World Travelers

Bring back any coffee?

Too bloody expensive!

And other herbs

In any case, there isn't any of the stuff you're talking about, Bob Marley smoked it all.

I still haven't decided where to go this Summer. Like I mentioned before I've been considering South-East Asia, Thailand and Laos especially, but recently I've been thinking about Indonesia. Can anyone here recommend?

Shame that it's a predominantly Muslim country - so there would be less of the good times on beer. But I would love to go back to Bali - I have the faintest memory (from the age of about eight) of it being absolute paradise.

Hmm...

Well, this holiday will be the first that my best mate from home and I will share together so realistically I'm looking for an opportunity for adventure and scenery to explore (definitely want to do some more diving/snorkeling) and also for some thorough relaxation.

I'm just wondering whether I should wait until I have a longer window to visit Thailand/Laos and just concentrate on somewhere more particular - hence the attraction of the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. They look beautiful - full of sandy beaches, mountains and lakes. Plus, at the time I want to go, the weather will be at its best, as opposed to Thailand/Laos which will be in the middle of the wet season.

?

I know that if I have a free day in Paris, I definitely want to go visit Normandy again. Last time I went, I only got to spend a half day there, and could have easily spent a weeks. Not only for WWII stuff, but also family history. I know that my surname came from the St. Lo area, and first came to England with William the Conquer. I would love to visit so many of those areas. And finally get to see the Bayeux tapestry. It was closed my last visit. I would just hate to be over there and not get to explore some of Normandy. I'm kind of ticked to be going to Europe a third time in a loosely scheduled setting. I would just love to explore more on my own terms.

I have no idea of weather stuff. But a monsoon rain is cool once in a while.

Having all these options is a luxury. I'm sure you will have a good time on any of these places, but if you want beaches and snorkelling then obviously Laos is a no-go, as it is a land-locked country. You could indeed go do some island hopping in Indonesia, or explore the southern part of Thailand (which has all this as well, and diving and caves and ...). Lots of choice, and none will be wrong.

Brussels and Ghent would be very nice. St. Lo, I don't believe, would be not too far from the beaches. I know that it St. Lo is near the peninsula of Normandy.
I last went to Europe in 2007 this was a cruise around the Mediterranean.
I also went to England and France in 06. The best part of this one was touring the landing beaches on D-day, and hearing Churchill's Grandson speak.



That would be really fun! How far would Caen be from Paris?

This is the museum:
http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portailgb/

According to Google Maps, it's about 200km, which is a 2,5 hour drive. By train it'll take you 2 hours and a taxi or bus. Here are some directions:

Laos and Thailand are quite cheap too! The largest cost on our trip was the flights (return ticket to Bangkok and from southern Laos to Bangkok, costing together half of the trip).

Portugal was really worth the money, if you look out for it a bit. We flew in with Ryanair (130EUR return) to Porto and travelled by train and bus, which was really easy and we were much better informed than in Spain for example (the English is much better). We didn't go south of Lisboa, so I don't know if there's differences, I suspect Algarve might be. Train (the fast connections) was the largest cost. Bus is much cheaper, a bit slower, but sometimes necessary.

Dinner and lunches for about 5 to 10EUR, note that it is mostly really too much food! This sometimes included wine (from the house that is). Wine is about 5 to 8EUR for a whole bottle. A beer is about 1 tot 1,5EUR. So yes, we were able to stuff ourselves for less then 10EUR (and it's really good food, no fastfood). Delicious 'bacalhau' (cod) or grilled meat/fish. Oh man, we had some superb menus.

Hostels were about 10 tot 14EUR a night in cities like Braga, Viana do Castelo and everything in between Porto and Lisboa. Those two big cities naturally are a bit more expensive, and that was about 18EUR a night. Note that all of them have breakfast included. We also have a HI Hostel Membercard, which is about 5EUR a year, but gives you these lower prices all over the world (for HI Hostels like Braga, Viana). Hostels are generally good, but the hostels two main cities were extraordinary luxurious (note that my idea of luxury is not 5 star ). In Porto we stayed at Magnolia, in Lisboa at Palace Hostel (which was three months old and had a fabulous view) and paid 18EUR. Unbelievable! There are lots of hostels in Portugal, and all reasonable cities have one. We once stayed at a hotel because there was no hostel available and paid 20EUR with a large and extended breakfast. It was in the middle of the Douro region. Together we paid 180EUR for staying overnight.

Very reasonable prices! In Porto we had a whole dinner including wine for about 5,5EUR! I wasn't able to finish my plate.

I'd certainly recommend Portugal, especially the North, aka Minho, (if you have time go to Geres national park to) and East of Porto (Douro and Estramadura). I so advise you to at least take the train along the Douro, bring a bottle of wine/porto (we bought one at a winery in the town with the hotel) and enjoy the faces of the masses of tourists that get on somewhere in the middle of the route, of a then still empty train, to go back to Porto, watching you getting tipsy (but bring glasses!). A fantastic train trip!

So, my whole trip cost about 800EUR (£700) for two weeks. Not as cheap as I had hoped, but very doable, and I'm sure you can do lower by using buses instead of trains (we used two fast trains, which was about 60EUR both) and perhaps with some Couchsurfing!

Phew! Hope that makes your decision easier!

My guidebook was The Rough Guide to Portugal and pics here.

Thanks Bregt! Superb post.

Double and singles in hostels are really oddly priced. Most are as expensive as a hotel, but with the added bonus of a breakfast and the default features of a hostel (common room, sometimes a cool bar, much more fun and social people and younger women ).


We made some plans for this year: Iceland, and perhaps also Faeroe Islands! Perhaps we will take the cruise line from Denmark to Faeroe. Staying there a week, chilling and with some island hopping through hordes of sheep. Then take the boat to eastern Iceland and travel towards Reykjavik. But it's quite expensive, so we're still a bit looking at the options. And it'll take at least 3 days on a ship.