exilencfc

Shouldn't you have gone away again by now?

He had a point though, I hadn't been anywhere for three months. Thing is i'm not going anywhere for another three.

JMR1223

I doubt most people on here would dismiss someone who is simply an "inexperienced traveller." The common thread in all of the questions listed is that they're rude. If someone comes to me and says, "I see you travel a lot, I'd like to visit x, do you have any advice?" Or a similar question about travel, miles, points, etc, then I am happy to help. I enjoy helping people discover how easy it can be to travel. The questions that I have an issue with are rude, probing questions. 9 times out of 10 they come from someone who spends more than I do on travel, it's just not as luxurious because they don't utilize points/miles. They spend $5k to go play golf in California, I spend $2k to play on Bulgaria and fly in J.

As for the safety questions, in my case they have always come from college educated professionals who are fully able to read the newspaper and follow the news. Asking me about the safety of Hong Kong is going to make me roll my eyes.

My favorite is when my uncle freaked out about me going to Tunisia (pre-Arab Spring) because it's in Africa and "there are black people there." He's a lawyer. That is not an acceptable response!

Amelorn

This thread isn't so much a gripe about (innocent, if naive) questions, it's passive-aggressive quips. It's amazing how discretion goes out the window when travel comes up. It's gotten to the point where I don't even talk much about my travels beyond "Oh, I've been there".

See:

"Well, you're quite the world traveler, aren't you?"

"Well, aren't you Mr Got-Rocks!"

"Having a trust fund must be nice..."

"How can you afford to fly international business class?"

Adam1222

I have 4 miles and I fly Southwest once a year to Las vegas. Please find me 6 tickets using miles in business class from Paducah to London for the week of July 4th . I must travel on these dates. if you could just give me the flight numbers I'd appreciate it. I'm such a "noob"! LOL.

Also, what does "Amex MR" mean?

darthbimmer

I agree. The naive questions are more amusing than anything else. Usually I respond to them sincerely so the asker can learn something. What drive me nuts are the subtle (or not so subtle) snide jabs. Like, "You're so lucky you can travel everywhere" and "I'd travel the world, too, if I were made of money." Well, I'm not made of money. And what wealth I do have is the result of hard work and prudent choices, not luck.

Trust fund? I've inherited a total of $100 in my life. It was when I was 12, and my great-grandmother passed away. I added it to my savings for college, alongside the money I was earning from delivering newspapers.

BuildingMyBento

Without a doubt.

Millions of tourists are robbed annually by the higher prices at airports in the US, whereas airports in Tokyo and Singapore have prices that closer reflect those downtown.

airplanegod

Passenger: The cockpit…what is it?
Me: It's the little room in the front of the plane where the pilots sit, but that's not important right now. Oh, and don't call me Shirley

84fiero

Only a few people have been genuinely curious about how to leverage miles, points, and other techniques to stretch their travel dollar - and I've been happy to get them started and provide advice. The folks who merely make passive-aggressive comments about "being rich" and such - even after I've explained my miles & points hobby - are just being arses.

Some of the comments/questions that have driven me nuts...

- Do you actually eat the food there? (No, I go on a fast for two weeks Heck the food is half the reason to visit many places!)
- Shock that I don't travel with a group tour and/or stay at all-inclusive resorts...somehow acting as if I couldn't set foot out the hotel door alone.
- I didn't know you spoke [Turkish/Japanese/German/etc] how did you get around? (Well, I learn some beforehand, take a phrase book, etc)

- My worst so far: We visited Japan - specifically Tokyo and then generally south into Kyoto, Hiroshima, etc - about 6 weeks after the 2011 earthquake (the trip was planned long before). I kept abreast on conditions (again, our travels were not near the directly impacted areas) using real-time information from folks living there and local Japanese news...nothing at all unsafe for our specific destinations. Yet I had comments from some acquaintances and a family member that were shocked we were still going, such as "Are you stupid?" and "Do you want to die?" They were convinced we were headed into a radioactive wasteland. Nevermind that none of these people knew anything about the situation aside from probably a 3 minute sensationalist segment on CNN while eating their breakfast.

We encountered numerous locals on that trip who thanked us for visiting and talked about how they were worried about what the western media was saying and about the drop in tourism. Not that there wasn't a sense of loss over what happened, or that I wasn't mindful of the same...but life has to go on. And we frequently donated to the victims' relief donation boxes that were all over the place.

invisible

He factually was correct.

What he implied by that statement is another matter.

TravelinSperry

Yes, we all started as inexperienced travelers. But (and I'm not suggesting this is you) some people still have worldly views and don't assume anywhere outside of the US or the UK is unsafe or to be avoided, etc. Before I ever traveled I longed to, and never asked any of these types of questions.

My sister said to me once... "Ooh, you're going off to travel, so nice. Have fun, but don't trust anybody!" I hugged her and told her I loved her and off I went.

Amelorn

OH jeez, this reminds me..

We were in DL TATL J, row 1 - the only int'l trip where I've had companions: my maternal grandparents.

Grandma: Is this First Class?
Grandad: No, business.
Grandma: Oh! Where's First Class?
Grandad: The pilot's lap. (Points to the cockpit door 3 feet away)
Grandma pursed her lips, chastised, but also repressing the amusement (arousal?) of the pilot's lap.

After a lounge beer + champagne, I am ready to fall on the floor laughing.

gooselee

+1 on the the "made of money" and "must be nice" comments. I do most of my vacation travel on miles, but those miles were certainly not free. They are the reward of many, many weeks a year away from family and my own bed.

While I don't mind most of the naive questions, and know that all things are about personal preference, my own wanderlust always makes me cringe when I hear this: "Why would you ever want to GO to these places when you can get all the stuff you need here at home?"

Annalisa12

I do all of my travel with $ yet nobody has ever said you must be rich or commented on money I spent. I just get an occasional "you are so lucky".

No comments from inexperienced travellers bother me.

Oh, I just thought of one. I have a friend from a very very well off family with a well known business and the son says "I prefer economy". The whole family fly first and he was given a house as a 21st birthday present and he is not short of money (of course one never knows)!

OccasionalFlyerPerson

I remember Laurie Anderson's comments about sitting next to an old woman on a plane, where it turned out that the old woman thought she was flying through space.

Tide_from_PAE

1. "We've decided that we want to book that really good deal you found us 3 weeks ago." Really good deals have to be booked immediately, maybe an hour later. I'll try to find something, but it won't be as low priced.

2. "Hey buddy, you're cutting the [regular] line to board the plane." I have elite status on this airline and can the use the priority line to board at my leisure.

3. "Why don't you book this flight I found online for $15 less?" Paying the $15 gets me flights at more desirable times and on airlines where I get priority seating. The cheaper flight might also require more expensive airport transportation.

4. "Your family must be rich to go on a vacation every couple months." Travel doesn't have to be expensive. Driving 2-3 hours and spending $150-200 for two nights in a hotel doesn't cost that much more than 4-5 people staying at home for the weekend.