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Posts: 4530

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Q: Coolest place you have...

ever been?  Ok, seeing as how most of us who post on here have traveled a bit more than the average stiff, I will propose that we each get to list the Top 3.  I also hope we can make some sort of statement regarding so that we may for one, justify our choice, and for two, entice others to visit.

 

OK, duh, I'll go first.....  tough choices here....  but here goes....

 

I. Tikal, Guatemala.     now I am talking about ages ago before it became 'trendy' and turned into a Disneyesque attraction. I mean ages ago when it was hard to get to.  haha,,, I still remember chillin' with the Macaques (sp?) up at the top.  They were cool creatures,,,  very chill,, loved humans,,, and thought we were saps...  haha,,, they'd steal anything (sandwich, camera, water bottle...) if u dropped your guard even a second...

 

II.  Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. same as Tikal,, it was a rare outsider who ever showed up there.  Some folks made it to Cuba way back then (80's,90's), but numbers dropped porportionately for Isla de la...  that made it enjoyable,,,,  barely felt like being on the Earth...  talk about an overlooked place that was still glorious....  cool ass Caribbean beaches and nobody around (except locals) to gum up the works.

 

III.  Diving off of Burma in the Andaman Sea....  Guess just because it was some of my best diving with Giant Mantas,,,  now that's a dive!

 

ok,, you guys chime in....  

 

*yeah, I purposely didn't include a China component because people are saying ECC is done for... this is my way of helping her sign-off

 

 

4 years 48 weeks ago in  Transport & Travel - China

 
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1) Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota in January. So quiet I could literally hear snowflakes hitting the ground. 

2) Bearthooth Mountain Wilderness, Montana. Great trout fishing, and skys so clear I could read by moonlight.

3) Timbavarti Wildlife Preserve, South Africa. "Safari" Tourism on foot. Close encounters with a lot of wildlife.

diverdude1:

good answer. Your first one reminds me of some places I spent time in Alaska.,,, Denali National Park...

4 years 48 weeks ago
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Stiggs:

Mate, 1 and 2 sound like some places in New Zealand I was thinking about when I saw this question. Some places... words, or even pictures just can't do it justice. You have to be there doing it to really understand.

4 years 48 weeks ago
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4 years 48 weeks ago
 
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1) Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota in January. So quiet I could literally hear snowflakes hitting the ground. 

2) Bearthooth Mountain Wilderness, Montana. Great trout fishing, and skys so clear I could read by moonlight.

3) Timbavarti Wildlife Preserve, South Africa. "Safari" Tourism on foot. Close encounters with a lot of wildlife.

diverdude1:

good answer. Your first one reminds me of some places I spent time in Alaska.,,, Denali National Park...

4 years 48 weeks ago
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Stiggs:

Mate, 1 and 2 sound like some places in New Zealand I was thinking about when I saw this question. Some places... words, or even pictures just can't do it justice. You have to be there doing it to really understand.

4 years 48 weeks ago
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1,Diving in Sipadan sempora Malaysia.great variety  of fish,super clean water and beautiful beaches.

2,Serthar buddist college(Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Profecture,sichuan province),thousands of red wooden house in the mountain (altitude 4000 +meter high)

3,Xining (Qinghai province) a city no need airconditional, delicious food (lamb,beef,fruits are super sweet since the sunshine is very strong),a combination of Muslin and Buddism culture makes it very interesting

4,Colorado ,US

5,Diving in Apo island, Philippines. quiet ,beautiful ,relaxing,cheap .not many tourists.

Stiggs:

Those places sound awesome, especially the dive spots. Anywhere with good diving gets my interest.

 

 

4 years 48 weeks ago
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diverdude1:

oh,,  haha,, I read that as 'Denver' and I was confused...  but yeah,,, Colorado itself is a nice place.  Used to hang-out around Aspen some,,,  and that place just down the road ..  Colorado Springs,,,  for folks who didn't quite have Aspen moneyy....

4 years 48 weeks ago
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1. Half dome in Yosemite park, pretty cool climb up and spectacular views. 

2. Pompei, wandering around the ruins and the crazy monuments and sneaking into the closed off houses 

3. Free diving with the whale sharks in the south of Cebu

diverdude1:

yeah,,  I've done Yosemite,,,  with my ex,,,  certainly one of the most beautiful places in North America.   Dove with the Whale Sharks too,,, got the t-shirt,,  haha,,,  Moalboal, south tip of Cebu....  I was gonna put them on my list,,,  but those dives w/ Giant Mantas in the Andaman just squeaked past....   of course I had a really good encounter out there,,,  kinda like Stiggs said, hard to express in words,,,  just somethin' about the feminine nature and grace of the Giant Manta...  what a magnificent creature!

4 years 48 weeks ago
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I've been to a lot of places that were cool in their own way, mostly only because of the great times I've had with mates there though, or sentimental reasons rather than the place itself. If I put them here people would probably say meh... tourist trap, or something similar. And they'd be right, sort of.

 

One place that stands out for me personally though is Koh Tao, Thailand. I first went there in 2002 I think, and couldn't get enough of the clear water and reefs there. Since then it has gotten a bit too touristy and obnoxious on the two main beaches for my liking but some of the smaller beaches are still really nice. it's one of those places I like to go to on my own to just chill out.

It's a scuba diving island so there are lots of boats going out to the dive sites which is great and it's not hard to find a nice quiet place on a beach with great freediving right there, no need for boats etc, you just dive off the beach. When you're not diving you're swinging in a hammock with a good book, a cold beer and listening to the waves break on the beach. Almost heaven.

 

Another place would be on the West coast of the South Island, NZ. It's a very remote area with only a few small towns and settlements along the entire coast of the South Island. The coastline there is wild, there is driftwood washed up on the beach that has been there forever, you can see seals basking on the beach, the fishing and surfing can be awesome depending on the conditions, massive lightning storms come off the Tasman ocean,the sun sets over the sea which is spectacular and if you want to get away from people that's a great place to go because mostly the place is deserted.  

 

I've spent a lot of time there and camped on the beach a few times. One time I was there with some mates. We were maybe 50kms from the nearest small settlement. The sea was flat, like a sheet of glass and the stars and milky way looked close enough to touch.It was just stunning.  We built a huge bonfire, got drunk, bbq'd some steaks and slept on the beach next to the fire. That was focking awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

diverdude1:

well, looks like u just put NZ South Island on my 'bucket list'.

4 years 47 weeks ago
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I was around and almost everywhere, but every place I visited is kind of special and I don't/can't make any favorites.

 

Unforgettable and I miss it dearly is my Ft. Lauderdale's beach stretch by A1A and Nantucket Island waves up North ...

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Iquitos Peru.Nothing like living in the largest city in the world that is not connected by roads. I lived there duriing rainy season. For an entire week it would rain nonstop. It was my favorite climate. 88F and very humid. It was pointless to take a shower there because the minute you would walk out of the shower you were sweating again. In the hostel i stayed at most were there to do Ayahuasca. They asked me to do it a few times but i told them i do not need to spend 1000USD for drugs to hallucinate because i can simply stop taking the ones my doctors would prescribe and I wil see aliens outside my windows and the goddess Kali telling me to leave the USA as I am in danger there. Besides I already know everyone wants to hurt me and I will only be safe when i am on the plalnet pluto. When the USA I was always scared someone was watching me. Now in China I do not have to worry about the USA spying on me.

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If you ever get the chance to come to Australia...try get out to Canarvon Gorge in western Queensland

icnif77:

I must go  to Ozz ...  ... one day.

4 years 47 weeks ago
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Stiggs:

I spent some time on the coast in Queensland, the Mission Beach - Innisfail area.

 

I'd loved the place, that was when I started thinking I wanted to leave China and go live near a beach again.

 

Had to laugh.. there were signs everywhere on the beaches warning about crocodiles and various horrible stingy creatures there and I saw a couple of decent sized sharks right off the beach but the locals didn't seem to give a shit, they just swam like it was their local community swimming pool. No fu*cks given.

 

 

4 years 46 weeks ago
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philbravery:

The trick is to go in after the tourists have been eaten....full stomachs and your safe

4 years 46 weeks ago
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Stiggs:

That's good to remember. I don't remember seeing many tourists on the beach though, I think they were all either chasing the cute wallabies - they are everywhere there, crapping on people's lawns and being hit by cars - or being chased by those dinosaur looking cassowaries.

4 years 46 weeks ago
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A: In my personal experience, teaching certificates have varied in releva
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