Archive for March, 2009
If the time has come for your vacation or a holiday getaway, read this article before making your plans. There are many places of great beauty and interest to be seen in the USA and Europe. But, whether transportation, touring, theme park, or food and lodging, it is expensive. This article is written for every traveler, whether a backpacker on a budget, or a first class – five star traveler.
Travel in Asia is inexpensive and opens the door to different cultural experiences. Planning can be for a short holiday, an extended stay, or choices of laying the groundwork for the ultimate stay, retirement. Nowadays, with so many opportunities to make money using the Internet it is not out of the question to “retire” early.
Medical Tourism in Asia growing in popularity. It is high quality and affordable. Just one of International standard hospitals in Bangkok serves 400,000 international patients annually, In the USA cataract surgery for one eye runs around $8,000. At a prestigious International hospital in Thailand cataract surgery can be performed on both eyes for around $2,500. It is possible to have quality medical care, and an Asian holiday, for a fraction of the cost of the same procedure in the USA.
Let us take a tantalizing glimpse at just some of the countries.
Thailand – Land of Smiles. Often referred to as the most exotic country in Southeast Asia. A visit to the Grand Palace in Bangkok for sure. Trips to a floating market or to the Bridge on the River Kwai. From pristine beaches in the Southern Islands to the Northern mountains with its waterfalls, elephants bathing in mountain streams, and Hill Tribe villages.
India – Delhi is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. India Gate, an imposing structure, has emerged as one of the most popular tourist spots in Delhi. The Red Fort Delhi, a masterpiece of architecture, is a popular spot. A trip to India would not be complete without a visit to Agra, famous as the site of one of the world’s most romantic, graceful and photographed buildings, the Taj Mahal.
Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos – Three small countries neighboring Thailand. Each opens a different world of exploration. Cambodia – the highlight is visiting Angkor Wat, an architectural masterpiece constructed in the jungle in the early 12th century. Vietnam – is a varied country, offering beaches, mountains and hundreds of years of history from the ancient Cham Towers to remnants from the Vietnam War. Laos – savor the crafts, culture and hospitality of Laos with a river trip, visits to ancient temples, gorgeous palaces, and traditional villages.
Nepal – Adventure, travel, trekking, birding, wildlife, and cultural & overland Safaris. Take an air flight along the Himalayas and view magnificent Mount Everest. Nearby, discover the serene beauty of Tibet, the country which inspired the Dalai Lama. .
Indonesia – Jakarta, the capital city of the world’s fourth most-populous nation. Bali is Indonesia’s main holiday destination. Flores is a pretty lush green island with forests, palm and banana trees, rice fields and many volcanoes. Highlights are the three small offshore islands of “Gillis” that invite snorkeling, diving and relaxing. For hikers, a climb to the top of the volcano Rijani.
Philippines – An island nation comprising over 7,000 islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
Manila, the bustling capital has powerful reminders of the country’s past, along with attractive parks, fine museums, and exhilarating nightlife. The Ifugao Rice Terraces
are a testimony to the early technological advancement of the Ifugao people. Take a jeepney ride to the market. Be brave, try balut, a Philippine delicacy. Go diving in the Visayas.
Singapore – Shopping on famous Orchard Road, the dream of every woman. The Night Safari at Singapore Zoo is fabulous. Chinatown, a little glitzy, but you can buy all the souvenirs you want there. Interestingly, one of Singapore’s most beautiful Hindu temples is smack dab in the middle of Chinatown. Decide if a Singapore Sling is worth the hype in the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. There’s more to Singapore than urban glitz, like rambling in the rain forest of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
Japan – Tokyo is the capital city and home of the Imperial Residence and Emperor’s Palace. Select a popular destination or region in Japan and explore its attractions. Ride the Bullet Train to the magnificent city of Kyoto. Visit Hiroshima and the Peace Memorial Park. Castles, temples, gardens, the list of top destinations in Japan is too long for this article..
Taiwan – Taipei, the country’s booming, vibrant capital remains steeped in Chinese, Japanese and native Taiwanese cultures. Some of its most impressive sights include the Grand Hotel, topped by the largest Classical Chinese roof in the world, the Shihlin Night Market, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial with the National Theater and Concert Hall located directly across from each other on the grounds. A popular day trip is Tailuge (Taroko Gorge), considered one of the natural wonders of the world.
Hong Kong – the Pearl of East and jewel of The Orient. Nathan Road is lined with shops, restaurants, nightspots and cheap places to stay. If you’re in Hong Kong with the little ones, they’ll probably appreciate Ocean Park (aquarium), Water World (swimming pools and water slides), and of course Disneyland. If you’re in Hong Kong for more than a few days, then there’s plenty of outlying islands to discover.
It is often said that for the traveler that has seen it all and done it all, there is still Katmandu, Nepal. And, that too is in Asia!
If you do not visit Asia, you will be missing not only a paradise of affordable travel, but the chance to see an alternative living location. For retirees, it is luxury living for pennies, not just getting by on their pension. Asia, a paradise experience is waiting for you.
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William Glasser, M.D., of Reality Therapy fame, said this,
“?I believe that we are genetically programmed to satisfy four psychological needs: love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun.”
If this is true, then you need to have a plan, a huge plan, for just how you are going to be able to meet these needs if you expatriate to Mexico. If you don’t, then what will happen is what I see all the time in American gringos.
They move to Guanajuato. For reasons I cannot fathom, they move here not knowing more than two words of Spanish. But they come and somehow they start a life here.
They spend their days holed up in front of satellite television where they can watch all the shows they watched in America. They drive a car to the supermarket to shop. They come home and sit in front of the satellite television and watch more of the shows they watched when they were in the United States.
They claim that the majority of their friends are Mexican. This is a wonder since they themselves cannot speak Spanish. So, I deduce that they have to mean that the majority of their friends are Mexicans who are bilingual. This has to mean there are a few Mexicans in Guanajuato who speak at least some English.
These gringos cannot attend cultural functions that require them to understand Spanish. The only movies they see are those they’ve brought from the United States because the movies in the theaters here are usually in Spanish.
There I go again haranguing about Spanish.
In my view, this is no way to live. This type of life would not meet my need for belonging or fun in any way. What kind of existence is that? If I wanted to live like that I would not have gone to the enormous bother to move to Mexico. You might be interested to know that these expats make frequent trips to the U.S. to get things they cannot obtain in Mexico. This translates to this:
“We cannot really stand Mexico. We tolerate it only because it is cheap to live here and it has year-round good weather. But, in the end, Mexico does not appeal to our American tastes. That’s why we spent a small fortune to bring our American materialistic goods to Mexico and why we go back to the U.S. to obtain those things which appeal to our American tastes.”
Why go to the bother to move here if you are looking for things that appeal to your American tastes? Why not stay in America?
These are people who somehow, someway manage to bungle themselves into living in a part of Mexico that is not really gringo-friendly. They would have been better suited to living in a place like San Miguel de Allende or Puerto Vallarta.
They are not meeting their basic human need for fun or belonging because they cannot. The reason they cannot is because they are too linguistically challenged to participate in any activities other than watching satellite television and socializing with the few expats who live in Guanajuato.
If you cannot or will not learn Spanish, then it would be advisable to expatriate to an area of Mexico where you do not have to speak the language. In those areas, the cost of living is going to be considerably higher. Everything from food to housing to entertainment will cost you far more than if you lived in Guanajuato.
My wife and I were once sitting in El Jardin when a gringo woman approached us. She was dressed like a San Miguel resident. We soon learned our initial impression was correct. She was from San Miguel de Allende and was in Guanajuato looking for a place to live. She could no longer afford to pay the increasing rent charged by San Miguel landlords.
She told us that she was having great difficulty finding housing (she didn’t speak Spanish?could that possibly contribute to her problem?). She also told us that she heard there were no cultural events in Guanajuato.
Believe this or not, I am convinced that the majority of gringos in San Miguel de Allende, if the truth be known, believe this.
This woman was actually told that there was nothing fun to do in Guanajuato. Her perception of fulfilling her human need for fun was to attend cultural events like concerts, the theater, and movies. She was told she would not be able to do that here because they did not exist!
We told her that there is the three-week-long International Festival of Arts in Guanajuato-The Cervantino Festival-each October, not to mention the many year-round events. But, we informed her, you have to be able to speak Spanish to understand them. This is a Spanish-speaking town.
Guanajuato defines fun with its year-round events. There is theater, movies (commercial and fine arts), there are concerts, art exhibits, etc? However, if you wanted to attend a movie you have to speak Spanish. When we first moved here, a lot of movies were in English with Spanish subtitles. Now, more and more movies are entirely in Spanish with no subtitles at all.
Thank God for that!
This woman, whose visage is burned into my memory, said sadly, “Oh, then I guess I would have to learn some Spanish.” She said it like someone who just realized they would have to take rabies shots.
There is a lot in this town to satisfy your human psychological need for love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun. I wonder just what Americans think the Mexican nationals do here all day long: sit like lumps scratching themselves and grunting like apes?
Mexicans have to meet their basic psychological needs too. They do it much like Americans do. They go to movies, the theater, concerts, opera, lectures, parties, and to social gatherings where they have human fellowship.
But, as I am at the point of being sickeningly repetitious, Americans cannot do this here because they are not able to handle the language. There is not a huge gringo population with which to have involvement.
And, because they cannot handle the language, they are forced either to seek out the few gringos with whom they can speak English or they hole up in their houses with their satellite televisions.
I cannot understand this. Maybe it is psychologically damaging in the long run to move to Guanajuato if you will not learn Spanish. Your ability to meet the psychological need for love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun will be relegated to watching your satellite television, driving to the Supermarket, and getting back home to watch more satellite television. Just how long with you last doing that?
That is too pathetic to imagine.
The lesson here:
You could expatriate to Guanajuato where the weather is almost perfect all year and life is inexpensive. You could somehow muddle through getting a place to live and set up your life. You could do this without being able to speak the language. People do it. But, your life, the ability to meet your basic psychological need for “?love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun?” is going to be via satellite television.
Who would want to live like that?
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Are sneakers a barely acceptable ‘dress-down’ accessory in Paris, or a fashion statement which US tourists can use to their advantage? The Senior Editor of web magazine Paris Eiffel Tower News, Phil Chavanne, discusses the topic from all angles.
Being the Senior Editor of Paris-Eiffel-Tower-News.com, visitors’ e-mails have a magical tendency to find their way to my desk. The good side of it is I am allowed to pause vainly as an expert on all that is Paris, and impart my thin knowledge of the French capital to studious travelers. Amongst the many questions offered, one keeps coming back: “Is it considered bad taste to wear sneakers in Paris?” Ah-ha! That’s an issue P.G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster would have been delighted to jump on. Following in the footsteps of this worthy role model, I shall bring an answer to this existential torment once and for all with thundering authority.
Paris, French fashion, sneakers
Paris-bound tourists are often of the opinion that French women are die-hard fashion victims. This claim is definitely exaggerated, though access to stylish clothing is heavily facilitated in Paris where women magazines such as ‘Elle’ and ‘Figaro Madame’ dictate what’s fashionable and what’s not.
In my humble opinion, perennial tastes look very much alike in Paris and New York City. Globalization tends to homogenize fashion, making work-a-day wear similar in large cities.
No matter, the sneaker concern remains valid. Sneakers are now such a commodity in the US, how is it in Paris?
The generally accepted business dress code in France usually bars sneakers from entering the corporate environment, except for low-level positions. Thus the Parisian woman wears good-looking city shoes to go to work, unless the business which employs her cultivates a sporty image in which sneakers find a natural home.
Yet sneakers have become design icons in their own right. Adidas, Puma and Nike each have their own Parisian stores, and crank out more models a convincing fashion-victim could easily shake credit cards at. Adidas recently teamed with iconic fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto to create Y-3, a new line of dress-up sneakers. Stella McCartney also has her own Adidas line.
What major difference in shoe-attitude could we identify between American and French she-consumers? The latter will wear sneakers as design items, not as workaday shoes. Sneakers won’t be bought for comfort, but will find an easy way into a tight purse when they compliment dress-down pants and make their owner look good. The She-Parisian loves sneakers which make her feet look thin, small, and classy.
A mere glance at the types of sneakers most commonly seen on women’s feet in Paris is telling: you won’t see any wide, cushy, comfy-looking, plain vanilla sneakers. You will see small, thin-looking, flat-sole, designer sneakers.
For the same reasons, a pair of Stephane Kelian or Robert Clergerie shoes will almost always be favored over a pair of good-looking Pumas. Shoes are a fashion statement, and the more understated it is, the better.
That’s another major difference between French and American women. Understatement is a cardinal rule in French fashion. Anything that is too visible is considered garish. This is why the little black dress is such a fashion icon, and why Audrey Hepburn will always be remembered as The Quintessential Fashionable American Woman.
Tourism in sneakers
All this does not mean you can’t wear sneakers when you travel to Paris!
For one thing, sneakers are usually comfortable walking shoes. As the very best way to discover Paris is to stroll along its streets, wearing shoes in which you feel comfortable covering five miles a day at a leisurely pace is an important decision. It will influence your general mood during your stay in the French capital.
Do not back off from wearing sneakers if these are your best walking shoes.
My second point refers to the ‘look issue’. Will I look good in the streets, or will I be the laughingstock of all these snooty, dressed-up, fashion-conscious Parisian women?
Frankly, you should not ask yourself this question. Because who cares about your looks in the street? Never be self-conscious, just be comfortable in your shoes. You are a tourist, this is your very own time in Paris! Jeans and sneakers are international. People will not be offended by your attire. Unless you dress in 80’s disco garb with polka-dot sneakers, nobody around you will mind your looks.
And if they ever notice your jeans, LL Bean trekking shoes, and Patagonia jacket, well, push come to shove, they might think you’re American. And so what? In all likelihood they will appreciate your visiting Paris.
Dining out in sneakers
Does it mean you can wear sneakers everywhere, on any and every occasion? Not so.
For instance, can you have dinner in a restaurant shoed with your brand-new white sneakers?
For the sake of it, let’s imagine you are strolling along in your Levi’s jeans and Lands End boots. It’s now dinner time, you are hungry, and scanning the landscape looking for a promising restaurant. There is it! The menu displayed outside is appetizing, prices are within your comfort zone, the place is not so crowded… Ah, but guests are dressed smartly. Will they let you in? Will you fit in?
I have yet to see a door sign indicating ‘No Sneakers Allowed’ in Paris. Some high-brow places may expertly leave you at bay: “Do you have a reservation? Sorry, we are full tonight”. But beside those rare snobbish places, no restaurant will refuse to seat you because you wear casual sneakers.
Therefore the right question is not ‘Will I be allowed in?’, but ‘Will I feel comfortable entering a dressy place in sneakers?’ I venture that you probably would not. And the problem is that being self-conscious is a surefire way to kill your meal. Your attention should be in your plate and on your food, not on your shoes and garb.
My practical rule is ‘Dress according to the lieu’. If you intend to dine out at expensive, dressy restaurants when you are in Paris, just bring your Pradas. Better yet: pay a visit to Stephane Kelian’s and Robert Clergerie’s boutiques in Paris, and buy yourself gorgeous-looking footwear by these Parisian designers.
A night in sneakers a the Opera
There are other places where sneakers just won’t cut it.
The Opera House is one of them. But I know no one who would be so foolish as to dress in jeans and sneakers for a night at the Opera. Therefore the sneaker issue is deemed moot.
What about the cabaret? I say it is much better to dress up when you plan to spend the evening at ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Lido’, and ‘Paradis Latin’. Though the stage is the only spot well lit in these places, people around you will usually dress up for the occasion. You will be more comfortable in some formal wear.
How about the boats on the Seine? If you are boarding a boat for a dinner cruise, don’t wear sneakers. This is a romantic experience, you will want to make the most of it. An evening dress is ‘de rigueur’. On the other hand, if you simply want to cruise up and down the stream, sneakers are fine.
Museums? Forget style, wear very comfortable shoes. Nobody will look at your shoes, art is on the walls. But walking down the Louvre galleries is a tiring experience: so much too see, so many galleries, so slow the pace. The good doctor’s advice: go with cushion and comfort.
Art gallery ‘vernissages’? Style is your cue. Art galleries are small, vernissage evenings are short. Evening dress, black preferably, nothing flashy, and good-looking design shoes. No sneakers.
Wrapping up
Dress for the place you go to. If you are unsure about the dress code, you may call in advance to get appraised of it. Pack a dressy pair of shoes, or buy one when you are in Paris. Bring a discreet, understated evening dress.
But don’t back away from sneakers for other not-so-formal occasions. Wear them shamelessly in the street. You will blend just fine if you harbor a pair of jeans and a pair of sneakers. Nike is an American brand, and it is very popular in France. Levi’s, Diesel, and Calvin Klein are American brands, and they rule the French jeans scene too. In fact, I can’t quite think of any domain in France where American culture did not leave a mark ?- except maybe cuisine.
So be comfortable in your sneakers, and enjoy the view.
