Travel by Museum

DH and I are history buffs, a big part of our travel experience is learning about the history of a country, so needless to say most of the museums we have been to are history related but not all....


MONA, Hobart

The Museum of New and Old Art, is the new draw card for tourists in Hobart and worth the trip

Museo Inka, Cusco, Peru

It's beneficial to get a guide to take you through the large Museo Inka in Cusco, having said that we didn't and still got a good view of all the the museum covered.

War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mainly covers the American war, but I visited on both trips to Ho Chi Minh City in 2002 and 2009

Auckland Museum, New Zealand

The Auckland Museum has an impressive section on Maori and Polynesian history.

War Photo Limited, Dubrovnik, Croatia

One of the great ways to learn about history is through photos. There was one in particular taken during the Siege on Sarajevo that is still etched in my mind

Iolani Palace, Hawaii, USA

The only Palace in the USA, the guided tours give a glimpse into Hawaii's history as a monarchy

South America 2011 and 2012: Summary

Rebecca
Highlights:

• Day 3 of the Inca Trail, it was a moderate walk, through the Clouded Forest

• Swimming with the Penguins in the Galapagos
• Seeing the Macaws at the clay lick in the Amazon

Recommendations:

• Take two swim suits for the Galapagos - this was by far the best advice I got and I'm glad I took it!
• Be prepared to get wet on the Inca Trail - we were rather lucky, but most people we met had horror stories of days of rain
• All we heard about Tahiti was how expensive it was. Reality for us, living in one of the most expensive cities in the world was that it wasn't really. The food/drinks in the supermarket was cheaper than home. Shop there for basics. Local restaurants were moderate cost if not inexpensive, eat where the locals do. Finally if you eat in the Hilton in Sydney you will pay $30+ for a hamburger, it should not shock you then when a hamburger in the Hilton Moorea is $30+.
• It's nature not a zoo

Favourite Photo:

Machu Picchu, Peru - the end of our 4 day hike

The 7 Explorers - Rapa Nui/Easter Island

Favourite Meal/Dish:

• I loved being able to eat raw fish/ika mata/ceviche everywhere!

• Our dinner at Zig Zag in Arequipa was fantastic

• As was dinner at in Rapa Nui

Low lights:

• South America is a huge continent, there was just no way we could see everything

DH
Highlights:

• Seeing Machu Picchu after the 4 day Inca Trail

• The stunning Iguazu Falls - from both sides
• Galapagos Cruise

Recommendations:

• Avoid western chain restaurants - they always disappoint and we should know better by now!
• Pre-plan with medication - you might not need the altitude sickness meds, but if you do you need Diamox it's better to have it then use the local version
• Don't be disappointed if things don't go according to plan - go with the flow, you never know what you might experience

Favourite Photo:
It's hard to pick, but this one of the Devil's Throat is hard to beat

Favourite Meal/Dish:

• Zig Zag, Arequipa

•  The raw fish/ceviche was also good

Low lights:

• TGIF - give western meals a miss, even though everything else was closed we would have been better off eating in the hotel

West Coast USA 2005: Tips and Tricks

It's been an interesting article looking back on the details of a trip taken over 6 years ago! I have added the best and worst from our trip below, with some recommendations if you're thinking of doing a similar itinerary.

Rebecca
Favourite Photo:

Lone Cypress, Monterey

Highlights:

• Any of the National Parks
• Reliving my childhood at Disneyland
• Vegas, as a non-drinker, non-gambler I still don't get sick of Vegas

What would you do differently next time:

• Spend more time in Sedona, we really only drive through and there is so much more to the area
• Spend at least one night on the Strip in Vegas, we've been there so many times to see family and never stayed on the strip!

Recommendations:

• We had excellent weather, May was a perfect time of year for this trip
• Book ahead at the National Parks, I don't know how many people we ran into that we're trying to book that day and had to drive 1+ hr out of the park to find accommodation
• Buy food and snacks from the grocery stores and take them with you, then you can have impromptu picnics along the way

DH
Favourite Photo:

Kings Canyon National Park

Highlights:

• Grand canyon, pictures don't do it justice
• Driving down Hwy 1
• Death Valley - who builds a castle in the middle of nowhere?
• The big trees of Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, as with the Grand Canyon pictures don't do them justice

What would you do differently next time:

• I wouldn't miss anything, I would make it longer though to see more National Parks

Recommendations:

• Don't be put off by the Americanism you see on television, it's nothing like the country itself.
• Hire a car, it's the best way to see what you want when you want
• Make sure you see the Grand Canyon by helicopter
• Stay at the Golden Gate B&B in San Fransisco - great location

Bay of Fires Walk: The good, the bad and the ugly

April 2011

Before and after booking our trip I found it hard to find many reviews about the Bay of Fires walk or area, Tripadvisor was extremely limited and even googling training plans it was hard to come up with much, so I've put together my (not DHs) good, bad and ugly, so that you might have another resource when trying to decide if it's the right thing for you.

Good

• The scenery is stunning, it's one of the many locations where the photos you find online (including here!) don't do it justice, it really is that good

• The isolation. There's something special about there only being 12 people on a stretch of beach in Tasmania

• The weather. I understand it can get hot in the summer months, but we only had a bit of rain and the tour company really does supply you with the right packing list and kit
• The food. I love taking food shots, but the food was so good I didn't get any but what was for lunch on the last day. Breakfast and dinner are cooked and served to you, lunch is a spread that you pack in your lunch box for the day of walking. The food was delicious, in particular the salmon you have on the first night and the roast vegetable salads we had for our last lunch.

• The lodge. In hindsight I should have skipped day 3's activities and just chilled at the lodge. I could have easily spent a week just at the lodge.

Bad

• We had been running 5 k twice a week, cross training with a PT once a week and then doing a 10 - 16 km walk every second weekend. This was not enough, towards the end of each day both DH and I struggled. My tip would be to do more beach walks with a pack (more on the pack coming up), we only did one beach walk, and never carried more than 2 kg on our backs
• The pack. In all fairness DH weighed mine on the first morning and it weighed 20 pounds or around 9 kg, which isn't too bad, and I used everything in my pack except my swimming costume (which would have weighed very little). But we didn't train with a pack and that was a mistake.
• The amount of food. I think is due to the fact that I'm overweight as DH didn't have an issue, but there were times where I didn't feel satisfied. I got around this by packing extra bread for lunch.

Ugly

• It was 38 km over 4 days. And while that doesn't sound like a whole lot we weren't as prepared as we thought. If your feeling the first 2 days of walking then I recommend you skip day 3's activities, because it's really more than a stroll and a canoe. Really that's my only "complaint", that I wish someone had given us more of a guideline how to prepare. Now we just have to figure it out for the Inca Trail at the end of the year....

Resouces

Some of the reviews/write ups that may be helpful

Mr and Mrs Smith

Sydney Morning Herald

Australian Traveller

The Age

Bay of Fires offical site

Hong Kong and Eastern Europe: The Good, the Bad and (thankfully) no Ugly!

I hope you've enjoyed following our 31 day trip through Hong Kong and parts of Eastern Europe as much as I have posting and reliving the moments. I wanted to post a summary page for those of you who may be interested in what we thought were the highlights of our trip and those which were just ok.

Rebecca
Favourite photo:

This one's a hard one and I know I'll change my mind once I post, but I'll have to go with us on the Danube River outside the Budapest Parliament, we didn't get one of us together so I did have to choose 2!

Highlights:

• Budapest rocked, I was so glad we went and spent some time there as it was the place where we got the most mixed reviews before hand, in particular the walking tour was a great way to see the city.
• Sarajevo, I had no idea what to expect from this beautiful city where east meets west, I hope it's wounds heal sooner rather than later.
• Plitvice Lakes, we were not disappointed by choosing the tour that had this location in their itinerary, just a gorgeous spot.

Would miss next time:

• Belgrade was just meh for me, it was a old, tired city and didn't really add much to the overall trip.
• Terror Museum Budapest, the museums and books based during or around that era of Hungary's past taught me more than the museum did.

Recommendation:

• Don't waste time sitting around the airport in between flights, if you can get out and about, you never know what you might see.
• If you're short on time join a tour, Intrepid Travel and GAP Adventures are great for small groups where you do not have to spend every waking minute with a group.

DH
Favourite photo:

Us at Mostar

Highlights:

• Dubrovnik, the old town with it's cobbled streets and the depth of the walls astounded me.
• Plitvice Lakes, the walk through the picture perfect scenery.

Would miss next time:

• Nothing, I loved everything!

Recommendation:

• Never travel without insurance, we haven't had to use it but I don't want to be without it if the time comes.