OS travels business/leisure anybody......

Just putting this up as yes I do a bit and wondering IF any here get around elsewhere on the job or with the family/partner/wife.

I'd just come back from 3days in Shanghai > 4days Vegas > 4days Mexico for work mixed with a little leisure seeing I overlapped 2 weekends.
Yep its no rest for the wicked when you think how much airtime then car trips here and there but I tell you I enjoy every minute barring the flying ! 14hrs back to Syd from LA into head winds, hate this passage have done it some 15times.
I'll fill in some of my experiences now and then anyone else contribute please do.

Never been out of Aust. Maybe one day

My wife and I travel a fair amount with her work, mainly in Aus though, and once to NZ, we have had many opportunities to travel thurther oversea's with her work but with some family commitments and pet's it has made it to difficult so she has sent her staff on them.

Now with a 10 month old it has also set us back with some travel for a while, I enjoy getting away when we did though as everything was catered for, who wouldn't.

Lived in Singapore for 6 months travelling around Asia when I worked at Cat. It was ok but I did get homesick and the drinking increased a lot.

For travel I went to the US earlier this year and October last year I was in NZ. The october the year before I was in the US and NZ the October before that. Plans are to do Europe but not for the moment.

Ian it blows me away when I hear someone has never left our shores - its a wild and beautiful world out there, I have travelled extensively for 20yrs now and this is what gets to really appreciate still what we have back here in Oz.
I have done all over Australia mostly for work though, really like Perth - my wife and I are talking of one day doing a round Oz tour and I can't wait for that.
Galaxy I love pets but have kept my foot down to my 3kids, got enough to look after for I know it would be me to wash pick up the poo etcetc and I don't need a 4th kid and as mentioned hard to leave them behind due to travel.......yep and harder to travel with littlies - all my trips I watch families and just think WAPIA prams - crying kids on the plane - are we there yet.
The trips we have done with the kids is from 5yrs up at least they are little more managable.
I'm back to Shanghai Dec 10 for a week - now for the largest Aftermarket show in the world as you would expect, Germany Automeckanica had this honour for the last 10-15yrs but within just the last 4yrs this show has steam rolled them all incl Aapex/SEMA.
NZ is nice.
Europe family holiday is on the agenda for 2014 - my wife is Portugese so got to visit her relos and show the kids this part of the world followed by heading to nth Italy to my parents homes going to love this journey !

VZTRT home sickness hits even after only 2wks away without the family - and your right trips certainly put your usual routine out of wack - too much food ! buffet brekkys, lunchs followed by 3 course dinners - I sometimes consume more alcohol some 1-2wk trips than I do in 6mths back home LOL......and I'm not a big drinker though enjoy a top red/white wines and my those Mexican beers go down well with the humidity and Not Corona's, its equiv to our Fosters who really drinks it here, they laugh when I say people pay up to $8 at night clubs to them its cheap $2 piss ! LOL......

Well I don't have business outside our shores and there is so much of this country I haven't seen. I work on the basis that my money spent here is helping someone but like I said maybe one day

I had never left NZ until I moved here in 08, but my misses has travelled all over the world for work and Her own holidays, and she's bugging me to go to Cuba with her late next year.

I really should have studied more at school, now I'm happy to get to do a delivery a few suburbs away, to be able to basically see the world as part do your job would be amazing.

Been on holidays across the Tasman a couple of times and loved it. I have a sister who's in NZ however I couldn't let her know about the last trip as I was going with my mates and wasn't sure how far we'd be from her - it would break here heart if she knew I'd go there without at least paying a visit. I phoned her the second night, said hello had a chat etc, and then asked "what's your address, I want to mail you something". As she was giving me the address we were punching it in the Garmin, Jason Bourne style. She was two minutes away! I wound up the conversation and said "it was good talking sis, I'll see you in five". Yeah, she cried. Made me sleep over too, woke up finding her making about 15 big fat juicy felafel rolls, enough to feed a tribe - we couldn't finish them off so I declared the last roll that night at Sydney airport and had it for lunch at work the next day.

Speaking of work, I don't go overseas, it's been road trips along the eastern seaboards of Nth Qld and NSW. And I have to be in Melbourne on the 4TH! of December for WORK! I'll LIVE. Grrrr.

In Dec 2002 Maurie ten of us took off on a road trip. Drove up to Brisbane, then through Central Qld, across to Alice, up to Darwin before we headed to Broome, or was it up to Darwin, down to Alice then to Broome? ...can't remember. And then back to Sydney. Forty days. The most memorable moment - which I don't think I'll forget in a hurry - was when the two cars parted ways on the way to Darwin. The four guys in the AU took the highway, and in the van the rest including yours truly took to the gravel... I didn't understand why we did that at the time but that's what happened. We were in a Mitsubishi Express that had seen much better days. When you go on one of these trips you'll appreciate how disconnected you become - you'll drive for a very long time, hours, without seeing a soul. So, in the middle of nowhere we hit a rock and cracked the sump... kept putting along for a short distance and we saw a wrecked van in a ditch up the road under a tree... it was the same model Express. Mobile phones? Meh... over-rated - thank you, God.

Oh, the other memorable moment from this trip was when we stopped at a place called nowhere to get some sleep. Pitch black, no one could see a thing except that it was a truck rest area. Pulled out the sleeping gear and the Aeroguard. A sense of calm told me that the ants the size of cockroaches didn't care about the Aeroguard so I was the only one that didn't bother spraying it on. Unlike the rest I didn't get a bite.

Only place I've travelled to for work was frikkin Albany. How excitement. Good thing I like Albany...

I've travelled extensively though (backpacking). Europe, North America, China, and spent 12 months doing the working holiday thing in the UK. Good times. Been on move 'civilised' trips with wifey to Singapore, Melbourne and Brisbane, but since the little Mr has come along we havent been outside WA.

Ian - thats right there's plenty here to see the only bug bear of that is that its so expensive depending what your into and when comparing what you can do the same $$$ offshore its a big call deciding what is preffered, true $$ spent back here supports our own but it all comes down to best bang for your $$$. I hope one day you make the decision for a OS venture I'm sure you won't regret it.

Haha Falc Dec 4 must be ringing in your head ! staying overnight ?
Road trips are awsum and yours sounded just as - seeing the same model Express must have been heaven, bloody incredible and I'm sure never forgotten with many laughs.

defective - you better go with the Mrs's - Cuba would be amazing to see but I'm sure under giudance wouldn't want to be lone walking around - spotting the tourist is very easy in those lets say "unstable" places, my 2 Mexico trips I sure wouldn't walk around the city on my own or with my family, I wouldn't even trust getting a cab ride thinking you just might be dropped off in an area he's been paid off.

RW - the backpacking done during the no responsibilitys days I assume - sure would have been fun, yes I have out grown those uncivilised trips long ago LOL......