I think most people will realise that we have been and continue to be in the heart of a recession.Most people are saying, when will it end? These things just make it harder for you to do the things you work hard for.Weekends away and holidays seem that little bit harder to organise.
For some reason people's thoughts always turn back to an earlier time in their lives when everything just seemed so much easier to achieve. How often have you heard people say`I can remember when`,or how can you enjoy yourself as much when you have to work twice as hard for it?
When you travel to a third world country and try to explain to a local the cost of living in the`Western World`they look at you in a strange way.I'm sure they are in two minds whether or not to believe you. I personally have been to some places where you could feed a family for a week on what we pay for a steak for a single meal.
A lot of what has happened over the last two or three decades in so called civilized societies could be a form of brainwashing,or more importantly just people's acceptance of what is happening around them. Most people I know are all for progress, but at what cost?
When you are able to get away for a while it is very interesting to notice how people want to do this,normally a package tour or through a travel agent,or both. I once went on a package tour to the Canary Islands. What I hadn't been told was that the place where I was staying sat at the top of a very large mountain with only one access road. This was commonly referred to as `Cardiac Hill,` even the local taxis could only get so far up the hill. I tried to hire a donkey but as I am quiet a large man the animal took one look at me and thought`not bloody likely mate`!!
I think that where and how you were brought up has an awful lot to do with your decision making later in life, people's attitudes to travel vary greatly in relation to where they live. Give an Australian a backpack, he is a happy man, an elderly English lady would not be without her matching suitcases.
How often have you started to plan for that long awaited holiday and there has been a nagging thought in the back of your head whether or not the hotel will be up to scratch?