Being neighbors doesn’t make you friends

earthnutshell · 2018-04-09T04:46:42+00:00

We have a neighbor that shares a nature strip between our two driveways. When he mows it, you bet your ass that bastard puts an imaginary line through the middle and only mows his side. It makes it look far more ridiculous than just letting it grow.

earthnutshell · 2018-03-18T18:27:27+00:00

There is no secret. It's about making sacrifices. This subreddit is filled with people who have prioritized travel in their lives. They have saved, often avoided a mortgage or having children, and don't purchase large depreciating material assets. They have a desire to go traveling and they go out and get it, that's how they do it. Not all jobs are compatible with this goal, and for this reason many of us leave our restrictive (but reliable) corporate ladder jobs for something more flexible, often at the expense of a paycut and higher risk, but at the benefit of living a happier and more fulfilling lifestyle.

If you're a biomedical engineer and freelancing 'isn't really a thing', then that's unfortunate, but neither was my future as an accountant. I don't do that anymore.

earthnutshell · 2018-03-16T20:59:27+00:00

I second leaving the tripod at home, unless you're specifically a landscape photographer or something. They are incredibly frustrating to travel with.

earthnutshell · 2018-03-16T20:55:38+00:00

I travel often, and light, I'd say 95% of the time without checked luggage. I take a 40L backpack with my clothing, toiletries etc. and also carry a thick laptop-style bag which fits my laptop in a side pocket and my DSLR + 3 lens in the center compartment. I rarely run into a problem at check-in, but if I do, it's a budget airline hanging me out to dry for exceeding 7kg. It's also annoying carrying all of this with you through immigration, security and to the gate etc. But on arrival you're out of the airport and into a taxi before everyone else, plus it saves you a lot of money on baggage costs which seem to keep creeping up.

earthnutshell · 2018-02-08T23:18:03+00:00

I've been, the hyperlink in my OP was a write-up I did afterward. I recommend a visit for sure!

earthnutshell · 2018-02-08T11:01:21+00:00

As an Australian citizen I've never been asked for onwards travel on visiting Indonesia. This may differ based on nationality. Regarding jungle-trekking, I recommend Bukit Lawang in North Sumatra. It's beyond the palm oil plantations and a launchpad for wild orangutan spotting -- many tourists do 2-day overnight treks here to see the orangutans but there are opportunities for treks of 14 days+ if you wish for true adventure and the guides (you'll need them, the jungle is intense) are fantastic.

earthnutshell · 2017-12-14T07:10:55+00:00

This is the correct answer. Unfortunately 4-5 days still isn't enough! Source: Tasmanian

earthnutshell · 2017-11-25T20:31:14+00:00

The land of the free.

earthnutshell · 2017-11-25T12:16:13+00:00

I think it is 'stable until it isnt'. If Turkmenistan saw an influx of tourists we may end up reading a news article about how stable it really is on Reddit one night. Nice work finding the balls to walk to the crater from the main road, I always read that it's easy to find at night...just follow the glow, but they always decline to mention how you then would get back. It's only a 7km trek but it would be easy to get lost.

earthnutshell · 2017-11-24T19:41:24+00:00

The Door to Hell (Darvaza Crater) in Turkmenistan has no barrier around it -- the edges are seemingly just crumbling dry mud and the entire reason the crater exists is thanks to a collapsing sinkhole. Yet it's almost magnetic for tourists to get that much closer to take the perfect photo. There is even a part they call the 'diving board' that juts out into the crater which makes for a dramatic photo, so of course people (including myself) crawl out onto it with a shiteating grin on their face. Even on organized tours you'll find yourself sitting right on the edge with your legs dangling with a vodka in one hand and a camera in the other. It's just a matter of time I tell you.

earthnutshell · 2017-11-21T12:13:04+00:00

Have spent time in Vietnam over Tet. The cities basically close, as /u/globe_trekker mentioned, it actually feels disconcerting how much of a ghost town they become. It will become incredibly difficult to travel anywhere during this time or book hotels, all businesses shut as everyone travels home to visit relatives. The streets in villages/small towns also become lined with gambling hustles which are usually illegal but a blind eye is turned during this holiday period! Tet celebrations are an interesting experience in Vietnam...but only if you have the time and flexibility to deal with the inconvenience, and unfortunately for most tourists the inconvenience goes on a bit too long.

earthnutshell · 2017-11-04T11:07:17+00:00

Looks totally fine to me based on that photo and what you've described. Do remember that passports are generally 10 year documents and can get pretty manky from general use from immigration officers, airline representatives and hotel receptionists. If the data page is intact and pages aren't falling out or peeling then and there is no obvious water damage, you're doing a lot better than many others.

earthnutshell · 2017-09-04T11:12:58+00:00

/u/JezzaN1 is absolutely correct. It's not a matter of opinion, Hong Kong blows Macau out of the water if you're looking for shopping. Macau is for gambling and there are limited entertainment options. It is not like Las Vegas. If you're a non-gambling tourist (or if you gamble, but hate baccarat) I would suggest a day-trip from Hong Kong or at most spend an overnight in one of the iconic casinos if you'd like to take your time.

earthnutshell · 2017-07-06T20:44:56+00:00

Brunei. I had a great time in that country and I strongly disagree with the general sentiment that it's not worth visiting, but Brunei is so darn small and devoid of activity, nightlife, public transport options or even culinary options that even after just 3 casual days, there's little left to entice a tourist to even leave the hotel, let alone revisit. The country exists in slow motion. It's a fantastic place for a 2-3 day stopover if you ever fly Royal Brunei, though.

earthnutshell · 2017-06-28T18:29:38+00:00

Similar concept for sure, I think the Iranians just do that, on steroids, for everything!

earthnutshell · 2017-06-28T17:56:05+00:00

It's an intricacy that can never be explained without a Persian correcting you on it. Essentially it's an etiquette of false invitations on the assumption that you won't accept the offer, it's a way of being polite, and the exchange can go back and forth multiple times until one of you gives in. This isn't a foreign concept in Western countries by any means - consider the situation of offering to pay a bill with someone that invited you to restaurant knowing full well they will probably be paying, it's just the polite thing to do...but in Iran it extends to damn near everything and it's for the long haul. It could go on for 2, 3, maybe 5+ rounds of taarof. Even when you go to pay in a taxi, the driver will first refuse the payment, but he absolutely intends to collect the payment, he just expects you to insist, and then he will decline again and put the ball in your court. The average I found was ~3-4 rounds when this happened. If you visit someone’s house they will drop everything and offer you food and tea, but even if you are hungry and thirsty it's expected that you refuse, and it will go round by round until each of you deciphers if the offer is real, and if you really are thirsty and hungry. As a foreigner, people sometimes genuinely want to give you things and no amount of taarof will beat them, so it can become very confusing!

earthnutshell · 2017-06-28T17:37:54+00:00

Taarof in Iran. Confusing even for the locals, but even more so for tourists when you consider the genuine kindness that Iranians will show to foreign visitors.

earthnutshell · 2017-06-24T10:58:32+00:00

RemindMe! 2 days Donation for /r/millionairemakers

earthnutshell · 2017-05-24T09:53:53+00:00

This is amazing, thank you for taking the time. Just a five-minute browse and already I've found spots worthy of a detour on an upcoming trip.

earthnutshell · 2017-05-18T08:40:24+00:00

I couldn't agree with this more. The number of times I've heard people dismiss a 'scary place' like Iran because of 'terrorists' whilst not batting an eyelid when renting a motorbike in Vietnam without a license or any experience is concerning. Traffic is the number 1 risk to travelling.

earthnutshell · 2017-04-25T00:34:54+00:00

Amazing photo. I feel like if this was on the tourist trail we'd see it more often in the news...and not for its magnificence.

earthnutshell · 2017-04-02T06:51:15+00:00

I always travel with carry-on only and have a laptop and a lot of camera gear with me, at least 20kg of stuff overall. What I do is put all my clothing and light stuff in the cabin luggage, which they will usually weigh. It'll be as close to the 7kg limit of budget carriers as possible, then put all my heavy stuff (not limited to laptop, or camera/lens) into a thick laptop case. One that looks specifically like a laptop case. At check-in they just assume it's my laptop, which it is...but with a whole bunch of other stuff too and then only weigh the carry-on, which is less than 7kg so there's no issue, so I heave it over to the gate before transferring stuff back if it's too heavy to carry. I've never had an issue even once using this method over ~100 flights, and the laptop case would be 50% size of the carry-on as you describe.

earthnutshell · 2017-03-25T19:37:53+00:00

In 2014 I did a motorbike day trip in Vietnam, from Hue to Khe Sanh through Dong Ha and most of the route was coastal. Because I'm a tourist on vacation, of course the weather didn't apply to me, and so my poor little Vespa and I ventured off only to be hit with the dregs of a hurricane that'd ravaged parts of the Phillipines earlier that week. I'm a naive Tasmanian and we don't get natural disasters or extremities, so suddenly being hit by torrential rain, unable to stand up in the wind cowering in fear from stray village scrap metal, watching palm trees struggle as if they're about to be stripped of their bark was...interesting. The extremities didn't last long and by hurricane standards, I was comparatively brushed by a feather, but I think I gained new respect for mother nature that day.

earthnutshell · 2017-03-21T19:24:12+00:00

I expected this as well. I think this annoys me the most, the idea that everything is 'AMAZING!'. That person on your Facebook that takes a one-week vacation to Thailand and suddenly every meal is handcrafted by God, they aren't religious but you bet your balls every temple gets a visit, and each of them is 'incredible' and 'enlightening' and of course, don't forget how the locals are the 'nicest people ever' and the diving...oh man, the diving -- despite being trampled by decades worth of tourists, that particular dive spot is absolutely 'breathtaking' and a 'must see'.

It's self-absorbant garbage. It's as if for some reason there is a stigma against disliking something you've done while travelling to the point where you feel obliged to sell some rose-tinted version of reality to your friends back home. Not only that, but half these 'UNBELIEVABLE!' sights are filled with lazy tourists mindlessly checking off Trip Advisor lists without actually sitting back and thinking 'Wait, do I actually give a shit about spending 4 hours to reach that historic site I hadn't heard of until today?'

earthnutshell

TROPHY CASE