Phoenix Gold Phorum

Since Japan is basically fucked right now, it looks like I need to pick somewhere else for our honeymoon. Wrote down a massive list of all the places I want to go, and the various pros and cons. I've pretty much got it down to two choices right now... Turkey or Thailand.

In Turkey we would have easy access to Eastern Europe or Greece, but could even drive down to Syria, Jordan and Israel if there's not a civil war down there by the time we go . Thailand is pretty straightforward... would probably go to the north, like Chiang Mai or something.

Anyone been to either place? Thoughts?

stipud wrote:Since Japan is basically fucked right now, it looks like I need to pick somewhere else for our honeymoon. Wrote down a massive list of all the places I want to go, and the various pros and cons. I've pretty much got it down to two choices right now... Turkey or Thailand.

In Turkey we would have easy access to Eastern Europe or Greece, but could even drive down to Syria, Jordan and Israel if there's not a civil war down there by the time we go . Thailand is pretty straightforward... would probably go to the north, like Chiang Mai or something.

Anyone been to either place? Thoughts?

Either way both are very cool. I would choose Thailand myself my luck i would get stuck in the middel of a civil war never to be heard of again

Both sound like too much hassle to me........

A honeymoon is supposed to be relaxing with yer wife......
I say find a tropical island like Tahiti or Costa Rica and lay on the beach sipping mi-ti's, playing in the water all day and being waited on all the time....
The places you are thinking bring thoughts of sleeping in dingy hostels, sketchy food and disease......

But hey, thats just my take on things......... I've never been to any of those places......

Rold Gold wrote:Both sound like too much hassle to me........

A honeymoon is supposed to be relaxing with yer wife......
I say find a tropical island like Tahiti or Costa Rica and lay on the beach sipping mi-ti's, playing in the water all day and being waited on all the time....
The places you are thinking bring thoughts of sleeping in dingy hostels, sketchy food and disease......

But hey, thats just my take on things......... I've never been to any of those places......

I would be bored to death if there was no culture to explore. The absolute last thing I would ever want to do on vacation is going to an all-inclusive resort, where you are trapped doing touristy bullshit with other white people. Aaargh . Actually Jamaica was pretty high up on my list if only for the ganja and the beaches, but I couldn't think of enough shit to do in two weeks there. Not to mention the poverty there definitely poses some difficulties... we couldn't really go out and explore on our own, so we'd be stuck doing tours in clean white-friendly areas.

Turkey and Thailand are far from dingy places... they are well known tourist destinations. Both places offer hot, relaxing beaches, but as an added bonus a whole whack of new exciting culture as well. I am definitely all about the "sketchy food"... to me that is AWESOME food . Thai cuisine is one of my favorites, and as for Turkey... can you say Donairs?? Mmmmm...

stipud wrote:

Rold Gold wrote:Both sound like too much hassle to me........

A honeymoon is supposed to be relaxing with yer wife......
I say find a tropical island like Tahiti or Costa Rica and lay on the beach sipping mi-ti's, playing in the water all day and being waited on all the time....
The places you are thinking bring thoughts of sleeping in dingy hostels, sketchy food and disease......

But hey, thats just my take on things......... I've never been to any of those places......

I would be bored to death if there was no culture to explore. The absolute last thing I would ever want to do on vacation is going to an all-inclusive resort, where you are trapped doing touristy bullshit with other white people. Aaargh . Actually Jamaica was pretty high up on my list if only for the ganja and the beaches, but I couldn't think of enough shit to do in two weeks there. Not to mention the poverty there definitely poses some difficulties... we couldn't really go out and explore on our own, so we'd be stuck doing tours in clean white-friendly areas.

That's where I went on my honeymoon. Lovely island, and yes the pot was BAD ASS. We stayed in Montego Bay, but everyone recommended Negril for more activities for people our age. Negril seemed to be more of a Cancun like city and if I had to do it all over again, that's where I would go.

The poverty wasn't to bad unless you wandered WAY off the path and went into local only areas, but this was only in Montego Bay, it might be better in Negril. Either way, I would highly recommend Jamaica. Horse rides, or ATV rides, across the island. Long zip lines through the jungle. Kayaking in the ocean or the rivers. Cuban cigars .

Yeah Negril was where I was looking to go.

Here's the narrowed down list. Prices are only approximate for one person, so double for two. Not really concerned about the price though since we can easily afford any trip.

Jordan/Syria/Israel
f$1100 + car$600 + h$550 = $2300
+Seeing the fucking foundation of all regligions and very cool old society
-Politcal instability

Istanbul/Greece
f$1300 + h$1100 = $2400
+Awesome, historic and HOTTT
-Tourists, long flight

Jamaica
f$700 + h$700 = $1400
+Ganja, beaches
-Machetes, poverty

Thailand
f$1200 + h$500 = $1700
+Lots of temples, cool shit, super cheap, warm
-Long flight

India
f$1100 + h$600 = $1700
+Awesome otherworldly culture
-Huge country, stressful travel, diarrhea, monsoon season

Brazil
f$1300 + h$1100 = $2400
+Chill, diverse culture
-Expensive

Hong Kong/China or South Korea
f$900 + h$1000 = $1900
+Culture, food
-Confined to cities

Spain/Portugal
f$1100(Sea) + h$850 = $2000
+Hot, great food
-Expensive

Italy
f$1500(Sea) + h$850 = $2400
+Never been there, history, culture, food
-Touristy, expensive

Eastern Europe
f$1200(Sea) + h$1000 = $2200
+Cheap, good food
-Less thrilling?

Scandinavia
f$1100(Sea) + h$1700 = $2800
+Awesome nature
-$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Iceland
f$800(Sea) + h$1400 = $2200
+Cheap to get to, awesome nature
-Expensive

if it was me i would go---
messed up all the cool 3d imax shows i own for the 3d tv are those areas, love the look would love to see in person

Jordan/Syria/Israel
f$1100 + car$600 + h$550 = $2300
+Seeing the fucking foundation of all regligions and very cool old society
-Politcal instability

Jamaica, Thailand, Middle East. In no particular order.

sketchy food huh? My digestive problems started 8 yrs ago while I was on a 20 person tour in peru south america to see mach pichu. I didn't eat anything totally crazy or outside of the group but that was the first time I started throwing up and was unable to stop. 3rd world hospitals are not a place you want to end up.

Yes I have been tested often for parasites and bacterias since, they all come out perfect.... Why not go hit amsterdamn, copenhagen or barcelona are some of my favorite places I got to visit before I got sick and would recomend.

Eastern Europe
f$1200(Sea) + h$1000 = $2200
+Cheap, good food
-Less thrilling?

Where to you get less thrilling from?

joerg wrote:Where to you get less thrilling from?

I've done Europe a million times before. Prague is probably my second favorite city, after Amsterdam. Want to do something different... something we would have a lot more difficulty doing with kids in the future. While i've never seen Hungary or the Ukraine, I think it would be too similar to what I have seen and done before. Same reason I don't want to go to Amsterdam or Scandinavia, Scott. Besides, I will be back to Europe a hundred more times in my life! I can always see it later.

ttocs wrote:sketchy food huh? My digestive problems started 8 yrs ago while I was on a 20 person tour in peru south america to see mach pichu. I didn't eat anything totally crazy or outside of the group but that was the first time I started throwing up and was unable to stop. 3rd world hospitals are not a place you want to end up.

Really? Hmmm someone Wendy's mom knows had health issues his whole life (he was born in India or something). Turns out it was some undetected parasites in his body. They had to know specifically what to look for before they could find it, but once they did, they managed to cure him. Guy was like 20 years younger after that. I'll have to ask her what specifically it was...

Anyways, Turkey and Thailand aren't third world countries... they are at least 1.25th world

i think turkey would be cool even though ive not been there, i have a few friends that are from turkey and they are real fun to be around. they seem to celebrate life on a whole nother level, i even participate in a dance that is every bit turkish with them even in modern clubs, it sure is crazy but man it's fun. there is this place in turkey that the people used to live in under ground caves that they built that look really neat if i was to go there that would be a good place to go to.

Brazil would be pretty cool, or Iceland.

I went (along with a friend) to Turkey for a couple of weeks a few years back, we had a really good time there! We stayed in Marmaris (in the Asia part of Turkey, the country is partly in Europe, partly in Asia.). You can also get to Rhodes(greece) by a short boat trip from Marmaris.

We traveled in august, right when it is warmest there (over 110F), but the air is not terribly humid in contrast to Thailand, so it was actually comfortable even in those temperatures. And I'm only used to a cold and frosty Norway

Great atmosphere, excellent restaurants/great food, everything is cheap, people are friendly to tourists, awesome culture and landmarks/sights nearby.

I'll see if I can find some holiday pics to post if that's of any interest?

stipud wrote:

ttocs wrote:sketchy food huh? My digestive problems started 8 yrs ago while I was on a 20 person tour in peru south america to see mach pichu. I didn't eat anything totally crazy or outside of the group but that was the first time I started throwing up and was unable to stop. 3rd world hospitals are not a place you want to end up.

Really? Hmmm someone Wendy's mom knows had health issues his whole life (he was born in India or something). Turns out it was some undetected parasites in his body. They had to know specifically what to look for before they could find it, but once they did, they managed to cure him. Guy was like 20 years younger after that. I'll have to ask her what specifically it was...

Anyways, Turkey and Thailand aren't third world countries... they are at least 1.25th world

any help towards a strange cure would be appreciated. I have come to the conclusion after running the gambet of dr's that it will be some stupid little introduction to some one thats uncles, brothers, sisters-in-laws mother that will hold the key I need, maybe this is it...

My parents did turkey, 2 times now that I think of it but on one trip mom got sick and they came home early... The other trip was great though.

Haakon wrote:I'll see if I can find some holiday pics to post if that's of any interest?

That would be cool man. I don't have a lot of experience of the area, but ever since it was suggested, I've really been interested in going.

In regards to your first few posts... my mom went to Israel some 15 yrs ago and she loved it. Brought me back an Islamic oke bottle ., and a bunch of their currency.

Me personally, I want to go.to Scotland. Really freakin bad.

I suppose international travel would be easier for non-Americans. lol

People tend to hate us the world over because we're awesome.

Francious70 wrote:I suppose international travel would be easier for non-Americans. lol

People tend to hate us the world over because we're awesome.

I've busted lots of Americans pretending to be Canadians abroad. Oh you're from Canada? What part? Toronto? Cool I love Toronto, what part of the city? Oh you don't know? LAL

I did alot of traveling before I got sick and found it interesting how people reacted to your nationality. If paris I had a waiter treat me like shit because I had to point at the menu, ya sure see if you get a good tip there buddy... On the same trip 2 weeks later in barcelona we were walking through a city park to check on the trains the next day when an old guy broke up his bachi (SP?) ball game and came running over to us. Instinctivly we grapped our wallets/passports but he was harmless and I figured out he was trying to guess our nationality. When I told him we were americans he got really excited and started singing some song about how he loved americans.... We were caught offguard but then he stopped and told us that he could tell from how we were dressed that we were tourists and just wanted to make sure we were enjoying his country/city, and if we needed any help?! We said thankyou and that we were having a great time there(the truth) and just heading to the train station to plan our next trip. He walked us a hundred yards to the corner of the park to where we could see the train station, shook our hand and then ran back to his game. It was one of those moments that it didn't hit us at the time(because we were still covering our papers the whole time) but later when we realized how nice he was, it struck us. Because of that old dude playin ball I did almost the same thing to some tourists I noticed in phoenix 7-8 yrs ago that were from germany and needed some help.

Tom...I say " RUN TO THE HILLS"... no seriously... go where your gut tells you to....enjoy yourselves no matter what!!! this adventure will be almost as good as haveing a kid...those are the top two on the list dude

Well we figured it out yesterday and bought our tickets. Flying into Athens, spending two days there, then going to some greek island for a few days, then to Turkey for a week. Maybe come back to Athens through Bulgaria, maybe not.

stipud wrote:Well we figured it out yesterday and bought our tickets. Flying into Athens, spending two days there, then going to some greek island for a few days, then to Turkey for a week. Maybe come back to Athens through Bulgaria, maybe not.

seen your post on facebook hope you tow have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You better start pre-tanning right now.