Bali is one of my favourite travel destinations. This Australian tourist mecca on the Indonesian archipelago is only a seven hour flight from Sydney, and the first five hours are spent flying over the mighty Australian continent. Friends from home decided to have their wedding ceremony in Bali, and I was privileged to be invited at what turns out to be my second flight to Bali as a wedding guest. I've visited the magical island several times, but this was the first time since the Bali bombings in 2002. On arrival I paid my respects at the memorial to the victims [View Full Entry]

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The flight from Sydney to Adelaide is a breezy two hours. I arrived in the beautiful South Australian capital without a planned itinerary but with a fortnight to explore this often neglected state of Australia. I've visited the City of Churches before, but was thrilled by the chance to finally explore the legendary tourist sights in the rest of the nation's driest state. I stumbled into a travel agency in Adelaide, and stumbled out a few hours later with a fully booked itinerary for the fortnight. Oh yes dear reader, we don't muck around here in Oz! The first journey was [View Full Entry]

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If you cast yours eyes across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires the coastline of Uruguay beckons. The ferry trip across the river provides a marvelous opportunity to experience life in this beautiful country of three million people; which in world terms is famous for the obvious ... Uruguay is a two time winner of the World Cup. The country triumphed at the inaugural 1930 World Cup final played in Montevideo, and managed to double the dose with a second euphoric victory in the 1950 world championship of football staged in Brazil. Oh yes... as an Australian it's hard [View Full Entry]

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We were having a good old chat, albeit somewhat one sided. While waiting at the bus terminal in Foz do Iguazu a local approached and started speaking in an animated fashion. Man could he talk, and clearly it was an important message he had to share except for one small problem, I didn't understand a word he was saying! Not to worry, he just kept talking away while my facial expression changed from a look of non comprehension to positively idiotic. Finally a woman chimed in to remind him I didn't speak Portugese, and at least I understood those words. That's [View Full Entry]

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It's not easy getting to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Particularly when you travel overland on the bus from Santiago in Chile, now that is some commute dear reader! But the journal continues, and I made it ... What about the city itself; strolling around the beautifully paved streets, while surrounded by a backdrop of snow capped mountains, and taking in the gorgeous harbour which serves as the starting point for cruise ships setting sail for the last frontier of Antarctica. Ushuaia is without a doubt a unique travel destination. Oh, and you can't help smiling as you walk [View Full Entry]

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I was looking forward to a change in travel destinations, to new experiences and new horizons, to a different culture, and a different language. Suddenly everyone was talking about South America as the place to be, and who am I to argue with the collective wisdom of my esteemed fellow travellers. So I was excited to board a flight from Sydney to Santiago; with Chile the first destination on my inaugural visit to South America. A Sydney couple who are friends from home were winding up their Latino trip as mine began, so when my flight arrived I caught a bus [View Full Entry]

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Don't you love it when out of the blue a new travel opportunity presents itself? Oh yes, I know I do dear reader ... and continuing from the previous journal here's my story. My friend from Quebec and I were strolling around the Laos capital of Vientiane when a sign in a travel agency caught my eye. They were offering a direct bus trip to Siem Reap in Cambodia to view the world famous Angkor ruins. Was this for real, a single bus ride to the border, then all the way south through Thailand and into Cambodia? This opportunity was a [View Full Entry]

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There are certain countries that always seem to pop up in travel conversations, and while exploring South East Asia the consistently good oil's on Laos. The planet is never so lonely after boarding an aeroplane, so let's go for a virtual tour dear reader ... to Laos! I took a flight from Sydney to Bangkok, spent a few days in the Thai capital and from there organised a bus trip to the Thai border on the Mekong river. After a short boat ride across the river I went through border formalities on the Laos side before being stamped into this beautiful [View Full Entry]

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The reputation of Manila precedes it as a city where trouble can find you, if that's what you're looking for. I boarded a flight from Sydney to the capital of the Philippines as the starting point of my trip to the archipelago. Manila is situated on the Luzon island group in the north of the country. I'd previously visited many years ago when an unscheduled flight stopover saw me spending a night in the capital. On that occasion I was taken to a hotel and made myself comfortable over a meal, but was told to bolt the door before going to [View Full Entry]

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The South Island of New Zealand is one of the world's most beautiful travel destinations. While most of the population and industry are concentrated on the North Island, mother nature has blessed the South Island with an abundance of natural beauty; enough in fact to consistently take your breath away. In a brief recap from the previous journal ... We left off in Wellington with the Kiwi Experience bus team that started our adventures out of Auckland. Our driver loaded the bus and his passengers on to the Interislander ferry, and we settled down for the three hour crossing of the [View Full Entry]

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