Unexpected "extras"

Pacion · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 2

I often do things "spur" of the moment, some would say "last minute" :lol: and luckily, I have had mainly goodluck.

One of my "last minute", goodluck trips was 2001's Easter weekend in Australia, on the outskirts of Melbourne. I booked "on the spur of the moment" for a horse-riding weekend :wink: . After several telephone calls with the guy and his wife who organise these weekends, I got on the plane to Melbourne. The guy had arranged for me to get a lift to where the horses were with one of the helpers for the weekend. They were so helpful and friendly, that helped a lot. Prior to setting off, I joking said to my friends that I didn't really know where I was going and for all I knew, I could be heading off to join a harem somewhere :!: Thankfully, the weekend did not have THAT sort of excitement and the memories I came away with were (and still are) wonderful.

One of the unexpected "extras" was to see the Milky Way, in the middle of nowhere. If it was not cold, and my companions and I were not hungry, I would have loved just to lie down somewhere and gaze at the Milky Way and the surrounding stars.

sigh This Easter was "our" third anniversary, :lol: the anniversary of the Milky Way and my meeting. I don't know how many people have seen it - millions I guess - but I still feel as if I am one of the luckiest persons on earth and as long as I am careful, do my homework/research and go with my gut instinct, hopefully my impulse for doing things spontenously will continue to bring me many more unexpected "extras".

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

I had a great unexpected extra in Burma. We were having lunch and our guide asked us what we liked. I told him I'd be willing to try anything. One of the dishes he ordered was this great cold green bean sald with onions and peanuts. I loved it, and that started us on a conversation about cooking.

A few days later he asked me if I'd like to come to his mother's house for dinner. She's a great cook and she'd show me how to make some of the dishes I was admiring, the green bean salad in particular.

Another great unexpected extra happened when I was in Tokyo. I signed up for an English-speaking walking tour of the Imperial gardens. Because it was during the SARS scare (and there were never any cases in Tokyo), NO ONE was there. I was the only person who signed up...except for a group of older Japanese housewifes who met playing golf. It seems that their golf pro is an American, and he got them interested in the English language and American culture. These ladies specifically signed up for the tour I was on just so they could meet Americans. Since I was the only one besides them and the guide, it was a wonderful experience. These ladies treated me like they were my aunties, and we chatted and had a great time the whole day. At the end they took me out for coffee, and one of them insisted on walking me back to my hotel even though. A few months later, the whole group wrote me a letter! (I need to write back to them.....)

PharCyDe · Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 64 Location: Tennessee, USA

A little extra happend to me in vegas. I was coming home from a night on the town and heading back up to my room. After waiting...the elevator finally arrives and opens. Who do I see getting off? None other than Wayne Newton! It was so crazy. We couldnt really chat but I did get my picture taken with him! hehe

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

I was travelling around Greece with my brother five years ago and one of our stops was the out-of-the-way island of Folegandros, of the Cyclades islands. The island is 10 kilometers long, 2 kilometers wide and has a daunting population of 700. When we arrived at our condo(which was gorgeous- all white, brand new) we decided to go check out what was happening in the town center. We walked the 2 kilometers and just before sunset, came upon a truly magnificent lightning and thunderstorm. Several other tourists gathered by the lookout point in awe. After that, we had drinks & dinner and walked back to the condo, a bit tipsy one might say, in the pitch-darkness. No streetlights on the islands(no cars, either, so we were pretty safe!). Spent 2 days snorkeling, eating yemista(stuffed tomatoes) at a little cafe on one of the beaches, hiked up to the Church of the Panagia (spectacular views!) and ate fabulous local seafood. When we went to the ticket office(shack?) to get tickets for the launch to another island later that afternoon, we were informed "oh, the boat is not running today"(there WAS a boat, but it was NOT RUNNING!) and to "come back tomorrow". Oh, well, we thought, and headed into town to "Ouzeri Folegandros", our favorite island hangout, where the owner is full of wisecracks, looks a wee bit like Billy Joel and boasts "turbo service"!
:D

squirrel · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 74 Location: Bucharest, Romania

my only trip... 'on the spur of the moment'... took place about 2 years ago... after a crazy Salsa week (I think the reality is ... a crazy salsa month!) two of my friends called me Friday evening and said they're coming to pick me up in 5 minutes to go check the salsa scene in one of Romania's cities... :)
I was trying to get some sleep... hadn't washed my hair and was dead tired...
I got up, washed my hair while talking to a friend from America on the phone, didn't get the chance to dry the hair 'cause the guys showed up... luckily it was warn in the car...
The trip was a complete disaster... no Salsa in that city... we ended up eating in a restaurant with bad music... slept an hour in the car and got back to Bucharest...
But I had fun! It was nice and unexpected and I was with 2 friends... :)