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Post by inger on Jul 25, 2024 18:41:43 GMT -5
Yeah, haven't done the extensive globe-trotting you and others have...only Canada, Mexico and a few places in the Caribbean...but have seen most of this country. And, there's a lot to see. Absolutely. If you never left North America you could see a lifetime of wonders. And you clearly have the jeweler's eye for places to visit. Canada is easy-peasy and we love visiting -- their Rockies may be even more overwhelming than our Rockies -- and Mexico is so interesting, but sadly the crime is a real issue in some places. Not that I am easily deterred by negative press, and usually it's overstated, but I hate seeing what has become of such formerly world-class sites like Acapulco, which is a million times more interesting than Cancun, but the goddam drug cartels have nearly ruined it. Mexico City is actually much safer than some of the other areas, despite the reputation for crime. Not that it's Epcot Center by any stretch, but it's within the realm of normal for enormous cities. One of the most fascinating places in North America in my book. I think there are immense dangers trying to traverse the stretch of Baja California from California to Coyote Village, the proper name of DomeWorld. Some of that can be understood I that he lives in a “Compound”… As place with a narrow strip of land between two coasts with another narrow strip of water before the next coast has “drugs” written all over it, which may also explain why Dome chose that as a place to reside… 🤓 Beware the narrows…a great place for an attack… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 25, 2024 19:13:45 GMT -5
Absolutely. If you never left North America you could see a lifetime of wonders. And you clearly have the jeweler's eye for places to visit. Canada is easy-peasy and we love visiting -- their Rockies may be even more overwhelming than our Rockies -- and Mexico is so interesting, but sadly the crime is a real issue in some places. Not that I am easily deterred by negative press, and usually it's overstated, but I hate seeing what has become of such formerly world-class sites like Acapulco, which is a million times more interesting than Cancun, but the goddam drug cartels have nearly ruined it. Mexico City is actually much safer than some of the other areas, despite the reputation for crime. Not that it's Epcot Center by any stretch, but it's within the realm of normal for enormous cities. One of the most fascinating places in North America in my book. I think there are immense dangers trying to traverse the stretch of Baja California from California to Coyote Village, the proper name of DomeWorld. Some of that can be understood I that he lives in a “Compound”… As place with a narrow strip of land between two coasts with another narrow strip of water before the next coast has “drugs” written all over it, which may also explain why Dome chose that as a place to reside… 🤓 Beware the narrows…a great place for an attack… For sure, there are some really bad guys operating in that area and many other parts of Mexico. It's a tragedy really. You have to pick your spots and know the local situation. There are still plenty of areas that are great to visit, but unfortunately the drug-related crime has hurt tourism throughout the country. |
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Post by azbob643 on Jul 25, 2024 19:52:04 GMT -5
Yeah, haven't done the extensive globe-trotting you and others have...only Canada, Mexico and a few places in the Caribbean...but have seen most of this country. And, there's a lot to see. Absolutely. If you never left North America you could see a lifetime of wonders. Most of our trips for the past several years have revolved around visits to ballparks…usually Yankee “away” games...incorporated with checking out interesting sites in that city and general area. I’m very fortunate in that my wife, a casual baseball fan, enjoys what I’d call the social aspect of catching a game or two at different ballparks. We also want to visit as many National Parks/Monuments and California Missions as possible, so a simple road trip to see the Yanks in Anaheim/San Diego can easily include Joshua Tree National Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Mission San Diego, Mission San Luis Rey and Mission San Juan Capistrano. |
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Post by kaybli on Jul 25, 2024 20:01:30 GMT -5
Thanks for reviving this thread, pipps! I renamed it the DoMe Travel Thread, good idea. I love hearing about your travels and the travels of any other posters! Me too. Even day trips -- it's all good. I know Lauren has been to some exotic sites too, and Bob is all over the US (that I know of). I'm sure plenty of others. Including you -- I know you've been to some interesting spots, but haven't talked much about them. You've been to Bangladesh, right? And I know Rizzuto hold the South and the West Coast in the palm of his hand. Inger is always out and about. 55 takes great short trips (and maybe more I haven't heard about.) But donniebaseball23 is in the lead right now with his journey. I've been to a couple interesting places but most were years ago. I'm not a big traveler unless you count going into NYC to eat which I do at least once a month  . I guess I visit my brother in LA sometimes too. Many years ago I visited Paris, London, and Australia. I haven't been to Bangladesh since 2006. Unfortunately, there's some civil unrest going on right now over there. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 25, 2024 20:07:02 GMT -5
Absolutely. If you never left North America you could see a lifetime of wonders. Most of our trips for the past several years have revolved around visits to ballparks…usually Yankee “away” games...incorporated with checking out interesting sites in that city and general area. I’m very fortunate in that my wife, a casual baseball fan, enjoys what I’d call the social aspect of catching a game or two at different ballparks. We also want to visit as many National Parks/Monuments and California Missions as possible, so a simple road trip to see the Yanks in Anaheim/San Diego can easily include Joshua Tree National Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Mission San Diego, Mission San Luis Rey and Mission San Juan Capistrano. That’s a great agenda. We did most of the CA missions when we lived there and each one is unique. We did a lot of them in Texas too. San Juan Capistrano stood out to me, probably because of that song. Mission Santa Barbara was another. Almost anything around Santa Barbara works for me. National Parks and Monuments alone are a worthy pursuit. The first NP I ever visited was Acadia, and we’ve been rolling ever since. |
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Post by azbob643 on Jul 25, 2024 20:12:17 GMT -5
Most of our trips for the past several years have revolved around visits to ballparks…usually Yankee “away” games...incorporated with checking out interesting sites in that city and general area. I’m very fortunate in that my wife, a casual baseball fan, enjoys what I’d call the social aspect of catching a game or two at different ballparks. We also want to visit as many National Parks/Monuments and California Missions as possible, so a simple road trip to see the Yanks in Anaheim/San Diego can easily include Joshua Tree National Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Mission San Diego, Mission San Luis Rey and Mission San Juan Capistrano. That’s a great agenda. We did most of the CA missions when we lived there and each one is unique. We did a lot of them in Texas too. San Juan Capistrano stood out to me, probably because of that song. Mission Santa Barbara was another. Almost anything around Santa Barbara works for me. National Parks and Monuments alone are a worthy pursuit. The first NP I ever visited was Acadia, and we’ve been rolling ever since. Acadia is one we haven't visited, and doubt we ever will. We've visited 10 of the 21 California Missions from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 25, 2024 20:13:04 GMT -5
Me too. Even day trips -- it's all good. I know Lauren has been to some exotic sites too, and Bob is all over the US (that I know of). I'm sure plenty of others. Including you -- I know you've been to some interesting spots, but haven't talked much about them. You've been to Bangladesh, right? And I know Rizzuto hold the South and the West Coast in the palm of his hand. Inger is always out and about. 55 takes great short trips (and maybe more I haven't heard about.) But donniebaseball23 is in the lead right now with his journey. I've been to a couple interesting places but most were years ago. I'm not a big traveler unless you count going into NYC to eat which I do at least once a month . I guess I visit my brother in LA sometimes too. Many years ago I visited Paris, London, and Australia. I haven't been to Bangladesh since 2006. Unfortunately, there's some civil unrest going on right now over there. Well you got two of the big ones with London and Paris. Paris has been my favorite city since I first went there 53 years ago. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Where in Australia did you go? That's another haul. Sydney is another in my top handful of cities. Trips to NYC are their own separate category. Have you ever considered just moving there? Pricey I know. |
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Post by donniebaseball23 on Jul 25, 2024 20:19:27 GMT -5
Courtesy of Kaybli's link, I'm taking a shot at exhuming this four and a half year dormant travel thread, mainly because I wanted to ask donniebaseball23 about his recent grand tour of SE Asia. If you're not sick of re-telling your stories, donnie. Also I nominate re-naming this the DoMe Travel Thread in honor of our wonderful poster who actually started it. And who, fittingly enough, had Singapore and Thailand in his sites when he did. Anyway, I'd love to hear more about your adventures (I actually care about this stuff!) Just so you know where I'm coming from, I've been to those places in the past -- Singapore and Bali as part of a 35th anniversary trip, Thailand on several occasions, and Vietnam in 2017 to visit a friend working in Hanoi. I concur with you on Hanoi. An unexpectedly (to me anyway) charming city, with the leafy Old Quarter and beautiful temples and lakes and serene French architecture. We attended Mass at the spectacular St. Joseph's Cathedral, another reminder of the French presence. I also agree with you on the cuisine, which is probably my favorite Asian cuisine (although Thai and Japanese aren't far behind.) Some Hanoi specialties I remember were first of all Cha Ca La Vong, a marinated fish that is grilled and then fried with a mix of turmeric, garlic, shallots, scallions, dill and who knows what else and served with a lot of side dishes like vermicelli and roasted peanuts and shrimp paste. There were dozens of these restaurants all over Hanoi, and as you noted they were incredibly cheap. I also recall having Pho Bo and Pho Ga (beef and chicken noodle soup) and Than Tri steamed rice rolls. Also Bun Cha, which is grilled pork with vermicelli. So many great places to eat. I know we discussed Hao Long Bay, one of the world's most beautiful sites but hardly known in the US. After we left our friend in Hanoi, we spent a few weeks going to Saigon (which the locals still call it rather than HCMC) and Hue and DaNang and the gorgeous canal-laced town of Hoi An. Let me know if you got to any of those spots. Where did you stay in Bali? We stayed in Ubud, sort of the artsy center of Bali. It was like a dream with the terraced rice fields and the unlimited graceful Hindu shrines and temples. We hired a guide who not only led us to the key sites but took us to his home where we met his family and shared a meal. Such kind and sweet people who we could never hope to repay. We went to the more popular Aussie resorts like Nusa Dua with the beautiful resorts and the older resort area of Kuta, which we found to be kind of a throwback to the 60s. I'd love to hear your impressions. We went to Singapore as part of a 35th anniversary celebration and stayed at the original Raffles. What a place. Each guest has his own personal valet. When we had mentioned that we were there for our anniversary, when we returned to our rooms there was a bottle of champagne and high-end chocolates and our bed was covered in rose petals. Everyday life, right? We had the obligatory Singapore Sling at the Long Bar -- bet you did too -- too sweet for me, but when in Rome etc. The hotel is like a living museum. Talk about a place for everything and everything in its place -- that's Singapore for sure. You said it reminded you of Seoul, which to my shame I have never visited -- man, if it resembles Singapore I need to get there. Lucky you to have family there. I also remember going to the quite moving Changi prison camp where the Japanese kept British and local Chinese prisoners under less than humane conditions. Very much remembered by the Singaporeans. Glad you got to Chang Mai. What a wonderful region. I remember the night markets and taking boats on the Mekong River (or was that from Chang Rai? Can't remember.) I remember getting to the Bridge over the River Kwai and having an urge to whistle! Did you make it to Bangkok? It's been awhile for me, but I remember thinking that even by Asian standards the traffic was horrific. Still, an amazing city with so many hospitable people, beautiful temples and again great food out the wazoo. Too much prattling from me. I'd love to get more of your impressions, and congrats for making such a trip. Long and exhausting as I don't have to tell you. We've used Qatar Airways and Singapore Airways for getting there -- both far superior to US or European airlines. They actually care about customer service, imagine that!! All thoughts most appreciated. Would love to share. I should start this out by saying Asia wasn't my first choice for this year's vacation (we try to take a family trip each summer, alternating one year with a stateside trip, followed by abroad), I spent a year in Seoul while in the Air Force and travelled a bit at that time (Thailand, Laos, Japan), and I've always been more partial to Europe. We ended up going because my brother-in-law lives in Singapore and we felt it was time to finally pay him a visit on his turf after so many years. I'll break down below, but will have to be somewhat succinct because I hate typing on my phone, lol. The worst part is, as you'd expect, the travel. It was a 32 hour trip all told to get to Singapore. We left very early in the morning out of Omaha up to Minneapolis where we had a few hours layover. From there on to Incheon (Seoul) our next layover. That airport brought back a lot of memories of my time stationed over there. We had about a 5 hour layover, so the girls got their first taste of real Korean food at one of the restaurants in the airport. They loved it. Little tidbit that most people find crazy - I'm not crazy about Asian cuisine overall, but there are so very good dishes I enjoy. Then we were off to Singapore, another 6+ hour flight. Singapore - we arrived very late, like 11:30 PM. BIL met us at the airport. We caught a Grab (Asia equivalent to Uber, a must have app for any trip to Asia as it worked splendidly at each of our stops). He was very generous and let us stay at his apartment and crashed at his friends place while we were there. Singapore is a vibrant city and surprisingly westernized. BIL was our tour guide for our 6 days as he showed us around the city. We were going nonstop the entire time, seeing various sites around the city proper and sampling a number of different dishes. I will say, the food here wasn't my favorite aside from a really good authentic Italian place we had for dinner one night and another very fancy restaurant where we had fried duck another night. I've never been a fan of duck, but this was surprisingly very good. We got to the zoo one afternoon, which the girls loved. We never got to make it to the beach, because our beach day got rained out, but we weren't too upset because there was plenty of beach opportunities ahead. Went to the science museum another day, the cloud forest, and spent another day doing the jewel attractions at the airport, which is seriously amazing. That's probably the nicest airport I've ever been to. Another thing about Singapore - it's a shopper's dream. There are seriously malls everywhere that seem to be thriving, which is a strange contrast to how they seem to be dying here. Overall, I can easily recommend Singapore to anyone. A LOT to do, very safe, and pretty clean for a city of its size. Bali - We spent 4 days here and climate-wise, it was the best stop. Temps in the mid-80s and not nearly as humid as our other stops. We stayed at the Bali Hilton Resort which is amazing. The food here was quite good and there were actually 4 quite good restaurants on the resort. But we also sampled several off-resort restaurants, and the food was pretty good. Not as flavorful as our other stops, but still good. One day we took a guided tour around the island and visited several temples and a few gorgeous beaches. Got the girls into the Indian Ocean for the first time. The pool at the resort was amazing and we spent most of our last day there lounging in and around it, a much needed break after going nonstop for the week-plus prior. Thailand - the Chang Mai region is absolutely gorgeous. Spent 3 days here. We stayed at the U Chiang Mai Hotel and renovated former residence of the Chiang Mai governor. We spent the first night scrolling around the Chiang Mai night bazaar. The food in Thailand was my favorite, very flavorful currys and other options including amazing Phad Thai. We took a day trip to an elephant habitat where we got to spend a few hours mingling with, feeding, and bathing rescued elephants in the river. Not surprisingly, this was the girls' favorite part of the trip. Visited a number of amazing temples, hiked up to the highest point in Thailand, sailed down the Mekong River (where we dipped into Laos and Myanmar) and saw The Golden Triangle. I wish we spent more time here as it was my favorite stop. Vietnam - Spent our last four days here. We stayed at the La Selva Hotel and the bustling Old Quarter of Hanoi. To be completely honest, we were pretty worn out by the time we got here, but we still made a go of it. I will say two knocks on Hanoi are the incredibly oppressive heat and humidity and the chaos caused by the at times overwhelming congestion. It's wild how many people are jammed into that city. Scooters everywhere could make something simple like crossing the street quite taxing. It was like you were in a live-action game of 'Frogger.' The food was great and so CHEAP. The four of us could get HUGE plates of food for the equivalent of like $25. The people were so welcoming and friendly. Spent a lot of time just strolling around the Hanoi Market shopping. Saw the Temple of Literature (Vietnam's first university), strolled around Hoan Kiem Lake, and visited St Joseph's Cathedral which is breathtaking. We finished off that day by taking in the famous Water Puppet show which is a must if you're ever in Hanoi. The last day was a trip to Ha Long Bay which is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth. All in all, it's a trip and experience in I'm glad we did, particularly for the girls. Lot of great memories. We're planning our trip for next year and thinking of skipping our CONUS turn and heading back abroad with Italy currently the frontrunner. I've been there as I had the fortune of being stationed in the UK for three years and travelled a lot in that time, but I want to go back as an adult and spend less time in bars/clubs, lol. Plus, I never made it to Vatican City and that's a bucket list item. Whew! That's a lotta phone typing. I'll try to throw up some pics soon. |
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Post by kaybli on Jul 25, 2024 20:20:09 GMT -5
I've been to a couple interesting places but most were years ago. I'm not a big traveler unless you count going into NYC to eat which I do at least once a month . I guess I visit my brother in LA sometimes too. Many years ago I visited Paris, London, and Australia. I haven't been to Bangladesh since 2006. Unfortunately, there's some civil unrest going on right now over there. Well you got two of the big ones with London and Paris. Paris has been my favorite city since I first went there 53 years ago. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Where in Australia did you go? That's another haul. Sydney is another in my top handful of cities. Trips to NYC are their own separate category. Have you ever considered just moving there? Pricey I know. I went to Sydney in Australia and stayed with some relatives. Saw all the sights like the Opera House. Ate some kangaroo meat. Good times.
I like visiting NYC but city life is not for me. I need some space, I enjoy suburbia.
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Post by kaybli on Jul 25, 2024 20:23:43 GMT -5
Courtesy of Kaybli's link, I'm taking a shot at exhuming this four and a half year dormant travel thread, mainly because I wanted to ask donniebaseball23 about his recent grand tour of SE Asia. If you're not sick of re-telling your stories, donnie. Also I nominate re-naming this the DoMe Travel Thread in honor of our wonderful poster who actually started it. And who, fittingly enough, had Singapore and Thailand in his sites when he did. Anyway, I'd love to hear more about your adventures (I actually care about this stuff!) Just so you know where I'm coming from, I've been to those places in the past -- Singapore and Bali as part of a 35th anniversary trip, Thailand on several occasions, and Vietnam in 2017 to visit a friend working in Hanoi. I concur with you on Hanoi. An unexpectedly (to me anyway) charming city, with the leafy Old Quarter and beautiful temples and lakes and serene French architecture. We attended Mass at the spectacular St. Joseph's Cathedral, another reminder of the French presence. I also agree with you on the cuisine, which is probably my favorite Asian cuisine (although Thai and Japanese aren't far behind.) Some Hanoi specialties I remember were first of all Cha Ca La Vong, a marinated fish that is grilled and then fried with a mix of turmeric, garlic, shallots, scallions, dill and who knows what else and served with a lot of side dishes like vermicelli and roasted peanuts and shrimp paste. There were dozens of these restaurants all over Hanoi, and as you noted they were incredibly cheap. I also recall having Pho Bo and Pho Ga (beef and chicken noodle soup) and Than Tri steamed rice rolls. Also Bun Cha, which is grilled pork with vermicelli. So many great places to eat. I know we discussed Hao Long Bay, one of the world's most beautiful sites but hardly known in the US. After we left our friend in Hanoi, we spent a few weeks going to Saigon (which the locals still call it rather than HCMC) and Hue and DaNang and the gorgeous canal-laced town of Hoi An. Let me know if you got to any of those spots. Where did you stay in Bali? We stayed in Ubud, sort of the artsy center of Bali. It was like a dream with the terraced rice fields and the unlimited graceful Hindu shrines and temples. We hired a guide who not only led us to the key sites but took us to his home where we met his family and shared a meal. Such kind and sweet people who we could never hope to repay. We went to the more popular Aussie resorts like Nusa Dua with the beautiful resorts and the older resort area of Kuta, which we found to be kind of a throwback to the 60s. I'd love to hear your impressions. We went to Singapore as part of a 35th anniversary celebration and stayed at the original Raffles. What a place. Each guest has his own personal valet. When we had mentioned that we were there for our anniversary, when we returned to our rooms there was a bottle of champagne and high-end chocolates and our bed was covered in rose petals. Everyday life, right? We had the obligatory Singapore Sling at the Long Bar -- bet you did too -- too sweet for me, but when in Rome etc. The hotel is like a living museum. Talk about a place for everything and everything in its place -- that's Singapore for sure. You said it reminded you of Seoul, which to my shame I have never visited -- man, if it resembles Singapore I need to get there. Lucky you to have family there. I also remember going to the quite moving Changi prison camp where the Japanese kept British and local Chinese prisoners under less than humane conditions. Very much remembered by the Singaporeans. Glad you got to Chang Mai. What a wonderful region. I remember the night markets and taking boats on the Mekong River (or was that from Chang Rai? Can't remember.) I remember getting to the Bridge over the River Kwai and having an urge to whistle! Did you make it to Bangkok? It's been awhile for me, but I remember thinking that even by Asian standards the traffic was horrific. Still, an amazing city with so many hospitable people, beautiful temples and again great food out the wazoo. Too much prattling from me. I'd love to get more of your impressions, and congrats for making such a trip. Long and exhausting as I don't have to tell you. We've used Qatar Airways and Singapore Airways for getting there -- both far superior to US or European airlines. They actually care about customer service, imagine that!! All thoughts most appreciated. Would love to share. I should start this out by saying Asia wasn't my first choice for this year's vacation (we try to take a family trip each summer, alternating one year with a stateside trip, followed by abroad), I spent a year in Seoul while in the Air Force and travelled a bit at that time (Thailand, Laos, Japan), and I've always been more partial to Europe. We ended up going because my brother-in-law lives in Singapore and we felt it was time to finally pay him a visit on his turf after so many years. I'll break down below, but will have to be somewhat succinct because I hate typing on my phone, lol. The worst part is, as you'd expect, the travel. It was a 32 hour trip all told to get to Singapore. We left very early in the morning out of Omaha up to Minneapolis where we had a few hours layover. From there on to Incheon (Seoul) our next layover. That airport brought back a lot of memories of my time stationed over there. We had about a 5 hour layover, so the girls got their first taste of real Korean food at one of the restaurants in the airport. They loved it. Little tidbit that most people find crazy - I'm not crazy about Asian cuisine overall, but there are so very good dishes I enjoy. Then we were off to Singapore, another 6+ hour flight. Singapore - we arrived very late, like 11:30 PM. BIL met us at the airport. We caught a Grab (Asia equivalent to Uber, a must have app for any trip to Asia as it worked splendidly at each of our stops). He was very generous and let us stay at his apartment and crashed at his friends place while we were there. Singapore is a vibrant city and surprisingly westernized. BIL was our tour guide for our 6 days as he showed us around the city. We were going nonstop the entire time, seeing various sites around the city proper and sampling a number of different dishes. I will say, the food here wasn't my favorite aside from a really good authentic Italian place we had for dinner one night and another very fancy restaurant where we had fried duck another night. I've never been a fan of duck, but this was surprisingly very good. We got to the zoo one afternoon, which the girls loved. We never got to make it to the beach, because our beach day got rained out, but we weren't too upset because there was plenty of beach opportunities ahead. Went to the science museum another day, the cloud forest, and spent another day doing the jewel attractions at the airport, which is seriously amazing. That's probably the nicest airport I've ever been to. Another thing about Singapore - it's a shopper's dream. There are seriously malls everywhere that seem to be thriving, which is a strange contrast to how they seem to be dying here. Overall, I can easily recommend Singapore to anyone. A LOT to do, very safe, and pretty clean for a city of its size. Bali - We spent 4 days here and climate-wise, it was the best stop. Temps in the mid-80s and not nearly as humid as our other stops. We stayed at the Bali Hilton Resort which is amazing. The food here was quite good and there were actually 4 quite good restaurants on the resort. But we also sampled several off-resort restaurants, and the food was pretty good. Not as flavorful as our other stops, but still good. One day we took a guided tour around the island and visited several temples and a few gorgeous beaches. Got the girls into the Indian Ocean for the first time. The pool at the resort was amazing and we spent most of our last day there lounging in and around it, a much needed break after going nonstop for the week-plus prior. Thailand - the Chang Mai region is absolutely gorgeous. Spent 3 days here. We stayed at the U Chiang Mai Hotel and renovated former residence of the Chiang Mai governor. We spent the first night scrolling around the Chiang Mai night bazaar. The food in Thailand was my favorite, very flavorful currys and other options including amazing Phad Thai. We took a day trip to an elephant habitat where we got to spend a few hours mingling with, feeding, and bathing rescued elephants in the river. Not surprisingly, this was the girls' favorite part of the trip. Visited a number of amazing temples, hiked up to the highest point in Thailand, sailed down the Mekong River (where we dipped into Laos and Myanmar) and saw The Golden Triangle. I wish we spent more time here as it was my favorite stop. Vietnam - Spent our last three days here. We stayed at the La Selva Hotel and the bustling Old Quarter of Hanoi. To be completely honest, we were pretty worn out by the time we got here, but we still made a go of it. I will say two knocks on Hanoi are the incredibly oppressive heat and humidity and the chaos caused by the at times overwhelming congestion. It's wild how many people are jammed into that city. Scooters everywhere could make something simple like crossing the street quite taxing. It was like you were in a live-action game of 'Frogger.' The food was great and so CHEAP. The four of us could get HUGE plates of food for the equivalent of like $25. The people were so welcoming and friendly. Spent a lot of time just strolling around the Hanoi Market shopping. Saw the Temple of Literature (Vietnam's first university), strolled around Hoan Kiem Lake, and visited St Joseph's Cathedral which is breathtaking. We finished off that day by taking in the famous Water Puppet show which is a must if you're ever in Hanoi. The last day was a trip to Ha Long Bay which is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth. All in all, it's a trip and experience in I'm glad we did, particularly for the girls. Lot of great memories. We're planning our trip for next year and thinking of skipping our CONUS turn and heading back abroad with Italy currently the frontrunner. I've been there as I had the fortune of being stationed in the UK for three years and travelled a lot in that time, but I want to go back as an adult and spend less time in bars/clubs, lol. Plus, I never made it to Vatican City and that's a bucket list item. Whew! That's a lotta phone typing. I'll try to throw up some pics soon. That's awesome donnie! I enjoyed reading about your trip! Glad you had a great time. Looking forward to seeing some pics too! |
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Post by rizzuto on Jul 25, 2024 20:27:41 GMT -5
I've been to a couple interesting places but most were years ago. I'm not a big traveler unless you count going into NYC to eat which I do at least once a month . I guess I visit my brother in LA sometimes too. Many years ago I visited Paris, London, and Australia. I haven't been to Bangladesh since 2006. Unfortunately, there's some civil unrest going on right now over there. Well you got two of the big ones with London and Paris. Paris has been my favorite city since I first went there 53 years ago. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Where in Australia did you go? That's another haul. Sydney is another in my top handful of cities. Trips to NYC are their own separate category. Have you ever considered just moving there? Pricey I know. That famous Hemingway line: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 25, 2024 20:33:56 GMT -5
Courtesy of Kaybli's link, I'm taking a shot at exhuming this four and a half year dormant travel thread, mainly because I wanted to ask donniebaseball23 about his recent grand tour of SE Asia. If you're not sick of re-telling your stories, donnie. Also I nominate re-naming this the DoMe Travel Thread in honor of our wonderful poster who actually started it. And who, fittingly enough, had Singapore and Thailand in his sites when he did. Anyway, I'd love to hear more about your adventures (I actually care about this stuff!) Just so you know where I'm coming from, I've been to those places in the past -- Singapore and Bali as part of a 35th anniversary trip, Thailand on several occasions, and Vietnam in 2017 to visit a friend working in Hanoi. I concur with you on Hanoi. An unexpectedly (to me anyway) charming city, with the leafy Old Quarter and beautiful temples and lakes and serene French architecture. We attended Mass at the spectacular St. Joseph's Cathedral, another reminder of the French presence. I also agree with you on the cuisine, which is probably my favorite Asian cuisine (although Thai and Japanese aren't far behind.) Some Hanoi specialties I remember were first of all Cha Ca La Vong, a marinated fish that is grilled and then fried with a mix of turmeric, garlic, shallots, scallions, dill and who knows what else and served with a lot of side dishes like vermicelli and roasted peanuts and shrimp paste. There were dozens of these restaurants all over Hanoi, and as you noted they were incredibly cheap. I also recall having Pho Bo and Pho Ga (beef and chicken noodle soup) and Than Tri steamed rice rolls. Also Bun Cha, which is grilled pork with vermicelli. So many great places to eat. I know we discussed Hao Long Bay, one of the world's most beautiful sites but hardly known in the US. After we left our friend in Hanoi, we spent a few weeks going to Saigon (which the locals still call it rather than HCMC) and Hue and DaNang and the gorgeous canal-laced town of Hoi An. Let me know if you got to any of those spots. Where did you stay in Bali? We stayed in Ubud, sort of the artsy center of Bali. It was like a dream with the terraced rice fields and the unlimited graceful Hindu shrines and temples. We hired a guide who not only led us to the key sites but took us to his home where we met his family and shared a meal. Such kind and sweet people who we could never hope to repay. We went to the more popular Aussie resorts like Nusa Dua with the beautiful resorts and the older resort area of Kuta, which we found to be kind of a throwback to the 60s. I'd love to hear your impressions. We went to Singapore as part of a 35th anniversary celebration and stayed at the original Raffles. What a place. Each guest has his own personal valet. When we had mentioned that we were there for our anniversary, when we returned to our rooms there was a bottle of champagne and high-end chocolates and our bed was covered in rose petals. Everyday life, right? We had the obligatory Singapore Sling at the Long Bar -- bet you did too -- too sweet for me, but when in Rome etc. The hotel is like a living museum. Talk about a place for everything and everything in its place -- that's Singapore for sure. You said it reminded you of Seoul, which to my shame I have never visited -- man, if it resembles Singapore I need to get there. Lucky you to have family there. I also remember going to the quite moving Changi prison camp where the Japanese kept British and local Chinese prisoners under less than humane conditions. Very much remembered by the Singaporeans. Glad you got to Chang Mai. What a wonderful region. I remember the night markets and taking boats on the Mekong River (or was that from Chang Rai? Can't remember.) I remember getting to the Bridge over the River Kwai and having an urge to whistle! Did you make it to Bangkok? It's been awhile for me, but I remember thinking that even by Asian standards the traffic was horrific. Still, an amazing city with so many hospitable people, beautiful temples and again great food out the wazoo. Too much prattling from me. I'd love to get more of your impressions, and congrats for making such a trip. Long and exhausting as I don't have to tell you. We've used Qatar Airways and Singapore Airways for getting there -- both far superior to US or European airlines. They actually care about customer service, imagine that!! All thoughts most appreciated. Would love to share. I should start this out by saying Asia wasn't my first choice for this year's vacation (we try to take a family trip each summer, alternating one year with a stateside trip, followed by abroad), I spent a year in Seoul while in the Air Force and travelled a bit at that time (Thailand, Laos, Japan), and I've always been more partial to Europe. We ended up going because my brother-in-law lives in Singapore and we felt it was time to finally pay him a visit on his turf after so many years. I'll break down below, but will have to be somewhat succinct because I hate typing on my phone, lol. The worst part is, as you'd expect, the travel. It was a 32 hour trip all told to get to Singapore. We left very early in the morning out of Omaha up to Minneapolis where we had a few hours layover. From there on to Incheon (Seoul) our next layover. That airport brought back a lot of memories of my time stationed over there. We had about a 5 hour layover, so the girls got their first taste of real Korean food at one of the restaurants in the airport. They loved it. Little tidbit that most people find crazy - I'm not crazy about Asian cuisine overall, but there are so very good dishes I enjoy. Then we were off to Singapore, another 6+ hour flight. Singapore - we arrived very late, like 11:30 PM. BIL met us at the airport. We caught a Grab (Asia equivalent to Uber, a must have app for any trip to Asia as it worked splendidly at each of our stops). He was very generous and let us stay at his apartment and crashed at his friends place while we were there. Singapore is a vibrant city and surprisingly westernized. BIL was our tour guide for our 6 days as he showed us around the city. We were going nonstop the entire time, seeing various sites around the city proper and sampling a number of different dishes. I will say, the food here wasn't my favorite aside from a really good authentic Italian place we had for dinner one night and another very fancy restaurant where we had fried duck another night. I've never been a fan of duck, but this was surprisingly very good. We got to the zoo one afternoon, which the girls loved. We never got to make it to the beach, because our beach day got rained out, but we weren't too upset because there was plenty of beach opportunities ahead. Went to the science museum another day, the cloud forest, and spent another day doing the jewel attractions at the airport, which is seriously amazing. That's probably the nicest airport I've ever been to. Another thing about Singapore - it's a shopper's dream. There are seriously malls everywhere that seem to be thriving, which is a strange contrast to how they seem to be dying here. Overall, I can easily recommend Singapore to anyone. A LOT to do, very safe, and pretty clean for a city of its size. Bali - We spent 4 days here and climate-wise, it was the best stop. Temps in the mid-80s and not nearly as humid as our other stops. We stayed at the Bali Hilton Resort which is amazing. The food here was quite good and there were actually 4 quite good restaurants on the resort. But we also sampled several off-resort restaurants, and the food was pretty good. Not as flavorful as our other stops, but still good. One day we took a guided tour around the island and visited several temples and a few gorgeous beaches. Got the girls into the Indian Ocean for the first time. The pool at the resort was amazing and we spent most of our last day there lounging in and around it, a much needed break after going nonstop for the week-plus prior. Thailand - the Chang Mai region is absolutely gorgeous. Spent 3 days here. We stayed at the U Chiang Mai Hotel and renovated former residence of the Chiang Mai governor. We spent the first night scrolling around the Chiang Mai night bazaar. The food in Thailand was my favorite, very flavorful currys and other options including amazing Phad Thai. We took a day trip to an elephant habitat where we got to spend a few hours mingling with, feeding, and bathing rescued elephants in the river. Not surprisingly, this was the girls' favorite part of the trip. Visited a number of amazing temples, hiked up to the highest point in Thailand, sailed down the Mekong River (where we dipped into Laos and Myanmar) and saw The Golden Triangle. I wish we spent more time here as it was my favorite stop. Vietnam - Spent our last four days here. We stayed at the La Selva Hotel and the bustling Old Quarter of Hanoi. To be completely honest, we were pretty worn out by the time we got here, but we still made a go of it. I will say two knocks on Hanoi are the incredibly oppressive heat and humidity and the chaos caused by the at times overwhelming congestion. It's wild how many people are jammed into that city. Scooters everywhere could make something simple like crossing the street quite taxing. It was like you were in a live-action game of 'Frogger.' The food was great and so CHEAP. The four of us could get HUGE plates of food for the equivalent of like $25. The people were so welcoming and friendly. Spent a lot of time just strolling around the Hanoi Market shopping. Saw the Temple of Literature (Vietnam's first university), strolled around Hoan Kiem Lake, and visited St Joseph's Cathedral which is breathtaking. We finished off that day by taking in the famous Water Puppet show which is a must if you're ever in Hanoi. The last day was a trip to Ha Long Bay which is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth. All in all, it's a trip and experience in I'm glad we did, particularly for the girls. Lot of great memories. We're planning our trip for next year and thinking of skipping our CONUS turn and heading back abroad with Italy currently the frontrunner. I've been there as I had the fortune of being stationed in the UK for three years and travelled a lot in that time, but I want to go back as an adult and spend less time in bars/clubs, lol. Plus, I never made it to Vatican City and that's a bucket list item. Whew! That's a lotta phone typing. I'll try to throw up some pics soon. Man that's beautiful Donnie. Believe it or not Saigon is even worse than Hanoi when it comes to dodging motorbikes. There were times when we literally couldn't cross the street. Yep, we did the obligatory water puppet show in Hanoi. A must! I'll be back at you for more travel talk later. You've obviously been around. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 25, 2024 20:35:00 GMT -5
Well you got two of the big ones with London and Paris. Paris has been my favorite city since I first went there 53 years ago. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Where in Australia did you go? That's another haul. Sydney is another in my top handful of cities. Trips to NYC are their own separate category. Have you ever considered just moving there? Pricey I know. That famous Hemingway line: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” Have to get you to Papa's sites in Paris and Spain Rizz. You'd be in Heaven. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 25, 2024 20:38:19 GMT -5
Well you got two of the big ones with London and Paris. Paris has been my favorite city since I first went there 53 years ago. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Where in Australia did you go? That's another haul. Sydney is another in my top handful of cities. Trips to NYC are their own separate category. Have you ever considered just moving there? Pricey I know. I went to Sydney in Australia and stayed with some relatives. Saw all the sights like the Opera House. Ate some kangaroo meat. Good times.
I like visiting NYC but city life is not for me. I need some space, I enjoy suburbia.
I'll bet you could adjust. We spent four years living in Manhattan and it was like living at 200 MPH every day. But we loved every second of it. Couldn't do it now though. |
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Post by azbob643 on Jul 25, 2024 20:40:34 GMT -5
The worst part is, as you'd expect, the travel. It was a 32 hour trip all told to get to Singapore. We left very early in the morning out of Omaha up to Minneapolis where we had a few hours layover. From there on to Incheon (Seoul) our next layover. That airport brought back a lot of memories of my time stationed over there. We had about a 5 hour layover, so the girls got their first taste of real Korean food at one of the restaurants in the airport. They loved it. Little tidbit that most people find crazy - I'm not crazy about Asian cuisine overall, but there are so very good dishes I enjoy. Then we were off to Singapore, another 6+ hour flight. Sounds like a great trip!!! Gotta say you deserve tremendous kudos for being willing to endure a 32 hour trip. I'm ready to jump out of the plane at about 4 hours. |
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. I guess I visit my brother in LA sometimes too. Many years ago I visited Paris, London, and Australia. I haven't been to Bangladesh since 2006. Unfortunately, there's some civil unrest going on right now over there. 
