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A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

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Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

DaveStPaul said:
1) The DMZ. I didn't expect to be so moved, but it's well, well worth the visit. We did the USO tour; you might have insider options.

2) The old palace (Gyeongbokgung). It should be extra-beautiful with the fall foliage.

3) The food. Any mom-and-pop place with grilled beef, or dumplings, or those crazy seafood pancakes. Really fantastic food.
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I agree with these. One caveat...the grilled beef restaurants aren't usually prepared to serve one person, so bring a friend.

While I wasn't particularly moved by the DMZ, it was fascinating. Definitely recommended. And I get to say I was in North Korea!

But I was very moved by the Korean War Memorial in Seoul. It's actually a full museum, complete with tanks, APCs, and a B-52! They have a memorial wall with the name of every soldier lost (similar to the Vietnam memorial in DC). That is just stunning. The War Memorial in Incheon is also good, but not as good as the one in Seoul.

If you want to get out of Seoul, Kyeongju is a 3-4 hour train ride by KTX. Lot's of neat stuff to see there.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

DaveStPaul said:
3) In London, see if you can visit the Churchill War Rooms. You walk through the actual underground complex where they ran WWII. We thought it was really cool.
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I haven't been there, but I've heard other people say that this was a cool place to visit as well.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Hopkinja said:
While I wasn't particularly moved by the DMZ, it was fascinating. Definitely recommended. And I get to say I was in North Korea!
But I was very moved by the Korean War Memorial in Seoul. It's actually a full museum, complete with tanks, APCs, and a B-52! They have a memorial wall with the name of every soldier lost (similar to the Vietnam memorial in DC). That is just stunning. The War Memorial in Incheon is also good, but not as good as the one in Seoul.
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You're right, it's much more fascinating than moving. Like that train station -- a completed, modern train station, in the middle of the DMZ, just sitting there -- digital clocks are running, lights are on -- and it's not in use. It's waiting for a settlement.

What I was thinking of specifically was the prayer ribbons people have left on the fence for their relatives who got stuck on the other side. That really was moving, imagining family members who haven't seen each other in 50+ years.
 
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Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Been to the Caymans- Was wonderfully relaxing and beach was beautiful. It is a bit hard to find anything but hanging around if you don't dive. The 'bus system' is awesome. THe vans beep at any person walking. If you want a ride you raise your hand and they stop. You just tell them where you are going. It costs a flat rate. We were on one end of the island. It wasn't terribly easy to do stuff on the other end without a lot of finagling. Food was decent but incredibly expensive. When we looked into it there were no all-inclusive deals. Breakfast for 3 with 2 light eaters- 45$ Cayman. Hotel buffet 15$ (thank God! we would have been impoverished feeding Lil) Restaurants were hard to get to. Bus service is great in the day but stops at dusk. The cost of a cab can be prohibitive. We weren't afraid to walk and on more than one night hoofed at least a mile each way. If you decide to stay there look into where is close to the hotel you are at. Ours was on the beach but farther away from Georgetown, We didn't have the cash to get into town to eat where the locals did and take a cab back.
My parents have gone to St John for 20+yrs. They scuba every day. The pics they bring back are amazing of the scenery which includes panaoramas from the top of 'mountains'. They have stayed some sort of place on the side of a steep hill that is tents on platforms with amenities. (they are not young anymore) and in a condo they rent. Food is expensive. They usually ship their staples media rate to the place they are staying.
The best tip we learned- No matter where you go- if cruise ships dock there find out when the people have to be back at the ship and make any sort of reservations/plans to do things after that. WHere we were folks had to be back to the ship by about 2 (you can check with the concierge, they usually know when the cut off is). The AM sessions of anything tend to be more crowded. We swam with dolphins in the Caymans and the session before ours was packed. All those people were hot to get back to the ship. Ours only had a few people in it. We figured out to beach it in the AM and do stuff after the boat was preparing to leave. I would imagine this would apply just about everywhere.

The price of even the simplest of foods is horrendous. NO matter where you go look at the prices. Even with a UUTF mindset food will wipe out your budget. We packed snacks in out luggage. One of the best tips anyone gave us. What would cost a few bucks in a convenience store here will easily cost you 10$ there. Some places have 'warehouse stores'. We went to one in the Caymans and got some snacks for the room. Lil was having a growth spurt and we needed to do something!

Bring a Brita water bottle or a few. One of the other best things we did. They come with little filters. It is hot. You are thirsty. A bottle of water cost 4$. Soda was more. We would fill them with ice and water from the tap. Easily saved us 100$ by the end of the week.
 
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Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

leswp1 said:
Been to the Caymans- Was wonderfully relaxing and beach was beautiful. It is a bit hard to find anything but hanging around if you don't dive. The 'bus system' is awesome. THe vans beep at any person walking. If you want a ride you raise your hand and they stop. You just tell them where you are going. It costs a flat rate. We were on one end of the island. It wasn't terribly easy to do stuff on the other end without a lot of finagling. Food was decent but incredibly expensive. When we looked into it there were no all-inclusive deals. Breakfast for 3 with 2 light eaters- 45$ Cayman. Hotel buffet 15$ (thank God! we would have been impoverished feeding Lil) Restaurants were hard to get to. Bus service is great in the day but stops at dusk. The cost of a cab can be prohibitive. We weren't afraid to walk and on more than one night hoofed at least a mile each way. If you decide to stay there look into where is close to the hotel you are at. Ours was on the beach but farther away from Georgetown, We didn't have the cash to get into town to eat where the locals did and take a cab back.
My parents have gone to St John for 20+yrs. They scuba every day. The pics they bring back are amazing of the scenery which includes panaoramas from the top of 'mountains'. They have stayed some sort of place on the side of a steep hill that is tents on platforms with amenities. (they are not young anymore) and in a condo they rent. Food is expensive. They usually ship their staples media rate to the place they are staying.
The best tip we learned- No matter where you go- if cruise ships dock there find out when the people have to be back at the ship and make any sort of reservations/plans to do things after that. WHere we were folks had to be back to the ship by about 2 (you can check with the concierge, they usually know when the cut off is). The AM sessions of anything tend to be more crowded. We swam with dolphins in the Caymans and the session before ours was packed. All those people were hot to get back to the ship. Ours only had a few people in it. We figured out to beach it in the AM and do stuff after the boat was preparing to leave. I would imagine this would apply just about everywhere.

The price of even the simplest of foods is horrendous. NO matter where you go look at the prices. Even with a UUTF mindset food will wipe out your budget. We packed snacks in out luggage. One of the best tips anyone gave us. What would cost a few bucks in a convenience store here will easily cost you 10$ there. Some places have 'warehouse stores'. We went to one in the Caymans and got some snacks for the room. Lil was having a growth spurt and we needed to do something!

Bring a Brita water bottle or a few. One of the other best things we did. They come with little filters. It is hot. You are thirsty. A bottle of water cost 4$. Soda was more. We would fill them with ice and water from the tap. Easily saved us 100$ by the end of the week.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips.

We still haven't figured out the all-inclusive vs. not all-inclusive. There seem to be plenty of positives both ways.

One of the ideas we have with not going all-inclusive to go out and eat at places the locals eat. Those places can't be that expensive, right? Or am I completely off base there? I love trying new food from places I travel, and the best places to do that are in the local places, not the touristy restaurants.

Several of the resorts I have looked into advertise state-of-the-art water filtration and purification systems, I have to think that it would be safe to drink that without having to bring our own filter.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

bigblue_dl said:
Thanks for the tips.

We still haven't figured out the all-inclusive vs. not all-inclusive. There seem to be plenty of positives both ways.

One of the ideas we have with not going all-inclusive to go out and eat at places the locals eat. Those places can't be that expensive, right? Or am I completely off base there? I love trying new food from places I travel, and the best places to do that are in the local places, not the touristy restaurants.

Several of the resorts I have looked into advertise state-of-the-art water filtration and purification systems, I have to think that it would be safe to drink that without having to bring our own filter.
Click to expand...
I think by and large you can get a very reasonably priced meal at a "locals" restaurant. My experience has been that the further you are away from the tourist areas, the cheaper it will be. Alcohol is a slightly different experience for me, but I'm not a big drinker in any event.

The water purification systems at every major resort I've been to have been 100% safe.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

I guess I never saw this as any big deal. 10 minutes on either side of a flight where I can't use my laptop or whatever?

Meh.
 
Gurtholfin said:
I guess I never saw this as any big deal. 10 minutes on either side of a flight where I can't use my laptop or whatever?

Meh.
Click to expand...

Longer than that for takeoff at most airports. Once the main cabin door closes, they request all PED's to be turned off and stowed. You get stuck behind a handful or more planes waiting to takeoff? Better keep those electronics stowed!!

New rule will allow most electronics to be used for 98% of the flight. Everywhere except the act of takeoff and landing, without altitude parameters, and in low visibility landings.
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Going to Ann Arbor in a couple weeks with my stepdad. In terms of food, we plan on visiting Tio's Mexican Cafe, Maize and Blue Deli, Arbor Brewing, and Zingerman's Deli. Other than the University of Michigan campus, what are some other places worth checking out while I'm down there?
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

hockeyplayer1015 said:
Longer than that for takeoff at most airports. Once the main cabin door closes, they request all PED's to be turned off and stowed. You get stuck behind a handful or more planes waiting to takeoff? Better keep those electronics stowed!!

New rule will allow most electronics to be used for 98% of the flight. Everywhere except the act of takeoff and landing, without altitude parameters, and in low visibility landings.
Click to expand...

Don't forget being stuck on the runway for three hours. Oh, the horror! :rolleyes:

Of course, with people being raped (literally) by the government prior to getting on, THIS is what they complain about?
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Update on our Honeymoon search....

We have taken a bunch of suggestions from people we know, from people here, and other places and I think we've narrowed it down to 4 possible locations, with one clear front-runner.

We have pretty much decided that we don't want to go all-inclusive, due to costs, and not wanting to feel obligated to eat at certain places. Also, we definitely want to go to a destination that is safe enough to get out of the resort area and explore historical sites, natural areas, volcanos, secluded beaches, non-touristy villages etc. At the same time, we are a bit under a $$$ crunch, so we want to make sure it is affordable, part of which is making sure Delta flies there, so I can use my FF miles. Also, we have expanded our search from just to Caribbean to include Central America and Hawaii as well.

4. Costa Rica - I think this is the dark-horse. We have seen some pretty amazing pictures, and the resorts look gorgeous. We have also found some pretty reasonably priced options, which is a big plus. The worry we have is that it is on the Pacific Ocean side of the Isthmus, and we're worried that the water will be a bit colder than we'd find in the Caribbean. Also, I am not sure about the safety of Costa Rica, if we wander away from the resorts, so that is something we would have to dig into.

3. Big Island, Hawaii - Obviously Hawaii is gorgeous, and the weather will be great. I know we'd have a great time there. The drawback is, the places we looked at are bit more expensive than we want to pay, but other than that it has everything we're looking for. At this point, I am guessing that we'd end up doing Hawaii some point in the future, but not for the Honeymoon, but that is not for certain, as my fiance is more interested in Hawaii than I am.

2. St. John, USVI - I think this would be our definite #1 choice if we were OK with spending more money. The place is gorgeous and we love the fact that a huge chunk of the island is a national park. The proximity to other islands, with regular ferries is a big plus, because we both think it would be cool to go check out another island. The beaches look to be perfect, and it appears to be very safe, from everything that I have read. We'll have to see if we have the money to make this one work.

1. St. Kitts - This is a surprise #1 for us. It really wasn't on our radar as recently as a few weeks ago. I happened to randomly see some pictures of the island in my searching, and it was gorgeous, so we dug deeper. We found that it was much more reasonably priced than we expected, and that it has the combination of beaches, and rain forests/mountains that we are looking for. Everything we've found says that the locals are welcoming, friendly and that the island is quite safe. There is also its sister-island Nevis, close by that we can make a day-trip to explore, and there are Delta flights direct from Atlanta. We are a little nervous that it appears like there is a bit of a party atmosphere, and we were more interested in relaxing and quiet, but it looks like there are still places that have the relaxing quiet that we want. We don't know anyone that has ever been to St. Kitts, so we don't have any 1st hand recommendations. Has anyone on here ever been there? Suggestions? Watch-outs? Are we off-base with this potential destination?
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

I've heard good things about Costa Rica from friends and relatives who've been there. My impression is that it's pretty safe. Don't know any specifics though. I don't know much about the rest (beyond the obvious well-known stuff about Hawaii).
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

bigblue_dl said:
Update on our Honeymoon search....
Click to expand...


Well, you already know my thoughts on St. John.

We're looking at St. Kitts for next winter ourselves. Don't have anything to add other than I am also intrigued by this as a destination.


As far as Hawaii goes, if you want to do it, look into becoming a AAA member. A brother in law is going there and claims that by joining AAA and getting their discounts, he's saving a couple thousand. For stuff like Pearl Harbor/Arizona tours as well as snorkeling/scuba and hotels.

Can't verify it myself, but worth looking into.


I wonder if AAA discounts carry over to the Caribbean?
 
Re: A Thread for Travel: Trips/Advice/Ideas

Gurtholfin said:
I wonder if AAA discounts carry over to the Caribbean?
Click to expand...

I think it depends on the specific destination. My fiance has AAA, and she has found some places that had AAA discounts, but I don't remember which ones they were.
 
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