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Thread: Travel question

  1. #1
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) DeputyDog's Avatar
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    Travel question

    My daughter has the opportunity to travel to Japan with the children’s choir she is in. The trip is scheduled for the summer of ‘22 and they would be there about ten days. The itinerary includes Osaka, Kyoto, Takaoka, and Tokyo.

    They will get to do some touristy things as well as cultural exchange along with doing performances.

    She is really introverted and doesn’t seem real excited about it. I would love to go and would chaperone if possible but they make a point of not having parents chaperone their own kids, and she is worried that I wouldn’t be with her.

    I look at it as a once in a lifetime trip for her. (And me if we go ). Should I let her possibly pass up this chance or try to make her go? I really don’t want her to miss out on a chance like this but I don’t want it to be about me getting to go someplace I’d probably never get to otherwise.

    Have any of you been there and is it worth it?

    The price isn’t too bad considering everything, even all of the meals, is included. I’ve attached a link to the itinerary.

    https://kiconcerts.qwilr.com/Fort-Wa...s-QKNshaUpQqdl


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  2. #2
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Big Skyz's Avatar
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    My only 2 cents, and that's twice what my opinion is worth, is that youth often don't fully appreciate travel as much as adults do. You just have to decide is it money and time well spent or wasted.

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    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    Deppity, we’re in Tampa right now, but I’ll get back to you this evening or tomorrow. I’ve been to Japan, but it was almost 50 years ago, so I’m worthless. Lynn’s brother is an Engineer for Toyota and moved there to work at corporate for a few years. (Back in California now) Between Lynn, her brother and sister in law, I should be able to dig up a few pointers. (Lynn went to visit them while they lived there)
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

  4. #4
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    Oh yeah, btw, Japan is EXTREMELY expensive.
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

  5. #5
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Chicken Dinner's Avatar
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    Hard to answer the question about pushing the kid to go. I had one that liked that sort of thing, but liked the security of having a parent around when he was younger even though he never needed us once there. My younger is a serious introvert and I wouldn’t push it on him even though it might be good for him as he’d be miserable.


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  6. #6
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) jb's Avatar
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    All my kids traveled way more than I ever did. #1 spent a semester in Mexico during his junior year, went with others, but stayed by himself with a local family down there. Loved every minute, then his last year in college he did his student teaching in Perth Australia, about 12 weeks, stayed with a family down there that have become very dear friends and have visited us a half dozen times, what us to go there, but for me it's to far away with a to long of a plane flight.
    #2 graduated from college then bummed around Europe for 6 weeks, his job had him spend about a week in France every 4 months, and a year ago this past Christmas he took his family to England and France for 2 weeks.
    #3 played basketball all around Europe between his Junior and Senior year in HS had a blast. Then spent an entire summer in Australia with his brothers family friends camping and traveling all over the country.
    Wife and I have been to Canada, Mexico (twice) and the Caribbean once, we're not big on traveling.
    As far as your daughter goes, I'd encourage her to go, have her do a little of research as to the country, have here talk to friends that are going, let her know it's affordable for you, but that the bottom line is her choice. If she goes it will be part of her memory for the rest of her life.
    Last edited by jb; 02-18-2021 at 05:33 PM.
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  7. #7
    Administrator LJ3's Avatar
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    Personally, I wouldn't push her. My youngest was pretty introverted for much of her high school career. She wouldn't have enjoyed something like that at all.

    I think as Dads we hope for that "Dad, I'm SO glad you made me do that thing" moment but they are far and few between from my experience. Especially from girls. Those little fuckers can hold a damn grudge!
    If we all threw our problems in a pile, and you saw everyone else's problems-- you'd take yours back.

  8. #8
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    I’ve had the travel bug all my life. As soon as I could drive, I’d jump on the chance for ANY road trip opportunity that came up. Once I entered the military, I got the International travel bug. As a civilian, I had to work while beginning a new career. I was pretty much restricted to domestic travel due to time and monetary restrictions. Once I moved to California, I spent almost every other weekend running up and down the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, all other time off I’d be all over the Western States. I’ve been all over Mexico, both the Baja and Yucatán Peninsulas. I’ve been to all the Southern provinces of Canada (from Newfoundland to BC), as well as every state in the US including Alaska and Hawaii. As for foreign travel, it really picked up once I had my own business and had full control of my time off. I could take off a month at a time and travel. The craziest thing I did was to fly to Paris for a visit, then continued to Moscow Russia for a few days, took the night train (an adventure in itself) to St. Petersburg for a full day, back to Moscow for a few days, then the adventure of a life-time, a 4000 mile (adventure filled!) road trip (in a Russian Lada) through the Ural Mountains and ending up in Noyabrsk in the middle of the Western oil fields. I took a small plane (that was leaking engine oil about as fast as they could pour it back in) from Noyabrsk back to Moscow! It was the (adventure) trip of a lifetime, sometimes sleeping in alleys, sometimes camping and sometimes being put up by the locals along the way. I did some duck hunting and some fishing on the Volga River and have a pic of myself sitting on the ground in the Urals with one butt-cheek in Europe and the other in Asia. River crossings on sketchy barges to floating bridges, you name it. Add a little experience with the Russian Mafia and it was an exciting, as well as an educational trip, but it’s not for the faint of heart and it's now a "been there, done that" thing for me. But, when traveling, I always liked to get pretty crazy and go where not many sane people would even attempt to go. Now that I’m old and crippled up, I have to live with cruises and play like every other typical tourist, but at least I’m still traveling every chance I get. I won’t even get into the crazy stuff I’ve done all over Asia, including places I wasn’t allowed to be. (A few greased palms took care of the a few of the sketchier “travel arrangements”.)

    If your daughter gets a chance to see another part of the world, she MAY catch the bug! But, it’s not always for everybody. I have a buddy who could care less if he ever leaves the state of Florida. At 70 years old, he’s only been to Florida and Georgia! I hope you can convince her to go with an open mind and hopefully enjoy the experience.
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

  9. #9
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) DeputyDog's Avatar
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    I’m kinda the same way. I love to go and see new places. When we went to Europe we took a cruise from Venice and went to Greece, Croatia, and Turkey. When we were in Turkey we decided to ditch the cruise line excursions and hired a taxi driver who spoke decent English to take us around for the day and show us what he thought we should see in the town, not just the usual tourist destinations. Best decision we ever made.


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  10. #10
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    Yessir, we very seldom take the excursions, but do as you did, hire a local to take us where we want to go, as well as listen to his suggestions. We did the Mediterranean a few years back. Went to Amsterdam, then down to spend a few days in Venice where we caught the cruise to Rome, then the Dardanelles and a shitload of the Greek Isles. We were headed for Turkey, but they had a big uprising and we diverted to Albania. Bummer.

    We were really looking forward to Istanbul, but never made it.
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

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