Tom Rooney Travels

Tom Rooney

Tom Rooney Travels

Welcome to my travel blog. During this visit I encourage you to take a walk in my shoes while browsing through these entertaining and informative travel journals. My blog features journals and photos from many of the world's beautiful countries. I have four decades of travel experience, and feel blessed to embark on regular trips abroad. There are endless delights to enjoy while exploring foreign countries. After all, how else can you meet so many of the world's proud people and experience as much wonderful culture?

Travel is developing into a lifetime passion and I believe I'm making a positive contribution to global society, thanks to the bountiful gifts bestowed on us by Mother Earth. My journals from around the world commence in 1986, and are written for you to read sequentially as a travel book if you have the time. Otherwise, feel free to pay a short visit until next time to catch up on my blog. The journey through life takes us on an unforgettable adventure, and I'm confident you'll enjoy viewing recommendations on places to stay, locations to visit, and things not to be missed for the traveller in all of us.

Enjoy!

Tom

Switch on my original YouTube music and travel channel here and jam along to my music online tomrooneymusic.com

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since my arrival in Maldives

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70 Russian girls on an island yoga retreat ... and me!

Asia » Maldives » Raa Atoll April 27th 2024

The sun goes down

Tom Rooney

There have been long periods of solitude during a month long island-hopping tour of the beautiful Maldives. Although I am a seasoned solo traveller, we all crave the company of fellow travellers when on the road. The weather has been prefect, the sea views sublime, and the marine life totally out of this world. Getting to know the local people has been a real treat, but nothing could have prepared me for what was to come on the final island visited during the trip. Kamadhoo is a beautiful island in Baa atoll and a highlight of the trip so far; the perfect destination to bring my trip to a close with a full week of downtime booked. The views from the bikini beach are gorgeous, featuring a perfect blue sea and abundant marine life, with private ... read more

Exploring with conviction

Asia » Maldives » Raa Atoll April 15th 2024

Gorgeous beach

Tom Rooney

The travel journal continues, dear reader, from where we left off on the beautiful island of Maafushi. I'm now in the third week of my travels in this intriguing country. Maldives consists of a series of atolls just south of Sri Lanka and close to the equator. Of course the world knows the destination as a famed tropical paradise for the rich and famous. However, the country is opening up to local hosts on the islands who will benefit from the pristine marine environment that has attracted tourists over the years, and not just for the resort island operators. I'm here partly to investigate whether it is practical to visit the Maldives for an extended period of time and not leave as a pauper, Risky you might suggest,.. sure, but a worthwhile experiment either way. So ... read more

The fabulous Maldives

Asia » Maldives » Male Atoll March 24th 2024

Maafushi bikini beach

Tom Rooney

It's been five long years since my last opportunity to add to the visited countries tally. After such a long time without a new travel experience, I got to thinking the chosen destination deserves to be somewhere special. So then, which country remains at the top of the bucket list? It proved to be a bit of a no brainer, and the winner is... the Maldives! From extensive experience flying here and there during my travels, it was a pleasure to fly out from Sydney with Singapore airlines again after so many years. I'm pleased to say that the service is still superb, this is without doubt one of the best airlines in the world. The flights took off on schedule; the food and drinks and attention to detail of the cabin crew first class. with ... read more

Palawan ... a dream come true

Asia » Philippines » Palawan » Coron August 6th 2023

Cliff face

Tom Rooney

Well, here I am in Palawan for an inaugural visit after all these years, it truly is a dream come true. This marvelous destination is one of the most sought-after places to visit in the world, and I'm absolutely thrilled to be here. Although it is considered a remote destination in the Philippines, Palawan is only 90 minutes flight time from Cebu with most flights going direct to Puerto Princesa. The capital of the province is in the south of the main island, and after arriving safely I advised some locals I needed transport to Port Barton, my first scheduled stop on the island. A local took me to a bus shelter, where I waited with a pair of Spanish girls who were also heading out. There was some fiddling around, then driving around town a ... read more

Island hopping in paradise

Asia » Philippines » Boracay July 26th 2023

Beautiful island

Tom Rooney

The island hopping adventures have kicked in to full gear, as I continue my travels in the wonderful Philippines. Soon after arriving in the islands, a lot of the talk has been about Siargao. To be honest, I had never heard of the island but it seems to be the happening spot now for travellers and locals alike. Well, this mysterious island will remain a mystery no more as I flew in from Cebu for a week's stay. All of the reviews online were raving about a particular hostel, and although a little way off the main road and requiring some off road motorbiking, Hiraya Surf hostel proved to be one of the most enjoyable places I have stayed in anywhere in the world. There was the initial shock after checking in to find I was ... read more

I love the Philippines

Asia » Philippines » Bohol July 16th 2023

Beach in Bohol

Tom Rooney

How could it be so many years since I last visited the wonderful Philippines. It's a travesty, there is no doubt about it! Now that the long radio silence is coming to an end it's time to prepare for a month in these magnificent islands. The flight from Sydney to Manila is a lazy eight hours, everything is super close and convenient for Aussies heading out to South East Asia. After an overnight stopover I boarded a domestic flight down to Cebu reasonably early in the morning. This was my second visit, and I booked a top rated hostel online for the stay before the trip. To my surprise, the hostel was not in Cebu City but further south, however after arriving it was certainly worth the minor inconvenience. Coincidentally two of the top attractions on ... read more

Komodo dragons ... a lifelong dream fulfilled

Asia » Indonesia » Flores » Labuanbajo December 16th 2022

Kelimutu lake

Tom Rooney

It has always been my dream to see komodo dragons, and also to swim up close with manta rays. Bizarrely, I got to cross off two from the bucket list on the same day while visiting the Komodo islands, never mind the fact this once in a lifetime tour also included spectacular elevated scenery of the magnificent islands, and an idyllic visit to pink beach. What a day, what an island, what an experience! Flores is just an hour or so flight time out of Denpasar airport, and travellers quickly discover they have arrived in another world. There seems to be some kind of obsession (on Flores in particular) for locals, both male and female, to want to be photographed with a foreigner. Well, I'm not young and I ain't no rockstar, but in Flores all ... read more

Lombok .... a real surprise packet!

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gilli Trawangan December 1st 2022

Senggigi lookout

Tom Rooney

A fortnight in Lombok has been quite the surprise packet, after the all too familiar chaos and charm of a return visit to Bali. A long drive out to Padang Bai is required to board the fast ferry across the Lombok strait, and it can be quite a precarious trip as the strait is very deep and prone to inclement weather. Our fast boat navigated the choppy seas without drama, and within two hours arrived at Bangsal, the main port in the northwest of the island. The differences are stark on arrival, with gojek riders nowhere to be seen, nor for that matter the prodigious traffic that is the only downside of visiting Bali. I hooked up with a driver for the long trip south to Senggigi, it was a serene drive on calm and open ... read more

Gee 20 - Indonesia 2022

Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Canggu November 15th 2022

Nusa Penida views

Tom Rooney

The rich and powerful have descended with much fanfare on beautiful Bali for the G20 summit, which is being hosted by Indonesia for the year 2022. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, as your humble travel correspondent has embarked on a five week adventure to this wonderful part of the world at the same time. Mind you, the massive carbon emitting convoys I bear witness to on the streets every day as the elites shuttle from the G20 venue to their five star accommodation in Nusa Dua is something to behold, and doing wonders for local traffic conditions at the same time! I'm sure it comes about at the conclusion of another exhausting day emitting copious carbon from their lying mouths, as the elites insist on pontificating in a superior tone about what they have in store ... read more

I love Thailand, even when it's raining!

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Tao May 15th 2022

Sairee beach

Tom Rooney

Koh Tao is a diving mecca famed throughout the world, and also known locally as Turtle Island. It's been a long held dream to visit this magical little island, and finally I have the opportunity to add Tao to my ever expanding list of places visited. There's a daily high speed ferry (and also a catamaran) that both zoom across to the island from Koh Phangan, with the sea journey completed in just an hour. The arrival at the pier proved to be a typically effortless Thai travel experience, where the resort had organised free transportation and I wasn't even aware I had booked the service! It's all part of travelling in this wonderful country, as the Thais really are here to help! Before you know it I was checked in to a lovely resort that ... read more

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