The Travel Thread

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:21 pm

more blog and photo updates steve....

you lazy krunt

DBoy · Post by **DBoy** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:29 am

yeah, between beats and FB it doesn't feel like you are online enough - maybe some more posts about how good everything is so my jealousy can grow a little more.

mrj · Post by **mrj** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:13 pm

hahahahahahahaha best

quick · Post by **quick** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:17 am

I have been too timid to take my camera out on random journeys... lots of photos i´ve been taged in I was there for the whole album, so check them all out. and yes I am lazy with my blog, FB and MB.C are just easier to update... and Dave, you've done it all before, and u got good shit happening now, so sit there and take it lol

oh, and there is no good cheese here, it all sucks

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:56 am

Im loving the updates quickster!

now...

do i go to Samoa for scuba diving and island relaxo?

or the States for Burning Man and total freak crew?

hrmmm.

DBoy · Post by **DBoy** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:59 am

Morning Gitty. That is a hell of choice.
I couldn't for going to the States for Holidays personnally - even for Burning Man, which was once on my lists of must does.
From what people tell me about the kaos of security checks and nightmares of US airports these days, puts me right off.

Do you still have fam. and friends there though?

I would go island relaxo personnally - just where I am at the moment.

mrj · Post by **mrj** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:04 am

Hawaii was nice. And the airports were fine. But yeh if you are going to mainland its sposed to be a bit more full on.

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:07 am

meh, you only have to endure it for less than 1% of your holiday time.... don't see the issue tbh

I was frisked and had my luggage totally gone through with a fine tooth comb in Tokyo... no big deal

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:45 pm

travel to and from the US is fine - the ETSA visa process makes things quicker apparently.

i'm there in March for work (LA for a few days then Austin for SXSW) and then back in April for honeymoon (LA, LV, SF, Highway 1 etc) and am not anticipating any problems. Customs/immigration generally seems to be more stringent/time consuming in AU than the US.

Post by **JAMESSSS** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:50 pm

LA, LV, SF, Highway 1 etc

We did that last November, awesome awesome awesome times.

Make sure you get a convertible and make sure it's red.

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:12 pm

ah cool - james i might have a few questions for you if i may!?

basically we're flying into LAX ... 3 nights there then hiring Mustang convertible and driving to Vegas. 4 nights at the Wynn and then we drive back to Cali (I'm going back to cali cali cali) ... and then drive LA to San Fran over 8 days up Hwy 1 through Malibu, santa Barbara, San Luis, Monterey, Big Sur etc ... then driving up to Napa, then back to SF for 5 nights. Bloody pumped!

Post by **JAMESSSS** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:24 pm

We got the Red Mustang in San Fran, drove up to Sonoma and Napa then back down to LA (Santa Cruz, Monterey, BIG SUR!!!, San Luis, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara) then across to the Grand Canyon and back to Vegas.

I think we had a similar amount of time. Wish I could go back!

Post by **JAMESSSS** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:25 pm

Actually I think we did LA - San Fran in 3 days. 8 would be better!

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:14 pm

I did pretty much the same....

but I was in a Bus

fail

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:30 pm

sounds fun james!

ok so maybe you can help me with some stuff I am a bit stuck on ...

- restaurants and food in LA. We're staying at the softel in bev hills so we're relatively central. have arranged a few meals already - katsuya, desert rose (vego place), yamashira plus there's a few recommendations for breakfast/lunch (Joans on Third, Ivy etc) ... any places you stumbled upon? I remember when I went last year Nick and I had a great breakfast at a diner joint on Sunset that was good. Standard Hotel was good for drinks too.
- LA tours - yeah they're cheesy but f*ck it ... it's LA. Looking at the Starline. Has anyone done a tour in LA?
- Grand Canyon - JBS did you do a tour or just drive out? There seem to be a few good helicopter/boat etc ones that look fun. Around $300pp ... hard to work out the best one as there's so many. Has anyone on MB done a grand Canyon tour out of LV?
- stuff to do on Hwy1 - there's all the standard stuff ... JBS is there anything non standard that is a must see/do? There seems to be a lot of cool pubs/inns on Hwy 1 ... plus some great vantage points and cafes and shops etc. We have 2 days each in Santa Barbara, San Luis, Monterey and Big Sur so plenty of time in each. any good restaurants would be appreciated - vego friendly!
- Napa. never been and don't know much aside the wine is great. Any help?
- Has anyone been to Tahoe - we have 2 days set aside for it but it'll be May which is sort of blah weather ... I hear Tahoe is best in either mid summer or mid winter

Post by **JAMESSSS** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:13 pm

We stayed right on Santa Monica Pier in LA. To be honest I wasn't that much of a fan of LA at all. Venice beach was nice, was cool to drive around the hills and that was about it. We didn't eat anywhere amazing while we were there. Standard hotel def. good for drinks. Oh and go to the Getty Center, that was cool from an architectural standpoint.

We just drove out to the canyon. I think it was 8 hours or so each way from Vegas to the Canyon. The drive was awesome in a non memorable kinda way. There was one really awesome roadhouse we went to on the way. Peggy Sue's Diner or something. If I was going back and could afford it I would stay in the national park at the Grand Canyon Lodge (http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/lodgin ... 0-411.html) and walk down to the river to stay over night. I also heard you can do rafting down the river if the water is high enough, that would be mad. Whatever you do you HAVE to see the canyon. It's just mental. Like looking at a painted background or something.

We actually tried to make it to Tahoe but then gave up and went back down the coast when we realized we were pushing time. Whatever you do, do NOT stay in West Stockton. You might die.

As far as highway 1 goes we just stopped wherever looked good. Vantage points are all well marked, but you can just stop wherever really. You have way more time than we had, so you should be able to go nuts. I am very jealous you get to stay on Big Sur. RAD!

We spent more time in Sonoma than Napa, but both are sleepy wine villages (Napa less so though). Sleep, eat, drink, repeat.

It's all getting hazy now, need to go again.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:42 pm

DBoy wrote:Morning Gitty. That is a hell of choice.
I couldn't for going to the States for Holidays personnally - even for Burning Man, which was once on my lists of must does.
From what people tell me about the kaos of security checks and nightmares of US airports these days, puts me right off.

Do you still have fam. and friends there though?

I would go island relaxo personnally - just where I am at the moment.

last time i went to the states was 2004, and they were absolute assholes to everyone entering the country,
but i stepped up to customs and showed em my yankee passport and they were like 'seeya later!" with a smile and a wave...
so not really an issue for me hehehe

family - no.
friends - yes but only ones made here and in asia, no crew to speak of per se...

so yeah, am leaning towards Samoa really. I love off the beaten track. Plus they need my tourist dollar atm.

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:00 pm

shepherd wrote: Has anyone on MB done a grand Canyon tour out of LV?

I did a light plane tour which was AWESOME... will try to find the details, was a loooong time ago.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 5:08 pm

Vote 1 for light plane tour to the big hole, OR if your really up for it, the donkey trail down through the bottom! I wanted to do that last time but not enough time in AZ.

You have to see it, it made me realize the futility of humanity in one moment.

quick · Post by **quick** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:46 am

deviant wrote:
shepherd wrote: Has anyone on MB done a grand Canyon tour out of LV?
I did a light plane tour which was AWESOME... will try to find the details, was a loooong time ago.

yep, i did 2 years ago... bus takes 5 hours to get there, so you leave early and get back late, like 10pm... do the south rim, even with the glass walk, the west rim (only 3hrs from LV) isn't as impressive as its no where near a deep or wide, south rim is best because it is soooo massively deep and wide

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:30 am

My team leader has...

2 jetstar flights to Japan leaving 12th Feb, returning 28th of Feb for sale.

$900 for the 2 tix, jetstar will also charge you $300 to change it into your name... THAT'S $1200 for 2 peeps return to Tokyo... I paid OVER TRIPLE that last year.

you can change the dates to anytime this year... though you would also then have to pay the difference if the flights are more exxy...

PM for more info

gnat · Post by **gnat** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 11:46 am

anyone know of south aust beaches? fleurieu peninsula?

ADD_Boy · Post by **ADD_Boy** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:19 pm

Booking Japan for 4 weeks w my lady for October.

Fark yeeeeah!!!

Watch out Japan, I'm coming back !!!!

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:27 pm

wanna buy 2 tickets?

ADD_Boy · Post by **ADD_Boy** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:28 pm

saw that thanks but too early..

tempting but feb. also jetstar..

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:29 pm

you can change them

might still be cheaper.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:17 pm

i got my non refundable tickets refunded from jetstar

C.I.A. · Post by **C.I.A.** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:38 pm

Gnat, If you are going to head in that direction, I'd go to KI. Foodie paradise with some of the best beaches in SA. Drive down along the Fleurieu Penninsula going via McClaren Vale for some vino, Willunga for almonds and honey and sample some of the crayfish, KI cheese and organic produce including honey made by the last remaining pure strain of Ligurian bees on the planet.

In the other direction, head to Yorke Penninsula. Not as food-oriented, but the beaches are mile after mile of white squeaky sand. Top picks are Berri Bay for surf and Hardwike Bay for chilled wading with abalone and scallops meters from the low tide line if you can be bothered snorkelling.

Finally, Even further afield are the beaches on the Eyre Penninsula. My family have a private beach/oyster farm here and it is ZOMG retarded beautiful. Only thing is that anywhere in SA you are going to be sharing the water with the natives. Get used to shark stories and talk to the locals before you get in the water... they'll be able to tell you if there have been any Bronze Whalers or Great Whites in the area recently.

Enjoy

C.I.A. · Post by **C.I.A.** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:46 pm

Oh yeah, you can't really lose with SA beaches. Really white sand, but the water (without fail) is freezing... it wells up from Antartica and sweeps across the Great Australian Bite, staying frosty cool on even the hottest days. As a result the seafood is amazing... fresh and sweet and about as close to organic as you'll get on the planet.

Lil MiSbreaks · Post by **Lil MiSbreaks** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:15 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:i got my non refundable tickets refunded from jetstar

Yes you did indeedy

C.I.A. · Post by **C.I.A.** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:29 pm

LMB

Have fun tonight!!

I'm having trouble getting through to the Canadian consulate. They are all probably getting completely baked on someone's sofa while they wait for the olympics to start.

Post by **JAMESSSS** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:30 pm

I really hope Ligurian bees are Lions x tiger x bees

I really hope so.

Lil MiSbreaks · Post by **Lil MiSbreaks** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:34 pm

Thanks CIA!

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:56 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:i got my non refundable tickets refunded from jetstar

WAH? how? impart your knowledge... might help him as no one wants his tickets.

C.I.A. · Post by **C.I.A.** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:58 pm

JAMESSSS wrote:I really hope Ligurian bees are Lions x tiger x bees

I really hope so.

x

= AWESOME

Lil MiSbreaks · Post by **Lil MiSbreaks** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:38 pm

Deviant, talk to me tonight at Bass Camp if your going...... I can assist

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 6:00 pm

deviant wrote:
ghetto kitty wrote:i got my non refundable tickets refunded from jetstar

WAH? how? impart your knowledge... might help him as no one wants his tickets.

basically, they kept sending slight changes to flight times, and asking me to approve.
they did it once, and the second time i told them i was a nurse shift worker and could not change my shifts again...

they refunded it in full

lilmiss has a few ideas tooo!!!

aroes · Post by **aroes** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:07 pm

bahahahahahahahahahaha

it all makes sense now

gold

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:17 pm

I put on my best snooty voice and told them my husband could travel but I could not, and that this was an inexcusable inconvenience.

Post by **huge** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:31 pm

C.I.A. wrote:Oh yeah, you can't really lose with SA beaches. Really white sand, but the water (without fail) is freezing... it wells up from Antartica and sweeps across the Great Australian Bite, staying frosty cool on even the hottest days. As a result the seafood is amazing... fresh and sweet and about as close to organic as you'll get on the planet.

was in adelaide a few years back and went swimming and the water was so amazingly warm. mind you it was aus day and about 45 degree could have warmed things up huhu.

aroes · Post by **aroes** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:35 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:I put on my best snooty voice and told them my husband could travel but I could not, and that this was an inexcusable inconvenience.

quite a few people have asked me how you went about doing it

i just kept saying "i'm not sure, but she's pretty resourceful"

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 3:55 pm

i should give 'loophole' lessons i think...

Lesson One - How to fuck the system that fucks you, and come out on top of banks, phone providers and airlines to name a few.

Amick · Post by **Amick** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 3:59 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:the second time i told them i was a nurse shift worker and could not change my shifts again...

I put on my best snooty voice and told them my husband could travel but I could not, and that this was an inexcusable inconvenience.

You lied to jetstar twice? how can you live with yourself???

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:01 pm

LETS FLY SHIT STAR!!!!!

Amick · Post by **Amick** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:02 pm

Shitstar
Shitestar
Fuckstar
Jetfuck
Jetscar

etc, etc...

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:10 pm

Jetfuck made me giggle.

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:55 pm

anyone got any accomm recommendations for paris? up to $300AUD a night.

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 7:06 pm

I'm going to go stay here..

www.bottlebeach1resort.com

freakin' sweet! seriously, cheapest room is $17 per night.. most exxy... $80

Amick · Post by **Amick** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 7:23 pm

hahahaha

wtf?

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 7:33 pm

what's so weird about that?