GaydarNation member Simon sent us his travel thoughts for our latest holiday column. It’s easy to do and makes for fascinating reading as we ask what YOU think. Delve deep and tell us your secrets.

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Favourite Holiday destination?
Manhattan, New York. It had always been a dream of mine to go and visit the place I`d seen on so many TV shows and in hundreds of films. It was nothing like I expected, but in so many positive ways. The streets were clean, spacious and tidy. The Manhattanites were extremely warm and friendly (then again you can get a blow job from anyone in New York if you`re English). The whole island of Manhattan has such a unique, upbeat vibe about it.

For a place that has a skyline to dwarf even the largest of visitors it is the one metropolitan city I`ve visited whereby you don`t feel alone, lost, cold and trampled all over. The cosmopolitans are the best I`d ever had too! If you go, you must go for a Cosmo in Grand Central Station at the Michael Jordan Cocktail Bar. Sit back, take in the beautiful architecture and watch the world hurry by! The whole experience of Grand Central Station is strangely tranquil for a visitor.

Who is your ideal holiday companion?
Zippy and George from Rainbow. They`d be a laugh whether we`d be clubbing it and on the piss or sightseeing. Plus, as they`re from Kid`s TV and all that, if we went to see places of historic interest and natural beauty I`m sure they would be extremely informative and educational about it (in a patronising, `let`s all sing songs about ancient Greek architecture` kind of way).

What do you hate most about travelling?
Jetlag and the seats in aeroplanes. They aren`t wide enough. Transatlantic, the legroom is good, but the girth is just too cramped especially if you`re sitting next to someone of bigger proportions to your own.

Beach holiday or sightseeing?
Probably a mixture of both. If I took the typical 2 week vacation then I`d start off sightseeing and exploring because I like to have my mind stimulated by the culture and history around me, especially if it`s somewhere I`ve never been before.

The second week would be spent bumming around on the beach (maybe I should rephrase that?....maybe not). Anyway, I love kicking back, chilling out and relaxing on a beach equally as much as I like to get up and go on an adventure, it`s just nicer for me to kick back on a beach with memories of things I`ve already done on my vacation otherwise my brain goes stale.

Would you take a gay-exclusive holiday?
Probably not. I`d prefer to take a holiday whereby the social activities on offer cater to a mixed crowd. I have never been on a gay-exclusive holiday, so if the opportunity arose then I`d at least have to take it so I could speak from experience. However, many people I know who have been on them feel exploited for their pink pound. I’ve also been told that it`s basically like going to your local gay club or bar but in the sun with a bit of sand. I couldn`t think of anything more depressing!

What’s your worst holiday experience?
Sitting in the back seat of a fiat panda as my father drove up the most unbelievably precarious mountain road to a village called Rhonda in Southern Spain. There were no barriers on the edge of the road so it was a sheer drop to the bottom of the mountain. As anyone who has been to Spain knows, the Spanish are not renowned for there safe, patient driving. Needless to say there were a few near life or death / Italian Job bus hanging over the cliff moments which flashed before my eyes on that journey. For about 2 hours I suddenly found religion.

What won’t you leave home without?
Probably condoms. It`s a clean, cliché answer, I know but.....you just never know. Also, at the end of the day if you don`t get the opportunity to use them with someone you can always add to that holiday feeling of doing stuff you don`t normally do at home by slipping one on and having a posh wank.

What do you miss most when you’re away?
Nothing in particular to be honest with you. However, it`s only when I get back that I realise how much I`ve missed my rickety old double bed with the bumpy mattress.

Where would you like to be right now?
I`d love to be in Tibet. I`ve never been, nor do I know much about it but I tend to go with my instincts and what I think I know about places I`d like to visit rather than on what I actually know. I don`t really question why, I just go and then find out when I get there. I think the whole idea of searching for spirituality, peace and enlightenment in life attracts me to Tibet. It has a reputation that is conducive to these ideals.


Now you’ve read the thoughts of somebody else, tell us your own holiday tales! Go on, it only takes a minute and we want to hear your answers!