Have You been ?

A quick questions and answers session for forum members
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NottinghamWhite
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Re: Have You been ?

Post by NottinghamWhite »

Going off on a tangent here waiting for the football to start. Airports here’s a few of my stories.

Cairns - Arrived at customs & before the lady could ask anything I piped up saying we’d seen every episode of Border Control & we had no food items, no plants, no wood, no drugs etc. After a couple of minutes the lady smiled & said enjoy Australia.

Kingston - Served the best Chicken Jerk I’ve ever eaten by a country mile

Hewanorra International ( St Lucia ) Having been bumped up to business class on the way out I asked the girl on checkout could we be upgraded to business on the return journey her response it would be $450 I looked at Sue she said it’s up to you. I handed over my card to notice it was $450 for the 2 of us & with the pound in a very strong position to the dollar virtually 2 to 1 thought it was a bargain. We made our way to the business lounge where there was a fabulous cold buffet & 2 men pouring drinks, heaven.

Dallas - Stop over on our Peru trip. The 4 of us came through customs in record time & headed for a sports bar. What can I get asked the barman. 4 beers was the answer, y’all want Texan beers to which we responded yes please be good to try a local beer. 4 glasses holding at least 4 pints in each were put in front of us. My mate said these are Texan beers he said certainly are everything is bigger in Texas :D

Goa - Arrived at the airport on a very hot humid day & looked forward to a cold beer but we hadn’t reckoned on how much Indians love bureaucracy we only just made our flight.

Kingston - Due to a delay we were there around 3 hours we went to the bar I ordered 7 Red Stripes, $7 was the response from the barman. We managed to drink 6 before our flight to Montego Bay. Steve insisted it was his round next as he had yet to buy a round. On our way home the 7 of us went into the bar & true to his word Steve ordered 7 Red Stripes, $35 asked the barman. The difference between the 2 airports one touristy the other not.

Rio - As I said earlier it was well weird changing our dollars into reals at the airport with the porters.

Muscat - Our guide came with us to checkin speaking to the guy behind the desk & once checked in he said let’s get something to eat & headed back out the airport to the Bukhara Restaurant where he explained we had 2 hours to eat before we concluded everything else before the flight. The airport staff were happy for this to happen. Best Indian meal we’ve had, & cheap.

Canary Islands - You pick one with there outside terrace bars. Through customs & up the stairs a bottle of Vina Sol taking in the rays till the next time.
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Selby White
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Re: Have You been ?

Post by Selby White »

NottinghamWhite wrote:
Was hoping that Cairns, Kota Kinabalu, Baltimore, Cagliari, Maputo, Georgetown, San Jose, Bucharest, Port of Spain, Kingston etc had made the cut :D
Well NW the follow up thread is about Cities that possibly should be on the list have already got a list off the internet of places but more than happy to add anywhere members rate and have stories to tell. Just let me know anywhere you suggest folks.

These if not on the initial list will be added ?
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Sniffer
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Re: Have You been ?

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Vienna
The better half started me travelling. I got my first proper passport for our first overseas holiday together - a rail tour to Jenbach and Vienna. We were the youngest in the group by about 40 years but it was a great mix of people. Jenbach is in the Austrian Tyrol and has three different railways. The mainline which is operated by The ÖBB, a steam operated cog and rack-railway - The Achensee Railway - and the Zillertal Steam Railway to Mayrhofen, sometimes called a toy railway as it's a smaller version of the real thing. One night there was a big party in one of the engine sheds to mark the 150th anniversary of the railway reaching Jenbach. We were all invited - Oompah band, buxom waitresses, frothing steins - what's not to like.
Anyway, Vienna was the second part of the trip. A beautiful city that we spent the days we had there wandering, marvelling and exploring. And on the last night there was a spectacular storm with lightning flashing around the mountains.

Frankfurt
A technical yes as I changed trains here and had a brief nose around. Didn't see much.

Dubrovnik
I got the ferry from Split to Dubrovnik on a blisteringly hot day. We were joined by dolphins who piloted us towards the old harbour. As I walked down the gangplank dozens of Slavic babushkas screamed "Pension, pension, pension". I was reminded of Brock's Song of the Battery Hen " … a kind of one-word wail, I am the one who sounds loudest in my head". But no pension for me as I was camping with Raf, the Canadian I'd met on the boat, and his girlfriend.
He said he knew where the campsite was.
We eventually found it.
This was before the war and Yugoslavia was pretty much as Tito had left it. To change money in a bank you had to see 5 different people and if you changed up £50 you became a dinar multi-millionaire. Back then you would see a 5000 dinar note lying in the street and you'd leave it there as it would be worth pennies. But still you'd be self-conscious because of your imagined new-found wealth. Another memory, a tale told by my German teacher at school: A man in Weimar Germany sees a wheelbarrow full of money. He empties out the money and steals the wheelbarrow.
I have often thought of going back to Dubrovnik, taking the better half this time, but how do the scars of war hang on this beautiful old town?
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Selby White
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Re: Have You been ?

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2. If you could choose another 5 from the list you have not yet been to, which would they be ?

For me -
Cape Town - South Africa has been on my bucket list a long time
Auckland - Well NZ actually so could easily have said Christchurch, will do both when we go.
Cuzco - Love South America well the 3 countries I've been to. Mrs SW is one up on me with Peru and wants to go back so who am I to argue. :D
Porto - Done Lisbon and the South or Portugal (& Madeira) and fancied further north for a long time.
St Petersburg - Everyone I know that as been have enjoyed it.
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Selby White
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Re: Have You been ?

Post by Selby White »

Sniffer wrote:Dubrovnik

I have often thought of going back to Dubrovnik, taking the better half this time, but how do the scars of war hang on this beautiful old town?
Actually not too badly apart from a bit of damage to a few buildings that have been left for us tourists to see.
Apparently the Serbs didn't enter the city despite them having nothing to defend themselves with, they just fired a few rocket over the mountains.

Its a beautiful place but very expensive especially inside the city walls. Also gets very busy when the cruise ships arrive as not that big.
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NottinghamWhite
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Re: Have You been ?

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Selby White wrote:
For me -
Cape Town - South Africa has been on my bucket list a long time

We love Africa having visited South Africa, Swaziland, Egypt ( a couple of times ) Ethiopia, Mozambique, Kenya & Gambia ( one of the worst places I’ve visited ) We have a friend an influential lady who was once a dinner date for Prince Charles at a dinner for the French ambassador. Anyway she’s heavily involved in charitable schemes in her home country of Sierra Leone. Out with her for dinner one night she asked if we would be prepared to do voluntary work in Freetown as I’d worked in the tourism industry & Sue was a retired head teacher & both tourism & education were things they desperately wanted to promote. We were to live in the annexe of a house belonging to a friend of hers. Anyway it all fell through when they wanted us there on a 4 year contract. Our friend was angry at the length of the contract but the charity wouldn’t move. If we had have gone a month in & the country was gripped with Ebola
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mapperleywhite
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Re: Have You been ?

Post by mapperleywhite »

Bit late responding on this thread, but the places I've been are in bold (37) and those in red are when I went privately, ie not on business (21)
Selby White wrote:
1. London
2. New York
3. Paris
4. Rome
5. Istanbul
6. Berlin
7. Moscow
8. Rio de Janeiro
9. Beijing
10. Singapore
11. Hong Kong
12. Tokyo
13. Madrid
14. Athens
15. Prague
16. Edinburgh
17. Seoul
18. Sydney
19. Shanghai
20. St Petersburg
21. Amsterdam
22. New Orleans
23. Vancouver
24. Auckland
25. Bangkok
26. Damascus
27. Jerusalem
28. Cape Town
29. Cairo
30. Marrakech
31. Galle, Sri lanka
32. Copenhagen
33. Mexico City
34. Santiago (Chile)
35. Buenos Aires
36. Helsinki
37. Stockholm
38. Reykjavik
39. Dublin
40. Las Vegas
41. Samarkand (Uzbekistan)
42. Odessa (Ukraine)
43. Barcelona
44. Porto
45. Kathmandu
46. Delhi
47. Ho Chi Min City
48. Casablanca
49. Cuzco (Peru)
50. La Paz
51. Saint Louis (Senegal)
52. Munich
53. Zurich
54. Chicago
55. San Francisco
56. Montreal
57. Irkutsk (Russia)
58. Ulan Bator (Mongolia)
59. Macao
60. Krakow
61. Durban
62. Johannasburg
63.Adis Adabba (Ethiopia)
64. Toronto
65. Christchurch
66. Kuala Lumper
67. Havana
68. Miami
69. York :thumbup:
70. Florence
71. Venice
72. Belgrade
73. Granada (Spain)
74. Fez (Morocco)
75. Antananarivo (Madagascar)
76. Pyongyang (North Korea)
77. Kabul
78. Beirut
79. Sofia
80. Budapest
81. Vienna
82. Oslo
83. Frankfurt
84. Lyon
85. Minsk
86. Yekaterinburg (Russia)
87. Islamabad
88. Muscat (Oman)
89. Dubai
90. Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
91. Doha (Qatar)
92. Baghdad
93. Isfahan (Iran)
94. Tehran
95. Baku (Azerbaijan)
96. Almaty (Kazakstan)
97. Kinshasa (Congo)
98. Dubrovnik
99. Washington DC
100. Vladivostok

**Sorry folks but forgot Porto when I did this first time
Last edited by mapperleywhite on 10 Jul 2020, 10:39, edited 1 time in total.
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NottinghamWhite
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Re: Have You been ?

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So 36 apiece MW :D
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mapperleywhite
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Re: Have You been ?

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Selby White wrote:
Additional questions now the full list is available -

1. Of the places you have been on this list which are your 5 favourites and why (less if you've not done 5) ?

1. Cape Town - fabulous setting, the surrounding area is quite fascinating
2. Barcelona - last time I went it didn't seem too touristy, ie it was enjoyable to mingle with the locals going about their daily business. Fabulous architecture, enjoyable climate and El Xampanyet tapas bar!
3. Zurich - gateway to the breathatking scenery of the Alps, eg Lucerne
4. Istanbul - not a popular choice here I appreciate, but my experiences have always been good. Very different to Europe in terms of 'feel' and architecture combined with a real sense of history
5. San Francisco - The setting on the bay is magnificent, more laid back than other US cities of a similar size and quite a European feel to the place

Tough on Madrid, Prague, Budapest and Vienna.....

2. If you could choose another 5 from the list you have not yet been to, which would they be ?

1. Tokyo - A real change of culture, but a gentle one. I'd get a pass and travel the country on the bullet train which looks brilliant. And I love Japanese food!
2. Samarkand - Providing I could get past the difficulties of getting a visa for Uzbekistan I'd enjoy seeing an important part of the Silk Road as well as some colorful architecture
3. Buenos Aires - the pictures I've seen show elegant boulevards and architecture that reminds me of Madrid. Their currency is very weak so should be a reasonable cost trip :D
4. Auckland - a real cosmopolitan melting pot and gateway to the wide open spaces of NZ with its spectactular scenery. Also the chance to see the haka live, which I find fascinating.
5. St. Petersburg - a chance to learn about Russia's imperial past and see the buildings associated with it.
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NottinghamWhite
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Re: Have You been ?

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mapperleywhite wrote:

3. Buenos Aires - the pictures I've seen show elegant boulevards and architecture that reminds me of Madrid. Their currency is very weak so should be a reasonable cost trip :D

5. St. Petersburg - a chance to learn about Russia's imperial past and see the buildings associated with it.
We’ve done Buenos Aries twice on the first visit it was our first time in South America & it didn’t disappoint us. The centre is indeed very similar to Madrid. We also travelled up to the north east corner of the country to Tucaman Where we saw a completely different aspect to Argentina which included high altitudes & my wife’s favourite the Groucho’s ( cowboys :D) the small towns we visited were far removed for any tourist hotspots. The scenery as you’d expect was absolutely stunning. We were seduced into having the local specialty one night so,as people around us were tucking into succulent steaks we had what can only be described as cow eel stew. Took one mouthful pushed it aside & ordered a steak & fries.

St Petersburg again visited twice & both times spent a couple of nights there sadly we didn’t have a visa which meant we saw all the bars & restaurants but couldn’t go to them. The architecture is stunning particularly the churches. We visited St Catherine’s Palace where there was a band playing & as we approached a young lad ran up to our guide & then off again. Seconds later God save the Queen blared out. Despite a lot of the grandeur having been removed it was still & impressive place to see. Whilst the revolution was taking place Catherine was having gold leaf put onto walls, totally surreal.
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