Local Travel Tip

I love spending time in Hong Kong.

I thought Hong Kong was going to be dirty city- like tons of exhaust in the air, clutter in the gutters, and smoke everywhere- that type of dirty. That is what large cities are usually like because there are so many people, cars, and just…stuff. Hong Kong surprised me, because it was really nice and clean.

I love walking down along the boardwalk. You get a great waterfront view of the city. If you want, you can ride across the water on a ferries or other boats.

Don’t miss out on the nightly laser show. When I was there during Christmas it was choreographed to Christmas music which was really festive. The light show reminded me of the Belgaio Fountains in Las Vegas or fireworks on the fourth of July- both unique and quite entertaining. You definitely don’t want to miss the laser show- make sure you are on time for it because it gets really crowed right before the show starts!

Also along the boardwalk is the Hollywood walk of stars, which has the hand prints of famous movie stars. Jackie Chan and Jet Li even have stars there.

There are many restaurants that will tempt you and different events that keep the boardwalk always an exciting spot to spend time at.

Hong Kong Light Show

Hollywood Walk of the Stars

Have fun as you spend time in Hong Kong!

G’Day Mates! Today we are going to travel to a new area of the world- Melbourne, Australia.

Melbourne is the second-largest city in Australia. The city is built on a coastal plain at the top of the giant horseshoe shaped waterport called, Port Phillip Bay. Melbourne is perhaps Australia’s most cultured and politically conservative city, it offers hip restaurants, an array of cultural events, great shopping, and an exciting night life. In the surrounding areas just outside Melbourne you will find dramatic coastal vistas, ski slopes, outback wilderness, vineyards, rugged mountain peaks and enthralling wildlife- like the famed Australian kangaroo.

I would recommend going to Chinatown, little Greece, and Lygon street. Chinatown has various Chinese shops and restaurants and little Greece is a street with Greek influences as well. Lygon Street has evolved into a mixture of Thai, Afghan, Malay, Caribbean and Greek. These different locations all represent the multiculturalism that Australia has been a part of the last few years.

Melbourne, Australia

I would highly recommend stopping to see the Hagia Sophia the next time you are in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Hagia Sophia church was started in 532, often referred to as the Church of Holy Wisdom. Surprisingly it took only five measly years to complete- which is a miracle for its size and detailed architecture. For more than a thousand years, Hagia Sophia was the largest and grandest church in the world. When Sultan Mehmet II converted it into a mosque, the loss devastated Orthodox Christians who had previously worshiped there. Hagia Sophia’s design impressed the Ottomans greatly, that resulted in a duplicated design in other mosques throughout the empire. In 1935, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, declared the church to be a modern museum. Since then, workers have started to restore mosaics and such to maintain the structure and beauty of the building.

This church has loads of history and amazing architecture- don’t miss out on seeing it for yourself!

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia