Cambodia is incredible, love the place! It's such a fascinating place and yes it's not the most developed country in the world but the history & charm is incredible

If I can find some cheap guest houses to stay in, then I think Cambodia could defo be next on my list then - just one of those places I have always fancied seeing.

If anyone is thinking of going to the U.S., I can't recommend North America Travel Service highly enough. Used them several times over the years and everything has been perfect including their assistance when our flights home were delayed and cancelled due to bad weather and airline cock-ups.
All their staff (in the Leeds office anyway) are very knowledgeable about the US and will find you ways of doing what you want with whatever type of budget you've got.
They've got branches in Leeds, Nottingham, London, Manchester, Barnsley & Edinburgh.

Two very different recent holidays:

Butlins in Minehead -
Went with the brother and his family and absolutely loved it. You just feel like the kids are perfectly safe anywhere in the place and there's enough to keep the adults happy too. Some of the shows are a bit cringeworthy but some are surprisingly good.
We went in "Silver" apartments which weren't very spacious but did the job as you don't spend much time there anyway. I would say not to bother with paying in advance for food. It wasn't very good and I think you're better off either with takeaways, using the food outlets on site or cooking your own in your apartment.


New York -
Loved every minute. Obviously there's some iconic things to see like the Statue of Liberty etc but I just enjoyed walking around, going to a few bars and taking in the atmosphere. It's difficult to explain, it's just a feeling of an atmosphere, but I loved it.
A few little tips though, don't bother actually going on to the island that the Statue of Liberty is on, when you're on it you don't actually get a great view of the statue! We got some cracking views of both the statue and Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry.

Don't, unless you're desperate just to say you've done it, go up the Empire State Building. You get better views, and IIRC it's a bit cheaper and has smaller queues, from the top of the Rockefeller Centre.

Visiting the UN might not be everyone's idea of fun but I'm a geek so I loved it.

Don't bother visiting the USS Intrepid (aircraft carrier on West side of Manhattan) it's expensive and a bit rubbish.

If you're flying in or out of New York don't use the taxis to get either to or from the airport. They're expensive and rather uncomfortable if there's more than 2 of you or you're 6ft+ tall. There's a perfectly good bus shuttle service to the airports in and out of New York. Or, if flying out of New York, your hotel concierge can book a "black taxi" that is effectively a pre-booked taxi service but in a much nicer, more spacious car that was actually a bit cheaper than the regular "yellow taxis".

Pretty much matches my experience. NYC is an amazing place and you could spend a lifetime exploring, but the tourist traps are just that.

Been several times on leisure, and unfortunately had to do the Statue of Liberty twice and Empire State twice (the express tickets were worth skipping the queues ), amongst others, and I have fond memories of a brass band tour which took us to the top of the Twin Towers in about 1990 and to the UN, which was an amazing experience not least because we met Bill Clinton.

What you say about having a walk is spot on. The last 2 times I've stayed with a family member working on Broadway, which meant I had plenty of time to myself. One of my favourite walks was Upper West, past the Intrepid, up through Hell's Kitchen, through Theatre District and probably on to either Little Italy or the Village, stopping for a few slurps and nibbles on the way. The backstreet places are the best by far, I'll never forget an Irish bar in Hell's Kitchen where the locals made me very welcome apart from a loudmouth prick who got all "Ireland for the Irish" aggressive because I was English. That is until I told him not only was I part Irish, I had relatives over there and had visited many times - unlike him, who had never left the USA. He got shouted down. That was a great night.

Philly is worth a visit, as is Boston, but NYC is a unique beast.

Quote: Mike Oxlong "If I can find some cheap guest houses to stay in, then I think Cambodia could defo be next on my list then - just one of those places I have always fancied seeing.'" Mother home Inn in Siem Reap (www.motherhomehotel.com) I stayed in 2012 and hotel was class. $100 for two of us for 5 nights. Plus they organised our trips to Angkor Wat for us

Quote: Mike Oxlong "If I can find some cheap guest houses to stay in, then I think Cambodia could defo be next on my list then - just one of those places I have always fancied seeing.'" Mother home Inn in Siem Reap (www.motherhomehotel.com) I stayed in 2012 and hotel was class. $100 for two of us for 5 nights. Plus they organised our trips to Angkor Wat for us

Had a quick look this morning and dry season seems to run October to April, so should be bang on for when I'm thinking.

Cheers again for the hotel info, and any/all tips. Did you do 2 weeks there or were you travelling around SE Asia?

Sounds a lot like Thailand, price and food wise - I came back with loads of money and was surprised as how cheap it was to eat & drink there!

Weather is pretty similar to Thailand, although only really 2 "seasons" as such rather than 3 in the Land of Smiles: dry (October to late April) and wet (May to late September). Temps vary in the season, but March, April, May and June are the hottest of the year with temps in excess of 35°C. Very Humid in March and April, coolest between October and December (if 24 degrees is cool!)

My friend was working in Ho Chi Minh City and she was leaving her job so we decided to travel, I got to her place about 10pm at night jetlagged and amazed by the craziness of HCMC.

Following morning at 8am we ended setting off on an 14 hour coach journey to Siem Reap with a coach change in Phnom Penh. I had made a monumental co-k up as I didn't do any research about Cambodia at all (I knew about the evil regimes of past) so the whole country was an amazing shock! Spent a week in Cambodia, few days back in HCMC helping my friend move out of her flat then I had an eventful trip home which involved Mozambique men's football team