Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Jul 18

I have been brushing up on my rainforest knowledge – and here are my top 5!

There are rainforests and cloudforests all over the tropics, but if you want an all-round ‘best ever’ ultimate rainforest vacation – then you need to narrow it down a bit!

Having been to a few myself, I can tell you that there are some real big differences between them all; depending on their age, their altitude, the land that surrounds them and their size – and of course they are sometimes ‘islands’ themselves becoming the only place you can find certain favourite species. So do your research before you go.

But here’s that Heads Up I promised, and some info on each…..

Corcovada National Park – Costa Rica:
I know I love Costa Rica – but I am not being biased with this choice – it is just jaw-dropping to stand in this part of the country. Yeah, Monte Verde is amazing but this wins hands down.

Linked up with contiguous rainforest across the mountains, you will see some of the more elusive mammals including jaguars and tapirs. But there are the more common invertebrates here too – so don’t forget your repellent!

photo credit: lizzie1326

Manu National Park – Peru:
Still in the Americas, you couldn’t do worse than to visit this lowland rainforest to be surrounded by a carcophany of wildlife so impressive that it holds some species records and has many endemic creatures found nowhere else on Earth!

If Giant Otters, Macaws, Hoatzins and Anacondas aren’t enough to get you tempted, then maybe the 1000 species of bird and the 41,000 species of invertebrates and butterflies might win you over – let alone the magnificent waterways and the 200 species of mammals including ocelets and pygmy marmosets.

Nouabale-Nooki National Park – Congo:
Travel to Africa for this piece of majestic rainforest – virtually untouched by humans. As a result the animals here have no real fear of humans as they accept them as just another species passing by.

With some of my favourites found right here – I hope you don’t crowd the place before I get there: forest buffalo and bongos gather at the water holes as well as bush pigs and sitatungas. Oh, and there are gorillas and forest elephants here too……

Danum Valley Conservation Area – Malaysian Borneo:
Well if it’s orang utans you want – there is no better place to see them. And with over 50km of trails and aerial walkways throughout this little visited wonderland – you won’t be short of stories to take home.

And you will certainly wear your guidebook out looking at some of these unusual and sometimes undocumented species!

And watch out overhead for those giant flying squirrels!

The Whole of Bhutan:
Lets not be picky here – the whole place is a pristine wonderland for rare and unusual mammals, birds and invertebrates; including takins, bharals (blue sheep), red pandas and snow leopards!

This country has a unique culture and a great attitude towards it’s people, it’s wildlife and wild places – and it’s culture; and to protect it they limit foreign tourists to a set number per year – and charge a hefty ‘entrance fee’. Well worth it though.

photo credit: bobosh_t

posted by Travel Cat on Jun 22

This fantastic destination is one of the most popular wedding spots in the States!

With the draw of all those bright lights – it is hard to think that you’re not missing out on some great adventure if you don’t go there!

It is in movies, songs and holiday brochures everywhere – so who can blame you for wanting to be one of the 40 million people who visit Las Vegas every year!

And seemingly – the very fact that it is crammed top to toe with people and runs on 24 hours a day is one of the reasons for that draw.

Why Are They All Here?
People from all over the World travel to Las Vegas day after day – and stay for sometimes just the 1 night!

The culture of the place can be felt in the air as you stroll around the place of an evening – themed restaurants, bars, hotels, wedding chapels and much more. Something from every continent is calling out to you to be tried or tasted.

The Hotels are so big and the choices for food and drink are so extensive that you can see a little bit of the whole World on every street. And it feels great!

photo credit: Stratosphere Hotel & Casino

I only stayed there for 3 nights for a friends wedding and we just ran out of time to see everything. Well, it was hard to rush around trying to check off all the things in the guide book AND trying to enjoy yourself too!

Taking the whole day to go visit the Grand Canyon was great – but it meant 1 day less in this frantic yet almost soothing city. I felt asthough I could just wander around for ever amongst the ornate buildings, shopping centres and streets.

It seemed never-ending – and I didn’t mind ending up back at the same place twice. It was all so enthralling.

Why Aren’t You There?
I can’t believe anyone wouldn’t want to visit Las Vegas at some point anyway – just to see what all the fuss is about.

They must be the same people who say that they ‘would get bored in the Maldives’.

Instead of thinking of a destination in terms of what you presume it must be like from the pictures – you just need to try it out: get online and search for Las Vegas Letsgo2.com and take a look at the inside of some of the properties and hotels. The ambiance may well change the way you think about the place.

I mean if 40 million people think that it is THE destination to visit – then why can’t you believe them? That’s like the whole population of Canada, Jamaica and Costa Rica combined recommending the place!

Imagine the thrill and excitement of getting married in the first place – and then triple that with the thrill and excitment of the Entertainment Capital of the World – and you have got one of the best combinations for your wedding you could have possibly have!

And what guests are going to turn down an invite to THAT wedding?

posted by Travel Cat on May 17

Indiana Jones went there – and so did Sinbad; so why not you?

This city is like no other city in the world! There are many great Italian cities, Greek Cities, monumental buildings and other abandoned cities across the globe – but Petra is something else entirely!

Petra literally means ‘rock’ and that is so apt for this city which is carved into the bedrock of the cliffs. Rather than cut the cliff in pieces and make ‘bricks’ to build a city elsewhere, they just hacked away at the cliff faces to make their homes and buildings right there in the rock!

Some of them have very elaborate fronts and others were very simple dwellings, right in the crevices of this gully between higher land – for added protection from the weather and marauding horsemen. Well you couldn’t see the city unless you walked right past it!

photo credit: guillenperez

The City Of Petra:
Known to be in existance in an early form around 1550BC – this city has grown and changed along with the Rulers that came and went in this area of the World – I mean it is even thought that Moses passed through here during Exodus!

The Greeks, Syrians, Egyptians and the Romans all came and went – leaving their mark somewhere in it’s very essence. But it was the very Earth itself which ruined the city – after an earthquake.

The city was at a great way-mark along some of the better trade routes – and its ability to catch fresh water from flash floods made it sustainable – but the earthquake broke the channels, dams and storage areas – making the city what it really is – a desert!

Places To See:
Well, after the long journey there – you had better plan your route – otherwise you could end up missing out on some of the buildings.

I know it would be lovely to just wander about aimlessly seeing where you found next – but there is so much to see that you don’t really want to waste time if you are only visiting for the day.

And sometimes that is all you leave time for as you think it is quite small – yet there are over 50 buildings, temples, theatres and monuments to see – and explore!

And if you want to learn more while you are there – you need to factor in the all the reading you will be doing in the visitor centre and guide books!

Other Facts:
The site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 and is working towards becoming more sustainable as a tourist destination.

In 2006, it had just under 60,000 visitors in just 2 months (!) but since then local organisations have been trying to reduce the numbers visiting at one time to reduce the pressure on the site of 12,000 feet walking all over it in such a short time! And you won’t be able to see much with all those other people in the way anyway!

Within the site there are also 2 full musuems showing finds from the site and recreating a lot of the scenes from times gone by. Well worth popping in to as well – for a thorough overview of the site.

And, once inside you can hire a camel to walk you around the massive site so you can get from one side to the other in style – well, as much style as a grumpy and wonky camel can offer!

photo credit: happyjed1

The Rose-Red City is one of the New Wonders of the World.

posted by Travel Cat on Apr 9

Would you take a holiday in a jungle that was the scene of a Hollywood thriller?

There are plenty of horror and thriller movies that take place in a named location – but would it put you off visiting? Even if it’s only for this years vacation – would you postpone it for whatever reason – or just go ahead and look at the movie set instead?

Many places like New York, Paris and London have been in such films and we don’t mind going there for a look see – but alone in the jungle or down in a cave – or maybe staying in an abandoned cabin?

Would you be so sure?

Some Films To Scare You:
A classic travellers nightmare was brought to life in the film Paradise Lost (with Josh Duhamel) where a group of random travellers happen to be on the same bus in Brazil that breaks down in a remote location and the replacement will take hours. They see a party on the beach and end up getting drugged and hacked to pieces!

Fancy a trip to Brazil on your own?

Or how about a trip to Slovakia to stay at youth hostel there? Maybe with a group of friends, you could go to a local club with some total strangers you just met and see what happens!

Stay Out Of The Water?
Many people are still too scared to go in the sea after the wonderful Jaws series of films – even though they are now looked on a quite ‘silly’ films. I don’t think they are worried about a giant human-hungry shark – just the fact that it is just a reinforcement of a natural fear.

The same way that Jaws made people stay out of the sea of go to ‘safe’ beaches; ‘helpless tourist’ films can put people off travelling to more remote places and all congregate around the all-inclusive hotels and resorts.

Plane crash movies haven’t ever put me off flying – and I fly quite a bit – however I would never ever jump off the side of a boat and swim in the open ocean. What if I was eaten alive?

photo credit: Loren Javier

But then I haven’t seen a horror film where someone evil (and human) is lurking in a cave waiting to catch people – but I certainly wouldn’t be going underground either!

Why Do We Feel Safe?
However, saying that, I woud be happy to have a tour of a house, castle or wherever in a big city or close to one at least without a care in the world – even though there are more things to be scared of in the city than in the middle of nowhere!

So, back to the question of whether a scary film would put you off going somewhere?

My answer is a big fat ‘Yes’. Unless I was already all booked up to go and would lose a lot of money by NOT going, then I would change plans for the time being and head off somewhere else instead!

There is no way I would be heading off to a remote jungle or island location just after watching a film about dodgy goings on there.

It would just be too risky in the sense of the imaginary headlines afterwards ‘couple go missing on Island X after watching scary Island X film about couple going missing’! or ‘Girl eaten alive by shark in the bay where Jaws was filmed’!

What do you think?
Is it just me being silly – or do a few of you feel the same way??

posted by Travel Cat on Apr 3

If you want to feel like the only 2 people walking around Venice – just go there!

Now this doesn’t mean that Venice is devoid of other people and that you won’t see another soul there – quite the opposite infact – but what I mean is that you will feel asthough only you two are there.

When I went there, I found that everyone else seemed to just be getting on with things in the background – almost like they were setting it up for my trip! I was so distracted by all great buildings, all the passageways, the canals and the shop-fronts packed with delightful masks and glassware.

Nothing else mattered as we whirled our way around the city – there were no queues for anything except the coffee, there was almost no unnatural noise – so our wanderings were not interrupted by anything!

Maybe it seemed like it was just us there becasue there was so much to see and do – and to admire – that we just didn’t have time to see everyone else who was there? I’ll never know.

I just remember Venice as the place where there was just the 2 of us!

photo credit: anja_johnson

The Season:
We went in October, which some said might have high tides (which would bring in the sewage!), but it didn’t and it was perfect. The high tides meant that the canals were always topped up and you didn’t have to climb down into any of the boats we used for transport.

And the weather held up for up too – it wasn’t cold enough for bulky coats and we didn’t have to worry about suncream either – just like being at home!

The Hotel:
We chose to stay on The Lido which is a large island just to the side of the main island. This meant that our room had views of the whole of Venice itself with the tower of St Marks and the entrance to the Grand Canal within sight – which at night was something special!

There are plenty of hotels within the City itself where you could step out of you door and be right in the action – but we found that the action of catching a boat to and from the island made it more fun – and we couldn’t hear the hustle and bustle of the morning rush hour from our room either!

The Streets:
All I think about when I look back at my time in Venice is how we managed to get lost!

Now I don’t just mean scratching our heads at a dead end – I mean we managed to keep walking down all these different paths and streets and then ending up back at the same place – like a bad sci fi movie!

Now this shouldn’t be possible we thought as we tried a different route rather hurriedly as dusk approached – past that old church again and down the side of that canal – but then after a few more turns and past a glass shop – we found ourselves back at the same place!

I still don’t know how even to this day how we managed it – as the second day there, we were fine and didn’t get lost once!

The Food:
I won’t spend to long on this obvious section – as we were in Italy after all!

However I will say that the hot chocolate in my hotel (Hotel Panarama) was the best I have ever tasted, and all the restaurants wherever we ate were perfect – without fault on service, location or taste!

I would re-visit Venice without hesitation.

photo credit: winkyintheuk