Post: #51

(01-15-2013 11:06 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  So much truth in this thread.

Most of my friends don't ask me much about living in Bangkok. I think it stems partly from jealousy, and partly that they can't even fathom what it's like to live in a foreign country. My best friend made a smart ass remark over Facebook when I mentioned something about my main chick driving me somewhere. He responded with "What!?! An actual car!?! haha". Apparently he, like many other Americans, think Thailand is filled with only poor hookers and ladyboys. Has not the slightest idea what it's really like, and that the streets of Thonglor and Ekkamai and littered with BMWs and Mercedes like the US is with Civics.

His only travel ambitions are to go to Ireland, England and Scotland for 10 days (he wouldn't be able to leave for longer because he has 2 kids and a worthless girlfriend to support. She would never let him leave for 10 days anyways) and spend $10k to "party like Charlie Sheen." I.E. cocaine and bang hookers.

Surprisingly though, I haven't gotten too much hate about Thailand. My time between trips has been spent in my hometown where everyone knows me, and know I've banged half of the town. So they know I don't need to fuck hookers. I thought I would get a lot more hate about it, but I haven't. If I wasn't known for being a player, I think I would get significantly more hate about it.

Generally, when folks know they can't fuck with you, you get silence. They won't attempt to try to clown you. They'll look at the ground when they see you coming. I do wonder why people aren't more curious - why they don't ask serious questions about life in another country, especially in terms of the challenges you may have faced and overcome, etc.

Post: #52

(01-15-2013 03:47 PM)Timoteo Wrote:  

(01-15-2013 11:06 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  So much truth in this thread.

Most of my friends don't ask me much about living in Bangkok. I think it stems partly from jealousy, and partly that they can't even fathom what it's like to live in a foreign country. My best friend made a smart ass remark over Facebook when I mentioned something about my main chick driving me somewhere. He responded with "What!?! An actual car!?! haha". Apparently he, like many other Americans, think Thailand is filled with only poor hookers and ladyboys. Has not the slightest idea what it's really like, and that the streets of Thonglor and Ekkamai and littered with BMWs and Mercedes like the US is with Civics.

His only travel ambitions are to go to Ireland, England and Scotland for 10 days (he wouldn't be able to leave for longer because he has 2 kids and a worthless girlfriend to support. She would never let him leave for 10 days anyways) and spend $10k to "party like Charlie Sheen." I.E. cocaine and bang hookers.

Surprisingly though, I haven't gotten too much hate about Thailand. My time between trips has been spent in my hometown where everyone knows me, and know I've banged half of the town. So they know I don't need to fuck hookers. I thought I would get a lot more hate about it, but I haven't. If I wasn't known for being a player, I think I would get significantly more hate about it.

Generally, when folks know they can't fuck with you, you get silence. They won't attempt to try to clown you. They'll look at the ground when they see you coming. I do wonder why people aren't more curious - why they don't ask serious questions about life in another country, especially in terms of the challenges you may have faced and overcome, etc.

Most people don't ask because they still haven't answered the fundamental "what am I doing on Earth" question for themselves.

It's pompous to say, but I feel like it's a question many of us have already answered on our own. I could not survive and thrive in a foreign land if I didn't already understand some greater truths about myself.

Post: #53

I love the original post. It's interesting to think of travel from an almost philosophical perspective.

Yeah I feel for the guys who cant afford traveling because they're tied-up in different ways, too. Then again I don't everyone who tries it actually enjoys it. They prefer the comfortability of being at home. To each his own. I don't think of myself as better than people who don't travel, just different. A life without travel is unthinkable for me now.

I get my fair share of hate and passive-agressiveness as well. I think it's obvious a lot of it comes from jealousy. Sometimes I get asked how I can afford to travel. I answer "how can you afford to live in our home country which is many times more expensive?".

Sometimes someone will say something that implies they think people who travel are only doing it to "find themselves" LOL.

(01-12-2013 02:35 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  "oh you're just going there because you can't get laid"

If all we wanted was to get laid we would be better off staying in the West. It's far easier there.

Post: #54

(01-15-2013 07:39 PM)solo Wrote:  I love the original post. It's interesting to think of travel from an almost philosophical perspective.

Yeah I feel for the guys who cant afford traveling because they're tied-up in different ways, too. Then again I don't everyone who tries it actually enjoys it. They prefer the comfortability of being at home. To each his own. I don't think of myself as better than people who don't travel, just different. A life without travel is unthinkable for me now.

I get my fair share of hate and passive-agressiveness as well. I think it's obvious a lot of it comes from jealousy. Sometimes I get asked how I can afford to travel. I answer "how can you afford to live in our home country which is many times more expensive?".

Sometimes someone will say something that implies they think people who travel are only doing it to "find themselves" LOL.

(01-12-2013 02:35 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  "oh you're just going there because you can't get laid"

If all we wanted was to get laid we would be better off staying in the West. It's far easier there.

From my perspective, it's a lot easier to get laid in our own respective countries with say a full-time job & in a city with a good social scene for young professionals. It just entails "working hard" & "partying hard," which gets expensive and becomes unfulfilling. This means gaming chicks while living for the local party scene on weekends, going to all the "see & be seen places" consistently which is fun but as mentioned gets pricey...especially for someone at the time who wasn't happy with his career path to start with. I got tired of that consistent party hard routine 2010 as it didn't really get me anywhere in the sense of 1) self-improvement, 2) increasing my overall knowledge, and 3) figuring out my overall career path. As a guy who was spending 20-25% of my year traveling for work while having 4 weeks of vacation time annually, partying too hard & dating local chicks in my spare time resulted in me waking up every morning with the same headaches, the same skill sets, and same problems without a solution in sight..all while spending too much money, lol.

Since 2011, I spent more time living below my means, learning languages like Spanish & Portuguese while getting a better overall view of myself & what I wanted to accomplish in the long-run. Did my immediate social & dating life take a dip locally? Yes it did unfortunately...very much so. But at least I was able to meet new people communicating with them in their native languages while traveling & learning about new cultures, which ended up being exponentially more meaningful. Most importantly, the peace of mind I got with studying new languages and traveling provided me with more answers about myself than being a full-fledged scenester only.

Post: #55

I live in New Zealand and i think this must be very different than the UK or the US because international travel is not frowned upon in the same way as the above comments, especially if you are young. Basically everyone my age wants to travel around the world (especially europe) and see the sights. This is based on our culture, living in an isolated part of the world most people have a good understanding of other cultures and countries everyone could for example point out mongolia or Taiwan on map... probably. This urge to travel is unusual because it costs enormous amounts of money just to leave the country by air travel let alone the return trip, this is why it is so common for kiwis to take extended trips lasting many months and visiting lots of countries. So their is little to no hate when i get back from traveling, people genuinely want to know how your trip went and what you experienced.

Post: #56

(01-15-2013 11:27 PM)liberman Wrote:  I live in New Zealand and i think this must be very different than the UK or the US because international travel is not frowned upon in the same way as the above comments, especially if you are young. Basically everyone my age wants to travel around the world (especially europe) and see the sights. This is based on our culture, living in an isolated part of the world most people have a good understanding of other cultures and countries everyone could for example point out mongolia or Taiwan on map... probably. This urge to travel is unusual because it costs enormous amounts of money just to leave the country by air travel let alone the return trip, this is why it is so common for kiwis to take extended trips lasting many months and visiting lots of countries. So their is little to no hate when i get back from traveling, people genuinely want to know how your trip went and what you experienced.

I've always had the feeling that Europeans and other Eastern countries actually encourage traveling alot.

It seems to me that this "Travel Hate" is mostly present in America. That means the US, Central and South America.

Post: #57

Yeah, I think being hated on for traveling, especially to Thailand and South America, is mostly a US thing. As mentioned, the majority of Americans will only travel to Mexico or Hawaii, if they ever travel at all.

Post: #58

How a lot of Americans see the world... http://angloaustria.blogspot.com/2009/11...d.html?m=1

Europe= Paris
South America= Drugs
Rest of the world= does not Compute

Post: #59

haha i love that picture

Post: #60

(01-15-2013 07:36 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  Most people don't ask because they still haven't answered the fundamental "what am I doing on Earth" question for themselves.

Great point. In my experiences, the hate comes from the fact that adventurous, travelling-types are questioning the entire "system," a system that everyone in the US bases their life on. So that's a serious threat. You're happy, others are not. You're amassing experiences, others amass debt. You're flying around, others have underwater mortgages. Your brain gets energized and "reset" in another culure, others slog on in the daily commute for years and years and years.

Everyone has hope and dreams and people get angry when others are living out their dreams. Its the same with people that start their own companies, or gamble and win on great ideas. All it does is remind them of their own failures- it doesn't have to be that way, but the weight of their own disappointment makes it that way. In my opinion the hate is a competitive coping mechanism; if you don't have to face other realities, then you don't lose. For some, the system doesn't work unless everyone buys into it... it hurts when they learn that their mindless conformity and trite (and completely conventional) money chasin' doesnt add up like they expected it to.

The most egregious example of this I've ever seen; I have a good friend who does serious work in anti-poverty in Latin America. He's now big- time recognized. Does that stop people from hating? No. If we're out and he's talking, alot of people just don't want to hear it, men and women ...some people just can't hear it. I see the hate and I'm thinking "WTF??? This dude is putting his @ss out there, f--king helping people who need it, making the world a better place... and smart people are afraid to discuss his travels and work?" Then I remembered what Thoreau said...“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

Post: #61

(01-16-2013 05:50 PM)FretDancer Wrote:  

(01-15-2013 11:27 PM)liberman Wrote:  I live in New Zealand and i think this must be very different than the UK or the US because international travel is not frowned upon in the same way as the above comments, especially if you are young. Basically everyone my age wants to travel around the world (especially europe) and see the sights. This is based on our culture, living in an isolated part of the world most people have a good understanding of other cultures and countries everyone could for example point out mongolia or Taiwan on map... probably. This urge to travel is unusual because it costs enormous amounts of money just to leave the country by air travel let alone the return trip, this is why it is so common for kiwis to take extended trips lasting many months and visiting lots of countries. So their is little to no hate when i get back from traveling, people genuinely want to know how your trip went and what you experienced.

I've always had the feeling that Europeans and other Eastern countries actually encourage traveling alot.

It seems to me that this "Travel Hate" is mostly present in America. That means the US, Central and South America.

Yeah what's funny is a lot of the "productive" even harder working Asian countries stressing the "bottom line" still place a higher emphasis on traveling the world one day whereas it's something that is frowned upon in the United States when the airline industry contributes so much to the local & foreign economies.

On a somewhat related or unrelated note, most Vietnamese Americans like in my family & immediate circles are anti-traveling and moreso about rushing into marriage, mortgage, kids, and getting the newest Infiniti G37 (2 Door not the 4, lol) whereas there's a lot of them that end up getting divorced. The Chinese Americans though can be somewhat similar but they seem to have a better perspective on seeing the world...or primarily most Chinese around the globe period.

Post: #62

That would be a bit of a strange country or family/friend! My travels have always been met with admiration, maybe a hint of jealousy too, but never hating. All in all it was very positive.

Post: #63

Anyone that knows me well knows I'm all about getting on a plane and going somewhere. Most of my close male friends are all about the same thing, so I don't get any nonsense. Chicks might make comments about going someplace to get women, but my dudes are all on the same page regarding travel.

Post: #64

(01-15-2013 11:27 PM)liberman Wrote:  So their is little to no hate when i get back from traveling, people genuinely want to know how your trip went and what you experienced.

I think to offer a bit of balance in this thread it's important to mention that we also get a lot of love and curiosity about traveling from Americans too.

For every person who has made an ignorant comment, there are another ten people who have gotten excited and drilled me with questions. Admittedly, some do both (the negative comments being phrased as sarcastic jokes).

But whenever it slips that I used to live abroad, it never fails to arouse attention and start a conversation with a stranger. Hell, the very idea of the thing seems to get some women wet. I've been enthusiastically drilled by my doctor and a bank cashier just this week and those are nearly the only strangers I've interacted with all week. I can't even tell you how often people tell me how they wish they could do what I do or how they will when they "have the money."

I've also met a ton of Americans who have been to Thailand, Europe (assorted countries), Peru, and Ecuador specifically. Met a couple women this last year who've studied in Africa. Many more young Americans do seem to be traveling - although most hug the tourist track pretty closely, much like travelers from other countries, not all do.

There are ignorant people here who can't fathom the idea - hell I have an ex-gf in America whose family talked shit behind my back for getting her into reading books, of all things (yes, these people do exist). So ignorance peeks its head for sure. And I too, as mentioned, get comments about my intentions and lectured about women abroad and the need to settle down and jealousy, etc.

I also come from a very small town so the people I know are especially sheltered.

But I think this thread is painting the wrong picture that travelers are completely ostracized in this country. We also get a lot of love and interest in our experiences.

And here's some further balance for you - I take issue with the idea of the comments coming only from Americans. While abroad,I've also been lectured by close-minded Australian, Brit, and Russian (to name a few specifically) travelers while in Thailand about my choice to be there long-term. These are people who are already there but usually on a short holiday and thinking they already know the score about it because they've heard from similar uneducated travelers and their brief exposure to the seediest areas in the country.

Most are well-meaning and expressing their view in polite conversation - trying to warn me, I suppose - but I had one old British woman even give me a hard time about my young-looking gf in an elevator once (talked right over my girl as if she wasn't even there). My girl was 23, but looked much younger, and I was 28 or 29 at the time.

So I find it hard to believe these people aren't doing the same back in their own countries.

I've talked with a lot of women and men from abroad that have expressed ignorant assumptions and views about people who live overseas in expat locations, and you get just as many expats from various locations expressing ignorant views about the backpacking crowd and the locals. Old guys make comments about the young guys. Young guys make comments about the old guys.

Haters gonna hate.

And I've been told by my Irish buddy that people back home would severely judge and look down on anyone who married a girl from Southeast Asia.

I remember one time I got a ride in a van from Northern Laos to Luang Prabang over the mountains, and it was packed full of Aussies and Brits. I hadn't associated with other tourists in quite some time, and I was really blown away.

Here were a few groups of people who'd left their countries to travel one of the most rugged countries in the world and all they did the entire time was bitch about the bumpy road, being packed like sardines, their discomfort, the danger, the Laos and Thai people (with them sitting right there), the drivers (with them sitting right there), and the food. Sure it was hell, but I saw it as an adventure, and we were already caught in the situation, so why flap about it and whine all day?

A lot of it was seemingly in jest, but I'd never heard so much bitching in my life and couldn't wait to get away from these people and back to hanging out with the Laotians. It was hard to even enjoy the epic views with these ignorant, trivial passengers barking about every little inconvenience and jolt in the road.

I remember we stopped at some roadside market in the middle of nowhere and while I was eating and drinking shots of Lao Lao with a group of local men, laughing it up with them, these "hardened travelers" were huddled together outside, marveling at my audacity in doing so and pointing out strange animals laid out for consumption. I think I talked ONE of them into eating a fried chicken leg. He "jokingly"worried for the rest of the ride about getting sick and how it'd be my fault.

And again, these were fellow world travelers - not your average citizen.

Americans get a bad rap for being close-minded, but I've heard more ignorant comments about Americans than any one else. How's that for irony? Which is another reason I want to offer a balance.

I love it, for instance, when some European I meet in a bar makes disparaging comments about where I'm from and how ignorant we are when he himself has just labeled and boxed me in based on my citizenship, thus proving himself to be just as close-minded and ignorant as the subset of Americans he claims to detest.

And it's become so accepted that even Americans make ignorant comments about other Americans to reassure everyone that they're not like the "rest."

Point being that it's not just Americans that are ignorant about foreign travel, specific cultures, living abroad, intercultural relationships, and the like. Not at all in my experience.

I think we're only getting part of the story here from those of you claiming your peers don't do it too. Either that or you're over-estimating what your fellow posters mean by "travel hate."

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #65

(01-17-2013 11:20 AM)46. Wrote:  

(01-15-2013 07:36 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  Most people don't ask because they still haven't answered the fundamental "what am I doing on Earth" question for themselves.

Great point. In my experiences, the hate comes from the fact that adventurous, travelling-types are questioning the entire "system," a system that everyone in the US bases their life on. So that's a serious threat. You're happy, others are not. You're amassing experiences, others amass debt. You're flying around, others have underwater mortgages. Your brain gets energized and "reset" in another culure, others slog on in the daily commute for years and years and years.

Everyone has hope and dreams and people get angry when others are living out their dreams. Its the same with people that start their own companies, or gamble and win on great ideas. All it does is remind them of their own failures- it doesn't have to be that way, but the weight of their own disappointment makes it that way. In my opinion the hate is a competitive coping mechanism; if you don't have to face other realities, then you don't lose. For some, the system doesn't work unless everyone buys into it... it hurts when they learn that their mindless conformity and trite (and completely conventional) money chasin' doesnt add up like they expected it to.

The most egregious example of this I've ever seen; I have a good friend who does serious work in anti-poverty in Latin America. He's now big- time recognized. Does that stop people from hating? No. If we're out and he's talking, alot of people just don't want to hear it, men and women ...some people just can't hear it. I see the hate and I'm thinking "WTF??? This dude is putting his @ss out there, f--king helping people who need it, making the world a better place... and smart people are afraid to discuss his travels and work?" Then I remembered what Thoreau said...“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

This really is an excellent point. I have a nice array of friends with different priorities, situations, perspectives, and opinions that differ from mine's, which is great because I try to embrace everything for what it is as everybody is experiencing different joys and fighting different battles in life. Though a great deal of my peers embrace not just my travels but also other pursuits, I have certain negative passive aggressive friends who now go the extra mile to only affiliate with people that are going through the same motions that they are of settling down, not taking risks, not thinking outside the box to improve themselves, and getting married/popping out kids to be like those in their immediate social circles. I have no issues of people settling down to raise a family as it is another step of life. However, it's getting to the point where a lot of people are doing it as a means of social conformity & to one up others with all these ridiculous facebook based instagram posts compensating for their insecurities.

For some, misery loves company, and it's annoying how certain very insecure individuals also require that their peers pro-actively buy into their own respective plights thus giving themselves this so-called increased meaning in life. It's tough having to blow some of these people off now as they've done great things for me in the past, but I can't let others from dragging me down from my ambitions & pursuits as I've got responsibilities to fulfill, bills to pay, and things to accomplish.

Post: #66

(01-17-2013 03:45 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(01-15-2013 11:27 PM)liberman Wrote:  So their is little to no hate when i get back from traveling, people genuinely want to know how your trip went and what you experienced.

I think to offer a bit of balance in this thread it's important to mention that we also get a lot of love and curiosity about traveling from Americans too.

For every person who has made an ignorant comment, there are another ten people who have gotten excited and drilled me with questions. Admittedly, some do both (the negative comments being phrased as sarcastic jokes).

But whenever it slips that I used to live abroad, it never fails to arouse attention and start a conversation with a stranger. Hell, the very idea of the thing seems to get some women wet. I've been enthusiastically drilled by my doctor and a bank cashier just this week and those are nearly the only strangers I've interacted with all week. I can't even tell you how often people tell me how they wish they could do what I do or how they will when they "have the money."

I've also met a ton of Americans who have been to Thailand, Europe (assorted countries), Peru, and Ecuador specifically. Met a couple women this last year who've studied in Africa. Many more young Americans do seem to be traveling - although most hug the tourist track pretty closely, much like travelers from other countries, not all do.

There are ignorant people here who can't fathom the idea - hell I have an ex-gf in America whose family talked shit behind my back for getting her into reading books, of all things (yes, these people do exist). So ignorance peeks its head for sure. And I too, as mentioned, get comments about my intentions and lectured about women abroad and the need to settle down and jealousy, etc.

I also come from a very small town so the people I know are especially sheltered.

But I think this thread is painting the wrong picture that travelers are completely ostracized in this country. We also get a lot of love and interest in our experiences.

And here's some further balance for you - I take issue with the idea of the comments coming only from Americans. While abroad,I've also been lectured by close-minded Australian, Brit, and Russian (to name a few specifically) travelers while in Thailand about my choice to be there long-term. These are people who are already there but usually on a short holiday and thinking they already know the score about it because they've heard from similar uneducated travelers and their brief exposure to the seediest areas in the country.

Most are well-meaning and expressing their view in polite conversation - trying to warn me, I suppose - but I had one old British woman even give me a hard time about my young-looking gf in an elevator once (talked right over my girl as if she wasn't even there). My girl was 23, but looked much younger, and I was 28 or 29 at the time.

So I find it hard to believe these people aren't doing the same back in their own countries.

I've talked with a lot of women and men from abroad that have expressed ignorant assumptions and views about people who live overseas in expat locations, and you get just as many expats from various locations expressing ignorant views about the backpacking crowd and the locals. Old guys make comments about the young guys. Young guys make comments about the old guys.

Haters gonna hate.

And I've been told by my Irish buddy that people back home would severely judge and look down on anyone who married a girl from Southeast Asia.

I remember one time I got a ride in a van from Northern Laos to Luang Prabang over the mountains, and it was packed full of Aussies and Brits. I hadn't associated with other tourists in quite some time, and I was really blown away.

Here were a few groups of people who'd left their countries to travel one of the most rugged countries in the world and all they did the entire time was bitch about the bumpy road, being packed like sardines, their discomfort, the danger, the Laos and Thai people (with them sitting right there), the drivers (with them sitting right there), and the food. Sure it was hell, but I saw it as an adventure, and we were already caught in the situation, so why flap about it and whine all day?

A lot of it was seemingly in jest, but I'd never heard so much bitching in my life and couldn't wait to get away from these people and back to hanging out with the Laotians. It was hard to even enjoy the epic views with these ignorant, trivial passengers barking about every little inconvenience and jolt in the road.

I remember we stopped at some roadside market in the middle of nowhere and while I was eating and drinking shots of Lao Lao with a group of local men, laughing it up with them, these "hardened travelers" were huddled together outside, marveling at my audacity in doing so and pointing out strange animals laid out for consumption. I think I talked ONE of them into eating a fried chicken leg. He "jokingly"worried for the rest of the ride about getting sick and how it'd be my fault.

And again, these were fellow world travelers - not your average citizen.

Americans get a bad rap for being close-minded, but I've heard more ignorant comments about Americans than any one else. How's that for irony? Which is another reason I want to offer a balance.

I love it, for instance, when some European I meet in a bar makes disparaging comments about where I'm from and how ignorant we are when he himself has just labeled and boxed me in based on my citizenship, thus proving himself to be just as close-minded and ignorant as the subset of Americans he claims to detest.

And it's become so accepted that even Americans make ignorant comments about other Americans to reassure everyone that they're not like the "rest."

Point being that it's not just Americans that are ignorant about foreign travel, specific cultures, living abroad, intercultural relationships, and the like. Not at all in my experience.

I think we're only getting part of the story here from those of you claiming your peers don't do it too. Either that or you're over-estimating what your fellow posters mean by "travel hate."

Great stuff. The discrepancy between the American who has stepped out of his comfort zone to not just travel but bask in other cultures and the sheltered American who refuses to do so is extremely wide as you mentioned.

From personal experiences as well, the Americans I've met traveling in Europe, Asia, and South America were much more polite, willing to engage with locals, and carried themselves in much less of a "stag party" manner than some of the Brits and Aussies I've met. Then again not trying to generalize as 90%+ of the Aussies I've connected with through my travels have been extremely polite & game as well.

Post: #67

@beyond borders- yea, older ppl think its pimp, then ask to see pictures (live vicariously through you, i guess). younger people say, oh cool man. Then 2-3 replies in, "how many ladyboys did you bang?".

Its an interesting difference between ages to say the least.

Post: #68

I disagree with the notion that people are jealous haters. I'd argue that they can't comprehend that their notions about life in different parts of the world can be fun and prosperous.

Most people from 1st world countries live under the belief that they have everything they want in life and that everywhere else on Earth is one step away from being on a late night infomercial where a washed up celebrity begs for money to sponsor Charity X. It must be dangerous because they once heard about something bad happening in that country, or that country is a former communist country, or they heard everyone in that country lives in a shack.

They can't get past the idea that their life is perfect and anything contrary to that idea puts their entire paradigm at risk. If life isn't perfect in the US, then maybe capitalism isn't the answer to the meaning of life, maybe democracies aren't perfect, maybe it actually is hard to learn a second language, maybe they don't need 20 guns to protect their house in the suburbs when people get by in places much more dangerous, maybe they could use a smaller car like people in those countries...

People usually bend towards paradigm paralysis or confirmation bias - they only accept that which reinforces their world view.

"I believe life in China under Communist rule would be a nightmare."
"I saw a story on CNN about terrible pollution in Beijing. This confirms my worst suspicions."

"Other countries are dangerous places, little better than the wild west."
"I saw on the news some people were shot in another country, this proves that other countries are dangerous."

"Candy is healthy."
"This candy is apple flavored. Apples are a fruit. It's healthy to eat fruits. This candy must be healthy."

These are some dumb examples, but hopefully I got the point across. People aren't jealous of our travels, they straight up do not understand why you and I would travel in the first place.

Post: #69

Post: #70

To reiterate some of my points about Americans that are interested in or have gone on world travels, I went out in the Bay area (California) last night. I have a habit of yakking it up with cabbies. They tend to be really interesting people if you get on their level.

Anyhow, the first cabbie, it turned out, lived in Thailand for 12 years and used to own a bunch of real estate over there. He lost a lot of money in it and was down to broke aside from 20 rai in Northern Thailand. That's why he's back here driving a cab. Used to live in Indonesia too and has traveled extensively in Cambodia. Traveled extensively in Central America. Plans to head overseas again next month and start over somewhere new.

The second cabbie picked me up in the morning. Super fired up on world travel, had friends all over the world, and was absolutely jumping at the bit to see Philippines and Thailand. I think he was more in it for the young puss than anything else. So you could probably say he perpetuates a stereotype but I still found it interesting. Said his buddy lived there for 20 years and went down for drug smuggling and had to pay a 2 million dollars to avoid life in Thai prison (maybe he was full of shit or maybe his buddy said 2 million baht and he got confused - really don't know).

Just thought it was interesting how even the bottom rungs of society in America is full of world travelers now. Well worth talking to random people; they always surprise me.

EDIT: I need to start my own taxicabs confession show where you interview the drivers instead.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #71

This thread should be closed up because there's way too much truth for one place. I'm going to end up in a neck brace from nodding so much.



I've piled up haters and detractors with every step forward that I've taken in my life. That's not from traveling per se, but from "lifestyle" changes that display an improvement in my condition--including traveling, but other things too. Even a good friend--who would come through, and has, when I've been at rock-bottom--tries to erode my confidence and diminish my accomplishments under the guise of friendly banter. It's like he'd help me up, but doesn't want me see me going to high. I would cut him off--like I have legions of others--but he has redeeming qualities that merely get him demoted to the margins.

This fat guy I used to know had this fat girlfriend who would be cute if she lost like 30 clicks. We used to live near each other, and knew each other casually. I didn't even really know the girlfriend that well, but sorta. One day, I ran into them together.

Girl: Hey Tuthmosis, who was that girl you were with the other day? I saw you walk by XYZ Restaurant with her.

Tuthmosis: What was she like? [confused]

Girl: She was kind of mousy and plain. She looked frazzled.

Tuthmosis: I don't know anyone like that. [realizing, after thinking about it for a minute, who she was hating on]

The girl she was describing was actually this super-cute girl with an amazing body. She was ten times cuter (and several years younger), without make-up and shitty clothes, than that fat chick would be if she lost the weight and dolled herself up. That's not my opinion. That's just the objective truth. Not only that, my girl was sweet. She was wearing yoga pants and zip-up hoodie that day because she had taken an 8-hour bus ride just to come see me for a couple of hours.

Haters are part of the human condition. This is why a lot of my life is need-to-know. "Hey, Tuthmosis, how was your trip?" "Good, thanks." "Hey, Tuthmosis you seem to be good at talking to women, can you give me some tips?" "You're gravely mistaken. I'm terrible with chicks!"

Post: #72

http://now.msn.com/facebook-vacation-pho...nhappiness

Fact: Vacation photos are the top cause of Facebook misery

It's a truth universally acknowledged that Facebook can make you miserable: the unexpected racist comment from a high school "friend," utterly unwanted photos of your ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. The official word on Facebook misery and its causes is that the worst offender is vacation photos. The study, conducted jointly by two German universities, found that the second-most anxiety-producing Facebook subject was "social interaction" — like comparing the number of birthday greetings. Is it too late to get off this train?

Post: #73

I've traveled quite a bit and have to say that I really haven't experienced the sort of hate people describe here. The most extreme form of "negative" emotion I've recognized is likely mild jealousy. In my experience most people are either "happy for you" or keep their mouths shut.