Places to see

I have had a privilege in my life that I was a traveler growing up. By the time I was 8 we had been to Australia twice, Fiji, Mexico, Washington State, California and I think Arizona, plus who knows where in BC and Alberta we had gone. Of course it did help that my mother is from Australia so that is why we went there to see her family. Then she had a friend in Fiji we stayed with them so that meant low cost on accommodations too. When I was a little older we went to Australia again, plus stayed in Hawaii for a week, did a drive through BC to the Calgary Stampede, and to Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick, all before I was 13. This doesn't count all the other side trips we did up and down Vancouver Island and the rest of BC. When I got married it meant moving to Hawaii, from there we went to Washington, back to Hawaii, to California, to Florida, to Singapore, back to Florida and then finally settling in Washington. While in Singapore I was able to go to Japan and Thailand with girlfriends and we also went to Malaysia, Thailand and to Australia. When I go to places I appreciate what they have there, I am all for trying some local food but definitely respecting local beliefs and the culture. I use the chopsticks when eating Asian food, always have toilet paper or wipes in my bag, and I ask locals for information because that can get you into doors that you might not know about. You need to adjust to what you are in not making them adjust to what you want. If it means eating at dumps to get the best tasting meals, being polite, learning some of their language then you do it.

With all this traveling I realized where I want to go and what I want to see. I would love to go to Europe like everyone else but more because I want to see where my family history comes from. But there is so many other places too. Turkey, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, India, Ceylon, Vietnam, definitely back to Thailand, more of Indonesia, Hong Kong, then South America oh the possibilities, the list doesn't end there. Hmmm you know maybe it would have been easier to do a list of places I don't want to go because that list is a lot shorter.

I really hope that one day I can put my foot down in these places but I know I might not. I can view pictures and use my imagination as to what it would be like there. It makes me smile just like it would if I was there because while asking the locals helps to open doors sometimes so does a smile.