The Holiday Thread

[Tommy]

3 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Not sure if this feels inappropriate or not but I was taken away on a surprise weekend away to Krakow.

Really great time. Would recommend.

I've got to say though, Auschwitz...wow. That will stick with me for life now. Never seen anything like that before, and whilst it was incredibly harrowing, I felt completely vindicated in going.

On a side note, I would actually say that it would be amazing if all middle schools could arrange to take their students over and see something like this. Too many kids are entirely influenced by Social Media, at an age (13-16) where they are thinking their little gangsta's, and show little respect for those around them and have no concept as to what these people went through. You can read all the books in the world and see videos but when you go there in the flesh, it's a different kettle of fish.

Sorry, completely digressed.

Here's a few I took from Auschwitz anyway. If anyone's ever thought of going and had doubts, I'd just go. In a weird way, you'll be glad you did.

The pictures alone are very depressing. Many schools here do field trips to the Concentration Camps. Somehow, I've never been to any of those schools. I want to go to one one day. But I do imagine it must be incredibly harrowing indeed. 

[Lucas]

13 minutes ago, Tommy said:

The pictures alone are very depressing. Many schools here do field trips to the Concentration Camps. Somehow, I've never been to any of those schools. I want to go to one one day. But I do imagine it must be incredibly harrowing indeed. 

I'm not sure if the schools here in England do, but if they don't, and I'm sure most do not, they really really should.

If I had a son or daughter, I'd 100% encourage them to see this when I felt they were old enough.

[nudge]

If you want a similar harrowing experience and you find yourself in Southeast Asia one day, make sure not to skip the former S-21 prison and the Killing Fields in Cambodia. It's crazy how little of it is known and taught in Europe. 

[Devil]

32 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Not sure if this feels inappropriate or not but I was taken away on a surprise weekend away to Krakow.

Really great time. Would recommend.

I've got to say though, Auschwitz...wow. That will stick with me for life now. Never seen anything like that before, and whilst it was incredibly harrowing, I felt completely vindicated in going.

On a side note, I would actually say that it would be amazing if all middle schools could arrange to take their students over and see something like this. Too many kids are entirely influenced by Social Media, at an age (13-16) where they are thinking their little gangsta's, and show little respect for those around them and have no concept as to what these people went through. You can read all the books in the world and see videos but when you go there in the flesh, it's a different kettle of fish.

Sorry, completely digressed.

Here's a few I took from Auschwitz anyway. If anyone's ever thought of going and had doubts, I'd just go. In a weird way, you'll be glad you did.

Honestly I will be going there soon, an incredible piece of history.

It's somewhere I feel I need to visit during my life time.

[Lucas]

12 minutes ago, nudge said:

If you want a similar harrowing experience and you find yourself in Southeast Asia one day, make sure not to skip the former S-21 prison and the Killing Fields in Cambodia. It's crazy how little of it is known and taught in Europe. 

You're correct, it's not and I got to be honest, it's not something I know a lot about. Just been googling some of it out of curiosity and it looks truly shocking. I had no idea so many were killed. If I'm ever that way, I probably would see that.

I see there is a film The Killing Fields, available to watch free on Prime so I'm going to get on that soon so cheers cor bringing that to my attention.

[nudge]

6 minutes ago, Lucas said:

You're correct, it's not and I got to be honest, it's not something I know a lot about. Just been googling some of it out of curiosity and it looks truly shocking. I had no idea so many were killed. If I'm ever that way, I probably would see that.

I see there is a film The Killing Fields, available to watch free on Prime so I'm going to get on that soon so cheers cor bringing that to my attention.

The Killing Fields is a pretty good movie, I think watching it as a kid was the first time I learned about the events there.

There's also a new-ish film available on Netflix and based on a well-known memoir of a survivor, called First They Killed My Father. I would actually recommend it over The Killing Fields, as that one is told mostly from the perspective of a Western journalist, whereas First They Killed My Father is authentically Cambodian and uses Cambodian actors, music, and language.

 

[Lucas]

12 hours ago, nudge said:

The Killing Fields is a pretty good movie, I think watching it as a kid was the first time I learned about the events there.

There's also a new-ish film available on Netflix and based on a well-known memoir of a survivor, called First They Killed My Father. I would actually recommend it over The Killing Fields, as that one is told mostly from the perspective of a Western journalist, whereas First They Killed My Father is authentically Cambodian and uses Cambodian actors, music, and language.

 

Nice one, I've just added that to my Netflix list so I'll give both a go.

The trailer reeled me in so that's right up my street.Didn't realise it was done by Angelina Jolie either so very interested to see what she's produced.

[Coma+]

Airline tickets purchased. We're going to Germany in July.

[nudge]

Going back to Bangkok in a few weeks. Decided to explore the Chinatown this time, as I have passed it by a few times, but never really went there properly at all... It is supposed to look almost the same like it did some 50-70 years ago; so not like modern Chinatowns in other countries like Singapore etc. Looking forward to all the street food and Peking duck!

[Tommy]

32 minutes ago, nudge said:

Going back to Bangkok in a few weeks. Decided to explore the Chinatown this time, as I have passed it by a few times, but never really went there properly at all... It is supposed to look almost the same like it did some 50-70 years ago; so not like modern Chinatowns in other countries like Singapore etc. Looking forward to all the street food and Peking duck!

Don't get too close to the bats. 

[nudge]

3 minutes ago, Tommy said:

Don't get too close to the bats. 

Challenge accepted. I will order some wildlife soup on purpose and will come to visit you in Düsseldorf afterwards.

[Tommy]

2 minutes ago, nudge said:

Challenge accepted. I will order some wildlife soup on purpose and will come to visit you in Düsseldorf afterwards.

I'm afraid I'll be out of town then. 

 

And yea, it wasn't meant as racist, but I can see it now. 

[Goku de la Boca]

I'm saving up for a football trip around Mexico this August. I also have a few friends I want to meet. Any hidden gems around the CDMX nucleus? (nothing north of Guadalajara basically).

There is a cool town called Taxco that I might stop by, looks neat.

[Dr. Gonzo]

14 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I'm saving up for a football trip around Mexico this August. I also have a few friends I want to meet. Any hidden gems around the CDMX nucleus? (nothing north of Guadalajara basically).

There is a cool town called Taxco that I might stop by, looks neat.

Mexico City is a cool enough place in itself.

[Lucas]

Bit late but here's some pics of my trip to Krakow, minus the Auschwitz one's I'd already posted seperately.

All the snowy pics are from a day trip to Zakopane, in the mountains. Amazing place.

Apologies for the spam, just skip if you like 

[Tommy]

Great pics @Lucas! I really want to visit Poland one day. My Great-Granparents from my mothers side came from there. Well, Upper Silesia. 

[Lucas]

1 hour ago, Tommy said:

Great pics @Lucas! I really want to visit Poland one day. My Great-Granparents from my mothers side came from there. Well, Upper Silesia. 

Krakow was a lovely clean city, stunning architecture, and I was impressed with how cheap Food and Drink was. You cannot go wrong.

The Zakopane and Chocolowska region near the Tatra mountains was stunning, and actually a bit of a unknown hidden treasure to a lot of tourists.

I couldn't recommend it enough.

[Goku de la Boca]

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Mexico City is a cool enough place in itself.

Theres a lot of teams there + Tlaxcala, but I'm looking to move out to some hidden gem towns and a maybe somewhere like Morelia or Celaya for the football.

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

Theres a lot of teams there + Tlaxcala, but I'm looking to move out to some hidden gem towns and a maybe somewhere like Morelia or Celaya for the football.

I've only been to Mexico City & some cities/towns in Baja California, so I can't really help with satellite towns around Mexico City.

But Mexico City is one of the cooler places I've been to in North America by a long, long distance.

[Eco]

We are considering going to Portugal/Spain for the a couple of weeks in the summer, but we are also considering New Zealand later in the year. Certainly won't do both, but we are likely doing one.

Been trying to talk the wife into letting me do the World Marathon Challenge, which are 7 Marathons on 7 Continents in 7 Days.

Day 1 - Novo Antarctica
Day 2 - Cape Town, South Africa
Day 3 - Perth Australia
Day 4 - Dubai, UAS
Day 5 - Madrid, Spain
Day 6 - Fortaleza, Brazil
Day 7 - Miami, Florida, USA

 

 

[Goku de la Boca]

I am thinking of going to Chachapoyas in a few days for a relaxing AirBnB and Instagram trip.

I have a dilemma, there are 2 places I am looking to stay in.

Or...

The first one is cheaper by a few dollars but is not very centric. The second one is centric but not as photogenic.

I am really leaning towards option #1 because the idea is to get to know Chachapoyas at a slow pace but mostly just relax, listen to music and take a few pictures of my surroundings. The benefits to option 2 is it could save me a few extra bucks in taxi and I could just go outside to get to know the place, should I change my mind and feel more like exploring.

Flight is about 300 soles ($75 USD). I am very tempted.

@nudge

[Goku de la Boca]

Chachapoyas is a bit of a hidden gem.

[nudge]

5 hours ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I am thinking of going to Chachapoyas in a few days for a relaxing AirBnB and Instagram trip.

I have a dilemma, there are 2 places I am looking to stay in.

Or...

The first one is cheaper by a few dollars but is not very centric. The second one is centric but not as photogenic.

I am really leaning towards option #1 because the idea is to get to know Chachapoyas at a slow pace but mostly just relax, listen to music and take a few pictures of my surroundings. The benefits to option 2 is it could save me a few extra bucks in taxi and I could just go outside to get to know the place, should I change my mind and feel more like exploring.

Flight is about 300 soles ($75 USD). I am very tempted.

@nudge

Both look good for different reasons... so it really depends on what your priorities are.

[CaaC (John)+]

6 hours ago, Goku de la Boca said:

Chachapoyas is a bit of a hidden gem.

If it was me, that above would be the first place I would visit, that's bloody stunning, is it the Kuelop Fortress or did I Google it wrong. 

[Coma+]

Spent some time in Florida last week and got to visit St. Augustine.