The Travelling Thread/ The Home Town Thread

Monkey King

i dont think coming iran is good idea if you dont like hot places iran has cold and snowy places and jungle places but most of it is hot and dry(espicially south) i live in shiraz its hot and dry as well

It's true I don't like heat much. But I can put up with it for a short time.
Here in New England we are all those things in the same place over the year. We have seasons that change very much, we are kind of famous for it. Even within small periods of time there is lots of change.
Let's look!
This is the forecast for Shiraz this week. This is very consistent weather! Sunny and around 85 F every day.
Wolfwood, I do not remember exactly where in Sweden you said you lived, but I know it was very far up. So I chose a random north Sweden town.
This is the forecast for Lulea this week. Again, this is very consistent weather! Partly cloudy and around 50 F every day.

This is New Haven where I live lol.

Right now I would not leave New England for anything though, we are in our period of incredible beauty.
Crisp cool air with nice burnt nature smells in the wind, harvest season everywhere, Halloween decorations up and about, and the foilage entering it's full bloom.
Mid-October to Mid-November here.
All of you, Iranian, Swede, Texan, Tamil. If ever you come to near where I live, it is this time of year to do it.

Ekila

My roommate's family lives in Hartford, CT which she said that it is close to New Haven. She never lived there, but she lived in Deep River when she was younger. I would not mind visiting those places, I like seeing new things and all that. Plus, I have no problem in meeting her family. They seem like nice people to me xD

wolfwood

@Ekila:

And I agree it is good food indeed. Though I like to have variety in my foods, my plan right now is to focus mostly on French and Polish cuisine. (I love to cook and all that ^^)

French food is nice. I'm weak for peasant food of all kinds.

Like haute cuisine has it's glory. But nothing beats the farmer's secret menu.

@Jameswuds:

It's greatly dependant on what value it holds for fastfood. Food that can be cooked with french fries and consumed with mayo/hot sauce is usually the food that becomes the most popular and the one the corporations will try to make money from.

The little food I've had from the eastern european kitchen has been poorly suited for that. What we call 'polish' (sausages) here in Chicago are less polish than taco bell is mexican.

I wasn't thinking fast food as much as the next hyped up restaurant food.

But even fast food has moved quite a bit away from the french fry norm no?

@Monkey:

Wolfwood, I do not remember exactly where in Sweden you said you lived, but I know it was very far up. So I chose a random north Sweden town.
This is the forecast for Lulea this week. Again, this is very consistent weather! Partly cloudy and around 50 F every day.

Well i live about 400 miles, or an 8 hour drive, south of that town.

Still pretty cold during fall though. Certainly ain't no Iran.

Vectorkov

@Monkey:

This is the forecast for Shiraz this week. This is very consistent weather! Sunny and around 85 F every day.

That looks similar to where I am, just not as hot.

Ekila

@wolfwood:

French food is nice. I'm weak for peasant food of all kinds.

Like haute cuisine has it's glory. But nothing beats the farmer's secret menu.

Ah, I gotcha. What region of the world does haute cuisine come from by the way? I never heard of it before.

As for weather in my area, I guess its mostly normal type of weather. The regular four seasons. Stuff like that. But the temperatures do vary throughout the year.

Monkey King

@Ekila:

My roommate's family lives in Hartford, CT which she said that it is close to New Haven. She never lived there, but she lived in Deep River when she was younger. I would not mind visiting those places, I like seeing new things and all that. Plus, I have no problem in meeting her family. They seem like nice people to me xD

haha it's close to New Haven because everything is close to everything in this state XD

The Connecticut part of me wants to say "Naw, Hartford is in the north central river valley. New Haven is down on the coast."
But saying that to someone from Missouri and indeed most states would be ridiculous lol.
So yeah in real people terms it is indeed close.
Deep River though…woo. That's in the more rural part of the state....which again is probably not rural to most people...uh
Well anyway it's in a nice quieter part of the state next to some very pretty places like Essex. So it would be a great place to be for Fall.
I am from more the New York City cultural area of CT, Hartford is more plugged into Massachusetts and Deep River is probably more like that.

But hey anywhere around here ought to be good in October.

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@Vectorkov:

That looks similar to where I am, just not as hot.

are you around el paso or west texas in general, cuz yeah it would be kinda similar

iran has some o that dry middle east action going on, but it's ALSO a plateau country unlike all those lowland arab nations
so being high and dry is something iran and lots of texas have in common

Ekila

@Monkey:

haha it's close to New Haven because everything is close to everything in this state XD

The Connecticut part of me wants to say "Naw, Hartford is in the north central river valley. New Haven is down on the coast."
But saying that to someone from Missouri and indeed most states would be ridiculous lol.
So yeah in real people terms it is indeed close.
Deep River though…woo. That's in the more rural part of the state....which again is probably not rural to most people...uh
Well anyway it's in a nice quieter part of the state next to some very pretty places like Essex. So it would be a great place to be for Fall.
I am from more the New York City cultural area of CT, Hartford is more plugged into Massachusetts and Deep River is probably more like that.

But hey anywhere around here ought to be good in October.

Oh, cool! I can understand the idea of things being not that far apart because its a small state. I bet all the trees look really pretty there with it be fall and all. And actually, I'm currently living in Missouri, but I only have been living here for about four years and a half. Actually, I lived most of my life in Northern Illinois. AKA Chicago area. Have you ever been there? just curious

Monkey King

@Ekila:

Oh, cool! I can understand the idea of things being not that far apart because its a small state. I bet all the trees look really pretty there with it be fall and all. And actually, I'm currently living in Missouri, but I only have been living here for about four years and a half. Actually, I lived most of my life in Northern Illinois. AKA Chicago area. Have you ever been there if I may ask?

airport once, doesn't count clearly, though i do remember being amazed at the size of the great lakes, chicago has a better coast than connecticut :/
my midwest experience is mostly just the twin cities area
i liked minneapolis though so that was nice

Vectorkov

@Monkey:

are you around el paso or west texas in general, cuz yeah it would be kinda similar

iran has some o that dry middle east action going on, but it's ALSO a plateau country unlike all those lowland arab nations
so being high and dry is something iran and lots of texas have in common

Austin, central Texas…roughly where the hill country begins and the plains end. I checked the El Paso forecast and it's a little cooler.

Ekila

@Monkey:

airport once, doesn't count clearly, though i do remember being amazed at the size of the great lakes, chicago has a better coast than connecticut :/
my midwest experience is mostly just the twin cities area
i liked minneapolis though so that was nice

That works XD Was it O'hare airport?

And yes, the Great Lakes are big, though I've only been to Lake Michigan, but that was when I was little.

Monkey King

@Vectorkov:

Austin, central Texas…roughly where the hill country begins and the plains end. I checked the El Paso forecast and it's a little cooler.

hmph

who else has chaos weather like me, who are my true countrymen

Cyan D. Funk

@Monkey:

hmph

who else has chaos weather like me, who are my true countrymen

Hail, countryman, from beyond The Sound, from the land of Billy Joel's house.

Jameswuds

@wolfwood:

I wasn't thinking fast food as much as the next hyped up restaurant food.

That's the thing though. Restaurant food is largely dependant on the fastfood industry available. Italian restaurants would probably not be as popular as they are today if it wasn't for fastfood pizza that are readily available everywhere.

@wolfwood:

But even fast food has moved quite a bit away from the french fry norm no?

In many cases yeah. That subway is bigger than Mcdonalds still surprises me. Though I would say french fries make up like 80 % of the things I've eaten at fast food joints. Perhaps I should make some dietary changes?

wolfwood

@Ekila:

Ah, I gotcha. What region of the world does haute cuisine come from by the way? I never heard of it before.

Oh that's just a term for the super fancy, regulated, restaurant food most people associate with the French.

France has lots of levels of food. I personally enjoy bistro and peasant food. With a splash of the major sauces.

Like i can't resist whipping up a bearnaise or a hollandaise once in a while. But the fancy dishes themselves aren't my thing.

@Jameswuds:

That's the thing though. Restaurant food is largely dependant on the fastfood industry available. Italian restaurants would probably not be as popular as they are today if it wasn't for fastfood pizza that are readily available everywhere.

Have pizza even been a fresh and interesting new food trend since like the 70's? Most restaurant trends in themselves have very little do with what's easily made into fast food, it's more that the fast food industry then distills the easiest, most marketable stuff from whatever trend is happening. Like when the slowcooked food came back hard, restaurants made use of "lesser" pieces of meat and made lots of stews and soups and what not. Which was then funneled into cheap pulled pork sandwiches at every hole in the wall. Like one would have to make a distinction betwenn actual trends in cooking and what people buy at a sunday when they're hungover.

In many cases yeah. That subway is bigger than Mcdonalds still surprises me. Though I would say french fries make up like 80 % of the things I've eaten at fast food joints. Perhaps I should make some dietary changes?

Maybe it's an America vs Europe type situation. Cause over here McD type places have been in decline for many years now.

legumes

^ that's pretty interesting through, fast-food restaurants are convenient and a great way to enjoy fairly tasteful food over here, but the unhealthiness really gets to you eventually. It's also really boring burgers (but the macs here have this nice little sachets of flavored salt to sprinkle over them). I won't eat them in a long while through.
There isn't much 'authentic pizza' over here through, they're mostly all swarkly restaurants. People just differentiate between them and pizza huts since the former is so much more accessible

Jameswuds

@wolfwood:

Have pizza even been a fresh and interesting new food trend since like the 70's? Most restaurant trends in themselves have very little do with what's easily made into fast food, it's more that the fast food industry then distills the easiest, most marketable stuff from whatever trend is happening. Like when the slowcooked food came back hard, restaurants made use of "lesser" pieces of meat and made lots of stews and soups and what not. Which was then funneled into cheap pulled pork sandwiches at every hole in the wall. Like one would have to make a distinction betwenn actual trends in cooking and what people buy at a sunday when they're hungover.

You think it's the restaurants that affect the fastfood industry and not the other way around? That could also be true I guess. Is eastern european cuisine available in Sweden? We have relatively many polish restaurants here in Illinois, compared to other states, but much, much less than chinese, latino, japanese or italian.

@wolfwood:

Maybe it's an America vs Europe type situation. Cause over here McD type places have been in decline for many years now.

Alas, the fast food industry is such a Colossus in the U.S. There are probably more franchises of fast food than there are people living in Wyoming.

wolfwood

@legumes:

^ that's pretty interesting through, fast-food restaurants are convenient and a great way to enjoy fairly tasteful food over here, but the unhealthiness really gets to you eventually. It's also really boring burgers (but the macs here have this nice little sachets of flavored salt to sprinkle over them). I won't eat them in a long while through.
There isn't much 'authentic pizza' over here through, they're mostly all swarkly restaurants. People just differentiate between them and pizza huts since the former is so much more accessible

To be fair authentic style Italian pizza would probably disapoint you, and most people.

But where did you say you were from?

@Jameswuds:

You think it's the restaurants that affect the fastfood industry and not the other way around? That could also be true I guess. Is eastern european cuisine available in Sweden? We have relatively many polish restaurants here in Illinois, compared to other states, but much, much less than chinese, latino, japanese or italian.

Well the food world is always moving ahead with fairly unmarketable things like sustainable cooking, ecological, vegetarian, molecular deconstruction, slowfood, fusion, re-imagined ethnic food and all that shit. And rarely do these thing start from what is easily marketable right now. I mean a classic thing that keeps happening in cycles is how a national or regional cuisine is "rediscovered" and blows up really big. Like Japanese food, those kind of places opened up and then eventually it trickled down into supermarket sushi to go.

As for Eastern European restaurants we have a few of 'em. I wouldn't say that it's a very popular or wellknown kitchen. But neither were the Scandinavian one before it got huge in like 2010ish. The obscurity, if anything, only helps the boom. People loooove to cook "authentic" food that stands out from the crowd. Like who is genuinly wowed when someone cooks Italian? It IS great food, but it's yesterdays news trendwise.

Alas, the fast food industry is such a Colossus in the U.S. There are probably more franchises of fast food than there are people living in Wyoming.

I think McD and the like were pretty much outhussled by the local all-in-one places that serve pizza, kebab and even more shitty frozen burgers, or pizzas with kebab and burgers on them. And then the falafel venders swooped in to gnaw on the carcass of the fastfood consumer. And the sushi boxes of dubious quality. And now those food trucks and their tacos, vegan food and gourmet burgers are running around stealing costumers.

Vectorkov

@wolfwood:

I think McD and the like were pretty much outhussled by the local all-in-one places that serve pizza, kebab and even more shitty frozen burgers, or pizzas with kebab and burgers on them. And then the falafel venders swooped in to gnaw on the carcass of the fastfood consumer. And the sushi boxes of dubious quality. And now those food trucks and their tacos, vegan food and gourmet burgers are running around stealing costumers.

A local kebap chain that started as a food truck recently surged in popularity in Texas. Good stuff. :happy:

Monkey King

@Jameswuds:

Italian restaurants would probably not be as popular as they are today if it wasn't for fastfood pizza that are readily available everywhere.

I get pizza at a pizza place. An Italian restaurant though? Who gets pizza at an Italian restaurant? If they even have it?
Pizza places and Italian restaurants are different things.
american pizza is it's own beast that spun off the traditional stuff, you're not going to find it in an actual italian place usually

chicago style is however not pizza at all

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i saw a north italian restaurunt in rockland county this summer, no idea wtf they serve there but me and chrissie were curiuous
i would guess it's pretty different from the neapolitan norm around here

wolfwood

@Vectorkov:

A local kebap chain that started as a food truck recently surged in popularity in Texas. Good stuff. :happy:

How is kebab ranked among the fast foods over where ya'll are?

Is it still a fringe contender, or is it one of the big dogs yet?

@Monkey:

i saw a north italian restaurunt in rockland county this summer, no idea wtf they serve there but me and chrissie were curiuous
i would guess it's pretty different from the neapolitan norm around here

Less tomato, less olive oil, less pasta, less seafood.

And more meat, rice, potatoes butter and dairy. They're basically German.

Vectorkov

@wolfwood:

How is kebab ranked among the fast foods over where ya'll are?

Is it still a fringe contender, or is it one of the big dogs yet?

I would have to say fringe contender.

Monkey King

@wolfwood:

Less tomato, less olive oil, less pasta, less seafood.

And more meat, rice, potatoes butter and dairy. They're basically German.

Po' river valley.

Ekila

@wolfwood:

Oh that's just a term for the super fancy, regulated, restaurant food most people associate with the French.

France has lots of levels of food. I personally enjoy bistro and peasant food. With a splash of the major sauces.

Like i can't resist whipping up a bearnaise or a hollandaise once in a while. But the fancy dishes themselves aren't my thing.

Oh, I see. o:

As for me, I like all kinds of food, and I'm always willing to try do new foods. I also think that different foods help teach you about different cultures as well.

Though seafood is one of my weak foods, and my least favorite. I do wish I could enjoy eating it better.

Jameswuds

@Monkey:

I get pizza at a pizza place. An Italian restaurant though? Who gets pizza at an Italian restaurant? If they even have it?

Usually they do have it, it's just not as popular as anything else. If people get it, it's for children or unusually, picky teenagers who play with their i-phones and think everything is lame.

@Monkey:

chicago style is however not pizza at all

Blasphemy!

@wolfwood:

I think McD and the like were pretty much outhussled by the local all-in-one places that serve pizza, kebab and even more shitty frozen burgers, or pizzas with kebab and burgers on them. And then the falafel venders swooped in to gnaw on the carcass of the fastfood consumer. And the sushi boxes of dubious quality. And now those food trucks and their tacos, vegan food and gourmet burgers are running around stealing costumers.

burgers on pizza? That's some Epic Meal Time shit.

But I digress, that sounds like the paradise for smaller restaurant owners. I bet alot of my old co-workers would love to have that type of business enviroment. Alot of business owners here always complain about gargantuan corporations sweeping in and taking their customers, whether it'd be a walmart shutting down everything in town or if it is a monstrous Mall blasting all the diners off the map.

Monkey King

@Jameswuds:

Usually they do have it, it's just not as popular as anything else. If people get it, it's for children or unusually, picky teenagers who play with their i-phones and think everything is lame.

Maybe in Chi-Town they do lol. That doesn't sound accurate over here.
Like a genuine Italian joint having a kiddie menu? Buhh?

Blasphemy!

You realize that a New Havenite is even more inclined to call Chicago pizza not pizza right?
Because our pizza is extra thin and crispy, the true yin to the tomato casserole yang.

wolfwood

@Monkey:

Po' river valley.

A river of hearty fat and cream. It certainly ain't a bad thing.

@Ekila:

As for me, I like all kinds of food, and I'm always willing to try do new foods. I also think that different foods help teach you about different cultures as well.

This is true. But there's also alot of dick measuring bullshit between nations.

If only everyone could try to see the good stuff in every nations cuisine instead of trying to one-up each other.

@Jameswuds:

Blasphemy!

I'm not making any statements on the taste. But it does look like a pie.

I'm absolutely interested in trying one. But it sure don't look like a pizza.

burgers on pizza? That's some Epic Meal Time shit.

But I digress, that sounds like the paradise for smaller restaurant owners. I bet alot of my old co-workers would love to have that type of business enviroment. Alot of business owners here always complain about gargantuan corporations sweeping in and taking their customers, whether it'd be a walmart shutting down everything in town or if it is a monstrous Mall blasting all the diners off the map.

Let our lack of respect for Italian ( And American i guess) meal customs be known far and wide.

Jameswuds

@Monkey:

Maybe in Chi-Town they do lol. That doesn't sound accurate over here.
Like a genuine Italian joint having a kiddie menu? Buhh?

The less fancy sort usually do. I worked at a place that was pretty open to families. But even then, it was rare that people brought their kids and even rarer that adults would order pizza. Even if it was quite much better than the average stuff.

@Monkey:

You realize that a New Havenite is even more inclined to call Chicago pizza not pizza right?
Because our pizza is extra thin and crispy, the true yin to the tomato casserole yang.

Yeah I get it lol. I love Chicago pizza, but I can see why some people might even think it's pie at first sight. It's really different from the standard formula. I've never been to New England, but I'm actually heading to Boston for Christmas, are their pizza anything similiar to New Haven or do I have to drive there to try it?

Monkey King

@wolfwood:

A river of hearty fat and cream. It certainly ain't a bad thing.

Hmph, hmph in general to anything above Lazio.

I'm not making any statements on the taste. But it does look like a pie.

I'm absolutely interested in trying one. But it sure don't look like a pizza.

Wolf gets it.

Let our lack of respect for Italian ( And American i guess) meal customs be known far and wide.

You guys do some strange shit to kebabs/gyros I hear as well.

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@Jameswuds:

Yeah I get it lol. I love Chicago pizza, but I can see why some people might even think it's pie at first sight. It's really different from the standard formula. I've never been to New England, but I'm actually heading to Boston for Christmas, are their pizza anything similiar to New Haven or do I have to drive there to try it?

New Haven pizza is really only in CT, it's a tiny pizza sub-zone.
Boston? New England??
This is a topic where CT flies it's NYC colors. New England is for seafood, not pizza.

wolfwood

@Monkey:

Hmph, hmph in general to anything above Lazio.

Italy should be illustrated by a fat merchant shouting at a skinny farmer over a north-south border.

Wolf gets it.

Much in the same way that Sweden's newest abomination the vulcano pizza isn't really a pizza.

[hide][/hide]

Though deep dish pizza atleast looks like it might taste good. That's more than can be said about the vulcano.

You guys do some strange shit to kebabs/gyros I hear as well.

I can't think of what that would be. But i'm sure it's true.

We have a cultural influx and no inhibitions so weird shit happens

Monkey King

@wolfwood:

Italy should be illustrated by a fat merchant shouting at a skinny farmer over a north-south border.

Mario Puzo on a confrontation with Frank Sinatra.
"I do remember him saying that if it wasn't that I was so much older than he, he would beat the hell out of me. What hurt was that here he was, a northern Italian, threatening me, a southern Italian, with physical violence. This was roughly equivalent to Einstein pulling a knife on Al Capone. It just wasn't done."

legumes

@wolfwood:

To be fair authentic style Italian pizza would probably disapoint you, and most people.

But where did you say you were from?

Isn't it the super thin crust one with rocket leaves? I would think that flavors would depend on where you stand, like how spiciness in one country varies greatly from place to place. I hail from singapore, we love copying food from other places and calling it our 'food culture' :ninja:

@Monkey:

New Haven pizza is really only in CT, it's a tiny pizza sub-zone.
Boston? New England??
This is a topic where CT flies it's NYC colors. New England is for seafood, not pizza.

And lobster galore! through i couldn't find much of other kinds of seafood when i was over there.

Monkey King

Last weekend was spring like warmth.
This weekend is below freezing, sunny with random snowfall!

New England bitchez.

Ekila

@Monkey:

Last weekend was spring like warmth.
This weekend is below freezing, sunny with random snowfall!

New England bitchez.

First snowfall of the year for you? o:

Vectorkov

Wasn't sure where to post this.. but I thought someone might find this local news interesting…

http://jalopnik.com/man-stuck-in-tree-after-car-floods-gives-best-weather-t-1739692915

The Franky Tank

I need some help picking going between Turkey or Egypt.

So a little background info, I'm currently on a Greek Island until mid December doing an internship, and I can take a week off if I wish to and do some travelling. Flights from Samos island to Istanbul and Cairo are about $350 roundtrip. I could leave on a Saturday or Friday evening, then return the next Sunday.

On one hand, I've been really interested in going to Egypt. Seeing the pyramids and the desert, as well as the Nile and Red sea has been really cool. Also, I want to travel to a place which took place in JoJo because I'm weird like that. It's something very different than what I have seen before. That said, there's the fact that pane was shot down not too long ago. There's also the fact that embassies are warning against going into any of the deserts, so it takes away some of the opportunities that I could do. Even then, I can still go to the coast and see the Red Sea, and most tourist cities are still open.

Turkey has some interesting places as well. There's Troy which is quite famous, and Coppadocia looks like an amazing place to see. If I can get in a hot balloon ride there, it would be really cool. There are a number of tour options available there that are different and give me more options compared to Egypt.

Any suggestions?

Monkey King

@The:

I need some help picking going between Turkey or Egypt.

1. That plane likely wasn't shot down. Very unlikely, also it was some crappy Russian third tier airline. Russia. Third tier. Think about that concept.

2. Both countries are experiencing political upheaval and parts are experiencing low level insurgency.

Overall Turkey would probably be safer, as long as you don't go farther east than Cappadocia.
If you're female I would outright strike Egypt off the list period.

firelord111

@Monkey:

1. That plane likely wasn't shot down. Very unlikely, also it was some crappy Russian third tier airline. Russia. Third tier. Think about that concept.

2. Both countries are experiencing political upheaval and parts are experiencing low level insurgency.

Overall Turkey would probably be safer, as long as you don't go farther east than Cappadocia.
If you're female I would outright strike Egypt off the list period.

iran airlines was filled with those planes years ago now its safer

Monkey King

@firelord111:

iran airlines was filled with those planes years ago now its safer

Russia being bad at things is a bit of a joke in the west.
We think of the east part of Europe and think of old things that don't work well anymore. Russia is the center of all this.

I need to buy tickets to Cyprus soon, there are cheaper Russian and Ukrainian airlines available. But I am not going to buy those!
I would especially not like to fly over Ukraine if possible considering the war there is still happening.

Christmas in Cyprus again. The middle east in Winter is funny to me. It's like spring here!
I want to walk around again in a t-shirt up in their mountains and make the local people shocked again. That was fun.

firelord111

@Monkey:

Russia being bad at things is a bit of a joke in the west.
We think of the east part of Europe and think of old things that don't work well anymore. Russia is the center of all this.

I need to buy tickets to Cyprus soon, there are cheaper Russian and Ukrainian airlines available. But I am not going to buy those!
I would especially not like to fly over Ukraine if possible considering the war there is still happening.

Christmas in Cyprus again. The middle east in Winter is funny to me. It's like spring here!
I want to walk around again in a t-shirt up in their mountains and make the local people shocked again. That was fun.

it gets very cold at night and warm in day in shiraz in recent years and it snows 1 time ayear
its becomeing a desert because of drought

The Franky Tank

@Monkey:

Russia being bad at things is a bit of a joke in the west.
We think of the east part of Europe and think of old things that don't work well anymore. Russia is the center of all this.

I need to buy tickets to Cyprus soon, there are cheaper Russian and Ukrainian airlines available. But I am not going to buy those!
I would especially not like to fly over Ukraine if possible considering the war there is still happening.

Christmas in Cyprus again. The middle east in Winter is funny to me. It's like spring here!
I want to walk around again in a t-shirt up in their mountains and make the local people shocked again. That was fun.

Which part of Cyprus did you go to, and which part are you planning on going to this time?

As for the other stuff, I've narrowed down what I would like to do if I went to Egypt and if I went to Turkey. While a bit pricey, there is a nice Egypt tour where I would visit a number of the big sites, get to go on a cruise on the Nile, then spend some time by the Red Sea and go Scuba Diving there. The Turkey stuff also has some nice stuff going for it, but Egypt is really calling me, so unless there is a huge price difference or something happens soon, I'll probably go with Egypt.

Monkey King

@firelord111:

it gets very cold at night and warm in day in shiraz in recent years and it snows 1 time ayear
its becomeing a desert because of drought

Very cold huh? What temperature is that to you

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@The:

Which part of Cyprus did you go to, and which part are you planning on going to this time?

I've been nearly everywhere.
Larnaca, Paphos, Famagusta, nearby Ayia Napia, both the Turkish and Greek sides of Nicosia, the Troodos Mountains and lots and lots and lots and lots of Limassol.
I've even been on the grounds of both British bases.
Pretty much the only major destination I haven't been to is Kyrenia. But maybe for kicks we'll do that this time! An even more attractive idea now that I think they made crossing the divide easier recently. I hear it's the nicest part of North Cyprus (Famagusta was uh….not nice).

The ultimate dream would be to one day visit Varosha in Famagusta, if you know the story you will know why.

Anyway the reason I'm going isn't even tourism (nor was it the first and second times). It's my wife's home country. We're going to spend Christmas with her family.

As for the other stuff, I've narrowed down what I would like to do if I went to Egypt and if I went to Turkey. While a bit pricey, there is a nice Egypt tour where I would visit a number of the big sites, get to go on a cruise on the Nile, then spend some time by the Red Sea and go Scuba Diving there. The Turkey stuff also has some nice stuff going for it, but Egypt is really calling me, so unless there is a huge price difference or something happens soon, I'll probably go with Egypt.

Be careful then. Egypt is a bit risky these days. And don't go to the Sinai peninsula whatever you do, there's insurgents and some general lawlessness going on there.
I take it you're male as well. I'm just saying though, Egypt has a severely terrible reputation for sexual harrassment and worse. I think it actually managed to outrank Yemen and Saudi Arabia as the worst place for women in the Middle East.

The Franky Tank

@Monkey:

Very cold huh? What temperature is that to you

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

I've been nearly everywhere.
Larnaca, Paphos, Famagusta, nearby Ayia Napia, both the Turkish and Greek sides of Nicosia, the Troodos Mountains and lots and lots and lots and lots of Limassol.
I've even been on the grounds of both British bases.
Pretty much the only major destination I haven't been to is Kyrenia. But maybe for kicks we'll do that this time! An even more attractive idea now that I think they made crossing the divide easier recently. I hear it's the nicest part of North Cyprus (Famagusta was uh....not nice).

The ultimate dream would be to one day visit Varosha in Famagusta, if you know the story you will know why.

Anyway the reason I'm going isn't even tourism (nor was it the first and second times). It's my wife's home country. We're going to spend Christmas with her family.

Be careful then. Egypt is a bit risky these days. And don't go to the Sinai peninsula whatever you do, there's insurgents and some general lawlessness going on there.
I take it you're male as well. I'm just saying though, Egypt has a severely terrible reputation for sexual harrassment and worse. I think it actually managed to outrank Yemen and Saudi Arabia as the worst place for women in the Middle East.

That's pretty cool that you've seen all the island. I heard it's a pretty cool place with some interesting wildlife. Don't know the story but I'll look it up later.

Yes, I am male so that should help a little bit. If I do go to Egypt, the tour would start and end in Cairo, and I would go to Aswan and Hurghada with travel my sleeper train, boat on the Nile, and a coach bus. As far as I know those places should be fine. I know pickpocketing can be a problem among other smaller crime, so I need to keep track of my stuff and also be careful of where I go if I'm ever on my own. I also heard vendors are aggressive, where they will either pester you or act kind and give you a "gift" then demand money. I bit different than what I am used to, but I think I can handle it.

xan

Back from my honeymoon trip to the Andaman Islands for a week. The greenery was AMAZING and untouched in many places. The resort stay in Havelock Island (probably one of the best amongst the bunch) was overlooking a thick forest and I was shit scared that something might pounce out anytime. In fact, I was almost stung by a baby scorpion which had landed on my hand while I was loafing around the resort if not for my wife who shook it off. Clicked a lot of pics but I am not able to upload em from office so will post some soon.

Not sure if anyone has heard about the infamous Cellular Jail there but it was pretty good to check it out in person with its unique design. Will post pics of that too very soon

G8trH8tr

Anyone here live in Denver? I'm looking to relocate in the US to somewhere with a lot of sun and young, energetic and intelligent people to chill with. I love being around a place that's happening. The only thing i'm concerned about is that I've heard that a lot of people in Denver are sport nuts. I am not a sports fan so being constantly asked about sports wouldn't really be my cup of tea.

Seattle would be a great place if it weren't for the lack of sun. Sun is an absolute must for me health wise. I don't really want to deal with a crazy amount of winter, I come from Rochester New York and that's right near Buffalo which is famous for it's crazy amount of snow. This place straight up shuts down from mid-january till late march. I'm about done with it for a while haha.

Anywhere in the US would be cool, I'm really confident enough yet to go out of country yet. It would be a bonus if I could work on a second language whether that be French or Spanish I like both a lot.

Monkey King

@The:

That's pretty cool that you've seen all the island. I heard it's a pretty cool place with some interesting wildlife. Don't know the story but I'll look it up later.

Interesting wildlife? Hm. Uh they have some local goat elk thing in the mountains but that doesn't sound all that interesting.
Also lots and lots of feral cats.

The story, well do you know the history of the island and the Turkish/Greek divide?
Basically Varosha (which is a neighborhood of Famagusta) was the premier center of tourism and richness, but when the Turkish army invaded the island they chased out all the locals and sealed it off.
This was in 1974. To this very day Varosha is sealed off to all people (even the local Turkish Cypriots). So it's been sitting untouched since the mid-70's.
The recent talks of reunification in Cyprus mean it might actually be rescued from purgatory. Hopefully.
My wife's father is a refugee from it.

Vectorkov

@G8trH8tr:

I'm looking to relocate in the US to somewhere with a lot of sun and young, energetic and intelligent people to chill with. I love being around a place that's happening.

@G8trH8tr:

Sun is an absolute must for me health wise. I don't really want to deal with a crazy amount of winter.

Sounds like Austin, TX.. but I'm biased.

@G8trH8tr:

The only thing i'm concerned about is that I've heard that a lot of people in Denver are sport nuts. I am not a sports fan so being constantly asked about sports wouldn't really be my cup of tea.

That sounds like anywhere USA…

Monkey King

Ok now they're saying that Russian plane had a bomb on board maybe. That may have been planted while in Egypt.

firelord111

around 0 to 10 c is very cold10 to around 20 is cold
we have many snowy mountain cities aswell as rainy and hot

did you experience a desert area ?

Monkey King

@firelord111:

around 0 to 10 c is very cold10 to around 20 is cold

0c sure, but for me 10c is a nice brisk spring day

did you experience a desert area ?

Not exactly, but I did experience a "Semi-Arid" climate in the northern half of Cyprus around the capitol.
The whole island and Greece in summer were very hot and dry for me. Istanbul was not, but it was more inland and had lots of nice cool wind.
There are some very very very very hot deserts in the USA though (like this place), but they are on the complete other side of the country from me.
The hottest areas in the USA I have been to are in the southeast, what we call the South. Except it is not deserts, it is gross swamp weather :P

I hope that actually is the Farsi wikipedia and I'm not accidentally linking to the Arabic one or something lol.

firelord111

@Monkey:

0c sure, but for me 10c is a nice brisk spring day

Not exactly, but I did experience a "Semi-Arid" climate in the northern half of Cyprus around the capitol.
The whole island and Greece in summer were very hot and dry for me. Istanbul was not, but it was more inland and had lots of nice cool wind.
There are some very very very very hot deserts in the USA though (like this place), but they are on the complete other side of the country from me.
The hottest areas in the USA I have been to are in the southeast, what we call the South. Except it is not deserts, it is gross swamp weather :P

I hope that actually is the Farsi wikipedia and I'm not accidentally linking to the Arabic one or something lol.

thanks those were farsi wiki
Arabic doesnt have گ پ چ ژ