When we got there the cheapest package wsa the Legacy Silver at a cost of $55.83 per person!  You did not have the option to opt out of the $14.95 meal that was included!   Needless to say – once you turn off of the main highway it is 49 miles (very secluded) to the gate – and when you get there who wants to turn around without seeing the canyon?  We loved the views but would have liked more disclosure up front!   I feel sorry for families that travel there without knowing and then get roped into paying such high prices!

The tourist office will also provide you with a list of people and inns to try. I wouldn’t recommend staying in Monterosso unless you’re looking for a hotel, as it’s very touristy. People who’ve stayed in the hostel at Manarola have loved it. I don’t know if you’d need a reservation (it can’t hurt), but I managed to get a room without reservations during the peak tourist season.

All of the five towns are stunning and unique. Of the cities, Vernazza is the one that stars in the guidebook and postcard pictures, though it’s tiny. Monterosso has the beaches. Manarola was absolutely lovely. The hike between the cities is worth it, but do NOT wear sandals- i figured this out the hard way.

Besides having been to one of the World Cup games, I visited the top of Table Mountain, seen the Kirstenbosch Gardens, the Slavery Museum, the District 6 Museum, Government Ave (pedestrian walk) and the Company Gardens, Victoria and Albert Wharf area, Greenmarket Square, the charming Bo-Kaap neighborhood, Robben Island, and had a day trip to the winelands around Stellenbosch. What a great place on earth!!

People just on the corners shooting the breeze. Very cool. Hotel was City Hotel, very nice and perfect!

Note to self:

1) Take melatonin next time for jet lag, thought I could fight it, but had trouble and wasted first few days due to it.

2) Take taxis everywhere; they are cheap in China and save your energy. I forgot what being on a trip was like…basically anything to be out 24/7 and that gets you very tired. Don’t try to walk long distances!

Oh and on famous Nanjing road, they think every white person needs a watch! Seriously, you will have 100 people try to sell you a watch. Silly and tiring. On to inner China, took train 4 hrs inland to Anhui. Wow, what a culture shock! This was the China I thought I wanted to see…but was just at a loss for words. Words that come to mind now: Dusty, smog!/dark clouds on a hot day, people starring at me constantly, dirt roads, spitting everywhere, don’t enter that bathroom! haha…but the positives: People loved me, loved Americans, couldn’t get enough, very nice.

The food was so good too! Oh and the watch out, the cars will kill you. No rules! Close eyes in the taxi! Now on to Huangshan mountains…wow so worth it! Gorgeous! Rented hotel room at the top of the mountain and woke up to see the sun rise…like everyone else. Let me tell you, boring, not worth it! The sun set is better, and less tiring. Sleep in and avoid the 1000 other people jamming to see the sun rise. On to Beijing: It was cold! The Great Wall was excellent! Thought I would hate it, but loved it! Same for Tiananmen! Wish I had more time there. It was very cool! Skip the Hutong bicycle tour…tourist trap! Anyway, China was nice! No one wears shorts, even in 100plus degree weather…so wear pants so you don’t stand out too much!

Our room was on the 4th floor with a view of tennis courts at the back of the building (we booked GARDEN view!) The room had a very disgusting odour of mold and oil from the buffet restaurant. The bathroom sink only had cold water, which drained on the bathroom floor, as well as taking a shower also flooded the bathroom floor. The bed had springs poking through, the pillows not only flat, but had a very bad odour.

The public bathrooms in the north AND south section were a disgrace, as 2 out of 3 toilets were plugged and overflowed on the floor, no soap in the dispensers and no toilet tissue! I did see one waitress come in, use the toilet, and walk out without even so much as running some water over her hands. ( i dont know about anyone else, but i sure dont want to be served food by her! )

The staff was attentive as long as tips were plentiful. The phone service is only available between 9-5 pm and no calls can be placed from your room. The person manning the phones was out of the room a great percentage of the time, therefore i had to return several times to place a call home.

The day we were leaving the staff was removing the “Oasis” from signs and buildings around the hotel and one building was getting a fresh coat of paint on the exterior(as if that will make a big difference in the grand scheme of things!) He should have removed 2 of the 4 stars while he was up on the ladder! We did ask for a room change, but once seeing the room we knew there was no rooms any better than what we had. As for sunwing, i will never book a vacation with them again. I wonder, do they actually see the “resorts” they send people to?

You could see Chefchaouen on the way down to Fes. It’s an old Mediterranean style town that lies along side a river in the Atlas Mountains. Very peaceful and tranquil.

Casablanca is almost directly west of Fes on the coast. It has the Hassan II Mosque, with strong Moorish influences, and one of the largest Mosque’s in the world. Tours are given so you can find that easily online. The famous movie was based on this location too.

Marrakech, is directly south of Casablanca. There is a main train line between these places. The night train also goes from Marrakech to Tangiers (the port where the ferries are). Marrakech, is very interesting to see and you can easily stay for several days. The markets and the history is amazing. Do some research but, definitely worth the trip.

From this point if you have time I would recommend going south into the Sahara Desert. This would require much more time (like a week or more) but I would like to do it when I return there. You can hire camels and do a trek across the desert. If not, directly west of Marrakech is Essaouira. This is the oldest city in all of Africa. Lots of history and an interesting city on the Atlantic ocean. I recommend trying some Tangine cooking. Fresh fish and vegetables and many restaurants will let you bring your own food from the markets to prepare. Morocco has incredible leather goods and rugs. Bring stuff to trade. Western clothing and whatever……you will be surprised what you can barter with.

The nightlife on St Laurent St. is more French Canadian than Crescent Street, which is more American meat-market type of scene. Walking around Montreal you see a lot more sights in my view than Toronto. Old Montreal will make you feel like you’re walking around Amsterdam or Copenhagen, and many movies that are set in Europe are filmed here. In the nicer months, Montreal is alive especially during the Grand prix or Jazz Fest.

Quebec City from what I have heard is gorgeous although a lot smaller and not as diverse. It is even more French than Montreal and, while cold in the winter, actually cold as hell in the winter, I have heard that is the best time to go there. The Old Town (which is walled) is supposed to be incredibly quaint.

My visit to Toronto was dissapointing. I had such high hopes for that town and was shocked that it didn’t feel more international. It’s a nice town but it’s like I said no different feeling than a normal US city. That may have something to do with the fact that of the 3, TO has the most international business influence. I personally was also dissapointed that it was such a “club” city for nightlife. I’m not a big fan of clubs in general, much less having to go through metal detectors to get into one. While on vacation.

Montreal and other locations in Canada are so close to the US yet not nearly as many Americans visit as could/should. I’m a huge proponent of Montreal as a perfect long weekend trip or heck, even a fly up there Friday afternoon fly back Sunday evening type of trip. I’m not sure why it is that more people don’t go up to Canada to visit. Canadians are great people in general and great hosts.

Everyone I know who I’ve taken up there has been such big fans of the place. It can satisfy all the following desires: culture, cuisine, partying, sightseeing, shopping, foreign, sports, etc.

We watched baby sea turtles being hatched and volunteers bringing them down to the water. The locals still eat the eggs, so volunteers dig them up and keep them in fenced-in compounds until they hatch. I was thrilled that they hatched when I was there.

Another wonderful trip is to go to Manaus in the north and take a boat up the Amazon to where the “meeting of the rivers” is. The Rio Negro meets the more yellowish water from Peru and the river runs two different colors because of the different temperatures and consistencies. You can them book a cottage and stay in the Amazonian rain forest. It’s an amazing trip. I stayed for four days. One of the most memorable things I’ve ever done. I actually swam with the Piranha. Yikes! I was a little nervous but the guides know where it’s safe.

Manaus is a very industrial city. But there is still stuff to do. There is a beautiful opera house that was never used and other sights to see. If you eat meat stay away from the open market! You won’t want to eat meat after that! Luckily, I’m a vegetarian. Remember that the seasons are flipped in Brazil. It’s summer in January and winter in July. Brazil is a great place. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

The three islands consecutively named Gili Meno, Gili Air, and Gili Trawangan are so small that no motor vehicles are allowed. More than strong legs the only available transportation are push bikes which are widely available to rent and cidomo, traditional horse carriage. Absence of motor vehicle is not something you will miss anyway as the islands are small anyway, instead, visitors like it as it gives them absolutely clean air to breath.

The theme here are lay back with sunbathing on their sand beaches and swimming their crystal clear waters as main activities. Those who want sweat can choose to play soccer or volley ball on the beach or just jog or bike the island. Adventurers can go below the surface to enjoy breath taking underwater paradise either by snorkeling off the beach or hire a boat and get to various diving sites nearby.

Do not expect too much happenings here. There are no large hotels, no supermarkets, no bars. All you will get are small simple accommodations and restaurants. However those who want to enjoy the island in luxury can rent the only private villa accommodation in the area. Located in the middle of Gili Trawangan, Villa Kelapa offers every luxury facility including private swimming pool. Do not expect a bathtub, though. As it has to be transported over from the mainland, fresh water is as precious as gold here.

The cheapest way to reach The Gilis is by catching regular public ferry from Bangsal pier, about 25 kilometers from the airport. Did I say ferry? Well, actually we are talking about motorized wooden boat carrying about 20 passengers in one go. Attached portable engine will take you to Gili Trawangan, the farthest island, in about 20 minutes. By spending a lot more you can hire a boat from Senggigi, Lombok’s most popular tourist enclave. If you book up market accommodation they will send a private boat to pick you up. Another option is direct from Bali on fast boat which takes about 2 hours.

It costs $100 just to leave the airport on the island (park fee). Then everything on the island is incredibly expensive. However, most everything to be seen is on islands, so you have to hire boats or cruises. Very expensive.

There are great photos to be taken and it is beautiful, don’t get me wrong. BUT… the Ecuadorian mainland is way cheaper and beautiful. for the same money you’d spend going to Galapagos, you could spend a week in the Amazon, see Quito, Guayaquil (coast), mountains, and go to Cuenca – the country’s 3rd biggest city that is largely unmodernized (cars weren’t common downtown until around the 60s).

Galapagos is a tourist attraction for people with a lot of money. Ecuador is a small and poor country, but they have just about all the geography you could ask for. Better recommendation – I flew into Quito, stayed there a bit, then ($50 flight) went to Coca, and took a boat up the Amazon to a place called Sani Lodge and stayed there for a few days. You could see all of Ecuador for twice as much time and probably spend half as much as you would on the islands. Also, the government is trying to save Galapagos, but Ecuador is really poor, so it is a tough balance to care about “lonely George” and the sparrows when people are hungry. I’d say your time is best spent on the mainland. However, if you’re looking for ocean in Latin America, the Caribbean islands (nutila is cheap!) of Honduras (2nd largest reef in the world) are supposed to be great. Also, Bocas del Toro in Panama are also impressive. However, having traveled from Guatemala to Peru… Colombia is amazing, Guatemala is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been (lago de Atitlan), and Ecuador has everything, including great people. Safe travels!