Gran Canaria ??? Any help re hotel etc for Christmas ???

[Nirish guy]

Guys,

Due to my BF's NHS work rotas just changing it seems I'm able to look into booking a last minute six night or so get away over Christmas time, so a quick check f someone where a "bit" warmish still fired up Gran Canaria - I haven't been there in about 15 years so just wondering has anyone any bright ideas of some where to recommend hotel / apartment wise. There are plenty of "gay resorts" listed but I see being Christmas they're all looking for crazy money ( strange that eh) and from experience there's probably "normal" hotels right next to them for a quarter of the price without the gay label attached. So, anyone any suggestions ( neat the Yumbo centre etc for night times).

Likewise if anyone has any bright ideas re " Maybe you should try Tenerife / Lanzarote etc" I'm open to suggestions. I'm already going to Benidorm in Jan for a piss up so I'll give that a miss.

So any ideas guys ??

Thanks in anticipation.

[sglad]

Can't find a room at the inn?

[scottish-guy]

The Beverly Park is a 5 minute 5 euro taxi ride away from Yumbo and is perfectly fine. Jet2 holidays use it so take a look at jet2holidays.com and there might be something with flight included (dunno if they fly from Belfast but they do from Gla)

Alternatively just try booking the hotel on the likes of Trivago

Fingers crossed

[Nirish guy]

Thanks SG - All sorted.

It seems of course that nothings ever easy as for the dates i HAD to book there are no direct flights from Belfast so now having to fly from Dublin, then back via Manchester and into Belfast. Got booked us into the Axel (gay) hotel there as it's right beside Yumbo and after staying in their other places in BCN and Berlin I'm fairly comfortable with their offering and I'm sure it'll do ok.

The one thing I hadn't factored in of course was that it IS the Christmas week I'm away and so everything is well up from usual pricing, however still managed to juggle things about about a bit and managed to get away for around 1300 quid all in, so not TOO bad I suppose considering the dates. But still was almost crying into my wine here as I punched my credit card details in as I silently counted up the number of off's I could have had for that amount if in Pattaya on my usual trip ! :-(

Hmm, what was that that Joe was asking the other day about was it better to be in a relationship or not again, hmm I'll have to give that some thought again perhaps it seems ?!! :) - just kidding.

So, thanks for the advice - and here's to a Happy Christmas now - I hope !

[scottish-guy]

I will either be warmer than you or colder around that time of year - depending on the final decision of the UK Border Agency Visa Dept.

The latest is that "further checks" are being carried out - I dunno if that's promising or dispiriting! On the one hand "further checks" presumably aren't necessary if the application fails the standard checks but on the other hand looking too closely might not be to our benefit LOL.

So either the UK or SE Asia it will be. I ruled out Georgia (the Russian one)

In any event - have a great time in GC

:drink:

[Nirish guy]

Ha must be the first time ever one of us is hoping both NOT to go to SE Asia AND to stay here in blighty over Christmas!

Albeit your staying is of course only as you'll have suitable company to keep you warm - I mean god love the poor fella coming HERE in December, he'll not know what has hit him temperature / culture wise !

Plus then of course he'll have all that free time that he'll have to kill whilst you're out selling all those bumper stickers on our stallls around the christmas markets and what not - AHHHH the penny drops, that's why you're bringing him over, a bit of cheap labour to help you out over the busy season! Hmmm better not though as that may require a work visa and sure you'd hate to screw up his future chances of getting in! :-)

Good luck with your / his application - as hell as you know those bumper stickers won't sell themselves ya know ! lol

[joe552]

NIrish, I presume that figure of 1300 is for both of you? If so, that's not bad at all for the Christmas period. I'm sure you'll have a great time. I'll either go to my sister or my brother - don't know how I contain my excitement!

[Nirish guy]

Yes Joe that was for both of us and yes I agree for that Christmas week it wasn't so bad, I actually was shocked at SOME of the prices there of places that didn't look THAT special who were charging

[scottish-guy]

...Good luck with your / his application....

Received an email from UKBA saying a "decision has been made" but not saying what that decision is - so he won't know until he goes to pick up his passport next week. I'm not hopeful at all - according to his sister he fucked up the (unannounced) phone interview.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Best of luck either way Scottish, you never know.

By the ways speaking as someone who visited Georgia (the one by the Black Sea) this year, I would quite strongly recommend it, although the gay life is pretty tiny. If you are tempted by it, I would say ...give in to that temptation!

[joe552]

Really sorry to hear that SG, I'm sure there are lots of us here hoping for a good outcome.

[Nirish guy]

Received an email from UKBA saying a "decision has been made" but not saying what that decision is - so he won't know until he goes to pick up his passport next week. I'm not hopeful at all - according to his sister he fucked up the (unannounced) phone interview.

Lets go with the positive mental attitude thing as my take on that would be the decision has been a positive one and so they're calling him in to give him the visa, otherwise the easiest thing for them to do would just have been for them to post him out a Dear John go fuck yourself you're not getting a visa letter surely .

[goji]

I will either be warmer than you or colder around that time of year - depending on the final decision of the UK Border Agency Visa Dept
Good luck with the Visa. And if you get it, I hope he can cope with the Scottish winter. Scottish summers are too grim for me, so winter would be unthinkable.

What type of visa are you going for ?
I have no experience in such matters, but one of the few Thai lads I knew here was on some kind of visa for an English language course. He was always evasive when I asked where he was studying, although did seem quite proficient at English. I presume visa requirements for Thai & Vietnamese visitors are similar.

Frankly, I don't see why they have to be so restrictive with visitors from the well behaved regions of the world. It's the Taliban sympathizers who should be sent back, not some harmless Vietnamese tourist.

[FarangRuMak]

Received an email from UKBA saying a "decision has been made" but not saying what that decision is - so he won't know until he goes to pick up his passport next week. I'm not hopeful at all - according to his sister he fucked up the (unannounced) phone interview.
God, the UK immigration lot can be very picky at times; Individual customised un-announced phone calls etc.
Would have been a walk in the park had he been a Calais Migrant in need of a shave.
You would have the issue of stealing him back from the ‘help the needy’ needy divorcee lady, that’s if he was prepared to walk away from all that bread and butter pudding and bubble baths.

[scottish-guy]

...What type of visa are you going for . .

Just the standard Visitors Visa - tried the Student Visitor Visa route over 5 yrs ago - cost a fortune to get refused with no right of appeal, and still waiting for an explanation from Home Office 5yrs later