Your Next Vacation Destination.....?

[willypete]

I find the amount of walking I do on vacation always offsets however much I’m eating.

Last few times I went to Europe I ate like crazy but came back 5 pounds lighter.

With that being said now I wonder if someone say from Europe would gain a lot after a week or 2 in the US

 

[Mark Antony]

I find the amount of walking I do on vacation always offsets however much I’m eating.

Last few times I went to Europe I ate like crazy but came back 5 pounds lighter.

I swear this was what was going to happen on my last trip to Vegas given all the walking, to only gain weight instead.

 

[zmaqbool]

Safe travels back but gotta ask did you weigh yourself before the trip and will you when you get byke?

Mans probably gained a nice healthy weight eating all that food

I did weigh myself before the trip & am about the same after. We definitely ate a lot, lol but we averaged about 7-10 miles of walking daily. Shopping & walking around doing touristy things we burned off a lot of those heavy breakfasts & lunches.

 

[zmaqbool]

Pictures of some of the shopping I did in Pakistan. The orange cooler is a part of Pakistans national identity. Every single shop/restaurant/store has one for their customers & passersby to drink water from and cool off. There's are much bigger but this was the smallest one they had which was perfect for me to fit into my suitcase.

I bought 5 shawls. Three of them in Peshawar. 2 of which are full wool for the colder months & the other 3 are a mix of wool & other materials for the hotter months. Nobody really wears hoodies in Pakistan so shawls are their hoodies in a sense. I also got the matching hats which are called "Pakol". The pakol or pakul is a soft, flat, rolled-up, round-topped men's cap, usually worn in eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is typically made of wool & comes in a variety of colors. Not gonna lie I absolutely my pakol/shawl purchases. Worn with the rest of the traditional clothing shalvar kameez these will make outfits come Eid time & going out in the winter. Let these temps drop a little & that black pakol will be my daily hat. The Pathans definitely know their fashion.

Also got this killer blade with the inscription: "لا إلهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّه" (There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), which is the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith. It was only $3. I wish I could've gotten a big sword but it wouldn't have fit my luggage.

And lastly I got a pair of handmade Peshawari Chappal(Sandal of Peshawar). The Pathans are known for making durable & unique handmade sandals so I had to get a pair. Thank God the shop had my size, lol. Usually I got to make stuff on custom order in Pakistan. I'm only about 8 inches taller & about 140 pounds heavier than the average Pakistani man .

 

[zmaqbool]

Went buck & spent 11,000 rupees on dry fruits in Peshawar. Dry fruits are a huge thing in Pakistan. All the cities & towns have em setup fresh in the markets. I got kishmish which is basically In English, kishmish refers to raisins, which are dried grapes that are naturally sweet and packed with nutrients. The term is commonly used in India & the Subcontinent and other parts of the world, where raisins are known by names like kishmish or kismis.

Also got the circular things on the rope which are known as "Anjeer" & in English it's dried fig. Also got lemongrass for tea. And super dense & delicious Ajwa kujoor(dates) local to Swat Valley, Pakistan.

Mithai(sweets) from a sweetshop near my hotel in Peshawar. Probably the best mithai I've ever had in my life. Also got this cool little teapot from a kind gentlemen in Peshawar. They don't sell them but they were kind enough to sell it to me since I showed a lot of interest in it. They were so loving & kind they said take it for free but I wasn't going to be that dude so I made it worth their while & gave em 500 rupees for it($1.77) Going to serve myself some Peshawari lemongrass & kaava Pathani style with the right crockery.

The 2 rocks towards the front I scooped up from Osama Bin Laden's compound and the one in the back is from my village. Local always make for cool souvenirs in my opinion while travelling. And lastly some stoneware dishes cup things I got from the Taxila Museum I went to. The brown one has these little fossils in it you can see when held up to the light. It's probably just a bunch of sand but w.e.

 

[zmaqbool]

And this is my collection of Pakistani currency. I had them all except the 5000 & the 20 rupee notes, it's now complete. The rest will be put away for my next visit. Very colorful notes in my opinion.

The gentleman pictured on the bills is Quaid-E-Azam(word meaning "Commander" or "Leader") Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He is the Founding Father of . They used to use coins here as well but my cousin told me the gov't has pretty much abandoned all clin currency. Anything you buy here your total will always end in whole numbers & no cents or change in it.

 

[Grine]

I need a couple of those pakols. The wife already blessed me with the Pakistan’s threads and shawls.

I was like yooo how you get me everything and forget the pakol.

 

[andoneflip]

Ill be going to Hawaii from February 20th to March 8th on Princess cruise with my pops cant wait will be my first cruise

 

[zmaqbool]

I need a couple of those pakols. The wife already blessed me with the Pakistan’s threads and shawls.

I was like yooo how you get me everything and forget the pakol.

Lol, the pakol makes the fit! Wifey needs to hurry & set you up with some.

 

[willypete]

I’m vicariously living through y’all at the moment and loving the travel pics , adventures and updates.

zmaqbool can’t wait to see your next travel adventures

Grine snap some pics for us out SK and safe travels pa

 

[Grine]

Still out here. Im walking 10-12 miles a day
These folks are in shape - between the stairs and on going walking - I see why they’re slim in most cases. Meanwhile Im over here doing this:

 

[Grine]

 

[zmaqbool]

Grine This is South Korea right? The Pagodas and their architecture has always fascinated me. How are they, are they friendly & engaging with you guys? You plan on going to North Korea after here? and say hello to fatty?

How's the food & weather? This woman I know at work left for SK the Sametime I left for Pak & she said it was super humid in SK like a month ago. I'm assuming Seoul is on your itinerary.

 

[Grine]

zmaqbool – Yes, we’re in Seoul right now, and the weather has been amazing, around 76–82 degrees. It was only humid one day because of some early rain. Next week is actually Autumn - so this is the perfect time to go. We were going to do the DMZ but we’ll do that tour in December/New Years.

The younger generation speaks English more than the older generation, but honestly, that hasn’t stopped anyone from helping. A few times, people saw we were lost and came right up to guide us with maps and directions.

Like in Japan, honor and integrity is big here. The citizens are watching - hardly saw any police officers. Maybe once. But Koreans are definitely more engaging and personable. We met a man who was clearly drunk, yet he insisted on giving up his seat for my wife, twice. He ended up standing the entire train ride, balancing without even holding onto the rail and asked us questions.

Our biggest struggle has been picking restaurants because everything looks good. Also, we’re a little worried about pork, we’ve stuck mostly to Halal places, including halal street vendors - surprisingly they’re so many of them around Seoul. The food is very affordable; the most I’ve spent for two has been about $25. Also, they know how to bake, some of the best bread and desserts I’ve had so far.

This really is the skincare capital of the world. Every street seems to have a skincare clinic or an Olive Young. We even got a free skin analysis, and I grabbed a couple of new cleansing solutions. Also, we both got our teeth whitening for $70 per person.

My daughter’s a big K-Pop fan, so I’m planning to bring her here for a festival in December/New Year’s. She’s going to love it. The younger girls here remind me of her, same style, shyness, and gestures. Fashion, streetwear, and music culture here are heavily influenced by us, and the live performances (both on the street and stage) are so soulful.

That said, I still prefer Japan (they’re both so clean - however they’re more structured). My wife love it here more so. I don’t really need people to be personable, just respect me and give me my space and leave me alone. I’m a loner. She loves people.

Like NYC, ppl will sometimes walk right in front of you. Not everyone though, most of the time it’s tourists, Chinese ppl. I’m having to hold onto my wife being she’s 5’2 - so her stride/steps are more - which slows her down than me

And I have to still say, Vietnamese people are the GOAT - reminds me of my family. In fact, I told my wife let’s pull up to Vietnam. She never been - so we will probably be heading there in 2-3 weeks.

 

[Grine]

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Government shutdown: Impacts on air travel, airport security and FAA

House Republicans moved forward a short term funding plan, but the Senate rejected it over Democratic concerns.

www.newsweek.com

 

[Grine]

 

[willypete]

I’m confused as hell with that last pic lol but otherwise

 

[Grine]

I’m confused as hell with that last pic lol but otherwise

Facts! I was looking for a description or explanation to what it was - nothing.

 

[willypete]

Enjoy yourselves man

 

[Platinum State]

Came back from Florence a few days ago and its great apart from the fact its super crowded with tourists. Didnt expect like 90% of people to be americans

 

[Grine]

I really missed the Covid travels. It was the best time of my life as it relates to international travel.

 

[cs02132]

Going to London next month and I’m gonna have 2.5 free days/2 nights where I want to go somewhere else in Europe. I’ve already been to London so I want to see somewhere new
I’m from Boston so London had a very familiar feeling to home

 

[kdawg]

Going to London next month and I’m gonna have 2.5 free days/2 nights where I want to go somewhere else in Europe. I’ve already been to London so I want to see somewhere new
I’m from Boston so London had a very familiar feeling to home

You could either see some of Scotland - 2 days will get you Edinburgh and a brief tour of the highlands - or you could get the Eurostar to Paris - a few hours from London.

 

[アミーゴ]

Going to London next month and I’m gonna have 2.5 free days/2 nights where I want to go somewhere else in Europe. I’ve already been to London so I want to see somewhere new
I’m from Boston so London had a very familiar feeling to home

Double click on what kdawg said - I LOVE Scotland

Which match are you hitting? I’ll be out there for the return leg @ Emirates vs Man U in Jan