Official Travelling Thread!

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Party Boy

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Toronto. From Kildare, Ireland originally.
Have tried to find a thread about travelling and could not find one, so thought I would try to start one...

Am Irish, currently living in London. Have lived in both US and Australia and have travelled through Asia, Africa, Europe and South Pacific. Am due to be relocated with work to Asia end of year. Would love to chat to other U2 fans who also love travelling - sharing experiences, travel tips etc?
 
Where in Asia? Work takes me there from time to time also.

I used to live in Japan, glory days. :up:
 
u2popmofo said:
Where in Asia? Work takes me there from time to time also.

I used to live in Japan, glory days. :up:

Most likely KL in Malaysia or Singapore - we have a few small offices dotted around the region but the two I mentioned are our biggest. How is Japan? Is it easy/hard to live and survive in?
 
I love travelling; it is my favorite thing in the world!!!!!! I have travelled throughout Western Europe, Mexico, Dominican Republic and a bit of Africa, and studied/lived in Ireland for awhile.

This summer I am probably studying Buenos Aires and then travelling throughout S. America for a bit, then in the fall hitting up Australia and New Zealand, then studying in Tokyo next spring.....:drool: :hyper: :drool:
 
I'm Irish and have never left Ireland/ Uk. I just got back from a short break in London. In August I am going to Amsterdam, probably going to Spain in May/ June once I know where I am being placed on my year out. In Sept I am going to Spain to live for about 10 months and next July (2006) I'm going to France for 6 weeks to study. Travelling is something I hope to do a lot more of.
 
Hey Lara, am Irish originally (from Kildare) and I left to go to Australia on the working visa thing about 8 years ago. You should try and go (you have to go before your 30). Anyways, gave me the travelling bug!

Best countries I've been to - Namibia & Botswana... I could talk for hours about these places - landscape, wildlife, people.. its just amazing. And New Zealand.. quite similar to Ireland excepth they have REAL mountains and lakes!!

Am heading to Australia for a month in April to catch up with friends when I lived there. Plus I've hounded my boss to get me a transfer to Asia somewhere - dont care where!

So, where has everyones fav foreign place been and why?
 
I plan on going to Australia the year after my degree is over, I have a friend who is going and has said I could join him :up:
 
Party Boy said:


Have never been but I've heard Poland is starting to get more popular? Was in Hungary last year and its amazing - Budapest is a great great city. Luckily being based in London, we can get relatively cheap flights to anywhere in Europe

to be quite honest, other than certain cities such as krakow, posnan, and gdansk, there really is nothing all that "beautiful" in poland.

i quote "beautiful" because it's certainly an acquired taste, much like eastern europe in general. i know i had a VERY hard time adjusting to that sort of life, but that's ok. it makes you respect everything back home even more, and makes you realize just how good those of us in canada + us have it.

don't ever go to warsaw. really.
 
Party Boy said:


Most likely KL in Malaysia or Singapore - we have a few small offices dotted around the region but the two I mentioned are our biggest. How is Japan? Is it easy/hard to live and survive in?

That's cool, I've never been to Malaysia or Singapore (yet). I'd like to. I know our company is expanding into Singapore in the near future, and I'd like to check it out.

Japan is fantastic to get around in, because public transportation is so amazing. You can go ANYWHERE on the train, and anywhere you cant go you can get to by bus. I just had a bike when I lived there, never a car. At the same time, I now a lot of people who cannot speak/read Japanese have a pretty difficult time getting around and doing the basics of life. I studied pretty intensively before leaving, and studied Japanese 'religiously' every single day while I was there. Great place, finally got to go back for the first time since 1999 last month. :up:

Places in Asia I've visited:

Japan
Philippines
Taiwan (airport only) :huh:
 
Asia wise, I spent 6 months travelling through Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. This was all.. maybe 7 years ago now. When we went to Laos, the previous year they had opened up their borders to commercial tourism. Beforehand, it was like the last bastion of communism. Anyways, I remember going trekking through jungle in the north of the country and having locals come out and touch our skin and my (then) girlfriends blonde hair because they had never seen it before. Very surreal. Always recommended Laos to friends. However, everyone who has since gone has mentioned its on the path to over-commercialism akin to Thailand.
I guess when people realise how much money can be made through tourism, the existing way of life changes dramatically, which I guess is the biggest downside to tourism.
 
I LOVE travel! I have been to every state except the New England states, OK, ARK, Alaska and Hawaii. I hope to get there someday! Also Canadian provinces of Ontario (Niagara Falls) and Alberta. I've never been to Europe :( but would LOVE to go! I've never been on a plane in my life :reject: and yes I'm scared. But mostly, I'm poor and busy. But someday!
 
I just got back from a month in Australia and New Zealand (both places were incredible). I spend summers in Italy (part of my job) and have traveled many places in Europe but not Ireland or Scotland, which I MUST visit! This summer going to a wedding in Denmark, and haven't been there yet, either.
 
most of California, denver, washington dc area,

ive been to all the peninsula of mexico (baja california) as well as to jalisco and zacatecas
ive pretty much been all over costa rica as well
i really want to go many places in latin america

and in the future i wish to go to australia, africa and thailand
 
Party Boy said:
Best countries I've been to - Namibia & Botswana... I could talk for hours about these places - landscape, wildlife, people.. its just amazing. [/B]

I have family in Swakopmund. Have you been there?
 
I love travel, but can't afford to do much of it. I've never been west of the Mississippi River in the US or to New England and have only spent a day in Canada (when I was about eight).

I went to Northern Ireland for nine days in 1999, and have been to Scotland (to go to T in the Park and spent a day and night in Edinburgh) and Barcelona, Spain since I moved to England. I haven't even been to many places in England, apart from where I've lived (Nottingham, London, and Norwich), though I went to the Lake District for a week last summer and spent a night at my husband's aunt and uncle's house near Middlesbrough.

We'll probably go on holiday this year, but not sure where yet. We want to go camping in France sometime, but have to work out transportation (we don't have a car...my husband can't drive and I don't have a UK license).
 
anitram said:


I have family in Swakopmund. Have you been there?

Spent a week in Swakopmund (not sure of spelling!) and did a lot of quad biking on the massive sand dunes that surround the town. We drove from Botswana and okavango delta through to Atosha national part and then down to Swakopmund and then onto cape town. Most amazing drive of my life - scenery etc was just amazing - if you like solitude and getting a way from people, then Namibia is the place to go!
 
I've done a fair bit of travel. In 2002 I did a RTW trip, covering the whole western half of the USA, North Island New Zealand, the whole Eastern coast of Australia and the Cook Islands in the South Pacific.

Other holidays have covered most of Europe, as well as Canada, Egypt, Syria, Israel, Turkey, and a lot of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Next on my list is Asia and South America. But I did most of my travel on my own (apart from the middle east), and when I go to those places I'd only really go if I had company.......purely cos I only speak english and I'd feel a bit lost on my own in a country where I don't speak the language

Vietnam is top of my list at the moment. :up:

:drool: travel :drool:
 
bammo2 said:

Vietnam is top of my list at the moment. :up:

:drool: travel :drool:

Spent a month in Viet Nam and loved it. From canoeing down the Mekong Delta, to Ho Chi Min (Saigon) and all the war museums etc. Some really grim but interesting stuff.

For example, all the former members of South Vietnamese Army who fought against the Viet Cong had to go to re-education camps after the war. They are not allowed own property or hold down certain types of jobs, so most of them earn a living riding bikes with a seat on the front which carries two people - some sort of rickshaw thing.. Anyway, most of them are missing limbs etc and considering how crazy the traffic and the sheer amount of bikes in Ho Chi Minh, its incredile how half of them are still alive.

Another thing in Ho Chi Minh is that there are a number of shops which sell replicants of famous paintings. you can see "artists" painting near mirror images of Mona Lisa ,Monets etc and then selling them for $5 or something - US$ is the currency most people use which is slightly ironic!!

Other highlights, the de-militerised zone (DMZ), Hue, Denang, hoi an etc. Chi Chi tunnels - if your claustrophobic, these tunnels are your worst nightmare!
When you go to some of the countryside its amazing to see the landscape where agent orange was sprayed. Nothing grows there.

A lot of the people in south viet nam refuse to go to North Viet nam - a lot of hate still exists. Anyway, when you go north, Hanoi is a great city - has a big lake in the middle and all the streets are named after what the shops sell - e.g. there is a copper street, spice street etc.

Halong Bay is also amazing - you might have seen it from James Bond movies - huge rocks jutting out of the sea - there are hundreds of them and you can get a boat ride that cruises around them. Lots of caves etc in some of these rocks which are very interesting.

Also, in north vietnam, they eat Dog... quite bitter. Thats all I am saying!!

Anyway, Viet Nam is amazing and highly recommend it to everyone!!
 
Party Boy said:
if you like solitude and getting a way from people, then Namibia is the place to go!

Absolutely.

I'd like to eventually go to northern Namibia (near the Angola border) to spend some time with the Himba people. My uncle's stayed with them for periods of time and they've got the most incredible stories.
 
i love threads like this. more people should contribute, and those that have, thanks it's really neat to see where you've all been.

i feel like i've talked about it too much as it is, but once again, here's where i've all been:

poland (2003) (warsaw, krakow, auschwitz, treblinka, and several other towns and cities where i lived for a while)

2001

netherlands - started off in amsterdam. amazing, amazing, amazing airport. i'm sure many of you will agree, and perhaps people like salome who actually live in the country will think there's nothing that great about it, but to me it represents my first landing in europe. it's just weird, it's like a city in a lot of ways, and i look forward to going back very shortly.

germany - berlin, went through frankfurt i believe, and then spent about 10 days in the blackforest area between france and switzerland. also went to the sachsenhausen concentration camp.

switzerland - basel

france - paris for a weekend, nice and monaco for 9 days. can't believe i didn't go to normandy. so close...

italy - milan, venice, florence, pisa, rome, bari.

greece - patras (a very beautiful port city! highly recommendable over athens), athens

-----

been all across western canada many times.

been to florida twice, minneapolis probably 12 times, north dakota, south dakota, etc. etc.

oh and seattle, washington, too.

anyway, like i said earlier it's 99 per cent certain that i'm set to go back to poland for a few weeks at the end of april, beginning of may. the plan is to visit friends and then take weekends trips to lithuania, krakow, and maybe berlin.
 
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