Rottnest Island is a short ferry ride away from Perth, which is an adventure in itself as you glide over the crystal clear water. The island itself is fairly rugged, but well kitted out for the whole family. The best way to get around the island is by bicycle. Rent a bicycle on the island and then start exploring. Be warned that the island is very hilly once you get out of the main area and roads, so be prepared for a lot of pedalling! The workout is well worth it though, as you can get around the island in a day. The scenery on some of the hills is simply breathtaking as you look out over the ocean, and the thrill of racing downhill is an exciting way to cool off. The sun is quiet fierce, so be sure to come prepared with a hot, sun cream, and longer shirts if possible.

Your cycle route will take you past some secluded beaches, and you will literally feel as if you are the first people ever to explore the waters. Swimming is safe if you stay alert and close to the shore, and a few exciting finds await intrepid explorers of the sea. A good cooling swim is also extremely pleasant after a long day cycling. If you are just in the mood to relax, you can simply tan on the pristine white beaches.
Along the way, you are likely to meet some of the islands unique inhabitants, like the kwagga, a small animal similar to a rock hyrax. These adorable little rodents are indigenous to the island, and you will see them scurrying around the undergrowth. Rottnest is also free of the fly problems that irritate so many tourists on the mainland.

All in all, Rottnest is an ideal family break away from mainland Australia. Wild, exciting and unique, there is sure to be something for everybody. I highly recommend that you saddle up, keep peddling, and find your own special part of this magical little island.

This guest post was written by freelance writer Victoria. She is currently learning about the Canadian mortgage guide and Investment Banking.

Traveling aboard the Orient Express is like no other journey on rail. The trains have been transformed into stylish, unique cars never short of character. It is not the uniforms of the staff or the aesthetic of the coupes, it is the full package, the undeniable aura of fine taste and luxury transforms even a short daytrip into something enchanting. The trains of the Orient Express include the Venice-Simpson, the British Pullman, the Northern Belle, the Royal Scotsman, the Eastern & Orient Express, and the Hiram Bingham. These palaces on wheels take guests near and far with an array of unique travel experiences throughout the world.  For the travelers who wish to stay a bit closer to home, the many offered Orient Express daytrips are absolute gems.

Whether its town, the country, the cities, or far off sites, taking this train guarantees unforgettable experiences. Organized day trips offer a unique way to see the sites such as Leeds Castle, Folkestone, Hever Castle, Chartwell, York, and many other notable destinations. Included guided tours make this train more than just a means of getting there; this travel experience is indeed the full package. The schedule varies seasonally to ensure the best travel for each guest boarding the train. Dates and times are easy to find, and the trips are easy to book.

This travel experience is accessible at a variety of points. Other experiences aboard the train include elegant Champagne dinners and exciting murder mysteries. Daytrips also include Christmas shopping, five-course Christmas lunch, and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  Journeys where the guests do not disembark these majestic trains truly show that this travel experience is by no means just a way of getting there.

Kerala Backwaters
Kerala backwaters are chains of brackish lagoons that lie parallel to Arabian Sea, and are a unique natural phenomenon. They comprise mainly of five large lakes that are linked and fed by 38 rivers, and extend along almost half the length of Kerala. The ecosystem of these waters is unique due to the fact that the salt water from the Arabian Sea meets with fresh water being fed by the rivers which interestingly is kept separate due to flow path ways. The surroundings are lush green, and with tiny villages dotting the calm and laid back lagoons while you watch the really beautiful backwater sunsets that are almost impossible to miss.

How to get here
Kerala’s transport system is amongst one of the most competent and comprehensive domestic transport network. There are interstate flights that service to the cities of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kochi (Cochin) from other major cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad with international airports. The train and bus network with which to navigate inside the state is extremely extensive, and it is advisable to opt for trains rather than buses for longer trips. This way you can make sure that your journey and the relevant experience is smooth and enjoyable. Within the back waters and across the beaches, ferry transport is available 24 hours a day throughout the day. Local in-city and town transport is through Auto rickshaw and cab services. Local, public bus and sometime train services are available but these are often too crowded.

Major Attractions
The backwaters stretch for a whopping 560 miles, with a network of canals, rivers and lagoons entwined together and this promises to be an experience of a life time. The best way to do this is to hire a house boat for some days so you can explore everything at a laid back, slow pace and watch how daily life and things go by in the small villages of Kerala. The best part is that these boat houses are available in couple or family size and most of them come with an onboard chef if you so request.

The other great major attractions of Kerala include tea gardens of Munnar, various temples that are rich representatives of Indian architectures, not to forget the world famous Ayurvedic treatments of Kerala which are touted to be amongst some of the most effective alternative treatments in the world.

This guest post was written by Victoria. She loves studying different things such as, Canada facts and Canadian finance.

Things to Do:
Nancy Thomas Art Gallery: If you are someone who loves contemporary are then you will definitely want to check out Nancy Thomas Art Gallery. Here you will see an exotic type of art that you can have to share back with your friends and family back at home. The Nancy Thomas Art Gallery is open year round so no matter what time of year you come you can be guaranteed to be able to stop by and see what she has in store for you.

Museum on Main: If you are someone that is a huge history buff you can be sure that you will learn a lot at the Museum on Main. This is something that the whole family can enjoy. Also, during certain parts of the year the Museum on Main has different events and projects that take place as well. However, don’t worry anytime of the year is a good time to visit.

Yorktown Ghost Experience: If you are someone who gets thrilled out of being in ghost towns Yorktown is definitely the place for you. You can go on a tour at dusk and hear about all of the unexplainable things that take place in this city while at the same time possibly experiencing some strange things on your own.

Where to Stay:
Townplace Suites by Marriot: If you prefer to stay at a hotel line that you are familiar with then you can always stay here. They have a ton of amenities awaiting you and their staff is super friendly.

Yorktown’s Charming Battlefield Cottage: If it is just you and your love you may want to consider staying here. They are not to far from Williamsburg which is another wonderful city that has a lot to offer such as Colonial Williamsburg and theme parks such as Bush Gardens and Water Country.

Duke of York: This is a family run hotel that is close to Yorktown Beach. So, after you finish your day out exploring the wonderful town you can either take a dip in their pool or either go over and enjoy the lovely beach that the town has to offer.

This guest post was written by Victoria. She is a freelance writer who is very fond of Nancy’s art.

Apart from the casino, Genting also houses an outdoor and indoor theme parks as well as a wet park. Its First World Plaza is the place to go for shopping and dining. There are also few hotels at the resort, ranging from budget to five star hotels – Genting (5 star), Highlands (5 star), Resort (4 star), First World (3 star) and Theme Park (3 star).

The furnishing of most hotels are pretty old and worn out. In fact, most of the rooms require renovations if they are to keep up with times (don’t be misled by the photographs of the hotel rooms shown on the websites!), hotel rooms are also unheated and can get chilly at night, especially during rainy days.

Theme Parks
For families with children visiting Genting Highlands can be lots of fun. There is a wide selection of outdoor and indoor theme parks. For water lovers, there’s a choice between an indoor splash pool with warm water, or an outdoor water park.

The outdoor theme park features more than 20 classic rides suitable for the entire family, such as the double loop Corkscrew, Rolling Thunder Mine Train, Cyclone and Flying Dragon. Other more gentle rides such as the monorail, mini train, Tea Cup and Flying Jumbo are suitable for small children.

The sparkling, new First World Plaza indoor theme park is the home for six theme areas from around the world each featuring unique rides — France (Champs Elysee), England (London), Italy (Venice), America (Times Square and Universal Walk), Switzerland (Swiss Alps) and Malaysia (Genting Walk).

The First World Plaza also boasts the Genting Sky Venture, the only free fall skydiving simulator in Asia.

Opening Hours
Outdoor Park: Weekdays – 10am to 6pm , Weekends – 8am to 8pm

Indoor Park and First World Plaza rides: Daily 8am to 12midnight.

More information about ticketing can be found at the Genting Highlands website, there are often discount promotions for purchasing the Theme park passes online.

Casinos
The casinos in Genting Highlands offer a host of exciting international games, among the popular of which are: Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack and Carribean Stud Poker. There are also countless of jackpot machines, , but many if most require signing up with Genting’s WorldCard system if you want to withdraw any winnings.

Entry requirements: 21 years of age (irrespective of nationality and race) and a non-Muslim (if you are a Malaysian citizen)

Dress code: Long sleeve Batik Shirt or long sleeve shirt with tie

Theme Park hotel
Being one of the pioneer hotels in Genting Highlands with over 20 yrs of history, you can expect Theme Park Hotel to be pretty rundown. Although renovations had been carried out a couple of times, but still the Theme Park Hotel doesn’t meet anything near to nice. The Family Suite in the Theme Park Hotel is probably the best value for money.

For more savings, try booking the rooms via Genting Highlands website where extra discounts are often offered. The good thing about Theme Park Hotel is that it is located right next to the outdoor theme park but it is quite a distance from the coach depot which is located next to First World Hotel. For those who frequent the casinos, Theme Park hotel is also the furthest from it.

First World Hotel
With more than 6,100 “well-furnished” rooms, First World hotel is recognised as the largest hotel in the world by The Guinness World Records. What is not listed in the record book is the size of the rooms; TINY is the only word to describe them. The rooms are not sound proof and it can get quite noisy due to the proximity of theme parks and shopping areas. However all these are tolerable if you are not planning to spend too much time in the room.

There’s 2 different “towers” in First World Hotel, the OLD tower and the NEW tower. Always insist on getting the rooms in the NEW tower. Although the rooms are still quite small, but the differences between the OLD and NEW tower is world apart! ( For Singaporeans : Never book through an agent in Singapore as they will issue rooms to the old tower. If you already have a Genting green world card, just call the Singapore hotline and booked thru there, ask for the NEW tower. )

Adjoining the hotel lies First World Plaza with approximately half a million square feet of shopping, food outlets and entertainment space. Among the facilities at the Plaza are – The Starworld Casino, an indoor theme park, theater hall, restaurants, shops, internet cafés and food courts.

Resort Hotel Genting Higlands
Resort Hotel has 838-rooms which adjoin the Genting Hotel. The rooms are very run down, at best 3 star grade. There’s no mini bar or any complimentary drinking water offered.

From the comments:
By Lang on May 7, 2008
Resort hotel recently underwent a makeover.. the rooms are much better now..and toilet spacious and clean..they even installed nice shower heads

Genting Hotel
The only 5 star rating hotel at Genting Highlands, but don’t be fooled by the official ratings. Most visitors will be disappointed by the state of the room in general considering that you are paying for a 5 star room price. Although there’s a heated swimming pool, you won’t find any swimmers due to the “cleanliness” of it.

Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort
Getting to the central Genting entertainment area was a hassle, having to wait and queue for a bus to get to the cable car only to queue some more. Getting back to the hotel was at an non-negotiable price by taxi. It was the same price I had paid to get to Awana from KL city-centre. Probably would have been smarter to take the taxi back to KL rather than back to Awana.

The night I spent there cost more than most of the hotels up in Genting highlands. It was not the ideal golf resort it made itself out to be. The decor resembled and old ski lodge from the 1980′s. As a matter of fact it did smell much like the an old bookstore…. it had a musky feel to it all.

Hotel Seri Malaysia Genting Highlands
Located in Gohtong Jaya, Hotel Seri Malaysia Genting Highlands is a little bit out of the way from the actions in Genting Highlands but it offers tranquility within its quiet and cool surrounding. There’s shuttle service to go to the peak of Genting Highlands and the Skyway station is also close by.

Hotel Gohtong Jaya
Another small hotel located in Gohtong Jaya, away from the hustle and bustle of where the action is at the peak of Genting Higlands.

Genting Skyway
Genting Skyway connects Genting Highlands with the skyway station in Gohtong Jaya town. Covering a distance of 3.8km, it is South East Asia longest skyway system and also the world’s fastest skyway (at the maximum speed of 6 metres per second, the 3.38 kilometres journey up the mountain peak takes only 11 minutes).

Passengers will disembark at the smart and impressive Genting Skyway Station at Gohtong Jaya. Bus and car parking facilities are readily available. The ultra-efficient station will allow hotel and luggage check-in procedures to be completed at the station itself. Visitors need only sit back and enjoy a leisurely ride up to the holiday resort without having to go through further hassles of checking-in formalities while at hotels.
Fare: RM4.00 one way, RM7.00 return

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Phuket’s wealth largely originated from tin and rubber, and the island was once used within a major trade route between India and China for Arabian, French, Portuguese, Dutch and English merchants. Today, tin mining has largely ceased, and Phuket’s primary source of income is from tourism and rubber. Thailand currently the largest producer of rubber worldwide.

Phuket in a nutshell

The island’s name is derived from a Malay word meaning “hill”, which is exactly what the island looks like from a distance: a majestic emerald vista rising out of the sea. About 70% of Phuket’s area is covered with mountains, stretching from north to south along the western side of the island. Forests, rubber and palm oil plantations still cover a large part of the island, and a significant area of rainforest and coastline is nationally protected for its native flora and fauna.

Throughout the course of history the spirit of the people hasn’t wavered, although the island’s name has changed and the island’s beauty has been remodeled by mother nature. Tourism has gained strength since rebuilding from the 2004 Tsunami, with Phuket now one of the top vacation destinations in the world.

Island transportation

Air travelers to Phuket will arrive at the Phuket International Airport in the island’s northern area. For those arriving from the mainland, rail service to nearby Surat Thani and transportation to the island via “songthaews”, a passenger pick-up vehicle, is popular. Take a songthaew, motorbike taxi, or bus to the island’s popular, stunning white sand beaches, where they carve pristine inlets along the west coast for swimming or soaking up the sun. Or, for a quieter excursion, the more solitary east coast features tropical, tangled mangroves.

What to do in Phuket

Visitors to Phuket will enjoy breathtaking vistas only thought possible on a Hollywood film set, and an activity list that ranges from exploring temples, fishing, bicycling, and rock climbing, to seakayaking, canoeing, or snorkeling. Adventurous travelers can drink in the island’s picturesque beauty on horseback – or even on the back of an elephant for an authentically Thai Phuket experience.

Beaches of Phuket

The beaches of Phuket are legendary, attracting visitors of every age from around the world. Perhaps the most famous is the wide, sandy strip at Patong, a must-see wild and crazy city for visitors looking for a unique experience. For those traveling with family or wanting something a little quieter, beaches in the north like Hat Nai Thon to Hat Kamala, or Karon, Kata, Nai Han, and Rawai in the south, will have the more tranquil, laid-back style you’re seeking.

The Cities of Phuket

Phuket Province’s territory is the entire Island, and the terms are used interchangeably. Patong is the island’s main center for tourism, attracting visitors from around the world to Phuket’s west coast. The province’s capital city is Phuket Town, located in the island’s southeast.

Phuket Town

Back in the day, Phuket Town – now called Phuket City – attracted greedy merchants and businesspeople from the Arabian Peninsula, China, India, and Portugal. As a result, Phuket Town is a melting pot of cultural influences. Travelers to the city will enjoy exotic Sino-Portuguese Architecture as they stroll along Ths Thalang, Dibuk, Yaowarat, Ranong, Phang-Nga, Rasada, and Krabi. And, as it seems with everywhere you’ll go on Phuket Island, there’s a ton of activities for day or night to keep any visitor’s itinerary full.

Patong

Also known as Patong Beach, Patong has something for everyone. From world-class snorkeling and diving to exotic nightlife where just about anything goes, visitors will no doubt find exactly what they’re looking for. During the day, laze on the shimmering white, kilometers-long beach and wiggle your toes in the surf that’s only a hop, skip and a jump away. Shop-til-you-drop at the market, or enjoy a leisurely lunch at one of Patong’s fine restaurants, or even a hot tin street shack.

At night, all bets are off with adult entertainment even Vegas is jealous of, with go-go bars, discotheques and cabarets with their ladyboy dancers pulsating and grinding their way well into the wee morning hours.

Temples and architecture

If exploring temples and admiring architecture is more your cup of joe, Phuket has a diverse collection of temples, ruins and restored buildings that are awe-inspiring to any traveler. Visit Big Buddha perched on a hilltop, keeping watch over almost half the island. Or, worship at a local wát, including the working monastery at Wat Nai Han.

No matter what you’re looking to do – resting, relaxing, sight-seeing or taking a walk on the wild side from dusk ’till dawn – the Island of Phuket, its majestic beauty and the thriving energy of its people will win the heart and mind of the most experienced traveler.

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