Western world has lost its mind

[Marvin Boggs]

36 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

I'd pick Stewart Island or Taswegia....personally.

There used to be great pizza in Hobart many years ago and there are great wineries there too. And Cadbury's and scallops!!!

... And both islands have good beer available always! Just lock the doors and sit and eat and drink and relax there!

Believe it or not, situations like this is why I chose Philippines.  Reason being, future calamities will likely be even worse according to the bible.  NZ is a good choice except for big government, same problem the US has.  Not easy to find a place that checks all the boxes.  Samoa is awfully damn nice, and difficult to get to.  That was my #1 choice except I'm still in the work force and still need to travel.  Here we have abundant resources, kindly weather, lots of places to separate if needed, gun ownership (of sorts), international flights, pretty girls, and English.  I mean holy shite, hard to beat. 

[Tommy T.]

9 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

 Samoa is awfully damn nice, and difficult to get to.

Samoa? Well... They do have a decent beer, Vailima... But it is really hot there and you have direct flights there from Hawaii too.

You did not define which Samoa, or should I conclude the correct interpretation that Samoa is the former "Western Samoa." Not busting your chops, Marvin, but just trying to make sure I understand your comment accurately.

And there is no Cadbury's there, no wine production, and hard alcohol is imported... like many many food products...

Hahaha... and the prettiest "females" there are usually younger than 16 or transvestites...

Edited March 21, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Marvin Boggs]

Western.  I wouldn't touch American Samoa with a 10 foot pole!  It was interesting when I visited there, how much fatter and westernized the american samoans were.  And expensive prices to boot, no room to expand, etc.  Just yuck.  SAAmoa the independent country was like a paradise though.  Even if I did experience my first and ever bout of heat stroke during a hike!  

[Tommy T.]

13 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Western.  I wouldn't touch American Samoa with a 10 foot pole!  It was interesting when I visited there, how much fatter and westernized the american samoans were.  And expensive prices to boot, no room to expand, etc.  Just yuck.  SAAmoa the independent country was like a paradise though.  Even if I did experience my first and ever bout of heat stroke during a hike!  

Cool... (figuratively speaking). Still the same beer - which is really good!

But the girls are the same... not always real girls. If a family has three children who are boys, the fourth is raised as a girl - no choice to him... So be careful if you return there. And, of course, none of us are concerned by the police who are wearing sulus...?

And I already forgot the name of the hotel on the waterfront - Aggie Grey's? Was that it?

 

[Snowy79]

I think it's times like this that the media needs to be seriously curtailed as they are creating ten times the panic that is required.  By all means introduce laws making the reporting of news liable to criminal charges if proven fake.  I've been doing my share of self isolating so catching up on news from wherever I can source it and can safely say some of the big networks need closing down.  I was watching a certain president getting torn apart for not acting soon enough and using a term that people in the media's eyes were racist. The same media company were calling him racist when in January he was one of the first to ban people from China etc.  Damned if you do and damned if you don't.  The media is turning it into a political game instead of all pulling together.

[Marvin Boggs]

3 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

 

And I already forgot the name of the hotel on the waterfront - Aggie Grey's? Was that it?

 

That is it, although I didn't stay in Apia.  We rented a car an traipsed on down to the south side of the island.  It was my first time seeing the Southern Cross.  Its a fantastic place to be.  Robert Louis Stevenson thought so too!  I dare say if I had not met my Asawa, that's probably where I would be right now.  

[Tommy T.]

26 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

 I dare say if I had not met my Asawa, that's probably where I would be right now.  

I spent over a year in American Samoa... admittedly somewhat different than "Samoa, " which was still referred to as "Western Samoa" at the time.

I got tired of the culture after about 3-4 months... Eating, not until you are full, but until you are tired! So much starchy, fatty food got tiring. How much rice, fatty burgers, potato salad could I eat? Mostly the people were friendly...  but not always... I had an employee ready to punch me out one day because I clocked him out when he was obviously not working and my wife at the time had a similar confrontation with a co-worker who became upset because she was expected to actually work!

Do not go out to drink late because the locals got attitude from the alcohol.

I ran a print shop there... They were (are?) so heavily dependent on USA support, it was sometimes sickening. It is still currently a US territory, like Guam and Puerto Rico.

Samoa is more dependent on New Zealand and Australia - and quite dependent it is... Maybe you did not observe that? There is really little local industry - just tourism... no exports, no products except home craft things.

I spent a few months, in Samoa... The dynamics were a bit different than AmSam..., but the culture was so very similar. When renting motorcycles to tour Upolu, there were a few villages where the residents would tend to throw rocks at foreigners as they rode through, if they decided they were too fast...

I don't know how much time you spent there, but over longer time it became less welcoming...at least to us...

 Did you go to the waterfalls on the north side of the island, across from Apia? Very nice, fresh and cool?

Sorry.... I think we are way off topic now... but I thought I would at least finish the thought...

I forgot to say before that both Samoas are some of the most beautiful places I have ever visited - by far... just amazing vistas, clean oceans, a few beaches and clean, fresh air.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Marvin Boggs]

I only transited through American Samoa overnight so we could catch the plane to western Samoa the next day.  Then the reverse upon returning.  Those 2 days in Am Samoa were enough for me.  Its a cool vibe, but very much a kind of americanized lazy culture IMO compared to western samoa.  Getting fat and hanging out at McDonalds.  

We visited some falls and tidal pools on Savaii, that was fantastic.  I'm sure any place would wear on my after a while, but I saw an awful lot to like, and we were treated warmly. 

 

[Tommy T.]

Either Samoa would wear upon you greatly, after the novelty wore off... trust me about that?

Hmmm...

In order, I am happy here in Philippines. Of course I have my Mahal here...

Then Fiji. Spent over two years there... Lovely people - made many friends there.

NZ, Stewart Island. Very remote and scenic.

Oz... Taswegia (just watch out for the occasional mutant). Great food, wines and beer and friendly people.

Nome Alaska - isolated and safe, but way too cold a lot of the time - and big mozzies!

Patagonia - super remote and quite scenic to judge by the photos... a bit dodgy with the weather at times, though?

[Marvin Boggs]

Yeah Patagonia and Chile ranked pretty high on my list back when I first started planning my exit strategy.  That was during the Zika virus, and Chile was one of the places it had not reached because of the Andes mountains.  It always seemed like a nice little corner of the planet to me, and one which few people ever think of.  Jealous Tom, you've been to some awesome places.