Would you let your 17 year old daughter travel alone?

[Errol's son]

Which trains have you taken? The metro trains which do have a reputation for being dangerous, or the Shosholoza Meyl long distance ones, which according to every account I can find on the net are perfectly safe?

I have taken the Shosholoza Meyl but not on what are classified tourist routes where there is a 'tourist class'.

I paid and was able to upgrade and had my own individual cabin but it still wasn't very nice. The conductor disappeard in the middle of the night. There were random people walking the carriages. The food was not too bad. The tourist class would likely be better on those routes.

I still recommend the luxury bus/coach or alternatively going the backpacker route and getting an organised tour on Bazbus or something - you can meet people and drink beers and have a laugh on the way.

I also think a low cost flight may be cheaper than the train anyway in tourist class.

 

[Brainaddict]

Hmm, just seen this. Seems a shame to assume that going to Spain with a bunch of other clueless teens to get drunk is the safer option just because everyone else does it. I don't mean to be mean to moomoo but I think it's a very irrational decision and suspect the original holiday was the safer option.

And of course she was nervous of doing the original trip. I still get nervous flying to a country I've never been to before.

Oh well.

 

[moomoo]

Sorry, but why does everyone assume she is going to get drunk?

Not everyone needs to be pissed all the time to have fun you know.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Sorry, but why does everyone assume she is going to get drunk?

Oh bless you Moomoo.

 

[teuchter]

And of course she was nervous of doing the original trip.

There would be something to worry about if she wasn't a bit nervous.

 

[moomoo]

Oh bless you Moomoo.

No, seriously, it really pisses me off.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Pip lived alone in another country when she was 16 and doing an apprenticeship. I didn't worry about her except in storms (she was in a mobile home). I rang her about twice a week. What I should have been worrying about was the numpty who was supposed to be keeping an eye on her and who called her a sanctimonious bitch because she didn't want to get rat-arsed and take drugs and generally made Pip's life hellish...heigh-ho......sadly she didn't tell me all this till she came home, probably because she knew I was likely to go over there and punch her face in.

 

[ymu]

Thing is moomoo, that is exactly the assumption behind these package trips for young people. Even if she'd never touch a drop, she'll be surrounded by very drunk 18-30s doing the kind of stuff that very drunk 18-30s do. If she has no experience handling that kind of situation, she might find it quite tricky.

If she wants to gain relevant experience for a solo trip to SA, she'd be better off backpacking around Europe, rather than being nannied on the travel bit and handed over to a group of reps who are being paid to get her as drunk as possible as often as possible.

 

[kyser_soze]

Sorry, but why does everyone assume she is going to get drunk?

Because package holidays to Spain aren't renowned for their cultural aspects? Because going abroad and getting hammered on a 2 week holiday in the sun is what lots of teenagers do? Because, generally speaking, there isn't much else to do on package holidays of an evening?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

re the Egypt stopover, it's not overnight, she'll arrive at 4pm and depart just after midnight.

hth

 

[teuchter]

No, seriously, it really pisses me off.

I can understand why it's irritating that people assume anyone of that age is going to be getting drunk and the implication that there's something wrong or abnormal if they don't.

I was a rather "sensible" (read "freak" according to popular definition) teenager and wasn't into getting drunk and all that. As I mentioned earlier when I was 17 I went to live abroad for half a year. During that time I continued to be sensible and didn't really drink at all. Well, there was one time which was the first time that I got really drunk and vomited out of someone's window. But that was a bit of a one-off.

On the other hand, half a year later I started at uni and a little while in fell into the predictable student routine of regular heavy drinking and doing stupid stuff as a result.

So of course no-one should assume that your daughter will necessarily be doing lots of drinking on a package holiday to Spain but at the same time, it's not at all impossible that she will, however sensible she is / appears to you to be at the moment.

 

[geminisnake]

Sorry, but why does everyone assume she is going to get drunk?

Not everyone needs to be pissed all the time to have fun you know.

Because she's a teen and that's what she's supposed to do
People still look at me weird when I say my son doesn't really drink, like he does it behind my back or something. No, he just rarely drinks, he's not fecking interested, he CAN enjoy himself without getting shit faced. He thinks his mates are stoopid for getting drunk.
My daughter didn't really start drinking til she was 19/20 either, but then neither me or hubby drink much.

 

[aqua]

I'll spin it round moomoo - why do you think she won't?

She's 17 and despite what you think/she let's you think you don't know everything about her - just as we don't know everything about her

as someone else said, even if she doesn't spend every day getting drunk those around her will be - it's not a quiet holiday with sight seeing and quiet dinners

 

[sheothebudworths]

I'll spin it round moomoo - why do you think she won't?

She's 17 and despite what you think/she let's you think you don't know everything about her - just as we don't know everything about her

I don't think any of that matters - moomoo would have a far better idea than anyone else (it's not that easy to hide from your parents after all ) and it's entirely believable that she won't too - it's more down to what ymu says imo - that it's pretty likely that even if she/her friends are not getting shitfaced, there'll be a lot more people around them who are.

I'd still let her go on that holiday too, tbf but I'd have felt a lot less anxious about the SA trip, personally.

 

[aqua]

yes she has a better idea but doesn't know everything that's all I'm saying it's not a bad thing, it's how it should be

personally I think her daughter would have loved SA now or next year, and judging by the texts I've had she's going to enjoy the holiday with her friends too