Travel Thread

[vaportrailer]

In general, where should a person not go for safety reasons?

 

Off the beaten path, there could be landmines.

...but that's mostly in far-flung places nowadays. Mostly.

 

I found Phnom Penh to be a safe city, and wandered around fairly late without feeling threatened or creeped out.

That being said, if you're walking after midnight, avoid Wat Phnom and areas to the northeast (riverside north) and northwest. Prostitutes, pimps, etc. Chances are you'll just be good-naturedly jeered at, but there are stories of muggings, so it's not worth it, there are plenty of other decent places for a midnight stroll.

There's a walking area where men with machine-guns are stationed. They're there as part of the Prime Minister's home security system. Very surreal to see that at first (and second and third).

[JohnnyBlaze]

Cool,

 

As far as hotels go. Did you book them before you went there? Or just get a room as you checked out different places?

 

Lots of hotels there. Lots! I like a good balcony, so I booked ahead (and was very lucky), but had a back-up list. You just don't want to be tired or hungry or dragging around a pile of luggage while you're looking! I've booked through Agoda many times, never any problems.

Again, do some research: what area of town do you want to stay in? do you want a pool? do you need to see the river from your hotel room? is breakfast included? TripAdvisor has good info and reviews of a ridiculous amount of places.

TripAdvisor and Agoda...I've used both many times and always got positive results.

 

Generally, I at least book the first night in a place I'll be staying. If I don't like the hotel, I'll find another place the next day. If it doesn't suck, I'll add more days to my stay. Only once have I left a hotel after one night. And that wasn't because the hotel sucked; it was because we wanted a better view but couldn't get one at that place.

Edited May 21, 2017 by JohnnyBlaze

[troutman]

Cool,

 

As far as hotels go. Did you book them before you went there? Or just get a room as you checked out different places?

 

Lots of hotels there. Lots! I like a good balcony, so I booked ahead (and was very lucky), but had a back-up list. You just don't want to be tired or hungry or dragging around a pile of luggage while you're looking! I've booked through Agoda many times, never any problems.

Again, do some research: what area of town do you want to stay in? do you want a pool? do you need to see the river from your hotel room? is breakfast included? TripAdvisor has good info and reviews of a ridiculous amount of places.

 

Thanks.

[goose]

Just got back from a trip to Sandpoint, Idaho. The fastest route takes me through southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, Oregon again, eastern Washington, and then, finally, back into Northern Idaho. +/- 950 miles. It's interesting to see the changing cultures. Idaho is conservative country ("Patriot Country", the signs said), whereas Oregon and Washington lean liberal. In WA it was fun to hear ads for The Sativa Sisters. :smoke:

 

 

We were there for the Lost in the 50s car show...

 

http://visitnorthidaho.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Silverwood2.jpg

 

...and the roller coasters at Silverwood. :)

[troutman]

Just got back from a trip to Sandpoint, Idaho. The fastest route takes me through southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, Oregon again, eastern Washington, and then, finally, back into Northern Idaho. +/- 950 miles. It's interesting to see the changing cultures. Idaho is conservative country ("Patriot Country", the signs said), whereas Oregon and Washington lean liberal. In WA it was fun to hear ads for The Sativa Sisters. :smoke:

 

 

We were there for the Lost in the 50s car show...

 

http://visitnorthidaho.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Silverwood2.jpg

 

...and the roller coasters at Silverwood. :)

 

Dude,

 

That is so cool!! :ebert: I did some fly fishing in the area back in the 90's.

[JohnnyBlaze]

Just got back from a trip to Sandpoint, Idaho. The fastest route takes me through southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, Oregon again, eastern Washington, and then, finally, back into Northern Idaho. +/- 950 miles. It's interesting to see the changing cultures. Idaho is conservative country ("Patriot Country", the signs said), whereas Oregon and Washington lean liberal. In WA it was fun to hear ads for The Sativa Sisters. :smoke:

 

http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/88/b0/7f/88b07f2162517c5e25d1f20bf82f3e9b.jpg

 

We were there for the Lost in the 50s car show...

 

http://visitnorthidaho.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Silverwood2.jpg

 

...and the roller coasters at Silverwood. :)

 

Cool!

I like rollercoasters and I'll ride any of them if I'm there but I still get that tingly testicles feeling right before I get on one...and also ON the ride when the coaster is slowly creeping up the incline before it's big drop.

 

[Boots]

I never go anywhere. Too broke and no passport.

[vaportrailer]

I never go anywhere. Too broke and no passport.

 

boo! poor excuses! :P

hopefully your finances will improve. traveling is a lot of fun.

[thesweetscience]

If all goes well I will be in Seattle on Saturday and setting sail for Alaska on Sunday.

[Boots]

I never go anywhere. Too broke and no passport.

 

boo! poor excuses! :P

hopefully your finances will improve. traveling is a lot of fun.

I don't know if this is related to terrorism, but most of my friends haven't been going to Europe or the UK.

A lot of them are going to places like Asia and Caribbean islands that most people have never heard of.

My friends from art school went to Mexico and El Salvador. Latin America is safer than a lot of other places these days.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Boots

[JohnnyBlaze]

I never go anywhere. Too broke and no passport.

 

boo! poor excuses! :P

hopefully your finances will improve. traveling is a lot of fun.

I don't know if this is related to terrorism, but most of my friends haven't been going to Europe or the UK.

A lot of them are going to places like Asia and Caribbean islands that most people have never heard of.

My friends from art school went to Mexico and El Salvador. Latin America is safer than a lot of other places these days.

Think about this: Admission fee to the Vatican Museums is about $20 USD. For that price, you can buy 3 meals a day in Vietnam or Cambodia. And I'm talking about full on, tasty meals. You get a lot more bang for your buck in SE Asia vs Europe. As what's probably been stated already, the plane ticket is what's expensive for those traveling from North America. But once you're there, you won't be spending much. Hotels can be 20%-50% the cost of their comparable European counterparts.

[thesweetscience]

Well Seattle seems like a really neat city. We walked down to pikes place market for some fresh seafood and we had an amazing meal along with good drinks served by one of the friendliest bar tenders I have ever met. I look forward to next weekend when we will have a whole day to explore the city.

 

Today we sail for Alaska.

[vaportrailer]

Well Seattle seems like a really neat city. We walked down to pikes place market for some fresh seafood and we had an amazing meal along with good drinks served by one of the friendliest bar tenders I have ever met. I look forward to next weekend when we will have a whole day to explore the city.

 

Today we sail for Alaska.

 

Cool! How long will it take to travel from Seattle to Alaska? I bet the night sky will be amazing.

(Anchorage?)

[JohnnyBlaze]

Well Seattle seems like a really neat city. We walked down to pikes place market for some fresh seafood and we had an amazing meal along with good drinks served by one of the friendliest bar tenders I have ever met. I look forward to next weekend when we will have a whole day to explore the city.

 

Today we sail for Alaska.

 

Sweet! Sounds like it's going to be an awesome time. Great season for that area too.

 

Back in Seattle, the Experience Music Project Museum was/is pretty cool. I went there when it first opened in 2000 or 2001. It goes by another name now but it's over by the Space Needle at one end of the monorail. Check it out!

 

 

[thesweetscience]

Well Seattle seems like a really neat city. We walked down to pikes place market for some fresh seafood and we had an amazing meal along with good drinks served by one of the friendliest bar tenders I have ever met. I look forward to next weekend when we will have a whole day to explore the city.

 

Today we sail for Alaska.

 

Cool! How long will it take to travel from Seattle to Alaska? I bet the night sky will be amazing.

(Anchorage?)

Our first stop is in Juneau and it will be about a day and a half to get there. It's been a little overcast but the whole trip so far has been us sailing between islands consisting of snow capped mountains. Really awesome scenery. Last evening we Saw a pod of about a hundred killer whales who were hunting in the waters around the boat.

 

Later today we are going to kayak to a glacier.

 

I will try and post pics when we get back.

[thesweetscience]

Well Seattle seems like a really neat city. We walked down to pikes place market for some fresh seafood and we had an amazing meal along with good drinks served by one of the friendliest bar tenders I have ever met. I look forward to next weekend when we will have a whole day to explore the city.

 

Today we sail for Alaska.

 

Sweet! Sounds like it's going to be an awesome time. Great season for that area too.

 

Back in Seattle, the Experience Music Project Museum was/is pretty cool. I went there when it first opened in 2000 or 2001. It goes by another name now but it's over by the Space Needle at one end of the monorail. Check it out!

Our bartender suggested that place. We plan to check in out when we get back from our cruise. We have a whole day free in Seattle before we fly home.

[thesweetscience]

Well my final verdict is that Alaska is incredible and cruising is not so much.

 

In Juneau we kayaked near a Mendenhall glacier and had seals and hump back whales just a few dozen feet from our kayak. Very invigorating and scary at the same time. We also took the tram up to Mt. Roberts which had some amazing views of Juneau and the surrounding landscapes.

 

The cruise ship sailed up to Hubbard Glacier which is a very large glacier. We didn't get off the boat but we got a slow coast through all of the floating ice covered in seals while a guide on the ship talked about the history of the glacier and other tidbits about the area over the ships sound system. I could have done without the commentary but the views were amazing.

 

In Sitka, we went on a boat tour around the various surrounding islands and saw many Bald Eagles and a several rafts of Sea Otters. It was a nice long slow ride and was very enjoyable.

 

We stopped in Ketchikan where we decided to go out on our own and hike a bird trail in the rain forest just above the town. It was quite a hike to get there and we were only on the trail for about an hour before we needed to turn back to get back to the ship in time. (this is my main gripe about being on a cruise) We did manage to kick up some Black Tail Deer on our hike and they didn't seem to keen on running away. One of them just stopped about 10 feet from us and stared at us. It kept staring as we slowly walked away. Maybe he thought we couldn't see him? Incidentally, the whole south east part of Alaska is one giant rain forest which gets about 300 days a year worth of rain but our day in Ketchikan was the only rain we got the entire trip and it really didn't rain that hard. Everyone kept telling us how lucky we were.

 

The trip was book ended with stays in Seattle and on return we got to go out to the Space Needle and the Pop Culture Museum. Seattle really seemed like a neat city and I can't wait to go back.

 

My wife just got finished uploading our pictures to drop box so I will try and figure out how to log into my photo bucket account that I never use and get some pictures uploaded.

 

Glad to be home for a bit but eager to go on walk about again soon. It's time to start planning our tour of Scotland!

[thesweetscience]

Oh and a note about the cruise.

 

If you are interested in sitting in a casino or going to watch some stage performers dance and sing or sit in a theater and watch movies, then you would love cruising. But I was in f***ing Alaska with some of the most diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes I had ever laid eyes on. I wanted to be off the boat and in Alaska and there just wasn't enough time off the boat.

 

Until I reach a point where I am too old to walk, I don't think I will be taking any more cruises.

[JohnnyBlaze]

Well my final verdict is that Alaska is incredible and cruising is not so much.

 

In Juneau we kayaked near a Mendenhall glacier and had seals and hump back whales just a few dozen feet from our kayak. Very invigorating and scary at the same time. We also took the tram up to Mt. Roberts which had some amazing views of Juneau and the surrounding landscapes.

 

The cruise ship sailed up to Hubbard Glacier which is a very large glacier. We didn't get off the boat but we got a slow coast through all of the floating ice covered in seals while a guide on the ship talked about the history of the glacier and other tidbits about the area over the ships sound system. I could have done without the commentary but the views were amazing.

 

In Sitka, we went on a boat tour around the various surrounding islands and saw many Bald Eagles and a several rafts of Sea Otters. It was a nice long slow ride and was very enjoyable.

 

We stopped in Ketchikan where we decided to go out on our own and hike a bird trail in the rain forest just above the town. It was quite a hike to get there and we were only on the trail for about an hour before we needed to turn back to get back to the ship in time. (this is my main gripe about being on a cruise) We did manage to kick up some Black Tail Deer on our hike and they didn't seem to keen on running away. One of them just stopped about 10 feet from us and stared at us. It kept staring as we slowly walked away. Maybe he thought we couldn't see him? Incidentally, the whole south east part of Alaska is one giant rain forest which gets about 300 days a year worth of rain but our day in Ketchikan was the only rain we got the entire trip and it really didn't rain that hard. Everyone kept telling us how lucky we were.

 

The trip was book ended with stays in Seattle and on return we got to go out to the Space Needle and the Pop Culture Museum. Seattle really seemed like a neat city and I can't wait to go back.

 

My wife just got finished uploading our pictures to drop box so I will try and figure out how to log into my photo bucket account that I never use and get some pictures uploaded.

 

Glad to be home for a bit but eager to go on walk about again soon. It's time to start planning our tour of Scotland!

 

:clap:

[JohnnyBlaze]

Oh and a note about the cruise.

 

If you are interested in sitting in a casino or going to watch some stage performers dance and sing or sit in a theater and watch movies, then you would love cruising. But I was in f***ing Alaska with some of the most diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes I had ever laid eyes on. I wanted to be off the boat and in Alaska and there just wasn't enough time off the boat.

 

Until I reach a point where I am too old to walk, I don't think I will be taking any more cruises.

 

My one and only time on a cruise was to The Bahamas. It was fun because half of my family (that's 10 of us) went including my parents who are 78 and 80. I probably wouldn't go again though for the fact that you said already: too much time spent on the boat.

[thesweetscience]

Oh and a note about the cruise.

 

If you are interested in sitting in a casino or going to watch some stage performers dance and sing or sit in a theater and watch movies, then you would love cruising. But I was in f***ing Alaska with some of the most diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes I had ever laid eyes on. I wanted to be off the boat and in Alaska and there just wasn't enough time off the boat.

 

Until I reach a point where I am too old to walk, I don't think I will be taking any more cruises.

 

My one and only time on a cruise was to The Bahamas. It was fun because half of my family (that's 10 of us) went including my parents who are 78 and 80. I probably wouldn't go again though for the fact that you said already: too much time spent on the boat.

We spent nearly every minute on the cruise ship, sitting in the crows nest bar which had a better than 180 degree view off of the front of the boat. We sat up there and got drunk and watched the shoreline and ocean through our binoculars looking for wild life. We saw lots of whales, orca's and porpoises. That was way more fun than anything else I could have done on the ship but not nearly as much fun as I could have had off the ship.

 

Live and learn I guess.

[JohnnyBlaze]

Oh and a note about the cruise.

 

If you are interested in sitting in a casino or going to watch some stage performers dance and sing or sit in a theater and watch movies, then you would love cruising. But I was in f***ing Alaska with some of the most diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes I had ever laid eyes on. I wanted to be off the boat and in Alaska and there just wasn't enough time off the boat.

 

Until I reach a point where I am too old to walk, I don't think I will be taking any more cruises.

 

My one and only time on a cruise was to The Bahamas. It was fun because half of my family (that's 10 of us) went including my parents who are 78 and 80. I probably wouldn't go again though for the fact that you said already: too much time spent on the boat.

We spent nearly every minute on the cruise ship, sitting in the crows nest bar which had a better than 180 degree view off of the front of the boat. We sat up there and got drunk and watched the shoreline and ocean through our binoculars looking for wild life. We saw lots of whales, orca's and porpoises. That was way more fun than anything else I could have done on the ship but not nearly as much fun as I could have had off the ship.

 

Live and learn I guess.

 

I hear you. I'm glad I went though because it was family excursion and I rarely see them as it is. So seeing them in that capacity was good stuff.

 

Would you go on one of those rock cruises? Ex: Kiss, etc.

[thesweetscience]

Oh and a note about the cruise.

 

If you are interested in sitting in a casino or going to watch some stage performers dance and sing or sit in a theater and watch movies, then you would love cruising. But I was in f***ing Alaska with some of the most diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes I had ever laid eyes on. I wanted to be off the boat and in Alaska and there just wasn't enough time off the boat.

 

Until I reach a point where I am too old to walk, I don't think I will be taking any more cruises.

 

My one and only time on a cruise was to The Bahamas. It was fun because half of my family (that's 10 of us) went including my parents who are 78 and 80. I probably wouldn't go again though for the fact that you said already: too much time spent on the boat.

We spent nearly every minute on the cruise ship, sitting in the crows nest bar which had a better than 180 degree view off of the front of the boat. We sat up there and got drunk and watched the shoreline and ocean through our binoculars looking for wild life. We saw lots of whales, orca's and porpoises. That was way more fun than anything else I could have done on the ship but not nearly as much fun as I could have had off the ship.

 

Live and learn I guess.

 

I hear you. I'm glad I went though because it was family excursion and I rarely see them as it is. So seeing them in that capacity was good stuff.

 

Would you go on one of those rock cruises? Ex: Kiss, etc.

This is my one exception. I would indeed do a cruise like that.

[JohnnyBlaze]

Oh and a note about the cruise.

 

If you are interested in sitting in a casino or going to watch some stage performers dance and sing or sit in a theater and watch movies, then you would love cruising. But I was in f***ing Alaska with some of the most diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes I had ever laid eyes on. I wanted to be off the boat and in Alaska and there just wasn't enough time off the boat.

 

Until I reach a point where I am too old to walk, I don't think I will be taking any more cruises.

 

My one and only time on a cruise was to The Bahamas. It was fun because half of my family (that's 10 of us) went including my parents who are 78 and 80. I probably wouldn't go again though for the fact that you said already: too much time spent on the boat.

We spent nearly every minute on the cruise ship, sitting in the crows nest bar which had a better than 180 degree view off of the front of the boat. We sat up there and got drunk and watched the shoreline and ocean through our binoculars looking for wild life. We saw lots of whales, orca's and porpoises. That was way more fun than anything else I could have done on the ship but not nearly as much fun as I could have had off the ship.

 

Live and learn I guess.

 

I hear you. I'm glad I went though because it was family excursion and I rarely see them as it is. So seeing them in that capacity was good stuff.

 

Would you go on one of those rock cruises? Ex: Kiss, etc.

This is my one exception. I would indeed do a cruise like that.

Saw this one on Tick's Facebook wall the other day:

 

http://scontent-nrt1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/18034064_1513926035297914_1500665653237159466_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=53ce5cc32b2e8719b371edf0fd8fe1b3&oe=59E026CD

 

There's a lot going on there!

[blueschica]

Well my final verdict is that Alaska is incredible and cruising is not so much.

 

In Juneau we kayaked near a Mendenhall glacier and had seals and hump back whales just a few dozen feet from our kayak. Very invigorating and scary at the same time. We also took the tram up to Mt. Roberts which had some amazing views of Juneau and the surrounding landscapes.

 

The cruise ship sailed up to Hubbard Glacier which is a very large glacier. We didn't get off the boat but we got a slow coast through all of the floating ice covered in seals while a guide on the ship talked about the history of the glacier and other tidbits about the area over the ships sound system. I could have done without the commentary but the views were amazing.

 

In Sitka, we went on a boat tour around the various surrounding islands and saw many Bald Eagles and a several rafts of Sea Otters. It was a nice long slow ride and was very enjoyable.

 

We stopped in Ketchikan where we decided to go out on our own and hike a bird trail in the rain forest just above the town. It was quite a hike to get there and we were only on the trail for about an hour before we needed to turn back to get back to the ship in time. (this is my main gripe about being on a cruise) We did manage to kick up some Black Tail Deer on our hike and they didn't seem to keen on running away. One of them just stopped about 10 feet from us and stared at us. It kept staring as we slowly walked away. Maybe he thought we couldn't see him? Incidentally, the whole south east part of Alaska is one giant rain forest which gets about 300 days a year worth of rain but our day in Ketchikan was the only rain we got the entire trip and it really didn't rain that hard. Everyone kept telling us how lucky we were.

 

The trip was book ended with stays in Seattle and on return we got to go out to the Space Needle and the Pop Culture Museum. Seattle really seemed like a neat city and I can't wait to go back.

 

My wife just got finished uploading our pictures to drop box so I will try and figure out how to log into my photo bucket account that I never use and get some pictures uploaded.

 

Glad to be home for a bit but eager to go on walk about again soon. It's time to start planning our tour of Scotland!

Sounds like a beautiful trip! The kayaking sounds especially cool. How great that you had the opportunity to do that and get so close to the whales! The different wildlife sounds awesome.

Edited June 8, 2017 by blueschica