I love travel.

[Hannoir]

I am making this thread in honour of my favourite past time....travel.

Where are the best places you have been? Why were they the best? Where do you want to go next? What is your favourite way to travel?

I guess I'm biased in saying New Zealand is my best place, as I lived there, but the scenery is incredible and the people are friendly too. South Africa was also fascinating, on many levels.
Next up..I'm off to NYC in jan but ive been there before, so next new place is prob asia on my way to NZ next year. Singapore and Malaysia probably, maybe HK. I mostly fly but like travelling by train and boat if I can.

If you want to offset your carbon emmissions from flying go to http://www.climatecare.org, as they donate money to climate regen projects around the world.

Ok, your turn

[matthew]

Fantastic topic.

I think I've posted about Canada before, but I've been other places.

I'll always have fond memories of Seattle. Probably because it was the first time I took a plane anywhere. It helps that I love the rain. I loved the combined coffee/book stores, with pet cats.

Moscow was quite an experience. I went there for a few days in 2001. I wasn't quite sure what to expect there. I was surprised at quite how westernized it had become. I went to New York about a year later, at the same time of year. The two places felt strangely similar.

I've also got a thing for Norway. I think it started one summer I was bored of the heat, and wanted to be somewhere cold and wet. Norway sounded good. I didn't go then, but did later. The fjords are beautiful. The drinks prices are scary.

Perhaps I'll post something about Reykjavik or Shetland later.

[englishangel]

Fantastic topic.

I think I've posted about Canada before, but I've been other places.

I'll always have fond memories of Seattle. Probably because it was the first time I took a plane anywhere. It helps that I love the rain. I loved the combined coffee/book stores, with pet cats.

Moscow was quite an experience. I went there for a few days in 2001. I wasn't quite sure what to expect there. I was surprised at quite how westernized it had become. I went to New York about a year later, at the same time of year. The two places felt strangely similar.

I've also got a thing for Norway. I think it started one summer I was bored of the heat, and wanted to be somewhere cold and wet. Norway sounded good. I didn't go then, but did later. The fjords are beautiful. The drinks prices are scary.

Perhaps I'll post something about Reykjavik or Shetland later.

We have one of those in Watford, Starbucks in Borders.

[matthew]

We have one of those in Watford, Starbucks in Borders.

Ah, but does it have cats? They're kind of integral to the experience.

We have the corporate behemoths here, too. They're nice and all, but not quite the same.

[icomefromalanddownunder]

I am making this thread in honour of my favourite past time....travel.

Where are the best places you have been? Why were they the best? Where do you want to go next? What is your favourite way to travel?

I guess I'm biased in saying New Zealand is my best place, as I lived there

I'm with you on the beauty of NZ, but for me, living there was a whole other matter

I used to love travelling around Europe by train - cheap overnight accommodation, great scenery, and a chance to meet some really interesting people. I was really looking forward to travelling Oz by train, but one overnight trip from Melbourne to Adelaide cured me of that urge.

I have also driven The Hay Plain (between Adelaide and Sydney) once too often, and am a great supporter of travelling by air between attractions in Australia. I love to travel by sea - in yachts. The only cruise ships I have experienced are on The River Murray, and I have to say that my fellow passengers did not endear themselves to me.

There is still a lot of Australia left for me to see, but I have to sing the praises of the bits I have visited. The vast expanses and the amazing colours of the soil and the sky still blow me away. The Flinders Ranges are just north of Adelaide, and I find them to be quite amazing. This is a truly ancient land, and I often feel as though we (humans) are not meant to be here. I get this feeling most strongly in the Flinders, but also experienced it in The Glasshouse Mountains in Qld.

Qld - beautiful one day, perfect the next . I highly recommend Heron Island, at the very southern end of the reef: snorkelling straight off the beach amidst rays and reef sharks. Can walk out to the reef at low tide. Only saw one heron (being beaten up by noddy terns), but lots of mummy turtles laying their eggs.

Hmmmmm - my feet are starting to itch , but the washing machine is singing to me, so had better go and hang out the washing it contains.

[Katharine]

I'll put in a word (or more) for Borneo. We were lucky enough to have three separate postings there. The first was to Sabah, now Malaysia, formerly British North Borneo. This state has fantastic opportunities for holidays from beach bums at the rapidly multiplying beach resort hotels to activities including mountain climbing, white water rafting, scuba diving, visits to the rain forest wild life ...... There is one railway which runs a tourist steam railway very colonial, much more fun to ride on the railcar and experience the real Borneo. Many of the local speak English, I was last there last year and food was still very cheap.

Our second posting was to Brunei - very different. This is an independent monarchy with some glaring examples of profligate spending on buildings. When I was last there, the State was dry but you could take in a limited amount of alcohol. I am not sure that I would recommend more than a stop over holiday - Royal Brunei though a dry airline is worth considering for flights as it is relatively cheap.

Our third posting was to Sarawak, we lived in Kuching and loved it. Kuching has some 19th Century Colonial buildings, it was the Japanese headquarters in the war so not as badly bombed as the rest. As well as many of the attractions of Sabah it has some fantastic cave systems to visit - even getting to them is an adventure either several hours by a river boat or flying in a tiny plane where you are weighed before boarding and told exactly where to sit on the plane. Sarawak kept English as the medium of education longer than any of the other states of Malaysia so there is no problem getting around. The many different ethnic groups in the state mean that there is a very colourful assortment of souvenirs.

Hannah - if you are going out to NZ via Malaysia please consider a break in Borneo - you'll love it!! It is one of the last civilised places in the world!

[Great Plum]

Africa is my place to visit...

[Hannoir]

This is great guys!

I definately want to go to Asia. Its conditional on getting a job at the moment, but I hope to go back to NZ to visit next year via Hong Kong and Singapore. I'd hope for a decent stop over in Sing to go see some of Malaysia as well but this is all in the early stages of everything really.

I loved Australia but didnt see enough of it - wanna go to the Outback, WA etc another time. I'd love to live either there or NZ.

And Africa I want to see more of - loved SA soo much but dont know where I want to go next.

[Great Plum]

Got to East Africa - it's breathtaking...

[sejintenej]

Been to a lot of the places mentioned;
liked South Africa (the Cape, Natal, Hluehlue, Kruger but not Jo'burg)
West Africa - Ghana was acceptable (though we had terrible shortages) but working in Nigeria was the pits.
Singapore - fine for a few days unless you learn Chinese
Hong Kong - ditto - all shopping and mostly crowds which is not my scene,
Aussie - first visit earlier this year - especially liked driving down the Eastern mountain ranges in Q'land and NSW.
NZ - scenery - wow, but apart from Bay of Islands area not sure I would like to live there.
Brazil - spent a lot of time there and loved it (but I was there as a "local"). Perhaps the best was Foz da Iguacu / Itaipu though I would love to get into the Pantanal between Brazil and Bolivia / Paraguay. I found Manaus good but a bit over-rated but Ouro Preto is a must if you can get there. (Pick up semi-precious stones beside the road!). Living in Rio was a hoot - I was permanently either pissed or exhausted from the wild social scene (and the garottas de Ipanema where I lived:P ); I couldn't take it now!
Not sure I would go there as a tourist; it is not yet too touristy so it would be easy to miss the best bits. Language could also be a problem.
Gib - again I loved it but too small when the border is blocked and the cloud is a killer (literally)
Norway - almost a spiritual home for me - I love it but not its prices!
France - my present 50% home - again as in all countries there is good and bad and I think I got the better half. One of the benefits is that being part of the scenery one sees behind the apparently empty streets, closed shutters etc.
USA - far too big to comment - I liked Naples FLA area but there is a lot more to see. OTOH you get areas like Orlando - not my scene.

If I have found one important element it is that you need to stay in a place for a good while, have a base, have a working knowledge of the language and customs, get to be accepted by the locals and so many doors open ............. going for 2 weeks is not the same.

[Katharine]

If I have found one important element it is that you need to stay in a place for a good while, have a base, have a working knowledge of the language and customs, get to be accepted by the locals and so many doors open ............. going for 2 weeks is not the same.

So very true, it really does make a difference. When we returned to Sarawak after 8 years we still had so many friends that we had to keep an appointments diary - we were being taken out for breakfast, lunch and supper some days! These friends were all local Malaysians.

[sejintenej]

This is great guys!

I definately want to go to Asia. Its conditional on getting a job at the moment, but I hope to go back to NZ to visit next year via Hong Kong and Singapore. I'd hope for a decent stop over in Sing to go see some of Malaysia as well but this is all in the early stages of everything really.

Just a thought: if you go via Singapore and Hong Kong, why not consider coming back via KL? In Singapore we were warned that the area immediately across the straights is not exactly an easy area in which to retain your belongings whilst further upcountry there seems to be less of such a problem and also better land communications.

Alternatively there is a train from KL to Bangkok - why not make that part of your journey if
a) you have time, and
b) those places are allowed by the airline group for which you get a "round-the-world-ticket".

I loved Australia but didnt see enough of it - wanna go to the Outback, WA etc another time. I'd love to live either there or NZ.

Went to Uluru this spring; unfortunately it rained at all the crucial times like the evening barbeque supper, the sunrise over Uluru ....

Uluru is a tourist community - built specially for tourists with its own airport, bus service, about 3 hotels (different classes), backpackers ..... and has tied in tours. The couriers were excellent but the tour operator was a bit laid back - it's head was below its feet I think.
Partially because of airline routing problems we had to get the plane out from Alice Springs which is about 6 hours away by road; a trip which is almost a must. The driver put on an audio tape of this geezer who was too long in the bush - my sides still hurt from being split so much.

And Africa I want to see more of - loved SA soo much but dont know where I want to go next.

Got in-law interests in SA; it went through a very very rough time after apartheid but has now improved a bit - still a long way to go. Cape Town is pretty good but Durban became terrible; reports are it is improving. Jo'burg was a no-go zone when I was there and I haven't heard any better reports recently. This area of the UK is infested with "hairy-backs" who have got out.

It is very poor and services are expensive for locals; for example medical help is outside the hope of even reasonably well-off whites and the hospitals are said to lack the essentials - even Groote Schuur has a bad reputation. Fine only if you are healthy and don't get injured.

[Hannoir]

See, I would fly into KL BUT the main operators there are Malaysian and BA (and Thai etc if you swap at another SEA centre...but whats the point?). I have not heard good things about Malaysian as an airline (friend got royally screwed round by them etc etc) and I HATE BA with a passion. So I'd much rather get a RTW ticket with Star Alliance and go via HK/SING to Auckland and go overland or get jetstar asia flights to cover any flight sectors I dont have.

But thats all a while away anyway.

[icomefromalanddownunder]

See, I would fly into KL BUT the main operators there are Malaysian and BA (and Thai etc if you swap at another SEA centre...but whats the point?). I have not heard good things about Malaysian as an airline (friend got royally screwed round by them etc etc) and I HATE BA with a passion. .

I have had the experience of flying with Malaysian Airlines between Oz and Europe - business trip, but the airline chosen without my approval, to accommodate my Research Assistant who had 'flown with them on his honeymoon and was in their frequent flyer program'.

What can I say? Got beaten up by an escaping food trolley, and made to feel that it was my fault for curtailing its little trip down the aisle. No apology from the Cart Tart who hadn't secured it properly.

Had the audacity to comment that my back-of-seat screen wasn't working and ask if there was any chance of moving to another seat. Won't do that again .

Oh, and would recommend that you don't request vegetarian meals unless you are fond of star fruit. Very fond of star fruit. The airline makes no distinction between vegetarian and vegan meals.

Plus, I had to endure the squalor of Terminal 3 at Heathrow.

Subsequent trip was with Qantas - vego meals, Singapore rather than KL for transit stop, and Terminal 4.

Beam me up Scottie

[Katharine]

Our airline of choice when we lived in Borneo (and did not pay our fares most of the time) was always SIA. Malaysian, always known as MAS there, had a very uncomplimentary tag in Malay. Their internal services, where we had no choice of airline, left a lot to be desired to put it mildly. I have very little recent experience of their long haul.