Next contender for the 'Natural Wonders of the World ' is in South Korea.
Anyone who has spent some time on Jeju Island, please post any stories,tips or even photos here.
Troll posts and personal attacks on other posters will be removed without warning.
Haven't seen any foreign tourists or backpackers after arriving late yesterday (Edit - Soon after posting I did see a foreign girl and a foreign couple) All the old backpacker guesthouses are gone. On the main street (road to airport) near bus station Pesona Backpackers sign hasn't been taken down even though it closed years ago. Pesona Inn didn't have electricity when I called in. Azam Hotel has rooms with bathroom and air con for 80 ringgit. There is basic hostel guesthouse place next door up steep stairs but with limited check in hours. About 10 mins walk from where picture was taken turning right at Jalan Dusan Raja there are 3 hotels. Star Family Hotel (where I was told to go by Pesona) has air con rooms with bathroom for 50 ringgit. There are no public buses from long distance bus station. Taxi drivers want to charge 15 ringgit to go the 4 km to town.
Hello, all. My birthday is coming up in two weeks, and the best thing I can think to do to celebrate is to take a mini 2-day trip somewhere. Seeing as I spent my last birthday in a blue city (Jodhpur) I thought it would be fun to spend this birthday in another (although hopefully without any encounters with rabid dogs this time!).
I've been browsing Booking and was shocked to see a virtually endless amount of accommodation for what I understood to be a pretty small town...I don't see how there could be any locals left.
Does anyone have Chefchaouen hotel recommendations? I kind of wanted to splurge a little and stay somewhere nice. I've never stayed in a riad, but all I'm seeing are "dars." Are those synonymous? A balcony or terrace would be nice...
Dave's endless musings on the paradise lost of Southeast Asian bungalows made me think of sharing some of my own musings.
I'm on my way back from a road trip in Kyushu. Of course I would rather push my car than rely on a Car Navi, so I navigate with paper maps. My Kyushu map book is nearly 10 years old, bought for my first road trip there in 2017.
It's quite remarkable how little has changed in 10 years. Navigating with the older maps is still incredibly easy. Some highways and bypasses have been extended, but not at a crazy pace: if you look at the old map and see an unfinished highway, you can guess that it's probably been extended one or two towns over by now.
It's rare, but some roads have been re-named. So what was once prefectural road 221 might now be prefectural road 53. It's a little disorienting when you come across it, but it was quite rare.
The map shows the location of key services of interest to drivers: convenience stores, supermarkets, gas stations. A good 80-90% of these are unchanged. Enough that if you're looking for a gas station, say, and the map has two in the town you're coming up to, you can be reasonably certain that at least one of them is still there, in the same place.
The only completely new thing I came across was a huge industrial complex (still under construction) for developing semiconductors, which was all farmland 10 years ago, according to the map.
The other thing that's changed are road closures in Kumamoto: my map, printed just after the 2016 earthquakes there, has lots of notes about roads closed at the time of publication, due to earthquake damage. By now, those roads are largely fixed and operational again....but there are all kinds of new roads closed due to the more recent earthquake.
Japan is heavily mountainous. Minor roads through the mountains are regularly being taken out by landslides, flooding, etc. If you want to drive on more obscure roads, you need to look up the latest road status online regardless.
It is self-explanatory, mes amis. Enjoy.
https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/well-always-have-paris-a-mini-tr-1736468/
Quite a lot of travellers have been to Vietnam, and I guess most of them also visited this area in the north of the country.Famous for its islands and strange rock formations, very popular for boat trips, many visitors do multi day trips where you sleep out on your boat in the bay.
If you have been to Halong Bay, please post any opinions or stories here.
Troll posts and personal attacks on other posters will be removed without warning.
Forest fires in Sumatra have affected air quality in Singapore and Malaysia. Pictures from northern east coast Malaysia today.
>More than 50 hectares (124 acres) of peatland have burned in Jambi province on Sumatra island, causing choking haze in some areas and raising concerns about worsening air quality. The largest fire has been reported in the village of Sungai Gelam in the Muaro Jambi district, where dozens of hectares of oil palm plantations owned by local residents have been destroyed. The blaze has burned since Wednesday. - ABC News
Boat fare to island - 50 ringgit. (no dual pricing) National park fee - 30 ringgit foreigners price (15 ringgit for seniors) plus 10 ringgit island entry fee.
Captain Long House - Run differently since the Captain retired. During month of August they don't even take walk in bookings because there are so many online bookings - even for just a dorm bed. Sometimes even have party nights. Seems to be similar situation with the Dutch owned Kapas Boutique Chalets - so many online bookings that not much chance for someone to get walk in booking. - Edit -Note have been told dorm beds with fan at Captain Longhouse are 65 ringgit now.
Longsha Campground with slightly laid back alternative feel maybe under threat because D'Seri Resort which took over Koko Hut awhile ago has bought the land Longsha is on. This is the main option for budget travellers.
Quimi Resort was sold and is now called Mango& Chilli resort. Owned by a German it still has the illegal sign saying "Private Bay". The restaurant extends on to the beach which looks intrusive.
New campground at the next beach, it has "glamping tents" including some that are virtual bungalows and resemble garden sheds. The older campground has tents from about 30 ringgit. Stairs have been repaired to the snorkeling beach.
Renovations to Kapas Island resort are almost finished. Its called The Heritage now and rooms will cost hundreds of ringgit at minimum
As always most of the foreign visitors are from Europe, rarely see anyone from other countries apart from Chinese sometimes.
A mobile phone tower is being constructed on the island to improve wifi. There is still no pubic wifi although some resorts and restaurants provide private wifi for guests to use.
Other news about east coast Malaysia - Cherating near Kuantan no longer has any backpacker scene and the wooden bungalows that used to be there are long gone. Perhentian islands expensive and developed. 5 star hotel has been built on Long Beach, Perhentian Keci. Cheapest price at this beach there might be 1000 ringgit a night unless you camp. One person said Perhentian islands getting like Redang.