Tips for the solo traveller

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Having just returned from my very first solo travel experience, here are some things I wish I had known  before leaving:

1. Plan, plan, plan. I'm a very laid back person and when you're travelling with a group of friends getting lost on the way to your hotel, missing a boat, or getting stranded in a foreign city all seem like exciting adventures and so I usually don't feel the need to plan out every detail of a trip. These things are markedly less enjoyable when you are travelling alone so make sure you plan out where you're going to go and how you're going to get there, rather than just winging it.

2. Budget carefully. Unfortunately, a lot of things in this world were built for two meaning hotel rooms are likely to be much more expensive if you're staying in them alone. Hostels are a good alternative. Personally when I'm alone I would prefer to stay in a hotel unless I could find a safe and reputable hostel in a central location (I have stayed in some horrific places in the middle of no where with friends and they are definitely not places I would be comfortable staying alone!). Especially if you are going somewhere off the beaten track, some of the cheaper hostels can often end up being fairly quiet making the experience even eerier. This is just a personal preference as a female traveller, but I would recommend thoroughly looking in to the location and reviews of anywhere you're going to be staying.

3. Print out walking maps before you arrive in your destination. This is definitely something I would never normally take the time to do, but you may find your phone doesn't work, where you're staying doesn't have wifi and the language barrier is extreme. In which case, knowing where things like internet cafes, supermarkets and attractions are from your hotel can be incredibly helpful.

4. Speaking of the language barrier, do research on the local language. It's always a good idea to take a guide book and learn a few key phrases so you can at least greet and thank people, but make sure how likely it is you are going to be able to communicate with people at all if you don't speak the language. In many European cities you will be able to communicate with shop owners and waiters in English, in others you will struggle. For example, I naively assumed I would be fine in Rome not knowing any Italian but there were many restaurants we ate in where I would not have been able to order if I hadn't been with an Italian speaker. Make sure you know these things before you go and plan accordingly.

5. Remember you don't have to accommodate anyone else when you're travelling alone! Don't like museums but always visit them because you're used to travelling with an art lover? Skip them! If you get to a city and decide you want to spend your days wandering around, enjoying the sunshine and eating and ditch your itinerary, then do it!

6. Most importantly, don't be afraid to try things just because you're travelling alone! If you meet a group of tourists in your hostel and they invite you to a bar crawl, go! (if you want to, obviously). Don't  be afraid to try nice restaurants, spas or anything else because you're alone either. This was a silly worry I had before travelling alone, particularly eating in restaurants by myself but I noticed there were usually a few other people eating alone, often reading a book. I had honestly never noticed other solo travellers before I travelled alone!

Hopefully I will be taking another trip in the near future and I will definitely try to plan (and budget!) it better next time. Overall travelling alone is a great experience and perhaps equally enjoyable to travelling with friends.

Central Park, NYC & My Favourite Restaurants

I visited New York just before Christmas and although the city was awash with Christmas shoppers and business people, during the day Central Park was a picture of tranquility. I went for a run every day  I was there and each day stopped to take a photo at almost the same spot.

My trip was only a few days and mainly consisted of eating my way through the city so I thought I'd share a selection of my favourite places I ate while there. Although I tried a couple of places on my Travel To Do List (I would highly recommend breakfast at the Parker Meridien for a nice treat and delicious French toast!), 3rd Avenue in Midtown turned out to be my favourite place to hang out at night. My personal favourites were as follows:

Pie Face: We may have gone here every night after dinner for dessert...  (It was the holidays!). Their Lamingtons and mini apple pies are particularly delicious.

Blockhead's Burrito: Very laid back and more of a bar atmosphere than restaurant. I have to admit when I first stepped in it was because the restaurant I wanted to go to was booked for a party and I was slightly skeptical, but everything was very fresh and delicious! The portions are huge, but somehow it was so tasty I managed. Very wallet friendly and a good place to hang out after work.

Nana Sushi Lounge: I may be slightly biased seen as this was the first time I had tried dinosaur rolls (sushi restaurants where I'm from are not particularly adventurous) but everything I ate was delicious.

Current Beauty Favourites

The Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter

Daily moisturising often just feels like another unnecessary step in my routine and, in my quest to never get out of bed a second before I have to, it often gets forgotten. However, since wearing this I have gotten so many compliments and "mmm you smell like strawberries" remarks. That, added to that fact that it truly does smell lovely, but not overpowering at all, has made me apply this every day since I got it in my Christmas shopping.

Sensationail at home Gel Manicure Kit

I have been wanting to try gel nails since I first heard about them a couple of years ago. I loved acrylic nails in high school but they wrecked my nails nails and have since slightly fallen out of fashion. However, the $50+ price tag of getting gel nails done professionally in my town has always put me off.  $60 is hardly cheap for a manicure kit (plus $11) for every additional colour you get, but the Sensationail at home gel manicure kit felt a lot more justifiable to me.

I may do a fuller review on this when I have my camera back, but essentially: the entire process takes about 15 minutes, it looks just like any salon manicure, and I did not struggle with the removal at all. If you're someone who likes to wear glitter nailpolish a lot, removing the gel was about the same difficulty. The two negatives are that one of my nails chipped after about 4 days and the set definitely didn't last for 2 weeks (I would say it was more like 7 days). However, that was only my second application, I'll see how they turn out this time. And second, if you're a nail polish junkie like me you might find their colour range slightly lacking. I purchased the pale pink kit and additional dark red and blue colours which were the only ones that really caught my eye. Overall, I will definitely continue using the kit, but I don't think it will replace my regular nail polish use any time soon. 

Los Angeles Trip

Santa Monica Beach 

Life is different in Los Angeles. Every other person you meet will be an aspiring actress or singer, usually with a day job as a waitress or cab driver. I spent most of my time in Malibu and Santa Monica and have to admit that L.A. is nothing like I expected it to be, but I loved it nonetheless.

This was my first trip to Los Angeles where I had complete control over what I wanted to do so I felt obligated to do all the perhaps cliched and touristy, but time-honored traditions, including dinner at the Ivy, shopping on Rodeo Drive and Melrose Avenue, visit the Kodak theatre, the Walk of Fame, the Viper Room, Santa Monica Pier and a lot of other things. Here are a few photos from my trip and some recommendations on where (and where not) to go.

The Ivy: I can't even remember what I ate, I think it might have been spaghetti. Essentially, it was nothing special. It was very cramped and you pay a lot for average food (although I am very spoiled when it comes to good food).

Rodeo & Melrose: Rodeo drive tends to be a little out of my price range, but Melrose is much more eclectic and affordable. Unfortunately my favorite store there Gas Bijoux closed down last year.

The view from Hollywood Hills

Hollywood & all the jazz: I've done a tour of Universal Studios before, so this time I went on a tour around the rest of Hollywood. From the Walk of Fame and Kodak Theatre to celebrity homes and a view of downtown and the Hollywood sign, it really went everywhere. I love going on tours, not because I'm particularly interested in celebrity homes but because it's a great way to see the city.
By a mile, the best place I ate was Geoffrey's in Malibu. It's an restaurant in Malibu with an ocean-view, a perfect place for lunch or breakfast. The food was delicious, healthy, and reasonably priced. Plus with the beautiful summer weather it's wonderful to sit out looking over the ocean and feeling the gentle breeze while you eat.

Cab drivers were by far the most interesting people I met while in L.A. One turned off the meter and took us on a tour of Santa Monica. I told another that I lived in China a few years back and he proceeded to tell me how the Chinese government was sending students to UCLA to learn to build weapons. I was not aware that such a class was offered there. Regardless, it made for some interesting commutes.

Photos of where the rich and famous come to pay thousands for a piece of leather & where the rest of us come to gawk ;)

Must See: Portland's Grotto Festival of Lights

Having not set foot in a church for some time I was slightly skeptical at the thought of visiting Portland's Catholic Grotto for their annual Festival of Lights, but the promise of thousands of sparkly Christmas lights drew me in. What is a divine sanctuary by day is transformed over the holiday period to a beautiful show of lights, carolling, and storytelling. I ended up staying to see two of the musical performances that were going on that evening, one of which was a traditional choir group and the other of which was a bluegrass band! I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area over the holidays. And if you don't happen to live nearby, here are some pictures for you to enjoy anyway.

Ten Days in Spain

I think I need to move to Spain because the whole country seems to operate on the same sleep schedule as me. Sitting out at restaurants and bars until one in the morning on a Tuesday night is how life should be.

Places I want to visit in 2011

Instead of resolutions, here's a list of places I want to visit in 2011.
The first couple are realistic and there's one that is really just wistful thinking.

New York. I've been before, but obviously there still tons to see and I have found some ridiculously cheap flights.
Despite having lived in Europe for 13 years of my life, I have never been to Paris. This is the year that changes. Hopefully this will be my first trip of the year as my friends and I have plans to go in early spring.
Do I even need to explain why I want to go to Bora Bora? Highly unlikely to happen in the near future, but it's top of my list of places I must visit eventually.

That's it! I don't think the list is too ambitious (except perhaps the last one) and is totally doable within the next year.

2010 in Pictures

As a perfectionist, I always find it hard to say that a year was good,. A year is far too long an amount of time to be able to classify it as one thing. Parts were great, parts were utter rubbish, there were bits that made me laugh, bits that made me cry, bits I'll never forget, and bits I hope I don't remember.
I will say that 2010 was a year of change. Change is something I'm quite used to, but this is the first real year it's been change I've dealt with by myself. It's the first year I've gotten to do whatever I like and really just had myself to answer to. With that in mind, I'm happy with the choices I've made in this past year.
So without further rambling, here's a summary, in pictures, of where I went this year.

There was a little bit of England

And a lot of Scotland

Monaco

Santorini

Rome

Nice
And of course, I can't forget the beautiful west coast. Somewhere I still consider a bit like home.

There were also two weeks spent in Spain where I didn't take a single photo. You can just guess how lazy that holiday was.

So if I had to classify traveling in 2010, it would definitely go in the "good" category. Although there were no more regular family holidays, no more getting everything paid for, and we did get stranded in airports on a few occasions, I had fun, I got to choose where I wanted to go and do and I saw a lot of wonderful places.

Hopefully 2011 will bring lots of new adventures for all of us.
Thanks for reading!

Snow, snow, everywhere.

Day 6 and no signs of it ending anytime soon, not that I'm complaining.

Snow Day (well, night)!!

So as the snow literally batters down outside my window (seriously, it's been snowing for about 15 minutes and there's already an inch or so on the ground) I am excitedly planning which cozy outfit I will wear to venture out tomorrow and where I will go. The park will probably be an icy death trap tomorrow but I think it will be beautiful so I might try and get some pictures. Otherwise I can't see myself making it beyond Starbucks.
For some reason the snow is making me incredibly excited. It's a reminder that, despite all the craziness that happens at this time of year, it's a time of happiness.
It better not be gone in the morning ;).

P.S. I just went bounding into one of my flatmates bedroom to see if she wanted to go frolic in the snow. She was not impressed. Please tell me I'm not the only one who regresses to a five year old when it snows?

Hello!

Hiya, just here with a quick update and a few photos of rare sunny days in Scotland. I've been kind of overwhelmed with school work in the past month and have completely neglected (but not forgotten) this blog. Hopefully with the holidays coming up I'll have some more time and something a little bit more interesting to post about.
Until then, please join me in remembering what blue skies in Scotland look like.

View from Stirling castle

Ruins of some fort I cannot remember.

Sunny day at a beach in Ayr.

Don't let these pictures fool you, it may look like a beautiful sunny beach resort but it barely even hit 20 degrees most of these days. Although with our below freezing temperatures right now it feels like I'm in a different country.

West Coast is the Best Coast

I thought I would share a few pictures of the magical place that is the Pacific coast of Oregon, a place I occasionally call home ;).

Pretty amazing, huh?

Hi from Hainan!

I actually wrote this post nearly a year ago but never ended up publishing it, so I thought I might as well now.
A popular holiday spot for expats living in Asia, Hainan island was somewhere I visited fairly often during my time in China. And here I am once again. There are more tourists and kids than I remember, not something I would have noticed in my youth plus I've definitely been spoiled with amazing holiday locations. It's your typical tropical island: golden beaches with clear blue water, palm trees, bars in the middle of swimming pools, but without a lot of the trashiness that can come with certain other resorts (Cancun, I am looking at you). If I'm being totally honest I can't tell you how much or little there is to do on the island. Every time I've been I've stayed in a huge hotel on the beach with plenty of pools and things to do. I've always stayed in Sanya, which is an area at the southern most tip and
where most of the hotels are concentrated. Like a regular tropical holiday, most time is spent on the beach. I took a banana boat ride and some friends went scuba diving. Overall, I would say this is a great holiday stop if you are living in Asia, but if you're going to come all the way to Asia from somewhere else I would hit up the Thai or Malaysian islands instead.

Getting Deals: The Hotel

I like to think of traveling as one of my favorite hobbies, and I know as well as anyone that this hobby happens to be a huge money drainer. A few relaxing weeks can quickly become thousands of dollars before you've even left your house. Money is probably the biggest deterent to a lot of people traveling (or at least, this is what I tell myself. Because why else wouldn't you want to travel?). One thing I refuse to skimp on is the activities, because if you're not going to visit the sites you want or do the activities you want, what's the point of being there?
So that leave a few things: accommodation, flights, food, and transportation.
Quite possibly the most important thing you need to do is set a total budget, then divide that by the number of days and work out what you have to spend on what. Once you start working out what you need to spend money on you realize that what may seem like a lot may not get you very far.

The first thing I do is look on discount hotel sites. Unless you're staying in a hostel or couch surfing (both good options, but not for me personally) you probably are going to be staying in a hotel. Sites I've used include hotels.com, laterooms.com, and lastminute.com. It's important to check a few different sites because often the same hotel will come up with different prices depending on where you're looking. It also makes searching quick and easy since you can pull up loads of hotels in one area, compare prices and see pictures of them all. Another great site I've discovered is hotelyo.com. They have huge discounts, often on really nice places in great locations. The only problem with this site is that there are only limited number of locations available at one time so this would be great if you are lucky enough to find where you want to go or are just looking to get away and don't mind where you go.

If you have the option of traveling in the off season and during the week, you can save a lot of money on the hotel. Actually a lot of cities are wonderful to visit during the off season as you avoid both the crowds and the extremes of the weather. If you're lucky enough to be able to travel during the low season, definitely take advantage of it.

Extra tip: If you are walking into a hotel on the day without a booking, often they will lower their price slightly to give you a deal (don't ask for too much of a reduction, $20 tops) since selling a hotel room at a slightly lower price is better for them than having an empty room.

Let me know of any other tips you have for getting great deals on hotels.
Happy traveling!