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Travel.... Interstate and Overseas.


HeartinHobart
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I think we're all being a little harsh on our fellow 'strayans here. Brits, French and Saffers are all equally as bad.

I agree. I have found when it comes to backpackers it doesnt matter where they are from, they all have one thing in common.

They are all subhuman cunts.

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"Except me and the people I back pack with, we do it right" :facepalm:

Thats right. I am not like other Aussies. I am far more cultured. You can tell by how loudly and frequently I tell people that I dont relate to Australia using a weird accent that keeps changing

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Contiki tours are what they are. If u dont have the time, patience and knowledge to book this yourself then Contiki is a fine option. Really only gives you a splash of each place but better then nothing. As mentioned, i would avoid tours where locations are spread out. Also, avoiding one night stays are important.

I certainly wouldn't want to be going to Europe to do a tour then heading home as soon as it ends. 

Yeah I'm planning to defer a semester of uni as the dates wont work with it so money depending I should have at least a couple of weeks after the tour to hopefully do some of my own thing. Just realised last night that I'll actually be in London for the Euro 2016 Final and in Paris the day after! Here's hoping England make the final so I can be there for a party!

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Has anyone on here spent much time in Shanghai?

I have spent a little bit of time there in my travels around China.

 

its quite a westernised city and is getting more expensive. There is actually a lot more technology and English speakers there than in Beijing (thought you may well know that)

 

the bullet train is pretty sick and I can remember a particularly awesome noodle shop opposite the antique market. I'll fish through my booklet and see what else I got up to.

 

ps: World Trade Center high rise (or the new taller skyscraper) is a must if possible!

have been there and can confirm that the World Trade Center is awesome.

the Oriental Pearl Tower (the one with circular domes) allows you to get to a sky deck that's 350 m or 1000 ft up which is pretty mental when you look down and through the clear glass floor you are standing on.

walking along the Bund (riverside / water front) district is pretty cool.  dates back to when they had a massive western component during the 19th  and early 20th centuries before the Japanese came through in WWII.  plenty of old very historical British buildings which is a sight to behold.

luckily my younger brother had already spent some time there and had a number of Chinese contacts, etc., to help us (mostly me !!!) around.  

the only thing i'll mention from a non Shanghai perspective is that if you get to spend some time in Nanjing (particularly if you have a friend / guide to help) then do so.  it is a former south capital and has some really really cool monuments.  spent around 3 hours at the war memorial and would have spent longer but my host wanted to get going.

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have been there and can confirm that the World Trade Center is awesome.

the Oriental Pearl Tower (the one with circular domes) allows you to get to a sky deck that's 350 m or 1000 ft up which is pretty mental when you look down and through the clear glass floor you are standing on.

walking along the Bund (riverside / water front) district is pretty cool.  dates back to when they had a massive western component during the 19th  and early 20th centuries before the Japanese came through in WWII.  plenty of old very historical British buildings which is a sight to behold.

luckily my younger brother had already spent some time there and had a number of Chinese contacts, etc., to help us (mostly me !!!) around.  

the only thing i'll mention from a non Shanghai perspective is that if you get to spend some time in Nanjing (particularly if you have a friend / guide to help) then do so.  it is a former south capital and has some really really cool monuments.  spent around 3 hours at the war memorial and would have spent longer but my host wanted to get going.

Awesome thanks mate. The hotel I'm staying in is in the Bund so thats great to know. Not sure I will be able to get out to Nanjing but will make sure to if I can fit it in.

Do you have any advice regarding vaccinations/health tips? Should I steer clear of street food? 

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Awesome thanks mate. The hotel I'm staying in is in the Bund so thats great to know. Not sure I will be able to get out to Nanjing but will make sure to if I can fit it in.

Do you have any advice regarding vaccinations/health tips? Should I steer clear of street food? 

I can't remember if I had any, probably best to ask your doctor. 

Take plenty of Imodium with you. Given all the food cooked in water, you might get the runs so make sure you have some tablets available 

don't want to scare you off, since it's always good to and you definitely want to try local stuff. Just got to be a little careful

The street food was awesome, and try a Brazilian BBQ (particularly if you never have)

I found an equivalent of seven11 near where I was that sold pints of beer in cans. that will help prevent being served unclean waterB)

Edited by mattyh001
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Has anyone on here spent much time in Shanghai?

I spent a few days in Shanghai, probably the only place in China that I had some enjoyment in. The waterfront is definitely the best thing about the place, had a heap of fun just walking along here taking photos during the day, and by night just getting some tinnies from the 7/11 and sitting by people watching and enjoying the view of the buildings. 

Street food we had a fair bit of as it was far cheaper than the restaurants, worth trying but nowhere near as good as what you'd get in SE Asia. If you want a break from the busy city, I highly recommend Zhujiajiao which is a town based on water canals and only 1 hour drive away...we stayed here for a couple of nights. 

Overall I found China to be an overpriced and fairly boring country to visit with the rudest people on Earth. 

Edited by hedaik
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I spent a few days in Shanghai, probably the only place in China that I had some enjoyment in. The waterfront is definitely the best thing about the place, had a heap of fun just walking along here taking photos during the day, and by night just getting some tinnies from the 7/11 and sitting by people watching and enjoying the view of the buildings. 

Street food we had a fair bit of as it was far cheaper than the restaurants, worth trying but nowhere near as good as what you'd get in SE Asia. If you want a break from the busy city, I highly recommend Zhujiajiao which is a town based on water canals and only 1 hour drive away...we stayed here for a couple of nights. 

Overall I found China to be an overpriced and fairly boring country to visit with the rudest people on Earth. 

Haha. A lot of things i have read begin with "everyone was rude and spit all over the place"

 

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Anyone been to Fiji? Tips, things to see, islands to go to etc.

Avoid Nadi, its a fucking hole full of Indians trying to sell you shit and will ruin your whole Fiji vibe. Obviously you'll probably need to use it to transit through but dont bother with spending any extra time than you need to. Even the golf course where VJ Singh supposedly played at is crap and you lose your golf ball down cracks on the fairway. 

When I went I paid for a 10 or something day trip where we went island hopping and stayed at 5 different islands. Beachcomber was by far the best and the only island I can remember, basically all thats on it is a massive drinking barn and backpackers accommodation. It has burnt down and been rebuilt since I went however so it may have changed. We went snorkelling at the island that Castaway was filmed on, amazing visibility and large variety of fish that come right up to your face before diverting at the last moment. 

Heaps of islands as well appear to just be run by a couple of families and have extremely basic facilities, which is pretty cool when you're just stuck on an island that you can walk around in 20 mins. Normally I'd find that kind of thing pretty boring but we were with a good bunch of travelers on the same tour. 

Good place to visit though, definitely would like to go again. 

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I am heading to Berlin, Rome and Barca for three weeks starting in late August...

Is there anything off the beaten track that PPL highly recommend to do in Barca and in particular Berlin?

In Barca head up to the site of the 92 Olympics where the dive pool is open to the public. (Google images if you can't remember it.) One of best views of Barcelona only about 6 euro by memory. Also worth jumping on a train and heading an hour up the coast to places like Blanes, Lloret and Tossa Del Mar. Much nicer beaches food and drinks and a cool place to party if that's what your after. 

Edited by HeartinHobart
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Heading to Cambodia & Vietnam in December. Any must sees or tours I should do? So far heading to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang and Hoi An.

Floating Villages on Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap. 

Edited by Hackett
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Heading to Cambodia & Vietnam in December. Any must sees or tours I should do? So far heading to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang and Hoi An.

Hoi An is great, rent a bike 5min drive to beach and 5min drive to rice fields. Good fun. Nha Trang is fun too Vinpearl or whatever the shitty theme park is called was a good laugh.

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Anyone who can recommend decent eateries in Kuala Lumpur/Phuket that I'm unlikely to get Food Poisoning/Aids from please respond.  

I've heard Kuala Lumpur and Phuket both have there very own Rice Workshop. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

So I'll be flying Melbourne to Manchester with Etihad. Seriously CFG should sponsor me ffs.

But yeah 5 weeks including Christmas and New Year in the UK, dunno if I've dun goofed since I hate winter and love summer, and I've basically given up 1/3 of summer for winter. But I suppose a white Christmas is an experience to cross off the list.

Will be staying in Leeds and London for the most part but will probably go travelling all over, as well as a few sneaky trips to France/Belgium/Spain/etc. given how cheap budget air travel is in Europe.

Also have the best lay over on the way back, get to Abu Dhabi at 6.40am, leave at 10pm. So basically will have something like 8am to 8pm exploring Abu Dhabi, dont even need a visa.

So please recommend me things to do in UK and nearby European destinations, as well as Abu Dhabi if anyone has had a look

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So I'll be flying Melbourne to Manchester with Etihad. Seriously CFG should sponsor me ffs.

But yeah 5 weeks including Christmas and New Year in the UK, dunno if I've dun goofed since I hate winter and love summer, and I've basically given up 1/3 of summer for winter. But I suppose a white Christmas is an experience to cross off the list.

Will be staying in Leeds and London for the most part but will probably go travelling all over, as well as a few sneaky trips to France/Belgium/Spain/etc. given how cheap budget air travel is in Europe.

Also have the best lay over on the way back, get to Abu Dhabi at 6.40am, leave at 10pm. So basically will have something like 8am to 8pm exploring Abu Dhabi, dont even need a visa.

So please recommend me things to do in UK and nearby European destinations, as well as Abu Dhabi if anyone has had a look

If you're in the North go and check out York for a couple of days. Perfect time of year for it too with the Christmas markets and all.

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If you're in the North go and check out York for a couple of days. Perfect time of year for it too with the Christmas markets and all.

Yeah I'll actually be staying about halfway between there and Leeds for the most part so definitely worth a look.

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I dont know what your chances are of having a white christmas, I know its extremely rare in London. My highlights from being over there for 13 months though:

-Tower of London, probably the only really good tourist attraction in London.
-South Bank is great to walk down, always lots going on there
-Stonehenge is shit
-Bath is really nice and worth spending a few days/week at. 
-Ring of Kerry in Ireland, one of the best drives Ive done. We had snow in the morning, then the afternoon turned into a nice sunny afternoon. Stop at a seaside pub for lunch and had a pint of Guiness.
-Sin-e Pub in Cork, Ireland. Real traditional irish pub with randoms just playing instruments and singing. Being Aussie I was a huge novelty for them, and didn't buy a drink for the whole night and ended up with free joints and hash. 
-Amsterdam rules
-Spain (especially Sevilla) rules

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I dont know what your chances are of having a white christmas, I know its extremely rare in London. My highlights from being over there for 13 months though:

-Tower of London, probably the only really good tourist attraction in London.
-South Bank is great to walk down, always lots going on there
-Stonehenge is shit
-Bath is really nice and worth spending a few days/week at. 
-Ring of Kerry in Ireland, one of the best drives Ive done. We had snow in the morning, then the afternoon turned into a nice sunny afternoon. Stop at a seaside pub for lunch and had a pint of Guiness.
-Sin-e Pub in Cork, Ireland. Real traditional irish pub with randoms just playing instruments and singing. Being Aussie I was a huge novelty for them, and didn't buy a drink for the whole night and ended up with free joints and hash. 
-Amsterdam rules
-Spain (especially Sevilla) rules

I endorse everything, except for the Amsterdam bit.

Ireland is unreal.

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A few years back we had a group of about 8 lads and attempted to do our own monopoly pub crawl. Started around 10am (wetherspoons) and managed to get to 21 pubs through the day. Visited some really cool places like the train stations and just had a daily public transport card to get around.

Edited by carlings
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So I'll be flying Melbourne to Manchester with Etihad. Seriously CFG should sponsor me ffs.

But yeah 5 weeks including Christmas and New Year in the UK, dunno if I've dun goofed since I hate winter and love summer, and I've basically given up 1/3 of summer for winter. But I suppose a white Christmas is an experience to cross off the list.

Will be staying in Leeds and London for the most part but will probably go travelling all over, as well as a few sneaky trips to France/Belgium/Spain/etc. given how cheap budget air travel is in Europe.

Also have the best lay over on the way back, get to Abu Dhabi at 6.40am, leave at 10pm. So basically will have something like 8am to 8pm exploring Abu Dhabi, dont even need a visa.

So please recommend me things to do in UK and nearby European destinations, as well as Abu Dhabi if anyone has had a look

Do you want to borrow my Oyster card?

Comes with a fee of course.

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Nah, will probably go to a few Rangers games though, trade my spare Yarraside scarf for a Rangers one, etc.

In all seriousness I really did enjoy the Rangers game I went too, was definitely one of the better games I went too whilst I was in Europe.

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You going to Thailand on the way back to do a cycle?

Nah, will probably go to a few Rangers games though, trade my spare Yarraside scarf for a Rangers one, etc.

I take it that despite driving up from Yorkshire/London up to Scotland you will be leaving this game just after Half Time because your main priority will be to attend the "All You Can Eat" Pizza Hut nearest to Ibrox.

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I take it that despite driving up from Yorkshire/London up to Scotland you will be leaving this game just after Half Time because your main priority will be to attend the "All You Can Eat" Pizza Hut nearest to Ibrox.

 Nah, my Rangers scarf will keep me warm so no need to leave just after half time.

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