Arriving in Bulgaria: First Impressions
Craig Hickson | May 21, 2013 | 0 Comments
We spent just over 3 weeks in Bulgaria, visiting Plovdiv, Bansko and Sofia. It’s not a long time to try and get to know a country, but no matter how hard you try it’s difficult not to form some opinions. Here we share some of our first impressions about Bulgaria based on our experiences. Bulgarian [...]
Photo Flashback – Great Ocean Road
Craig Hickson | May 17, 2013 | 0 Comments
We had only just started our round the world trip and were still recovering from the mental and physical damage inflicted by twenty four hours on a plane and the crossing of multiple time zones. We had spent some time in Melbourne, and now wanted to get out of the city to take a trip [...]
My Travel CV – A Couple Travelers
Craig Hickson | May 14, 2013 | 0 Comments
In 2010 we graduated from university and joined the workforce. We were disillusioned with our current situation and set off on a two year journey to gain some perspective on our lives, values, and goals. Now, we blog about our travels on ACoupleTravelers. Travel Blog Details http://acoupletravelers.com/ It’s a travel blog that chronicles our two [...]
Craig Hickson | May 10, 2013 | 3 Comments
We had rested our aching skiing limbs for a few days in Bansko before we headed north to Bulgaria’s capital to see what we could find out about Sofia in two days. We were looking forward to a bit more city exploring after Istanbul and Plovdiv had provided us with some real architectural and historical [...]
Craig Hickson | May 6, 2013 | 0 Comments
We set off by bus from Plovdiv after a very pleasant two days sightseeing amongst the Roman ruins and the very friendly locals. Getting to Bansko from Plovdiv is easy, the buses at this time of year leave three times a day for the two and a half hour journey into the mountains of Pirin National Park, [...]
guestpost | May 6, 2013 | 0 Comments
There are numerous travel destinations in the world. According to a survey done by AA Ireland, a third of the people who travel abroad opt to rent vehicles to ease their transportation as opposed to using taxis. In reference to the survey, 35% of the males opted to hire a car, a higher proportion than [...]
Craig Hickson | May 1, 2013 | 1 Comments
Plovdiv claims to be Bulgaria’s second city with modern shops and a booming cafe society at its centre. However, the main reason for visiting Plovdiv is its historical past whose legacy remains today in the form of ancient Roman ruins and many well preserved buildings. Some say Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in [...]
Photo Flashback – Kyoto: Geisha and Hanami
Craig Hickson | April 29, 2013 | 2 Comments
One year ago we were beginning our tour of Japan, one of the more expensive, yet most rewarding destinations we have visited. It was Spring and we were there at this time by choice hoping to understand why cherry blossom season is such an important time of year in the Japanese calendar. We had made [...]
The Bus from Turkey to Bulgaria
Flashpacker John | April 26, 2013 | 0 Comments
We didn’t really want to leave Turkey, but plan to return once we’ve caught the backend of the ski season in one of Bulgaria’s top ski resorts, after a final stopover in Sofia. We decided to take the bus from Turkey into Bulgaria as this was the cheapest option. We will be spending a couple of [...]
5 Best Beach Destinations in U.S.
guestpost | April 26, 2013 | 0 Comments
America is a huge land mass and the North American continent benefits from the geographic diversity that you expect from a country of this size. If you are fortunate to travel along the coastal stretches that skirt the North American continent, you’ll find some of the best beach destinations ever in the U.S. Whether you [...]
Photo Flashback – Kyoto: Geisha and Hanami
One year ago we were beginning our tour of Japan, one of the more expensive, yet most rewarding destinations we have visited. It was Spring and we were there at this time by choice hoping to understand why cherry blossom season is such an important time of year in the Japanese calendar. We had made [...]
Flashpacking Travels in Japan & Tokyo
We were woefully under prepared for our visit to Japan. Arriving from the Philippines, we’d spent our last day in Manila running round malls trying to extract as much cash as possible from as many different ATM’s to obtain our Japanese rail passes, cash only! We just about managed to pull it off, but it [...]
Yudanaka: Onsen, Ryokan and Snow Monkeys
We were getting a little travel weary from our Japanese explorations, not that we were bored, it’s just our ageing muscles we’re throbbing from the long hours of walking and hiking that we’d been enjoying. We decided a couple of days recuperation and relaxation were in order, before we headed back to Tokyo to complete our visit [...]
Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Takayama
In our last travel blog post, we visited some amazing Japanese temples and experienced the annual cherry blossom spectacular. In this update, we decided to travel into the countryside so we set off in direction of the Japanese Alps. We would be traveling to Kanazawa by train then by local buses through the mountains to Shinikawa-go before ending up [...]
Japanese Kindness in Kyoto & Nara
Having looked at the price of accommodation in Kyoto and Nara (staying overnight in either of these places is nearly double the price of cheap digs available in Osaka) we decided that Osaka would be our base for the next few days as we explored a bit more of the Kansai region. With our Japan [...]
Traveling from Osaka to Hiroshima Our first journey from Osaka took us to Hiroshima, and gave us our inaugural ride on the bullet train. A mere hour and half after stepping on at Shin-Osaka we were in Hiroshima, 306km away. We had hurtled there at over 180kmph through tunnels and along the Shinkansen high speed track. We [...]
The change in weather had spoiled our plans to go diving and sunbathing on the south coast of Sri Lanka so we decided to head back to Negombo to give this place a second look (it was our first stop in Sri Lanka) and to see if the clouds would clear for us. We decided [...]
Sri Lanka Two to Three Week Itinerary
Sri Lanka is set to be one of the up and coming travel destinations over the coming decade now that the civil war and violence are a thing of the past. Get planning your trip to this special country that for years has been overshadowed by its overbearing neighbour – India. Basics Sri l Lanka [...]
We had enjoyed the cool air and mountain views of Ella, but it was now time to get back to sea level and hopefully a bit of sun. Ella is in the centre of Sri Lanka high in the mountains and the journey down to the coast was going to take around five to six hours [...]
Visiting Galle in a day by bus from Mirissa (or Columbo) If you get fed up Mirissa beach (who would) or want a change of scenery there is plenty to occupy you within an hours bus ride of Mirissa. We had mistakenly sunbathed sans protection the day before as the sky was filled with [...]
Sri Lanka: Mirissa Whale Watching
One of the main reasons to visit south Sri Lanka is for the Mirissa whale watching. Every guest house and shop on the main road will be able to sell you a boat tour, but it pays to shop around as whale watching experiences vary in price. We found most wanted to charge 3000 -4000 LKR [...]
Sightseeing by Scooter in Ella
After our memorable train journey we got down to business in Ella and went in search of somewhere to stay and plan our Ella sightseeing itinerary. Like most of the smaller places here in Sri Lanka there is absolutely no sense in booking ahead unless you are staying in one of the more expensive luxury [...]
Myanmar Two or Three Week Travel Itinerary
Two week Itinerary for Myanmar This is the first in our new series of itinerary planning for destinations around the world. We hope to give you a head start in thinking about how to plan your trip to each of the countries we have experienced based on our knowledge of them. We will provide a [...]
Burma Travel Blog: A Flashpacking Experience
Burma Travel Blog You may have read our previous blog posts relating to our recent tour of Burma. If you didn’t or haven’t got the time, this is a summary of what two ‘flashpackers’ thought of our Burma experience. We had a strange affair with Myanmar. It’s a bit like the first time I ate an olive, [...]
Myanmar Travel: Inle Lake Reflections
How to Get to Inle Lake We said a sad goodbye to Bagan, leaving behind the temples and horse carts, to set off by coach for our final destination in Burma, Inle Lake. Inle lake is located in Eastern Myanmar and is nestled between some impressive hills and mountains. On our 9 hour bus journey we travelled through [...]
Bagan: Breathtaking and Beguiling
How to get to Bagan? Boat & Bus Basics From Mandalay we had intended to reach Bagan by boat, sailing down the river for 12 or so hours, alas the low season meant this did not fit our itinerary. The fast boats only run in the peak season, so we were left at the mercy of [...]
