Matty Somewhere

A Day Trip From Beijing – The Great Wall Of China – Juyongguan Pass

A few days prior to my departure for Beijing, I was on my way to work and I tripped on an uneven footpath. I was fine, no injuries – except my pride from the school kids behind me laughing – but upon picking myself up I suddenly had this huge grin on my face and…

Sydney to Wollongong via The Royal National Park and Sea Cliff Bridge

From central Sydney to the south coast city of Wollongong, approximately 85 kilometres south of the CBD, there are two main routes you could drive. The most direct being the F6 freeway taking around an hour and a half or there is the picturesque slower route via The Royal National Park (the second oldest in…

McDonald’s DC-3, Lake Taupo, New Zealand

Whenever I travel, although I love the excitement of new sights and tastes of exotic food, I sometimes use McDonalds as a comforting place of familiarity, a place where I don’t have to worry about what the food may taste like, a place where it is affordable – even in Sweden where a McHappy meal…

Fancy Sandcastles – Australian Sand Sculpting Championships 2013 – Part II

Continuing on from part 1, I was staying in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast during the weekend that the 2nd Annual Australian Sand Sculpting Competition was being held. This years theme was Sand Safari, and I swear some of that sand followed me back as weeks later I found sand on my balcony –…

Fancy Sandcastles – Australian Sand Sculpting Championships 2013 – Part I

I’ve never been a big fan of the beach, dumping crashing waves, eye-stinging saltwater and the sand – sand that would hide and follow you home then turn up months later in the uncanniest of places. In fact, not long ago, I found some on my balcony thinking it had followed me back from the Gold…

REVIEW: Virgin Australia VA543 Sydney to Gold Coast

Dashing straight from work, I arrived at Sydney Domestic Airports Terminal 2 for my 19:10 flight, with self printed boarding pass in hand, at 17:40 exactly an hour and a half prior to departure, half an hour earlier than the standard recommended time. With a silent sigh and roll of my eyes I could see the bag drop line for those…

Review: CountryLink – Sydney to Nyngan (via Dubbo) First Class

International first class air travel can sometimes be up to 15 times the price of a discounted economy class ticket and so is commonly reserved for the elite, heads of state, those with very deep pockets or the frequent traveller being savvy with their reward points. With limousine transfers, discreet check in areas (even exclusive…

REVIEW: Virgin Australia VA536 Gold Coast to Sydney – Economy Class

Phew! No lines to check in at either the check in kiosks or counter and no lines for the bag drop. Ok I was early, I’d checked out of my apartment at around 11am and with the clouds opening up and it pouring rain yet again during my stay in Surfers Paradise on the Gold…

REVIEW: St Tropez Apartments – Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, QLD

Sometimes you just need to get away from it all and it doesn’t matter where you go or where you stay you just want to relax, put your feet up and do nothing. My trip to the Gold Coast was one of those weekends where I wanted to do just that, nothing, and booking my accommodation at the last…

Welcome to Nyngan – Bogan Shire – Central New South Wales

When I said to friends I was going to Nyngan for the long weekend, most said “you’re going all that way to smoke weed?”… “No, thats Nimbin on the NSW North Coast” I stated with a sigh. Nyngan is located in outback NSW on the Bogan River in the Bogan Shire. I was off to…

Sydney Harbour & Manly by Manly Ferry (Part I)

A few years ago, I worked in a backpacker travel agency with a girl who was on an overseas working holiday/gap year from Ireland. Chiara (pronounced ‘Kee-ra’ – I always got it wrong) had a slightly warped sense of humour… we got on well 🙂 Whenever students, backpackers or visitors to Sydney would come in…

Tamun Ayun Temple (Mengwi Temple) Bali, Indonesia

If like me, sometimes when travelling in Asia, you may have a moment where you feel ‘templed out’, in other words, after looking at temple after temple, often in repressive heat, they start looking all the same, you have seen enough and can’t bare to see anymore! When I was in Bali, this didn’t actually happen…

Palaces, Queens, Dikes and Bikes, (Part II) Het Loo Palace & Gardens, The Netherlands

If you have read part one of my royal journey in The Netherlands, you’ll know I just missed out on meeting Queen Beatrix at Noordiende Palace in Den Haag ;)…..and, so, my dear friend Brett and I headed to the north of the country to visit Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, once home to sovereigns,…

Happy New Year from freakyflier.com

What an interesting year 2012 was. From the 1st January till 31 December, I flew on 12 flights (lower than some years) on 5 airlines including Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Jetstar and Vietnam Airlines which I reviewed on freakyflier.com. I flew Business Class and Economy Class and visited two overseas destinations, Indonesia and Vietnam. There were…

Merry Christmas 2012. How Does Santa Claus Find His Way Around Australia?

With the help of Airservices Australia, of course! A few day ago I was talking to my friend Johl whom I’ve known for around 12 years. He is an Air Traffic Controller based at Sydney Airport and he excitingly mentioned how this time of year always get so busy. I, surprised at his excitement of such busyness, reluctantly agreed and…

A Tale Of Two Lighthouses, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

I grew up in Wollongong and during the school holidays or on a long weekend, my dad would sometimes take my brother and I fishing, much to our delight, and I think my mum’s as she had a few hours respite from her noisy and sometimes over-energetic boys! The very first time, when we were…

Review: Vietnam Airlines Dong Hoi to Ha Noi – ATR72-500 Economy Class

Flight date: 20 July 2012 Aircraft: ATR72-500 Flight Number: VN1590 Flight Time: 1hrs 40mins Class: Economy Seat: 6A I have travelled on hundreds of flights on jet aircraft all over the world, Airbuses, Boeings, Embraers, Canadairs and even a few DC”s, but I can count the number of propeller aircraft I have flown on on one hand. In fact, my first…

A Royal Tour of Sydney

When I was a kid, my primary school would charter a bus and we’d go on an excursion to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. In 1983 we were on the bus and almost at the showgrounds when all traffic on South Dowling Street came to a halt. On the opposite side of the road were…

Review: CountryLink Xplorer – Sydney to Bundanoon Economy Class

What: CountryLink Xplorer Where: Sydney – Bundanoon, NSW Southern Highlands Service: Southern Xplorer CLK635 A train with wine 🙂 . I was going away for the weekend to visit some good friends who live in Bundanoon, a few hours south of Sydney in the New South Wales Southern Highlands. Leaving after work on a Friday…

Hanging out with the locals in Hai Phong, Vietnam

What: Hai Phong Opera House forecourt and adjacent park Where: Hai Phong, Norther Vietnam Who: The locals Sometimes, to really get the feel for a place, its nice to take a break from the information overload that sightseeing can cause and just hang out and do what the locals do. On recent trip to Vietnam,…

Prambanan, A Hindu Temple in Yogyakarta

What: Ancient Hindu Temple Prambanan Where: Located about 18 kilometres from Yogyakarta, Indonesia When: 8th Century “A group tour or independent?” was often one of the first question I would ask as a Travel Consultant. “No not a group tour, I don’t want to be with a bunch of people I don’t know” was usually…