and Fodor. And when the Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991 what little element of risk that had remained was suddenly gone.
Now I'm not suggesting that these well-worn European travel destinations are no longer worthwhile -- to the contrary, an itinerary which includes the great capitals of Western Europe constitutes an essential adventure of discovery, particularly for novice travelers.
But for more seasoned travelers, what created a sense of discovery and adventure only thirty years ago seems to be long gone. And in all honesty, despite the changes, for many years I've continued to immensely enjoy returning to these cities and countries time and again -- I almost always find something I hadn't previously noticed or hadn't fully appreciated.
Yet despite the inconveniences of the past, I genuinely miss many of the eccentric and peculiar aspects of the "old" Europe, such as having to figure out the conversions for so many different and colorful national currencies. How many times did I imagine I was wealthy because I suddenly had millions of Italian lire, thousands of Greek drachmas, or hundreds of French francs in my pocket!
So here we are in Budapest. Yes, there are plenty of tourists here -- we are obviously not the only visitors. But there are no throngs of tourists at every venue. And in the heart of Budapest there is a pervasive sense of history having stood still, of this city having barely been touched by progress. Monuments to the 1896 Hungarian millennial celebration are ubiquitous -- as if it had just occurred last week!
There is also construction everywhere you look. On every street corner historic facades are covered with scaffolding and in the process of being restored. Major thoroughfares are being rebuilt and new infrastructure projects are everywhere!
Yet its clear that Budapest is not yet a part of mainstream Europe. Signs of the forty year Soviet occupation remain. Its only been twenty years since the Communists gave up their control and plenty of drab and uninspired Soviet-era buildings abound. The subway stations look ancient and the trains that roll along the underground tracks squeal and sway as they plod along as if trapped in a time warp.
And in the center of the city's main park are the massive and crowded public baths, clearly unchanged since they were built more than one hundred years ago.
This is the Europe I recall from my travels of thirty years ago. But I suspect its not going to stay this way for long. Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and while they will continue to use forints as their currency for the foreseeable future, I'm sure that eventually they too will adopt the practical but unromantic Euro.
In the meantime, Budapest is now Old Europe, preserved more or less (thanks to the Soviets) as it was at the end of the Second World War. So if you have a sense of adventure and want to experience Europe at its best, this should be your destination of choice. This is a rare opportunity to stay off the beaten path and to avoid institutionalized European tourism.
As for me, I have no doubt there's a lot more here to explore and I'm sure I've barely scraped the surface. Returning to Hungary to see the rest of the country will be near the top of my list for future travel adventures!
Eastern Europe
May 2009
OK, time to start thinking about our next adventure. I have to admit that the last one was really, really, really... different. Life changing? Well, probably not, but ... I suspect that our next trip will feel luxurious compared to the last! It has taken several months to fully recover, but with summer around the corner, Teresa and I have been revisiting our list of places we'd like to see. Katie tells us that Krakow is the "new" Prague, but since we haven't seen either, I guess we'll have to start with the old Prague first!
The reality is that I have never spent any time in Eastern Europe at all! I wonder why that is?
I remember when I first traveled to Europe in 1977. Eastern Europe was truly off-limits. The Cold War was at its zenith and the nearest you could get to experiencing it without the benefit of a secret police escort was to head to the Berlin Wall, and perhaps talk your way into East Germany for the day! I didn't bother to go to Berlin back then because it didn't seem that things would be changing anytime soon. The President of East Germany proclaimed that the wall would be standing "for a hundred years", so I figured I'd get to see it later. It simply made more sense to visit those places that were both accessible and still (relatively) undiscovered.
I think the mid-1970's was probably the tail end of the European experience that Arthur Frommer first described in his classic 1960's travel handbook, Europe on $5 a day. In 1977, Europe had not yet caught up to the U.S. economically, and the Second World War was not yet a distant memory. I recall that when I drove along the backroads of Spain in my battered VW bus, the Guardia Civil was ubiquitous, and all the coins still bore General Franco's likeness, as he had only been dead for little more than a year. The country was an economic backwater! When I returned to Spain three years ago, it was like seeing an entirely different country, with no evidence of the horrors of the Franco dictatorship. Likewise with Greece, which in 1977 was basically a third world country still recovering from brutal military rule. The European Union was in its infancy and consisted of only a handful of countries, while the Soviet Union menaced the entirety of Europe while occupying the Eastern bloc of countries including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and many others!
All in all, it just wasn't real inviting!
I remember sitting transfixed in front of the television in November of 1989. With the networks broadcasting live from Berlin, we watched as hordes of deliriously happy East Germans clambered over the wall in a frantic dash for freedom. I think it was one of the most astonishing events I have ever seen!
Anyway, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain, and its time I set aside my dated notions of what Eastern Europe used to be. Since checking it out is long overdue, we've decided our next journey will be an introductory tour of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, with a stop in Vienna, Austria for good measure.
After spending several hours scouring all the travel search engines for bargains, I came across a discounted round-trip fare from San Francisco to Prague, on Delta Airlines, for only US $829.00. I'll be joined by Teresa and Katie and we will be departing on July 7th. Teresa and I will return on July 29th, and Katie will then meet up with her Scottish friend Emily and continue the adventure for another four weeks.
We'll use Prague as our base for seeing the Czech Republic during the first week, then move on to Vienna, Budapest and Krakow, making a loop that will end back in Prague.
TRAVEL IS THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE
Foreign travel is my passion. Because a journey abroad is inherently and often dramatically unpredictable, I look upon it as the ultimate adventure.
The roster of distant lands that I have yet to discover seems inexhaustible and the potential for adventure is limitless. And because each one of us is the ultimate variable, every journey becomes unique. What you experience depends on what you are looking for and what you are willing to try.
The purpose of this website is to share with others my thoughts and insights about travel, my experiences, and my future plans. Since I have never done an on-line journal before, I really don't know if I will have the patience and persistence to regularly write something that others might want to read about.
ABOUT ME
My name is Scott Rose, and I live in Northern California with my wife and favorite traveling companion, Teresa. We have three adult children in their twenties who are also my traveling companions at different times. Time and again, it is through their eyes that I rediscover the world from different and newly exciting perspectives.
My love for travel began in September 1977 when I spend eight months roaming around Europe in a beat-up Volkswagen bus that I bought for $700 in the parking lot across from American Express in Amsterdam. I covered a lot of ground during that extended road trip, living on the beach at Vai, wandering the medina in Fez, exploring the ruins at Pozzuoli and eventually returning home on Freddie Laker’s Skytrain.
It was this extended journey that first led me to appreciate travel as a phenomenon that opens our eyes to the world, and eliminates our instinctive parochialism by educating us about the values of the many societies and cultures with whom we share the planet.
It is my hope that by sharing my experiences, I can inspire others to discover the adventure and acquire the insight that travel can offer.