Countries on the pool bucket list?

Flakeandrun

Flakeandrun

Well-known member
I'm wanting to travel a lot more this year. With travel being a more viable option where I am situated now (in life, work and most importantly country policy :ROFLMAO:), I have enjoyed visiting my hometown (a couple of times), and a few places close-by in Asia; Thailand, TW, Korea

So, I'd like to play in a few places and am wondering where you guys would recommend to travel?

Currently, I am planning a trip to Japan, as well as TW and Thailand again for the CNY holiday. I have a few more blocks of holiday to use up in the coming year, and I might even plan some of my holiday for the year after (given that I don't anticipate travel being restricted again in the near future 🤞). So, I'd like to compile some sort of travel compendium of places to go and play. It might even be a thread that's helpful for others, or for more international forum users to post what's great about where they live.

I have a good idea of some places I will play near where I will stay in Japan and TW, and I will probably play snooker in Thailand (Or Chinese-8), as there is a specific place there I know and enjoy visiting.

Really, I am curious about some other places that I will potentially visit, and would be very grateful of any advice or tips you could give on some of the following places. I am more likely to visit places where I also have friends, family or that I have had a particular interest in for a while. So would be hoping some of those places have well known bars or halls where I can go and enjoy the scene. Bigger halls, or top notch places to play to go along with the usual holiday vibes are what I am looking for.

Americas:

America: If I was to go here, which state/area would you recommend that has a fun scene or accessible facilities? Last time I did 6months or so in the NW, didn't play pool seriously at the time (only went to a couple bars)

Canada: I have some friends in Toronto, and also in Vancouver. Know next to nothing about Canada.

Guatemala: Have a friend living there, and he's invited me to stay a couple times now.

Europe:

Ireland: Dublin specifically. A couple of friends have moved there, so a place to play to go along with a couple of Guiness and the inevitable tattoo from my friend would be good (saves him meeting me in my hometown)

Germany: I played a little in Frankfurt on a layover not long ago and found a fun hall. Not sure if it's a place to 'holiday'. I wouldn't mind going to Berlin again, I keep seeing Eckhart post about Bata bar, and the nightlife in Berlin is always awesome.

Netherlands: Probably Amsterdam, I know the dutch like a bit of pool, didn't play last time I went there and I am curious if there's halls that are easy to find.

Denmark: Copenhagen is one of my favorite places on earth, not sure what the pool scene is like there or if there's many places to play

Estonia: I have friends (and family now my sister is married), so Tallinn is certainly on the cards, I know they have a well known player, but not sure if there's any halls.

Portugal: Have some friends, and my old tattoo artist in Porto, curious if there is anywhere to play there.

Hungary: Budapest is lovely, great food and an awesome city. Considered moving there once upon a time.

Asia:

Cambodia: Had a lot of friends travel here recently, super cheap, super rugged and a lot of fun apparently.

Vietnam: Hanoi specifically (HCMC is one of those lackluster places I'll probably never go to again). The MR event did a good job of selling it.

Malaysia: Great food and I haven't been in a while, last time I found some awesome snooker rooms. Curious if there's any pool halls.

Indonesia: Bali...

Phillipines: Would love to go here and just watch people play, I am not down to empty my bank balance haha I helped Dennis O out a little when he was staying here, and he mentioned he could hook me up with some ideas/things to do (but there was a few beers drained at that point lol)

Nepal: I have a friend in Nepal, but know next to nothing about it besides great food and big mountains.

India: I'd love to go and watch some cricket at one of the huge stadiums, always been on my bucket list. I have a friend working in Delhi. I imagine there's a few snooker halls around, but not sure about pool.

New Zealand: I know there's a couple of players from there that I've seen playing in tournaments, would love to visit a few old friends there (who are pretty well off and happy to accommodate me and travel anywhere - so any particular city or place to play can easily be squeezed in)


These are all places I have considered, and have a few more on the list too... So, any and all help would be much appreciated. If you come from a lovely place that I haven't mentioned, or you have a scene that is open, friendly and enjoys a game. Please feel free to recommend and celebrate where you're from.

I have to say, Shanghai should be a place on your list if you're in China (Not many cities here do, but it's one of three or four cities that cater to American table based games, and in a pretty big way). Won't even mention my hometown, the UK scene is absolutely piss poor in my opinion... Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for sharing :) even if it's just a holiday that you yourself enjoyed.

I know I write a little too much in my posts for some people on here, so hopefully you get the gist, and fire away any suggestions :)
 
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Also, wouldn't mind traveling to anywhere hosting a tournament in my summer break (end of June - beginning of August). That's an option. Is there like a list of dates for the years tournaments? Would love to give it a try and get battered by some gun players.
 
Tadaimarlon said:
You've got the Japan Open in September
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What are the dates of that? If it's preceding a weekend, I can perhaps feign an illness for a day or two *cough* - but my holidays in September usually relate specificlly to the Mid-Autumn festival (do they have a similar celebration in Japan?)

Thanks for sharing :)
 
Flakeandrun said:
What are the dates of that? If it's preceding a weekend, I can perhaps feign an illness for a day or two *cough* - but my holidays in September usually relate specificlly to the Mid-Autumn festival (do they have a similar celebration in Japan?)

Thanks for sharing :)
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Japan-Open-2023.jpg


Last year it was on the 16th,17th & 18th of September. Japan has the "Obon" festival at that time. Dennis orcollo was the runner-up.
 
Tadaimarlon said:
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Last year it was on the 16th,17th & 18th of September. Japan has the "Obon" festival at that time. Dennis orcollo was the runner-up.
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Yeah, I remember seeing that. Couldn't remember the date. A friend of mine also competed in the tournament, but was knocked out pretty early. Both him and Dennis played the China open also.

My holiday this year was right at the end of Sept. Do you know when they announce the dates roughly? Is it usually well in advance? I always find out about tournaments close-by too late. Missed a couple of events around that I wanted to have a go at/tick of the bucket list this year.
 
We have three halls in amsterdam. You'll find a tournament every night but Friday and Saturday.

Everything but Monday is open to anyone regardless of skill level. Winners are usually 650-712 Fargo, unless Van Den Berg plays, and then he wins. Everything is thru cuescore.super easy to register, most of them besides the Thursday tournament you can still get a spot day of.


Lokaal De gracht and plan b are my favorites, boven ij has the nicest equipment but isn't easy to get to for tourists.

If you go to nyc, I recommend Amsterdam billiards Club near union square.

If you come to the Netherlands let me know and I'll give you more specific advice to the time period you'll be here.
 
Just my $.02 here but i would NEVER plan a trip that revolved around whatever poolhalls were around. I might go in one on vacation but it wouldn't be a 'destination point'. There is one exception, maybe, and that's the old-school room in Oregon full of old anniversaries. Problem there is i have zero desire to go to Oregon.
 
Flakeandrun said:
Yeah, I remember seeing that. Couldn't remember the date. A friend of mine also competed in the tournament, but was knocked out pretty early. Both him and Dennis played the China open also.

My holiday this year was right at the end of Sept. Do you know when they announce the dates roughly? Is it usually well in advance? I always find out about tournaments close-by too late. Missed a couple of events around that I wanted to have a go at/tick of the bucket list this year.
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I'm not sure. I do have friends who know for sure, I'll ask them later. But my guess is that they announce the tournament at least 2-3 months in advance.
 
gcmortal said:
What else would you value about a room? Table size and games? Action to get or watch? Old school a plus or not?
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9/10 footers, any game, petty action for self, or watching decent action of others. I like Old school (Macau and HK had some awesome old school halls - like you could still smell the smoke from 20+ years ago and the history of the places was cool), but then new and top-notch is cool to see to.
 
zetetikos said:
We have three halls in amsterdam. You'll find a tournament every night but Friday and Saturday.

Everything but Monday is open to anyone regardless of skill level. Winners are usually 650-712 Fargo, unless Van Den Berg plays, and then he wins. Everything is thru cuescore.super easy to register, most of them besides the Thursday tournament you can still get a spot day of.


Lokaal De gracht and plan b are my favorites, boven ij has the nicest equipment but isn't easy to get to for tourists.

If you go to nyc, I recommend Amsterdam billiards Club near union square.

If you come to the Netherlands let me know and I'll give you more specific advice to the time period you'll be here.
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This is super helpful and exactly the kind of thing I was looking for! Thank you for the detailed info. My flight path to my hometown has a few places I could stop at (Paris, Helsinki, Frankfurt, Amsterdam), and Amsterdam is high up there on my list of places to stop on my way back in the summer time... June 29th is my last day in office, and then I will have a month or so off. I'll google the clubs you mentioned and have a nose at some other things. Much appreciated!
 
garczar said:
Just my $.02 here but i would NEVER plan a trip that revolved around whatever poolhalls were around. I might go in one on vacation but it wouldn't be a 'destination point'. There is one exception, maybe, and that's the old-school room in Oregon full of old anniversaries. Problem there is i have zero desire to go to Oregon.
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I've been to quite a few places, and realistically, It's one of the things I enjoy doing more than anything else at the moment. So incorporating it into a holiday is something of interest to me. I wouldn't live inside the hall... :ROFLMAO: probably still enjoy other things. But it's a great way to meet people, and something to fall back on when those days traveling are a little less than expected. I'd also like to see how things work in other places.
I feel you on the sentiments to Oregon, it's one of the places I have been previously, and besides some awesome nature I didn't really enjoy it or the people I met there.
 
I too love playing while traveling. Great way to meet people and learn about the area. I also agree The Cue Ball in Salem is amazing yet not worth the trip. As expected, US is very diverse depending where you are. In my experience, I’ve found people that can shoot in Mexico play 3C. Have not ventured further south. Halls in Japan are easy to come by. English 8B in Tanzania, Pool in Ethiopia, as expected, snooker in ex English colonies. I’ve also read snooker has “corrupted the culture” in Bhutan which sounds pretty enticing.
 
Powderclayfelt said:
I too love playing while traveling. Great way to meet people and learn about the area. I also agree The Cue Ball in Salem is amazing yet not worth the trip. As expected, US is very diverse depending where you are. In my experience, I’ve found people that can shoot in Mexico play 3C. Have not ventured further south. Halls in Japan are easy to come by. English 8B in Tanzania, Pool in Ethiopia, as expected, snooker in ex English colonies. I’ve also read snooker has “corrupted the culture” in Bhutan which sounds pretty enticing.
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Thanks for your reply! I know Africa has a penchant for English 8B, many of my SA friends enjoy playing. I have on friend here who follows it like others might follow football (he's not interested in snooker, 8/9/10ball, just English pool, which is beyond my comprehension lol)

I've played snooker in Thailand, Malaysia and China. I am curious how snooker could 'corrupt' anything, and I am not sure Bhutan will ever be on my list, but that does intrigue me! :ROFLMAO:

There was another thread about Japan, and I have since found quite a few good places to play there and am looking forward to going.

Central and South America interests me, and Mexico could certainly go on my list. I've only played a little 3C in Korea, and generally found I preferred playing 235 if I had to choose a more awkward cue sport (I also used to play a little English billiards on the 12ft as a snooker warm-up with my dad).
 
In Philippines child labor is thought of as an education.

There are some places that have a pool table and the children manage the entire affair. Other places are more creative with their management and attraction of players.

They don't get a lot of tourists, something like that would never happen in a public American space.

If you go to the main pool rooms, its like getting fast food or dating, everything looks the same.

I am going to sleep and get rest for my drive to Fort Knox. The DCC is an experience every pool player should have.
The prize system at the DCC is innovative and should be adopted by other organizations.

Its promote multiple games in one event.
 
Flakeandrun said:
Thanks for your reply! I know Africa has a penchant for English 8B, many of my SA friends enjoy playing. I have on friend here who follows it like others might follow football (he's not interested in snooker, 8/9/10ball, just English pool, which is beyond my comprehension lol)

I've played snooker in Thailand, Malaysia and China. I am curious how snooker could 'corrupt' anything, and I am not sure Bhutan will ever be on my list, but that does intrigue me! :ROFLMAO:

There was another thread about Japan, and I have since found quite a few good places to play there and am looking forward to going.

Central and South America interests me, and Mexico could certainly go on my list. I've only played a little 3C in Korea, and generally found I preferred playing 235 if I had to choose a more awkward cue sport (I also used to play a little English billiards on the 12ft as a snooker warm-up with my dad).
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Speaking of SA, I suggest checking out sessions billiards in cape town. Never been myself but played the guy who owns it quite a few games when he visited amsterdam. He loves the game, put in all brand new predator tables and fancy lights. He also clearly was teaching his son the same love and passion for the game.
 
zetetikos said:
Speaking of SA, I suggest checking out sessions billiards in cape town. Never been myself but played the guy who owns it quite a few games when he visited amsterdam. He loves the game, put in all brand new predator tables and fancy lights. He also clearly was teaching his son the same love and passion for the game.
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I have quite a few SA friends here (and from a past life playing cricket). I have considered traveling there, but I'm a big scaredy when it comes to being potentially robbed forcefully, by someone who is probably armed... It's why I put HCMC in the bin (even though it was otherwise lovely), and why I hate London.

Awesome that he is teaching his son about anything that he is passionate about. Just demonstrating passion is a fantastic attribute/character trait to share.
 
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