Where should I go for my holiday?

[Karly]

So I turn 30 in March next year :shock:... and my dear parents have very kindly offered to give me and my boyfriend a weeks accommodation for my birthday present so I've decided to go overseas again! Yay!

I can't decide where to go though... We're saving to buy a house next year too, so we want to go somewhere with relatively cheap airfares, such as Bali, Vanuatu, Fiji etc.
We went to Bali in July and loved it, we would go back there in a heartbeat, but I just thought maybe we could try something different this time...
Has anyone travelled to these countries and can recommend them?

 

[JasonL]

Ubud Bali or Chiang mai Thailand would be my picks.... no beaches true, but we have enough beaches here.

 

[aoife]

Ireland!!! or maybe the Carribean??

 

[JasonL]

What do you like doing on your hols? sight seeing or wasting time on a beach / pool?

 

[Karly]

Lol maybe Caribbean when I win the lotto....

As for what I like to do, well when I go somewhere different I like to experience the place as much as I can, so things like sightseeing, learning about their customs etc. And shopping. :lol:

 

[Renagade]

i rate cambodia way better than thailand, but if you liked bali then maybe thailand is a better option. dont spend much time in bangkok it is not the highlight of the country.

 

[jinin]

Galapagos Islands!!! hells yeh! 8]

 

[JasonL]

OK, personally if you have been to Bali ( I loe Bali too) I would at least taste Thailand once, I would do about 3 -4 days in Bankok... the city is dirty and buisy but there is shopping and from there you can go to the Tiger Temple, River Kwai and the floating markets plus a few other things... and the Snake Museum of course, then jump a plain the the Mountains in Chiang mai, stay up in the mountains and catch a shuttle into town for lunch / dinner then back again. Many things around the city worth doing, though some are extensive day trips, also good national parks in the area and plenty of herps around the place.

 

[Karly]

Thanks JasonL!
I've always wanted to go to Tiger Temple and see PP Islands.... might be a good one to look into!

 

[webcol]

vietnam, cambodia or thailand!

 

[JasonL]

Thanks JasonL!
I've always wanted to go to Tiger Temple and see PP Islands.... might be a good one to look into!

I'll post some pics up today of the trip I did in that area, it was fantatsic!

 

[redbellybite]

How much of Aussie have you seen ? ..just curious to know why people dont really get to know whats in our own backyard ..I do realise it is cheaper to go over seas..but feel its sad that you guys really dont know what your missing by not venturing around our beautiful country ..anyway like I said just curious to know why ...

 

[ozziepythons]

How about Vanuatu or New Caledonia? Their not far and just beautiful (and great for herping in NC- check out their giant geckos).

 

[nicman72]

How much of Aussie have you seen ? ..just curious to know why people dont really get to know whats in our own backyard ..I do realise it is cheaper to go over seas..but feel its sad that you guys really dont know what your missing by not venturing around our beautiful country ..anyway like I said just curious to know why ...

Interesting point rbb... Whenever I've met locals o'seas that had been to Oz, they'd usually seen more of my own country than myself! I'm starting to fill in the gaps here and there, but always thought that I'd leave it to last as it's just so easy to travel around here... I guess people are also looking for different cultures too. That's one of the highlights I've found while travelling - but I'll ALWAYS call Oz home and live here.

Maybe Sumatra Karly - cheap, different, plenty of fauna/flora, not many tourists, and you can visit the Orang-utans in the jungle (well, you could when I was there... dunno if they still do it.) Just a thought...

 

[Karly]

I know what you mean RBB, so many people have no idea what they have an hour up the road from where they live! But I've seen heaps of Aussie - most of Northern Territory, Alice Springs, Kakadu, inland QLD, and all through nothern Western Australia, Kimberlys through to Broome, south to Sydney.

I just think that if I'm going to go somewhere in Australia I would rather drive around and look at a lot of things maybe spend 2 or 3 nights in the one place and move to somewhere else, and I'd be more likely to camp along the way rather than stay in motels, so when my Mum & Dad said they'd give me a week in a motel, I thought I might use it overseas.

Anyway, great ideas thanks guys, keep em coming!

 

[JasonL]

How much of Aussie have you seen ? ..just curious to know why people dont really get to know whats in our own backyard ..I do realise it is cheaper to go over seas..but feel its sad that you guys really dont know what your missing by not venturing around our beautiful country ..anyway like I said just curious to know why ...

It's a big world out there, plenty of great stuff to see and such a short time to do it in... I once had those exact same thoughts, untill my wife dragged me to asia, now I love the place, it's fantastic, esp for herpers!

 

[JasonL]

OK, tiger temple pics... these days it's pretty touristy, but where else can your kids play with adult and baby tigers .. actually we had some trouble getting my son in due to his age at the time, but we convinced a tourist operator we didn't care if he was eaten and wouldn't sue.. Most of the tigers are chained to the ground so that they can only maul one person at a time, the one of the tamer ones isn't and is used for special pics that you need to pay a bit more for (like $30) and you can have a wrestle with it... the area where the tigers are is cordoned off (with a rope) and you need to enter with one of the volleys, holding their hands whilst they take you from tiger to tiger (I was lucky and at least got a female), the volleys use your camera and they take the pics of which they take heaps and most were ok... but thems the rules... the last pic I took from behind the rope, the cubs (if they have them out) are in a different area and anyone can have a play with them though they don't allow flashes to be used for photos (yes I got in trouble, about 3 times )

 

[JasonL]

Another tour from Bangers is the River Kwai / Hellfire pass tour, learn and see all about the famous WWII incidents that happened in this area during the building of the railway, great tour even for those not into the war stuff, and pay your respects to the Aussies and all the others that lost their lives in the area.. but aside from that you get to see some great places and see some of the countryside...and some herps too.. very tireing and buisy day...

 

[JasonL]

Bankok is a pretty dirty town, beggers with multiple limbs missing on every second corner, mass prostitution, every second shop is a strip / prostitution bar.... but it's an experience ! It also has great shopping for the ladies, and a first class reptile museum that has just been rebuilt and is as good as, or in fact way better than anything I have seen here in Oz... First pic is Bangers in the morning, second is at night, the place goes hard all night, packed with street stalls and people.

 

[Hooglabah]

go to rowanda in south africa your not allowed to fly in but if you go to nigera you can drive in just make sure you take a full armoured regiment with you and learn to shoot and fight. plenty of local history there and they have some of the most interesting welcoming parties the best part of it all is the locoals will put you up and teach you all about the local customs from a small ransome they might even do it for free.