New York regrets

"Research Things to do in New York"

"Write out your Must do things in NYC list"

 "Plan, plan, plan, you'll need a plan"

These were all great pieces of advice I was given when talking to people about my trip to New York City. And despite listening and taking this advice fully on board, I still have regrets and things I wish I had of done! 

2015 Round Up

This year, 2015, will go down in my history as a big year. It was the year that I decided to take a big risk. I took leave from my job, the security and stability that came with it, but to walk away from the stress and worry that also came with it. 

I planned and planned and looking back now I probably planned a little too much, but hindsight is a great thing and at the time I thought that's what I needed to do.

So my great year of travel has meant a lot wonderful content for the blog, some of which I haven't even gotten around to sharing with you. Today I am going to share with you my most popular 11, because I just couldn't leave one out, in no particular order, culminating with my most favourite post of the year, which also just happens to outline the most favourite thing I did whilst overseas.

My love/hate relationship with organised tours

I like to think of myself as one of those people who tries to see both sides of the story. Someone who can look at the glass half empty and half full.

Sometimes I see this as a positive thing but sometimes it can be a little frustrating. It can make it very difficult to make decisions and determine which side I'm going to chose. 

So when it comes to the debate of 'whether to do an organised tour or not' I sit on the fence. I have seen this question pop up from time to time in various Facebook groups I am part of and am sometimes surprised with how quickly people respond with a resounding 'NO'.

My first and last Contiki back in 2009

to fly West... Perth here I come!

I'm sure for regular readers this won't come as much of a surprise but I must confess travelling somewhere new is never far from my mind, both domestically and internationally. And somewhere that has always been pretty high on my list domestically is the capital of the west, Perth.... Actually on my ultimate road trip wish list is flying to Perth hiring a small camper van and driving to Darwin but it's not a trip I am brave enough to do solo and I haven't been able to find someone to join my venture!... Anyway, back to this trip! 

Since being home from my last trip to the U.S. and Canada I had been thinking about where I'd like to venture to next, actually who am I kidding, I was already looking before I left Canada! So when a chat with a travel agent friend of mine turned into looking at flights to Perth and finding some that were at a great price, the travel bug in me couldn't resist and later this week I am taking off again! 


My fascination for visiting Perth has only been strengthened by reading blogs about the most isolated capital city in the world (true story!), in particularly Agent Mystery Case, who makes the city seem so appealing! But rumour has it that there is "nothing to do in Perth" and so I am making it my week long mission to bust this rumour and prove it all kinds of wrong!

Now as soon as I mentioned to Raych aka... Agent Mystery Case, she was on the case hunting down unique and super fun activities and events for us to partake in and I actually timed my visit to coincide with the Event Ready show which looks just fab! (extra confession...I've never actually been to a fashion show and even though I do not consider myself a fashion guru and even though I am super nervous and have no idea what I am going to wear I am also super excited to get a glimpse into this part of the fashion word!).

Two regular calendar events happen while I am in Perth, the first being Halloween, which I am a little puzzled as to why Australia has jumped on this bandwagon but when an invitation popped up to attend the Wolf Lane Halloween Howls event we jumped at the chance ($10 Spiced Pumpkin Daiquiri's! Yes Please!). The second event being that little horse race that happens on the first Tuesday in November! Now working in schools since forever has meant that I have never had the joy of attending a glamorous or even a not so glamorous event so I am looking forward to what Perth has in store for the Melbourne Cup. 

We have a few other events that we will be attending but I don't want to give away all our secrets and plans, you'll have to follow along on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to see what we get up to on our mission to prove there's heaps to do in Perth!!

 

Having said that though there are a few gaps in the itinerary that I would love to fill with those gaps with suggestions from you! 

Have you been to Perth? 

What's on your must see/do list?

Got a Perth based travel blog you love that I need to know about?

Please share in the comments below!

**Linking up with My Home Truths for I Must Confess, One Mother Hen for Open Slather and My Brown Paper Packages for Wednesday Wanderlust and Agent Mystery Case for Worth Casing Wednesday**

**Image Credit... Thanks to Agent Mystery Case for supplying all images for this post, can't wait to see them in real life!!

This time last year....

I must confess that on one hand I am finding it so hard to believe that it's been 12 months since my trip to Vietnam, and on the other hand it feels like a lifetime ago.


For my, spending my two week September school holidays in Vietnam was kind of like a test run. Up until this point all my travels had been to first world countries where the primary language was English so this was a step outside my comfort zone to see if I could handle a much longer holiday in a developing Asian country.


I was pleasantly surprised, and a little shocked, by all that Vietnam had to offer and had a wonderful time. One that I still think of often with fond memories. 


Since my trip there I have blogged about may of the things I saw and did, and there probably are a few more blog posts in that trip that have yet to be written... Just add that up there on my list of things to do along with find a job and somewhere to live.


I started off my sharing my 5 must have packing items for my trip, for any overseas trip I take really. I will confess that the awesome DSLR handbag didn't really live up to my expectations and the long handle broke whilst overseas which meant I've had to replace it but am yet to find something that I love and meets my travelling needs. 


And what's a trip overseas without a post on what to wear on your long haul flight! For me I am all about comfort when I fly, and I try and do it with a little bit of style, but sometimes a 'stuff it' attitude sneaks in. 

One of my favourite days in Vietnam was when we were in Hue. We took a cyclo tour through the city to a local families home who showed us some traditional Vietnamese hospitality and food. It was such a great night and made me smile so much!

One of the things that I was looking forward to in Hoi An was getting some clothes tailor made. Having the body shape that I do means I find it extremely difficult to find clothes that fit me well, especially on the bottom, so I was just a tad excited by this. I had done my research and chosen some designs but it's not something that should be entered into lightly as there are some horror stories out there, so I shared my tips on getting clothes made in Hoi An.

I also partly confessed to eating some meat in Vietnam that might make some people's stomach turn. I wouldn't say that I am a fussy eater in that I eat lots of different types of food, but I am not a very brave eater when it comes to exotic or out there foods so this was pretty big for me, but I took the When in Rome approach and gave it a go (albeit a very very small go!).

Vietnam was an amazing country and I do not regret my decision to make it my first South East Asian destination. There were a few things that surprised me and I learnt a few things about travelling in Vietnam that may help you to if you have this destination on your bucket list.

Finally when the trip was all said and done I scrolled back through the hundreds of photos taken and did the almost impossible task of choosing my 10 favourite photos from my trip, including the one below.



So that was it.... that's where I was this time last year and since this trip I have visited another 5 countries, 3 of which were also in Asia.

If there was something here that caught your eye or you want to save for later, click the little Pin it button in the top left hand corner of the photo below to save and share this article on Pinterest!

**Linking up with My Home Truths for I Must Confess and One Mother Hen for Open Slather**

Monument Valley

For me, visiting Monument Valley is up there with Uluru in Australia and Niagara Falls in Canada, you have to see it to believe it. I knew it was going to be a highlight of my trip and I was not disappointed.

Five things to do in Toronto

Toronto is often mistaken for being the capital of Canada, when in fact that is Ottawa. Toronto is the capital of the province of Ontario and is sprawled across the massive Lake Ontario it is often underrated with what it has to offer visitors.


So if you do happen to find yourself in Toronto, here's 5 things that should be on your must do list:

Where was I Wednesday

So there I was in my hotel room in Toronto attempting to get an early night sleep so I would be all refreshed and rested and looking fabulous as I started a tour the next day and meeting strangers who I am going to spend that next 9 days of my life is daunting enough....it hit me.... 

Favourite American Photos

Usually I bring you my 'Where am I Wednesday' post at this time but this Wednesday I will be starting a new adventure in another country, so before I move on to that I wanted to bring you my 6 favourite photos from my recent Top Deck tour across America.

In order of how they were taken on the trip....

Sunset at Cocoa Beach Florida

From Nashville to New York

It was like a culture shock within a culture shock...

Where am I Wednesday

for my American Bucket List trip

This is one of those 'by the time you are reading this' posts...


By the time you are reading this I will be on a plane, in the air...somewhere...

Why I choose to travel alone

So due to some poor time management on my part, a family trip to the Sunshine Coast, the absolute lack of wifi in Australia (don't get me started on that!!), a stunning wedding and a little bit of downtime this is my first blog post in a week!!! I know....shock horror *gasp!*