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Crazy About Travel

© Diane Goldberg under the original topic name

If I tell you I like traveling that's analogous to explaining that the Israelis and Palestinians once had a slight disagreement. Real life is all that vile stuff that interferes with traveling to my way of thinking. Home is where the suitcases are stored between trips.

I can't think of anywhere that I haven't been that I wouldn't go. I'd gladly go back to most of the places I've been.

Regular readers seem similar in their out look; something about the phrase "budget travel" brings out those of us who go on the cheap so we can go longer, farther, and more often.

I hate to bring it up, but we may not be normal or sane . . .

It's true. People who live lives where a passport is more important than a driver's license are not necessarily models of mental health. In general, we're a happy bunch. If you witness someone grinning by baggage claim in Athens around 3 AM, or see a smiling nomad skipping through customs at Heathrow around 7 AM, or spot someone smiling delightedly while staring at train schedules you've encountered a real traveler.

You may be one. Test yourself:

Can you find the inexpensive hotels and hostels in a city where you don't speak the language?

Conversely, do you get lost in your local supermarket because the dairy department isn't listed in the Rough Guide

Can you calculate exchange rates for at least five currencies (roughly) but become alarmed at amount of your electric bill?

Do you consider the current Thomas Cook schedule riveting reading?

And here is the ultimate test ---- on December 11, the US State Department issued a big-deal warning of a potential terrorist attack on Americans around New Year's Eve. You can read about it at their site http://travel.state.gov/ check the information under Y2K.

Now, when you read that (be honest folks) did you think, even for an instant, WOW I bet they'll really cut airfares now!!!

If you did you are not only a budget traveler --- you're an optimist.

Thanks for stopping by --- see you next week.

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Travel Book Reviews at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/1893...

The copyright of the article Crazy About Travel in Traveling on a Budget is owned by Diane Goldberg under the original topic name. Permission to republish Crazy About Travel in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.