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The rule of thumb I use is that if I am legally admitted to the country, through proper immigration procedures, it counts as a visit.
Even this, though, can be dubious. For example, if you are on a boat that passes through a country's territorial waters, and officials board the boat and inspect the papers of everyone on board, does that constitute a visit?
I used to travel as a courier (cheap flights) and never counted the Tokyo airport as a visit to Japan.
Does anyone really think they've experienced a culture at an airport? Really?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61
What about if during your layover you met with local family or friends who came to the airport and you sat and had a meal with them?
Do you really think that's visiting a country or city?
I count it when I have a window seat (which I always request or check in early on Southwest) and am able to see the major landmarks from the plane, or a significant amount of the area. For example I have flown through Chicago several times and seen the entire lakefront and downtown from the air which honestly beats being in the observation deck in the John Hancock tower given a plane is higher.....
I count it when I have a window seat (which I always request or check in early on Southwest) and am able to see the major landmarks from the plane, or a significant amount of the area. For example I have flown through Chicago several times and seen the entire lakefront and downtown from the air which honestly beats being in the observation deck in the John Hancock tower given a plane is higher.....
This logic doesn't make sense to me, so if you are having a conversation with someone about say you've visited Chicago, and they ask what you thought of it.. do you make up a response or do you then say "well I have only seen it from the sky"
I don't count an airport stop because I want the personal challenge and experiential rigor of really getting out and seeing things. If people come to the airport to say hi and dine with you, you can say you've visited with those people and that you've been in the airport, but you can't claim to have visited the country and its culture in any meaningful way. Same with rest stops while driving in the US: you can say you've "been" there, physically speaking, but a "visit" should be more substantial and less fleeting.
OK, here's one for you. I was on a train from Vilnius to Warsaw, when it was the USSR. The train passed through Grodno, which was then still USSR, but it is now Belarus. I got off on the platform and stretched my legs and bought a pastry from a vendor. Q: Can I count Belarus? What if I had not gotten off the train, and just looked out my window at the activity on the platform? Could I count it then? What if the train didn't even stop in Grodno. Still count Belarus?
That's a great scenario. If the train hadn't stopped, I surely wouldn't count that as much of anything. (If I'm in an airplane and fly over Missouri on my way to the airport in Kansas, was I in Missouri?) But the train did stop, and you at least had an interaction at the station. But I wouldn't really consider that "visiting" Grodno (or Belarus), either. At best, I would say "I've been there"--pretty generic, but it doesn't overrepresent the nature of your stopover. OTOH, it's not like a lot of us get to visit Belarus, so, for storytelling purposes (about your Vilnius/Warsaw trip in general), it could be fun to claim a visit--however fleeting and minimal. For my own personal travel account, however, I wouldn't include it as a real visit. Thus, a little more incentive to return and really dig in.
OK, here's one for you. I was on a train from Vilnius to Warsaw, when it was the USSR. The train passed through Grodno, which was then still USSR, but it is now Belarus. I got off on the platform and stretched my legs and bought a pastry from a vendor. Q: Can I count Belarus? What if I had not gotten off the train, and just looked out my window at the activity on the platform? Could I count it then? What if the train didn't even stop in Grodno. Still count Belarus?
great example. In my own (flawed ) "rules" for this sorta thing the only way you could've counted Belarus/Grodno is getting off the train and stretching your legs...
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) "rules" for this sorta thing the only way you could've counted Belarus/Grodno is getting off the train and stretching your legs...
