The Travel Thread

[Mateo Moi Moi]

My wife are planning on a Canada & Alaska holiday. It is a package deal from one of the travel sites.

Anyone offer some insight for a holiday to this part of the world?

 

[legend]

Beautiful part of the world but I hate bus tours. You are always running to someone else's schedule and I think you only see the basics and don't have the opportunity to go off the beaten track and do your own exploring at your own pace.

 

[sensesmaybenumbed]

Spent a few days I'm Vancouver and got the train over the Rockies. Amazing.

Expensive, yet worth every cent.

 

[Misanthrope]

Finally back in Oz after my unexpected drive month trip.

Highlights: Hiking the wilder portions of the Great Wall, drunken reunions in Nanjing, visiting Sossusvlei in Namibia, safaris in Kenya and Tanzania, chimpanzee trekking in Uganda, visiting the Rwandan genocide sites and being heartbroken, exploring Phang Nga Bay, going down on Dutchy's then boss, TBEX and alcoholic shenanigans, meeting a new girl (another American), and reuniting with friends in Oz.

Lowlights: Singapore being an expensive shithole, haze in Koh Lanta from the Indonesian fires, Tanzanian political situation, missing my nephew's birth, rat falling out of the roof and onto my bed in Rwanda, black dog, chatting with by failing to meet two cool girls in Kenya/Uganda, and Dutchy's boss not reciprocating the thirty minutes of oral sex.

 

[Bazal]

Shithole? Singapore us a wicked place if you do it right. And the expensive Singapore is a myth that comes from tourists A) expecting it to be like the rest of Asia and B) eating nowhere but Boat Quay and Orchard Road and getting stung $200 for chilli crab while drinking $15 beers at swanky bars.

Obviously not everyone enjoys every place the same way so maybe you just weren't into it but I love Singapore. It's not as cheap as the rest of Asia but absolutely cheaper than its reputation

 

[Misanthrope]

I went about with a bunch of travel writers, so we definitely avoided the majority of he tourist traps aside from the obligatory Raffles for a Singapore Sling. Found plenty of cheap eats at the hawker markets and in the various ethnic districts. Even managed to find a halfway affordable beer.

It's Asia's Dubai, a towering, soulless edifice to development and progress. It has its charms and has some beautiful architecture, but it's a pretty safe lock for my least favourite country so far.

 

[Bazal]

See that's one thing I've never found Singapore. I can see overdeveloped, it's certainly not a country I loved right away like Malaysia. And it's more expensive than almost everywhere else in Asia. But never soulless. Obviously I won't change your mind or anything, I just feel I need to stick up for the place. Lol. It did take me a few trips and a bit of exploration to really enjoy it but I've personally never found it soulless. To me it's a bigger, more vibrant version of KL. Maybe not my favourite place in Asia by any means, but I'd spend a whole year in Singapore before I went back to Bangkok or even Phuket....well, with the caveat that I'm talking about the major tourist centres of Phuket anyway

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

Pretty sure I said it on some deadbeat world travellers blog, but Singapore > China.

 

[ggmu]

Anybody spent much time in Athens? Im here right now. Some good sights to see. The wife and i spent all day walking around yesterday seeing the sights doing the tourist thing. Dont think I'd like to spend to much time here but it makes for a good few days.

 

[Misanthrope]

See that's one thing I've never found Singapore. I can see overdeveloped, it's certainly not a country I loved right away like Malaysia. And it's more expensive than almost everywhere else in Asia. But never soulless. Obviously I won't change your mind or anything, I just feel I need to stick up for the place. Lol. It did take me a few trips and a bit of exploration to really enjoy it but I've personally never found it soulless. To me it's a bigger, more vibrant version of KL. Maybe not my favourite place in Asia by any means, but I'd spend a whole year in Singapore before I went back to Bangkok or even Phuket....well, with the caveat that I'm talking about the major tourist centres of Phuket anyway

To be honest, Singapore grew on me the longer I was there. I hated my first two days there because I didn't know where to find anything and ended up being gouged for food and beer.

My second two days I ate in hawker markets/Chinatown, found more local bars, and had fun exploring both the shiny parts of the city and its ethnic neighbourhoods.

Calling it a shithole was probably a stretch, but at this stage it's the least favourite of the countries I've been to. That's not necessarily a bad thing - I've liked virtually everywhere I've spent time and I've visited some great places.

I might give it the edge over Rwanda, but I had a pretty torrid time in that country.

Pretty sure I said it on some deadbeat world travellers blog, but Singapore > China.

You've just not spent enough time in the right parts of China.

Australia sucks dick if you've only been to Rooty Hill, Fortitude Valley, and Coober Pedy.

 

[Red Bear]

Going to mexico for a month in december/start of jan, then the states for two weeks.

Whilst in mexico going to Cuba for a week.

Should be pretty sweet

 

[sportive cupid]

My wife are planning on a Canada & Alaska holiday. It is a package deal from one of the travel sites.

Anyone offer some insight for a holiday to this part of the world?

What time of the year are you planning to travel there.? Canada is a place of very distinct seasons with quite unique opportunities for fabulous experiences ...Are you guys active types or watchers?
I have son and granddaughters that live in Calgary and have lived all over Canada so I travel there often lots of great things to do there.
I would agree with the poster who said that tours can be a bit limiting .But it depends on your preferences.Ive always found Canada an easy place to get around independently and it's the best way to discover what the locals don't tell the tour companies ( or they don't ask ) .
Either way you'll adore it.

You can PM me for some tips if you want,

 

[Mateo Moi Moi]

What time of the year are you planning to travel there.? Canada is a place of very distinct seasons with quite unique opportunities for fabulous experiences ...Are you guys active types or watchers?
I have son and granddaughters that live in Calgary and have lived all over Canada so I travel there often lots of great things to do there.
I would agree with the poster who said that tours can be a bit limiting .But it depends on your preferences.Ive always found Canada an easy place to get around independently and it's the best way to discover what the locals don't tell the tour companies ( or they don't ask ) .
Either way you'll adore it.

You can PM me for some tips if you want,

Thanks for that... Most of the holiday is through a tour but we have got some freedom within that.

We are going at the end of May. Apparently it is a good time to go as well???

 

[t-ba]

Singapore is fine. It's got a fair bit of soul once you get out of the city. Stay somewhere like Aljuneid, You can walk into town and they even throw garbage on the ground out there! I stay in Bugis most of the time, Haji Lane has probably the most amazeballs fusion cuisine ever - The Rendang Meat pie.

Hong Kong, if you want to stay out of the Ghetto Mansions (And I do, got I hate the Mansions), now that is the most ridiculously expensive place in Asia.

 

[Misanthrope]

Where did everybody make it this year?

Despite starting my year enrolled at university and sure I'd be having a quiet one, I ended up having a bloody busy year.

• Dubai
• China
• Namibia
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Rwanda
• Kenya
• Thailand
• Singapore
• Indonesia

Favourite: Namibia
Least Favourite: Singapore
In need of more time: China, Indonesia, and Singapore.

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

Furthest I traveled was Eden...

 

[Misanthrope]

How was it?

I hope you resisted the urge to talk to snakes and eat shitty, shitty apples - the water of fruits.

 

[Rhyno]

Drove down to Oberon the other day it's a hole

 

[sensesmaybenumbed]

USA
Japan
Canada
Australia.

Not bad.

 

[Misanthrope]

What's on everybody's 2016 to do list?

I'm headed to the US for a five week road trip in late January with Hoggmaster. Off to Africa again in May and Sweden for a conference in July. Got a work thing in Thailand in November, and I'm due back in China for 2-3 months at some point as well.

Can't wait!