War tourism

>>1178978
That sounds cool, I didn't know anything like that existed. My grandfather was in WWII in the Pacific theater, would be cool if there were something similar.

>>1178978

Experiences with what? Touring battlefields or dressing up as soldiers for living history demonstrations?

>>1178991
the first

tempted to go off peak though

>>1178978
I think some of those places are a bit off limits because of unexploded ordnance?

>>1178978
My grandfather was in Burma, flying "The Hump" in transport planes, for the India-China-Burma theatre. He talked shit about India the rest of his life and very humbly wouldn't talk much about the war part of the trip at all aside from a couple moments. There was a himalayan sun bear cub they had in their camp, that the cook shot one day for stealing...and the blood trail led to a den or something the bear slept in, and it was full of watches, trinkets, gear and other thieved items the bear found fascinating. It solved weeks of bickering about missing things between the men.
He talked about how the prisoners they transported weren't given oxygen like the pilots, so would pass out from oxygen deprivation in the altitudes. Seems extreme :(
He also talked about how many people crashed every week, needless deaths to make good on their support of the chinese against the japanese, where winds would spiral your plane towards the ground. Je crashed one time, as co-pilot when the captain outranked him. There was an argument about clouds vs mountain snow on a peak, and the captain was wrong. Last flight grandad flew without promotion. He went on to a great career as an airline captain with his mad l33t skillz from flying by wire.

It still is considered the most dangerous flying in the world. I don't think there's much to see though. I could be wrong?

I've been to battlefields and cemeteries while traveling, as well as dozens of boring ol' forts, from San Juan PR to Nova Scotia. Castle battlements are cool. Toured Pearl Harbor by boat which is eerie. Do it! The cemeteries in France and abroad where foreigners are buried (who fought there) are often maintained by second generations of grateful families and really lovingly maintained. Sometimes you learn one tidbit of information, like they locked forts at night before desertion was so foul, or that they children were schooled to read in married barracks, as incentive for people to enlist.

>>1178994
France is not Cambodia, thanks.

>>1178978
WW1 sites like the Somme, as well as Verdun can be very emotional if you have a good tour guide. There are lots of tidbits and things you want to know, and it's better if someone can show you around.

The Ossuaire de Douaumont is a powerful sight, as are the endless cemetaries.

I'm not a big fan of the great war or dreaming of sucking on past soldiers's balls or anything.
Actually, the first time I went there, I was one of these edgy anti-war teenager "these soldiers were just plain old ignorant sheeps who didn't know jack shit".
When the guide asked us to run up a steep as fuck hill with remnants of machine guns nests, and then described us what it was truly like for soldiers to get mowed down these slopes, it made me change a lot. The "gueules cassées" pictures as well.

Do it OP. Don't do it by yourselves though because it can be a bit boring. Especially since the region looks like absolute shit and despair during winter time.

Plus, food is good and they have OK drinks in the area, it's always a plus.

>>1178978

I've been to pretty much every major place of the pacific war, excluding Midway, Wake and Kwajalein. Battlefields, like Guadalcanal or the Santa Cruz islands, Samar, Okinawa and quite a few more. Also included were the major japanese naval bases, Yokosuka, Sasebo and Kure and the anchorages Rabaul and Truk.

Some of these places aren't exactly what you'd call touristic, but they are certainly a nice experience. I'm not sure how versed you are in history but I recommend reading up a bit about whatever destination you pick. If you're lucky and you get away from big crowds it's a very intense experience.

Here in europe you can easily visit major WW1 and WW2 battlefields, as well as those of older conflict. Maybe just pick one (Somme for example or the D-Day beaches) read something about the battles fought there then visit.