February 2012 Blog Posts (60)

Sun City is South Africa’s premier holiday resort, known as Africa’s Kingdom of Pleasure. There are 4 hotels in the resort and Palace of the Lost City is the most luxurious of all. You can find many activities in this resort. Stayed there for 3 days was not enough for me to explore the whole area.…

Start: Saturday November 12, Playa Santispec

Finish: Wednesday November 23, Los Barriles

White Sandy Beaches: 3

Crazy Three-Day Mexican Festivals: 1

Rainy Days: 1

Fish Caught and Eaten: 3

It's been a while since our last trip update, apologies to friends, family and those living vicariously through our travels. We've been hopping from beach to beach, enjoying the sun, a bit of fishing and a few surprises.…

http://chatteringkitchen.com/2012/02/21/lebanese-food-in-the-heart-of-kuala-lumpur-al-amar-express/

Stumbling out of the cinema at the stroke of midnight, that too on a Monday, our biggest concern was for our stomachs. Even though they had been taken care of…

Dubai is one of the few states of the world that is designed to make everyone's jaws drop. With world's tallest building, busiest shopping malls, best hotels and oodles of fun things to do, Dubai not only hosts a huge number of tourists every year but also provides accommodation to over 10,000 new expats each year. It is the world's fastest growing cities and offers a lifestyle beyond luxury. All celebrities and important personalities own an apartment, house, and/or property in Dubai and…

Originally posted here: Costa Rica: Fast Food Central America

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While throngs of travelers go to Mexico to feast upon the buffet fare of all-inclusive resorts, for the past two years I've opted for the a la carte culinary delights of Isla Mujeres.



Isla is a very relaxed, laid-back kind of place and the food matches the island's personality.  The best dishes I've had there have been prepared quite simply, and highlight fresh, local ingredients.…

I'd consider the city of Madrid to have about as much charisma as an un-flushed public toilet. I warn you, this blog entry is a little bitter. To me, and I can only speak for myself, I found Madrid to be one of the most one-dimensional destinations I have ever visited - lacking the complexities of food, art, design and architecture that appeal to me as a traveller. I also found it to be incredibly sleazy and somewhat 'unwashed' with a disquieting underbelly of menace and sly trickery. How…

I spent around 35 days in the USA on road trips in 2011.

A total of three trips: easter in Texas and New Mexico, summer on Route 66 from Chicago to LA (and back) and New years in Miami and Key west.

All great trips that expanded my horizon and provided an abundance of great experiences.

By far the best travel experience I had in 2011 was the night I spent in the Grand Canyon Caverns Suite on Route 66.

It is a hotel suite that has been set up 220 feet below the…

PHILIPPINES: BOONDOCKS OF BONTOC, SAGADA, BANAUE…& MANILA

After a near panic-attack—or maybe it was claustrophobia, I’m not sure—from being in rooms without windows for six days straight, I get on the bus from Baguio to Sagada resolving to do better.  I even find banana bread.  That’s a good sign.  “You ever have before?” the lady behind the smile asks.  I…

Street Food in Aonang Krabi Thailand

Chinese New Year has just ended and we were so busy with the festive season as well as moving to our new home. We had lots of fun meeting up with friends and families.

A few friends asked us about holidaying and also how is the street food in general in Krabi Thailand. We visited Krabi three times since 2004 and the last time we holidayed there was late last year.

There are two popular places in Krabi; Aonang by the…

Contiki Vacations just launched their innovative new online game, This Way to Amazing (http://www.contiki.com/amazing). Beginning February 15, Contiki is giving away a European tour every week for a month to the follower clever enough to find the youth brand’s travelers in four of Europe’s hottest destinations.

Follow along as the Contiki…

People will sometimes ask me how long it takes to fly between Tokyo and New Jersey. My answer usually elicits a contorted expression and a syllable or two of pained commiseration, reactions I personally would reserve for someone in truly insufferable straits – being psychologically unable to miss an episode of …

Wanderlust Wednesday: Nelson, B.C.

PHILIPPINES, LUZON, BAGUIO: FRUITS & VEGGIES, GARDENS & FLOWERS

Baguio’s cool, and I don’t just mean the weather, though that’s significant at this altitude of some 1400 meters, around 4500 feet.  It’s a nice place also, a true garden city in every sense of the term, complete with “orchidarium,” a term I was heretofore unfamiliar with.  The markets are…

Having lived and worked in Berlin for a couple of years right after the fall of the Wall and visited several times in the years since, I’ve had the chance to witness huge changes to the city which is now the German capital. It wasn’t when I lived there, and there was massive opposition to the idea of relocating all those politicians from Bonn, just like there were huge demonstrations against the idea of Berlin hosting the Olympics in 2000. But while the latter bid failed Berlin regained its…

Travel can be fun. Travel can be exciting. Travel can also be a pain in the neck. Here are 10 quick and easy tips to make your travels better.



1. This is my favorite tip, so I put it first. If you are spontaneous with your travel or find yourself somewhere you are unfamiliar with, check out the postcards in the gift shops. That will give you a quick snapshot of local scenery and sites. I had an unplanned 3-hour layover in Milan a few years ago. When I checked out the post card…

Earlier, I wrote my Top 10 Travel Tips. I had a number of people offer suggestions, so I thought it was time to write the next Top 10 Travel Tips.



Hope these are helpful!



1. This one is from a friend. Pack with travel cubes – or any other type of bag within a bag. This helps keep clothes organized and when security rifles through everything, “things” won’t go flying.



2. Wear shoes that slip on and off easily to the airport – I like Dansko.



3. Drink…

Baguio is the only bump in a long ride up the coast from Manila to the far reaches of north Luzon.  I’m sure there’s a route that hugs the coast the entire way, but I wanted to stop at Baguio first, before continuing on to Vigan.  Manila is only 150mi/250km away from Baguio, but after a seven-hour bus ride, seems much farther.  That’s because the going is so slow through town after congested town full of motorbikes and three-wheelers putt-putting around and clogging up the main road, that…