TheAgitator.com
Bleg: Where Should I Take My Vacation?
Monday, February 11th, 2008The Agitatrix and I are trying to figure out where to go this year. Anywhere on the Euro is probably out. We’re thinking 10 days to two weeks. We’re not beach people. I’d much prefer a place with some culture, history, art museums, architecture, etc. And good food. Good food is a plus. Wilderness, mountains, and such are nice too. Here are a few ideas we’re batting around:
- The Baltics. We’d stay in Stockholm (where we might be able to stay with friends). We’d see Stockholm, then take a boat to, possibly, St. Petersburg, G’dansk, Copenhagen, Riga, and/or the freest capital city on earth, Tallinn.
- Vietnam. I’ve heard good things. It’s not the bargain it was a few years ago, or even last year, but it’s apparently still a pretty good deal for Americans.
- Alaska. I spent a few days in Kodiak two years ago and absolutely loved it. Problem is figuring out what part of the state to visit. You start to plan out a trip on a map, then realize the line you’ve just drawn from point A to point B is the distance from New Orleans to Seattle. I’d love to do the inside passage, or take the railroad from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Or head up north for the midnight sun. Kodiak was great, though I think after more than a few days on the island, stir crazy would set in.
- The Pacific Northwest. Speaking of Seattle, we love that town. It’s my favorite city. Idea for this trip would be to start in Portland, rent a car, and spend a few days each in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.
- Montreal. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Montreal, particularly in autumn.
- Serbia. Really. Last time I asked for vacation ideas, a few people suggested Serbia. It’s apparently like a cheap Southern California. Good restaurants, nice accommodations, tropical weather, and dirt cheap. Only thing is, I’m not a hot-weather guy. I don’t mind it, but I’m not a fan of going somewhere warm for no other reason than that it’s warm.
- Iceland. I’d love to go. But from what I understand, it’s pretty pricey.
Feel free to leave other ideas or make the case for one of the ideas above in the comments section.
Go to Sealand! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
Okay, not really…
Take a 7 night northbound cruise out of Vancouver or Seattle that does the Inside Passage the glaciers and ends up in Alaska (where depends on the cruiseline, obviously), then do a land tour up through Anchorage/Fairbanks. My wife and I are doing the cruise part in May (only have enough time for a one week vacation though)
Russia.
A friend of mine went on a river cruise in Russia. They said it included the river cruise for like 10 days, plus there were day trips. They also had a few nights where they had supper at a local person’s house.
She said it was very interesting to say the least. They also toured a vodka distillery and had a vodka tasting night.
If you’re foodies, I will agitate on behalf of Montreal. My wife and I just honeymooned there. Our big night out was Au Pied de Cochon. I think this is the English language site:
http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/index_eng.html
Also, Schwartz’s. I could eat there every day.
http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/index_eng.html
We took the train: the Amtrak Adirondack line is extremely pretty, with the Hudson valley then Lake Champlain right outside the window. It leaves NYC at about 8 AM, arrives in central Montreal about 6:30 - pretty reasonable, though I don’t know if connecting from DC is worthwhile or not.
Bosnia and Croatia! Croatia is very cheap.
Dubrovnik is supposed to be nice.
India or Japan
If you want to go somewhere interesting, not very expensive, and exceedingly friendly, try Albania. I know, I know, sounds odd. But I lived there for a while and it’s a fascinating place.
1.) The Albanian people are awesome. They are exceedingly friendly, generous and warm. Plus, they love Americans over there. No joke, Woodrow Wilson is an icon. Especially in some of the smaller towns, I couldn’t pay for my own beer.
2.) Cost. Other than the plan tickets, the cost of vacationing there is more than reasonable. Good hotels cost 30-40 per night. You can find meals for two for less than 10$. This does exclude the capital city, Tirana. It’s like any big city and will cost you about twice what the smaller towns will.
3.) Geography. You’ve got a beautiful coastline on the west a few miles to the east, you’ve got mountain ranges. Great hiking, great views.
4.) History. There are Roman and Illyrian ruins all over the place. Plus, do you know who Skenderbeg is? You really should,
So, cool country, great people, low cost, and way way way off the beaten path, try Albania.
Quebec is celebrating their 400th anniversary this summer, so Montreal should have plenty of good events. Quebec city is a little better if you want history, but Montreal wins hands down for culture.
I’m in my 16th year in Alaska and haven’t come close to seeing it all. One place we love is the Kennicott Mine. the lodge is great, the food is wonderful and you can walk right out onto the glacier. If you go over the July 4th time frame, you can participate in the McCarthy parade. Talk about small towns. In the winter McCarthy has less than 50 people I beleive.
Chena Hot Springs up above Fairbanks is another wonderful place, but better in the winter than summer. They now get all their power and heat from a 2 phase geothermal plant that is amazing the engineering world. They also have a year round ice museum, which is impressive in a place where it can reach mid 80s with 20+ hours of sunlight in the summer.
Montreal, especially towards the end of September or the beginning of October is perfect. The weather is great, the hordes of tourists have gone home, and there’s still plenty to do.
There are a bunch of great museums and music to see (check out montrealmirror.com for special events).
It’s no secret that you can get great French food there, but most tourists don’t know that Montreal has the best middle-eastern food in North America (try Boustan at Crecent and de Maisonneuve) and a distinctive Quebec cuisine all its own (try any location of the chain La Belle Province for the real thing).
The train is very pretty (at least on the NYC-Montreal strech), but takes about twice as long as the drive. It’s a very pretty and entirely straight drive up route 87 though - you get to go through the Adirondacks and can stop by at any number of cool places (Albany, Saratoga, Lake George Village, Fort Ticonderoga, Plattsburgh or, a little out of the way, Lake Placid).
(If you couldn’t tell, I’m New Yorker who lived in Montreal for several years and did that trip more times then I can count).
Seriously, Montreal is awesome - the best city in North America. I can’t say enough good things about it.
I went to the baltics in 2006, and i would recommend it. Riga and Talinn are nice, but Vilnius is the place I’d most recommend. All have great old towns. The food however is terrible. I didn’t make it to St. Petersburg, but from talks with other traveler I hear its the most amazing place to visit in the area. Send me an email if you want more detailed recommendations.
Thanks in advance for all the great ideas!
My wife and I went to Alaska for our honeymoon and it was fabulous. We flew into Anchorage, took a week tour that moved north through Fairbanks and all the way to Prudhoe Bay along the Arctic Ocean. We then flew back into Anchorage and took a cruise down to Vancouver. In total, it was two weeks.
It was fantastic. The Arctic is such an alien world to someone who isn’t used to it and you really just need to see it all to believe it. The juxtaposition of the inland tour followed by the cruise was a nice fit, because the tour up to Prudhoe was pretty sparse. The lunches were brown bag, the motels were basically trailers, etc… and then finally after you hit the ocean you fly down for a cruise which is the exact opposite.
As luxurious as the cruise was, the most fantastic part was seeing how different and beautiful (in a unique and desolate way) the Arctic is.
The best place ive ever been is Cambodia. Way nicer than Thai and Vietnam…friendlier people, amazing food, and wonderful ruins.
May I suggest Key West? I’m not a fan of Florida, but I went to Key West once on business and I will say, it was just like a vacation. Great people, great food. Don’t have to hit the beaches, but if you like to fish, it’s not much to rent a boat and head out into the flats or blue water. We rented a 16′ Boston Whaler for the day for something like $50 and got into a whole boatload of Mahi-Mahi. Lost a 6′+ barracuda too. Ahh, thems the days.
Quebec City, Quebec
Great food, drink, historical battlefields, museums, has everything as far as I’m concerned. One of my favorite places in the world to go to. It has old world charm. Try Sunday brunch at the Chateau Frontenac (stay here if you don’t mind the cost).
Mount Kilimanjaro (climb), Safari, Zanzibar. One trip, in that order - best vacation I have ever been on - don’t think I will ever beat it.
west end ,negril jamaica,rich history ,no beach, privacy,fun and cheap……….ya mon
fly direct to montego bay 50 minute ride to the hotel.
from negril a 1 hour car ride ,you can see 400 hundred years of spanish,english,african history.
How about Kurdistan? It’s interesting, with a great deal of history and the good hotels have 24 hour electricity. Bonus, if they know that you are a reporter, the Kurdistan Development Corporation will probably give you a tour guide. They’re trying hard to get U.S. media attention.
http://www.theotheriraq.com/
Croatia is beautiful, inexpensive and has great food.
I’d recommend Guanajuato Mexico. I went there for a couple weeks and took some spanish classes at academia falcon. Its a great city, founded in the 1500s so it has some very old Spanish era buildings. I was there during the rainy season, which meant downpours but plenty of times with no rain. It also kept the temperature down. Its got lots of museums and theaters. Good restaurants, very accomodating people even if you speak little spanish. Very great town.
Here’s the link for Falcon.
http://www.academiafalcon.com/
Montreal would be my first suggestion though the exchange rate is not great. Fabulous food, culture everywhere- museums, theatre,opera, great city to walk in- try to stay in Old Montreal if you can. Montreal is akin to a European city. Try spring, late summer or fall. And if you absolutely need to they have the Montreal Expos.
Another spot is Quebec City if you have not been there.
Portland is my favorite city of all- smaller, but it offers everything you would ever want. They have the biggest beer fest in the US with food and entertainment in July. Great food-lots to see and do-The drive to Seattle is about 3 hours. Beautiful country. and you know what to do in Seattle. My daughter and family live in Seattle and my son and family live in Portland. Have been to each city x10 or more. Any questions let me know.
Food and lodging in Iceland is expensive, but airfare is pretty inexpensive if you go through Baltimore on IcelandAir (which is basically a discount carrier to Europe).
If you like food, and especially meat, go to Montreal. Just walk around and eat at the different places. I’m still dreaming of going back for the game meat fondue. Stay at L’Petite Prince: its magic for a couple. Rent a car and go to Quebec city.
A large family of friends rented a villa in Northern Italy. Toured the vatican, saw michaelangelo’s work, had local people come and cook for them, visited tons of wineries and the parma ham makers. They definately had a ball.
Montreal is great from late-spring to early-fall. But stay away if it’s anything close to winter. If you do decide on Montreal, taking a side trip up to Quebec City is nice too, even more old-wordy. But be forewarned, while Montreal is a bi-lingual city, Quebec City is decidedly not, so bring a dictionary with you.
My brother and I did the Portland-Seattle-Vancouver trip last year (well, actually it was a road trip that went more like Vegas-San Fran-Seattle-Vancouver-Portland-Reno-Vegas). I’d highly recommend the Pacific Northwest. The highlight of the trip was probably seeing Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose, though if I remember, it’s in southern Oregon and probably out of the way if you’re more interested in Seattle and Vancouver.
What about ethiopia?
Here is a quick podcast on it:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelstories/podcast/destinationethiopia_0206/
The Simien:
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Simen_National_Park,_Ethiopia
The Danakil Depression:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danakil_depression
The stone churches:
http://www.sacredsites.com/africa/ethiopia/sacred_sites_ethiopia.html
And the food kicks ass.
Drive around Mexico and drink a lot of mezcal. Make sure to hit up Monterrey.
pris, the trainwreck that was the Expos is now in a more appropriate location, DC.
I lived in Montreal for 7 years (until this last spring), my parents spent every vacation visiting me so they could eat and walk and enjoy the city comforts. Food is awesome, great music scene, bars are open late (3am), the city is VERY safe. Fall is nice, but summer is when the fun is. There are some very nice B&B’s in the Plateau (top 10 neighborhoods in North America) near Parc Jeanne Meance, which are reasonably priced, within walking distance and bus or metro to downtown. another great place to stay near downtown is Manoir Ambrose (another B&B) on Stanley near Sherbrooke in the Museum district/Golden Square Mile; you can get discounts on rooms by mentioning McGill University.
Tadoussac is another great place in Quebec to visit. Its about 2 hours north-east of Quebec City. Cute tourist village and awesome whale watching (Beluga, Mink, Fin, and Blue).
the Adirondacks and northern Vermont are very accessible from Montreal as well. Quebec City and Ottawa are only 2 - 3 hours by train.
If you are going in February or March, the Big Bend area of Texas. It’s my favorite place. You can camp or stay in lodges in the Big Bend National Park or go to a little “resort” in the Chinati Mountains that has hot springs–including a communal tub and tubs in the rooms. There is also a communal kitchen.
I suggest South Africa. In particular, Southern South Africa around Cape Town and East toward Port Elizabeth. The area is safe, wineries, great restaurants, lots of culture, a game park or three and scenery to knock your socks off. Direct IAD-JNB flights, cheap efficient internal flights. Ok, it takes a while to fly there but lots of destinations share that fate. Plus the dollar still goes quite far (although you can spend mucho money if you want to). Everyone speaks English and most of the economy is first world.
I’ve spent a lot of Christmases and New Years in Montreal. I really enjoy it there. You can walk everywhere. If you don’t feel like walking, you can ride the Metro.
Lots of nice restaurants. I don’t know about stuff to do, I mostly just walked around, and ate, and hung out with my g/f’s relatives.
Or, you could do something fun, and go to Yosemite. Especially in the spring, when all the waterfalls are going. The valley gets kind of crowded, but you can head up to Tuolumne. Not much good food up there, mostly just trees and mountains. Everyone should see Yosemite at least once.
Or, if you go to Seattle, you can hire a guide and climb Mt. Rainier. Why waste a whole vacation just driving around in a car?
Baltics!
Everyone I knew who took a trip to Iceland raved about it afterwards. Never heard a negative.
Out of your ideas, I would say Vancouver. It’s a beautiful area with some great scenery and untouched wilderness. If you enjoy aquariums and the like, they also have some good ones up there. And, of course, you could just make the relatively quick drive down to Seattle once you’re done in Vancouver (which sounds like you were planning on doing)
If you are talking about the summertime you can’t beat St. Petersburg. White nights, Canal boat rides, theater, and more culture than you can stand or probably even want.
Just bring money. Lots of it. The dollar has been sliding like a monkey on a banana peel for most of the past 3 years. The invitation-visa-registration process is a nightmare unless you let the tour agency handle everything.. and that’s gonna cost you.
Pickpockets, gypsies, dual-tier pricing (one for locals, one for foreigners) rogue policemen and nonexistent customer service. All they really want is your money, and will make every attempt to extract as much out of you as they can.
But there really is no place else like it. If not, I wouldn’t have stayed here for the past 6 years.
Oh, and watch out for the taxi mafia at the airport.
Radley, you should come to the Pacific northwest, certainly - but you need to come to the _other_ side of the mountains: the east side of Washington is the heart of wine country and the start of the craft brewing revolution in the country as well! Lots of B&Bs throughout the Yakima Valley, down past the Tri-Cities of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick (3 wine appelations here), and to the Walla Walla valley, which has become something of a stealth Sun Valley type area.
Sure, the big costal cities are fun, but there IS life beyond the Cascade Curtain! (If you can penetrate it - there have currently been over 37 feet of snow deposited at Snoqualmie Pass, and the last month has been a bit spotty on finding the pass open - but the storms seem to be abating now, so come on over!)
Cambodia is cheap and interesting. Very good food too! Also, makes a good jumping of point for the rest of Asia (fly Thai Air Asia (the Southwest of SE Asia) to India, Malaysia, Korea, etc.) You can take a boat to Vietnam (just be sure to make visa arrangements beforehand-you have to wait about 5 days to get a visa from Vietnam) and Thailand, etc. are easily reachable. Cambodians use US dollars as their main currency (no currency exchange:) (Riels are only used for small change) and it’s home to Angkor Wat and many, many other ancient temples out in the jungle. Check China Airlines (http://www.china-airlines.com/en/index.htm) for cheap fares across the pacific; they were better than British Airways imho. See my Facebook pics and let me know if you have further questions about where to stay, what to do, etc.
Fine food, great historical sites, decent people: Turkey
Followed by Slovenia
Here
We very often answer our own questions.
Prof.
Pacific Northwest..
Arrive Portland Ore.
Drive up to Mt. St. Helens.
Seattle
Take the ferry to Vancouver BC, see Victoria and Buchard gardens
Take ferry south to Port Townsend WA state. Hit Hurricane ridge and drive around the Olympic Pennusla National Park
Drive down the Wash coast to Cannon Beach in Oregon down the coast road.
Drive East to Crater Lake national park
Back to Portland and home.
Very nice
Mexico City!!! It is the New York of Mexico - a very international place. You can get almost any type of food you can imagine and all of it is good. The night-life is raucous, the history is long and rich and not far outside the city are some Myan pyramids and a grotto restaurant - inside a cave!
You could easily kill a few weeks there between the main park, the museums, the art and architecture, ancient ruins and all the different places to eat.
I know you did South America, but nothing is quite like Mexico City. It is dirt cheap - $100 per night will buy you a superior hotel experience. There is salsa dancing, mariachi bands and a ton of other things to do.
I go there frequently for business and I love it. I could give you a few pointers and even hook you up with a few locals (employees) that speak perfect English to give you even better tips. I’d recommend hiring a driver. For a few hundred bucks, he’ll take extremely good care of you and take you where ever you want to go.
Montreal is nice. Language won’t be a problem. Most service people will say “Bonjour-hi!”, and if you respond in English, they’ll converse in English.
How about Minnesota?
If you hurry and leave right now, you can enjoy some very nice arctic climate. Yesterday it was around -5 for the high temperature. You won’t need to pack a cooler for your beverages - just carry them around and they will stay “chilled”.
Seriously though, Minnesota has quite a lot to offer if you are into history and art. Many museums, festivals and fairs in the summer.
Felt I had to add my state to the list. If I had to pick myself, I would love to visit Alaska. My sister used to live there and says it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
*Don’t* go to Kenya — It’s a dive now.
2 ideas. china (we are going there in june) pr possibly the island of svalbard. its 600mi n of oslo and you go there to see polar bears in there natural setting. you get there from oslo so you can spend a few days there first. linblad cruises has a trip around the island
The Frye museum in Seattle is running an R. Crumb exhibit, if you’re drawn to that kind of thing.
Oh, and take the Bainbridge Island ferry, hike over to the Harbor House tavern and have a nice meal on the deck. Nice view of Seattle. Fish and chips are pretty good, too.
Alaska is awesome!
I haved lived here most of my life and when I go on vacation it is usally in state. There is just so much to do.
Seldovia, Sitka, Artic Circle, Denali …
Craig
I just went to Kenya and Tanzania a month ago. Of course now may not be the best time to go to Kenya(!), which is a shame because it is a fascinating country with some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. You should really consider Africa in general and Kenya in particular in the future when the political situation becomes a bit less tense.
Vietnam has spectacular food, if you dig that.
I second the Big Bend area of Texas.
I third the Croatia recommendation. I’ve been twice. Dubrovnik, on the coast, is gorgeous. It’s also not so terribly expensive. The infrastructure has been rebuilt, but tourism still hasn’t returned to its former levels.
Another option is Hungary or southern Poland. Depending on when you go, the weather isn’t too hot, and northern Hungary and Southern Poland have mountains. Slovakia is another option, but I haven’t personally been.
Budapest is possibly my favorite city. The food is incredible, the culture great, there’s tons of music, history, art, and the wine is fantastic.
The mountains in southern Poland are spectacular and Cracow is gorgeous.
None of these are yet on the Euro. Lemme know if you want specific tips.
Bah! Humbug!!! Come to Oz, mate. Great beer, better wine and a choice of Hyje or Bush;-) [That's the Bush that gets you mellow, not the one that devalues your currency, sells all your jobs overseas and plunges your country into illegal invasions! ]. Like cooler climes? Google Tasmania, our southern most State and we have just started up an Antarctic flight service!
Iceland is worth the cost. I’ve been there twice and really enjoyed it. Give it a try.
Heh, if you go to SEA/PDX, here is a gem as far as museums etc go - http://www.sprucegoose.org/ - it’s in McMinnville, OR - and yes, that is the Spruce Goose in the picture. VERY impressive collection, if you or others reading this like planes whatsoever (no spoilers, but I’m not easily impressed). Great pinot noir country, too.
How ’bout Sante Fe? If you go in the summer, you’ve got the Opera and the galleries, plus you can go check out the pueblos. As for food, there’s the Shed (http://www.sfshed.com/home.html), which still grows it chiles on the family farm.
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/crownking.html
What everyone else said about the Pacific NW, doubly so if you’re the outdoorsy type. Portland has cosmopolitan appeal without the big city mess. Mt. St. Helens and the Columbia River Gorge nearby. Seattle 3.5 hours north. British Columbia, if you have the time. Don’t forget the Oregon coast, and the Olympic Peninsula. I’m told that train rides from Portland, through Seattle, and on to B.C. are a pleasant way to travel.
Unfortunately, now is not really the best time of year to be spending precious vacation time in the Northwest. The weather sucks (rain, rain, rain). Late summer and early fall are about the only months where you can really bet on sunny weather.
Three distinct choices:
1. If you decide to stay stateside, and have not been there before — Savannah. I am an urban guy who likes people more than beaches (etc), but I never quite realized how stressed and tense I had become until I ended up on a vacation in Savannah. I DID come back, to Chicago, after it, but before doing so I was buying a home in the Landmark Historic District of Savannah and called my boss to tell him he’d get about 1-2 more years from me and then I was hanging it up — to LIVE in a city that has history, grace, art/music, kookiness, beauty (the Spanish Moss kind), and more restaurants that you can walk to than you can enjoy in a couple of weeks. I don’t do summers there, but for 9 months it’s pretty darned comfortable. Some say it is the “most European feeling” of US cities (the atmosphere and the 20+ squares, and the architecture, primarily) of US cities; I don’t know about that, but just to make that comment tells you something. Lots of leisure rental townhomes to accommodate tourists that don’t want the hotel thing. Charleston is drivable as a side trip. Ditto Hilton Head, though I don’t like that as much (not a golfer or boater). Better: some of the less populated isles off the Georgia coast (Golden Isles, along the intercoastal waterway) and the remnants of the Gullah cultures found on some.
2. I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers of pro-Quebec replies in this thread. Again, very European feel. We planned to do Quebec City and then Montreal, but never made it to Montreal. Instead we kept exploring the artst-oriented towns up the St. Lawrence from Quebec City after spending a few days in QC. We never had any language problem even though we don’t speak French at all.
3. Eastern Europe in general. Prague, Budapest, Vienna is a good combination — and maybe Warsaw and Auschwitz and the mountainous area in Poland/Czech Republic, near Krakow.
I would suggest Brazil, but after Argentina you´d see no fun on that…
If you’re considering Tallinn, than I say go for it.
The food is as good as in any city of the same size (you get what you pay for), while the Old Town is one of the best preserved of its kind in Europe. It’s the perfect size for a walkin day-trip coming over from Stockholm.
If you base yourself in Stockholm you’ll have plenty to choose from all around the Baltic.
Full disclousure: I live in Tallinn. If you go for it drop me a line and I’d be glad to share some of the less obvious sights of Tallinn.
Iceland is a phenomenal place of indescribable natural beauty with friendly, quirky people and a worldly culture that defies its isolated locale. It’s mesmerizing. It’s relatively small size will seem deceptive after you take in all the varied landscapes.
The roads and facilities are ultra-modern in the Scandinavian style, the entire island is very safe, there is no language barrier (as nearly every Icelander seems fluent in English), and you will never, ever be drowned in swarms of tourists.
My wife and I managed to enjoy Iceland without going broke. Try to stay in guest apartments in Reykjavík and cabins while out in the countryside. Car rentals are reasonably priced and essential for exploring beyond the capital. For food, buy groceries at the store and cook them yourself. Outside of Reykjavík, you won’t find a huge selection of restaurants anyway. (But splurge at least once in one of the better restaurants.)
Stay close to home. Virginia has some of the best scenery, biking and hiking in the eastern US. The whole state is a history museum. Moreover, if you and your wife are taking along children, you can tour one of the ships in the Norfolk navy base.
You will also stimulate the American economy while at the same time pocket some cash that would otherwise be taxed by Clinton or Obama in future years.
chsw
This election, don’t vote for a Jackass.
Turkey. Istanbul has so much stuff, you could spend 2 weeks there alone. But you could also see Cappadoccia (sp?), Edirne, Bursa and make a trip to one of the coasts, although they will be filled to overflowing with northern Europeans.
Iceland can be expensive, but it is worth it, if you like raw beauty. It is amazing. Look around for places outside of town. We lucked in to a home swap with some like-minded people who wanted some NYC time, and had a great three weeks. They left our apartment cleaner than we left it to them, I’m embarrassed to say. Plus, it is a neat way to meet people - we still keep in touch, and have been vaguely talking about meeting up in Germany sometime soon.
I had a great time in Belize, too - you can do it cheaply or expensively, depending on what you want. When I went, we split the middle, staying with a small village for a week (true third world accommodations, if you help out and provide a some money, and are prepared to deal with the language gap, it works great) and then went to Chan Chich (expensive, beautiful, and luxurious) for a week. Avoid the islands, unless you’re really a scuba fan, or can get an invite to a private one - I’ve been to San Pedro before, and I just find it depressing.
If you come up to the Pacific Northwest, make sure to stop in at the offices of the Oregon Commentator on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene… if you are up for a little hero-worship during your vacation time, that is.
If you like to see history being made around you when you are on vacation, I’d have to suggest China. Relaxing it ain’t (at least in the urban areas) but two people can live like kings there for a month for the price of two plane tickets, and it is pure adventure. You will return to your regular routine wondering how you manage to lead life at such a serene, relaxing pace.
Beijing has all the culture you could ever want, and Shanghai has all the shopping. The food is cheap and remember-it-forever delicious (even if you don’t know what you are actually eating half the time), the people are friendly, and the markets are mind-boggling. On the downsides, you can’t drink the water and you can’t read your blog, but that’s where the cheap beer and proxy i.p.’s come in! Watching the Industrial Revolution happening all around you at warp speed is an unforgettable experience, and one which won’t be around forever.
If you are going to the Pacific North West, don’t forget your neighbors to the north. Vancouver Island is a great travel destination. Take one of the two ferries from Washington state, and avoid the long line-ups at the major border crossings.
Once you get to the island it is just a matter of choosing what type of vacation you want. From 5-star hotels in Victoria to ‘hike in’ wilderness camping all over the island.
For the really adventurous, there is the West Coast Trail. But, there are also a lot of family oriented activities. Kayaking, eco tours, whale watching and golf are available all over the island. Plus, there is surfing in Tofino and skiing at Mount Washington.
Vancouver Island has pretty much something for everyone.