The Travel Thread

[gnat]

wilsons prom this weekend

gimme tips, any tips

[system]

wilsons prom this weekend

gimme tips, any tips

hit fish creek and foster, do the walks (sealers cove is pretty easy in a day, ditto the peak). enjoy the weather.

[gnat]

yeh yeh- fishy's pub for lunch is a defo

foster you say?...

tidal to squeaky walk too

[Direkt]

Was just there the weekend before last gnat.

It gets pretty cool of a night, so make sure you're comfortable.

Squeaky Beach hike sure is nice... just under 2hrs there and back, make sure you bring some comfy shoes.

Water was BEAUTIFUL! A little chilly, but nice when you're in... if you're into it, cricket bat and ball is good as the tide goes out a long way and leaves behind a lot of flat, hard sand.

And yeah... bring loads of drink! Ice can be bought locally, but drink is not that easy or cheap.

Have fun!

[almax]

sealers cove is about 20km round trip, if you have packs and a tent, worthwhile doing the circuit to waterloo and even down to the lighthouse if you have time/energy.









watch out for bull ants on this beach!

[deviant]

Less than a week before I head off to SE Asia wif da missus....

wooooo

[ghetto kitty]

almax - awesome shots! ive only done the prom in the middle of winter - wanna go back now!

dan - so exciting!

[mrj]

yeh yeh- fishy's pub for lunch is a defo

foster you say?...

tidal to squeaky walk too

yeh Fish Creek pub is win.

Skip Foster tho tbh, can't imagine why you'd go there.

Go to Sandy Point imo.

[Lil MiSbreaks]

Foster is yawnsville. Im not sure of any reason you would go there either!

Sandy point is rad.

Seal Rocks walk was the best one down there a few years ago, but I think i after the fires there's quite a few walks that are closed for the mo.

Have a ball Dan!!

Cant wait for my travel tomorrow. The tram to work. Fucking amazing, and only costs $4.00.

[system]

yeah sorry, foster is a bit balls.

hit leongatha and koonwarra up on the way for mad food and wine.

[gnat]

lol at comment. i did look up foster and go hmm system.

thanks for tips kids. defo will be taking the warm weather gear direkt- and forcing myself in for a swim no matter how cold it is. we have teh mackin pad beachfront at walkerville.

fishy pub menu looks win. can't find any wineries that don't look balls though..

won't have time for those massive walks al but defo will be doing some shorter ones. thanks for pics! pumped!

[DBoy]

fishing and golfing weekend up south coast of nsw. Woop.

[Lil MiSbreaks]

Where abouts specifically Dave?? Sounds like near where I used to live....

[DBoy]

not 100% - not in charge. Just getting in the car and going.

[Lil MiSbreaks]

Ah cool, love surprise trips.

I lived just out of Eden, so if you go through it, you can think of me. Or something else if youd rather

Have a great time, beautiful all the way along that coast no matter where you go.

[ghetto kitty]

still tossing up

burning man in august - one in a lifetime adventure, but expensive, freaks (this is good and bad), mission - not a holiday
or bali alone in may - cheap, relaxo (could get bored tho?), tropical - but possibly not as exciting.

my pros and cons lists seem to be weighted towards bali - ive never been.

[system]

can't find any wineries that don't look balls though..

try bass phillip (you'll need to call to see if they'll be open though). the koonwarra store is pretty awesome too.

[system]

still tossing up

burning man in august - one in a lifetime adventure, but expensive, freaks (this is good and bad), mission - not a holiday
or bali alone in may - cheap, relaxo (could get bored tho?), tropical - but possibly not as exciting.

my pros and cons lists seem to be weighted towards bali - ive never been.

friends of mine went to bm last year - their photos looked amazing, stories most lol also.

[ghetto kitty]

yup i have a friend who is a fire performer/stripper in LA, she hangs out with the circus freaks/stiltwalkers etc...
awesome pics n stories too.

but as BM revolves around no commerce at all, id kinda like a big crew to go with and plan our camp and what we take to offer etc...not sure if thats gonna happen this year so yeah...dunno!

[gnat]

can't find any wineries that don't look balls though..

try bass phillip (you'll need to call to see if they'll be open though). the koonwarra store is pretty awesome too.

awesome thank you. looks like the very fella for me!

[shepherd]

Anyone been to austin, texas? I am there in a month for 10 days for sxsw.

any advice would be great.

[retzie]

^^ Woo, ATX! I take it you have accommodation and badges/wristbands sorted?

I've never been for SXSW, but it pretty much takes over the whole place, so not sure how many recommendations would still be valid. What sorta thing are you looking for? It's a fucking ace city, so there will be plenty to see and do. Avoid 6th Street like the plague - there's some less painfully touristy places on 4th, and Red River is where all the cool kids hang out. Lotsa nice places to eat, although living in Melbs would make that less of a draw.

The Austin Chronicle is the bible, and check TeknoSounds for the word on the street

[shepherd]

hey retzie ... yep delegate passes sorted (got the platinum pass which covers everything) and accomm sorted (although we had to get 2 diff hotels - the hyatt and the at&t one) which was extremely lucky!

more looking for good places to get breakfast, food etc ... a few places to go at night. even things to do on the quiet days. i[ve heard austin is an amazing city and a lot of fun.

[Hatsudai]

hey retzie ... yep delegate passes sorted (got the platinum pass which covers everything) and accomm sorted (although we had to get 2 diff hotels - the hyatt and the at&t one) which was extremely lucky!

more looking for good places to get breakfast, food etc ... a few places to go at night. even things to do on the quiet days. i[ve heard austin is an amazing city and a lot of fun.

Will you have a hire car? It's a pretty good idea, basically you can't go anywhere without one.

My advice is pretty vague but hey, SXSW is a bit of a blur really.

About food:

*There are millions of restaurants in the CBD, most had pretty good food so you should be able find a good brekky by just stumbling in somewhere "Cafeish"

* Eat chicken fried steak, just do it

*Also eat at the food vans run by the mexican ladies, freshest cheapest food going around.

*Best BBQ we had was about 30 mins out of town in a quiet suburb. Flinstonesque ribs and amazing BBQ chicken and beef. I cant remember the name but can track down if you are interested.

About the fest:

* One thing we realised pretty late in the game was that if you want to go to any of the big "exclusive" after parties you have to book in advance, period. If you get on the web and search around about 2 weeks before that will probably be ample time. The LEVIs nad NME after party's were pretty nuts last year and we were also lucky enough to blagg our way in to the last afterparty on the last night. These parties are usually held at massive warehouses out of town or in big marquees and the like. Very different to the usual club/pub atmosphere that the rest of the festival.

about the town:

*Even if you have a car take a taxi at least once, meet and Austin cabbie and you will know why.

* Head down to where the main uni is ( sorry this is a bit vague aswell) lots of pretty interesting clothes, books and music shops, it's rough as guts though so keep your head down!

* Once a week a mass of people go down to this huge bridge and watch the bats make thier evening descent into the night ( from under the bridge where they sleep) Sounds kinda lame but literally like a million bats fly out over about a 15 minute period and it's a bit of an "Austin" experience. Ask a local and they will fill you in more than I can.

Are you going to the film, music or multimedia SXSW?

[retzie]

hey retzie ... yep delegate passes sorted (got the platinum pass which covers everything) and accomm sorted (although we had to get 2 diff hotels - the hyatt and the at&t one) which was extremely lucky!

more looking for good places to get breakfast, food etc ... a few places to go at night. even things to do on the quiet days. i[ve heard austin is an amazing city and a lot of fun.

Sweet, accomm/ticketing can be a gigantic shitfight. If it's the Hyatt I'm thinking of, you are right downtown on the river

Food-wise, you MUST go to El Chilito at Manor (said May-nor) and Chestnut (although, I think there's one downtown now too). Best.Taco.Stand.Ever. Also, the same people run El Chile up the road, which has great (not Tex) Mexican food. In the same area: East Side Cafe is really good; and, Clementine is a cool place to hang out, with the best coffee I found in town. Kerbey Lane Cafe is a bit of an institution, although I was told off for it not being classy enough - it's like an odd-ball diner. The one on Guadalupe (said Guadaloop) is closest (and is 24hr), or you can trek up to Kerbey Lane for the original. Does a good breakfast too. Be warned, though - it is still America, so you'll be hard-up to find an actually good breakfast anywhere. I would also check out the giant Wholefoods on 6th and Lamar - it is their flagship store and they have a massive awesome food hall. A bit in the middle of nowhere, but Cafe Mundi on E 5th is very cool. Downtown, for coffee during the day, and cocktails at night, try Halcyon at 4th and Lavaca.

I'm sure there are finer dining options around, but I've always been on a budget and just doing the local thing.

Other things of note:

• The Alamo Drafthouse cinema - it's got the vibe of the Valhalla/Astor and you get food and drinks served in your seat. Definitely one to check out if you take a night off from festivaling.
• There's nice walking along the river (which is called Town Lake...) There's also the Barton Creek Greenbelt if you want a bit more of a hike. I've heard swimming at Barton Springs is good too.
• South Congress (or SoCo) on the south side of the river is pretty cool, but somewhat overplayed.
• The shopping strip near the UT campus on Guadalupe is called The Drag. There is an eclectic mix of places, but it's a bit down-rent and student-y. (Dunno about rough though?)
• If you need a Corporate America shopping fix, you won't find it downtown - head to Barton Creek Square Mall.
• For the most part, a car will be a pain in the arse - I had mine with me and barely used it. Downtown is a nightmare to navigate and I can only imagine what festival traffic will do to parking. That being said, you might want to get to places the buses won't take you, so maybe just reserve yourself a rental for a couple of random days so you can get out and about.
• If your hotel doesn't have a shuttle, there's a city bus that will take you straight from the airport to downtown.
• The east side of town is the dodgy part (east of I-35, south of Manor). And that isn't good-dodgy, just dodgy-dodgy.
• Everything closes at 2am. For reals. Maybe things get a bit more flexible during the festival, but expect events in venues to happen/end early.

It'll be fucken rad. Enjoy!!

[shepherd]

thanks retzie and hatsudai - great advice.

hatsudai - going for both interactive and music. there for 3 days of int, full music schedule.

[dengelman]

Yay - booked in Japan trip!
16 days in March-April - hopefully get the start of cherry blossom season!

Farken pumped...
Will definitely help get me through the next 6 weeks of work-study pain!

[Lizkins]

What travel agents don't want you to know:
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/what ... 5826275544

def initeresting read, and quite shocking i thought

[mrj]

What travel agents don't want you to know:
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/what ... 5826275544

def initeresting read, and quite shocking i thought

sensationalism

the have obviously found themselves some scum buckets who have no conscience and are quoting them.

I know real estate agents who are the exact opposite and go out of their way to get the best possible deal/cheapest price for people because they love travel and helping people to travel also.

Any sales environment that is comission based experiences is subject this kind of thing, and as always there will be people who do the right thing and people who will try to exploit it. In the end as with everything the onus is on the customer to be discerning and if you think you are getting ripped off, then go somewhere else.

Easy!

[Blaxter]

Survived 2 months in UK, including getting my ticket voided by British airways.
Met lost of awesome people who were involved in an array of interesting pursuits and careers.
Stayed in my brothers pub fro most of the trip and soaked up the ambience, conversations and cider.
Good times.

[Lizkins]

What travel agents don't want you to know:
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/what ... 5826275544

def initeresting read, and quite shocking i thought

sensationalism

the have obviously found themselves some scum buckets who have no conscience and are quoting them.

I know real estate agents who are the exact opposite and go out of their way to get the best possible deal/cheapest price for people because they love travel and helping people to travel also.

Any sales environment that is comission based experiences is subject this kind of thing, and as always there will be people who do the right thing and people who will try to exploit it. In the end as with everything the onus is on the customer to be discerning and if you think you are getting ripped off, then go somewhere else.

Easy!

i reckon i just almost got had, check it (from travel agent i emailed making a query on return flights from Melbs to KL) -

"Please find attached a quote for you to consider. I am unsure as to weather you have heard, but Emirates have started flying to KL. On the dates you wish to travel I can get return airfares for $792.61 per person, including taxes. This fare does expire on Friday, but really is great value! I have attached a quote for you to consider. I wish Emirates were flying here last year when I had so many visits to my family! Please don't hesitate to contact me should you require any further information, want me to add on any accommodation or wish for me to hold these seats for you. I look forward to hearing from you soon"

i just checked online before they sent me this email and found my flights for $580 return including taxes and other charges on their own fricken website. When they sent through the above email to me i asked why on earth it was $200 more than what i found online, they apologised and said they will beat the price online and send me a $20 voucher as well.

[gnat]

ooh psych liz! that's so cheeky

the spelling fail would have nailed it for me before i even got to the price though

[C.I.A.]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transpor ... 02-09.html

“Flying Cheap” lays it all out in understandable fashion and even gets into the politics of flying. It describes how the deregulation of the airline industry in the late 1970s led to the major airlines outsourcing smaller routes to regional airlines—which don’t need to pay union wages and benefits—to get passengers cheaply to their hubs for longer flights. The regionals hire less-experienced pilots, and the pressure they put on them to fly for financial reasons can compromise safety. Additionally, the big guys avoid knowing about the difference in the safety standards of the regionals to avoid liability.

“[The crash has] become the symbol of everything that’s wrong with the industry,” notes Clay Foushee, a congressional investigator and former airline executive, on the program.

“Flying Cheap” also notes there were safety concerns about Colgan as early as 1998 and questions whether the Federal Aviation Administration acts more like a promoter of the financially strained airlines than a regulator or watchdog.

Of course, “Frontline” humanizes the story, opening with interviews with relatives and friends of those who died and closing poignantly at a funeral. It is strong, emotional material that’s been done by the local news departments.

It is interviews with two former Colgan pilots, Corey Heiser and Chris Wiken, that illustrate the disturbing trends involving safety and pay issues.

“This whole system that we’ve built of outsourcing our flying to these low-cost providers has so little incentive for safety,” said O’Brien in the interview. “Almost everything about this system contravenes safety.”

Worth checking out, esp with the increased corner-cutting in the aviation industry in the US.

[Lizkins]

ooh psych liz! that's so cheeky

the spelling fail would have nailed it for me before i even got to the price though

i laffed at the spelling fail. but i scanned email for the price before i even read the whole thing. then when i did read it and read this bit "This fare does expire on Friday, but really is great value! I have attached a quote for you to consider. I wish Emirates were flying here last year when I had so many visits to my family!" i thought, that's it! farken bollocks to that and her sneeky ways, cos that is fricken sales tactics bullshit and then some, and pushing to get her commission in on time

[gnat]

i'm going to send that to old mate sam, my travel agent

total geezer. my flights to SE asia last time were embarressingly cheap. i'm just about to scope a thai airways deal again. we're locked and loaded, ready to book t00t t00t!

[deviant]

Oh hai I'm on koh phanang

[youthful_implants]

Oh hai I'm on koh phanang

any nice ladybois?

[ghetto kitty]

Oh hai I'm on koh phanang

aw im jealous!

are you going on the snoop dawg boat trip that leaves from Haad rin? DO IT!

[shepherd]

austin and LA in 4 weeks!

[nic]

28 days later

[shepherd]

don't get it

[nic]

sorry it really wasnt remotely funnie tbh
7 days in a week, 4 weeks in a month.

thats the jok.

[elysium]

austin

have heard lots of good things about this town

[quick]

Leave South America on the 19th Feb, after 4.5 months, its been amazing, anyone ever coming here, I will be more than happy to give some great tips... off to New York after this... this weekend is Carnival, great way to see this continent out, massive 4 day Party in Colombia.

[gnat]

good one quick- suck it up. i'm insanely jealous. get yourself some canary yellow feathers, a massive bag and shake your ass in the streets

anyone been to yarrawonga to do farm gate trail?

[Lizkins]

quick travel query - i just confirmed flights to KL and the agent reckons i need to make full payment today to book the seats. Is that correct? i am giving more than half the cost of the flights today, but surely the remaining few hundred can wait yeah?

[Fents]

quick travel query - i just confirmed flights to KL and the agent reckons i need to make full payment today to book the seats. Is that correct? i am giving more than half the cost of the flights today, but surely the remaining few hundred can wait yeah?

not in our case when we flew to KL. it was a 10% deposit up front then rest of payment due 2 weeks from departure, i would question them why lizzy.

[Lizkins]

on it! thanks Fents!

just went to the Manager to complain cos she then tried to charge me another $200 for moving my flight to a day earlier. they are now back-tracking a lot.

they should just give up, i am unrelenting on stuff like this. you annoy me, i annoy you more back yes yes

[Blaxter]

I got pretty well fuucked over on my return flight. Had to pay extra to book new flights cuase I didn't usew one of the 'free' vouchers I got to fly from Frankfurt to London.
British Airways cabin staff were excellent but there policy can go fuck itself.
QANTAS bailed me out and are taking it up with BA, they charged me a couple of hundred to rebook flights and got me home several days after I was supposed to fly when BA wouldn't help at all.

[Lizkins]

i can't believe they did that too you, saw it on FB and thought it was well fucked. being stranded o/s is huge fear aye. you feel like you can't do anything and have little control