Adventure of the month

With only 18 days to spend in New Zealand, the sensible thing to do would have been to choose one island- either the North or South- and explore it in depth. The problem is I am not a sensible person. I am FOMO personified and I want to see it all. Therefore, on my third day, I boarded a flight from Auckland (North island) to Queenstown (South island), which made for a crammed and busy schedule. I had only 15 days to bus myself back up to Auckland for the return flight but in the words of Edith Piaf "Non, je ne regrette rien". Queenstown is the kind of place you can fall in love with at first sight. It's an outdoorsy, sun-kissed small town where everyone knows what kombucha is and all the guys wearing Jesus sandals actually look like, well, Jesus. Just walking down the street, you feel healthier for being there. Therefore it should probably come as no surprise that the denizens of this clean-living haven are constantly on the lookout for new ways to nearly off them...

How to travel New Zealand on a budget tip #2: Skip the Waiheke wine tours. But-and I can't stress this enough- don't skip Waiheke and/or its wineries. Don't do that!! Really, don't. If your tastes run toward picturesque islands, chill beaches or more vineyards than you can shake a wine glass at, this is a day trip you want to take. All I'm saying is that all those wine tours that all the agencies push are totally unnecessary.  It was my second day in New Zealand and with sleep deprivation behind me and perfect weather ahead of me, I was ready to explore but at $130+ for three wineries,  the  tours seemed a bit pricey. Staying in Auckland, which I had already covered pretty well, also seemed unappealing so I went straight to the port and started asking questions.  Turns out that for $60 , you can get both a r/t trip ferry ticket for the 35 minute ride across the Gulf of Haruki and a voucher for the hop-on/ hop-off bus to get you everywhere you want to go. ...

My plans for this year's vacation went through some changes. Initially, I devised an itinerary that would take me to Cyprus, Lebanon and Iraq. Yes, that  Iraq.All my research pointed to the Northern Kurdish portion being quite safe, welcoming to visitors and easy to get to. I could just fly into Erbil, no visa required. And then the push for Kurdish independence starting gaining steam and the Iraqi government shut down the Erbil airport, meaning I would have to enter via the more treacherous land crossing through Turkey. Time for a plan B. This consisted of randomly plugging in multiple countries into search engines and trying to see where airlines miles could take me. After plenty of false starts, I hit upon one that would work. I had just enough miles to get me to New Zealand if I went from Dec 6- Dec 25. Taking into account the day you lose going over, this would only leave me with 18 days in a country with over 1000 days worth of things to see. It wasn't ideal but it w...

In the 90's, the sketch comedy show In Living Color  had a recurring sketch about a Jamaican family. The central premise was that they all had upwards of a dozen jobs and would loudly deride any lazy lima bean who had the nerve to only have one job. This skit came back to me this week during a visit to Kingston. I was staying at the Eden Gardens Wellness Resort and Spa , which as the name suggests had a gym, sauna and all those other healthy things I hear exist. It was a rambling complex that eschewed room numbers for names, meaning if anyone had asked me what room I was in, my response would have been Sage. Having no room numbers to guide you makes locating your room a bit challenging so as I roamed around trying to find an herb, I instead came across a family counselor, a bridal salon, a clothing store, a nutritionist's office, 2 restaurants, a pool bar and an erotic toy shop. No,  for real . It would appear that even my hotel had multiple jobs!

Many years back, I spent a month working in Manchester, England. During that time, I had a Brit Rail pass, meaning that any minute I wasn't working was spent on a train heading somewhere else. I treated Manchester's attractions the way I would those at home. Since I could go anytime, I felt free to ignore them altogether. It is only recently that I realized what a mistake that was. Last week, I was back for a couple of days with no rail pass to speak of. Another key difference- it was not raining. My one prevailing memory from that first visit was how stinking persistent the rain was. We were there for 28 days and got drenched each and every one of those days. The day we just arrived, it wasn't exactly sunny but it wasn't pouring down either so we were off to a good start. We took the train from the airport right into town and commenced exploring.

All combined, I have lived in Amsterdam for two years- mostly in two month increments. I know the city well and love how much it has to offer yet I am aware that when most people think of Amsterdam, their thoughts turn to just two things- hookers and weed. This is understandable as this is home to the world's most famous red light district and finding glassy-eyed tourists coming out of coffee shops is as omnipresent as the relentless ringing of bike bells. Hookers and weed are no question a "thing" here, they are just not the only thing. It is because of this that when friends come to visit, the first thing I do is take them past the girls in the windows and if they are so inclined to procure some of the best weed in town. Once this is out of the way, then I feel free to take them boating on the canals, to world-class museums and to the many hidden spots that make this city so wonderful. One of the newest attractions, having opened in late 2016, is the A'dam Tower...

Four days is not enough time to see Sicily. A week wouldn't have sufficed either. Two weeks might have been a good start but it would probably fall short. I am going to guess you need a minimum of one month to do this island justice and I suspect I am way undershooting the mark.  Point being, we only had four days. Four wonderful sun-filled days that left me wanting more. I mean, I always want more, that's just how I am wired. I have never left a place and thought to myself "Yeah, I've had about enough of this". There is always more to see but Sicily brings it to a whole other level.  On our first day, we flew into Catania, Sicily's second largest city, joined by my friend, Kevin, who was as keen as I was to hit the ground running. We checked into the perfectly situated Ostello degli Elefanti  and discussed hopping on the first bus to Siracusa for a walk free walking tour.  The woman at the hostel, who could easily make a living as the top Sicilian Celin...