Modern Buddy

So I have been stationed overseas for work since last August except for a brief trip home to run the CBR. My project will be ending in a couple of weeks so it will be time to go home.

HOWEVER...if I can stay out of the US...or territories, for another 6 weeks or so I can take advantage of a HUGE tax break.

So any suggestions on where to park my but for a bit? I'm looking for a safe and relatively cheap place that is not incredibly boring.

Right now I am considering
Ireland for two weeks or so. An 11 day MC tour might be too good to pass up.
Just staying in the Jerusalem area...but I've already seen most things here.
Aruba
Bahamas
Panama
Eastern Europe

Any suggestions appreciated! Oh, and if any one want's a boarder for a few weeks let me know! (i'm quiet, no pets, you'll never know I'm there!

What a nice dilemma you face! Those are all beautiful places, but given the choice, I would take the 11 day MC tour. Heck, in that amount of time you could practically circumnavigate the entire British Isles, but what I would absolutely make time for, if I could, would be a side trip to the Isle of Man to ride the TT course! Epic.

This is a great time of year to visit northern Europe, where you get anywhere from 18-23 hours of daylight. Norway has its fjords and peaks, Scotland has its highlands and islands, and Iceland has its geysers and glaciers; I can recommend all three.

Equador, Chile Brazil etc.

Extend a bit furthur and you can go to the Olympics maybe?

Ireland is not going to be cheap. Plus it's just a bit early; it'll still be rainy and on the cold side (generally).

I vote for eastern Europe. Rent a bike and ride through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro. One of my students is Serbian and she overwhelmed me with the beautiful photographs along the Croatian coast. They've got great off-roading! And it's cheap.

Panama is expensive for where it is. How about Honduras or Nicaragua? String up a hammock; you're all set.

Other part of the world. Check out Australia and New Zealand.

Beautiful, lots of exploring to do. There's forests, deserts, mountains, and coasts galore. And of course, cities! Lot's of cool places to check out, great food, drink and nightlife too. I've been to Sydney and surrounding areas many times, love it.

(Yes, it is approaching winter there...but it's not exactly a bad one. Average daily high is in the low 60's in the coldest months....oh no! hehehe

Check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of ... emperature )

Finding a place to chill sounds good. If you prefer to keep moving, how about...

Israel -> Turkey (1/2 week) -> Ferry to Crete (1/2 week) -> Ferry crawl through the Greek Isles (4 weeks) -> Athens (1/2 week) -> Amsterdam (1/2 week) -> USA.

I was trying to pick just one... couldn't do it.
Top 15 Most Beautiful Roads in the World

Skootz Kabootz wrote:I was trying to pick just one... couldn't do it.
Top 15 Most Beautiful Roads in the World

#10, in Bolivia.

My uncle (by marriage) is half-Bolivian.
He's told me many stories about that road, mostly horror. Even the article says" On average, there is a fatal accident every couple of weeks on this road and it is estimated that 200 to 300 travelers are killer per year on this treacherous road.

Beautiful yes, something I'd want to ride on...only if traffic was blocked from both sides!!

Otherwise, the other roads look pretty neat. My coworker is Swiss and constantly raves about how beautiful it is to drive in that part of Europe and into Italy.

Thailand is a nice spot.

Skootz Kabootz wrote:I was trying to pick just one... couldn't do it.
Top 15 Most Beautiful Roads in the World

They seem to have a particular bias toward twisty roads. Which to some extent I appreciate, but some of those seem twisty to the point of annoyance.

I 2nd Thailand.

Beautiful, chill, and super cheap.

TVB wrote:...twisty to the point of annoyance.

I don't understand

Skootz Kabootz wrote:

TVB wrote:...twisty to the point of annoyance.

I don't understand

When I ride, I like to look at more than just the road in front of (and twisting back around next to) me.

Which of these countries don't have extradition agreements with the US? Just, uh, curious.

ericalm wrote:Which of these countries don't have extradition agreements with the US? Just, uh, curious.

You're basically limited to Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, DR-Congo, R-Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican, Vietnam, and Western Sahara. Or so I'm told. But keep in mind that "extraordinary rendition" is still an option in any of them.

TVB wrote:

ericalm wrote:Which of these countries don't have extradition agreements with the US? Just, uh, curious.

You're basically limited to Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, DR-Congo, R-Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican, Vietnam, and Western Sahara. Or so I'm told. But keep in mind that "extraordinary rendition" is still an option in any of them.

It scares me that you know this!

BuddyRaton wrote:It scares me that you know this!

It wasn't from memory.
And relax. It probably doesn't mean that I am an unconvicted felon considering expatriation.
If that were the case, I wouldn't have come back after my last visit to Canada. Which, by the way, will not extradite to the US if you would face the death penalty here. Or so I'm told.

Well, I was just replying to this with a fairly long post, did something wrong and lost it all.

So, I'll just say you might want to check out Costa Rica. We were there a few years back and loved it and hope to return soon.

A very diverse place with a wide variety of things to do and see for a small country. There are several (7 I believe) separate ecosystem regions from mountains, active volcanoes, rain forests, cloud forests, tropical dry forests (we took a canopy tour over some of these), the Carribean Sea & Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Pacific Ocean on the west, beautiful beaches, coffee plantations, etc. I'm sure I've left out several interesting areas. and they are all within a reasonable drive from wherever you're located.

There was a wide variety of colorful, exotic (much of it rare) wildlife, marine life, flora, even insects (generally butterfiles).

The hotels/resorts were wonderful. The food ranged from good to excellent.

The prices were very reasonable when we went, but I'm not sure of the exchange rate with the current economy.

Rob

so BR, what's it gonna be?

If you're looking into renting in Ireland:
http://www.irishbike.com/index.html (in Northern Ireland)

http://www.motorental.ie/ (in the Republic)

I'd pick up in Dublin and head up north, counterclockwise along the coast. If you wind up in Ireland, gimme a holler as there are some places in West Cork that are amazing.

Ireland is still on the radar....but I'm starting to lean to Bucharest Romania. Cheap digs and I might just have to do this.

http://www.rideinromania.com/balkans-mountains.html











I think the BMW F650GS would be just fine...but I might not be able to resist the BMW R1200GS

BuddyRaton wrote:I think the BMW F650GS would be just fine...but I might not be able to resist the BMW R1200GS

On switchbacks that tight, the smaller, lighter F650S might actually be more fun to ride.

That's what I was thinking. It would probably depend if Bocette came over to ride pillion...then it would be the 1200