Loving Maui

Well, I haven't written in a while because I was away - on a vacation in Hawaii.
Unlike other places I've been too, I love the fact that Hawaii is for everyone. Young and old, adventurous and not so adventurous... Usually, I want to see the best views, but I don't like the effort. Well in Hawaii that conflict was solved!

From the main islands of Hawaii - Ohua, Kauai, Big Island and Maui, Maui is my favourite.

This picture was taken in Haleakala National Park, where many people, tired and shivering, come to see the birth of a new day.
Being there, when it's pitch black and you wish you had a bonfire to sit on, made me think that the reason people call it "A once in a lifetime experience" is because once you did it, you'll never feel like doing it again.
Well, I don't know about that, but once the sun starts rising, and you see so many different colors changing before your very eyes, you know it's an amazing experience.

This picture was taken on a cruise to Molokini and Turtle Bay, where I saw the most amazing fish, but no turtels. But the fish! So many, so many colors and so many kinds!

Maui for me is Iao valley, where with a little imagination you almost see fairies and pixies running around. It's the luau by the sea with the great food. It's the huge tree in old Lahaina, and of course, Haleakala from where, some say, you can see the world is round, and Molokini, where the underwater life is breath taking.

White Island

This picture is of a sulfur river running through White Island - an active volcano in the middle of the sea near the coast of New-Zealand's north island.
We really had our doubts about this day trip, since it's really pricy and we didn't know what to expect, but it is a really nice trip.

The first part is the cruise to the island, where we got to see whales swimming alongside the ship, and that was really breath taking.
Then, you climb into a little boat that takes you to White Island, for a tour of the steaming crater and the sulfur bright yellow rivers and holes. This volcano can actually erupt while you are visiting it which adds a little extra something to the exprience...

Te Papa Museum

This picture is from "Te Papa" museum's yard, in windy Wellington, NZ...
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, and that's where I landed.
For me, 24 hours of flight meant I'd officially arrived at the end of the world, and it was really peaceful and so quiet!

All that was true until you started hearing the wind. I was there for only two days before moving on but it seemed that the wind never stopped blowing!


Anyhow, it's a really cool museum, it's free and there are many interesting exhibitions there, like the one about quakes that has an actually shaking house...
Everybody can find something there, especially sheep lovers :-)

Today's picture is one that I really really love, it's a picture of a drawing made with some kind of a golden ink...

It's from the King's palace in Thailand. The drawing is very similar to the actual buildings we saw there, but somehow, when I look at it, it has something ancient about it...

That picture reminds me that about a minute after we entered the palace, rain started pouring (which is very normal during the month of October) and we got soaking wet.
It didn't really bother us so we just continued walking, and then we left the palace.
At that point, every umbrella salesperson we met thought we desperately needed one... they kept on offering until we replied "Can't you see we're ALREADY wet??"

So, I wanted to share some of the photos I took in my travels...

Today the picture is from Thailand, from a sunset trip (that's its name for the very obvious reason that it happens during the sunset) we took near Koh Phi Phi.
The picture is from the beach we stopped by to kayak and snorkel, before our ship got stuck and we had to wait for about an hour before a tiny boat came to tow us.

But other than that, it was a really amazing trip.
You watch the sunset from "Maya bay" which is where the movie "The Beach" was shot, and you get to the beach by swimming to a very narrow cave - while the sea waves are pushing you from one pointy rock to another.
It's scary, and I banged my knee, and got sea sick, but is was REALLY WORTH IT!

Hello,

I am 25 years old, and I've had the "travel bug" for about 3 years now...
As a kid I travelled to many parts of Europe, the US, Jordan and Turkey, but it wasn't 'till my third year in university that I realised there's literally a huge world out there, that I knew so little about.

So, after travelling to Thailand, New-Zealand, Hong-Kong and the USA's east and west coasts, all during the course of 2 years, my next destinations are, is this order - Hawaii, Scotland and China.

I'll be leaving for Hawaii in a month.
I'll be spending 3 weeks in Hawaii, and I plan to stay for a couple of days in Big Island, Kauai, Maui and Ohau...

This blog is about world travelling, about great vacations and about special places the world has so many of...