Travel tips and tricks

If you can get from your house to your travel destination with no mishaps then I applaud you. While I am not well travelled by any means, I have travelled enough to have come up with some tips and tricks that will help you avoid some mistakes I have made. 

1. Always print your documents
Be that a copy of your passport or your flight ticket, print it. There have been so many times that I have relied on my phone to bring up my flight ticket only to not be able to connect to the wifi to retrieve said email. Had I printed my documents, the stress that usually ensues would have been avoided. Even if you don't think you need to print your documents, you do.

2. Print a map of where your hotel is
Ok, I've been to Japan twice and both times, we forgot to print a map of where the hotel was and how to get there. Japan has foreign street signs and getting anywhere is tricky. As with point one, you might not always find wifi and therefore, you are left to use street maps to assist in your navigation. If you can print a map with directions, even better! If you get lost, don't panic! Remember, you've gotten lost before and found your way and this situation will be no different. Panic is what sends people the wrong way.

3. Have an electrics adaptor before you leave the house
Not all airports will have the adaptor you need for the country you are going to and trying to find one in a country that potentially doesn't speak English is stressful. Try and get one before you go and you will thank yourself. 

4. Take cards against humanity
Ok, so this one applies if you're travelling in a group of three or more. We all know the plane ride can be boring, so why not play cards? This card game will be guaranteed to make you (and other passengers) laugh and is a great time killer. On that note, make sure you also have paper to record scores and a pen which will also come in handy when you are filling in the various departure/arrival/customs cards. 

5. Book a rental card in advance
While also on this topic, make sure you pick a car that suits the terrain or landscape of where you are driving. Both times we have been to New Zealand, we've booked a rental car. The first one was a small Nissan Sunny (bad!!) and the second was a Toyota Rav 4 (good!!(. New Zealand is hilly and windy and the Nissan Sunny (we named him Richie) struggled. The first trip was a road trip and honestly, I wish we just went and upgraded the car. It was that bad and slow and struggled uphill. The second trip was based in Queenstown and we drove to the ski slopes every day. The drive up the mountains required something with power and the Rav 4 handled it with ease. Research where you will be driving and pick the right car and you're set.

I have a lot more tips which I will come back and fill in another day. 

What are your travel tips and tricks?

Honeymoon Part 1 - Queenstown, NZ

Queenstown, in all its glorious scenery, is a place that I have travelled and will travel to over and over again. With the abundance of wineries on offer nearby, the carved out ski fields and the ever growing mélange of restaurants, there really is something for everyone and every budget.

Our mini honeymoon started with a smooth flight over to Queenstown, sailing through the mountains in to the tiny airport. We picked up our rental car for the week – a Toyata Rav4 we affectionately named Pipie and headed on over to our accommodation at Copthorne Hotel and Resort. The theme of the stay was skiing, so we picked up our rental gear from town and then went to get ready for our first meal of the trip at Rata.

 

There is no hiding the fact that I love food, and good food at that. I had researched and chosen restaurants based on excellent reviews and I didn’t put a budget on what we’d spend on food because when you only get a week long honeymoon, well – you make the most of it.

Rata didn’t disappoint. We were promptly seated when we arrived and although the restaurant was full, the service was prompt and friendly. We went here twice after loving it the first time and both times ordered different meals.

We ordered:

Smoked warehou croquettes with black sesame, soy mayonnaise | Goat cheese profiteroles with Rata blossom honey

Chicken liver parfait, pistachio, orange, crostini

Roast pork, Havot tete de cochon, cauliflower, vanilla poached apple, brussel sprout

The second evening we had a booking at Botswana Butchery. I again had heard many great things about this place and upon walking through the door, we were greeted by friendly staff and a buzzing restaurant. Botswana Butchery specialises in group bookings with their many private dining rooms, but from where we sat, we wouldn’t have picked that. In fact, it wasn’t until I went upstairs to the bathroom that I realised just how huge this restaurant was. You would expect a restaurant serving so many people to be slow, but this was not the case. The service was fantastic, friendly and the waiter was more than happy to give a rundown of the menu and recommendations on what meal to choose. We were also surprised at how large the meals were after expecting typical fine dining small portions. Along with the meals, we ordered three sides and by the end of the meal, we were stuffed. Not too stuffed for dessert though luckily. I’m not sure I could ever be too full for Bomb Alaska!

 

Apart from these two restaurants, we tried a couple more, but none as good as these.

Skiing in New Zealand was fantastic with the choices of either The Remarkables or Coronet Peak. We skied at The Remarkables for two days, then Coronet Peak for 2 days. Well, for me only half a day at Coronet Peak as I stacked it and injured my knee resulting in a bit of a mountain rescue and a sore knee that I can’t straighten! But apart from that, we really enjoyed it and my skiing was a lot better than it has ever been. I even dared to hike up a mountain with my ski’s in hand to check out the view of Lake Wakatipu…meaning a little off piste skiing to get back to the ski runs. All good fun though.

 The last day was spent exploring Queenstown and a quaint little town about 10 minutes away called Arrowtown. It has a real Country Western vibe to it with plenty of little pubs, shops etc. We only spent about an hour there and that was enough to do a walk of the whole town.

It was a great trip. A quick one, but a good one.

Have you been to Queenstown?

Time for a holiday - NZ & Bali

Source

For our delayed honeymoon part 1, S and I decided we’d go skiing in New Zealand next month. Looking at the ski cams, it looks like we won’t be disappointed with the snow. I’m looking forward to some delicious food and great New Zealand wine. If you have any recommendations on places to eat or things to do apart from skiing in Queenstown, let me know.

Source

S was also invited on a joint bucks to Vegas towards the end of the year and my FOMO got the better of me, so I planned my own hens to Bali. Not as glamorous as Vegas, but I think I would prefer sipping cocktails by the pool rather than gambling and whatever other shenanigans go on in Vegas. If you have recommendations for anything that is a must see or must do etc, please let me know as I’ll drive myself crazy researching. We’re based in Seminyak, if that helps!

Skiing in Hakuba

I am going to start with the snow as S is yet to sort out all his photos and these are the only ones on my computer.

Before we went to Japan in 2011/2012, I was not thrilled with the idea of spending a week skiing. I thought it would be more of a trip that S would enjoy and I would just tag along. Then I realised it was just Australian snow I didn't like. The snow in Japan is powdery, deep and hardly icy. We were home a week before we decided we'd head back again 2012/2013...and head back we did.

This time, S and I spent a week in Hakuba and skied for 6 days. To say I was exhausted at the end is an understatement!

At Hakuba, there are 4 or 5 different areas you can choose to ski/snowboard. Around the little villages, there is a free shuttle that runs every morning and afternoon to drop you off and pick you up. Such a convenience! Each ski area is so unique to the next so even after a week skiing at the different areas we still felt like there was more to discover. I definitely recommend skiing/snowboarding in Hakuba if that is your thing.

S and I stayed at B&B Koyuki. We wanted to try Japanese style accommodation and this was the perfect mix of Japanese and Western. We chose the Japanese style room with a loft. Downstairs, we had a tatami floor living area and up the ladder/stairs, was the bedroom with futon mattresses. The room also had plenty of storage (for 2 suitcases!) and an ensuite toilet. The accommodation only has 5 rooms and there are three shared bathrooms (that you can lock the door in).

Our view

Most restaurants in the area are Japanese with the exception of a few Western style. We went to one pub and ended up paying the most for our meal (lasagne, a pizza and drinks about $85) than we did in any meal for the rest of the trip. Lesson learnt - when in Japan, eat Japanese food. 

One of the best dinner experiences was at a restaurant called Sumo Tei. It is run by a retired Sumo who serves a traditional dish that Sumo's eat called Chanko Nabe. Basically, you are served a pot of dashi (stock) which boils on your table and a huge bowl of meat, veg and udon. Once you have cooked and eaten the meat and veg, the leftover dashi is used for the udon. It was healthy and so tasty.

The week skiing was so so worth it. I am now much more confident and by the end of the trip was confidently skiing down intermediate slopes. The steeper and more powdery, the better!

Have you been skiing in Japan? 

Japan

With Japan only 2 sleeps away (1 if you consider I might not sleep Sunday night), my excitement levels are rising very quickly. Sunday, we have a wedding to attend which has been at the forefront of our minds..considering S is a groomsmen.

Our itinerary looks like this: 

Arrive in Tokyo on December 24th - 2 nights. 

Hakuba, Nagano (skiing) - 7 nights

Tokyo - 7 nights

Also, whilst we are in Tokyo we are making a one night stop in Kyoto.

Since we were in Japan last year, we have a pretty good idea of what we would like to see and where we would like to go. Our biggest struggle last time though, was finding places to eat that we would both enjoy.

We are flying over on Jetstar Business Class (starclass?) and I am struggling with the decision of what to wear. It will be 25 + degrees here and only about 5 once we reach Tokyo. I had originally planned on tights and a tunic style winter jumper, but it will be way too hot in Sydney to wear that. Even worse at the stop over in Cairns where I can imagine it will be pretty muggy.

Have you been to any of these places?

If so, do you have recommendations for restaurants/bars etc?

What do you wear on a plane when going from one climate to another?