World Traveler

The Chocolate Hills are one of The Philippines natural wonders and consist of over a thousand cone shaped hills that are green but turn to brown in summer because of the hot sun, hence the name ‘The Chocolate Hills’. I was staying in Tagbilaran, the main town on Bohol so the Chocolate Hills are about 2 hours away. The bus seemed to take forever but finally I arrived in time for sunset, just as I had planned. Its about a 1km uphill walk to get to the lookout point (there are motorbike taxis available.)

After a strenuous walk I reached the top, very out of breath but the view was amazing! As far as the eye can see there are hundreds and hundreds of green coned hills and it looks really surreal like some kind of fantasy painting. As the sun set over the hills the view just got better and better and I really didn’t want to come down but it was getting dark and I didn’t want to get lost! When I reached the bottom I saw the best sunset that I have ever seen, it totally bowled me away.

Then I had to get back to Tagbilaran…..unfortunately the last bus had been and gone and I was in the middle of knowhere, and it was dark. Here we go again! As usual there were loads of motorbike taxi’s asking extortionate prices for getting me back to town but there was no other option so I had to take it and was glad when I was finally able to get off at my hostel.

All in all it was well worth it, I love natural wonders, there really is nothing like it.

Read more about The Philippines……..

I was travelling Cambodia and was torn between going south to the beach and the parties or going north and seeing the apparently unmissable temples. I really wanted to go south but I heard so much about how fantastic the temples were that I finally decided to go north to see Ankor Wat temples in Siem Reap.

Siem Reap is a cute little town and there are loads of travellers there, like I was, to see these temples, so it was a great place to meet people. The town itself doesn’t have much else too see apart from Angkor Wot but there are loads of cute little restaurants with fantastic food and some bars as well.

The best way to see as many of the temples as possible, easily, is to hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day for about $20. We left early in the morning as there are loads of temples that are scattered throughout the area, with a few temples as far as 150km away. You need to buy a temple pass in order to see the temples, these are available in one, two or three day passes. Everyone told us to get the three day pass but I thought one day was more that enough.

There are some amazing temples and many of them are in great condition, my favorite was one of the temples in the forest where it looks like the temple is growing out of the trees (rather than the other way around) and its amazing of how it got to be that way. Temples are tiring though so I stopped for lunch near one of the temple sights (and wouldn’t recommend it!) I was barraged by a heard of children selling loads of random things. While I was trying to eat my rice they were hanging off of my arms so I don’t think I actually managed to get any in my mouth as the rice was sent flying on each tug of my arm. There was no getting rid of them, and believe me I tried everything! I left pretty quick and went to see more temples. By the time it got to 3pm I was templed out so called it a day.

Everyone goes on about the temples and how amazing they are, and although it was nice to see them I did regret not going south!

Read about more Asia travels…….

Before I went to Hong Kong I had been told that it was really polluted and that there wasn’t much to go there for, I just thought that all cities were polluted and coming from London I didn’t really think much of it until I arrived. The sky in Hong Kong remained brown the whole four days I was there, and that wasn’t because it was miserable weather, on the contrary, it was a beautiful sunny day but unfortunately the thick brown smog that covers the whole city makes it pretty hard to notice. It was definitely a bit of a shock, now I know what people meant when they said the pollution was really bad!

All signs are in English and everyone speaks English so its pretty easy to get about and people are really friendly and polite - that was another thing coming from London that I wasn’t used to. I hopped on a bus to Kowloon, where I planned to stay and I can safely say that I have never seen so many people in one place at the same time, it really took me away. Finding my way around and a place to stay has never been easier and there is always someone willing to help and give you the right directions if you need a hand.

People in Hong Kong always seem to be cleaning, where ever you go people are cleaning, always, or drilling and building of course, there is a lot of that too. There is plenty to see and do in Hong Kong, the shopping there will try to deter you though and there are so many really amazing things that are just dying to be purchased, especially if you, like me, stay in Kowloon (why do I torture myself!) Although I did see a fair bit of Hong Kong, a lot of my time was spend randomly roaming around or trying to keep myself out of the shops!

Read about other Asian cities….

I was travelling around South East Asia and luckily I stopped off for a week in Singapore in February, at what I reckon must be the best time of year to get there - Chinese New Year. Arriving just in time for the twelve days of celebrations that the country has. As the majority of the population of Singapore is Chinese, Malaysia and Indian, you can imagine that Chinese New Year is a pretty big thing. There were loads of events suitable for everyone, at different locations around the city so I tried to cram as many of them in as possible.

Along the river there were an abundance of stalls offering food, clothing, fun-fair games, kids fair ground rides and other random things to purchase. The whole area was decorated in lights and giant papier-mâché figures of the Chinese zodiac animals, the whole area was aglow with the amount of colours and lights, really amazing. Horoscopes were set up all over the place, so you could find the giant figurine of your zodiac sign and the read about what was in store for you the following year. There was also a big stage set up with various performances including music and dancing, and a magic show!

Other events around the city included free music performances in a few different outdoor areas around the city, fire works, plus there was a street parade followed with a street party. So much effort went into the parade with some amazing costumes, I watched excitedly for hours, the street party was a bit empty but there was disco lights and smoke machines (I’m a sucker for flashing lights – I must have been a moth in a previous life!)

They also set up huge screens at another riverside location where different films were shown every night, there were also loads of eateries there so you could make a night of it. All the Chinese New Year events were free to all and I had such a good time that I’m going back again this year!

Read about other Asian cities…..

One of the first things that I noticed when I arrived in Melbourne was the strange taste in clothes people seem to have, and the majority of people wear the same style. Its like no one seems to match the clothes that they are wearing, its like they thought “hmmmm, I like those orange leggings, and I love my green skirt, oh, and that red top, teamed with a grey cardigan” with no thought that none of the items go together, and everyone does it. I must say, it took a bit of getting used to, I tried to go shopping so many times but came back with nothing, which is certainly something that has never happened to me before!

I thought that maybe Melbourne only gets the hand me downs from the other cities wholesalers but then I was surprised to learn that its actually the fashion capital of Australia! If that’s the case Australia certainly needs some top designers to come to the rescue. At least when I’m in Melbourne and I can’t really be bothered to make much of an effort I cant just throw on anything and it looks like I’m being “fashionable”.

Spring races draws the crowds from far and wide and that’s when you see some of the true monstrosities. The trend at the moment seems to be ill fitting dresses that make even the girls with the best bodies look a strange shape, and as for the guys, it seems skinny jeans are in. Jeans so tight that leggings look baggy in comparison, these skinny jeans are worn low down, you know, so you can see almost all the underwear and so the crotch of the skinny jeans come down to the knees and it looks liked they have soiled themselves from the back end - how do they manage to run for a bus I wonder? Fashion capital of Australia ay? Australians must have a field day when they go abroad and see what fashion is actually all about!

Read more about Australia….

Volcanoes have always been something that have been of great interest to me, I have no idea why but I am just fascinated by them. So when I was in Bukittinggi I finally got the chance to climb one. I am not at all a healthy or fit person and can barely breathe after running for a bus, so I obviously have no idea what I was in for. The climb to the summit (2000m) was about 4 hours, depending on fitness and apparently it wasn’t too hard. We left at 11pm so we would be at the top for sunrise. At first the climb wasn’t too bad but as we went higher up the volcano it got steeper and steeper and it was so dark I could hardly see and my head torch really wasn’t doing the job! It got so steep that in the end I was just grabbing whatever tree or bush or root that was in front of me to stop me falling! I had to stop every 60 seconds for a break as I was so out of breath.

As we got out of the jungle part of the climb we reached the rocky part and the rocks slipped under my feet as I climbed and there was nothing to hold on to so I was on all fours trying not to freak out (I’m scared of heights), everyone else was apparently not finding it as challenging as I was….except my sister, who was just as bad as I was. It stared to get lighter as the sun started to rise and I realised how high up we were which made it all the more scary. Finally we reached the top and it was freezing! There were huge craters and black smoke bellowing out. The view above the clouds was brilliant and the towns below looked so far away. I thought there would be more at the top but apart from a few rocks, a couple of craters and some smoke, there wasn’t much else!

It look me 6 hours to get up and even longer to get down as I have old knee injuries on both knees that were aggravated by the rocky terrain on the way down! It was an experience, but I don’t think I that ever felt so much pain for so long in my life and it took my knees months to heal but I am glad I did it - I will be more prepared next time and definitely think about it in more detail before I make any rash decisions!

Read about adventures….

I was in Indonesia in Sumatra’s Bukittinggi with my sister and we heard that there was a gorge so we decided to head off on foot with our Lonely Planet guide and find it. Although we had a map, there seemed to be no turning off for the gorge so we ended walking up and down the same road a few times. Soon a local man came to our aid and lead us to where the gorge was. We walked through the jungle for ages and he lead us over bamboo bridges where my foot was wider than the bridge and there was no railing to hold on to! I’m scared of heights at the best of times!

Eventually , when we had no idea where we were, he turned to us and said “if you want me to show you the rest of the way you have to pay me” at this point we realised he took us on a wild goose chase into the middle of the jungle! I shouted at him and told him to leave (pretty silly now I think about it as no one knew where we were!) We carried on walking through the dense jungle and eventually ended up at an Indiana Jones style bride which went right over the gorge. There was nothing to hold on to and half the planks of the foot bridge were missing or cracked. We screamed as we clutched on to each other as we crossed the bridge and I was convinced we were going to die, with bits of wood cracking and breaking under our feet.

We made it to the other side but by this time we were dying of thirst as we didn’t have water with us. We made it out of the jungle and into a field where the grass was almost as tall as me. We walked for a while and then suddenly the grass stopped and there was no more floor, nothing but a huge drop - I am so glad I was paying attention to where I was going! So we had to turn back and after hours more of walking we eventually found a town, got a drink and managed to get a bus, 2 hours back to where we were staying!

Read about more shenanigans….

Budget Airlines in Europe are great value and you can get to so many places for as little as £1 one way (excluding tax). There are loads of budget airlines to choose from as well, giving you a wealth of choice for price and destination. There are quite a few airlines that do budget flights, the main ones that pop to mind are Easy Jet (www.easyjet.com) and Ryan Air (www.ryanair.com), just between these two airlines, there are flights all over Europe, to anywhere that you might possibly want to go. I generally find that Ryan Air’s flights are cheaper but they fly to random places that you haven’t really heard of rather than capital. Cities.

If you are visiting Europe its actually really low cost to take a quick visit to another country while you are there. Flights can be booked online or over the phone and an e-ticket is issued so you don’t need to have tickets delivered to a postal address. There are always special deals available and last minute options too. Both the above airlines also offer not quite as low cost options for hotels, hire cars, insurance and airport transfers. Skiing deals are also available and generally you can read about the area you are thinking about going to on these websites too, to help you get a better idea of where to go and when.

I have flown with Easy Jet plenty of times, flights are generally on time, there is no free food on-board but you can buy food. There is only a small selection of things available like sandwiches and cakes - watch out for the prices of these as they often cost more than the flight did!

More travel deals…

I found out about Air Asia when I was travelling around South East Asia and although I was on the smallest budget ever imaginable its a very economical way of getting about. Air Asia is one of the few budget airlines operating in Asia and is a great way to travel around Asia cheaply.

With flights between Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore it connects you with ease to the whole of South East Asia. Flights are as cheap as chips, literally, with many flights as low as $10 USD including taxes! When I was travelling Asia I often found it was actually cheaper to fly than to get a long distance bus or train - that makes a change and its certainly an easier way of getting around, rather than on a bus with random children and chickens on your lap!

Air Asia has now introduced a new route that links Australia’s Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur, hopefully there are more routes to come connecting Asia to other parts of the world at very low prices. Flights are quick and easy to book with either online or telephone booking facilities. Some travel agents also book Air Asia flights but at a slightly increased cost. The website is really user friendly and its also available in a few different languages and has currency converters etc. There are usually special deals on flights and regular sales for even bigger bargains. The website is www.airasia.com

I have flown with Air Asia plenty of times and generally flights leave and arrive when they should do and the staff are generally very helpful and friendly. I would highly recommend them, although I haven’t yet flown with them long haul.

More travel deals….

Getting a bus in Indonesia requires quite a lot of patience, as do most things in Indonesia, mainly due to the vast quantity of hawkers selling a random selection of goods. On buses its actually so ridiculous its funny. You board the bus and sit down and hawker number one gets on, places a pack on peanuts on each person on the bus, then hawker number two gets on and places a child’s toy on your lap. Next comes along hawker number three and places a travel pillow on your lap, by this time you have a good selection of random items, but that’s not all… hawker number four places a sunhat on your lap, this process continues until your almost swimming in enough stuff to open a shop. Then hawker number one collects his goods unless you want to buy it, as does the rest of the hawkers.

You would think that this process is now done with, but then another batch of hawkers get on the bus, this time with some “guitarists”, when I say “guitarist” I mean someone that owns a guitar, not some one who can play one. Guitarist number one clangs away at the two strings on his decrepit guitar while some other person attempts singing, unfortunately failing miserably making the babies on the bus that are screaming actually sound therapeutic in comparison, they then come around to collect money (apparently its mandatory!) Just as with the hawkers, the “guitarists” line up and take it in turns to annoy you until eventually the bus leaves! Finally you think you are safe but then you realise that when the bus stops at any set of traffic lights you get another “guitarist” and a couple of hawkers! One thing is for sure, if you want a moment of peace in Indonesia, you wont get one!

http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/honk-honk-hanoi/

If you are thinking of going back packing first you will need to research the country/countries that you are planning on going to so you know what to expect and it will also help you know what to bring with you. When I went back packing I bought the biggest backpack I could find, I was going for a year so I thought I would need it, and so I packed it full to the brim with clothes, first aid kits, hundreds of books - all the heavy stuff! Buying everything in the UK where I am from cost a fortune too. I should have just brought myself and bought everything in Thailand, where I was planning on going, as its much cheaper and I didn’t need half of the stuff I thought that I would. Travel light, you honestly don’t need much (unless your planning on camping, climbing lots of mountains etc) so pack as little as possible as lugging a huge backpack around all the time is pretty annoying and very stressful!

You may need injections, you don’t need to be overly cautions and get every injection ‘just in case’, plan where you are going and get the appropriate vaccinations. Malaria tablets can often make you photosensitive, so can be silly if you are going to a hot country or planning on sunbathing, they usually have pretty bad side effects so make sure that you really need them.

Travel insurance? I got travel insurance for a year and when my phone and iPod got stolen I tried to claim it but you have to report it to the police, however, no one spoke English and they had no idea what a crime reference number was so I couldn’t make a claim! It might be useful if you are in a country that you can easily communicate in, or for medical emergencies but I’m not going to bother next time I travel.

You will need a guide book, its handy even if you don’t follow it as it contains maps, advice, places to stay, prices to expect, addresses of consulates etc also lists places of interest and some local phrases so you can try and communicate in foreign speaking countries. Also, take some passport photos in case you need them for visas and a copy of your passport in case you lose it! If possible take spare bank cards as if you lose you bank card or it breaks your bank wont send another one abroad!

http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/thinking-of-going-backpacking/

There’s one thing that you notice immediately when you visit London, everything is grey; the sky is grey, the buildings are grey, everyone wears grey and the people are grey! The next thing you will notice is how rude many of the people are, you’ll be lucky to get the time from someone in the street, most people just totally ignore you, some simply show a hand for you to talk to! And getting directions, oh, for that one you will get a reply but you wont ever get anywhere near where you asked to get to! Politeness and London are rarely found together, there is no “sorry” or “thank you”, “excuse me” yeah right! Everyone just pushes there way through, in their grey clothes, with their grey miserable faces.

Its generally less hassle to look people in the eye as you’ll either get someone try and start a fight with you, or some lunatic following you around all day. No one speaks to strangers, or even looks at them for that matter and London has more than its fair share of rudeness. Its a brilliant city with loads to see and do, so much so that you’ll never get bored, unfortunately its filled with rude people that make it feel like such a depressing place to be. When a shop assistant says “Hi” back when you enter the shop you get a shock and don’t even think about asking the bus driver if he has change as you’ll get shouted at!

http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/what-to-do-in-bangkok/

Ask any one that has been to Sydney and Melbourne which is better to visit and you will get a different response every time, you soon see why they couldn’t pick a capital city out of the two!

Sydney has some of the better sights, obviously the Opera House and has some so really nice scenery like when you get on the ferries to Luna Park and to Manly, its also much better for shopping as there is so much more variety. However, its more expensive than Melbourne and people aren’t as friendly. Its much busier and people hurry about always in a rush, where Melbourne is more chilled out.

Melbourne is like loads of towns all really near each other, you have the Italian area, the Greek area, China town, etc so its more diverse. There is more of a cafe culture and its where the majority of events are, especially in sporting. Melbourne’s transport system is much easier to use and the people are really friendly so you often have strangers strike up a conversation.

I definitely prefer Melbourne, although its a city, it feels less polluted and much cleaner than most cities. There is always loads to do and places to go to and the extensive tram system make it so easy to get from place to place. I do find that people in Melbourne have a very strange taste in fashion, it certainly takes some getting used to - however, it is supposed to be the fashion capital of Australia!

http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/travelling-australia/

When I left the UK to go backpacking for the first time, I thought of it as a two year holiday but with a bit more adventure. I never realised how much it would teach me. I have learnt a lot about myself and I realised loads about my old “life” in London, not really a life at all! Backpacking has taught me so much, not just about myself, but about other people, other cultures, geography, religion, language and it has also awakened my creative side and I have found so many talents within myself that I never knew existed, so much so that my whole way of life has now been altered! The way I think, my goals in life, my beliefs, my direction in life. I’ve become much more confident and I actually have a pretty good view of the world now.

I have gone from being imprisoned in my material, working hard life to being as free as I like, travelling and having no direction except enjoying life and learning. I never realised how easy and free life can be and how much choice I actually have. The backpacking experience will obviously be different to everyone and it will also depend on how much you will force yourself out of your comfort zone, but I for one am certainly not going back to the so called ‘life’ I had in the UK, I have never been more free and happy.  I the travel bug and there is no cure!

http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/visiting-ayvelik/

I had heard that Ho Chi Minh City was worse than Hanoi but I preferred it as there were loads of cool places to go and it was much easier to venture out of the hotel and a lot less scary. It was my birthday so I decided to treat myself and go shopping; there were so many cool clothes shops. I wanted some jeans so I took a few of the largest sizes into the changing room, most of which I couldn’t even get passed my ankles as they were so small. The shop assistant was laughing at me and went to get loads of her friends; they kept opening the curtain of the dressing room while I was getting changed and laughing hysterically at me!The tops didn’t fit either, I kept getting them stuck when they were half way on and had to get my sister to help get them off again.

Vietnamese people are much smaller than they look (and they look really small too); some of the jeans had knees that were two inches wide -who has legs that small? Even babies legs are bigger than that. Shopping was pointless and embarrassing so I went to get a haircut and a facial (I’d never had a facial before). The facial was first and started off well, until they stuck a hot steamer in my face, which burnt and didn’t allow me to breathe. I think my discomfort was apparent as they quickly took it away. The facial also included a head, neck and should massage. The facial massage was funny as she pushed my face in different directions so I made funny faces (like you do with adults when you’re a kid), then she moved onto my head. I had no idea what she was doing but it felt like she was hitting me on the head with a big stick and it hurt.

The strange and painful experience came to and end and I was moved into a chair to have my haircut. In the mirror I could see the woman behind me, I don’t know what she was having done but it looked more painful than what I had. The hairdresser grabbed her chin in one hand and her forehead in the other and twisted forcefully enough for me to hear the click from across the salon. Then she started poking the woman’s forehead (what that is supposed to do is beyond me) and then slapped her around the face! Glad I didn’t have that done.

http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/check-out-the-travel-deals-from-the-washington-post/