The Warrie Circuit Walking Track – A Gold Coast Highlight

Seventeen kilometers of beautiful sub-tropical rainforest track, seven waterfalls and amazing vistas make the Warrie Circuit walking track a highlight of any visit to the Gold Coast.  When some people think of the Gold Coast they immediately think of long stretches of beautiful beach, great surfing, boating and theme parks. What some people don’t realize is the Gold Coast contains some great hiking and biking tracks just a short drive from Surfers Paradise. In fact, it’s one of the reasons we moved here, not many other places give you such easy access to beautiful beaches and amazing mountain scenery.

A forty minute drive from our home in Surfers Paradise brought us to the Tallanbana Picnic Area where we started our adventure on the Warrie Circuit. The Aboriginal word Warrie means ‘rushing water’ and truly defines this walking track. Leaving our car we slowly descended into sub-tropical rainforest where we were treated to magnificent views up the vertical canyon walls. Following the well sign-posted trail we continued right bypassing the Twin Falls Trail (more about that on a future article). Goomoolahra Falls, the first falls visible on the track, quickly comes into view.  Several photos later we were on our way deeper into the rainforest.

The walking track zips further and further into the rainforest canopy where you’re soon surrounded by amazing examples of flora and fauna. Gigantic trees spring towards the sun and beautiful ferns line the single track. On the walk we saw several small wallabies and many different species of birds. What we didn’t see was many people, we did the trail on a Monday and came across three other hikers in the five hours plus on the trail. Due to the large amount of water in the area the trail can get a bit boggy in some parts. We did it on a very sunny day and still found areas of mud which require a bit more care to pass.

Two hours into the trek we came across the Ngarri-dhum falls where we had a break and took some photos before starting the trek across the canyon floor towards ‘Meeting of the Waters’, a beautiful spot where all the creeks of the canyon converge into one.  At the 10 kilometer mark, this is a great place to stop and eat some lunch with plenty of large rocks to sit on and enjoy the view. From ‘Meeting of the Waters’ you will start your ascent up from the canyon floor where you will come across views of Gooroolba Falls, Poonyahra Falls, Poondahrya Falls and Blackfellow Falls before reaching the rim at Canyon Lookout. This last seven kilometer stretch was the most difficult portion of the trek as it’s primarily all uphill. Don’t let this deter you though, the uphill really isn’t that steep and it’s definitely worth it for the amazing scenery.

The full loop took us a little over five hours and that’s stopping to take a lot of pictures. We would recommend someone with a moderate fitness level and ankle supported hiking shoes try the full Warrie Circuit in one day. Leave yourself five or six hours to follow the well sign-posted track. This should give you plenty of time to enjoy the views and take plenty of photos. Also keep in mind that the Springbrook area is nearly 1000 meters above sea-level and therefore can be much cooler than other areas of the Gold Coast. We packed plenty of water, rain jackets and trekking sweaters just in case. We went in late May and Pamela found it cold for just a t-shirt. She wore her trekking jumper the whole way where I went with a t-shirt most of the way.

If you are a hiker and have a spare day in the Gold Coast area then we would definitely recommend the Warrie Circuit. On a clear day you will be treated to magnificent views back to the coast and of the surrounding mountain regions.  Those looking for a little easier day will enjoy plenty of other shorter walking tracks and viewpoints in the Springbrook area so it’s definitely worth a trip. Stay tuned for future articles on other tracks and sights not to miss in the Springbrook area.

Below are some of the photos from our trek. Additional photos can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/WarriTrackSpringbrookNPGoldCoastQLD?authuser=0&feat=directlink

The trail passing through some large rocks

Control children is right

Standing behind the falls

Enjoying the falls

That's definitely not the trail. 

Pamela found a hiding spot in this massive tree.

Just one of the many great trees you'll see along the track

Photo spots are endless on this track

The track is very well maintained and sign-posted.

Meeting of the Waters

Waterfall lovers will never tire of this track

Standing on the edge is optional

Towards the end, this was the last falls of the day.

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave

Jordan in Photos - Highlights from our Time in Jordan

The Jordan portion of our Honeymoon was amazing. I picked out a few photos try to capture some of the highlights of our time in Jordan. Travelling through Jordan was a great experience that shouldn't be missed. 

Sunset over the Dead Sea. At night the lights of Bethlehem can be seen.

We had a great time with the Dead Sea mud. 

Yes, you really can read while you float in the Dead Sea. It's that buoyant.

Relaxating, Dead Sea style

Sunsets from the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea are amazing.

The beautifully calm environment of the Dead Sea.

Looking down the jagged coastline of the Dead Sea.

Our first sight of the amazing Treasury structure in Petra.

Petra was basically empty during our visit.

 

Pamela makes friends quickly.

The natural colours in the rocks in Petra are amazing. 

Lots of opportunities to challenge my fear of heights while hiking through Petra.

Amazing views from amazing places makes Petra a must visit.

The gigantic "Monastery" or Al-Deir is definitely worth the walk up while visiting Petra. Looking closely you can see me in the monstrous doorway.

A closer look at the doorway of the "Monastery" in Petra. 

Having a lot of fun in Wadi Rum

The sand here is so very red and fine. All of our shoes were completely filled with the stuff. Even weeks later the fine sand was still seeping out.

The tented camp where we stayed in Wadi Rum. There were seven of us in the whole camp. Definitely an amazing experience and one of the highlights of our trip.

Nothing like watching the sun fall on another day in Wadi Rum. Bring a jacket, a big jacket, if you plan on visiting in the winter.

The iconic photo of camels crossing the desert at sunset in Wadi Rum. A magical experience in a magical place.

Vertical monoliths are the skyline in Wadi Rum. A climbers paradise.

The colour and texture of the landscape is something not to be forgotten.

While visiting the port city of Aqqaba, Pamela took a camel ride through town. Any place you can ride a camel down the street is okay in our book.

The ancient Roman city of Jerash is a must visit on any trip to Amman.

The remains of  Jerash are a tribute to the engineering marvels of these ancient civilizations. 

A collonade lined ancient street reminds us we're not in Kansas anymore while walking through Jerash.

It's hard to appreciate the magnitude of Jerash until you're standing in the middle of it.

The River Jordan provides a natural border between Jordan, near side, and Israel, far side. This interesting experience was part of our tour of the Baptism Site. 

The reported site of Jesus' Baptism

The ancient map of the Promised Land in the floor at the church in common day Madaba, biblical Moab. 

The view of the valley looking down from Mt. Nebo

Nothing like spotting a castle used during the Crusades while driving down the road.

Yes, Jordan is that good. 

We hope you enjoyed the photos from our time in Jordan. Please let us know through comments if you have any questions about our time in Jordan.


Cheers for Now -


Pamela and Dave

My Career Break – Fears, Gains and Why I’m Now More Employable

The 12^th of May, 2011, marked the end of an 11 year career at my former employer and the beginning of an adventure that would take Pamela and I around the world and back again.  A year later, now that we’re back in the “real world” it’s time for me to seek out new employment and start a new life in a new city. I’d like to try and describe some of the feelings and reservations I had about quitting my old job, taking a year off and hopefully finding a new job. I had made the decision to quit my job about 10 months before it actually happened so this whole experience has stretched for quite some time.

About Me

Let me start about talking a little about me and  my old job.  I spent most of my 11 years in one form of Information Technology role or another. I really enjoyed the job and for most of the time felt blessed to work for a good company surrounded by good people. I always seemed to be working on fun projects which taught me quite a bit about different aspects of Information Technology and really took advantage of my organization and planning skills. Yes, I’m a planner.  I was promoted a few times during my tenure and didn’t really consider myself a slouch when it came to work, I felt interested and motivated for the most part and think I did a relatively decent job. What I’m trying to get at is that I’m employable and worth a decent salary, at least hope that I’m employable.

Oh Crap
About five months prior to quitting I went through what I would call an extremely nervous phase which I refer to as the “Oh Crap” phase. It lasted about a month. Cyclical thoughts of negativity ran through my mind which had me doubting my skills, experience, personality and therefore ability to one day get a new job. Not only was I taking a year off and living off savings, but I would eventually be looking for a new job in a new city in a new country where I knew few people. Needless to say I was scared. Some of the questions and thoughts that ran through my head were: 

Would I find a job doing similar work? I’ll need to support myself.
Will I forget everything I know?  I don’t want to take a huge pay cut.
Are employers going to think poorly of my for taking a year off?

Thankfully I had a very supportive fiancé at the time who helped me through this negative phase, whether she knew it or not. Overall I’d say this phase lasted about a month and caused me quite a few sleepless nights. Interesting enough I never had these type of feelings when it came to getting married, it was strictly about losing my job and therefore means of financial support. I would also be holding back if I didn’t say that I had some of these same thoughts while we were travelling. Unfortunately my fear sometimes got the best of me and I’d lose a night or two of sleep thinking about this crap.

Oh Yeah
Negativity gone. It was awesome to think that in just a few months I’d be married, debt free, jobless, homeless and travelling the world one country at a time with my new wife. No Blackberry, no daily grind, no commute, no conference calls, no notes……WAHOOOOO, I was stoked. Most days I came to work happy as a clam. In some cases I think I developed a short timer syndrome but I really tried to stay as functional and responsive as possible. I’m sure my coworkers would have some input into how functional and responsive I actually was. In either case, I tried my best to get my work done and leave on a high note. I didn’t much care whether or not I’d find another job, I just knew that I was leaving this one, getting married and travelling around the world.

Time to Go
Turning in my keycard and Blackberry then walking out of work on my last day was one of the best feelings I can remember. Not that I don’t miss the crew from work, they’re all awesome. I just felt great to be un-tethered. All that was left to do was work on plans for our Fijian Wedding and get ideas for our round-the-world trip.  It was at this point that we got our finances together and determined an adequate budget for our big trip ensuring we’d have enough left over to set up somewhere new. The thought of spending so much money was a bit daunting but I knew it would be worth it.

Going, Going, Gone
The wedding and honeymoon were amazing. Over the course of time the plans changed and we ended up staying on the road for approximately nine months versus our original planned year. During the nine months we visited 20 countries and travelled well over a hundred thousand kilometers. Our forms of transportation ranged from first class airfare to a donkey in the Middle East. It was such a great experience and one that will live in our hearts and mind forever. From a budget stand-point we ended our trip with  a couple thousand dollars to spare, another reason to be happy.

Next Steps
With the trip over it’s time to start life over in a place called the Gold Coast. We chose this location because of the nearby activities, cost of living, job prospects, weather and overall atmosphere. So far we love it and spend as much time as we can outdoors, whether by the pool, at the beach or in the nearby mountains.

Now it’s time for me to polish up my resume and start applying for jobs. Unfortunately those same questions and negative thoughts start to circulate in my head. This time with a bit of added pressure as we need to pay our new found bills. Thankfully some of the answers to my thoughts are starting to work themselves out.

Would I find a job doing similar work? Although not a huge job market, there does appear to be IT jobs available here in the Gold Coast with some pretty decent positions coming available every couple weeks.
Will I forget everything I know? I did forget some things but overall I say I retained more than I thought I would. What I did forget appear to be small details but my overall knowledge base seems to be intact.
 I don’t want to take a huge pay cut. Thankfully jobs here seem to pay more so I hope to be looking at a little rise in my salary. Granted cost of living is a bit higher so it will probably work out even-steven.
Are employers going to think poorly of my for taking a year off?  From talking to various recruiters it doesn’t appear my year off should hurt my employability too much. Thankfully the year off thing is more common here in Australia.

What I’ve Gained
Yes, I’ve forgot a few things in the year off work but overall I think I’ve gained far more than I’ve lost. I’d even go as far to say that I’m probably more employable now than I was before my year off. You may laugh at that statement but here are some of the reasons why my year abroad made me a more employable person:
Increased Self Confidence: This endeavor and associated experiences has given me a much greater sense of self confidence. Self confidence is helpful in any job and increased self confidence will aid in decision making, allow more autonomous thinking and I open up leadership potential, and or, make me someone a better leader.

Improved Interpersonal Skills:  Let’s face it, in this era of globalization the chance of you doing business with someone culturally different from you on a daily basis is pretty high. Travelling the world gave me the opportunity to live amongst and meet people from so many different cultures far different from my own. I’d like to think that doing so has taught me how to more effectively and appropriately communicate with people from these various cultures. I saw how locals were raised and lived in countries whom I routinely communicated with, thus giving me a bit more insight into a culture and therefore a person which I didn’t have before.

Additionally, language barriers are sometimes not a bad thing. I think that I, as an American, tend to be too wordy at times. Existing in a place where English is hardly spoken taught me to use less words when communicating, basically not muddying the waters with my jibber-jabber, when all I needed to do was say the most direct words to get my desired outcome.   

Improved Negotiation Skills: Many people negotiate at work, for someone in sales it might be on a regular basis and their negotiation tactics directly impact their take home pay. Others, like someone in Information Technology (IT), may negotiate on a rare basis and their tactics may not directly impact their take home pay. Thus the person in IT has far fewer opportunities to negotiate and less of a reason to improve their tactics.  Prior to leaving on our trip I’d done a bit of travelling and had honed my basic negotiation skills on short two week trips here and there. I wasn’t very good at it and generally gave in pretty quick.

Anyone who’s travelled a bit knows that negotiation skills are essential to ensuring you pay a fair price for most things. Negotiating for goods, transportation, laundry, lodging, food and just about everything under the sun is a routine occurrence while abroad. Doing this over a two-week holiday is one thing but doing it over an extended period of time is a whole different animal altogether. Thankfully I had Pamela with me to show me the ropes, at the beginning of the trip I was a rookie. Over time the constant negotiation for everything taught me how to more effectively get what I want at a price that was both fair to me and to the person providing the goods or service. This taught me not to show my hand, when to walk away, when to keep pushing and when negotiation was absolutely futile. This experience was gleaned across multiple cultures where negotiating could be slightly different in each region and when the goods or services I was negotiating for directly impacted our bottom line. In any case, I’m a far better negotiator now than I ever was at my old job.

Increased Positive Attitude:  Before I left I like to think I had a pretty good outlook on life and didn’t complain all too much. Since embarking on this trip I have a new perspective and even greater appreciation for life.  I truly understand that I shouldn’t really complain about anything in my life. Witnessing and living amongst intense poverty for extended periods of time has taught me to appreciate what I have and what we in the western world can sometimes take for granted. Nothing I’m ever asked to undergo in any workplace would be as bad not having food on the table or a toilet to use.

On a less serious note there are certain experiences which I’ll always be able to look back on for comparison. No meeting will ever be as bad as a 17 hour bus ride through the back roads of Cambodia listening to Cambodian karaoke. No overnight work project could ever be as bad as our 2^nd class train voyages through India and no conference calls could ever be as bad as our terrible overnight train experience from Luxor to Cairo. These are the type of experiences that I look back and laugh on now but ultimately give me a more positive outlook on any situation and provide some good stories in the process.

Aftermath
If asked whether I’d do it all over, the answer is unequivocally yes. This has been a great experience that no money nor corporate job could ever provide. Not to mention I’m now married to the most wonderful woman on the planet. Looking back, I should have done this when I was 18 years old and then again when I was 25 and then again when I was 30.

Only time will tell whether or not I succeed in finding a good permanent job but as long as I stay positive I think it will all work out. Thankfully Pamela is highly employable as a Travel Consultant and has already started her new job which has greatly reduced any financial pressure we were feeling. Our big trip has only added to her travel resume and given her much more insight into the world of travel sales.

Hopefully this long post will help someone else who may be thinking about a career break. I’d definitely recommend.

Cheers for Now –

Dave

How We Used United Frequent Flyer Miles to Travel the Globe

Airfare can often be the most expensive portion of a trip, especially if travelling to dollar friendly destinations such as Asia or South America. With that in mind, I'm going to try and describe how and why we were able to use frequent flyer miles  to save money on our airfare during our round-the-world Honeymoon and provide you with some helpful tips at the bottom.

It Started as a Dream.

Seven or eight years ago I developed a dream that at some point I’d quit my job and take a trip around the world. A dream it was, to start I really had no idea where I wanted to go, what I’d do and how I’d finance my big trip. At the time I was travelling a bit for pleasure and found I really loved exploring new places, interacting with local cultures, trying new foods and most of all learning about the history of a region. Truth be told, I never thought I would actually have the guts to quit my job, get rid of my belongings, at least most of them and travel the world. After all it was just a dream…

Where Rubber Meets the Runway

At the time I was making a living as an “IT Guy”in Southern California and travelling for pleasure quite a bit, mostly by air, although never on a consistent airline. Self-doubting aside, to help me realize my dream I decided that I’d use frequent flyer miles to purchase most, if not all, the airfare for my big trip if and when I actually went. With this in mind I started flying the same airline and network of airlines, in this case United and Star Alliance, whenever I could. I chose United for a several reasons; LAX was one of their HUB airports offering many flights to many destinations daily,  United was part of the Star Alliance and therefore had worldwide reach with their affiliate airlines, lastly I felt their frequent flyer program, Mileage Plus, offered the most benefits for frequent flyers.

Next I registered for the United Airlines credit card and used it to buy everything and I mean everything from groceries to utilities to the kitchen sink. To this day I don’t think I’ve ever paid a dollar of interest on that card which in my opinion is the only way to do it. Credit card in hand I made sure I booked all my flights on United or partner airlines whenever possible and economically feasible. I flew in and around North America on United, I flew to Europe and Africa on Swiss, I flew to China on Air China, South America on Taca and eventually to Australia numerous times on United. For the record I did not fly exclusively on United or partner airlines as in some instances another airline would be so much cheaper that it would be dumb not to fly them. In that case, I made sure I was part of theirs, or a partner of theirs, frequent flyer program to accrue at least some miles or points.

Once I was in the United  “elite” category of flyer I was also given other perks like extra checked bags, lounge access, the occasional upgrade and most important of all a mileage bonus for every flight on United I took. The mileage bonus points started out small but soon graduated to a 100% bonus for every flight. For example, on my Los Angeles to Sydney flights I was received the approximate 7400 miles flown plus a 100% bonus bringing up the miles accrued to almost 15,000 miles each way. This makes a roundtrip from L.A. to Sydney worth nearly 30,000 miles to my mileage plus account and as you’ll soon see, I did this quite frequently. Not to mention that United was also one of the cheaper L.A. to Sydney return flights with my average cost of a ticket being somewhere in the neighborhood of $1200 USD. Pay dirt, especially for someone stockpiling miles for a big trip.

While stockpiling my miles I did have the occasion to use miles a couple of times to book trips.  This taught me a bit about the system including how far in advance you can book, 330 days, and the different type of award. I wanted the cheapest in Economy Saver, which normally was nearly half the miles required to book a Standard Award ticket. Check out the current United/Star Alliance Award and Upgrade Chart to see the differences between a Saver and Standard ticket. In most cases you really need to book in advance to capitalize on the seats requiring the fewest miles. 

My Dream Resurrected

Five or six years on I had almost given up the thought of quitting my job and travelling the world. I was content with the job I had and the occasional holiday break which always ended up right back where it started. It was then, on my 30^th birthday by chance, I was on a two week safari in Africa when my life was changed forever. I met a very special  Australian girl, Pamela, who would eventually become my wife. As you can imagine a long distance relationship between America and Australia is not an ideal one. It took many long flights and sleepless nights from both of us to make our relationship work. Thankfully she stayed with me in America for quite a while before heading back to Australia. The plan was for me to quit my job, move to Australia and for us to get married. Then my dream hit me like a bat, we could use this time to take an around-the-world trip for our Honeymoon.

Planning and Booking our Departure

It was time my dream finally became reality and we started planning. With about 10 months before our wedding date we started planning our dream Honeymoon. We had such a great time choosing destinations, some were places we’d been individually but most were places we’d both never been and both always wanted to go. Once a departure date was set and a tentative roadmap in place it was time to call United to book our plane tickets.

Initially we considered booking Round-the-World award tickets at a cost of 200,000 miles each. In talking to United and reading the fine print we soon decided against this type of ticket as we didn’t see much flexibility once we started our trip.  All segments of the trip were booked together and therefore nothing could be changed. This wouldn’t do for us, we wanted the ability to cancel an existing portion of our trip if wanted or needed. It turned out to be the right decision as our plans changed several times during our trip which required changes or cancellations. In most cases when you cancel an award ticket you are charged a fee for that cancellation, the fee itself could be more than the actual tax you paid on that ticket. Fortunately for us I was a United “1K” member at the time and therefore any changes or cancellations to our award tickets could be done fee free.

We decided to book a series of one way award tickets that would take us all over the world and also give us the greatest flexibility in the event of a change or cancellation in our plans. At this point I started booking the award tickets with United over the phone.  I used the http://www.staralliance.com website ahead of time to check for all available flights to a particular destination. Once I had our desired flight I would call United to check if they had Saver award seats available on the flight(s). In most cases I did get the flights I was after as I was booking in advance. I can only think of one instance where I didn’t get the flights I wanted and ended up on three different flights to get to Los Angeles from Abu Dhabi.

How it all Worked Out?

When all was said and done we used 11 one way Saver award tickets each at a cost totaling 475,000 miles and $891 USD in taxes. We had initially booked several more award tickets but cancelled due to changes in our plans. There were instances where we couldn’t use miles, flying to the Maldives, or it didn’t make sense to use miles, like from Miami to St. Thomas, where we ended up just paying for our tickets. Overall we visited 20 countries over 9 months and flew nearly 83,000 kilometers doing it. During our trip we utilized the following Star Alliance carriers for our award  flights: Thai, Lufthansa, Aegean, Turkish, Egypt Air, Air New Zealand and United. Non Star Alliance carriers we flew for various reasons were Southwest, Delta, Sri Lankan, Vietnam Airlines and Jet Airways.

Money Saved

Unfortunately award tickets are still not free. There are still taxes to pay when booking a ticket and the taxes you pay could depend on the airline chosen, segments and the arrival/destination of the flight. Over the 11 trips, 22 tickets in total, we paid an average of $81 dollars in taxes per trip and a total of $891 USD. In my opinion this is a great average and total, especially considering the high taxes I’ve seen on booking award tickets on other airlines, Qantas in particular.  

Next it’s time to calculate the savings we achieved booking award tickets vs the cheapest available flight. When I booked an award ticket for a certain segment I also found the cheapest available flight for purchase for that same segment and compared the cost of the award ticket flight taxes vs the cost of buying the fare on the cheapest carrier. Please keep in mind that most of the times the cheapest carrier was an airline not known for their quality, service, food or safety standards and more often than not involved many connections over multiple days. Think Aeroflot and Air India.  In the end I calculated we saved  a total of $6,683.00 USD using the award tickets vs the cheapest available carrier. This works out to be a dollar value of .016 cents per frequent flyer mile used.

Would I do it Again?

Absolutely, without a doubt. What’s not calculated in the total savings are the many-many hours we were able to spend in Business Class lounges all over the world as part of my Star Alliance Gold privileges. Many meals and showers were had at those lounges, we may have looked a bit scabby at some points of the trip but were sure glad to know we had a lounge to get cleaned up at before our flight. What’s also not factored in are the excess bags we were able to take, sometimes several, and the amount of time spared by accessing the Star Alliance Gold lines/kiosks at airports throughout the world. In most cases we were given seat priority, special attention and the occasional upgrade which made it all the more worth it.

Tips

I don’t profess myself to be an expert but here are some things I learned that may help someone else:

• Stick with one airline and one alliance whenever possible. I vote Star Alliance but that’s just my opinion
• Star Alliance Gold status definitely helped us throughout the trip. Research the different award programs and find out if any programs allow you to get to Gold status faster than others.
• Get the airline credit card and use it for everything. Just don’t pay any interest on it as the interest rates are usually a bit higher and negate the money you’d save on award tickets. It’s hard enough to swallow the annual fee that comes along with the cards.
• Once reaching elite status, try and fly as much as possible on that airline. The bonuses will help.
• Register for every bonus opportunity that comes up no matter if you don’t think it will apply to you. You never know what will have you flying out of Denver or Miami for a particular reason.
• Don’t convert your hotel rewards over to airline miles. You might be surprised I’m saying this but I never saw the value in it. You’ll earn more rewards sticking with the hotel point program which you can use along the way. I prefer Hyatt but that’s just me.
• Don't be too distraught if your particular award seat is not available. Availability can sometimes change so keep checking back.
• Be creative. Sometimes you might not be able to get the award ticket you're after but there could be a nearby airport that does have tickets available. For example, I've never seen award seats to Male, Maldives but I have seen plenty to the nearby island nation of Sri Lanka. You can always purchase tickets for the shorter route.
• Never, never, never give up on your dream, whatever that dream may be. Quitting my job and travelling around the world has been the best thing to ever happen to me.

I hope this article helps you out on your travels. As always, I welcome your feedback.

Cheers for Now –

Dave

Honeymoon Favourites – Hotels and Resorts

During our extended Honeymoon we were fortunate, or sometimes unfortunate, to stay at over 70 different lodging accommodations over 270 nights. The accommodations ranged from basic camp sites with no services to luxury five star properties with all the services you could possibly imagine. Albeit there were many more four and five star hotels than basic camp sites but it's our Honeymoon so we had to splurge

This list is our top eight hotels/resorts factoring in location, value, amenities, food and service:

       1. Sheraton Full Moon Resort and Spa, Maldives

    The Sheraton is such an amazing place and was our true Honeymoon. It all starts just after you clear immigration and customs at the Male airport. Your boat drivers are there to meet you and escort you to the resorts speedboat where you are soon zoomed over to the private island that is the Sheraton. Our room, an private and freestanding Ocean Bure, came complete with our own plunge pool, unobstructed views of the ocean and sunrise, espresso machine, outdoor shower, magnificent bathroom including huge standalone tub and the most comfortable bed you could ever hope for. Especially after spending the previous 20 days in Nepal.

    When not enjoying our Ocean Suite we swam in the crystal blue waters of the Indian Ocan, snorkeled, went to the gym and took many-many photos. Some of which can be seen in our Paradise Part 1 and Part 2 articles. Finding a good meal was not a problem on this piece of paradise. There are several well-priced restaurants at the resort. We normally ate so much at the breakfast buffet that we couldn’t eat again until dinner. Having been travelling in Asia for a while I already, I loved the beef burger and fries. The Maldives are a dream destination for many, including us, and definitely lives up to the bill. We’re already talking about going back as soon as we can.

       2. Six Senses Hideaway Resort and Spa, Hua Hin, Thailand

    This was our first stay at a Six Senses property and boy were we impressed. Upon check-in your private butler escorts you to your suite where you’re given the grand tour which includes your private plunge pool, espresso maker (you can tell this does it for me), outdoor bath and shower, entertainment system and 24hr a day phone number for service. Whatever we needed at whatever time, we were instructed to call the butler service. The resort grounds are beautifully tended and stimulate your ultimate relaxation.  If your tired of your private pool you can visit the the large, ocean-facing, pool for the guests staying at the sister Evason property (both on the same grounds).

    The food at the Six Senses was second to none. Home-made ice cream from the bar and milkshake and smoothie concoctions that soothed your soul had us convinced already that we were in our own culinary heaven. It wasn’t until we tried the Beach, the resorts Italian  restaurant that we discovered true bliss. An ocean-view and fresh lemongrass set the stage for a true culinary delight. No matter what we ate, my favourite was the cannelloni,  we could tell the meal was prepared to the highest standards possible and used the best ingredients. If you prefer Thai, the resorts indoor/outdoor Thai restaurant serves amazing Thai dishes under the stars while you enjoy live music. We really loved this resort and hopefully will return to either it, or another Six Senses brand property. Click here to read more on our time at this resort.

       3. Hyatt Regency Sharm-El-Sheikh, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt

    When I think about this place three words come to mind: service, service and service. The only Hyatt out of several to make our top list is situated in a beautiful location on the Red Sea. The staff here really know how to make you feel special in their attention to detail and overall hospitality. If snorkeling or diving is your thing then this is a must-visit. We loved this place so much we never left the resort and you can read our entire article about our visit here: Completely Spoiled inSharm-El-Sheikh

      4. Movenpick Dead Sea Resort and Spa, Dead Sea Area, Jordan

    Do yourself a favour and visit Jordan. The country in a whole is a great place to visit and one of our favourite in the world. Do yourself an even bigger favour and visit the Dead Sea while in Jordan, it’s an amazing experience and definitely one not to be missed. While at the Dead Sea give yourself a huge treat and stay at the Movenpick Dead Sea Resort and Spa.

    The resort is situated right on the Dead Sea and includes several great restaurants, a world-class spa (seriously world-class) and arguably is filled with some of the best ice cream in the world. In each and every eating establishment you can order any one of a range of dessert platters, ice cream coffee drinks or just plain ole’ ice cream if it suits your fancy. Pamela ended every breakfast buffet with freshly prepared pancakes topped with swiss chocolate ice cream. Heaven over and over again and all for about $130 USD a night.  Come for the Dead Sea and stay for the food and dessert, you won’t regret it.

      5. Le Meridien Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, Thailand

    I'm sure there are some great places to stay in Chiang Rai but for our money the Le Meridien Chiang Rai is the place to be. The amenities, service and food are all impeccable. We felt like royalty staying at this property and would go back anytime. We loved the pickup/dropoff airport service and the rides into and out of town. The property can arrange escorted tours for you at really good prices or you can go out on your own and negotiate with your own guide/driver. Overall it was a great place to spend our time in Chiang Rai.

       6. Wadi Rum Camp, Wadi Rum, Jordan

    The only camp to make our list and to be honest we don’t know the proper name for the camp itself. Our group of five were the only visitors at this camp which looked like it could accommodate ten times that amount. We were treated to a four wheel drive tour before heading to camp to watch the sunset and dine on one of the best meals we’d had in a long time. The freshly cooked traditional meal was cooked in the ground and was just what the taste bud Dr. ordered. Despite being below freezing that night, we were warm in our blankets and treated to a morning breakfast and fire before heading off to explore the rest of this beautiful area of Jordan. Click here to read our post from Wadi Rum

      7. Nirvana Resort and Spa, Bang Bao, Koh Chang Island, Thailand

    Unfortunately for us it rained, more like poured, almost the whole time we visited the Thai island of Koh Chang. Fortunately for us we were staying at Nirvana to ride out the storm. The Balinese inspired resort boasts some great rooms complete with large bath, high ceilings and monkeys who try to break-in. The monkeys weren’t the best part but it was entertaining to watch them try to open our front door. Value is what gets this property on our list. It was off-season so we paid about $30 USD a night and for were given an awesome ocean-view room complete with an amazing cooked breakfast. Dinners at the resort were equally impressive albeit the menu was a little small. The property has built walking tracks around the headland where you can catch some amazing views while relaxing on the purpose built deck. The staff are great and the DVD library was definitely a blessing during all those rainy days.

       8. Tara Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia

    This four star property in Siem Reap was a last-minute decision as we decided to stay a couple extra nights in Cambodia. For approximately $40 USD a night we were treated to four star standards, a full breakfast each morning and two half hour massages. The in-house restaurant serves up some amazing dishes including a fish curry in a coconut that had to be one of my favourite dishes from the whole trip. After dinner you could venture into the bar where you could play a dart game for drinks. After many days of temple touring it was great to relax and indulge ourselves at the Tara Angkor.

Hopefully our experiences can help you out on your travels. A couple notes from the author; there are three different Thai hotels on this list which hopefully shows you how good Thai service can be and two of the eight are in Jordan, we loved Jordan. As always, we welcome your feedback.

We’ll definitely be coming up with our list of least-favourite hotels very soon, some of which may surprise you. 

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave