And that’s why I won’t go there. In spring or in October. But I might come to Bay Area in late October.
October 25th will mark our 10th anniversary and among different ideas how to celebrate it, I am entertaining the idea of taking Missus for a mini trip around the globe. This is actually a marketing department way of saying that we would fly both to New Zealand and back home heading west. Needless to say, this all is obviously in an extremely infant planning stage, and depending on money, health, jobs, mood and random Gaussian distribution of events might not take place at all or in a very altered form. But…
I have just checked few airlines and a ticket: Stuttgart -> London -> San Francisco -> Christchurch / Auckland -> Sidney -> Tokyo -> London > Stuttgart with stopovers in every destination can be had under 2000 Eur per person. Squeezing another stopover in, like Fiji or Tahiti is an option, but complicates logistics and makes it more difficult to pull off both financially and from a time-management perspective. If this or a similar option turns out to be what we opt for…
1. Are you in for a late October / early November get together?
1a. Who can get me two tickets for the seventh game of the A’s – Nationals WS, featuring Strasburg versus ehm, Colon?
2. Tips for sightseeing and accommodation in Bay Area (probably three to four nights stopover, Missus was never there, more/less budget travelers)
3. Same as above, but for any of the other destinations or their surroundings listed. No idea how long we would be in each place, I think I would have to limit the whole thing to some five weeks max, which doesn’t leave all that much time for any single destination; let’s say for an argument’s sake that we are talking about: London – 2 nights, SF – 4, NZ – 20, Sydney – 4, Tokyo – 4
4. Is that a good deal for the plane ticket, and where would you look for an alternative if it isn’t.
5. Just float out any ideas for a similar trip, either changing parameters on this one, or throw out a completely different idea. At max I can get away for some 5-6 weeks at the time, there has to be some amazing nature in it, a city or two for the Missus is a plus, but not necessary, possibility of some hiking, kayaking, cliff diving or something should also be in, but the whole thing has to be adapted to the adventure level of my better half, which is lower than mine. Actually, just float any ideas you might have. Thanks
There are a lot of hiking and natural sightseeing opportunities within a couple hours’ drive from the Bay Area. Kitty and I have a favorite (relatively) inexpensive hotel in San Francisco, but if you’re going to be renting a car and looking to economize on the accommodations front, talk to wacchampions, of course.
Kitty and I really think it’s stupid and shortsighted of the Cubs not to let you work from home.
up
Thanks. Actually this title is by accident/lack of inspiration. I wanted to put “October” in it and googled for October quotes, and that’s what came up.
Twenty days in New Zealand sounds awesome. I’ve done a lousy job at touring around on my various stops there, but I can quiz some of my coworkers for their suggestions of good spots. Off the top of my head, I have heard that the whale watching in Kaikoura is great and also the fjords in the southwest (Milford Sound, for example).
up
Cool, thanks. I was thinking about renting a motorhome for the more less whole period, although I would like to squeeze a Mt Cook ascent into the trip, which would mean that I’d have it standing idle for 5-6 days.
up
BRB CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN REAL QUICK
up
I see why Slusser thought you were funny
up
The guy who worked as a the South Pole breakfast cook this past season keeps a blog with pretty good photos. He’s off ice now and recently posted a bunch of pictures from Mt Cook here.
1. Absolutely in for a late October/early November get together.
4. Without doing any research, it sounds like a good price to me. Hipmunk.com is a good site to check your travel plans against/book through.
The Autumn Wind is a Raider.
up
If the Dykes are having a good season I might target that home game vs. Arizona on 11/2, especially if the scheduling happened to coincide with an EC FKup.
If you had one and only one day for hiking in the Bay Area, I’d spend it on Mt. Tamalpais and environs.
up
I would be interested in an NFL game, too. Could be a good trigger for a FKup. Not sure if we could get the Niners fans to go to the Raiders game or vice versa
So I have dates lined up for those days, but I could cancel them for you.
up
That’s probably the safest course, because once ec is in town they’d all cancel on you to try to be near him anyway.
1. Absolutely in for a get together.
I’ve been to NZ and Australia. Some cool things I’ve done in NZ: cave tubing and getting glow worm tours in the caves. Also just general sight seeing.
As for Australia, my favorite place in the world is Coolangatta, Australia but it’s much closer to Brisbane then Sydney. If you want any more ideas on Australia places, I’ve been almost everywhere there.
up
Of course, if you’re here we’ll have a FKup. I haven’t spent a lot of time in Australia, but I did love Perth in WA. If I’d had more time I would have loved to go up the coast and swim with the whale sharks. Also, if you do decide to stop in Tahiti, I’d go to Moorea (next island over), almost as beautiful as Bora Bora for a lot cheaper.
up
Thanks. Do you know where exactly you can swim with them?
up
Ningaloo Reef. Looks like you might be out of luck timing-wise.
up
Any specific cave to recommend?
up
Waitomo is the one I did (and if you google New Zealand cave tubing, it’s the main results that come up). Seems like it’s gone up a bit in price since I did it. When I went, the biggest drag was that the water was super cold, but given your timing, it should be a little warmer (when I went it was mid August).
I got something I’d like you to bring back for me from NZ. If you don’t mind.
up
Go by way of Indonesia, they go easy on smugglers there I hear.
up
Good call, thanks. Oh, and I can provide the chloroform if need be, EC. Although if you knock on her door, I’m pretty sure you won’t need it.
up
I didn’t realize you had a specific koala in mind
up
I assume it’s a comely Hobbitess.
up
Gin. Wigmore.
Hi, I might know something about room accommodations…
up
Between your hotel connects and ptbnl’s air travel wizardry, America will be paying elcroata to come visit us. Which of course is as it should be.
up
I went by the red lion the other day when I was at OAK for work to say hi and was told you weren’t with them anymore. What are you up to these days?
up
Long long story….
up
I got lots of time.
up
Heh, I actually forgot about that. Awesome! If the plans get any more solid, I’ll shoot you an e-mail, OK?
up
Ok, no problem!
So are you planning on hotels/hostels or is accommodation useful to you? London, Oakland and Sydney may be possible.
Which airlines/airports are on that ticket? A multi-stop round-the-world ticket is trickier to blag, but I might be able to upgrade you on any Star Alliance legs.
up
I am open to everything and accommodation is always helpful as it could shift the portions of finite budget towards longer stay, more stuff to do.
That quote is directly from New Zealand Air (or Air New Zealand or whatever they are called). Again, the exact places on the list are not fixed, so if you know of something better that would say, not include Tokyo I wouldn’t have much problem with that.
My priorities right now on that trip would be:
1. Get to New Zealand and spend majority of the time there
2. Have all stopovers be prolonged ones, at least two days. My wife is not that much into air travel and I don’t want to put her through any 30 hour legs
Apart from that I would like to make stops in California, meet up with you guys, see at least a bit of Australia as it’s far away and I’m almost there and see something else interesting on any of the stopovers.
up
I’ve never flown Air New Zealand, but it’s probably the right choice if you are flying through San Francisco. The alternative is Qantas, but they go through LA or Dallas. It might be worth checking the price for SF->LA->NZ.
up
sfo lax nz is usually way cheaper
up
You’ve been to NZ, too?
up
i havent its been on my list and i was checking out flights. I haven’t ever had a paid vacation in my life.
up
what is your definition of paid vacation?
up
where i am paid by work but not with compensation days that i earned by working more than I would be normally required.
up
so, you were either unemployed or employed on contracts with no vacation?
also, what is the context to you not being to NZ? lot of people who travel don’t do it in your definition of paid vacation
up
Ive been unemployed a fair amount, but I was just remarking that im 26 almost 27 and never actually used vacation much of that is because I often use vacation and a buffer in case I get fired and cant get unemployment.
up
Is that common in the UK? I don’t think it’s terribly common in the US, but then I could be wrong.
up
is what common in the UK? (and also why UK?)
up
And by UK, I meant Europe. The traveling without paid time off.
up
Anyone who is a free lancer does that. Students who travel on a budget accrued through part time jobs. Same as in the US.
up
Have you ever been to India House in New Orleans? If you ever pass through New Orleans, be sure to stay there.
It’s a backpackers’ hostel with dorms and relatively cheap private rooms. I used to work there a little over 10 years ago. Since New Orleans is one of the handful of must-see American destinations for international backpackers, the place is constantly a World summit meeting. I used to love it when a really deep conversation would break out in multiple languages, and the multilinguals would translate and keep the flow going.
up
I’ve checked their website. ANZ is more user friendly, but I’ll see what prices I get there
up
ANZ is Star Alliance, so my guess is that it includes Lufthansa and United flights.
Are there any fixed points? Does the order of destinations matter (eg. SFO/SYD/AUK rather than SFO/AUK/SYD)?
I’ll take a look once this Cosmic Frontiers workshop is over.
up
Say hi to John and Clem for me! Tell them that I’m hard at work.
up
John Clem was one of the profs on my PhD committee.
I haven’t found anything that beats your price (does €2000 include all taxes?), but I did find the star alliance round the world trip planning tool, and since ANZ is a member it might be a way to see how to tweak your current trip.
Looking at the rules, the fare break is at 26,000 total miles. Start with the fixed points (SFO, AKL/CHC and SYD) and build out. Start from the nearest hub (Frankfurt) and drop London (you can go there any time) and there’s a good service direct to San Francisco, from which Auckland is a direct flight and Sydney’s a short hop beyond.
Now you have to get back to Frankfurt, which is going to require a change. But searching on the end point throws up all the places you could make that change into another stopover; up pop Bangkok, Singapore, Beijing and … Johannesburg! Fancy Africa instead of Asia?
up
Oh man, South Africa is definitely on my list. Thanks a ton, I’ll look at it tomorrow – have my Fantasy Draft in Munich today
up
Love that town.
up
For a young guy from Milwaukee you sure have been to a lot of cool places.
up
I had a look, the options are immense, but it is significantly more expensive than the cheapy I found. I think right now, that it is not within the budget we have planned, but I’ll keep it in my mind. Thanks.
up
Yeah – I took a look at the ANZ site too. Much cheaper flights and a nicer planning tool (albeit with more restricted options).
Let me know what you end up with and we can talk possible upgrades and accommodation.
The Imperial Gardens are worth a visit when you’re in Tokyo. I think the missus may enjoy them quite a bit. The light plays beautifully if you go early in the morning or near dusk. Also less crowded. Depending on where and when you go, you might be able to catch a ball game in the Japan Series.
Any number of temples and monasteries are not too far from Tokyo if Buddhism does anything for you. Bathhouses, indoors and out, are something to experience. I don’t remember the names of the hot springs but there are a few up north. I wouldn’t know but Sukiyabashi Jiro is the place to have sushi. There was a documentary film about it, I think. If it’s as good as they say it’s supposed to be, you probably want to make a reservation six months ago. Ogasawara and Nikko National Parks are in the Kanto region and would get you your nature fix.
Short story, kinda hard to get bored there.
up
Thanks a lot
up
Of course.
One more thing. Tokyo has a great love for and tradition of theater. If you were so inclined, it’d make for a memorable evening.
up
I very much am
up
If you have time while you’re in Tokyo, take the train down to Kamakura. The “big five” Zen temples and the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in are down there. Yokohama is on the way, too– there’s a big Chinatown there and lots of great places to eat.
As for Tokyo proper, everyone has to see Shibuya crossing. Use jet lag to your advantage to catch the Tsukiji fish market as it opens up before dawn. Meiji Jingu Stadium (where the Tokyo Swallows play) is great, and Meiji Shrine itself is very picturesque, especially in the fall. And there’s lots of cool, albeit rebuilt, stuff in Asakusa (Kaminarimon, for instance). If you want to do a day trip for some hiking without heading all the way up to Nikko, take the JR Chuo line to Takao-san. It was less than 1000 yen for a one-way trip not too long ago, and it’s only about an hour away from the city center.
Also, you can get to Kyoto in about two hours by bullet train, if you can budget time for that. It’s a phenomenal city and way more laid back, with considerably less concrete and neon and all that crap.
up
I went to a Yomiuri Giants game at the Tokyo Dome, but didn’t get to Meiji Jingu Stadium. I highly recommend watching some NLB for the fan experience, but Tokyo Dome was a pretty drab place.
up
A friend of mine who goes to Japan almost every year has a couple of cheapish hotels/ryokan that she recommends, and also knows all the Iron Chef restaurants, some of which are not expensive. I’ll get the details from her.
The two places I really want to go in Asia are Okinawa and Hanoi. If only someone would invent a teleportation device.
up
The two places I really want to go in Asia are Bangkok and that meat market in Mongolia that elcroata took pictures of.
up
My top three are Pyongyang, Taketomi-jima, and Jeju-do. I guess I have a thing for isolated, out-of-the-way places with cool regional dialects.
up
Ditto on Okinawa.
This sounds like a typical elcroata vacation
up
In EC’s case that snow leopard gets the FK out of the way and apologizes for nearly causing an accident.
up
Or he lands on it and rides that FKer bareback into town.
I was looking for NFL schedule for the last weekend in October, to see if 49ers or Raiders play at home. The schedules are not yet out, except for one game – Niners play at Wembley…
up
So maybe you go through London after all.
up
I will definitely go through London, because it’s cheaper, and incredibly, Missus has never been there. Whether I’ll go to the game, I don’t know. One place I saw selling tickets, is charging upwards of $200 per ticket.
up
Let me know the dates and I’ll see what’s possible for accommodation.
up
Thanks. Right now it’s looking like 25th to 27th October in London, but it’s still not certain.
up
Any interest in an Arsenal game if they’re playing at home?
up
The NFL releases its full regular-season schedule around the middle of April.
up
How much are the tickets for a Raiders game, btw?
up
up
Wow, I guess it pays to play on Wembley:
One thing that always pisses me off when I have to start the bureaucratic battles called applying for visa is that my country doesn’t show more backbone. You want our citizens to apply for visa to visit your country. OK, but then be prepared to do the same. You want to fingerprint and mug shoot us? Tit for tat. As much as it was unwise and exaggerated, I just loved it when Brazil did their reciprocity thing and fingerprinted US citizens upon arrival.
Right now, to get an American Visa (I actually have a valid one issued in 2010 in my old passport, but I had to get a new passport, because my old was full, and Croatians are not allowed to have their visas moved to new passports), I have to take a day off from work and travel to Frankfurt to be interviewed yet again. In order to see the available time slots so that I can plan my day off, I have to pay $10. No, seriously.
up
Plus, if you have any questions whatsoever (because you might not want to have to travel to Frankfurt again due to some new document that is required), you can call and inquire. They charge you $2.50 per minute, including the time you are on hold.
up
I am trying to decide what is the most ridiculous part of this story. Its hard.
up
We’re trying to balance our budget, damn it!
up
That’s some bullshit. I didn’t need a visa to visit Chile, but they still hit US citizens with a “reciprocity fee”. That was a little more than $100, but it was valid until you get a new passport. I think the Brazil thing is an even better idea, because it really drives home the fact that their action is about the principle of the thing, not just attempt to raise funds.
When I went to China last year, I used a visa processing service, which was convenient because my work paid for it.
up
I did the same with China last year. Even though I paid for it, it is still cheaper than going to Frankfurt/Düsseldorf in person.
up
I think my closest alternative was to take a trip down to New York.
up
It’s not just annoying and slightly ridiculous, it’s having a big impact on our economy.
up
Overseas investors seem to be having no problem.
up
Tourism is still big business, though. Especially in the Bay Area — I remember reading somewhere that SF is the second biggest tourist destination in the US, behind only New York.
up
Visa applications seems to be based on the principle of guilty until proven innocent, and the whole industry that’s developed around manipulating access to embassies is revolting.
up
It is. When you do get an appointment in US Embassy in Frankfurt, they first make you wait in the street, regardless of the weather and although there is more than enough place in the covered entry zone where you wait again until you are called. Also, you are not allowed to carry a cellular phone, for example, and you cannot give it up during security check, either. Meaning that if you have to take a train to Frankfurt and want to use it, you have to hope that there are free lockers on the central station.
up
When I got my visa renewed in Paris (back when you could do that) you dropped your paperwork off at the embassy and came back to pick up your visa a week later.
The pickup point was a hole in the back wall of the embassy at the end of an alley, and was only open for an hour a day. About 3 hours before it opened the line started forming, and soon the alley was jammed with people.
When I finally reached the front of the line and handed my ticket to the little man behind the glass he studied it for a while before announcing “guichet huit” – for some reason my passport had to be picked up at window 8 back inside the embassy.
So I fought my way back out the alley, round the building, in through security, and joined the line for window 8. Finally I reached the front of that line and realized that I was only 15 feet from where I’d been standing in the alley but now inside the building. The very same little man then turned round from the hole in the wall, came to window 8, took my ticket and gave me my passport.
up
What the…
up
Nice.
When I was applying for a German work permit, I was already living in Stuttgart under a student-exchange visa. They made me travel to Croatia, hand in the forms personally at German Embassy in Zagreb, then they sent those same papers per courier back to Stuttgart, thought about it for months, then sent it back to Zagreb, where I had to travel to again to personally pick it up.
up
It’s all just one big FK you.
When I was picking up my green card, the woman at the next window was being told that all of the paperwork that had accumulated in the 5 years since she had started her application in New York had been lost in transit to San Francisco and she was going to have to start over.
And now under UK law I can no longer get a passport in London and instead have to submit all the paperwork to the embassy in Washington together with a blank credit card slip for them to fill in the amount!
up
Mistakes will be made
up
After I got back to Stuttgart the first time — after handing in my request — the time went by without any progress whatsoever. I had to move out of the cheap student dorm, because I was not officially a student anymore, so Virginia and I rented a little place close to my work. It wasn’t expensive, but we had to pay three-months deposit and I wasn’t making any money without the work permit (she was still studying). As weeks went by, we were getting closer to broke. But then, a letter finally came that I should come to the Immigration office in Stuttgart. I went, and while I was gone, Virginia went and used our last money to buy a celebratory dinner. It must have cost some $50 or more, with champaign and everything. It turns out, they only wanted me over to place me from one register into another and had no news whatsoever on my request. I remember coming home, candles lit and everything, champaign bottle on the table and telling her that I didn’t get the papers. She felt horrible for spending the money – it must have been the most funeral mood celebratory dinner I ever ate.
My boss (I had a contract from HP, but couldn’t start working without the permit) found out and he had some good connections high up. Within a week the permit was issued and he chipped in with a company car and gasoline for me to drive to Croatia and pick up the papers.
When I think back on it, I’m really glad it went that way. My mother died about a month later and had I been able to pick up the papers in Stuttgart or had I had enough money for the train ticket, Virginia would have not traveled with me, and my mother would have never met my future wife.
up
Reminds me of a UN meeting where Lichtenstein asked the representative from the Netherlands to represent them as well. The meeting started with the question of whether the meeting should be paid for by the UN, or if each country should pay an equal share. The Netherlands rep said, in Dutch, that each country should pay a fair share. Then he got up, ran to the Lichtenstein seat, and said in German that the UN should pay.
up
Awesome.
up
That’s hysterical. Sad. But funny as all get out.
up
Totally unrelated but also a WTH moment. I went to Philz coffee a few months ago to get some beans for my brother. It was during the busy, morning-time hours. I ordered my two bags and the gal said “Your beans will be ready in just a minute.” So I took the opportunity to go pay for them, peruse the pastry counter, etc. Then I just stood in the crowded lobby and waited for my beans. As I was standing there, I noticed a display of bags of beans on shelves behind the coffee prep area. I thought those must just be display and are filled with newspaper or something. I watched her make 3 or 4 more complicated coffee drinks for other customers. Then she turns around, walks over to those pre-made display bags, pulls two down, sets them on the counter and says “your beans are ready.”
Are you FKing kidding me?
up
Philz has really mastered that kind of thing.
For romance in SF, Fort Point and Baker Beach. I can’t believe you won’t go to Chicago. It and NY are two of the most romantic cities in the Fall. Right before the weather changes, around Halloween, the energy and weather is amazing!
up
There are 4-8 weeks a year where Chicago is about the greatest place in the world. The problem is that a year has 52 weeks.
up
I love Chicago, but this is true.
up
Some years it’s 4-8 days. Exceptions: Michigan Avenue during the holidays is pretty damn awesome despite the weather. Also, fountains at Milenium Park is a great respite from the summer heat.
up
I hope the first week in June is one of them.
up
Hard to predict exactly when, but early June is a good bet.
up
I recall making an early-June baseball trip to Chicago some years ago. Spent a lot of time on both the North Side and the South Side sitting under overhangs, bundled up, watching the grounds crews roll their tarps on and off the field.
up
There’s always that possibility, too. At least by then, you should be safe from the oddball snowstorms.
up
I went to one summer White Sox game that got called due to a totally epic thunderstorm. It was super cool to stand under cover on one of the pedestrian ramps outside the stadium and see massive lightning bolts arcing over downtown and the lake.
up
My only trip to U.S. Cellular was, I think, this late April game in which Barry Zito bested one Barolo Colon. I remember almost nothing of the action because the view from the upper deck was lousy and I was absolutely freezing my tuchis off.
up
Yeah, April in Chicago is rough.
up
My only game at old Comiskey was similar. My uncle got some box seats courtesy of his college friend,w ho was Reinsdorf’s attorney. You would think box seats would mean some reprieve from the cold, but it was miserable.
up
I went to one early-season game where there were actually flurries.
up
Oh, I would generally, but not on this trip
I have nothing to add but I just wanted to post in four threads at once.
up
You’re really upping your game. I’m looking forward to your first post comparing the VORP of pre- and post-Peter Gabriel Genesis, coming soon to Baseball Reference.
up
Well, I think everyone has been waiting for that really.