Showing posts with label travel diary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel diary. Show all posts

cruising together.


Rhapsody of the Seas, our home away from home | Island life on Daydream Island | On the lookout, Lifou Island
Under the Sea, Isle of Pines | GoPro taking the best selfies at Cascade Waterfalls, Noumea | Finding Crush at the Great Barrier Reef 
Loving the floral arrangements and garlands from the locals, Isle of Pines | Having a Breakfast Club moment stand up paddle boarding, Noumea

So I've been off the grid for a little over two weeks and I have to say it's been extremely refreshing and reinvigorating. For someone who is glued to their phone every waking moment, the idea of being stuck on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean without internet access was a little daunting but in the end I didn't miss it one bit. 

I disappeared on a cruise with Jack and his family with ports in Queensland, Vanuatu and New Caledonia with plenty of sun, sea, snorkelling and sweltering heat. Let me just dispel the myth that cruises are for old people. Yes a majority of the activities on board are geared towards that demographic (though I did give bingo a serious go) but I would highly recommend it for anyone who needs to be forced to relax ie. me. You're literally floating in the middle of no where with absolutely no ties to the 'real world' with nothing to do but eat, swim, watch movies and sleep. Let's just say I had my fair share of morning and afternoon naps and multiple servings of desserts. The great thing about cruising is that that the journey itself is part of the holiday not a means of getting from one destination to another. 

Sailing back to reality, I'm desperate to be surrounded by the big blue again and get back into my water sports (snorkelling, stand up paddle boarding, sea kayaking, white water rafting - you name it I've done it) which I've come to realise I absolutely love about island getaways. Anyway I hope you all had an amazing break over Christmas and New Year. Determined to make the most out of 2014. 
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beijing photo diary. part 3.

 The Circular Mound Altar at the Temple of Heaven | Uncharacteristically Beijing on the walk from Tiananmen Square to Wangfujing | Like something out of a movie at the Summer Palace | Not fitting the mould of the ideal girl at 798 Art District | It's no beach, but at least Peking University has a lake | The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests | Blue skies at Tiananmen Square | Made a beary good friend at the Beijing Zoo | Mulan successfully saving China. Mission accomplished. 

It's been two weeks since I've returned from the land of cheap oily street food, hot sticky days, a functioning public transport system, dumplings, bikes, squat toilets and the like, and I'm still yearning for the exchange student life which now seems like a distant memory. I didn't think I'd like Beijing as much as I did and I could definitely have stayed there for a month or two more (the lower cost of living is a huge bonus) if I didn't miss my family, friends, healthy clean food and a stable income. It's a little disappointing how quickly you can lose your language groove when you're back in an English speaking country without that constant contact to the language and the culture. I actually miss speaking in Mandarin and I've almost slipped up a few times when ordering food or speaking to sales assistants. 

It's been a real eye-opening experience, helping me reconnect with my roots/ the true motherland and sparked my interest in continuing to learn the language. I have plans to go back next year for a more intensive Summer program (ours was a little cushy - we didn't even get marks for our final exams). I found a side of myself that would never have come out in Sydney, I realised how fulfilling travelling solo can be, although not completely safe, and that I can look after myself just fine. It's all I had hoped for in this trip and so much more. I'll be back for you China. Hopefully next year with a slightly less Australian accent and a larger word bank.  
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shanghai weekend.

Obligatory tourist photo along The Bund with the Oriental Pearl Tower and Pudong skyscrapers | New York looking streets along the French Concession | Some of the finest Xiao long bao in Shanghai at Nanxiang restaurant | Shanghai's take on Central Park | Elevator up to the 100th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Centre observatory | Traditional Yu Gardens tucked away in the heart of the city | Cooling off at People's Square | East meets west at the Old French Concession | Birdseye view of Shanghai at the top of SWFC.

My last weekend in China, I decided to take a spontaneous last-minute trip to visit Shanghai. I was initially uninterested, not because I feel like Shanghai wouldn't be my kind of city (because it sure as hell was) but more so because I was worried the short amount of time we were there (less than 48 hours) wouldn't do it justice. One of the things I admire most about my mother was that she travelled a lot on her own after she graduated around Europe, the US and Canada so she's a firm believer of seeing the world while you're still young. And while she disagrees with me on many things, she was quick to encourage me to go and see Shanghai, or as she refers to it, the New York of the East, as there would be no better time to go. 

So I took the five hour bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai with a group of friends and ventured into unknown territory. Of course I loved Shanghai. Unlike Beijing, Shanghai has that true city vibe, with the planned feel of Melbourne, French influence, New York looking streets and the underlying oriental foundations, it's cosmopolitan, modern and very cool. Although a weekend seems like I'm pressed for time, I managed to cram in as much sight seeing as I could and ticked all the boxes of the 'must do's in Shanghai'. #successismine
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beijing photo diary. part 2.

Street view from Gulou/ Drum Tower | Soft serve at 798 Art District, my latest obsession and cool off snack of choice | Summer Palace | Hiked up to the highest point of the Great Wall at Mutianyu | Grand designs at the National Museum of China | CCTV Building | The best Peking Duck I have ever had (you'd hope so being in Beijing and all) at Da Dong. 

I have less than one week left in Beijing and I can't believe how quickly the time has just flown by. I feel like I've been in this city for three months and barely scratched the surface, but after going through my photos, I've actually accomplished quite a fair amount of exploring. I only have a handful of tourist attractions left to visit and I've already finished all my souvenir shopping. I'm starting to get a little sentimental about leaving my the life I have just gotten used to behind - four hours of class in the mornings, time to actually go to the gym, late nights spent at cafes studying (but really just chatting), convenient public transport, weekends, cheap cafeteria food. This is the life. But I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet. Last weekend in China and I'll be spending it in Shanghai. Ready to conquer another foreign city. 
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beijing photo diary. part 1.

Ornaments at Behai Park | Inside the Forbidden City | Qianhai Lake | Details at the Summer Palace | Lakeside at Behai Park | The closest thing Beijing will ever get to New York | Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace.

There are some things that are better said captured in photo rather than film. The same can be said vice versa. These are snippets of my life in Beijing thus far, taken on my trusty Olympus Pen who has held up surprisingly well, making this city seem more exotic and alluring than it really is. I wanted to snap simple details in these scenes like the lake in Behai lined with willows, the decoration on old style buildings and temples and the Russian street somewhat reminiscent of New York (or so I like to think). I know what you're thinking. It's missing two of the most important aspects of a trip away (for a blogger anyway): food and fashion.

In terms of food, trust me I'm eating a lot and it's ridiculously cheap but for the most part, pretty poorly laid out. I eat out of tiny plastic bags or on sticks (hello street vendors) while the cafeteria serves up large portions of food that are just piled on a plate. The most attractive things I've eaten thus far have been salad and pasta, neither of which are of Chinese origins.  So no points for presentation but an 8 for taste, 10 for price and 11 for oiliness. You probably won't recognise me when I'm back.

And as for fashion, living out of a suitcase for a month warrants a heavy rotation of nothing but plain tee shirts and shorts. I have no iron and everything has to be hand washed and hung on a chair by my window. It averages around 30 degrees daily (except the past few days it has been raining) and I'd much prefer to sweat it out in a grey muscle singlet rather than a silk shirt that crinkles once washed, am I right? Let's just say I'm starting to understand why college kids wear thongs, shorts and a hoodie regardless of the weather. Guilty as charged. 
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bali photo diary part one.

1 / Upgraded to a little slice of paradise at the Ubud Resort Hotel & Spa.  
2/ Ingredients laid out in prep for our Indonesian feast at Lobong Cooking. 
3/ Consuming our daily mocktails/ juices featuring our matching bracelets.
 4/ A statue made entirely out of rice. We spent a good amount of our time surrounded by rice fields and still have no idea how rice is actually made. 
5/ Biking around the island of Gili Trawangan repping Nike. 
6/ Too many eateries to try in such a short amount of time that we ended up having multiple dinners. Entree sized calamari at Sea Circus. 
7/ Sunset from WooBar at the W Hotel. 
8/ Quad biking through the rice fields. Yes I crashed one of these into a banana tree. 
9/ Bon Voyage Gili T! Chucking peace signs before heading home. 

Bali now seems like a distant memory having finally accepted that i have to tackle two group projects, a 4000 word research project and writing essays in another language amongst other things before I could ever return to this beautiful island. I now see why so many Australians are drawn to Bali. I probably can't describe it to you so I'll show you instead. Perhaps it's just the experience of travelling to another world far away from yours, experiencing their culture and not having to think about the stresses of everyday life. I am so grateful to have shared this time with my best friend - we're already thinking up our next big adventure. I tried to compress this into one post but there were so many moments that just sum up our amazing week that I just couldn't decide. Keep your eye out for part dua (that's two in Indonesian).

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tokyo photo diary.


When you're feeling tired, stressed, overworked and under pressure (did someone say 2 essays, 1 exam and two assignments in two weeks?), all you want to do is escape. I've been going back to the photos from my Japan holiday once every few weeks to try and relive thememories and the more I look at it, the more I miss it and the more I wish I was there right now eating crepes, onigiri and ramen daily. What can I say about Japan? Where to begin? It was like nothing I've ever experienced before in my (limited) travels. Although I was 'lost in translation' (thank god Jack could speak Japanese otherwise I would have had no idea what I was ordering at any of the restaurants we went to), I can still appreciate the cultural differences, the customs and the values that the Japanese uphold. I was amazed by their politeness - the service that I was given at a convenience store was the same as what I experienced in a high end department store. Australians take note. I was also in awe at their flawless public transport system. Who needs a car to get around when you have fast speed trains that arrive every 2 - 5 minutes and deliver you to all  suburban areas?

I'm not sure why I haven't posted these sooner, but nonetheless here is my Tokyo travel diary (at the special request of Lisa & Aprilia). I hope these spark your wanderlust!

o1. Our first proper meal in Tokyo after skipping breakfast to shop in Shibuya (typical).
o2. Mickey details on the monorails at Disneyland.
o3. The Rag & Bone store tucked away in a side street. Needless to say when I finally found it (I almost gave up - trying to decipher Japanese addresses is confusing) I was hysterical.
o4. The famous Shibuya crossing in fisheye.
05. Sherwood Garden, a restaurant at our Disneyland Hotel where we had a buffet breakfast with the Disney characters.
06. Winter in Yoyogi park.
07. Street style in Omotesando/ Harajuku. 
o8. Purple cabbage flowers. I am so intrigued by this phenomenon I just had to stop every time I saw one.
o9. A side street in Omotesando with an array of vintage and quirky boutiques.  I call it Surry Hills of Tokyo.
1o. Ghibli museum in Mitika on the rooftop garden with the Robot Soldier from Laputa Castle in the Sky. 

 Japan you are beautiful. If anyone gets the opportunity you definitely have to experience it for yourself. No doubt I'll be returning sooner rather than later!
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