Just random thoughts and conversation thread

[Koen]

So, just imagine that you had one year to see as much of the world as you could.  Where would you start?  Which countries would you aim for and why?  How long would you spend in each country?  How much would you budget for such an adventure?  Would you try and work your way as much as possible? 

1 year is NOT long enough...

how to? depends on what you want to do, working on the road means integration

I would search for lots of places where nobody disturbs me, where the only things I hear is nature, where all I see is nature....making my mind clear of all junk in my head...

I would also include cities in the middle of the 'lonely' periods....what cities? Chicago, NY, Los Angeles in the USofA, Marseille in France, Berlin in Germany (longer stay due to the WWII/Cold War history), Rome for the historical places...

Countries? Schotland, Canada, Peru, Balkan area, Alaska, Mongolia etc...

[Jilly]

I worked it out one time...and I think 2 years would be more like it.  Enough time to actually spend some time in each country, get to know the ways/locals etc. before moving on.

Why Scotland, Koen?  There's nothing of that much interest there, I don't think.  Canada and the US, well not really, since I've seen most of the two countries already.  I would like to travel around Europe though for sure,  India,  South America,  Ireland,  Australia,  China and probably other Asian countries...

[Koen]

I worked it out one time...and I think 2 years would be more like it.  Enough time to actually spend some time in each country, get to know the ways/locals etc. before moving on.

Why Scotland, Koen?  There's nothing of that much interest there, I don't think.  Canada and the US, well not really, since I've seen most of the two countries already.  I would like to travel around Europe though for sure,  India,  South America,  Ireland,  Australia,  China and probably other Asian countries...

Schotland? You don't know why? Do type Schotland in Google, order some brochures...

First of all...

Breweries of the famous whiskies...single malts...


Nature! rough....un-modified...rocks...shores...


Castles...hundreds of them...

[Mad Russian]

BRAVE HEART!!


Better learn how to spell it before you go though Koen...the Scots are a bit touchy about that....

Good Hunting.

MR

[Rattler]

Scotland is a *must*: It is magnificent, it´s people benevolent, so much history inherent:

If you have 1 month plus and are in doubt, go (especially, the islands, but you will need time for them)!

Do not expect good weather, take the few days of good weather as a present from above! They got this postcard (you can buy it everywhere, but I do not find it on the net, strange!?!): Parted in half it shows a cartoon of a real soaked sheep in the upper half, and exactly the same cartoon iin te bottom half of the card. Only the text is different: Top half says "Scottis Sheep in Summer", bottom half has "Scottish Sheep in Winter" as caption...

But then, the ladies?  woohoo

You want to miss many, they got am unusal (to the Southern European) but extremely appaling quality about them: "! Oh god almighty, why did you not prepare me to be storms and cold resistant ?!"

  :







Rattler

[Jilly]

Well,  the weather is enough to put me off.  Dreary, cold, stormy.  A for castles you can find them anywhere in the UK, Koen.    I lived just walking distance from one, when I lived there.

[Rattler]

The islands are a blast, they open horizons (literally as well as methaphorically).

Rattler

[FACman]

I would have to start in that part of the world which has had a most profound effect upon my life, Vietnam. Only this time without the war to impinge upon its wondrous beauty. For it was truly a beautiful country, at least the part where I served. Triple canopy rainforest and the equally stunning bamboo forests and elephant grass 8 feet tall between the terrain features. Yes, that would be my starting point.

[Koen]

Well,  the weather is enough to put me off.  Dreary, cold, stormy.  A for castles you can find them anywhere in the UK, Koen.    I lived just walking distance from one, when I lived there.

UK for me is NOT the same as Schotland.

[Jilly]

hmmm...okay, Koen,  you're the boss.               

FACman,  I can understand why you would want to go back to Vietnam.   Do you think you ever will?  And if you do,  can I come too?   

[Koen]

hmmm...okay, Koen,  you're the boss.               

FACman,  I can understand why you would want to go back to Vietnam.   Do you think you ever will?  And if you do,  can I come too?   

 hope I'm scoring some points with the Scots now....

[FACman]

Do you think you ever will?

Even if I could, my health issues would preclude me accessing the places I would truly like to return to. As those places were difficult to get to when I was a strapping young man of 19, I daresay this 60 year old would be hard pressed to make it back to the places I would most like to see.

As for your coming along, you better clear that with Mary...

[Rattler]

Do you think you ever will?

Even if I could, my health issues would preclude me accessing the places I would truly like to return to. As those places were difficult to get to when I was a strapping young man of 19, I daresay this 60 year old would be hard pressed to make it back to the places I would most like to see.

As for your coming along, you better clear that with Mary...

Take both along...

Rattler

[FACman]

Take both along...

In my youth, an excellent solution. Today, I'd just as soon not disappoint two women at one time...

[Jilly]

So how will you remember 2009?  

Just wanted to say a big 'thank you' to all you great men (and lady) on here,  for many things.  Matt asked me to join this site and I did some months back.  At first I wasn't sure what I was doing on here,   originally came to keep in touch with Solideo,  whom I knew from another forum.

This year has been a difficult one for me in various ways.  Writing my book took (and is still taking), it's toll on me emotionally,  sometimes I end up in tears just trying to put down in words what I went through as a child,  especially as I want to write it from the heart so that when it's read by others they can connect to what I am trying to say.  This has made me a much more serious person than I normally am.  Or maybe it was a way for me to finally  grow up, face up to what my life was, and in doing so, let go, and move on...  I'm only about a quarter to half way through this book,  at the moment don't know where it's going or how it will end,  or when to end it...

But that's just part of why this year has been hard,  so many other things have happened,  hard to explain them all.  Maybe some of these things you could see by reading in between the lines of what I write, the songs I post, or maybe not.  Either way,  all you guys on here have been very kind and understanding, and most important non-judgmental. and so appreciate that you have let me rant and rave, be angry and childish and all those things.  Kudos to you all,  you truly are a wonderful bunch of people on here,  and the more I get to know you all,  the more I realize that.

We all have our ups and downs,  our good times and bad times,  our easy times and our hard times,  but it's rare to see what I have seen on here.  You support and forgive each other, like true freinds do and I admire you all for this.  You all truly are 'real men',  and I feel lucky to have got to know you all.

[Rattler]

What a heartfelt, nice, motivating and refreshing post!

As I am on so mmany forums and lists with almost all ex soldiers, I have come to take what you describe for "normal", a fault, I now see, you are right: Sometimes just the right persons find a conjunction and then everything is easier (and can even become addictive: A virtual Family!).

This said, I have not made my mind up yet about this year, but I will let ylu know in time (I am always a bit slower than the rest.. )

Thanks!

Rattler

[Koen]

thx Jilly, good vibes 

[Jilly]

 

[Jilly]

Wow,  what a decade this has been and it's nearly over.  Mobile phones moved from massive to tiny and then grew in size a little because of the tactile screens. GPS devices guide a lot of people everywhere, it became possible to watch TV shows whenever you want, personal music devices shed their cassettes and most of their size, people buy books and trips and tons of other things at home now, nude or unwashed in many cases. Organic food became important to many more people, but obesity skyrocketed as well. It even looks like 3D movies are finally going to catch on, after 50 years of intermittent efforts.

On the down side, a lot of people thought that the world was entering an era of peace with the fall of the Soviet empire, but that did not turn out to be true at all. Global warming has reared its ugly head, and whether not it is the reason, there have been more ecological catastrophes than in many previous decades. Money still makes the world go round and can ruin a lot of lives unexpectedly, even when people thought they were living in a time of prosperity.

Oh, and personal interaction on the internet, whether by chat sites, forums, Skype or any other method has really changed our involvement in the world, hasn't it?

China and India are predicted by many to be the next superpowers.  This has been a decade of massive adjustment and advancement for them.  Can you think of what other profound changes have happened in this last decade?

[Rattler]

I became ten years older in the last decade, which has changed me profoundly...

Rattler