Florida Holiday

[mjsell]

16 minutes ago, thewayiam said:

Ah yes, a trip starting in Bangkok and working down through Koh Tao, Somui, Phi Phi islands, Phangan, Pattaya maybe and possibly Fiji is a plan. Not too bothered with Indonesia.

If you ever go to thailand - go North as well as South. Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai with the surrounding national parks and mountain regions are incredible - and my most enjoyed parts of Thailand. Some of the South (and islands) were far too touristy for my tastes.

NZ is by far my favourite country I have visited as well and will definitely be returning one day - so keep that on any list you have.

[thewayiam]

33 minutes ago, mjsell said:

If you ever go to thailand - go North as well as South. Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai with the surrounding national parks and mountain regions are incredible - and my most enjoyed parts of Thailand. Some of the South (and islands) were far too touristy for my tastes.

NZ is by far my favourite country I have visited as well and will definitely be returning one day - so keep that on any list you have.

Nice, thanks :). Aye yes, Chang Mai would be ace.

Yes I would expect the South to be more touristy. 

I want to do Auz and NZ on the same break and probably return to do the far Northern Territory Ayers Rock/Darwin when the really hot/rainy weather has passed.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

On 28/09/2016 at 4:10 PM, mjsell said:

If you ever go to thailand - go North as well as South. Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai with the surrounding national parks and mountain regions are incredible - and my most enjoyed parts of Thailand. Some of the South (and islands) were far too touristy for my tastes.

NZ is by far my favourite country I have visited as well and will definitely be returning one day - so keep that on any list you have.

I really enjoyed Chaing Mai. According to our book (Lonely Planet or some such) it said to go for a massage in the womens prison, where the prisoners gave you a massage. At first I thought no way would I wish to go to a prison and get a massage (which may have been my first ever - I can't recall) by a prisoner that was already suffering enough, without having to massage me. I gave in in the end because the book stated that it was a programme to teach inmates a skill so that they wouldn't return to crime. I had the massage and gave a tip to the inmate. Only after reading books about Thai prisons do I now know that the guards will have taken those tips for themselves. I really wish that I had left a big Baht denomination note hanging out of my pocket so that the inmate could have squirreled it away during the massage. Then I could have made a performance of giving them a tip which they could have handed in to the guard, leaving them with the high denomination Baht note.

I also went on a three day mountain top walk where we stayed in mountain top villages, and where I was privileged enough to smoke opium with a village elder. The walk ended with a day of travelling down river on a bamboo raft, Happy days.

[The Nal]

On 9/27/2016 at 5:54 PM, thewayiam said:

Already planned on doing it for 3/4 nights 1st, silly not to.

If you have any recommendations they'd be greatfully received, I'd probably head there end of October time.

Sure. I don't know too much outside of the French quarter area though. 

SoBou. Would recommend going for a few small plates, Really cheap too. As good a meal as you'll have. Very different. Still refer back to it in "best meals you've ever had" chats. 

Frenchmen Street is a must. Just behind the French quarter. Great for bar hopping. Lots of live music and locals. 

Stay clear of Bourbon St aside from a walk through. Tourist trap and messy, fully of pissed up students. 

Also stay clear of Cafe du Monde. "Best coffee in America" apparently but their Cafe Au Lait tastes like frothy cats piss mixed with rabbit droppings.  

Be careful when wandering about at night outside of the French quarter too. One wrong turn and you're in the hood. 

The French Market is a great way to spend a morning/afternoon. Lots of stalls selling everything you can imagine. And great food. I got a few hot sauces, seasonings etc there. And a great lunch. The missus picked up some bits and bobs of jewelry that she'll never wear. 

Aside from that, I'd recommend to walk every block of the French quarter. Quite a spooky place. Like a city curated by Tim Burton.  

And while you're there, Memphis is close by (ish). As is Nashville. 

 

[thewayiam]

1 hour ago, The Nal said:

Sure. I don't know too much outside of the French quarter area though. 

SoBou. Would recommend going for a few small plates, Really cheap too. As good a meal as you'll have. Very different. Still refer back to it in "best meals you've ever had" chats. 

Frenchmen Street is a must. Just behind the French quarter. Great for bar hopping. Lots of live music and locals. 

Stay clear of Bourbon St aside from a walk through. Tourist trap and messy, fully of pissed up students. 

Also stay clear of Cafe du Monde. "Best coffee in America" apparently but their Cafe Au Lait tastes like frothy cats piss mixed with rabbit droppings.  

Be careful when wandering about at night outside of the French quarter too. One wrong turn and you're in the hood. 

The French Market is a great way to spend a morning/afternoon. Lots of stalls selling everything you can imagine. And great food. I got a few hot sauces, seasonings etc there. And a great lunch. The missus picked up some bits and bobs of jewelry that she'll never wear. 

Aside from that, I'd recommend to walk every block of the French quarter. Quite a spooky place. Like a city curated by Tim Burton.  

And while you're there, Memphis is close by (ish). As is Nashville. 

 

Nice cheers

[Chawk]

On 27/09/2016 at 6:50 PM, thewayiam said:

I guess as I enjoy theme parks then Orlando is up my street but aside from Universal, Magic Mountain and Sea World I spend the rest travelling around the coasts probably more so and Miami. 

Please don't go to Sea World, it's a disgusting place. Orcas go crazy (literally) in such cramped conditions when they should be swimming in families in the open ocean; they shouldn't be used for human entertainment . Look up the documentary Blackfish on Netflix if you want to see more. Or read here if you don't have Netflix http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/about/ Don't support it with your cash!

Edited October 5, 2016 by Chawk

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

21 minutes ago, Barry Fish said:

Oh look another idiot who watched Blackfish.....

I can understand people being against the use of Orcas in shows but to quote the, phoney packed full of lies and misdirection, "Blackfish" just shows your one of these people who picks up the Sun and just accepts its all true...    Blackfish is propaganda, nothing more or less...

I haven't got a clue about 'Blackfish' and am not going to even look it up. Whatever the case confining orcas for profit is fucking disgraceful. How companies that are not conservationally driven are allowed to to put on shows for profit is beyond me. It's slavery pure and simple.

[Chawk]

57 minutes ago, Barry Fish said:

Oh look another idiot who watched Blackfish.....

I can understand people being against the use of Orcas in shows but to quote the, phoney packed full of lies and misdirection, "Blackfish" just shows your one of these people who picks up the Sun and just accepts its all true...    Blackfish is propaganda, nothing more or less...

Hi, I have never read the Sun.

Studying orcas is actually part of my degree, so here are a couple peer reviewed science papers:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12225/full

' The subsequent involvement of these orcas and their offspring in aggressive incidents with humans is also documented and examined. This is particularly relevant given that the highest recorded rates of aggressive incidents have occurred among orcas who had previously established unstructured human friendship bonds prior to their inclusion within oceanaria performances. It is concluded that the confinement of orcas within aquaria, and their use in entertainment programs, is morally indefensible, given their high intelligence, complex behaviors, and the apparent adverse effects on orcas of such confinement and use. '

http://law-wss-01.law.fsu.edu/journals/landuse/vol28_2/dodson.pdf

'The captive marine mammals also suffer from a wide range of conditions, diseases, mental instability, and causes of death not found in wild populations. Some of these conditions and diseases include fungal bacterial pneumonia, bleeding ulcers, myocardial fibrosis, heart failure, chronic colitis, agranuloytosis, pseudomonas, and stress. n184 Additionally, wild captures are extremely dangerous and disruptive to the complex social structures of the marine mammals--both those taken captive and those remaining wild. n185 The process of wild captures exerts extreme stress on the animals, many of which die during the process. n186 Bottlenose dolphins face a six-fold increase in risk of mortality immediately after capture and after every transfer, indicating that they never acclimatize well to transfer. n187

Holding marine mammals presents serious dangers to both the animals and the humans with which they interact. Captive orcas have killed four people since 1991. n179 Dozens of other people have nearly died in the past forty years and even more have sustained serious injuries, including lacerations, puncture wounds, broken bones and necks, ruptured kidneys, liver lacerations, and "permanent loss of head movement." n180

The minimum volume of water traversed on average by a wild orca in one day is 45,302,778,000 gallons, which is more than 9,000 times the amount in all interconnecting orca pools at the SeaWorld parks. n195 There are numerous incidents documented of orcas intentionally ramming pool walls, slamming their bodies against their enclosures, and even jumping out of tanks onto dry cement. n196 '

 

I don't want to take over this thread so probably won't reply again.

Edited October 11, 2016 by Chawk

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

44 minutes ago, Barry Fish said:

Out of interest do you extend this view point to other animals or just Orcas ?

I believe that all organisations / individuals that artificially contain animals for moronic human pleasure to be guilty. And before you go down the free range food argument, I do, to the best of my knowledge.

[gary1979666]

On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 0:44 AM, Barry Fish said:

You are still an idiot by suggesting people watch Blackfish...  

Barry's back!! Where've you been?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

1 hour ago, gary1979666 said:

Barry's back!! Where've you been?

I think that he may have been to

 

 

[Amy Lawn]

On 10/11/2016 at 10:44 PM, Barry Fish said:

Oh look another idiot who watched Blackfish.....

I can understand people being against the use of Orcas in shows but to quote the, phoney packed full of lies and misdirection, "Blackfish" just shows your one of these people who picks up the Sun and just accepts its all true...    Blackfish is propaganda, nothing more or less...

^ Hates Orcas because they're his natural predator