The "I'm Going on Vacation" Thread

[Buffalobiian]

Vacation again, USA for the first time.

Washington DC:



-huge flex in terms of monuments etc to commemorate national history. I guess it's a much bigger deal for the US than it is for Australia.

-Also American flags everywhere. This isn't actually DC exclusive, it's the case all over the place. I've been to Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. Nowhere else hangs out a flag just because.

-Chinese food sucks in Washington DC.

Rhode Island
-It would have been amazing to be rich back in the day. Bloody hell these mansions are big. No internet though.. that's a deal breaker.

NYC:



-Food is better
-Interesting use of basements. We see no basements in AU. Never. It must suck when it rains though.
-Cool streets.
-Your subway stations are really hot and stuffy.
-Revolving doors are still a thing?!?!
-In general, you guys have some cool buildings. I love the way your wooden houses look. Stone buildings are also on another level.

Boston:
-Getting colder. Not much else for me to add.
-On our way up through New Haven, there's a Thai place called September in Bangkok and it's amazing.

New Hampshire:



-cool scenery and autumn leaves.

Maine:



-Lobsters. Oh god they're sweet. Small.. but so so sweet. And for 8.99USD for a pound (+ free cooking) it's a bargain. I used to think that I could never tire of eating lobsters. Having eaten 2 meals of lobster in 2 days I can fathom it to be possible, But still.. I'm accepting sponsors for a challenge.
-You cup noodles are also super cheap as well, but those taste horrendous.
-It's cold. Bloody cold. Canadians much be such nice people because their balls have frozen off or something. I don't know how you do it. Subtropical it is for me.



Overall observations from an Aussie:

-consumer tax there is a pain in the ass. Service charge, tips, sales tax.. I concluded that a part of this comes from giving state governments so much autonomy. In Australia, there's income tax which goes to the federal government, and Goods + Services Tax at a flat rate of 10% which applies to nearly all goods. This tax is included in the price - what's listed is what you pay. Also, no tipping culture here. It just makes paying for stuff so much less of a math exercise.

-Talking about paying for stuff... your currencies are fucked up. Quaters (25c) coins? 1 cent coins? WHY????? 1c is useless man.

-The median US pedestrian is ruder than the median Australian. I didn't think that was possible, but that was. There's a range of course, and I met some amazingly nice people there, but by and large you guys aren't friendly to strangers.
That said, maybe it's that Australia's actually higher on the list than I ought to place it. Hong Kong's actually on par with US if you're talking about off-the-street conversations. As a service industry it does a bit better. Japan's in it's own league of politeness.

-Driving. You guys drive like lunatics. I'm equally amazed that I didn't see a single car crash despite this.

-Shopping malls are very few in the US. By few, I guess I mean I didn't see a single one. They're pretty common over here. Most of your shopping complexes seem to be shops arranged around a car park in the centre.

[Kraco]

-Talking about paying for stuff... your currencies are fucked up. Quaters (25c) coins? 1 cent coins? WHY????? 1c is useless man.

Back when the Euro was founded, Finland immediately decided there won't be any 1 and 2 cent coins in active use in Finland. Because they are worthless and only cause extra expenses and effort for handling. However, a limited amount of 1 and 2 cent Finnish coins were minted for collector's needs. You can also pay with them (if you are a tourist from elsewhere in Europe you might easily have your local ones), but no shop will ever give you them in exchange and prices will be rounded when you are paying with cash. If you pay with a card, you naturally pay the exact amount.

Based on Bill's post, I feel like I'd have enjoyed watching a vblog from his travel.