Was always curious about Bhutan ever since this old video with a bajillion views. I assume their closed-offness is why he's dressed like that when there. Edit: If I knew how to make .gifs I'd 100% make one of the kid in Sydney (2:42) in the front. Edit x 2: Spoiler: Second video for those of you who may not have seen them yet I just watched both again for the 10th time, so may as well post this.
Same lady went to Nepal as well and said they were very different. Kathmandu was a very big dirty city, and maybe because its so closed off and regulated, the capital of bhutan was very clean with tons of culture. $290/day isn't really a backpacker budget, but since everything is included I'd go if I found myself in that area.
Finally saw Niagara Falls this week during a quick work trip to Buffalo. It was amazing. I really want to get back up there for like a full day or two so I can go to the Canada side, see it a night, etc.
Iceland Trip Report: Spoiler We were there from the 13th-24th. Rented a 4wd SUV about the size of a Hyundai Tucson. About $1500 with the insurance. The 4wd came in handy a few times. Although we almost got stuck a few times in the middle of nowhere. Overall the weather stayed in the 40s on average. Super windy during dusk and dawn. 18 hours of “daylight”, Never really got dark. Stayed at a mixture of hotels and Airbnbs. Slept in the car 3 times I believe. Landed at 7 in the morning at the Keflavik airport. Drove/walked around Reykjavik most of the day saw the sights and ate. Did a free city walking tour. Really helpful. Day 2 scuba dived at Silfra at Thingveiller Nat Park. My buddy hiked around. Finished the golden circle up that day. We did a counter clockwise tour, apparently most people do clockwise. Next day saw the original Geysir and like 3 major waterfalls. Vik is the major city people stay at. Saw more shit the next day. More waterfalls, the glacier lake and a black sands/diamond beach. Stayed at a hotel and did a glacier hike the next morning. Days 4-6 were driving and seeing random shit. Tried to go into the East Fjords but most of the cool stuff like a ship wreck was off a pretty sketchy road that was barely plowed. So we decided not to go too far off the main road. By day 6 and 7 we were about 60-70% around the ring road. My buddy was pushing to do a lot of shit and likes driving so we went pretty fast. Lake Myvatn is pretty cool as is Akureyri in the North central part. Days 8 and 9 were driving in the NW and the very western fjords. LOTS of driving. The road mainly follows the fjords, so the whole time was right next to the sea. Isafjorder is a great little town up there. Day 10 we were back in Reykjavik for 3 nights. We went out a few nights, had a couple of “down days” We were exhausted. The blue lagoon was pretty cool. We got in the first hour it was open so there would be less people there. It was touristy but worth it. Tidbits/tips: Sorry if this is jumbled. The southern part of the country has wayyyyy more stuff to do and see. Tons of waterfalls. Probably 6 or 7 major/touristy ones. Weather is nuts and changes constantly. Layer up. Have at least one rain proof jacket and pants. Try to stay away from cotton and blue jeans. Long johns helped. Hiking Boots and casual shoe for going out. May is the shoulder season so booking anything wasn’t very difficult to find places to stay or book activities. The only downside of going in the spring or summer is no norther lights or ice caves. Having a wifi hot spot in the car was “fucking clutch” Helped so much with directions and booking. Was about $100. Drinks are expensive. So are dinners. Expect burgers to be about $20. Nice Entrees $35+ Get a large bottled water and just refill it at streams around the country. Eating healthy isn’t too difficult. Tons of fish jerky, not that bad. Ate a lot of canned sardines/tuna, fruit and protein bars. Puffin is delicious, as is whale. Fermented shark is pretty nasty just don’t inhale when you chew. If you like lamb you’ll be in heaven. Reyka vodka is great. Getting gas cards are a must. Also having a PIN for your Chase Sapphire will help a lot. If you like outdoor gear stay the hell out of the Icewear and 66 North stores. You have been warned. Icelandic Horses and sheep are everywhere. Camping/car camping is allowed in most spots. Any specifics about cities or companies to use for booking just ask. Regrets: Wish we would’ve done a volcano tour and hit a few more museums. A few pics Spoiler
wonderful report BP Based on your info, and reading itineraries from travel bloggers, i'm going to refrain from joining my friend when he goes in 3 weeks. hes going for 8 days and I could only join for 4, meaning my trip would be short, and I would disrupt my friends trip. How was the diving? i'm in the process of getting my AOW, but def interested in other non traditional dives.
If you could work it out to where you could do it on the first 4 or last 4 i would def try it. The water was cold AF. My lips were numb after we got out. I think they said the water was 37°. But it was super clear and a once in a lifetime dive. Good Luck with AOW, its easy.
Heading out tomorrow for wedding in ATL, then out to Europe on Monday. Nights 5/31 - Dublin 6/1-6/2 - Galway 6/3-6/5 - Dublin 6/6-6/8 - Munich 6/9 - Salzburg 6/10-11 - Vienna 6/12-14 - Prague Have all my docs printed and spreadsheets created. Will report in as I can (aka playing on my phone while wife gets ready for dinner and such) but expect a full report after.
This isn't the first time I've heard this. I know a few people who say it's their favorite part of Spain.
I don't have any experience in barca, but the only way I could see it being better than mallorca is if you love clubs
My motorcycle odyssey begins on the first. I have my ferry tix from Dover to Calais on the first, reservations in Dijon where I'm meeting my brother on the 2nd, and reservations in Marseille on the 4th. Other than that, we're playing our route and distance by ear until the 15th when my ferry goes back to England. Rough route is Dijon, Marseille, Bologna, maybe Venice, Munich, Bad Köstritz, and Ramstein before I head back thru France to Callais.
Jepsons Malort...not that bad. Maybe because I was expecting the worst. Thought Au Cheval was very overrated, but I was also really drunk. Favorite thing about Chicago has been the incredible beer. On to Wrigleyville today
Liked because you're there, but I'm obsessed with them damn burgers. Literally the best I've ever had. Jepson's isn't horrible at first, it's the aftertaste imo.
Nice Iceland write up and pics. Did 4 days there a couple years ago on the way over to Europe. Wish we added a couple more days and skipped one of the other places we went. I'll post some pics up when I get a chance and also highly suggest it to everyone. It's fairly easy and cheap to get to and is stunning. My global entry application is still "pending review" and it's been about 10 or so days. Getting annoyed.
Appreciate any iceland info, in addition to the BP report from the other day, i'm getting a better picture. Today is the 15th day I've been pending, but it says it can take up to 4-6 weeks to be reviewed. I just want to get in before I take my next flight (likely July). I think in theory, you should have your known traveler ID number when you book, but i can probably add it after I book.
You're supposed to put it in when you book, but when you get your boarding pass go the the desk and talk to the employee and they can add it.
United just hiked two flights on me while I was in the process of booking them. Both went up $60-$65 between my first and second page
I usually search for flights in incognito mode. I'd heard somewhere that they change prices if you have searched for inventory multiple times.
Or use a UA (stand for UserAgent) spoofer. Should be a couple of extenions in the chrome store. You can do it via the developer options too. You can change your browser, device type, etc. http://www.technipages.com/google-chrome-change-user-agent-string Note I have no idea on the success of buying tix this way, but this link shows how to do it. I use google flights and its tracking tool. Not the most powerful, but shows all of the options I use.
May 16 - Applied and Paid for Global Entry May 31 - Conditionally Approved (no known issues or convictions for me to report) June 2 (scheduled) - On site interview at Austin Bergstrom Int'l Airport. My only complaint so far is that they seem to only do appts on about ~7 days a month (at least here in austin) If i'm fully approved at my appointment, then I will say i'm very impressed. That's roughly 2.25 weeks to get through the funnel.
Thanks for the update on your progress with it. I applied and paid May 17, so hopefully this means I'll get beyond the stagnant "pending review" and be either conditionally approved today or denied, so at least then I'll know.
fly out tonight to Italy Doing a boat tour of Capri Island Friday. I think they will take us to the Blue Grotto Then also the 12 mile bike tour through Tuscany next week outside Florence
how strict is Swiss Air about carry on bags being too heavy? am I a girl for not being able to keep my carry on bag under 20 lbs iyo
had a great time in Rosarito, MX/Baja Cali. the resort we stayed at was pretty close to Tijuana but no real security concerns that i could tell. plenty of folks that made their way down from SD and enjoyed seeing tourists come back, guess these hotels were really struggling 5 years ago. pretty much jives with what i read about TJ prior to the trip (though we didnt venture off the resort much). few nice dinners, a good massage at the spa, and one visit to the strip club (there were many to choose from). gat damn do i love the clubs in MX ... Las Rocas Resort & Spa if anyone's looking for a different experience on the cheap. good waves too, my surf buddies were at it all weekend ...
I've seen it done in Asia somewhere, I don't remember which leg of the trip. If it was over they just stored it and had it waiting for you on the tarmac
So I'm starting to look at flights into Buenos Aires for my sabbatical. Direct from ATL is like $1200. but direct to Santiago is $658. Also appears I can get flights from Santiago to BA for under $150 (is SKY Airline a shitty one?) Anybody see any downside to doing it that way? I'd probably build in a day or two buffer just in case of travel delays, and just hang out around Santiago if I get there early. Thoughts?
Really? This happened to me with Alitailia, Air France, easy jet, and vueling. Every flight we took on our honeymoon they weighed our carry ons. We had to pay more on 3/4 flights we took.
Sad that my only trip this year is going to be San Diego for 5 days next month. Unless I make a killing driving part time with Lyft.
Buenos Aires in amazing. Just had my friend get back from Santiago to which I have never been. He said its just a big city and not worth spending too much time in. His sister lives there and looks for any reason to get out of town. I would build the day in for delays but wouldn't plan multiple days in Santiago.
I'm actually planning on Chile being the second extended leg of my trip after the New Year, but yea I have no real reason to be in a hurry to get to BA. Other than trying to possibly get with a group to go to the Olympics somehow.
Just got back from Tulum, MX. I was pretty hesitant about most things Mexico because mega resorts like Cancun and Playa del Carmen seem like hell to me. So Tulum is about a 90 minute drive south. There is a little Pueblo and then the beach front with a Jungle in between. The beach is where all the hotels are. All places are small boutique style hotels, 2 stories, maybe 10-15 rooms. Really chill, not many kids, and for a beach town they have an absurd about of chef driven style good restaurants. Lots of expat chefs opening little places with local sourced fresh food. Went to a bad ass lagoon in the middle of the jungle. Swam in 2 freshwater cenotes....one was a cave another was mangroves. Snorkle with sea turtles. Went to a little hidden beach and ate at Chimico's. Basically a fish camp under palm trees with plastic tables thrown about. Went with another couple we met at dinner and we ordered 1 of everything that was pictured. The waiter was a bit taken back by this. We had about 3 lbs of lobster ceviche ($30 usd), grilled lobster, shrimp cocktail and a variety of other shit. Rented bikes and rode from hotel to hotel drinking and laying in their beds. Really cool and chill place. Definitely recommend it to anyone who wants an chill get away. Mexico is really cheap too. Our most expensive dinner was 1500 mxd or $80. And that was lobster, multiple glasses of wine and drinks. Merica is going soon. Bring real bug spray if you go to a jungle side restaurant. Shit was fierce. On beach road Pasada Margarita is legit Italian with homemade fresh pasta. Arca, Cenzontle, Hardwood (if you want to stand in line for resies) are are top notch dinners. Many other places too. Le Zebra was a cool beach for drinking and chilling. Chamicos was awesome if you have a car. The lagoon is called Kanlum Lagoon. Pretty amazing...also saw some nice titties from a top less chick. Akumal Bay has the snorkling with turtles and other reef creatures....only decent snorkling there, I believe. Some pics from my ig.... https://www.instagram.com/p/BGDZCYEQn5b/ Oh, forgot rooins too https://www.instagram.com/p/BGAU4D_wn7u/ Bomb ass burritos https://www.instagram.com/p/BF9sFfIwnzE/ Chamicos https://www.instagram.com/p/BF71YpxQn6v/ Drinking with Pelican https://www.instagram.com/p/BF4rve6Qn9L/ Bonus Dog pic https://www.instagram.com/p/BFSAF5Uwn_O/
Thanks for the write up Where Eagles Dare . Definitely gonna try everything you mentioned. Also glad to know about the bug spray because my wife gets destroyed by those things.
Yeah, it isn't really bad until you step into a jungle side place. I have 11 bites in my legs from 1 dinner and she has about 20. Imma get zika. Fffffff fffffff Are you renting a car?
Yeah then Mrs. Merica is gonna get fucked up by them. I think she has the blood type that they seek out. I think we're planning on renting a car. I feel like it'd be about as much to rent a car as it would to pay someone to drive us 90 minutes and back from the airport. Is it worth it? I also feel more comfortable doing that from a safety point of view.