Text 21300, 104 rader
Skriven 2009-02-25 09:19:00 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Michael Loo
Ärende: PIGGY THINGS 270 90225
==============================
 -=> Quoting Michael Loo to Glen Jamieson <=-

 GJ> such astray leaders
 GJ> as Greg, Liz and of course Leonore herself ensured that the bottle per
 GJ> person allocation was well and truly exceeded.

 ML> Who's the doyen of this group, I wonder.

In this instance, as she is accustomed to dealing with mental patients,
Liz took the lead.
 
 GJ> I had brought a kilo of camel steak and a half kilo of camel and chili
 GJ> sausages back from Darwin to do on the barbie, and they were well
 GJ> received.  The steak was rather like lamb and fairly tender, and the
 GJ> snags very good indeed.
 ML> For some reason I am not fond of the snags that I've gotten
 ML> down there - too English and puffy of texture I suppose.

There are many varieties of sausages made here, but so far I haven't
found any as good as Austrian bratwurst.  The ones made by Rudy's
camel-hunting father-in-law in Alice Springs were as good as any other
Australian ones I have tasted in recent times.
 
 =
 GJ> Why are US bus stations creepy?

 ML> Socioeconomic issues I guess. The distances that are traversed
 ML> are so great, and the people so busy, that those with any kind
 ML> of wherewithal go by quicker and more comfy means. Not to say
 ML> that your country is small, but rather the range of places one
 ML> might want to go there is. Bus transportation has come to be
 ML> the province of the lowest of the low, via a long and inexorable
 ML> slide.
 
In the Philippines, where the low are much lower than in USA, there are
several long distance bus lines, covering a range of qualities of
travel and prices.  The better, air-conditioned buses are not all that
more expensive than the old, rock-bottom level vehicles, but I have
travelled on these latter, with spilt fish sauce sloshing around my
feet, and wild insects flying in through the non-existant windows.  I
never had any worries as to my personal safety, though.

Mexico has enough bus lines to provide competition and keep the quality
high.  I have only heard mention of Greyhound in USA; are there any
other companies?  As they are apparently so bad, I would expect that
other companies would exist to give them fair competition, especially
since fuel costs escalated. (Greyhound went broke in Australia and was
bought out by a Queensland company which still operates them under the
Greyhound name.)

 GJ>   In fact, the coffee and food in bus stations is usually
 GJ> cheaper than elsewhere.
 ML> Not so here. It's bad and it's not cheap. When your clientele
 ML> is desperate, you can get away with offering poor value.
 
 GJ> As bus travel is usually the cheapest way of travelling around a
 GJ> country, and getting to know the nature of the place and its
 GJ> inhabitants, I had thought of trying that mode of transport on a
 GJ> future visit to USA, so why shouldn't I?
 ML> Well, personal safety might be an issue in some places.
 ML> One may riak life and limb, and the weapon of assault
 ML> would surely be something less pleasant than ...
 ML> Title: Death By Chocolate Cake

Hmmm.  I don't like chocolate much.  (Waiting for the sky to fall!)

So what is the alternative to buses?  How good/expensive are the trains
by comparison with the buses?  Are there such things as multiple-hire
long distance taxis or mini-buses?

An alternative way of crossing your continent could be by the Northern
route through Canukstan.  Have you or James Weller had any recent
experience or knowledge of the quality/cost of Canadan buses and trains?

Perhaps I might get a serve of this at a bus station there:

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Misiraq
 Categories: Native, Canadian, Dips, Seal, Whale
      Yield: 1 Text file
 
           Seal or whale blubber;
           Chopped
 
  Misiraq is another dip that is made all over the North today. It is
  made from blubber. Cut up pieces of seal blubber, whale, or udjuk
  (square flipper seal), making sure not to include any meat. Put the
  blubber in a safe container with a perforated top. Store it in a cool
  place where it can be slowly aged away from heat. When it ages
  properly the liquid ends up clear, like a fine white wine. The aroma
  is delicious and never bitter. All kinds of meats can be dipped in
  misiraq.
  
  by Ann Meekitjuk Hanson from the 1998 Nunavut Handbook
  www.arctic-travel.com
 
MMMMM
 

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