>would it be rude/weird to ask the Concierge at my hotel to book me train tickets before I even get there?
I am staying in Ukraine the weekend of a Holiday and I am worried about the train I need to take to another city getting full. The Ukrainian train website is over 9000 times harder to use than the Russian train website and I have yet to actually find where I can order the tickets. If I emailed my hotel and asked their concierge to book this for me would I look like a fool? The only time I have ever used the Concierge in the past was years ago to call me up taxis to take me to the airport before Uber existed.
It's his job, it's not weird. Wikipedia specifically lists "booking transportation" as the typical duties of a concierge at a hotel. In any case, I can personally guarantee you it won't be the weirdest request the concierge has heard.
>>1223725
I wouldnt think it weird at all if I was there, it just seems like it may be strange if I am emailing them ahead of time about booking for me.
Then again maybe I am being an Autist.
>>1223730
Nothing strange about that request at all mate.
Hi, I'm 34, I've never travelled. I have a 7yo daughter.
I want to do the sort of adventure travel where you see cool shit like ancient temples, experience other cultures, crazy animals and other weird stuff.
But my daughter, I think she likes normal kid stuff. Maybe she'll snap out of it once we enter a foreign land.
Anyway, I'm thinking of going to SE Asia. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thai Land, Laos, Indonesia, these are all possibilities?
Got any ideas for fun things I can do with my daughter so she won't completely hate me for boring her every day with stuff only adults understand.
Do they have themeparks or waterparks in SE Asia? What do the kids there do for fun?
>>1223591
Thailand has a lot of kid friendly stuff.
Water parks, aquariums, Tiger and Alligator ahows. The Art in Paradise museum. 4D movies. Ripley's. My kids are 16 (next month) and 13. Your is actually at a good/okay age that they will be sort of just along for the ride. It starts at the prepubescent years where they could give a shit about culture ans their attention span for vacations shortens and they act like assholes, ruining it for everybody, if you are vacationing too long. At 7, you can do what you want, but mix in kid stuff foe her sake.
I'm going on at least 5 trips this year, the only ones that will include my kids are Vegas, Disney World, and a cruise
>>1223612
Vegas was actually a trip with just the wife, initially. But when the place I booked got upgraded from a room to a resort I decided to bring the kids. I will be working less than 2 hours from Vegas at the time, anyway. Wife and kids will fly out from the East Coast
I introduce the scenery of the country of Japan.
Bucky is that you?
>>1223536
hey Sakura pics ... yay!
I found one of the best places for viewing very old sakura trees is along watercourses in the cities. One can follow them sometimes for miles
Kyushu last year.
Have you ever traveled with others? How does this work? Where do you find people to join you, and how to choose what to do?
I went on some family vacations when younger but most of family is afraid of flying, or just not interested in where I'd like to go.
My friends either prefer video games and TV and don't see the point of leaving home, or are too busy with work/careers and when they do rarely get time off would rather play with pets or run errands.
My ex-girlfriend wanted to travel with me but I was too poor so refused, now that I have more money I'd like to but my new girlfriend doesn't want to spend it on that.
I've visited about 9 countries but I'm always alone, and most of the people I meet are solo travelers as well. Is the idea of a bunch of friends going somewhere together like Eurotrip a myth?
Nah, I'm a Brit and I've done the kind of holiday in your picture, not through some travel agent for invalids like that though. Got a good set of six mates that have stayed friends since we left school nearly a decade ago.
Did Magaluf in Majorca, and Malia, Crete. A week of drinking really chews you up and spits you out, god knows how I kept going; you basically get up about 3pm and drink until 6am before repeating. Some brilliant stories for it though.
>>1223457
uwotm8?
That sounds great. As for the blows to your health, I suspect that is the sort of thing only youth permits. As a loner I'd be afraid to get that shitfaced because I don't want people stealing my stuff or fucking with me when I pass out.
The Czech Republic and Hungary look like they would be great places for this.
>>1223454
/trv/ will hard-sell you on solo travel but sounds like you've already tried that so I won't bother.
Trying to get more than 2 people in the same place is hard work; it might be possible if you're uni students with long holidays but if you're dealing with working adults it's very difficult to find a time when everyone's availability lines up. Organising things is difficult too because everybody has different things they want to see, different budgets, expectations of comfort etc.
Eurotrip is kinda a myth, my experience is that in real life those style of trips are mostly pretty boring with a few drunk incidents that get exaggerated to epic proportions in all the retellings afterwards.
Despite these challenges travelling with mates can be a great experience and there are a few ways to make it work. The first is to have one person who enjoys managing things step up into that central role while the others have clear roles on what they have to organise and pull their weight so the leader doesn't have to work so hard. This often works better in a family where you have that clearly defined hierarchy.
Second option is to make the organisation as simple as possible, either by going through some tour/booking agency, or by keeping it very limited in the number of timings you have to meet.
Fax machine at work just randomly shit this out. What's the catch here? Is it a complete scam or do they just make you sit through a sales pitch?
>thinking i'm going to give myself scoliosis to save you from being scammed
>>1223432
It's absolutely a scam. It's a mockup of a HR memo which screams deception, not marketing.
No one does free watersports. You need good credit for that. A bottom dollar break even price from a cruiseline would be about $35-55/pp per day. So, 6 days? I don't think so. First 100 callers? Yea, this is a phishing scam. Do absolutely nothing but put it in the trash. Do not even call a number. They'll record you saying "yes" on the phone and hit you with some kind of charge. The fact you're at a workplace means you'll invite the scam onto your employer.
Into the trash it goes!
>>1223432
Well, anon, just sit down and a take a moment to think it through critically.
thinking of going to Northern England to check out loch ness, and maybe check out the night life in Glasgow, any other places between the 2 that are worth checking out?
I was about to call you out as a troll but then I realized sometimes people are just making jokes.
Glen Coe will be on your way. But there's no reason to go to Loch Ness when you're a short drive from Loch Lomond which is better in every respect.
>>1223442
Should we use the high road or low road?
Not OP, but looking for distillery tour tips.
>>1223415
Both Loch Ness and Glasgow are in Scotland, not 'Northern England'.
Wife is hell-bent on a 2 week Italy trip in July, any recommendations? Gonna be in Rome, Florence and Venice each for 4 days.
It will be too hot and too full of tourists.
lrn2siesta
get up and out early, back the hotel and ac from 1-4 for a nap, then head out in the evening, stay out late, repeat x14
>>1223351
>get up and out early, back the hotel and ac from 1-4 for a nap, then head out in the evening, stay out late, repeat x14
this is the one thing i miss from when i lived in spain
Hey /trv/
This summer two friends and I will be spending approximately two weeks in Tajikistan and would love some help and advice when it comes to planning.
Meeting in Dushanbe on Jun 18 and at the latest should get to Osh on Jul 6 so I can fly up to Bishkek as my flight to back to the States leaves on the 7th.
We've got a rough itinerary of a day or so in Dushanbe, a few days up in Yagnob, then continuing on the Pamir Highway with some time in the Wakhan and the Ishkashim market if it's safe and open.
Would love to hear recommendations for specific things to see along the way. The fortresses, petroglyphs, lakes, mountains, and people all seem so appealing so it's hard to even think about where to narrow it down with such a small window of time.
The most important thing seems to be securing a good driver/guide and I've had PECTA, pamirs.org, and Caravanistan recommended to me but can anyone vouch for which is best or offers the best value for money? Are there other resources that we should be considering for this?
Speaking of money, is it best to just bring as many USD and then some? My understanding is that outside of Dushanbe and maybe Khorog ATMs will not be an option.
Any other general advice would be much appreciated and a big thanks to Frenchanon and his France to Afghanistan trip which was the inspiration for seeing a slice of this part of the world.
>>1223305
I'm also interested in visiting Tajikistan some day. But you seem to know more about it than I do.
Have a bump.
>>1223305
Sup OP, did central asia last summer
your itinerary seems the standard for that part, i suggest not doing dushanbe to khoroug on one take as it's a very tiring ride, stop at khalai khum village it's very nice and lowkey, you can do some trekking in the fann mountains, check out iskenderkul (alexander's lake), murghab, karakol, there's a stop after ishkoshim towards murghab that has some pteroglyphs and a castle but i can't remember it's name.
Khujand is a nice city for a day tour to check out but it looks like you're a bit on a tighter scheduele so you can drop it.
As for renting a car it's expensive there because you need a fully 4wd car and hiring a driver will double your expense (you're looking at 100 dollars daily for a car plus around 60-80 dollars for the driver) so i suggest to just use public transport unless you really want to drive the highway and can afford to rent a car then go for it.
I heard good things about "travel experts" headquartered in bishkek, i'm not sure about the tajik side though.
>Cash
Yeah i would suggest to bring as much cash as you can and to exchange it in dushanbe, it's harder to do it in gorno-badakshan and you might get worse rates naturally.
Anything else you'd like to know hit me up
Do you really need a guide?
Just drive the fucking thing yourself, it's not a dark art.
Also, you should sort your visa and GBAO permits yourself, and not let some travel company rip you off. You can do it online now iirc.
Check the HUBB on HU for up to date information. I doubt the border market is going to be open any time in the near future, from what i've heard.
does anyone have screen caps of that fatbro who biked across the USA? He's my hero and I need inspiration and reference.
>>1223274
>>1223274
bumping with best sunsets
>>1223277
if you could have any island that's under 5 million, where would your island be?
Kekistan
>>1223100
Finland or Siberia, I love the cold and hate most people.
>>1223100
Serious question, "under 5 million" what?
Inhabitants?
Price in USD?
Area in hectares?
Have you seen any tourist attractions that don't exist anymore?
Glad I got to see The Azure Window in Malta before it crumbled.
>>1222859
Fuck, I wanna go to Malta. Is there anything to do there besides look at rocks?
>>1222859
I've been to Serbia and Montenegro (and Kosovo)
I was there two month ago, luckily still got to see it
>>1222877
tons of things if you go in summer (great hikes, biking, water sports, some of the best diving/ snorkeling in Europe, nice beaches and decent party). Also some interesting history if you are into that. Oh and Valletta is often called the most beautiful capital of Europe for a reason
I'm an American living in Europe and am looking into spending my next school break (10 days) in Jordan.
Think I probably want to see Petra and pic related, but what else?
Jarash, Amman, aqaba are your essentials, though wadi rum is my favorite
Isn't Jordan quite dangerous?
Amman has extremely few sights for it's size, and with only 10 days is best explored in one day (see the "balad", i.e. the town centre with the souk, the Roman theatre and the citadel), then just used as a base. Petra and Wadi Rum were my definitive favorites, camping in Wadi Rum is a must. Check out if it's a new moon when you camp and the stars will be breathtaking. In Petra, you can buy a 1, 2 or 3 day ticket, I'd say go for minimum 2 days. If you go up to the "high place of sacrifice" as it's called and then follow the route onwards from there (takes a few hours), you'll be pretty much alone and the scenery will be amazing.
Jerash is worthy of a day trip, huge Roman ruins site, further north there's also the crusader castle in Ajloun. All the way up north, close to the border with Syria, there's the small village of Umm Qays, which on a clear day offers stunning views of the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee. South of Amman you have Madaba, which I didn't think was very special, and Mt. Nebo which also offers nice views of the Jordan Valley. On a clear day you can see the outskirts of Amman and Jerusalem at the same time. There's a nice crusader castle in Karak, but there's quite a bit of islamist activity there right now and is best avoided, same with Ma'an. I thought Aqaba was a shithole, there's a castle, some ruins littered with vodka bottles from Israeli tourists, and a really tall flagpole. You have the beach resorts there though, which offers diving and snorkling among the corals if that's your thing.
There's also various nature reserves, such as Dana, and the desert castles in the east, but I never went there, so can't give much advice on that. Jordan is quite safe as long as you avoid the trouble areas (Karak, Ma'an, refugee camps, certain border areas), as in most Middle Eastern countries, it's the traffic that's most likely to kill you.
Hi folks, I'm going to Hawaii for two months. What's the best and cheapest option for renting a car for two months? Kona is the island I'm visiting, so feel free to suggest other good stuff to do on that island.
First timer by the way.
just take one of the baggage carts from the airport and ride it around like a scooter
>>1222791
made me kek, but honestly it's my only job for the trip and I don't want to fail my family.
What about buying a semi reliable shitbox, though I don't know if second hand cars can be expensive in a remote place like that.
Heading up to Portland, Maine for a few days. I'm 18, what's cool to do?
>>1222754
Isn't it gonna be cold? I would say walk the city, the Old Port, Eastern Promenade, Congress etc. but it'll be cold and windy.
I hope you like eating, because the food is good. Shame you're 18, the beer scene is great.
>>1222754
First thing I thought of was the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. Over a 100 years ago, the state of Maine had a weird midget railroad system that was about half the size of normal railroads.
http://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/
>>1222754
Lobster fucking. I'm not sure what this actually means but it's something she says.
I'm going to be relocating to Olympia, WA in a few months for work.
I hear the area has a really bad issue with vehcile break-ins. I'll be traveling with thousands of dollars in electronics and clothes in my vehcile, what's the best place to stay overnight while apartment hunting?
Tips on traveling with expensive items in your vehicle?
I guess the best option would be to haul everything out of the vehicle and into the hotel room at night.
>>1222448
I live in lacey, about 5 minutes from downtown Olympia. It's really not that bad here. There is a problem with local junkies, so if an area looks sketchy, don't leave your stuff there for too long.
>>1222448
Woo Olympia thread, SPSCC rep it. downtown is busy enough stuff probably won't happen there, but like anon said there are a good number of junkies. just throw a blanket over it if you're worried.
What's bringing you to this foggy little leftist-infested nook?
>>1222748
Job offer with your State government will have me making 20k more over my current State government job where I currently live.
Also the weather where I live is terrible.
>>1222567
What is a good part of Olympia to live? West near the university? South in Tumwater?