“Do they speak English here?”

This is what I overheard one tourist asking another tourist in a store here…I’m not sure what nationality they were, but they were speaking English.

Think about it, they are in Western Canada (French is only really spoken in Quebec - a province of Canada no where near British Columbia), they must have arrived at an airport, border crossing or cruise terminal where I am sure they were spoken to in English (I have never had anyone speak another language to me) or they are staying somewhere & would have had to speak English and  the only time I ever hear another language is when they are tourists.

Their question does bother me a bit, because who would go travelling to a country without knowing what language they speak!!! Plus everything is in English - the street signs, the menus, the item they were holding! It makes me wonder how they booked their holiday?!

How do you research your next holiday?

I guess that most people these days use the internet for finding the majority of information about their next holiday (I know I do), but there are other ways too such as…

• The old fashioned way of walking into the Retail Travel Agent & having a chat - this is still quite a popular choice, otherwise they wouldn’t be surviving.
• Getting recommendations from friends, co-workers or family members.
• The library - most of the time the travel guides are a little out of date, but they are still helpful.
• Local tourism offices generally have good information for your destination & sometimes they can tell you things that others can’t!

If anyone has any further suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

What do you remember most about a holiday?

Is it that gorgeous street that you walked down, a great restaurant or an attraction that you couldn’t believe existed?

Most of the time I remember the best parts like the wonderful & friendly people, the place that I stayed or that amazing meal , but when someone asks me about Los Angeles (California, USA) , the only thing I really remember is watching 2 guys beat up another guy. Luckily I was in a tour bus at the time & I know that the guide was trying to divert our eyes to the other side of the road, but unfortunately that was my impression of L.A. and it has stuck.

Would I love to go back there? Sure, I want to go to back & get a new impression of LA…but I will always have the image of those guys in the back of my mind.

So I ask you…what are the things that you remember most about your holidays?

Bored on a ferry trip?

Here are my top ten ways to pass time when on a ferry:

1. Get out the laptop & catch up on much needed emails or watch a movie.
2. Read a newspaper, magazine or book.
3. Sleep
4. Play various card games.
5. Walk the ferry constantly (a good way to get fit??)
6. Sit & Eat
7. Crosswords / Sudoko
8. Listen to music
9. Go through the gift shop with a fine tooth comb
10. People watch

p.s I have just been on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, BC, Canada.

On the road again…

Well I am off travelling again & this time I am visiting Washington State & Oregon (USA).

Today we travelled from Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) and caught the COHO Ferry to Port Angeles (WA), then onto Port Townsend (WA), Gig Harbour, through Tacoma and now I am sitting in Lacey which is just outside of Olympia (WA) writing this and watching Northwest Backroads (tv show - highly recommended).

Tomorrow we are off to Cannon Beach (WA) where we will spend a few days relaxing and chilling out. We might make a day trip to Portland and also down the coast…who knows?

‘The Aviator’ - an interesting insight…

I recently watched The Aviator starring Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time (I know, I’m a bit behind times) and I was amazed at the risk involved and the amount of money that Howard Hughes (The Aviator) put into his dream of building the best airline and aircraft.

The movie was an interesting insight into his life and the obstacles that he came across. If it wasn’t for this man, aviation may not have become what it is today…definately a movie to check out if you are interested in aviation.

Troubles in Thailand…

Due to the current unrest in Thailand, would you consider Bangkok as a destination for a holiday or a stopover in the next week, month or year?

I have been to Bangkok and I really enjoyed my time there but I am glad that I have been as I’m not sure if it will ever be the same.

One of the main problems that the tourism industry faces is that Bangkok is a major transfer point for people travelling from Europe to Australia / New Zealand.

Will this have an effect on flight routes in the future?

Would you buy your next holiday from Ebay?

Think about it…you buy presents, books and a tonne of other items from Ebay, so would you buy a vacation?

There are airfares, vacation packages, hotel accommodation, self catering houses and a lot more all up for auction, but would you trust buying your next holiday from the auction site?

There are some good deals to be had and people are bidding, but would you?

Is it time for the bubble to burst?

I came across an interesting article about the amount of start-up travel related websites and the article is asking - Are there too many online travel start-ups? Personally I think the answer is yes…It seems like everyday I am getting emails from new companies.

Anyway, the article is an interesting one - so check it out.

In the Navy…

Victoria, BC Canada has been getting a little bit of attention for the last 3 days as there was a US Navy ship visiting and there was an influx of 3,200 people.

What a great time for them to be visiting, beautiful summer weather and they were here from Monday-Wednesday, which meant a big boom for downtown restaurants, hotels, bars and shops as the navy guys & girls spent their money!

I had never really thought about this side of tourism, but it does happen. I remember living in Sydney when Navy ships pulled into the harbour and you really noticed the increase of people in downtown.

Anyway, I think it is a great thing for tourism in any city that are dedicated stopovers for Navy ships!