I know this is a serious issue but I find the line in that government warning “Australians have reported drinks being served with a higher than expected alcohol content” fairly amusing.
That line on its own I doubt many Australians would complain about, in fact it could be used as a tourism promotion.
48 and a bit hours to take off to Amman and it’s full on panic station because of what I think I haven’t done, and I’m probably being paranoid as usual but it’s still good because I’m happy we dodged the tour bullet. We were seriously tempted but then mutually decided we weren’t that old yet, sprightly 60+ers no less, and we’re both anti-social. And then the stress kicked in, as it does. But now we’ve booked all the accommodation and bought the Jordan pass which covers most, all?, of the government sites in Jordan,and AIRBNDed a place in Jerusalem for a week, is all of Israel on AIRBNB?, and we hope the transport plans work. And if they don’t we’ll have to improvise which can be a good story, but only in retrospect .
Someone asked me what I’m looking forward to and I just shrugged but I reckon I’ll be happy if I can walk around Amman as planned after nearly a day in the air, a big ugly metropolis apparently with a genuine Roman theatre. I’m a sucker for anything old and Roman.
I’m sure you will have a great time
You will have a ball. Amman isn’t as bad as people think IMO, quite modern and easy to get around. Enjoy
So, i have a 24hr free pass in NY during a work trip.
I’ve been a few times, but always seen something different.
Anyone got a must see/drink/eat/buy recommendation for my 24hr window?
The American Museum of Natural History - followed by some tucker at Barney Greengrass. Both on the UWS.
Something I didn’t do when I visited (but will on a future trip) is a gangster/mobster tour of Little Italy & Chinatown. Also, I recently watched a cool doco (forgot the name) on subterranean NY, so I would like to check out a few of those underground areas. Bit left field.
There is the Museum of Sex in Manhattan if you are into less intellectual pursuits.
High Line walk is good ( weather permitting);
Righto travellers.
I’m after a family resort holiday for around September/October. Taking kids with ages of 5 and 8. Looking for QLD, Fiji or maybe Bali. Not interested in travelling much further than that at this stage.
Has anyone had any standout holidays that you’d highly recommend? Budget can be stretched if the right place looks good.
Bali for kids IMO and will be a lot better on your wallet than Fiji or Queensland.
Some really good family friendly resorts at excellent prices and plenty of stuff to do
I second Aceman’s recommendation.
We’ve got a 2 yo and we’ve gone to all three over the last year.
Fiji is more expensive and will involve extra travel once you’re there unless you stay at Denarau. Beyond a village visit and water sports/activities there’s not much to do. They are great with kids but babysitting is more expensive and a lot of the kids clubs make you take your kids back over lunch time which breaks up your day.
Bali has a lot more activities, a lot more accommodation options, is cheaper and babysitting is cheap as.
Queensland is closer and more convenient to get to but more expensive.
I have never been to Bali, only Fiji.
We love it there, very safe. You can usually get good deals on flights and accommodation, I don’t find this pricey, but Denarau is priced for westerners when it comes to food. You can get accommodation with food provided which would avoid this.
We stay on the main island and probably haven’t explored it enough, but usually head out on day cruises to islands and different locations which we love. The crews are always great, entertaining and informative.
Apart from that, great place to relax.
Kata Beach, Phuket. Great for families. Cheaper & far superior beaches to Bali. We stayed for 2.5 weeks when my son was a 6-month-old baby & had a brilliant time. Not much further to fly than Bali (extra 2-3 hours).
Agree with that but sounds like they don’t want to go that far. If you are going that distance there are also better beach resorts in Malaysia and the Philippines
My daughter is a bit of a nutcase when she’s tired so we were probably going to limit it to Bali distance. Anything more than that would be torture for everyone else on the flight.
We love Thailand so will get the kids there when they’re a little older.
Dunno what your budget is but in regards to Bali I’d recommend staying away from bogan central and go to Sanur, it’s far more easy going. A hotel like Prama has beach access (no waves due to a reef) and also a kids club that could be a good distraction for the littlies. There’s heaps of good restaurants in that area and it’s also a good base to take day trips by car or even fast boat to nearby islands.
I hear ya.
BTW, have you considered a trip across West? I visited WA two years ago (this month) for the first time in my life. It was the last state/area in OZ that I hadn’t visited. I have travelled a bit, so this isn’t an exaggeration. My wife and I still agree that our time in Margs was the best trip we have ever had. I rented a cool pad on Margaret River (with a good sized swimming pool). We visited heaps of beaches, caves, craft beer breweries (did a private tour), wineries, pubs, restaurants, etc. AirBnB (can pass on the details of the pad - owned by a lovely Brazilian lady). Wasn’t all that expensive and we flew in from Tokyo (via KL). Have been to NSW/ Queensland so many times, but now realise that I have neglected WA to my detriment. My wife still wants me to buy a second home there and I lost her in a few real estate agents in Margs.
p.s. Eagle Bay - must be the best beach in OZ.
You must be psychic Hambo. I was just looking at a place in Sanur. The Fairmont. Price for a 2br with private pool was starting to get up there a bit.
And Rainman, we haven’t been West. It’s also on the very long list of places to see. Pretty keen to hit Ningaloo and the whale sharks. Yeah I know that it’s not near Perth but looks awesome nonetheless. Forward your accom and I’ll check it out if you don’t mind.
Fairmont is in a very good area and it’s a pretty slick place. I stayed at the Palm Garden (an old place but with nice character) up the sidestreet that accesses the Fairmont while it was getting built. I’ve stayed in Sanur a few times as it always hits the right spot, a bit like the mama bear of Bali.
Eagle Bay…where all the pretentious wankers from Peppermint Grove and Dalkeith have their “little weekender”