Ever wanted to swim with dolphins or stay in a hotel room bigger than your house/flat? Then you need to get in on what the luxury/food bloggers are doing because these guys have it made. Sandwiched into my very busy summer of travels I joined that exclusive club when I sampled the luxury Dubai lifestyle staying at the Atlantis The Palm.

To say I was out of my element staying here was an understatement. While I could almost see the food bloggers frothing at the mouth with anticipation about the mountain of food we would soon be eating (I kid you not it was a mountain of food). I sat looking at the menu trying to decipher exactly what I was eating. I mean pancetta and black truffles… that’s not the usual dish on my travel menu.

While the restaurants took centre stage as the feature of the trip (more on them in my next post) and left me in a food induced coma while longing to be a food blogger, it was the other offerings at the hotel that brought the luxury travel blogger out in me. I mean it’s not very often I get to stay in a place that offers this sort of luxury.

Hotel Bathroom Bigger Than My London Flat

11 Million Litre Aquarium inside the Hotel

Ride the Leap of Faith Water Slide

The Chance to Swim with Dolphins

What I liked about the Hotel was that while my room was so extravagant I passed many everyday families staying at the Hotel and enjoying the same facilities as me. Most staying by way of a package holiday deal, it’s great to see a Hotel of this 5 star rating offering deals that can be made affordable by the masses.

The biggest attraction obviously with so many families around was the Water Park. After all Dubai isn’t the coolest (temperature wise) place, especially in August and with the water park sitting right next door to the hotel it was a short walk through the wall of heat to the cool of waves, vertical drop water slides and rubber tubes. This isn’t some kiddies water park though, oh no this place has rides that even I was not up to the challenge for. The grand daddy of them being the Leap of Faith shown above… yeah my faith wasn’t that strong.

The big event of the trip for me and I know the food bloggers will most likely say it was eating at Nobu (not that I knew what Nobu was…) was getting to swim with the dolphins at the hotels Dolphin Bay. Their skin is so smooth and even though the sun was melting us in the water I could have easily played around with them all day, such peaceful animals.

I know you all know that I love the joy of planning my travel and exploring the world as a solo traveller BUT… I have to admin that after a couple of days enjoying the luxury Dubai life like so many this way of travel isn’t so bad either. Everybody needs a bit of pampering now and then right?

I have to say a very big thank you to the Atlantis The Palm for sponsoring my stay at their hotel and allowing me to sample the food and facilities on offer, it was an absolute joy.

No related posts.

Thanks for checking out my post - Luxury Dubai Travel. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

Visiting Jerusalem for me seemed somewhat of a surreal experience honestly. The adult in me knows it’s a city full of the usual hustle and bustle with people going to work and driving their cars and so on. But the little boy in me from my childhood knows it as the land of Jesus, making it a somewhat mythical place. Like it couldn’t really exist because I’d read about it in the bible (don’t worry there is no messiah complex coming up).

I could have spent days, months wandering the streets trying to work out how old a building is and meeting the people who make up this place easily. After all that’s the big draw card for me in Europe, to explore buildings and places that are far older than my little Australia and meet the people who have grown up there. You can only imagine what it was like TO BE in one of the oldest cities in the world, sort of blows your mind a little.

So what did I see in this holy of holy cities with the time I had?

Sound and Light Show at the Citadel

A Tour Of the Old City

The Western Wall Above and Below

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

As well as touring East Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, the Jerusalem City Council offices, Yad Vashem – Holocaust Memorial and even planting my own tree in the Jerusalem Forest. Not too bad for a couple of days as a tourist I’d say.,AND I’ve not even covered all the different people I met there yet.

It’s easy to see why Jerusalem is the most visited city in Israel when all the above holds so much religious meaning and can be seen in such a short time frame as well.

For me visiting Jerusalem merged the memories of my childhood and adulthood into one. While I’m not very religions (sorry mum) you can’t go there and stand before the Western Wall or enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and see the Tomb of Jesus without feeling somewhat connected to something.

With everything I heard and experienced visiting Jerusalem (and I won’t go into it to much now) and knowing the human need to believe in something and champion for their own cause/belief/religion it’s hard not to expect some sort of conflict to rage on here for longer than anybody will ever want. You just have to look back at Jerusalem’s past to see its been going on for centuries, after all how many other cities have endured that sort of past….

Millions of people come from all over to worship at this one tiny part of the world, lets hope many more millions can come in the future without the knowledge of time as we know it today.

Many thanks to the Ministry of Tourism, Stand With Us and the Once In A Lifetime 2.0 students for inviting myself and the other bloggers to see Israel with them.

Related posts:

1. Israel – A Land of Memories
2. A Year On…
3. The Beauty of Wales
4. Luxury Dubai Travel

Thanks for checking out my post - Visiting Jerusalem – The Holy City. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

I’ve tried to put into words what it’s been like touring around Israel for the last few days and as a result you haven’t seen a post from me. It’s not because I haven’t been enjoying myself and can’t find a way to write about it, far from that actually. I’ve been so busy I didn’t even have time to wish my brother happy birthday last week (sorry bro) and I’ve slept this little since the week-long bender I took after finishing my schooling in Australia (sans hangover of course).

To put it into perspective here is a list of just a sample of the things I’ve done over the past 10 days.

Meeting Famous Israeli Singer Ivri Lider

• Visited the Golan Heights
• Ate dinner by the See of Galilee at Sunset
• Swam in the Jordan River
• Met a Nobel Laureate Winner
• Drove a fully Electric Car
• Explored Massada
• Met 2 Popular Israeli Singers
• Floated about in the Dead Sea
• Partied in Tel Aviv
• Visited Jerusalem
• Dived with Dolphins in Eilat
• Seen the borders to Syria, Jordan and Egypt
• And so so so much more….

I still don’t know how to put most of those stories into words but I’m sure going to try over the next few weeks as I so desperately want to share them with you. Just like each student that has been part of the Once In A Lifetime trip has done for me. I want to tell you about these amazingly smart people who have set about showcasing the country they love dearly in the hope that you to can see for yourselves.

I’d love to leave you with some amazing thought or insight to lure you into following my story of Israel over the next few weeks but as I sit here on my last night of the trip, exhausted both physically and mentally from the experience I can only come up with this:

You can’t see a country in 10 days and think you know it, but with a bit of love and a lot of friends you can experience something so great that it will never be lost from your memories.

Just floating about in the Dead Sea no big deal

Related posts:

1. Did You Know This About Israel
2. Visiting Jerusalem – The Holy City

Thanks for checking out my post - Israel – A Land of Memories. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

Nestled along the southern tip of Andalucia is where you will find this hidden township of San Ambrosio. Made up of nothing more than a few houses and a couple of places you can get yourself some good food and a cold beer. It seems almost preposterous that this tiny town is the driving force behind my desire to learn a second language and my love for Spain. So let me explain.

I arrived here to meet up with a long time travel blogging friend in Abbey from achickwithbaggage.com. The only thing I knew before arriving was that my English would be of no use. Sevilla had taught me that it was a luxury to find a local that spoke English and now that I was in the middle of nowhere I went in expecting nothing.

What followed in the few days I spent in San Ambrosio was LOTS of beers, food, a bit of exploring and meeting some truly relaxed people. They often say it’s the people who make a place… and well this couldn’t have been so true here.

All of the fun happened at night but to keep from getting under Abbeys feet too much I wandered off and checked out a couple of the sights during the day to justify all the drinking and eating that was going on at night.

First on the “to see” list was the local dovecot turned hotel. The El Palomar de la Brena dovecot has some 7700 nests and a total area of almost 400m2 making it the biggest dovecot in the world (Guinness World Records say so). While it’s no longer in use now it’s worth a visit, if only to stroll along the dusty road that leads there and admire the countryside.

My second outing was a longer journey as I headed for a view of the coast and to see the Torre del Tajo. A 16th century tower built to warn off Moorish corsairs arriving at the nearby port. The walk itself while melting hot was a great way to see what the local bushland is like and while obviously different to the land where I grew up back in Australia, it still reminded me of home and the little town I grew up in.

There was much more seen and done as Abbey chauffeured me around Barbate, Vejer de la Frontera, Los Canos de Mecca and many other surrounding towns but it was the three bars/restaurants of Venta Luis, Venta Canuto (Miguels) and Los Majales (Vicky & Antonio’s) that cemented my love for the country, the town and the people.

Luis served up some of the most amazing (and cheap) spanish food I’d ever eaten as well as introducing me to the joy of Ron Miel (Honey Run). It came in shot glasses but the 2 bottles I brought home with me get poured into glasses as one shot just isn’t enough. While at Vicky & Antonio’s I enjoyed some killer spanish omelets for lunch and great company in the afternoons while I enjoyed many a Cruzcampo and some entertainment from the locals that stopped in.

Lastly was Miguels. Just a short (Abbey might argue) walking distance from her place. I was here every night laughing and getting the story on everyone. Miguel speaks Spanish and I speak English yet we still managed to have several conversations where I’m sure we both understood each other (ignoring alcohol intake of course). This man is my driving force behind trying to learn Spanish. Even with Abbey translating for me he would always speak to me and is seriously one of the nicest guys I met there (I’m not just saying that because of the free beer he gave us either). Hopefully come the end of the year I can return for his big new years party and thank the man in Spanish for all of his hospitality.

There was so much more to this little town than what is above. So many more people met at the bar, more to see and I didn’t even get started on how much they love their horses down this way. It’s just a place that has that something extra that flips the right switch or opens your eyes that bit more to capture you.

Do you have a place like that? The one where you arrived knowing nothing but left with just amazing love for the place. Let me know in the comments below.

Always check foreign currency exchange rates before you leave to make sure you get the most of your money.

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Thanks for checking out my post - Where I Fell In Love With Spain, San Ambrosio. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

Way back in my early years when the only friends I had abroad were pen friends and getting an international student at our school was a big deal, I’ve been fascinated by living abroad. I remember looking to the sky many a time and wondering what time it was in America or Europe or anywhere really just so I could imagine what people were doing at that exact moment in time.

Fast-forward to present day and I’m now one of those people I would imagine living abroad. Swapping my country home of Casterton for the big city life of London has finally realised one of my childhood dreams. Most locals I meet call me crazy to be here and are looking up flights to Australia to escape but I’m happy to be a renting a place in the Queens country.

Just like moving cities at home you have the same issues with finding accommodation, finding work and learning to navigate your new surroundings. The only difference for me is, I arrived with just a backpack’s worth of belongings and I know I’m not staying put forever. I’m a temporary resident and when the visa runs out it’s time to find a new country and a new city to do it all over again with that same sized bag of belongings.

The real joy with living abroad is the moment you realise you’re less of a tourist and more of a local. Over time I found I no longer held up the line at the tube station, I walked central London with a sense of direction instead of wandering aimlessly (ok maybe I still do a little), I always stood on the right side of the escalator and not the left and for the most part refer to my money in pounds and not dollars. I do however refuse to call thongs, flip flops no matter how many weird looks I get.

I’ve had friends tell me you are just doing the same things you would at home what’s so good about it. You go to work, you go to the pub etc what’s so good about living abroad? Yes I do all those things but its the immersion in the atmosphere of the place that I love. The pubs are different, the work environment is different, walking down the street is completely different to back home. That’s why I love it and why I will continue to do it for as long as I can.

Anybody that tell’s me living abroad is just like living at home either doesn’t appreciate the differences around them or just doesn’t get it. You are saturated in a different way of life to what you know, how is that the same?

For me well I’m taking the safe route for now living in London where the differences are a little more subtle. But I still look to the sky like I did as a young Aussie Nomad and wonder what people are up to in Argentina, Moscow, Toronto and many more. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to find out and push my travel boundaries that little further.

I want to hear from you now. Have you have ever lived abroad and if so what did you take away from the experience. Did it enrich your stay or did it drive you away?

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Thanks for checking out my post - On Living Abroad. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

After spending time backpacking around Europe and now living in London I’ve met a few backpackers. In that time I’ve spent hours and hours relaxing in hostel common rooms and various drinking establishments talking travel. Where have you been? Where are you going? What was your favourite place? All questions that will come up everywhere you go so be ready with your best (or worst) travel story.

When I would tell them of my future travels plans I was often met with two different responses. My usual answer to the question was “oh I think I’ll stay a few more days before I move on but I’m not sure yet”. Some people at that point would take it upon themselves to suggest I go and see another site while here, jealous I was staying longer than they were. The rest would say “but don’t you have your next hostel booked already? you are crazy I could never do that”.

This was where I discovered that so many people had pre-booked their hostels, tours and even their entire trip abroad before having left home. I’m not one to say you must travel a specific way otherwise you are doing it wrong but I do believe there is some method to my madness.

Lets look at the pre-bookers train of thought. Booking everything from home makes it easy. You have your accommodation squared away so won’t have to worry about dealing with that on the road. It allows you to spend hours not minutes finding your so-called perfect hostel and having tours or bus’s booked in advance takes away some of the language barrier stress. Lastly it makes the parents feel safer knowing they will have a detailed itinerary of where you are staying for every night of your trip.

Nothing wrong with the above, it’s safe and leaves little chance of you ending up with no bed for the night. But… aren’t you removing yourself from part of the joy of travel. What happened to the world is my oyster dreams you had when the idea of backpacking first entered your mind. When you were excited about all the places you wanted to explore with not a care in the world.

By all means plan out some of your trip like countries you want to visit. It would be remiss of me to tell you to just land abroad with no plan as I’m sure you will have certain places or sights you will want to visit (I know I did). After that stop and draw a line in the sand, stop planning travel and start living travel. Why? well because of the following.

• You will make friends on the road and want to travel with them
• You will fall in love with a place and want to stay longer
• You will miss at least one bus or train
• You will discover a new independent you
• You may find love

How can you do any of the above if you are running to a timetable that resembles your first year of high school. To sum it up best I saw this line over on urban dictionary awhile ago as a definition for travel which lines up with my reasoning’s for not pre booking my travels.

to move from point to point, often done at the spur of a moment

In my mind pre booking everything is selling yourself short. Less than a week on the road and you’ll gain your travel legs along with a new view on the world and I’m living proof of that. Scared out of my brain when leaving to travel solo around Europe with nothing booked other than my first hostel in Paris. It took just a couple of days until I was a completely different person and boy was I thrilled to have so much freedom to go wherever I pleased.

With confidence abroad the last thing you want holding you back is the fact you sunk so much money booking hostels and other things ahead of time.

With all that said I’d love to hear if you book everything before you leave or just take it day by day as you get on the road?

Fancy visiting Australia? Then grab one of these cheap flights to Australia now.

Related posts:

1. Solo Travel Should Be Compulsory

Thanks for checking out my post - Why I Won’t Pre Book My Travel. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

Learning about the history of a place is what really tickles my travelling taste buds. So when Justin from 48houradventure.com invited me along to one of the events setup to mark the 70th Anniversary of the London Blitz I jumped at the chance.

At the now closed Aldwych Tube Station the London Transport Museum re-created what it was like for people during the blitz. With actors setup in the old tube carriages and some noise for added effect they described what is was like for so many people who literally lived on the Underground during the bombings.

There was the guy who would peddle his goods to the people never missing a beat to make a buck, the woman who was to spend her first night in the underground and the Red Cross attendant who helped to direct the people and give what food and drink they could manage.

To learn that well over 100,000 Londoners called the tubes home at night was a mind-boggling number to try to comprehend. Then for them to go on and describe how the people would sleep end to end huddled together with minimal bedding on the platforms and tracks while the bombs rained down above, well it must have been one of the most frightening experiences to ever go through.

Aldwych Station was one of the few tube stops proposed as a suitable shelter early in the war as it could be closed without affecting the rest of the underground network. This also made it a suitable place for deep storage by the British Museum where they kept thousands of valuable artworks including the Elgin Marbles and Parthenon sculptures. Even some 15 years after the war the storage shelter was still a quarter full with the museums possessions.

The added bonus to this tour was that we actually got to enter the closed station. While it has been opened to allow TV shows and films crews to film in the past, it’s only other use is as a training ground by the undergrounds emergency response unit. The station cannot be opened for regular public tours because of safety concerns as the lifts no longer work leaving the stairs as the only way in and out of the lower levels.

This rare sneak peek into London’s history was so much more rewarding than the usually high trafficked main attractions. I left the tour knowing I’d seen something so many people walking past the old station will never get to see and I think there is something rather special about that.

Have you been on a special tour like that before or found another hidden treasure in your travels that was only open for a limited time. If so I’d love for you to share it in the comments below.

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1. The London Transport Blues
2. Getting Setup In London – Transport
3. Street Art in London
4. Finding Accommodation in London – The Ups and Downs

Thanks for checking out my post - The London Blitz at Aldwych Station. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

Living in London means I’m pretty much force-fed gossip about the Royal Family. For most that was more than enough for them and they escaped the city to make the most of a long weekend while the rest of us stayed for the Royal Wedding. I was in two minds if I wanted to go or not but figured if I’m going to call myself a traveller I may as well go and see something I would never get the chance to again.

Not so keen to camp out for the night I arrived at 6:30am and picked out my spot at Horse Guards Parade. Which after looking back over the tv footage was a pretty decent spot if I do say so myself. I was directly opposite the marching band and right up front to see everyone pass.

The day resulted in about 6 hours of standing in one spot as moving even to go to the toilet would have resulted in my giving up my prime place. The upside was that I got to know some lovely people around me as we all enjoyed the day together. To my right was a mother with her baby boy who had come up from Belgium to see the wedding. To my left was a family from the Isle of Wight who kindly offered me a hot cup of tea while we waited. Then behind me I had an American couple who I think were the most excited by the big event.

To some people it might have just been an over the top who cares event but for the people around me from England, Belgium, American (and this aussie) it was a great day out where we got to cheer and take in a moment that will go down in history.

I could have posted a million photos for you all but I think this video should capture most of what it was like for me as I pushed and shoved my way through the crowds on Will and Kate’s wedding day. Enjoy.

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1. Travel Dilema

Thanks for checking out my post - Will And Kate – The Royal Wedding. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

Living in London I’ve had to come to terms with catching public transport to get around, not so bad I hear you say they have those cool double-decker buses. I’ll agree I was excited for my first ride aboard one but for someone who has spent his entire life (almost) owning some form of car or ute that I could drive myself it has been a big shift. A vehicle allowed me the freedom of leaving when I’m ready and not having to deal with people all up in my face.

For the most part the public transport system works as long as it’s not peak hour, there is a sporting event on, you are in a hurry or you are out past midnight. As you can imagine if that’s my impression from just standard day-to-day use then you don’t want to know what I think will happen during the Olympics in 2012.

So here’s the good. Getting yourself an Oyster card should be the first thing you do on arrival in London. This little baby gets me access to the tube and buses without having to worry about money or tickets, my job is to just keep it in credit. The card costs 3 quid and any old ticket office should be able to have you on your way (you get the 3 quid back if you give the card back). So that’s the good bit out of the way now for the stuff you won’t enjoy so much.

The Tube serves it’s purpose sure but when you hear warnings during the summer period about reminding you to travel with water to help prevent dehydration and fainting you have to worry right? I thought my train ride to Italy was bad when the heater was stuck on but no it was nothing. Riding the tube to work last summer I would get on and within a 20 minute ride felt like I needed a shower again. It gets stupidly hot both on the tube and even down in the stations, would it really hurt them in this day and age to install air con?

Adding to the heat problem is the people. Getting on the tube during peak hour is like trying to pack too many sardines into a tin and god help you if you are first one in as you are never getting out till the tins empty. For that reason people are reluctant to move down inside the train for fear of not being able to get off on their stop. Oh and with everyone packed in that tight you are bound to get a face full of either smelly armpit, sweaty back or someones boobs (not always from a girl either *cue nightmares*).

That is just a fraction of the pain you can suffer as it is also prone to break downs (especially the District Line), closed over weekends for maintenance and my favourite the quickly let’s get on the train before the people get off in case we miss it situation.

The bus system while generally offering a slightly less sardine like experience will never be on time when you need it. It is however the only means of transport once you hit midnight when the tube network shuts down. The choices left are either decide to party on till 6am to catch the first one home or seek out one of the few night buses that hopefully run in your direction.

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve missed buses or the tube by mere seconds or stood for what seemed like hours in central London waiting for that elusive red box to take me in the direction of home.

Now I’m sure every one of you that has enjoyed London’s public transport in your travels will have a story to tell so I’d love to hear it. Have you had an experience like no other or has it just left you in the middle of nowhere? Leave a comment below so we can share the pain together.

Update
A small edit to the post that after seeing it, I knew it had to be included. Many thanks to Lauren from Never Ending Footsteps for pointing it out. For anyone living in London this video is so much funnier to you because you have witnessed it for yourself.

Related posts:

1. Getting Setup In London – Transport
2. The London Blitz at Aldwych Station
3. Finding Accommodation in London – The Ups and Downs

Thanks for checking out my post - The London Transport Blues. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.

Forget the contiki tours, 2 week trips away with the boys (or girls) and seeing the world as a couple. You will learn more about yourself and become better for it if it’s just you and your trusty backpack to keep you company on the road.

OK so before you grab your pick axe’s and begin to beat me half to death proving why the above mentioned ways of travel are better hear me out because I already agree with you. There is no best way to travel… period. I’m talking more from a character building perspective.

Leaving everything behind to see a part of the world that is as foreign to you as the language, is at it’s hardest when you are doing it alone. You have no-one to lead you by the hand from place to place like a tour will, there are no mates for backup when you get lost and for the couples well boys there will be no girlfriend there to save your ass either.

Taking off to travel solo builds self-confidence which to me is something everybody needs in huge doses. Especially with a world that is constantly beating us down because we don’t look a certain way, have a certain education or act a way that the world perceives as correct.

I look back now and wish I’d thought of/been pushed into travelling after high school instead of now. I left Australia with what I thought was a fairly high confidence level. After two months travelling Europe I soon discovered that what I thought was high, really only filled up to my reserve tank level.

Be it the people you meet (both local and travellers), the places you visit or the things you do everything is off your own back and it forces you to grow as a person (this is a good thing people).

To tackle university or a job with that kind of experience under your belt would have been a major bonus to me. Not only because you get to make everyone jealous with your travel stories but because you have gone out there on your own and proved to yourself you can do it.

If you could navigate getting from foreign city to foreign city where you don’t speak the language and enjoy yourself without the usual support you get at home, then presenting yourself for that job interview should be a breeze. The feeling of having conquered something on your own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m tackling a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.

I don’t want to say you can’t do all of this as a couple or group travelling but there is that inherent feeling that you won’t talk to others because you have friends etc with you already or won’t push the envelope as far. I know personally I’d have stuck to my ways from home more had there been a friend with me while travelling. I wouldn’t have been pushed as hard or been as far from my comfort zone because there was always that safety net there.

To me solo travel was a shot in the arm that unleashed a better more confident person that was ready to tackle anything life had to throw at me. If you have travelled do you agree/disagree? I’d love to know what you think.

Related posts:

1. Solo Travel – My Interview on ABC Radio
2. My First Solo Day
3. Why I Won’t Pre Book My Travel
4. Why I have decided to travel
5. Tentative Travel Itinerary

Thanks for checking out my post - Solo Travel Should Be Compulsory. For more of the same head on over to my blog The Aussie Nomad and check out all of my other travel articles.