FYI Vegas is insanely cheap right now. Here are prices for flight and hotel from Calgary to Vegas 4 nights mid march! In Canadian dollars!
Remember these prices donāt include the standard Caesars resort fee of one human kidney.
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Amazingly they actually do!
Damn, I need to look into getting some Canadian kidneys!
Iām an alternate chaperone for a school trip to Jordan (shit my students come from rich ass families).
Never considered the possibility that Iād actually end up going but with omicron, thereās a real shot.
Anybody been to Jordan?
I was there like 20 years ago. If you go the Jordan museum is outstanding. Has some of the Dead Sea scrolls.
Only really been to Petra. Loved it.
Iāve been watching Youtube travel videos in Guadalajara/Jalisco Mexico and there seem to be an abundance of potential super models. Im curious how this dynamic works with the cartels - do the women worry about being abducted?
People get kidnapped for the ransom demands for their families, not because theyāre hot. At least to my understanding.
AFAIK, thatās the case. Unless theyāre planning to push them into sexual slavery or something.
Iād say the women in Guadalajara are the most attractive Iāve seen in Mexico, but still a far cry from Colombia or Brazil. āAbundance of potential super modelsā is a massive stretch.
That being said, Mexico is a pretty misogynist country w/a pretty big feminicide problem, but itās usually a close family member, boyfriend, or husband as the perpetrator, not necessarily the cartels.
Pakistan is now an online tourist visa for US citizens, super super tempting! All the people Iāve met whoāve been to Pakistan seem to love it. With omicron cases starting to fall and no real travel in two years, I might be cracking pretty soon.
Anyone got any Pakistan experience/2nd hand experience?
The scenery is supposed to be mind-bottling. Youād come back with some insane pics.
I plan to do this when I drive through the region. Although I probably will have to leave my car somewhere outside the country since I donāt think driving through Pakistan is feasible right now for an American (it was not too long ago though).
Iāve heard itās definitely calmed down and the north is generally pretty safe these days, but as far as I know thereās not really any route to get a car into the country, is there? Are you thinking like a central asia, mongol rally type trip?!
Well I have to get across Asia somehow. Thereās a few different routes. But conditions change all the time, so itās not worth spending too much time researching something that wonāt happen for a few years. And of course covid has borked everything for the time being.
Most people seem to take the middle route which involves some Russia and some of the Stans, maybe some China and Mongolia. Iāve been to Mongolia and would love to go back and drive around if itās feasible. China is a pain because you have to have an expensive chaperone at all times. So most people form caravans and get across it fairly quickly.
Russia is also a pain because they might give you a 30-day visa, or 90-day, all up to the mood of the border agent that day. 30 days isnāt much time to get across Russia.
People get across Iran and Myanmar with similar chaperones as China. But obviously Afghanistan and Iraq are no goes. Pakistan I think was doable when the border with India was still open. But now no one tries it (just from stuff Iāve read on the forums - could be off). Also I donāt think anyone was ever wandering around Pakistan, just traversing it as fast as possible. Same for most of those countries like Iran.
Sometimes overlanders post old pics from the 60s and 70s. You could wander all over Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and pretty much the whole region. :(
Gotcha, the logistics of that part of the world sound pretty tricky. I just remember from meeting the Mongol Rally people is that getting to Mongolia through Russia/Central Asia is/was pretty feasible. But after that, not so much, China sounds like a bitch.
The stories of the hippie trail back in the day sound amazing. Damn shame.
The Karakoram Highway looks amazing. No idea about feasibility in the best of times, and this isnāt the best of times. (Especially to cross into China, which is a nonstarter for the foreseeable future.)
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Got two possible trips coming up
mid-March (Spring Break): A week in Sicily
mid-April (Easter Break): five days in Istanbul
Kind of interested in seeing whatās up during Ramadan in Turkey. I have a feeling it can be pretty interesting.
Also, my passport expires in September. I read sometimes that people want passports to have 180 days validity remaining at least when it comes to visas. Why?
Typically they want to make sure you have a valid passport for the maximum possible duration of stay, so that you arenāt stuck in their country without a valid passport.
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Makes sense.
Thankfully, Italy and Turkey are visa-free for Irish citizens. Score!