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Travel Blog
The Ugly American Myth 1/29/2006 1:21:18 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment Many years ago, when I was a boy, I remember reading articles and hearing people on radio and TV talk about the "Ugly American" abroad. The tales were all similar and described loud, pushy, very rude people who steamrollered over the cultured well mannered people in the foreign countries. At that time I had no point of reference as the farthest I had been from home was less that a 5 hour car ride, so I accepted what I heard as gospel.
However, now that I have traveled extensively around the world and have observed how we, Americans that is, behave relative to others we encounter, I am now very proud of how the average American represents our country. I won't get into specific comparisons with the behavior of citizens of specific countries, but it is enough to say there are some "ugly (fill in the blank)" out there but they are not from the US.
Generally, people from all around the world are kind and courteous but remember they operate with differnt cultural norms than Americans. Most issues seem to arise from these cultural differences. People in continental Europe are not conditioned to stay in well formed lines to attend events or enter crowded museums. They form a large knot and continued to work forward until they get in. To folks from the US who are used to Disney type crowd control, we tend to be overwhelmed, and offended, by this behavior, but it is not rude in their system. To try to deal with them like you would a person butting in line in the US would not be well received, say in France.
I seem to be wandering from my main point, which is that when traveling abroad, the genuine open friendliness that most Americans naturally display is a great plus and is well received by those who we are visiting. The Ugly American, I believe, has mostly been a media construct and not a reality. | The Wave Season 1/26/2006 3:32:15 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment In the travel business this is called the Wave season. The reason is that this is the time that most cruises are sold for the year. Cruise lines want to have their staterooms filled and they get very uneasy if a ship has a lot of unsold cabin space for very long in the wave season.
For the traveler, this is a great time to get a good deal. Each cruise line is putting forward their best deals to get the traveler on their ships. For Caribbean and Mexico cruises there is a lot of capacity and a lot of competition. However, be sure to look at the sailing dates for those "great deals". You may be right in the middle of the hurricane season. We all remember the 2005 hurricane season. It didn't end until this month. Technically, the hurricane season runs from May to December, but the bad months normally are Aug-Oct. That doesn't mean you can't book then and have a great cruise, but your odds of hitting really bad weather are definitely increased.
If you are interested in an Alaska cruise, you should not wait. These cruises fill up and unlike Caribbean cruises, it is almost unheard of to get a last minute great deal. Normally, the prices increase as it gets closer to sailing because the ships sell out.
If you want to cruise this year, you should be talking with your travel agent (preferrably that would be me) soon. Tell him/her what your interests are and let him lay out some options for you.
Cruising is very popular for very good reasons. It is well priced, family friendly, has a lot of variety, and is FUN. | Travel Tips 1/19/2006 8:23:59 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment Every traveler can learn something new about traveling smarter, lighter, and/or faster. I have searched the web and found some websites that are worth your time to browse.
http://www.travelite.org/
http://www.travelsense.org/
http://www.webfoot.com/travel/tips/tips.top.html
http://www.travellerspoint.com/travel-tools.cfm
http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1052.xml
This list is by no means exhaustive, but as with most things on the web, they can lead you to another website.
Take a little time at the front end to get organized. It will pay off big in the long run. | What are the political differences between Ireland and Northern Ireland? 1/13/2006 3:39:51 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment Although technically Ireland is divided into four provinces, politically, it is divided into two: The Republic of Ireland, simply referred to as Ireland, and Northern Ireland, which along with Great Britain forms the United Kingdom. When Ireland won its independence from Britain in 1921, it was decided the island would be divided into these two sections, the division being primarily based on religion. The 26 counties that make up the Republic of Ireland were predominantly Catholic. The six counties in the Ulster province that make up Northern Ireland were mainly Protestant, and would therefore remain under the rule of Britain.
After the division, two conflicting groups emerged in Northern Ireland: Unionists, a Protestant majority who want to remain a part of the United Kingdom, and Nationalists, the Catholic minority who wish Ireland to be one united nation. The fighting between the two groups gave birth to the Irish Republican Army, a violent paramilitary Nationalist group, as well as another half-dozen paramilitary groups on both opposing sides. Since their inception, violence between the two has ensued.
In 1998, the majority of Northern Ireland voted for change and The Belfast agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, put the political future of Northern Ireland back into its own hands. It has not been an easy transition, but the peace process continues to move forward. Although these have been turbulent times for the people of Northern Ireland, they have not affected the visitors to this part of the country nearly as much. The majority of Northern Irish people don’t belong to any paramilitary group and are as welcoming and friendly as their neighbors to the south. In fact, the Ulster province is actually an idyllic, charming and serene place to visit.
| Durty Nellys in Shannon Ireland 1/11/2006 6:14:34 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment Earlier I wrote about Ireland and how I just love that country. Whenever I am in Ireland I pass through Bunratty, just outside of Shannon and I never miss the chance to visit Durty Nellys Pub. It is a fun place but I never heard the story behind Durty Nelly. Well, I found this piece and thought I would share it with you.
"A visit to Bunratty would not be complete without a visit to Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub. Nestled in the shadow of Bunratty castle, this famous watering hole was erected in the early 1600s and was said to be the drinking establishment of choice for the castle guards.
But who was Durty Nelly? Legend has it she was the beautiful keeper of the toll bridge over the Owengarney River and took many forms of “payment” for those seeking to cross the bridge, especially from the male persuasion. After crying herself to sleep one night upon discovering one of her visitors had stolen the few gold pieces she owned, an unusual recipe appeared to her in her sleep. She promptly set up a primitive distillery among the trees and made what came to be called Poteen.
Nelly didn’t know the power of her concoction until she fed it to a sickly wolfhound. When the near-death animal miraculously recovered, word soon spread that Nelly had discovered the gift of life. People came in droves seeking a cure for their lame horses, slow greyhounds and even their own pain. They found it at the little house by the bridge, which to this day remains a house for refreshment and comfort.
Today, visitors still enjoy the warmth of Durty Nelly’s with its little nooks and crannies, dimly lit lanterns and open fireplaces. Although Poteen is no longer a legal drink in Ireland, a pint of Guinness is always within reach."
| Flying 2006 As I forecast the travel year for me personally and my clients, I am struck by the persistent feeling in the airline industry that the era of really low domestic fares may be fading into the past. There are still some real deals out there and I don't expect to wake up tomorrow and see fares doubled, but they are going up and the signs for the health of our individual wallets are not good.
As more airlines reorganize, some under bankruptcy, they are releasing more and more planes back to the leasing companies. Many of these planes are new modern ones that are only a few years old. The airlines are waking up to the fact that if a route doesn't make them money, they should stop flying it. This will have a big negative impact on smaller airports. Independence Air just announced they are going out of business. Even as a regional airline, their loss reduces total airline capacity by 5%.
The number of people flying is now higher than before 9/11 and the number of planes is less. Simple arithmetic says that as more seats are filled, the airlines will be charging more. The customer doesn't have as many choices this year as in recent years.
Since international flights are more profitable the major airlines are putting more of their planes and flight crews on those routes. The good news is that if you want to go to Europe, the airfares may actually be better - at least in the short term. However, the "experts" say this may be a short lived phenomenon.
In the long run we all benefit from a healthy airline industry and higher air fares are one of the medicines that will make them healthy. Competition is very stiff and that will mitigate the price increases, but do expect to pay more this year to get to your favorite vacation spot than you did last year. | |
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