What kind of profile of vac are you looking for?

I might suggest West Africa, it would allow you a comparison with the 2nd homeland, so to speak.

Senegal, in particular is an interesting place.

Just don't go without proper malaria protection as I did once. Didn't want to miss a meeting, no proper medication available in the country where I was. Quite mad I was.

Dakar, by the way is a very interesting city, and the Island of Goree a piece of history. There are also the Cape Verde Islands, which are quite interesting and a hop of a plane ride away.

For less frontierish, Istanbul and the Aegean coast of Turkey.

Developing country, relatively safe (for someone like me), hospitable and intellectually stimulating. Peace and quiet.

I was just reading about West Africa actually. Mauritania seems interesting, but Senegal sounds nice too.

Re: malaria, getting a mild form years back was enough to make me conscientious about meds (except Lariam).

My good friend hails from Izmir. He did invite me to his family's resort once...hmm...

Mauretania is an unpleasant shithole. Other than the river valley.

The Maure are some people I have little love for.

Senegal is far, far nicer and you will have far less problems re harassement.

Izmir. Nice place.

Evaluna will be pleased that I'm once again considering Turkey.

I'm quite certain about wanting a beach though. Lots of swimming and lying around in a warm ocean, very important this time around. Marbella's beach did not impress.

Sadly, beachfront villas appear to be built for 6-10 people, not 1-2.

Still fantasizing about Turkey (as is Tamerlane, I suspect), but haven't made up my mind yet. And yes, Marbella's beach was too damn cold. Maybe I'm just getting wimpy in my old age, but I was really looking forward to my first swim in the Mediterranean. Really missing the saltwater immersion, big-time.

How are the waves in Izmir? Calm, or good for bodysurfing (hopefully the latter)? But are you really capable of doing Turkey without touristy things? What falls into the category of touristy things, for that matter?

Senegalese music is an intriguing prospect, though.

you should go to albania. absolutely wonderful country. third world but so close to italy you can see the leather pants. great food. great wine and spirits. wonderful soviet and chinese architecture. concrete bunkers EVERYWHERE to explore. (occasional armed gunmen) they have their very own riviera. my favourite city is Vlora. gorgeous people too. and so dirt cheap! 10-15 euros a night for a great hotel and a few euros a day for food. plus, many people speak english thanks to half of the albanian-speaking population of the world living in new york city.

email me if you'd like to see some photos of my vacation last spring in albania and kosovo. so lovely!

oh, and did i mention that there are plenty of mosques as well as various churches and cathedrals? wonderful place and fairly undiscovered.

I second drdoug's suggestion for the balkans. Except Slovenia would be my choice. They have a small stretch of beach that is both italian and slovenian in character. Indeed many speak both languages in addition to english. It is not a developing country per se but it is beautiful.
Malta then would be my second choice.

"you should go to albania."

That'll make your Egypt trip seem like a feminist & chivalry paradise. If you do go, sharpen your knees before departure.

dear all,

the adriatic doesn't really have "beaches" to speak of. it's all rocks.

the gambia (yeah, one of those few countries with a definite article in the name, like "the sudan") is quite nice. if you want beach hut style though ... i'd go for caribbean or india.

izmir is a big industrial town & the turkish "riviera" quite over-touristicized.

for some reason i keep coming back to kerala. or maldives.

--raf*

ps: i'll be in istanbul in august for a week or two ... if anyone feels like having a drink.

Sadly, beachfront villas appear to be built for 6-10 people, not 1-2.

Those numbers usually refer to maximum stuffing rate, with double beds in rooms and fold-out couches. One little villa in Turkey I just looked at said "up to 4", yet it was a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom. If it says "6-8", I'd read that as "2-4 bedrooms" ( usually 2-3, really ), which isn't particularly huge.

Anyway, I know folks that have spent time in Dakar and were fond of it. But it does have less "stuff" than say Istanbul and "stuff" is always fun. Fortresses, palaces, mosques, cathedrals, picturesque and historic ruins. A combination of time in and around Istanbul mixed perhaps with an equal dose of a Greek isle or three might be a good combination of active and laid back.

In terms of Africa personally I'd be at least theoretically more interested in East Africa, i.e. Zanzibar and the Swahili coast. But only theoretically, as I don't know what the logistics would be like trying to bop around to storied places like Mombasa, Malindi or Kilwa Kisiwani and whether it would in fact be worth the effort to do so.

I also have a friend with property on a bucolic Croatian island with a sand beach just a short ferry ride from scenic Dubrovnik ( well-appointed with medieval "stuff", i.e. the walled town itself ), if you're interested in such.

- Tamerlane

If Southeastern Europe is even in the running, I’ve also got info sources for small Adriatic islands – the mother of one of my best friends hails from there, and still has a great deal of family there. The Dalmatian coast is gorgeous – he spent a few months there a year or so ago, and I’ve seen the photos – and there is a direct ferry from Venice to the island in summer. But then there is his aunt, who he described as “somewhat to the right of Attila the Hun.” If former Yugoslavia is of interest, I’ve got other sources as well – a co-worker is an ethnic Albanian from Macedonia (BTW not a misogynist pig) and also has tons of family there.

All in all, though, Turkey is still calling, though I’m with Tamerlane that a Greek island or so would not be amiss. And let’s face it, I doubt you are actually going to spend a whole vacation doing nothing but lying on the beach when there is Stuff to be seen and done.

(Stupid American 2 annual weeks of vacation! And Tamerlane, if you rub it in, I might just have to fly out there and whack you.)

Eva Luna, taking a momentary break from H-1B Hell, as 2/3 of the annual quota is apparently gone several months before the fiscal year will even begin on Oct. 1. (It's like being an accountant in tax season, but worse - you miss the deadline, you're SOL. And nobody really knows when the deadline will hit)

what about visiting the united states? the pacific northwest is lovely in the late summer. and it's just as dangerous as some of the more... adventerous destinations in other parts of the world.

As I've said before, just alert me if you're going to be within 500 miles of Beirut, and I'll see if I can't link up.

Eerie-
There is something wrong with your left hand menu on the front page. Everything is repeated twice and the links don't work.

Ali K: Which browser?

IE 6

what about visiting the united states? the pacific northwest is lovely in the late summer.

Ah, yes - Seattle in August. When it gets fully half of that city's annual twelve days of sunshine :D.

Actually, I'm fond of the cool, misty northwest. But if you're going to visit the U.S., you might as well just hit California. Just as cold and wet as Vancouver or Seattle in September, but with the added bonus of saving me tons on vacation expenses :).

'course we do have a marked shortage of Ottoman palaces down this way ;).

Re: vacation stuff...I'm trying to get off the continent, so N. America + Carib do not interest me in the least. Also, my currency goes further in developing countries, hence the prefernce.

East African coast, been there done that. Last year in fact.

Dodgy parts of E. Europe...keep in mind I'll be alone. Safety is a concern, but I'm willing to try "interesting" places. Just need a certain measure of predictability.

As for browser issues, I've tested the flyout menus in IE6 and can't find a problem. The pure CSS2 menu actually doesn't work in IE, but I've included a workaround for it.

tamerlane: what about all of the mansions around LA? a lot of those are ottomanesque palaces.

and, for the destert, just go to death valley or the mojave desert

E: with today's exchange rates, the USA is much more affordable for people using loonies (lounsburries? perhaps we should start our own currency...)

albania would be great if you knew people there. otherwise, there's still a small but significant risk of being kidnapped and sold into the sex trade or other such industries (for women, foreign or not). although... that risk is much diminished compared to even this time last year.

kosovo, on the other hand, would be a dandy location. everyone there is SUPER friendly but prices aren't quite the bargain of albania.

what about latvia, lithuania, and estonia? all three are quite lovely countries.

wait... i know... mongolia!

E:

i have something even better for you. North Korea.

http://www.korea-dpr.com/kfa2006/KFA%20solidarity%20Delegation%20august%202006.html

With the exception of Albania I don't think the european destinations suggested here qualify as dodgy. And it is central not eastern europe.

Re menu. I am assuming it is the same menu, so I can't see why it works here and in aquol and lounsbury but not in the eerie homepage. Anyone else have the same problem?

a lot of those are ottomanesque palaces.

Yeah, minus the class ;).

Anyone else have the same problem?

I believe I did eariler today at home, but either it's fixed or my work computer isn't having the same issue. Frankly I never noticed it until you mentioned it. I scarcely ever glance at the menus.

Actually, Europe doesn't really interest me. I want to visit a developing country.

BTW I think I figured out the problem (didn't realize you were talking about eerie only).

Your choice. Slavs - especially the balkan kind - have their own funny kind of dysfunction that is only rivalled by arabs. Personally, I find it intriguing.

balkans: it seems after the referendum, montenegro will now be independent. i don't know myself, but i have family who went there not long ago, and liked it. (castles, beaches, a stone's throw from every other little tintinesque balkan country. plus the added enjoyment that much of the population is apparently named "milosevic".) perhaps there will also be some kind of spectacular celebrations soon?

All the places I can think of that would be safe for women + where your $ would go further are inescapably touristy. Sorry, there just isn't much left that arty Western tourists seeking an "authentic" third-world experience + nice beaches haven't discovered (and inflated the room rates for)...the beach resort I went to in Kerala was just crammed full of ayurveda-crazy Europeans and they drove me nuts.