popping in wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:09 pm. Like a lot of people though I'm looking for somewhere warm, which Turkey isn't at that time of year. It's also masks outdoors plus loads of other restrictions.

Don’t forget of course that the rules not only can change in any country at any moment, but are almost certainly guaranteed to.

I’ve found the mask isn’t so terrible once you get used to it. The first few weeks is a PITA and then you just sort of get used to it.

Turkey’s definitely not warm in winter but it’s not intolerable either - stick to Antalya and it’s Min 6°- Max 15° at its coldest point. You might even be able to break the shorts out on a good day.

lagrange wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:26 pm

nemo wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:07 pm I like it fine right here, Nepali girls are rather conservative.

I havent been to Nepal but a mate has, and he reckons the Dance Bars in Kathmandu are full of girls with the same sort of set up as the Girly bars in KOW.

It's true. And Pokhara. I fell in love with one called Helen. The guy who did the fire eating wouldn't let us leave together. We had the chance one night but I wouldn't let on that I knew there was money involved, and she was too embarassed to spell it out, so I didn't leave the "tip" she recommended I add to my drinks bill. We never got the chance again. Stupid really as I was absolutely loaded at the time. She ended up having a massive sulk. It was all quite sad (and in retrospect hilarious).

@SternAAlbifrons
@tightenupvolume1

My Indian train story was on a long one, I think from Mumbai to Jodphur. There was a dispute over the seating arrangements, which got out of hand, resulting in me being surrounded by I would guess a few dozen Indians shouting at me, wagging their fingers irately etc with one insisting they were going to throw me from the train. I was actually reasonably hard back in the day, but I didn't fancy that one.

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:27 pm

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:12 pm Yeah Volumes, I came down thru Delhi all the was down South on the train.
I used to dress really straight when loaded, but was a bit gnarly after non stop tough travelling.

When i got there i found they had just implemented really strict controls and checks on the ferry because of "terrorists". My "packing" was pretty casual for that part of the trip so I flew over to Colombo instead.

Serious vagabonding was so easy back then - for those of us blessed to survive all the goddammed bloody foolishness we used to get up to..

I bicycled from Calcutta up to Darjeeling, ( took the toy train up but rode down to the turn off to Nepal) across to Kathmandu and all the way south to lands end and then the boat across to Sri Lanka back in late 82/83
best 18 months of my life cycling SE Asia
This shot was taken on my last day in India before taking the ferry.

Dead Sadhu at Lands end

that is absolutely incredible. just cycling up to the toytrain from calcutta is beyond even my imagination. the whole length of india on a bike ? wow.

I've been looking into Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador.

I heard great things about Colombia when I was in Brazil a few years ago, but there's very little there that interests me. I'd give Bogota a go. The only other places are San Agustin for some cool looking old statues and canos cristales for a multi coloured river. The river looks amazing but is bloody difficult to get to at the best of times and costs a bomb. The statues look cool but are an 11 bus ride from Bogota. I'm writing Colombia off as an option.

Ecuador though looks good. It's somewhere I had on my list when I used to get around but never made it. Quito, Cuenca, Guayaquil, Narez Del Diablo, Banos, Cotopaxi NP, Cajos NP look like the effort of getting there, even if Galapagos may be out of reach.

As for Mexico, the 2 areas that appeal to me are Yucatan/Quintana Roo (Tulum, Merdia) and Baja California Sur (too many to list).

There are cheap flights atm from London to Mexico (also the cheapest flights I've ever seen to Brazil btw). My plan - if I do it - is to fly to Cancun, then fly via Guadalajara (with a few days at Lago de Chapala) to La Paz for a tour round BCS. Then fly to Mexico city for connection to Quito in Ecuador.

Maybe do some Spanish classes in Mexico.

Estimated flight costs:

London-Cancun £350
2 flight in Mexico £250
Mexico City - Quito £300
Quito-London £350

If you do Mexico, may as well spend some time in Costa Rica if you can(no idea on their tourist situation right now). It's a beautiful place. Beaches, mountains, volcano, dense tropical forests full of monkeys and colorful wildlife, great weather, nice people, etc. I loved it there.