The Holidays Thread

[lordofthepies]

I'd want to spend at least 2 weeks in Vietnam and similar in Cambodia. Are you not planning on going to Laos?

 

[Stagat]

Alright. Cheers for your help.

Just one more question....how long do you reckon I'd need to see Cambodia/Vietnam. I can't imagine I'll spend nearly as much time in those countries as I will be in Thailand.

Well while this is far more subjective than visa technicalities, I'd echo what our vegan friend said really. Give them both a couple of weeks. No less than ten days. Especially like you said you have 3 months in SE Asia. Loads of time, really. And look to include Laos too mate. Maybe Myanmar (disclaimer: I've not been there yet).

I wouldn't hang around in Malaysia too long after you've visited your mate's family though.

 

[Deuce_Bigalow]

Anyone been to the full moon party in Koh Phangan? Looks like a night in Magaluf on pills....not sure if I can be arsed with it tbh.

Potentially going at the end of January.

Went in the summer was during the public holiday of Asalha Bucha, hated it was far too busy , shit music and just a load of lads in vest tops prowling the beach with a bad smell of desperation.
However like Stagat at pointed out i was one of the people who chose to stay on Samui and catch the first boat home next morning which was about 7:30. I loved Samui was a great weekend there and whould probably return to Phangan again sometime as i have heard good things about it when the full moon isn't on.

Thailand on a whole is great though hence why i am returning so quickly at christmas for 6 weeks, this time though taking in abit more central, and northern and few more parts of Asia as ive done the south.

 

[Nath]

Just back from Berlin. Unbelievable city.

 

[Van Der Graaf]

Booked Dublin for next Monday, £16 return from EMA couldn't be sniffed at. Never been, so would anyone be able to recommend non-tourist priced stuff to do?

Secondly on Christmas Day me, Joe. and a mate of ours have booked a weekend in Brno middle of January - £20 return - (Turns out our mate is 21 that weekend). Hear lots of positive things, but has anyone been and can give some insider tips on where's good? Particularly as it looks like it will be -1deg and I'm not trudging in the snow to find somewhere lively. Orhid in shorts and T-shirt was one thing, but this...

 

[Tilbury]

Booked Dublin for next Monday, £16 return from EMA couldn't be sniffed at. Never been, so would anyone be able to recommend non-tourist priced stuff to do?

Did that same flight in May I think, 06:30? Guinness factory is fairly pricey for what it is, would advise the croke park stadium tour instead especially for a sports fan. St Stephens green is nice to walk around, if you've got more time Phoneix park is massive and worth a look. Museum of Ireland is free, Dublin castle is too. Saint Patricks cathedral isn't but probably worth the few euros it is to go inside. Trinity College, the Irish Parliament and Christ Church Cathedral also other things to see. Temple bar area is lively at night. Enjoy, amazing place.

 

[Van Der Graaf]

No, lands late in the evening, but is fine by me as I want a cheap(ish) trip just so I can tick off Ireland at last and then get some of the sights out of the way as I have a feeling a big group of us will do a trip eventually as the flights are always dirt cheap from EMA. And I'd rather miss a few nights out in Nottingham to go...

Looking forward to it though, thanks for the tips!

 

[Tilbury]

Oh even better. If you need somewhere to stay the Times Hostel is cheap, pleasant enough and in a good location.

 

[Van Der Graaf]

Already booked! Glad you can give a good recommendation...

 

[Joe.]

Booked Dublin for next Monday, £16 return from EMA couldn't be sniffed at. Never been, so would anyone be able to recommend non-tourist priced stuff to do?

Secondly on Christmas Day me, Joe. and a mate of ours have booked a weekend in Brno middle of January - £20 return - (Turns out our mate is 21 that weekend). Hear lots of positive things, but has anyone been and can give some insider tips on where's good? Particularly as it looks like it will be -1deg and I'm not trudging in the snow to find somewhere lively. Orhid in shorts and T-shirt was one thing, but this...

No need to know where's good son. Just turn up and it falls at your doorstep!

 

[Van Der Graaf]

Always good to have some insider knowledge....

 

[smat]

goa for 2 weeks beginning of feb

 

[silkyman]

Where do your friends stay in HK? If you can get free accommodation then you're sorted as that's the priciest element of any trip to HK.

September can be very humid though.

It's always humid isn't it?

I was there in September 2008 and it's almost like swimming just walking down the street.

Probably the sweatiest I've ever been when we walked from Kowloon to The Peak!

It was our honeymoon and we stayed here, if it helps...

http://www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/...s-suites/rooms/deluxe-side-harbour-view-room/

 

[silkyman]

Meanwhile. The wife has apparently booked half term at Disneyland Paris.

 

[BlueBee]

Hong kong (and on to se asia/Australia) tomorrow lunch time. Ridiculously excited but a tad nervous at the same time.

 

[nousername]

It's always humid isn't it?

I was there in September 2008 and it's almost like swimming just walking down the street.

Probably the sweatiest I've ever been when we walked from Kowloon to The Peak!

It was our honeymoon and we stayed here, if it helps...

http://www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/...s-suites/rooms/deluxe-side-harbour-view-room/

Nice spot!

It's actually not to be bad from November to March, in fact it can get quite chilly when the wind changes from south to north and blows in cold air from China. Probably the nicest time of the year to visit. The rest of the year can be quite unbearable!

 

[Techno Natch]

What did you think of Budapest?

 

[nousername]

Hey Techno Natch , I really enjoyed Bydapest thanks.

I was there for 4 nights through the week, so I never made it to any club nights unfortunately and it was pretty low key in general.

The highlight for me was simply walking around the centre and checking out the bars and cafes. (The ruin bars are unique - I only made it to Simplizia - which I gather is the main one?) I didn't quite expect it to be such a beautiful city, which was a treat coming from Hong Kong where it's quite architecturally bland.

The walk from the centre to the park is particularly impressive. Good museums as well, plus the food market was a highlight, despite the cuisine being a little heavy for me.

I also found it remarkably cheap. Ate out and drank all day and averaged less than £50.

Quite keen to go back in the summer, ideally with a group of friends.

 

[Techno Natch]

Nice! Sounds good mate. I love just wondering around so if its good for that then I'm looking forward to it.

I've been keeping track of things over the last month club wise and there is loads going on so I'm going there with am open mind of it being another place we consider moving to. Especially as its that bit cheaper. We'll see.

 

[nousername]

I kept my eye out for club nights, bars etc. and there's definitely a lot going on over the weekends.

Base yourself near the old Jewish quarter as that is where all the action is. It's very 'East Berlin' with the ruin bars and dingy night spots. Very unpretentious and cheap.

Borkonyha is a fantastic restaurant in the centre of Budapest near St. Stephens Basilica that is worth investigating if you're into your food.

 

[silkyman]

Nice spot!

It's actually not to be bad from November to March, in fact it can get quite chilly when the wind changes from south to north and blows in cold air from China. Probably the nicest time of the year to visit. The rest of the year can be quite unbearable!

I've got a friend who is over all the time. He hates it half the time when it gets really hot. I'd like to go again. But Singapore is next on the list as we have family there.

 

[SF_]

Anyone been to Stuttgart and have any reccommendations? Booked a spontaneous trip there next weekend as return flights were £24.

 

[Van Der Graaf]

Booked up the first leg of our summer trip. Doing Poland - Georgia - Armenia. Then some are flying to Istanbul, but I'm swaying towards doing Greece - Albania - Macedonia by myself....Anyway. Anyone been to Georgia/Armenia and got any advice on what to expect?

 

[lordofthepies]

My girlfriend and I have a few days off work in March and we intend use them for a short city break. Ideally, it would be somewhere that is a few degrees warmer than Manchester is in March but we're not necessarily looking for guaranteed sunshine. We thing somewhere like Lisbon, Valencia or Seville might be nice. Does anyone have any other recommendations?

 

[nousername]

I've heard Lisbon is really buzzing right now.

 

[spireite]

Anyone been to Stuttgart and have any reccommendations? Booked a spontaneous trip there next weekend as return flights were £24.

Where did you manage to blag flights that cheap if I can ask?

 

[SF_]

Where did you manage to blag flights that cheap if I can ask?

Ryanair via Sky Scanner. Going back to Porto in April with Ryanair as well, £40 return.

No idea why they get stick personally, flown with them loads of times and it's always hassle free and unbelievable value.

 

[Techno Natch]

Yeah Lisbon is a great City, I've only been able to spend a couple of days there either side of a festival that we go to but it always felt like a good place and I'd like to go back to check it out properly.

Yeah Ryanair are amazing price wise. You just have to make sure you pay attention when booking anything and do everything that is asked of you. I've never had any problems. The day I found skyscanner probably changed my life! (Might be a slight exaggeration)

Off to Budapest next week. Our hotel is right on the edge of District VIII and seems to be within walking distance of a lot of the main touristy sites so we'll see those places around there early on. The castle etc. . I was thinking of heading to Corvin club on Friday night but I've just seen that Larm club has a dubtechno night on so I am buzzing for that. Then Saturday night we have a Psy-trance night at Durer Kert which should be great, it will be my girlfriends 30th too so should be a big one. I've been really impressed with the amount of nights I've found in Budapest, seems like there are decent nights every weekend with the odd name here and there. Good opening times too. Think we might check out Muszi if we get a chance too which is a new place in District VIII that seems interesting. I was planning to check out District VIII so it's handy we're right on the edges of it.

Then I think we'll do the baths on Monday before going further afield on the last two days to catch the other touristy stuff that we might not have caught in the first half of the week. We'll probably do lots of walking around and getting lost too. Are you back there now General_disarray? Have you been to Durer Kert before? Wondering what it's like.

 

[General_disarray]

I leave for Austria on Sunday mate for work; will be back Friday, then off to Austria on Sunday again for work. VIII district is "dodgy" by reputation, but my Hungarian friends said its the new VII district as the VII district is overrun with tourists, pub crawls, stag parties, Groups of English guys...... Still great bars in the VII district to avoid these people but the drug scene has died out there with Gypsies running the streets selling shit.

I was never into the drug scene but If you need stuff for the weekend let me know, I have friends who deal for a living out here. Although it sounds like the places you are going you won't be short of finding people. I'm not into that music if Im being honest but I have nothing against, I have no idea about any of those places as I said it's not my scene at all!!! I only know Corvin Teto which use to be one of the best places in town to go to party but the security started cracking down on the drug dealers and as since lost all its regulars, still amazing DJs who also play in Berlin, if you don;t care about it being busy, Corvin Teto still has the best sound system and DJs. Wednesday use to be the big night for Corvin Teto though, but I have no idea if thats still true. First 3 years of living here, every Wednesday Corvin Teto would be filled with a huge queue.

Budapest is 24/7 drinking and there are always bars open, every street every time, which is kind of dangerous given how cheap it is (90p for double jagerbomb for example).

I fucking love Porto; my best friend is Half Portuguese from Porto so been there many times. Quality city, Super Bock is probably my favourite beer in the world.

P.S VIII district is kind of vague and huge!!! Right now I'm staying at my mates in the VIII district but only 15 minutes of the VII district, as you'll see, Budapest is a really easy city to walk around. If you want some tips with the public transport;

Always buy a ticket if you take the metro, they check religiously at the metro.

In the whole 5 years of living here I have yet to see anyone check a ticket for the tram apart from night time past 11pm and the 4-6 tram is a huge time saver most of the time!!!

P.P.S

Kert translate to Garden; I googled the place, I may have been there, I know judging by the maps that I went to one bar around there but no idea, its pretty far out of town in terms of night life and we'd only go there if our friends band played there to be honest. I'll ask my friend later if its the same place, but basically unless you wanna commit to a taxi if you go to that place, then you're stuck there for the night,

AVOID INSTANT at all costs, absolute shithole soulless place these days. Full of c*** of the highest order. Basically like stepping into a modern day British nightclub full of people wanting fights. EllatoHaz is the new place to party, if you want an old style Hungarian bar to see what it was like before the smoking ban then check out Lampas on the same street as EllatoHaz.

Kuplung on Mondays is EVERY DRINK HALF PRICE FOR THE WHOLE NIGHT, which is even cheap for Hungarian standard. Absolutely heaving last time I went and full of girls although being with your girlfriend that doesnt matter, but basically you only need £5 for the whole night.

If you want to do some Open Mic nights or listen to some let me know, my friends play in about 3 every week although next week they'll be in Austria with me but the Open Mics still go on.

 

[Techno Natch]

Thank you that's very helpful I wish I could give you two likes! We were going to check out Corvin but the music seems a little soft on the Friday night for us but might still try to swing by. Everything that I read about VIII makes me think I will like it there so I am glad we're there seeing as I didn't really check where the hotel was. In regards to Durer Kert the nights going on until past 6 am so I think we'll be there all night.

Yeah we'll usually buy tickets for public transport because if we get caught it's probably not wort the hassle for us. Thanks for the advice about Lampas might check that out before Larm! Let me know about the open mic it might be good for after the weekend.