1. I miss travelling!  I’ve been spending much of my time these days looking for the next destination.  I can’t wait for the next trip – not sure where and when yet, but it’s likely a few months away.
2. For some reason, I just can’t fixate on a particular place I want to write about or travel to right now.
3. As mentioned before, I don’t have the greatest memory when it comes to certain things.  So, trying to pull an in-depth post together on somewhere I was a few years ago is proving to be a challenge.
4. I take a lot of photos when I travel…it’s a lot of fun going through them as it takes me down memory lane.  I think this is the key!

That said, I’m going to change it up a little bit.  Along with posting random travel thoughts, I’m going to do an “in photos” post on a few places over the next little while – not much writing about them, just photos.

I figure most people would like to see them and once I have a few cities covered, one of them will inspire me for the next trip and for the next place I write about!

Stay tuned…

Before I dive in, let me preface by saying that I don’t think of any cities as being rude…but there are specific experiences with rudeness!

I’m a very tolerant guy especially when I’m travelling.  I expect things to be different…I mean, I’m the one coming into someone else’s home not speaking their language, right?

If you go in expecting it to be like your home, then yes…you’ll find certain places can be very rude.  If you go in expecting it to be different, then it’ll usually take a specific experience to bother you.  Throw in a few of those specific experiences in one specific city and then you really go over the edge.

So in the spirit of the article above, here are two cities I’ve been to that are top of mind.

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest really is a beautiful city and I think it’s a hidden gem.  I really enjoyed it there, but…

• Strike #1 – I was taken for money at a currency exchange where they blatantly did not give me as much money as they should have.  When I asked about it, the person refused to give me my money and yelled at me in Hungarian!  I don’t know if this happened to anyone else, but it did to me…
• Strike #2 – Taxi drivers take you for a ride.  This is pretty common anywhere, but it felt a bit extreme here.  I had to negotiate a fixed rate before hopping into a taxi EVERY single time.  I even turned down a taxi at 4:00 AM in a not so safe area with no other taxis in sight because the driver was trying to charge me more than double what it should have been.
• Strike #3 – This is the only place in all of my travels where some of my money went missing – 4000 in Hungarian currency!  I’m not saying some local stole it and I’m not blaming it on Budapest…I honestly think it might have been my roommate.  But, it was a specific experience that threw me over the edge and Budapest is only guilty here by association.

Cairo, Egypt

Going to Cairo and Egypt was probably the most mind-blowing travel experience I’ve had.  It’s such an amazing place to visit and everyone should go there once in their life.  But…I’ve never been to a place that made me feel so uncomfortable in so many different situations.

• Strike #1 – Tipping…for everything!  It’s actually a social obligation there so I don’t mind, but some situations were a bit much in my opinion.  Let’s see…someone approaches me and gives me unsolicited directions while I’m standing on a street corner minding my business and looking at my map (note that I’m a human GPS and am never really lost).  Hand comes out for a tip.  I’m taking a picture of a friend at Giza and some stranger peers over my shoulder, steals a look at the camera display, and tells me to move the camera a bit to the left so I can get the angle right.  Hand comes out for a tip.  Someone does this, that, and the other.  Hand comes out for a tip.
• Strike #2 – If you’re a woman, be prepared to be hit on very aggressively by every man that walks by.  Our tour guide gave some advice to all of the women before disembarking our tour bus to go to a market…look around the bus and find some guy to be your husband.  It didn’t even matter…all my wives were still hit on that night!  (note that this market example didn’t actually occur in the city, but it was in Egypt and was fun to include here)
• Strike #3 – Being constantly harassed to buy and having to negotiate for everything!  I’ve never been so aggressively approached to buy something I had absolutely no intention of buying.  It also amazed me how I’d be offered something for say 400 Egyptian pounds and they would end up selling it for 50.  It was fun at first, but it got quite wearing over time…that may just be me because some people enjoyed it.
• And the kicker – Traffic that kills!  Imagine roads with the worst traffic you’ve ever seen, absolutely no rules, and enough room for drivers to be able to pick up enough speed to plow through a caravan of camels…crossing the street became a game of Frogger.  That said, I honestly did find this amusing and actually enjoyed trying to cross the street.

I hope nobody takes this as a knock against either of these cities and I hope I don’t offend any of my Hungarian and Egyptian friends.  I’m just having a bit of fun here and none of my comments are meant to be generalizations.  They are both great cities to visit and I highly recommend both to anyone.  These things did add something to their charm and they are fun memories for me.

Though if you do go to either city, don’t say I didn’t warn you to be prepared for a few specific experiences!

Well, there’s always something about a first time that changes things.  The first I’m referring to here is my first time in Europe.

(Warning:  This one is a bit deeper than usual!)

About 9 years ago, a very good friend of mine asked if I wanted to take a trip to Europe.  Outside of a family trip to the Philippines, I’d never ventured outside of North America before.  I had no idea what to expect, but I trusted my friend who had been to Europe so I said yes.  It was the best decision I ever made.

We both only had about a week of vacation time at work, so we decided to stick to one country and leave it at that.  We planned, if you could call it planning, the whole trip maybe 2-3 weeks in advance.  When the time came to go, we had our flight booked and only 3 days of accomodations.  I was a bit worried about this, but he told me not to worry so off we went.  Destination…Amsterdam!  Well, not quite…

We spent the first 4 days in Noordwijk which sits on the coast of the North Sea about 2 hours away from Amsterdam.  We’d spend our days roaming around the village, relaxing on the beach, taking the train into Amsterdam to do some sightseeing, and trying to find a place to stay for the rest of the trip.  It was a great time…but to this day, I still have no idea why my friend decided to book us in Noordwijk on a trip that was only a week long.

We found some hostels in Amsterdam during one of our trips to the city and ended up staying in 3 different ones for the remainder of the trip…I have not stayed in a hostel since.  It’s nice to say I’ve done it, but never again.  20 people in one room, one bathroom…enough said.

Accommodations aside, this was a great trip and was a defining experience for me.  I used to see travel as a weekend trip to some American city or an all-inclusive package to some resort in the Caribbean.  This was the first time I’d experienced a culture and history so unique and different from my own.  We visited museums, experienced the dark side of Amsterdam, ate Dutch pancakes, drank Heineken, and sang (yes…sang) songs in Dam Square after a night out.

But the highlight for me was the Anne Frank House.  This was the most profound and moving experience of my life.  I’d read and heard about it in school like most people, but I was not prepared for the experience of being in the same house where they hid, looking through the same secret doorway, staring out the same windows, and being in the same bedroom where she wrote her diary with pictures on the wall like any other young girl’s room.

It was a humbling experience as it was the first time I realized how small I was in the grand scheme of things and how much I didn’t know about the world.  It changed my perspective and has been at the core of my desire to travel since.

Travel was no longer just a getaway for me.  Travel would always be about fun, but it was now also an opportunity to experience different cultures, meet different people, learn about history, and gain a different perspective.  Over the years, some of the greatest travel experiences I’ve had are those that made me think and grow as a person.

I’ve passed through Amsterdam a number of times over the years and it’s always remained special to me.  I’ve even been back to the Anne Frank House just to remind myself of the reason I travel so much.  I’ll always appreciate the perspective this first time overseas gave me.

(Note:  As you probably know, Anne Frank’s tree fell this week. Worth mentioning here. Thanks…)

• Previous posts:  My time in Perth
• Photo gallery:  Perth – In Photos

Other highlights from my time there:

• Kings Park – Spent a few hours here.  Saw the war memorial, tree top walk, and amazing views of the city and river.
• Perth Mint – Held a $200,000 gold bar, saw a gold pour (I love goooooold…someone please get that reference!) and found out my weight in gold – $3.1 million, thank you very much!
• Shopping – Wandered about the great outdoor shopping areas including the Hay Street Mall, Murray Street Mall, and London Court.
• And…did a lot of walking and exploring.

Some day and weekend trips I wish I had more time to do:

• Margaret River
• Pinnacles Desert
• Wave Rock

I also wish the timing worked out and I had a chance to watch a West Coast Eagles footy game…next time.

Final thoughts

In my first post on Perth, I said that Perth felt a lot like Vancouver.  After spending a bit over a week there, I think that still holds to some extent – the huge park in the city, food, culture and diversity (felt like Canada).  I think another parallel is California – the weather (sun!) and the coastal drives and areas.  Also, the outdoor shopping areas and older buildings felt quite European.  Finally, the outdoors and wildlife, for which I can’t find a parallel for, were just so unique and exotic.

So, I guess that leads me to my travel rating for Perth:

5 = “I could live here”

I think Perth tends to be a neglected city for foreign travellers, but this has more to do with location than anything given the concentration of cities on the east coast.  It’s a great city and I had an amazing time.  Someday, I’ll find myself back there.

Next stop…Sydney!

ps – A final thanks to Shenae for showing me a great time in Perth!  Looking forward to doing the same for you whenever you visit Canada.

Roo Crossing! | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

What is a trip to Australia without seeing some wildlife?

Probably still a great one, but it would definitely be incomplete!

I was really looking forward to my Saturday in Perth as it was the day I was going to see my first kangaroo. Well, I finally did see that kangaroo, but it was only the beginning.

In an earlier post, I said that quokkas were the cutest creatures I’d ever seen.  No disrespect to the quokka, but that was before I saw a koala in person!  Here was my itinerary for the day…

Sleeping Koala | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

We started the day with a nice breakfast at Milk and Honey in Northbridge (see my post on food).  Afterwards, we were off to Caversham Wildlife Park where you can get up close and personal to feed the kangaroos, koalas, and…[cue "If I had a million dollars"]…emus…yes, emus!  I also had a chance to see dingos, tasmanian devils, and wombats to name a few others.

This was a highlight of my trip, but there’s not much I can say to describe it so I’ve included some more photos at the bottom of this post.

Margaret River Chocolate Company | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

A nice afternoon break

After leaving Caversham, we stopped off at the Margaret River Chocolate Company for afternoon tea.  All I can say is chocolate…lots of it!  They have samplers at a station inside where you can grab as many milk, white, and dark chocolate “buttons” as you like.  I’m talking handfuls!  We made a few trips back and forth…

There’s also a cafe with some outdoor seating where you can get food, coffee, desserts, and different kinds of hot chocolate that you have to try!

Note:  There is actually a day tour available at the Perth Tourism Centre (corner of Hay and Pier Streets) that combines these two things along with a wine tasting if you don’t have a car.

Fremantle | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

Drive along the coast to Fremantle

Next up was a nice drive south along the coast to get to Fremantle.  It kind of reminded me of driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in California – some very nice homes and amazing scenery.

Once we got there, we took a walk around town and stopped at Little Creatures, a local brewery in Fremantle, for a few drinks.  The beer was great and I ended up drinking Little Creatures exclusively for the rest of my time in Perth.

There are a number of things to see in Fremantle such as the prison (which is supposedly haunted) and the maritime museum (where you can see a real submarine from the Cold War era), but at this point we were quite tired from a very full day so we opted to find somewhere to have a nice dinner.  No problem in Fremantle…Fremantle is loaded with nice restaurants!

Well, that was about it for that day…many favourite moments and another great day in Perth.

More photos

I’ve settled on a 5 point system, but a low number of points does not necessarily mean that a specific place is not a great one to visit.  I think it’ll be easiest to explain by diving right in:

5 = “I could live here”

4 = “I could make this a regular destination”

3 = “I could come back here”

2 = “You have to see this place once in your life”

1 = “At least I can say I’ve been here”

I don’t like to be negative about places I travel to because I think there’s always something good about any place you visit and something you can take away from it.  Also, how someone likes a place is personal and subjective…so, my rating system is not so much a ranking to indicate which country or city is better than the next, but more just my final thought on somewhere I’ve been.

That’s pretty much how I look at places I visit, so maybe this will be helpful to someone looking for their next destination.  Happy planning!

ps – I’ll provide a rating for each place after I’ve finished writing about it…speaking of which, I need to get on with writing about Australia!  It’s been a bit hectic since coming back home, but I’ll definitely get on it this week…thanks for checking in!

Kangaroo, anyone? | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

I’m usually quite adventurous when it comes to food in other countries, but I just could not get myself to eat kangaroo!  They are just too cute and too exotic for me to eat.  But, I was in Australia…so, what then?

No worries…the food in Perth was fantastic!  There are very many options and I wasn’t disappointed once.  Also, the seafood is great as you’d expect for a city so close to the ocean.

Perth has a number of different suburbs that are all close and easily accessible with some great places to eat.  Here’s a rundown…

Breakfast and brunch favourites

French Toast | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

• Trackside Bakery and Miss Maud Bakery (City Centre) – Bakeries with some great sweets, good coffee, and meat pies.  I ate more things from these bakeries than I can remember.
• Cafe Cafe (Subiaco) – Very nice with a lot of options for breakfast.
• Milk and Honey (Northbridge) – I ordered the french toast with cream cheese, berries, and vanilla ice cream.

I normally do not eat much for breakfast, so I had most of my breakfasts at a bakery.  But, all of the times I sat down in a restaurant and ate a proper breakfast were great.

Appetizers | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

Lunch and dinner favourites

• Little Caesars Pizzeria (Leederville) – No, this is not the North American Little Caesars chain.  It serves award-winning gourmet and dessert pizzas (the mud honey!).  Get there early if you want to eat in – it opens at 5:00 pm and there’s a very long line up to get in.
• Top Catch (Hillarys) – Fish and chips by the water.  Really really good.  Topped it off with some Milo (Milo!) ice cream with Picnic mixed in at the nearby Cold Rock (same concept as Cold Stone).
• Cafe @ the Hyatt (City Centre) – The dinner buffet rivals any Vegas buffet I’ve had, but it has the best dessert section I’ve seen at a buffet!  The desserts are excellent quality and are what you would normally order off a menu at a nice restaurant.

Miss Maud Swedish Restaurant | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

Other places that were great

• Botanica (Innaloo) – Trendy restaurant/bar…be sure to dress nice!  I had the Mediterranean chicken.
• Siena’s (Leederville) – Italian.  I had a nice barramundi here.
• The Queens (Mount Lawley) – Trendy, but casual pub/restaurant.  Good steak and I really liked the chorizo and olive appetizer.
• Miss Maud Swedish Restaurant (City Centre) – Breakfast smorgasbord was nice.
• Balthazar (City Centre) – Modern/comtemporary Australian. Very nice upscale restaurant for a night out, but we weren’t completely happy with the service given the cost of our dinner…may have been an off night.
• Portorosa (Fremantle) – Nice seafood platter!

Lamington | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

And for the sweet tooth…

I have a massive sweet tooth, so I was very happy to find out that the Aussies do too!  There are bakeries everywhere and so many different types of sweets that I wish I had more time to try them all.  Try a lamington when you’re at a bakery and pick up some Tim Tams (possibly the greatest biscuit ever!) at a grocery store.  I brought back 10 packs…yes, they’re that good.

Some randomness:

• Tipping – not required!  It is standard practice to not tip in Australia because service industry workers get paid well.  If you’re really happy with the service, you can tip…but no more than 1o%.
• An “appetizer” is called an “entree” in Australia.  This continued to confuse me the entire trip.
• Vegemite – Can’t believe I actually acquired a taste for this stuff and brought some home!
• Ordering coffee is a bit different – I would order a flat white or a long black which is just an Americaaano, Americaaano, Americaaano…sorry, inside joke for someone in particular

Australia is a great country and 2 weeks is definitely not long enough.  I split my time between Perth and Sydney while I was there.  I wish I had more time to squeeze in a trip to Melbourne, but with only 2 weeks I decided to limit the number of places I visited so that I could get a real feel of what it’s like to live in them.

I still have to fully work out my rating system for places I visit, but for now…what’s my rating for Australia?  Well…I rate it an “I could live here” (more on the system here).

Australia is an amazing place and feels like home despite being such a unique country.  I’ll be posting much more over the next couple of days to go into detail, so this is just a quick service announcement for my family and friends to let them know I’m back and that I had a great time!

Also, a special thanks to Shenae for showing me around in Perth and to my cousin Ed for showing me around in Sydney!

More to come soon…