Discover Why I Love Visiting the US - and Get Some Great Deals on Tours, Hotels and Airfares...
Martin Malden here - thanks for stopping by!
You deserve a break in the US. But you also need a really good deal - especially these days!Click here to see the wide range of great-value US tours available.
Whether you like the history and architecture of the North East, the sunshine and family fun of Florida, the beauty and atmosphere of San Francisco or the majesty of the Western US, there's something in the US for most people.
I've focused on 4 parts of the US on this site, and on each page there's a short video showing pictures of the place accompanied by a relevant song.
So explore - and enjoy the music!
I do like visiting the US
What do I like about it so much? The warmth and hospitality of its people and the enormous variety of things to see and do.
Here's a collection of photos from different places around the US, to the sound of 'Have a Nice Day'.Whether I'm there on a work trip or a vacation, almost without exception Americans I meet are warm, open and friendly.
They've always shown a tremendous interest in my views as a visitor to the US and, more recently, how the US is perceived by people where I live.
I've done some amazing trips in the US - one of the most notable being a drive I did from San Francisco to Dallas via Salt Lake City, Denver, Salinas (Kansas) and south through Oklahoma.
That was a 3,300 mile trip which took me and the friend I was traveling with through the spectacular countryside from the West Coast all the way to Denver, and then the flat plains from East of Denver to Salinas and South to Dallas.
I've enjoyed the beauty of Seattle, although they did say that the few days I spent there were the only days that Summer that it didn't rain! Apparently Seattle sees a lot of rain and grey skies.
San Francisco is beautiful (more on that on my SF page), New York exciting and a little unnerving, Dallas is laid back with wonderful live music (if you like blues), Phoenix has a strong Mexican/Latino influence (I had my first ever Margarita there) and South Carolina offered a lifestyle very close to my home in Rhodesia (before it became Zimbabwe).
What are some of the not so good parts? Officialdom. Getting in and out of the US since 9/11 is not fun.
I made the mistake in 2002 while travelling from Boston back to Hong Kong of making a slightly irritated retort to a member of the Continental ground staff at the boarding gate.I'd been up a long time, was tired, it had been a long trip and I just wanted to get home. Because of the timing of my connecting flight I'd been at the boarding gate long before the flight departure - in fact I was first in the queue, by well over an hour.
But, because of my tired retort, I was hauled off to one side, questioned and searched in detail. It took so long that I was the last to board, despite being the first at the gate!
But there are drawbacks to visiting any foreign country, especially since 9/11, and customs, immigration and security formalities are three of them.
International terrorism has changed the nature of international air travel - but can you imagine the feelings of the ground or security staff member who realizes that a terrorist incident might have been averted if they had not let the perpetrator slip through?
That's not a responsibility I'd like to have.
Overall, though, I love visiting the US. The variety is enormous - visiting different cities is almost like visiting different countries, so great is the variety. That goes for the food, the architecture, the climate and the countryside - pretty much everything!
Don't forget to check out the current special offers and if you're flying or staying in hotels, be sure to search for the best prices on flights and the best hotel deals.
Catch up on the latest news and advice for travelers here.
Fancy taking a break in the US? Check out the wide range of tours available - Click Here.
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Enjoy your vacation!
Sincerely,
Martin Malden