City Travel Tips

If you are traveling to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver then you will probably be looking for accommodation. This website offers rental listings for people seeking to rent their house out or for people who are looking for accommodation. Whether it be a house, flat, condo or similar. 2010 Home rentals are an awesome way to make some serious cash during the Olympics.

Thought it might be useful.

http://www.2010olympics.com

If you are staying in Kowloon or on Hong Kong Island it can be nice to get the bus from Central (although you can get it from other places also) to Stanley Markets which is on the back side of the Island. It takes a wee while to get there and you will go up and over some decent hills but once there you can indulge in a little shopping by the water.

Buses are 6, 6A, 6X or 260 from the Exchange Square bus terminus which is in Central. Taxi is also an option if you like to pay more.

There are a couple of ways to get up to The Peak in Hong Kong. One is bus, another is Cab or car but the best was is the Tram. Very steep and just great fun.

"All tickets are sold at Garden Road Peak Tram Lower Terminus or appointed travel agents.
Peak Tram Upper Terminus (The Peak Tower) sells Peak Tram tickets (Return & Single) only."

So I know I said Maketu Pies were good but since then I have tried a fair few more. One of the latest award winning Pie shops (cause you can't have enough pie shops) is Patricks Pies in the Bethlehem strip mall. Mince and Cheese = YUM.

Must stay place for visiting the southern Taupo Lake and mountains is Ika Lodge right on the edge of the Tongariro river
Amazing food and huge breakfasts and a good fishing guide make this a must stay www.ika.co.nz

49 Luxury Pool Villas and Suites with stunning vistas over the Andaman Sea on Phuket island. 10 minutes north of Patong Beach. A Thai cooking school plus Italian and Thai restaurants and luxury thai spa will make for a perfect romantic holiday getaway. www.paresaresorts.com

Grindz in Tauranga on 1st Ave make great food but best of all awesome coffee. They also sell coffee beans or ground from Fusion but I always get a fresh flat white in the morning.

Catellis Motel & Conference Centre in Taupo is a place I found online when planning a trip to Taupo to go skiing and hang out with family. It won a trip advisor award and another award for best place to stay. They told us they are moving through the rooms redecorating which is a good thing as while the rooms are fine and you can't complain it will be even nicer with a fresh lick of new. The rooms were a good size, the place clean and pleasant and they have all the mod-cons.

Big Ben is an awesome photo opportunity. It's one of the landmarks in London that you just need to get a photo next to. Whether you are holding it, standing next to it or pretending to lean on it it is like all major city attractions similar including The Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The good thing if you are visiting Big Ben is that is, of course, attached to the end of Parliament House and Buildings so there is a lot more to see in the area other than just Big Ben. A great sightseeing spot and highly recommended...nicer on a sunny day of course.

London Pubs and Bars are smoke free. So don't smoke in them.

Greenwich is a town on the south bank of the Thames. You can get to it by DLR (Docklands light rail) or Ferry down the Thames. I think the nicest way to see it is by ferry but this costs a little more. One option by DLR is to get the Tube to Tower Hill and walk to the DLR station from there. There are other ways but this is how I did it.

Imagine abseiling in to a cave, taking an underground 'flying fox' even further and then jumping on a black inner tube with a wetsuit on and finish it with a bit of walking through caves older than your grandma. That is the awesomeness of black water rafting. I only know of it in Waitom, New Zealand but it may be in other places or countries.

Nothing freaky about this, just bloody good fun.

http://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting.aspx

Sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to do as a tourist in Mt Maunganui or Tauranga. One of the best things you can do if the weather permits is walk around "The Mount" or Mt Maunganui as it is formally called. It really is a nice walk and the scenery is fabulous. If you have the energy then walk up The Mount. It is not that far but does require some level of basic fitness. The view at the top is brilliant and you can see across Mt Maunganui, Tauranga and Matakana Island.

If you are in Vancouver there is a really nice little Sushi place on Denman St. It is the kind of place you could walk past being quite narrow with only a few tables but Denman St isn't that long so it is fairly easy to find. It is nearer the beach than the Stanly Park side of things.

Sushi is widely available in Vancouver. There are plenty of Sushi Restaurants but this is a good choice.

If you are wanting to go and see Buckingham Palace then Green Park Tube station is the closest Tube station. St James is also quite close but most people are already on the Piccadilly Line (the blue one).

My favourite way to get there is to walk down from Leicester Square, through Trafalgar Sq and then all the way down the Mall which looks straight at the Buckingham Palace. This is a much longer walk but is very rewarding.

The london eye is a great place to go for the view. It only takes about 20-30 minutes to go around and it is not that cheap but worth it if you have the money. If you are on a budget I don't think it is really worth it and you are better off climbing the stairs to the dome at St Pauls Cathedral, the view up there is great.

This is one of the best retaurants I have ever been to. Food is great, service is good and the restaurant itself is sublime. If I lived in the Hawkes Bay I would save up regularly just to eat there. We arrived and were greeted well and offered to have drinks before dinner - we did and we were taken to the end of the Restaurant where an open fire and luxurious couches abounded. So nice.

If you are looking for a nice and not to expensive place to stay in Napier then Motel De La Mer is a great pick. The hosts (Gail and Jim I think?) are lovely. The Motel is quite small, only about 9 rooms but they are quite big rooms and really nice. I think they are quite new but of all the hotels/motels I have stayed in the last 12 months (which is a lot) they are the nicest. Spacious, flat screen TV's and a spa bath next to the bed which sounds weird but works awesome.

I also had to work and they have wireless internet which was great.

If you have the cash and love your Sushi then get into Nobu - Japanese/Sushi restaurant London. The one in Mayfair is the best.

If you have arrived at London Heathrow Airport there a few tips that will help you get around, get out of the terminal and get transport into London. Traveling by Car, Cab, Tube or Airport Express Train are all options so which one is best for you?

I recently heard that Madame Tussauds was rated as one of the most disappointing tourist experiences in London. I have not been because of this survey on Madame Tussauds and would welcome comments from anyone who has?

Madame Tussauds is a Wax works. This is where you go to have your photo taken with celebrities and stars that you would not normally get close to. They look quite real to me. Who was Madame Tussaud anyway?

http://www.madametussauds.com/London/

Madame Tussauds Opening times

The Sherlock Holmes Pub is a Pub I only went to once but it certainly is one of the top London Pubs I ever went to. Really loved it. It is not a particularly big pub but this is London and there are not very many big Pubs, or anything for that matter. If you are anywhere near Charing Cross, West End or Trafalgar Square it is definitely worth a visit.

If you have visited the Sherlock Holmes Pub and liked it make sure you Vote this up so others get there!

A bit of the History of the Sherlock Holmes Pub

If you are traveling to London and are anywhere around the Regent St, Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square area then you will see a few bicycle taxis / pedicabs / rickshaws which will be happy to take you anywhere.

I know it looks romantic, even on a cold winters night but make sure you get a price BEFORE getting in the rickshaw. I have known many a person to get fleeced on these things but being over charged terribly.

Harrods in Knightsbridge (closest to Knightsbridge Tube) is awesome. It is massive for a start and it goes over alot of floors. You can walk among some really high end fashion and home furnishings. They have an amazing Food Hall on the ground floor which you can sample stuff from and buy bits here and there. They have so much food it is overwhelming, you can do your grocery shopping there or just shop by food style and country. They have a kids section on the higher floors, and on the top there is an electronics/hi-fi area and a CD/DVD/Book shop.

With the millions of tourists traveling to London every year the transport system and public areas can get pretty crowded. To keep in good with the locals and allow people to get where they need to go in London stand to the right of the escalators. This allows a free space on the left for those keen enough or wanting to to get past and on their way.

It is not a matter of filling up every step as full as possible as some of the escalators in London, especially on the Tube can be quite long and you won't be popular if you can't get out of the way of the busy local trying to get up faster.

London is full of tourists all the time. And the locals find it pretty frustrating when visitors get to the London Underground (Tube) gates and then try to find their oyster card or train ticket. The ticket gates/turnstiles can move alot of people through fast so if you are traveling on the Tube have your ticket ready before you get to them.

If you are shopping on Oxford St it can get a little overwhelming. All the dodging people, carrying bags, avoiding getting run over by buses. If you do find yourself in need of a break from shopping there is a Borders Bookstore and Cafe on Oxford Street east of the Oxford Circus tube station. It is across the road from Top Shop and Urban Outfitters and down a bit. On the top floor there is a Starbucks which should provide you with some rest from all your shopping.

There is also a McDonalds a bit further down should you want to eat some less healthy but still have a rest.

London City Sightseeing - If you only have a short period of sightseeing time in London one of the fastest ways to see everything is doing an open top bus tour. There are a couple of companies that do sightseeing bus tours in London. One is called The Original London Sightseeing Tour and the other is called Big Bus Tours. I can't recommend one of the other.

Wunjo Guitar means there is only one place to go to if you are going to buy a guitar on Denmark St. I regularly walk up and down Denmark St looking at the guitars they have and trying a few out here and there but the guys at Wunjo are different for a few reasons.

1: They let you play the stuff without making you feel watched or like an idiot

2: They know what they are talking about

3: They will go out of their way to help you

4: They are friendly

5: They have some great guitars

6: Most importantly they have the best prices in town

Camden Market is Londons most popular open air market place and worth a visit if you are in London long enough. Camden is well known for it's markets, music, pubs, theatres and restaurants so there is something for everyone.

It is on the weekend that things come to life and you will notice a considerable jump in numbers of people there. So if you are traveling to London and can go during the week it is less crowed but there might not be as many stalls and market places open.