Travel Thread

[tifosi77]

I just found out the name of our hotel in Ha Noi is La Siesta.

[shafnutz05]

I just found out the name of our hotel in Ha Noi is La Siesta.

Looks quite nice

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... Hanoi.html

[shoeshine boy]

coming to the 'Burgh MLK weekend to catch the Rags and Wings games. we'll be staying at the Embassy Suites a few blocks from the arena. we have some friends coming up from Wheeling to join us for that Saturday game but I imagine we'll still have a few meals on our own. suggestions? we eat all kinds of food from expensive to a hole-in-the-wall. we will also have a rental car at our disposal so we can leave the arena area if we want to.

[dodint]

August Henry's

[nocera]

August Henry's

Get the fish & chips.

[columbia]

Just stay in the hotel and take a KFC bath.

[large garlic]

coming to the 'Burgh MLK weekend to catch the Rags and Wings games. we'll be staying at the Embassy Suites a few blocks from the arena. we have some friends coming up from Wheeling to join us for that Saturday game but I imagine we'll still have a few meals on our own. suggestions? we eat all kinds of food from expensive to a hole-in-the-wall. we will also have a rental car at our disposal so we can leave the arena area if we want to.

There's honestly so many good options downtown and within a 10-15 minute drive that it's hard to give recommendations at this point.

I'd say Tako downtown for slightly fancy/expensive option. I really like Pittsburgh Poke as more of a cheap/quick place.

I've been to Southern Tier on the North Shore quite a bit now that the initial hype has died down. I think it's a good combo of beer and food.

I'd go with Morcilla or Cure in Lawrenceville if you're up for higher end places.

[tifosi77]

If I were to suddenly find myself in Pittsburgh, Morcilla and Cure would be the only two places on my wish list. Not saying there aren't any other good options, those are just the places that are most likely to show up on the radar of out-of-towners.

[columbia]

If I were to suddenly find myself in Pittsburgh, Morcilla and Cure would be the only two places on my wish list. Not saying there aren't any other good options, those are just the places that are most likely to show up on the radar of out-of-towners.

Rumor has it that when Gary Johnson went to Morcilla, he looked at the menu and asked "What is aleppo?"

[blackjack68]

Wasn't Cure just on Bourdain's show?

[DigitalGypsy66]

Wasn't Cure just on Bourdain's show?

Yes, yes it was. #meat

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Butcher in the Rye and Meat and Potatoes are pretty good options as well.

[shoeshine boy]

checked out the menus. some excellent suggestions. keep'em coming!

[Gaucho]

Butcher in the Rye

[Miami Vice]

This will probably end up being long winded, but bare with me. Its a discussion on international travel and safety/insurance, etc.

On Saturday the 28th my wife and I went on the Warped Rewind at Sea Cruise hosted by Sixthman. They charter a number of themed cruises, mostly concert related. This one was kinda like a 2003 Hot Topic display threw up on a boat - Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Story of the Year, The Juliana Theory, Bowling for Soup, and a bunch more.

I was actually surprised at the sheer amount of drinking that went on. I guess when you buy an all you can drink package you want to get your moneys worth, but this was definitely my "did I just turn into my parents?" moment. People were falling over before we left the port. The bars were inundated with people the entire cruise.

I can say I didn't think a whole lot about safety while traveling, other than normal/general things like don't flash valuables, don't go places you're not sure of alone, get cab prices ahead of time, etc. I have a motorcylce license, so I might consider renting a moped in place like Sanibel Island, but the idea of renting one in Mexico seemed like a bad idea to me. Not familiar with streets/driving customs+not sure of safety of equipment=bad idea.

So I was pretty surprised by the amount of sheer idiocy that I saw take place on the boat and in Cozumel. I guess alcohol and feeling like you're at a big party will do that to you. A number of people (including one of the comedians hired to perform as well as his girlfriend) wrecked scooters and ended up in "hospitals." A few were arrested for who knows what (but I could guess). Then somebody must have accidentally bought the wrong stuff in Mexico and washed it down with too much alcohol. Heres a picture of the boat (but not from our trip). The little pool in the back was drained, and this lunatic jumped into it from that top deck:


So needless to say that guy was in a world of trouble. They sped the boat up as fast as possible to get him within range of a rescue chopper. It wasn't even the coast guard - it was a private company that came and picked him up as his condition worsened. My God that guy (if he survives) is going to be financially ruined from that.

So I guess I came to a few realizations from all of this. The number one being that international travel is kinda scary. Some of those people who were hurt and stuck in hospitals obviously missed the boat and they didnt have passports. I highly doubt those "hospitals" accept insurance as a way of payment. Just the entire concept of vacationing in a country where you really can't trust anything, from vehicle safety to water safety, is just something I doubt I will ever do again. And if I do I will absolutely pay for a short term emergency evacuation insurance policy that will ship me to a first world hospital and/or evac me off a boat.

[robbiestoupe]

A few things:

1. An all you can drink cruise? Never heard of it. Based on your trip, this type of thing may not last long.

2. Thousands of people drinking on a floating island - what can go wrong?

3. Even at all-inclusive resorts that aren't floating on water, the alcohol is really watered down. Surprised they were giving the passengers the good stuff.

4. I've been on a couple cruises where drinks were $8-10 each. There were enough people throwing money around to get drunk. There were fights, but few and far between. Surprised you didn't mention any.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Butcher in the Rye

It's actually called Butcher and the Rye. http://butcherandtherye.com/

[nocera]

Source of the post Some of those people who were hurt and stuck in hospitals obviously missed the boat and they didnt have passports. I

Wait this doesn't sound right. You didn't have to show your passport at each port?

[Miami Vice]

At least going to Mexico, if you leave from and return to the same port you do not need a passport. A birth certificate+state ID or enhanced drivers license is fine. Now if you somehow don't make it back on the boat, well thats a problem.

I guess "drink packages" are a thing on most of the cruise lines now (we were on Norwegian). The beer & wine package was ~$50 per day+18%, and the "ultimate" one (including nearly all liquors) was $75+18%. Everyone in a cabin had to buy one. My wife and I did, and our friends on board gave us about $200 to feed them drinks. Hendricks and Not Your Fathers... were the two things I noticed not included, buy Bullitt, Tanquerey, Captain Morgans, etc were all included. Their beer selection was garbage for the cost - Bud, Coors, Miller Lite, PBR, Heineken, Sam Adams.

I really hated the alcohol pricing & selection in general. It would have been so nice to be able to keep a six pack in my room for while we were getting ready in the evenings. Well, in a way we could, because most of the beer they served they didn't even bother to open and/or it came in a screw off aluminium can.

For four days plus the fact my friends chipped in I could justify the cost, but a longer cruise and I couldn't at all. Well, I suppose I could considering they were selling 16oz Coors Lights for $9. That pricing was just such a turn off to me from even wanting to.

I guess Sixthman does most (all?) their charters through Norwegian, and just this year Norwegian opened up drink packages to the concert cruises. I too can't imagine that being a thing going forward (though to be fair I have no idea how people behave on their other cruises). Just like a Chesney concert - people in the hot sun drinking from morning til night, all inclusive.

I also got a hint of sick in Mexico. I was apprehensive about getting off the boat but thought I might as well stick my feet in the Caribbean while I could. We went to a resort and had a few drinks - maybe 5 small ones each over 4 hours. I woke up after a nap very confused and nauseus, my wife was fine. I missed out on that evening's activities, but I was fine by lunch the next day. I would beware http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/31/ta ... ction.html

Also, no fights. I think it was too emo of a crowd for that. I was dumb enough to mosh at 33 years old during Is This My Fate? He Asked Them by Story of the Year.

[dodint]

I cruised to Cozumel and had to show my passport to the cruise folks before embarking in Florida.

[Miami Vice]

my wife did not have a passport - they didnt even question the fact her married name is now different than the one on her birth certificate (she brought the marriage license along too).

she did have to sign a waiver of some sort saying she understood if she couldn't come back by boat that she would be in a lot of trouble.

[dodint]

I walked across the border to Mexico and back in 2007. Right after that they changed it to requiring a passport.

Kids these days just don't have the same opportunities we did.

[Gabe]

A few things:

1. An all you can drink cruise? Never heard of it. Based on your trip, this type of thing may not last long.

Yep. the NCL Sky is that way all the time now. Alcohol included in your fare. "all guests sailing from Miami aboard Norwegian Sky will enjoy an even more all-inclusive cruise experience with dining, entertainment and now free unlimited beer, wine and premium spirits included. "
https://www.ncl.com/press-releases/norw ... premium-op

I was on that ship prior to it becoming all inclusive. It's a relatively small boat. Would be interesting to see that many drunks squished in there.

[robbiestoupe]

I walked across the border to Mexico and back in 2007. Right after that they changed it to requiring a passport.

Kids these days just don't have the same opportunities we did.

Tijuana? Had a Navy friend who was stationed in San Diego. Said they always snuck across to Tijuana when they got their weekend passes.

[dodint]

Los Algodones. I was stationed in Yuma for a while. San Luis was also popular.