Letters

letters from our readers
year 2000

Retirement in Costa Rica
I enjoyed the informatin you provided about Costa Rica. You seemed to give a very unbiased opinion of the country. I am thinking about retirement soon and have considered Costa Rica. What would your opinion be for retirement in such a place. I have read all the good things about the country, but you never see much information on problems one might encounter. I would appreciate your honest thoughts.
Thanks, Paul
31 December 2000
Our Response:
Hi Paul,
I'm not sure we're your best sources on this, because as much as we like traveling, and even traveling for a very long time, it's difficult for us to fathom retiring to another country. That said, the expats we met in Costa Rica loved it; they were trying to start businesses and were having some trouble with corruption, etc. Still, they were having a great time and had no plans
to leave. The weather is great, the people are nice. You can't ask for a lot more than that.
Good luck!

Charity for Thailand; Bali Tips?
I wrote many months ago after our first trip to Southeast Asia. My husband and I are in our sixties and really enjoyed our last trip to Thailand. As in any culture there are many things to admire and wonders to capture. We stayed in Thailand for close to three weeks and we would love to go back.
We decided to donate some toys and a modest amount of money to an orphanage in Chiang Mai instead of giving to beggars.......they did break my heart though. This was suggested by some Thai friends that live in Bangkok. The orphanage was very clean and we were very impressed with what we saw there. Remember there are many refugees that come across the border from Mynarmar (Burma) and what ever you can do for that part of the world is helpful.
We would love to see Laos, Vietnam, China, etc. The list is long. I broke my right arm rather badly and will have to have many months of therapy so I am thinking of some place warm again. I have read mixed thoughts on Bali. I will not be in the exploring mood this winter so would like to think of a nice beach, comfortable accommodations (not expensive), and some
culture. Any suggestions? Florida is NOT for US! Bali still interests me!
Marilyn
7 December 2000
Our Response:
Hi Marilyn,
You raise an interesting point in your letter. All over the world, beggars asked for our money; sometimes we gave, thinking how selfish we would be if we withheld so little money. We changed our thinking in Laos, after hearing an expat talk about the effect of giving money to beggars (story is here). After that, we decided that we would just give to some kind of charity when we came home. And we did. We chose Trickle Up, a non-profit that makes micro-loans in impoverished countries (http://www.trickleup.org/). In case anyone out there is interested, you can donate to the site with a credit card. (Thus gaining frequent flier points for your next trip!).
As for Bali, we loved it. But you have to remember it really is a paradise, which means it attracts other paradise seekers. So there are part s of the island that I imagine are like Fort Lauderdale; and there are other parts that are more relaxing. Check out our chapters on Ubud (look here) for both the up and down side of that part of Bali. We loved it once we got used to people trying to sell us theater tickets about three times an hour. If you want to go somewhere really remote, try Hawaii's Big Island. Have fun!

What's a good way to find travel partners?
Hi Eric and Joan,
I'm looking for a web site where I can put up a "partners wanted" ad for a trip to Pakistan and China. Do you know of any? Many thanks.
Alan Wechsler
Albany, NY
31 October 2000
Our Response:
Hi Alan,
We wish we had the resources to provide this service on our website. Otherwise try online and print
personals ads in alternative weekly newspapers; I've often seen travel partners wanted ads there.
Let me know if you have stumbled across a good online resource for this, so we can consider linking to them.
Good luck on your voyage!

Recommendations for the Philippines
Hi Eric and Joan,
Do you think it is safe for a lone female traveller to go to Laos? I am planning to go there this coming year end.
Thank You!
Sincerely,
Pauline
Our Response:
Pauline,
I don't think there is an particular danger for a woman alone in Laos. There are parts of the country that are dangerous for anyone that you should be (very) careful about venturing into, like the northeast region near the Cambodian border.
We heard that on some boats, like the long trips up the Mekong, women must stay in the back even on trips that last for days. You might want to avoid that or at least check to see if that is still the case.
Laos seemed a pretty safe, friendly place. We loved it.
Have a great trip!

Recommendations for the Philippines
Your trip to the philippines is wonderful. Since you were already in the Luzon island, you should have made a side trip to Vigan Ilocos Sur before going to Baguio.It's a nice quaint little place which reminds you of 17th century Philippines - the view in the morning when day breaks is spectacular. I have been to Boracay and it is one of the most beautiful sites - talcum fine sand and crystal clear water.
Sharon
26 August 2000
Our Response:
Drat, we missed the turnoff! We'll have to try those next time.

.Any must-sees in Malaysia?
I have about four to five weeks to spend in Malaysia at the end of my SE Asia trek. The plan is to travel down the east coast, short visit to Singapre, then head up the west coast to Kuala Lumpur. Any suggestions
on must see's or your favourite island groups?
Amy
24 August 2000
Our Response:
Hopefully this isn't too late for your trip, but even if it is, we trust you'll find a great time. We loved Malaysia, but only went to the East Coast. Our best idyll was on Pulau Tioman (near Singapore), where we went diving. Probably the next most fun was a very relaxing week in Kota Bharu. There are plenty of diving resorts on the East Coast. You just might avoid, for the time being, islands in the very east of Malaysia, next to Mindanao, since Philippine Muslim rebels have made a habit of raiding resorts there for hostages. We didn't make it to the Cameron Highlands but we hear that is lovely.
Have fun!

.Letter from an unquiet Native of Alaska: Of Tlingits, trespassers and rum running.
In response to: our adventures in Juneau (then hit the back button on your browser to return to this letter)
Hi from Anchorage, Alaska!
Interesting account of your Juneau experience with those Tlin git' people. By the way, it's not spelled "Klinkits", it only sounds like it is, when pronounced the American way. The indigenous pronunciation is Thlin-gits', but most Americans do not know how to say it correctly. Do attempt to learn the correct spelling for our tribes in Alaska, prior to putting it on your web pages, and do try to understand the context of what you experience, prior to publishing it, else it will be not well received by some of your readers, especially the Tlin git' ones!
Those without much knowledge of Alaska will get the wrong impression from your web pages that all Tlin gits' are drunk and rude to visitors, which is certainly not the case. Some Natives actually enjoy spending time with visitors, and welcome them, as long as they conduct them selves well. I will try to help you put your experience into perspective: that Tlin git' man was not being ridiculous when he said it was "his back yard". Regardless of what you may have read or heard from the United States of
America, Alaska is still rightfully owned by its indigenous peoples, by way of allodial title, not by way of "aboriginal title", as the feds like to call it in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.
The United States never had the right to grant "aboriginal title", since it came from King George 111, of England, who told the white English settlers to stay on their side of the mountain range separating the 13 colonies from the rest of North America, since the land on the other side was "the Indian country", and he could not help them if they were attacked for trespass, theft of furs, or grand theft real estate. The first English settlers were America's first illegal immigrants, if the
truth be told. ( Eminent land title attorney James Bailey has clarified our land rights to us, but unfortunately, the feds choose not to recognize our allodial claims at this time. )
So you see, you WERE standing on Tlin git property while in Juneau, since their respective clans, who are the actual title holders never relinquished their ground, it was pulled out from under them by the feds in 1867, by way of the Treaty of Cession, to which the Natives were never a party or even notified about. The feds like to say they "bought Alaska from Russia". I don't think so: there was no deed, and no deed was required to be produced by the Russian crown, prior to the land changing hands. Not that the American government cared, they knew the Natives were not in a position to defend their lands, not being so well armed as the American gunships were, and not being politically unified- yet.
If the truth be told, the Treaty of Cession was just another case of grand theft real estate. The "purchase price" was just "get lost" money, and the Russians were happy to leave-no more furs left to steal, anyway, and no way to preserve all of those salmon they saw, since this was prior to the invention of the canning or freezing systems . Seven million dollars in gold changed hands, but the fed's claim is bogus, and they know it! Why do you think they all of a sudden wanted to settle with
the Alaskan Natives in 1971, after the claims had languished in the US Court of Claims for so many years? The oil companies were salivating over the Inupiat's oil reserves on the North Slope, and Big Oil wanted nothing and no one to stand in their way!
Billions of dollars were at stake, and those Natives were so very inconveniently in the way of those profits, and it was time to pillage and plunder Alaska again! Russia said they owned Alaska, but they actually only owned a very tiny percent
of it, inside their forts, posts and redoubts. It was a swindle, and we Natives were cheated out of their birthright! If you want to learn more, dial up   http://www.geocities.com/gaelhouse/    That's James' web page, or wolfhouse@earthlink.net ( the web page connected to Bailey.)
While it was true that the Tlingits you met up with were drunk, it's NO coincidence they were! The AMERICAN rum ships were quick to take advantage of the hapless Natives who had no resistance that the siren song of alcohol, and many Natives died and/or suffered their whole lives as a result of "good old American Capitalism" in full flower on our shores, bays and rivers. At least, the Russian crown forbade alcohol sales in Alaska, not that the American rum ship owners or captains cared
about that prohibition. No one or thing was about to stand in the way of their profits!
Thanks to the Odum Company, Alaska now has the very highest raste of alcohol consumptrion in all of the U.S. ( In my
village, I've traced back the geneaology for some Haidas who are 4th and 5th generation alcoholics. ) Those Yankees whalers were the worst, since they had killed off so many whales, some of the Inupiats starved to death in their igloos one winter! Whale bones were the rage in the corsets of the American women in the 1800s, and "to hell with the people who needed the whales for food and fuel" was the order of the day. Whale oil was the lamp fuel for the booming populations in the
U.S., prior to petroleum coming on the scene.
In fact, to hell with any Native who got in the way of "progress", and "good old American Capitalism". "Let those savages sink or swim, now that we have all of their stuff " was the American Way, in the 1700s, the 1800s and 1900s. "That land woul be better put to use for our amber fields of grain, not for feeding the buffalo. Let's get rid of those wild horses and make
room for our beef cattle. To hell with the wolf, the puma, the passenger pidgeon. Lets turn it all into strip malls and subdivisions!
There's gold in them thar hills! Lets go get it!" Thank God some Americans now seem to have found some conscience in regard to Native Americans and in our homeland. While it's true that those Tlingits you met in Juneau were acting in a rude and shameful way, the real shame needs to be placed where it belongs: at the feet of the Americans who participated in our destruction or who knew about it but failed to protect the Natives from the exploitation, debauchery and corruption
wreaked by so many of those "pioneers and sourdoughs" who came to Alaska.
For the last 130 years, Alaska has long been a rich feeding ground for the hucksters, alcohol dealers, land speculators, realtors,
pimps, con artists, prostitutes, fly by night characters, cocaine dealers, hoods on the lam, sellers of bogus "Indian" Art, cruise ship companies who pollute with no shame, the timber companies which clear cut our forests nearly to death, and those huge, ocean going factory trawlers which mine our waters.   Those freebooters and carpet baggers have had free rein and have had their way with us for far too long, and this Native is not going to keep quiet about it!
You should see what the oil companies did to Prince William Sound! The real reason Prince William Sound was almost destroyed was because the State Legislators were so corrupted by Big Oil, via their campaign funding, their well paid lobbyists, and no doubt filthy lucre changing hands under the table. If you want to learn more about that part of the story, read "Extreme Conditions: Big Oil and the Transformation of Alaska" by John Strohmeyer. Did you know that the oil spill response equipment was buried in deep snow after the Exxon Valdez oil spill? It took days to dig it out and get it out to sea, meanwhile the spill was spread by high winds and big tides, poisoning 1,000 miles of shoreline!
Those poor people in the Sound were left with no way to make a living for years on end, and the Alyeska's response was to throw lots of money in their direction, hoping to keep them quiet. Some of the fishermen committed suicide after the spill of 1988. How's that for good old American style capitalism? And who are the ones sucking up all of the oil at the other end of the supply line? Good old American companies, who supply us all with plastics, fuels, industrial chemicals, pesticides, etc. Even our shampoos and clothing now have petroleum products in them. Polyester, zip locks and gasoline are so convenient
and affordable!
If you think many of the first Americans from the U.S.A. to show up here were bad news, you should have seen the Cossacks and the other promyshlenikis from Siberia in the early 1700s! At least the Americans did not line up the Aleuts and use them for target practice, kidnap and rape the Aleut wives, kidnap their children, and hold them for hostage to make the their fathers hunt for furs. Actually, the American government did hold the Aleut men of the Priboloffs hostage, and made
them hunt furs for about 2 cents on the dollar. (EDITOR's NOTE: if you are interested in a good diary from the American adventure in the Pribiloffs, check out our books page).
Where the Russian American Company left off, the United States kept it going for some time. The Aleuts were so cheated on that deal, they couldn't even buy food, and the U.S. government took in millions on that deal. To learn more read "Slaves of the Harvest". Read your Alaskan History; you will be shocked at what you learn. Ralph Nader is right! Alaska is no more
than an open pit mine to the world, and especially to the United States. ( Just remember that, if you ever toss away those disposable plastic items; they're likely made from Alaskan oil, and that paper you read is also likely from the Lin Git' Ani ( land of the Tlin git' ) aka the Tongass National Forest. ).
The homegrown and permanent Alaskans get to have what's left of the pickings, once the Outsiders have gotten all
they want, and have gone home. Very few North Slope jobs went to Alaska's Native or even to homegrown Alaskans. My husband, who worked at a pipeline site, reports that some oil workers from Outside attempted to enforce racially segregated seating on a crew bus to the oil drilling sites. When the bus driver raised hell with them over this, they broke his legs. Nice customs they wanted to import! If Alaska's Natives are really lucky, we can get a job sweeping floors and scrubbing toilets at
the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage.
Don't even get me started on Captain Cook! Cook was the one who opened the gate to all of the greedy, unprincipled Outsiders who came to exploit us-he mapped the Cook Inlet region. He even attempted to try to claim Alaska for Great Britain. Imagine burying a not in a jug on the banks of the Arm giving title to the homeland of the Denaina Athabaskans! Those Denainas say him doing that, dug it up and smashed it, unbenownst to Cook. I have no pity for him, after I learned he was later killed by some Natives in the South Pacific. Don't get me started about Wally Hickle, the one who owns the Hotel Captain Cook!
I'm so glad to finally see a better class of visitors finally arrriving on our shores. I hope you had a good time and enjoyed our scenery. Please do your part in saving the whales, recycling plastics, paper, oil, etc., and thank you for not messing up our lovely yard! We love to see tourists who are clean, tidy and polite. Come on back for another visit one day, and do put more lovely Alaskan photos on your web pages. We need the business, since our Native corporations are going into eco-tourism. Gold Belt, the Native Corporation for Juneau, has several tourism ventures, and Cook Inlet Region, Inc. also does tourism,
and has several tours in Kachemak Bay area, which I understand is spectacular.
Della A. Coburn
Anchorage, Alaska
June 2000
Our Response:
Dear Della, hello yourself! And thank you very much for your letter. Touche' on our spelling. We were actually chided about it quite awhile ago, and somehow never got around to fixing it. All over the world, there are two to 20 different ways to spell the name of each tribe, each city, each state, each country. However, usually we at least pick a spelling in use, instead of making one up. Your history lesson is quite useful. A little context always helps. I'd just like to point out that, as we did everywhere in the world, we just wrote about what we saw in Alaska. And if the Tlingits we met in Juneau happened to be drunk ... so be it.
So were the cattle farmers we met in Australia, the guys stumbling through cafes and campgrounds in Poland, and for that matter, not a small number of folks down the street at the local bar. So ... no offense intended. Glad you liked the pictures

.Laos 1963
I read all your chapters and was taken back in time when I enjoyed the company of the wonderful, loving people of Laos.   The most incredible people you will probably ever meet in your entire life, but China might hold the same experience, which you by now have also experienced.   I was not able to leave the greater Vientiane area in the early 60's as security was not good after dark.   We had about a 20 km area in which we could travel. Not past the Airport out of town though.   We could go down to ThaDua and cross over to NongKhai(sp?) where you crossed over the new bridge.
The only bike ride I ever took while in Laos happened a few months after arriving on 'Friday the thirteen, 1963.    I took a boat across the river at Vientiane thinking I could ride down to NongKhai on that side of the river. I never thought to look at a map for I would have seen in an instant that the river makes a incredible snake curve between ThaDua and Vientiane.   It's
20km between the two but on the Thai side it ended up being about 70km and my butt so suffered ever click of the last 40.   I left about 9am and got back to k6 where I lived about 10:30 pm.   Got caught in a down pour on way from ThaDua to Vientiane. It felt good though.
... in a subsequent message:
I had a message started but was kick out of program so must start again. Your story of the ride coming in to Laos and the other ten chapters fascinated me. It brought to mind the many great experiences I had teaching woodworking there in the early to mid sixties.   As you said, the are truly wonderful, loving human beings. The best I've ever met, but you might find
that to be the case in rural China also, which by now you must know.
I took thousands of photographs while there, including almost a mile of 8mm film. I have about a fifteen minute run of the rocket festival on the Meekong in Vientiane. That is some event seeing the large bamboo (4-6") wrapped with rope and packed with gun powder being shot off over into Thailand. This happens in March or April, I forget which.
I will pass on this site to my former wife. She and I were both IVSer's/Educ and were married in Vientiane on Dec 21, l964. The ChowMoung of Vientiane did the official ceremony and the next day we did the sacred US style ceremony
@km 6 the American Aid Compound.
I will being looking forward to hearing from you.
                            SUBBYDEE, THANN   Robert
May 2000
Our Response:
Thanks for you wonderful letter! We would love to see your photos and film of Laos in the 1960s. That must be astonishing. I'm sure some museum must be interested too. It means a lot to us that you liked our web pages. People like yourself who know something about the country are the best and harshest critics.
I hope we can meet some day. We have lots of questions. Was the food excellent then as well? Did you learn to speak any Lao? Was French common? (Now French is pretty much gone.) Was Beer Lao around back then?
We loved Laos very much. It's great to hear from someone else who feels the same. You have caused me to re-read our own web page and stirred up a lot of memories. There's is something unperturbable about the people of Laos that is very
endearing.
I know the ride you are talking about. It's 70km on one side of the Mekong and 20km on the other! We took a day and a half to do the ride. We also got rained on and we also enjoyed the rain. Lots of people ask us what we did when it rained. In hot and steamy southeast Asia the answer is "Enjoy."
If you ever come to San Francisco, look us up! We can show you our entire album of Laos photos.
--Eric

.This is your first day in India, right?
My girlfriend and I went on a trip around the world (against the advice of everyone we know) and had a great time. I think I am in trouble for looking at your site too long at work. I can't help it, I want to go back.
I just got done reading about your time in Nepal. Although Carmen, my girlfriend, and I didn't make it to Nepal, we made it to India. That was the biggest culture shock I can think of.
When we arrived, we knew that we'd only have a couple days in Dehli; so we went on a bus tour of he sight in Delhi for an afternoon. Another couple we met suggested it was a good way to see a lot of Delhi in a short amount of time.
The fella started yelling at the kids asking for money outside the Red Fort. I couldn't believe how agressive he was, and I tried to tell the kids I was sorry for his actions. When we got back on the bus, he said, "This is your first day in India, right?"
By the end of our time in India, I felt the same way. It was too bad. India was totally incredible, but horribly depressing at the same time.
Have a great day, and thanks for the great site.
Scott Eissfeldt
19 April 2000
ps: I told you that I would send you a link when I got the first draft done of our web page. Here it is:
http://www.gci-net.com/~photovoltaics

Our Response:
Scott, it's great to know that we aren't the only ones who made the transition from innocent, loving tourists to people who were just a wee bit jaded by all the begging. That really was one of the hardest parts of Asia. After giving some money here and there we decided that the best thing to do is to go home and make a conscious decision about who to support, and send them a sum of money they can actually do a little something with.
Your site is great! The photos of Bali and Holland and China look very very familiar. Makes us want to quit working again and go see some more! Thank you very much for the link!

.What does it all cost?
Great site! Enjoyed sitting at my desk at work and reading about your adventures!!
Am planning a trip of my own but am struggling to work out the costs and wondered if you had any advice for budgeting? It's really the daily living costs that I am guessing at - obviously it depends on the country you are in but could you give me an idea for what you spent a couple of different countries ? If you have any idea of the breakdown that would also help me ie: camping, food, water...etc?
I am hoping to go to NZ, Australia, India - Himalayas, Canada and South America over about two years and am saving now - I guess it's expensive!! Any advice would be much appreciated.
Regards,
Dan
18 April 2000
Our Response:
Sounds like you are in for an excellent time! The short answer to your question is, it's not as expensive as you think. There are some big up-front costs, like a few thousand dollars for an around-the-world airline ticket, plus up to a few thousand dollars for equipment, depending important it is to you to have a good camping and biking equipment (if you plan to bike). In the end, we spent *about* $65 a day. And here I will steal our answer from a letter we got in 1999: (for the whole letter click here).
from the old letter:
We spent about $63 a day on average, which is a mix of Asia (quite cheap), Europe (horrifically expensive) and the US
(cheap for us since we mostly stay with relatives). That figure included all our on-the-ground expenses, including buying and
repairing camera, computer and bike equipment while on the road, and regional airline/train/ferry tix. The price did not
include intercontinental airline tickets, our phone and internet accounts back home, health insurance, or the approximate $5,000 we invested in computer/camping/bike gear before we left. Our total costs for 26 months was about $56k?
back to your question:
In Southeast Asia our daily budget was more like $40, but really we could have gotten by in many countries (Indonesia and Malaysia for instance) on $25 or so. And that's not even rock bottom. We met one young guy who was going happily along on $50 a week in Java (during the currency crisis)! Canada is on par with the U.S.--how much you spend there will depend directly on how much time you spend in cities. We didn't make it to India, but it's on par with Nepal, and our two months in Nepal were amazingly cheap (our very fine Kathmandu hotel room ran about $5 a night. and on the Annapurna trail, we usually paid less than $2.50 a night). We have several friends who've just gone to South America. Again, it depends on what you do, but it sounds to me like South America is not a budget vacation. It's quite big and to get around you will probably spend money on buses and planes. If you can avoid buses and planes there--or anywhere--your trip costs will plummet!
As for camping: you can't really do it in most of Asia, because it's too hot and too populated, but then again, the average hotel is cheaper than the average tent site in the U.S. In New Zealand camping was luxurious (lots of equipment in common kitchens) and cost about US$12 to US$16 a night (in late 1997). In Australia, if you are hard core, like Eric, you really can have a fine time on $10 a day, which can cover camping and all the burgers you can eat. But if you like cities (as I do--Joan writing here) your budget can easily ramp up to $80 to $100 a day.
Don't be discouraged! Our money--$65 a day--in general bought us incredible luxury and was cheap compared to living costs back home!

.Moving to Costa Rica
I really enjoyed reading about your Costa Rica adventure! Since I have been pondering the idea of moving down there, I gained a lot of insight into the country from your diary of the trip. I also noted that you started the trip in Juneau? Are you from there? The reason I ask is that I lived in Juneau for about 10 years, and still miss it, and all the friend I have there.
Mike Bushey
16 April 2000
Our Response:
Glad you liked our Costa Rica pages! Good luck with your moving plans--sounds like it could be great. As for our start--actually, we started our trip with two-week canoe adventure up in Quetico, Ontario, Canada. Then we started the bike trip to Vancouver, and worked our way up to Juneau. Then to Costa Rica. The reason for the zigzags was that four friends got married during the first four months of our trip, so we wanted to stay close enough to zip back and attend the weddings. Although some days we wish we lived in Juneau, we now live in San Francisco, which is also where we lived just before this trip.

.In search of a bare boat
Do you know of any reputable bare boat companies that you could recommend in the Caribbean or South Pacific?
Thanks,
Sherry
11 April 2000
Our Response:
As a matter of fact, we do! Eric has chartered bare boats several times from North/South in the British Virgin Islands. He likes them because they tend to be cheap and the boats are in pretty good condition. Have a great trip!

.Thanks from a British Columbia fan
Hi, I'm finishing a school project at about 3:15am, in BC, Canada, and your page has been an enourmous practical help. Texts can only tell you so much, your pictures and experiences were far better. I have relatives in Thailand, maybe I might try a bike trip like yours sometime.
Thanks, Ryan:)
10 April 2000
Our Response:
You are welcome! Let us know if we can help you plan your bike trip. And get some sleep.

.Are you crazy? Biking to Hana!
Aloha from Kipahulu!
I just stumbled across your web site ... ugh! Are you crazy? ... biking to Hana!
I live right next to the seven pool (Oheo), I won't even DRIVE the "front" road to Hana. Reading your amazing story gave me a whole new perspective of the "back" road. It seems your trip was a few years ago, '97 maybe. I hope you have recovered. Just wanted to let ya know I enjoyed your story.
Trish, http://www.aloha.net/~regenes/tjdm
25 March 2000
Our Response:
You know, it didn't seem crazy when we set out, until we found ourselves stocking up on tiny bottles of water at Seven Pools, our only water source for quite awhile. That was a really brutal road, right up there with the worst half-paved road we bounced over in northern Laos. Has anyone fixed the potholes on the 'back road' to Hana since we rode it, in Oct. 97? And yes, we have recovered, though just thinking about that road makes our spines twinge.

.
In search of Spanish lessons
Enjoyed reading about your week of Spanish lessons in Salamanca. I'm interested in doing the same, but for a couple of months. Just wondering what school you went to? Would you suggest any others, or even another place (Granada)? Many thanks, Sean Evans
Our Response:
Hola Sean!
I (Joan writing here) was just thinking about whether to go back to Salamanca this year for more! The school was great, the staff was great, and the accomodations were great (basic room & board situation, but fun people!).
I think our school was called: Instituto Espanol, Salamanca--the sign on the front of the school is actually pictured in our
Spain Chapter 15: http://www.ericandjoan.com/worldtrip/spain/spchp15.htm. It's on Plaza de las Conchas in Salamanca.
It's entirely possible to show up in Salamanca on a Friday, enroll the same day, move in with a host family on Sunday, and start class on Monday. That's what we did.
I've heard that the schools are pretty much equal. I think ours was on the less expensive side. I also heard that another
easy place to study Spanish (i.e. lots of schools) was Sevilla, but when Eric and I got there, it didn't have nearly that small
town college feel (and maybe you don't want that). As for Granada, we didn't make it there! (how could we miss it?) So
we can't tell you about schools there.
Buenas suerte!

.
From a fellow world traveller
Hello. My girlfriend and I took three months off at the end of last year and went around the world. I am in the process of writing a web site for that trip. You did a great job. I really enjoyed re-visiting some of the places we went as well.
-Scott Eissfeldt
10 March 2000
Our Response:
Glad you liked it. Let us know where to look for your site.

.
Kiwis seek info on Southern Spain
Hello from New Zealand. We stumbled across your site as we researched our forthcoming trip to Spain. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful .... thanks to you both for the great insights in this article. Could you tell us what happen on your southern sojourn after you reentered Spain from Portugal and headed to Serville? It is shown on the map but no where else. We hope to cycle for 6 weeks in May June this year.
Thanks, Mike & Sarah
2 March 2000
Our Response:
Mike & Sarah,
Glad you liked it! We're a wee bit jealous that you're about to head to one of our favorite bicycling experiences
on the planet. Our trip in southern Spain is described in our Andalucia chapters, which are here (once the page comes up, right click on the frame to load it in a new window). Feel free to shoot over any other questions.

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Austrian student asks: bike or not, solo or not, and should I bring at least $70,000?
Hi! I´m a 20-year-old student from Austria, and I plan to go on a world trip when I´ve finished my studies in three years. I´d like to ask you some things. Can you recommend me to do that trip by bike or what else would you say is quite adequate? Is it possible to do a world trip on your own, or is it useful to be together with someone else? And finally - how much money do you need for a trip like this? Would $70,000 to $100,000 be enough? Thank you for your help!
Yours sincerely,
Mathias Sajovitz
17 February 2000
Our Response:
I'm sure you know that we are partial to bike touring. We like it because it's slow and great exercise and we get to meet a lot of people between towns, people we would never meet if we were taking buses with other tourists. It seemed to us that most other tourists only met each other, wheras the bike tourists met a wider variety of folks. We loved it. That said, several times along the way, we also enjoyed a week or even a month away from the bikes. Sometimes we used the time to
hole up in a hotel; mostly we went hiking; and once we traveled on boats to the Interior of Borneo.
Traveling partner: If you have a like-minded friend, you could have a lot of fun together. You could also get much better sleeping accomodations (most hotels don't charge double for two people in one room), i.e., private hotel rooms instead of hostels and dorms. Plus it's kind of nice to speak your own language when you are away from your country for so long. On the down side, a bad traveling partner can really ruin a great vacation. Use your judgement. If you're not sure, you can
always start out with a friend, and agree to part ways if you like. A lot of people who travel alone, especially on buses, end up touring around with other tourists anyway. So just because you start out alone doesn't mean you'll end up that way.
But being alone isn't so bad. We met a lot of solo travelers who said they met a lot more local people than they thought they would have if they were palling around with friends. And that, after all, is a big point of traveling ...
Money: You don't need so much! Your budget really depends on what kind of comforts you want, and whether you think you can earn money on the way (or whether you want to work). We actually had a pretty high budget of US$58,000 for two people, for two-and-a-half years, with a little over half of that earned while we were on the road (I am a freelance
writer). That included every cost, including trans-continental airline tickets, a few thousand dollars worth of computer gear, and bi-weekly overnight mailings to the U.S. from various parts of the globe. We stayed mostly in budget hotels, with lots of camping and quite a few luxury hotels thrown in. Just one or two (memorably horrific) truck stops.
We met a lot of people who got by on a lot less. For instance, you can stay on Bali for less than $5 a night including breakfast (we paid $1.50 a night), and eat for $1 or $2 a meal. Then see a show for $1.50. A whole year of that would be just $5,000. Add $2,000 and you could do a little diving every week. Add another $1,000 and you could buy enough trinkets to start an import/export store ... You'd be eating well, sleeping well and loving life. Add 50% for Malaysia or Thailand.
Traveling is cheaper than you think! The only expensive part is coming home ...

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Letter from a Lao boy
You went to Laos? That's wonderful. I am 12 and my family is nationally from Laos!!! How was it? Was it great?
23 February 2000
Our Response:
Yes, we had a great time! The hills were pretty and the people were some of the happiest we've ever met. There are lots more details on our web page. Happy reading.

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Fan in Chapel Hill, N.J. reports sprained mouse hand ...
I found this site in the summer and almost sprained my mouse hand reading for so long. I really enjoy Eric and Joan's adventures. But I wanted to compliment you on the faster loading page and the new design touches. Now I am jonesing for Chapter 9 but I can be patient. Thanks for a fun web site that I can truly say I have spent hours surfing and coming back to follow the progress. I cant say that about many web sites.
Thanks again,
Cherry Ralston, Chapel Hill, TN, Jan. 28, 2000
Our Response:
Wow, a sprained mouse hand. We're glad you don't sound like the litigious type. It's great to know that people we've never met can get that much enjoyment out of this thing. Glad you like the changes. We are home and have had a little more time to play with the page. As for USA Chapter 9, the Final Chapter. I (Joan) wrote it and accidentally deleted it. Now I'm looking around for a backup copy. It's probably just our subconscious way of saying that we don't really want the trip to be over. So we'll try to get it up soon, but we may need some psychotherapy first.

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Travel notes for the over-50 set, from Maine
Hello Fellow Travelers:
Kung Hey Fat Choy=Chinese for Happy New Year.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventures. My husband and I were in Asia last year and particularly enjoyed Thailand. We are going back this winter for two-and-a-half weeks.
We are very lucky to know a Thai family that enlightened us about their culture. Because of the economic crisis, many new hotels and huge buildings are standing empty and incomplete. Tourism took a downturn all over Asia
and still has not recovered. Some of the hotels that charged $125.00+ are now only charging $40.00-$50.00 a night, including breakfast. The breakfasts that we had surpassed anything we ever had in the US or in Europe.
Living in the Northeastern part of the US, (Maine), we have somewhat limited exposure to Good knowledgeable tourist agencies that are interested in promoting Asia. Basically we did the research ourselves.
There is definitely a need to have similar reports like yours over the net. Too many people are afraid to explore anything beyond their own state and feel quite superior. The more I travel and read, the more I realize how
ignorant we are of the world.
We took a Japan & Orient Tour last year that was damn cheap. This was the first time we had ever been on a tour and we were very pleased with this type of program. We had a choice of staying at several hotels in a three country visit: Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore. We only went on tours that interested us and were free to do what we wanted. Too many tourist articles criticize people using tours, but there are situations when it is very desirable to use one.
My husband and I are in our sixties, and we have done the camping trips with our children in our youth. We are an active couple--kayaking, tennis, etc. We now like some comfort and sleeping on the ground doesn't appeal to us
anymore. We met a couple on the trip from CA that could teach us ALL about traveling and many other things. They were 74 & 89 years old, knew how to pace themselves, and were well read on what they wanted to see. I wish travel
writers would consider that people over 50 enjoy cultures too.
Thanks so much for all your work. We love visitors in Maine.
Marilyn, Feb. 5, 2000
Our Response:
It's good to hear from some older folks who travel. We've never tried an organized tour, but who knows, maybe 20 years from now they'll sound more appealing.
As for hotel prices in Thailand, where are these hotels that charge $100 or more a night? I guess there are some, but they are few and far between. We usually paid $10 or less a night for an air-conditioned room, sometimes with the equivalent of cable television. Twenty dollars would have gotten us a fairly deluxe business hotel.
Sounds like you guys have had a great full life of traveling. Enjoy your next trip!

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From a fan in Denmark
Hi Eric and Joan,
I'm going on a similar trip around the world alone this year, well maybe less travel and more time at each location. I have read but 3 pages of your tales, and I just felt I had to tell you that I think you are writing it with amazing humour and style and that you are a great story teller (or story tellers), I'm already totally hooked, I can't stop reading, but then I do have a particular interest in hearing about what problems you may stumble onto on a trip like this. I wish you the best of luck in the future.
Michael Brandi Andersen
Denmark
9 January 2000
Oh and by the way, you have definitely set me on the idea of setting up a similar web site from my travels.

Our Response:
Hey, thanks for your note! It's inspiring to hear about other people going on these trips, especially now that Eric and I are both home, paying the price for our 26-month fun-fest! (no regrets!).
We look forward to your web site. Keep us posted.

For letters from our readers last century, click here

last updated 20 January 2001