pom
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Post by pom on Jul 22, 2018 15:54:10 GMT
good job you have done Bryce already as i have just remembered a lot more people then normal went down with altitude sickness so may not have been the best pointer! P.s Have you found some place to go for when you get back to your retirement plan? Wow never even realised it was that high (and it isn't in the scheme of things) but if we found the walking hard going at all we'd have assumed it was a combination of the blazing hot weather and having only flown into Vegas the night before! Don't think I'm really planning on going anywhere (other than travels) when I do retire
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pom
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Post by pom on Jul 22, 2018 15:55:55 GMT
I'll echo Croatia as above. One of my favourite countries and I've been visiting since the old days of Yugoslavia too. In fact I think I still have an old Yugotours brochure somewhere! The area around Zadar is a good base for visiting the unmissable Plitvice Lakes NP, Krka NP, Kornati Island NP plus many other islands easily accessible by local ferries. Further south is the stunning Mljet Island NP. The smaller countries of Slovenia and Montenegro are worth visiting too. Lake Ohrid in Macedonia is also one high on my list. The lesser visited part of Italy, Calabria. From Tropea you can visit the spectacular Aeolian Islands above Sicily. Greek Islands, as above. One not mentioned yet is Skopelos, where Mammia Mia was filmed. The Azores. Volcanic craters, hot springs, generally amazing scenery. Canadian Rockies. Stunning scenery in the area around Lake Louise. Yes there are crowds but it's very easy to escape them at peak times by hiking off the beaten track a little. Just watch out for the bears! Also Jasper, Banff and basically everywhere in between. Costa Rica is great for wildlife and scenery. Nicaragua is becoming more accessible but still well off the beaten track. New Zealand of course, but you really need at least a couple of months there to make the journey worthwhile. That reminds me I should spend more time working on my list and less time on here  Indeed you should! Only been to NZ out of that lot so thanks
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pom
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Post by pom on Jul 22, 2018 15:59:35 GMT
A suggestion - Position yourself into a remote worker role, and then well, just go wherever the wind takes you over the coming months/years/decades. PS. Followed/contributed to your last thread; Am in a similar boat; Decided to call it quits early next year, decompress for a short while, then figure out what I'm doing for the next 1/4 life  . I already am a remote worker...but other half is geographically tied. Besides I quite like going away and coming back! Good luck !
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pom
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Post by pom on Jul 22, 2018 16:02:22 GMT
Zimbabwe, Japan, and Pakistan are three of my favourite ever destinations (not in that order, and for totally different reasons) Overall Pakistan is probably the most exotic and I can highly recommend Swat valley and the karakoam, I was there in March security situation is now okay again. Nanga Parbat base camp is a great walk (summer only). People are really amazing and food also very tasty - ticks all my boxes. Zimbabwe is a very friendly place and, in 2012 at least, has a very odd feel to it since most of the tourist industry has dried up. May have become more commercial now but Matopos national park is great. Food leaves a bit to be desired here (unlike Pakistan and Japan!) Interesting...Have to say Japan is the only of those that has ever crossed my mind, but don't feel a huge urgency to go for some reason
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2018 18:05:12 GMT
I cycled the Asores a few years back, easily some of the nicest people, great views and wild weather.
I also think following the spa line across Hungary (by bike) was a great holiday, so many different spas.
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Mike
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Post by Mike on Jul 22, 2018 18:22:52 GMT
Japan ia a very pleasant country, it's very different but also very proper and smart (contrasting massively with China). I'd highly recommend it to almost everyone - it's very unique in that it has so much for so many people
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Aug 1, 2018 8:43:34 GMT
My favourite trip was Hawaii, and in particular Big Island, giving me my best view of the Milky Way, my best view of lava, and best views snorkelling (though to be fair I haven’t done much snorkelling). The wind is so consistent that one side of each island gets nearly all the rainfall; I stayed in 2 places 50 miles apart one of which has 10m of rain per year and the other 2cm – other islands have even greater variation. Pearl Harbour is great, but means staying in Honolulu, which I found a bit average. (Views of lava on Hawaii might be too good at the moment!) Other good views of lava are to be had on Stromboli near Sicily; Stromboli itself is probably a one night sort of place as part of trip to Sicily or other nearby islands. I really enjoyed Reykjavik, but my views of the Northern Lights were a bit average. I should have gone on the first night, because most tours (lights are too bright near the city) will automatically book onto the next trip if lights are disappointing. Otherwise lots to see, several types of whale and lots of geology. A friend stayed in a hotel in the north which is more remote and lights are visible from hotel. The hotel staff watch all night and will wake you up if view is good (if requested). Also liked Yellowstone, only part ‘ruined’ by local tourists is Old Faithful, all other parts are fantastic and Old Faithful is fine if you are happy to walk more than 200m beyond the car park. I really like the US it is a great holiday destination, as well as the above, train from Chicago to LA was fun (got off several times for a few days each ). Loved the Boeing factory in Washington State. Loved almost everything in Washington DC, but hard for Brits to get into many places at the moment such as white house, FBI, Pentagon, but the Capitol is easy, saw some Senators talking (House of Representatives wasn’t sitting day I went – check ahead). Another great place is Colonial Williamsburg – near Washington DC. It is a historical theme park type place with people pretending it is 1774. I have been to similar places elsewhere, but this was so much better than anything else I have ever been to. The people were so knowledgeable about the craft they were working on – they seem to have to do a full apprenticeship, and also learn about the history of the time. I talked to fabulous people all day for two consecutive days. Another good train journey was from London to Northern Denmark via Germany. I really liked Copenhagen; Hamburg and Cologne were great for a few days each. When I did it the train went onto a the boat to Denmark which was/is about to stop, it was the last such boat train in Europe which was my motivation for doing that trip at that time. I really like the US, I love cities, but I also love the emptiness of places like Montana; Hawaii is easily top. pom what don’t you like about the US? (One thing I really like is not feeling guilty that I don’t speak much of any other language.) |
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pom
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Post by pom on Aug 1, 2018 10:38:45 GMT
bigfoot12 I'm just not particularly keen whilst Trump is in the white house, but I've also been enough times for both business/leisure that it was lower down my priorities list anyway. There's still lots there I'd like to see (particularly every time I look at www.thegreatestroadtrip.com/national-parks/ ) ....just more interested in views that come with different cultures at the moment. Did you perchance see the milky-way from the sides of Mauna Kea, or just lucky clear nights at sea level? Big Island is one of the very few places I've gone back to after finding myself overlooking Waipio valley and realising I'd made a HUGE mistake in only going there for a day trip and spending most of my time on Oahu. The interesting thing was it was only 2.5 years later that I went back and Kilauea looked completely different, totally unrecognisable, and far more than could be explained by the different vantage point (did a helicopter flight first time). If I come up with another reason to cross the Pacific I may well go again.
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Aug 1, 2018 11:06:13 GMT
bigfoot12 I'm just not particularly keen whilst Trump is in the white house, but I've also been enough times for both business/leisure that it was lower down my priorities list anyway. There's still lots there I'd like to see (particularly every time I look at www.thegreatestroadtrip.com/national-parks/ ) ....just more interested in views that come with different cultures at the moment. Fair enough - certainly on the second point, I'm no fan of Trump, but despite him the US is still a very free and liberal democracy, especially when compared to other places one might visit. Did you perchance see the milky-way from the sides of Mauna Kea, or just lucky clear nights at sea level? Yes, from the Onizuka Center half way up Mauna Kea. I arrived slightly too late to see the Southern Cross which was slightly disappointing as it fell behind a nearby peak early in the evening. Otherwise there was a guest speaker (probably a research student) talking about what we could see and it was fabulous. The sky at sea level was surprisingly (to me) cloudy most nights, but not most days. Someone I travelled with had researched it well so we spent 14 days on Big Island and a couple on Oahu. Having just organised a relatively simple trip I am still amazed how much effort is needed in advance to get these things right.
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pom
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Post by pom on Aug 1, 2018 11:56:53 GMT
Did you perchance see the milky-way from the sides of Mauna Kea, or just lucky clear nights at sea level? Yes, from the Onizuka Center half way up Mauna Kea. I arrived slightly too late to see the Southern Cross which was slightly disappointing as it fell behind a nearby peak early in the evening. Otherwise there was a guest speaker (probably a research student) talking about what we could see and it was fabulous. The sky at sea level was surprisingly (to me) cloudy most nights, but not most days. Someone I travelled with had researched it well so we spent 14 days on Big Island and a couple on Oahu. Having just organised a relatively simple trip I am still amazed how much effort is needed in advance to get these things right. Interesting, I don't think that was an option in '03 (or alternately I just didn't find it given online research was a lot harder back then) - but Onizuka must have been where we stopped to acclimatise on the way up. But since they're now encouraging people to make their own way there they must have improved the lower roads since I went (taking a hire care anywhere near saddleback was verboten back then)! We were in a smallish group taken to the summit to admire the observatories and enjoy the sunset and then stopped off on open mountainside on the way back down with a telescope for a closer look at some stuff. Definitely a highlight..and given that trip also included NZ and French Polynesia that's saying something.
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Aug 1, 2018 12:42:11 GMT
Interesting, I don't think that was an option in '03 (or alternately I just didn't find it given online research was a lot harder back then) - but Onizuka must have been where we stopped to acclimatise on the way up. But since they're now encouraging people to make their own way there they must have improved the lower roads since I went (taking a hire care anywhere near saddleback was verboten back then)! We were in a smallish group taken to the summit to admire the observatories and enjoy the sunset and then stopped off on open mountainside on the way back down with a telescope for a closer look at some stuff. Definitely a highlight..and given that trip also included NZ and French Polynesia that's saying something. I went in 2010. There were still lots of warnings about not driving the saddleback in a hire car, but I think that they must have been out of date as the road seemed fine to me, and the drive to 2800m was relatively simple. (There were no warnings on the road, which there were at 2800m, about going higher.) I didn't go any higher. The Visitors' centre is located at a traditional acclimatisation point so you probably did wait there. I think people using or maintaining the telescopes can stay overnight there or nearby for acclimatisation.
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travolta
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Post by travolta on Aug 1, 2018 17:36:07 GMT
South Shropshire's very nice. Try the hills around Clun.
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Monetus
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Post by Monetus on Aug 1, 2018 18:08:57 GMT
South Shropshire's very nice. Try the hills around Clun. I'm originally from Shropshire. Grew up in Bridgnorth. Nice part of the world - if a little quiet!
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travolta
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Post by travolta on Aug 2, 2018 7:12:15 GMT
Are you the man who used to run the car boot event , over from Sainsburys ?
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ceejay
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Post by ceejay on Aug 7, 2018 13:16:06 GMT
I see NZ has been mentioned - would always be top of my list. Planning to go back there some time soon, after some other locations (Peru, African safari) have been ticked off.
I've not yet seen a mention of Vancouver Island, so let me throw that in. The southern half is a well developed tourist zone - nice enough, but a lot of people. But head towards the northern end (NE corner) and it all becomes a lot more spread out and special. A good place to go bear- and whale-watching.
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