You could always go down and visit Mike in Vegas... :)
Seriously, I'm going to be flying out there for a visit 3/7 through 3/11, overlapping John's spring break so he can try to make it... I'm sure Mike would love to see you, too.
Sadly, I currently saving leave for a road trip to help a friend temporarily move to California this summer, and I just took two weeks off for my trip to Singapore/Malaysia. But tell them both I miss them.
How did you like Singapore, by the way? That's someplace I'd be curious about visiting, but it always seemed like it would be so far off and expensive that it was out of reach.
I enjoyed it. Food was great, and it was nice to be warm in December. I'm glad we also went to Malaysia, the compare/contrast was gave me a better feel for both countries. I'm glad that I hadn't thought through the flight times until right before the trip, because 14+ hours is a bit much to sit on one plane. Prices weren't any higher than big cities in the states. I haven't gotten around to posting pictures, I should do that.
If all worked, that should be a link to a photo of me below the Petronas Towers, the night before New Year's Eve. Rest of the photos should be findable from there, thrown up on Tom's google page. My photos aren't near as nice as yours and were taken on phones (my packing philosophy is ultralight enough that I managed to take 12 pounds of luggage for 2 weeks).
We didn't go up the towers, but did eat dinner in the food court, which was actually the least exciting eating we did all trip. The base of the towers are super fancy mall, with brands that I didn't realize had stores.
Flight was about $2000 per person, so by far the most expensive flight I've bought. But, part of my budget each month is saving for trips, because my feet get itchy. I figure one big trip every few years and hopefully I can put off crazy life changing impulses.
Yeah, I can understand the light-packing thing. One of my goals in the last couple of years has been improving the quality of the camera while reducing the size/weight I'm having to pack along; right now I've got an Olympus E-M10 as my 'serious' interchangeable-lens camera, which is a good bit smaller/lighter than a DSLR, and a Fujifilm X20 as an all-in-one for when I don't want to pack along the whole kit.
(In general, smartphone cameras have gotten good enough that it's not really worth buying low-end digicams, unless you really want a zoom lens; however, enthusiast-level compact cameras still have some big advantages over cellphone cameras, and if you look you can often find good deals. For example, the Olympus XZ-2; I grabbed one for a friend for under $200 from Amazon, and it takes pictures like this (some samples I took for him, nothing artistic, but gives you an idea).)
I do envy you the chance to see the towers; I love tall buildings. Despite the fact that I get vertigo if the railing just *looks* too flimsy. ^^;;
And $2000... ay. Yeah, that's about the ballpark I was expecting. I admit, much as I'd love to travel to places like that, there's something in me that just chokes up whenever I think about spending money in that range without something physical (car, computer, etc.) in return. I really should work on that, but there are so many things I want to spend money on...
'crazy life changing impulses', eh? (looks innocent)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2015-02-14 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-14 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-15 02:48 am (UTC)Seriously, I'm going to be flying out there for a visit 3/7 through 3/11, overlapping John's spring break so he can try to make it... I'm sure Mike would love to see you, too.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-15 03:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-15 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-15 03:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-15 03:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-15 04:39 am (UTC)When you were in Malaysia, did you go to Kuala Lumpur and see the Petronas Towers? That's one thing I'd definitely like to do.
Prices... I was thinking more of the flight than the cost of food/hotels/etc.; that goes pretty expensive, doesn't it?
no subject
Date: 2015-02-16 01:53 am (UTC)If all worked, that should be a link to a photo of me below the Petronas Towers, the night before New Year's Eve. Rest of the photos should be findable from there, thrown up on Tom's google page. My photos aren't near as nice as yours and were taken on phones (my packing philosophy is ultralight enough that I managed to take 12 pounds of luggage for 2 weeks).
We didn't go up the towers, but did eat dinner in the food court, which was actually the least exciting eating we did all trip. The base of the towers are super fancy mall, with brands that I didn't realize had stores.
Flight was about $2000 per person, so by far the most expensive flight I've bought. But, part of my budget each month is saving for trips, because my feet get itchy. I figure one big trip every few years and hopefully I can put off crazy life changing impulses.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-16 06:07 am (UTC)(In general, smartphone cameras have gotten good enough that it's not really worth buying low-end digicams, unless you really want a zoom lens; however, enthusiast-level compact cameras still have some big advantages over cellphone cameras, and if you look you can often find good deals. For example, the Olympus XZ-2; I grabbed one for a friend for under $200 from Amazon, and it takes pictures like this (some samples I took for him, nothing artistic, but gives you an idea).)
I do envy you the chance to see the towers; I love tall buildings. Despite the fact that I get vertigo if the railing just *looks* too flimsy. ^^;;
And $2000... ay. Yeah, that's about the ballpark I was expecting. I admit, much as I'd love to travel to places like that, there's something in me that just chokes up whenever I think about spending money in that range without something physical (car, computer, etc.) in return. I really should work on that, but there are so many things I want to spend money on...
'crazy life changing impulses', eh? (looks innocent)