madagascar in 3...2...1...

Well it’s getting closer and closer… in two and a half months we’ll be heading off on our honeymoon. We’re heading to Mauritius and Madagascar; rather than raving on about things I thought I’d just post the itinerary here (excuse the bad grammar, I didn't write it) with some pretty pictures. Enjoy!

Fly from Australia to Mauritius (Air Mauritius Business Class)

Stay 8 nights at La Palmeraie Resort and Spa

image courtesy of La Palmeraie

Fly from Mauritius to Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Day1 : Dec 24: ANTANANARIVO

Arrival at the international  airport of Antananarivo , Madagascar’s capital . Meet by our representative and transfer to hotel. Overnight at Tana plaza hotel

Day2 : Dec 25: ANTANANARIVO-ANDASIBE

En route to the East of  Madagascar to  Périnet or Andasibe . Stop at Marozevo to visit the  Madagascar exotic reptile farm. Afternoon visit of  Vakona private reserve and its lemurs island, where one can have a closer encounter too with  crocodile and the predator “fosa”.Overnight at Vakona lodge

Day3 : Dec 26: ANDASIBE Analamazaotra reserve

Early start to visit Analamazaotra National park , a part of Andasibe national park . 2-4 hours walk in the forest and  meet the famous Indri lemur , the largest lemurs and hearing their territorial calls  and explore the rainforest with its endemic fauna and flora, various birds, colourful chameleons and plants. Afternoon relax . Overnight at Vakona lodge

Day 4 : Dec 27: ANDASIBE Mantadia reserve

Early start to visit Mantadia reserve, another part of andasibe National park ,  2-4 hours walk in the primary rainforest . Afternoon free. Overnight at Vakona lodge

Day 5 : Dec 28: ANDASIBE-ANTANANARIVO

Drive back to Antananarivo. Overnight at Tana Plaza hotel

Day 6 : Dec 29: ANTANANARIVO-NOSY BE

Transfer to the airport and board the flight to Nosy be. Dinner and overnight at Nosy be hotel in VIP bungalow

Day 7 : Dec 30: NOSY BE

Excursion to Lokobe reserve by local pirogue with picnic lunch .Dinner and overnight at Nosy be hotel.

Day 8 : Dec 31: NOSY BE

Excursion by speed boat to the amazing island of Nosy Iranja with seafood picnic lunch. New years eve dinner and overnight at Nosy be hotel

Day 9 : Jan 01: NOSY BE -ANTANANARIVO

Flight back to Antananarivo. Overnight at Tana plaza hotel

Day 10 : Jan 02: ANTANANARIVO-

Flight back home

my quest for the perfect gnocchi

I have a bit of an obsession with gnocchi. It's the perfect meeting of my two loves: potato and pasta. My waistline wishes my fondness was for protein shakes or celery or whatever but no, its gnocchi, and I've been in love with these delightful little dumplings since I was tiny.

I always preach about trying new things but when I see these little parcels of heaven on a menu, I can't resist. I would love to try them everywhere, Sam I Am. I've been lucky enough to have gnocchi in Italy (not everywhere but in a few places, such as Venice) and each region of Italy has it's own interpretation so I'd love to go on a Grand Gnocchi Tour of Italy one day.

The best I've ever had though was in Croatia. I actually thought this was bizarre but it's not; it's an extremely popular dish in coastal Croatia (such as Split, where I had the best one); they call it "njoki" (sounds the same, I guess). It was in a tiny little port-side cafe where I sampled this best-gnocchi-dish-of-my-life-so-far. So simple, perfect little morsels tossed in a Gorgonzola sauce. I didn't even like blue cheese at the time, but after this dish I became a convert, which tells you a little something about it's power.

Anyway, unfortunately I am not currently overseas on gnocchi-consuming adventures. I did however have a lovely weekend in South Australia's very own McLaren Vale, sampling the local produce (particularly the wine!). I absolutely love living in Adelaide because McLaren Vale, the Barossa Valley, the Clare Valley and the Adelaide Hills region are all so close, and the Coonawarra is a few hours' drive away. These amazing regions are home to some of the world's best vineyards and microbreweries and the freshest produce.

We went to a restaurant called Au Pear (so cute, check it out here) and I had, of course, the gnocchi. The menu reads: "house made with confit artichoke hearts, caprino fresco and olive cream". Now, strictly as a gnocchi traditionalist, it wasn't what I expected. I have to day though, it was delicious. So delicate, so balanced, so fresh - and just enough on the plate to start feeling full without feeling heavy. Maybe that was the idea - we ordered the lemon souffle for dessert!

So, if you want a relaxing afternoon in the sunshine, head down to the Vale for some beautiful food; if you're somewhere else in the world right now, keep me up to date with the gnocchi on your plate!

Gnocchi, Au Pear restaurant, McLaren Vale - sorry, I dug in before I remembered to take a photo!

ten things I learned as a first-timer in Vietnam

The first time I ever left Australia was when I was 18. I had been itching to head to Vietnam after studying it’s history in School. My travelling companion said “can’t we just go to New Zealand?” but I was determined to try something a bit riskier. Well…

1.       Never watch Bangkok Hilton before backpacking through Asia

Thanks Mum for the terror it instilled, which led me to using five different kinds of padlocks PLUS those zip tags with the codes on them… then going through my stuff at the carousel to make sure there was nothing in my bags I needed to flush.

2.       Forget your personal boundaries

I walked into Bến Thành markets in Ho Chi Minh City, backpack still on, fresh off the plane, just killing time waiting to be able to check into my hotel. At the first t-shirt stall I looked at, a lady came up to me and grabbed my boobs while crying “WHY SO BIG?!” I thought it was a one-off, but no. It happened pretty much every day. By the end, I have to say I was flattered.

3.   Vietnam has weather, too

Just because the picture in the brochure shows Halong Bay as a sunny place with girls in bikinis jumping off the top of the junk boat into beautiful emerald-green water doesn't mean that when you get there it won't be 8 degrees with pea-soup fog. It's called winter. It's a thing that hapens sometimes. 

4.       Just close your eyes and GO!

If you wait for a break in the traffic, you’ll never get across the road. If you change pace as you walk, or try to dodge someone on a scooter, you will hit someone. Guaranteed. So just close your eyes, say your ‘hail mary’s, and walk.

5.       If you’re a clean freak, don’t travel during Tet

All the rooms were dirty, because you don’t want to sweep out all the good luck when you sweep out the dirt. So cleaning takes a back seat in the lead up to the Vietnamese New Year. BYO thongs/jandals/flip-flops.

6.       Look up and live

We have this saying in Australia, which basically means watch out for power lines, but never has this been more appropriate than on the streets of Hanoi. I have a nasty habit of watching my feet as I walk (probably because I trip so often!) and nearly walked in to several live power lines which were dangling at neck height. I’m 5’1 so… yeah, they were hanging pretty low.

7.       Just because a red sign says KFC, doesn’t mean it’s anything like back home.

Walks like a chicken, looks like a chicken… or not. Probably goes “woof”. And on that note…

8.       For the un-initiated, eating dog can make you sick.

And not just because the idea of it turns my stomach. Even when you think you’ve eaten beef (like me) you’ll still probably get sick.

9. Rice wine isn't for everyone...

But it is for me! Party up, Vietnam style... Just don't eat the scorpion at the bottom.

10.   There’s no place like home

After two weeks, I was ready to come home. I was exhausted and overwhelmed. Back in my own bed, I slept better than I ever had before. But after a few days, I regretted feeling that way and was dying to go back. I put my rose-coloured-glasses on, declared it the best place ever, and booked for the next journey.

Streets of Saigon, Vietnam 2008

one visa fits all

The idea of having one visa for all ASEAN member states has been bandied about for a while, but now it looks as though plans are being finalised to turn this into a reality. The deadline is 2015.

The benefits for foreign travellers are many but the most obvious one is increasing ease of travel; the flow-on effect of this being increased tourism in the region.

Currently, citizens of ASEAN member states can travel seamlessly between other states and the idea now is that foreign travellers (ie from outside member states) will be able to apply for an ASEAN visa and travel to any or all member states as a result. So, you travel through Indochina on the one visa instead of having one for Viet Nam, one for Cambodia, one for Lao etc. The monetary saving is quite significant, and the processing time would be drastically reduced as a result.

Suffice to say, a quick survey of my colleagues garnered some pretty excited responses – in tourism, change doesn’t always make life easier but this is one your friendly local travel agent is going to be very excited about, as well as your backpacker friends!

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries:

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Indonesia

Lao PDR

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Viet Nam

confessions of a travel agent

No, I'm not going to get too controversial here (I value my employment)... But here are some things that run through my mind during a typical work day, and some nasty habits I have developed.

1. WHERE THE HELL DO I START???

Every morning I walk in and can't figure out where to start. I'm usually completely overwhelmed. I constantly work to improve my time management and be more efficient, but things just keep getting added to the pile...

2. I TALK TO MYSELF IN THE MIRROR!

Ummm... What? Yep, I do. In the morning, I repeat little mantras like "Amelia, you are good at your job" and "no-one's dead or in a Polish prison" (both of these things have happened before) and during the day sometimes I take five to sit in the bathroom and say "Amelia, you're half way through the day, good work" or "you know, you could try looking at the problem this way..."

3. I DREAM ABOUT MY CLIENTS

Yes hello, did I just book your holiday? Well, I probably had dreams about doing so. Not the fun kind, more like the kind where you wake up at 3am freaking out about some minor detail.

4. I HATE BOOKING FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

I just can't handle the pressure. What if I screw it up? (Very unlikely, might I add) 

5. I SEE MOST OF MY CLIENTS AS MATES

I hate it when clients don't want to tell me about their holiday when they get back. It makes me sad. I care about all of my clients and I want to know they had the best time, or failing that, I want feedback. I love having a laugh with my clients and I want them to know I have their back. I know I shouldn't, but I take each individual file pretty personally.

6. I'M PRONE TO THE OCCASIONAL STRESS VOM.

A complete overshare, sorry. Sometimes though a really stressful situation must resolve itself...

7. I'M INSANELY JEALOUS OF ALL MY CLIENTS.

Don't tell me you wouldn't be if you had my job. You would be about as frustrated as I am. The worst one? I have clients about to do the same trip I'm doing for my honeymoon. I literally booked my honeymoon for them. Ummm yeah, I'm jealous of them because they are about to leave and I have to wait months. 

8. SOMETIMES I SAY I DON'T LIKE MY JOB, UNTIL SOMEONE POINTS OUT I HAVEN'T QUIT YET AND I REALISE I LOVE IT.

Speaks for itself really.

how I nearly got banned from the river

Murray River in flood, Teal Flat, South Australia

My partner's family have a property at Teal Flat, which is right on the Murray about an hour and a half from Adelaide. We head up there quite a lot because it's nice after a busy week to feel we "got out of the city", especially because we're saving up for the wedding and honeymoon so we haven't been on a proper holiday for a while.

Teal Flat is a private gated community type of set up; it has an Association which set the rules you need to follow if you build a house and spend time there. It keeps things nice and orderly so everyone can have a good time. Most people who have places here come up on the weekends but there are a few (like my future in laws) who live here permanently.

Last weekend, Logan decided it would be a great idea if I hopped on the ride on lawnmower and took it for a spin. I said no, of course, because bad things tend to happen when I get involved with heavy machinery. "Don't worry, it'll be fun!" he says (famous last words). It was decided that I would sit on the seat and my foot would control the throttle, while he stood on one side and did all the steering... seems logical.

So off we went to mow the lawn. Once we had done our own lawn, we went across the road to mow the common land because we're such great citizens and we were having way too much fun. We were having a great laugh, making jokes about how "the couple who mows together stays together" until mister steered too close to a small tree. "Stop!!!" he yelled, but of course by this stage I had completely forgotten I actually had my foot on the throttle and he had stopped steering because he thought I would stop the mower. We literally went straight over the top of this poor tree.

Quick! we thought. We can put this tree back together before anyone sees (?!) but then we heard someone yell "now you're in trouble!"... It was Logan's mum, standing with the head of the Association (who happens to be very fond of those trees) and his wife. We found half the stake to tie the tree to (the other half went through the mover, and thank God the mower was okay) and destroyed the rest of the evidence. Still... I suddenly feel much less welcome.

there's more to life than travel

I've been doing some thinking.

About this age (oooh, the big quarter-century!) we start growing up, really getting to know ourselves, forging careers, pairing off, making big commitments and setting ourselves up for the rest of our lives. People follow their own paths and make different decisions, and of course have different priorities. Mostly, though, lives tend to follow some sort of pattern: school/work/partner/marriage/house/kids. Me, I'm all for the pattern. I'm not one for pushing envelopes. But times change and "the done thing" evolves.

A generation ago, you left school or uni and got a job and bought a house and settled down. You had kids and worked hard. These things were measures not only of success but of the calibre of person you were, and social status was gained by achieving these milestones. These days I feel like ticking off a list of countries is where the social status comes from. Getting married, buying a house, having kids are all postponed because of the idea we have to "live our lives" before settling down (with the implication that once you settle down, your life is over).

What's frustrating me at the moment is the idea that traditional pursuits are not worthy these days; that we're not living our lives to the fullest if we're not spending half of them on planes. I'm sick of being told by my peers that I'm "too young to be settling down" when the world is out there waiting for me. It's bullshit.

Why are travelling and having a family mutually exclusive? Why can't we enjoy our youth while still setting ourselves up for the future? And can somebody PLEASE tell me why having kids means putting my life on hold? Last time I checked, children added a wonderful new dimension to life, and the best parents were the ones excited about having children.

Life is life. It takes everyone in different directions. But lets stop the judgement and start supporting each other because hey, next time life hands you a lemon you might need your friends to help you make lemonade.