7 Tips to setting up life in Australia

I am doing this post because when I arrived in Sydney with hardly any money I was relatively clueless as to, what to do, were to go and how to do the basics; this list could have been really helpful, as a general guide to all you need to know as a backpacker arriving in Sydney.

Top 10 Things To Do In And Around Sydney

10. China Town: Spend a day in China Town eating some great food – then head to nearby Paddy’s Market for some shopping.

9. Pub crawl The Rocks: The oldest part of Sydney, it looks almost European and has some great Irish bars; spend a day crawling the bars with spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

8. Kings Cross: This is definitely the most controversial of The Eastern Suburbs- see Sydney’s red light district full of colourful characters. This is the best place for night life; it’s full of cheap and cheerful bars – Empire is great.

7. Take A cruise: Sydney’s harbour is incredible and the best way to experience it is with a Harbour Cruise, alternatively one on a Saturday night can also be great for fireworks.

6. Manly: not as famous as Bondi but just as beautiful; located on the north shore and most easily accessible by ferry – this is a much quieter beach and great for surfing and swimming.

5. Darling Harbour: A major tourist destination – you can watch street performers, visit The Aquarium Or just relax and sit by the harbour.

4. The Botanical Gardens: I have whiled away many afternoons in these beautiful gardens; it is easy to forget that you are in a cosmopolitan city. Feed the cockatoos see the bats and just chill out.

3. The Sydney Opera House: there is no doubt that The Opera House is iconic and an absolute must see. For the best view head down to McMahons Point on the north shore, take a bus from North Sydney. It is a bit out of the way but you will get the best photos.

2. The Bondi To Coogee Walk: Start at the famous Bondi Beach, and walk along the coast line all the way to Coogee. The scenery on this walk is spectacular and a great way to see the Australian coastline.

1. Take a day trip to The Blue Mountains: This beautiful national park gives you a taste of true Australian scenery, the highlight is The Three Sisters or The Jenolan Caves. All of this is just 2 hours outside of Sydney CBD.

This is my list of the top things to do in Sydney, please let me know yours?

Waterfall

This Weeks #FriFototheme is Waterfalls – I have seen some truly spectacular waterfalls in New Zealand, Australia and Asia and this is my pick of the best.

These two photos are from Luang Prabang in Laos – These are by far the most beautiful waterfalls that I have seen – the turquoise colour – they start with the big fall and then some smaller trailing cascades.

These two photos are from the amazing falls in The Blue Mountains National Park in NSW Australia. These are my fave there are so many waterfalls here from small streams to huge waterfalls.

Hukka Falls New Zealand this is a very different kind of waterfall – not a steep drop but super-fast and super powerful.

#FriFoto is open to all. To see more photos from everyone else, follow #FriFoto on Twitter.

Which photo is your favourite?

Please check back next Friday x

Super 7 Shots

Hostelbookers has been running a meme amongst the travel blogger community for a little while where you enter your 7 super shots! It is encouraging Travellers to share their favourite pics in seven separate categories. As a new blogger I haven’t been nominated perse – however Adventurous Kate did say she nominates anyone who wants to participate; and I am taking her up on her offer:

So here it is my Super 7 shots:

A Photo that takes my breath away:

The Sunset on the riverbank in Luang Prabang – Laos; Laos has some of the most spectacular Scenery that I have ever seen, however this picture of the Sunset outside of my hostel takes my breath away it just sums up the beauty of the country.

A Photo That Makes Me Laugh Or Smile:

A monkey on Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi  - Thailand; on the island of Ko Phi Phi there is a small beach that is inhabited by monkeys (very vicious monkeys) . I don’t think that this needs much explaining a monkey drinking Coke is just funny.

A Photo That Makes Me Dream:

My Back Garden – Sydney; whilst living in Sydney I rented an apartment with 4 other travellers, a very posh one on the harbour – with boats. This photo was taken whilst chilling down on the harbour in our back garden with some fishing rods and Corona. This photo always makes me dream of those amazing times, and our poor boats that were lost to the bottom of the Ocean R.I.P

A Photo That Makes Me Think:

The Skulls Of The Dead – S-12- Cambodia; In the late 70’s the Khmer Rouge Party took control of Cambodia and inflicted upon its people a reality worse than Hell. Children taught to kill their parents, its people forced to work on farms until they starved, imprisoned in tiny cells and then sent to death camps. The scars of this are still with the Cambodian people who are resilient.  This photo was in S-12 the central prison in Phnom phen. The Skulls are of females aged 15 – 25.

A Photo That Makes My Mouth Water:

Ok – Not one to take photos of my food I found this one difficult, however, this one, had to go to a Khmer BBQ in Siam Reap Cambodia.  It was not the most delicious thing that I had however maybe the most unusual so it deserves a mention. In this pot of water is Noodles, Vegetables, Chicken, Snake and Crocodile – Yum!!

A Photo With A Story:

Well this has no competition – The Bus at The Blue Mountains – Australia; this had to be the photo as it is the first outing of our infamous bus that toured The East Coast of Australia. It is the very beginning of an epic story.

A Photo I Am Most Proud Of (AKA My Worthy Of National Geographic Shot):

Floating Lanterns at the TET Festival (Chinese and Vietnamese New Year) Hoi An Vietnam. I spent TET in Hoi An Vietnam – this beautiful sleepy town in Vietnam is definitely one of my favourite destinations. In the run up to new year the locals light a lantern and send it down the river, it is truly spectacular.

Please let me know what you think of my selections and if you want to take part in Super 7 Shots please do and say that I referred you.

Holy Places

Every Week on this page I will be doing a post about the #FriFoto theme:

This Weeks #FriFoto Theme is HOLY PLACES I have luckily had the honour to witness some humbling Holy Places whilst on my round the world trip. Such as Monks blessing the local children next to the Angkor Thom Temples:

The Temple of The Emerald Buddha – The Grand Palace – Bangkok. You have to cover up out of respect the atmosphere reminds me of visiting the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Another holy place that – sadly I have no photo for:

An upsetting photo of a holy place in rubble; a Church in rubble in the city of Christ Church after the earthquake:

The hidden Buddha buried in Phu Kham Cave – Vang Veing Laos. I can’t really explain the feeling you get when you mind this buried in the middle of a mountain cave – there were incense sticks lit from where the locals had been praying:

#FriFotos is open to all.  To see more photos from everyone else, follow #FriFotos on Twitter

 Which photo is your favourite?

Please check back next Friday x

Follow @memoirsofabackp

Top 10 Things To Do In New Zealand

These are my top picks based on my month in N/Z on the top things to see and do – enjoy!

10. Take a scenic drive up to The Bay of Islands the scenery will blow you away.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/bay-of-islands-new-zealand.html

9. Wander around the beautiful city of Auckland; take a walk down by the harbour.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/out-of-time-in-auckland.html

8. Hot Water Beach – if it is still fun in the wind and rain I can only imagine how awesome it can be in summer.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/coromandel-and-hot-water-beach.html

7. White Water Rafting – it is real action packed fun from the car journey to the rapids.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/white-water-rafting-and-ufo-sightings.html

6. Just visit the town of Rotorua – it has a lot to offer from volcanic activity and glaciers to a real N/Z friendly vibe, and Wai-O-Taupo is pretty spectacular.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/egg-town-rotorua.html

5. Go Caving in Waitomo caves and find the undergrounds night sky.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/glow-worm-caves-waitomo.html

4. Discover hot water spring in Taupo – the locals best kept secret.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hot-water-falls.html

3. Go Swimming with seals in Kaikoura – spend a day playing with theses inquisitive animals you may even be joined by the dolphins. I have never seen this anywhere else.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/we-have-no-plans-and-no-clue-about-what.html

2. Go Bungee Jumping in Queenstown – not something I managed to do myself however everyone who has done it says it is incredible – you can jump tied to a deckchair.

1. Glacier walking – feel like a real mountaineer for the day and see the fabulous sites at Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers.

http://memoirs-of-a-backpacker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/glacier-walking.html

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Top 10 Things To Have In Your Backpack

This is a compilation of random top 10 bits of advice I have from my experience backpacking!

Top 10 Things You Need In Your Backpack

When I was packing I had no clue what to bring, I bought a lot of unnecessary items and didn’t bring a lot of necessary ones, then spent a lot of money acquiring them. Also a suitcase instead of a backpack is fine at no point are you hauling all your stuff up any mountains, in fact a suitcase is probably the best idea. And the best most important tip of all is pack light and pack only stuff you love – you will have nothing but what you pack for a very long time!

10. Hiking boots / good trainers – you will at some point need them and buying them on the road is expensive.

9. A warm Jacket – you are not on holiday you will be in all weather conditions.

8. A laptop with lots of movies, journeys can be long and there are a lot of boring nights with no entertainment.

7. 1 good pair of jeans no more no less they can add weight and you will throw away any extras.

6. Insect / bug killer between mossies and bed bugs this stuff is a god send.

5. A sewing kit – small and is a lot cheaper than buying new stuff when your clothes are torn.

4. 2 nice dresses / night time clothes – it can be horrible having nothing to wear when you go out.

3. Hair straighteners / dryer – don’t listen when people laugh and say you won’t need them. There is always a plug socket.

2. A universal adaptor.

1. Baby Wipes – the absolute most necessary item. There is never toilet roll, you can remove your make-up and in desperate situations wash yourself with them when there is no showers.


Good Luck and happy travels! xx


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