BL Guide to Itchy Feet: Travel!

BL Guide to Itchy Feet

Heads up all you travel-bugs - time to post about your plans and adventures...
Where have you been and what was it like?
Where are you planning on going and why?
For me...
Costa Rica:Went there for 11 months on student exchange back in '96. An absolutely amazing country - carribean beaches, active volcanoes, tropical jungle, good surf beaches, great national parks and a mountain with a view of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, all in a country a tad smaller than Tasmania. The people are really friendly for the most part, though make sure they don't think you're an American in the more touristy areas (else you'll get ripped off) the weather is good all year (though it rains every afternoon for 7 months) and its' pretty cheap to get around. Also the coffee is fantastic.
Future Travel: Of course the standard Europe trek is on the cards Austria, as my mum's family is from Vienna and I'd love to see where my roots are and also because it's been such a cultural hub - I'll have to see an orchestral concert while I'm there! Hungary, to see the old and new parts of Budapest and to compare pre- and post-Soviet aspects of the country and see the changes that have occurred sine the collapse of the Soviet Union. Also Turkey, to see Istanbul, formerly Constantinople and for a time the capital of the Roman empire.
Vietnam: just so completely different, I guess. To see a country that has survived through so many imperialistic incarnations to still retain its own identity and cultures, and also for the ecology of the region.
Venesuela: ok, so I really wnat to do all of South America, but the Venesuela trip is the only part remotely planned. You can trek along the Amazon on the Venesuelan side all the way to the Colombian border through virgin rainforest and up through the mountains. I'd also have to check out the ruins of Machu Picu.
So how 'bout you???
[ 19 December 2002: Message edited by: smileyfish ]

try these two as well
http://www.bluelight.ru/cgi/ultimatebb1.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=29&t=003941&p=
http://www.bluelight.ru/cgi/ultimatebb1.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=29&t=003966&p=

Thanks Wazz, though I'm not really after 'clubbers guides to' style stories, more about travel for learning and experienceing a different culture/history etc. oh well...

So i finally got off my arse and applied for my Canadian work Visa yesterday, so sometime in October i will be leaving these fair shores and trying my luck in a foreign land. The plan is to arrive in Canada just in time for the winter season job fairs, and work in a ski resort for the duration of winter, and after that just see where the wind takes me

my family all lives in germany, so for my whole life I have travelled to those shores at least once every 2 years.
This is one of those years, and this time I will be accompanied by my s/o Mirage- whom i plan on introducing to the fantastic european cultures
Next year we're off around the world :D

If I one day get to Greece I will die a happy lady.

*scratches itchy feet (and growls at computer for deleting what I had already typed)*

Where I've been:
Apart from a cruise (which doesn't really count as travel, but has got me hanging to go back to Vanuatu), I havent been outside Australia. In oz, Ive been to all the capital cities, bar Perth and Hobart, mostly for sports.
When I was about 11, we did a big family campervan trip down to Victoria... Great Ocean Rd etc, then back up the East Coast to Sydney. I've also (in 2001) done a decent trip thru the Northern Territory. Seeing Ayers Rock and the Olgas is one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I totally recommend everyone do it.
***
Where I'm going:
Travelling all of Australia is a big ambition, especially the north east coast (Great Barrier Reef and so on). Bali was on the cards for this year but that got shelved, tho I'm still hoping to go sometime soon. Other locations on the "Places to go" list - America (Nth and Sth), Thailand, NZ, Russia (family is originally from there), actually, I really can't think of anywhere I wouldn't like to go. I'd love to have the money to be able to just take off with no particular plan, no real destination. But I think it'll just remain a dream for the time being.
At the moment I'm really torn on the whole travel issue. I've been in my job for nearly six months now and while I know I need to stick it out for a bit to get some experience up... travelling is calling so damn loud it's deafening me!!
decisions, decisions

i've been fortunate enough to have travelled to every continet bar sth america and of course antartica.
the best place i've been to is egypt. words cannot truly describe it. one memory that always sticks in my mind about my journey there was a sailing trip down the nile one arvo with a group of travelling mates.
anyway we just scored some hash and we were all majorly stoned and we were just cruising along in this faluca (ancient egyptian sailing boat) with all these ancient temples and ruins on the shoreline and the afternoon sun setting behind them.
it was an experience none of us to date have forgotten....
i highly recommend egypt...its cheap as chips also.
[ 11 March 2003: Message edited by: lorrett ]

Lived in Scotland for 6 months about four years ago.
Terrific experience, but not one I'd like to repeat (working in overseas, that is - unless paid very well).
I've also done one of those horrendous Contiki tours around 1994-ish .... I think it was 32 days in about as many European countries. Then two weeks in Ireland on my own.
Contiki was the culinary equivalent of having a teaspoonful of every dish on the menu, and still coming away hungry. And quite a fake experience at that. Still, it gave me an appetite for certain countries - like Switzerland, Austria and France - which I'd love to re-visit, and probably a false impression of a few, such as Greece, which I didn't enjoy at all.
I also visited Vanuatu earlier this year (lovely, hot).
I think I'm done with travelling for the moment. The hugest impression I'm left with after trotting around the globe is how DAMN LUCKY we are in Australia. It's well worth discovering that for yourself, though.
SLM

I haven’t really done much travelling O/S to date but I have spent the past 3 1/2 months working in Japan and seeing/experiencing as much of it on weekends as possible. I will reframe from making any comment on the culture and the like as it is so far removed from my home in Adelaide and I would hate to offend. The only thing I will say is that the underground dance clubs in Nagoya are full of PLUR hardcores. No drunk yobbos, no coke head muscle boys and no pretentious in crowds, just committed party people out for a dance marathon, and dance everyone does, no Melbourne shuffle to be seen.
JoKeR

Oh, I tell a lie: I would love to visit America. LA in particular (I have a friend there), and also Canada, which I think would be beautiful. One day, perhaps....

october 13th have booked and paid for our tickets (me and girlfriend) to sunny england
it is planned for a year at the moment, were going to base ourselves in england and travel to europe in between jobs. my gf is a health professional so she can earn mad money while i do anything simple.
cant fucking wait to get there, im gonna take over that little island.

3 month holiday to south america;
great stuff. Travelled through Colombia (mmm), Bolivia, Peru, most of chile, a decent chunk of Argentina and some of Brazil. fave place? Bariloche for multiple reasons.
Would I go back? Definitely. If only to see family again.
theres waaaaay too much to write, so if anyone wants to ask me about it, go ahead and ICQ me or message me in austnets #bluelight

Try Mycil

i've stayed in tokyo, osaka, prague, bratislava, zimbabwe, zambia, bangkok, south africa, switzerland, france, wales, new zealand and of course england although i would love to live in australia again.
i want to go to iceland when my next student loan cheque comes through there are really cheap flights there. kenya, peru, all of northern africa, tibet, nepal & vietnam are probably next to do!

*roflol @ Macksta's reply... true though cure for itchy feet*
Would love to be living in Australia again, maybe try the other cities for a bit.. Fiji's lovely and cheap, Tokyo's cheap if you know where to go. Hong Kong's a bargain for electrical goods, Sweden and Norway are unreal.
And of course Australia... until you drive around the country - it's hard to realise the immenseness of the entire country, especially the NT.
[ 11 March 2003: Message edited by: bisKi_b ]

Been to the US and canada on my first trip OS. Then to China, then to Germany, Holland and Belgium, then to china again, then to germany again then Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
My impressions?
Nice, but I really have no desire to ever leave Australia again. I guess I'm all "cultured" out. This is mostly due to the Italians and Germans who have me convinced are the ugliest and most useless races of people on Earth (I lived in Germany for 6 months so it's not all qualified on a contiki tour).
I guess I'm just jaded, but for me, Europe has nothing to offer as I've found it to be too set in its old ways and too stuffy around the collar (although all the scandinavians I know rock, so that could be a go). I've only been to China, so I guess I can't really qualify all of Asia there, but if I wanted to wallow around in human filth I'd just go to Sydney. Canada is fantastic, but the US can just go and blow itself off the map.
Enjoy all your travelling, it is the experience of a lifetime, but in my short lifetime I've had enough and will be satisfied to remain insular in my little country
P.S: I have this rant after every time I go OS. It usually passes within 2 years and I get the itch to travel again

I just cancelled a world-wide ticket. Was gonna do South America and the Caribbean plus North America and Europe... Decided I had too many bad habits to hit the road again!
When I was in Canada it became this ridiculous jaunt across the country looking for drugs, wasting money and putting myself in danger. Since my behaviour hasn't changed a hell of a lot I envisioned myself making the same mistakes all over again. And I'm bored with that shit!
So I'm heading out to the countryside of this week, gonna do some picking or packing in a small country town and clean the fuck up! 'Course, I'll be mixing with the international contingent earning a few dollars on their holidays and that's always a great pleasure...
As for Canada, look at Banff and Lake Louise, but check out Golden, about 200 kays west of Banff on the trans-Canada. It's a fabulous little town with all the ski facilities of Banff without the tourist hustle... and there're some wicked people to hang out with too! It's a lot cheaper, and very beautiful... Golden, don't forget it!
Cheers
Col8trio