On your doorstep

At a loss of what to do because of money?  Here are some ideas that cost slightly less than a slight to somewhere exotic...

Local pubs, this is in Wapping just around the corner from the station and overlooks the Thames

Mint Polo for the day - makes a nice change from Ascot

Day festivals - here I am at Love Box with my team from work

NFL game in London - look out for events and sign up for Groupon, where you can get some amazing discounts

Traditional events in your local area are always cause for celebration - here we are at Bonfire night

Exploring the West End, me at the base of Nelson's Column

Get in the festive spirit, there is always something happening in Covent Garden

Get lost and find somwhere new to explore

Find out key event dates, this is Trooping of the Colour in London this Summer

Check out any Royal Events, they are normally pretty good

Do you have any other ideas?

Don't forget to follow me here too...

Documenting your travels

Like most people who are travelling and seeing new things, I want to keep a memory of everything and show everyone what I have seen when I get home.  However, how much of what I am seeing am I only seeing through a lens?

Have you ever been to a concert, gig or festival where you feel like you are watching the majority of it through other peoples cameras or phones?  I have recently become an Instagram addict, however, if this new social media platform has taught me anything, its that you need to be selective about the images you are sharing and in turn taking pictures of.

It's been a long time since I went travelling, nearly seven years to be exact and in those months I was away I took over 1000 pictures.  Since coming home I a lot of these pictures, as they do, have made their way into the world of Facebook (luckily) as just over a year ago the laptop I had everything stored on was stolen. 

Yesterday I bought my very first DSLR - so I will no longer have to carry around my retro SLR, my crummy old digital camera or worry about my iPhone running out of battery.

I have now seen my fair share of places around the globe, but the one thing that I have never been able to photograph are the stars and there is something magical about them no matter where you are in the world.

I can remember the very first time that I saw real stars in the sky too (as I live in London you can never really see the stars).  It was on Rotnest Island, Perth and they were beautiful.  It was like someone had taken a cave full of diamonds and thrown them up in the sky.  The sparkled beautifully.

source: davemorrowphotography.com

This time around, I want to learn how to photograph stars before I go so that I can put some of the learning's into practice when I am out in Australia and shortly after Thailand. So I am going to have to go on a bit of a road trip to find some with no light pollution. 

I have been having a look around the web at how I can do this, and have found this article, plus another here.  But any other tips are welcome (please), I am sure I will spend my first night in Australia suffering from jet lag, so I plan to use this to my advantage with a late night photographing the stars on the beach at Coogee.

Don't forget to follow me here too...

Only two weeks to go...

Don't forget to follow me here too...

Apps of the moment

If like me you are addicted to your iPhone, your battery will run out pretty quickly... But one of my biggest addictions are these three new apps:

 

I think Twickets has to be my favourite by far though.  It is an app which uses Twitter to connect fans who need to sell last minute tickets to other fans for face value or less.

So far I have managed to safely secure two lots of tickets for sporting events via this app, and enjoyed my first ever NFL game and my first ever England Football match - both at Wembley.

Don't forget to follow me here too...

Traveler tip of the week: Explore where you live

Budgeting is hard and deciding if that new dress is worth it or if you would rather have a day exploring or putting that money towards a trip to Thailand (for example) is hard.

At the moment, I can only realistically afford one big trip a year, however, I don't let my budget restrict my passion for exploring and finding new places.  One of my favourite past times is jumping on a train and walking around London all day - finding new things or just popping along to the latest event to pop up in Trafalgar Square.

So if you are looking for something to keep your itchy feet ocupied for a little while, take yourself off to explore your local/nearest Town or City.
Don't forget to follow me here too...

Next Stop: Thailand

In February, I am planning my first trip to Thailand with Holly.  So firstly, today we found our flights, which although we haven't booked yet, we are happy with and we are starting to shape when we want to be there.

The full moon party in March (when we are planning to be there) is on the 15th.  So we are aiming to arrive around then and spend two weeks exploring the Islands.

Looking at all of the research I have been doing, I think we are looking at an itenary like this:

Bangkok

• Climb Wat Arun
• See the Grand Palace
• Floating Market

Chang Mai

• Erawan Falls
• Cooking Classes
• Jungle Trek
• Elephant Trek (I am debating this, it's something that I would like to do but I feel kind of cruel doing it?!)
• White water/bamboo rafting

 Koh Tao

• Diving (second most popular place to dive, first being the Barrier Reef)

Koh Pha Ngan

• Full Moon Party at Hat Rin

Krabi

• Beaches, there is a great article here of all the things you can see here.
• Railay Beach, Ton Sai Beach

Koh Phi Phi

• Maya Bay
• See where the beach was filmed

Phuket

• Teeth Whitened
• Stay in Rawai
• Watch the sun set from Promthep Cape
• Phang Nga Bay (canoe)
• Old Phuket town
• Similon Islands

Koh Samui

• Big Buddah
• Grandmother/father rock
• Elephant Trek
• Kayak Tour
• Chinese Lantern
• Dinner on the beach
• Na Muang waterfall

Ang Thong National Marine Park

• Boat tour of the Islands

In one of these places, I really want to do some Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP), which hopefully I will have mastered the art of in Australia this Christmas.

Don't forget to follow me here too..

Planning your next trip

So you know where you want to go, all you have to do now is:

• Find some flights that suit your budget
• Book your flights (when you have the money)
• Sort out your Visa's
• Map your journey
• Research what there is to do in each of these places (Lonely Planet is always a great place to start), or if there are specific times you would be better off visiting these places (eg. Full moon Party)
• Find recommended places to stay
• Book all your hotels, hostels, beach bungalows, etc...
• Book or plan how/when you will need to book your transport from place to place

I am currently going through this process now, so thought I would start documenting it all for you here...

Lists are my most favourite way to plan, so it's always back to the good old pen and paper.  I start by finding a rough route, then planning what kinds of things you can do there via some of my favourite bloggers like Pommie Travels or just by 'Googling' the places I have read about elsewhere.

Once I have filled this out, I look at all the activities on a map and pin the most realistic ones that I think I would be able to do on the trip.

Then when I have a rough date I look at when I need to be in each of these places and work my way out from there.  Not everything will be possible and I always try and leave myself room for things going wrong, or in case someone gives me a great tip of somewhere to visit along the way, that Google or my Lonely Planet hasn't already thrown up.

Now, I am off to bed - but here's something to think about tonight...

Don't forget to follow me here too..