Be mindful that Times Square is a complete clusterfuck on NYE. It can take hours to get out of there, even when on foot.

No NYC local would ever bother with being there for the ball drop.

That said, overall, the holiday period is nice in NYC.

Hadn't considered the NYE part (I went in August/September). Would love to be there around that time to experience a white Christmas one day. Christmas in this part of the world is summer and tends to be spent at the beach.

Thanks guys - I will dig up the old thread thanks Invisi. I have heard about Times Square on NYE - it does not sound appealing to me!

Didn't realise Philly was so close either - will look into it, cheers!

9 days later

Clrnc tickets on sale for Ireland vs France now. Only come in a package with Ireland vs Latvia though so pricey.

      Qwiss That rules the game out for me then. Unfortunate. Would have love to experience the atmosphere there.

        Honestly you're not missing much.

        a month later

        Anyone have any idea how to get tickets for old firm derby?

        Seems insane that even reseller websites has no tickets available for this

        Not a chance unless you know someone in a supporters club.

          11 days later

          Kel Varnsen Decided to skip Tromso mate, unfortunately couldn't fit it in with the change of timing for the Liverpool away match. Chose abisko and Rovaniemi to go instead.

          Tam is doing the Ibrox tour worth it in your opinion? Everyone recommends visiting Celtic Park but thought of going Ibrox instead

                In Paris all next week if anyone about and wants a pint. Debating going to the France Netherlands match

                Clrnc
                I can't speak from experience for either tour. I'd say Ibrox is perhaps more of a traditional stadium (marble staircase, lots of wood panelling, distinct stands) whereas Celtic Park is more a bit more modern. I reckon you'd be happy with either really. Might be worth having a look at the photos tab on Tripadvisor for Ibrox and Celtic Park to get a feel and see what jumps out at you.

                How long are you in Glasgow?

                    Tam 5 days in total in Scotland, Probably just 1 day in Glasgow and 4 for Edinburgh and the highlands

                    • Tam replied to this.

                        Clrnc what’s your plans in Edinburgh and the highlands. Travel-wise and for sightseeing? A lot of tourists often try to cram a lot in not appreciating how long the travel can take.

                            21 days later

                            Tam 2 days in Edinburgh to explore the old town, 1 day guided tour for the highlands and 2 days in Glasgow (one for the old firm derby and one for ibrox stadium tour and general exploration! Going there tomorrow so can’t wait !

                              Ideal. Never been myself but there’s apparently a bar in Glasgow that the supporters club watch games, Alfie’s on West Nile Street, but you should find the game on in a lot of pubs on Sunday afternoon if you’re about and looking for it.

                              Give me a shout if you want any recommendations or are looking for ideas.

                                9 days later

                                Having a mind-bogglingly good holiday in Khao Lak at the moment, and I say that as someone who's holidayed in Thailand quite a few times.

                                Went on a couple of island scuba dives in the Similans today. My group descended into vast schools of fish from the surface to the eighteen metre deep summit of a large coral pinnacle. There was a ridiculous amount of action, felt like more fish than I've seen on the Great Barrier Reef, the whole ocean was teeming. We circled this beautifully decorated pinnacle (aka "Yellow Rock") down to thirty metres deep, popping up over its back ridge. I was surrounded by schools of smaller reef fish, with hunting packs of trevally and jackfish skimming around the outside in the deeper blue.

                                Out off the sea floor I guess, this six metre manta ray suddenly billows up, moving like a black and white pennant in the breeze, flapping gently like a magic carpet. Everyone in my group of four divers gets super excited … it's the right season to see mantas, but it's still far from a common thing.

                                I think I had about three minutes pure interaction with this creature, hovering over it … don't reckon I ever got closer than about 3–5 metres away, but I could see it looking at me, checking me out. I was tracking it intently during this whole period, after which I realised I'd chased myself about thirty metres from my group and drifted up 5–10 metres (which is not so good), and had to deflate my buoyancy vest like mad to go rejoin the crew.

                                Talk about experiences you never knew you needed …

                                  Burnwinter sounds awesome Burnsy. I've never been scuba diving but would really like to try it, especially now I live on the coast. What else are you getting up to over there?

                                    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.