SUCKING UP TO MALU: A MALU TRAVEL CHALLENGE THINGY TYPE THING (Why (not) travel?)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Why (not) travel?
Date:	05/12/03 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No idea

Disadvantages: Where's me voucher?

Another day, another MALU challenge but then if I don't complete it she'll beat me over the head with a can of Lowenbrau with the added incentive of me being soooooooo close to a voucheroonie so here it is (for what it's worth)

q: how many times a year do you travel?

a: We haven't been abroad for a couple of years now. I keep wanting to go to Turkey but then some ba*tard terrorist comes along and starts blowing stuff up again so we opted for Dorset last year. I've been put off Turkey again for next year by recent events. My favourite sojourns are to foreign climes but the world is a dangerous place right now. Me and the missus aren't the best of flyers anyway, to be honest, with finger marks ingrained on the arm rests at take-off and landing.

In more normal times we do like to venture abroad once a year and, yes, we know terrorists shouldn't put you off anything. We're just lily-livered.
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q: for how long do you go away?

a: We generally take a fortnight during Summer term when the kids are off school. I do enjoy slipping off for a weekend away but we hate to be apart from our kids so are happy to take local trips to destinations a la Northants etc

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q: do you stay in your home country or do you go abroad?

a: I think I may have answered that already but both, I guess. My favourite holidays are abroad with very fond memories of trips to Orlando and more recently the stunning Picardy region of France. For a country of garlic loving, English hating Bonapart complexes, France is a truly wonderful place.
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q: do you organise your holidays yourself or do you go to a travel agency?

A: Always tends to be a package job. We've stayed in hotels, caravans, guest houses, converted barns and all sorts. My good lady really can't cope
with the concept of camping. I think it's all that cold water and not having a loo close by. I keep telling her I'll dig us a ditch but she never goes for it. If we go abroad we'll use a travel agency, if it's in this country then we'll either use a company like Weststar who lay everything on like Butlins or we may just arrange a guest house via the local landlady.

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Q: Do you prepare your holidays in advance by reading guide books and studying maps?

A: Nah, we ain't that organised. I actually prefer a little spontaneity so we'll tend to just decide on a whim where to take the annual hols. We might research the place we've booked when we've booked it. Sounds chaotic doesn't it? Hmmmm...there are some things we will insist on e.g. a quiet location if possible as I'm a terrible sleeper and a place with things for the kids to do. Crikey, bored kids on holiday is utterly unthinkable!

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Q: Do you travel alone/with family or friends/with an organised group?

A. Mostly, it's me, the wifee and kids but my in-laws have been on holiday with us to Florida (My ma-in-law has never been the same since), whilst my mom's been with us a few times. We've also ventured on holiday with my bro' and sis-in-law but that didn't really work as we wanted to do totally different things whilst feeling guilty about not doing things together. Family, eh?
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Q: Do you prefer the sea / mountains / plains / cities as destinations?

A: I'm not to keen on the sea as I tend to drown in water. I'm not keen on beach holidays, either as I get bored quickly (attention span of a gnat). Can't recall seeing a plain but cities are OK.

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Q: Do you mainly relax or are you an active holidayer?


A: As above, we like to stay active doing something all the time. When you have kids the word relax doesn't come into it but even when we were younger me and my good lady would go on lots of day trips and stuff. Nope, life's too short to lie around.
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Q: If you go abroad do you learn at least some words of the foreign language?

A: Aye, it's really quite exciting picking up local lingo. In France, I showed off occasionally with my B-grade O-Level French but it never seriously impressed anyone. I'm sure I was trying to ask for a round of drinks but probably telling the local waiter that his mother was the daughter of a camel instead. Picking up bits of a different language is all a part of the thrill. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly kiddies pick things like this up.
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Q: Are you interested in the cuisine of a foreign country?

A: Eek, no not really. I tend to like what I know and trust so I am one of those shameful people that will head for English restaurants etc. I'm a bit fickle with food, made worse by my conversion to vegetarianism around 6 months ago now. I know I should be trying Spanish baked squid with German potatoes but I'm too much of a food coward. Sorry, I'm one of those geezers who wanders around in Union Jack shorts.
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Q: Which means of transportation do you prefer?

A: Anything that doesn't involve flying if possible. Then again, I don't like boats either. Hmm....cars can crash and you can be run over whilst walking. I suppose car is my favourite mode as I'm supposedly in control but then some bright spark will come along and throw a load of stats at you to show just how dangerous driving is. Whenever we are due to fly there seems to be a major plane crash resulting in me and my partner waking in the middle of the night with
cold sweats. We've never watched "Alive" either. That movie about a rugby team crashing in The Andes where only a few of the players survived after the rest became shish kebabs for the rest of the lads.

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Q: What kind of luggage do you take with you? Have you got problems packing? Do you tend to take too many / too few things with you?

A: Man, our car is packed to the rafters whenever we go away. Why do women take about 4 weeks worth of clothing when you're only off for a quick weekend break? Same thing when we pack for a flight although the baggage limit does hold my better half in check a little. In terms of packing, ma wifee starts about 6 months before we go away, meticulously listing everything that's possibly needed on the PC then checking every item off one by one. I usually throw a few things in the minute space that's left the night before :O)
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Q: Do you send picture postcards to your family and friends?

A: Yep, we do send postcards although I only ever send about 3 - one to my mom, one to work and one to my bro. I haven't got any friends you see? My good lady sends about 50, most arriving about 3 weeks after we've got back. Actually, the worst service I can recall encountering is the French post office. We sent postcards whilst in La Belle France with one arriving a whole 2 months after we got back. I usually just buy any old card as long as it's cheap, preferably with a dirty "Carry On" type scenario on it.
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Well, there you have it - my response to the third MALU challenge. Hope you enjoyed reading and if you haven't already done this one, give it a go!

Apologies yet again to Drew (Proxam). Your challenge is proving very time consuming.

Thanks for the read and I should be eligible for a voucher a few reads
in so Merry Christmas from me as I'm signing off until New Year. Thanks for all the reads and comments in 2003 and may all your problems be ones involving winning lots of money. Usually around about now I go into hibernation in a cave in Northampton.

Marandina

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