exotic, as in warm? well, Russia is warm in the summer. you want exotic? racing triathlons in Russia is as wild as it can get, but perhaps maybe not the "vacation in paradise", type of racing you are looking for. in any case, i have done a few races in Russia if you want suggestions...

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Where would you want to swim ?

I'm doing Laguna Phuket in eight weeks (as soon as Patel gets my travel arrangements back to me). That gets my vote.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Hainan Triathlon in China gets my vote, Like going to Hawaii but for only 1/4th the cost. Same people that put on Phuket put this race on.

powerman zofingen duathlon. zofingen, switzerland. do it and you'll know why it gets my vote. www.powerman.ch

A number of the Caribbean islands have races. I know there are tris in Cayman Islands, Barbados and Bermuda.

Lots of races in South Africa. Their seasons are reversed, so the race season goes from Sept - May. You can do all distances from sprint to Ironman. The have sprint series with a race up at Sun City. Sun City is a resort with lots of swimming pools, gambling, golf, jet skis, games, there is even a game preserve close by. The race I did up there was in October. The race is sponsored by Energade. You may recognize some of the names of talented south african triathletes...Raynard Tissink, winner of this year's IM canada and Conrad Stoltz who has done well at Chicago once or twice.

Craig

I'm considering doing this race as well. I'm definitely going to be in Thailand at that time, but am trying to figure out if is worth hauling my bike half way around the world for a race. Is Patel a travel company?

Yup. Deepak Patel runs Premium Plus Sports in Chicago, Illinois. On the recommendation of several people (including Slowtwitchers) he is handling all my travel arrangements for both Ironman New Zealand and Laguna Phuket. He is the guy making my triathlon "Endless Summer" a reality. Now, if I could only convince him to do the 5 hour Computrainer rides....

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

St. Croix offers both a Half Ironman, and a Sprint Distance race. I had an absolute blast doing the 1/2, but totally heat bonked on the run. Climbing "The Beast" is a must do. Airfare is steep, but lodging, food etc... relatively inexpensive. Go early and they might not lose your bike! If they do, it will catch up to you in about a day. Reading Don't Stop the Carnival is a prerequisite prior traveling here, if you are a Jimmy Buffett fan. When was the last time you had to swim to the swim start? At St. Croix the swim starts on an island, and you actually swim about 200-300 yards to get there. It's a nice warm-up. The water is clear and warm! I'll be back in a year or so.

Joel

Deepak of Premium Plus just got me an airfare to Phuket for $1077 through Tokyo (from Detroit, Michigan)round trip on Northwest (TONs of frequent flyer miles!). He dialed my itenerary to even include a day in Bangkok. Also, he got a great hotel for me at the race site on the water at less than half what I was seeing elsewhere. If you are doing Laguna Phuket talk to Deepak at Premium Plus. Call Deepak at 312-738-2543. He's the king!

www.PremiumPlus-Sports.com

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I may have to give him a call. Of course all race plans are contingent on girlfriend approval. We need to fly out of Bangkok on the 30th so we'll be cutting it a little close as it is.

Based on my expereince if you rely on your girlfriend to go to a race with, you'll never leave town and loose a thousand bucks or more for every trip you planned. I've had multiple bad experiences. From now on, I work alone.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Thailand is for sure (her bro lives there), the race...70% chance of racing at this point.

I put the call in to Deepak, if he gets a good deal for me (from Seattle) I'm in. Sounds like a great race.

Will you have to pay extra for bringing your bike on NWA, or does that price include that as well?

My belief is I will have to pay to get the bike to L.A. ($85?) and then the remaining international segments are free. Of course, the rules change at the ticket counter.

I'm routed through Tokyo into Bangkok and then on to Phuket. I'm pretty stoked about this. I'll be there over my birthday. Huge.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Hopefully everything will work out and I'll see you at the races.

I must admit I have read and enjoyed a lot of your editorials on your site. I'll buy you an ice cold Singha after the race. Or maybe you should buy me one to compensate for all the work I haven't done because of reading you web sites and Slowtwitch posts.

Deal.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com