taurant be like? Who will I meet and
how will my trip unfold?
Perhaps I was a travelling nomad
in a previous life!
The childhood joy of camping is
still very alive in my adult holiday ex-
perience. I know camping is not for
everyone and is a bit of a “Marmite/
Vegemite” activity, however “I love it”
and both France and Spain are home
to numerous, small, independent and
very welcoming village campsites,
offering little more than flat ground
and a shower block; just the way I
like it.
Google Survey – “Cost” (Revisited)
As illustrated earlier, cost is sub-
jective, however “Value for Money” is
an emotion that you feel within the
pride in your heart, or the gut of your
stomach.
We’ve all felt the elation of getting
a good deal, television adverts are
playing on this emotion and suggest-
ing if you use their services it will
make your chest expand with pride
and the satisfaction that you have got
one over the “bad guys”. Converse-
ly, we’ve all felt physically sickened
when we have been “ripped off”,
when we’ve paid that unnecessary
fine, had our money changed on the
street and been short changed, or
simply bought a “dog” of a motorcy-
cle, requiring thousands of dollars to
rectify its problems.
Was my trip value for money?
My road trip holiday was like put-
ting on an old pair of leather motor-
cycle gloves, those gloves that have
been molded and formed through
frequent rain soakings and years of
use they fit your hands perfectly.
Without adding up the finan-
cial costs incurred, I’m convinced
I received great value for money.
But how would I quantify “value for
money”? My rational or equation is
“Smiles per Bank Note”!
No doubt the same criteria is used
TRAVERSE 47
by my wife to measure her value for
money, and yes, she, I’m sure, gained
great value for her money lying on a
sun-drenched Mediterranean beach.
So, in short, we are both extremely
happy with our individual and sepa-
rate holiday choices and perhaps the
first sentence of this article is incor-
rect!
Maybe it should read: “Over the
years my wife and I have been bless-
ed, we have encouraged each other to
follow our own passions and holiday
separately” ITJ
Ian Talbot-Jones has been o the road for
almost 30 years and has ridden on four con-
tinents yet, he's still looking for the big ride.
Ian writes about and videos all of his
adventures, check them out at -
talbot-jones.com