collecting countries

[+terratin]

Caches are a bit thin on the ground in Brunei, so budget some time for getting to one.

 

I ended up with one find there, Mar-Cat* after a DNF elsewhere, and found transportation a challenge. Both buses and taxis are thin on the ground. It's a rich country; everybody drives their own car - or boat.

 

(* Conveniently, it's also the oldest cache in the teeny country, which helps me with a challenge...)

I've pretty well accepted that I won't be getting one there. We will be on a shore excursion and won't have much time to spend on our own. There aren't any near the places the tour takes us to and there's nothing near the cruise ship terminal. Usually, I can go for a walk near the ship, but not here.

 

If I get one I'll be content. If not, as I keep trying (unsuccessfully) to persuade Gill - Caching isn't the point of the trip. I may come to believe that myself if I say it often enough.

 

Well, if you're flying to/from Singapore it'll be easy to find a cache in that country, and you may see a bunch of butterflies.

 

Can you get there from every terminal? It's on our todo list as well when we get there in two weeks time. We'll be arriving on an international flight, and then leave for Indonesia from there.

 

If I recall, the cache doesn't require you to go through passport control and there are two sets of shuttle trains between the terminals. One goes in between the the terminals on the "air" side and the other connects on the "land" side. Unlike most airports the security checkpoint is at each gate. It's a *huge* airport so even if you don't have to go out through passport control it could still take a long time to get in between terminals. The terminal maps are pretty good though and you should be able to look up the terminal your flights will be coming into and out of on a site like flightstats.com. The Butterfly Garden is in terminal 3. If you have more than a 5 hour layover there's a free tour bus (sponsored by Singapore Airlines) that goes downtown (where there are a few caches) for a "two hour tour".

 

Thanks a lot! We'll be staying for 6 nichts in Singapore Thus either we do this when arriving, or when leaving again. Oh, I just saw in our booking that we'll be arriving at Terminal 3. Perfect!

Edited August 18, 2015 by terratin

[+redsox_mark]

 

If I recall, the cache doesn't require you to go through passport control and there are two sets of shuttle trains between the terminals. One goes in between the the terminals on the "air" side and the other connects on the "land" side. Unlike most airports the security checkpoint is at each gate. It's a *huge* airport so even if you don't have to go out through passport control it could still take a long time to get in between terminals. The terminal maps are pretty good though and you should be able to look up the terminal your flights will be coming into and out of on a site like flightstats.com. The Butterfly Garden is in terminal 3. If you have more than a 5 hour layover there's a free tour bus (sponsored by Singapore Airlines) that goes downtown (where there are a few caches) for a "two hour tour".

 

That is correct; you can take the shuttle train from the other terminals to T3 and stay airside. The shuttles are fast and every few minutes. You can probably get there from another terminal and back allowing 30-45 mins.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Caches are a bit thin on the ground in Brunei, so budget some time for getting to one.

 

I ended up with one find there, Mar-Cat* after a DNF elsewhere, and found transportation a challenge. Both buses and taxis are thin on the ground. It's a rich country; everybody drives their own car - or boat.

 

(* Conveniently, it's also the oldest cache in the teeny country, which helps me with a challenge...)

I've pretty well accepted that I won't be getting one there. We will be on a shore excursion and won't have much time to spend on our own. There aren't any near the places the tour takes us to and there's nothing near the cruise ship terminal. Usually, I can go for a walk near the ship, but not here.

 

If I get one I'll be content. If not, as I keep trying (unsuccessfully) to persuade Gill - Caching isn't the point of the trip. I may come to believe that myself if I say it often enough.

 

Well, if you're flying to/from Singapore it'll be easy to find a cache in that country, and you may see a bunch of butterflies.

 

Can you get there from every terminal? It's on our todo list as well when we get there in two weeks time. We'll be arriving on an international flight, and then leave for Indonesia from there.

 

If I recall, the cache doesn't require you to go through passport control and there are two sets of shuttle trains between the terminals. One goes in between the the terminals on the "air" side and the other connects on the "land" side. Unlike most airports the security checkpoint is at each gate. It's a *huge* airport so even if you don't have to go out through passport control it could still take a long time to get in between terminals. The terminal maps are pretty good though and you should be able to look up the terminal your flights will be coming into and out of on a site like flightstats.com. The Butterfly Garden is in terminal 3. If you have more than a 5 hour layover there's a free tour bus (sponsored by Singapore Airlines) that goes downtown (where there are a few caches) for a "two hour tour".

 

Thanks a lot! We'll be staying for 6 nichts in Singapore Thus either we do this when arriving, or when leaving again. Oh, I just saw in our booking that we'll be arriving at Terminal 3. Perfect!

 

With six nights you ought to be able to see most of the country. I've read very good things about taking a boat over to Pulau Ubin, renting a bicycle, and exploring the island where there are a handful of caches. I was staying in a hotel just across from the ferry station but chose to take a train downtown to see Marina Bay Sands instead.

 

As I said, Changi airport is very big so even though you'll be in T3 give yourself plenty of time. I've traveled through a lot of airports and consider Changi to be the best in the world.

[+terratin]

Caches are a bit thin on the ground in Brunei, so budget some time for getting to one.

 

I ended up with one find there, Mar-Cat* after a DNF elsewhere, and found transportation a challenge. Both buses and taxis are thin on the ground. It's a rich country; everybody drives their own car - or boat.

 

(* Conveniently, it's also the oldest cache in the teeny country, which helps me with a challenge...)

I've pretty well accepted that I won't be getting one there. We will be on a shore excursion and won't have much time to spend on our own. There aren't any near the places the tour takes us to and there's nothing near the cruise ship terminal. Usually, I can go for a walk near the ship, but not here.

 

If I get one I'll be content. If not, as I keep trying (unsuccessfully) to persuade Gill - Caching isn't the point of the trip. I may come to believe that myself if I say it often enough.

 

Well, if you're flying to/from Singapore it'll be easy to find a cache in that country, and you may see a bunch of butterflies.

 

Can you get there from every terminal? It's on our todo list as well when we get there in two weeks time. We'll be arriving on an international flight, and then leave for Indonesia from there.

 

If I recall, the cache doesn't require you to go through passport control and there are two sets of shuttle trains between the terminals. One goes in between the the terminals on the "air" side and the other connects on the "land" side. Unlike most airports the security checkpoint is at each gate. It's a *huge* airport so even if you don't have to go out through passport control it could still take a long time to get in between terminals. The terminal maps are pretty good though and you should be able to look up the terminal your flights will be coming into and out of on a site like flightstats.com. The Butterfly Garden is in terminal 3. If you have more than a 5 hour layover there's a free tour bus (sponsored by Singapore Airlines) that goes downtown (where there are a few caches) for a "two hour tour".

 

Thanks a lot! We'll be staying for 6 nichts in Singapore Thus either we do this when arriving, or when leaving again. Oh, I just saw in our booking that we'll be arriving at Terminal 3. Perfect!

 

With six nights you ought to be able to see most of the country. I've read very good things about taking a boat over to Pulau Ubin, renting a bicycle, and exploring the island where there are a handful of caches. I was staying in a hotel just across from the ferry station but chose to take a train downtown to see Marina Bay Sands instead.

 

As I said, Changi airport is very big so even though you'll be in T3 give yourself plenty of time. I've traveled through a lot of airports and consider Changi to be the best in the world.

 

We have a hotel in Chinatown, thus getting to the boat station is a slightly longer trip. But it's on my list of things to do I'm curious about the airport. I heard good things about it, though to be honest, my favourite is still Amsterdam, while one of the Berlin airports and Istanbul share the last position in my opinion, followed by Kuwait for interesting baggage handling (taking it off the belt and dumping it somewhere in the luggage hall far away from the original belt)

Edited August 18, 2015 by terratin

[+on4bam]

We have a hotel in Chinatown, thus getting to the boat station is a slightly longer trip. But it's on my list of things to do I'm curious about the airport. I heard good things about it, though to be honest, my favourite is still Amsterdam, while one of the Berlin airports and Istanbul share the last position in my opinion, followed by Kuwait for interesting baggage handling (taking it off the belt and dumping it somewhere in the luggage hall far away from the original belt)

 

We stayed in the Crown Plaza IN the airport (just one night) in 2010. It's a great airport, very spacious and when returning from the city center in the evening the part where the hotel is, was almost deserted.

I like small airports though. Longyearbyen (Svalbard), Tromso (Norway), Treasure Cay (Bahamas) and the four we used in Greenland (Narsarsuaq, Nuuk, Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq).

[+NYPaddleCacher]

We have a hotel in Chinatown, thus getting to the boat station is a slightly longer trip. But it's on my list of things to do I'm curious about the airport. I heard good things about it, though to be honest, my favourite is still Amsterdam, while one of the Berlin airports and Istanbul share the last position in my opinion, followed by Kuwait for interesting baggage handling (taking it off the belt and dumping it somewhere in the luggage hall far away from the original belt)

 

We stayed in the Crown Plaza IN the airport (just one night) in 2010. It's a great airport, very spacious and when returning from the city center in the evening the part where the hotel is, was almost deserted.

I like small airports though. Longyearbyen (Svalbard), Tromso (Norway), Treasure Cay (Bahamas) and the four we used in Greenland (Narsarsuaq, Nuuk, Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq).

 

My local airport has 6 gates. I've never seen more than 2 of them in use at the same time.

 

When I traveled through Changi I got there around 2:00AM and stayed in one of the air-side transit hotels. It's basically just a very small room with a bed but after traveling for more than 24 hours I wasn't going to do anything but sleep before getting on my next flight to Malaysia.

 

I've gone through Amsterdam a few times. They're final security screening prior to traveling back to the U.S. is pretty odd. There are a set of tables just outside the gate where every passenger is interviewed (and it's more than just a couple of "did you pack your bag yourself" questions) before going to an small area where there are no services. If you don't go to the gate until a short time before boarding it's okay but if you get there early you're either stuck there or have to go back out and get interviewed again prior to boarding.

 

Changi has a bunch of quiet/dark areas with chairs that fully recline if one wants to take a nap in the airport. In addition to the butterfly garden there are several indoor/outdoor garden sitting areas and at least one area with a wide screen TV that shows movies.

 

Oslo had about friendliest airport employees I've ever encountered. Dubai actually had very friendly employees as well. When I had to catch a hotel shuttle to the place where I was staying overnight prior to flying to Ethiopia and asked someone at an Information desk where to go the woman there walked out of the airport with me and showed me exactly where the shuttle would pick up. She even offered to carry one of my bags.

 

I don't remember anything particularly annoying about Istanbul. On my last trip I flew into Rome (Fiumicino) and the baggage claim area was a mad house. It was more crowed and chaotic than any other airport I've seen. Baggage claim at Johannesburg came close but nothing like that. I suppose it often depends on the time of day one has to go through an airport because it was pretty painless when traveling back home.

[+hzoi]

My local airport has 6 gates. I've never seen more than 2 of them in use at the same time.

 

My last local airport in Lawton, Oklahoma, had two. No idea why, as there were only 5 4 flights a day (on good days), to/from the same airport (DFW), and there was never more than one there at a time. Oddly enough, I just realized that the gate they always used was Gate 2, according to the map.

 

Baggage handling was a hoot there as well, as there was just a wall with metal shutters and a static metal ramp below it. You'd hear a rumbling sound, and then the shutters would come up to reveal that the luggage cart had just been driven behind the shutters so the guy could offload. Efficient!

Edited August 18, 2015 by hzoi

[+on4bam]

On my last trip I flew into Rome (Fiumicino) and the baggage claim area was a mad house.

 

That's the only airport (except LHR) that manages to "forget" one piece o our luggage on a multi hop flight. Baggage handler brought it at our doorstep 4 hours after we got home though.

LHR (BMI flight) refused us an earlier flight because luggage and passenger must travel on the same flight. When we arrived (on our original flight) in BRU our luggage was still in LHR.. go figure.. Took 24 hours that time (must be on the same flight but day +1). We avoid LHR though.. to many delays.

[+terratin]

I don't remember anything particularly annoying about Istanbul. On my last trip I flew into Rome (Fiumicino) and the baggage claim area was a mad house. It was more crowed and chaotic than any other airport I've seen. Baggage claim at Johannesburg came close but nothing like that. I suppose it often depends on the time of day one has to go through an airport because it was pretty painless when traveling back home.

 

My problem with Istanbul is

- a huge departure hall but there's only one large information screen in the middle of the hall and no further flight information anywhere - hence longer distances towards the info sign and then to the check-in desk probably at the far end of the hall

- frequent gate changes without any announcement. My record has been 5 gate changes across the whole airport, but two changes have always been normal

- long walking distance between international and domestic terminal

- the price for food and drinks. Seriously 6USD for a bottle of water? Though yes, there are a few machines selling water for about 1USD, but they are very hidden

- oh, and the endless queues for passport control and customs. Plus they once took some cold medicine off me that is absolutely allowed in Turkey. Great to not have nosespray for the landing when flying with a cold.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

On my last trip I flew into Rome (Fiumicino) and the baggage claim area was a mad house.

 

That's the only airport (except LHR) that manages to "forget" one piece o our luggage on a multi hop flight. Baggage handler brought it at our doorstep 4 hours after we got home though.

LHR (BMI flight) refused us an earlier flight because luggage and passenger must travel on the same flight. When we arrived (on our original flight) in BRU our luggage was still in LHR.. go figure.. Took 24 hours that time (must be on the same flight but day +1). We avoid LHR though.. to many delays.

 

A few years ago I was flying from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (DAR) to Nairobi, Kenya (NBO) to Amsterdam (AMS) to Detroit (DTW) and finally home (ITH). I got to DAR early and checked one bag. There was a flight that was going out about the same time to Kilimanjaro (JRO) that got cancelled due to a mechanical trouble. They put everyone from that flight (a local Tanzanian airline) on the flight I was on which not only delayed our departure but meant we'd be stopping in JRO before NBO. I barely made the connection to AMS. When I got to AMS I asked if my luggage made it on the flight. They looked it up and said they could not locate my bag in their system. I asked again in Detroit and when I got home (after it didn't come off at baggage claim) and they still had no idea where it was. I figured that it was lost forever but it showed up on my back porch two days later.

 

I've gone through BRU a couple of times for a trip to Rome. On the way home I booked an itinerary so that I had an overnight layover (around 26 hours), and stayed in a hotel downtown so that I could find a few geocaches and add Belgium to my list.

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

For you country collectors considering a trip to Asia, flights from the U.S./Canada to China are ridiculously inexpensive right now. I'm working on an itinerary for a trip from New York to Beijing in November and there are lots of r/t flights for less than $600. Toronto to/from Beijing is about the same.

[+Ibar]

So, earlier this week I did my #24 country: Luxembourg, and well, considering that I'm leaving in Belgium .. it was certainly about time

 

Next stop should be Dubai in November. Has any of you any caching experience / hints from caching down there? I'll have just ONE free day, so planning is everything ..

 

Thanks!

[+on4bam]

So, earlier this week I did my #24 country: Luxembourg, and well, considering that I'm leaving in Belgium .. it was certainly about time

 

Still on our to do list and only 200 Km away.. no plans for this year

 

Next stop should be Dubai in November. Has any of you any caching experience / hints from caching down there? I'll have just ONE free day, so planning is everything ..

 

We did only 6 in UAE (2010). We were there for almost a week and had a rental car.I had plenty of caches in the GPS but it seemed many caches were not easy to get to from the highway. We did one in the Omani enclave Madha.

Unfortunately we didn't have much time for caching, to much to do, to much to see. We still plan to go back as we didn't have enough time in Abu Dhabi, we only visited the great mosque.

[+terratin]

So, earlier this week I did my #24 country: Luxembourg, and well, considering that I'm leaving in Belgium .. it was certainly about time

 

Next stop should be Dubai in November. Has any of you any caching experience / hints from caching down there? I'll have just ONE free day, so planning is everything ..

 

Thanks!

 

Hmm.. I would say take care of muggles. If there are workers nearby then don't do a cache. Someone rummaging around somewhere will draw some attention, and good chance the cache will vanish (though we once found a cache that was previously found and signed by two Philipino guys, and hidden again. Wonder what they thought of it ). Other than that: always take enough water and don't venture into the desert alone.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

So, earlier this week I did my #24 country: Luxembourg, and well, considering that I'm leaving in Belgium .. it was certainly about time

 

Next stop should be Dubai in November. Has any of you any caching experience / hints from caching down there? I'll have just ONE free day, so planning is everything ..

 

Thanks!

 

I only had about a 20 hour overnight layover in Dubai and stayed at a hotel close to the airport. I took cab to the nearby Festival City mall where there were a few caches. I DNFd two of them and found one. If I hadn't just been on a 13 hour flight I would have liked to have gone downtown where there are a few more caches.

 

 

[+Ambrosia]

So, earlier this week I did my #24 country: Luxembourg, and well, considering that I'm leaving in Belgium .. it was certainly about time

 

Next stop should be Dubai in November. Has any of you any caching experience / hints from caching down there? I'll have just ONE free day, so planning is everything ..

 

Thanks!

 

Several of us have been to Dubai. If you look back in this thread, you'll see more posts about it. It's not that easy to get very many caches there if you are in a hurry, and if you are driving yourself it can a bit of concentration to get around. Look for some caches around popular touristy spots you may go to so it's easier.

 

I found one in oldtown: Dubai Promenade, on the Palm Jumeirah: Dubai Skyline View, and an EC at the Burj Dubai: (Khalifa) Build Your House on the Rock. Just some suggestions. I was there two years ago, so there's probably more caches now.

[+on4bam]

I found one in oldtown: Dubai Promenade

 

That's our only find in Dubai city and part of a series in all seven Emirates. We also found the one in Fujairah but on a one day visit that may be out of reach.

If you have a choice of going up Burj Khalifa or go caching... choose Burj.... Great view and you might get an up close view of an A380 taking off or landing.

[+TwoNomadicBrits]

 

Next stop should be Dubai in November. Has any of you any caching experience / hints from caching down there? I'll have just ONE free day, so planning is everything ..

 

Thanks!

 

<snip>

EC at the Burj Dubai: (Khalifa) Build Your House on the Rock. Just some suggestions. I was there two years ago, so there's probably more caches now.

 

When I saw your question this was the cache I was going to suggest! We did this one (and only this one) on a 6 hour layover back in March. I booked tickets in advance to go up and was really pleased I did otherwise I might have missed out on any caching without our own transport. The experience is worth it too, with an earth cache bonus

[+terratin]

Singapore added to country list, which is now at 36. Indonesia comes next (currently at the airport, waiting for the flight).

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Singapore added to country list, which is now at 36. Indonesia comes next (currently at the airport, waiting for the flight).

 

Congrats. It looks like you found a nice collection of caches in Singapore. I'm looking forward to seeing what you find in Indonesia.

 

 

[+eigengott]

While my last vacations did not yield any new countries (western Europe is mostly "done"), the last three weeks I could add Poland and Slovakia, totalling 21 countries.

Edited September 6, 2015 by eigengott

[+Andromeda321]

So I'm going to Malta at the end of the month. Woohoo, new country! Not many that are easy to get to in Europe for me by now!

 

Also, I should note that things are winding down in Europe- like it or not, my funding runs out by August 2016- so time to look for a post-PhD job. Applying for one now in Melbourne, Australia which would be an amazing opportunity- here's hoping even if they don't hire me they do want to do in-person interviews!

 

(I should note though, I would soon have fairly little to report in this thread if I moved to Australia, beyond getting there and NZ. Not many other new countries within easy striking distance of Melbourne, and Groundspeak doesn't even have a special map for the states of Australia like they do in the USA/Canada it turns out...)

[+NYPaddleCacher]

So I'm going to Malta at the end of the month. Woohoo, new country! Not many that are easy to get to in Europe for me by now!

 

Also, I should note that things are winding down in Europe- like it or not, my funding runs out by August 2016- so time to look for a post-PhD job. Applying for one now in Melbourne, Australia which would be an amazing opportunity- here's hoping even if they don't hire me they do want to do in-person interviews!

 

(I should note though, I would soon have fairly little to report in this thread if I moved to Australia, beyond getting there and NZ. Not many other new countries within easy striking distance of Melbourne, and Groundspeak doesn't even have a special map for the states of Australia like they do in the USA/Canada it turns out...)

 

It looks to me that the distance between Melborne and countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philappines is about the same as it is from New York to most of Europe.

 

 

[+terratin]

Hmm, never realized I could not quote when using a mobile phone....

 

Paddler: We still have to lig the one at the airport, we're a bit behind.

 

Andromeda: sounds exciting! Btw, it'sonly a very short flight from northern Australua to Indonesia indeed. If I could get a real liwcost flight I might be tempted indeed Oh, and Malta is a lovely country to cash! Lots of creative caches and hides. I especially loved a dragon's egg cache (i think it was a letterbox) near Naxxar!

 

Eigengott: Thumbs up!

[+terratin]

Hmm... looks like I cannot edit either. Sorry for all the typos.

[+TwoNomadicBrits]

So I'm going to Malta at the end of the month. Woohoo, new country! Not many that are easy to get to in Europe for me by now!

 

Also, I should note that things are winding down in Europe- like it or not, my funding runs out by August 2016- so time to look for a post-PhD job. Applying for one now in Melbourne, Australia which would be an amazing opportunity- here's hoping even if they don't hire me they do want to do in-person interviews!

 

(I should note though, I would soon have fairly little to report in this thread if I moved to Australia, beyond getting there and NZ. Not many other new countries within easy striking distance of Melbourne, and Groundspeak doesn't even have a special map for the states of Australia like they do in the USA/Canada it turns out...)

 

Malta is lovely! I visited pre caching (story of my travelling life haha!) and stayed in a lovely hostel/boutique hotel right inside the walls of Valetta. It's a great island and getting around is easy. We can get there quite easily from Turkey, so maybe we should revisit before we leave here.

 

Lots of places in Asia are very accessible from Aus, so fingers are crossed for you and the job. I'm sure your previous travels will mean there's still loads to contribute here

 

Singapore I've also visited before caching, so I can only hope that a long layover one day will mean I get to cache there too another time

 

In the meantime, it looks like our next new country will be in March 16... still to be decided but the main contender at the moment is South Africa (just a bit excited about the possibility of that!). Until then it's to-and-fro between Turkey and the UK. Such a long time to wait, but I'm sure it will be worth it!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

So I'm going to Malta at the end of the month. Woohoo, new country! Not many that are easy to get to in Europe for me by now!

 

Also, I should note that things are winding down in Europe- like it or not, my funding runs out by August 2016- so time to look for a post-PhD job. Applying for one now in Melbourne, Australia which would be an amazing opportunity- here's hoping even if they don't hire me they do want to do in-person interviews!

 

(I should note though, I would soon have fairly little to report in this thread if I moved to Australia, beyond getting there and NZ. Not many other new countries within easy striking distance of Melbourne, and Groundspeak doesn't even have a special map for the states of Australia like they do in the USA/Canada it turns out...)

 

The maps that GS uses for stats are pretty poor, especially for Asia. The project-gc maps are much better.

 

Lots of places in Asia are very accessible from Aus, so fingers are crossed for you and the job. I'm sure your previous travels will mean there's still loads to contribute here

 

I wonder, after living in Europe for the past several years, the accessibility to other countries is something that one starts to take for granted.

 

Singapore I've also visited before caching, so I can only hope that a long layover one day will mean I get to cache there too another time

 

It doesn't even have to be a long layover if all you want is one cache. The Butterfly Garden Cache in the airport is pretty easy to get.

 

 

In the meantime, it looks like our next new country will be in March 16... still to be decided but the main contender at the moment is South Africa (just a bit excited about the possibility of that!). Until then it's to-and-fro between Turkey and the UK. Such a long time to wait, but I'm sure it will be worth it!

 

I've only got 1 find in South Africa during an overnight layover in Johannesburg. The second time I was there I wanted to do more but the area near my hotel didn't seem to be very safe. From reading the logs I read about two people getting mugged. (not muggled). I'll be visiting three countries before the end of the year but I've already found caches in all three. Still I'm looking forward to spending 5 days in Paris, and overnight in Milan, and 8-9 days in China.

 

 

[+TwoNomadicBrits]

 

I wonder, after living in Europe for the past several years, the accessibility to other countries is something that one starts to take for granted.

 

Definitely! Having lived on mainland Europe (Germany, Italy, Belgium) pre caching for 7 years, we got used to being able to travel frequently to new countries. By the time we left to move to Turkey, we only had 4 European countries left to visit. Sadly, of course, all pre-caching.... but now I have a new incentive to revisit places

 

 

I've only got 1 find in South Africa during an overnight layover in Johannesburg. The second time I was there I wanted to do more but the area near my hotel didn't seem to be very safe. From reading the logs I read about two people getting mugged. (not muggled). I'll be visiting three countries before the end of the year but I've already found caches in all three. Still I'm looking forward to spending 5 days in Paris, and overnight in Milan, and 8-9 days in China.

 

If we do the South Africa trip, it will be an organised cycle around the Cape. Hopefully there will be the opportunity for a little caching on the way. Sadly for me everywhere we are travelling to in the next few months we've already been post-caching so no new countries for a while. Enjoy Paris, Milan and China - very jealous indeed!

[+fizzymagic]

I wonder, after living in Europe for the past several years, the accessibility to other countries is something that one starts to take for granted.

 

For Europeans, collecting countries is more or less equivalent to Americans collecting states. Of course there are some differences (most obviously language) but the length scales are about the same.

 

Me, I am up to 26 countries now but I have all 51 states.

[+on4bam]

I have all 51 states.

 

Can you tell me which state is 51st?

After counting them all I'm stuck at 50 and then there's D.C. which is not a state.

[+Andromeda321]

I have all 51 states.

 

Can you tell me which state is 51st?

After counting them all I'm stuck at 50 and then there's D.C. which is not a state.

 

GC lists DC as a state though, hence the 51! (Puerto Rico et al count as their own country in the GC stats.)

[+Andromeda321]

So I'm going to Malta at the end of the month. Woohoo, new country! Not many that are easy to get to in Europe for me by now!

 

Also, I should note that things are winding down in Europe- like it or not, my funding runs out by August 2016- so time to look for a post-PhD job. Applying for one now in Melbourne, Australia which would be an amazing opportunity- here's hoping even if they don't hire me they do want to do in-person interviews!

 

(I should note though, I would soon have fairly little to report in this thread if I moved to Australia, beyond getting there and NZ. Not many other new countries within easy striking distance of Melbourne, and Groundspeak doesn't even have a special map for the states of Australia like they do in the USA/Canada it turns out...)

 

It looks to me that the distance between Melborne and countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philappines is about the same as it is from New York to most of Europe.

 

Pretty much! Which means they're closer for sure, but definitely too far for weekend traveling. Being based in northern Australia would be a different story. And while I have heard nice things and have friends living there, there is no way I would opt to live in Perth, the most isolated major city in the world.

[+Andromeda321]

So I'm going to Malta at the end of the month. Woohoo, new country! Not many that are easy to get to in Europe for me by now!

 

Also, I should note that things are winding down in Europe- like it or not, my funding runs out by August 2016- so time to look for a post-PhD job. Applying for one now in Melbourne, Australia which would be an amazing opportunity- here's hoping even if they don't hire me they do want to do in-person interviews!

 

(I should note though, I would soon have fairly little to report in this thread if I moved to Australia, beyond getting there and NZ. Not many other new countries within easy striking distance of Melbourne, and Groundspeak doesn't even have a special map for the states of Australia like they do in the USA/Canada it turns out...)

 

Malta is lovely! I visited pre caching (story of my travelling life haha!) and stayed in a lovely hostel/boutique hotel right inside the walls of Valetta. It's a great island and getting around is easy. We can get there quite easily from Turkey, so maybe we should revisit before we leave here.

 

Lots of places in Asia are very accessible from Aus, so fingers are crossed for you and the job. I'm sure your previous travels will mean there's still loads to contribute here

 

Singapore I've also visited before caching, so I can only hope that a long layover one day will mean I get to cache there too another time

 

In the meantime, it looks like our next new country will be in March 16... still to be decided but the main contender at the moment is South Africa (just a bit excited about the possibility of that!). Until then it's to-and-fro between Turkey and the UK. Such a long time to wait, but I'm sure it will be worth it!

 

Yeah, looking forward to Malta! I currently have a bunk in what is allegedly a super friendly hostel in St. Julian's, but may yet opt for a room near Valetta. One of those complicated things where you're trying to balance meeting people as a solo traveler and maximizing your free time while traveling.

 

And thanks for the kind words on getting the Aussie job! I think the main thing being Melbourne based is I can definitely get some new countries, but not just on a weekend jaunt as I can now. No lack of cool weekend trips though from there, to be clear, just not new countries! (Excepting NZ, which is a 3 hour flight away... next closest new country tho, New Caledonia, is 5 hours flying.) But hey, where there's a will there's a way... I'm sure I'd get up there at some point, and one can get creative with Pacific islands and stopovers when heading to the USA I think.

 

It's also btw interesting to "re-calibrate" when checking out geocaches in Australia compared to Europe. Here it's not unusual in Amsterdam for the more tourist-friendly geocaches to have over a thousand favorite points, but there it's rare to have one with over 100! So it must just be a small but vibrant community.

 

And good luck getting to South Africa! Southern Africa is in the "pre-geocaching, gotta return" corner of things for me- visited 6 countries in that part of the world during my backpacking days, and gotta get back! (The Aussie prof actually has lots of connections in South Africa so traveling there is a distinct possibility if I were to work for him, but I'm not entertaining the thought much on the grounds of counting chickens before they're hatched and all.)

[+NYPaddleCacher]

So I'm going to Malta at the end of the month. Woohoo, new country! Not many that are easy to get to in Europe for me by now!

 

Also, I should note that things are winding down in Europe- like it or not, my funding runs out by August 2016- so time to look for a post-PhD job. Applying for one now in Melbourne, Australia which would be an amazing opportunity- here's hoping even if they don't hire me they do want to do in-person interviews!

 

(I should note though, I would soon have fairly little to report in this thread if I moved to Australia, beyond getting there and NZ. Not many other new countries within easy striking distance of Melbourne, and Groundspeak doesn't even have a special map for the states of Australia like they do in the USA/Canada it turns out...)

 

It looks to me that the distance between Melborne and countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philappines is about the same as it is from New York to most of Europe.

 

Pretty much! Which means they're closer for sure, but definitely too far for weekend traveling.

 

That kind of reinforces my point about access to other countries being taken for granted. Living in the U.S. means you're pretty much limited to either Canada or Mexico for weekend travel to another country. Sure, one can head to the Caribbean for a weekend but that's kind of expensive just to add one more country.

 

I got a voucher for future travel on an airplane because of a malfunctioning seat on the flight home on my last trip to Rome. I've been considering several options for how to use it and one is to take a 3 day weekend to fly to Puerto Rico.

[Glory Hunters]

I got a voucher for future travel on an airplane because of a malfunctioning seat on the flight home on my last trip to Rome. I've been considering several options for how to use it and one is to take a 3 day weekend to fly to Puerto Rico.

 

Now that's being lucky (at least for me ). Please keep this thread going, it's the most interesting one in the GC forums.

 

In my case, I have my trip planned for 19-25 September, the itinerary will be: Barcelona - Minsk (1.5 days there), Minsk - Helsinki (stopover to grab a couple of caches), Helsinki - Tallin (by ferry), then 3 days with rental car in the Baltic countries. In total, that will be 5 new countries for me, and hopefully an enjoyable trip with my girlfriend

 

Moreover!! I was looking at next week and I might be purchasing a ryanair flight from Girona (my town) to Pisa (two-way for less than 60eur), go and return in two consecutive days, so I can visit San Marino and add another new country to my list. That sounds a bit crazy, and indeed is, but as you said before, living in Europe allows you do to such things anyone been to San Marino?

[+irisisleuk]

.... anyone been to San Marino?

 

No not yet, but we hope this will be our 58th geocaching country next month. We will fly to Bologna where we'll stay several days and we'll do a daytrip to San Marino. We've already been to Andorra (daytrip during Barcelona visit), Liechtenstein *daytrip during Zurich visit), Faroe islands (on a cruise to Iceland), Monaco and the Vatican. So after our visit to San Marino only the Aland Islands remains on our must-visit-one-day list of small/special countries/states in Europe.

[+eigengott]

anyone been to San Marino?

 

I did this a few years ago while vacationing near Arezzo/Italy. It was a good two hours drive from there. Just be aware that San Marino lies in a mountainous area and the driving times from Google maps are a bit optimistic.

 

San Marino itself is quite worth a visit, lot's of old buildings and some great views from the mountaintop. We only visited the old city. Of course San Marino is quite touristy and busy.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

So after our visit to San Marino only the Aland Islands remains on our must-visit-one-day list of small/special countries/states in Europe.

 

The Aland Islands look quite interesting. Even more interesting was the hundreds, if not thousands of small Islands between Aland and the Finnish mainland. It looks like that a lot of these islands have caches on them as well. Even though they all would count as a find in Finland it looks like it would be an amazing area to go geocaching.

 

 

[+eigengott]

The Aland Islands look quite interesting. Even more interesting was the hundreds, if not thousands of small Islands between Aland and the Finnish mainland.

 

The proper way to do the Aland Islands is crossing the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Finland via the Aland Islands in a kayak. It can be done in about 10 days. The longest stretch on open sea is about 27 km.

Edited September 14, 2015 by eigengott

[+NYPaddleCacher]

The Aland Islands look quite interesting. Even more interesting was the hundreds, if not thousands of small Islands between Aland and the Finnish mainland.

 

The proper way to do the Aland Islands is crossing the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Finland via the Aland Islands in a kayak. It can be done in about 10 days. The longest stretch on open sea is about 27 km.

 

That would be a great way to do it but not something that should be taken lightly. A 27km open water crossing is going to be 4-5 hours of non-stop paddling. I wouldn't do it without someone I knew and trusted to do an assisted rescue if necessary.

 

 

[+Andromeda321]

anyone been to San Marino?

 

I did this a few years ago while vacationing near Arezzo/Italy. It was a good two hours drive from there. Just be aware that San Marino lies in a mountainous area and the driving times from Google maps are a bit optimistic.

 

San Marino itself is quite worth a visit, lot's of old buildings and some great views from the mountaintop. We only visited the old city. Of course San Marino is quite touristy and busy.

 

I also have visited San Marino, albeit pre geocaching. It's a wonderful drive! It's also a rather popular tourist place to visit because shopping is cheap there.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

anyone been to San Marino?

 

I did this a few years ago while vacationing near Arezzo/Italy. It was a good two hours drive from there. Just be aware that San Marino lies in a mountainous area and the driving times from Google maps are a bit optimistic.

 

San Marino itself is quite worth a visit, lot's of old buildings and some great views from the mountaintop. We only visited the old city. Of course San Marino is quite touristy and busy.

 

I also have visited San Marino, albeit pre geocaching. It's a wonderful drive! It's also a rather popular tourist place to visit because shopping is cheap there.

 

I'll be about 340km from San Marino on Sunday, but only for about 3 hours.

[+Michaelcycle]

If it is September we must be on a bicycling tour celebrating my birthday. Just back from cycling Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Grabbed some geocaches in each country and had a wonderful time visiting places that this old cold warrior never thought he would see. After we took off the bikes we took the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki for a few days and added Finland to our list. That makes six new countries for the year.

 

 

Bicycling the Curonian spit Lithuania

[+Shawnonabike]

We love caching and we love caching during vacation as you get to see different types of hides and the caches are quite often hidden at interesting locations you would not have seen without a cache.

 

I do love adding further countries to my geocaching stats map. On average we've been getting about 4 new countries per year since we started caching. The recurring discussion every year is whether we should spend our vacation in a country we've already cached in or to something new (and what!). For this year we came up with Rome and Vatican State (2 new countries), Faroe Islands (new) and Turkey (just one found during a very lengthy layover).

 

Who else likes 'collecting' countries, and what are your plans for this year?

 

Mrs. terratin

 

When I travel I don't use up a lot of time geocaching, but if I can combine it with interesting places to see I do so. Just a few in each country is good enough for me. Next March I'm visiting the Czech Republic, Italy, and Austria. Never been to Europe so I'd love to see some smileys there!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

We love caching and we love caching during vacation as you get to see different types of hides and the caches are quite often hidden at interesting locations you would not have seen without a cache.

 

I do love adding further countries to my geocaching stats map. On average we've been getting about 4 new countries per year since we started caching. The recurring discussion every year is whether we should spend our vacation in a country we've already cached in or to something new (and what!). For this year we came up with Rome and Vatican State (2 new countries), Faroe Islands (new) and Turkey (just one found during a very lengthy layover).

 

Who else likes 'collecting' countries, and what are your plans for this year?

 

Mrs. terratin

 

When I travel I don't use up a lot of time geocaching, but if I can combine it with interesting places to see I do so. Just a few in each country is good enough for me. Next March I'm visiting the Czech Republic, Italy, and Austria. Never been to Europe so I'd love to see some smileys there!

 

I am currently in Milan but probably won't find any caches before I leave for the US this afternoon. I only found 3 caches while I was in Paris (for the past week) but I've found caches in France and Italy previously. That was my third visit to France and have only found 13 caches total but I'm fine with that. I'm not a numbers cacher when at home and even less so when I travel.

[Glory Hunters]

Just came back from my north european trip - found 23 caches in total in Belarus, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Now that's 5 more countries for me, to a sum of 26!!

 

The Baltic countries were excellent to visit!

[+Michaelcycle]

Just came back from my north european trip - found 23 caches in total in Belarus, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Now that's 5 more countries for me, to a sum of 26!!

 

The Baltic countries were excellent to visit!

 

I would second your assessment of the Baltic States. I had no idea, for example, that Riga has such a rich collection of Art Nouveau architecture. Pretty heavy on mystery caches, though, so do some homework if you plan to go.

[Glory Hunters]

Just came back from my north european trip - found 23 caches in total in Belarus, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Now that's 5 more countries for me, to a sum of 26!!

 

The Baltic countries were excellent to visit!

 

I would second your assessment of the Baltic States. I had no idea, for example, that Riga has such a rich collection of Art Nouveau architecture. Pretty heavy on mystery caches, though, so do some homework if you plan to go.

 

I was too lazy to solve misteries, we only did grab traditionals, plus two webcams (one in Helsinki and one in Pärnu)

[+Andromeda321]

Went to Malta last weekend for country number 39! Yay! And it was my 26th country in Europe to boot...

 

I've gotta say though, my geocaching pace has definitely slowed down this year because of the increase of PhD work and it shows- the two geocaches in Malta were the only two I got for all of September. I guess that's what happens when you're working late almost every night, no time to get out to grab some geocaches and then when the weekend comes you're too tired to get out of the apartment. But obviously, trying to not force anything, I can always get more back into it when I have the PhD in hand. But I still miss it.

 

And on a similar new note, nothing new planned unless we count the state of New Mexico in early December.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Went to Malta last weekend for country number 39! Yay! And it was my 26th country in Europe to boot...

 

Congrats. I wonder if there is anyone else here that has found caches in more countries than their age.

 

 

I've gotta say though, my geocaching pace has definitely slowed down this year because of the increase of PhD work and it shows- the two geocaches in Malta were the only two I got for all of September. I guess that's what happens when you're working late almost every night, no time to get out to grab some geocaches and then when the weekend comes you're too tired to get out of the apartment. But obviously, trying to not force anything, I can always get more back into it when I have the PhD in hand. But I still miss it.

 

And on a similar new note, nothing new planned unless we count the state of New Mexico in early December.

 

I was just checking and I've been on 5 business related trips this year (and one more scheduled in November to China) but all to places where I've previously found a cache. This may be the first year since I started geocaching (in 2007) that I have not added a new country or state.

 

As is often the case when I travel for business I do a bit of "networking" with people that might lead to other travel. At the meetings last week in Paris I was specifically asked if I could travel to their institution to do some consulting. One was in Versaille, France which wouldn't add a new country. The other was to a University in Cuba but that probably wouldn't happen until Spring 2016. I also had some good conversations with the CEO of a company in Greece where there could be some potential collaboration. Meanwhile three of my colleagues are currently in Africa and have visited Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, and Botswana, all countries in which I have not found a cache.