Help Going travelling

[Wazzerphuk]

Travelling is overrated. Plus, you have to put up with foreigners.

 

[Milkshake]

<stuff>

Agreed, but then we organised to meet up with travellers again. There was a Canadian dude we met up with in Geneva - then met up with him again in Munich and Amsterdam.

There was also a blonde I met in Amsterdam who knew a surprising amount about me, but who I had no clue who she was. That was an interesting conversation :S

 

[Wazzerphuk]

The hookers over there really do their research.

 

[old.user4556]

Travelling is overrated.

I'll second that to a degree, but I don't want to be a bah humbug to this thread. Although I haven't strictly travelled, I've seen enough of other places to realise that apart from the "short bread tin" tourist parts, everywhere on this planet has a major shit hole element to it.

A lot of my friends went to tour Australia and/or New Zealand expecting it to be some sort of sacred land to bail them out of a miserable existence in the UK, but when they got there and their money dried up; they realised that the jobs were just as shitty paid, the people were just as ignorant and were in a more debt ridden position than when they left the UK (other than the weather was nicer). It wasn't exactly Summer Bay.

Perhaps it was the naivety of my own youth, but when I went to America with the preconceived idea that LA would be like the movies, I was sorely disappointed. LA is a total shit hole, except for maybe Beverly Hills or the Downtown area. Vegas was the same - drift off the main strip and it slides down hill at a rapid rate. I saw enough to put me off doing a longer term tour.

Anyway, meh. I'm such a party pooper.

 

[DaGaffer]

I'll second that to a degree, but I don't want to be a bah humbug to this thread. Although I haven't strictly travelled, I've seen enough of other places to realise that apart from the "short bread tin" tourist parts, everywhere on this planet has a major shit hole element to it.

A lot of my friends went to tour Australia and/or New Zealand expecting it to be some sort of sacred land to bail them out of a miserable existence in the UK, but when they got there and their money dried up; they realised that the jobs were just as shitty paid, the people were just as ignorant and were in a more debt ridden position than when they left the UK (other than the weather was nicer). It wasn't exactly Summer Bay.

Perhaps it was the naivety of my own youth, but when I went to America with the preconceived idea that LA would be like the movies, I was sorely disappointed. LA is a total shit hole, except for maybe Beverly Hills or the Downtown area. Vegas was the same - drift off the main strip and it slides down hill at a rapid rate. I saw enough to put me off doing a longer term tour.

Anyway, meh. I'm such a party pooper.

I couldn't disagree more. I love traveling, good bits and bad bits, all part of life's rich tapestry and all that. The beautiful bits make you glad to be alive, and the shit bits make you appreciate what you've got.

 

[tris-]

a couple of daft questions have popped into my head.

how does it work with hostels - need to book? turn up on the day? prices? etc. how did it work for you.

trains from a > b and sometimes c. did you just turn up in a station and jump onto what you fancied? do you need to know times beforehand? etc

 

[tris-]

big g, if everyone thought like you did we wouldnt go anywhere. ofc everywhere has its shit holes, but youre there to visit the best parts. im not gonna travel across europe and purposley put my self in a shitty part. i dont expect to go somewhere and it be like something ive seen on tv. hopefully from this thing (when the time comes) by the end of it i will be more cultured, be more interesting as a person and met a load of people i wouldnt usually meet.

life has not gone the way i wanted it to really. uni was good for the first year, then i realised the friends i made were twats. i feel currently im missing out on something. i need to see some stuff, experience some stuff and generally live a bit more. im also working the shittest job going atm with 12 hour shifts, id like to think i can have something to show for it (plus it helps me stick it out).

 

[TdC]

how does it work with hostels - need to book? turn up on the day? prices? etc. how did it work for you.

sometime. some hostels are insanely popular. tbh, imo the insanely popular ones are best avoided, but that's me.

trains from a > b and sometimes c. did you just turn up in a station and jump onto what you fancied? do you need to know times beforehand? etc

[/quote]
yes you daft person, sure you know the times beforehand. unless you're one of those travel types who do not care where they end up. I have a friend who always takes the very first available flight out of places. always. he sometimes ends up in some amazing location. sometimes. occasionally.

 

[tris-]

well i dont know these things man, so its best i ask. what exactly am i wanting to buy for the trains. is there a full time table you can buy?

and for the hostels, they marked on maps, or do you need to find out locations?

 

[taB]

Get overnight trains if there's nothing you want to see from the window, it saves you paying for a hostel and a train!

Always book if possible. In Oz and NZ, unless you want to only see Brits / Europeans, get to somewhere less busy.

Oh, and Big G, I think the problem there is that you went with pre-conceptions. An open mind and willingness to to with the flow is all that's needed when travelling. I am fucking anal about timekeeping and the like with work and life in England. As soon as my backpack's on and I'm out of here, my mindset changes. If it didn't I wouldn't enjoy it myself. That said, I wouldn't count LA as travelling, it's just another shitty city

TdC's shoe advice is good I normally take a pair of Teva sandals - very sturdy & a some Merrell trainers - walking trainers, casual too.

tris - travelling with people you know has good and bad points. Budget is the largest problem, if you drink 3 more pints a day than the other guy / girl or she shops like a trooper, then going with the same amount of cash is doomed. I do prefer to travel solo, it's selfish but I can see what I want to, not see some random shit that doesn't interest me and generally keep to my own schedule. It's easy to meet people when travelling, most are really nice. The odd twat is inevitably from England or the USA

 

[DaGaffer]

well i dont know these things man, so its best i ask. what exactly am i wanting to buy for the trains. is there a full time table you can buy?

and for the hostels, they marked on maps, or do you need to find out locations?

I usually used hostelworld, especially if I was going to arrive somewhere in the middle of the night. You'll often get recommendations for hostels from people you meet coming the other way. NB. I can't vouch for Europe, but most of the hostels recommended in Lonely Planet were shit; if I found one in there I'd usually cross check it with the reviews on Hostelworld.

The odd twat is inevitably from England or the USA

Yeah, however, for groups of twats you could always rely on the Israelis. Luckily if you're doing Europe you probably won't come across them; too expensive.

 

[old.user4556]

big g, if everyone thought like you did we wouldnt go anywhere. ofc everywhere has its shit holes, but youre there to visit the best parts. im not gonna travel across europe and purposley put my self in a shitty part. i dont expect to go somewhere and it be like something ive seen on tv. hopefully from this thing (when the time comes) by the end of it i will be more cultured, be more interesting as a person and met a load of people i wouldnt usually meet.

life has not gone the way i wanted it to really. uni was good for the first year, then i realised the friends i made were twats. i feel currently im missing out on something. i need to see some stuff, experience some stuff and generally live a bit more. im also working the shittest job going atm with 12 hour shifts, id like to think i can have something to show for it (plus it helps me stick it out).

Oh certinaly tris-, and to Gaff as well. I was just throwing my grumpy musings into the balance . I hope you really enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. Maybe I should write a book of places not to see .

 

[taB]

Yeah, however, for groups of twats you could always rely on the Israelis. Luckily if you're doing Europe you probably won't come across them; too expensive.

Ah, yeah. Very true, just not met many. Avoid if possible

 

[DaGaffer]

Oh certinaly tris-, and to Gaff as well. I was just throwing my grumpy musings into the balance . I hope you really enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. Maybe I should write a book of places not to see .

I think you'd surprise yourself if you actually traveled. Its the unexpected stuff that gets you; I remember getting stuck on a road in the middle of nowhere in Argentina because of an accident up ahead and simply because we got off to stretch our legs, seeing one of the most spectacular sunsets of my life. Or going to Milford Sound in NZ, being pissed off because it was pissing down but it actually made it more spectacular, with upward flowing waterfalls! Or waiting up for a sunrise in La Paz with my friends and we were all so stoned we were looking in the wrong direction I'm glad I've seen horrible places too, like Manila, or Tegucigalpa, or Swindon . The only bit about traveling that depresses is me is when you can see a nice place that's been destroyed by tourism and overdevelopment.

 

[Scouse]

Ah, yeah. Very true, just not met many. Avoid if possible

Strange that. Last time I was abroad there were 3 different people who said exactly the same thing. Couple of bar managers said that they were really difficult customers - wanted to pay for only half their drink if they haven't finished it

Phreaky...

 

[DaGaffer]

Strange that. Last time I was abroad there were 3 different people who said exactly the same thing. Couple of bar managers said that they were really difficult customers - wanted to pay for only half their drink if they haven't finished it

Phreaky...

Problem is that its a rite of passage for Israelis when they get out of the army; they get their (largely unspent) army pay, a bit of money from their parents, and go traveling. Unfortunately, they bring along their army mentality with them, (not to mention a barrelload of psychological problems in some cases), traveling as a unit quite often. The result is they're incredibly insular, and worse, they're usually traveling on minimum money, so they end up confirming every stereotype about jewish meanness (I saw a couple of them arguing with a washerwoman in Thailand over what was about 15p when you converted it, on the other hand I saw a Canadian kid arguing with a tuk-tuk driver over even less in Cambodia).

I ran into gangs of Israelis in Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and all over South America, and with the exception of two (both traveling alone, which is significant), they were all, every single one, fucking awful arseholes, hated by all.

 

[TdC]

well i dont know these things man, so its best i ask. what exactly am i wanting to buy for the trains. is there a full time table you can buy?

and for the hostels, they marked on maps, or do you need to find out locations?

ooh sorry if I came across harsh, I didn't mean to You can do just about any and every sort of booking on the interweb these days, so internet cafés will be useful. local trains, well, I tend to figure it out at the station because they tend to run multiple times etc.

as for hostels you can potentially call or email ahead if you're going to arrive at a weird time, or if it happens to be the only one in town / etc. also, like DaGaffer says, best to cross-reference. Just because the LP or RG thinks something is nice doesn't mean everyone does so.

 

[Milkshake]

I booked my next hostel in advance - so if I was in one hostel I'd jump on tinterweb and book the next.
Didn't have to be in the place I wanted to go, cause the nice thing about the train ticket is you can get on any one any where

S'why I ended up in Interlaken - and damn what a beautiful place that is. Also got the only Hooters bar in Switzerland. If you see Alicia, say hi.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Switzerland is awesome. Been 3 times, stayed at Interlaken once too.

 

[TdC]

Wazz you['re so full of teh aids

 

[tris-]

I booked my next hostel in advance - so if I was in one hostel I'd jump on tinterweb and book the next.
Didn't have to be in the place I wanted to go, cause the nice thing about the train ticket is you can get on any one any where

did you pickup a timetable for the trains from somewhere?

how much is the cost per night on average at a hostel?

 

[Milkshake]

If you go for a dorm, I usually expect between 20-30 Euros a night...can be cheaper.

Train timetables? Online usually has something. Sites like this are always handy, but sometimes they don't have English :S Italia Rail: Discover Italy by Train!

 

[DaGaffer]

did you pickup a timetable for the trains from somewhere?

how much is the cost per night on average at a hostel?

D-Bahn has pretty much every European train time.

Hostel prices vary quite a lot across Europe, and of course by the quality of the hostel. Hostelworld is your friend.

 

[tris-]

cheers lads, thats filled in a lot of blanks!