Just blew my stimulus $

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoodSense Hehe -- just returned from 4 days in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Hostel: $12/night (tolerable quality)

Your pics are awesome! What was it like staying in a hostel? I've never done that before. Have any pics of it?

[GoodSense]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl Your pics are awesome! What was it like staying in a hostel? I've never done that before. Have any pics of it?

The hostel was fine. It was in a great location, 1.5 blocks from the beach. Our room had 2 bunk beds, a little balcony, and an attached bathroom. The pictures below are of our room, view from the balcony, and the hallway.

I've stayed at many hostels. It's really a hit-and-miss experience. Hostel Booker's website has some reviews that are helpful. Also check Tripadvisor.

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoodSense The hostel was fine. It was in a great location, 1.5 blocks from the beach. Our room had 2 bunk beds, a little balcony, and an attached bathroom. The pictures below are of our room, view from the balcony, and the hallway. I've stayed at many hostels. It's really a hit-and-miss experience. Hostel Booker's website has some reviews that are helpful. Also check Tripadvisor.

Wow that's really cool. So, do you have to share the room with other people?

[GoodSense]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl Wow that's really cool. So, do you have to share the room with other people?

Yes. A lot of times you have options of mixed gender or just one gender. (for example, if you're travelling with friends of the opposite sex) In this case there were 4 beds, but in large cities like Geneva, San Francisco or Washington DC, I've slept in dorms with 8-10 beds. In less touristic areas in Central America, a private room in a low-key hotel would cost just about $10 - 15, so it's not really worth staying in a dorm in a hostel. You generally get lockers, but if you have a lot of valuables, it may be better to stay in a private room.

At the dorms, you do meet interesting people, if that's your thing. One of my roommates in this case (the person in the picture, sort of) was a 55-year-old woman travelling alone. She was from Mexico City and was very sweet.

[brewer12345]

I'm buying as much meth as I can with the money and distributing it at the local magnet school (along with copies of my book "Strangers Have The Best Candy"), since I am apparently such a wonderful human being.




(I'm not getting squat this year, just like Ha).

[FUEGO]

I had the exact same idea. Travelocity had/has a deal where you get $150 off a flight and 6 nights of a hotel. The total would have been ~450 per person from my east coast airport taxes included. I could easily get by on the other $300 total for 6 days.

A nice week long vacation for $600/person. Then I considered the irony of spending my tax rebate check outside the US, and decided against being unpatriotic.

Instead I'll probably hire a couple of guys from Mexico to come to my house and put on a new roof with our tax rebate check. That's patriotic, right guys??!!

[FIREd]

We are spending our rebate check on a trip to Europe in June... Well, it pays only for part of the trip, the rest we paid with airline miles... We're staying for a few days in Geneva to visit my folks, and then on to Valencia in Spain for a week of R&R.

[Moemg]

I have several ideas for my rebate . Savannah & Charleston , a cruise to New England in the Fall , New Mexico or a lake rental for a month near my daughter . The pull of the new grandson may win out .

[TromboneAl]

Thanks for the pictures. I thought the last one was a baby polar bear (at the theme park) in front of a small tree.

[GoodSense]

Sounds like a lot of people here have planned to travel with the money (or planned to travel anyway, and the money came at a good time).

The coati isn't that big, but does look pretty cute like a polar bear (except for the big tail). Apparently there are different kinds -- this one was less raccoon-like than others. They mostly live in jungles in the tropics (at least where I saw them in the wild) and eat fruits and rodents. Who needs a house cat?

[megacorp-firee]

Whats a stimulas $?

[bbbamI]

I'm sticking with my original plan....a tank of gas and a gallon of milk.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Just remember which one is for burning and which one is for taking a bath in!

[bbbamI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny Just remember which one is for burning and which one is for taking a bath in!

Ahhhchaaachaaa...thanks for the reminder Bunny! ...

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Just doing my job, M'am.

[Dawg52]

None for me either. Bad timing. I guess no trips to Mexico for me.

[laurence]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoodSense It's a coati and seems to be a hybrid between a polar bear, a monkey, a dog, and a racoon. Why 129lbs? Is that the average weight of burglars?

Saw a bunch of them when we were in Mazatlan. Snorkeled near a couple of islands off the coast and then had lunch on the island. Kept stealing the tortillas. Nice use of the money.

I'm buying a kayak with my money. Innova has more of their Sunny model available. Yay!

[oma]

Flying back to the good ol' USA on Lufthansa since I know that airline won't have canceled flights due to not following FAA inspection requirements. Whilst in the USA will support the USA economy by playing golf for a few weeks and attending MLB baseball games.

[Moemg]

Well they've started to offer tax incentive travel trips to lure us into spending our money .

Expedia.com - Upgrade your browser and see the world&

[GoodSense]

Moemg, those look like some good deals! (although the requirement to travel within the next 4 weeks seems a bit tight) I am so glad so many businesses are chipping in, in case we don't know how to spend money.