The Terravision Rome Airport Bus

Getting from either of the airports outside Rome to the city center can be an expensive business. Fortunately, there are some inexpensive and efficient alternatives to taking a taxi. We used the Terravision Rome airport bus service to travel from Fiumicino airport to the center of Rome.

Great

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/terravision-rome-airport-bus/

Rome - Inexpensive Start for a Long-Haul Flight

Rome is not exactly South-East Asia, but this is where our journey to the Philippines began, following a short flight from Malta.

The reason for this was our discovery of some very reasonably priced Emirates flights running from Rome to Manila (€528 return). Since Italy is a small hop from our b

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/rome-inexpensive-start-for-a-long-haul-flight/

Getting Gringoed in Isla Colon Bocas del Toro

After spending a couple of days in Bocas del Toro, we decided to spend some extra days in a more secluded spot where we could enjoy beaches and jungle. The Tesoro Escondido Guesthouse seemed to be the answer, located by the sea just 5 kms north of the town, but still on Isla Colon Bocas Del

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/getting-gringoed-in-isla-colon/

Malaysia My Second Home - Our Personal MM2H Application Experience

Our interest in the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program started after several visits to Malaysia and some long trips through the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, all spread over a 5-year period.

If you have the time, then taking an extended multi-week break in Malaysia works out much cheaper

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/our-mm2h-application-experience/

London City Stopover - What to See & Do in just 6 hours

We arrived back in London Gatwick at the end of our multi-stop flight to Hong Kong and Bali, courtesy of Cathay Pacific. With just 12 hours between our arrival at Gatwick and our onward flight home from London Luton airport, we were optimistically hoping to cram in some essential sightseeing on o

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/london-city-stopover/

Langkawi Long-Term Stay - 3 Months in Malaysia

Ever considered a long-term stay in just one location in South East Asia?  An opportunity to get an in-depth feel of the region at a more relaxed pace, while actually saving on your daily budget? We did just this on the chilled-out paradise island of Langkawi in Malaysia: An excellent destination

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/plan-your-travel/langkawi-malaysia-long-term-stay/

13 Weeks in Langkawi - Where to Stay and What to Do

Our plan for this trip to Malaysia was quite unlike our other adventures to date. Having spent many years touching the surface of different Asian cultures through shorter visits, we now wanted to understand how it feels to live in just one locality. Spending 13 weeks in Langkawi seemed an ideal

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/13-weeks-in-langkawi/

Apartments at Sri Lagenda, Kuah Langkawi

Looking more like the location for a post-apocalyptic movie than a condominium in a tropical paradise, Sri Lagenda is a prominent 13-storey apartment block located close to the center of Kuah in Langkawi, Malaysia.

Here it is possible to rent apartments for short or long-term lets, either

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/sri-lagenda-apartments-kuah-langkawi/

Sri Lanka 21-day Budget & Costs

Our Sri Lanka 21-day round trip started and ended in Negombo. From there we traveled inland to Sigiriya to visit the Lion Rock.

We then took a bus to the central highlands, taking in Kandy, Polwaththa ECO lodges, a tea plantation and the Knuckle Mountains.

Following a dizzying descent from

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/sri-lanka-21-day-budget/

Georgetown Penang - A Cultural Smorgasbord

Following our island hops through Phuket and Langkawi, we planned to spend 7 days on the southernmost island in our itinerary - based in Georgetown Penang.

Although it is an island, Penang is connected to the Malaysian mainland via a very long and narrow 13.5-kilometer bridge. We would travel

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/georgetown-penang-a-cultural-smorgasbord/

Rome - Inexpensive Start for a Long-Haul Flight

Rome is not exactly South-East Asia, but this is where our journey to the Philippines began, following a short flight from Malta.

The reason for this was our discovery of some very reasonably priced Emirates flights running from Rome to Manila (€528 return). Since Italy is a small hop from our b

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/rome-inexpensive-start-for-a-long-haul-flight/

Madrid Airport Transfers & Where to Stay

Arriving late in the evening at Madrid airport, we were keen to discover how straightforward our transfers into the city would be, and how our selected hotel on the Gran Vía in the center of the city would measure up.

Following a 9-day trip through the Canary Islands - including Tenerife and

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/madrid-airport-transfers-where-to-stay/

Turkish Airlines Hotel Desk Istanbul - Beware Scammers!

For many years we had heard a lot about the complimentary hotel services offered by Turkish Airlines for unplanned Istanbul layovers exceeding 10 hours. Many people try to game the system in order to qualify, but the rules are quite specific. If you are not a truly genuine candidate, the Turkish

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/turkish-airlines-hotel-desk-istanbul/

Checkout Our 360 Degree Panoramic Images

Using Google Street View and some post processing software, its possible to produce some pretty nifty 360 degree panoramic images from a standard smartphone, without having to splash out on an expensive dedicated 360 degree camera. Having said that, a 360 degree camera is definitely on our

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/360-degree-panoramic-images/

Exploring Songkhla Thailand

Songkhla is a large city located in southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. We were inspired to visit this province not so much to admire the architecture as to renew a 30-day Malaysian visa, which was due to expire.

It also seemed to be an ideal excuse to spend a few days exploring

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/exploring-songkhla-thailand/

Climbing Gunung Raya, Malaysia

Among the most impressive features of Pulau Langkawi in Malaysia are the mountains. The highest of these is known as Gunung Raya, which dominates the island at 881 meters above sea level. Although not for everyone, climbing Gunung Raya by foot is a challenging but massively rewarding

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/climbing-gunung-raya-langkawi-malaysia/

Getting Gringoed in Isla Colon Bocas del Toro

After spending a couple of days in Bocas del Toro, we decided to spend some extra days in a more secluded spot where we could enjoy beaches and jungle. The Tesoro Escondido Guesthouse seemed to be the answer, located by the sea just 5 kms north of the town, but still on Isla Colon Bocas Del

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/getting-gringoed-in-isla-colon/

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/

Malaysia My Second Home - Our Personal MM2H Application Experience

Our interest in the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program started after several visits to Malaysia and some long trips through the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, all spread over a 5-year period.

If you have the time, then taking an extended multi-week break in Malaysia works out much cheaper

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/our-mm2h-application-experience/

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/