CJ better hope your wife is Indonesian. Foreigners cant buy land or house in Indo. Everything is done by leasehold. Unless you buy through a company with an Indo nominee or have an Indo wife.
Mate just bought land in Kalimantan. Thought it was on wife’s name but not so. Sumatra is a dodgy place.
CJ better hope your wife is Indonesian. Foreigners cant buy land or house in Indo. Everything is done by leasehold. Unless you buy through a company with an Indo nominee or have an Indo wife.Mate just bought land in Kalimantan. Thought it was on wife’s name but not so. Sumatra is a dodgy place.
Yeah, looking into that at the moment. Have my eyes on a few nice blocks of land in Lombok and some Villas in Seminyak as investment properties. Land is dirt cheap in Lombok but need a Indo nominee, we have a really good friend who is an Indo national and he is looking into it for us.
Did some trekking in Rinjani NP today and could barely see Mt Rinjani due to a massive ash cloud.
Lombok is such an amazing place, going to alter travel plans slightly and maybe just do a 1 or 2 day trip to Rinca and Komodo which will give me more time to check out some land sales in the North of Lombok
CJ better hope your wife is Indonesian. Foreigners cant buy land or house in Indo. Everything is done by leasehold. Unless you buy through a company with an Indo nominee or have an Indo wife.Mate just bought land in Kalimantan. Thought it was on wife’s name but not so. Sumatra is a dodgy place.
No worries, the little woman is Batak / Caro from Berastagi, in the mountains. Hearing only good things about Lombok.
Does anyone have advice about Namibia and/or Botswana? We're looking into returning to Southern Africa and will definitely redo Kruger if we do. Problem is I like new passport stamps and want to do another country at least. Botswana is notoriously expensive, which is a personal turn off, but I'd like to do it unless Namibia is cheaper and nearly as impressive. We prefer to avoid group tours longer than a few days. Anyone know if either of these countries is doable as a non group tour destination?I was there in May/June this year. Did a tour with Peregrine. Started at Vic Falls and ended in Capetown but spent the majority of the time on Botswana and Namibia. It was the best holiday I have ever done (and I've traveled a fair bit). Botswana was good, especially Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta. Namibia was superb especially Etosha, Damaraland and Sossusvlei whilst Swakopmund was a really pleasant surprise. I saw lots of 4wd campers in both countries and it seemed that there were heaps of South Africans doing it. A lot of the roads in Namibia are not sealed and if you do it solo, make sure you have good spares as I saw quite a few stranded vehicles by the side of the road due to too many punctures. Hope that is of some use to you.
Cheers, that sounds great. I like the sound of Namibia but my better half has her heart set on the Okavango delta and some opinions are more equal than others (and they ain't mine). The formal accommodation near Okavango is mind bogglingly expensive, even for ordinary looking joints, but we have a loose quote for around $700 pp for a 4 day camping tour out of Maun, sounds a bit like the tour Gnik described. Mind you airfares from and to Joberg are nearly as much again but overall the price sounds OK and the firm has positive reviews. We're going in the middle of next year. Part of me says just fly there and book it all in Maun for half the cost but we both reckon we're getting too old for that, more flash packers than back packers and all that. The rest of the region will have to wait for a tatts win, we only have 3 weeks and definitely want 2 weeks in Kruger. This is an animal sighting tour and as we saw the big 5 last time we'd love to see more smaller animals and birds. Human beings and cities can go jump, this time at least.Does anyone have advice about Namibia and/or Botswana? We're looking into returning to Southern Africa and will definitely redo Kruger if we do. Problem is I like new passport stamps and want to do another country at least. Botswana is notoriously expensive, which is a personal turn off, but I'd like to do it unless Namibia is cheaper and nearly as impressive. We prefer to avoid group tours longer than a few days. Anyone know if either of these countries is doable as a non group tour destination?I was there in May/June this year. Did a tour with Peregrine. Started at Vic Falls and ended in Capetown but spent the majority of the time on Botswana and Namibia. It was the best holiday I have ever done (and I've traveled a fair bit). Botswana was good, especially Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta. Namibia was superb especially Etosha, Damaraland and Sossusvlei whilst Swakopmund was a really pleasant surprise. I saw lots of 4wd campers in both countries and it seemed that there were heaps of South Africans doing it. A lot of the roads in Namibia are not sealed and if you do it solo, make sure you have good spares as I saw quite a few stranded vehicles by the side of the road due to too many punctures. Hope that is of some use to you.
Anyone ever had conversations with French Canadians? I don't think I had until Saturday night.We were getting towards the end of a curry in Marylebone when a group of 7 people (6f, 1m) were looking for an outside table. I wrote off their being Canadian due to the absence of the “oat of the hoase, eh” and committed the ultimate insult of asking if they were American.
No… Quebeçois, and no trace of a French accent…or chips on the shoulders etc.
I can’t ever remember meeting any before. Plesantly surprised.
Got back to Sydney late last night.
The ones from Montreal are very friendly - we had people stop and ask us if we needed directions or recommendations for restaurants a number of times when we were there. No snootiness at all. If you’re after that or chips on shoulders you can get it up the road in Quebec City.
Screw bad weather before flights.
Screw bad weather before flights.
oath, its much better during the flight
Of all the places I mentioned, I would put the Delta as last on the list...it sprawls over such a vast area and I saw the fewest animals there....a few crocs and some birds. Chobe was heaps better...elephants, hippos, lions, buffalo, oryx, impala, warthogs and a wide variety of birdlifeCheers, that sounds great. I like the sound of Namibia but my better half has her heart set on the Okavango delta and some opinions are more equal than others (and they ain't mine). The formal accommodation near Okavango is mind bogglingly expensive, even for ordinary looking joints, but we have a loose quote for around $700 pp for a 4 day camping tour out of Maun, sounds a bit like the tour Gnik described. Mind you airfares from and to Joberg are nearly as much again but overall the price sounds OK and the firm has positive reviews. We're going in the middle of next year. Part of me says just fly there and book it all in Maun for half the cost but we both reckon we're getting too old for that, more flash packers than back packers and all that. The rest of the region will have to wait for a tatts win, we only have 3 weeks and definitely want 2 weeks in Kruger. This is an animal sighting tour and as we saw the big 5 last time we'd love to see more smaller animals and birds. Human beings and cities can go jump, this time at least.Does anyone have advice about Namibia and/or Botswana? We're looking into returning to Southern Africa and will definitely redo Kruger if we do. Problem is I like new passport stamps and want to do another country at least. Botswana is notoriously expensive, which is a personal turn off, but I'd like to do it unless Namibia is cheaper and nearly as impressive. We prefer to avoid group tours longer than a few days. Anyone know if either of these countries is doable as a non group tour destination?I was there in May/June this year. Did a tour with Peregrine. Started at Vic Falls and ended in Capetown but spent the majority of the time on Botswana and Namibia. It was the best holiday I have ever done (and I've traveled a fair bit). Botswana was good, especially Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta. Namibia was superb especially Etosha, Damaraland and Sossusvlei whilst Swakopmund was a really pleasant surprise. I saw lots of 4wd campers in both countries and it seemed that there were heaps of South Africans doing it. A lot of the roads in Namibia are not sealed and if you do it solo, make sure you have good spares as I saw quite a few stranded vehicles by the side of the road due to too many punctures. Hope that is of some use to you.
Couldn’t even make it to Japan before checking in. At HKG airport. I need help…
Couldn't even make it to Japan before checking in. At HKG airport. I need help...It's got wi-fi, it's got Blitz.
So I’m making my way through Eastern Europe and arrived in Bratislava today. I was supposed to be staying at Hotel Austria Trend but they were overbooked and so now I find myself staying at the Radisson Blu “Carlton” Hotel.
I now have two questions:
Bratislava? Just be glad you’re not staying in a hostel.
32c tomorrow and 90% humidity. I’m not going to survive.
32c tomorrow and 90% humidity. I'm not going to survive.Go to Nikko. Worked for me.
32c tomorrow and 90% humidity. I'm not going to survive.Go to Nikko. Worked for me.
Did you catch a train or bus in?
Train. For most, unless you have a pass of some sorts, the ones from Asakusa are the best/simplest deal.
Having said that, I took a more expensive option to maximise my available time in Nikko. It went something like this:
Ueno-Utsunomiya-JR Nikko 0510-0745
Take bus 1A to Yutaki Falls 0752-0915
Trek from Yutaki Falls to Ryuzu Falls
Bus back from Ryuzu to Lake Chuzenji 1148-1200
Kegon Falls
Bus back to UNESCO-listed shrine complex 1315-1350
Takino-o Path 1700-1820
Kanman Path 1820-1900
Train back to Tokyo from 2011
That was in July, though; your sunset time now would be a fair bit earlier.
Yutaki
Trek
Lake Chuzenji
Kegon
Shrines (including the original “three monkeys”)
Takino-o thru to Kanman
https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5677/30002729181_dfcc2b20d8_b.jpg
Last Cathay 747 retired today. Just think in five to ten years the jumbo will not exist as a passenger service aircraft.
That’s a great shame. Best way to travel is on the upper deck of the 747.
