Travel for England abroad

Once went camping around New Zealand about 10 years ago. A local said, apart from the country being more beautiful and accessible the difference between Australia and New Zealand was there were no poisonous snakes or poisonous insects in NZ. Nice to know when your sleeping in a tent.
 


Anyone done Bangladesh and have any tips. Get the impression it's cheap to do but not sure how easy. Looking at that next march if it goes ahead.
 
El Oso said:
NZ is much much better than Oz. Much more laid back, smaller distances, browner beer.
Indian sub continent is great. Really cheap as well. Last time good seats were £3 a day in Visakh. Ticket prices similar throughout India. Cheapest was 10p a day in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka easy to get around, good beer, pricier than India (apart from Mumbai) but still cheap. Lots to see on a small island. Easy to get around.
In 2012 they put the prices up for tickets from £2.50 a day to £25 a day. It provided a challenge to get in for local prices/free etc. People were pissed off that it put an unexpected £250 on top of the holiday.
Some off here went last time, there was cheaper tickets, have a look to see how people did it. Barmy army complained after 2012, and loads of independent fans said they're never going back to SL.

SA good value as well. Beautiful country, Cape Town is fantastic and National Parks all over, even Cape Point about 30 miles from the city, which has a bit of wildlife.

All easy to do on your own.
Take your pick
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I was on that Sri Lanka 2012 rip off trip. Got in to at least half of every day in Galle for nowt after watching the first session on the Fort. At least a quarter of the crowd did no one I know paid). Sadly they’ll have still made more money that way though.

Our principles would have gone had it been the second Columbo test (5k capacity) and it being either pay the £25 or miss out, mind.
 
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NorthCountryBoy said:
I was on that Sri Lanka 2012 rip off trip. Got in to at least half of every day in Galle for nowt after watching the first session on the Fort. At least a quarter of the crowd did no one I know paid). Sadly they’ll have still made more money that way though.

Our principles would have gone had it been the second Columbo test (5k capacity) and it being either pay the £25 or miss out, mind.
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Didn't know you were there for that tour mate. I heard about when Billy played "The Last Post" for George in the sea at dawn at (I think) Unawatuna.

Got in every day at both tests without paying a rupee to the SL cricket board. And the wifey didn't pay the three days she went.
Only once bribed someone on the gate. Walked past a copper on the gate twice when his back was turned. Like you, once stood on the Fort until lunch then wandered past the ticket bloke as everyone was going out at lunch. Used a "Specimen" ticket ( top of a book of 100) that a ticket seller hoyed in the bin. Etc.
My favourite was three young English lasses saying " No thank you, no thank you" as they walked straight past the hapless ticket collector and into the ground. Wandered into the press box as well.
 
El Oso said:
NZ is much much better than Oz. Much more laid back, smaller distances, browner beer.
Indian sub continent is great. Really cheap as well. Last time good seats were £3 a day in Visakh. Ticket prices similar throughout India. Cheapest was 10p a day in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka easy to get around, good beer, pricier than India (apart from Mumbai) but still cheap. Lots to see on a small island. Easy to get around.
In 2012 they put the prices up for tickets from £2.50 a day to £25 a day. It provided a challenge to get in for local prices/free etc. People were pissed off that it put an unexpected £250 on top of the holiday.
Some off here went last time, there was cheaper tickets, have a look to see how people did it. Barmy army complained after 2012, and loads of independent fans said they're never going back to SL.

SA good value as well. Beautiful country, Cape Town is fantastic and National Parks all over, even Cape Point about 30 miles from the city, which has a bit of wildlife.

All easy to do on your own.
Take your pick
Click to expand...
SL definitely one I’d look into after the other nations cheers
Cumberland said:
Once went camping around New Zealand about 10 years ago. A local said, apart from the country being more beautiful and accessible the difference between Australia and New Zealand was there were no poisonous snakes or poisonous insects in NZ. Nice to know when your sleeping in a tent.
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And that is why I’d rather do NZ than Australia :lol:
 
Silly Point said:
Anyone done Bangladesh and have any tips. Get the impression it's cheap to do but not sure how easy. Looking at that next march if it goes ahead.
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Bangladesh is great. Chittagong about 6 hours by train from Dhaka. Very cheap. Traffic jams of cycle rickshaws. Bars dark holes, takes a while to adjust to the light in some. Definitely not for women.
Felt very safe there, but for those that went after the Pakistan attack, there was high security. There was only about 200 in Chittagong, half on tours( they paid £3,000 iirc), independently I spent £500 on everything (food,hotels,travel,drink, tickets etc( in three weeks, that was with small cans of beer at about £1.30, twelve years ago.
most expensive tickets £5, cheapest 10p. Incredibly, the govt put a free coach on to ferry us from the 4 miles ground to the cheap area where a lot of us were staying in Chittagong. It cost about a quid in the auto rickshaws.
Food great and astonishingly cheap, and mainly what you see in Indian restaurants here, as they first came over from Sylet.
Went to the tea growing hill country area near ( I think) Srimongol to see the very rare Hoolock Gibbons

Also went to the primary seaside resort of Cox's bazar, but may now have problems due to the migrants from Burma/Myanmar.
Finally, the Sundarbans are the mangrove swamps near the Indian border, there's a chance of seeing tigers there.
Bangladesh is like a manic version of India. I've never seen a more chaotic, crowded city than Dhaka.

In over three weeks, only met about six Westerners who weren't there for the cricket.
Locals really friendly but not used to foreigners at all. Diplomats rarely leave Dhaka, I know one who was there with his life and they didn't. Just stayed in the Embassy area.

Go, it's great.
 
Cumberland said:
Once went camping around New Zealand about 10 years ago. A local said, apart from the country being more beautiful and accessible the difference between Australia and New Zealand was there were no poisonous snakes or poisonous insects in NZ. Nice to know when your sleeping in a tent.
Click to expand...

Part of my desperation to visit Australia is my fascination with their wildlife :lol:

I'll likely avoid the north as I don't fancy my chances of out running a salty but I'd be gutted if I left Melbourne/Sydney without seeing a spider bigger than my hand and one of their snakes
 
Hyltons finest said:
Never been abroad for an England test so will be planning on doing so in the next few year. Just wondering from those that have been, is it better sorting your own travel or through an agency. I know it’s expensive but having a look at the barmy army’s previous prices they still seem very highly priced. Thanks in advance :)
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Been to Australia twice, both times booked up everything independently.

Much more fun and cheaper than any tour
 
El Oso said:
Bangladesh is great. Chittagong about 6 hours by train from Dhaka. Very cheap. Traffic jams of cycle rickshaws. Bars dark holes, takes a while to adjust to the light in some. Definitely not for women.
Felt very safe there, but for those that went after the Pakistan attack, there was high security. There was only about 200 in Chittagong, half on tours( they paid £3,000 iirc), independently I spent £500 on everything (food,hotels,travel,drink, tickets etc( in three weeks, that was with small cans of beer at about £1.30, twelve years ago.
most expensive tickets £5, cheapest 10p. Incredibly, the govt put a free coach on to ferry us from the 4 miles ground to the cheap area where a lot of us were staying in Chittagong. It cost about a quid in the auto rickshaws.
Food great and astonishingly cheap, and mainly what you see in Indian restaurants here, as they first came over from Sylet.
Went to the tea growing hill country area near ( I think) Srimongol to see the very rare Hoolock Gibbons

Also went to the primary seaside resort of Cox's bazar, but may now have problems due to the migrants from Burma/Myanmar.
Finally, the Sundarbans are the mangrove swamps near the Indian border, there's a chance of seeing tigers there.
Bangladesh is like a manic version of India. I've never seen a more chaotic, crowded city than Dhaka.

In over three weeks, only met about six Westerners who weren't there for the cricket.
Locals really friendly but not used to foreigners at all. Diplomats rarely leave Dhaka, I know one who was there with his life and they didn't. Just stayed in the Embassy area.

Go, it's great.
Click to expand...

Would love to see those Bangladeshi bars if they’re rougher than the one we went to in Chennai 😂

Sounds like an amazing trip. Know a few who rate that 2010 one as their favourite.
 
Done Cape Town, Barbados and Sri Lanka on diy tours. Barbados most difficult to get to cos of limited flight options. Most other places you can get a flight via somewhere else and save a fortune. Sri Lanka the best tour I've done by far, bit of backpacking between the Galle/Kandy tests (trains through the hill country are an amazing experience). CT a bit rough (putting it mildly) in places but a great ground and city. Hoping to get to NZ next February but limited flight options atm.
 

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