Comments on: Denial Day

By: Sherry Ott

Sherry Ott — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:13:34 +0000

Apparently the Chinese aren’t traveling to Japan…go figure!
Yes – I totally believe in Travel Gods…and you don’t want to mess with them…just praise them when they are good to you!

By: Amy Sutter

Amy Sutter — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:26:56 +0000

I found my sugar. It was in the form of a Corona and a Snickers bar. Amazing how that made the day much, much better.

By: Keith

Keith — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:52:10 +0000

My wife and I were traveling around Scotland’s country intent on visiting as many castles as we could before moving to whisky country. The castles in this region are generally far apart on winding and difficult roads. We drove and drove and drove, trying to visit three different castles only to find them closed for bizarre yet different reasons. By the time we arrived at castle we could actually enter, the sun was setting and so was our desire to see any castles.

Happens to us all at some point.

By: Keith Sutter

Keith Sutter — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:50:59 +0000

Wow that really sucks. Although unfortunately I can relate. When repainting our kitchen a couple of years ago I ended up have to replaster the entire wall (thankfully it was not 7 though) as I ripped the top sheet off the drywall when scraping the old paint.

I am glad that you guys have made a decision to travel. I can tell you it changes your perspective so much, and is not as expensive as the travel industry leads you to believe. We are running just at $150/day for the both of us including airfares and all living expenses. It can be done on any budget. We just spent a full day at the World’s Fair here in Shanghai today and seeing people from nearly every country on the planet was great. I can not emphasis enough the value we have both taken away from this trip. Be sure to make your travel plans happen, you will not regret it!

By: Keith Sutter

Keith Sutter — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:45:38 +0000

Jenn – glad you had a good race and it was great talking with you too!

By: Amy Sutter

Amy Sutter — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:46:54 +0000

For China, we actually decided not to buy the 5lb Lonely Planet book and just buy the PDFs of the chapters we needed online. We then downloaded them to the iphone. Unfortunately, they are a pain to use – the maps don’t render very well or very fast so it’s not very useful when standing in a crowded metro station trying to figure out which way to go. We also had hoped that the PDFs were more recently updated, but alas, they are not. We can’t place too much blame on LP, though, for being so out of date in Shanghai – 3 or 4 new metro lines have opened in the last week and apparently half the city wasn’t here six months ago – all is new for the Expo.

By: Amber Lee

Amber Lee — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:07:59 +0000

Sorry about the hellish day. The Gods have definetly been “out to get” us some days it seems.. the new home it seems the women who previously owned it, had an obsession with wall paper and did not put it on some walls correctly.. she put the wall paper directly on the drywall… so no we have to sand the walls, plaster them and then prime and paint! It wouldnt be a concern if it were only two walls, but unfortunately its about 7! The surprises continue, but life is good! Thanks so much for all your posts! We really enjoy reading and keeping up with you and Amy, you have inspired our family to travel once a year to a far off place to teach our children about different cultures! Thank you so much!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 03 May 2010 22:30:40 +0000

I’m surprised all you travelers don’t have a guidebook lending library; just swap ‘em around at the hostels. Or e-versions of said books.

Glad you guys found some serendipitous joy.

By: Jenn Lane

Jenn Lane — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:49:39 +0000

Sorry to hear about your frustrating day. If it makes you feel any better, the weather gods, did NOT smile on us during the Cincinnati marathon relay. Scary lightning started out our dismal day and it didn’t let up for the entire race. Although a light drizzle is often refreshing while running, steady rain is not. Nevertheless, we did feel good after our run, despite the inclement weather.
It was good talking to you the other day–can’t wait for you both to come home!

By: Gillian

Gillian — Mon, 03 May 2010 03:00:08 +0000

You know I always wondered about the ‘no guidebook’ guys…how do they figure it all out. And then I met one in Saigon. He claimed to not use a guidebook but proceeded to pump us for all the information he could and continually asked ‘what does the guidebook say?’. I think there is a place for them…guidebook, not bible-book!