Travel Thread

[ben 10]

Where have you been and where would you like to go??

 

I went to India and had an amazing time, this was 20+ years ago. Great food and great people.
A bit dirty, lots of crazy poverty.
 

We did not suffer food poisoning, ate all the local stuff.
Went to Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and a few other areas. I have always been a big curry fan and the food there was amazing.
Also smoked a fair bit of Charas.
Kingfisher was the local beer of choice and it was cheaper to drink it at the shop and hand the bottle straight back.

 

Since then I have been to Singapore and Sri Lanka.
Both were great too.

 

Sri Lanka has probably the most amazing food I have ever eaten, unlike Indian food there are not levels of heat. It is either "spicey" or not.
They have amazing bakeries selling short eats.

The national dish is curry and rice, the curries do not have names, you just get whatever is there, usually 4 or 5 and a big pile of rice. All are turbo hot, mindblowingly shit the bed hot.
Amazing history and country side. We wen to Jaffna where the Tamil Tigers were slaughtered by the Sri Lankan army and met some very nice people. There were still army posts and sentries around.
The go to beer there from Wine Shops was Tiger and also Carlsberg.
The go to spirit is Arak, made from fermented coconut flower sap - or something. The clear is great, the bown made me want to become a suicide bomber, the worst hangover I have ever had.
And it is so hot there, everyday by 10am we were covered in sweat.

[Pale Man]

Awesome idea of a thread for some banter.

I've never been overseas. My Mrs has been to Bali and wants to take me, I'm not so keen. I've got no desire really to leave the country, if i did it would be to see my heritage.

England first where my mum and dad were born, I'd love to follow an Ashes cricket tour. Then Germany and Belgium, my Nanas territory. To drink amazing fresh beer. Apparently there are little Hefeweizen pubs all over the place in Germany that make fresh beer on the premises. My dream come true.

In Australia I've visited every capital bar Perth. Recently went to Darwin in the wet season, that was an eye opener. Mitchell Street is everything they say it is.

I do a bit of camping, so I've seen my fair share of country towns and outback.

[kmar92]

I have been to a lot of out of the way places in the Pacific. I have also been to quite a few countries in Asia - Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Before the pandemic (whoops not a pandemic) used to go to Thailand at least once a year. @Green Blob if you like spicy foods you would love the local food in Thailand, they have many local dishes to die for! Vietnam also has very interesting food as it is a blend of traditional Vietnamese food, such as pho, and great breads, baked food and coffee due to past French influence.

[ozdevil]

hardly travel but had a 27 year holliday in Tasmania
a 10 year holiday in South Australia
now having a 13 year holiday in Victoria  which hasnt come to an end yet


been on short holidays to NSW and Qld

just a big believer in seeing my own country 1st

but hopefully when this is all over and we can travel i may jump on a cruise and do new zealand

[Hilltop hops]

Great idea for a thread,

Went to South America about 10 yrs ago. Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. 

Lived like a king in Buneos Aires for very little, a lot of asado and Quilmes beer. 

Rio was amazing, the most scenic place I've been. 

Asuncion Paraguay we met my wifes family. There's a lot of poverty but they love life. They love the simple things- bbq, drinks, football and time with family/friends. 

Other than that we did a south pacific cruise. New Caledonia, Noumea etc.

Would like to go to Spain, UK and Germany one day! 

[ben 10]

7 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

@Green Blob if you like spicy foods you would love the local food in Thailand,

Had a week in Thailand on the way home from India.... The food was  great

 

52 minutes ago, Pale Man said:

I do a bit of camping, so I've seen my fair share of country towns and outback.

Just getting into that and loving it. Drove to Broome a few years back that was amazing. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

Well my two bobs worth, you would have heard me go on about travelling all over Australia in different posts, I was working of course but fortunate to see most of our great continent & I have re-visited many times. I have never been overseas apart from Tasmania, Thursday Island, Hayman Island, Rottnest Island & a few others  but really I have no desire to leave Australia.

I would like to see the Pubs in Germany, Belgium, Ireland, England etc but it won't happen. I love travelling to the Outback & camping as well but for now I am happy to stay home a make beer & of course drink it.

[RDT2]

I’ve been to Bali, Vanuatu and USA.

Bali was a boys trip away didn’t see much but Bintang and the green drink which someone got poisoned on a couple of years ago. We fortunately ran into some mates I played footy who knew where to go and still crave the crab and corn soup I had. Never had anything like it again.

Vanuatu was an amazing place with amazing food and actually ventured away from steak and chips. Apparently they have a French history behind their food. The people there are amazing they don’t have much but their houses were very neat and tidy. I noticed it would take five of them to do one job, one in charge of the hammer another the hacksaw etc. There was five of them heading to a room to make a repair and had one tool each

America was a dream trip went to LA hollywood, Disneyland and SanDiego.

Managed to go to a Lakers game which I never thought I would ever do they know how to entertain. Lebron was injured but the stadium stopped when entered. Disneyland fantastic just seeing my sons face made it worthwhile. SanDiego didn’t know it till I got there is supposedly the craft beer capital so need I say anymore. The sunsets were awesome. Would love to go back maybe east coast??

Oh and how could I forget Rottnest

[Smashed Crabs]

For work I have been to:

India
Sri Lanka

Thailand

Vietnam

Tonga

Fiji

Solomon Islands

Malaysia

Indonesia

Singapore

All in the same year

And I concur with your thoughts on the food in Sri Lanka @Green Blob the food there was amazing. Funny enough I actually got better thai food in Vietnam. I remember drinking a lot of there Lion Beer I think which was 10% ABV in Columbo thou … 500ml cans so they got the job done quick.

Cant wait for international travel to be back on the agenda, iv had both my covid jabs and im ready to roll!

[Tricky Micky]

Great thread GB.

Work has taken me to many places around Oz and also overseas. 

Been to the States, the UK, most parts of South East Asia, Japan, and most parts of sub Saharan Africa. Lived and based myself and the family in Harare for 2 years filming wild life. I was there when things were a bit more stable and the mad Bobby Mugabe was a little less whacko.

Two extremes - a trip for 3 weeks to the North Pole and the other 6-8 weeks in a hell hole in Rwanda during the genocide. Both unforgettable for very different reasons.

One thing is absolutely certain at least to my mind is that our Country - Australia - is one of the most magnificent, beautiful places on the Planet. 

[Journeyman]

I've been to NZ, (a few times) Chile - Santiago, Peru - Lima, Cuzco, Machu Pichu, USA - too many too list but almost none in the centre, Canada, - Vancouver & Victoria - was meant to be all the way across but travel agent stuffed things, Egypt - Cairo, down to Luxor and back downriver on a felucca (only way to travel the Nile), UK - London and drove around the south, France - Loire Valley, Paris, Netherlands - Amsterdam including brown cafes , Germany - Berlin, Austria - Vienna, Italy - Venice, Milano, Rome, Napoli, Greece - Athens Delphi & the monasteries (& 3 islands, Santorini, Paros and Mykonos) Hong Kong, China - Biejing, Xi'an, Guillin, & Singapore.

Also seen quite a lot of Australia though never been to Darwin, lived in Vic, WA, NSW and SA. (current)

Mostly I drank Guinness - not only do I like it, but I could ask almost anyone in any country, "Guinness?" and get pointed to a pub where someone spoke English. Then I would try local beers. Had a wickedly good dark beer at 14% in Napoli - in what turned out to be a mafia bar - I got checked out by the cops the next morning.  Best Guinness was in Bath, UK - I never got to Ireland because effing travel agent again. Wanted to sell me 3 days in Dublin for about $1000 - turned out when I got to UK I could have done a week for a couple of hundred, but I had an itinerary.

I'd go live in Cuzco if Australia goes commie - great people, fascinating history, friendly as hell if you get away from the touristy stuff. If you see a house with a red flag or cloth hanging outside, they sell beer! Unfortunately it's normally only the local corn beer and I think that would kill your plants if you threw it on the garden. Horrible shit.

UK - couldn't find a warm beer or bad food and the beer was damn good. They often have a special 'Aussie' tap for Guinness, kept a couple of ° cooler than the locals drink. I had some local brews with a guy in Salisbury and he told me they'd moved Stonehenge - in my 'enlightened' knowledge of the world I'm afraid I laughed at him. He didn't get offended but he didn't tell me anything more. Turned out he was correct. It was 'built' in the early 1900's through to maybe the 50's. Not from scratch but they erected the stones etc.

Berlin was a surprise. One of the friendliest cities I saw. Vienna the people were cold and aloof but Berlin was open arms. I was walking back along Kerfurstanedam (sp?) and Germany was in 1/4 finals soccer. The pub I'd had a few at had like 1000 people crowded around, spilling out into the blocked off street, steins being passed overhead to those who couldn't get to the bar encircled by police (I think - their uniforms looked more army and they carried full auto machine pistols). I stood for a few moments wondering how bad my thirst was. Suddenly there's a young officer in front of me, cradling his gun. "You Aussie, ja?" (I found it convenient to have Aussie flag stickers on my camera case so people didn't think I was American) I explained I had planned to get a beer and asked if there was another bar nearby. He said, "Wait!" and rattled out some German. 6 of his mates came over, formed a phalanx and pretty much barged into the soccer fans with me in the centre - took me to the bar and waited while I ordered then phalanxed me back out with my 2 litres.  How could you NOT like a place like that!  

Many stories, most funny, nothing scary.

My conclusion? 10% of people are arseholes - the world would automatically be a better place if you removed them. 10% of people are angels - them just being around makes it worth living. And 80% are on a sliding scale in between. And the most important? Those same percentages exist in every person you meet.

Edited June 13, 2021 by Journeyman

[Hairy]

I have travelled a little bit but it isn't really exotic.

First trip was a driving holiday around England and Scotland and added a quick trip to Dublin. I later spent just over 3 months backpacking around Europe. Mainly western and central Europe but saw a heap of places.

I have done the west coast of the US and Vegas, and a couple of years ago did Orlando, New York and Boston.

I haven't spent much time in Asia apart from a couple of days in each of Hong Kong and Singapore.

And Tahiti.

 

[Malter White]

I had an Australian passport from 2009-2019 and did all my overseas travel in that period. Chronologically I've been to:

Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand,  a South Pacific cruise to Noumea etc. Bali, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia.

I don't expect to travel internationally again now my passport has expired and since I purchased a small bus with the aim of using it as a campervan to see more of Australia. I've been to every state in Australia (not all in the bus) but never been to NT which is high on the to-do list.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

14 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

I had an Australian passport from 2009-2019 and did all my overseas travel in that period. Chronologically I've been to:

Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand,  a South Pacific cruise to Noumea etc. Bali, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia.

I don't expect to travel internationally again now my passport has expired and since I purchased a small bus with the aim of using it as a campervan to see more of Australia. I've been to every state in Australia (not all in the bus) but never been to NT which is high on the to-do list.

 

Muzzy I have read all of your guys posts on international travel & I must say I am envious of some of the places mentioned, however I have never been overseas.

Back in 1969 when I was called up for National Service I could very well have gone to Vietnam, not for a holiday by the way but as it turned out I ended up in the AACC ( Army Cook ) & did my time in various places in Australia & was sent all over to many different places & ever since then I have been fascinated by our big brown land, I have been to every state in Australia including the extreme Outback & quite frankly given the current situation throughout the world I really have no desire to travel overseas.

For those of you who have travelled & enjoyed different cultures etc I expect you will do again if you can & good luck to you.  Muzzy, your idea with the Campervan is an excellent idea & trust me you will enjoy it, the NT is a fascinating place.

Bon Voyage. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

On 6/13/2021 at 10:36 AM, Journeyman said:

Great story @Journeyman we know now why you have that name, I still reckon Australia still hold it's own with any travel destination in the world.

However I have never really had the opportunity or desire to travel but I know I have missed out on a lot of experiences.

 

[iBooz2]

Bloody hell @Journeyman you did not leave much of the world left for me to explore! 

Well done. I am as jealous as hell.

Overseas travel:

Thailand twice, Bangkok & also Phuket:  Indonesia once, Bali of course:  Cambodia twice, Siem Reap (just loved the Angkor area, pub street party’s)  so next trip Siem Reap again & also Preah Sihanouk in Southern Cambodia:   Malaysia twice, Kuala Lumpur & also Langkawi:   Singapore twice:   Vietnam twice, Ho Chi Minh City & also up east the coast to Nha Trang:   New Caledonia once, Noumea & also out to Ile de Pines:   Fiji once, yes did all the islands & cruises including Tom Hanks island.

Future OS travel – would like to go to Japan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Egypt, Italy, France, Canada and Tahiti.

Local travel:

Big 4X4 traveller of Australia, mostly camping and have been to every state, obviously done VIC to death including just about every track up/though the high country, fished every river and camped/ridden motorbikes in all desert areas sleeping under the stars. 

Tasmania – been everywhere except very North West corner did many trips over there, usually fishing and camping in wilderness areas in Tassie high country.  No need for a mattress when you can sleep on the button grass.

Been everywhere in NSW from the summit of Mt Kosciusko way out to Cameron’s Corner, been to every town in between.   All the NSW outback, all the beaches, (my wife is an unofficial beach inspector & I am of course the official bikini inspector).  Found the source of the Murray River and followed it all the way to the sea. Stuck my boot in it and blocked its flow for a little while, then had a pee to make up for it.  Sorry @MUZZY & @CLASSIC, just had to do it! could not hold on any longer that trip.  

Been over most of QLD including the outback towns except up the tip (only got up as far as Cooktown).  The gulf areas north and also west of Mt Isa are still waiting to be explored.  Being a regular visitor to FNQ I should push the envelope a little bit more and take in these areas.

With SA sadly only all around the coast to WA border and up and down the Murray River areas.  Really want to get into the Flinders Ranges, do all the famous desert tracks and then go up through the centre as have never been further north than Port Augusta in SA.

Only part of NT so far visited is Darwin for fishing trips, Mitchell St, fishing trips, Mitchell St, fishing trips and to sober up, Litchfield National Park. 

WA, only have done all around the coast across the Nullarbor, the south west corner and up to just north of Perth.  Really want to do the entire desert sections including national parks, the west coast and of course the Kimberly.

To do all this in comfort I decided to build an off road caravan from scratch with all mod cons and so it would be super reliable, have a lifetime warranty and could handle the roughest of tracks.  It was going to be just 19 ft. when I started to design it but my wife of course wanted a three bedroom house on wheels with a spa tub up on the roof were my helipad was going to be.  So we compromised and it ended up being 22 ft. no spa or helipad but it had to have full en-suite, ducted diesel heating and a washing machine.  It’s all 12 volt and fully self-sufficient and it has done over 30,000 km, all mainly SA, VIC, NSW and QLD.  Next biggie is up the centre and down the west coast.

Yeah I know, I need to get a “don’t die / go round again” card from the big boy in the sky.

Safe travels - AL

Edited June 15, 2021 by iBooz2

[ben 10]

31 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

the Kimberly.

Absolutely STUNNING

[Pale Man]

12 hours ago, Hairy said:

I have travelled a little bit but it isn't really exotic.

First trip was a driving holiday around England and Scotland and added a quick trip to Dublin. I later spent just over 3 months backpacking around Europe. Mainly western and central Europe but saw a heap of places.

I have done the west coast of the US and Vegas, and a couple of years ago did Orlando, New York and Boston.

I haven't spent much time in Asia apart from a couple of days in each of Hong Kong and Singapore.

And Tahiti.

 

Jelous......thats my idea of a visit overseas.

[kmar92]

On 6/12/2021 at 8:00 PM, kmar92 said:

I have been to a lot of out of the way places in the Pacific. I have also been to quite a few countries in Asia - Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Before the pandemic (whoops not a pandemic) used to go to Thailand at least once a year. @Green Blob if you like spicy foods you would love the local food in Thailand, they have many local dishes to die for! Vietnam also has very interesting food as it is a blend of traditional Vietnamese food, such as pho, and great breads, baked food and coffee due to past French influence.

Wow after that list from @Journeyman I should fill in a few blanks. Asia - Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong.

Pacific - New Zealand (multiple times), Vanuatu (the New Hebrides when I visited), Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and Niue.

Australia - all states at least twice except WA and NT. Also been to Lord Howe Island (x3).

[RoyalDave]

On 6/12/2021 at 5:05 PM, Green Blob said:

Where have you been and where would you like to go??

 

I went to India and had an amazing time, this was 20+ years ago. Great food and great people.
A bit dirty, lots of crazy poverty.
 

We did not suffer food poisoning, ate all the local stuff.
Went to Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and a few other areas. I have always been a big curry fan and the food there was amazing.
Also smoked a fair bit of Charas.
Kingfisher was the local beer of choice and it was cheaper to drink it at the shop and hand the bottle straight back.

 

Had a similar holiday back in 96 - landed in Delhi and saw Agra, Jaipur, Amritsar, Shimla, Dharamshala amongst others..

Have also been to -

Asia: Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia(Legoland, Penang, Langkawi), Bali, Vietnam(Saigon), Thailand(Bangkok, Hua Hin)

Europe: Paris, Berlin, Prague, Italy, Budapest, Croatia, Belgrade, Skopje, Poland(Wroclaw, Krakow), England, Scotland, Ireland and more..

Aus: Allover WA....  Adelaide, Sydney & Melbourne multiple times - never made it to Brisbane or Tas yet. Or Canberra (just remembered our nation's capital before pressing the button). Darwin once.

.. and Mauritius - The Amazing Race happened to be on there at the time - interesting to see that happen right next to our hotel.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by RoyalDave

[RepSpec]

Il throw in the joke...

Been to Phillip Island a few times (its ok im a dad, im allowed to make dad jokes )

Went to Bali on our honeymoon....Never again. We stayed in Noosa Dua (5 star Bali, Gated community, big resorts etc).

Paid aussie prices for everything (not a huge deal)

But it just wasnt a nice place for me. Always felt dirty, the gray drabness and poverty. The Zoo up in the hills was so sad. It made me appriciate Australia so much.

Want to do the USA (want to spend months there) and Japan. But would like to spend more time around Aus

[Journeyman]

14 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

Bloody hell @Journeyman you did not leave much of the world left for me to explore! 

Well done. I am as jealous as hell.

I am unsure of what you are jealous - that's an impressive life of travel you have had. I set off to see Australia because in my 1st couple of years out of school, I kept meeting people who had multiple passport stamps but had never been anywhere here except their home town and capital city.

I was an itinerant and so never got the wherewithal to go OS until age 49 and I didn't travel in Aus like you. I would go to a place and find a job and spend some time travelling around the area, then move on.

I've seen quite a bit of the country but kinda town-based rather than getting out there; if I could do it over I'd probably do the van route and be itinerant that way. When I think of how much I wasted on rent, paying off other people's properties... le sigh...

13 hours ago, kmar92 said:

Australia - all states at least twice except WA and NT.

So... about half Australia?  WA is mind-bogglingly large. I worked on a station out of Wyalkatchem (head north through Koorda about 90km) and bringing the sheep down from the desert was a 3 day drove. And that's barely noticeable on a map. The USA has a couple of long, barren stretches of highway but in WA it's 99% of the state.  

[Instigator]

7 hours ago, RepSpec said:

 

But it just wasnt a nice place for me. Always felt dirty, the gray drabness and poverty. 

Want to do ... Japan. 

The dirt and poverty is how I feel about Port Moresby. Capital city of a country and there's burned out car wrecks on the side of the road, people driving around with spring mesh covering their car windows, hundreds of people just milling around outside shops that looked like fortresses. My first time there the person that picked me up from the airport freaked out because I didn't have my car door locked. At the airport as I was leaving I was approached to see if I could carry a parcel for them back to Cairns. This is 1.5 hours flying time north of Cairns.

You'll like Japan. Go find the little hole-in-the-wall eateries in the side alleys and you'll find Heaven in your mouth. The beer, while not offensive, is kind of dull for my tastes. I find it interesting that a properly served glass of beer is roughly 1/2 head.

 

 

[Journeyman]

19 hours ago, Instigator said:

Capital city of a country and there's burned out car wrecks on the side of the road, people driving around with spring mesh covering their car windows, hundreds of people just milling around outside shops that looked like fortresses

Sounds like some of those California cities we've been hearing about.

19 hours ago, Instigator said:

Go find the little hole-in-the-wall eateries in the side alleys and you'll find Heaven in your mouth. The beer, while not offensive, is kind of dull for my tastes. I find it interesting that a properly served glass of beer is roughly 1/2 head.

There are also a couple of places that do a cover charge that is rather low and an "all you can drink in 2 hours" offer. There's a catch - you have to eat something while there.

[iBooz2]

On 6/16/2021 at 10:54 AM, Journeyman said:

I am unsure of what you are jealous - that's an impressive life of travel you have had.

Mate. South of France (family heritage there for me) and your downstream on the Nile to start with.  The last holiday we were organizing was a sail down the Nile (my wife's dream trip) but CV got in the way and it all fell apart.  She is as shitty as hell about that.  Hopefully we will get there and tick this one off her travel list in the near future.