Thailand has hundreds of islands to explore, many of which are isolated with undisturbed coral reefs, white sandy beaches, and are a dash of paradise in the Indian Ocean. It is very popular among tourists to take boat trips tours to several islands in one day to catch some sun, sea, and sand. This past time has been coined as “island hopping” and is something I took to when I visited Krabi in Thailand.

Many island hopping tours operate from Krabi, a beach front town in southern Thailand. In the mornings many people gather on the beach ready to board the numerous boats which are about to set sail for the day. The trip I did made five stops in total and took roughly 30 minutes by motor boat to get to the first one. After quite a rough journey we reached Pi Leh Lagoon and jumped over the side with snorkel gear. The boat drivers threw bread over the side which attracted thousands of colorful fish which would sometimes mistake you for bread and nibble at your skin. This did feel odd at first but as long as you were not too close to the bread you were okay. Interestingly this was one the locations Leonardo Di Capri was filmed while making the movie “The Beach”.

We set off at sailed to Maya Bay (Another film location for “The Beach”) and moored in another cove with a beach for a morning of relaxation. The water in the cove was incredibly warm. It was much like slipping into bath water much unlike the unearthly temperatures you experience on the UK coast.

After making a quick stop off at Monkey Island to give some very hungry monkeys their banana lunch we proceeded onto have our extensive buffet lunch on Phi Phi Island which was thrown in with the price of the tour. It was all you can eat rice, noodle, chicken and vegetables and really hit the spot.

The afternoon and final stop was spent on Bamboo Island which had long stretches of white beach and really made you feel like you were in the middle of nowhere. This was mainly a relaxation and snorkeling spot depending on how energetic you were feeling.

Island hopping does allow you to see some undisturbed Thai islands and get very sun burnt all in one day. Although we did move between several islands the day did not feel rushed and importantly there was plenty of choice and time for lunch. Ask a local or your hotel/hostel reception for the tours they recommend and look into where they take you and what you do to find something that suits.

I went travelling back in 2007 for four months and touched down in 4 continents. I took over 2500 photos and printed them all costing only £60 which I thought was quite a bargain. However, the photos of Niagara Falls at sunset stood out above the rest as being the most stunning, and I am actually quite proud of the shot.

It was taken from the American side looking over to Canada, and shows the American Falls on a very crisp winters evening in December. I use a normal point and shoot camera, so nothing flashy (no pun intended), but think I got as good a result as any SLR. At the risk of sounding a bit pretentious and artsy fartsy, I do like the way the fading light catches the spray coming off the falls.

The picture beat close contenders from the Grand Canyon at sundown, a view of the mountains across Lake Tekapo in New Zealand, and the lagoon on Muri Beach in the Cook Islands.

Once upon a time the San Francisco Bay harboured America’s most hardened criminals including Al Capone and Robert Stroud. The infamous US Penitentiary nicknamed “The Rock” was operational from 1934 – 63 before closing from the lack of funding. Today Alcatraz is considered a national treasure and tours of this illustrious island operate from Pier 33 at Fisherman’s Wharf.

The tours vary but I chose to do the night tour as it includes special programmes and presentations featured only at night. As I took was in San Francisco in late November early December the night tour started with Alcatraz in the daylight, then faded to sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge and finally you got a view of the lights in downtown from aspects rarely captured by the average visitor.

Alcatraz at the best of times is a creepy place, but especially at night. The rows of cells are dead quiet, still, and everything is untouched and as it was from when it was a working prison. You get a 45 minute audio tour telling you tales of the escape attempts, riots and day to day life on The Rock. The tour draws attention to bullet holes, half dug tunnels and blood stains from events that unfolded at Alcatraz. If you are quiet you can hear music and traffic from the bay area and can imagine the torment the prisoners must have endured everyday knowing that freedom was only a stones throw away. You get to wander the prison at your own pace visiting the cells, kitchen, solitary confinement, the hospital and the officer’s quarters. If you walk down Broadway (the central row of cells) you can imagine what it must have been like to be an inmate being led into your cell for the first time with hundreds of eyes on you. If you have ever seen The Shawshank Redemption you may have a clearer picture of what I mean.

After the audio guide you can head to off to the special presentations only available on the night tour. The guides give talks about topics such as the most famous residents at Alcatraz, everyday life, escapes, riots and much more. They will also be happy to take any questions.

The night tour is slightly dearer at $30.50 (adult) than the day tour but only by $6. It lasts for around 2 hours 30 minutes and is the number one thing to do in San Francisco. In peak season tours are normally sold out so book in advance or go off peak to ensure you get a place. Oh, and there is a gift shop on the island for all your Alcatraz merchandise.

This week Conde Nast Traveler announced the Winners of the 21st Annual Readers’ Choice Awards this week. The awards are designed to celebrate and identify the best destinations, lodgings and transportation in the travel industry. Altogether over 32,000 readers voted to help compose the list so us the public can see where and with whom we should be spending our hard earned cash.

The most incredible statistic and achievement came in the announcement that San Francisco became the top US city for the 16th year in a row edging out close rivals New York and 2nd place Charleston. I find this no surprise as I have never heard a single visitor say a bad word about San Fran. It has relatively warm weather all year round and there is plenty to see and do. The only downsides of the city are the fog which draws in quickly obscuring the view across the bay of the Golden Gate Bridge and the steep hills that you have to climb to go anywhere. Still, this city has plenty of character and charm and is good for backpackers and people searching for a little bit of luxury. Check out my next post to see the top 5 things to do in The Golden Gate City.

In the remainder of the categories, Bangkok won top Asian city, Sydney top Australia/Pacific and Singapore Airlines received best international airline.

On 15th October 2007 at 12.29pm an earthquake measuring 6.8 hit the south island of New Zealand 60 miles north west of Queenstown. At this time I must have been traveling by coach south towards Queenstown from Franz Josef glacier which I had climbed the previous day. Remarkably I did not feel the initial quake perhaps because I was on a coach but I did feel the after shock.

It must have been the early hours of the morning when I woke up in my bunk bed to find the entire room shaking. The bed frame was vibrating and swaying from side to side and the light fitting was rattling hard. Being from the UK where earthquakes are rarely even felt, I could not understand what was going on. I initially thought I was on a boat and the engine was running despite not having been anywhere near a boat in quite sometime. It took a couple of moments for me to come to and rule that out before an after shock crossed my mind. The rumbling lasted for a good minute before it stopped but not at any point did I think “oh my god it is an after shock, I’d better get out of bed”. I laugh at that now as I am sure New Zealanders are trained from an early age to run to the door frame.

The earthquake did inconvenience me slightly as it caused an avalanche on the road down to Milford Sounds but it could have been a lot worse. I am very pleased now that it did not hit when I was climbing along a crevasse on the Franz Josef glacier because if the ice had shifted then, I may not be here to tell the tale.

If you have experienced and earthquake or even the one last year in New Zealand, leave me a comment and let me know.