collecting countries

February 8, 2015

I don't count countries I have visited if I haven't left the airport either. If I did, I would have visited Kenya four times now. I'm on the fence about Norway. I *did* leave the airport terminal and have an entry/exit stamp in my passport but I didn't stray very far.

For me, if I left the airport it counts

Has anyone cached in Thailand recently? Any tips for stealth in Bangkok? Is it worth going all the way to Chaing Rai just to visit the Laos virtual at the Golden Triangle?

We only have 8 days, so time is tight and the purpose of the trip is actually to visit the River Kwai, but there is time for Chaing Mai at least, as we are not strangers to an overnight train or two :lol:

We are off in two weeks - very excited!

2.1k · February 8, 2015

Just been to Bangkok. To be honest: if you found one cache in Bangkok you found them all. In the end we looked at similar hiding places without knowing if there's a cache, and sometimes found one. We spent nearly a week in Bangkok and didn't feel like we had nothing to do anymore. There's so much to see. We had a hotel in Chinatown (Shanghai Mansion - doesn't have windows, but we knew that), which is completely crazy anyway. And not far from the train station. Though we did walk a lot instead of taking taxis. We only did one trip out of town, to Ayuthaya (sp?) by train, which was enough for us. River Kwai should not be too far away. I can't tell you much about the other places, to be honest, but it all sounds a bit too rushed for me.

4.2k · February 10, 2015

After seriously considering Ireland (ruined castles, megalithic sites, and the Grand Prix of darts) we ended up starting to plan a trip to the Ecuador highlands and Chile (Rapa Nui / Easter Island), There seem to be some earthcaches and virtuals. But it seems Ireland will have to wait.

2.1k · February 10, 2015

After seriously considering Ireland (ruined castles, megalithic sites, and the Grand Prix of darts) we ended up starting to plan a trip to the Ecuador highlands and Chile (Rapa Nui / Easter Island), There seem to be some earthcaches and virtuals. But it seems Ireland will have to wait.

Well, comparing your options, I would think that it's indeed a good idea for Ireland to wait a bit :anibad: Sounds like a great trip!

February 10, 2015

After seriously considering Ireland (ruined castles, megalithic sites, and the Grand Prix of darts) we ended up starting to plan a trip to the Ecuador highlands and Chile (Rapa Nui / Easter Island), There seem to be some earthcaches and virtuals. But it seems Ireland will have to wait.

You will love Easter Island. If I were to visit there again I would opt to rent a car instead of getting a local tour guide. YMMV

February 10, 2015

After seriously considering Ireland (ruined castles, megalithic sites, and the Grand Prix of darts) we ended up starting to plan a trip to the Ecuador highlands and Chile (Rapa Nui / Easter Island), There seem to be some earthcaches and virtuals. But it seems Ireland will have to wait.

Ireland is a nice country (I live here!) and there are over 7000 geocaches. Excluding Dublin and maybe Belfast it is not like there is a cache every 161 meters. Even in those cities it isn't true. In more rural areas the caches are generally good. There is a cache in the middle of nowhere with over 1,000 finds. If you have any questions please feel free to PM me (about Ireland)!

2.1k · February 15, 2015

New country coming up in April: Iran. We're doing the classical route Shiraz to Tehran and will visit some 6 UNESCO world heritage sites and lots of other nice locations. Cache-wise it looks a bit sad. We'll probably be able to get a cache in Shiraz, and with a lot of luck one in Tehran but that's probably it. But anway, a dream comes true! :wub:

14k · February 15, 2015

New country coming up in April: Iran. We're doing the classical route Shiraz to Tehran and will visit some 6 UNESCO world heritage sites and lots of other nice locations. Cache-wise it looks a bit sad. We'll probably be able to get a cache in Shiraz, and with a lot of luck one in Tehran but that's probably it. But anway, a dream comes true!

I have thought that if GS were to spend more time developing souvenirs that a collection of souvenirs for visiting UNESCO world heritage sites would be interesting. There are a few UNESCO world heritage site challenge caches but they're regional (e.g. find a cache at all 7 sites in FInland). I also came across a few UNESCO TBs with a goal to visit as many sites as possible.

2.1k · February 15, 2015

I have thought that if GS were to spend more time developing souvenirs that a collection of souvenirs for visiting UNESCO world heritage sites would be interesting. There are a few UNESCO world heritage site challenge caches but they're regional (e.g. find a cache at all 7 sites in FInland). I also came across a few UNESCO TBs with a goal to visit as many sites as possible.

I'd love to see a way of logging UNESCO sites, but I don't think this would work within GC, apart from Waymarking. Usually there's no cache nearby (permission and vacation caches) and EarthCaches are hardly ever the right type of cache either. A cooperation with the UNESCO for somehow logging those sites would be great but I don't see that happening.

February 16, 2015

I have thought that if GS were to spend more time developing souvenirs that a collection of souvenirs for visiting UNESCO world heritage sites would be interesting. There are a few UNESCO world heritage site challenge caches but they're regional (e.g. find a cache at all 7 sites in FInland). I also came across a few UNESCO TBs with a goal to visit as many sites as possible.

I'd love to see a way of logging UNESCO sites, but I don't think this would work within GC, apart from Waymarking. Usually there's no cache nearby (permission and vacation caches) and EarthCaches are hardly ever the right type of cache either. A cooperation with the UNESCO for somehow logging those sites would be great but I don't see that happening.

Plus there are a thousand UNESCO World Heritage sites. If Groundspeak can't get out souvenirs for the most popular countries in a timely fashion, I just can't imagine how long making world heritage sites would take! (There's also a lot of politics involved in choosing said sites- much as I love Italy and Spain for example it makes little sense that ~10% of all sites are there, but the USA which is so much bigger only makes up ~2%.)

2.1k · February 16, 2015

I was wondering the other day if it would be possible to do more with UNESCO sites... I just love visiting so much. Yes, there's a Waymarking category, but it's so limiting. Anyway, 6 are planned for Iran

Edited February 16, 2015 by terratin

1.9k · February 16, 2015

I was wondering the other day if it would be possible to set up a UNESCO world heritage logging site, maybe similar to the degree confluence project. People should upload photos and describe their experience visiting sites according to some rules. But then you'd only need a handful of couch loggers to destroy everything. Or log reviewers, which makes everything too complex to start with.

That sounds like a Waymarking category?

14k · February 16, 2015

redacted

Edited February 16, 2015 by NYPaddleCacher

February 20, 2015

I collect also on flag counter on my profile page, so please visit my GC profile page if you can, i can share you Latvian flag if you got this on GC profile, cache or TB page. TNX

Come and visit my profile - would love to see some exotic flags on my flag counter --- Hyackman (Bruce)

OK you guys, I'm in Thailand at the moment and just gave you both your first Thai flag

If anyone else has a flag counter, let me know and I'll stalk your profile and leave you a Thai flag too. You have until 28th-ish!

14k · February 20, 2015

I collect also on flag counter on my profile page, so please visit my GC profile page if you can, i can share you Latvian flag if you got this on GC profile, cache or TB page. TNX

Come and visit my profile - would love to see some exotic flags on my flag counter --- Hyackman (Bruce)

OK you guys, I'm in Thailand at the moment and just gave you both your first Thai flag

If anyone else has a flag counter, let me know and I'll stalk your profile and leave you a Thai flag too. You have until 28th-ish!

I just added flag counter to my profile. I probably should have done it a long time ago. I know a geocacher that is currently in Hong Kong. I'll see if I can get him to visit our profiles

4.5k · February 20, 2015

Too late if it's me you're thinking of, sorry.

But couldn't you fake that anyway? Seems all you'd need is a foreign proxy, and there are services that offer up lists of 'em.

14k · February 20, 2015

Too late if it's me you're thinking of, sorry.

But couldn't you fake that anyway? Seems all you'd need is a foreign proxy, and there are services that offer up lists of 'em.

Nope, it wasn't you. I saw a message from him this morning in another forum and he's still there.

My wife has one of those proxy services that she installed on her and my sons laptops. It has 24 (I think) different proxy servers in 15 or so countries that one can switch to with a single click.

I wouldn't use it to fake a visit from another location. I wouldn't log a find then delete it on a cache in a country in which I don't have a souvenir just so I could acquire the souvenir either.

February 21, 2015

I just added flag counter to my profile. I probably should have done it a long time ago. I know a geocacher that is currently in Hong Kong. I'll see if I can get him to visit our profiles

Thailand added. I will do Turkey and UK when I get home.

4.5k · February 21, 2015

I wouldn't use it to fake a visit from another location.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you would. Rather, to point out that "rare" flags aren't really that rare, if somebody puts their mind to it.

Anyway, I just sent you a Canadian flag. That means you have to come visit now. Eh!

2.1k · February 21, 2015

So far found 3 caches in Kuwait. We might still go for 2 others. Though we have not logged yet as it's no fun with mobile phone. The trip started with queueing and waiting (see what I did here?) for visa on arrival, lost luggage ( which wasn't list in the end) and rental car. Anyway, country number 34. And we might leave something: the first earthcache in Kuwait.

14k · February 21, 2015

I wouldn't use it to fake a visit from another location.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you would. Rather, to point out that "rare" flags aren't really that rare, if somebody puts their mind to it.

Anyway, I just sent you a Canadian flag. That means you have to come visit now. Eh!

Thanks. I guess I didn't think of Hong Kong as rare. I'm hoping to go to Ottawa for a conference in May. I've been to Canada several times (Vancouver Island, Vancouver, Ontario a couple of times, and Newfoundland) but not since I started cacheing.

Another thing I've collected during my travels are the local coins or small denominational bills from each country I've visited. I've got a wooden box into which I throw them and when I've get extras for some coins I put them into a different box and will grab a handful and put them into a plastic baggie that I put into my small geocaching bag. I don't often trade swag but when I do that is what I use. The other day I found a Swedish 1KR coin (almost the same size and shape as a US quarter) in my pocket change. It went into the foreign coin box even though I haven't actually been to Sweden (got as close as walking by the train to Malmo at the airport in Copenhagen though.)

February 22, 2015

I just added flag counter to my profile. I probably should have done it a long time ago. I know a geocacher that is currently in Hong Kong. I'll see if I can get him to visit our profiles

Thailand added. I will do Turkey and UK when I get home.

Many thanks for first Thailand

If anyone needs Latvia, you know where to leave a reply!

February 22, 2015

I don't mean to be rude at all, but maybe we could leave the "profile flag collecting" thing for another thread, since it barely has anything to do with geocaching (I don't say I don't like it, but this thread is about collecting _real visited_ countries) and the thread is becoming a little less interesting.

That being said, I will have a business trip to Andorra in April, which will be my 20th country

February 23, 2015

I don't mean to be rude at all, but maybe we could leave the "profile flag collecting" thing for another thread

Sorry! I will certainly remember to do this next time

Just arrived in Chiang Mai where I hope the caches will be slightly more varied than Bangkok. Oh look, another magnet on the back of a sign :lol: although I guess options are kind of limited in such a busy place, and we are greatful for any we happen to come across whilst visiting an attraction that enables us to pop a pin in the Thailand map.

February 23, 2015

Back from Portugal 4 days ago. We did fantastic there, we got 38 geocaches. We got several records such as:

Most amount of Geocaches in a day.

2 events in a day (which wasn't planned until the day!).

Got our 150th find in Portugal.

2.1k · February 24, 2015

Congrats diosma1. Portugal is lovely, and I really would love to see more of it.

1.7k · February 24, 2015

Plans for this year.... 3 and a half weeks in Europe during which a friend of mine and I are planning to hit maybe as many as 30+ countries, at least 20 of which should be new ones for me. Flights and eurolease vehicle booked.

2.1k · February 24, 2015

What is Eurolease? A certain company or just a general name for a rental car? I'm still looking at finding a rental car for our family visit/ EC event trip in September. We prefer tiny cars, but even then the costs accumulate nicely if we want a second driver (yep, too much driving for one person) and cross into other EU countries (that's just ridiculous!). Or rental companies that already include a second driver have limited km, which are below what we'll be driving *sigh*

February 24, 2015

What is Eurolease? A certain company or just a general name for a rental car? I'm still looking at finding a rental car for our family visit/ EC event trip in September. We prefer tiny cars, but even then the costs accumulate nicely if we want a second driver (yep, too much driving for one person) and cross into other EU countries (that's just ridiculous!). Or rental companies that already include a second driver have limited km, which are below what we'll be driving *sigh*

What if you just don't add the second driver, but she drives anyway. We do this all the time and never had a problem. Obviously is a little risky.

Btw I looked on renting a car to visit the Balcan countries but seems impossible to cross into some of them, especially Macedonia. Will keep investigating.

2.1k · February 24, 2015

Yes, we could, but if we end up in an accident even if it's not our fault insurances might decide to not pay out anything as someone basically not insured was driving. We're not doing that for those reasons. But we still have a lot of time for booking. When I see a better offer I'll cancel my current one and rebook.

Balkan countries: yes, crossing borders is an issue there with rental cars. We found out the same when we were looking into a vacation in Montenegro or southern Croatia a while ago. We couldn't find the right accommodation, thus it didn't go through. There are a few mainly local rental companies that allow this, but you need to contact them directly. The fee will also be higher. At that time, driving into Albania was not possible at all.

1.7k · February 24, 2015

What is Eurolease? A certain company or just a general name for a rental car? I'm still looking at finding a rental car for our family visit/ EC event trip in September. We prefer tiny cars, but even then the costs accumulate nicely if we want a second driver (yep, too much driving for one person) and cross into other EU countries (that's just ridiculous!). Or rental companies that already include a second driver have limited km, which are below what we'll be driving *sigh*

The French government has a tax break kind of deal with their car manufacturers such that it is worthwhile for them to effectively sell you a brand new car with a gauranteed buy back - so effectively a lease - for a period of time. You give the car back and they sell it on as a used car. The French government doesn't charge the company a bunch of taxes to do with it being a new car. For the length of time we're going, we'll get a brand new top of the line Peugeot 308 with full insurance, no excess, 24/7 roadside assistance, unlimited kms and additional driver(s) for less than it would have cost us to get a smaller rental car (which would be restricted to less countries, and still have an insurance excess of some kind). Peugeot, Citroen and Renault all do it, but for this trip, the Peugeot worked out best for us. It's definitely worth looking into if you're going for 3 weeks or more. It is particularly cost effective if you're going for a couple of months or more.

Edit to add: With the eurolease arrangement, we can drive into all European countries aside from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Albania. Well actually you can take the car anywhere but outside Europe or in those excluded countries you take on the insurance risk. For the Balkan countries, it is less of a problem to cross borders because you actually own the car and it is registered in your name.

Edited February 24, 2015 by funkymunkyzone

2.1k · February 24, 2015

What is Eurolease? A certain company or just a general name for a rental car? I'm still looking at finding a rental car for our family visit/ EC event trip in September. We prefer tiny cars, but even then the costs accumulate nicely if we want a second driver (yep, too much driving for one person) and cross into other EU countries (that's just ridiculous!). Or rental companies that already include a second driver have limited km, which are below what we'll be driving *sigh*

The French government has a tax break kind of deal with their car manufacturers such that it is worthwhile for them to effectively sell you a brand new car with a gauranteed buy back - so effectively a lease - for a period of time. You give the car back and they sell it on as a used car. The French government doesn't charge the company a bunch of taxes to do with it being a new car. For the length of time we're going, we'll get a brand new top of the line Peugeot 308 with full insurance, no excess, 24/7 roadside assistance, unlimited kms and additional driver(s) for less than it would have cost us to get a smaller rental car (which would be restricted to less countries, and still have an insurance excess of some kind). Peugeot, Citroen and Renault all do it, but for this trip, the Peugeot worked out best for us. It's definitely worth looking into if you're going for 3 weeks or more. It is particularly cost effective if you're going for a couple of months or more.

Edit to add: With the eurolease arrangement, we can drive into all European countries aside from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Albania. Well actually you can take the car anywhere but outside Europe or in those excluded countries you take on the insurance risk. For the Balkan countries, it is less of a problem to cross borders because you actually own the car and it is registered in your name.

Wow, that sounds extremely interesting! I didn't know that. But you need to have residency in France I suppose, or can I just go to a car dealer and say: I'll take this car, pay cash and take it along?

1.7k · February 24, 2015

What is Eurolease? A certain company or just a general name for a rental car? I'm still looking at finding a rental car for our family visit/ EC event trip in September. We prefer tiny cars, but even then the costs accumulate nicely if we want a second driver (yep, too much driving for one person) and cross into other EU countries (that's just ridiculous!). Or rental companies that already include a second driver have limited km, which are below what we'll be driving *sigh*

The French government has a tax break kind of deal with their car manufacturers such that it is worthwhile for them to effectively sell you a brand new car with a gauranteed buy back - so effectively a lease - for a period of time. You give the car back and they sell it on as a used car. The French government doesn't charge the company a bunch of taxes to do with it being a new car. For the length of time we're going, we'll get a brand new top of the line Peugeot 308 with full insurance, no excess, 24/7 roadside assistance, unlimited kms and additional driver(s) for less than it would have cost us to get a smaller rental car (which would be restricted to less countries, and still have an insurance excess of some kind). Peugeot, Citroen and Renault all do it, but for this trip, the Peugeot worked out best for us. It's definitely worth looking into if you're going for 3 weeks or more. It is particularly cost effective if you're going for a couple of months or more.

Edit to add: With the eurolease arrangement, we can drive into all European countries aside from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Albania. Well actually you can take the car anywhere but outside Europe or in those excluded countries you take on the insurance risk. For the Balkan countries, it is less of a problem to cross borders because you actually own the car and it is registered in your name.

Wow, that sounds extremely interesting! I didn't know that. But you need to have residency in France I suppose, or can I just go to a car dealer and say: I'll take this car, pay cash and take it along?

Actually it's specifically a programme for non-EU residents. Google "Peugeot Eurolease", "Citroen Drive Europe" or "Renault Eurodrive".

Disclaimer: I have no connection whatsoever with any of these organisations.

2.1k · February 25, 2015

What is Eurolease? A certain company or just a general name for a rental car? I'm still looking at finding a rental car for our family visit/ EC event trip in September. We prefer tiny cars, but even then the costs accumulate nicely if we want a second driver (yep, too much driving for one person) and cross into other EU countries (that's just ridiculous!). Or rental companies that already include a second driver have limited km, which are below what we'll be driving *sigh*

The French government has a tax break kind of deal with their car manufacturers such that it is worthwhile for them to effectively sell you a brand new car with a gauranteed buy back - so effectively a lease - for a period of time. You give the car back and they sell it on as a used car. The French government doesn't charge the company a bunch of taxes to do with it being a new car. For the length of time we're going, we'll get a brand new top of the line Peugeot 308 with full insurance, no excess, 24/7 roadside assistance, unlimited kms and additional driver(s) for less than it would have cost us to get a smaller rental car (which would be restricted to less countries, and still have an insurance excess of some kind). Peugeot, Citroen and Renault all do it, but for this trip, the Peugeot worked out best for us. It's definitely worth looking into if you're going for 3 weeks or more. It is particularly cost effective if you're going for a couple of months or more.

Edit to add: With the eurolease arrangement, we can drive into all European countries aside from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Albania. Well actually you can take the car anywhere but outside Europe or in those excluded countries you take on the insurance risk. For the Balkan countries, it is less of a problem to cross borders because you actually own the car and it is registered in your name.

Wow, that sounds extremely interesting! I didn't know that. But you need to have residency in France I suppose, or can I just go to a car dealer and say: I'll take this car, pay cash and take it along?

Actually it's specifically a programme for non-EU residents. Google "Peugeot Eurolease", "Citroen Drive Europe" or "Renault Eurodrive".

Disclaimer: I have no connection whatsoever with any of these organisations.

Oh, that's a shame. I was thinking about doing a decent road trip when back in Europe. Oh well.. maybe there are other options, but this does sound brilliant!

3.1k · February 25, 2015

All I know is that I'll get a chance for a few more in British Columbia and England in a couple months. I'm getting SO excited! :surprise:

March 3, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

March 3, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

If you come to Ireland in May, please let me know

1.7k · March 3, 2015

Oh, that's a shame. I was thinking about doing a decent road trip when back in Europe. Oh well.. maybe there are other options, but this does sound brilliant!

I thought you are non-EU-resident. It's not about whether you're an EU citizen... Just that you are resident elsewhere.

March 4, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

Congratulations on your UK cache

If you are flying through the main Istanbul airport, I believe there is a cache you can get if you have at least a spare hour, we regularly transit through the airport but have never gone for the cache (the international lounge for Turkish airlines always lures us in instead!).

If you decide to go for the cache I'd be interested to hear about your experience!

Edited March 4, 2015 by TwoNomadicBrits

2.1k · March 4, 2015

Oh, that's a shame. I was thinking about doing a decent road trip when back in Europe. Oh well.. maybe there are other options, but this does sound brilliant!

I thought you are non-EU-resident. It's not about whether you're an EU citizen... Just that you are resident elsewhere.

Currently we are. But we're not doing a Europe roadtrip while being so close to SE Asia :lol: This would be something we'd do when living in Europe again

14k · March 4, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

Congratulations on your UK cache

If you are flying through the main Istanbul airport, I believe there is a cache you can get if you have at least a spare hour, we regularly transit through the airport but have never gone for the cache (the international lounge for Turkish airlines always lures us in instead!).

If you decide to go for the cache I'd be interested to hear about your experience!

I don't remember a cache close to the airport. I as there long enough that I took the metro into the city and spent a couple of hours before going back. I would have stayed longer but I wasn't feeling well after coming back from Ethiopia.

A country collectors trick that I've learned is that when you've got a layover at an airport that has a subway/metro/fast rail at the airport, check the route to see if there are caches near the first couple of stops near the airport (there often are) and the schedule. The trains often run frequently enough and on a specific schedule that you can get to an area and back fairly quickly rather than try to get a cache closer to the airport.

March 4, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

Congratulations on your UK cache

If you are flying through the main Istanbul airport, I believe there is a cache you can get if you have at least a spare hour, we regularly transit through the airport but have never gone for the cache (the international lounge for Turkish airlines always lures us in instead!).

If you decide to go for the cache I'd be interested to hear about your experience!

I don't remember a cache close to the airport. I as there long enough that I took the metro into the city and spent a couple of hours before going back. I would have stayed longer but I wasn't feeling well after coming back from Ethiopia.

A country collectors trick that I've learned is that when you've got a layover at an airport that has a subway/metro/fast rail at the airport, check the route to see if there are caches near the first couple of stops near the airport (there often are) and the schedule. The trains often run frequently enough and on a specific schedule that you can get to an area and back fairly quickly rather than try to get a cache closer to the airport.

It's a good tip with the metro thing, as this cache is exactly that - one stop on the metro from the main airport. Do You Have Time The CO says it can be done in an hour... but you have to factor in picking up a visa on arrival if you don't have an evisa, and then going back through security. As a regular domestic-international transfer passenger at this airport where you have to go out through passports/security and then back in again every time; this has rarely taken less than an hour so it would be very tight with anything less than a 2 hour stop over.

I'm travelling out to Egypt on Sunday from the smaller second airport, or I might have been tempted to give it a try! :laughing:

2.1k · March 4, 2015

Keep in mind that Istanbul is a terrible airport, and walking distances might be somewhat bigger and queues at customs and for returning might be a little nightmare, depending on the time of the day.

14k · March 4, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

Congratulations on your UK cache

If you are flying through the main Istanbul airport, I believe there is a cache you can get if you have at least a spare hour, we regularly transit through the airport but have never gone for the cache (the international lounge for Turkish airlines always lures us in instead!).

If you decide to go for the cache I'd be interested to hear about your experience!

I don't remember a cache close to the airport. I as there long enough that I took the metro into the city and spent a couple of hours before going back. I would have stayed longer but I wasn't feeling well after coming back from Ethiopia.

A country collectors trick that I've learned is that when you've got a layover at an airport that has a subway/metro/fast rail at the airport, check the route to see if there are caches near the first couple of stops near the airport (there often are) and the schedule. The trains often run frequently enough and on a specific schedule that you can get to an area and back fairly quickly rather than try to get a cache closer to the airport.

It's a good tip with the metro thing, as this cache is exactly that - one stop on the metro from the main airport. Do You Have Time The CO says it can be done in an hour... but you have to factor in picking up a visa on arrival if you don't have an evisa, and then going back through security. As a regular domestic-international transfer passenger at this airport where you have to go out through passports/security and then back in again every time; this has rarely taken less than an hour so it would be very tight with anything less than a 2 hour stop over.

I'm travelling out to Egypt on Sunday from the smaller second airport, or I might have been tempted to give it a try!

I picked up a visa on arrival, went through immigration/customs, then back through immigration/security when I went to Istanbul. Those are things that one has to consider when trying to find any cache during a layover. Doing it in an hour is pretty ambitious and even a 2 hour window would probably cut it close. I had a 3.5 hour layover in Oslo and was still concerned about getting back in time to catch my connecting flight so didn't try for a couple of caches nearby. Maybe I'm being excessively paranoid, but missing a flight would probably result in having to pay a change fee in the neighborhood of $200 US.

I had a 7 hour layover in Tokyo and as a U.S. citizen didn't require a visa so I was able to get out and back into the airport fairly quickly. There are 3 caches very close to the airport, but rather an just staying close to the airport (and all that lovely scenery) I took the metro to the town of Narita (about a 12 minute ride) and found a couple of caches there, including one in a beautiful park with the Naritasan temple.

14k · March 4, 2015

Keep in mind that Istanbul is a terrible airport, and walking distances might be somewhat bigger and queues at customs and for returning might be a little nightmare, depending on the time of the day.

I only went through there once and don't remember it being that awful. Still, it was probably close to an hour from the time the plane go to the gate until I got outside.

I remember a *really* long security checkpoint flying out of Rome once and on a couple of occasions it seemed to take forever to transit through Johannesburg and Frankfurt even though I didn't leave the airport.

Changi, in Singapore is a wonderful airport but it's huge. After flying from NYC, to Tokyo, then to Singapore and arriving at 1:00AM I think it took 25 minutes just to walk from the gate to transit hotel in the airport, not including a stop to find the Butterfly Garden cache in the terminal.

March 4, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

If you come to Ireland in May, please let me know

I will, it's a four day "training", but with plenty of free time and I'll be staying on a hotel close to Trinity, so plenty of caches around, including, if I remember correctly a couple quite old virtuals and even a webcam cache nearby, so I just can't wait :-)

March 4, 2015

Just logged my first cache in UK. 19 countries & counting. Next stop either Turkey next week (short flight connection) or Ireland in May. Keep on caching !!

Congratulations on your UK cache

If you are flying through the main Istanbul airport, I believe there is a cache you can get if you have at least a spare hour, we regularly transit through the airport but have never gone for the cache (the international lounge for Turkish airlines always lures us in instead!).

If you decide to go for the cache I'd be interested to hear about your experience!

That one is indeed the goal. I have a 3 hour layover coming from Malaysia before taking my flight to Belgium, so if I have the time and energy the idea is to give it a try to that one, so that I can do my 20th country asap, but there's a chance that I'm pretty dead after the flight, so .. we'll see

March 5, 2015

we regularly transit through the airport but have never gone for the cache (the international lounge for Turkish airlines always lures us in instead!).

I don't blame you for wanting to stay in the lounge.

The guy making the Lahmacun always had a line.

14k · March 10, 2015

I got an email message from a person that I'm collaborating with at FAO on a project that uses a software platform developed in the department where I work. The message was about another similar project that uses the same platform and one of my roles with that platform is providing consultation for those using it internationally, primarily in the agriculture domain. In this case it involves a consortium of universities....in Cuba. Now that's a country I'd love to add to my collection.

1.7k · March 10, 2015

I got an email message from a person that I'm collaborating with at FAO on a project that uses a software platform developed in the department where I work. The message was about another similar project that uses the same platform and one of my roles with that platform is providing consultation for those using it internationally, primarily in the agriculture domain. In this case it involves a consortium of universities....in Cuba. Now that's a country I'd love to add to my collection.

Cuba is indeed a pretty interesting place - the daiquiris are to die for - although admittedly I only saw Havana and only for a few stolen days on my way home from working in the Bahamas.

It's a tough life.

collecting countries

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