Travelling overseas

I have a brand spanking new passport - my old and well travelled one had to retire last year - and it is ready and waiting for the first stamp.

Chad on the other hand has to go through the process and get himself his first passport. He has four months...
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Destination Honeymoon - hotel

A sneaky peek of what we are looking forward to on our honeymoon! I picked up our accommodation vouchers today and we are all booked in with flights and a bed to rest our heads.



All photos from the hotel website

Destination Honeymoon: NOT our hotel!

We have flights for our honeymoon and nothing else so at the moment we are sleeping on the beach. We are looking at a few places but Karma Jimbaran, whilst it looks heavenly, is well out of our budget. Still it is nice to dream!

They have 38 three or four bedroom pool villas, so I am guessing you would go there with a group.








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Destination Honeymoon - for real!

Last week I booked flights for our honeymoon. We have finally made a decision and are going to Bali.

It does seem like a very cliched destination however there were a few factors in our selection.
- We are building a house and do not wish to commit too many funds.
- We are restricted with time due to C's work commitments and he does not wish to take another roster off.

We may go for a longer holiday at a later stage. I thought it was important though that we take a holiday together directly after the wedding, rather than putting it off. We also toyed with the idea of going down south for a few days but this will (hopefully!) not be too much more expensive and great to relax together and enjoy the watersports and eating.

We are now trying to figure out where we should stay...

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Destination: Honeymoon VI

(See Destination: Honeymoon I, II, III, IV and V)

Vietnam

When I came home from training the other night, C was watching the Top Gear Vietnam special on TV. Nothing unusual about that. Surprising however was that he had pulled up a map of Vietnam on his computer, he asked if I had been to Ho Chi Minh City (the answer is "yes" but I had to think about it before I got the right answer) and he had looked up the price of flights.

Wow! Vietnam is somewhere I would love to go back to. I have romantic ideas about riding on the Reunification Express (although that may change if I do more research) and the people I found were friendly but not too salesman pushy like they are in Thailand. Well, they were not when I was there in late 2004.

Browse in the markets...


... catch up on some history...


...and visit the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Ha Long Bay


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Destination: Honeymoon V

(See Destination: Honeymoon I, II, III and IV)

One place that I would love to take C to is Italy. It is such a beautiful country, with many different and wonderful things to see and do. The food is so fresh and tasty. Even the flavour and the texture of the pasta that you buy in the supermarket is incredible. The breads are yummy and the gelato is fantastic.

In amongst the eating, we could check out one of their famous sporting venues...


...before taking in the view of the Firenze skyline...


..and top it off with a stay in the Cinque Terre region.


The last photo periodically makes an appearance as the background on my computer at work. It reminds me that I once went on holiday... it also reminds me that another long break would not go astray!

Destination: Honeymoon IV

(See Destination: Honeymoon I, II and III)

It might be nice to go somewhere for our honeymoon where all we had to do was to swim, eat, have a go at watersports and just relax! It would be nice to do something like that after the chaos and stress leading up to the wedding.

Koh Samui in Thailand boasts white sand beaches and warm tropical waters and I am sure all of the watersports we could want!

Start the morning on the water...

...head to the markets for fresh food...

... and relax under the blue skies in the clear water.


Photos from kohsamui.com

Destination: Honeymoon III

(see Destination: Honeymoon I and Destination: Honeymoon II.)

Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island off the South Australian Coast would be a budget friendly honeymoon destination. We could load up the back of the ute and cross the Nullarbor Plain to see a part of Australia that neither of us has seen before. Camping would definitely be an option, although I am sure that there would be a luxury lodge or two that would be nice to relax at!

Have a picnic with Mr Percival...


...and swim it off at Pennington Bay...


... it goes without saying that we would putting a line in the water.


Photos from the South Australian Tourism Commission website for Kangaroo Island.

Destination: Honeymoon II

(See Destination: Honeymoon I.)

Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are somewhere that C and I have previously talked about visiting. He loves the idea of the amazing variety of marine life, I am fascinated by the fauna that inspired Charles Darwin on the theory of evolution. Oh, as well as the turtles.

Have a chat to the turtles...


...and cool off in the water...


...before lazing on the beach.


Photos from the Unesco World Heritage Centre.

Get around on an active galapagos tour with Intrepid Travel. I am sure that if we did make it to the Galapagos Islands on our honeymoon then we would endavour to include some of the other amazing sights, such as the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, and maybe experience the Amazon!

Looking after the bride and groom

I thought this was a really lovely idea - a snack box for the bride and groom, left thoughtfully in their bridal suite! The box here includes caviar, cheese straws, grapes and truffles, and they suggest that a small bottle of bubbly "wouldn't hurt". Hee hee.

Concept and photo via Martha Stewart Weddings

Destination: Honeymoon I

A few people have asked what C & I will be doing for our honeymoon. As yet, we have not made any decisions although we have thrown a few ideas around! I thought that I would discuss a few of the ideas that we have had.

Japan
C and I went to Mount Hotham this winter to get some skiing and snowboarding practice in. While we were still there we started talking about planning our next trip! New Zealand was floated around and also heading to Japan.

Just think, wake up to fresh air...


...followed by a day on the slopes...


...and finish with a relaxing soak at an onsen.


Photos via Niseko Ski Tours