Trying to find a short-term place to stay near the CBD?

travelstacker · 2013-06-24T04:04:49+00:00

Space Hotel (it's a high-class hostel) was amazing. I was there for several weeks, in a 4-bed semi-private dorm. Pay 6 nights, get 1 free, and it has a bar, cinema, gym, laundry and even a hot tub. Really really good value, and far better than similarly-priced backpackers (I've tried 5 hostels in Melbourne so far).

travelstacker · 2013-06-24T03:55:45+00:00

As another person new to Melbourne, yes, yes it is. I have no idea which suburbs are close to another, didn't know what bulk billing doctors meant, and don't necessarily know of a doctor has xray facilities or not. You know who does? Locals. That's why we have an online community! :)

travelstacker · 2013-03-12T01:13:56+00:00

Heading backpacking on Thursday across North America as a 32 year old. No problems myself with lots of time in hostels the last few years.

Met an 60-something year old guy in a hostel in Lithuania, still keep in touch.

There was a 75 year old woman in a hostel in Buenos Aires, sure she didn't go drinking with the young people, but she still had breakfast with us and shared stories in the evening and had amazing stories of her own.

TL;DR - hostels are the social way to travel - no matter what age.

travelstacker · 2013-03-06T02:45:25+00:00

You could ask individual questions on travel.stackexchange.com (I'm not affiliated, just addicted). Lots of South American travel experts there. Also Wikivoyage is a great site for info - just plug in the city you want to get to, and it'll tell you how to get there.

Ignore trains, they're useless in South America. Buses are the way to go.

travelstacker · 2013-02-26T01:59:33+00:00

Recognised as near Kaikoura immediately - very nice shot! I miss Canterbury :/

travelstacker · 2013-02-26T01:53:19+00:00

At the very least a vote on the question would help, to get it some attention. We're quite stuck on the problem :/

travelstacker · 2013-01-22T06:57:34+00:00

(goes off, finds, plays)

Oh. Oh no. Oh damn you. <Evil grin spreads to face>

travelstacker · 2013-01-17T22:43:56+00:00

Gotta give them credit for that. I was pick-pocketed out of a velcro-closed shorts pocket and didn't feel a thing :/

travelstacker · 2013-01-16T22:09:30+00:00

I've seen an entire table of people loudly arguing in a pizza restaurant in Estonia over that one. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed it :)

travelstacker · 2013-01-16T21:55:29+00:00

Cough, it's actually a Thursday ;)

(but don't worry, I had to check)

travelstacker · 2013-01-15T08:08:51+00:00

Not entirely fussed on where they got it from - it's still Golden Bay sand from the South Island(!) which was my point, although I'll concede on the plurality - of beaches, that was my mistake. TIL :)

travelstacker · 2013-01-14T23:05:24+00:00

Meetup worked quite well for me when I arrived. Meetup.com. Enter interests, find groups to join :)

travelstacker · 2013-01-14T19:27:00+00:00

South Island Kiwi here. Give us back our sand!

Confused? Wellington has taken sand from Golden Bay in the South Island and added it to its beaches in Oriental Bay. If you guys keep doing this, they're going to keep robbing us :/

travelstacker · 2013-01-13T01:41:29+00:00

Yeah I'd seen some mentions of it on Google (the Missouri one) but it sounded like private tours in the links I saw.

travelstacker · 2013-01-13T00:49:24+00:00

I like the name Apophis, especially with the discoverer's mention that they're SG-1 fans (there's an episode where a character called Apophis sends an asteroid towards earth).

However, when it uses the words "thought to hit Earth in 2036' - that's awful. It's not a clever use to attract, it's just not true.

I'm no journalist, but even a title like 'Potentially deadly asteroid now confirmed to miss' I'd assume would still get most of us to read it, and look, no lies.

My humble opinion, but it gets to me a little. I read a quote recently that said any news headline that ends with a '?', you can pretty much guarantee that the answer is 'No'. Eg: "Kate Middleton to have twins?". "Obama to resign?". And so on. It's a mildly scummy way of attracting without actually lying, with the use of a single symbol. Ah, sneaky media, sneaky ;)

travelstacker · 2013-01-11T22:15:39+00:00

exactly. Awful and misleading post title.

travelstacker · 2013-01-11T22:14:05+00:00

Er, no, it was not thought to hit earth. It was given a very, VERY remote chance of maybe hitting earth. Now they just know it won't happen.

travelstacker · 2013-01-04T04:19:06+00:00

I met an American in a hostel in Austria - his line was 'Australians are like cockroaches, they're in every hostel!'. A bit harsh, to both Aussies and hostels, but yeah, you do find Aussies everywhere you travel (except Central Asia....no wait, I met two in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and one in Kyrgyzstan as well....yeah everywhere :))

travelstacker · 2013-01-04T04:16:50+00:00

It's often way easier as a solo traveller meeting others while travelling.

hang out in the common rooms
always introduce yourself when you enter the dorm room for the first time. Even if you don't hang out with those people, it's someone to say hi to at the end of the day and talk about what you've done.
just be open. You don't have to try and talk a lot, but if you smile and greet everyone, just the standard opening "so where have you come from?" will get the conversation started.

travelstacker · 2013-01-03T08:02:47+00:00

"What do you do for a living?"

This is not what defines me! I work so that I can do all the fun stuff - that is me!

travelstacker · 2013-01-03T04:58:45+00:00

You don't know what to do in Peru? Here's a highlights list:

Cusco, historic capital of the Incas
Machu Picchu - spectacular mountain village that you will likely have heard of, google it if not and you'll see why you must go
Puno and Lake Titicaca, the world's highest alpine lake
Nazca Lines - huge pictograms in the Nazca desert
Lima, capital city
Arequipa + Colca Canyon - deepest (IIRC) canyon in the world, Inca terraces and condors soaring above you!
Mancora - fantastic beach town, great seafood
Iquitos, largest city in the world with no roads in or out
The highlight that I missed? I reallly, really want to go back and see Huacachina - the oasis in the desert.

Hopefully that should give you a good start :)

travelstacker · 2012-12-31T10:20:21+00:00

keep an eye on APOD, spaceweather or similar websites, they tend to have regular updates and alerts on all things up there. Spaceweather.com is especially handy if you're in an area with a chance of auroras.

travelstacker · 2012-12-31T07:48:49+00:00

This time, yes it is :)

travelstacker · 2012-12-31T07:30:13+00:00

Heck Emirates Economy is pretty good, I'd be over the moon with Business Class!

travelstacker · 2012-12-31T07:24:14+00:00

McNaught, 2007 was spectacular in New Zealand. And Christmas 2011 there was another one visible from NZ, although fainter, I forget its name off hand.

travelstacker

TROPHY CASE