Friday, August 24, 2012

Armchair Travel

Would you prefer armchair travel... as opposed to actually being out on the road? We have several friends who love to hear about our trips, but they tell us that they'd never like to go "there"... and it just doesn't seem to matter where "there" is.

We prefer to go and see things for ourselves. All of your senses are challenged... smell, taste, feel. It's not just seeing things. You can read that a rain forest and its animals are beautiful or amazing or... choose your own adjective... but... Until you've scrambled through a jungle, it's hard to appreciate how it smells, how you feel the humidity, how your legs feel after a day of hiking.

We like the excitement of finding our own way and making ourselves understood by the local people, but we realize that not everyone likes that. They don't think of travel as exciting; they think of it as going from one tense moment to another.

So what we hope is that our descriptions and our little travel stories help to paint a picture of our destinations for you.

We know that there may be some of you who are reluctant to travel. There may also be some of you who can't. Maybe you used to, but you can't get around so well anymore. Or you're busy raising a family. Others can't travel because of health or physical limitations. Or maybe travel just doesn't fit in your budget. We still think it's important to learn about the world outside of the nightly news headlines.

In today's world of technology, you can learn about the world on TV or the internet. You can sample foods from around the world almost anywhere. While you may sacrifice a bit on the smell and feel side, if you're more comfortable with armchair travel, we want to add to your TV and internet experience.

I think the most successful travel shows are the ones whose hosts have become your friends through watching their adventures. We have some favorite travel shows, and that's how we feel. I think it's more exciting to hear about an exotic location from someone you "know", someone you've learned to trust, rather than just watching a narrated travel show on TV or reading a travel magazine.

Hopefully, as you keep up with our travels on our website, you feel like you're getting to know us... that we're your friends. We've always enjoyed helping our friends travel either in person or vicariously though our stories and pictures. So we'd be honored if you could sit back and be an armchair traveler with us.

Let us take you on vicarious adventures. We'll try to paint pictures for you in words and the occasional photo.

If you're just reluctant to travel, let me just warn you, if you read enough stories, you might get over your reluctance and get the travel bug yourself! If you just can't travel... you're more than welcome to come along with us vicariously... we hope you have happy travels with us as armchair travelers.

Safety Tips for Traveling Abroad

Traveling abroad can be due to various reasons such as a vacation, wedding, business conference or other personal cause. Of the opportuniti...