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OT: Vacations

CH1 said:
Question — you ever tempted to keep points and go on a mini RTW?
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Not my thing personally but you can definitely get great value if you book one of those or book first class to some places. But for me definitely not now with a kid. I'd rather sell points and buy flights to meet minimum spends on another card. It's the cycle of life. Or, for a recent last trip I booked with a business CIBC Aventura card. I used about $500 worth of points I think it was? Flight to Japan cost $1000 for two in the end since there was a nice cheap flight promo at the time too. Without the promo and without the $500 discount that would typically run me at least $2500 for two. In cases like that it just feels more worthwhile to sell the points for my purposes.
 
So I've become facinated with going to either Cambodia / Vietnam sometime next year assuming this Covid thing has finally subsided enough to make travel possible. I know someone was raving about Vietnam? Can't remember who, maybe Zeke?
 
It's been a while but Vietnam is awesome, varied, and super easy to travel. Basically one highway runs up and down the country, and you just ride it at your leisure.

Down south you have Saigin / Ho Chi Minh which is a crazy western /Asian fusion metropolis. Move up from there to the beach towns like Natrang, up towards the middle for some history (both the DMZ and the royal city of Hue), and then up to Hanoi which is this amazing throwback city, and then up and out to the eerie magic of Halong Bay and then up into the jungle mountains in the north (also part of the legendary Golden triangle).

Though tbh I would probably start up top with the jungle trekking and old country magic and then work my way down to the beaches and Saigpn at the end.
 
Vietnam was fun when I was there last year. Spent most of my time in Da Nang, which is more of a beach city. Day trip to Hoi An was certainly worth it, and then spent a few days in Hanoi along with a day trip to Halong Bay. I never made it down to Saigon, hopefully can make it there some other time.

I was also in Siem Reap for Angkor Wat, which is definitely worth it if you're in the region, but I didn't really do much else in Cambodia. I've heard mixed things about Phnom Penh, some people liked it and apparently some of the Khmer Rouge stuff they have there is interesting to see, but it didn't interest me so I just opted for some extra time in Vietnam.

Food in Vietnam is great and super cheap. And everything is really cheap to get around. Although I didn't have much chance to just be a tourist, so I can't really give a lot of tips there. But was definitely fun to go live, eat at fairly touristy places, and still have every meal cost less than 10$ even with a couple drinks.
 
Vietnam was fun in 1986. But now it's very touristy and my favourite hotel is 10x price and rarely available during the Mid-Autumn festival

-- Karen aka The Original Home Baker
 
lots of leg room available at the moment

Reuters: U.S. airlines are collectively burning more than $10 billion in cash per month and are averaging just 17 passengers per domestic flight and 29 passengers per international flight
 
zeke said:
It's been a while but Vietnam is awesome, varied, and super easy to travel. Basically one highway runs up and down the country, and you just ride it at your leisure.

Down south you have Saigin / Ho Chi Minh which is a crazy western /Asian fusion metropolis. Move up from there to the beach towns like Natrang, up towards the middle for some history (both the DMZ and the royal city of Hue), and then up to Hanoi which is this amazing throwback city, and then up and out to the eerie magic of Halong Bay and then up into the jungle mountains in the north (also part of the legendary Golden triangle).

Though tbh I would probably start up top with the jungle trekking and old country magic and then work my way down to the beaches and Saigpn at the end.
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This, and agree on the itinerary. Vietnam is a beautiful country. The people are nice, each area of the country is unique and distinctive, interesting culture and history, food is amazing and it’s cheap to get around.

I also had a great time in Cambodia but it’s much rougher around the edges. I think its basically impossible to not have a great time in Vietnam whereas Cambodia isn’t for everybody.

also if this is one of yours and jonas’s tranny trips I’d suggest Thailand over both.
 
mbow30 said:
This, and agree on the itinerary. Vietnam is a beautiful country. The people are nice, each area of the country is unique and distinctive, interesting culture and history, food is amazing and it’s cheap to get around.

I also had a great time in Cambodia but it’s much rougher around the edges. I think its basically impossible to not have a great time in Vietnam whereas Cambodia isn’t for everybody.

also if this is one of yours and jonas’s tranny trips I’d suggest Thailand over both.
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you don't bring sand to the beach
 
Lets assume international travel is shot for a bit, and 2020 is the year of the Canadian vacation. Favourite spots / itineraries for our home and native land?

I did B.C. as a kid, but didn't make it to the coast. So that's a strong contender. Have done QC and Montreal more recently, as well as Nova Scotia including Cape Breton. Loved QC. Loved NS and Cape Breton, which makes me think Newfoundland could be a good bet. Other than that I've seen more of the States and Australia than I have Canada.
 
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WellPlayed said:
Lets assume international travel is shot for a bit, and 2020 is the year of the Canadian vacation. Favourite spots / itineraries for our home and native land?

I did B.C. as a kid, but didn't make it to the coast. So that's a strong contender. Have done QC and Montreal more recently, as well as Nova Scotia including Cape Breton. Loved QC. Loved NS and Cape Breton, which makes me think Newfoundland could be a good bet. Other than that I've seen more of the States and Australia than I have Canada.
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I can really only speak for BC, but Vancouver Island is worth a visit. Drove from Nanaimo to Tofino a few years ago and stayed in Tofino. Did sea kayaking there and it was incredible. The loop from Vancouver across to Hope up to Lillooet back down Hwy 99 through Whistler and Squamish is a spectacular drive in the summer. Lots of great places to camp if you're into that.
 
Yeah anywhere in the Rockies would be a winning destination for me. Vancouver is great to visit. I actually think Vancouver Island may be the highlight of BC though - I consider it a poor man's New Zealand. I also haven't really been too far from Vancouver in BC so my sample size is limited. I'll second deckie's praise for Tofino.

Jasper is a really gorgeous spot if you're into outdoorsy things. And hey, Banff may actually be super pleasant now that there are no foreigners invading.

Quebec City is also super super amazing, but be prepared for a serious lack of English.

I live in Nova Scotia so obviously I am partial to that. Happy to provide recommendations and the like.

If you want to go be a lazy beach bum for a week in summer, PEI is your spot.

Newfoundland I haven't been to but am itching to go, have only heard wonderful things.

New Brunswick is five hours of surprisingly good highway, surprisingly few people.
 
Even vacations in Canada really aren't going to be a thing. I can't imagine places opening up enough to actually get people back until later in the summer at the very least, and even at that, the handful of places open are probably going to be packed with everyone trying to get out.

My problem now is that I don't really have a home. Moved out of TO last year to work+travel, but that plan's basically gone to the crapper now. Figure I won't be able to get back out to travel anytime soon, so need to find somewhere furnished to live for the summer. But given that probably nothing will still be open, it's kind of annoying to try to decide where to stay.
 
CH1 said:
Just pack a few praying mantises and you should be fine.
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Ya mantises love to watch you sleep, so you've got protection over night as well.


thefaceofaprayingmantis8u4raplwkdjfu8pkjasdlfkajs_465_427_int.jpg
 
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