Archived threads in /trv/ - Travel - 552. page

>>1046714
>Anyone have experience with the i-to-i online TEFL course? Perhaps commiting to CELTA. will be more favourably looked upon by employer?


Funnily enough I have done both. I Did The i-to-i Online in the UK but wasn't entirely happy with it so did the CELTA in Bangkok with International House.

The i-to-i Certificate isnt worth the paper its written on and It would be better for you to buy a couple of good books, read some free online lesson plan guides and forge the certificate. The one month CELTA was good though, It was a very intense course with a steep learning curve but you got good practice and good tuition. If you can afford the cost I think it's worth it.

The CELTA and a Degree combined will put you in a good position to get a comfy job at the high end of the pay scale. However I expect it will be possible to get work without either if you're willing to work illegally (Probably private tuition or an evening school). Most countries require a degree for legal work but underdeveloped countries will often turn a blind eye to Unqualified English teachers as its in their interest to keep you.

I taught at a Private catholic school in the middle of Bangkok for a year, It was fun, but much harder than I expected it to be. Discipline in the class was my main problem and I struggled with some of the naughty students. I'd recommend teaching either adults or the under 12's as once they hit their teens many of them become proper arse holes.

Feel free to ask more specific questions.

>>1046718

I'll also add that with the i-to-i you do get a one day training thing in person, but it is very basic. I asked the i-to-i trainer about her thoughts on the CELTA and she recommended it to me whole heartedly.

>>1046714
Online TEFL courses are always absolute garbage, and every employer worth their salt knows it. You cannot learn TEFL online, it's impossible, you need class experience and at least some in-person coaching, which is what something like CELTA does. Online courses only exist to take money from the naive and gullible. Some bottom-of-the-barrel employers may accept it in China, but otherwise all that kind of trash will get you nowhere.

Obviously, in desperate places, they'll accept whoever and whatever they can get. But don't expect them to bend over backwards for you. It is you who will be getting peanuts, and often you will be expected to have your own material. Though frankly, no teacher should be without his or her bag of tricks.

Kiwi here. You will definitely want to check out Kaikoura, which is in the South Island. Amazing little town with so much to do.
The biggest city in the South Island is Christchurch and it's a shit hole. Spend as little time there as possible.

>>1046579

What would be the best time to visit in between May and August? I'm thinking of getting married there and spending a week or two there on a honeymoon, and we really want our anniversary to be in late spring or summer.

>>1046598
May-August is winter time in the southern hemisphere you realise? You probably want to visit around November - February.

Not really. I've been to several dozen countries. While there were places I enjoyed significantly more than others, I don't think I have any major regrets or complaints. I was incredibly disappointed by Athens - it was such a filthy and rotten city, and that's coming from somebody who's enjoyed a lot of countries less developed than Greece.

But I wouldn't "take back" that excursion if I could. Likewise, while Iceland was beautiful, I don't view it as being a very memorable place. Again, though, I'm happy I went and still have lots of good memories of hitchhiking, making new friends, and seeing a unique place.

Sofia

Uzbekistan.

I read heaps about the history and fell in love with it. The country, however, felt like it lacked a certain sense of adventure since the gov wants you to stick to the main tourist sites and having to register at your hotel every night. It also surprised me how done up all the cities were for tourists. It was pretty easy mode to travel. Uzbeks are sound though and I like vokda and shashlyk, so I made the most out of it.

Unless you have a raging hard on for Islam architecture, I don't know if the $150 visa is justified.

>>1046433

>I know very little about Pakistan so any insider tips there would be appreciated.

Pakistan can be more dangerous than parts of Afghanistan, but luckily for you the chances of you going anywhere near those areas is unlikely.

Some Advice

Islamabad isn't worth it, unless your really interested in going there because its the capital city or you really want to learn about politics.

I'd recommend going into Kashmir, shits good and its very safe as long as you dont get close to the Indian boarder, ive always wanted to do the Karakorum highway too which could be good if you had time. Another place i'd recommend is Swat valley, the name might ring a bell because there was an Islamist insurgency there early last decade, but its completely safe now, before the insurgency it used to be a big tourist location and there's heaps of mountain resorts dirt cheap trying to bring tourists back.

Quetta is alright, but a bit shifty, i dont think its very dangerous its more they dont get many western tourists there so people look at you funny. You go through Quetta if your getting the train from Iran.

Karachi is good for shopping.

Peshawar is also good, though many people say it is dangerous, though it has a real different culture from most of the other cities, its much more Afghan and a different feel to it. The train goes there so its easy transport, i think it would be fine to stay a day or two there to check it out.

In terms of everywhere else, probably best to not go there, try and stay out of Khyber province and please, dont go to the tribal areas, a friend of mine said some places were trying to run tours to Dara Khel and Khyber pass when he went there, dont do those, Dara is especially dangerous, the tribal guards dont let you near the places that sell the heroin anyway apparently.

Also Herat is cool and as safe as you get in Afghanistan, but dont go far outside of it.

>>1046458
Excellent, thanks for the info. How long ago were you in Pakistan? Is it possible to visit the Swat Valley without prior arrangements?
Yeah I was already planning on venturing up to Gilgit, I'll put Peshawar on the list as well as that sounds interesting.

And did you visit Herat yourself? I'd like to hear more about that if you did. I speak enough Persian to get around so I'm pretty keen to get outside the city a bit and visit some rural areas, of course I'd ask around concerning the security side of things.

I saved some info from a thread about Pakistan from september 2013, so this might be outdated. But here goes.
But first a question from me: can you make yourself understood in Pakistan with Persian?


Baltistan seems to be good.

>Islamabad is a constructed city, sort like brazilia. Its not very nice and not much to do. If you are going to stay there, stay in rawalpindi, which is where most people who work in islamabad live. Also, go to fucking Peshawar, you will not regret it. >Dat frontier/Kiplingesque/wartorn feel.

>Gilgit is a place to see, super cozy, stay at the Medina hostel. Didnt do baltistan/kashmir much, at least not hiking. But its beautifull. The country is really really cheap, but roads etc are shit, so things there takes forever. If you want to renew your visa, do it in the countryside where they are just laughing (smoking tons of hashish) and they will do it in a day, while in islamabad its more serious and organized.

>Islamabad is no fun. The conjoined city of Rawalpindi is more fun.

McDonald's, Thai food if you don't have enough money.

>>1046443
Golly, how provocative.

>>1046419
Take advantage of their fresh fruits. Theres plenty that are quite exclusive to Thailand and perhaps S.E Asia and they're cheap.

Where have you already been, what sort of stuff interests you? My mind-reading skills seem to be weak today...

I've been round in most of Europe, when traveling with my family, when i was a boy. Well, art, culture, nature, literature, architecture, food, people, music, most things interest me rly.
My bad, it was a little vague, but I really don't know where to start.

>inb4 Thailand

>>1046100
You goofed.

France is literally shit-tier these days. Prepare to have a miserable time.

What's your degree?

I will be doing electives there.

>>1046105
Answer the question m8. It's relevant. What degree?

>>1045979
Shanghai over Beijing, any day of the week.

Beijing is a fucking shithole, Shanghai is wild, beautiful and completely nuts.

I really liked Taipei too, but SH is always going to be my second home.

Taipei is better for food though, I'll say that.

Bear in mind if you're going via a confucius institute, it doesn't include taiwan

>>1045984
I like Beijing, some areas of Beijing are really nice.
Also for standard mandarin, Beijing is better even though it is now fully filled by nongming (peasants) with disgusting accents.

>>1045984
i will most likely get a scholarship from my univeristy so i can go anywhere i want including taiwan.

I have that feeling that Taiwan is way more progressiv and open to foreigners than China. Is that true? Did you have any problems with the locals or did you just hangout with other freigners?

I can't say I know the Baltic countries but I would say Riga is the most beautiful city.

>>1045836
Probably this. Vilnius is not bad either though. Tallinn felt more modern out of the three.

I enjoyed Riga most of them but that's maybe because they had the best hostel.

>>1045835
Hmm. I went to them in a row in winter and I enjoyed Tallinn most. For some reason Riga didn't do much to me (was enjoyable though), but I am sure I need to go back sometime in summer. Spend few hours in Vilnius and it looked great in the layer of snow.

File: 1455027_10152401534267575_1022037072_n.jpg (91KB, 600x557px) Image search: [Google]

91KB, 600x557px

>>1045802

Departures.

>>1045813
>it's a Justin tries to say something smart episode

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_el7ED2v150&t=11m29s

>>1045813

I like that show. It gets kind of weird when they try to be "deep", but it;s the show that made me want to travel.

Thats future Russia right there.

Laos has an "s" on it.

I was expecting a nice hour long video. Instead its 3 minutes. Fk you

>>1045512
>How do I avoid someone that I can spot from 100mtrs away?
Take it to /pol

Don't look like a tourist and or an easy target. If they try to sell you shit or talk to you just ignore them

lol i guess you have to be born in eastern europe to get the necessary skills.

let me share some of them with you.

do not carry anything that is more valuable than the average of what tourist are carrying in the area. do people have cheap phones in that country in general? that's a sign for you to leave your golden iphone 6s at home, and take a throwaway huawei or something. do not let your camera hang on your under no circumstances.

do not show all your cash. have coins spread all over your pockets of your trousers and jacket and every other pocket you have. similarly, put different notes in different pockets. depending on how much you need to pay and how many people see you pay, take out only the most suitable note, and do not touch the other pockets.
dress down. in istanbul go as far as to carry plastic bags instead of proper bags if you're in the really bad area. make sure the bag is moderately used, and not see-through. better yet, do not carry a bag if it's avoidable.
probably the best advise is to have a poor face. do not look content with your life, especially during night. someone asks you something? ignore it. do not look their way. if you accidentally look, do not smile, do not frown, no sudden movements, just keep your pace and act as if you just accidentally looked their way instead of noticing their presence. do they follow you? go to a lighter area. look for security cameras, places where there's more traffic, anywhere where people could hear you ask for help. if you're being followed first try to avoid going in the direction of your hotel, just try to go somewhere moderately crowded.
speaking of crowds, avoid crowds otherwise. people should not touch you in crowds, even if it's a latin place. create your space and guard it. if someone enters your space, make brief eye contact with them, check their hands, but also check for any other pressure or loss of pressure of your bag straps.

that was 101, any eastern euro person could write a novel on this

Does any US state other than California even have state-state border checks?

lol...you must be from la

no border checks for personal vehicles

Yuropoor here. We went ona roadtrip from Florida to California and didn't encounter a single border check.

>>1045462
Apparently the other expats are really terrible and you shouldn't believe them when they say how much the country sucks.

>>1045463
>avoid people who aren't from there, it's actually a nice country
got it haha

would you happen to know if there are any japanese styled arcades?

also, do they import hollywood movies or am i stuck with whatever is locally produced?

>>1045470
and i guess more to the interests of this board:

does anyone know the general atmosphere is toward americans? like if i happened to ask someone for directions in english would they be offended or too shy to say anything?

what are some places worth exploring when i arrive?

go alone

>>1045457
just go alone, fuck what anyone else says, for me traveling alone was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

>>1045457
>Antarctica
Wait a second here...