Borders: easy to travel or impossible

A friend of mine went to Australia via train and boat. I think they didn't have any problems getting the right visas on a student budgets, finding the right boats in South Asia was worse :-) I've been to the US a couple of times, and I got visas for Australia and Japan, but not something I had to apply for in advance. I haven't been back to the US since they changed the rules so you have to have either one of those machine readable passports or make an appointment with the embassy. One thing is that they suspect everyone of being a terrorist, I don't mind that half as much as the thing that they seem convinced I'd want to stay. Why would I want to stay there? If I'm going to move to another country, I'd go somewhere in Europe or down under, not across the pond :-) I'd love to travel all around the world, but some countries have borders you can't cross, other countries are too warm (for me at least) and some have too many weird religious rules. But I'd really like to do the one through Russia to Asia at some point. Maybe I should ask my friend if he'd like to do it again :-)

I have had seceral visas inclusing for Nepal and India and confess to having no trouble at all in getting them. But that's probably because in almost every case I was working and they were arranged and paid for (where appropriate) for me. I do not like air travel, more accurately I do not like all the hangind around and geberal dehumaisation that goes with it. I love overland travel and take the train when I can. I have not been longer than Londond to Vienna that way though. Now the Silk Roite is romantic. Maybe when I win the lottery!!

Most places I've visited are places where my father worked. And since he worked in top positions in good companies, getting a visa to visit him was never a problem...and even when we went on holidays (before I was married), visas have never been a problem. After marriage, we haven't really travelled outside the country (except to visit my parents in Africa). So, never needed a visa.

i am in canada but live fairly close to the us and it used to be way easier to cross into the us but now they require passports to enter.

I don't think I would like to go that far by land anyway as I much prefer to fly but, I guess it would be ideal for those who don't like flyinh or love going on trains!

I live in the US and the only other country I've been to is Canada, which is fairly easy to get into. You used to just be able to drive over there with a license but now you either need a passport or enhanced license, which is still very easy. But here's a scary border story. My boyfriend and I once wanted to go to Niagara Falls, on the American side one night. We drove up there thinking we were not going to cross the border and we had a car full of construction tools. So we drive up there and somehow wind up in this parking lot. This parking lot that you literally have the only option to cross the border. It had spike strips so you couldn't go back to American soil. So we had to go over to Canada, which was no big deal and we spent a few hours over there. But then coming back, we got questioned by the US border patrol about the tools in the back and stuff.. I was so scared lol. They finally let us back into the country but Border Patrol is scary!