Reply #32: I used to live with a man who did "third world" vacations every year. [View All]

[davsand]

Don't get me wrong--I have no problem with staying someplace that is kind of "rough around the edges." I really don't want to pay for a Hilton (they usually piss me off when I do stay in one, btw,) so I am just fine with taking my own soap and shampoo if I'm staying in a "budget" place. I have stayed in some places that were in some pretty crummy neighborhoods, and I too have had the experience of finding some stranger's pubes in the dirty bed sheets. Didn't like it much, never stayed those places again--but it was STILL a step up on Jim's "Third World" vacations.

When I say he did "third world" vacations, I am talking about places where you need to shake the scorpions out of your shoes in the morning and a lizard on the wall of your room is a GOOD thing because they eat bugs. He went to places where border crossings involved rebels and guns and they have insects and rodents that are bigger than dogs. ONE trip with him and I refused to EVER vacation with him again.

The only experience I have ever had that came close to a vacation with Jim was a trip to Miami for a work related convention. That trip fell at a time when foreign consulates were issuing warnings about hazardous travel conditions in Miami because some sniper was shooting at anyone driving a rental car. That trip also came at a time when they had rioting going on because the Miami PD had shot some guy in the back while he was fleeing. There were armed troops lining the expressways, and my hotel had armed guards stationed outside it. The maids were all staying home in sympathy (or outrage) and there was not a maid to be found anyplace in the hotel for the entire time I was there. The hotel restaurant was also having issues because staff was staying home, and nobody dared go out to eat...

Travel can REALLY broaden your horizons--don't ya think?


Laura