Yeah the uzh Daz, one nice thing this trip was hiring a capable motorbike from the get go. A lot of the onshore tours are mostly just taxis.

I've done the scuba, a fair bit of sea canoeing, and a lot of sitting on the beach and hanging out in cafés and restaurants. Transiting via Bangkok I went to the Muay Thai at Rajadamnern (second time for me).

Aside from yesterday's paso doble with a manta, my highlight of this trip was probably riding a couple of hours down the coast to Phuket on Songkran and getting unexpectedly pelted with water guns and jugs of water all through the suburbs of Phuket. Stopped in a crowd and an old fella tipped a whole bucket over me with a massive Tony Abbott lizard grin. Quite euphoric times.

There's good espresso and legal weed everywhere you go here now.

Recommend scuba by the way. I did my open water in Timor Leste and got my "advanced" (deeper dive licence more or less) on the Great Barrier Reef. Have done about forty dives now and it's still a pretty special way to spend time.

I am so so desperate for this kind of holiday since 2020, sounds like a blast mate! I love the teasing welcome you've been getting from the locals. You're managing to pack in quite a lot from the sounds of it. Do you find fleshing out the itinerary a bit of a bane or do you take no issue or even enjoyment from that? Or perhaps your partner and friends take lead? Can't expect it from my mates, plus I am single so it weighs on my capacity to act.

I've been meaning to take a basic scuba course in a tank/pool here in the UK so I am bit more ready to go for any opportunity. Would love to be in a position to explore at 30m at least- that depth should be pretty accessible to a beginner I imagine? EDIT: looked it up and its not that easy.

    Yeah this trip's just been really fun. Zero pressure and lots of nice serendipitous bits and pieces happening.

    KingslandBarge Do you find fleshing out the itinerary a bit of a bane or do you take no issue or even enjoyment from that?

    I've been to Thailand a few times before, but apart from the flights this was all booked or improvised since a day or two before departure. In fact I would definitely have saved a bit of cash if I'd booked less, this area is into shoulder season and everything is rather quiet.

    I didn't know beforehand I'd booked these flights across Thai New Year, I actually moved the flights at short notice from last September for work and life reasons. So that's been lucky.

    With notable exceptions (let's say you want to do the proper Inca Trail or go to Bhutan, then you'd better book well ahead), it seems better just to have an idea of the type of fun you wanna have and where—renting a motorcycle was very central to my thinking on this one—then go places that aren't too chocked up with tourists, and don't fret about optimising.

    A friend of mine has recently been improvising his way across Central Asia and has been having a great time. Got himself invited to a Kazakh wedding, spent a week volunteering rebuilding a farmhouse in Turkey ... you've got tons of latitude travelling these days, given the way accommodation can be booked, transport located at the last minute, and so on.

      Sounds just wonderful Burnsy - being that close to a manta ray would be so so special. I haven't dived for years but would love to do some more again.

      I'm planning on doing the snorkeling with whale sharks thing at Ningaloo in 2025 with some mates - gotta get your planning in early!

      We were meant to be in Vanuatu last week but issues with aircraft maintenance meant the trip got cancelled less than a day before departure, so we went to Broadbeach on the Gold Coast instead. I've never been there before and was pleasantly surprised. The ocean was 25 degrees, surf was perfect for body surfing and there are some great restaurants. And it's apparently waaaay nicer than Surfers Paradise.

        Tam Experienced the old firm derby, gotta say it's probably the best atmosphere I have been to, louder than Anfield. Would probably have been even better if the Rangers fans are allowed in the stadium, when Rangers scored the feeling was so weird, whole stadium went quiet. Felt like the goal was offside or something. Fans were extremely friendly and it just felt like a carnival atmosphere. Thought Scotland is by far the friendliest and helpful country I have been to.

        Also went for the Ibrox tour. Like you said, it was very traditional compared to the more modern Celtic Park, surprised it was rated 5 star by Uefa compared to 4 star for Celtic. Didn't know Rangers regard Arsenal as their closest club friend and we shared many history together. Also didn't realise Gerrard was basically your Arteta, changed the club entirely and even much of the stadium and training ground.

        • Tam replied to this.

            Asterix I'm planning on doing the snorkeling with whale sharks thing at Ningaloo in 2025 with some mates - gotta get your planning in early!

            Hoping for a shot at this myself, but in Timor this October ... would be another one of those transformative moments I'm sure. Still buzzing from the manta.

              Asterix We were meant to be in Vanuatu last week but issues with aircraft maintenance meant the trip got cancelled less than a day before departure

              This sucks pretty hard, although I'm reassured to hear of an airline putting safety over profit, they all feel a bit less trustworthy post-pandemic. Had a "Scoot" flight from Bangkok to Singapore yesterday that was very Jetstar vibed, and something in the system was making an enormous squealing during takeoff and landing. Not the best.

                Asterix We were meant to be in Vanuatu last week but issues with aircraft maintenance meant the trip got cancelled less than a day before departure, so we went to Broadbeach on the Gold Coast instead. I've never been there before and was pleasantly surprised. The ocean was 25 degrees, surf was perfect for body surfing and there are some great restaurants. And it's apparently waaaay nicer than Surfers Paradise.

                Just up the road a bit from me mate. It's a nice spot for sure with lovely beaches, but still a but too busy with tourists for me (present company excepted 😁).

                    Clrnc It must have been weird with no away fans. I didn't manage to see the game but the radio commentators were saying the same, you could hear a pin drop. Good game to see live. Rangers owned a few Arsenal shares up to the financial problems a decade ago when they were sold to Usmanov in the period he was hoovering up small shareholdings. My first Arsenal game was against Rangers for Richard Gough's testimonial in the mid 90s.

                    @Burnwinter Our boat stopped at Manta Point as part of a day trip to Komodo Island. I can’t swim so I didn’t go snorkelling, but I had such a good view of all of them from the boat and they were so close that I don’t feel I missed out. There were so many and I couldn’t believe the size of some. It was a bit surreal seeing about a dozen people bobbing around with huge mantas, and nothing on the horizon in any direction.

                        Tam Our boat stopped at Manta Point

                        Yeah I've been hearing about this place! Sounds incredible. Apparently there's a scuba night dive "theatre" for mantas somewhere as well, with stage lights set up and all, and the mantas supposedly come reliably to perform. Would be quite a thing to see. I found my interaction with the one I was with the other day awe-inspiring, it got the dive bug right back into me.

                          Daz You're in God's country Daz. Have you taken a trip to Station Creek campground, just north of Red Rock? I haven't been there for about 30 years but it was glorious. On Google Maps it looks like a pretty well trodden 4WD trail these days.

                          • Daz replied to this.

                              Asterix I've been to Red rock briefly but not station Creek. I'm not really into 4wd/boats/fishing etc which are massive in that area. Most of my rec time thus far has been spent checking out beaches and day hikes in the gold coast hinterland. I've recently bought a good awd though with the aim of getting into more camping, mountain biking and longer hikes around the region. It really is a beautiful part of Oz here with ready access to a wide variety of different stuff. Feel very lucky to be living here now.

                                Noice. I thought you were near Coffs. Did you head further north?

                                We went to Statino Creek in an old 2WD then it's easy to walk and explore.

                                Yeah I was but we moved further north a bit over a year ago. Now we're living just on the nsw side of the nsw/qld border.

                                Does anyone know any good visa agent in London that won't end up extorting you with absurd fees?

                                10 days later
                                9 months later

                                HomeSteak I'll hope to be in Osaka,Kyoto,Naoshima,Tokyo in about 6 weeks. I've got the aquarium down in Osaka after @Don Pacifico's recommendation. Any other dining, attraction, (less busy) temple tip offs in any of those locations would be much appreciated.

                                    KingslandBarge In Osaka yes, the aquarium is great. In Kyoto I did like Kiyomizudera Temple, but no doubt it will be crowded. I liked everything about Tokyo and if you have time go to mount fuji. I had a lot of fun in random bars and restaurants, they do like to drink lol.