MM on Assignment: The Cars of a King (56K no no)

[Andy]

I went to Alaska on my own dollar back in college and it was worth every penny.

A friend of mine is blowing an entire year's savings on a 3 month trip to Europe/Thailand before he starts Grad school in the fall.

From the little that I've traveled on the company dollar, it's sucked because I had to be concern with work, my work image, and presenting myself as a grown professional and not some drunk. So Rob, you might enjoy yourself more if you go on your own.

[Goodspeed]

I've known a lot of "company" people over the years...people who work for mainly oil companies, tech companies, etc. They have the best lives you can imagine, but its a lot of stress. EVERYTHING was paid for by the all powerful company, even taxi fares, but the flip side is one phone call and you're either out of the country or fired. Still, if you were a kid overseas whose parents were company people, life doesn't get much better...

Rob, if you are serious about coming to the middle east, theres some things you must consider. I've found that this region (Jordan, Israel, Syria etc) is more historic, but at the same time less tourist friendly. If you want a true middle eastern experience, then theres nothing like hitting up the street markets and ancient ruins of this area.

However a lot of tourists instead go to the Arabian peninsula region (Oman, UAE etc) because its much more welcoming. The fact that these people were heavily influenced by the west means that they are more open and have a much more developed tourist industry. Its a little less authentic (Dubai is ridiculous) but you can still venture out to outer areas and experience more culture. You can camp with bedouins in the desert one day and the next be in a massive shopping mall. I'd highly suggest visiting Oman, I used to live there and its truly one of the best places in the world, IMO.

[Feersty]

Thanks Goodspeed, areas like that are so intriguing to me, and I am sure would make for great stories.