Peter Frank offers advice to today's travelers, from destination recommendations to packing tips.
Question: Why is travel important?
Frank: Well, every one have the different reasons for right something will have for business, I love people travel just to relax, I think that is it can’t do things to say but to be able to discover something about the world is also a way to discover something about yourself and in the more you understand different cultures and different people the better perspective you have on America and there respective you have on your own life and you go in to the developing world and seeing how people live with much pure resources than we have and they still find happiness and peace and beauty in their life’s is kind of interesting at the same time the reputation of the United States has gone so far down that it is almost good diplomatic move for America to travel abroad and sort of explain to people this is all really like or actually nice people, we don’t know go and bomb countries of nearly, nearly all the times.
Question: What questions should travelers ask themselves when planning a trip?
Frank: What can I afford #1, how much time do I have #2 and what is the best season for me to go and those questions play on to each other little bit. You can do the [inaudible] for a week, you can do the [inaudible] for the week end. You can do the [inaudible] in December when it is beautiful, you can do the some you can do it in June or July, when the weather still beautiful but the prices are 50% what they are in the high season. People who are taking fewer and fewer long trips and more and more short trips and it is a function of who how we all as Americans and work in family and every thing in our life, so the power of the warm weekend in the power of the non stop flight has become much more important.
Question: Is travel in the Internet age too predictable?
Frank: It is about attitude adjustment, one of my models is in basically say it is true because they are so many tele-magazines and TV programs and websites that will tell you every thing you need to know about destination, so you feel like you have already been there, right. I mean you have never been to Vietnam you feel it I am giving about it because it read much about it. The flip side of that is the people places are becoming more popular and more westernized and less exotic and more familiar the more people go there and to me the fact that the Eiffel Tower is a tourist trap, is this teaming with tourists, it is something that you need to just put aside and just admire for what it is, right, it is a huge cushy [phonetic] but it is a beautiful cushy impressively build cushy, going up to top of it and seeing all parrots at your feet is a magnificent experience, so try to ignore the hot dog stands and the T-shirt stands and all the people clicking in their cameras and getting your way and just appreciate these things for what they are it is that is I guess the best place I can go of.