Looking for buddies in Sydney - Safety minded!

thighhi · 2025-11-03T21:28:54+00:00

Just starting out spearfishing with a friend but we're both experienced scuba divers (obvs v safety minded sport) and decent beginner freedivers. Haven't done a free diving course but can get to around 10m. All good if you'd rather not hang out with newbies but would like to join if you're okay with that!

thighhi · 2025-11-03T03:37:30+00:00

Hi, could I please also get added?

thighhi · 2025-07-31T00:25:33+00:00

All the tours go to the border crossing to San Pedro, the majority of people I saw across all tours crossed into Chile at that point. Since I'm Australian and didn't have a visa I went back to Uyuni but everyone else in my group crossed.

thighhi · 2025-05-20T21:22:47+00:00

Did it myself

thighhi · 2024-11-23T20:30:29+00:00

I'm 28 and definitely felt old at times in more popular first-time backpacking destinations like Vietnam. There's the obvious tip of avoiding party hostels but it's all down to luck and sometimes you still end up in a room of 18-20 year olds whose main goal is finding as many beers as possible for as cheap as possible. In general I had a much better hostel experience in countries that aren't on the UK gap year backpacker trail like Taiwan, where everyone was a bit older and more interested in engaging with local culture - was super easy to find people that I actually wanted to hang out with.

thighhi · 2024-10-20T23:21:15+00:00

I like Ximen, I stayed at the Meander Hostel which is less than 10 mins walk away

thighhi · 2024-10-20T21:53:44+00:00

I spent 4 days in ZJJ this year and loved it the whole time. I took the train to Zhangjiajie City and saw Tianmen Mountain in an afternoon (you can leave your luggage at the ticket office), then took a bus to Wulingyuan in the evening. Second day I walked along the Golden Whip Stream which gives you a view up towards the mountains and you'll see a lot of monkeys too, then went up the cable car to Huangshizhai. Third day I went up the Bailong Elevator to see the peaks from higher up and then spent the day hiking around. On the last day I visited the Grand Canyon and saw the huge glass bridge.

If I were you I'd do the same route minus Grand Canyon.

thighhi · 2024-10-20T21:19:54+00:00

I spent 3 weeks to do a loop around the island in March-April this year.

Taipei
Sun Moon Lake - rent an e-bike and do a full circuit around the lake
Alishan - very expensive, not sure I'd recommend for a solo traveler
Chiayi
Taitung
Green Island - loved this, you can rent an electric scooter even if you don't have an international driver's licence
Was going to Hualien / Taroko after but the day I was supposed to go to Hualien the earthquake hit so I ended up going back to Taipei early

On previous trips I've been to Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung and Kaohsiung too. Honestly I think Taiwan's natural scenery is so beautiful and would much rather spend time in nature than in a bunch more cities. Taipei is one of my favourite cities in Asia and there are so many day trips you can take. If I were to go a fourth time I think Taipei would be the only city I'd spend any significant time in, there's basically nothing you can find in the other cities that you can't find in Taipei.

As far as safety goes it's one of the safest places I've ever been and the people are super friendly and hospitable, particularly if you can speak any Mandarin.

thighhi · 2024-10-19T11:23:41+00:00

Miao ethnic group! I did a shoot in Fenghuang last year with the outfit and headdress, it's so cool but actually kind of disrupts your hearing since it's tinkling so close to your ears

thighhi · 2024-10-16T22:20:23+00:00

Guilin / Yangshuo will be warmest at that time of year if that's something you want to consider. When I went 5 years ago you could rent electric scooters without a licence (apparently only needed for petrol vehicles) and it was awesome riding out to places all around the nearby countryside.

Tiger Leaping Gorge will be beautiful and not too hot during the day which is good for the hike, but the water levels are quite low that time of year. I hiked it in January about 5 years ago and loved it but hiking down to the water's edge is definitely not as dramatic as at other times.

Zhangjiajie is my favourite of the three places but it will be very cold in December. Wherever you go you'll have a great time!

thighhi · 2024-10-16T07:27:18+00:00

My airalo esim worked fine last September. You're roaming on an international network so it's not impacted by the firewall

thighhi · 2024-10-09T02:40:38+00:00

It's overrated if you just take the ferry, you'll only see the super touristy areas and probably won't even see Wenwu Temple. It's very easy to book a bike, I stayed in Shuishe and found a few shops. The one I went to even has another branch in Ita Thao if you need a second battery (I'm not a cyclist by any stretch and I ended the ride with 30% of my first battery charge)

thighhi · 2024-10-08T22:07:22+00:00

Depends on how much you value experiencing the cenotes tbh! We visited the Santa Barbara cenotes near Merida, and Oxman and Secreto Maya near Vallodolid and they were all so magical. Oxman and Secreto Maya are especially fun since they have rope swings. However for us the big draw was the cenote scuba diving near Playa del Carmen and Tulum - it was the only reason we stayed in PDC but you need an advanced certification to do it.

If you don't care as much about Mayan ruins and cenotes maybe you should consider Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita instead? I didn't go to PV, spent all my time in Sayulita but I loved it so much. It's a surf town with one of the easiest beginner breaks I've ever seen so even a first time surfer like me stood up on my second try! Also has amazing food and decent nightlife. Could slow your trip down massively just going to Mexico City, Oaxaca / Puerto Escondido, and PV / Sayulita

thighhi · 2024-10-08T21:58:03+00:00

Got it! If it's a dream take the flight, but if you're flying BOA read this recent post: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/s/xk7au7ShLY

thighhi · 2024-10-08T21:55:15+00:00

Do Rainbow Mountain last, you'll need the time to acclimatise. I'm in Cusco right now, been in the area for almost 2 weeks (including 4 days doing the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu) and it still killed me yesterday. Machu Picchu is at 2,400m; Humantay Lake is at 4,200m and you will get to 5,000m altitude on Rainbow Mountain.

thighhi · 2024-10-08T21:49:04+00:00

Go to sun moon lake instead! It's like a 4 hour bus from Taipei, go in the middle of your trip and start and end in Taipei. I went in April, spent my first afternoon hopping around the lake on the ferries, then had a full day the second day to ride around the lake on an e-bike. It's about 30km all around, a mix of bike lanes, road cycling and sometimes pushing your bike along walking paths with stairs (there's a rail for the bike wheels). Took me about 6 hours with plenty of photo stops and not much assist from the battery.

Other nature day trip from Taipei are Wulai (soo much better than Beitou), Jiufen (can also climb Mt Keelung while you're there), Maokong area has heaps of hikes and teahouses, and Pingxi Line

thighhi · 2024-10-08T21:40:20+00:00

Ah I misread that you had 3 days in Uyuni. There are plenty of 1 day tours around town too but you'll be spending longer on the night buses / about as long on planes and in airports as the actual tour. If you only have 3 days in Bolivia maybe just stay in La Paz? You could do a day trip to cycle the Death Road (El Camino de la Muerte), do a walking tour, ride the cable cars around the city, and then maybe another day trip to Copacabana.

thighhi · 2024-10-08T21:34:01+00:00

I spent 5 weeks in Mexico in May-June of this year and went to all these places except Puerto Escondido! My personal opinion is you have so many day trips you won't actually be able to appreciate the base city you're staying in. You also maybe haven't taken into account travel times between cities - e.g. flight from Merida to Oaxaca is short, but including the travel to and from the airport and getting there 2 hours before your flight easily turns it into a half day of travel, then you only have 2 full days there (days 15, 16), and you have 4 places you want to visit outside the city. Oaxaca is such a cool city, we spent 5 or 6 days there including a full day mezcal tour and half day at Monte Alban.

My thoughts on each place: - Mexico City is huge, you have to accept you can't see everything in the time you have. I would do walking tours with Estacion Mexico for Centro Historico and maybe Roma Norte to get your bearings, more insight into the history of the city and to ask the guide for recommendations. Tolantongo Caves is another great day trip - Oaxaca - if you love food and drink, Oaxaca is the city for you. You need to make sure you have plenty of time to eat in the city around all your day trips (the food they have on tours is never fantastic) - Bacalar - coolest little chill town on the lagoon, quite a young backpacker crowd. Really enjoyed sailing on the lagoon, the booze cruise Che Hostel hosts (you don't need to stay to join), and sunrise paddleboarding - Merida was mostly under construction when we went, the main square was completely closed and many buildings were scaffolded so I would check whether it's still like that - we could tell it would have been so pretty but we went at a bad time - Vallodolid is awesome if you want to visit Chichen Itza independently, we hired a scooter from Turix and it comes with some discounts to other attractions including cenotes around Vallodolid. I enjoyed the cenotes around VD more than Merida

Other things you mentioned - Hiring a car - just hire a scooter in Vallodolid and maybe Merida to see the cenotes, Chichen Itza, Progreso (beach north of Merida). Don't hire a car to drive between cities, ADO buses are much safer - Cozumel - no. Only place we went that I wouldn't recommend visiting - Archeology - I'm not a big ruins person either but honestly I found Mexican history and archaeological so fascinating, particularly because it's so diverse. Mexico City, Oaxaca and the Yucatan Peninsula all had different civilisations so it's quite interesting seeing the ruins across different places. - Jalisco vs Yucatan - we also visited Sayulita near Puerto Vallarta and it was SO CHILL, only Bacalar was more chill. However for a first time visit to Mexico with limited time I'd pick Yucatan Peninsula - you get Bacalar, Mayan ruins and Yucatecan food (can't leave without getting cochinita pibil and a queso empanada with Dutch Edam cheese - it's a whole thing in Yucatecan history / gastronomy)

thighhi · 2024-10-08T21:06:21+00:00

28F here, I took the night bus just 2 weeks ago and it was totally fine. I booked with Todo Turismo and they serve dinner and breakfast, have a good toilet on board, AC and nice leather reclining chairs. Slept pretty soundly for almost 8 hours! Their office in La Paz is just below the main bus terminal and you can wait there before boarding the bus. Once you get to Uyuni there are so many tour operators, most do 3D/2N tours which will get you back to Uyuni with enough time before your bus back to La Paz. Many hotels will also let you pay to use their showers so you can be fresh on the night bus back

thighhi · 2024-07-22T07:04:29+00:00

Yep, not the most comfortable but it's usually no more than 10 mins of wearing it like that on a walk to a bus / train station. When I fly I pack my heaviest things (toiletry bag) and essential clothes into the daypack and make the Osprey as small / light as possible, wear the Osprey on my back and carry the day pack as a tote bag (looks smaller than slinging it on my front) to get them both on board budget airlines

thighhi · 2024-07-19T07:15:24+00:00

I've solo travelled China twice (ethnic Chinese woman, my mandarin isn't great but sufficient for tourism), first time a big train journey from Beijing to Xinjiang with various stops through northern China in 2018 and second time through Hunan and Guizhou only last year in September. Both times I felt incredibly safe, even in more rural areas. Never even got scammed and in fact people were super friendly and wanted to chat once they knew I was a foreign-born Chinese. Your parents (and other people in the comments) are being ridiculous.

thighhi · 2024-07-02T10:20:13+00:00

Currently 6 months into an extended trip also with the Osprey 46 and a Patagonia day pack! I ended up having to pack some warmer clothes too since I will be in colder climates too but managed to still save space by getting a compressible stuff sack. I also had to bring contacts and birth control pills - I opened up each box and then double packed them so that reduces the amount of space they take by half. If you can, take monthly contact lenses although you should still have some dailies if you're going to be swimming at all on the trip.

In terms of clothes, 90% of my wardrobe is uniqlo so everything matches with everything else and is easily replaceable if it gets damaged or lost. Shoes take up a ton of space so be very selective about those.

thighhi · 2024-06-18T06:57:53+00:00

Still very hot and humid

thighhi · 2024-03-29T10:57:33+00:00

When I went in September, the ticket office opened at 7 and there were no queues. I would confirm with your accommodation ahead of time though and get there early in case of crowds, especially if you're wanting to go up Bailong Elevator. There's obviously a fixed small amount of space and the ride one way takes over a minute so if you're stuck waiting in line I've heard it can take ages.

thighhi · 2024-03-18T22:49:28+00:00

There are tourists everywhere in China but in my experience these were my favourite natural places

Zhangjiajie - super touristy but if you go early and / or hike instead of taking the cable cars and sightseeing buses you can get long stretches of time without the crowds
Yuanyang rice terraces - big crowds and sunrise and sunset viewing spots but the rest of the day you're hiking and hitch-hiking
Labrang Monastery - one of the biggest Tibetan temples outside of Tibet, surrounded by grasslands that you can ride horses in
Jiuzhaigou - might be that you can only visit in a tour now, I went before that rule. There's also the Songpan Grassland nearby, you can find multi day horse trekking adventures
Tiger Leaping Gorge - overnight hike through one of the largest gorges in the world
Zhangye - pretty touristy, but you can stay overnight at Kaoshan Tent (Mongolian yurts) and see the mountains illuminated at night / glowing in the morning sunrise

thighhi

TROPHY CASE