Neil_Oz

Apropos of nothing in particular, I just had a quick look at the 'US' forum, and now see that this board is altogether too sedate. I was so excited to see some robust debate happening that I couldn't resist helping along a little Anglo-American war that had broken out (see the thread "UK, Britain or England?&quot. You lot will have to pull your socks up.

lizF

OK then here goes:
Neil you are a twit, don't you know that clicking the buttons to the US forum will result in that Canberra "mainly" syndrome of RSI? Can't you keep your nose out of other people's posts? No, got nothing better to do I see.
Is that better now?

michi

Neil

Just finished reading "UK, Britain or England," on the US forum as suggested and it was hilarious. For those in need of a good laugh go there.

You should have been on another discussion board (can I mention Insight Travel?) on the subject of the Iraq War pro and con. The main combatant was a from the US. Talk about a mudslinging battle of words! You would have loved it, but like some others I left and came here.

I love Fodor's Talk.

Neil_Oz

What a LOAD OF DRIVEL Liz!!! Anyone with half a brain knows that Sydneysiders are an effete race of leftist, latte-sipping, Chardonnay-swilling poseurs!! (Ah, that does feel better. Keep it up!)

Michi, thanks, but all I seem to have achieved is to stop that thread stone dead. They must have twigged to me, I'll have to be more subtle in future.

I don't mind a bit of irrelevance (obviously) but - Iraq? One guy posted to the US forum ostensibly about travel in Vermont, and then proceeded to drop a large bucket on Howard Dean. (Oops, I forgot you voted for him in the New Mexico primary.)

Amanda_Chicago

I enjoyed reading the post as well. It was the first-time I had ventured to the US forum.

Anyway, the post reminded me of a very nice young man I met from London in Chicago last summer. He was in college and traveling the US. He was staying at the hostel in Chicago.

We met him at a concert and took him to dinner in the city. He relayed that during his US travels he was contiually meeting people that did not fit his previous understanding and stereo-type of "American" (thank goodness!). I am not saying that the stereo-types are not true of some, but there are some of us who are "peace-loving, Bush-hating, open-minded, well-traveled" etc., I personally love being able to show visitors that we are a diverse people.

So, ... after being on this forum, reading some travel books, and watching animal planet (where an Australian man wrestles with crocs),I now have a schema of Australia and Australians and I am so anxious to get to Australia
and see what fits and what doesn't fit as the young man from London did.

I love travel and I think this forum is very cool. : ) 4 months from today I will be in Oz!!!

-Amanda

ALF

Neil

Why don't you go to Lonely Planet where you can join your fellow wankers whinging about about everything under the sun.

margo_oz

Amanda

Not much "croc wrestling" around these days! Well, not in Sydney anyway.

Ignore Neil, he suffers from being irrelevant in the irrelevance that is Canberra

Neil_Oz

Well, I'm glad to see that a few of you are starting to pull your socks up and get involved in a bit of verbal biffo.

Amanda, I think the great thing about travel is that it does or at least should dispel all those silly stereotypes - once you're in a foreign country you start seeing their people as individuals and not en masse. Well, you should, anyway - I've met a few bozos who came back with all their prejudices still firmly intact.

I remember having a political discussion with a lady in Vermont who trumped me by pointing out that the state's solitary US Congressman was a socialist. But we did find that underneath the different labels and styles, we both had much the same issues and arguments to deal with, although in our case we don't have to worry about being a superpower. We just tag along for the ride. But I do have to keep reminding people here that GWB received a minority of the US popular vote.

We often create the problem ourselves too, when you look at the some of the movie/TV crap we all export. For our part, we send low-grade TV soaps to the UK and inflict "professional Australians" like Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin on the US. Not to mention Rupert Murdoch and Mel Gibson (well, OK, Mel was born in the States).

But you'd better be careful with the peace-loving, Bush-hating stuff, or ALF will be calling you a wanker too.

Les

Neil,
I used to lurk (and, yes, even participate) in the off-topic battles that raged in the other forums (at least, as they were pre-registration), but it became a real pain in the ass for those of us seeking and providing the legitimate travel info for which the forum was created.
So, my suggestion to you (and all those who love a good fight): go to those forums and read or participate, but don't bring that crap back here.
This is a great and useful forum; let's keep it that way.
Les

lizF

Les, BOG OFF! We Aussies like to have a bit of fun every so often and will do so even if some of you don't like it. If we didn't we would become as bloody boring as the rest of the world and that is one thing that would never do. We like us this way and anyone who does not can just go and get ..........
There Alan I have said it again!

Neil_Oz

Yes, Les, you take notice of my new best mate Liz. But now I've realised that I have created a problem for myself - I don't know whether some posts are serious or tongue in cheek. I mean, I almost took ALF to task for telling me to hang out with a bunch of smelly backpackers. For all I know Les is sitting back and having a good cackle too.

For Amanda and maybe others - I hope you don't think I was making some implied comment on Americans as such when I referred to the "robust debaters" on the US board - they're a tiny minority and that board is full of helpful people, which given my experience of Americans is just what I would have expected. Anyway, the guy who started the "Britain or England" argument there is Welsh, and I'm sure Mucky wouldn't do that.

Anyway, to make amends and show I'm nothing if not fair and balanced I've now gone back to that thread. I just hope I haven't inadvertently upset the British and the Kiwis in the process.

scurry

Yeah! Why should we allow people to share travel information respectfully on a travel message board when we can allow a zealous few to clutter it up with their own witty etcetera?

Who knows, maybe we can even scare away some new posters who might be interested in learning about and visiting Australia!

AUSTRALIA BOARD FOR AUSTRALIANS ONLY! ALL OTHERS CAN GET STUFT!

lizF

Gee Scurry I actually thought that quite a few people tried to give you as much information as possible, that it was given in good faith and in fairness and in the hope that you had a great time when you came out. Just remember "old thing" that we don't get paid and we run our lives the way we want. We do not, and hopefully never will, cow-tow to political correctness or any other correctness for that matter otherwise we would all be clones of those other sheep who live on the other side of the world and who refuse to be individuals- generally speaking of course, as there may be some exceptions. Why are you still here anyway as I have not seen any useful information from you to any prospective tourist in the last few weeks. Would you not be better on the much more aggressive site which seems to have no time for light banter but perfers to be critical of anyone and anything and rude to boot.

Neil_Oz

Liz, I must say at this point that I've found Americans to be polite to a fault. Of course, as with Australians you'll always get one or two people who are a little over-sensitive. Or maybe scurry just has a bad case of the Joe Fridays ('Just the facts, ma'am'). It's a pity that he/she (and Les) didn't notice that the people who engage in the occasional banter on this board also provide a lot of the information.

pat_woolford

Liz and Neil - abso-bloody-lutely! When you spend 90% of your time on this board patiently explaining that Port Douglas is not a city; why you can't drink their tapwater; how many ways you can get to Kuranda; why the reef out of PD is no better than that out of Cairns (it's virtually the same sodding reef!); the possibilities of spiders in your tropical Fijian bure; the likelihood of encountering Qld venom spitting cane toads; it's time for a bit of light relief. I think it was Scurry who complained about the perceived early check-outs in some Qld accommodations - tell that to poor old Mucky who was waiting, probably hopping from foot to foot on the blazing sand of Tangalooma in summer with his kids - until 2.00pm get into his hotel room - probably because someone demanded a late check-out.

lizF

G'day Neil, Pat and anyone else who is doing nothing but checking out the Fodor's board. May I say that I find it offensive and a tad unfair when it is suggested to me that I stop having a bit of fun and "get on with it" when I have been doing just that for more years than I can remember. When and if anyone from anywhere else suggests to me that I cannot have a bit of a laugh with another of my ilk then they can just go and bite their bum and P.O.Q. It is all very well to expect instant gratification and information from those of us who frequent this forum but please allow us the pleasure of having control of what we do and when we do it, we are not your servants, we are not employed by you or anyone else for that matter. So please 'go to hell' and stop treating me as a second class citizen without a mind of my own, I am no-one's lacky. If you are so inclined to wish to dictate to someone then I suggest you go get your own slave.

Neil_Oz

At least let's not get carried away with the idea that this is some Australian-vs-American thing - nothing could be further from the truth, as evidenced by the fact that so many American posters have enjoyed this and other "irrelevant" threads.

Maybe what Les and scurry are reacting to is some of the content, rather than the fact, of the "irrelevant" posts. Maybe the plot hatched between AndrewDavid and myself to accidentally lose each other's national leaders. I can understand why this might upset a Republican - I'm a very understanding person, deep down. (VERY deep down, my wife would say.)

Having said that, while Americans and Australians have always got along very well together, there are some cultural differences that under conditions of stress can result in misunderstandings, and we should be conscious of them.

On the Australian side this is probably related to the more "British" side of our makeup - particularly the sometimes irresistable urge to yank someone's chain just to see what will happen. If they bite, great. Yank again. Australians can be irredeemable cynics, and (as some academic research told me, anyway) Americans sometimes find the Australian propensity to engage in blazing argument involving grievous personal insult, uncomfortable, and so may not stick around for the friendly beer that usually follows.

Actually I don't like these generalisations much, because they discount our individuality. And needless to say I'm not suggesting that either "makeup" is superior to the other. As an American consultant once said to me, "There are aspects of everyone's culture that work to their advantage, and others that don't. Yours and mine. Often, each is two sides of the same coin."

Mucky

Wow....
I just read the afore mentioned thread.
Neil you are absolutely right I would never ever cause such a disturbance on this delightful forum.
However I do agree with Glyn whatsisname
People of the planet in particular many americans, do consider Wales to be in England.
Its true and to us patriotic welshmen it is bloody irritating. There is huge rivalry between England and the other nations.
I have to admit there are many English people who really are superscillious gits (they usually have white rugby shirts on..lol)
But there are many who are ok people too and I guess its the same in most places around the world. After all we are all human.

Thats what happens when the government sits in London. We in wales now have an assembly which is a very expensive talking shop which is meant to be our government but they have hardly any powers.
But alas the same situation is happening within Wales, North wales are particularly p***ed off because Cardiff is the focus of everything from funding to where we play our rugby, and I think they are justified in their annoyance.

I remember being in Tokyo around 20 yrs ago, and I got talking to a Japanese chap in reception whilst waiting for my lift. He also was convinced that Wales was in England he even mentioned that he thought cardiff was in Edingburgh, but he knew of Cardiff Arms Park.
So it is a world wide problem and not just Americans. But then why should they know, I am blissfully unaware of most of American/Japanese history.
Come to think of it I can't fully understand most of Britains History either.
Oh and Thanks Pat for reminding me how annoyed I was on Tangalooma that day !!!!! I was well Pi**ed off too.
Muck

;-)

Melnq8

As an overly polite American, it never even crossed my mind to consider this thread Australian vs American. I too have read the UK, Britain or England thread and personally, I think it's a real crack-up.

I agree wholeheartedly that as a general rule, Americans are very insulated, and not all that talented in the geography department.

I'm reminded of a phone conversation I once had with a customer service rep in the US. After telling her I lived in Kuwait and was in the US on holiday, she asked "what holiday, Yom Kippur?" No, darlin', not that one.

Incidentally, on a recent visit to Hanmer Springs, NZ, I was asked by a girl working at the Thermal Resort where I was visiting from. When I said Kuwait, she asked if that was somewhere in Australia.

So, I guess we're all insulated to a certain extent. The average American probably doesn't give a hoot about the distinction between the UK, Britain and England.

But accuse a Texan of being from anywhere other than Texas, and oh, boy watch out!

You Aussie contributors do an admirable job of helping people on this board. If you want to stir up a little ****, more power to you!

Oops, was that too polite?

scurry

Sorry -- I was under the impression that you felt things were too tame around here.

If everyone agrees with one another, what fun is that?