Phuket Thailand - Welcome to Russia

Our Malay peninsula west coast journey actually started in Phuket Thailand – just north of the Thai-Malaysian border. We wanted to use the flexibility of an open-jaw flight ticket to pack as many destinations as possible into our round-trip. Since we would be ending the journey in Kuala Lumpur, Phu

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Pangangan Island, Bohol

After spending 3 nights in the small T-Breeze Beach coastal resort near Moalboal, we headed back to Cebu City, and onward via ferry to Bohol. Our next destination was Pangangan.

Not quite an island, Pangangan is connected to the mainland by a 4 km mangrove-bordered causeway. There are a few so-c

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Malay Peninsula West Coast

Malay Peninsula West Coast - Island-hopping through to the mainland

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#Malaysia #IslandHopping #Peninsula

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Bohol Ferry From Cebu

After spending 3 nights in the small T-Breeze Beach coastal resort near Moalboal, we were heading back to Cebu City. We would take the Bohol ferry from Cebu over to Tubigon in Bohol, then travel on to our next destination in Pangangan.

Early in the morning, we got to the bus stop in Moalboal, a

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Snorkeling in Moalboal Cebu

Snorkeling in Moalboal Cebu was one of the highlights of our visit to the Philippines. Moalboal is located on the northern coast of Cebu, looking out towards Negros. We traveled to Moalboal by bus from Cebu city, then took a trike for the short journey to our resort on the coast.

We stayed at t

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Habal-Habal - Filipino Motorcycle Taxis

Habal-Habal (motorcycle taxi rides) provide an alternative form of public transport, and is available throughout the Philippines.

We first became aware of this while walking alongside the main road through the town of Loboc, in Bohol. A motorcyclist pulled up in front of us, gesturing to the e

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Lembongan Island Eating Out

Your eating out options in Lembongan are plentiful enough. Every guesthouse offers a menu, and there's a good variety of standalone restaurants and warungs. During our 8-day stay on the island we had the opportunity to sample much of what was on offer, but which of our Lembongan island eating out e

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Mangoes in Moalboal, Cebu

This is why we came to the Philippines: To relax in an off-track, secluded location with an open bath-water temperature sea, great snorkeling, eating tasty local food, fish, and exotic fruit (the mangoes in Moalboal are just the best).

Following a brief overnight in Cebu city, we took a bus for

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Lembongan Island Guesthouses

Nusa Lembongan is a laid-back island off the southeast coast of Bali. After our 4-day stay in Ubud, we took a boat to discover what the island had to offer. With a good selection of Lembongan island guesthouses to choose from, we'd selected 2 places - at opposite sides of the island from each ot

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Cebu City to Moalboal by Bus

Cebu City is quite a congested, noxious conglomerate. Transport from place to place moves at a snails pace. It would be quicker walking - though less safe, due to the heavy traffic. Following just one night in the city, we were ready to move on to our first primary destination. However, our bus

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Gdańsk Poland Activities

Apart from the picturesque old town and excellent eating venues, Gdansk is home to a top-class selection of interactive museums. You'll need at least 3 days to do justice to these as well as the other Gdansk Poland activities on offer.

Staying at the Liberum hotel in the heart of the old town,

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Cebu City Guesthouse: New Era Pension Inn

Our first real experiences of the Philippines was our Cebu city guesthouse, since we had decided to skip Manila completely on our way in, and take an ongoing domestic Philippines Airlines flight to the islands.

We would spend just one day in Cebu City, before leaving early the next morning for M

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/cebu-city-guesthouse/

New Year's Eve Malta Clifftop Camping

December 31st - While everybody else was putting on their glad rags and preparing for a Yuletide bash in the city, we were heading in the opposite direction - up into the hills in fact. We were planning a New Year's Eve Malta clifftop camping excursion.

Something different, we thought - Just

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Transit between Manila Airport Terminals 2 & 3

Following an overnight stay in Rome, the first stop on our 20-day trip to the Philippines was Manila. However, in order to keep our city-stays to a minimum we had decided to skip Manila completely on our way in. Our plan instead was to arrive at Manila airport, clear customs, then take the first fl

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Philippines Travel Plan - Central Visayas

The initial inspiration for our Philippines Travel Plan came from the discovery of very reasonably priced flights with Emirates running from Rome to Manila (€528 return). Since Rome is a small hop from our home base in Europe, this seemed a perfect opportunity to extend our trip with a couple of ni

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Lembongan Island Transfers

Following our 4-day stay in Ubud, we were heading south to spend some time on a lush island off the coast of Bali. The previous day we purchased tickets for our Lembongan island transfers from a small travel agent in Ubud. We were now gearing up for a (hopefully) pleasant bus and boat transfer

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7 Must-Do Valencia Activities

Although there's certainly no shortage of things to do on a short trip to Valencia, the trick is to get organized in advance so that the must-do Valencia activities can be as diverse and fun-packed as possible.

We had booked a self-catering apartment in the Campanar district, north-west of the

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Gdańsk Poland Eating Out

With just 4 days to spend in the historic old town, we did a little preparation to ensure that our Gdansk Poland eating out experiences would be both enjoyable and cost-effective.

From a dozen or so promising candidates we made a shortlist of 5 restaurants and cafes that ticked all our boxes,

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/gdansk-poland-eating-out/

Gdańsk Poland 4-Day Break

If you're based in Europe and are looking for an inexpensive long weekend away, you might want to consider a Gdansk Poland 4-day break.

The beautiful old town of Gdansk offers plenty of excellent hotels and restaurants, but the real attraction is the culture and epic history of the town and

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/gdansk-poland-4-day-break/

Ubud Bali Royal Palace - Music & Dance

The goal of searching out all possible Ubud Bali activities is not necessarily the best way to appreciate and enjoy this traditional and cultural town. The ideal thing to do here is just to relax and soak up the atmosphere, and then go out and sample some of the excellent food on offer.

Of

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Ubud Bali Eating Out - Favourite Warungs

With just 4 days in Ubud, we were keen to discover the best food that Bali has to offer. To this end, we did a little research in advance to ensure that our Ubud Bali eating out experiences did not disappoint.
Ubud Bali Eating Out - Our 4 Best Restaurants
Before leaving for Bali, we made a s

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Valencia Long Weekend - Airport Transfers & Accommodation

With the budget airlines offering ridiculously cheap flights from all over Europe to a variety of destinations in Spain, a Valencia long weekend is hard to resist. Add to this a relatively low cost of living and accommodation options, and you're onto a winner.

We budgeted €350 per person for a f

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Ubud Bali Hotels & Airport Transfers

Following an overnight stay in London and a short break in Hong Kong we were keen to reach the relative peace and tranquility of a 4-night stay in Bali. We had chosen two very different styles of accommodation for our Ubud Bali hotels: A family-run guesthouse and an upmarket Spa and Gallery

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/ubud-bali-hotels-airport-transfers/

Tenerife Siam Park Sensation

If you are planning to spend some time in the south of the island, then the Tenerife Siam Park sensation is something not to be missed. Siam park is a large, clean, beautifully landscaped and well organized water park, officially the No 1 water park in the world.

If you come to Tenerife, this

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/tenerife-siam-park-sensation/

Tenerife Siam Park Sensation

If you are planning to spend some time in the south of the island, then the Tenerife Siam Park sensation is something not to be missed. Siam park is a large, clean, beautifully landscaped and well organized water park, officially the No 1 water park in the world.

If you come to Tenerife, this

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/tenerife-siam-park-sensation/

Golf del Sur - Tenerife South

After spending a really enjoyable 2-night stopover in Girona, Spain we continued our journey to our principal destination - the Canary Islands. Our first introduction to these islands was the Golf del Sur - Tenerife South.

We planned to spend 3 nights in Golf del Sur in a self-catering

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Hong Kong Activities for a 2-day Stopover

With just a short one or two-day break in the city, its a good idea to have a plan if you want to experience some of the best Hong Kong activities that are on offer. Our 2-day stopover was just enough time to pack in half-a-dozen quality excursions, as well as hitting the shops on Nathan

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/hong-kong-activities/

Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong Stopover

Since our Cathay Pacific flight from London to Bali made a pit-stop in Hong Kong, we decided to take advantage of the break to add a 2-night stopover to our trip. Accordingly, we booked ourselves into the Pearl Premium Guest House in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Kowloon. This Tsim Sha Tsui Hong K

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Cathay Pacific Inflight Experience

Despite our recent underwhelming experiences with Qatar and Turkish Airlines, we were still cautiously optimistic about our forthcoming Cathay Pacific flights to Hong Kong and Bali. We were hoping that our Cathay Pacific inflight experience would be something to savour.

We had purchased return

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London Airport Transfers

With a variety of large international airports dotted in and around the city, its both time-efficient and cost-effective to plan your London airport transfers in advance.

We had booked a multi-stop flight to Hong Kong and Bali with Cathay Pacific, travelling from London Gatwick.

Our plan was

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Bali and Nusa Lembongan - A 2-island itinerary

Bali is a universal favourite with travellers and tourists alike, but it is not so well known for its beaches. If it's clear blue sea and uncrowded white sand beaches you're after you need to venture a little further. So why not try a combination of Bali and Nusa Lembongan - one of Bali's sister

Read more... http://www.sandspice.com/bali-and-nusa-lembongan/

Our Final Panama Budget & Impressions

Our actual Panama budget and impressions of the country.

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Is #Panama really a place to retire to? Our final Panama #budget suggests one answer to the question but our overall #impressions were positive.