andy57742. I'm not at all surprised that you were keen to learn a little Arabic when you considered going to Tunisia but I am surprised people told you Frrench would be more useful. French is indeed widely spoken in Tunisia but I find a smattering of the local lingo is always appreciated. I see you have now decided to go to Turkey instead, which may explain why you did not reply to my response to your queries on the Tunisian forum.

When I was at school many years ago we had English grammar drummed into us, and although I could no longer parse and analyse a sentence, naming all the component parts, I can recognise when it is ungramatical. The fact that I have dyslexic fingers which sometimes put the letters in the wrong order is my excuse for spelling errors.

andy66 wrote:

Just re read your first post Les, and my wife says that the brains have usually gone missing BEFORE they even get to the departure lounge

On the second point , they do that for the other 50 weeks of the year , they just want a change of scenery or to see some SUN !!!!!!

Valid points Andy and good wife BUT the only scenery/sun they see is that between the airport and resort, assuming they're on a day flight. The rest of their holiday they become creatures of the night, if you should see them in the daylight, they are sparko on the sun beds, not venturing to see what awaits them beyond the hotel walls.

With my wife being a culture vulture, when we booked a holiday, it was to a place whereby there was something of interest to be visited. Turkey is steeped in historic sites like Ephesus, Cappadocia, Istanbul, Patara(where Santa Claus was born) and the Lycean Way to name but a few. Greece and the Greek Islands are also full of historical places of interests, Rhodes with it's Old Town, Santorini famed for it's sunsets over looking the Caldera, Cyprus, Kos and Athens.

Les

I pity people like that cruisecontroller, I think in my eyes doing that is a waste of a holiday.

Like Sanji says' it's their holiday, they can eat and do what they want! If they want to sit around the pool all day then who am I to tell them not to? It's their holiday afterall!
Imagine having two weeks off work this summer in the uk, I think we'd have seen about 10 minutes of sun the whole time!
As for the language thing I usually go somewhere Spanish and have picked up quite a few words over the years. I could never have a conversation in Spanish though!

Tarry wrote:

I pity people like that cruisecontroller, I think in my eyes doing that is a waste of a holiday.

Tarry, I know it happens, as when I was working, some of my fellow work mates did exactly that but they would sit by the pool drinking all day. On the various ex-pat forums, those that come out to holiday at their villas/apartments are only talking about the price of the local brew and how they are looking forward to sampling it again !! You are correct in what you say.

Chivas, I see where you and Sanji are coming from, all the same, it shows some Brits in a bad light, the ones who can't handle their drink and get abusive, this leads to all Brits getting tarred with the same brush. You people in the UK had a warmer winter than was had out here in Turkey whereby it was the coldest for 33 years with snow falling in many parts, to the extent of closing Istanbul Airport !! At present we are experiencing in excess of 40c heat which is unusually hot for the time of year. Roll on September.

Les

Ah I understand that Chivas, just saying my opinion that's all Each to their own.

Cruisecontroller wrote:

Tarry wrote:

I pity people like that cruisecontroller, I think in my eyes doing that is a waste of a holiday.

Tarry, I know it happens, as when I was working, some of my fellow work mates did exactly that but they would sit by the pool drinking all day. On the various ex-pat forums, those that come out to holiday at their villas/apartments are only talking about the price of the local brew and how they are looking forward to sampling it again !! You are correct in what you say.

Chivas, I see where you and Sanji are coming from, all the same, it shows some Brits in a bad light, the ones who can't handle their drink and get abusive, this leads to all Brits getting tarred with the same brush. You people in the UK had a warmer winter than was had out here in Turkey whereby it was the coldest for 33 years with snow falling in many parts, to the extent of closing Istanbul Airport !! At present we are experiencing in excess of 40c heat which is unusually hot for the time of year. Roll on September.

Les

These are just generalisatiions though.

It's perfectly possible to go and stay in a beautiful villa for a week, chill out by a private pool and never touch a drop of alcohol the whole week, people do you know.

Is that also a waste of a holiday ? It might be your idea of a waste of a hoilday but for someone who has worked non-stop for 51 weeks of a year, either in paid or unpaid work, it might actually be just what they need.

Why be so judgemental about people ?

Surely their life, their money, their holiday, their business,

xxxx

See, I work many hours myself, but I feel like if I relax too much, I've wasted my precious time off as I treasure any time of I have And like I said, each to their own, and I'm not judging anyone, just merely stating my opinion.

I agree, I think really so long as folk dont bother other folk they should be able to holiday how they want.

I agree Doe - what people do on their holiday, what they eat/drink and where they go has got nothing to do with anybody else - if it's not effecting you.

My youngest lives in Hong Kong, he's in a very stressful, high pressure job dealing in the Asia market.
He gets on a plane to Bali, he stays in a luxury hotel and spends all day on a sun bed/lounger getting some sun on his body, charging up his batteries and de-stressing, (not much chance of sunbathing sat in an office in HK,) he's waited on hand and foot, and he drinks champagne all day and no doubt gets silly and makes a fool of himself. (not abusive, just silly)

He needs to unwind, he doesn't want to be traipsing around Bali, so, do you 'pity' him because he could be mistaken for a typical Brit abroad.?

Why don't people just get on with living their own life and let others get on with living theirs, the way they want to?

Sanji

Exactly, I just have limited patience at times, at how some people behave when they are on holiday, that's all I was saying.

Sanji, good for your son I wasn't thinking about people like him anyway.

doe wrote:

I agree, I think really so long as folk dont bother other folk they should be able to holiday how they want.

:sun2

I was just going to post the same thing Doe. Personally I like to be out and about mooching on my hols. I like to visit different places and sights. But, sometimes, when the holiday is over I wish I'd sat on my sun lounger by a private pool and read my book

Glynis HT Admin wrote:

doe wrote:

I agree, I think really so long as folk dont bother other folk they should be able to holiday how they want.

:sun2

I was just going to post the same thing Doe. Personally I like to be out and about mooching on my hols. I like to visit different places and sights. But, sometimes, when the holiday is over I wish I'd sat on my sun lounger by a private pool and read my book :rofl

It's just personal choice at the end of the day. It's nice to sit down though and feel the sun on your face, but I couldn't do it day in/day out.

Tarry wrote:

It's just personal choice at the end of the day. It's nice to sit down though and feel the sun on your face, but I couldn't do it day in/day out.

Me neither as I'm too much of a fidget but I can understand those who just want to sit and chill

Good for him sanji. I'm not too sure about all this one type of holiday is more valid than another type. I ahd a friend, well a family I knew through DD's school and the Mums idea of a holiday was to hire a beautiful villa with a pool and do very little at all, they had 2 daughter's one with a disability and the hubbie had a mega stressful job in the City, the kind that normally comes compete with a heart attack at 45, if you don't watch out.

Meanwhile I was busy hairing round walt disney world in Florida for 21 days, at what is considered the wrong time of year due to the dreadful humidity, as i was never willing to take my kids out of school just for a holiday

Are ex pats holidaymakers though? We seem to have moved form ex pats not integrating, to who does what on hols. We have drop and flop holidays where we enjoy a wek on a lounger to city breaks where we walk for hours on end. I can't say that I prefer one to the other, as they're at different times of the year.

I think we have had a bit of thread drift Helen which is OK now.

re trying simple phrases. We tried it on our first visit to Thailand.
OH had a go at ordering a drink. The waitress just stared at him. He tried it again- no response. Eventually he asked in English and we got our order. When we got back to our hotel he asked the receptionist where he had gone wrong. She laughed and said it was perfect, but many in the tourist industry actually find it a bit of an insult if you try Thai as they can understand English.
I wouldn't like to think I could go only go to a country if i could eat their food. I've been fine up till now but have to say I'm not fussed with Mexican food. Now, I also know that the British version of Mexican food may not necessarily be remotely what I get in Mexico so I will give things in a go. But this holiday may be one where I dont eat the local dishes all the time.

Tarry wrote:

Ah I understand that Chivas, just saying my opinion that's all Each to their own.

I know, and my opinion is probably the same as yours. I personally don't see the point in spending all day round the pool then all night at the hotel entertainment, but if thats what some people like then go for it!