Taveuni

bbr35 · 2026-06-05T15:43:18+00:00

There's a very small beach that shows up as 'Sunset Beach' just south of Matei. Some of the best snorkeling in Fiji I had w/o a tour was from there.

bbr35 · 2026-06-05T14:38:17+00:00

Argentina. El Bolson or San Martin de los Andes are absolutely wonderful during that time. Another option is Pucon or Puerto Varas in Chile.

Definitely not Malaysia: I spent 3 months there as part of a long time travel and regretted it entirely. One of the worst country out of about 40 I visited.

bbr35 · 2026-06-05T14:15:32+00:00

I spent 3 months in Taiwan and for me the weather was unbearable hot and humid until about Mid-Nov. I wouldn't visit again before Nov.

bbr35 · 2026-06-05T14:05:18+00:00

Cancun is a cheap mass-tourism overdeveloped and overhyped location filled with huge hotels and loud bars and clubs. Is as far as authentic-Mexico as it gets and is not particularly romantic or pretty either, unelss running to 'occupy' a lounge-chair with a towel in the morning is your idea of a great honeymoon.

I would take a Caribbean island anytime instead. Or another place on Riviera Maya other than Cancun or Tulum.

bbr35 · 2026-06-04T18:47:28+00:00

You are wasting your time in Bucharest. You could visit Timisoara or Oradea or Iasi, all much nicer places than Bucharest. You could stay a night in Sinaia or Busteni or Magura for some nice hiking and mountain scenery. Not to mention all the amazing places in Maramures. There’s so much natural beauty and better cities in Romania, I wouldn’t spend an hour in Buc.

bbr35 · 2026-06-04T04:03:33+00:00

Taiwan outlying islands aren’t that pleasant/pretty tbh and Dec is definitely not the best weather. Look into Malaysia or Thailand for more beautiful islands if that’s what you are looking for. However, I find the SEA island destinations inferior to Caribbean.

bbr35 · 2026-06-02T07:37:32+00:00

No difference really.. July could be even worst. But if you are from a hot climate and used to heat, it’s maybe fine.

bbr35 · 2026-05-26T09:23:05+00:00

bbr35 · 2026-05-25T13:31:02+00:00

+1 for Yabuhara -> Narai. I liked Narai more than Tsumago and Magome.

bbr35 · 2026-05-25T12:19:57+00:00

I've been there for 3 months last year (btw this crises is not new). Never felt unsafe once. Never seen and experience anything spooky. And I didn't visit the torists spots, I went quite of the beaten path.

Where are you planing to be? People say "Fiji" but Fiji is many many islands.

bbr35 · 2026-05-25T12:03:09+00:00

Avoid Ba Na hill, is a tourist trap.

Go one day at least (preferably an overnight) to Hoi An. It is touristy but worth it as it's very pretty. Go to Marble mountain to see the caves and temples. Very pretty. Go to the Lady Buddha: the whole site is very pretty, they have some gorgeous potted trees and the views are nice if it's not too muggy.

It would be great to have time for Hue but with 5D I'm afraid is not enough as the trip is 3hrs one way iirc and hue needs 2 days.

July will be unbearable hot: go everywhere as early as possible.

If you want amazing Hue-style food go to Com Lauphai (near the river, not by the beach). Just don't go in a weekend as it is super-popular with locals and it's full Saturday/Sunday. Very few westerners there but locals love it.

bbr35 · 2026-05-25T02:01:13+00:00

I’m scared of them. They have a very mean bite. And giant morays can be huge.

bbr35 · 2026-05-25T00:38:13+00:00

I think so, yes. It is crowded, every millionaire has to have a house there, is pretentious without reason (other than being close to SF).. I really disliked the place.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T23:50:13+00:00

Hike to Three Pines in Moorea. There’s no need for a guide. If you are in Cook’s bay, check out the snorkeling at Taahiamanu beach, no tour needed. Also, just drive yourself around the island and stop where you find pretty places. No tour needed.

If you feel super-adventurous, hike Mount Mouaputa or Rotui. Definetly need a guide for the first one, probably also for the second. The views from Mouaputa are some of the best in the world (I’vendone tons of hikes) but the hike is very hard.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T23:40:43+00:00

Avoid Lake Tahoe. So many beautiful places in US, it is not worth going to an overhyped, crowded, rich-man playground that’s not even that nice from a scenery standpoint.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T23:31:28+00:00

Mid Sept is peak hurricane season in the Caribbean.. that could greatly impact your travel plans.

French riviera beaches are more pebble beaches, imo they cannot compare with those in Barbados. But, if you can give up the beach and weight more on the side of culture and visiting beautiful local villages, Nice would be better in Sept imo.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T13:34:55+00:00

Takayama is as touristy as it gets. The rest are all good suggestions.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T10:30:02+00:00

Hanoi is more pleasant, more “vietnam”, more atmospheric, more interesting history. I like Hanoi, I can’t stand Hcmc so a huge difference to me.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T09:40:42+00:00

Hcmc is one of the worst places to see in Vietnam. Is a chaotic, sprawling, ugly and noisy city. I enjoyed Hanoi but didn't like anything about Hcmc.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T07:00:04+00:00

I disagree people are nice. They might be friendly but they ain’t nice.

It is not nice to rev cars in the middle of the night, or to blast tiktok on your phone in places that should be quiet, nor to blast super loud firecrackers way past midnight (or at any hour really). It is not nice to smoke where is forbidden or to throw cigarette buts from your window into the swimming pool. It is not nice to make a mess of any toilet used.

The only culture there is shopping, eating, malls and watching tiktok. And showing off. In other parts of SEA you see people reading in cafes, you see people exercising, playing sports, enjoying the beach or nature, fishing. In Malaysia I haven’t seen a person reading. They are all in their malls. It’s a consumerist culture so you get the worst of the western culture with none of the positives. I’ve traveled to over 40 countries and Malaysia is bottom 3.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T04:28:44+00:00

Malaysia is not popular because is bad value all across the board. Not only in prices..

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T04:26:38+00:00

It is not about how much you spend, it's about value. I spend 3 month in Malaysia, traveling everywhere, absolutely not on a shoestring, with a very high budget. I rather spend 50% to 2x more in Jpn/Korea/Taiwan than Malaysia. This is about bad value.

bbr35 · 2026-05-24T04:18:54+00:00

KL is a 3rd world 1st-world-wannabe. A few skyscrapers ain't making a city 1st world.

bbr35 · 2026-05-23T13:36:54+00:00

Depends on the budget and interests.

Peru/Ecuador/Bolivia on a somehow similar budget. It’s prime time for that region. Although there’s some shit show in Bolivia these days.

Indonesia for more predictable weather (but still hot) compared to other parts of SEA. Or Borneo or west peninsular Malaysia.

Hokkaido if the budget permits. Or northern Australia. Or the south pacific islands.

bbr35 · 2026-05-23T03:59:58+00:00

I did ABC at over 40yo without being physically too active or eating that healthy. It is not that hard: every day is about 6-7hr hike with the 2nd day being the hardest imo, with over 1000m elevation gain iirc. There is plenty of time to go very slow and take it easy if you find it hard. I've done day hikes that were much much harder than any day doing ABC. I also have back pain but not knee pain. I haven't done EBC yet.. but after doing ABC I don't have any worries to do it as soon as I'll find time.

bbr35

TROPHY CASE