5am Beagle Channel - view from my room. Heading to Ushuaia.
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Assuming the order is correct, can’t you use USD in Belize initially, and it should then be easy to convert to Guatemalan in a neighbouring country?
(Belize entry is 20 days away for me)
We are in San Ignacio for 4 nights, then have a private transfer across the border & direct to Tikal. I understand cash is king in Guatemala (10%? local fee on cards) and there is no ATM at Tikal, so will want to be cashed up on arrival. There are heaps of random guys who will change money at the border, but I’m not keen on waving around large amounts of cash in that situation + it will be AUD->USD/BZD->Quetzals, which would be a double-hit loss. So the main game is to ask the driver to find an ATM in Melchor de Mencos & hope it works. If there are ATM issues (not uncommon), it might be good to wear the cost of getting a small starter pack in advance. This could be money changers in LAX, San Ignacio or at the border.
It’s a bit messy but all part of the joys of travel …
Fantastic dinner and just going to finish with some cheese and then try to get some sleep
Last chance to get away with the wife before Christmas
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Half way across the Drake Lake today 
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Penguins (Gentoo & Magellanic off Ushuaia…& 1 King)& sea lions lazing around
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Gutsy call… 
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Emirates ditching Mel - Sin from 30/3/2025.
Surely less competition will see an increase in fares
Doubtful. It was a fifth freedom flight that was poorly patronised. Loads were horrible but it was a great perk for savvy frequent flyers. There are new routes on the table all the time so I wouldn’t be too worried
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Long day. Arrived into Doha before 4am and had about 4hrs transit so a nice shower and feed in the lounge. Got to Dubai and rental car took a bit longer than I hoped even though we had pre booked. Good drive out here though and got here just after lunch. Third time here and they look after us well. Had a nap by the pool for about 3hrs but it’s after 2am here and finishing off some work as that ties in superbly to timings at home. Very peaceful and relaxing
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Qatar Airways does that very nicely.
That’s pretty cool. As you imagine an Arabian luxury holiday to be like.
I’ve just signed up for back-to-back tours to Bulgaria and Romania. Concentrating on Byzantine architecture as well as history.
Transylvania. Carpathian Mountains. Dracula. Bucharest. The Balkans.
I’ll fly Vietnam Airlines to either Paris or Munich. One stop each way. 1-2-1 seating.
I’m going in May, returning in June. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a European Spring.
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I’ve done this flight several times. One was perhaps 3/4 full, the rest probably struggled to reach 1/2. So no surprise.
Which trips have you signed up for?
Currently considering 10-12 day Romania options as a prelude to a Danube cruise next Oct.
They are tours with Australians Studying Abroad (ASA). They’re called study tours and you see lots of churches, museums, etc. There’s only one to Bulgaria next year and that’s in May, but if you’re interested in that sort of thing, they have a lot of tours to many different destinations. The hotels are mostly 4-star, occasionally 3, occasionally 5. I’ve only been on one tour with them myself, to Greece this last October, but the Greek tour was great and I’ve had multiple recommendations. There’s another similar organisation called Academy Travel based in Sydney which also gets lots of recommendations.
Tours are limited to 16 or 18 persons, and the majority would be 70+.
Wife had a massage and lazed around the pool whilst I went out for some dune bashing which is always good fun. No alcohol for her though as Sharjah is the only dry Emirate in the UAE still. Hotel arranged the dune bashing for me and must say this bloke was the best I’ve had. Had a lot of experience and really tossed it around and felt like we were going to roll a couple of times. Some pretty big dunes in the patch we went.
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Switched modern for old fashioned and went for a camel ride in the arvo. We have done numerous camel rides over the years but the hotel had this included in the package so felt obliged to do it again and pretty happy we did. Was nice and relaxing and our guide was excellent. Driving to RAK tomorrow and it looks like one of our favoured roads is closed but we will just find another way to take in the scenery. Over the years we have driven extensively in the UAE and it’s a great place to drive and has some pretty cool scenery.
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Been in Japan for a week, arrived in Osaka first, went to Kyoto and now in Tokyo. Been quite hectic until today with being out everyday with lots of walking.
Osaka castle was a good museum but pity it was a fairly modern construction rather than an old structure. Nijo Castle in Kyoto was much nicer to see and worth going to.
Riding the Shinkansen was a great experience, it’s so fast and yet so smooth. Plus we got a great view of Mt Fuji along the way.
Went to Tokyo Disneysea and it was the most beautiful theme park I’ve been to. The architecture and theming is so good and pretty.
After Tokyo we’ll be heading to Mt Fuji area to drive around. Also have to visit Fuji Q Highland of course, can’t miss a good rollercoaster theme park.
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Biggest annoyance about Japan… the lack of rubbish bins. It’s quite difficult to find one and I often end up carrying rubbish around for ages before I can finally throw it away.
Second biggest annoyance about Japan… the small size of restaurants, so that seating a group of 7 people is usually tricky. At least the great food makes up for it.
I was also surprised how much cash is still used, especially in restaurants. I didn’t prepare enough cash before hand.
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First it was accomodation in Spain, now its travel to the UK:
“Millions of travellers planning a trip to the UK will soon need to register for an online authorisation before landing – even if they’re just transiting en route to their final destination.
From 8 January 2025, visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia and other non-European nations who currently do not need a visa for short stays in the UK will be required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the country and… pay a £10 fee”
But wait. Theres more. Soon it will be the whole of the EU
“The EU is also poised to launch a separate digital monitoring initiative called the Entry/Exit System (EES), which uses face and fingerprint scans instead of passports to identify non-EU nationals. Unlike the ETIAS, this new security measure (which was scheduled to roll out in November 2024 but has been delayed until sometime in 2025) doesn’t require travellers to apply for anything before they start their trip. Instead, travellers will be registered upon entering any of the 29 EU nations using the system.”