knowitalltravel - advice for travellers

This is your one stop shop for advice on everything related to travel. Feel free to ask questions or email me for more advice. Free website hit counter Click the buttons at the top of the page for a grid view of all of my posts, and to follow me on...

[knowitalltravel]

Web Wednesdays - Triptease

I know - it's terrible, i haven't been blogging much lately at all. I have had a few projects that I have been concentrating on - some travel related, some work, some just other general stuff that I will not bore you with. 

But in a hasty check of my tumblr account, I was alerted to a fantastic travel blogging site called triptease.com 

It looks like a wonderful amalgamation of travelling ideas , images and stories all into the one website. Great effort triptease! I will certainly be sharing some of my stories of adventure on there. 

Hope that everyone out there has a nice break planned for the upcoming christmas and holiday season. What a great opportunity to unwind, relax and reflect on 2013. 

And remember, even a couple of days away from your routine will help you feel a little rejuvenated, so if you are flirting with the idea of a trip, just do it! 

[knowitalltravel]

Web Wednesday - Adioso, an awesome search engine!

I just stumbled across this website, adioso.com - and it is AMAZING! Great search engine for flights.

The aim of the game with this one, is that you can put into the search bar something pretty vague and it will work it out for you. As an example, you can say you want to go from your hometown to China. You might not know what city in China you want to go to, but it will find the cheapest flights between your hometown and China.

You could also add into your search "Melbourne to china during March or April", and it will find you the best fares for this time. Very very good search engine.

It will really suit you if you are flexible or unsure what you are doing on a trip. It might also hep you to find out what cities are cheapest to fly to in terms of taxes.

I highly recommend you pop on there if you are looking for fares!!!

[knowitalltravel]

Previously, I blogged about re-timer glasses being available to use to overcome jetlag. Since blogging that, I have been able to purchase the glasses and recently used them when I travelled to the USA.

I will firstly say that I thought they worked absolutely brilliantly going from Australia to...

[knowitalltravel]

Tech Thursday - re-timer glasses review

Previously, I blogged about re-timer glasses being available to use to overcome jetlag. Since blogging that, I have been able to purchase the glasses and recently used them when I travelled to the USA.

I will firstly say that I thought they worked absolutely brilliantly going from Australia to the USA - so eastwards. And I’ve always had most trouble with jetlag going eastwards, so was very happy to reap the benefits of the glasses. As for going westwards, I found it a bit more difficult to use the glasses properly, but may try and be a bit more consistent with them next time. It was a bit harder to tell for me, as I am a bit of a nightowl anyway, so coming back to Australia from the west coast of the USA doesn’t pose much more of an issue than just staying up late on my first night back.

Anyways. Let me give a little run down on how the retimer helped going eastwards. Normally my bedtime is about 1am, rising at 9am. In the days leading up to my travel, i wore the glasses in the morning to speed up my body clock. Sure enough, after day one of wearing them, I was wide awake at about 7am. Wore them again. Next day was awake about 5am. Same again next day. Basically, I wore them about 3-4 days and on the day of departure to Los Angeles, I was awake about 1230/1am, having gone to bed in the early evening the night before. So i did all my packing and printing boarding passes from 1230-7am, even had breakfast at about 2am … and was then off to the airport at 7 for a 930am flight.

Unfortunately I didn’t get as good a sleep as I was hoping on the flight, but got a couple of hours. Upon landing, I felt fine. I actually hired a car and drove to Hollywood for a show taping first thing after landing. Then went off for lunch, then drove to Santa Monica. At this point I had a one hour nap on the beach, but was able to wake up without issue. i didnt feel like i needed to sleep another 4 hours, whereas in the past landing in Los Angeles, Ive fallen asleep about 3pm and not been able to wake up until 8pm.

So after my nap, went and had dinner, still felt fine, went to my accommodation for the night about 9pm. Wasn’t in bed until 1130pm. Had a fantastic sleep and was up at 1030 the next morning. The whole next day I drove down to SanDiego without feeling fatigued once during the drive both there and back (4-5 hours of driving). I slipped straight into Californian time.

Fortunately, I was not travelling alone. My travelling partner tried very hard to stay awake with me, but often drifted off to a nap in the passenger seat of the car. But i firmly believe that i would have been feeling the same as her if I hadnt worn the retimer glasses.

I would definitely recommend using the retimer glasses particularly if you are travelling a fair distance eastwards. It makes a world of difference and arguably gets you an extra 3 days that you would otherwise spend feeling groggy and unsure what the heck is going on!

If you are in need of assistance putting together a dream trip or any upcoming trip, get in touch with me via my website www.trix4trex.com or email me directly [email protected]

[knowitalltravel]

Winter Wednesday - dreamin' of the sun

At work today, my colleagues and I discussed chasing the sun this winter. Queensland was a hot topic... Which lead us to discussing Qualia, voted the world's best resort last year. So onto the website we hopped, and wow, it looks impressive! Really impressive. With a price tag of $1000-$5000 per night though, I won't be rushing there until I win the lotto, but it sure is good to dream. All in all though, whilst the Whitsundays are a beautiful location, I can think of some other spots in Queensland that I would rather go for a winter escape.... Mostly so as not to feel like everyone around me is doing the same thing. A bit of seclusion would be ace, rather than resorts dominated by families and kids - which is how I think of the Whitsunday Islands. We are very lucky in Australia... With access to absolutely beautiful areas and beaches and an escape from the winter climate anywhere north. To be completely fair to the Whitsundays too, I would much rather them than The florida keys in the USA.... Far fewer people to push aside here. And the reef is right there! Can't argue with that! If you are dreaming of escaping winter like we were at work today, do yourself a favour and google the Qualia resort.... Be inspired, and then go and book something for about 1/10th the price that will at least satisfy your urge for sunshine!

[knowitalltravel]

Tightarse Tuesday - America still cheap for aussies.

To anybody frantically concerned that the aussie dollar has dropped slightly under parity in the last few weeks, please don't despair. Obviously Im talking to the travellers only. Seems like not too long ago when reports would read "could the aussie dollar possibly reach as high as 90 cents?" I remember when that prospect was so exciting. I never thought that parity would be reached and remained at for such a long time. Clearly we have been spoilt, but to be honest, even at 95 cents we are still being spoilt. In my opinion, even down to about 85 cents would be a spoiling. America is cheap! Y'all don't need to worry about how much you are going to spend there. It will always be cheaper than your day to day lives here. Example. Good meal for two at a diner compared to a good meal for two at a pub. Diner would be about $10 for each main and maybe $2.50 for a soft drink. Soft drink would be free refills... The meals would be huge... So for two people you would get away for $25-$30. Then look at an aussie pub (in my opinion the aussie equivalent of a diner). Maybe a burger and fries meal or parma and chips meal will set you back $15/$20.... Add a drink in and you are looking at another $3-$3.50. Now for that you will be able to count the chips you get on your fingers and maybe toes if you are lucky, and the drink will be mostly ice and in a small 'pot' glass that you will achieve two sips from. Total cost $40-$45 to be satisfied. So I'm thinking even if you are paying 5% more and even with extra for a tip, you will still come out with more in your pocket in the USA and you will be feeling nice and full too. Let's not cry for the aussie dollar's demise. Let's be happy it is still up high, and let's make the most of it by travelling as much as we can while it stays up there!

[knowitalltravel]

Why you don't need more than 3 days in Vegas.

To anybody heading to the city of sin, you’ve been warned… Be careful how long you spend there. For those who have been before, I believe that most would agree, that everything you will want to achieve in Vegas can be done in the span of 2 or 3 nights. Sure, there is LOTS to see and do in Vegas, enough shows to last you months, enough hotel pools to explore that would take you weeks and weeks to get around, that many buffets that you could try a new one for breakfast lunch and dinner everyday for about a year. But what will break you down, ever so quickly, before you can enjoy all of the previously mentioned things, is the nonstop harassment by anyone and anything that moves on the strip that is seeking your cash, mixed in with the sad and stale air that hangs like a fog inside the casinos.

Allow me to elaborate. You decide you want to go from your hotel room to anywhere else in Vegas, lets say a show or a restaurant. You will probably walk along the strip at some point. You will inevitably pass by anything from 10-200 people trying to sell you something. Even a short trek between say MGM and NewYorkNewYork Casinos that takes you across a 30 metre bridge, will most likely have you instantly introduced to 4 rapper hopefuls selling cds, 3 homeless beggars, 2 dudes trying to sell water and 1 dude handing out stripper cards.

Next - the casino air. Now credit needs to be given to the new Vegas hotels - cosmopolitan and Aria come to mind as setting the bar high. But for anything built pre-2005, it’s generally a smokey haze you will need to walk through to get from the front door of any casino to your hotel room. That mixed in with the oxygen that is pumped into the casino area to keep people feeling alive, and you’ve got a blend you could almost sell in the form of a new age of fart bombs nicknamed ‘vegas’. Its pretty depressing, and when you are staying at a casino and your only way in and out is by passing through the haze, you get over it pretty quickly.

Perhaps you have big plans for Vegas for a week, maybe longer…. But i really would suggest scaling back to avoid disappointment.

Having recently been for a 5 night stay, the only thing that got me through was the fact that I was with a large group of friends and that we still had lots of catching up to do even on night 5. But by day 4 many of us had had enough of the ‘constantness’ of everything in Las Vegas.

[knowitalltravel]

Another trip = yet another hiatus.

Yes, it's true... I have just returned from another trip overseas. It was amazing, as it was one enjoyed with friends, family and my partner. Great times were had. In short, we all criss crossed the USA, part as a group, part in smaller groups, and partly solo. There is much advice to offer those in need of american travel tips. I will be sure to cover this in upcoming posts. Would love to share some of the highlights of the trip which may spark an idea or two for your upcoming USA journey. 1) hiring a car for $9 a day out of florida! 2) an amazing food tour in greenwich village, NYC. 3) meeting a singing superstar at Cafe Gratitude in Hollywood, California. 4) spending a night overlooking the Bellagio fountains from The Cosmopolitan wraparound suite with a bunch of my closest friends. 5) going to a beautiful meditation garden in Encinitas, California, which overlooked the ocean and brought calm to an otherwise busy time. So details of all of this will come in due course. In the meantime, always happy to respond to emails with questions about travel anywhere in the world! [email protected]

[knowitalltravel]

Incredible Disney water show @ californiaadventure #disneyland

[knowitalltravel]

Staten island ferry on a great day #newyork

[knowitalltravel]

Paris

Paris is amazing!

[knowitalltravel]

Flying Friday: Who's on your plane

Men aged in their 30’s travelling solo for pleasure are the best flyers to deal with apparently. I read it somewhere and found it such an interesting discovery. Here’s the link…  http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=1066273&showcomments=true  But I guess it makes sense for the most part. I’m sure there are particular occurences that make them not the best people to deal with, but if you look at in overall, you can kind of see why. Also in the article are flight attendants biggest gripes with customers. Very interesting indeed.

This also made me think about who I’d most like to sit next to on a plane – or at least, which type of person. And yes, probably a 30 something year old man travelling alone. If he’s with a girlfriend, you know that she will nag him to nag you to move so that she can go to the toilet. If he’s with a kid, then kid will do the same, just in a noisier fashion than a girlfriend. If he’s with a boyfriend, they are probably judging you for something. And if they are on business, then they are probably bitter that they aren’t sitting in business class. I guess as long as you don’t get plonked next to stinky winky, then you should be alright.  

[knowitalltravel]

Temptation Thursday: Airline lounges

Do airline lounges really deliver worthiness based on the price you pay to access them? I must admit, I haven’t spent a lot of time in airline lounges. I’ve had one experience at the Qantas club which was quite good, and I could see the value for someone who flies weekly. But for the rest of us, I don’t think we are missing out that much. Sure – you don’t get all that “free” food and drink, which could be welcomed if you raced to the airport hungry and thirsty. I would think if you were an infrequent flyer, that you could find a bar or restaurant in an airport that you could better spend the money you would otherwise pay for a Qantas club membership for a year.

If you weren’t aware, for people flying Qantas or Jetstar, you can get a complimentary guest pass to the Qantas Club for the day you are flying. New members to the club receive a comp pass when they sign up, and it’s valid for a year. These are very easy to find on ebay, but do sell for quite a price. In most cases, $50 is the minimum for one of these.

Say you were about to go on an exciting flight (perhaps en route to celebrate an anniversary or birthday) you might get one of these and get to the airport early to get the party started. A champagne and some cheese on biscuits? Yes please!

I sense that these lounge places need to be treated with caution, as one could get complacent for expecting the same service/style across the globe, only to be surprised at a lounge overflowing with customers in another city. 

[knowitalltravel]

Tech Tuesday: Retimer glasses for jetlag

For anyone who has done a Europe to Australia trip in one solid hit, you know all too well about how horrible you feel when you arrive, and for days and days afterwards. I have blogged about jetlag before, but today I wanted to alert you to this new device called re-timer glasses. I am eager to get my hands on a pair soon, but just trying to save my pennies before my next trip. At $270, they aren’t exactly cheap. But the more popular they become, the more likely they are to reduce in price, making them a very viable alternative to sleeping pills and valium or whatnot for even the most budget conscious traveller.

Essentially what they do is emit a light from a pair of glasses that you wear for a few days before you travel, but only wear them in the morning or late at night, either immediately before or after sleep. From doing this, the light you receive speeds up your body clock.

I am really excited to try these out. Im hoping that when I do use them, that I will feel as good when I get off a 14 hour flight, as I do when getting off a 1 hour flight. And having experienced some horrible jet lag in the past, any option seems like a good option.

Unfortunately nobody has put up any reviews yet… so I guess when I travel, I might be the first to put up a review. Shall be an interesting experience I’m sure. 

[knowitalltravel]

Metropolis Monday - Tokyo

Urbanity gone mad is the Japanese capital. Concrete as far as the eye can see, trains running every minute, people galore on on the streets and scores of skyscrapers. Tokyo really is the ultimate metropolis, and has basically swallowed up any neighbouring cities. You don't even know when you have left Tokyo!

Population: 13.1 million in Tokyo 'proper', 35.6 Million in the metropolitan area, making it the most populated metropolis in the world. Best time to go: Summer is pretty humid, so any other time of year.    What makes the city unique: Love hotels, an amazing transport system, packed trains at midnight, Harajuku Girls.  Who should go: Those who like the big cities should come here. 

Never have I seen humanity crammed in like I did in Tokyo. Prior to visiting Tokyo, I always thought New York or Hong Kong were crazy urban places. And whilst yes, they are, Tokyo is a level above. Looking out from atop the observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government offices (a free lift ride up by the way), I could only see urban mess into the very far distance. We are talking a good 70km away in any direction.

Find me on facebook: http://facebook.com/knowitalltravel    

What's most amazing about this huge city, is that it works. Where other cities would buckle under the pressure, the Japanese have made Tokyo function the way a city should. The Yamanote train line which loops around the inner city area and will tae you to everything touristy you need to see, runs trains so frequently that you would never be in a rush to catch one, because you'll only have to wait 1 minute for the next.

Sightseeing: The Tsukije Fish Market is a great experience if you can bear an early wake up call. Get down there at like 4:30/5am when the fish are arriving and being sold. It's a hive of activity.

Views: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Tower near Shinjuku Station has free entry and offers very good views. There are a number of other observation decks in the city but you will have to pay for those ones.  

Nightlife: There is a strip of little bars along/beneath the railway line near Shibuya Station. Each bar can only fit about 7 people, but they are an amazing little experience for a drink and snack. It's on the opposite side of the railway linefrom the main Shibuya crossing.

Getting around: Amazing train/subway system. The Yamanote Line will get you to most places or to most other train lines. Sit on it for the full loop (about 45 minutes) and you will see a good chunk of Tokyo.  

To/from airport: There's trains or "limosine buses" (which are not Limo's like you'd see on the Vegas strip, they are just buses). From Narita, the cheapest train is the slowest, but isn't too painful. About 50 minutes to Shibuya or Shinjuku. 

Whilst Tokyo isn't full of tourist tick-off sights, it is one big tick-off sight in itself. If you want to experience the biggest city in the world, then include a trip to Tokyo in your life.

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Any questions... email me [email protected] 

[knowitalltravel]

Fast February tip - airline sale fares

I've been taking particular notice of how airlines in Australia market and time their fare sales. It seems like I am always seeing ads for reduced fares, whether its in the paper, on tv, on the radio, on billboards. But when are the best fares?

The pattern i have discovered is that around public holidays are the best times to search for a fare. Australia Day, Christmas. New Years, Easter, Queens Birthday - they all tend to be a good time for airlines to spruik their fares. Im not sure of the exact reason for this, I would think it's along the lines of if people have a long weekend and have the feeling of wanting to go on a holiday because they have that extra day, then the airlines are seducing people emotionally by suggesting a well priced holiday. Note of course, that sales around these times are rarely for immediate use. Instead, the validity dates start from most likely at least 6 weeks after the sale date.  

There is a common misconception that once an airfare price begins going up from its original release date (which is usually 11 months before the date), that the price is on an upward continuum. Not the case at all. Certainly, popular routes and times will go up in price sooner, and will not necessarily be available for sale price during a sale, but if you have the flexibility and are in advance enough, you shouldn't have a problem getting what you want for the price you want.

Next time you are on the prowl for a holiday and a nice cheap one, perhaps consider waiting until the next public holiday? You may just get a much better deal than you ever thought.

[knowitalltravel]

Fast February Tip - travel insurance

Travel insurance that comes complimentary with your credit card! This is a something I only discovered recently... Well, more like i rediscovered that there were that many options, and that they are all good. Naturally, there are limitations and a hefty amount of footnotes, but on the whole, you can save a bit of dosh on your insurance that can go to much better things on holiday. Hello massage, shopping, dodgy souvenirs! Yes please! So the deal is, check if your current credit card offers free travel insurance. There will always be an activation method, which is usually that you need to pay for your flights on the credit card providing the insurance, however some cards, such as the anz platinum cc in australia, offer you travel insurance once you have spent $250 on anything related to your trip, ie accomm or car hire. Make sure whatever you do, you read the fine print, and compare it with another insurance offerer. If you are in the position to gain another credit card and you are going away, it may just pay off to sign up for a year and get the free insurance out of it. For the annual fee that the card offers, you will still save anything from $50-$300 approximately on insurance for an overseas trip.