Where have you been and would recomend to others

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phuketrichard
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Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by phuketrichard »

OK;
lets see how many are interested in Travel.

Kick in with either responses or Places you have been.

I have had over 40 years of travel in Asia & SE Asia and 31 hears living here.

I have my favorites an places i will always return ( Nepal, Cambodia, France, Thailand, States) and also places that have seen once, no reason to return, ( Bagan, Cario, SHV, Varanasi )

although for favorites i list countries
yet for not again i list cities as there are parts of the country i enjoyed.

Just came back from 10 days in Mynamar and loved it, My last visit was back in 1988 an the country has surely changed, Back then we were allowed only 1 week, where we could stay an how we could travel was controlled. Plus we had to change $200 into Kyat. Flying in a purchase of a cartoon of 555 an a bottle of Johnny walker would give you enough black market money to last the week!!

This trip i flew into Mandalay, rented motorcycles an headed east to Hsipaw an than up into the mtns ( visiting the closed gem capital of the world --Mogok---) before heading back to Mandala , taking the boat down to Bagan and the train back before returning to Thailand,
http://phuket.zenfolio.com/f125862719

Had a great trip an loads of Fun and leaned alot.

So where have you Been? surely you all don't move to Cambodia an never leave, ( what a waste in my eyes)
where is your secret place that you share with friends.

Where is a on your bucket list>
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Where have you been and wouldrecomend to others

Post by Soi Dog »

Spain remains my favorite, followed by Thailand.

Egypt, Guinea and Bahrain I can not recommend to anyone for any reason, although the pyramids will always draw people to Egypt.

I have heard surprisingly good things about Tehran, Iran...not so much positive about the rest of the country. I regret not going to Damascus when I had the chance, in the more peaceful times. Ethiopia is definitely on my list.
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phuketrichard
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by phuketrichard »

went to Tehran back in 1975 an it was a very great city (when the Shah was there.)
Isfahan was really nice as well.

One year spent 3 months traveling up the Nile from Cario to Uganda, one of my worst journeys.

My bucket list ;
see the northern lights inn Sweden.
Kashgar
Long Cheng in Laos ( the most secret place on earth , almost got there once but was turned back)
Back to Nepal
Overland thru Africa by 4wd
Nova Scotia


will also recommend Ladakh, Bali , Greek islands and northern Pakistan to all.

Is anyone wishes to see the photo thread of Myanmar its on teak door. http://teakdoor.com/vietnam-nepal-and-b ... bagan.html
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by Username Taken »

phuketrichard wrote: Is anyone wishes to see the photo thread of Myanmar its on teak door. http://teakdoor.com/vietnam-nepal-and-b ... bagan.html
Great photos. Nice trip report. :plus1:
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by StroppyChops »

Username Taken wrote:
phuketrichard wrote: Is anyone wishes to see the photo thread of Myanmar its on teak door. http://teakdoor.com/vietnam-nepal-and-b ... bagan.html
Great photos. Nice trip report. :plus1:
Ditto, good post.
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takeoman
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by takeoman »

Great Photos, sounds like a really good trip.
I'd recommend much of Southern India:- Karnataka,and Kerala are favorites of mine, Mumbai is fascinating. Sadly I'd no longer recommend Goa, used to spend 3months of every year there, but because of a series of inept and corrupt state governments it is no longer the laid back place it once was. :hattip:
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LTO
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by LTO »

Last century I used to travel quite a bit. There are but a few countries in south Asia, the Americas and Europe I havent been sometime between the 70s and 90s. But I have found on the rare occasion I have revisited some of these places in recent years, they are so different that I am not even sure it can be said that they exist anymore. Way back, I found Pushkar India to be one of the most peaceful, magical places I had ever known. Koh Lipe in Thailand as well. Oh, and Mulege in Baja too, camping on the beach, smoking gold and digging for clams. But I hear things have changed.
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phuketrichard
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by phuketrichard »

Spent 1982/83 bicycling thru India from the top "Leh"
to the bottom "Lands end" Loved kerala (Calcutta is one of my favorite cites)

had a great time, ONLY got bad vibes in Varanasi.
Had gone thru there in 1975 and arrived from Delhi on the night train, checked in with my friend to a small hotel an went out walking while he slept
was back in the room by 8 am saying i was off to Nepal.

Come on guys, give us some stories>

Evey spent a night in a opium den?? :-)

1st time in a brothel in India ( my 1st experience was truly funny)

Was in Delhi with a Nepali friend an he wanted to go,
so along I went
picked out a cute girl and headed to the st rooms. they were just partitioned sections off the main room, partitions didn't reach the ceiling,
she would not take her clothes off, only lowered her pants and everyone was talking to her, I just couldn't get serious about it and was laughing so hard with my friend in the room next door.
Give her the 50 rupees (about $2 than) and left.

I dont travel as much now as i used to but still mange a few roads trips/year an a few flights to somewhere
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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LTO
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by LTO »

Saw one the finest sunrises of my life on Koh Lipe, in 88 or something like that. My wife and I, driven from our bungalows by partying Chao Lai (?) fisherman, spent the night on the beach. Woke up to an amazing orange sunrise over the ocean, silhouetting Langkawi on the horizon, a whale (or some such spouting creature) gently passing between the islands, his volcanic breath sparking in the rising sun. It was just us, silence save the sound of the ocean and few local fishertypes down the beach choking on their wake-up fags. A poor fisherman wandered up, touched my shoulder and pointed at the whale, he too seemingly awestruck by the sight. I smiled and nodded. He sat down without a word (not that I could have understood anyway), passed me smoke and the three of us watched the whale (or actually his sparkling breath) slowly disappear into the day's growing light. A lovely moment.
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Re: Where have you been and would recomend to others

Post by General Mackevili »

The most magical place I've ever been was probably the Azores islands. Porta Horta, specifically.

It was the strangest little town I've ever visited, with ice cream shops everywhere, and they were busy, LoL.

It might have seemed a little more magical than it was, as the first time I spotted it, it was just a dot on the horizon.

This was after a couple weeks at sea, doing a trans-Atlantic crossing and we hadn't been on land since Bermuda.

It was also the first sign that we'd probably make it across. And sitting there staring at it for half a day before getting to it really built up the suspense.

And to see all the other sail boats that had made it across was also amazing. You knew that any boat you'd seen had come a long way no matter where it was coming from.

It was like the Taylor's Mecca. Every boat that docked was expected to paint their ship's name and write the crew's names, which we did. I spent a few hours spread out over a few days looking for a friend's tag that had been there about 5 years prior. I had practically given up, but stumbled across it the day before we left!

You could go to the pubs and hear all sorts of tails, and see where the term "drinks like a sailor" came from.

We also went over to a nearby island where we hiked up a volcano mountain.

I was stupid enough to bring more wine than water.

We hiked above the clouds, which was quite a feat, considering we weren't very far above sea level.

Had a great picnic at the very top, overlooking the crater.

Going down was a nightmare.

I was slightly buzzed, and out of water. Dead tired, and it was almost dark.

I was so tired I couldn't hardly walk, so I'd start little rock avalanches and slide down with them, LoL. Looking back, it was a miracle that worked out as well as it did. I got scraped up pretty bad, and a few gashes, but never slid down a place too step or started rolling, which would have likely been the end of me.

Anyways, I think I was crying for joy when I finally made it down to a road. I was seriously on the verge of giving up, LoL.

That was really a cool area to hop around, especially if you love sailing.

I might be able to find some pics, but I'm not sure what i have with me.



Also, many parts of Bali are magical too! Just get away from Kuta and you will find all sorts of hidden gems. I can't remember any names, but there are many, and easily accessible.



Also, Lake Toba in North Sumatra is amazing! The island you stay on is a HUGE island that's in an even huger volcanic crater. The island is actually the peak of the volcano that blew off when it errupted 200 bagillizion years ago, causing the last ice age, me thinks.

Have to see it to believe it.



Table Mountain in South Africa is truly amazing. As is Victoria Falls.



One big regret I have is sleeping in while my other buddies were hang-gliding from the mountains down to the beach in Rio Di Janeiro, Brazil. As soon as I saw their videos I instantly regretted missing it. The good news is that Rio is kickass and I have many reasons to go back anyways, so it will get done.

Also, flying into Yogakarta was surreal! Smoking volcanos all over the place, and it happened to be a clear day! I was half expecting a pterodactyl to fly by, seriously! !

Good thread, this. Making me think back on all the really cool places I've been over my lifetime. Wish I had a bottle of wine right now.....
"Life is too important to take seriously."

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."

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