u/melbourne_au2021

After re-watching Ozark for the 10th time, I have come to the conclusion that it is a masterpiece and even better than Breakin Bad if you ask me.

I doubt we will see another show of this calibre for many years to come if at all.

So the last 3 months profits have now entered nevative balance and it looks like the 6 months profits will also soon enter negative territory.

What the hell is going on?!

Hey All

I am currently 42yo and still happily renting with housemates. Obviously I have been thinking about my future when it comes to housing and here is what I have in mind so far:

Buy a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment when I am 50yo with the government 5% deposit (this is going to be my forever home so please spare me the sermons about what bad value apartments are or what a terrible idea the 5% deposit scheme is)

I would probably do a fixed rate for my mortgage for the first 3 years and after that here comes the "controversial" idea: go on a variable rate but paying interest only (practically until I die). The reason for this is that I don't have children or plan to therefore I couldn't care less what happens to my estate after I die, however I would like to enjoy a good quality of life as I get older, still travel the world a few months per year, have a home I can call my own and not paying crazy amounts of rent.

So here are my questions:

- If I were to buy my home today with a $97.000 yearly salary and using the 5% deposit scheme how much money would I realistically need to have saved if let's say the apartment I want to buy is in the 400K-450K?

- Have any of you gone on an interest only mortgage? Not because you can't afford it but because like me you don't care about owing money after you die and wanting to live a reasonably good life while you are alive?

- Do banks easily grant requests to go on interest only repayments or do they get all inquisitive about it? Even if they do they wouldn't find anything fishy in my record and my current superannuation balance is 230K way above average for someone my age.

Thanks

Hey All

How would you deal with a Marriott hotel that you have booked for an upcoming stay who does not reply to the questions that you send (in my case both via facebook messenger and the booking.com chat with the hotel field)

Would you submit a "concerns about a stay" ticket through the official Marriott website? Apparently if you do that they escalate it with the property in question from what I understand. At the same time I don't want the employees of the hotel to retailate against me if they get in trouble because of it, so I am kind of damned if I do and damned if I don't.

Hi All

I was wondering whether Russian MIR pre-paid debit/credit cards can be purchased easily in Kazakhstan? if so where?

Thanks!

Hey All

I have booked and paid for my 3 months RTW trip at the end of this year. I will ask some questions towards the end which I hope some of you can answer for me

Singapore 4 days
Malaga, Spain 6 days
Madrid, Spain 5 days
Innsbruck, Austria 5 days
Vienna, Austria 3 days
Sibiu, Romania 4 days
Brasov, Romania 4 days
Bucharest, Romania 3 days
Warsaw, Poland 3 days
Gdansk, Poland 4 days
Krakow, Poland 4 days
Palermo, Italy 6 days
Catania, Italy 3 days
Siracusa, Italy 2 weeks (visiting family)
Geneva, Switzerland 4 days
Montreal, Canada 7 days
Guadalajara, Mexico 4 days
San Miguel De Allende, Mexico 6 days
Mexico City, Mexico 4 days
Guatemala City, Guatemala 3 days
Antigua, Guatemala 3 days
Guatemala Intrepid tour 8 days
Vancouver, Canada 4 days

1. While in Malaga I want to make time for 2 individual day trips. The options are Ronda, Granada, Nerja/Frigiliana. Which 2 should I choose?

2. While in Madrid I was thinking of doing 2 individual day trips to Avila and Cuenca, what do you think? I have been to Madrid in the past and last time I was there I did day trips to Segovia, Toledo, Salamanca and Cordoba.

3. I have an option of either doing a day trip to Bolzano from Innsbruck or a day trip to Brno from Vienna. Which one do you think I should do?

4. I have booked a day trip to Sighisoara while in Brasov given that I have been to Brasov in the past and it is quite a small city so it doesn't require a lot of time. Last time I was there I visited Bran and Peles Castles.

5. While in Gdansk I was planning to visit Malbork Castle, is it worth it? It looks quite pretty in the photos

6. While in Palermo I was thinking of doing a day trip to Cefalu and a day trip to Trapani and spend the rest of my time in Palermo exploring the city

7. While in Geneva I was thinking of doing a day trip to Annecy in Francy. Has anyone been there? Worth it?

8. While in Montreal I was thinking of packing a small bag and spend a night in Ottawa just to see the city really. I can't really do a day trip because the last train back to Montreal is too early (6 pm i think)

9. While in San Miguel de Allende I was thinking of doing 2 individual day trips, one to Guanajuato and one to Peña de Bernal

Feel free to give me suggestions or just respond to the parts of this itinerary you are familiar with

Also for anyone curious the RTW ticket was fairly good value in my opinion $6500 AUD ($4500 USD, 3945 EUR, 3379 GBP)

Thanks.

I will finally visit Gdansk in December for the first time as a solo traveler as part of a larger trip.

Here is my itinerary followed by some questions

30 November

I will be arriving by train from Warsaw and I know that the train ride takes around 2.5 hours but that's fine since my check in is not until 4 pm so I might leave Warsaw just after lunch. For this day In Gdansk I think I will mostly focus on Christmas markets for my first evening in the city.

1 December

Wake up early find some delicious place that makes nice baked sweets and good coffee and start exploring the city up until lunch time. In the afternoon I was thinking of going to Sopot since it is very close to walk on the Pier and visit the lighthouse. I would then be back in Gdansk in time for dinner and to have another wonder around the Christmas markets.

2 December

Wake up early have coffee and pastry somewhere and take the train to Malbork and be there by the time they open at 9am so that way I am hoping to skip the line visit the castle and be back in Gdansk by lunch time. In the afternoon I would continue to explore Gdansk.

3 December

My checkout is not until 11 am so if I wake up early once again I can do another couple of hours of sightseeing after breakfast and once I check out catch the train to Krakow

- Any recommendations for places that make good coffee in Gdansk? Also I heard that in Poland they make delicious pastries and sweets/cakes so I am open to suggestions.

- Please let me know which parts of the city I should visit, I like to take photos (not selfies) so any suggestion is appreciated. Also if there are any observation towers or high buildings with nice views let me know

- When I go to Malbork castle is there usually a line in winter to buy ticket? if so is there any way I can buy in advance. Also can you recommend me a place from where to take photo of the castle from far away?

- I am not familiar with Polish food at all (this is in relation to lunch/dinner) so any suggestion is welcome

- Feel free to comment on my itinerary if you feel that it could be improved

Thanks

I am currently rewatching all seasons since there is nothing else to watch and I couldn't help to notice that Mrs Van Rhijn often makes threat to anyone who wrongs her but rarely if ever she acts on these threats and this is quite frustrating.

For example I would really like to see what she did about the doctor that refused to treat Peggy and what happens to him. I think audiences would really enjoy those types of confrontations between the characters involved.

I am just amazed how the Australian government makes such significant (negative) changes without any media attention or scrutiny. I bet many of you didn't even know this was about to happen.

Australia's crypto Travel Rule takes full effect on July 1, marking the most significant recent regulatory change. Regulated exchanges and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) must now collect, verify, and transmit sender and recipient information (including full names and addresses) for all digital asset transfers

Basically with these new rules you can forget about sending crypto anonymously.

We have countries like Germany and Singapore which don't even tax crypto and then we have Australia that must regulate every aspect of it. This is simply pathetic.

Hi All

I will be doing an Intrepid tour to Guatemala in January and I just had a few basic questions which I hope you can answer for me.

- My tour starts from Antigua, but given that my flight arrives at 10pm I thought it might be best to stay at a hotel near the airport rather than making the journey to Antigua that late at night, what do you think?

- As my flight will be coming from Montreal where temperatures in January are likely to be around -20C and Guatemala is a hot country, I don't know how to dress. Are evenings in Guatemala City cold in January or still hot?

- Should I withdraw some Guatemalan Quetzal from ATMs at the airport? or use the exchange places there? How much would I need for 10 days considering that my hotels are already paid for?

- Is Guatemala really as unsafe as it is portrayed in many travel forums or do you think it's a bit overblown out of proportion? I have been to Mexico 4 times and I have never felts unsafe there despite visiting many different cities.

Hey All

I was wondering what camera do you use when visiting cities that are considered unsafe?

I am looking for a decent camera that doesn't look conspicuous/flashy and that can fit in my pocket without compromising image quality.

Please do not suggest phones, I am only looking for cameras.

With the new service to Madrid by Singapore Airlines apparently it will make a stop in Barcelona first. Does anyone know whether people who are flying to Madrid get to stay on the plane when it arrives in Barcelona or do they have to get off clear customs and then go to the gate to wait for the next flight?

I am bit jealous of those of you who live in Europe these days with all the really handsome immigrants you are getting from places such as Africa, Middle East, Pakistan, etc.

Do you see them on Grindr much? Do they try to flirt with you when they see you on the street? I understand that not all of them are gay, but in many instances they are really horny for sex and will go for anyone.