Visiting somewhere other than Japan

[Lady In The Willows]

How is Venice as a place to visit?

[TinyRedLeaf]

^ Visit it before it sinks.

That's not an idle joke, by the way — the threat is very real. Venice is sinking, and the floods last year were particularly bad.

Environmental disaster aside, Venice is a very romantic city to visit, even if you don't ride on one of its many gondolas (which are, in my opinion, a rip-off). Plenty of museums to visit and grand old houses to gawk at; many long, winding alleys to stroll through and arched bridges to cross; Piazza San Marco is the iconic gathering place where all tourist (and pigeons) throng — it's a great place for people-watching; the Arsenal, where ships and cannons used to be built, is a nice, quiet historical area to explore; and lastly, it's a city of delectable deserts, especially tiramisu ice cream.

If you get tired of walking the city, you can always take along some snacks and sit somewhere along the Rialto to watch the sunset, while listening to the sound of gently lapping waves.

However, bear in mind that Venice is one of the most expensive cities in Italy to visit. Eating there is definitely not cheap, by European standards. If you're willing to slum it out, there are hostels in the city that offer basic amenities. It's not a city you can afford to stay in for long if you're on a tight budget.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by pilipok

sg is a fine city ..
come and visit during august
mayb u can catch our national day parade

Yes FINE CITY.

Well if you want I wouldn't really recommend Singapore. It is too modernised for a getaway. Try New Zealand or South Korea.

Israel would be a nice place to visit if not for the Qassam rockets flying on a daily basis.

Oh yes, try Vatican City, Rome.

[TobiaSR32]

Go to Greece. Athens, the Greek Isles.... I guarantee you'll love it.

[lixuelai]

I was all set to go to Greece but I couldn't get a Visa in time. Planned on taking a Mediterranean cruise with college friends and visiting Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

[bbduece]

I would like to know how does the dollar stack up in venice? What is the cost range for food, transportation and hotel.

[Shadow Kira01]

Ministry of Tourism announces incentives for visit India year 2009

Since the Mumbai terror attacks, India is now trying to boost promotion of its tourism. It's been awhile since something tragic and horrifying had occurred, so I am guessing that the best place for people to go as tourists right now would be no other place than India!

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Yes FINE CITY.

Well if you want I wouldn't really recommend Singapore.

As the Government says, "Come for the F1, stay for Xmas "

It is too modernised for a getaway. Try New Zealand or South Korea.

Not really. Do your shopping in Singapore, plan your getaway in Malaysia. You only need to drive up the bridge. Yes, THE bridge that is heavily congested everyday. Might get a Guiness world Record soon.

Israel would be a nice place to visit if not for the Qassam rockets flying on a daily basis.

Unless you're Christian/Jew, don't ever bother. It's nothing more spectacular than its Arab neighbours. You might as well be visiting Dubai.

Oh yes, try Vatican City, Rome.

Only if you're Catholic, it's very boring otherwise.

I would like to know how does the dollar stack up in venice?

Not good. They use the Euro, and Italian cost-of-living is pretty high, comparable to other West European countries.

Planning on visiting Taipei [and Northern Taiwan]... any ideas?

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by ShimatheKat

As the Government says, "Come for the F1, stay for Xmas "



Not really. Do your shopping in Singapore, plan your getaway in Malaysia. You only need to drive up the bridge. Yes, THE bridge that is heavily congested everyday. Might get a Guiness world Record soon.

Unless you're Christian/Jew, don't ever bother. It's nothing more spectacular than its Arab neighbours. You might as well be visiting Dubai.



Only if you're Catholic, it's very boring otherwise.



Not good. They use the Euro, and Italian cost-of-living is pretty high, comparable to other West European countries.

Planning on visiting Taipei [and Northern Taiwan]... any ideas?

Nah.....2nd link isn't that bad.

Seriously though.....unless you want shopping at some place resembling a more modern Hong Kong or Taipei, don't come to S'pore. There's nothing much here for the casual visitor besides that.

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Nah.....2nd link isn't that bad.

Seriously though.....unless you want shopping at some place resembling a more modern Hong Kong or Taipei, don't come to S'pore. There's nothing much here for the casual visitor besides that.

You kidding? O.o
I absolutely adored singapore, spent 1 week there and it was enough. (in 2005)
Went to Sentosa (wanna live there, lol) - man the light show was cool, but i think the 'jazz on the beach' event was one of my top moments. Chilling on sandy beaches listening to live music~ <3
Did self walking tours of all the districts (Muslims, chinese, indians, european and one more i forgot, but it was of a ethnic group who were known for a certain kind of pattern for their cloth....grr forgot, lol)
I think laksa is one of the famous dishes, i ate soooooooo much gorgeous food there of all cultures that reside in Singapore
Went to the night sarfari (zoos at night, tons of fun when on your own, esp with the bats, singapore doesn't believe in fences)
The harbour was gorgeous, esp at night and all the sea food *drool*
Singapore is a lovely bubbling pot of multiculuture of 4 worlds in a tiny ass island, truly don't regret a moment of it

As with most places, it's what you make of it despite if a country is reknown for a certain feature. Doesn't mean you have to adhere by it.
I declare natives are not allowed to mention their own countries cause we never see the beauty of something we've known all our lives. I can say the same for London, but to you guys you'll prob have an amazing time in ways that are 'meh' to me.

[Kusa-San]

Well, i'd like to go to America (especially New York ), to Japan of course, to Africa etc...The truth is i want to go to every beautiful place in the world ! Our planet is beautiful so i want to see every beautiful part of it before something bad happen

But i love very much my own country because i think France is really beautiful with beautiful city such as Paris *_*. And our climate is really varied !

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Nah.....2nd link isn't that bad.

But it's EXPENSIVE to use! RM1.80 + RM3.10 + RM10.80 + RM9.60 + S$4.60 = S$15. Yeowch.

Seriously though.....unless you want shopping at some place resembling a more modern Hong Kong or Taipei, don't come to S'pore. There's nothing much here for the casual visitor besides that.

Well... maybe in Singapore, it pays to do your research first.There are hidden gems in Singapore, but not everybody bothers looking.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Mystique

I declare natives are not allowed to mention their own countries cause we never see the beauty of something we've known all our lives. I can say the same for London, but to you guys you'll prob have an amazing time in ways that are 'meh' to me.

Not true. London stinks, especially in the summer.

(Britons don't bathe regularly enough! )



London is nice enough for those who like shopping and West End musicals. But seeing London without seeing the rest of Britain will be a great pity. Visit the country now, while the sterling pound is at its lowest in 10 years!

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Not true. London stinks, especially in the summer.

(Britons don't bathe regularly enough! )



London is nice enough for those who like shopping and West End musicals. But seeing London without seeing the rest of Britain will be a great pity. Visit the country now, while the sterling pound is at its lowest in 10 years!

Not the best idea you can give. En route to Australia, I was in transit in Singapore, and I wanted to buy AUD. It happened that there were no AUD left, since it was like the first time AUD was smaller than SGD, in like, forever.

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Not true. London stinks, especially in the summer.

(Britons don't bathe regularly enough! )



London is nice enough for those who like shopping and West End musicals.

So the castles, cathedrals, government buildings, bridges, parks, libraries British museum (freaking free) and other musuems, pubs, multi culture cusine choices and public spaces (Leicester Sq, Traflagar SQ) etc have nooooothing to do with attracting tourists eh?

But seeing London without seeing the rest of Britain will be a great pity. Visit the country now, while the sterling pound is at its lowest in 10 years!

Agreed in that, since we're suffering, come visit the country cause you'll never see it this cheap
London = multi cultural world of crazies
Rest of England = typical countryside stuffs and more historical sites from BC/ early AD times.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Agreed in that, since we're suffering, come visit the country cause you'll never see it this cheap
London = multi cultural world of crazies

Actually TRL is making a call to all EPL fans to head down to Manchester, Liverpool, Chelsea, whatever, to root for your adopted EPL side.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Mystique

You kidding? O.o
I absolutely adored singapore, spent 1 week there and it was enough. (in 2005)
Went to Sentosa (wanna live there, lol) - man the light show was cool, but i think the 'jazz on the beach' event was one of my top moments. Chilling on sandy beaches listening to live music~ <3
Did self walking tours of all the districts (Muslims, chinese, indians, european and one more i forgot, but it was of a ethnic group who were known for a certain kind of pattern for their cloth....grr forgot, lol)
I think laksa is one of the famous dishes, i ate soooooooo much gorgeous food there of all cultures that reside in Singapore
Went to the night sarfari (zoos at night, tons of fun when on your own, esp with the bats, singapore doesn't believe in fences)
The harbour was gorgeous, esp at night and all the sea food *drool*
Singapore is a lovely bubbling pot of multiculuture of 4 worlds in a tiny ass island, truly don't regret a moment of it

As with most places, it's what you make of it despite if a country is reknown for a certain feature. Doesn't mean you have to adhere by it.
I declare natives are not allowed to mention their own countries cause we never see the beauty of something we've known all our lives. I can say the same for London, but to you guys you'll prob have an amazing time in ways that are 'meh' to me.

You like sentosa currently? It's a far cry from what it was back in the 90s. Largely covered with construction works now and most attractions demolished.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

You like sentosa currently? It's a far cry from what it was back in the 90s. Largely covered with construction works now and most attractions demolished.

Sentosa is a national tourist magnet-cum-insider joke meant to attract dumb foreigners to visit. I knew better.

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

You like sentosa currently? It's a far cry from what it was back in the 90s. Largely covered with construction works now and most attractions demolished.

I don't know how currently is currently, as i said i went 3 and a half years ago.
I did hear that the laser show was no more though
Probably at the time I went it was incredibly ideal, ah well, I got the memories

Originally Posted by ShimatheKat

Sentosa is a national tourist magnet-cum-insider joke meant to attract dumb foreigners to visit. I knew better.

It is a tourist trap, and I was a tourist. Most countries and cities will have specific attractions to invite tourists that the locals may avoid.
Your point ShimatheKat?
My friends in singapore prefer to hop over to Taiwan they said if they had to visit a beach and once you've been to Sentosa a few times it loses it's appeal (fair enough)
But to call me dumb (well how else am I to take your sentence smith) I don't think you know any 'better' for not going, in fact you prob missed out.
What did i experience for going there?
Well i got to see a dolphin up close and personal (and sadly i had no change of clothes, else i'd have tried to volunteer to wade in the water with it)
Not many places I know you can do that without a special package deal.
Jazz in the beach concert occured, got to get upclose and personal with an albino snake (that was gorgeous)
Then the generic light show and they had one attraction that depicted the history of Singapore.
While you natives may have learnt it to death at school, I loved the interactive attraction to see how the country was formed, how 4 main diff ethnic groups coincide, what ideals the country has and what makes singapore special, rather have gone there than visit a boring museum (that i'd prob have had to pay for) to check out the entire history of singapore.

If I had to be 'dumb' to experience and learn all that, then I'd rather be so then stuck up about it ShimatheKat. We only live once, and I saw/experienced things I'll probably never get the chance to again, (plus I'm a city slicker, i crave the beach)
Just chilling, watching natives play volleyball was cool, listening to the sea *wants to go back, lol*

Ah well, to each their own, I had a fantastic time

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Mystique

I don't know how currently is currently, as i said i went 3 and a half years ago.
I did hear that the laser show was no more though
Probably at the time I went it was incredibly ideal, ah well, I got the memories

Lucky you.

It is a tourist trap, and I was a tourist. Most countries and cities will have specific attractions to invite tourists that the locals may avoid.
Your point ShimatheKat?

I've been there 5 times, and every time, it's always the same stuff. I bet Vivocity changes its shops more often that Sentosa changes its festivities/events.

My friends in singapore prefer to hop over to Taiwan they said if they had to visit a beach and once you've been to Sentosa a few times it loses it's appeal (fair enough)

I actually agree with them.

But to call me dumb (well how else am I to take your sentence smith)

It's no personal attack, really.

I don't think you know any 'better' for not going, in fact you prob missed out.

Five times over. Who said I didn't?

What did i experience for going there?
Well i got to see a dolphin up close and personal (and sadly i had no change of clothes, else i'd have tried to volunteer to wade in the water with it)

There was no Dolphin Lagoon then, AFAIK.

Not many places I know you can do that without a special package deal.

Usually, the admission covers everything, and I'd prefer that. At Sentosa, it's a pay for what you use system, and you have to queue up every time. I don't fancy that.

Jazz in the beach concert occured,

Bali has that too, before 911.

Then the generic light show and they had one attraction that depicted the history of Singapore.
While you natives may have learnt it to death at school, I loved the interactive attraction to see how the country was formed, how 4 main diff ethnic groups coincide, what ideals the country has and what makes singapore special, rather have gone there than visit a boring museum (that i'd prob have had to pay for) to check out the entire history of singapore.

You have a point there.

If I had to be 'dumb' to experience and learn all that, then I'd rather be so then stuck up about it ShimatheKat

.

I'm not stuck up, I've actually been that dumb to go 5 times [3 with the school, no less]

Ah well, to each their own, I had a fantastic time