So you know that I’ve got the travel itch and can’t stay in one place too long!
As soon as I got back to Hong Kong after my summer vacay in Europe, I was already scouting out cheap tickets to other exotic destinations.
The nature of being a teacher is that you have tons of (paid) vacation time. So what better way to spend that time than abroad, getting better acquainted with another country/region/language/culture?
At the beginning of October we have a long weekend here in Hong Kong, so me and three other teacher friends are jetting off to China, where we will be visiting the twin cities of Guilin and Yangshuo. Yangshuo is reknowned for its very picturesque setting, as the city is surrounded by these strange looking mountains that jut out of the river.
In December, us teachers also get two much-needed weeks off for Christmas vacation. While last year saw me spending the Christmas break camping and safari-ing in Kenya and Tanzania, this year I’ll be singing O Tannenbaum and eating schnitzel and currywurst in Berlin with Liebling and his family. Him and I were also able to snag cheap tickets to Istanbul, so we are off to Turkey for 3 days after Christmas day. I have heard nothing but good things about Istanbul so I am excited!
And what of Malaysia? Well, us lucky educators also happen to get a week off toward the end of October. Liebling is coming to visit me here in HK for a couple of weeks, and his time here will coincide with my week off. The original plan was to go to Bali for a couple of days, but the ridiculous prices of plane tickets and accomodation has scared us off. We are very interested in going to Malaysia (particularly me, who has never been), and found a very inexpensive ticket to Penang, Malaysia. I know nothing about the place, but a few friends of mine have been and say that it is fab. So Malaysia might be on the travel agenda shortly!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I have never heard of the places, Guilin and Yangshuo. I am excited for your recount. Mountains sticking out of water sounds so cool. My friend and I are also planning a trip to Turkey for early 2011 also. Can't wait.padybr
yeah Malaysia is fab. I wish this educator in Japan got such time off, 2o measly days
. Enjoy. i am looking forward to the pics. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely pics, as usual!!!
I start my level 2 German lessons soon. The language is quite confusing for me, and my husband who speak Swiss German and High German only speaks to me in English.
Nikita, my husband and I have decided to vacation in Europe next year – Can u gv me a few pointers, websites, airlines, hotels where we can save money. We plan on Paris this Christmas and Italy and Scandanavia next summer. Any info will help. Thanks. Take care.
oh my gosh this all sounds so amazing! looking forward to all of your pictures and stories
and yes, i agree with kiki – you must share some of your secrets/tips for finding affordable travel deals!
Love your blog! Your pics are gorgeous!!! I agree with Kiki and Kay, what are your favorite websites for finding travel deals?
@Rhona- How long are you planning on going to Turkey? Excellent!
@kimvan- 20 is still quite a long time! More than the 15 days that is customary back home for non-teaching jobs… :-O
@Kiki- Thanks for the love! German IS a hard language, but I'm toughing it out. As for the cheap travel stuff, I will do a post on it soon! But I usually get stuff on easyjet or ryan air… I have a bunch of other sites to that I will post on the blog
@Kay and meandmypassport- Thanks! I'm working on posting about my travel deals… see above…
Hi Nikita. Long time lurker and lover of your blog.
I'm headed to Germany in a matter of days and just wanted to know if you'd recommend any good places since you've had the pleasure of having a local escort you to all the non-touristy/unknown places.
sounds like a great plan. you for sure will love istanbul – it is such a great city!! and berlin, needless to say anything (says me, the German) – one of the best places in the world! have fun!
viele gruesse, kristina
Hello SS! Thanks for showing the blog some love! I'm guessing that by now you were on your way to Germany if you haven't gotten there already!
Where are you going exactly? I've only had the pleasure of getting to Berlin. I did all of the touristy stuff and spent a lot of time visiting Liebling's family and friends, but Liebling did take me to a very good pizza place on our last evening there… Will have to ask him and get back to you on that one!
@Kristina- Hallo und danke for reading (that's the extent of my German)! Any recommendations on what to see in Istanbul? And what part of Germany are you from?