I'm taking a trip to "bankruptcyville," since firms keep pushing start dates back.

Safaris are where it's at. Lions and tigers (no bears), oh my!

Guest doesn't like your usage of the first person, Kash.

1:40 - Isn't that third person?

Thailand may be "five minutes ago", but Vietnam is still cool and hip.

Too bad it's winter in South America right now. I hear Argentina / Buenos Aires is amazing.

i went to new zealand for my bar trip. it was the beginning of spring there, and it was nice. if it weren't for the tumultuous geothermal events (auckland sits above an active volano), i would move there.

Kash, don't let Kinney fool you into staying...

i hiked the Long Trail, which runs through Vermont, from Massachusetts to Canada. Really fun trip, and I spent a total of a few hundred bucks over 3 weeks.

1:36: student loans can't be discharged, and I doubt you've managed to amass credit card debt or mortgage problems as a law student.

Frat stud and his bestest frat brother used to take bar trips to a romantic cabin in the woods. It was no big deal.

costa rica seems to be a destination of choice this year.

Anybody ever been to Phuket, Thailand? I'm heading that way in August and looking for some good recommendations.

My buddy and I rented a lovely little cottage on the Passaic River in Newark. We're a stone's throw from Krug's Tavern and within walking distance to Casa Vasca.

It gets no better than this!

Be a leming. Don't think for yourself. Go on a "bar" trip and work for a big firm.

3 weeks in brazil and 1 week in argentina. holler!

Kash, are you going to post any more pics?

1:52, Phuket is great. Make sure to go to the Ban Ram Pa restaurant there. It's beautiful and cheap.

A group of 10 of us took an incredible cruise on the Paul Gauguin to Tahiti, Bora Bora, the Marquesas, and the Society Island. It was expensive, but it's the one time in your life (if you're going into BigLaw) that you have complete free time and a certain paycheck that can pay off the credit card bills in 2 months. Highly recommend it.

2:03--what's the average age on the paul gauguin? 65?

"[A] certain paycheck that can pay off the credit card bills in 2 months...."

Or salary advances / bar stipends / loans from your firm. I asked for and got one, which I used it to bankroll my SE Asia trip.

Anyone else going to beautiful Fontucky?

1 week in Brazil and 1 Week in Costa Rica for me and mine!

1 week Rio de J, 4-5 Days on Beach/Rainforest in Costa Rica and 1-2 Days San Jose area of CR to be exact as planned the moment.

Any suggestions besides the Brazilian nightlife craziness appreciated :)

I sat on a beach in the caribbean for a week on my bar trip. I should have stayed there. That was 7 years ago.

I did an Australia/New Zealand/Fiji package, and it was awesome. Started in Melbourne, then to Carins (great barrier reef diving), Sydney, then to New Zealand (both islands, and went skiing within 10 days of the diving--unreal) and then a few days in Fiji as the icing on the cake. If you can afford it (Airfare/hotel was a gift from the parents), I strongly recommend it.

Remember, the post-bar-pre-employment trip is one of the very few times in your adult life you will be able to take a few weeks off at a time, so I strongly recommend going somewhere far away.

I'm looking forward to a month of fun & sun on the beaches of Hawaii... You can drink the water and the hotels have air conditioning!

I did an Australia/New Zealand/Fiji package, and it was awesome. Started in Melbourne, then to Carins (great barrier reef diving), Sydney, then to New Zealand (both islands, and went skiing within 10 days of the diving--unreal) and then a few days in Fiji as the icing on the cake. If you can afford it (Airfare/hotel was a gift from the parents), I strongly recommend it.

Remember, the post-bar-pre-employment trip is one of the very few times in your adult life you will be able to take a few weeks off at a time, so I strongly recommend going somewhere far away.

I'm looking forward to a month of fun & sun on the beaches of Hawaii... You can drink the water and the hotels have air conditioning!

I did an Australia/New Zealand/Fiji package, and it was awesome. Started in Melbourne, then to Carins (great barrier reef diving), Sydney, then to New Zealand (both islands, and went skiing within 10 days of the diving--unreal) and then a few days in Fiji as the icing on the cake. If you can afford it (Airfare/hotel was a gift from the parents), I strongly recommend it.

Remember, the post-bar-pre-employment trip is one of the very few times in your adult life you will be able to take a few weeks off at a time, so I strongly recommend going somewhere far away.

I spent a week at Turks & Caicos. That was six years ago. I haven't had a vacation since. . .

i'm taking a post-clerkship trip to alaska!! camping, backpacking, nothing to do and no way to do it--can't wait!

I did an Australia/New Zealand/Fiji package, and I never learned how to post comments correctly.

i am going to a cool resort in the desert for a week with my sister, then tagging along on my husband's work trip. europe is too expensive now for two and it's not fair to go without your spouse. i plan on doing as little as possible for the month of august.

I miss the cats. Why no cats with this post?

Dubai is hot this time of year, but it's still pretty cool, if you know what I mean.

i'm going to disney world

Argentina for two weeks in August and Australia for two weeks in September. Hooray for stipends and delayed start dates.

Spent a couple of weeks in Mumbai, India 2 years back. Unbelievable. The dollar goes far and easy chicks abound.

2:31--does it hurt when you pee

that water is so blue...where is that? i want to go.

2:31 - those "easy chicks" were actually teenage transvestites

Surfing in Costa Rica for 8 days.

I am going to Sudan, I hear the Darfur region is beautiful this time of year.

1:56 -- last time I checked, lemmings threw themselves over cliffs, and did not go away for fancy vacations. if being a lemming means using your last big chunk of free time in your adult life to experience different cultures, eat great food, and travel to an exotic location, then I'll be happy to look like this little guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lemming.jpg

2:42 - Last I checked, lemmings didn't actually throw themselves over cliffs, as that's an urban legend.

My SO and I went to Belize (unfortunately, for only a week). One of the best vacations we've ever taken -- good diving and beaches at Ambergris Caye; fun times in the inland jungle toward the end...

2:10 - several years ago I went to Brazil for a month for my post-bar trip. 1 week isn't really enough time to do much, but you should certainly hang-glide while you are in Rio.

If you are adventurous and outdoorsy, I highly recommend flying up to the Pantanal (Cuiaba, in the north of Matto Grasso) for a few days. By far the best trip I've made in my entire life.

Went to Amsterdam, smoked the best weed in the world and banged hookers for a week. It was great. SIGH...

2:44 -- au contraire, they do throw themselves over cliffs when migrating. the urban legend part is that they do it to commit suicide.

"On occasion, and particularly in the case of the Norway lemmings in Scandinavia, large migrating groups will reach a cliff overlooking the ocean. They will stop until the urge to press on causes them to jump off the cliff and start swimming, sometimes to exhaustion and death. Lemmings are also often pushed into the sea as more and more lemmings arrive at the shore."

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemming

-- 2:42

what's a "leming?" is that the animal that jumps off a clif?

For my graduation present, my husband rented a small cottage in the Hamptons for the six weeks I had off between the bar and my clerkship. I spent every day (expect for the weekends when hubby came out) in solitude -- reading, biking, going to the beach, visiting farmer's markets, grilling, and shopping. Heaven!

3:03--lemme guess: your husband is a pushover and you have fabo breasts?

1:56 -- last time I checked, lemmings threw themselves over cliffs, and did not go away for fancy vacations. if being a lemming means using your last big chunk of free time in your adult life to experience different cultures, eat great food, and travel to an exotic location, then I'll be happy to look like this little guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lemming.jpg

Hey idiot: Sorry you have such a rough life. I make tons of money and have an exotic two to three week trip a year. Sounds like your life's not worth living.

1:52: Phuket is alright (or at least it was in 2004 - several months before the tsunami)... it is very, very touristy (mostly from Western European countries).

If you are dead set on staying in Phuket, there is a decent hotel for a reasonable price called the Golden Sand Inn. It is a stone's throw from the Karon beach (probably the best beach on Phuket island).

However if you want to get away from the commercialism and sex tourism industry which is rampant on the island, make your way out to Ko Phi Phi island. It's a short boat ride and absolutely amazing out there. It isn't very expensive and you are sure to meet plenty of great people from all over the world.

Kash, any chance you have a layover in SF on your way to Hong Kong? If so, can I take you out to dinner? I just closed a deal, and would love to celebrate it with you.

(You can have your choice of the fine dining establishments at SFO.)

The wife and I are going to S. America for 4 weeks prior to my start date. Getting married last summer means no honeymoon (At an opportunity cost of $3100 a week? Yeah right, she's the one who told me to get my butt back to work!), so it'll be a bar trip and delayed honeymoon.

Looking forward to Peru, Inca Trail, Chile, Patagonia, and Argentina, where the dollar still has some clout. NOT looking forward to that damned bar! (Back to Barbri.)

i say we ditch the lolcats for lollemings.

Spending a week in Baghdad entertaining the troops and volunteering. Anybody who is going anywhere other than Iraq or Afghanistan to pay tribute to our hard-working soldiers is not a true American. Shame on you, you myst be communists and you should be deported.

Must be nice. Unfortunately for those of us mired in debt, without rich parents, and working in public interest law, my vacation will be in my backyard.

But at least I get great time-off and 9-5 hours once i start working.

I am going to Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam with my girlfriend over about a 2 month period. Hopefully our start dates dont get pushed back past October or Visa may send some kneecap-breaking thugs my way!

3:25, are you headed there with Artie Lange, aka the only reason my 45-minute commute is bearable? I miss Baby Gorilla.

we're having a discussion over the average price being spent on a bar trip. this depends on location and time, gotcha, but on average, what are people spending?

3:21 -

It has been my experience that men who refer to their wife as "the wife" are douche bags.

Couple this with the fact that you are a [if you pass...]lawyer (likely entering big law?) and the following is true:

You will be divorced shortly.

You have been judged, thanks for playing.

3:34 - not a big deal, we all just end up trading (officially or not), hopefully trading up.

3:34:

Whatever helps you to sleep at night pal.

"Hey idiot: Sorry you have such a rough life. I make tons of money and have an exotic two to three week trip a year. Sounds like your life's not worth living."

I said big chunk of time. bar trips are 2-3 MONTHS, not weeks, thanks. probably the last time you'll have that big chunk, except in your case, when you'll have about that much time between jobs after you get laid off for taking 2-3 week exotic vacations when people like me are working hard in your absence.

1:49 is living a fantasy if they think that law school doesn't lead to massive credit card debt. "Living Stipend" loans rarely come very close.

2:41(1) -

Guys in my highschool surfed dredging barrels at Salsa Bravo all the time. It was no big deal.

3:47--live within your means and you don't need to accumulate credit card debt. credit card debt is for idiots who cannot control their spending.

I went to Ibiza for two weeks. Danced my tuchus off. Partied for 48 hours straight at a time. Best summer-time spot ever (but don't stay/go near San Antonio)

I spent a big chunk of time after the bar playing "Lemmings" on my Mac Classic, and banging hookers. After all, we all just end up trading up anyway.

4:09- Try having a spouse, kid(s), student loans, and mortgage, and then tell me if credit car debt is for people who cannot control their spending. Wise up privileged brat.

1:52 --> Terrible time of year to be going to phuket (or anywhere on the andaman coast, including phi phi - which the other poster mentioned). Go to the gulf coast- it wont rain every day.

Sagebrush Ranch.

I likes me a buffet.

Vietnam? Thailand? Australia? Pffff

You can find me at Coco Bongo in Cancun.

3 weeks in bali! **shuffles back to MBE questions**

4:15--obviously you shouldn't have a spouse that can't bring in enough money, a house you can't afford while in school, and rugrats eating holes in your wallet. you made life choices--maybe you should have re-evaluated your choice to go to law school in light of the above if you wanted to complain about credit card debt.

and i'm not privileged--no one paid for my law school education but me. and i made it through without any credit card debt...and didn't like like a pauper either.

4:15 - ok. cc debt is for people who can't manage their spending.

- not 4:09

2:42 - fair enough. I concede the point.

--2:44

2:42 - fair enough. I concede the point.

--2:44

late start date = field trip to India

instead of going away I'm just going to the motherfuckin' nudie bar every day until work starts.

it seems to presumptuous to go on an expensive vacation prior to learning if you passed the bar exam.

am I alone on that?

Skiing in New Zealand, then to Australia and Fiji. Is $10,000 too much to spend on this trip for 2 people for 2 1/2 weeks?

5:25 - not if you work for a big firm that gives you 3 chances to pass the bar, if you need it.

Not enough $$ or time for a long international trip (public interest job, small child), but husband and I are spending a week at the Venetian in Vegas. Recs on the best show to see?

Eritrea--it's so hot right now. Eritrea.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan is the new Ho Chi Minh City.

Everyone knows this.

Why no go to Thailand *and* Europe?

I went to Burning Man for my Bar trip. I hadn't secured a job yet, so I didn't want to sacrifice the money or job hunting time required to travel for a month or more.

It was the perfect Bar trip, and it will always be a special part of my life.

5:25, only morons fail the Bar. Also, summer associates get around $7K back from the government the following April, more now that we're at $160. That's plenty for a Bar trip.

I went to Krabi rather than Phuket since I heard Phuket was pretty touristy. Krabi is still somewhat touristy as well but its a little more low key. Both have an airport which is nice. I didn't make it Ko Phi Phi because apparently it was destroyed in the tsunami but I did go to Railey (sp?) which was a short boat trip from Krabi and a good way to spend a day.

I needed the dough, so I started working almost right away. Stupid mistake. Never again will you have that amount of free time to go on an extended trip until you are a full-fledged BSD with a pack of service partners/associates at your calling. Although my firm was cool about taking time off for my honeymoon, which was two full weeks.

going to turkey and croatia. I figured it is the mediterrenean sort of, and w/out the euro, sort of. very excited. as per thailand, i would be a little concerned about the fact that it is the middle of rainy season. but the rain never lasts all day from i noticed when i was there, usually just an hour or so in the afternoon, so dont freak out (like i did :) when the weather says storms every day. will probably be fine. have fun!

Wanted to go to Europe.
Instead the wife and I are going on the Bush Peso Tour to South America!

No bar trip - saving for wedding. Am I doing it wrong?

"I said big chunk of time. bar trips are 2-3 MONTHS, not weeks, thanks. probably the last time you'll have that big chunk, except in your case, when you'll have about that much time between jobs after you get laid off for taking 2-3 week exotic vacations when people like me are working hard in your absence."

Retard: I feel sorry for you. You've been brainwashed into thinking there's something unreasonable about taking a 2-3 week vacation each year. Get back in your office and keep doing your important work making money for partners, while intelligent people are just as successful at work and have more fulfilling lives.

7:37 et seq, you're so abrasive that I doubt you are fulfilled.

Ooooh, I totally misunderstood. I just ate a lot of psychadelic mushrooms for my Bar trip.

5:25 (1) -- Yes, you are alone in that. You aren't going to know if you pass the bar until, what, November? If you pass and are already working, that's not a good time to request 4+ weeks off for the bar trip you failed to take because you thought you should sit at home and fret about whether you passed or not.

If you don't pass, then you have to study for the February bar. I don't know when those results come out, but you sure won't be taking a bar trip after the February bar or when *those* results come out ... unless you don't have a job to begin with. I don't know any BigLaw firms that fire you for failing the bar the first time. I also don't know any associate stupid enough to request time off for a "bar trip" after failing the bar the first time and passing on the second go-around. Bottom line: this is the only time you will have for a "bar trip." And so what if you don't pass -- at least you will have had a great vacation/experience.

How long do you think you can stay on your bar trip before the firm fires you? I bet you can weasel out about 5 or 6 months.

Oh and 4:15 - how about No, I will not be having a spouse and kids before I graduate(d) law school. You're the idiot who a) got married too early, or b) figured out too late that your previous career blew several stinky goats. Sarry.

Just throw the bar trip on the credit card. Bring the balance up to a nice even $30,000.

I wonder what percentage of law grads who take extravagant bar trips will still be massively in debt five years out of school? NB: You are not rich.

9:35 i concur -
"spouse, kid(s), student loans, and mortgage," and credit card debt is for people that a. can't get laid because they are ugly, b. got knocked up (or knocked up) the first person they got with, c. are poor - all in all a life not worth living - sorry
... oh and while biglaw may make you rich you'll never be wealthy, plastic surgery cant fix what you go and your kids will make you poor again... save yourself the agony and pull the plug now!

PS: post-bar pre-clerkship trip = Greece island hopping! (out-of-pocket expense: zero dollars!)

I hope you guys/gals are joking about Phuket. That place is terrible! The most you should do is use it as a launching pad for cool spots in the region (like the Phi Phi islands, which somebody mentioned above). Do NOT book an extended stay in Phuket; you will be disappointed.

within hours of taking the bar, i flew to NYC for 4 days of solid drinking. oh, and i was in the audience for "letterman" too.

within hours of taking the bar, i flew to NYC for 4 days of solid drinking. oh, and i was in the audience for "letterman" too.

within hours of taking the bar, i flew to NYC for 4 days of solid drinking. oh, and i was in the audience for "letterman" too.

7/2, 445pm -- well are you mag-fuckin-nificent, with no cc debt?
Too bad you never get to experience having a spouse (who doesn't bring in enough money) and rugrats (eating holes in your wallet). Why? Because you just seem to come across as an arrogant piece of shit who has no idea what he/she is talking about. And really, who wants to deal that? Yuck.

Here's some advice: Go to Switzerland, because they don't use the Euro but have their own currency. It's much more financially beneficial to go to a non-Euro country because of the weak dollar.

i'm going to europe, africa, australia, south america, and indonesia. just a couple of months, you know. is $50,000 too much to pay? i'm trying to keep costs reasonable...

This is an awful time of year to go to Thailand. Why go there when it's 90 degrees here. In winter, when it's 20 degrees in NYC, it's 90 degrees in Thailand. a summer trip should be made to more of a spot that has cold winters: Alaska, a national park such as Yellowstone or Yosemite, Scandanavia, Russia, Japan, etc.

It's iditotic to go somewhere tropical, when they ahve that same weather in the dead of winter.

Capetown South Africa. Kroeger national park. See the big 5. Dollar is still strong against the Rand, but not as strong as it was 7 years ago when I was there. Granted you do sort of have to look like a tool throwing money around in the poorest place you'll probably ever visit (but how is that different from Brazil, Russia, many of the other places mentioned above?) The white chicks are slammin' (See Generally Charlize Theron). Casinos, sick beaches with white sand, best surfing in the world. Just frickin go already.

They're also common law. Sort of. Kind of a whacky hybrid.

London, Paris, Amsterdam, Geneva, Rome, Florence, Venice, Barcelona.

Visiting family in a 3rd world country for 2 months at the end of rainy season. Hate to admit it, but it's a great time to jet out of the States. The savings on rent/food Stateside will more than pay for the flights.