midtown

Did I tell you about the time in Hue when I couldn't find my hotel for the life of me. I have a crazy great sense of direction. I never ever get lost even in brand new cities and never forget what hotel room I am in. (Back then GPS and google maps didn't work in Viet Nam) Even in an intoxicated state. What I didn't know was that in smaller towns in Viet Nam they turn off all the lights to the hotels, buildings and houses to conserve energy after about 10pm. At least they did. Its surreal. The whole block looks abandoned. I walked up and down the same street and the two streets paralleling my hotel street at least 4 times looking for a lit up hotel. Finally some guy who must have been watching on a motorbike saw me confused AF and told me he would take me to my hotel. Jumped on the back and he's going exactly where I had been. He pulls up to what looks like an abandoned building only for me to realize its my hotel. At least when I got to Hoi An I was prepared to be walking down pitch black streets after about 10pm. So when I left this brits room at 11pm in Hoi An at least I knew I was in for a 45min walk in the dark.

In a lot of places it's camouflage

It is and its much easier today than it was 8 years ago. Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Laos all have e-visas. I think it took me a 3-4 weeks to receive it by email.

Welp. No manager no director. Just blow this fucker up

This must be where the term pee shooter came from

What we really need is a pinned post with links to the thread for each different countries/regions as a travel guide vs having to search. The amount of travel knowledge and experience on surly is pretty deep

Lots of countries on the level 3 that do not give me pause. Level 4 yes. Btw Chicago should be level 5 but I took my kids their last year. The problem with those travel warnings is that they are general for the entire country and not granular. There are simply some regions and towns that you would have no reason to go to and in most touristy areas security and police is pretty beefy.

I will admit that there are certain levels of comfort I want to have when I travel at my age. I don't need a five star hotel but I'm also not down with sleeping on a dirt floor when its 90 degrees in a mosquito net. Nor am I going to spend 18 hours on a train with a squat toilet to save $100 on a flight. I will admit though that one of the most fun days I had was finding the backpakers in Hue and hanging with them. They welcomed this old dude into their flock

When we were in Laos we stayed at a very nice hotel with a beautiful pool. We turned in our laundry for $10 a bag and sat by the pool and sucked down drinks. Came back to our rooms with folded laundry. In Bruges I found a laundry mat two doors down from a little restaurant/bar a few blocks from my hotel. Put my clothes in. Went and had lunch. Went back and put them in the dryer. Went back to the bar and read while they dried. Easy peasy

I think there are a lot of ways you can get into international travel and make it easier. First is baby steps. Don't try to go to Mongolia on your first intl trip. Try a place a little closer to home but where you still are out of your comfort zone. Learn to deal with customs, locals, public transport, language barriers, exchange rates. Two. Learn to travel light. Lost luggage and the lack of flexibility can ruin your experience. Invest in good luggage and by that I mean backpack. Attempt to alleviate all things that can irritate you. ie pay for clear, pre, and global. Realize you can wash clothes everywhere. I always pick a spot half way and look for laundry or hotel laundry. Usually coincides with a rest and or work day. Third. If you traveling with someone be absolutely sure you have similar travel styles. Traveling with women is a whole new ballgame. They come with too much luggage (see light travel comment) and generally don't want to take public transpo or have to deal with issues and they stress out. Because eventually something is going to go sideways.

Put me in the "as long as our owners see the club as a money making machine vs winning it doesn't matter" camp. Esp in the this area with mega rich clubs spending with abandon.

I will add this story. On my first trip to Viet Nam I was on the top deck of a boat in Ha Long Bay and it was just me and this Long Beach cop. We were just sitting there in awe of the scenery. He says to me "do you know why we are on this boat right now looking at this?" I thought he was going to say something like really philosophical but he just said. "We pressed enter" That has stayed with me. So many people dream up a trip and then get to the point of actually committing and bail and exit out of the flights etc.

I can address the language barrier. Of all those countries I mentioned only in 3-4 did I find language to be an issue. And I speak a little bit of Spanish Colombia sans Cartagena. Not even the hotel staff at our hotel in Bogota spoke English Panama was 50/50 Tokyo. Very little English at all Laos. Hit or miss

My take is that I am saving this for when long haul travel becomes less appealing most from physical limitations and I'm getting there. My back and knee are getting closer to where a 12 hour flight will be less and less desirable. Although I have seen a decent amount of the US. The parks and big sky areas I have not. There are country specific threads and I have posted lots of pictures etc there. But I can throw a few more out.

In all my travels with all the people I've met and even on this board. When asked. Almost every single person has said Viet Nam is their favorite country. It is mine. Cambodia is right up there as well so if you go I'd definitely look at shooting over to Siem Reap from Sai Gon. Flights are super cheap.

Tough one. Best dish was a bowl of 0.80 pho on a random sidewalk in Ha Noi for breakfast. That or 14 course menu at Sra Bua in Bangkok in Oct 22. Balut in Sai Gon was definitely interesting. Fish tacos that I caught in Belize and took straight to the restaurant is always up there. I always try set up a food tour. Bee larva in Cambodia in Oct was delicious. I'm sure Ill think of others. I don't recall having anything really terrible. I've definitely had some "meh" meals.

I am divorced with a 16 and 13 year old so I've been doing international travel for most of their lives. I have a very healthy co-parenting situation. She likes to travel too so we both switch up calendars so we can do what we need/want.

In the last 5 years actually more like 8 years now that I think about it. Colombia, Costa Rica (3), Belize (6), Panama, Scotland, England (2), Belgium, Holland, Hungary, Austria, Czech, Vietnam (2), Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Japan. And planning Chile/Argentina now and Pakistan is also on my short list. At least 75% of those are solo. The thing I hear most from people is that they just assume every place is dangerous. Not once in any of those countries did I feel in danger in any way what so ever. I also don't do stupid shit. I assume most Americans would say sitting outside a soccer stadium after a game in Medellin drinking .50 beers with the locals is dangerous. It is not. A little advice. Do a little research. There is so much content available. Stay out of places you shouldn't go. Find several solo female vlogs or blogs. Solo women no doubt have to be more careful than 52 year old dad, esp in countries where woman have less rights; so listen to them. Leave anything valuable or flashy at home even if its not expensive. Group tours are great for those not wanting to set out on your own. A group and a guide is safe. I also like them because they are cheaper and efficient and you get to meet lots of people. The draw back is that you are stuck on a bus/van with people. Viator is my go to for tours. I've never met so many amazingly nice people traveling. It's seldom I met any locals that are unkind or rude and in most cases they are 10x nice than your neighbor. I also don't act like a jackass Cancun/Vegas traveler. IMO it's good to get out of your comfort zone. How do you know a certain place isn't appealing if you've never been there and all you know about that place is what the media tells you? No doubt there are place that I loved and places that I was "meh". I have a friend that absolutely HATES Costa Rica which is beyond comprehension for me but each to their own. Personally I get ill at the idea of going to a mega-resort in Mexico and hanging out with a bunch of other fat obnoxious Americans and eating at a buffet.

BUMP Chile is next on my international travel list. Going with the same buddy that went to SE Asia with me. Just starting my research. Looking at September/October ish. Which looks to be shoulder season. Probably 9 days including travel. I could go up to 14 but his work is more demanding. I do a ton of solo travel so going early or staying longer is no big deal. Is is worth it to drive over to Mendoza? Or should we just focus on Chile? Demographic. both 52. We like a mix of art, outdoors, food, wine, walking tours, bike tours, coffee etc. We don't Clark Griswold. Spend half the day touring. The other half sitting by the pool.

Conte gone

This mfr right here is bad ass. Very unique flavor. Had it in Panama last month and they sell it on Amazon. There was another one that was more mustard. I can't find a picture of it but it was even better

Bayern sack Naglesmann and appoint Tuchel. Naglesmann to Spurs?

Going to Bimini in early may. Would love to do some fishing. Everything I see online looks like it's out of one of the bigger islands and they want 1500. Anyone have any insight, constacts or suggestions?

Im with jeans on this but were getting to the point that no one worth a shit is going to want to manage. We've run off 4 managers in 3 years. Plenty of blame to go around

BMW makes some of the best interiors.. I wish my Mach 1 had that refinement