Every year Tiz and I try to get about a bit and take a holiday or two in places we love, and would like to revisit, or haven't been to before.
The drivers for our choices are simple things like
You get the picture, I'm sure.
These criteria have taken us, as individuals and as a couple to 5 of 7 continents and 44 of 196 countries.
Some of the visits to these countries have been for just a layover at the airport or its environs, some have been extended stays, some were for work or study, some were for honourable pursuits and some for not so legit reasons but putting foot on the ground of a country was reason for its inclusion in the count.
It may seem like a lot but there are many people including this fellow and you can read more him and his travels on his website One Step 4Ward
There many others too, including my daughter Georgia and Tiz's nephew Dean and his wife Katie, who are well on the way to surpassing what Tiz and I have done based on the fact that they are young travel is so much easier these days and they have a spirit of adventure and a level of curiosity that we did not have at their age.
But Tiz and I haven't done too badly, and there's more to come.
This year we tried to meet up with Georgia in Tokyo, but it didn't work out.
We tried to rearrange the dates so that we could take Angus to Tokyo, but that didn't work out.
We looked at going to the Isle of Man, for the TT, but we left our run too late.
Spoke about Croatia and Sicily and did nothing but talk and the year wore on.
Tiz's mum Lidia goes up to the Gold Coast every winter for 2-3 months to escape the southern cold so we thought we might go up and visit her for a week.
It'll be just like a real holiday but much, much shorter both as a holiday and time spent in the air to get there.
Which brings me to this blog.
I've got to liking writing my travel blog(s), even if they are only about going north to a place like BrisVegas .
They are poorly written with their abysmal grammar, they display the scars of well worn dyslexic and they would probably send any good author into cardiac arrest.
They are read by precious few but I find them cathartic and maybe some day they may entertain someone and give them an insight into people and places that they may not have otherwise had.
From now on my blogs will be exercises of my imprecise documentation and expressions of what I would enjoy reading, which I hope other may want to read too.
In case you're wondering, the five of seven continents are - Asia, Africa, North America, Europe, and Australia, obviously. South America and Antarctica await.
The countries we've "touched" to a lesser or greater extent are -
· Australia
· Brunei
· Canada
· China
· Croatia
· Egypt
· Fiji
· France
· Germany
· Greece
· Holy See
· Hong Kong
· Iceland
· India
· Indonesia
· Italy
· Japan
· Jordan
· Kenya
· Macau
· Malaysia
· Malta
· Morocco
· New Zealand
· Papua New Guinea
· Philippines
· San Marino
· Scotland
· Singapore
· Syria
· Slovenia
· Solomon Islands
· South Korea
· Spain
· Sri Lanka
· Switzerland
· Tanzania
· Thailand
· Turkey
· United Arab Emirates
· United Kingdom
· Vanuatu
· Vietnam
· Yemen
The drivers for our choices are simple things like
- choice and diversity of food
- culture that we want to learn more about and get immersed into
- what sort of food they have and can we visit places where they sell and offer food as if we were locals
- the ease of which we can walk, ride or PT around all day and see new things
- how many places we can try their food
- how easy it will be for Tiz to learn their language .... so that she can order delicious food
- must have a touch of adventure attached to it
You get the picture, I'm sure.
These criteria have taken us, as individuals and as a couple to 5 of 7 continents and 44 of 196 countries.
Some of the visits to these countries have been for just a layover at the airport or its environs, some have been extended stays, some were for work or study, some were for honourable pursuits and some for not so legit reasons but putting foot on the ground of a country was reason for its inclusion in the count.
It may seem like a lot but there are many people including this fellow and you can read more him and his travels on his website One Step 4Ward
There many others too, including my daughter Georgia and Tiz's nephew Dean and his wife Katie, who are well on the way to surpassing what Tiz and I have done based on the fact that they are young travel is so much easier these days and they have a spirit of adventure and a level of curiosity that we did not have at their age.
But Tiz and I haven't done too badly, and there's more to come.
This year we tried to meet up with Georgia in Tokyo, but it didn't work out.
We tried to rearrange the dates so that we could take Angus to Tokyo, but that didn't work out.
We looked at going to the Isle of Man, for the TT, but we left our run too late.
Spoke about Croatia and Sicily and did nothing but talk and the year wore on.
Tiz's mum Lidia goes up to the Gold Coast every winter for 2-3 months to escape the southern cold so we thought we might go up and visit her for a week.
It'll be just like a real holiday but much, much shorter both as a holiday and time spent in the air to get there.
Which brings me to this blog.
I've got to liking writing my travel blog(s), even if they are only about going north to a place like BrisVegas .
They are poorly written with their abysmal grammar, they display the scars of well worn dyslexic and they would probably send any good author into cardiac arrest.
They are read by precious few but I find them cathartic and maybe some day they may entertain someone and give them an insight into people and places that they may not have otherwise had.
From now on my blogs will be exercises of my imprecise documentation and expressions of what I would enjoy reading, which I hope other may want to read too.
In case you're wondering, the five of seven continents are - Asia, Africa, North America, Europe, and Australia, obviously. South America and Antarctica await.
The countries we've "touched" to a lesser or greater extent are -
· Australia
· Brunei
· Canada
· China
· Croatia
· Egypt
· Fiji
· France
· Germany
· Greece
· Holy See
· Hong Kong
· Iceland
· India
· Indonesia
· Italy
· Japan
· Jordan
· Kenya
· Macau
· Malaysia
· Malta
· Morocco
· New Zealand
· Papua New Guinea
· Philippines
· San Marino
· Scotland
· Singapore
· Syria
· Slovenia
· Solomon Islands
· South Korea
· Spain
· Sri Lanka
· Switzerland
· Tanzania
· Thailand
· Turkey
· United Arab Emirates
· United Kingdom
· Vanuatu
· Vietnam
· Yemen
Your timing is spot on - it is miserable here! Our little dirt road at Avonsleigh is washing away rapidly with very heavy rain.
ReplyDeleteI think the mystery boat is indeed a sand dredge - if you zoom in you can see the PRC marking on the bow, yes they are building a new island and it's ok Malcolm has agreed to it!
Don't rush back unless you hankering for some rain, and a bit of frost and maybe a chilly wind!
Hi Adrian, the weather is certainly good up here at the moment, even though we've had thunderstorms.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting thing is the amount of grey haired Victorians!
We're ..... sorry, I meant - They're everywhere.
It's like a retirement village with fit, young, tanned, inked, pierced things as the staff.
It just feels a bit NQR.