So yeah, we're in Vanuatu
Just realised that we didn't really tell anyone much that we were travelling. A week back Matt booked a week's leave for the Queen's birthday weekend and I said, "So we should really go away for a bit of your leave. Since we're both at home a lot lately, it's not going to feel like you've had a holiday if we just stay home." We both had beaucoup Frequent Flier points, enough to get us to Vanuatu. We spent a week here last year at the start of our 3 week holiday. So it was just a matter of finding flights on points and booking accommodation at the right price and quality last Saturday. Then the jet-set two of us packed passports and headed to the airport.
It's amazing how the first time you travel by yourself travel is all new, scary/exciting and you are hyper-organised about it. Then you do enough of it and you just become blasé about scooting off to another country in six days time.
We were both overdue for a holiday last year on our first visit to Pt Vila. So I went with the option, book most stuff through an internet travel agent, including day tours and meals packages. That was a great way to relax and get to know the place a bit. This time knowing where everything is and wanting to keep it a lot lower budget, we're in a one bedroom with the option of self catering, we're catching buses rather than tours and taxis. And arranging our own day-triping.
We were both overdue for a holiday last year on our first visit to Pt Vila. So I went with the option, book most stuff through an internet travel agent, including day tours and meals packages. That was a great way to relax and get to know the place a bit. This time knowing where everything is and wanting to keep it a lot lower budget, we're in a one bedroom with the option of self catering, we're catching buses rather than tours and taxis. And arranging our own day-triping.
The flights didn't exactly connect so we got Business Class tickets on the way up (poached eggs, spinach, mushroom, roast tomato, fruit toast and plunger coffee on the plane) and took a ten hour layover in Sydney. Let me say, layovers (IMHO) are not worth it unless they are less than 3 hours and you have lounge access or it's a country where good massages are really cheap, or they are longer than 8 hours and the CBD of the city is accessible by mass transit.
Our day in Sydney consisted of a train to the International terminal to store the suitcase for the day, train trip into Circular Quay, a walk around the Quay waterfront to The Rocks, ambling through The Rocks Sunday street market, some excellent Devonshire scones, a quick taxi ride into to the CBD, picking up some last minute essentials at Myer before heading to my favourite walk-in massage place in Clarence St before heading back to the airport.
The Rocks market yielded some good finds. I picked up a 5-way light crochet/knit jacket which will be my new choir concert staple, I think. Going to show the other female choristers the pamphlet and do an internet order is people are into it. Matt found a stall which did some nicely subtle yet very cool Steampunk men's jewellery and got himself some new work cufflinks. We also found a cool lamp which is a bit retro/Bauhaus for the living room. Not a bad haul at all. Another lovely surprise was that my favourite cheap massage place, just the block over from my old office, has gotten business savvy and 2 x 1 hour massages (mine with accupucture) only cost $24 after the instant health insurance claim. Check in chick at the airport had a bug up her butt and put me in a bad mood, on top of the bad mood I'd started when Matt's dad left a message on my mobile. But this was salvaged by first some excellent sushi and then having 3 seats btwn the two of us on the plane, watching the movie Up! and a very hassle free transfer to the wonderful room at the resort.
It's amazing how the first time you travel by yourself travel is all new, scary/exciting and you are hyper-organised about it. Then you do enough of it and you just become blasé about scooting off to another country in six days time.
We were both overdue for a holiday last year on our first visit to Pt Vila. So I went with the option, book most stuff through an internet travel agent, including day tours and meals packages. That was a great way to relax and get to know the place a bit. This time knowing where everything is and wanting to keep it a lot lower budget, we're in a one bedroom with the option of self catering, we're catching buses rather than tours and taxis. And arranging our own day-triping.
We were both overdue for a holiday last year on our first visit to Pt Vila. So I went with the option, book most stuff through an internet travel agent, including day tours and meals packages. That was a great way to relax and get to know the place a bit. This time knowing where everything is and wanting to keep it a lot lower budget, we're in a one bedroom with the option of self catering, we're catching buses rather than tours and taxis. And arranging our own day-triping.
The flights didn't exactly connect so we got Business Class tickets on the way up (poached eggs, spinach, mushroom, roast tomato, fruit toast and plunger coffee on the plane) and took a ten hour layover in Sydney. Let me say, layovers (IMHO) are not worth it unless they are less than 3 hours and you have lounge access or it's a country where good massages are really cheap, or they are longer than 8 hours and the CBD of the city is accessible by mass transit.
Our day in Sydney consisted of a train to the International terminal to store the suitcase for the day, train trip into Circular Quay, a walk around the Quay waterfront to The Rocks, ambling through The Rocks Sunday street market, some excellent Devonshire scones, a quick taxi ride into to the CBD, picking up some last minute essentials at Myer before heading to my favourite walk-in massage place in Clarence St before heading back to the airport.
The Rocks market yielded some good finds. I picked up a 5-way light crochet/knit jacket which will be my new choir concert staple, I think. Going to show the other female choristers the pamphlet and do an internet order is people are into it. Matt found a stall which did some nicely subtle yet very cool Steampunk men's jewellery and got himself some new work cufflinks. We also found a cool lamp which is a bit retro/Bauhaus for the living room. Not a bad haul at all. Another lovely surprise was that my favourite cheap massage place, just the block over from my old office, has gotten business savvy and 2 x 1 hour massages (mine with accupucture) only cost $24 after the instant health insurance claim. Check in chick at the airport had a bug up her butt and put me in a bad mood, on top of the bad mood I'd started when Matt's dad left a message on my mobile. But this was salvaged by first some excellent sushi and then having 3 seats btwn the two of us on the plane, watching the movie Up! and a very hassle free transfer to the wonderful room at the resort.