Travelling

Cities you MUST see before you die... part I

So, I've been blogging away my thoughts for one day and I already have 4 followers! YAY! Thank you for doing so! :) I haven't officially "launched" my blog so to speak, because I wanted to have sufficient content on all the subjects I wanted to cover and not surprise everyone with topics that make people wonder WTF? Lol.  So, I've been thinking hard whether or not to start on books or traveling. I think you're reading a lot already through this blog so I'll start on traveling. WOOT! Thumbs up if you like traveling! I know I do! The plane part not so much but the rest is a to the mazing!
On the side bar to your right, I posted a link of my travelstatus via Tripadvisor application for Facebook. I'm not sure if everyone can see it, without having me as a friend on Facebook. I still have to figure that out! ANYHOW, I have starred my favorite cities that I've been to and I want to share my awesome experiences with you! I think I probably have a Top 5 most loved cities but I'm going to start with my all time favorite which is HONG KONG! :-)

I don't think it's a -most likely to- visit city for ordinary people.... But hey...Read above I'm anything and everything BUT ordinary... No, but seriously it was by pure coincidence, and I must say I am a very lucky girl to have family over there.. And NO I'm not Asian..
My sister was to be married in January of this year, and I was her secret guest of honor... She had no idea whatsoever I was coming and I covered all our conversations in lies and lies..My BIL (brother in law) planned everything, and before you knew it I hopped a train to Dusseldorf, Germany and boarded my Emirates flight to Dubai.
I'm just a student  and I couldn't really afford a straight flight, and I actually  enjoy it more, because I get less claustrophobic, with stops in between flights. It took me a whole day and a half probably but it was totally wortthhhhh iittt!!! :-)

First things first... How to get there... I flew over there with Emirates...
My take on Emirates: I know I didn't make use of too many airlines.. But the ones I traveled with all SUCK in comparison with Emirates!
PRICE: approx. 600 Euros (INCL. round trip train ticket with ICE to Dusseldorf, Germany)
So, 600 Euros to travel all the way to Asia, come on talk about affordable!
SERVICE: SUBLIME!; crew members are so friendly, it's not even funny! I don't think I ever met such a lovely bunch of people!
FOOD: Really important! All food served on Emirates flights is Halal. And it tastes so so so so soooo GOOOD! You get a menu, with the provided dishes, and on top of that ALL drinks are on the HOUSE! (except for champagne, but hey I wasn't celebrating new year,so!) The food is fresh, and I could dare to say healthy, but it didn't taste like crap, like most airlines.. I was in heaven!
COOLEST service/gadget: You get to travel with a total of 35Kg luggage.. which I thought was really nice of them... AND they have cameras on the nose of the airplane or beneath it? I don't know where they are placed necessarily BUT, I could actually see the landing strip of Hong Kong, and also when we flew over some countries in the Middle East I could see the mountains and the mountains... and more mountains.. I thought for sure I could see a cave where some infamous person is hiding.. (hmmmm long beard, turban...) but I didn't! LOL! 
WOULD I USE AGAIN: DUH! Most definitely! Loved everything about the Emirates and I would LOVE to travel anywhere with them again soon.

So, Hong Kong.. After leaving Holland and Germany for the worst winter I have ever experienced I arrived after 9 hours in Sunny Dubai! Woot! I couldn't believe it, I have arrived at my first stop... I think my co travelers couldn't believe me either when I took off my jacket and stood in the sun like a moron. I was sooo happy it was warm and it had an early crisp morning breeze... My travel buddy as I called him secretly; Sasha was looking at me in a weird way, but I didn't care.. I was in the SUN! Sasha was my German travel buddy, Sasha if you're out there THANKS for helping me through the flight! Even if you slept through most of it! For some reason I always attract people to start talking to me. Apparently I have a friendly face or an invisible -to me- sign stating TALK TO ME! Well, as I mentioned before, I'm not really a fan of flying but ever since I flew with Emirates and Sasha, it has decreased a lot... Tnx guys!! :-)

Now, Hong Kong... it is an amazing city, to say the least. I will try to keep it as short as possible.. But there are so many things to say about that beautiful city that I would probably have to do a part 2 on this series. In any case, I stepped foot in Hong Kong, and from that moment on I realized that I would not only want to go there once more, but I could totally see myself living there. It's a true melting pot of cultures and I was floored to even meet people who speak the same language as I do, which is Papiamentu, there. I got a guided tour by my sister and her husband, as well as a friend of ours Val. I can honestly say that Lan Kwai Fong is my favorite places in HK. It is a long street of clubs and bars with global music. I danced to reaggeaton in Asia... are you kidding me? I went to the highest point in HK called the Peak and dined in the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant. (famous from the Forest Gump movie).

People in HK are friendly, public transportation is at its best, and the food is extraordinary! Products there are relevantly cheap. 100 HK Dollar is 10 Euros (on average). And the nightlife... oeefff... Party till the sun rise. Now that's what I'm talking about!
When I think of China, I think of Panda's. Don't ask me why, I just do. I actually went to Ocean Park HK and came face to face with these amazing creatures. They are the cutest, fluffiest and most adorable bears in the world! I really want one for Christmas!

I would recommend HK to anyone, because, it is a very multicultural city, the possibilities are endless, shopping wise, for dining and culture - I actually peed in a hole at the Stanley Market- awesome!
Public transportation is amazing and most of the locals speak English, even if they don't speak it too well, they are still more than happy to help you.  The language spoken there is Cantonese, but Mandarin is widely understood and spoken as well as English in the city center.

I purchased this phrase book to get around, and it is pretty uhmmm difficult I'm not going to lie.. However if you put your mind to it.. You can actually say a couple of words.
Hong Kong is divided in two parts the Kowloon side and the Hong Kong side.. If you watch CNN as much as I do... (Thumbs up if you like Christie Lou Stout!) they always have a shot of Hong Kong side.. and this is a picture of me actually sitting there..it was really cloudy and rainy. And I must say that the weather there in January wasn't all that pleasant. Really misty. So my guess would be, visit during the summer, when its nice and hot! :-)

I could go on and on.. about this place, but it has been 10 months since I visited, and I need to get my facts straight first.. So, I will close this part I by saying that I give Hong Kong a grade of 9 out of 10. Get your piggy banks together and save up!  It is worth while!

Semper ad Meliora,

Sha*

Cities you MUST see before you die part II

Hòla guapas!

So this is my second part of the cities you must see/visit before you die.
And today I'm taking you to sunny Spain!! (In the summer). Last summer I went to Spain with a group of friends to celebrate the beginning of summer and also a well deserved vacation!
We decided to go to Lloret de Mar which is a part of Costa Brava and located in Catalonia. A very well visited part of Spain by a lot of Dutch people, but also Europeans, from England, Poland and Germany.
We booked our trip via BeachMasters (laat je hooooreen, WHOOPAA!! -only applicable for Dutch people-), and embarked on our BUS trip, yes I said it, BUS trip from Holland to Spain, it only took 23 hours, what’s the big fuss? "No road is too long with good company" ;-)
This travel agency mostly targets young people (students) and since my group of friends and I fit both categories, we went on our BUS trip to Spain! Thumbs up if you like sightseeing!! :-)

Well here we go with my PSFCW!

PRICE: In TOTAL we paid 350 Euro's per person. This includes roundtrip ticket with a not so uncomfortable bus, food ticket when we stopped in France, a 3star 2 bedroom apartment WITH pool and appliances, such as hot water and kitchenette, guided tour through the city and an extra fee of 150 Euro's was charged for a whole week of activities, including visiting Camp Nou in Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia church, the Gaudi park, Fountain Light Show, Beach day (incl. lunch), Waterpark day and Bar/Club hopping night.
So, uhm 350 Euro's for a whole week worth of activities incl. transportation, I would say, let's do this again soon! :-)
It is not MEGA expensive in Lloret, food is relevantly cheap, considering the amount you get. I would say a platter of paella would go for about 10-15 Euro's and believe me you can stuff your ass with it!

SERVICE: The tour guides, where friendly young people who knew how and where to party! And that's all I got to say about that!
The people in Lloret the Mar themselves where friendly and humble people, it sure is in your advantage if you can speak the language. However, it is not a must!

FOOD: My favorite part! Like I mentioned before it is relevantly cheap for the amount of food that you get. Spain is known for their wonderful Tapas and Paellas. And I had the BEST Paella in Lloret de Mar! I always like to eat national foods when I am visiting a new place, even though I have eaten Paella before, I just HAD to have it! It’s all part of the experience!
Don’t worry if you’re not interested in ethnic food, there is always a Burger King or Mc Donald’s near you!

COOLEST Service/Gadget: Well, I was overall impressed with our location. Our hotel was situated only a couple 100 feet from the beach. And we were in the heart of the nightlife with clubs, bars and restaurants only 5 minutes walking distance. And our hotel was perfect for sleeping purposes! Since we were always laying on the beach, shopping or eating, we never really spend much time there!

WOULD I USE AGAIN: Oh, yes! Most definitely. I would use the BeachMasters service because I believe they offer awesome trips at affordable prices. I don’t have anything to complain as you can read, and I would love to book a trip with them again soon!

Here are some snapshots of my trips! :-)

The Sagrada Famillia in Barcelona

This is me at Camp Nou, with some old dude holding a football :-)

You must visit Camp Nou, it is famous because it is home of the FC Barcelona. Thumbs up if you like Lionel Messi and/or David Villa yaaaayy!! :-) David Villa is famous for his signature "El Torro" move when he celebrates scoring a goal. ( My BFF just told me you guys would find that intersting hmmmm...)

Me and my friends on the Flying Fish, which I HIGHLY DISCOURAGE! Unless of course you like falling off everytime and swallow salt water.. I'm just saying, you gotta try things on vacation, but this is going TOO FAR! LOL!

And that's just me, enjoying a cocktail, soaking up the sun... Just rubbing it in! :-)

So, I really hope you guys enjoyed this post. I try to keep my posts short and to the point, because otherwise I get caught up in unimportant details, like the unnecessary comment of David Villa. LOL. I just want to tell my story. :-)

Oh, and don't mind the people in the background of my pictures, they're just Sjonnie and Anita (only applicable for Dutch people AGAIN!) Lol!

Take care guys!

Semper ad Meliora,

Sha*