Author: xsymetrix

The adventure continues

Inner Mongolia to Brighton Bathing Boxes

It’s rare that we get to spend time together in the same city with our busy schedules. When we do get a chance, it is cherished. I’m in Melbourne to attend our son Joe’s graduation. Coincidentally it is happening on his birthday and our wedding anniversary. On Sunday we decided to go to a location…
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How many countries have you visited?

I was sharing details of our epic trip planned for next year with a friend and he mentioned that his partner had a plan of “40 countries visited by the age of 40 – then 50 by the age 50 and so on”. I really liked that as a target. I haven’t met that target…
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China 2024 – Part 1 Beijing

There is a Chinese saying “he or she who has never been to the great Wall is not a true Chinese”. Although we went to several locations on our recent trip to China, the primary bucket list destination was the great Wall of China so that Helen, an Australian of Chinese heritage born in Vietnam…
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Lombard St, Fay Park and the Cable Car

Come with me on this three part mini adventure in San Francisco. I’ve include an audio version of the story here as well as a video plus photos. Lombard Street in San Francisco is a fascinating destination, known for its unique 180-metre road segment paved with red bricks and featuring eight sharp turns. This section…
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The pillar that does not rust and other wonders of the world

In the 90s I was lucky to travel to New Delhi and other parts of India courtesy of Hewlett-Packard. During my time in New Delhi I was able to visit Agra and the Taj Mahal. But recently reading an article in CNN about a pillar that does not rust it reminded me of the time…
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Laguna Colorada: Marvel of Nature in Bolivia’s Andes

During our time in South America there were many memorable locations visited. From the majesty of the Amazon River to the mountainous ice bound valleys of Patagonia to the never ending spray of Iguazu waterfalls or the archaeological blend of Machu Picchu located in the mountainous jungles of Peru, often, we had more than an…
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Planning Starts – Japan to Caribbean via Europe and North Africa 2024 – 2025

Planning has started for our 6 or 7 month long trip that will take us to Japan, then through Europe and North Africa and then on down to Miami in the United States before we embark upon a cruise and independent travel throughout a number of the islands in the Caribbean. Essentially we are book…
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Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. Apparently not so common.

So what is a digital native? Entonces, ¿qué es un nativo digital?  It refers to a person born after 1980. Whereas digital natives were born into a world already wired for the internet, digital immigrants come from a more analogue world and had to migrate into a world where the yellow pages was no longer…
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Two-way conversations and AI

The reason for writing a blog is to share thoughts and ideas with other people. The whole nature of sharing is about trying to have a two-way conversation so that what is shown reflects the interests of the viewer and reader as much as the producer or contributor. Many people are happy to consume and…
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Pepe, our virtual Spanish companion

Here is what Pepe said in Spanish… Play the video below and you will be impressed by the quality. English below the video… “Hola, mi nombre es Pepe, y estoy ayudando a mis dos amigos, Mark y Helen que van a viajar a Chile para el viaje de su vida. Están deseando que llegue. Desafortunadamente,…
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Itinerary Planning – Chile

Our trip to South America feels like it’s going to be a series of mini holidays or trips. When I look at sites which talk about the top 5 or 10 things to do in a particular place we are going to, I feel as if we could spend up to a month in each…
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Tickets purchased – Let the forms begin

We have booked our tickets to South America, where we will spend 3 months doing the big lap around that continent before heading to Europe for spring on the Mediterranean and surrounding locations which will be another month of adventure. Afterwards, we head to Thailand for a relaxing holiday in Chiang Mai to recover from…
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The passport has arrived

We read about the delay in receiving passports, but we hadn’t booked any flights. The delay did happen and the passport took about ten weeks to arrive. With our passports current, in hand and in dire need of a fresh immigration stamp or two, we searched high and low for trips that will satisfy both…
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Hello world!

There is no time like the present to set up your travel blog. “Hello World” is the right way to start a blog about travel. Especially when our travel plans have a start, but not a defined end. On our last long overseas trip to the US, we found that tweeting with pictures was a…
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