I've always been kind of fascinated with North Korea. I know there is a very limited number of western tourists allowed in. Can you elaborate on how you were able to go to North Korea?
I wouldn't think so. Some people will have travel because they work for a multinational. Some because they are from or have family in foreign countries. I don't know if you can amass a big list by vacationing. All my European stops are because I have family in Europe that can provide free housing, free food, etc.
I'm only 19. I love traveling and I've been blessed to visit so many places! I voted 16, but one country (Germany) doesn't fit the OP's criteria, so here are my 15. Americas Canada (3 times) Mexico (2x) Guatemala Bahamas Caymans Europe UK (2x) France (2x) Netherlands Asia China (just got back last month) India (10+ times) Singapore Maldives (beautiful country!!) UAE Africa Egypt Kenya I've also been to near every US state!
My list is all right, but my family puts me to shame. My wife was born in Zimbabwe and has family spread all over the world. My sister used to live in Edinburgh, but they sold their flat and have spent 18 months traveling the world (main South America, but also New Zealand and Australia). They're taking a six month break before they resume their travels, probably to Asia this time. My list: Canada Mexico Jamaica England Wales Scotland France Germany Netherlands Austria Czech Repubplic Switzerland Belgium This thread really can't be complete without these: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NC1qkLn6IRI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NC1qkLn6IRI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bNF_P281Uu4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bNF_P281Uu4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> The last scene in the Matt video is the Fremont troll in my neighborhood here in Seattle.
Europe: England Wales (Yes they are different countries) Ireland (St Pat's Day twice!) France Spain Italy Germany (Oktoberfest) Czech Republic Slovania Malta Greece (Crete technically) Netherlands Vatican City Americas: Canada Mexico The Bahamas Asia: Japan Middle East: Israel Thank the Navy.
You guys sure travel a lot... Going to one country a lot of times makes me feel like I travel more though. I got 5. Argentina (Been at least 15 times) Uruguay Mexico Japan England
It's all about priorities. In my opinion, if you are at least a middle-class American who really wants to get out and see the world, you can definitely make time for it/afford it. You might not be staying at the nicest hotels, but it's definitely possible. I was just about to book a flight from here in Chicago to Buenos Aires, Argentina for $287 rountrip with taxes included. It's definitely possible.
They made a lot of money when they sold their flat, and they travel really cheap. They had free room and board in Australia for a month because they volunteered at a koala hospital. They also joined this network of travelers, and they've stayed with families in the network for free at some of their stops. I don't think they've stayed at a hotel anywhere, just hostels and the like. If you travel like that, your money can go a lot farther, especially if you're visiting poorer continents. They're not really seeing much of Europe on this go around, since they live there and have already done long weekend trips to a large number of cities already. I am very envious. Now that I have kids, it'll be a long time before I could do that. I definitely plan on giving both of my kids a check when they graduate college with the order to go travel the world before they start working. I seriously regret not doing that. EDIT: Check out wherethehellismatt.com. He talks about how he traveled the world dirt cheap.
Most everywhere besides South America and North Africa. The number is unanimously higher for those living outside America, as travelling is a part of life in Europe and many other nations. Americans lack that sense of adventure and curiosity about things... non-American. It's just not a part of their culture.
good advice. In general Americans don't travel outside our country enough. A lot of that is geographic reasons and a lot is cultural
I have family in Taiwan, went to China and Azerbaijan for work and lived in Nigeria for 16 months for work. While I was in Nigeria, my husband and I traveled a ton, including a Scandanavian cruise plus Estonia and Russia (that was 6 countries alone there). I've really duplicated alot of places tho like Canada 4x, Mexico 3x, Taiwan 10+, Thailand 2x, Singapore 2x and France 3x. I'm about to do Germany for Oktoberfest 2x as well. I agree with others, it is about prioritizing traveling. And if you are patient, shop around and jump on a good deal when you see it. It's one thing my husband and I love to do. He's been to most all of Europe tho since he studied abroad there one semester so I think his number is upwards to 30+ countries.
Of my list of 25 countries, roughly 14 of those were visited during the four months I spent studying abroad in Italy. It's all about prioritizing. Some people choose to drop $1500 on a weekend trip to Vegas. Others can spend the same amount visiting Egypt for a week. I'm not saying one option is necessarily better than the other, it just depends on where your interests lie (assuming you have a limited supply of time/money).
We could come up with money but where would the money come from if we quit our jobs? It is much easier for a person who already is rollin' in dough to travel...American workers only have 2-4 weeks of vacation depending on their senority...i only have 2 weeks of vacation. I wish we would adopt other cultures' view on vacation...i think europeans have a month off every year.
I am never going back to London again, it is expensive as hell to stay there. We went to a Chinese restaurant and they charged us about 40 dollars for just rice! Yes the stuff you get for free in all US Chinese restaurants. The whole thing was like 200 pounds. Another thing I have been to so many different states, that is like going to another country in Europe. European countries are tiny.
Who eats Chinese food in London? In a country where "Asians" are known as people of Indian/Pakistani descent (rather than East Asian descent), I make sure to eat at plenty of curry places whenever I'm there. If you know where to look, it's actually the same price (or maybe even cheaper) than the same type of food in the US. Uhh, not quite. You're telling me that Los Angeles and New York (which are about as polar opposite in the US as any two cities you can find) are as different as Barcelona and Stockholm?
That's why it's best to travel while you're young and you can stomach staying at a backpackers... the cost is dirt cheap and you meet plenty of interesting people. The sanitary conditions are... interesting, but it's what you make of it at the end of the day. You have to be able to get out of your comfort zone. I love places like London (in the summer), Melbourne, St. Tropez, Monte Carlo... nothing is more fulfilling than being in a historical city with gorgeous, classy women with a sense of culture and taste. And you cannot compare travelling from country to country in Europe to taking a road trip from Texas to Nebraska... please!
