Take away food

Water taxi, LongTail Boat. Krabi

How to access to Railay Beach?

Although Railay Beach is on the mainland, it is surrounded by limestone cliffs and isn’t accessible by road. Most people get to Railay by taking a boat from either Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, or Phuket.

We arrived in Railay Beach on a beautiful day. We started from Phi Phi Islands by boat. I was excited to be on my way to the next destination and wondered what it was going to be like.

When we arrived at Railay Beach it was low tide, so the boats had to anchor about 100 metres away from the shore! So we had to jump off and carry our personal bags through the mud before starting our search for accommodation. That was going to be fun while carrying our 25 kg luggage!

Nightlife in Railay Beach

Railay Beach is not the place to go if you’re looking to party. There are plenty of other options in Thailand for that. But Railay Beach does have a small number of “chill out” style bars that are perfect for enjoying a relaxing drink by the sea.

You can watch the sunset on the West Railay before heading across to the East side, where there’s a greater selection of bars. If you keep walking north along the East side, you’ll eventually end up at the last bar. From memory, the name of that bar is “The Last Bar” so you can’t miss it!

World famous rock claimming, Railay Beach Thailand

The following day everything was peaceful. We got up the next morning and decided to go for walk. It was really different from the previous day. The mud was gone and the tide was now very close to the buildings along the East beach. We were knee deep in the water as we walked along the sidewalk.

The water were a little bit above my knees. As we can see is the rock claim up there, Now I real like this is the world famous beach for international rock claim.

While we walk pass and on the way to another side of the mountain. It have a lot of monkeys near by. So I try to walk pass quickly as possible.

Suddenly we got to the place, is the one a lot people were talking about. I very impress with stunning of the Railay Beach. As while we lay on the white sand beach enjoy saw people do kayak, so we can see some people claim up and down from the hopping mountain as well.

Railay Beach, Krabi Thailand

The most past of my enjoyable of this trip is our restaurant is in the water. It’s set up by the long tail boat. We can oder the Thai famous food or fruit salad from there and enjoy the our swim.

Or catch the long tail for sign seeing or back to The main town Krabi as well

Antigua in the Caribbean

Antigua was the first stop on our 10 night Caribbean cruise.

Our ship arrived first thing in the morning and we could see the colourful view from a long way. The first thing I saw is the many colourful buildings located around the island. Some houses are painted more than two colours which gave me an idea of the character of the Caribbean.

Once we’d disembarked from our ship, we were surrounded by taxi drivers/tour operators wanting our business. We decided to take a tour in a minivan, shared with others. The taxi driver told us that his name is “Choc” – short for “Chocolate” because he loves chocolate so much.

We visited Nelson’s Dockyard, Shirley Heights and Dow’s Hill Interpretation Centre it also contained historic ruins and a display of 18th-century artifacts from the island.

It was really beautiful place. As far I could see, a lot of tropical fruits and vegetables are grown in Antigua. The taxi explained how they grow crops such as bananas and pineapples. Some people thought that pineapples were  grown from tall trees, but saw that this isn’t the case! They are actually grown as small plants in the ground – less than knee high!

We visited a nice lookout too and we could see houses from famous people such as Eric Clapton and Oprah Winfrey.

When the tour finished, we decided to thank “Choc” by giving him some chocolate. That put a huge smile on his face!

The marina is located in the main town. We started searching for an Internet cafe and finally found one. It had no air conditioner. Just one fan and about 5 desktops in a small room with very hot temperature. But never mind, at least we were able to get internet for much cheaper than the ship charges.

Final trip to the pier, we checked out some of the the duty free shops. But the most important thing to do before getting back on the boat was to try the local beer! And it was very refreshing!

Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman is probably the most famous beach in the Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands is located in the Caribbean, south of the United States. It takes almost 10 hours to fly from London airport. This is my first time in the Cayman Islands but I hope it’s not my last!

The reason I say this is that the Cayman Islands are among the most beautiful islands on earth. On Grand Cayman, the white sand beach called Seven Mile Beach is one place I can easily lie down all day watching the day go past. The water is so calm, clear and crystal blue. Good to do some snorkelling just at the front beach. Others are off diving. All the small and colourful fish seem to be happy to see us.

Postcard From Hell

One day we took a trip to Hell and back. Hell is a suburb of Grand Cayman with funny looking rock that looks like what some would imagine hell would look like. Hell has its own post office, so many tourists like to send their friends a postcard from Hell.

Local Wildlife

While sight seeing or walking around, we can see that Cayman Island has a lot of Iguanas. There are also a lot of different lizards running around. Some times they don’t want to give way to you while you walk past.

Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman is home to the capital city of the Cayman Islands, Georgetown. You could drive around Grand Cayman in a day if you wish. As you drive, you’ll see big mansions built along the side of the beaches. You can also check out the botanic gardens, located near the centre of Grand Cayman. There are also a few picnic places by the beaches too.

Duty Free Shopping

Cayman Islands is a place where you can buy a lot of duty free diamonds and other jewelry. It’s amazing how many diamond shops there are. On Grand Cayman, most, if not all of these jewelry shops are located in Georgetown. They cater mainly to the cruise ship passengers, who disembark at the port in Georgetown. Like many other Caribbean islands, there are no taxes on many items, so luxury items such as jewelry can be much cheaper than other countries.

Remarkables in Queenstown, New Zealand

Everybody says that New Zealand is a very beautiful country. That is definitely true. The pure, natural environmental is great.

I could not believe it. My dream to visit New Zealand suddenly happened at 3pm on Friday, 14th of January 2011, when our plane landed at Auckland airport. January is the summer time in New Zealand. During this trip, we travelled around both the South Island and North Island, which took us about one month to complete. During that time we saw some of the best places in New Zealand.

New Zealand has spectacular scenery and I have many fond memories of this country. We travelled around New Zealand by hire car, which I think worked out to be the perfect choice.

Below are some of the best places in New Zealand.

Queenstown and the Mt Remarkables

Queenstown, New Zealand is a busy town. There are a lot of visitors every day. And there is snow in winter. We did stay here for a couple of nights. This place has so many things around, the big beautiful lake at the a front and surround by many mountains. Queenstown is considered to be the best place in New Zealand for adventure activity.

Rob Roy Glacier Track

Rob Roy Glacier track is in Wanaka, New Zealand. We stayed at Wanaka for a couple days to wait to walk the Rob Roy Glacier track. We were wishing for a clear sky day and finally we got one!

Pancake Rocks

Pancake Rocks are located in the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The incredible rock shapes have been carved out by the ocean and wind.

Picton Town

Located at the top of the South Island, Picton is the place to catch the Interislander ferry to Wellington on the North Island. Picton is surrounded by nice scenery and is I pleasant place to wait for your ferry to the North Island.

Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo is a very nice place. The lake is very light blue colour. We were stayed at the Peppers Bluewater Resort across the road from the lake. This resort has a spectacular view of Lake Tekapo.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is located in the south-west corner of the South Island. This place has dramatic scenery and is well worth the long drive or boat trip in. Milford Sound is also the location of one of the most popular walking tracks in the world – the Milford Track.

Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand’s smallest national park. It’s also one of New Zealand’s most popular national parks. It contains the popular Abel Tasman Coast Track which follows the coast around some beautiful beaches. Abel Tasman National Park is not far from Nelson city – near the top of the South Island.

Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier is located on the west coast of the South Island. The place is beautiful and is very popular with the tourists. The Glacier is so crystal blue beautiful waiting for tourists visit.

Rotorua

Rotorua is the located in the North Island of New Zealand. This place is very famous for it’s thermal activity which includes mud pools and geysers rushing out of the ground. Rotorua is considered by many to be one of the best places in New Zealand for body therapy due to the healing powers of its mud.

Longtail boat at Tonsai Bay in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Koh Phi Phi is located in the Krabi Province in Southern Thailand. This time we departed from Patong Beach in Phuket. Just bought a ticket from the agency. The ticket included pick up from our hotel in Patong, and the boat trip to Koh Phi Phi.

Koh Phi Phi, also referred to simply as “Phi Phi”, is a beautiful tourist destination which consist of six islands. The largest island is Koh Phi Phi Don, which is the only inhabited island out of the six. “Koh” (sometimes spelt “Ko”) is the thai word for “Island”.

People don’t need cars on Koh Phi Phi. Walking is the main means of transport. There are a few scooters around but they’re not used in the main tourist area. On the island, it’s all about the simple life. They don’t need big condominiums or shopping malls. It’s all low-rise and mini-marts on Koh Phi Phi.

Phi Phi is a very good place to relax after a long journey from the mainland. Many bars, restaurants and Thai massage shops are around, or hire a long tail boat and visit the small islands around. Koh Phi Phi Leh is a popular island for snorkelling and day trips. One of the highlights of Phi Phi Leh is Maya Bay, a beautiful beach which was made famous by the movie “The Beach” featuring Leonardo Dicaprio.

Tonsai Bay at Koh Phi Phi Don

Phi Phi has many accommodation options, ranging from backpackers to the luxury resorts. We stayed at Phi Phi Banyan Villa, which is one of the hotels on the Tonsai Bay side. This is the side where the boats come in and dock  at Tonsai Pier. At the front of the hotel, there was very big restaurant, and the food was delicious. This was also where we had our complimentary breakfast each morning. I also liked the idea of the hotel gym with its awesome view over Tonsai Bay.

We took a trip to Koh Phi Phi Leh, including Maya bay, on one of the long tail boats. It was shared with other tourists so it cost about 250 THB each. On the way stopped for snorkelling and sightseeing. We swam with the colourful fish. It was amazing!

Kho Phi Phi is a paradise for diving. And many companies offer to take whoever is interested to go around and show the marine life under of the ocean.

One day we walked up to the view point on the hill. It has a really spectacular view as we can see the sandy beaches on both sides of the island.

View from the "Viewpoint" on Koh Phi Phi Don

In the afternoon we walked across to the other side of Kho Phi Phi, ordered wine and pizza, and sat on the beach while watching the sunset.

And on another night we went to watch the Thai Boxing at the Reggae Bar. It was funny to see the tourists get up and try to box each other while they were drunk. At least they get a free “bucket” of cocktails for their efforts.

Rae’s on Watego’s at Byron Bay is one example of luxury accommodation in Australia - definitely not for the budget conscious traveller

There are many options for accommodation in Australia. Which option you choose will probably depend on your budget, and how long you intend to stay in Australia. While the price of accommodation in Australia can be different, depending on which part of Australia you stay, I hope to give you a general idea of what to expect.

Here are some of the main options for accommodation in Australia:

Share House

Share house is not a bad idea if you are staying in a place for a longer term. Share houses usually cost much less than other types of accommodation. The cost for a share house can be $70-$160 per week, per person depend where you like to stay. If you stay a long way from the city, it will usually cost less.

One advantage of staying in a share house is that you can meet many friends and be exposed to different languages. You can also save a lot of money, and learn to live by yourself. Many people learn to cook from staying in a share house.

To find a share house, look for advertisements in the local newspaper. And make sure you inspect the share house before making any agreement with the owner/landlord. Try to look at as many as you can before making a decision on where to stay.

Homestay

A homestay is a form of tourism and/or study abroad program that allows the visitor to rent a room from a local family to better learn the local lifestyle as well as improve their language ability.

Students generally arrange a homestay with their school or educational institution, but they can also find a home through their own friend network if they prefer. Homestays allow the host family to earn extra income.

Homestays can cost around $250-$300/week/person or more.

Rent a Unit or Apartment

This kind of accommodation is more suited for people who have a permanent job or a higher income than most students or backpackers.

The cost depends on location and how luxurious the apartment is. Starting price would be around $150/week/person for a one bedroom apartment. It’s not uncommon to pay over $1,000 per week for a two or three bedroom apartment with a view in a good location.

To rent a unit or apartment, you usually need to sign a long term contract for at least 6 months, so it’s only for those who want to base themselves in one location.

Getting this type of accommodation is quite difficult because you usually have to send an application to the landlord, then wait for as long as 1 or 2 weeks to see if your application has been approved. To make things even more difficult, you usually need to provide contact details for your past two or three landlords so that they can find out what sort of tenant you are.

Hotel Accommodation

With hotel accommodation, you can just book in where ever you feel like staying. There are many hotel options all over Australia and it’s a matter of choosing one that satisfies your preferences. Hotels in Australia can be quite expensive. They can be anywhere from $80 per night to $400 or more.

Caravan parks

A cheaper alternative to hotel accommodation is to stay at a caravan park. When we think of a caravan park, we often think of tents and caravans. But most caravan parks also offer cabins, so you don’t have to bring your own tent or caravan.

This style of accommodation is much cheaper than staying at a hotel, but you do need to accept the condition of the caravan park. You shouldn’t expect luxury while staying at a caravan park, but having said that, some caravan parks in Australia do offer hotel-style accommodation for quite a reasonable price. Also, some caravan parks provide heavy discounts for long term stays.

Caravan parks usually provide you with a shared kitchen and a shared bathroom and toilet. But if you pay extra for a fully self contained cabin, you’ll get your own kitchen and bathroom.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the main attraction for many tourists around the world. Not just because it beautiful but also the largest barrier reef in the world as well. Actually, it’s also the world’s largest natural feature. It’s a paradise for diving and snorkeling. Some couples love it so much, they even choose to get married here – under the ocean!

Underwater weddings are legal in Australia. The wedding professional will provide information to the couple. It’s a great and wonderful thing to do.

Kuranda

The Kuranda Scenic Railway is another day trip tourists can take. The Kuranda Scenic Railway is an Historic train ride up to the town of Kuranda. Kuranda is a small town set amongst a beautiful rainforest. You can also drive to Kuranda. You can drive past the Baron waterfall and the rain forest tropical gardens. And visit Kuranda market, where the hippy artists hang out.

Another way to get to Kuranda is to take the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. The Skyrail is an enclosed chairlift that takes you over the canopy of the most beautiful world heritage rainforest in Australia to Kuranda.

Cairns Tropical Zoo

Cairns tropical zoo is on the way to Palm Cove and Port Douglas. Have an amazing experience and enjoy the show of wildlife Australia animal. This place has a monster we call the saltwater crocodile. It’s a killer and can be very dangerous. They usually live around the river outlets or nearby.

Palm Cove

Take a day trip from Cairns to Palm Cove. This place is relaxing because it’s quite quiet with very long beach. There’s a lot of accommodation at Palm Cove. Sometimes I like to drive from Cairns to Palm Cove just for coffee, breakfast or lunch. Then lay down on the beach in the afternoon.

Port Douglas

Port Douglas is take about 2 hours drive from Cairns. Port Douglas is not just a beautiful town with luxury accommodation. You also get an awesome view on the drive from Cairns to Port Douglas. It makes me feel so good when I drive at the edge of the Australian map.

Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest

Cape Tribulation, also known as “Cape Trib” by the locals, is even further north than Port Douglas. It’s about 110km north of Cairns. Cape Tribulation has beautiful nature and sometimes tourists also can see crocodiles while crossing the river or while doing a boat trip. There is some accommodation around but sometimes you will need to book in advance.

Cairns Esplanade

Photo of sculpture on Cairns Esplanade

Cairns Esplanade is the main waterfront area in Cairns. It stretches for several kilometres along the waterfront. It’s a place that anyone can enjoy – young or old. At the esplanade, you can have a barbecue at any of the free barbecue spots. You can go for a swim in the giant, man-made lagoon. There’s a walking track and a bike track that extends the full length of the esplanade (and longer). There’s a play ground for young children, a skate park for the teenagers, and a volleyball court for beach volleyball. There’s even a free outdoor gym

Photo of free outdoor gym on Cairns Esplanade

along the side on the Cairns Esplanade as well. There are many restaurants and resorts running along the opposite side of the road to the esplanade. This spot is a favourite on the weekends.

Cairns Casino

After partying or visiting one of the many bars in cairns, you may looking for some fun. The Cairns Casino is open very late, and is made for people who love to gamble, listen to music, play and eat.

Cairns Accommodation

Cairns is a popular place to visit, so there are many accommodation options available. Options include home stay, share house, backpacker to luxury hotel. What you choose will depend on your budget and how long you intend to stay in Cairns. There are accommodation options available for everyone.

Cairns International Students

Cairns has many international students. Many college and schools are available in Cairns for international students. It’s perfect because this place has a very good environment and is not as busy as the larger cities.

Living in Cairns

I’ve been living in Cairns since I arrived in Australia five years ago. I loved it then and I’m still in love with Cairns. But that doesn’t stop me going somewhere else for a holiday. Sometimes my holidays are within driving distance from Cairns, sometimes I have to fly. The Cairns International Airport is very handy in this regard.

View of Queenstown from the Skyline gondola terminal.

Queenstown and The Remarkables are located in the South Island of New Zealand. Queenstown is a busy town, mainly catering for tourists from all over the world. The Remarkables is the iconic mountain range that you can see from various places around Queenstown.

Being one of New Zealand’s premier tourist spots, there are a lot of visitors in Queenstown every day. And there is snow in winter. We stayed here for a few nights. Queenstown has wonderful scenery – the big beautiful Lake Wakatipu at the a front, surrounded by rugged mountains.

In Queenstown, many houses have been built around the lake, in different styles. Most of these are quite new. There is also plenty of hotel accommodation for tourists. Many people use Queenstown as a base to explore other areas, such as Milford Sound or Rob Roy Glacier near Wanaka.

TSS Earnslaw ("The Lady Of The Lake") on Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand

Many tourists like to go on the TSS Earnslaw – a 1912 Edwardian vintage twin screw steamer - to have a look around the lake and sometimes to look around Walter Peak High Country Farm. Others prefer to take a jet boat for an exhilarating ride in the big lake and down the narrow (and shallow) rivers. The passengers scream whenever the jet boat does a “Hamilton Turn”, where the jet boat suddenly stops and spins around 360 degrees in one spot. But despite the screams, they’re all having fun.

The Remarkables in Queenstown, New Zealand

One day, we decided to take a drive up to The Remarkables. It looks as elegant and beautiful as its name. The view is spectacular. You can see all around the Queenstown and Arrowtown area from various points along the drive. The Remarkables are one of the many places around Queenstown to be featured on “The lord of the rings”.

In the afternoon we went up on the Skyline gondola in Queenstown. This is an enclosed chairlift that takes you 450 metres up to the top of another mountain – Bob’s Peak. Inside the top terminal is where the Skyline Restaurant and Skyline Bar is located. From there, you can see all of Queenstown with the blue lake and The Remarkables at the back. This is a very busy spot. But I’m so glad we made it. This view point has the most awesome views I have ever seen.

We went to the bar for a drink, then stared out over Queenstown and The Remarkables.

The Skyline Luge in Queenstown, New Zealand

If you do go on the gondola, you should also try the Skyline Luge - an 800 metre luge track that runs above the top terminal. Unfortunately, we missed the cut of time by 5 minutes, so we didn’t get to try the Luge. But we saw others taking their run down the mountainside.

There is also a bike track that runs all the way from the bottom to the top terminal. Or should I say, all the way from the top to the bottom! You can take a gondola to the top, then ride a mountain bike all the way to the bottom.

Onetahuti Beach in Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park is one of New Zealand’s most popular national parks. At 22,530 hectares it’s also New Zealand’s smallest national park.

Abel Tasman National Park is located at the top of the South Island. It’s very easy to get to – it’s about a one hour drive from Nelson city.

About The Abel Tasman Coast Track

Medlands Beach along the Abel Tasman Coast Track

One of the main attractions in this area is the Abel Tasman Coast Track. The Abel Tasman Coast Track is a 3 – 5 day walk extending for 54.4 km around the coast of Abel Tasman National Park. The Abel Tasman Coast Track is one of New Zealand’s “Great Walks”

The track can be walked in either direction. You can start walking from Marahau and finish at Totaranui or even further up the coast. Or you can drive or get a boat to Totaranui and walk back to Marahau. Another option is to walk part of the track and get a water taxi back, or get a water taxi to some part of the track and walk back to the start. The possibilities are endless!

Some people visit Abel Tasman National Park just for the camping. There are camping grounds all along the Coast Track and most of them are right next to a golden sand beach. Of course everything needs to be booked in advance – especially in the summer months.

Our Walk

This was the first time in my life doing a bush walk. We did 2 days of the Abel Tasman Coast Track. But it’s not really a bush walk and the track goes alongside the beautiful ocean.The temperature was fantastic for walk. Our first day was sunny but it rained on our second day. I felt great to do this track.

Onetahuti Beach is where the water taxi dropped us off for our two day walk

We started our walk from Onetahuti Beach, near Tonga Island, and walked back to Marahau. We got an early morning water taxi from Marahau (where we parked the car). The track looked good and people kept walking past us while we took photos along the way. Some were walk in the other direction, I did not feel lonely while walking the Able Tasman track.

We stopped for our picnic lunch at Bark Bay straight after we crossed the inlet at low tide.

The tidal crossing at Bark Bay on the Abel Tasman Track

I lost count of how many mountains we walked over and around. Manuka trees (also called “Tea tree”) were all around all the place along the walking track. And I loved that smell of the Manuka leaf when I crush it. And it has a beautiful white flower.

The pressure of this this trip was to get to the point that we wanted to stay for the night – the Anchorage camp site. And the main challenge was to cross the huge area at Torrent Bay when the tide was low. If we missed the low tide, we would’ve had to do a detour around the estuary. Otherwise we would have no where to stay.

Luckily we made it to the Anchorage camping ground on time and set the tent up. All up, it took about 4 hours to get there from Onetahuti Beach. But of course, we stopped for lunch and swims along the way.

We wanted to have dinner on the beach. But because the wind was blowing into Anchorage bay, we decided to walk the ten minutes or so to Te Pukatea Bay which faces the other direction, so should be more sheltered. Then we made a nice dinner on the beach to celebrate my birthday.

We got up very early in the morning while the rest of the camp was still sleeping. We woke to the amazingly beautiful chorus of birds singing. It was so relaxing and was like beautiful music coming from everywhere. We’ve only heard this sound in New Zealand.

The temperature was quite cold and it started to rain, so we started our walk back to Marahau. By the time we got back, we were completely drenched. But we really enjoyed the hot pumpkin soup from the Cafe!

Milford Sound in New Zealand

Milford sound is located at the south-west corner of New Zealand’s South Island. Here you can take a boat trip around the sound (actually, it’s not a “sound”, it’s a “fjord”).

Milford Sound is also the finish point for those hiking the famous Milford Track. If you want to walk the Milford Track you’ll need to book early, as it usually gets booked out many months in advance. This is because it’s one of the most famous walking tracks in the world, and only a limited number of people are permitted to walk the track at any time.

Milford sound gets the most rainfall of any place in New Zealand. Actually, with an average of 8 metres of rain per year, it’s one of the wettest places in the world. That’s probably the reason this place is so green all year round.

On our way to Milford Sound we met the kea. The kea is the world’s only mountain parrot and is native to New Zealand.

Most of the tourists are from around the world wanting to see the natural wonders of Milford Sound.

When we were first approaching Milford Sound I thought I was dreaming. Because of the beautiful natural environment. There were massive waterfalls all around the place. They were pouring down from the high mountains in to both sides of the road and into the rivers.

Milford sound looks like a magical world and made up only in a movie. That makes me think of the “Avatar” movie – that fictional world – but this one is for real, I can’t stop feeling impressed by this place.

More rain kept falling down, more water fall kept running. It just happened everywhere. I can see why this is one of the wettest places in the world!

We made a last minute booking for the overnight boat. The ticket included dinner and non-alcoholic drinks.

Boat under waterfall at Milford Sound

But you have to remember that this place is really cold and it rains nearly everyday. The best way to have fun is to take a rain coat with you to keep yourself warm and dry(ish). I found it very cold – even though it was summer time.

The boat also had kayaks for passenger use. Many passengers jumped in the kayaks, but it was too cold and wet for me. All I could do is keep drinking hot tea.

The boat trip included free use of kayaks. During rain, Milford Sound has thousands of waterfalls pouring down the mountain.

During the trip, we went past the “four sisters” waterfalls. It was such a beautiful waterfall. Four water falls side by side, pouring down the mountain into the sea. At one point, the captain drove the boat under one of the large waterfalls. If you weren’t wet before, you were now!