Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with travel and international

I want to get an iPhone, but how do I travel across carriers?

Knigel — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:47:58 -0800

Hello, I'm wanting to get iPhone (or use my Blackberry Worldphone) in Korea and other countries; however, I do not know the best way to do this. From my understanding I would likely have to buy an unlocked phone and then get hooked up with a carrier on a pay-as-I-go plan or something? What do most nomads do for phones besides things like Skype?

How to deal with homesickness while living abroad? (And when can I give in to it and go home?

inatizzy — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:32:54 -0800

I've been happily living abroad for three months, and all of a sudden I'm extremely homesick and I want to come home. I want to get past this, but how? (Apologies for the length. It's a complicated issue for me. The questions are at the end. Thanks. :)

I've been living in Buenos Aires for 3 months now, fulfilling a long-time dream to live abroad. I'm settled in with a small group of friends I see a few times a week (fellow swing dancers), moving to an apartment with two nice roommates this week, and I've pretty much moved past the just-moved-here distractions and into regular, mundane life.

So for the past week, I've been hit by intense, depression-level homesickness. I'm missing my family the most I have in many years, probably because I'm in the thick of spending my first Christmas ever away from my hometown and my family, which is very sad and a even a little scary for me. (It is too expensive to go back, and I knew that when I decided to come here.) Christmas is not religious for us, but it's a ritual that is the cornerstone of my year. We come together and it wraps up this year and starts off the next one. To stave off the loneliness, I've been good about making plans with friends for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I will video Skype with my family.

Despite this, the homesickness persists. I cycle between feeling normal and feeling really down. The down time is usually in the afternoon, when I'm home alone and the long, lonely day is stretched out ahead of me. The up time is usually in the evening and night when I have plans. (Or even tonight, when I don't!) What I'm going through now reminds me of the way my mood cycled one summer, seven years ago, when I had major depression. Overall I feel more stable and happy now than then, during my "up" times, but the down times are similar. I'm sad, filled with hopelessness and grief, and I cry so hard that I practically burst out of my skin. My perspective gets skewed and I don't believe any of the logic behind my decision to live here. I get desperate and I just want to end the pain and be home with my family RIGHT NOW. (Even though Mom & I both agree that really, this should be a good experience for our family to go experience a Christmas when one of us isn't there.)

During the ups I feel pretty normal and in agreement with the logic that brought me here to live. But I do feel more tired, emotionally and physically, and I just don't have as much energy to be enthusiastic about things. (Usually I'm quite bubbly and smiley.) My friends notice and have been asking me if I'm OK, even when I'm in the best part of my day.

The whole thing is making me question how long I want to or should stay here. I came here to improve my Spanish and to live internationally for awhile. (So that I will have had that life experience.) When I'm feeling up, I have the strength to keep pushing on towards those goals but when I'm down, I don't care anymore. I just want to be home. I want to give up trying to stay strong. In both states of mind I am looking forward to settling into a community for the long term and working my way up in a new career path (community organizing or something similar). These are things I've been looking forward to since before I left and in fact they inspired me to live abroad because I wasn't ready to settle down until I did this first.

I'm sorry for writing so much here. I guess what I'm looking for here is some insight and guidance from people who've been through this before. Why did homesickness hit, what did you miss, and how did you cope with it? Do you have advice for me as I try to overcome it? Both during the holidays, and in general? And at what point is it OK to decide to go home? I don't want to give up too soon but I also don't want to be unnecessarily hard on myself and force myself to stay here unhappily. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Prepaid iPhone data plan in Mumbai?

jesseendahl — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:40:15 -0800

Hi, I will be living in Mumbai for 11 weeks next summer. I have an unlocked iPhone 3G. What is my best bet in terms of carrier and plan for the cheapest and most reliable data access? I plan to do local calls over the cell phone voice network and international calls via Skype on the iPhone. Thanks in advance!

Have to fly in July, but we'll adapt to anything else!

amicamentis — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:53:46 -0800

How to find the best NYC --> Europe flight deals when both day of week and destination are flexible. Caveat: flying out July 2010. My roommate and I are planning an extended European vacation beginning around the middle of July next year. I know that this is the absolute worst time to fly out, so we need some tips about how to cut down the price.

We are flying from NYC but would be willing to travel to Newark or even Philadelphia if there were significant savings. I have used RyanAir in the past and am familiar with inter-European travel, which is why we don't care much about the city that we first land in. So far, it looks like flying into Dublin is the least expensive. We would also be fine with Paris, London, Glasgow, Amsterdam, or Geneva.

What now? I've heard that if you're flying during peak season then you should just buy tickets as early as possible because they will never lower. However, with our flexibility it seems that there may be some deal, somewhere a bit closer to our flight date. Is this wishful thinking?

We would appreciate any website recommendations that would give fares on neighboring cities as well, or flexibility about the day of the week. I've tried Kayak and liked it - are there others?

In addition, our vacation will probably continue for several months. Will the customs agents give us any problems for having a return ticket for more than three months from the day we enter the country?

Thanks!

I'm looking for an affordable mobile plan that will let me surf the web and use Google maps during a short trip to Canada.

stuart_s — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:31:05 -0800

I'm going to Vancouver next month. My Sprint phone won't be of any use to me there. When I went to Toronto last year, I was able to make exorbitantly expensive phone calls and I wasn't able to access the internet or use google maps. I'd like to do all of those things economically. I still have my old Treo 75?wx. Perhaps that could be of some use? Thank you.

When buying a plane ticket, how do you decide whether to cash in your frequent flyer miles?

inatizzy — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:45:49 -0800

When you buy a plane ticket, how do you decide whether to cash in your frequent flyer miles, or pay cash and earn the miles? I have a specific decision to make that's prompting this question:

I've accumulated about 50,000 frequent flyer miles on a major airline over about 5 years of personal domestic travel. I'm going to Buenos Aires in September, one-way, economy, and I can either:

a) buy a ticket for about $450-500 (on two different airlines that I don't normally fly, with 2 stops on the way, about 16-19 hours trip time), or

b) spend 20,000 miles (on "major airline", 1 or 2 stops along the way, 14 hours trip time).

To buy the one-way ticket on "major airline" would cost around $1800 or more and I'd earn 5800 frequent flyer miles. Way too much for me to pay!

How do you decide whether to spend the miles or the money? I've really never been sure when to cash them in, but I'd sort of like to do that now because I could use the $$ to help secure an apartment, settle in, etc. (I'm moving there on my own without a job to pay for moving expenses.) But I'm also a little hesitant because I wonder, is this really getting the best value for my miles? Should I save them for later?

For what it's worth, I'm probably going to be in South America indefinitely after this trip and I'm unlikely to fly the "major airline" to travel between cities and countries there. However, I may use it to come back to the US for visits (such as at Christmas). Thanks for your advice!

Should we stay or should we go?

hamandcheese — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:33:45 -0800

Life choices-filter: What should my wife and I do next? Hi all,

My wife and I are both well-employed and relatively successful mid to late twenty-somethings. We're currently in a mid-size Canadian city, but have aspirations to a lot more travel and work internationally. We'd like that to be soon, but could also pursue some pretty good opportunities here...

My wife works as the education manager at a decent size museum, and loves her work, but is not liking her job. The museum is owned by the government but largely operated by a non-profit society that does all of the fundraising, marketing, volunteer coordination, events, and education programs. Her society is in the midst of a major power struggle with the museum itself and her entire organization may quit or be kicked out before its all over, so she has no job security at all, and the work environement itself has turned into a rumor mongering, us vs. them, hellhole. Things are in arbitration right now, without the possibility for resolution until September (although they keep pushing the dates back, so there is no guarantee).

I work for an engineering company doing editing and graphic design, but find the soulless money-making focus and ridiculous stipulations put on my work by my corporate masters takes all joy and sense of purpose out my job. I want out pretty bad, but have managed to pay 3/4 of my student debt off in the past year, and know that I could get the last $6,500 paid within another 3 months. That would mean we'd be debt free, which of course would be awesome. On the side, I also have my own freelance editing, graphic design and photography business that has been growing fairly well without a whole lot of effort on my part. That said, it's still a pretty small-scale affair, but I feel confident I could do well with it if I had time to throw myself at it. I really enjoy this work because it is for myself and my clients, and because the projects are all very diverse. Photography has become my major passion, and my emotional side is telling me to quit my job tomorrow and throw myself into my own business to see if I can really grow it. I'm pretty sure I could make a go of wedding photography as well, and with all of these diverse things, could make enough of a living to get do reasonably well within a few months, and quite well within 1-2 years.

Now here's the complicated part: we've been talking about going overseas to work since we finished university 1-2 years ago. We don't really care where. If our debt was paid, we could take jo-jobs anywhere we could get work visas (such as British Commonwealth countries), and have a great time. With no debt, we could also look into volunteer opportunities in places like Africa. If we still carry some of this debt, we would probably be better off teaching english as a second language somewhere in Asia, but this would be cool too. I think we'd be happy to do pretty much any of these things.

Soooooo, with all of that as background, here's the dilemma: If my wife's society survives the museum meltdown, her job will be something worth sticking with a while longer. She's quite young to have a position like this and it is a really great opportunity for her if she sticks with museum or interpretation work, or if she gets her teaching degree (long-term goal). If this is the case, and we're going to stay here longer, then my choice would be to quit my job tomorrow (I dislike it that much), debt or no debt, and try to do the work I like doing. But we have no certainty that her job will last, and if I do quit my job to focus on the freelance work, and then she loses hers, we'll be a lot worse off financially than if I stick it out until they resolve it. (but I hate it!)

Should we stick it out, or should we start selling our belongings and looking into work visas?

Should I quit my job? Or would that be stupid? Should I throw myself into my own business, or would that be extra stupid since we plan to leave the country and travel within a year? (I really want to do both!)

Should we go teach english? Or do something else?

I'm not looking for definitive answers; I know we need to answer these questions ourselves. I'd just love some opinions. So lay it on me Mefites. Don't be shy.

Should we stay or should we go?

How can I get licensed to drive through Mexico?

mikeo2 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:07:14 -0800

I live in the central USA and am thinking about taking a trip to Mexico City in August to catch a world cup qualifier game. I was wondering how difficult it would be to get the proper licensing/what licensing would be required to drive there?

Booking multi-stop international travel

aatreya — Sun, 17 May 2009 14:43:41 -0800

What is the best way to book a multi-stop series of international flights, preferably with flexibility to modify the itinerary later? I'm planning to travel this summer to visit a bunch of countries: India, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, and maybe Israel, Italy, or Morocco. I've figured out the travel dates for the first half of the trip, but the second half (including my return date) is still TBD. Unfortunately, parts of the itinerary may not be finalized for a while, but I don't want this to result in a bad price on the first half the trip. How can I get a good deal on airfares but still have flexibility to add or modify a destination at a later date?

Drinking in International Waters/ Cruise Recommendations?

slowcat — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:36:34 -0800

My sister and I want to take a cheap cruise over the summer. I'm 22, but she's 19. Are there cruise lines that let you drink at 19 in international waters? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for cheap-ish (doesn't have to be dirt cheap, just reasonable) and fun cruises?

Road trip USA for Aussie noob

b33j — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:09:17 -0800

International Travel novice: What do I need to know that I don't know that I don't know? I'm Australian (from warm Queensland), meeting a friend from the Netherlands in the USA (Florida) in February 2010 for a two month road trip that will go through Canada (via Texas, California, Washington and many other places - itinerary mostly not set in stone yet) with the aim to concentrate on mutual internet friends, natural beauty and historical places. Tourist attractions (like Disneyland), not so much.

I know that I need airline tickets (but when do I book?) and a passport (what about visas?). What else do I need to know? Tips on packing (buy my winter stuff there?), on flight luggage, changing currency, paying for things over there (travellers cheques? Will my debit card work? What about my Mastercard? Will I have to pay fees for exchange of currency?). How much will it cost? How much would you set aside per day for living expenses if you were doing it cheap? What about powering my battery charger for my camera - should I be the converter here or there? Storage for my photos?

What should I have asked in this question that I didn't think to ask? Books and websites much appreciated as well as personal anecdotes.

scheduling a touristy layover for myself

waylaid — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 10:13:00 -0800

I'm heading from the US to Cairo, Egypt in September. A lot of the flights have a layover opportunity in their respective airline hub (Air France in Paris, British Airways in London, KLM Royal Dutch in Amsterdam, Iberia in Madrid). I've taken long layovers as an opportunity to get out and explore a new place, so I'd appreciate some advice on doing this. The pricing is pretty much the same for all the above flights.

I have been to Amsterdam before (and wouldn't mind going again), so I know that Amsterdam itself is a short hop from the city center on the train.

In any of the other above airports, is there a place where I can store my very small piece of luggage for the 10 hour or so layover that I would schedule for myself? Or any recommendations on where to store it otherwise?

Also, how easy do you find it getting to the city from the airport (and getting through any visa/customs issues?)

Lastly, i'd like to schedule a flight with layover (on one of these airlines), and return on another (with layover). other than fiddling with Kayak endlessly, I haven't really been able to find a way to do it other than randomly getting a result, or booking two 1-way trips (of course, very expensive)

What is the Best Way to Fly from Tel Aviv to Atlanta?

davidstandaford — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:11:34 -0800

Some quick questions about booking an international flight. I need to get from Tel Aviv to Atlanta, with one catch. The domestic portion of my travel is being paid for. How do I figure out what would be the cheapest city in America to fly to from Israel?

Secondly, I have enough latitude in the dates of my trip that I can be departing and returning almost any day of the week. Are there specific days of the week for international travel that would potentially get me cheaper fares?

Finally, my departure date will be around February 25th. Should I be buying the ticket as soon as possible because prices will definitely be going up, or is that not necessarily the case. Thanks!

Advice on international compatibility and cell phone buying.

talljamal — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:35:34 -0800

Living in Europe now, I want to buy a SIM card based phone that I could bring back to the States, when I move back in a year or so...but I don't know what other spec's to look out for, in terms of compatibility. I want to get a phone here in Europe that I can then keep with me when I move back to the US eventually. I don't know anything about networks like EVDO or 3G or Quad band or whatever, but I know that a SIM card phone would be necessary. So beyond finding a phone that can swap different carriers' SIM cards, are there any other specs that I need to look out for when choosing a phone? And does anyone have experience with particular phones that they really like for this kind of usage? I assume that the cellular technology is better here and thats why I'm thinking of purchasing here, but maybe I should consider an unlocked sim-based phone that my family could bring over, after an Amazon purchase or whatnot. Thanks for your input.

International Flight Cancellation? Help me prepare!

aelish — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:51:26 -0800

What generally happens when an international flight is cancelled? (more inside) - other than the plane going nowhere! I am flying from Washington, DC to Newark to Belfast tomorrow and am expecting that one or both legs of my flight will be cancelled due to snow in Newark. I may make it to Newark from DC, but beyond that, I don't know what to expect.

If my 9:30 p.m. flight to from Newark to Belfast is cancelled, how do they usually handle that? Would I have to wait until 9:30 the next day for another flight (assuming the weather is not still prohibitive)...or would they try to get my original flight out earlier than that (again, weather permitting). I am trying to prepare myself mentally for a long wait - but have never had this happen despite a fair amount of international travel.

London calling; can I answer?

punishinglemur — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:17:43 -0800

The documents that the UK wants from me for a visit are extensive and horrifying. Will I be able to get into the country? I'm planning to visit my girlfriend, who is currently in the midst of a nine-month working gig in London, for a week (spring break) in late March. Looking over the list of documents they expect from me is horrifying.

I get the feeling they're going to think I'm a bum. I have no property, and my bank statements will show that I have a habit of not having much money at all. My employer is my college's cafeteria. I'm going over spring break, so there's no work to be excused from. I own no property. If it weren't for my parents' generosity, I wouldn't have the funds to make this trip work.

Are they going to stop me at the border? Do I really need written proof from my college that I am on spring break? Is this whole thing really as rough as it sounds?

Holy GSM, help me find the cheapest cellphone for use in Europe!

theiconoclast31 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:25:46 -0800

Should I get the Motofone F3 or the Motorola V190 for my travels to Europe? I want a cheap (~50 USD) cellphone for my 3-week trip to Europe later this year. Reviews tell me that the Motofone and V190 are good phones, but some folks claim that they're locked. Why would people think this? If any of you own either the V190 or F3, what do you think? Would you guys recommend a different phone? I'd like something that supports all the GSM frequencies and can accept sim cards ("unlocked").

Thanks, and sorry to add to the growing pile of cellphone questions.

Can I call a toll-free number from my international cell phone without incurring charges?

smersh — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:38:57 -0800

My international cell phone provider (Airtel in India) insists that I can get uncharged toll-free calls while roaming in the US and Canada. It sounds too good to be true. Can you shed some light on this for me? I'm a Canadian citizen with a green card to the US who's been living in India for a while. I've let go of my American and Canadian numbers because I couldn't justify spending $80/month for no reason. So, every time I come back home (US/Canada), I resort to prepaid Rogers and AT&T SIM cards.

This time, however, when I spoke to Airtel (my Indian provider), they told me I could call toll-free numbers free of charge, even when I'm roaming internationally. That means I can use a calling card while I'm here and pay just 4 cents a minute instead of paying upwards of $100 for prepaid SIM refills.

Now, I called Airtel a second time to double-check, and they said they don't charge, but the carrier I'm roaming on might!! Obviously something they should've told me the first time I asked.

If there's anyone who has any experience with this, can you illuminate me? Am I going to get charged while using my Indian SIM on an American/Canadian network to call an 800 number? I'd love to be able to not recharge my pre-paid cards, but I'd rather not get a $1000 cell phone bill.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Too Much Stuff!

divabat — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:03:32 -0800

Less than six months before moving internationally - how do I manage all my stuff? I just completed my degree and am waiting for graduation in March. I'm doing some uni research work over the holidays - I don't know yet how long the work will go for, but it typically lasts till Dec/Jan. I might then go home for a short while and return for graduation, or just stay in Australia until graduation day, when my visa stops being valid.

What do I do with all the stuff I acquired? Specifically, what's the best plan of action I can take that won't add extra stress (with this research work and all) but also won't leave me with too much to do before I have to leave the country?

The complicating factor here is that I've suddenly been evicted from my earlier room rental and have to find somewhere else to stay in a week. (I'm currently at my boyfriend's place.) This makes it harder to go through my stuff thoroughly, as I'm only back at the ex-house for a few hours a day (I don't trust the houseowner much anymore and feel unsafe there). So I have about a week to pack everything up, including things I likely won't need, and chuck it somewhere. There is a possibility of me moving back to college till February, or else there's private rental.

I have tons of books, some clothes, some electrical goods (fan, iron, kettle), accessories, toiletries, and other miscellania. Also LOTS of paper.

* What do I absolutely need to keep? Certificates, bank statements, anything else?
* I've been trying to get rid of some of my books through BookMooch, but they're not all going and I end up getting more. I've tried selling them to a second-hand bookstore and got measly returns. What else can I do?
* My friend might organise a garage sale soon, and I was thinking of selling off some things. I know the electric goods would go OK, and perhaps some of the books/clothes/media, but how about half-used toiletries (shampoos, creams, etc)? Magazines? Shoes?
* How do I get rid of any leftover dry food?
* I'm thinking of sea-frieghting some of my things back to Malaysia. However, I'm worried that Malaysia Post will lose them (it has happened), and I'm not sure if registered & insuring them will be worth the cost. What are some good strategies to ensure my things get home?

If you've had to move back home after international (or just outstation) work/study/travel, how did you deal with your things? What was your goal with your things? Did you get any return? Is it worth trying to get money, or am I better off just giving things away (and to who?)?

What's the best way to book a rail ticket from London to Flensburg, Germany?

krautland — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:38:56 -0800

What's the best way to book a rail ticket from London to Flensburg, Germany? I usually take return flights out of London City to Hamburg for roughly £200 and connect using DB (€37 each way) and was wondering if the same journey using Eurostar, Thalys and ICE would be much more expensive.

The thought of those comfortable high-speed trains that would allow me to get some work done while travelling is somewhat appealing to me even though LCY is seriously the best airport I have ever flown out of (and yes, I have used LGB).

I tried booking a ticket online through the Deutsche Bahn website but they were unable to give me any price information. I think they Chunnel tripped them up.

Bonus points if a train ticket gets me Lufthansa Miles.

I have tried sites like thetrainline.com but they didn't seem to even know the city I wanted to travel to. what happened to world wide web?

1.5k, 3 weeks, where to?

craven_morhead — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:15:54 -0800

Need travel advice: 2 adventurous law students post-bar, passports in hand. My girlfriend and I are both entering our third year of law school, and our thoughts have turned to a post-bar trip. Some info: figure a budget of $1k-2k, $1.5k would be about perfect. It would be in August, let's say a maximum of 3 weeks, 4 if you have something kickass that we would have the scratch for. I'm of the extreme-sports type (whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, etc.). She isn't, but is well-traveled and fairly adventurous. We're both kind of foodies. I can muddle my way through basic instructions in spanish, and she can do the same in german. We're both mid-20s. Not big into clubs, and would like to find a happy medium between sitting on a beach all day and cycling 70 miles a day. We've both seen some of Europe, and I've lived in NZ for 6 months.

Where to?

How can I book specific flights?

jimw — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:41:58 -0800

If I know exactly which flights on which airlines that I want for a two-airline, two-hop international trip, how do I book them? My employer was happy to book my flight through the corporate American Express account for an upcoming trip (LAX to RIX through CDG), but decided to throw my wife to the wolves. Now we are trying to get her booked on the same flights, but travel agents we have talked to (including American Express's consumer travel agents) can't seem to duplicate the route.

The two airlines involved are Air France (actually a Delta codeshare on my ticket) and airBaltic. It is airBaltic that has stymied some of the agents, and the Delta/Air France flight for others.

Are we just having bad luck with travel agents, or is this something they just can't do? Any recommendations of agents that can work this magic would be appreciated.

Alternatively, if we just book the two round-trip flights (LAX-CDG and CDG-RIX) for her through each airline's website, are we going to run into trouble getting her luggage all the way through?

A job in computers that lets me travel a lot?

giggleknickers — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:32:48 -0800

I want a job in computers that involves a lot of travel. I study computer engineering now (in Germany). I want to see the world and make a career out of it. I'm preparing for my career and I'm trying to figure out how I might go about getting a job where I get to travel a lot. I especially want to travel to East Asia.

What I'm doing right now is learning Chinese, in the hopes that that will make me more attractive to employers who send their workers around the world. I'm also signing up as a "guide" to the exchange students who come to my university so that I can expand my international network (plus, I enjoy it!). I don't have money to go on an exchange program myself, unfortunately.

So, this question is sort of a two-parter. 1) What kind of jobs are out there for people with my qualifications that let you travel a lot? 2) How can I make myself the best qualified for traveling jobs?

Thank you!

Safe way to transfer money

Julnyes — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:40:05 -0800

How to handle an international refundable payment so that all parties are satisfied? I will be staying in an apartment rental on my upcoming trip to Paris.

I went through a website that a friend has used before, but the person renting the apartment is new to the site. They are asking for a security deposit upon our arrival that will be refunded at the end of our stay in case of damage, etc to the apartment.

I am a little uncomfortable just handing over a stack of euros in an envelope to a complete stranger. What steps should I take to maximize a safe transaction for all involved.. Should I request a receipt? Give him the deposit in some other format? personal check? international money order? Should I also request a list of items that would result in the money not being refunded?

Where to go?

jourman2 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:11:23 -0800

So I've got this new job and two weeks between finishing one job and starting the other. I'd like to travel for a week of those two, but to where? I realize that that its kind of a vague question but here are my parameters. I gave my two weeks notice today, so Friday the 11th is my last day of work. I'm in New York and I'm really up for going anywhere (I've got a valid passport). I'd like to keep the trip in 1000-1500 or less range and I'd like to go internationally. I've traveled a bit (just to various parts of the US and Canada + England and a few parts of the Middle East), but certainly not extensively. I'd like to make definite plans soon, so lets hear what you all have to say.

Thanks.