SYDNEY...the best city in the World???

Is there any other place in the World better than Sydney?

I've had the great chance to stay in a friend’s house (wonderful…by the way…a penthouse just on Homebush Bay…) and I was taking the ferry to get to the city center… So the first thing that I have seen of Sydney has been the famous bridge and the magnificent Opera House… this is unreal!

Everything is SO organized, everywhere is SO clean, everyone is SO nice and helpful, you cannot even stop somewhere to look at the map of the city that suddenly an “Aussy” come to you to ask if you need any help! Isn’t that lovely?

For me it has been love at first sight… I wouldn’t mind living in Sydney… really!

The sky is always blue and the temperature is warm and dry with on average 30º in summer time which in the Southern hemisphere has just started!

Every single area of the city has got something magic, in between modern and old style, with always something fascinating to be discovered in each single corner of the streets. Either if you walk in Oxford Street or in George Street, you feel like a little kid enjoying a new toy…

The little bars and the antique houses of my favourite area - Paddington - is very special during the happy-hour time which starts around 5pm, when the elegant workers end their day at the office and go out for a drink.

And than Newtown, Kings Cross, Woolloomooloo, Balmain... each area with a proper vibe, a proper WHY to stay there and enjoy your free time... after a long long day walking around is so nice to sit down and have a glass of fresh good white wine!

Moving by ferry around the river, you can reach the different surroundings of Sydney, with very posh areas and beautiful villas or very nice beaches such as Manly Beach, Watson Bay or Double Bay, just 40 minutes from the city center but with a very good vibe.

And then, at just 20 minutes by bus there is one of the best spots of Sydney… the very famous Bondi beach… where everyone is good looking, with amazing sculptured bodies and very handsome boys and girls just hanging out on the beach or drinking some bears on the grass just behind the beach and waiting for the right wave to surf.

And at night, everywhere is like a golden party… girls wearing luxuries dresses and very high heels ready to start their night or even their lunch.. But always with the right conjunction… make up + dress + high heels… this is a pass partout!

The view of the main harbor changes completely during the night, with an explosion of lights that illuminate the bay and the water, always with the magnificent overview of the illuminated Opera House and the Sydney Bridge.. With that nice breeze that keeps the bodies and souls chill all night long.

So, after having experienced Sydney and having falling in love with city at the very first sight… what’s up next????

I'm excited to discover it! :)

The magician of Central Australia

ULURU (Ayers Rock) & Kings Canyon

When landing in Alice Springs, the nearest town to the Red Desert, the first thing that you would probably notice is the hot temperature and of course the different landscape… really feeling to be in a desert area!

I took a 3 days trip from Alice Spring to Uluru and return, and I’ve had the great opportunity to get into a very nice group with people from all over the World and of course with the best guides ever!

We left Alice Spring at 6am as the hot sun rises very early and you have to be prepared to the hot temperature along the 6h bus trip to Ayers Rock. What I liked most has been the “easy going” life and the great feeling among the group.

The sunset at Uluru has been absolutely amazing, the red of the sky mixed with the red of the rocks and surrounded by the blue of the sky getting darker and darker until the fool moon and the millions of start have come through.

The early wake up when the night is still on have been an amazing occasion to see the sun rise from behind the land… and to have the chance to hike among the Kings Canyon or walk around the ancient rocks of Uluru watching the painting of the Aborigens before getting back to the camp site with a tremendous hot sun!

We slept outside all together in a circle just close to the bone fire, listening to the animals and watching out the dingo coming over for some food… and the kangaroos jumping around in the bush and under a cover of stars all over!

Chill out with some beers in the outside camping place and trying the tail of a kangaroo (yack!!!) have completed the adventure… another experience that I will never forget!

Thanks Uluru and all the fantastic people that I've met there!

FIJI… who said Paradise?

In one word? Impossible…

Fiji is the real paradise… 336 islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, one of that places to be once in your life, a place to be in your personal list of the “100 things to do before I die!”.

Fijian are SO NICE... Always smiling, dancing, singing, helping… they really know how to enjoy life and you understand how as soon as landing in Nadi, the mainland.

The smell of the nature, the green of the palm trees and the forests together with the amazing light and dark blue of the water … and of course the bright white of the sand…. A perfect mix to make you feel staying inside a postcard!

But this is not a piece of paper, this is reality!

Snorkeling among hundreds of fully colored fishes, blue star fishes, amazing shells and reaching a white sandy line right in the middle of the Ocean, just reachable swimming and sailing. Look around you: in 360º… just crystal water!

Of course there is also time for a good surfing day: yes, also in Fiji there are good spots and good waves to catch, easy going like the lifestyle of the Fijian.

And fire-bones in the night, right on the beach, together with people from all over the World,

united to celebrate another great day in this paradise!

A place to be, a play to enjoy, a place I will remember forever!

BULA!

New Zealand is awesome, mate!

After more than 3 weeks driving about 5.000 km, I can almost sat that I have visited quite a lot of this natural paradise called New Zealand.

Starting from Auckland, the most modern city of the Country, with its impressive sky tower,

the magic old style barrios, the harbour full of big sailing boats, the big glass window buildings and the multi-cultural mix with a touch of Maori culture.

The Northland and Cape Reinga, with the conjunction of the Tasman Sea with the Pacific Ocean, an explosion of water and waves all together in just one peace of the outstanding view…

Rotorua and the geisers, natural pools of hot waters and gas that are constantly coming out from the ground creating strange sounds and clouds. Be aware and don’t touch the ground or you will get burned!!!

Wellington is called the windy-Welly.. And you will soon understand why… the wind blows constantly and this is one of the reasons why the sky is always so blue. It is worthy enough a ride on the typical red cable-car to reach the top of the hill and reaching the botanic garden from where there is a fantastic way back to the center just among fully colored flowers.

Than you can also experience a 3,5h ferry trip to cross the sea and to reach the South Island. The view is absolutely fantastic and the pictures are assured… it is like crossing a fiord-land... Impressive!

The South is colder than the North, but worth enough to see the magic views and surroundings.

Kaikoura, on the East Coast is a little fishing town from where there is a high chance to view the whales and the dolphins, but for sure you will see a lot of seals just chilling at the sun, in their natural habitat.

Nelson is the sunniest town of the Country, and really is like that. Just chilling out, having a walking tour of the center, having a wine tasting in one the famous wineries of the area and you will feel like flying!

Nothing better than experience a view at just 80m from a glacier, both in Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers, where the ice becomes blue and the lakes and little rivers get a color that seems like painted from a Pantone color….

Queenstown, the Cortina of NZ… a jewel surrounded by mountains and a fantastic blue lake, where it is possible to practice a lot of extreme activities like sky diving, bungy-jumping, paragliding, canyoning, jet boat… and whatever you wanna do! Or simply wear a pair of comfortable shoe and hike up the mountain in on the different walks around the town. The view is payless!!

After driving through the middle of the island and having a dream while viewing magic light blue lakes and rivers, finally you reach Christchurch… a surprisingly fabulous city which really has kept the English colonization style. The old tram rides slowly across the center, while the weekend market is a good place where to stop by and have something to eat, chilling in the green yard of the old Canterbury University, now intelligently transformed in a good art center where you can spend half a day just looking inside the different boots.

And what a night life! In an industrial reformed area, there is the best sport for night life called the Sol Plaza… very nice restaurants and bars and a lot of people just hanging around and enjoying the late hours.

…the trip is finished… it is time to say goodbye to my friends. After 3 weeks travelling together, 24h a day.. Drinking, eating, sightseeing, sleeping, walking, driving… but most of all after having a great time and laughing a lot!

It has been a great experience that I will never forget in my life! Thanks to all the people that I have met on my way, I have learned a lot from all of you!

NZ Queenstown, where the sports is REALLY extreme!

After several km driving up and down the mountains, viewing sceneries absolutely breathtaking… I have reached also the beautiful little town of Queenstown, a jewel surrounded by mountains and a light blue lake.

I have finally decided that I had to have an extreme experience and of course this had to be THE PLACE TO BE!! So I have chosen to….. FLY… and I have gone with one of the most expert guide to do paragliding, you know that kind of parachute that allows you to run down a mountain and literally fly in tandem, just hanged in front of the guide and just with a couple of cords that are supporting you in the air.

I didn’t even have words to explain my feeling when suddenly my legs where suspended in the air, I was not touching the ground any more and I felt absolutely FREE… not scary at all, I was absolutely calm and just enjoying every single cm of that fantastic view from the top at 360º around myself.

What a strange feeling! And the guide was taking pictures, videos and …also doing some tricks to let the experience be even more excited! It has been awesome and something that I will never forget in my life!

NZ from North to South

If you have visited already the North and you think that it is amazing… when you go on the ferry from Wellington to Picton… you feel like in paradise.

The nature is giving you a very special present, cruising among the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean you have a 360º view with mountains and glaciers, green of the hills the go directly into the water and the always blue sky with always cotton-white clouds.

But then, arriving to the coast of the South Island… is even better and the scenery that you have in front of you is amazing. I didn’t really think that such a natural place could still exist on Planet Earth! And the feeling of freedom and happiness is elevated to the maximum power.

In a lucky day, you can even watch the whales and the dolphins jumping out of the water and for sure you will see a lot of seals warming up at the sun. You will feel the light wind blowing from the mountains and of course some of the 40 million sheep eating their portion of grass together with the nice cows!

Everything is a mix and match of colors and sensations: just lay down, open your eyes and feel that beat that you will never forget!

where the views never stop....

You can even decide to look ahead, to look behind, to look left or to look right... but for sure you will always find something special to look at...

New Zealand is an amazing country, the landscape is so special that I cannot stop taking pictures and my eyes are just turning around to catch as much view as I can. I want all of this to stay inside me forever! Pictures are not enough to describe to all of you the sensations that I am feeling.

Maybe FREEDOM is one fo them... such big spaces, the peacefull of the little and cute villages around the Tasmanian Sea or the Pacific Ocean... the sky is so blue, the land is so green and the clouds are so white like cotton candies that everything seems unreal!

And everything without smoking joints... :)

I am driving a very old SW car all over and I haave just gone back from the northern point of the island, where the Tasmanian Sea meets the Pacific Ocean, this is a very good feeling! The wind was blowing very strong, but the space was so fresh and open that you could even fly!

I still have so many places to see that I could not be surprised by the supremacy of this beauty.. therei is stil a lot to do, a lot of kilometres so cut down, a lot of people to meet and talk with, a lot of hostels where to sleep in ... but most of all I am really looking forward to all of that!

... and Jack Johson is playing his music right now...

See you soon!

One day....

ONE day in my life I had a dream..

ONE day I said I would have gone to New Zealand...and finally..

THAT day has come...

Last night I have landed in Auckland - the biggest city of the North Island of New Zealand, with 1,5 million people and considering that in the rest of the country there are the other 2,5 million of the total population... versus over 4 million sheeps!!! Beeeeeehhhhh!!!!

Anyway, after a 9 hours flight from Bangkok, connection in Melbourne, wating 6h the next flight and another more than 3h to get to Auckland, it has been worthy enough to arrive in one of the most beautiful city of the World.

It is full of lights during the nights with its huge skyscrapers but in the old area you can still found lovely tiny shops, bars, cafés when you just sit down and chat with everyone, as the locals are very friendly and they always helpp you out.

If you need a rest, you can just choose in which of the so many different parks and green areas around the city to lye down and relax with a book or wathcing at the guys playing crickett.

And you'll be surprised by the magnificent harbour expecially at sunset, looking at the ocean and the light that easily turns off around 8pm while you are drinking a glass of cold white wine.

Need to find out a negative spot? The freezing wind that always blows at evening and night, so you'd better put something warm in your backpack.. not like me that I was coming from 3 months in South Asia with just shorts, tanks and bikinis!!! :)

Of course, being know as the most exciting city of the south emisphere, no one can miss a sail on the New Zealand America's Cup racing boat, a bungy jumping from the Sky Tower or the bridge crossing... sooooo ammazing!

What are you waiting for? Your next holyday destination is here waiting for you to come!

Cambodia & Angkor Wat, the 8th wonder of the World...

WANNA HAVE PLEASURE IN CAMBODIA WITHOUT SEX???

You’d better have to see Angkor once in your life, the 8th Wonder of the World and of course one of my top three “place to see before I die” wish list…

The best timing to visit Angkor Wat, the main temple, is at sunrise, when you can really enjoy the magnificent of the light at that early hour in the morning when you are almost sleeping standing and waiting the sun to come out …

And when the God Sun rises high in the sky, you can really enjoy in peace and silence the view of that history piece and shooting picture to capture every single moment and every single movement out there.

Thanks to a child around the area, I had the chance to stand right in the front of a little pond, from where the view is even more spectacular and fantastic thanks to the reflection in the water.

Isn’t it fantastic? I really had the chance to see a super sunrise with that light soooo magic…. And of course I thank to have seen one of my dream come true!!

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

….and also the time to say the last GOOD MORNING VIETNAM has arrived…

I have spent a fantastic time exploring this beautiful country, tasting the fantastic food, drinking the local Saigon beer, spending their local Dong like a millionaire, doing trekking in mountains at the North, sailing in Halong Bay… sleeping by local houses and visiting poor villages with smiling people, sleeping in overnight trains to reach the South, running at sunrise

everywhere, flying to the vibrating Ho Chi Minh and by boat crossing the Mekong Delta.

It is hard to say what I liked most! I have met so many different people and saw so many different places that making a top list would be hard, but for sure I will always remember the friendship of the Vietnamese, their smiles and their intense brown eyes and black shiny hair.

Ho Chi Minh city is a vibrating city full of traffic, motor bikes and light all night long, where you spend your night with other travelers in a local bar by the street just talking and drinking beers and shots of rice wine and laughing while commenting all the people that come to you trying to sell every kind of stuff…

Mekong Delta is one of the best experience ever, you do have to jump on a boat and visit the local and original floating market full pf colors and life and under a burning sun only at 7 in the morning… or visiting a fisherman village or a local rice industry. The life in the Mekong is so fantastic is its poorness that I couldn’t stop taking pictures to people, kids having a bath in that brown water, to the houses made of ….nothing… but they always seem very happy!

Only thing to do… no rush, no stress, enjoy their patience and length of services and bad English, and for sure you will have a fantastic experience and a lots good remembers and a thousands of pictures as me!

HOI AN: the jewel of South Vietnam

If you think that a typhoon can be very bad and that could probably ruin your life ... you'd better come to this quite place to understand something about life.

I arrived yesterday to HOI AN, a lovely little town on the South coast of Vietnam, protected by UNESCO and you can easily understand why, just walking in the narrow streets of the Old District.

You can breath history, see wonderful and ancient temples, old houses full of stories... but you can also see the disaster that the typhoon of last week has left and all the marks of mud and dust that are still very alive all around the city and especially around the river area. Among all of this, the shocking thing is that all locals have worked days and nights to clean everything and they keep smiling even if their business have been fucked up by the flood!

As the sun is very hot down here, you can rent a bycicle (or a moto if you are lazy!!) and ride for 5km before getting to the faboulous beach, white sand and full of plam trees like in the Carribean... and with very warm water! Incredible relax after the ride and after the sightseeing!

For sure you will be captured by one of the tailors showing their hand made suites and dresses and shorts and typical asian dresses with so many different materials and silks and colours... but with a very cheap price (and I am talking about around €10 for a dress!!) you can really full your packpack of new clothes to bring back home or with hand made sandals made of leather.

Then, nothing better than a typical Vietnamese dinner by the river... there are a lot of places where to try local specialties apart from the loved noodles and rice... :) and you can also choose like to me to stay in a very typical one open air with just few wooden tables and used sticks! But the taste has been one the best I have ever tried here!

So... if you will ever decide to come to visit Vietnam, do not skip this beatiful little town!

You will be sad to leave... like I am!

VIETNAM TREKKING in SAPA

One of the things that locals recommend while travelling in Vietnam, is foor sure a trekking in Sapa, a lovely village on the Fansipane mountains - more than 3.000m and the highest of Vietnam.

I had the chance to go there with a group of 5 Spanish people and 2 Serbian I was travelling with and we had one of the best experience ever...

We took the night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai and from there 2h bus to Sapa and @ 6:00 we were already at the hotel ready to start the trekking... wow!!! So, the best thing of Sapa is that it looks like a cute village of Tirol, but it is full of minority people form the H'Mong tribu - most of them little skinny women selling their local clothes tinted with indigo blue plants - and they are very nice and helpful when walking on the mountain, as it becomes very slippery and they are like your "human sticks" for not falling down in the mud!!!

The first day we have been walking up and down in the mud and under the rain for almost 7h... and we took a rest and spent the night in a very rudimental local homestay with a local family, sleeping among any kind of little spiders and animals... but it has been a good fun to learn how to cook Vietnamese food.

The second day, as we were very tired and it has been raining a lot, we took a shorter way to get back to the main village and we had a good lunch up the puntain before going back to a good hotel to take a shower... take a rest ... and have a nice dinner in a local restaurant.

I would really recommend this trip if you are travelling in the North of Vietnam, because the view and the peaceful is absolutely amazing...

GOOD THING: I have finally thrown away my 13 years old backpack and bought a brand new one... I was kindd of sad, but I am sure that it has been a great experience also for it as I left it in the train on our way back to Hanoi!!! :)

make sure to book the trip with a good agency as we did in Hanoi, there are plenty of it but make sure to stay one night by a local family if you wanna have a very original experience!!

The Vibrating HANOI

If you wanna be brave.... or mad... just do like me and wake up at 06:30am to out running in Hanoi around the pond close to the old district.

A very good experience, because I thought to be the only one there, but in fact it was very crowded all around. Men training with weight in open air, old women practicing stretching or following a weird aerobic class without music, someone running with very curious outfits or just people jogging in their pijamas!!!!!!

That was amazing… a city that never sleeps, at any time you can find crowds doing something, even in the early morning they are so active! Well, then they just eat and sleep everywhere, but they are funny in a way…

Then I took a tour to visit the Perfume Pagoda… which I definitively do not recommend as it takes almost 2 hours to get at 70km north of Hanoi by bus and it is nothing special at all. But the funniest thing has been the trip to get to the cable-cars by river, in those tiny boats that were rowed by little old women with their skinny arms and their big hats.

Unfortunately it was raining a bit, but I enjoyed the scenery around and the company of my Serbian friend Yelena and Drasgo which I met yesterday visiting the old prison.

We spent the rest of the late afternoon just chilling out in a local place in the street, having few beers in one the most characteristic corners of the old district and spending less than 1 Euro for 7 beers… believe me… less than 1E!!

I cannot say why, but this city is really fascinating me… even if you have to really take care of your belongings and be careful if you don’t wanna be stolen… but like every big city in the World. So… open your eyes and watch out and you will spend a fantastic time over here, where tourists from different countries are mixed all together to enjoy their staying in the capital.

SAIBADEE LAOS....

Finally has arrived the time to leave this beautiful country. The time spent here has been great and I have experienced different nice things and explored an unknown population which is honest and peaceful and always smiling (or eating!!!).

Some of the things that I remeber the most:

The procession of the monks at 6am to get their food of the day

Trekking for almost 7h a day on the mountains, with fantastic views and sleep in a typical house without electricity nor hot water

Seen so many different Buda in a variety of positions

Drive a local little scooter in the dusty roads of the countryside (damn!!)

Se the training of the snake-boats preparing for an important race

The fabulous mix of colors between blu sky and green grass, all surrounded by magnificent mountains

Experience the fantastic different types of massages (one a day.. believe me!)

Having a sauna in a woden cabaña in the middle of a forest (that was sooo unreal!!!)

Local food is amazing and even if the place doesn’t look that good, you will be surprised by the taste and the cleaness (but no more sticky rice please...)

Local prices are so low that sometimes you cannot even believe it!

A little bit of sad in this last moments here, remembering all the thing that I have done and all the people that I have met during this first days here in Asia, but happy to know the time that I have still in front of me and the great experiences that again are waited to be lived!

SAIBADEE LAO….

Laos trekking

Isa and myself have just gone back from a 2 days trekking in the mountains of North Laos - Luang Prabang area - and it has been an excellent experience that I would hardly recommend to everyone who is able to walk and literally "sweat" for almos 7h a day (20km.... up and down the hills).

But the view that you see, everything soooo green and confused between palm trees and rice fields is definitivelt wonderful and you feel very FREE and in peace with the World. We have had a very good guide - Sack - a local guy about thirty - which has been a very good speaker and introducer about the story of every single local tiny village that we have crossed during our trekking.

We have spent the night in a local village on the mountains, having an oper air cold "shower", having dinner cooked by local people, watching a thai tv series with a family (they do not have electricity but they use a generator to let the tv work!!!) and sleeping in a very rural wooden hud just hearing the voice of the animals over night.

Good one, really, and ending the day after again with a soft trekking and a fantastic and bath into the cool waterfalls to finally rest.

Every day is a new experience here in Laos: local people, the orange colour of the monks, the smiling kids, the green panorama, the backpackers, the asian food...

Do not forget to add Laos to your next trip!

Welcome to LAOS, one the the quitest..greener...cleaner..place I have ever seen!

After a 2 hours flight from Bangkok in a very "funny" airplane, I have landed in Luang Pradang, a green small town on the river Mekong. My friend Isa made me a surpirse and she came to pick me up with a local motorbike and we get directly to the guesthouse to leave our packbacks and start the new adventure.

This place is so peaceful and tiny that you know everyone at the second turn and you really feel comfortable and like home. Local people just smile at you, they help you and they are very devoted to their country and their religion.

That's why this morning we were awake at 6am to see the procession of the monks (everyone dressed up in the famous orange and saffron dress): all local people just set down to await the arrival of monks to give them their offer which is basically a portion of sticky rice, some sweets or a bar of chocolate. This is what every monk eats during the day. One hour later, everyone go back to his reality... the monks go back to the temple to prey and to eat the offers, the kids go to school and the women go to cook.

LAOS is a very beautiful country when the time just pass by very slowly and in a complete peaceful which we are enjoying in every single moment and the people that we are meeting are all adventurer packpackers form all over the World.

An experience that I would recommend to everyone!

Tomorrow we will leave for a 2 days trekking, sleeping and living with local peoople in a little village on the mountains. Let's try this too!!!

Bye bye till the next!

Bangkok!

There we are.. landed in Bangkok since a couple of hours, a rush with a pre-paid taxi to the WildOrchid Guest House (fantastic place, thanks to Sonia and Albert!!), a shower and... OUT!!!

Bangkok is a very nice Asian city, expecially when you walk a bit stoned from the jet lag in its narrow streets, full of peoples, vendors, little places where to eat whatever you wanna eat, from fruit to noodle to rice to fish to... ??? What's that animal???? :)

I am delighted to syat here, to feel sooo good, so free but also so comfortable walkind alone in a mini-skirt and with no problem at all... man, we are in the 21st Century or what???? :)

Now I am connected with my super mini computer, having a beer, some noodles (actually I do not know if this is dinner or breakfast for me... it doesn't really matter!!) and waiting to have a massage before goingo to bed and a have finally a comfortable sleep in a proper bed!!!

Tomorrow morning wake up very early to go back to airport: destination LAOS, where I will meet my friend Isa S. for a 10 days travelling together during her holydays.

Stay tooned...

Elenita

Bye bye...

Finally... the D day is coming and the in the last days I have been living different experiences and different sensations ... with all my friends around, asking things... which I really do not know.. I jusst wanna leave now to start my long journey experience around the World, to vist those countries and that part of the Globe which I have always dreamed.

But it hasb nee very important to "touch the triangle" of my life: MILAN-BARCELONA-MADRID, to say BYE BYE to all my best friends and get from them the right feeling and the right energy to stay soooo good alone in the following 6 months.

Thanks to all my friends, to all the words spent, to all the messages left... I will not forget them!!!

See you on the blog with the next trip, landing on Thusday in BANGKOK.

Stay tooned...

Elena