u/Turbulent_Sharter

First off, what kind of morons would leave Mina completely alone in the asylum that is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to Draculas abode, and has a lunatic who has been ranting constantly about serving his master, who is obviously Dracula? The guys been obsessed with consuming life, licked blood off the damn floor and broken out to run to the Counts castle multiple times, it could not be more clear!

And God damn, the group literally just had a long discussion about Draculas powers and abilities, including his ability to turn into mist, and Mina doesn’t even question the mist that crept across the grass and up the walls of the house into her room?? Which seemingly had a face in it leaning down towards her??? Which also seemingly had red glowing eyes just like Lucy told her about????

And her husband noticed that she looked pale, that her breathing was weak and that she was extremely sleepy and groggy when she awoke, and that didn’t make him question anything?? Didn’t even think to look at her neck, which should have a wound that is clearly visible???

So fucking dumb, all of them. I’ve enjoyed the book quite a lot up til this chapter, aside from the absolutely insufferable, brainless idiot Mrs Westenra (oh hey doc, I took down all the garlic you put up and opened the window, aren’t I so helpful? oh no I’m dying, let me rip the garlic necklace from my daughters neck in my final moment), but this chapter genuinely annoyed me so much. These are supposed to be intelligent people and they’re acting like brain damaged chimps

My friends and I have been wanting to get a consistent group together for d&d for several years now, and we are all finally in a spot where we are close to each other and can set aside 3 or so hours every week or two to play.

But there are a few little issues.

First off, we are 4 couples. So with me as dm, we’d have a party of 7. I am reading through the book and it says that the campaign is designed for 4-6, but when I look up posts on reddit the overwhelming consensus is that 4 is best. I also see that people often take 2 years or more to finish the campaign, so I would feel really bad leaving one couple out. I could try to split them into 2 groups and run both at the same time, but that brings its own challenges with finding a second meeting time and my wife not wanting to play twice a week.

Second, I’ve heard that CoS is a pretty tough campaign to run. Is that true? I am a first time DM with limited playing experience (been in a few one shots, but all long campaign attempts over the years have fallen apart. Also played BG 1&3). However I have already been gifted the revamped box set, and the ladies of the group are all massive fans of horror, so swapping to something else may not be a pitch I’ll be successful making.

Third, only myself and 3 others have experience with d&d (the other 3 have more than me), but the other 4 are all new players.

So, will it still be an enjoyable campaign with a group of 7? How difficult will it be for me to pull off? Any tips to keep things moving in a timely manner and making sure people don’t get bored?

My current plans are:

Nov 20 arrive in Guatemala City around noon, travel to Antigua

Nov 21-23 in Antigua, do the Acatenango night hike on the final night there. Is 3.5 days enough?

Nov 24-27 Lake Atitlan. After taking out travel time from Antigua leaves 3.5 days as well. Is that enough?

Nov 28-30 unsure.

Dec 1 drive to Guatemala City and return to the US at 4 PM

I originally wanted to fly up to Flores at the start of my trip to see Tikal, but that does not line up well with my arrival time unless I spend way more for different flights. So I’ll plan on visiting Tikal and Semuc Champey on a separate trip in the future.

What should I do with the remaining 3 days? Should I split them between Antigua and Atitlan, or is it worth going to El Paredon, Monterrico or maybe somewhere else?

I would love to help release baby sea turtles if the timing works and there are ethical places to do it

Posting here because the mods of r/travel think that discussing travel destinations is off topic..?

I only get 10 PTO days a year, and I have to use 4 of them for a family gathering and a wedding. Because of this, I’ve been planning on taking my vacation around Thanksgiving (25 & 26 November) to squeeze in some extra time. With this I should be able to have a full 10 days in whatever country I visit, maybe 11 if travel time is short.

But unfortunately every single damn country I look into interests me, and it’s gotten to the point where I feel paralyzed by the options because I only get 1 actual vacation max per year, so I don’t want to feel like I chose poorly or visit a place at a bad time of year.

Please help me narrow my choices down! I’m also open to hearing about places that I haven’t researched yet, so feel free to leave additional recs to make my choice even more difficult lol

Here’s where I’ve looked into so far, and my thoughts on them:

Italy: Venice, Florence, Parma, Bologna. High on my wife’s list, but also very expensive even though it’s the off season and I’ve read that the weather is not the best around this time. I feel like I should save it for when I have a full 10 PTO days?

Japan: Just Tokyo and Kyoto. High on my wife’s list, but also very expensive and I’ve read that it’s extremely busy around this time due to the autumn foliage. Also read a lot about how over touristed it is and how locals are pretty sick of it

Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai look lovely, but there are festivals there around this time that I’ve read are targeted at westerners. I get that I am also a tourist, but I don’t really want to travel halfway around the world to be surrounded by a bunch of other white westerners… there will always be some, but I’d like to minimize it so I can enjoy local cultures as much as I can

Northern Vietnam: would visit Hanoi, Mai Chau and Ninh Binh. But would not have enough time to visit Ha Long Bay, so I feel like we would need a full 10 PTO days or a second trip to the area

Guatemala: Tikal, Antigua and Lake Atitlan. Would not have enough time to visit Semuc Champey, so same issue as north Vietnam

South Korea: I think you can no longer go to the DMZ huts on the border, which I want to do so I can say I kinda set foot in North Korea. Or as close as I’ll ever get at least

Jordan: the Middle East does not sound like a smart idea to visit at this point in time

I’ve also already set aside Peru, Uganda, Egypt and Belize as future places so we can go with friends or family.

Hello! I’ve recently read Dracula (sorry if that is eye roll inducing) and it got me thinking about visiting Romania.

I am planning on taking some time off work for vacation around the American Thanksgiving holiday this year (26 & 27 of November), and was wondering if this would be a good time to visit Romania? I would likely leave the USA on the 25th and return to the USA on Dec 7th if I do go there this year, so I would have 10 full days in the country.

A few questions:
1- How is the weather around this time, is it rainy and wet or is there snow?
2- Is this a very crowded and busy time of year to visit?
3- If this is a good time to visit, then aside from visiting historical sites and museums what else is recommended?
4- If this is not the best time to visit, what time of year should I plan for in the future?

Planning on spending about 10.5 days in Guatemala in late November. Wondering how my itinerary looks. Also happy to take any recommendations for food, drinks, or activities!

Nov 20 leave for Guatemala on a red eye flight

Nov 21 arrive at GC at 6 am, fly to Flores at 9 am (I’ve read that for domestic flights baggage is a pain? Do I have to store my stuff somewhere?) Arrive at 10 and explore Flores

Nov 22 Tikal sunrise and Yaxha afternoon

Nov 23 return to GC, arrive at noon and travel to Lake Atitlan

Nov 24-27 Lake Atitlan

Nov 28-Dec 1 Antigua, end with night hike to Volcan de Fuego

Dec 2 return home in the afternoon

Just got into Warhammer, so I’m not very knowledgeable on what people usually play while building towards a 2000 point army. I’ve seen several numbers thrown out for smaller games when looking online: 500, 1000, 1250, 1500. Which of these are more commonly played? What army comp should I work towards for a full army? And what units should be my top priorities?

So far I have the Celestian Insidiants Kill Team and an Immolator, and I also will be including a Penitent Engine even if it’s sub optimal because it’s metal as fuck. According to the 40K app, this will put me at 310 points.

Thank you ahead of time!

I love the aesthetic of the models, but I’m not a huge fan of scarlet and that there’s a bit too much black overall for my taste. After looking a bit I think I’ve found something I want to aim for, but I’m a bit lost with where to begin with painting/modeling supply brands and how to achieve certain colors.

I found this thread from years ago that has a few alternate schemes, and I really like option 5 with the maroon and teal robes with slightly brownish armor

https://www.reddit.com/r/sistersofbattle/s/xWoJcJQT07

One of OPs comments linked to a separate post with different color combinations and what he thought would match best with the image

https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/comments/vp32mn/contrast\_20\_updated\_charts/

Questions:

1 - I assume I should use black primer, is there a recommended brand and specific color?
2 - is there a recommended model glue brand?
3 - the names of the colors in post two all seem to be for Citadel/Warhammer Colour. I’ve read that they are quite a bit more expensive than competitors. Are they worth the premium price, or should I go with alternates? If I go off of the Warhammer color app and the linked post I would like 30+ colors… but I assume I don’t need all that
4 - is this too much and am I going to end up hating myself for getting fancy with it? If changing the whole scheme is too much, feel free to give recommendations for what color I could change just the robes to if I were to keep the black armor. I saw other posts with purple robes that seem cool as well

Thank you ahead of time

Souls veteran here, 100% completed every FromSoft game from Demon Souls to Elden Ring. My favorite genre, been playing these games since 2012. And I just rage quit for the first time since my first play through of Bloodborne against Orphan of Kos.

I know it’s a skill issue, but 7 Ashina Spears can suck my dick and balls, all 2 inches. I’ve killed every other boss and mini boss so far in under 5 tries but this cunt keeps bitch slapping me into next week and I want to scream.

Mother fucking fuck fuck fuck, I thought my thousands of hours in souls games would make this game a cake walk. FUCK. & now that I’ve calmed down I have to redownload it bc I uninstalled the game in my rage (felt pretty good tho).

Goddamn it

That is all

My wife and I will be arriving in Vietnam on the 15th of November and leaving on the 29th. Starting and ending the trip with a few days in Hanoi. How does the schedule look?

15: plane lands around 10:30 AM, get to the hotel around 2. If we have energy, walk up P Phung Hung street right next to our hotel and stop at Tranquil Book and Coffee

16: Temple of Literature, Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, the Imperial Citadel. End the day with a food tour

17: Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Museum and Stilt house, then up to Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda before Grabbing to Phu Tay Ho and enjoying the evening in that area

18-26: Mai Chau, Ninh Binh and a bay cruise. Arrive back in Hanoi the afternoon/evening of the 26 and go to the Thang Long Water Puppet show

27: Hoa Lo Prison, Hanoi Police Museum, Vietnamese Women’s Museum, St Joseph’s Cathedral, finish with Ngoc Son Temple and the weekend street fair around Hoan Kiem Lake

28: explore the Old Quarter, maybe end the day with another food tour

29: return home

Thoughts? Too touristy or crammed? Also, any recommendations for food and cafes around these areas? Thank you in advance!

Planning a trip to northern Vietnam in November for 13.5 days. Starting off and ending the trip in Hanoi, 5 nights 4.5 days total.

Seen a few comments while doing research about hotel booking scams, a little concerned about that. Here are the hotels I’ve seen positive comments about on various Reddit threads, does anybody have any insight to these or other recommendations?

More budget-friendly:

Concon House (50ish)
Holiday Emerald Hotel (40ish)
Christina’s Hanoi Secret Garden (cheapest at about 30 a night, but under 100 ratings on Google)
Hanoi Endless Hotel (40ish)

Slightly more expensive:
Aira Boutique Hanoi Hotel & Spa (85ish)
JM Marvel Hotel & Spa (75ish)
Hanoi L’Heritage Diamond Hotel & Spa (70ish)
Bonsella Hotel (90ish)
Hanoi Tirant Hotel (85ish)
Hanoi Allure Hotel (70ish)

Would love to keep the price on the lower end, we plan to spend minimal time in the room. But I will be with my wife so I don’t want to risk her wrath by cheaping out too much!

Sidenote: I was originally debating between Thailand and Vietnam so I’ve also checked hotel prices in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Am I crazy or are hotels in Hanoi on average more expensive than in those two cities? In pretty much every other way Vietnam is more affordable than Thailand, so seeing more places in the 70-100 range than 25-50 was a little surprising.

My wife and I are planning a trip to north Vietnam, planning to arrive on the 15th of November and leave on the 29th

We are fans of nature, museums and history, food and ethical animal experiences. We don’t care for wild night life or motorcycle/riding experiences

So far my outline looks like this:

15-17: Hanoi part 1

18-20: Mai Chau

21-23: Ninh Binh area

24-26: Ha Long/Bai Tu Long/Lan Ha Bay cruise

27-28: Hanoi part 2

29: return home

Total would be 4.5 days Hanoi, 3 Mai Chau, 3 Ninh Binh, 3 on a bay cruise

Activities:

Hanoi - a lot of these are recommendations I keep seeing over and over and over on other threads, so I am wondering which are actually worth the time and which are skippable. Also would love to hear about other less popular options:

Museum of Ethnology
Hoa Lo Prison Relic
Vietnamese Women’s Museum
Hanoi Opera House
Hoan Kiem Lake + Tower + Temple
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
Wandering around the Old Quarter
Temple of Literature
Vietnamese National Fine Arts Museum
HCM Mausoleum, Museum & Stilt House
Quan Thanh Temple & Tran Quoc Pagoda

Mai Chau - biking, Go Lao Waterfall & Hoa Binh Lake, (unsure if these next few are close enough to do) Bo Am hot springs, San May Hang Kia, Deo Da Trang

Any changes I should make? And any recommendations on where to stay in these areas? I’ve seen some stories of hotel reservation scams so I’m a bit nervous of that. I always look at the lowest scored reviews before booking, is that enough to make sure that we wont have issue? Thank you in advance!

My wife and I are planning a trip to north Vietnam, planning to arrive on the 15th of November and leave on the 29th. We could also change this to arriving on the 22nd and leaving on the 6th of December if there is reason to!

We are fans of nature, museums and history, food and ethical animal experiences. We don’t care for wild night life or motorcycle/riding experiences

So far my outline looks like this:

15: arrive in Hanoi, chill afternoon to recover

16-18: Hanoi (food tours, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Temple of Literature, Museum of Ethnology, Hoan Kiem Lake) Any recommendations appreciated!

19-21: Mai Chau (biking, Go Lao waterfall & Hoa Binh lake, maybe Bo Am hot springs?)

22-24: Ninh Binh area

25-27: Bai Tu Long or Lan Ha Bay cruise

28: return to Hanoi

29: return home

Total would be 4.5 days Hanoi, 3 Mai Chau, 3 Ninh Binh, 3 on a bay cruise.

Any changes I should make? And any recommendations on where to stay in these areas? I’ve seen some stories of hotel reservation scams so I’m a bit nervous of that. I always look at the lowest scored reviews before booking, is that enough to make sure that we wont have issue?

My wife and I are planning a trip to north Vietnam, planning to arrive on the 15th of November and leave on the 29th. We could also change this to arriving on the 22nd and leaving on the 6th of December if there is reason to!

We are fans of nature, museums and history, food and ethical animal experiences. We don’t care for wild night life or motorcycle/riding experiences

So far my outline looks like this:

15: arrive in Hanoi, chill afternoon to recover

16-18: Hanoi (food tours, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Temple of Literature, Museum of Ethnology, Hoan Kiem Lake) Any recommendations appreciated!

19-21: Mai Chau (biking, Go Lao waterfall & Hoa Binh lake, maybe Bo Am hot springs?)

22-24: Ninh Binh area

25-27: Bai Tu Long or Lan Ha Bay cruise

28: return to Hanoi

29: return home

Total would be 4.5 days Hanoi, 3 Mai Chau, 3 Ninh Binh, 3 on a bay cruise.

Any changes I should make? And any recommendations on where to stay in these areas? I’ve seen some stories of hotel reservation scams so I’m a bit nervous of that. I always look at the lowest scored reviews before booking, is that enough to make sure that we wont have issue?

Looked through my list and grabbed some stats:

141 of these were authored by men, 61 by women.

My top genres are 1- classics 2- sci fi 3- lit fic 4- fantasy 5- horror

My most read authors are 1- John Steinbeck 2- Ray Bradbury T3- JRR Tolkien T3- Matt Dinniman T3- Margaret Atwood T3- George Orwell

And finally, the few books that I have at S++ tier, life changing novels: All Quiet on the Western Front, East of Eden, Flowers for Algernon, Hyperion, 1984, The Grapes of Wrath, The Jakarta Method

The big thing I noticed is that I’m pretty light on women authors, and don’t have any of their novels on my highest tier. So I’m looking for suggestions on the greatest books ever written by women!

Thank you ahead of time for the recommendations!

PS, any genre is fine with me. For reference, some novels that I’ve already read are The Bell Jar, the Oryx and Crake trilogy, a good amount of Jane Austen, the ACOTAR series (I lost a bet with the wife lol), Piranesi, Frankenstein, The Outsiders, some Brontë sisters, The Woman in Black, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Haunting of Hill House, Housekeeping, all Suzanne Collins.

My wife and I have been looking into taking a trip either to Thailand or Vietnam, but I’m having trouble deciding which I would prefer.

If we end up picking Vietnam, my rough thoughts so far are:

Landing day + 3 additional days in Hanoi
3 days in Ninh Binh
2 or 3 days in Bai Tu Long or Lan Ha Bay

Leaves 4-5 full days and the final half day before flying out. Not interested in Sapa due to what I’ve read and seen regarding exploited children there. Wife isn’t very interested in scenic drives so probably not the Ha Giang Loop.

What would be a good way to spend those remaining days? Would it be worth going down to Hoi An for a day or two even though it’s the rainy season there? Could do a day trip to Phong Nha caves maybe? Or would it be worth heading down south and going somewhere like Dalat?

My wife and I are planning to get to Chiang Mai around roughly Nov 21 or 22 and leave for Chiang Rai the morning of Nov 26 or 27.

I’ve looked into the festivals a little bit and see that they are being celebrated on Nov 24 and 25. I’m confused on how that works out and how best we would be able to join in the celebrations.

Does that mean that both are being celebrated on both days, or Loy Krathong on day one and Yi Peng on the second day? Does the 8 hour CAD celebration happen on both days, and is it worth attending on one or both days? I’m planning on finalizing plans and getting tickets and hotels around the end of May, is that enough time ahead?

Thank you for any information or advice!

Looking for more nature/cultural/food/temple/ruins/ethical animal related trip rather than beaches and big cities for the most part. As beautiful as I’m sure the beaches there are, I live close to the Caribbean so I can get that type of experience anytime very easily. And I generally dislike big cities (at least in the USA).

Started off my research by looking at Thailand, especially the northern region around Chiang Mai. Thinking we want to spend 7 days in the area, 5 for Chiang Mai (1: old town and Sunday night market 2: ENP + cooking class, 3: Doi Inthanon and Loy Krathong 4: Doi Suthep and Yi Peng 5: sticky waterfall and/or bamboo rafting + food tour) and 2 in Chiang Rai (the city itself and a day trip to the golden triangle).

If we stick to just Thailand, my plan is to start in Bangkok with 3 days, then travel to Ayutthaya and explore it on day 4 and leaving from there that evening for 2 days in Sukhothai. Then after that would go on to Chiang Mai.

However, that does require a little bit of travel and I’m not sure how much I care about Bangkok itself (feel free to correct me if it’s great), so I’ve been having doubts. Is there a better way to spend those 6 days? Maybe stop in Cambodia at Angkor Watt, or start off in north Vietnam and go to Chiang Mai from there?

Any thoughts or recommendations appreciated!