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I'm a single guy living in the US who has 2 weeks off around Christmas and it occurred to me last night that I should go on an adventure somewhere rather than sitting at home and going on a bender to celebrate the inexorable passing of my time on this planet. Since this is the travel forum I thought you all might enjoy suggesting places to go and living vicariously through my hypothetical situation. My budget is around $2500(US) since my first idea was to go to Seoul because I know the language and that's how much hotel+flight to Seoul would cost. I'm open to anywhere but as a sheltered very white American I prefer places with reliable sewage systems, good food, English speakers or tolerance for non native idiots, and a fairly low probability of being kidnapped or killed by militants (insert jokes about Paris and Belgium). I've been to Seoul and southern India and enjoyed both though in both instances I had a native to guide me and stayed in places that weren't likely representative of the native experience (a university in Seoul and several fancy hotels in Bangalore+Kochi). In this trip I'd be on my own unless you all suggest a guide option. That being said if you have some ideas please post them here. I may pick one and if so I will update the thread with stories and poorly composed pictures from a Canon T4i. Consider it a CYOA except you're choosing my own adventure. 7of7 fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Nov 22, 2015 |
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Nov 22, 2015 15:32
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So... your limitations pretty much only rule out active war zones, places you can't easily get visas anyway, and the rural third world. If you just want an easy answer, go to Colombia.
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Nov 22, 2015 18:26
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In '08 a friend/coworker and I both decided to take a trip out of the US, (we were determined to do it before we hit 30 since neither of us had at that point and time was of the essence, heh). We knew we wanted something mid/eastern Europe, but couldn't decide where. We literally pulled up a map on google, closed our eyes, and pointed. The closest spot between our two fingers was the Czech Republic. I do not regret it one bit. We spent 12 nights in Prague, staying at a cheap as hell Botel. And it was definitely cheap, but still a great place just to lay our heads at night. The city was a good mixture of modern and upscale in certain areas, (along with men & women dressed in the latest fashions), average working Joes in others, and depressed spots as well. Enough English speakers in the tourist spots, not so much once you get off the beaten path or in smaller stores & restaurants. I got by with some basic phrases I studied before we left though. We took advantage of our location and took a train to Berlin one night as well. We returned the next morning however, as rumors were strong that the GDL were going to strike, and we didn't want to get stuck. Meh. We also wanted to jump down to Bratislava or Vienna, but never made it. Plenty of history both in and near the city itself, as well as short drives away. If we had planned better on that trip, I think we would have accomplished a lot more than we did. We still got to see and experience a lot though. One of the highlights for me was seeing so many older churches, castles, random buildings, as I love that crap. There's only so much 'history' here in the US. I was fascinated by our visit to the Church of Bones. Good luck with wherever you end up deciding on. With that budget, there's plenty that you can do.
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Nov 22, 2015 22:19
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duralict posted:So... your limitations pretty much only rule out active war zones, places you can't easily get visas anyway, and the rural third world. I'm in Medellin right now, and I have to say this is a good answer. Everything is so nice and friendly here and the flights from the US are dirt cheap (like $350 from Miami to Bogota, round trip, on Viva Colombia). Cartagena is pretty loving humid but Medellin and Bogota are awesome weather-wise. I don't speak Spanish and have spent the last two weeks around here without any issue. E: Everywhere in Colombia is 100% safe unless you either get a time machine and travel back to 2005, or if you go to the deep rainforest and look for landmines. Saladman fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Nov 22, 2015 |
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Nov 22, 2015 23:22
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Madbullogna posted:Good luck with wherever you end up deciding on. With that budget, there's plenty that you can do. duralict posted:So... your limitations pretty much only rule out active war zones, places you can't easily get visas anyway, and the rural third world. Yeah I'm not super picky and I wanted to leave the options wide open to get good suggestions like the above. As far as Colombia goes is the FARC still a concern? I know there have been peace talks lately but they still seem active. I think I saw an Anthony Bourdain episode that made at least part of the country look like a war zone but also made Medellin and Cartagena look pretty great.
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Nov 23, 2015 03:09
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7of7 posted:This is a great post. Thank you for the suggestion. The short answer is no. There is a longer answer (and it's pretty fascinating) but in a nutshell they've been in a very sharp decline for most of the last ten years, and as of June they've been in a complete ceasefire with the government and have adopted "Ghandian nonviolence".
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Nov 23, 2015 07:19
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Single 30 year old here in a similar situation as I just found out that I've been given 1 week vacation right before Christmas. I live in New York and so far this year I've take two trips one to Tokyo and another to the Balkans (mostly Bosnia and Moldova) I'd like to so something smaller and cheap so I was thinking maybe New Orleans but now I'm hearing good things about Colombia. Are there any other nice/cheap-ish places I might spend 5-6 days?
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Nov 25, 2015 09:15
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Flights with VivaColombia to Medellin and Bogota are both dirt cheap a lot of the year (they're advertising round-trips to Miami for $200, but nothing I've seen has been that low), but probably it'll be pricy at Christmastime. Still, I flew them from Lima to Bogota for like $120 which is something like a 3 hour flight. Medellin is dirt cheap once you get there. Bogota's a little pricier. Cartagena is a lot pricier and IMO not as nice as either Bogota or Medellin, although if you want the beach too it has a sort of decent one. Medellin probably has the best nightlife that would include foreigners but is not exclusively for tourists, as Cartagena's is.
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Nov 25, 2015 23:00
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Saladman posted:Flights with VivaColombia to Medellin and Bogota are both dirt cheap a lot of the year (they're advertising round-trips to Miami for $200, but nothing I've seen has been that low), but probably it'll be pricy at Christmastime. Still, I flew them from Lima to Bogota for like $120 which is something like a 3 hour flight. Colombia is looking really good right now. The flights from where I am to Medellin are reasonably priced and I guess if the FARC are out of the picture it looks pretty great otherwise. I don't know much about Colombian food but it seems decent as well. Would it be relatively safe for a non-Spanish speaker? One of the things that really turned me off in India was how it seemed like everyone was always out to rip off or take advantage of customers. Even the Indian family I was with was careful about that. I don't really ever feel relaxed when that sort of thing is going on so it doesn't feel like much of a vacation. Since I'd be traveling alone I wouldn't have the safety in numbers aspect either. Maybe I'm too paranoid but this is something I'm worried about when it comes to international travel.
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Nov 28, 2015 01:58
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You could pretty easily drop into Thailand with that budget and have a hell of a time. Really anywhere in SE Asia would be a drat good time with that budget.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:38
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7of7 posted:Would it be relatively safe for a non-Spanish speaker? One of the things that really turned me off in India was how it seemed like everyone was always out to rip off or take advantage of customers. Even the Indian family I was with was careful about that. I don't really ever feel relaxed when that sort of thing is going on so it doesn't feel like much of a vacation. Since I'd be traveling alone I wouldn't have the safety in numbers aspect either. Maybe I'm too paranoid but this is something I'm worried about when it comes to international travel. I can't speak about Colombia but having done some traveling in SE Asia the best advice is to just use common sense and you'll be fine. Don't carry more cash than you need on you for the day and split it between a couple of different pockets, this way you don't have to wave a big wad of cash around like a yokel while you try to figure out what 5,800 pesos looks like. Street vendors will probably leave you alone if you smile and say 'no thanks' to them. Be aware of the exchange rate and be able to do some quick mental math to make sure you're not getting ripped off (1 USD is about 3,100 Pesos) Make sure that your taxi driver is using the meter, don't use an ATM at night in a shady part of town. Don't get shitfaced too far from your hotel, if a Colombian girl starts hitting on you at a bar and offering to buy you drinks, she's probably going to roofie you and rob you. With all that being said, don't automatically assume that everyone is out to hustle and/or rob you. It's always a possibility unless you never leave your hotel. You'll probably be fine as long as you don't put yourself in a dangerous situation but if something doesn't seem right, get yourself out of the situation as politely as possible.
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Nov 28, 2015 07:30
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Rockzilla posted:Make sure that your taxi driver is using the meter Good luck finding a taxi with a meter! [E: actually Medellin had meters come to think of it, just no one used them.] You have to already either know the fare, or get a SIM card and data plan and use Uber and then you don't have to worry about it at all. Uber is popular in all major Colombian cities. I don't speak Spanish, Colombia was easy to get around. Cartagena was the only place where we were bothered remotely (I am blond blue eyed) and all the vendors would go away after a simple "no gracias". I've never been to SEA or India, but it was nothing like the harassment in North African countries or Kenya. I think the only danger in Colombia is you go out drinking by yourself and either get drunk and stupid (most likely) or drugged and robbed (less likely but happens). Oh, or car accidents. If you do go, El Poblado is the nicest part of Medellin, and the Zona Rosa for Bogota. The old downtowns are safe enough to walk around, but not particularly nice. Flights within Colombia are dirt cheap with Viva Colombia, which is a lot like RyanAir. Saladman fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Nov 28, 2015 |
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Nov 28, 2015 17:37
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