tonyh29 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Istanbul is fantastic but I'm not sure its lads weekend material even though there are some bars around the place ( some of the best tourist type stuff I've seen is in Turkey ... Troy, Ephesus , Gallipoli and of course Istanbul ) PM me if you want a TA for Burma and I'll give you the email address of the people i used .... May have changed but Burma can be fussy on the visa front when you arrive so you need to be sure you have all the i's dotted Burma has some top notch clubs , full of locals but perfectly safe for westerners ( though you will pay more for your beer than they do )they are out of town so you need an ITK taxi driver but they are great and go on until 6am Edited January 1, 2014 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Looking at a week long trip to Sarajevo, Mostar and Dubrovnik although need to check how doable that is travel wise. Got my what may become annual Bundesliga trip in February and in Autumn looking to go back to Korea for a short stint whilst ticking off a few places I didn't go to while I was there like Japan and Philippines, hopefully a 3 week trip.We'll see how much of that actually materialises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looking at a week long trip to Sarajevo, Mostar and Dubrovnik although need to check how doable that is travel wise. Got my what may become annual Bundesliga trip in February and in Autumn looking to go back to Korea for a short stint whilst ticking off a few places I didn't go to while I was there like Japan and Philippines, hopefully a 3 week trip. We'll see how much of that actually materialises. This sounds brilliant, particularly the Korea / Japan / Philipines bit. Can I ask why the Philipines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looking at a week long trip to Sarajevo, Mostar and Dubrovnik although need to check how doable that is travel wise. Got my what may become annual Bundesliga trip in February and in Autumn looking to go back to Korea for a short stint whilst ticking off a few places I didn't go to while I was there like Japan and Philippines, hopefully a 3 week trip. We'll see how much of that actually materialises. This sounds brilliant, particularly the Korea / Japan / Philipines bit. Can I ask why the Philipines? When I was in Korea it was where everybody went for short breaks but I never did. One of my friends in Korea has suggested we all go there for a piss up break. So no real cultural reasons that I'm aware of although I am curious to try 'Balut'. It's also one of the few places in SE Asia I've not been to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Manila is a bit meh truth be told But I'm sure some of the outer islands are worth exploring And there is of course Angeles if you think BKK is a bit too much like a convent You can swim with Whale sharks out that way (in Donsol )but it's over commercialised to the point they ought to ban it as it will certainly be stressing the whale sharks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looking at a week long trip to Sarajevo, Mostar and Dubrovnik although need to check how doable that is travel wise. Got my what may become annual Bundesliga trip in February and in Autumn looking to go back to Korea for a short stint whilst ticking off a few places I didn't go to while I was there like Japan and Philippines, hopefully a 3 week trip. We'll see how much of that actually materialises. This sounds brilliant, particularly the Korea / Japan / Philipines bit. Can I ask why the Philipines? When I was in Korea it was where everybody went for short breaks but I never did. One of my friends in Korea has suggested we all go there for a piss up break. So no real cultural reasons that I'm aware of although I am curious to try 'Balut'. It's also one of the few places in SE Asia I've not been to. I see, that makes sense. Was just wondering why you'd choose the Philipines over say Indonesia or Thailand (not that they're not as good to visit, I just know little about them). I have it in mind to do something similar ish one day, perhaps Japan & Fiji. I know they're not particularly close together, but those 2 are the destinations at the top of my list, along with Nepal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Haven't really herd of Hoi An .. Is that a beach type place or a historical type one ? It's a really nice town; got a lovely beach which we spent a day at (and from what I hear there are other better ones too). Nice coastline and general local area for cycling/riding a moped. We didn't do any historical stuff there and it ended up being quite a messy few nights but I wouldn't say the nightlife is the reason to go there (unlike perhaps Nha Trang). Me and a friend were short on money so ended up flyering for a club for a couple of nights just so we could have a free night out (I also DJ'd the second night... a lot of fun!) and it gave us an interesting insight into the local crime scene. A promoter from the other 'main' club was being rather pushy with us; after telling the bloke that owned our club suddenly the local mafia show up to threaten this guy. When we got back to the club another guy who works there says "don't worry you won't have any trouble off of him, if you do I'll do him with this [gets out a samurai sword]"!!! We moved on the next day haha. I do regret not spending longer there and seeing the place though, would be the first place I'd definitely go back to in Vietnam and explore more. The markets there are absolutely incredible. It is the place to have a suit tailored for yourself too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morley_crosses_to_Withe Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) The Philippines is fantastic. There are some truly amazing islands to visit. Try to get to a place called El Nido. Also get to Bohol for the Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier sanctuary. You should denitely get to Boracay island too - it has a fantastic stretch of white beach & there's also great places to eat and some excellent beach bars. I think this year I'll be taking a two week holiday in the summer with the missus. I was thinking somewhere like Cabos San Lucas for the beaches and nightlife. At the back end of the year, I'll hopefully be going back to Vegas with mates. I fricking love that place. Edited January 3, 2014 by Morley_crosses_to_Withe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimzk5 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Not sure what to do here, my missus' parents turn both turn 50 this year and its there 25th wedding anniversary in march, they have never been abroad and wanted to do so as its a celebratory year for them, giving them a bit of advice I recommended them going to northern Spain Its only a short flight, its hot but not crazy hot, you can get there from brum airport, there aren't many issues with the language barrier and if, as I suggested they go to costa brava/ costa dorada they are close enough to go to Barcelona but won't have to pay the rates to stop there The problem is, they've asked us to go with them, I've found flights including luggage, a 3* hotel half board hotel which I've stopped in before so I know its ok, transfers and airport parking for £228 all in for 7 nights, but my missus will be nearly 6 months pregnant, and I don't think I could spend an Entire week a with my Inlaws with murdering them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Seeing as they've never flown before and thus won't be totally clued up , Can you not say the airline won't let her fly at 6 months or are her parents not that naive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimzk5 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 They already know she can fly, and with ryanair she wouldn't need a doctors note until after 6 months, its tempting because I know I won't get to go abroad for another year or so and I could do with a break, but I also know I wouldn't get a minute to myself and id be more of a tour guide than a tourist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 No plans beyond maybe a couple weekend city breaks sometime this year (probably Bath and Windsor), too busy saving up for the honeymoon in 2015 (flying out to Vienna, staying a couple nights at Hotel Sacher and then the Orient Express home). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Windsor to Basingstoke must be all of 30 miles , wouldn't it be easier to drive home I was in Bath last week with the kids .. beautiful place .. Mrs H is booking a girlie spa weekend with her friends .. but i wonder how it works for a lads weekend ( i.e drinking not spa'ing) ? Orient Express is a good one for the honeymoon , something a bit different ..Good Work I travelled on it from London down to Southampton one time as part of a QE2 package , so had a 3 course meal on it but never did the full overnight deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 It's not so much Windsor itself, more that the missus wants to stay at Oakley Court again (the external castle shots from Rocky Horror were of Oakley Court, so it's some sort of Mecca for her). How was the Orient Express? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 It's not so much Windsor itself, more that the missus wants to stay at Oakley Court again (the external castle shots from Rocky Horror were of Oakley Court, so it's some sort of Mecca for her). How was the Orient Express? we had I guess a 2 1/2 hr journey down to Southampton docks from Victoria ( it was a steam train and it takes a slow route so that train spotters and such can see it going through ) ... sat in an individual armchair rather than a conventional train seat .. the dinner with full waiter service ... trying to eat soup in a dignified manner on a train is not exactly a great idea !! it was kinda old world as you'd expect , furniture and décor like you'd expect to see in a stately home ... was a nice all round experience , which was the point of booking it ultimately tbh I don't know if that was a special Pullman carriage or if they are all like that on the routes it operates ? I'd imagine the overnight from Vienna will be a 2 berth cabin that doubles as your seat and then gets made into beds by the porter ... with dinner in the dinning car at your leisure .. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Bath is a beautiful, beautiful town, if a tiny bit pretentious and snooty. I would warn anyone though that the main Bath Spa attraction is a little overpriced, and basically just a lukewarm outdoor swimming pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Bath is a beautiful, beautiful town, if a tiny bit pretentious and snooty. I would warn anyone though that the main Bath Spa attraction is a little overpriced, and basically just a lukewarm outdoor swimming pool. is that just around the corner from the proper Roman ones ? .. we saw stacks of people queuing around the block for something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Bath is a beautiful, beautiful town, if a tiny bit pretentious and snooty. I would warn anyone though that the main Bath Spa attraction is a little overpriced, and basically just a lukewarm outdoor swimming pool. is that just around the corner from the proper Roman ones ? .. we saw stacks of people queuing around the block for something Yeah, that'd be it. It's nothing particularly special, but when in Rome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Got a vague plan for a couple of weeks in August. Starting in Vilnius with a mate (we went to Latvia and Estonia a couple of years ago and have been wanted to do Lithuania off ever since) then fly down to Croatia to meet my other half for a week then head down to the Montenegrin/Albanian Coast for a few days with some other friends. Haven't looked in to how viable or affordable any of it is yet but wanted to tick off a few countries I've not been to before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Got a vague plan for a couple of weeks in August. Starting in Vilnius with a mate (we went to Latvia and Estonia a couple of years ago and have been wanted to do Lithuania off ever since) then fly down to Croatia to meet my other half for a week then head down to the Montenegrin/Albanian Coast for a few days with some other friends. Haven't looked in to how viable or affordable any of it is yet but wanted to tick off a few countries I've not been to before. in theory it's all drive able and without too much hassle ... I've yet to establish rental cars and border crossing though , some countries are high risk and the rental co wont let you take the car there I think the route I looked at was Montenegro to Pristina and then down into Albania via the new super EU funded highway ... some great Roman ruins in Albania and it looks well worth a visit or you could look at the bus .http://www.balkanviator.com/en/bus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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