tonyh29 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 LondonLax, on 12 Sept 2013 - 11:56 AM, said: tonyh29, on 11 Sept 2013 - 11:41 PM, said: CarewsEyebrowDesigner, on 11 Sept 2013 - 10:40 PM, said: I'd like to visit Jerusalem at some point. Just to see what all the fuss is about, really. Although I'm convinced if I do go I'll try some typically edgy Ulster wit on the locals and find myself in a spot of bother. Yeah same as that , not the ulster wit bit obviously , I'd be much funnier than that I've done Jordan , Syria , Egypt and Lebanon so bit baffled really why I've not been already tbh It's a personal bugbear of mine when people say they have 'done' countries, like it's some sort of tick list. Aussie backpackers say it all the time, that they've 'done' all these countries. What they mean is they travelled through them on a stinking hot bus with 20 other Australians (and the odd kiwi) and only saw the bottom of a pint glass the entire time. well if I had said I'd been to Umayyad Mosque, Damascus Roman ruins, Palmyra Crac des Chevaliers Roman ruins, Apamea Saladin’s castle in Syria Petra Jerash Amman The Dead Sea Tabqit Fahl Umm Al-Jimal in Jordan for example ... (and that's that's just a sample btw) I'd probably have been accused of being boring I agree with you about backpackers , and there are countless posts of mine slagging them off but some of us are more refined and cultured than the Aussies ..actually scrub that ..ALL of us are more refined and cultured than the Aussies ( unless we have any French VT'ers ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Base .you wore a hat .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 12, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 Having that kind of ticklist that you only 'do' a country through the bottom of a pint glass is still better than never bothering to go anywhere though. There's plenty of those and although I've been to some places, I could have gone to many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 12, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted September 12, 2013 well if I had said I'd been to Umayyad Mosque, Damascus Roman ruins, Palmyra Crac des Chevaliers Roman ruins, Apamea Saladin’s castle in Syria Petra Jerash Amman The Dead Sea Tabqit Fahl Umm Al-Jimal in Jordan for example ... (and that's that's just a sample btw) I'd probably have been accused of being boring Not by me, Tone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) mjmooney, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:27 PM, said:mjmooney, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:27 PM, said: QuoteQuote well if I had said I'd been to Umayyad Mosque, Damascus Roman ruins, Palmyra Crac des Chevaliers Roman ruins, Apamea Saladin’s castle in Syria Petra Jerash Amman The Dead Sea Tabqit Fahl Umm Al-Jimal in Jordan for example ... (and that's that's just a sample btw) I'd probably have been accused of being boring Not by me, Tone. that area has some of the best historical sights on the planet .. sadly a lot of the Syrian ones have been badly damaged in the conflict ..Crac des Chevaliers in particular I was due to go to Libya a few years back to see Leptis Magna but then it all kicked off with Gadaffi etc and hasn't really settled ....so sadly it's still sitting there on my bucket list Edited September 12, 2013 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) I would've liked to visit Saudi Arabia before the Saudis took over and demolished anything they thought would become a sight of pilgrimage outside Mecca. Edited September 12, 2013 by CarewsEyebrowDesigner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I would've liked to visit Saudi Arabia before the Saudi's took over and demolished anything they thought would become a sight of pilgrimage outside Mecca. They demolished most of the historic sites in Mecca as well and build crappy hotels instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 12, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 I'd like to visit Jerusalem at some point. Just to see what all the fuss is about, really.I'd love to go there too and taste the McWailing Wall Burger. Culture, bitch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) BOF, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:20 PM, said:BOF, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:20 PM, said: Having that kind of ticklist that you only 'do' a country through the bottom of a pint glass is still better than never bothering to go anywhere though. There's plenty of those and although I've been to some places, I could have gone to many more. I try and do both ... up early do the sights then hit the bar by night .. you run on adrenalin and power naps but it's enjoyable , though I appreciate it's not for everyone In Bhutan the other week we had a 5am start to climb up to Tigers Nest ... our guide therefore wanted us tucked up in bed by 11 pm .... so after he dropped us back at the hotel when the bar shut at 11 , we hid around the corner and sneaked out to go to a club ... and walked smack bang into our guide and felt like a couple of naughty school children ... we left the club at 2 am when it shut but still made the 5am start and got the most amazing views .. most of the other tourists started around 8 by which time the cloud had come back in and covered everything ... so the 5am start was the crucial bit , but not at the expense of a night out yeah the head was a bit woolly to start with , but then you walk around the bend and get a view like this away in the distance , the hangover soon goes only a few miles to go ... nearly there ... and as they say ... that's Bhutan ticked off Edited September 12, 2013 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I've done Malta took all afternoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) They demolished most of the historic sites in Mecca as well and build crappy hotels instead. And a bloody big clock Not that their crappy hotels and bloody big clock matters to us non-Muslims if we can't set foot in the place. Edited September 12, 2013 by CarewsEyebrowDesigner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 12, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 Our housing planning authority probably wouldn't have signed off on that design Tony. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 CarewsEyebrowDesigner, on 12 Sept 2013 - 1:10 PM, said: LondonLax, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:58 PM, said: They demolished most of the historic sites in Mecca as well and build crappy hotels instead. And a bloody big clock Not that their crappy hotels and bloody big clock matters to us non-Muslims if we can't set foot in the place. technically the prophet Mohammed said nothing to ban non-muslims from entering mecca so if someone challenged this rule on theological grounds the Saudis will find themselves on slippery grounds. good luck with that one though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 12, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 I wonder does it have a road called 'Mohammed Alley'. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 BOF, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:20 PM, said:BOF, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:20 PM, said: Having that kind of ticklist that you only 'do' a country through the bottom of a pint glass is still better than never bothering to go anywhere though. There's plenty of those and although I've been to some places, I could have gone to many more. I try and do both ... up early do the sights then hit the bar by night .. you run on adrenalin and power naps but it's enjoyable , though I appreciate it's not for everyone In Bhutan the other week we had a 5am start to climb up to Tigers Nest ... our guide therefore wanted us tucked up in bed by 11 pm .... so after he dropped us back at the hotel when the bar shut at 11 , we hid around the corner and sneaked out to go to a club ... and walked smack bang into our guide and felt like a couple of naughty school children ... we left the club at 2 am when it shut but still made the 5am start and got the most amazing views .. most of the other tourists started around 8 by which time the cloud had come back in and covered everything ... so the 5am start was the crucial bit , but not at the expense of a night out yeah the head was a bit woolly to start with , but then you walk around the bend and get a view like this away in the distance , the hangover soon goes only a few miles to go ... nearly there ... and as they say ... that's Bhutan ticked off Ignorant, but truthfull, comment - that is literally the only sight I have ever seen pictured of Bhutan. Did you go on an organised tour Tony? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 BOF, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:20 PM, said:BOF, on 12 Sept 2013 - 12:20 PM, said: Having that kind of ticklist that you only 'do' a country through the bottom of a pint glass is still better than never bothering to go anywhere though. There's plenty of those and although I've been to some places, I could have gone to many more. I try and do both ... up early do the sights then hit the bar by night .. you run on adrenalin and power naps but it's enjoyable , though I appreciate it's not for everyone In Bhutan the other week we had a 5am start to climb up to Tigers Nest ... our guide therefore wanted us tucked up in bed by 11 pm .... so after he dropped us back at the hotel when the bar shut at 11 , we hid around the corner and sneaked out to go to a club ... and walked smack bang into our guide and felt like a couple of naughty school children ... we left the club at 2 am when it shut but still made the 5am start and got the most amazing views .. most of the other tourists started around 8 by which time the cloud had come back in and covered everything ... so the 5am start was the crucial bit , but not at the expense of a night out yeah the head was a bit woolly to start with , but then you walk around the bend and get a view like this away in the distance , the hangover soon goes only a few miles to go ... nearly there ... and as they say ... that's Bhutan ticked off Ignorant, but truthfull, comment - that is literally the only sight I have ever seen pictured of Bhutan. Did you go on an organised tour Tony? You can't go into Bhutan independently ... You pay a fee of $250 a day to the government and it includes all your hotels , meals and guides ... You just pay for beer and souvenirs etc Bhutan is probably the most beautiful country on the planet , tigers nest just gets the most coverage as its a picturesque shot through the clouds on the side of the mountain like that :-) but there is def a whole lot more to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 12, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 You can't go into Bhutan independently ... You pay a fee of $250 a day to the government and it includes all your hotels , meals and guides ... You just pay for beer and souvenirs etc I was not aware of that. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) You can't go into Bhutan independently ... You pay a fee of $250 a day to the government and it includes all your hotels , meals and guides ... You just pay for beer and souvenirs etc Bhutan is probably the most beautiful country on the planet , tigers nest just gets the most coverage as its a picturesque shot through the clouds on the side of the mountain like that :-) but there is def a whole lot more to it Sounds intriguing - would love to go there on a twin centre with Nepal. I had pencilled the latter in for my travelling adventure next year, but when the budget tightened it was, unfortunately, the first to go (largely due to me reading too many rapey & plane crash stories about the place). Edited September 12, 2013 by Shillzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 12, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 There is pretty much nothing worse than being raped in a plane crash. You were right to drop it Shillzz. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) You can't go into Bhutan independently ... You pay a fee of $250 a day to the government and it includes all your hotels , meals and guides ... You just pay for beer and souvenirs etc Bhutan is probably the most beautiful country on the planet , tigers nest just gets the most coverage as its a picturesque shot through the clouds on the side of the mountain like that :-) but there is def a whole lot more to it Sounds intriguing - would love to go there on a twin centre with Nepal. I had pencilled the latter in for my travelling adventure next year, but when the budget tightened it was, unfortunately, the first to go (largely due to me reading too many rapey & plane crash stories about the place). I flew to KTM from Bhutan You spend 10 - 15 mins looking at Mt Everest as you fly alongside it ... My third time flying alongside and up close to it but still awesome The flight to Lukla in Nepal is the scary one as you land on the side of a mountain... Taking off from there you don't even want to think about KTM isn't so bad ... Bhutan involves a lot of steep banking as you come in and out but the pilot warns you it's coming so nothing to worry about Edited September 12, 2013 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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