OT: For Those Who Like to Travel

[SLY]

The first time I went to Cancun was in my party years and we would ride the double decker open top party bus in the hotel zone that took everyone to the clubs. The first night there we decided to go up and ride on top and some fellow cdn tourists stopped us as we werte going up the stairs and told us it was a bad idea. Why? The driver was crazy and would pretty much jump the curb and make sure that he would hit the overhanging palm tree fronds

people sitting up top were basically getting whipped by them ... and the driver was doing it on purpose ... lol

lmao.

 

[SLY]

Cancun was a blast, thats where I took the bus trip from to go to Chichen Itza. We stopped at a pretty awesome water hole along the way. Called Cenotes in Yucatan.

You jump off that ledge into the water. You can see so far down. I am so happy I decided to go on that trip instead of party every night in Cancun. I'm not much a party vacationer anymore, I do enough partying at home, I like to sight see and learn when I vacation now.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Good thread. No pictures with me right now, but I lived in Rome for three months in my sophomore year in college (2006). It was such a great time. We took excursions to Capri, Assisi, Pompeii, and Ravenna as a group. The first two offered amazing views and just...different ways of life, I guess I would say. When I was in Pompeii, it was like 95 fucking degrees while this boring-ass Prof gave a tour and wouldn't even let us stop for water. No, I couldn't get put in the group with our other awesome prof (taught my on-site Baroque class) who was the art advisor on the Da Vinci Code and shit. So that place kinda sucked for me. Ravenna was more partying than anything. And we went to an amusement park. It was sort of hilarious because the lines for the rides always had a shit ton of plants and stuff around, so you couldn't see the ride...and since we couldn't read the signs, we had no idea what the hell we were about to ride.

Did you make a stop at the Assisi McDonalds? ... they have a mural of St Francis with his arm around Ronalds shoulder lol

A gem in Northern Italy is the Dolomites in the Italian Alps. When all the summer tourists go to Venice/Lido/Rimini, the Italian citizens drive north go "in montagna"

The Olympic ice rink they have in Cortina was built into the base of a mountain ... half of it was covered and the other half was open air ... it was a thing to see (hadnt been there since 2004 ... sad to see they rebuilt the arena )

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Cancun was a blast, thats where I took the bus trip from to go to Chichen Itza. We stopped at a pretty awesome water hole along the way. Called Cenotes in Yucatan.

You jump off that ledge into the water. You can see so far down. I am so happy I decided to go on that trip instead of party every night in Cancun. I'm not much a party vacationer anymore, I do enough partying at home, I like to sight see and learn when I vacation now.

We went to a place similar to that, but it was unlit, not very touristy. We jumped in and started swimming around in the water, and the only light was from a small hole/crack in the top of the cave about fifty feet above us. It was so dark all we could see was shadows and silhouettes of each other. There were all these small nuts/berries/whatever thingies in the water, so after swimming a while we started throwing these things at each other. They were weird, they had a soft, but tough leathery shell around them with a soft squishy center. We were having fun whipping these nuts at each other when we started noticing that their numbers were increasing. We started looking around, trying to figure out where they were coming from. We couldn't see any trees through the hole in the top, although realistically we couldn't see hardly anything through it. But we could hear them falling sporadically around us, and they were coming from all over. They kept coming and coming, and we were trying to look at them in the light but wecouldn't figure out what they were. We cracked open the shell, felt inside them, etc. Finally I suggested that we smell the inside, so we cracked some open and took a big whiff. That's when we realized we were playing with bat shit.

 

[loki604]

Did you make a stop at the Assisi McDonalds? ... they have a mural of St Francis with his arm around Ronalds shoulder lol

A gem in Northern Italy is the Dolomites in the Italian Alps. When all the summer tourists go to Venice/Lido/Rimini, the Italian citizens drive north go "in montagna"

The Olympic ice rink they have in Cortina was built into the base of a mountain ... half of it was covered and the other half was open air ... it was a thing to see (hadnt been there since 2004 ... sad to see they rebuilt the arena )

I did not, but that's pretty funny. I never remember the names of the restaurants I ate at; however, it was a great one when I was in Assisi.

The only McDonald's I went to while abroad was in Rome. Like 20 of us went because we were hungover as fuck from the night before. We still refer to this as "Mcdonalds day". It was the first time I ever tried a Big Mac, which is sort of ironic. The only weird thing I remember about that McDonald's is they had a "walkthrough" instead of a drive-thru. Maybe they have these all over the US and I'm just not aware, but I thought it was different.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I'm going on a cruise in August to the Caribbean. It's not really my style, but I think it'll be fun.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Honestly, a shitload of British tourists were there while we were, so it felt like we were meeting less "locals".

Though this one night, we went to a restaurant and ordered Sangria (thinking it would be enough to have a glass and a half or so as it was only six euro). It was this giant fucking pitcher of strong ass Sangria. We had to eat twice at this restaurant just to sober up enough to be able to find our place again. And then there was the Absinthe night. So we didn't go to parties/clubs, but we did drink our asses off there (par for the course for me though).

Unfortunately you get that in almost every European city that Ryanair flies to. Especially if the city is either a) cheap or b) a big party destination. The British bachelor parties roll into town and you hear them coming from a mile away.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

I did not, but that's pretty funny. I never remember the names of the restaurants I ate at; however, it was a great one when I was in Assisi.

The only McDonald's I went to while abroad was in Rome. Like 20 of us went because we were hungover as fuck from the night before. We still refer to this as "Mcdonalds day". It was the first time I ever tried a Big Mac, which is sort of ironic. The only weird thing I remember about that McDonald's is they had a "walkthrough" instead of a drive-thru. Maybe they have these all over the US and I'm just not aware, but I thought it was different.

The funny thing about McDonald's overseas is that they are actually good in a lot of cases.

Ate at a McDonald's in Latvia because we were running late for our ferry boat...it ended up being one of the best cheeseburgers I've ever eaten in my life. Weird, huh?

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I did not, but that's pretty funny. I never remember the names of the restaurants I ate at; however, it was a great one when I was in Assisi.

true and that always kills me ... when we did our road trip in Italy we had 3 great meals (in Montepulciano, Siena and Salerno) stand out and fuck me if i were to ever go to those cities again I dont think Id ever find them.

Maybe the one in Salerno because it was walking distance from the hotel we stayed and it was down an alley

when we did the small towns all we did was walk and look for places that were jumping and it never failed, the food/people were great in those places

 

[dare2be]

Biggest downfall of Norway though is the cost. My virtually all measures it's the most expensive country in Europe and by some measures it's the most expensive country on the planet. A little perspective on that: in Tromsø, we had a "cheap" lunch at a Burger King, where a Whopper combo cost the equivalent of about $16.

What? You didn't order from the ten-dollar menu?

Sadly, my only excursion outside the States was my honeymoon to Jamaica.

 

[SLY]

We went to a place similar to that, but it was unlit, not very touristy. We jumped in and started swimming around in the water, and the only light was from a small hole/crack in the top of the cave about fifty feet above us. It was so dark all we could see was shadows and silhouettes of each other. There were all these small nuts/berries/whatever thingies in the water, so after swimming a while we started throwing these things at each other. They were weird, they had a soft, but tough leathery shell around them with a soft squishy center. We were having fun whipping these nuts at each other when we started noticing that their numbers were increasing. We started looking around, trying to figure out where they were coming from. We couldn't see any trees through the hole in the top, although realistically we couldn't see hardly anything through it. But we could hear them falling sporadically around us, and they were coming from all over. They kept coming and coming, and we were trying to look at them in the light but wecouldn't figure out what they were. We cracked open the shell, felt inside them, etc. Finally I suggested that we smell the inside, so we cracked some open and took a big whiff. That's when we realized we were playing with bat shit.

I literally laughed my ass off.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

What? You didn't order from the ten-dollar menu?

Sadly, my only excursion outside the States was my honeymoon to Jamaica.

how was that for you? We pondered it for our honeymoon but were told you could cut the tension amongst locals with a knife. Not the most welcoming place "supposedly"

which stunned me because it was a Jamaican-Canadian who told me this. I said to him, "all the Jamaicans I know are so friendly" to which he responded ... "all the Jamaicans you know, no longer live in Jamaica" lol

 

[SLY]

how was that for you? We pondered it for our honeymoon but were told you could cut the tension amongst locals with a knife. Not the most welcoming place "supposedly"

which stunned me because it was a Jamaican-Canadian who told me this. I said to him, "all the Jamaicans I know are so friendly" to which he responded ... "all the Jamaicans you know, no longer live in Jamaica" lol

lol

 

[dare2be]

how was that for you? We pondered it for our honeymoon but were told you could cut the tension amongst locals with a knife. Not the most welcoming place "supposedly"

which stunned me because it was a Jamaican-Canadian who told me this. I said to him, "all the Jamaicans I know are so friendly" to which he responded ... "all the Jamaicans you know, no longer live in Jamaica" lol

This was back in 1992, so maybe things have changed. We stayed in the resort most of the time, and the few times we went outside the resort we were swarmed with locals offering to braid my wife's hair, give a "taxi" ride, etc. just desperate to make a quick buck. We ended up riding the public bus to a local market to take in some of the culture. It was cheap but packed wall-to-wall with bodies, including people hanging out the side. It was a fun experience and we didn't feel threatened in any way (except for the BO, lol).

 

[elocomotive]

I'm going on a cruise in August to the Caribbean. It's not really my style, but I think it'll be fun.

So it begins...

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Nicaragua is one of the most beautiful places I've travelled to. It has it all for those that love the tropics. Beaches, volcanoes, scuba diving, super friendly people (outside of the capital Managua) and some cool history. It's dirt cheap too. A beer in a bar or restaurant is general about 70 cents to a dollar. Full meals come in at under 4 bucks and Beach cabanas in some places cost as little as 7-8 bucks per person per night.

Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua

Granada; the oldest city in the Americas

The pacific surf town of San Juan del Sur

 

[makeshiftb0y]

I haven't traveled terribly much, but I did a mini southeast Asia circuit last winter.

Here's Halong Bay in Vietnam, what I woke up to:

Cambodia:

Laos was one of my favorite countries. There wasn't a ton of sightseeing, but it was still a pretty awesome place.

 

[elocomotive]

I have been to London and Paris in Europe. Can not wait to go back. Germany is definitely next on my list. I would also love to visit Iceland.

Just as a heads up, if you are going to Germany, I might fold in Austria while your'e there. It's like Germany... but more beautiful. Did a trip to Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich years ago. They were all great, but Salzburg was just amazing. It's barely over the German/Austrian border and just a gorgeous, laid back city. Beautiful mountains, birthplace of Mozart, and you can rent a bike and cruise the countryside on all kinds of bike trails.

 

[puckhead]

Hungary was a pleasant surprise (caveat: about 10 years ago).

Budapest is a gorgeous city, with so much history, and was super cheap (in comparison to the rest of Europe).
wandering around the city, you see roman ruins, stuff in celebration of the turn of the millennium (the year 1000, not 2000). Walk into a random church, and they have the preserved had of some Queen or King from 800 years ago. Swans swimming on the danube, There is a wine country very nearby.
I went to an opera there, and for about $20, got seats right next to the royal box.
the one at the end, just to the left of the big one in the middle

here's the outside of it

this was pretty spiffy too.

and there are soooooo many hot women. good gravy.

 

[elocomotive]

Hungary was a pleasant surprise (caveat: about 10 years ago).

and there are soooooo many hot women. good gravy.

Tasty gravy AND hot women. Sign me up!

Lots of cool and interesting stories and pics in this thread. Kudos to all.