World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas
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Friday 3 June 2011
Highlights: Gambling at Las Vegas Airport
The shuttle pick up worked out well but had we really left Vegas yet… well no. It’s around 9 am and we are sitting at Las Vegas Airport and playing the slots how addictive is that??
Well not as addicted as the smokers who locked themselves in a little ‘bubble’ room and smoked away as they lost their money and health.
Thursday 2 June 2011
Highlights: The view from the Stratosphere Tower, gambling at ten casinos in one day!
We started today with a visit to the Stratosphere Tower to view Vegas from 500 metres height. Not a bad view, makes you realise you are in a desert, the only green places are the exclusive golf courses.
From here we aught the bus down to New York, New York Casino. I had a plan to bet $10 at as many casinos as possible during the day, shopping off as we walked back to Circus Circus. This plan took in 10 casinos and 7 hours but I can now say I gambled at;
So out of ten casinos I won at 3 of them, broke even at 2 and lost at 5, I’d say that is about the right percentages. Finished back at the hotel with a Buffet Dinner, I shouldn’t go to one of these places often or I’ll end up looking even more like an oversized local.
Wednesday 1 June 2011
Highlights: Premium Shopping Outlet (South)
Late start today getting up around 10.30 am, but with no sleep yesterday that’s not a big surprise. Finally dragged myself out to the strip and caught the Deuce bus service ($7 for 24 hours use).
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Highlights: Qantas Business International Lounge, Los Angeles Admirals Club
Early start getting up at 6 am today with a big day of travelling ahead. Checked in at 6.45 am thanks to a drop off from Reagan. Mum checked out the duty-free and now has items waiting for when she returns in 8 days.
Well less than one week now to I take off to the USA for a very much needed holiday, and this time the Australian Dollar is very strong meaning shopping is a part of this trip! I’ll be leaving on Tuesday 31 May and returning to Wednesday 15 June 2011.
I’m leaving on a 9.35 am Qantas flight direct to Los Angeles and from here transfer to a flight to Las Vegas after a 4 hour stopover. Arrival time in Vegas is noon on Tuesday, the time zone thing meaning it is a few hours after I left). I envisage shows, gambling and hard to believe it but also shopping for this part of the trip.
I’ll be leaving Vegas on Friday morning after 2.5 days and heading for San Francisco (via Los Angeles). I’ll be in San Fran for the weekend so I see a Pier 39 visit in my future and maybe even a sporting game if I can find one.
On Monday morning I’ll be catching a flight to Anchorage, Alaska for the main part of the trip. After flying over Canada (sorry next time) I’ll arrive in Alaska around 6.20 pm (I have a 3 hour stopover in Seattle) and from here hopefully my hotel will be ready for me to crash before the fun begins.
On Tuesday 7 June I’ll be catching an 8 hour train to Denali, apparently the sights on the train trip are great. That night in Denali I’ll be undertaking White Water Rafting. The next day I’ll be getting up at a crazy time (around 5 am) to start a day long Kantishna Wilderness Trails Tour. On Thursday 9 June I’ll be catching a bus back to Anchorage (again good sights apparently) and then visiting the Anchorage Museum.
On the Friday I catch a train to Whittier and do a day cruise to Prince William Sound. On the Saturday, back at Anchorage, I will be undertaking a Redoubt Bear Viewing Flight. Small planes can be a bit hair rising at times, so I better find some bears!
Sunday 12 June I have the whole day to wonder around Anchorage before catching a late flight back to Los Angeles via Seattle. I arrive around 11.20 pm and will be staying at an airport hotel, hopefully without fleas.
I have a late night flight back to Australia on the Monday so I’m thinking for the first time ever in LA I’ll do a real tourist thing and do one of those Hollywood Homes tours (I know could be really lame but you never know).
Finally late Monday night I catch a flight back to Sydney and then change planes to get back to Melbourne around noon on the Wednesday (Tuesday 14 June is lost to me this year). Hopefully this will be an enjoyable trip.
Arriving back at the airport with lots of memories Kara left me there as she flew home to Jason and her daughter (my niece) Erin. Lots of good memories all round. While this was a very different trip for me, most staying in one location and it was also very short I enjoyed the chance to spend time with my sister and to just relax.
My time at the Sydney airport was uneventful, I made the most of the Qantas Lounge as was already planning for my next adventure. My Air Pacific booked ticket then took me back to Brisbane which was the start of my positioning to earn extra status credits and Qantas points. A short wait in the Brisbane airport and my flight return flight to Melbourne linked to my flight back on 30 October kicked in and I was back home.
Friday 5 November 2010
Highlights: Business Class flight home, Darling Harbour dinner cruise
Trip Photos (on Facebook)
All good things must come to an end and so it was with this wonderful relaxing mini trip with my sister Kara. One last buffet breakfast and we said good-bye to our resort. Clearing customs wasn’t a problem. The Air Pacific lounge wasn’t anything great but gave us a chance to get some toast.
Now the plane trip back was something else. We were on a bigger jumbo and our business class seats were right up the pointy end of the plane. Extremely comfortable. As you can fly Air Pacific to the USA this might be a future option one day.
We planned to stay one night in Sydney and to make the most of it so after checking into our hotel and resting for a little while it was down to Darling Harbour for a Starlight dinner cruise which was a great way to end the trip.
Thursday 4 November 2010
Highlights: The Sand, the Sea and the Sunlight of Fiji
Trip Photos (on Facebook)
Today was our last full day in Fiji and we decided to go on a pleasant cruise to nearby small islands. We spent some time on South Sea Island, walking along the beaches, I even played on volleyball (and hate my hand – DOH).
Floating in the calm waters my problems, and the world seemed a million or even trillion miles away. Life can be really enjoyable if you allow yourself to just relax for a short time.
Wednesday 3 November 2010
Highlights: Early morning Fiji Tennis, Akuilau Island, Swimming in the ocean
Trip Photos (on Facebook)
In theory today was our free day but in reality we had it jam packed with events. After a late start, getting up at 8 am, and a nice breakfast we found ourselves at the tennis courts later than planned, at 9.45 am.
This was a big mistake as it is very hot in Fiji and an early morning hit might have been better. At first we were happy that they gave us a 1 hour 15 minute booking and only charged 1 hour but we quickly worked out that we wouldn’t make it that far. Hitting the tennis ball was very different; it might have been due to the humidity or us being on holiday. I eventually won 6-4 after 50 minutes if you can call it winning. I almost went to my knees when Kara hit the last ball out. I have to say Kara hit a lot of winners during the match.
After a much needed shower we headed off to Port Denarau for Kara to book her Spa Treatment (good timing considering our condition after our match). We took the Balu Bus this time (no more long distance walking today I’m afraid). Kara managed to an appointment straight away so I headed back to the Resort and our room. Air conditioning straight on I sat by the window and read my magazines enjoying a cool drink.
About 2 hours later Kara returned with loads of gifts and looking very relaxed. With a lot of courage I agree it was time to leave the air conditioning and head back out, this time we caught a boat out to Akuilau Island just across from the Resort. This was to be our first swim in the ocean which was very refreshing. We also found a pig in a floating ‘cubby’ house we never found out why but I’m guessing it was a pet allowed out when all the guests left the island.
For dinner we went back to the Port Denarau and an excellent meal at Fishbone. We had a cat stalking the place looking for food but some children running around caused the cat to lose interest quickly in us.
An exhausting day of relaxation!
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Highlights: Gardens of the Sleeping Giant, Viseisei Village, Vuda Lookout, Sunset Cruise and Cultural Show, Dancing up a storm
Trip Photos (on Facebook)
Two was the big activity day as we had booked two tours, one that would take us out of the secure tourist area and into Fiji countryside and a later one to enjoy a sunset dinner.
The countryside tour started after another amazing buffet breakfast. Our first stop was the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant which was an incredible orchid display. We also visited the traditional village of Viseisei which was very quiet at the time we visited. You could see in the design of the buildings that keeping cool is very important, open spaces everywhere to maximise the cooling ocean wind. This is said to be the first village of Fiji.
The Vuda Lookup was next up and gave us a fairly good view of the surrounding areas we coudl see Nadi Bay and the Yasawa Islands. We enjoyed a very sweet topical fruit juice, hard to describe the favour but very enjoyable.
This tour gave us a change to us some of the countryside, lots of sugar cane fields, looks of green, and things definitely running on island time. We settled back into our resort for some ‘recovery’ time before the evenings cruise.
The cruise itself was exceptional fun. Sitting on a boat as the breeze washes over you and the sunsets it’s bliss itself. The meal was very nice as well and Kara definitely liked the cocktails! There was also a cultural show which everyone in attendance enjoyed, I was so sure about the Conga Dance Line that I joined in as well! I must have gotten Island Madness 🙂
