Visa Runner - Langkawi Malaysia to Songkhla Thailand

If you're planning an extended stay in Malaysia, then its likely that at some point you'll have to renew the limited tourist visa you are given on first arrival. This procedure is often referred to as making a ‘visa run’, and will vary according to your nationality and location in Malaysia. In our

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/visa-runner-langkawi-songkhla/

Kuala Lumpur - First Impressions

Following a short transit through a decidedly chilly Holland and Belgium (see If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium), we were ready to take a flight to warmer climes. Our KLM flight went non-stop from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, departing at 20:50 in the evening and arriving at 15:45 the following

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/kuala-lumpur-first-impressions/

If It's Tuesday 🤡 This Must Be Belgium

Funnily enough, it was a Tuesday when we arrived in Belgium. We knew this must be Belgium because of the bicycles and the scary clowns...

For those of you (especially Americans) who aren't familiar with the movie, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium is a 1969 romantic comedy film made on lo

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/must-be-belgium/

Planning a Travel Itinerary Around Malaysia

We always wanted to visit Borneo - even more so than Malaysia. So when we found reasonably priced flights from Amsterdam, we didn't hesitate to snap them up, and started working on our Borneo and Malaysia travel plan.

At this point, I need to regress a little in order to share a really useful w

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/malaysia-travel-plan/

Denpasar Souvenir Shopping 🛍

Our last port of call in Bali was Denpasar, not far from the airport. Here we had just one day and night before taking a Cathay Pacific flight back to London, via Hong Kong. Our plan for this 24 hours was to get in as much souvenir shopping as possible, since we had discovered that Denpasar is know

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/denpasar-souvenir-shopping/

Our Philippines Impressions? It's not what we expected

Our Philippines impressions were formed gradually over the 3 weeks we spent there. We arrived in the Philippines with open minds, though it's difficult to erase all the preconceptions you have about a place before you visit it.

In our case, we were anticipating white sand beaches, relaxed

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/philippines-impressions/

Airlines, Airports & Transfers

The single most expensive item of your trip to the tropics will no doubt be your air fare. Getting a great deal here could easily be worth an extra week or two in your chosen destinations. But it's not just about the cost - How about reliability and service?... and most importantly of all -

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/free-independent-travel/airlines-airports-transfers/

INDIA 🥴 I'll Never Do It Again

‘INDIA - I'll Never Do It Again...’ I first came across this expression while chatting with a fellow traveler at a beach cafe in Agonda, South Goa. She pointed out a table on the beach with this inscription carved artistically into the wood.

It sums up the conflicting emotions felt by many tra

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/ill-never-do-it-again/

Philippines Tokay Gecko - The "Little Britain" Lizard

Wherever we travelled throughout the rural areas of the Philippines, we were entertained most evenings and nights by the strange and intermittent Philippines Tokay Gecko night call.

The call was too loud to be emitted by an insect. It sounded more human - like a negative response occa

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/philippines-tokay-gecko/

Videos & Soundtracks

Videos & Soundtracks from our favourite destinations
Be sure to crank up the volume!

Looking for more Inspiration? Take a look at some other highlights for the Free Independent Traveller:








Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/free-independent-travel/videos-soundtracks/

Penang Malaysia - Welcome to China

On a first visit to Penang, you could be forgiven for thinking yourself in mainland China. As with the unbalanced demographics of Tenerife North in the Spanish Canaries, which is permanently occupied by a majority of aging Germans, Penang Malaysia seems to be home to a disproportionate percentage o

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/penang-malaysia-welcome-to-china/

Bland Filipino Food 🥢

Before we started this trip, from our research we gathered that there was no distinctive Filipino cuisine. From our actual experiences in the Philippines, this appears to be true. On the menus everywhere you find pork and chicken, most often barbecued in a sweet and sticky marinade. This bland

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/bland-filipino-food/

Easy-Access Snorkeling Locations

Tropical beaches are fine, but if you enjoy exploring the scenery below the waterline it's fun to hire a mask and fins and go checkout the marine life. The ideal way to do this is directly from the beach. Often however you'll find the best snorkeling is offshore - in which case you'll need to hire

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/free-independent-travel/easy-access-snorkeling-locations/

Istanbul Walkabout 🕌 Turkey's iconic mosques & monuments

We dedicated our first full day in in the city to visiting some of the “must see” Istanbul mosques, museums and monuments. Because there are so many of these, and with a limited amount of time, we had to be quite selective.

In part, this was made easier for us by the opening times of some of the

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/istanbul-mosques-minarets/

Maspalomas Gay Paradise 🌈 Gran Canaria

Following a 6-day break in Tenerife, we continued our Canary Islands journey by taking a ferry across to Tenerife's sister-island, Gran Canaria. The ferry dropped us off in the north of Gran Canaria, from where we took a bus down the east coast of the island to Maspalomas. What we were hoping for

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/maspalomas-gay-paradise/

Philippines Trikes Taxis & Other Transport Options

Before coming to the Philippines, we read a lot of articles about people being ripped off by trikes and taxi drivers. We was therefore initially wary on the occasions we decided to use Philippines trikes taxis or other transport options.

However, as with a lot of the other information we read on

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/philippines-trikes-taxis/

Best Bites & Spicy Delights

From our perspective, the local food on offer can make or break an extended travel agenda. If you have an adventurous palette, more often than not you'll discover some amazing flavours and experience a diversity of unforgettable snacks and dishes. Here is a summary of our favourite eating

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/free-independent-travel/best-bites/

Lembongan Snorkeling Tours 🥽

Snorkeling and diving are among the great attractions of a trip to Lembongan, providing an enjoyable and more active alternative to soaking up the sun on the beaches. If you're not keen on swimming out from the shore to find a snorkeling spot, another option is to take one of the full-day

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/lembongan-island-snorkeling/

Philippines Buses & Jeepneys

During our trip through the Philippines, we had the opportunity of trying out a myriad of transport options. In addition to Habal Habal motorcyle rides and Trikes and Taxis, there were a few tips we picked up using the Philippines Buses & Jeepneys.
Which Colour Bus?
Always take the yellow a

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/philippines-buses-jeepneys/

Budget Accommodation Nightmares

We’re great believers in checking and double-checking the photos, descriptions and reviews of hotels and guesthouses before making a booking. What we’ve learned though is that you can’t always rely on the integrity of your research. Reviews can be faked, photos and descriptions can be misleading or out-of-date, and your budget accommodation nightmares become a

Sri Lanka Top 10 Activities

Sri Lanka has it all - beaches, mountains, wildlife, cuisine, culture and history.
Our Sri Lanka Top 10 Activities list is just the start…






 

 
No 10 - Eco Living
Try out a tree-top cabana. Everywhere you look in Polwaththa, you'll see a wealth of fascinating insects, bu

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/sri-lanka-top-10-activities/

Langkawi Accommodation Options

With just 1 week in the archipelago, we didn't have as much time as we'd have liked to experience Langkawi island life. Between hopping over from Phuket and then boating onwards to Penang, we hoped to pack as much into our schedule as possible while varying our Langkawi accommodation

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/langkawi-accommodation-options/

In the Philippines Karaoke is King 🎤

In the Philippines Karaoke is treated almost as a national sport - and taken very seriously indeed. Everywhere you go you'll hear it - morning, noon and night.

There always seems to be some tone-deaf hopeful drawling out the lyrics to "My Way" or Jennifer Rush's "I'm Your Lady".

This is no

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/philippines-karaoke/

Gran Canaria Ferry from North Tenerife

Considering the close proximity of Gran Canaria to Tenerife - if you have the time - it can be worthwhile including a visit across to see how the other half live. You can either fly over or take the ferry. In our case, we planned to take the Gran Canaria ferry from the port of Santa Cruz in North T

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/gran-canaria-ferry-from-north-tenerife/

Griller in Manila Shabu Shabu Self-Service

We tactically avoided a trip into Manila on our arrival in the Philippines, but opted to spend just a couple of days there before taking our return flight home. Although we didn't have much time to spare in the city, we managed to visit the older Intramuros area and enjoyed a novel eating

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/manila-shabu-shabu/

Get Inspired - with Free Independent Travel

Free independent travel brings many advantages over a standard packaged holiday deal: Even within a modest budget, there are no limits. Go where you want, when you want - and tailor the trip to fit your own personal aspirations. Get inspired with some of our own favourite travel

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/free-independent-travel/

Burj Khalifa Tallest Building in the World - Dubai Stopover

How can you visit Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and not experience the ear-popping heights of Burj Khalifa Dubai - the tallest building in the world?

We're all used to the high-rise skyscrapers of Shang Hai, Hong Kong and NYC, but the Burj Khalifa exudes a slim eloquence, modernity and

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/burj-khalifa-dubai/

The White Sands of Dumaluan Beach, Philippines

Our trip around the Philippines Central Visayas was concentrated primarily on Cebu and Bohol. Panglao island is located within the Bohol Province, and it is here where we discovered the lesser-known Dumaluan beach.

Dumaluan beach is a narrow, white sand beach stretching for around 500 meters on

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/dumaluan-beach/

Death in Lembongan

Death in Lembongan: Invitation to an outdoor Balinese #cremation

http://www.sandspice.com/death-in-lembongan/

During our time in #Bali and #Lembongan we'd already had a taste of the vibrant life on the islands: Now we would learn a little about death in Lembongan.

#Funeral

Dubai Mall - Best Retreat for the Zombie Apocalypse... 🧟‍♂️

Dubai seems to be all about extremes. Not only do they have the tallest building in the world, they also boast the Dubai Mall - The largest shopping mall in the world. Here, you can find one of the largest suspended aquariums in the world, with the world's largest acrylic panel.

...oh, and just

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/dubai-mall/

Oasis Hotel Manila

Our trip back to Manila followed a 3-night stay in Panglao. For the capital city, we booked the small Oasis Hotel Manila in north-central area of the city for our 2 last nights.
Travelling from Panglao to Manila
A trike from Panglao to the airport took around 30 minutes (250 pesos).

At T

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/oasis-hotel-manila/

Oasis Hotel Manila

Our trip back to Manila followed a 3-night stay in Panglao. For the capital city, we booked the small Oasis Hotel Manila in north-central area of the city for our 2 last nights.
Travelling from Panglao to Manila
A trike from Panglao to the airport took around 30 minutes (250 pesos).

At T

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/oasis-hotel-manila/