My Travel ABC’s

I love it when a blogger starts one of those “nominate the next person” series – it’s why I started the Saturday Showcase. So I’ve been eagerly waiting for someone to put my name up for the Travelling ABC series that’s been floating around lately.

Luckily for me Will from My Spanish Adventure came up trumps! His was a dam good read so check it out…but before you do here’s mine!

A: Age you went on your first international trip: Luckily I’ve just finished having dinner with my mother so it was easy to find out – Portugal when I was 3 apparently, filled with local markets and beach life!

B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where: I love Tooheys from Australia – or barefoot beer is a close second. Both served ice cold at a pub overlooking the ocean.

C: Cuisine (favorite): I fell even more in love with Thai cuisine when I visited there earlier in the year, can’t wait to get back out there and sample street food again – the Pad Thai in the UK just doesn’t cut it anymore!

D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why: Favourite without a doubt is the East Coast of Oz – I fell in love with that place due to the mix of partying and surfing (I’m easily pleased!). Least favourite destination – anywhere that’s uber touristy or full of drunken football fans!

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”: It’s got to be the entire time I spent on Koh Tao – that place was so relaxing and beautiful. The company I had there was epic too – and that can always make or break your backpacking experience.

F: Favorite mode of transportation: It’s got to be tuk tuk – nothing is as fun and truly terrifying than a crazy Thai man swerving across 4 lanes of busy Bangkok traffic at 4am while you’re drunk in the back!

G: Greatest feeling while traveling: Waking up on the first day of your travels. The mundane and horrible flight over – you suddenly realise you have no responsibility, a whole heap of cash, and nothing to do but realx and make yourself smile.

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to: Tom Price in Australia. I was campervanning from Perth to Darwin and when we got to TP it hit 48 degrees at 90% humidity – it was disgustingly hot. When we all got out the van there were 5 perfect people shaped sweat patches on the seats….yum!

Roadtripping Western Oz

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where: HQ Hostel in Bangkok – those guys went out of their way to make everyones stay epic and I cant fault them at all.

J: Journey that took the longest: That aforementioned Perth – Darwin trip took a month covering 8500km. The one that felt the longest was the drive from Sydney to Melbourne though…I busted that bad boy out in a single 12 hour sitting as the only driver. Soooooooo boring!

K: Keepsake from your travels: Photos. I take thousands upon thousands of photos – literally. I’ve got in the habit of making a photo book a month when I’m on the road and having them delivered to my parents house – a great keep sake to come home too.

L: Let-down sight, why and where: Bondi Beach. I went to Oz wanting to visit there so badly – and did a Cogee to Bondi walk. When we came round the corner everyone seemed stoked and said it was amazing. To me it wasn’t in the slightest – it was small, crammed with people and with mean rip currents. It’s actually one of my least favourite beaches in the world!

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel: I properly fell in love with travel when I bought my van in Australia and put a bed in the back. It was a life long dream and by far the best investment I’ve ever made.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in: I’m not a fan of hotels – I’m a budget hostel person all the way! Hostel wise it’s either Aquarius in Byron Bay or Gilligans in Cairns. I do have a pimping hotel booked on Koh Lanta for late 2012 though that should be amazing!

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?: Partying! The bulk of my travel photos are of drunken nights out! Sure I’m a photographer and take pics of landscapes and what not too – but I travel to meet people and have fun, that’s where my main memories are.

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where? Not as many as I want – I’ve actually just got a new one for my next travels so I’m doing a post on my old stamps, so I won’t ruin the surprise!

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where: The sex museum in Amsterdam – it’s a must!

mmmm...Appley goodness!

R: Recommended sight, event or experience: A working holiday visa. Seriously guys it’s the best decision you’ll ever make – you’ll come away from it changed for the better.

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling: Technology. It’s my major weakness – especially when it comes to Apple products! In Oz I was eating noodles every other meal to save money but then I’d happily sleep in a shopping mall overnight to buy a £500 iPad on launch day!

T: Touristy thing you’ve done: There’s a reason some things are seen as touristy – and that’s because they’re usually pretty fun to do! I guess Full Moon on Haad Rin is pretty touristy – but a great laugh!

U: Unforgettable travel memory: Cooking off the back of my van with an ice cold beer after a surf in Byron with all my buddies – that was me literally living out my dream.

V: Visas, how many and for where? I hate visas. They’re ridiculous, tedious and overpriced. I have purposely missed out countries simply for that reason alone!

Aussie Surf

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where? I’m not a wine snob – give me a box of goon and I’ll happily drink it!

X: eXcellent view and from where?: The view of a new country from the plane window as you come into land – butterflies everytime!

Y: Years spent traveling?: Continously the longest was my year in Oz, in total I’d probably add at least another 6 months to that if you totted it all up. However from Jan 4th I’m trying to go location independent!

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?: Ugh I hate sports fans. It was good to hang out with some fellow surf nuts at the Noosa Longboard Festival and Quiksilver Pro though!

And for my nominations? Well I do believe I shall go for the following;

@AdventuresWDan

@ConfusedJulia

@HillaryFox

@NEFootsteps

…and just cos he asked so nicely @IHarTravel