Going around the world. Tips from those in the know please?

[Raider]

Was in Hong for only a week, spent 2 years in Singapore and now live near Los Angeles, If there is anything in particular you want to know, feel free to send me a PM.

 

[Gerry]

Cheers for the suggestions/info

Regarding driving: I have just done a bit of research, and it would seem no rental company will provide me with a car, as I am only 18, and a reasonably new driver

I'd be very interested if anyone knew otherwise?

Other siggestions appreciated.
Cheers

That is a bit of a bummer (bummer meaning a let down, not a round in a bum).

Only 18?

Hell yeah!

LA is the place to learn driving.

It's easy.

There are only two speeds - 90 or 0.

 

[draggar]

Too much to do in Florida for one day.

Miami / South Beach, The Keys, Ft Lauderdale, Disney, Kennedy Space Center, the Everglades, Daytona Beach (and that's just the southern half of the state!).

Who knows, maybe us Ft Lauderdale and Miami people can get together when Tom is in town. Eh, we'll invite the West Palm people, too.

 

[000]

no car and no beers

no problem, there's still barbecue and Amtrak runs thru Kansas City Missouri hmm mmm good

:hungry:

 

[anatoly]

When in Bangkok,

1. Never take a taxi that doesn't want to use a meter. They will always rip you off.

2. Everything sold on the street is counterfeit, so don't be afraid to bargain !

3. Have fun and Always use protection

 

[GUA]

Yup the whole driving, and drinking thing (not together ) is a bit of a bummer.
TBH although I probably should not be saying this, it is probably better that I dont hit the US roads, as I do like my speed Although I think im pretty safe...

Raider: regarding locations. I'm really looking for ideas of things to do.. just so I can draw together a basic idea of interesting places to visit. If you could suggest some, that would be great.

Draggar, cheers for your suggestions. I've actually been to Disney, the space centre, and the Everglades before, BUT never with my freedom Would definitely love to visit those places again. One thing: if i get a train down to a 'Florida station' is it reasonably easy to get buses? to the various sites around the area? Actually is it reasonably easy in the US in general?

As for your suggested party, sounds great. Maybe Ron at DNJournal can then write a report on it: 'The day Tom came to town?'. The money I will save from not being able to buy alcohol, I can use to buy y'all a drink
On a more serious note, I would love to meet some of the people with whom I converse/deal on a daily basis

Cheers once again.

anatoly, My mate actually lives in Thailand, so safety wise I'm hoping he will look out for me

He has told me that he is going to get me, and another mate drunk and set us up with some ladyboys though... Im on red alert

 

[anatoly]

just remember when in doubt always look at the neck (adams apple)

 

[jberryhill]

I spend about 2K+ per round trip ticket just shuttling between the US and Europe.

A Star Alliance "Round the World" fare is useful for extended travel. Last November, we did Philadelphia-Frankfurt-Cairo-Bangkok-Phuket-Bangkok-Sydney-LA-Philadelphia for $4500. Navigating the fare rules is interesting, but they have downloadable software for calculating an itinerary within the rules.

 

[draggar]

Draggar, cheers for your suggestions. I've actually been to Disney, the space centre, and the Everglades before, BUT never with my freedom Would definitely love to visit those places again. One thing: if i get a train down to a 'Florida station' is it reasonably easy to get buses? to the various sites around the area? Actually is it reasonably easy in the US in general?

If its an overnight trip then you should be able to get a bus from the train station to near your hotel, busses are pretty god here, I'd just look up their schedules and maps before you try to get here. (the train would be Amtrack into Ft Lauderdale most likely).

I would also recommend getting a pre-paid phone when you get here (unless you have a good roaming rate with your phone and it'll work on either GSM 800/1900 or CDMA 800/1900 - we're different than most of the world who uses 900 / 1800). Most airports should be able to supply you with one or get a ride to a store (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T) and get one there (Boost mobile - $50 a month unlimited is coming out soon if it isn't already - available though Sprint + the price of the phone).

 

[Gerry]

A Star Alliance "Round the World" fare is useful for extended travel. Last November, we did Philadelphia-Frankfurt-Cairo-Bangkok-Phuket-Bangkok-Sydney-LA-Philadelphia for $4500. Navigating the fare rules is interesting, but they have downloadable software for calculating an itinerary within the rules.

Philly is such a great hub to be near for oversees travel.

Round Trip to Venice Italy was $560 per person three years ago.

Non-Stop to and from Marco Polo, Venice.

Even then, prices were typically $1100 per person.

With AmEx travel, available to anyone on their site, AmEx put all to shame for the same trip and even the same flight.

We drove on up from Carolina, did the Philly tour, went to Italy for a few weeks, came back to the same hotel in Philly.

Honestly, we saved a small fortune just in parking fees thanks to the hotel.

 

[Seraphim]

A Star Alliance "Round the World" fare is useful for extended travel. Last November, we did Philadelphia-Frankfurt-Cairo-Bangkok-Phuket-Bangkok-Sydney-LA-Philadelphia for $4500. Navigating the fare rules is interesting, but they have downloadable software for calculating an itinerary within the rules.

I recall a friend mentioning something about that, though I had forgotten the name of it. Thanks for the info, I just bookmarked the site.

 

[Johnn]

In Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore - All the prices are negotiable most of the time - even from some big/nice stores. I bough a watch for $110 when the list price is $250.
You will enjoy the views and foods from these three countries.

Be careful at night in Thailand - There are a lot of LadyBoy there so you need to take extreme caution if you bang! You need to know where you are going or you may not get back to the hotel.

Hong Kong is not that bad (check with Tekz999 and he will show you places). Singapore is the best.

Don't need to worry when you come to the US because all you need is to log into DNF and we should have domainers in every state to help you (except Alaska then you need to call Sarah).

Enjoy your trip.

 

[PRED]

just remember when in doubt always look at the neck (adams apple)

a pair of hairy bollocks are normally a dead give away too :fear:

 

[David.]

My only bit of advice Sir, is to watch out for the LBs in Bangkok.

 

[jberryhill]

Be careful at night in Thailand - There are a lot of LadyBoy there so you need to take extreme caution

Eh... I always figure what you don't know, won't hurt you.

Actually is it reasonably easy in the US in general?

Public transportation in the US is relatively the pits, largely because of the living pattern of suburban sprawl. If you are talking long distance bus lines, they do tend to be conveniently located near train stations.

Outside of major metropolitan areas in the Northeast and say, Portland, San Francisco or Seattle, it is assumed you have a car. In the Northeast US, there are some good subway systems and regional light rail systems, and Amtrak rocks. The Boston T and DC Metro are particularly good. The NYC subway system utterly confuses the bejabbers out of me.

Out of sheer determination, I resolved to take the light rail in LA from the airport to Hollywood two weeks ago. The remarkable thing about the LA airport rail stop is - it's not at the airport. You have to figure out that there is a shuttle bus that takes you from the airport to the "airport" rail line station, located next to nothing in particular except a strip bar. Long story short, I saved fifty dollars on cab fare, spent a buck fifty on the train, and didn't opt for the twenty dollar lap dance. It took something like two hours.

It's easier to think of things in terms of choices.

The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

For example, if I had to eliminate a city among Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and DC. I'd eliminate Philadelphia, Boston and New York in that order, but I'd add the Baltimore harbor to DC.

If I had a choice among Chicago, St. Louis or New Orleans (depending on the route west), I'd eliminate St. Louis and Chicago. If you don't go to New Orleans, you are crazy.

If I had a choice among Charlotte, Atlanta, Charleston, Richmond, Memphis, or Nashville, I'd just ask someone to shoot me. I would skip them all and head for anywhere in the Smoky Mountains - Asheville is a great base for that, and they take more kindly to furriners than some other places you could go. Charleston is stunningly beautiful.

If you have any sort of accent, dress funny, look foreign or you have a bad habit of looking at people, stay the hell out of Alabama. Entry to Alabama is not permitted for foreigners, and we try to control what comes out of it.

Texas requires a separate visa from the rest of the US. If you accidentally wander onto someone's property, they can shoot to kill. If you are shot by a vice president there, you must apologize to him.

Do not mistake Colorado for a "mountainous" state. The eastern two thirds of it are as flat as anything you've seen for the ten hours it took to get there from anywhere. If you want a city with spectacular mountain vistas, skip Denver - go to Salt Lake City. Do not join any religions there, no matter how many attractive women they offer you. They are extremely, insanely friendly and chatty. Before you and a friend strike up a conversation, make a beer bet about how many questions you are asked before they ask "Are you a member?" After that, make a bet about whether you can actually find any beer.

You must see the Grand Canyon and Death Valley. They are unlike anything you can see anywhere else. Las Vegas is a good base for both.

If you go to San Diego, make sure you can get back into the US from Mexico if you wander into Tijuana - before you wander into Tijuana. Do not stray from Ave Revolucion if you go to Tijuana, especially after dark, and don't take a cab from the border, just follow the crowd to the bridge on the right.

There is no reason to go to Los Angeles, unless you couldn't get into Tijuana, and you really want to know what Mexico is like, and you feel like you missed out by not joining an unusual religion in Salt Lake City.

Seattle and San Francisco are actually the same city, but Seattle is cleaner and has better food, unless you really like Chinese.

 

[Compassion]

great info jberryhill, thank you..'

 

[GUA]

Um... Wow. A lot of information to take in. Thanks everyone, especially John

My flights were booked as a round-the-world ticket via a company that organizes flights specifically for gap years, hence I imagine they get good prices

I think I have gotten the picture regarding Thai ladies

Regarding what John said.
Our flights come into LA, and leave from New York... thus we kinda have to visit LA

Having looked at the Amtrak website again the train ticket I bought essentially means we can get on/off 8 trains in a 15 day period.

This poses a problem in that I thought LA was one of the more exciting/exotic/busy/interesting places in the US?

As stated beforewe intended to stay in LA/NY for 7 days at either end, then travel for 15 days in between...

Given the nature of the ticket, if we intend to get on/off MORE than 8 trains, then we need to use it for the longest journies to get value for money...

Perhaps I am being Naive/ignorant, but what are the attractions of New Orleans?

Now we are young: rollercoasters, events, etc are our thing as opposed to country walks

The map of the routes can be seen here:
http://tickets.amtrak.com/secure/content/atlas/index.html

Could anyone suggest a route fitting our criteria which utilizes max 8 significant journies (journies for which a cheap bus, walk, taxi is not viable) which starts in LA, finishes in NY, and visits Florida. ...

Thanks so much.

Ill send out $dnf in a bit.

Thanks again.

 

[jberryhill]

This poses a problem in that I thought LA was one of the more exciting/exotic/busy/interesting places in the US?

As a whole, yes, but it is more like a humungous suburb than what you might normally think of as an urban area, with the exception of a fairly smallish "downtown" area. But, don't settle for one person's opinions, it's a big country.

I'll chew on your rail pass rules for a bit.

 

[Johnn]

LA is big city but you will only find big buildings and traffic.
Go South a little bit and you can find Disney Land and Universal Studio (Orange County).
I would go further South (2 hours from LA) to San Diego. There are more things to do and see in SD including Disney World and the zoos (2 of them).

Then you can cross the border to visit Tijuana. Take John's advice and make sure you don't go to Chicago Club at night!

 

[tetrapak]

If you have any sort of accent, dress funny, look foreign or you have a bad habit of looking at people, stay the hell out of Alabama. Entry to Alabama is not permitted for foreigners, and we try to control what comes out of it.

Is it really that bad? Any other option to see rednecks in a safe enviroment?