dirtbox

Ditto on the toilets - when I was there in 09 it was still squatters and yeh get out of Beijing. Have your shit sorted for the airports - I was arrested comming back through from Hong Kong (I have a receipt in my draw for a duel entry visa but the travel aganecy only sent it away for a single - I checked the visa was in my passport but didn't check how many entries [I'll accept responsibility for this one though - I should have checked]... I found out in HK and they bled me dry of cash with 'fees'. Another time I was returning through Shanghai from Thailand and my flight has been delayed to weather and, because of how Shanghai airport is set up, I had to enter China to cross to terminal two to catch my new flight ... I now have a funky red stamp in my passport (through no fault of my own) which causes me issues at other airports. Also a heads up for scammers at the tourist points - if they speak to you in English they are most likely scammers. The summer palace was a little gem and the great wall hike (Jinsangli to Simitai [sp?) were cool. I found the rest over rated tbh. Some of the bars in the Hutong area were funky as was the Olympic park though they aren't (or weren't) doing a great job of maintaining it when I was there. Xian isn't worth it if you go just for the teracotta warriors - they are mostly broken. Though there is some other cool stuff there if you have a few days. HK is a cool city was well if you can make it down there. Dave - about to leave Asia after two years

thanks - that is come good solid advice on the process of buying a car in the States.

well I am a new fish but I was told to check after track when u slow down to pull - if you still have height track again cos you haven't tacked far enough and you need more seperation. I got caught out with the waive before tracking once though - changing from an open acordian to something else someones hands moved in a wave motion so I took off, counted, slowed down and realised I was still at 6... they kept on going with the planned dive and all thought I was wierd. Live and learn.

I KNow this one I know this one! Everything is ok! or alteast that what is was at my little cessna dz. Everywhere I have jumped (Aus, Korea and Thailand) I, and the other people I have jumped with, have waived before turning and tracking...

Yeh I am just looking for an idea of what is seen as 'good' vehicle for my purpose in the USA. Neeeds/wants Budget up to $6G I am happy with - happy to spend less if something practical as available. fuel efficient (nothing bigger than a 6cyclinder - as best as possible/within the budget) potential to sleep in it but not that important. Reliable (no known fualts like the transmissions on the Volvo V70's ... shame, they are a nice car) Something with easy to source/cheap parts (if I do have a problem) Something with easy to source/cheap parts (if I do have a problem) Well I am just planning for a max of two passengers - usually just one. Don't care if it is diesel or gas (petrol to us funny speaking southern hemisphere people) Don't care for colour ... pink might be an issue though. Body shape, after looking at what has been said here prob a station wagon or a hatch. I dont really own much - a rig, one big duffel bag, some camping/cli,bing gear and a road bike (cycling). I might take it up to Canada when I head up (nervous about driving in snow). I had a good look through autotrader before but the American vehicle names take me a while to 'workout' so it would be cool to hear a more educated opinion.

if you do it right they don't care that their clothes have been ruined... or washed out to sea... And I am with Bolas, why use a hook kinfie when you can use one of these - that'll get anyones blood going

@ Oldwomanc6 Buying a car after landing - been dating a girl from Dallas for ~15 months (we were both teachers in Korea, she left a few months ago) so I can lay low and spend a week or two finding a car. Met a bunch of Americans and Cunucks while living in Korea and when I lived on international campus at uni. Going to pick up a car and jump till early November before heading to Canada to work a ski season as a lifty (as an Australian who grew up on the beaches snow is a novelty still) before returning to the US and jumping through till ~August again. Well thats roughly the plan google map of plans http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=211720272494411851028.0004a6b0c4d228bbf9c6b&msa=0 The Honda CRV looks cool (friend had one back home). That Toyota van suggested before is a Tarago in Aus (I owned its' smaller brother the Spacia before leaving Aus - was a good little van). The cars all have different names in America and it is confusing as hell. Thanks for the link to the autotrader site - had has been good to guage the market. Any other advice - first time buying a car on my own :S Dave comming to a dropzone near you in 11 days

Gday, Thanks for the advice. American cars are very different to cars in Korea/Australia so it is rather confusing. Most the panel vans I have seen have big v8s in them - can you suggest any panel vans with 6 or 4 cyclinder engines (99% of vans back home, and here in Korea, are only 4s). Otherwise a sedan or hatchback (like the for focus suggested) might work out better - I was planning on camping anyway and I have a few friends scattered all over the states and sleeping in the car seems like it adds a lot of extra hassle. Thanks Dave 11 days to go 11 days to go Dave

if you had upta $6000 to buy a car to travel and jump while in the USA for 12 months what would you buy? Needs to be reliable and the cheaper to run the better. How it looks and how fast it goes are really not that important. Needs to able to take to take rig, stuff for camping, a bicycle - maybe even sleep in it some times? A van? An SUV? A hatch? A wagon? So far I have considred a volvo xc70 - though they seem to have some issues. A subaru outback/liberty Ford or a GMC Yukon of Jeep Cherokee What do you think? ... Be in Dallas in 12 days :D

I am pretty sure that is just out and out child abuse...Didn't a British nanny go to jail for much less? All they need is a dingo

That is some funny shit. Did the make it 'formal' while using avatars and sitting in different rooms? I hope for all the puppies (that god has ready to kill) out there they did...

Aussie Aussie Aussie ... Hoorah Cadel. Best tour int he last 10 years! Props to George and the other BMC riders but Cadel really won this tour on his own - a genuine hardman who genuinly deserved it.

my eyes glazed right over that - thank you! I'll give them a ring and suss it out. Now backt o reading painfully boring insurance and banking terms and conditions

Ahh no I am just a lowly ESL teacher (I am actually Australian).

Thank you :) from http://www.globalunderwriters.com/america/details.asp "OPTIONAL RIDERS Hazardous Activity Coverage - For specific named hazards: Motorcycling, Scuba Diving, Jet, Snow and Water Skiing, Mountain climbing, Sky Diving, Amateur Racing, Piloting any Aircraft, Bungee Jumping, Spelunking, Whitewater Rafting, Surfing, Parasailing, Canopying, Zip Lining" So it would seem so - a few other comanies cover skydiving (outside of competition) but they are REALLY expensive :/

Ok I will be landing in Dallas in a month and plan on spending the next three months jumping my ass off but I have a question about insurance Option 1 - Global Underwriters $295 for 3 months (no deduct.) with $500,000 in coverage Option 2 - IHI Bupa $398 coverage for 3 months (no deduct.) with unlimited cover. If I break myself if $500,000 going to cover it or is that not likely? (fwiw I don't plan on swooping but I do rock climb and cycle (race) ontop of skydiving so while I don't want to break myself it *could* happen). While the difference is 'only' $100 I will probably go with IHI but at the same time $100 is $100 and ontop of all the other expenses that are paid before even getting to the airport ... so discuss as a side I have read through the swooping forum about broken bits and the expenses () which is what got me wondering is $500,000 is enough? Cheers Dave

write down everything you eat - then check it against what is suggested for your level of activity, weight, hieght, age - fix it if you need to (not making any assumptions - you sound a healthy weight for your hieght but there is no point exercising if you are not eating right). Then go running or cycling :P plenty of strength exercises you can do at home with no (or next to no) equiptment and you can spend the gym money on jumping - squats, berpies, jumping jacks, lunge walks, stair climbs (use a backpack full of bricks or bottles of water if you need to resistance), push ups (many variations), chin ups, core ... it goes on and one...

The thing with being an ESL teacher is this - you can make awesome money in countries with little in the way of sports or you can make a little money in countries with a lot of awesome sports. Poland is my next stop, after a year of holidays in the States/Canada, as it is the best place for teaching English legally (head east for a visa in Poland, further west you are the less likely you will get a work visa) as it is the best pick for skydiving and an income to support it. I have just finished a second year in South Korea and other than a few jumps in Seoul at $80 a pop and a 2 week stint in Thailand my rig has mostly sat in its bag. I could stay here longer (I have a fantastic job and earn a lot more than the average cat with a lot more holidays) but the lack of cycling and skydiving have pushed me to leave. Basic breakdown is Korea/Japan - 2,000-3500 USD/month + housing + health Rest of Asia tends to pay poorly but there are a few gems if you can find them. S. America (Argentina/Porto Rica) ~800USD/Month + nothing Western Europe - Pay = to cost of living (varies greatly but is = to the cost of living in the Area). Eastern Europe - ~1200 USD month (~30% greater than cost of living) + nothing Middle East ~ 3500USD month (need a fair bit of experience) not tax + housing and good holidays. Now do a dropzone search for those areas and Poland Czech look the best (you earn enough to jump and you can get to a dropzone) Good luck, Dave

The only thing they can spend it on is alcohol, drugs, food and hookers. If you live in a box or under a bridge you are not going to be saving for wall unit or a plasma. That said I don't give them anything - in most developed countries there are so many programs (church, NFPO, NGO, and tax payer funded) to help people who are down on their luck - if they won't help themselves why should I? I would rather give money to a non-religious NFPO or NGO. Side story I was in the Seoul train station when a bum tried to rob me of the Burger King I had just purchased (got into into a wrestle with the guy and if some other guy had not pull him off I was about the king hit the fucker). For a moment I felt bad and considered giving it to him anyway (had crushed it all anyway) but then I realised Korea is a country that imports workers from all over SE Asia to do unskilled work (and pays well) - there were plenty of jobs available but he was living as a bum by choice. While America isn't as lucky to have plentiful employment like Korea at the moment the same still applies to most bums - it is a choice.

BWHAHAHAHA I live in Korea (for 3 more months anyway)... I love the heated seat in winter (most Koreans leave the windows open in winter so the bathrooms are like ice) but I have always been too scared to press any buttons so I know exactly how you feel! Have you seen one with an lCD readout? WTF does a toilet seat need to tell me? Not flushing toilet paper is one of the few cultural barriers I have been unable to overcome (been here for two years) and squatters suck in winter. Otherwise Korea has been an awesome place!

I had the olympus tough u6000 (I think :S) and have dropped it off of a volcano (I then landed on it ), used it in the snow and taken in skin diving with whale sharks - it worked well in day light but isn't so great at night. Battery life is decent but it beats lugging my dslr all over Asia. I would still have it but some asshat relieved me of it in Borneo. Other people took w/proof point'n'shoot cameras diving with whale sharks and they all filled with water :S. The casing looked worse for wear after the volcano but it still worked fine and the metal gate that protects the lense is awesome. I will be buying a new one shortly.

better yet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHtJ8pzz27Y

see http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.morethings.com/god_and_country/jesus/jesus-nazareth-140.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.morethings.com/god_and_country/jesus/jesus_photo_gallery01.htm&usg=__Fzl_YFYudnL9Xo24_p5jbSwDtr0=&h=627&w=410&sz=86&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=cTeVXiddCqfIkM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=97&ei=wt2WTZO0OYX2vwO2nvniCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkorean%2Bimage%2Bof%2Bjesus%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D579%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=235&vpy=57&dur=3087&hovh=278&hovw=181&tx=93&ty=126&oei=wt2WTZO0OYX2vwO2nvniCw&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0. It isn't a good picuture but you get the point. Ironically in Korea all the people on money have beards but no citizens have beards (it is considered a sign of poorness - if I don't shave every day students will ask if I am a bum :/) but in Japan many men have beards but the characters on their money never do...strange world.

In Korea, jesus is Asian in appearance. Churches also have flashing red and purple neon lights.

Gday, Skydiving does exist here - the Seoul Skydiving School jumps during the summer from helicopters at 80,000 a jump. A repack will cost you 100,000. The instructors are very experienced and have spent a lot of time in the states (mostly at Elsinor) and there is like 7 riggers, 8 tandem instructors and 6 Aff instructors. The rest are a little bit crazy (kinda like their driving) but they were all very nice. There are also a few US military guys that jump and I know atleast one engineer and one other English teacher from Seoul who jumps. The Seoul Skydivng Schools' website is all in Hangul and speaking it will make you life easier. Find me on facebook 'Ozzie Dave' and I will pass you my details and those of other people jumping here. DaveQuote