Travel The MEGA Travel Thread!

[ocean]

Wow, PI. Just....wow.
Very nice.

 

[_a_A_C_c_]

nice photos PI

i am going to counter your pics with my own pics from the blue lagoon in iceland.

i spent most of time swimming over in this corner cause no one else was over there.

the lagoon is surrounded by lava fields. the water is heated from a geothermal power plant near by

most people hung out near the bar in the main part of the lagoon

the water was so opaque that you couldn't see more than an inch or so underwater

 

[michael]

 

[thujone]

yea! great thread, awesome macchu picchu pic, michael! i love travel... or rather, i hate travel, i just love being new places but seeing good pics can be the next best thing.

here's some pics of my trip to prague and one of budapest

NSFW:

 

[_a_A_C_c_]

^all your pics give me error messages

michael, was it at all weird traveling by yourself?

 

[thujone]

Ok I think I've fixed it now so that embedding works too? Not sure. I was learning how to fully use my point-n-click cam on that trip so the dimensions are all over the place

 

[michael]

michael, was it at all weird traveling by yourself?

a little, but you meet people and it means you don't have to deal with anyone else. plus i think just about anyone i know would have wussed out long before the top of huayna picchu.

 

[michael]

a young girl in cuzco:

saqsawayman:

the qorikancha in cuzco, nightime:

the sacred valley of the inca:

pisac market:

 

[Samadhi]

This page is filled with holiday WIN I'm going to indonesia in just under 2 weeks so will hopefully have some decent photos to post soon.

 

[ocean]

Advice for Overseas Travels- Language Barrier?!

I need a little help guys!

If all goes according to plan, I'm going to Europe for 3-4 weeks in July. (I'm afraid it will all crash around me if I say it is certain before my ticket is purchased but I'm chancing it since we are supposed to be purchasing our tickets in the next week.)

My mother, brother and I plan to explore as many places as we can get to in 3 weeks....then she and I will venture off on our own for a week or more.

One of our stops will be a festival in Poland or Hungary.....
So, last night it struck me.....while I am camping out on the beach of either a river or lake in one of these countries I never even considered going to, I will not know a lick of the language!
I've never been out of the US, so I'm not sure how difficult it is when traveling around Europe for English only speaking people.
Does it depend on country? If so, what countries seem the hardest to navigate due to the language barrier?
Are there often many English speaking people?
Am I going to need a stack of English to ____________ dictionaries?!?! :D

So, besides the language question, what do I bring that will be easy to travel by boat, plane, car and train?!?!
How do I best prepare for this sort of a trip?
What advice do you have for an inexperienced overseas traveler?
We've been all over the US, but this is out of my element, for certain.

 

[_a_A_C_c_]

be sure to let your credit card companies know that you will be traveling out of the country. sometimes they will flag that as suspicious activity and your card will be denied... also check to see if they charge conversion fees or anything.

if you plan on using your phone, make sure to tell your provider that you want it unlocked. then you can just buy a prepaid sim card for your phone.

make sure your electronics can handle the different voltages. and bring plug converters if need be.

if you are going to be driving, learn what some common road signs look like.

 

[AmorRoark]

I agree that the most difficult part may be dealing with the festival stay because festival goers are not necessarily in the hospitality business catering to English-only speaking people. Do you know where this festival will be? If so you have plenty of time to learn the basics of what you would need to converse. That said the majority of places you'll be able to deal. I've been to Europe twice (often traveling to fairly small towns) and I never had a problem. Granted I took 2 years of German (but was only a decent student in those classes) and, seriously, that was enough for me to say everything I needed to in German order to get around. A LOT of people know English. Even if one person doesn't the person next to them probably will.

 

[bagochina]

I traveled all over europe never had a problem with any language barrier. Everyone spoke english, except for the hash dealers but I am pretty sure that was just to help there pocket.

 

[thujone]

I can't speak for Poland but English is commonplace in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic and Croatia so I imagine it's probably pretty common in Poland too. Unlike Western Europe which is mostly France and Germany, Eastern Europe has a shitload of different nationalities and associated languages crammed into an area the size of the Western U.S. As a result of that, plus because of the open borders leading to lots of international (obv not in the American sense of the word) travel, English has become the defacto second language so the people can still communicate in neighbouring countries knowing just ONE other language as opposed to having to know four or five others.

I've been stopped many times on the streets there by strangers clearly from other European countries asking me shit in English. Obv, they mistook me for a local to even be asking me, but the fact that they're trying to communicate in a tongue assumed not to be native to either party emphasizes just how ubiquitous English is there. Don't worry, have fun, take lots of photos to post in the Vacation Photos thread, and if someone doesn't speak English ask the next person over until you get someone who isn't a complete tree stump.

 

[Busty St Clare]

If you speak slowly and loudly any one can understand English


I first travelled in Europe before the time of smartphones (or any mobiles really) and I found I needed only a handful of phrases,

Please and Thank you
Goodbye/good night
I would like (insert number up to 10) ..... please
Is this the (insert name of place/station/hotel)?

If you have a smartphone there are plenty of apps to translate, guide, book a hotel with, that you could almost travel the entire continent without speaking a local language. You'll probably eat a lot of meals you didn't intend to order but you should survive okay

 

[ocean]

I agree that the most difficult part may be dealing with the festival stay because festival goers are not necessarily in the hospitality business catering to English-only speaking people. Do you know where this festival will be? If so you have plenty of time to learn the basics of what you would need to converse. That said the majority of places you'll be able to deal. I've been to Europe twice (often traveling to fairly small towns) and I never had a problem. Granted I took 2 years of German (but was only a decent student in those classes) and, seriously, that was enough for me to say everything I needed to in German order to get around. A LOT of people know English. Even if one person doesn't the person next to them probably will.

We're trying to decide between two festivals but more than likely we're choosing the one in Poland.
It's really good to know most speak english.
My brother lives in Germany, so that's the one place I wasn't too worried about.

I can't speak for Poland but English is commonplace in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic and Croatia so I imagine it's probably pretty common in Poland too. Unlike Western Europe which is mostly France and Germany, Eastern Europe has a shitload of different nationalities and associated languages crammed into an area the size of the Western U.S. As a result of that, plus because of the open borders leading to lots of international (obv not in the American sense of the word) travel, English has become the defacto second language so the people can still communicate in neighbouring countries knowing just ONE other language as opposed to having to know four or five others.

I've been stopped many times on the streets there by strangers clearly from other European countries asking me shit in English. Obv, they mistook me for a local to even be asking me, but the fact that they're trying to communicate in a tongue assumed not to be native to either party emphasizes just how ubiquitous English is there. Don't worry, have fun, take lots of photos to post in the Vacation Photos thread, and if someone doesn't speak English ask the next person over until you get someone who isn't a complete tree stump.

Lots of photos will be taken :D
Thank you for your advice.

If you speak slowly and loudly any one can understand English


I first travelled in Europe before the time of smartphones (or any mobiles really) and I found I needed only a handful of phrases,

Please and Thank you
Goodbye/good night
I would like (insert number up to 10) ..... please
Is this the (insert name of place/station/hotel)?

If you have a smartphone there are plenty of apps to translate, guide, book a hotel with, that you could almost travel the entire continent without speaking a local language. You'll probably eat a lot of meals you didn't intend to order but you should survive okay

You cracked me up, Busty.
Thank you....
And I don't mind eating weird unknown foods I didn't actually order lol


a_c- Good advice! Thank you!

 

[StarOceanHouse]

what are festivals you're planning on going to?

 

[synthraf]

In Eastern Europe Russian language was compulsory to learn in school, so a lot of older generation won't speak English. But after communism fell the things changed. Many younger people learn it in school nowadays and can communicate in English.

 

[AmorRoark]

Busty's advice is sound. :D

 

[Benefit]

One of the glorious consequences of British imperialism, American pop culture dominance and the very EXISTENCE of Australia is that everybody everywhere speaks at least a little English - even if some times you have to rough them up a bit to get them to admit it.

You will be fine.