Hi Emma,Emma22 said:Yep Rick - I've had my "rant"!!! - Though I remain truely amazed (and a tad disappointed!) SO many Brits seemingly go abroad without any "asking of questions" and without any research before going...my assumption being that they either don't care or they're a bit stupid - I don't care to choose!!!
I do have a lot of posts given my time here - annoying I may be!! LOL! BUT I have learned a great deal from asking and asking some more, from giving my opinion and then being challenged for it (doth make you a wiser individual in the end!!) and I go to the DR (a country I've never visited before!) 100% more knowledgable than I ever would have been had I not joined DR1!
Bet on my "Trip Report" on my return - I encourage my children too (9 & 5) to keep "holiday diaries" so thinking maybe nice if I include some of THEIR thinking of the DR within my trip report?
ATB! Emma ;-) - Anti-sankie all the way Anna!!! :-D
My pleasure, Im actually hoping to head back out there myself in august i wont be staying ai that time tho. Tom did get used to it yes but sometimes if i was heading out to do a bit of shopping he decided to stay in and do some of the activities. I think we both would have missed out if we had stayed in the resort the whole time. If you're staying in casa marina try out the aqua centre the staff they are fantastic, friendly and they know their stuffEmma22 said:Thanks Nic - I'm looking forward lots! My girls are kind of used to "people asking in shops" and also being generally "badgered" to buy on beaches/cafes etc. as Thailand (more "touristy" areas at least - where I took them last year) is much like that. I can understand people (especially children) may feel uncomfortable with this initially, but betting your son kind of "got used to it" in a short period of time? - That was my observation of my own children anyway. I'm thinking (as they've only been to Thailand before now) they kind of expect to be "badgered" abroad so I doubt it will faze them...
Taking on board your advice regarding the beach (my youngest is not a strong swimmer.)
Thanks for your reply. ATB Emma
Emma22 said:Ah-ha! That's sounding familiar Boletero, in the UK (and I believe US/Canada elsewhere too???) we have "slush-puppies" which are iced-drinks much the same as you describe...I personally like orange Quick question: Know the blocks of ice they scrape from? - I'm assuming this is made from purified water (not tap??) I'm assuming this to be the case but to be sure (as respect me bowel as said)...
The main reason that I brought this out was because here the the DR a lot of the water carries 2 main parasites. On of the parasites will cause a severe case of the "runs" and the other can cause death on top of the "runs". Because these two parasites are almost non-existent in the US a person visiting here and returning to the US has a hard time receiving proper diagnosis and treatment due to the fact that the sickness is so uncommon to US doctors. I would assume that the same problem is true in England but I don't know this. The incubation period is about 5 to 7 days.
What happens is that some people confuse the security situation in tourist areas within and around the resorts, with the security situation in the barrios of the big cities... they are worlds apart.I'm married to a Dominican who won't take me there. His mom goes 2 or 3 times a year, mainly to Santo Domingo and she tells him all sorts of horror stories. His aunt just moved here a year or two ago and, again, filled his head with stories of murder and rampage.