h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've just got back from a long weekend in Scotland. While while we were sat outside a cafe, I overheard a conversation between a group of American tourists, complaining about the quality of their Subway sandwiches and Starbucks coffee. What I don't get, is why people travel half way around the globe to buy things they could get from the end of the street at home?

Same goes for people who go to "Lineker's Pub" when they're on holiday, or people who'll travel around the globe to order a Guinness in an Irish Bar in Kuala Lumpur or wherever. I just don't get it.

So can anyone explain this phenomenon? Is there anything you simply can't go for a week without?

Well to be fair, the prime reason to visit Scotland isn't often for the culinary experience

In Greece and Spain, most people seem to just want to sit about in the Sun all day and get pished with familiar beer in the night.
If that's what they want then fair enough, keeps them away from the sight seeing I want to do

I'm sure they'd find what I want to do on holiday equally unfathomable.

I was in Thailand a few years ago, sitting at a beach bar in Ko Phang An*, when some California-bimbo type with a gratuitous Valley accent sitting nearby said 'I like this place, but Ko Samui has, like, a Starbucks'.

I mean, what a fanny!!





*a wee tropical island paradise etc etc, near Ko Samui.

Its being away from teh PC when on holiday/breaks that can be vary annoying
useually its poncy things like my own bed, showers I'm used to and can control the temp/pressure of and such like that can be a bit tiresome
Oh, and coffee is the one thing I really can't do without whereever I am, oh, well and the crack obviously

some of us don't even 'get' tourism. i sure don't.

I think it's different if you are living away from the UK as opposed to being on holiday.

For instance I love Guinness & Cider but it is a rarety down here. As soon as a shipment arrives it's gone in a month.

I can get quite a bit of decent UK fodder but would you pay around GBP 2.00 for a tin of Heinz beans? I do because I love them. Also Colemans mustard, English Sausages & Bacon, Aunt Bessies yorkshire puddings all make life a little more palatable ans are available reasonably frequently.

One thing we haven't had for ages which i could kill for though. Walkers Crisps.

One of the reasons I stopped going abroad was because I was frustrated that I couldn't get food I liked, or .

I go abroad to see the sights, meet interesting people and have fun visiting a new place. I happen to like the sort of food I eat, and yes I get annoyed that I can't be happy with the food.

Sorry if that's crap, but wanting to visit museums in other countries doesn't mean I want to eat their food. It was more 'snack' food than 'dinner' I had problems with, so I can understand people wanting to visit places they know!

Having said which I was probably a teenager the last time I did anything really like a holiday, I doubt weekend drinking trips to my parents or London count as holidays ... I'd not really now know what to do on a Holiday, and those I did in teh past were all holiday here in the Uk

When abroad I think the whole idea is to experience the culture of the place and local food and beer is a very important part.

But ... occasionally I find it all a bit overwhelming - days on end of not understanding signs, not having a clue what the good and bad places are, not understanding menus, not knowing how to order, not knowing how much to tip etc. Occasionally I like to find somewhere familiar to wind down for a bit, like an Irish bar where you know the etiquette and can speak English.

>> not having a clue what the good and bad places are, not understanding menus, not knowing how to order, not knowing how much to tip etc <<

A guide book may be a good investment on your next holiday!

RF

Who here visits their friends or realtives and re-arranges the furniture to the configuration you have it in your house?

It's sometimes nice to have things you know you like as a fall back when things are too giddying to know what to do or eat next but come on, you surely travel for the difference dont you?

I can live happilly and full of excitement when Im just 50 miles away from home wondering what they are going to serve up next and what I'l make of it. Even better with the proliferation of immigrants and shops selling food from back where they come from I can dine out and drink on lots of foreign foods while avoiding English ones like tea, guiness, kebabs, curries and pizza.




Scotland as it happens is home to the finest article of take away food known to man the "haggis super"

PS dont make this the mistake of drinking Irn Bru I believe that the natives actually use this to rub onto midge bites and it should not be taken internally.

I'm with Post 9. When I'm in another country, I'll try to experience everything different that they ahve to offer but, occasionally, it can be nice to get a little taste of home.

"They paved paradise and put up a parkng lot".
.
I went on holiday to an island called Phi Phi Don, next to the island where 'The Beach" was filmed. On the ferry journey it stopped briefly at the famous beach used in the film. The ferry was about 200 metres off shore and I squirmed. The beach and sea was jamed with boats and smoke from their engines. It was chaotic and totally spoiled the beauty of the place. Although I never intended to go to the beach I was of course part of the problem by even being on ferry. Phi Phi Don was a beautiful island too easily as pretty as the famous beach and although a little quieter still suffered from too many tourists on fairly small beaches and had to get there early in morning to get peaceful snorkling.
I normally try to stick to local food when abroad if possible as might as well be at home if going to buy egg and chips all the time. Normally hotels will do local food too alongside western food so most are taken care of. If food hygiene is a concern then hotels are generally not too bad and still had great Thi(sp?) curries in a hotel.

Why on earth would anyone buy aunt bessies yorkshire puddings when you can make them yourself for pennies from readily available materials?!

I prefer to eat local food when I go on holiday - in fact tend to choose holiday destinations where we think the food will be exciting. I remember eating in a beach shack type restaurant in Goa and a french family came in and throughout their meal they complained that everything was too spicy (including the stuff that was hardly flavoured at all). You have to wonder why, if you don't like spice in your food, you would choose a quiet beach at the far end of the coast from the more developed tourist spots to bring your family for a holiday. Did they not know before leaving home that they didn't like spices? What did they actually think they were going to eat?

"Why on earth would anyone buy aunt bessies yorkshire puddings when you can make them yourself for pennies from readily available materials?!"

Er, cos that involves cooking and washing up.

I realise that going somewhere different is to celebrate the differences, but to me its different going from flat Essex, close to London, mostly agricultural, to, say Cumbria with all those mountains and lakes and not many fields of rapeseed, and I really enjoyed my 24 hours there last year before the motorhome broke down and I had to come home, but I can still eat exactly what I eat at home!

Ah well, laziness aside I meant for ex-pats who can't get them without paying a fortune.

I know my Scotland example wasn't great - aside from Culloden Skink and a haggis supper, I didn't have much "traditional" Scottish food. My point was more with the Americans and their American fast food.

I agree totally with the ex-pat thing, but I think Blicky's the one who's got it spot on. If you're going somewhere, you should at least try the local food, rather than ordering something you have every week.

" I meant for ex-pats who can't get them without paying a fortune."

oops, missed that point (despite the topic under discussion!). I'll get me coat...

The last thing I want to be doing after eleventeen beers etc. on a sunday afternoon is knocking up a yorkshire pudding mix.

Aunt Bessies are quite an acceptable alternative for me though I draw the line at buying the frozen mash.

Culloden Skink?

Do you mean Cullen Skink?

Can't stand the stuff. Reminds me of a skanky girl from Godalming