Saturday, December 20, 2008

What type of traveler am I?

Since this is a travel blog, I feel I should disclose a bit more about my travel style.

So I googled and found this short quiz @
http://www.nicolewilliams.com/connect/quiz-what-type-of-traveler-are-you/

I tried it and below are the answers that best fit me:
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1. What was your last vacation? a. Road trip down Route 66 [I luuurrrveeee road trips!]

2. You’ve been invited to a wedding several states away. How will you get there? Toss-up between a. Greyhound bus & b. Amtrak, so you can bring your bike and do some exploring after the wedding

3. What is your luggage of choice? Toss-up again between b. Backpack from REI & c. Well-worn Samsonite suitcase

4. You’re planning a weekend getaway with some girlfriends. What will you have after the trip to remember it by? Yet another toss-up between b. Digital photos of the sunset & c. A handmade necklace from one of the local shops you discovered

5. Which arrangement describes your typical accommodations? c. A room at a local B and B

6. What is the one beauty product you never leave home without? a. Chapstick

7. You’ve just been given an extra $500 toward your next vacation. How will you spend it? Depending on the destination, it's either a. You won’t, because you’d rather put that money toward your savings or c. Taking a helicopter tour over the city so you can get a bird’s-eye view

8. What’s your ideal night on the town? Again, a. Half-price apps and a glass of the house wine. After all, it’s the company that really counts or c. Tapas and sangria with some friends, followed by salsa dancing with the b.f.

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Anyway, I've equal numbers of A's and C's (and a few B's). So based on the quiz results, I'm a budget travel babe, Globe-trotting girl and a teeny bit of an outdoor adventurer (NOT!). But it's true the one thing that I'm not - a Luxury Lady who likes to travel in style—preferably of the five-star variety.

I'm not a fan of group tours. We actually joined a group tour for the first leg of our honeymoon trip (to Hawaii & LA) in 2001 and it was a very traumatizing experience indeed. We have not travelled on another group tour ever since.

We'll usually DIY our trips and will do all our trip planning, air ticket, accommodation & car rental bookings online. I'm quite easy with accommodations (as long as bed is clean & location is accessible) and flights (as long as fare is cheap and it's not on China Airlines). I do not consider myself a hardcore backpacker - I think I'm too old for that already (that kind of travel is reserved for those in their late teens or early 20s). I do require some basic level of creature comforts. So yes, I guess I'm a budget travel babe in that sense 'cos I'll usually pick the low/mid-range accommodations and cheapest airfares whenever possible. To me, how you get to your destination and where you sleep is not as important as what your travel experiences are going to be like.

I'm not exactly a sun-sand-sea traveler as well. I do not really enjoy luxury spas, massages or just lazing at the beach. You'll never find me hanging out at the beach resort for days (which I know many do)...it'll bore me to death. I prefer to be on the go (but at a relax pace) and doing a little of everything...experiencing new culture, meeting new people, tasting new food, seeing new sights etc.

I haven't done much traveling with my friends ever since I got married. So my regular travel partner has been my spouse (RG) for the past years. I won't say our travel styles differ greatly but he's definitely not the sort who'd travel with a backpack or stay in a backpackers' inn or B&B. He requires a slightly higher level of creature comfort than I do so we have to compromise. We've kinda reached a middle-ground after all these years and our choices of accommodation actually reflect that. Instead of the cheapo backpackers' and budget inns that I had tended to gravitate towards while he the fancier hotels/resorts, we've now settled on the mid-range (3-4*) and the occasional splurge at something fancier when we feel like it.

We both love road trips and had done countless in US, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. We particularly enjoy coastal drives. Our dream is to do a long road trip from Singapore to Europe (we need sponsors!). Oh, just to let you know that I can't drive for nuts so he's the one doing all the driving. It's definitely a huge drawback! But hopefully, come next year, I'll be able to drive - at least that's my new year resolution to learn driving.

I love to take photos whenever I travel. I'm currently using a Lumix FZ50 with some 3rd party add-on lens (a tad too heavy for my liking but hey, there are always sacrifices to be made). I also carry along with me my Holga whenever I feel inspired for some lomo shots.

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