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sniles is the xpert but here's some shopping stuff I remember

K11 art mall
Konzepp
odd one out and 45rpm (near monocle and FIL)
UC gilapple store is kinda out of the way but neat (and had other stuff like some WM stuff on sale cheap too)
soph/apc/cdg all near each other
hoods (wtaps/nbhd)
208 duecento otto (really fucking fantastic italian restaurant)

whoa...looked up this "kapo chiu" that mentioned....apparently HK has a celebrated barista championship??? TIL....

Wet and foggy down at Padstow

Spent my Christmas in Bali, and a couple of days on an island nearby.

I'm going to Marrakech on wednesday with a few mates and our gfs. Has anyone else been and know some cool spots we should check out whilst there? We haven't really got anything planned because it was pretty spontaneous booking on lastminute.

Pack some smart shoes and trews and try and crash the fancy hotel there. I tried to do it in vans and cargo pants and the bouncer turned me away.

went to aruba for new years. it was alright.

Anyone go on any really great spring break trips in college? Looking for ideas. I'm in the south east US, btw.

Going to London and Iceland in June! Wheee I'm excited. Any recommendations?

Where are you going in Iceland?

Just got back from Geneva earlier today, lovely city, public transport systems are really well done in my opinion, although they do seem to have an extraordinary amount of pizzerias and pharmacies (I don't know if those two are related). Small album of a few pictures I took in the spoiler.

thinking of going to vancouver for spring break, good idea? are hostels cheap / well located? i hear there's an island?

yeah its nice here around that time, still a little chilly but not too bad




Vancouver Island is the big island on the left side. There are ferries from west vancouver (NW corner of the city, about an hour by bus from dt) to nanaimo, and from tsawwassen (very far southwest part of the city right near the border, probably an hour and a half from dt on the train/bus) to victoria. if you went to the island you'd want to go to victoria. both ferries take about 1.5hours + time spent waiting and shit and cost like $15. if you don't have a car its not really worth going for just the day.

TLDR don't go to the island, there's tons of stuff to in the city for like a week and its a hassle.

there's a bunch of hostels downtown i think, never really looked into it obvs. I assume they're around $25-35 like they are in every major city though.

if you're coming from pdx like i think you are take the bolt bus, its cheap and fast(ish) and has power outlets and really you can't ask for more than that.

luckily i have a car, so i was just gonna drive up with that. do they search your car when you cross the border? is parking/traffic so bad that taking a car isn't even worth it?

They might but usually they don't, unless you seem really nervous /twitchy. Usually they just ask where/why/how long you'll be there for. The US guards on the way back will ask more questions, cuz they want to catch people bringing back things without declaring them.

Parking downtown is pretty damn expensive tbh during the day. You could maybe find somewhere residential to just leave your car overnight though. Traffic is nbd as long as you're not trying to cross the lions gate or ironworkers memorial bridges during rush hour, which is super easy to avoid doing. Transit is really good though and if you can take the skytrain where you're going its definitely faster then driving. Busses aren't bad either, pretty frequent service and easy to figure out. Costs 2.75 for 1.5hrs (3.50 if you go to Richmond or North Van) or 9.75 per day. You can also buy packs of 10 1.5hr tickets for 21 (or again more if your need multiple zones)


also bring if you come cuz ive been buggin her for a long time to take the bus up and hang out

Anyone travel in the chzech republic / slovakia region? Anyone live there? Stories to tell?

Planning to visit the sis once again in Tokyo.

Feeling super nostalgic whenever I look at this picture of my mother.
http://i.imgur.com/dPVGkEK.jpg

Roommate just bailed on the Europe trip we've been planning for three months which means I get to start over and plan just for myself, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise. I honestly have no idea what Europe is actually like except for Italy, so if anyone really liked visiting a place or lives somewhere cool let me know because I honestly have no idea where to go, other than Greece looking gorgeous, me knowing French, and Amsterdam being beautiful that time of year (I'll be there from May 10- june10)

So basically any thoughts/advice would be appreciated

don't stress too much about where to go, just pick like 5 cities (sounds reasonable for a month) and go there. you'll have fun because it's an adventure!!!

thinking amsterdam --> brussels --> paris --> london, with day trips sprinkled in

probably going to get the benelux/france eurail pass, that seems like a pretty good deal? or are those a rip-off

also i'll be coming up march 22-24/25 approximately. 3 of my portland friends schenagled their way into coming with me, so if anyone wants to hang out with us all/i can ditch them for a few hours lets do it

NYC

I'm going to be there twice in a few months, once with a friend and another with my family. all questions are from a first time goer to nyc

the time I go with my friend is going to be for a weekend, and we both want to experience the "higher end" parts of nyc, like restaurants, clothes, shows, etc. What are some good places to go for a short weekend to experience a nicer feel of nyc?

what are some good places for a family to go to also? no one is particularly young in my family. we have around 4-5 days to explore, and one of the certain places is to see chinatown.

most shopping is in soho or midtown. definitely a better/wider selection in soho, midtown is more geared towards luxury brands and big department stores although bergdorf and barneys are both worth checking out.


restaurants are everywhere, depends what you want and what you're looking to spend

My uni is offering us to go on a trip to Baku, Azerbaijan to see the first European Olympic Games. At 150€ all included for a week, it's really tempting. I don't think I'll ever get another chance to visit Azerbaijan. On the other hand, I don't know anyone who wants to go. What if turns out to be horrible?

i'll be going to japan in two weeks. still haphazardly planning and trying to sort out my accommodation... i really just want to wing it lol. anyone have any recommendations on where to go / anyone wanna meet up? i'll be in tokyo, kyoto, and osaka most likely.

what made you want to go there?

I will be going to Bologna next month and on my way there I will make a quick stop in Venice.
The following week I will be going to Rouen and on my way there I will stop in Paris for the day.

I'll stop by the A.P.C. surplus store in Paris because it's between my train stations but so far that's all I've got.
Does anyone have any recommendations for activities and shopping in these cities?

After you've gone to the APC shop (don't get your hopes up btw it's not great), climb up the Montmartre hill by the little streets, and enjoy the view. then go around the church and go to that little charming park:


if you're there just for one day you could take a walk by the Seine. Start at Gare d'Austerlitz, walk by the Jardin des Plantes, go to l'île Saint Louis, l'île de la Cité and see Notre Dame, have a falafel at Al dar rue Frédéric Sauton, go to Dries van noten, acne, cross the river, see the Louvre, go rue Saint Honoré, go to Colette, get some chocolate at JP Hévin, walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, see the Concorde, see the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais, cross the river to the Invalides.

I hope you like walking sorry

Sad news guys, my dreams of Baku have been crushed. When I gave my application they said they had enough people already -- I guess some people must've been told before me. At least I know where Azerbaijan is located now.