December posting meme: Day 1

[lokifan]

ysabetwordsmith asked “what thing from any fancanon would you most like to manifest in local-Earth? Why? How feasible would it be to replicate at least part of that with extant resources?”



Haha not plausible at all, because my immediate thought was the TARDIS -- and even on deciding that was probably cheating, I thought of Howl’s castle. (The book version; Diana Wynne Jones is my favourite author of all time. I've seen the film version but remember nothing.)

Basically, I want the ability to be in my cosy home, with my fire and my hair dye and my friends, and travel to far distant lands, all at the same time.

If I had the moving castle, one of my four doors would come out here in London, city of my heart and where most of my friends are. One would perhaps be in Edinburgh, which is beautiful, so I could go to the Fringe - and visit Youngest Sister, who’s seriously considering moving there next year. One would def be in the US; probably Chicago, because I have a good friend who lives there and I hear great things about the theatre scene, but maybe New York (I think it’s a decent train ride to Chicago from there?).

The last… hmm, I could go for another British city where friends live, but that seems a waste. Maybe Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia - there’s an airport, and I’d be a lot closer to most of Asia and Oceania, plus I absolutely loved spending a week in Cambodia when I was 23. My favourite trip of all time. I’ll post about it if anyone’s interested, actually.

Comments

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

We spent two long summers traveling around in a recreational vehicle. It was bigger on the inside than on the outside. We called it -- what else? -- the Tardis. While it wasn't the real thing, it was a cozy traveling home full of people who loved each other and went on exciting adventures in all different places.

It can be done. You just have to get a little creative.

Re: Well ...

[lokifan]

Haha, good point! As a Londoner without a driver's licence it wouldn't occur to me; I travel by bus and train. That sounds wonderful, though!

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

You're lucky to live in a place with good public transportation; most of America lacks that.

While the details differ between my area and yours, I do see lots of posts and pictures about British and other European traveling abodes. You've got a lot more Romany caravans than here, and campervans appear frequently in both places. Look up New Zealand housetrucks, those are huge and awesome.

The cool thing is that some places rent such vehicles for vacations. It might be fun to try for a weekend out. Or just to look at the pictures.

[lunabee34]

That would be a wonderful set up.

[lokifan]

Right??? Where would your doors go? You get 4 :)

[lunabee34]

I'm so practical that one of them would have to go my parents and one would have to go Josh's. That would make traveling to visit family so much easier. LOL

The other two would go to Chicago and New Orleans. Those are my favorite cities to vacation.

[lokifan]

Haha yeah, you'd wanna do the ones you visit the most as well as the ones you'd like to visit more!

[sabotabby]

Ohhh, incredible. I love this answer.

[lokifan]

Thank you :D Where would your doors go?

[sabotabby]

Seattle (where my BFF and many other friends live), Berlin (near the train station so I could go to anywhere in Europe), London (lots of UK friends), Chefchaouen (the prettiest place I have ever been).

[lokifan]

Omg I just googled Chefchaouen and yeah, it's absolutely GORGEOUS. Wow. And a good spot for getting round the Med or further into Africa, too - good choice for a door :)

[archaeologist_d]

Chicago really isn't a decent train ride from NY. The trains here are awful and often late. Flying would be better. Also Chicago is really really cold in the winter (NYC can be, too, but Chicago is known for it).

Sounds like fun to have 4 doors, though.

[lokifan]

Haha, I looked it up and WOW. American trains must be very slow??? Or maybe there are a million stops? It's obviously a long way geographically but that takes a SHOCKINGLY long time, at least to me!

And yeah, I know it's famously cold, lol. Not that scary to me - I used to visit my parents in Geneva most Christmases when they lived there - and anyway I could just keep a draft excluder at that door and not open it til May!

Where would your four doors go?

[archaeologist_d]

American trains are slow but also the US is frigging huge - I don't think people outside the US realise just how big it is. Because the freight companies own the rail lines, any commuter trains get side-lined when a freight train goes past. If I were to drive to Chicago from NYC, it would take a good 13 hours solid, not even stopping for food, and that doesn't include traffic either. It's 800 miles!

Four doors? Well, one to London, one to Kyoto, one to Grindelwald Switzerland, and one to San Diego.

[lokifan]

Oh yeah, it's huge, but Google's giving me over 20 hours on average? Whereas Paris to Vienna takes half that and is only 20 miles less. The freight thing makes a lot of sense, though, as to why it's such a huge difference. That's wild though.

Ooh, nice choices :D I've never been to Japan but it's v high on the list :)

[trepkos]

That castle is such a brilliant invention! But I want more doors: London, York, Phuket, Quepos and the Gambia. Oh, and Kathmandu.

[lokifan]

Ooh, Phuket's a good shout, and I'd looove to visit Kathmandu. I think if I added more doors I'd do Accra, and Sydney so I could visit my cousins.

[trepkos]

I have a dear friend in Phuket who I'd love to see ... it's been 20 years.