traveling with guys vs with girls vs alone

whoa...in less than another 2 weeks, i will be in spain with a guy friend.... hmmm... i wonder what people may say if they were to see 2 guys traveling together?? will they think of

(i) brokeback mountain (brokeback espanyol?)
(ii)froddo and sam in the "lets get it on" in the “lord of the rings” trilogy...

hahahahha... just kidding on this part... err... then again, we may be "pitching" over in this particular guesthouse in madrid that is especially catered for the gays... (no offence here, and i think that gay people are usually more liberal and more fun to hang out with.... then again, i do not know of anyone who is officially gay in the conservative singapore society)... so 2 guys... a Chinese and a Venezuelan... hahahah... i wonder how people will perceive us??

talking about traveling, i feel like a seasoned veteran... considering that i had been to:

(i) germany + austria + czech rep for 7 weeks in summer of 2005
(ii) switzerland + italy + spain +belgium + netherlands + UK for almost 5weeks in summer of 2006
(iii) portugal for the last 5 months...

and having traveled with both guys and a girl, i think i can safely say this:" i prefer to go backpacking with guys instead" for the following reasons:

- guys are more easygoing with the destinations, food, accommodation
- decisions get made more rapidly
- i dont have to constantly talk to them
- shopping for the whole trip is a 3 hour event...whereas with girls, it may be a 3hour event everyday... hahahah....

i mean, girls can be lots of fun too... sometimes when everything falls into place for them...

but sometimes, backpacking with guys may be easiest and occasionally the best option... and i am sure that it beats traveling alone for the following reason:

- i don't have to hold in my bladder cos i could not lug all my bulky luggage into the toilets in the trains

and now that everyone i know (almost) is working, i am sure that organizing a overseas trip is an even harder task, due to the need to accommodate the schedule of everyone... but i will try have a shot at that next year for the euro 2008 football championship in switzerland and austria... well, that is if we do managed to get the tickets for the games first...

besides, with the higher disposable incomes that come with working, i am sure that some of my friends would happily trade in their "Deuter" for "Samsonite", and will no longer wanna brave it out backpacking since that their leave is more precious nowadays... similarly, to get someone to come all the way to europe from singapore, i think the mentality will be:" huh... i dont get to go shopping for LV in paris??"

well, this is what i feel... after reading an article on travelling in the straits times several days back...