If You Could Travel Anywhere in The World Where Would You Go?

#1
VolStrom

VolStrom

He/Him/Gator Hater
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#1
Being recently retired I'm working my way across the US. My dream destinations are Alaska, New Zealand and Australia. What are your favorites?
 
#7
#7
ATC_VOL said:
Always wanted to visit Russia.
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If you do, and if you should find yourself in a restaurant or nightclub, and an absolutely stunning Russian lady acts really interested in you, and then asks you to buy her a bottle of champagne, politely decline. That $6 bottle of champagne will likely carry a $500 or better price tag, and if you protest, a couple of Russian gentlemen the size of a walk-in cooler will help you find your ATM / credit card.

Just sayin'...
 
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#12
#12
GreyWolf1129 said:
If you do, and if you should find yourself in a restaurant or nightclub, and an absolutely stunning Russian lady acts really interested in you, and then asks you to buy her a bottle of champagne, politely decline. That $6 bottle of champagne will likely carry a $500 or better price tag, and if you protest, a couple of Russian gentlemen the size of a walk-in cooler will help you find your ATM / credit card.

Just sayin'...
Click to expand...
I was there around '92. Most of the stuff I bought with a card never showed up on my statement as I don't think the merchants knew how to process payments. ATMs were non existent. The exchange rate was around 500-600 rubles to the dollar. Bread was price controlled at 10 rubles a loaf and a bottle of Stoli was a few hundred rubles. Working ladies were a flat $100 and they were all over the lobby of every hotel I stayed in. You could get tins of beluga caviar for about $5 from wait staff at any decent restaurant and buy AKs from guys who spread blankets on the sidewalks. It was a fun time to be there.
 
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#19
#19
VolunteerHillbilly said:
I was there around '92. Most of the stuff I bought with a card never showed up on my statement as I don't think the merchants knew how to process payments. ATMs were non existent. The exchange rate was around 500-600 rubles to the dollar. Bread was price controlled at 10 rubles a loaf and a bottle of Stoli was a few hundred rubles. Working ladies were a flat $100 and they were all over the lobby of every hotel I stayed in. You could get tins of beluga caviar for about $5 from wait staff at any decent restaurant and buy AKs from guys who spread blankets on the sidewalks. It was a fun time to be there.
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Truth follows: that story came to me, first-hand, from a junior Secret Service agent (back in the 2000-2010 time frame) who went there on a non-Presidential detail; did that; and wisely kept his mouth shut. He was single at the time, so no issues there, and he was smart enough to pay up and avoid a scene...or a trip to a Russian ER. I met him at the G8 in Georgia way back when, when he was so junior he was assigned to make sure my AR always pointed in the right direction on SRT overwatch. We hit it off right away. Super guy.

When the whole "Columbian escort" thing broke back in...2014?...I texted him (joking) to ask him where he was. HIs response was hilarious; something to the effect of "over 2000 miles away, and those idiots forgot that you throw money at it until it goes away."

I've never been to Russia, but that scam would have sucked me up like a frog's tongue on a slow fly.
 
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#20
#20
The beautiful island of Bali! Was fortunate enough to go there three times while working in Indonesia as a contractor to the Navy. The southern part of the island, the general area of the airport, has a lot of the touristy things you might expect but the area is clean and generally orderly. Some great hotels on the beach and good restaurants. The original movie Point Break (Patrick Swayze) was filmed mostly in Bali.
But, take a taxi ride around the island....see how the Balinese people live, the incredible carved and sculpted Buddhist Temples, the rice patties in the mtns. built 100"s of yrs ago, national park with active volcano, ride an elephant for 2-3 hrs. thru the jungle, day trip rafting two rivers that come out of the mtns. beaches on the north side that are nearly deserted and surfing waves that are from mild to wild...…..I could go on
 
#21
#21
Ireland
Scotland
Australia

There's nowhere in the US that I necessarily want to visit. I've been to Hawaii and lived in Alaska. Been all up and down the east coast. I have little to no desire for the west coast (outside of Washington).
 
#23
#23
The western US is amazingly beautiful. Just visually stunning. I would suggest the following in order of priority. Yosemite, will take your breath away, Lake Tahoe, went in the summer and it was great, Sedona, have a meal at the Enchantment resort, Monterey/Carmel, take the 17 mile drive and the PCH to Big Sur, if you're a golfer stop by Pebble Beach and wander around. You can eat lunch overlooking the 18 th green. The central coast beaches are very nice we like Avila the best. If you find yourself in Simi Valley we loved the Reagan Presidential library.

Regardless, enjoy your retirement and this great country.
 
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#24
#24
I was just talking to my wife about that this morning. We have a little boy and want to take him out west at some point. Never spent any time outside of the SoCal area.
 
#25
#25
Are you outdoorsy at all? Happen to have an RV or similar? You could easily spend 3-4 months just in the National Parks out west. Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon in Cali then head up the coast of Oregon for more beautiful scenery then east thru Idaho and into Montana for Glacier and Yellowstone. Outside the US I really enjoyed Nepal, Taiwan, and Philippines. Personally found Thailand overrated. Bali is decent once you get out of the area around the airport.
 
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