When we booked the tickets to Maldives, it felt like dream come true. When I was little, you just couldn't afford to go there because it was so expensive. Things has changed and the return tickets directly from Bratislava now cost us 320 EUR. That was the easy part though. Maldives is not just one place, it's more than 250 inhabited islands. How do you know where to go then?
Before 2010, you could only visit resort islands in Maldives. These are the places that we know from luxorious catalogues. Then local islands were allowed to open up guesthouses for tourists and this is a great chance to see how the locals really live here. We tried both in the end and it was a great decision. After all the research, what islands would we choose if we go again? I'd search for Fulhadhoo (real paradise), Dhigurah, Fehendhoo or Kelaa (quite far).
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Does it also happen to you that you've visited many interesting places around the world thanks to cheap flights but you don't know that there's a beautiful place very close to you? You can go to Google Maps and give it a try :) We tried something similar and discovered a place called Hallstatt. It looked really magnificient in the pictures and we wanted to see it on our own eyes. And it was just 3-and-a-half-hour journey by car from Bratislava where we live.
I dare to say that most of the visitors come to see THAT one view but the place offers much more than this. You're in the middle of the Alps and nature here is unique. The village of Hallstatt is really breathtaking - lovely architecture, mountains around and reflextion in the lake makes it very special. We went here in autumn and the mountains were green, yellow and white on the top. No matter if you're a mountain person or a beach person, I'm sure you'll recharge your batteries here. We spent 2 weeks in Kuala Lumpur, as I was here on a business trip and had my wife with me too. It's great to get to know the city a bit better than if you just go somewhere for a vacation or you've got a stopover here between the two flights.
One thing you notice when you walk down the streets of Kuala Lumpur is the diversity. For a moment, you see tall skyscrapers, business areas, people in suits and you feel like in New York. Then you turn behind the corner and you're on a street market, with the smell of fresh food, old small buildings and you'd say you're in a small town in China or India. But then you arrive to the Petronas Towers which is a symbol of the city and they're really quite magical. We liked to just be around them and spend some time in the park behind the building. The headline kind of sums it up for Cinque Terre. But what's so great about villages on the hill right next to the sea? Well, for us it was the fact that in one moment you're in a beautiful village and in a few minutes you can climb up and see it all from above. As a bonus, you can return back down, change to your swimwear and enjoy well deserved relax on the beach. Do I need to add anything?
Initially, we thought that Cinque Terre is some nice village and just after we did some googling, we found out it's actually five nice villages - Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The most difficult thing is probably to choose just one that you like the most. Everybody says that Venice is so romantic and at the same time many people say that it's not really worth it because there's simply a lot of people and you can't enjoy it. We hesitated for a long time but in the end were so happy that we came here.
The best thing about Venice is something which seems totally obvious. When you wander around the streets, you can simply smell the sea everywhere and it's so nice! Even if it's hot, thanks to this you're a little more refreshed and it feels like walking on the beach and sightseeing a historical city at the same time. Isn't it an interesting 2-in-1 package? :) Barcelona was on our list for a long time. It's like a perfect fit for people who like warm places, architecture and cheap flights.
There's 2 things we noticed when we arrived - October is a great month to travel and wow, the streets are so wide and feel so good. You don't feel the crowd, you can enjoy the views around you. If you like to have a drink or eat lunch on the street, plaças with outdoor seating are waiting for you. |