Countries you've visited?

[britbox]

I'm not mate, I'm a pom, but moved to Oz in 2012.

NRL or ARL? Living in Queensland NRL is more dominant and I follow the Titans a bit. Rugby Union and Football (Soccer) are my real loves to be honest. I used to watch a bit of Rugby League back in the UK (Widnes)... so it was easy to pick up over here. But, the more I watch ARL the more entertaining I find it and could imagine following that more than NRL in the long term once I get into it. I'm going to get tickets to the Gold Coast Suns/Collingwood game later in the season and make my ARL debut!

 

[shawnbm]

I've visited England, Ireland and France on one occasion. I've been to Bimini and Abaco in the Bahamas a few times. I've been to Mexico a couple times and Peru for a wedding years ago. The missus and I spent our honeymoon in Argentina and Chile seeing lakes and glaciers. Took the kids to Costa Rica a few years back and finally saw the Pacific Ocean. Finally, since I lived in Spain, I've gotten to know a lot of that nation and Portugal next door. Those are the only countries I've visited outside the USA.

In terms of favorite cities, Chicago, New York, Madrid and Lisbon come to the fore. Those are quality cities.

Cough. McDaids. Cough. :snigger

You know, that could qualify as a city onto itself!!!! No, I thought I had put Dublin in there, but must've got distracted and forgot. Dublin was marvelous and every bit as worthy as those others. Hell, it is a thousand years older than Madrid! I also forgot to mention that I have been sailing in the British Virgin Islands (with a brief layover in San Juan airport in Puerto Rico) and have been a couple of times to the Dominican Republic for vacation.

 

[Moxie]

^ Oh…good call, Matt. Maybe Russia has fallen onto the less-than-appealing list, but I would love to go. My ideal trip would be to take the train from Vladivostok, travel for days across the nothingness that is so much of Russia, reading War and Peace, or The Brothers Karamazov all the way, and finish up in Moscow, then St. Petersburg. So many possible adventures…so little time! But now that you mention it, Matt, it would jump maybe to my top 5 of places I've never been/things I've never done.

Haha sounds good, man. I'd also recommend adding Crime and Punishment to the hypothetical reading list. Since I love desolate areas/vast landscapes, I think going to Siberia would be one hell of an adventure, too. I think that would provide quite the contrast to the vibrant and dynamic lifestyle in NYC, as well. Do you live in one of those apartments? When I was in NY, I barely saw a normal house -- just an endless array of stores and apartments. Is that accurate?

Actually, Crime and Punishment might be the one! Yes, I do live in "one of those apartments." There aren't really any "normal houses" in Manhattan, nor even in the outer boroughs, except Staten Island, and they'd like to secede, anyway. You'd be amazed what's inside of some of those apartments. Not mine, though. :nono :laydownlaughing

 

[TsarMatt]

I was thinking about this earlier today -- which country would least-like to visit? Some people might say North Korea for obvious reasons, but I think it'd be fascinating to go to, purely because of how isolated and secretive it is. It'd be interesting to observe how people go on with their day-to-day lives and just what's it like to live under a despotic dictatorship.

I'd probably least-like to travel to a country like Niger. Lowest HDI ranking, riddled with extremism, corruption, and also poverty.

Oh, I'd also like to one day visit Ireland. I forgot to mention this in my OP. It looks like a lovely place - lot's of trees and small villages. Would provide quite the contrast to the urban jungle that is Melbourne. It looks peaceful there, and I love Gaelic football.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

^ A country like Yemen, which was historically an important and beautiful country, now run buy corrupt people and is a training ground for bunch of terrorist groups who are constantly high from chewing khat all day, I have no desire visiting, no offense...

 

[Hoergren]

I don't know if this fits the thread but here it is anyway. A person wrote on Facebook the following about us Danes (apparently self a Dane as me)

The more I travel around the world, the more I realize that we Danes are actually pretty weird. Here is my list of weird stuff Danes do.

The wierd Danes
Danes don’t trust weather forecasts.
Danes puts salt on food without even tasting it.
Want to upset a Dane? Compare them to a Swede.
Danish news is either about politics or shows on TV.
Danes get confused and embarrassed if you compliment them.
Danish media goes mental when a Dane is on CNN or Oprah.
Students have their graduation party before the graduation.
Danes think you are a creep if you smile at a stranger’s baby.
Riding a bicycle in the winter is considered normal in Denmark.
Danes can’t agree upon what the national dish is. Help me out here?
Danes love their scarves. You even see guys in clubs wearing scarves.
Danish boys think that grabbing ass in the club is the same as shaking hands.
If it’s cozy, it’s called “Hygge” – and no Dane can explain exactly what that is.
Danes love their Licorice: Candies, gum, ice cream, food, drinks – anything goes.
Danes will leave a pub or a bar if there is no place to sit. Sitting is important.
Danes never ever sit next to someone on a bus if there is a free seat anywhere else.
If a Dane wants to be “undaned” and move abroad they are taxed approx. 50% of their assets.
Danes that buy a car end up paying almost 2 times the cars value in taxes and charges.
Danish people have excellent free healthcare but still pay to go to private hospitals.
Danes celebrate religious holidays (Christmas and Easter) by brewing an extra strong beer.
Danes are proud – and makes sure to point that out – each time they see a MAERSK container abroad.
Danes loves bathtubs as most people don’t have them. And when they do, they rarely use them.
Danish people can be your best friends when they are drunk. The next day they don’t even say “Hi”.
Many Danes don’t close/zip their coat even in the winter time… They would rather be cold than look uncool!
Ask a totally wasted Dane if he or she is drunk and the answer will most certainly be “No no no no no, not at all!”
Danes don’t like initiating a casual conversation with strangers on the street – unless they are drunk, of course.
Have this weird folk-law/logic saying, “Don’t think you’re anything special – You’re no better than the rest of us”.
Majority of Danes do not like wearing bright colors during autumn/winter. Wear a red coat and you will be stared upon.
Danes have sooooo many religions holidays – but few Danes very rarely practice or even believe in any specific religion.
Equality is important. That’s why most Danish guys don’t open the doors for a girl or take her bag if it’s heavy (come on guys!).
Danes are usually very relaxed about sex. Having sex at 15 is very normal. Having sex even earlier isn’t that uncommon either.
Danes get 5 weeks paid holiday a year, and a 37 hour work week… and we are still some of the most stressed people in the world.
Danish students get approx. 1000 USD/month studying, and access to free education (even universities). And still bitch about it.
Danes get EXTREMELY proud if you mention us winning the European Football Championship in 1992. This is our nation’s proudest moment!
Danes buys 5 good beers, then cheap stuff for the rest of the party, thinking “I’m going be drunk and don’t really care about the taste then”.
Danes are hysterical about hygiene, but apparently do not mind having birthday cakes candles blown out by people with no control of their saliva.
There are basically two types of Danes… The ones that buy their Christmas gifts at the latest possible time, and the one that buys them in October.
There is no age restriction on drinking alcohol in Denmark. Seeing drunk 15 year-olds in the streets (weekends) on their way to parties is a pretty normal sight.
If you’re at a party, approach a Dane, give him/her a hug and ask “So long, how have you been?” – Most Danes will be confused but play along for quite some time, embarrassed to tell they don’t know you.
Danes hate surprise visits. We don’t know how to handle unexpected guests. Please, call a week in advance to set something up – even though you are childhood friends and see each other all the time anyway.
Danes have no problem with self-irony and being laughed at ;-);-)

 

[Horsa]

If you class my country as the U.K. or Britain the countries I've visited are Spain (both mainland & Majorca) & Malta. If you class my country as England I've also been to Scotland which I love & is where most of my ancestors come from & Wales.

I went to Alcudia in Majorca. The beach is very clean. The sand is white & the sea is see-through. When you paddle in the sea you feel something swimming over your foot & you look down to see fish swimming over your feet. We stayed in the Belle Vue apartments where the food is lovely & the entertainment is good both during the day & at night. The fun team members were very good at getting people involved. I took part in the pistol shooting, rifle shooting, archery competition (which I beat Dad at & he didn't like it), killer darts & *at the time I didn't need spectacles all the time so could swim which I loved* they were a player short for the teenage water polo team so they dragged me into the team & told me I was the goalie. I told them I wasn't a teenager as I was 20 at the time but they told me I looked younger so had to play. We also did aqua-aerobics which was fun. I enjoyed the nightly entertainment best as I loved singing along but they got me on the dance-floor although I only dance when drunk. At the end of the week I was awarded a best guest certificate & medal & given a free drink ticket for the bar.

I went to Benidorm too. I loved the sand-sculptures which were always being moulded on the beach & the foot-showers you go under before drying off & putting your shoes on & walking down town. The 1st time I was in Benidorm I went in July which is sale time. I kept seeing signs in shops saying rebajas which means sale. My parents kept asking me what that meant & I said sale so we went in all the shops. We also went to Aqualandia & Mundomar. Aqualandia is a big waterpark next to Mundomar with wave pools, rides & slides. I went on the big slide but I didn't feel as if I was moving anywhere so I pushed myself with my elbows & got told off in Spanish. I didn't understand though & didn't tell them I didn't understand them so after having a quick telling off I didn't understand I moved on. Mundomar is a sea-life centre as can be seen by it's name Mundo meaning world & mar meaning sea. There were also lemurs & parrots there. We looked at the sea-life & also watched the sea-lion, dolphin & parrot shows. I was particularly taken with the parrot shows as the parrots were amazing. They rode bicycles, played basketball, got in & out of deckchairs on order & 1 could add up. We had a boat-trip to peacock island 1 day which is a nature reserve & in the boat-trip money there is another boat-trip included. The other boat-trip is in a glass-bottomed boat around the island where you can see all the fish. We went to the medieval night where you see jousting & have a meal which you have to eat the medieval way. We had soup for starters which we had to eat by dipping our bread in then picking the bowl up & drinking it as they didn't have cutlery in medieval times. Then we had roast potatoes, pork chops & chicken which we had to pick off the hostess trolley which was being wheeled round. For dessert we had an ice-cream cone which was the least authentic part of the meal. They came round with jugs of water, beer or sangria for you to share & pour for your drink. I chose sangria. It was lovely. They had some lovely horses in the show. You also had to cheer your team in the joust while eating & drinking. We also went to Alicante which was a nice town & Calpe which had a good market.

I loved it in Malta. 98% of the population are Catholic. As a result there is only really 1 thing for people who don't go to church to do on Sunday which is go to Valletta flea market which is very good & cheap & sells almost everything & that's what we did. We also went to the blue lagoon. We found a decent café where me & Dad had roast salmon & chips for dinner & Mother had salad. We were staying in St. Paul's Bay. There was a bus every 5, 10 or 15 minutes to anywhere on the island. We went to Mellieha Bay which is 1 of the only sandy beaches on the island. There's a café on the beach. I had lasagne for dinner, swilled down by a latte. There was a man going round selling nougat & bananas on the beach. I bought a nougat. We went to Valletta 1 day which is the capital city. We went to the archaeology museum which was fascinating. We also had a horse & coach ride round Valletta. The horse run faster than the bus. Mind you, you only have to look at the bus to be able to tell they don't need M.O.T.'s there. We also went to Mdina (the silent city *though it wasn't very silent when I went*) which was the Roman capital of Malta. It's a walled city. It's also easy to see it was built when horse-drawn transport was on the road as the road is very narrow & when a car comes everyone shouts car & moves to the side. It's full of churches & museums. You get a discount if you go in all the museums which I did. I got an extra discount because even though I told them 13 times I wasn't a student they wouldn't have it so I gave it up as a bad job. I went in a couple of churches too although I had to borrow a wrap as my top had holes at the shoulders & it was a rule that for respect all knees & shoulders had to be covered. I also had to sit down & pretend to pray as I'm an atheist but it was also a rule that at 1 point you had to sit down, say a prayer, sing a hymn or psalm or read the Bible. The ceiling art on those churches was absolutely amazing though.

 

[DarthFed]

I forgot about this thread! The only update for me is Costa Rica. We did a guided 8 day tour there a couple years ago. Great place, no shortage of things to see, and very friendly people as well. Given what's been happening in Mexico lately it would seem to be a much better or at least safer place to visit.

I did go to China again in June 2016 for my friend's wedding. It was China but a much much smaller city than Beijing so it was still a unique experience. Not to mention things were a little different in 2009 regarding our nightlife activities. It was still a lot of fun and the place we stayed, The Linden Centre in Dali, was quite nice and very accommodating for tourists. Only thing that was a nightmare was the flight out there, Chicago to Shanghai, to a medium sized city airport, and then to Dali. All told it was 28 hours from Chicago until we got to Dali...never again. Flight home was Dali to Beijing and then to Chicago so only 17 hours or so. Apparently there are very few flights that go from Beijing to Dali so we couldn't get a decent flight out there.

My friend lives in Hong Kong now, so it might be Part 3 sometime in the future if he ever has time. He is a sports agent out there mostly for basketball.

 

[Horsa]

I forgot about this thread! The only update for me is Costa Rica. We did a guided 8 day tour there a couple years ago. Great place, no shortage of things to see, and very friendly people as well. Given what's been happening in Mexico lately it would seem to be a much better or at least safer place to visit.

I did go to China again in June 2016 for my friend's wedding. It was China but a much much smaller city than Beijing so it was still a unique experience. Not to mention things were a little different in 2009 regarding our nightlife activities. It was still a lot of fun and the place we stayed, The Linden Centre in Dali, was quite nice and very accommodating for tourists. Only thing that was a nightmare was the flight out there, Chicago to Shanghai, to a medium sized city airport, and then to Dali. All told it was 28 hours from Chicago until we got to Dali...never again.

My friend lives in Hong Kong now, so it might be Part 3 sometime in the future if he ever has time. He is a sports agent out there mostly for basketball.

I was just browsing through & enjoyed reading about people's good times & thought I missed out so would make my contribution. It sounds like you've had some great times which is fantastic. I love seeing people having fun & hearing about people having fun. I'd love to go to Iceland & see the horses in their natural habitat. I heard there's a place in America where mustangs still run wild & free. I'd love to go there. Prince Edward Island & Labrador in Canada sound nice.