Wanderlust Tag

This tag has been taken from a few other blogs I read and seeing as I travel a fair amount, thought I’d hop on board!

01. Where was your first plane to?
I’m pretty sure it was to Portugal when I was around 8 or 9. At least that’s the first I remember! We stayed always stayed in the Praia Da Rocha area and went back year on year until we tried out Majorca and then did that for a few years. My family like going to the same places they know and love. I however much prefer to branch out with and see what else the world has to offer. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good family holiday here and there. I’m planning to go to Malta (a new favourite of theirs for the last 7-8 years) in July for a week with them. Will be nice having a hot summer pool/beach/drinks holiday as all I seem to do lately is city breaks!

02. You’re leaving tomorrow, money is no object, where are you going?
New Zealand. Without question. It’s so scenic, clean and the people are lovely. No where is too overcrowded, even in Wellington. Spent a month touring New Zealand (North and South) back in 2013 and would love to spend more time in each area as opposed to just a few days. Wanaka, Wellington and seeing more of Christchurch would definitely be a must-visit along with Dunedin and the Bay of Islands as we didn’t include that on our tour last time but look stunning!

03. Are you a repeat visitor or do you explore new places?
Whoops, kinda answered this in the first question! There are places that I will definatley visit again (New Zealand, Barcelona, Dublin, Berlin) but want to take the opportunity while I’m young(ish) to visit some more ‘out-there’ places. Thinking about it, I really need to see more of America, but that will probably have to be a long trip of a few weeks in order to knock a few places out in one go.

04. Hostel or Hotel?
If I’m travelling alone, hostels all the way! They are a lot cheaper to stay in than hotels (a lot of which also offer backpacker discounts on trips and tours) and its a great place to meet like-minded travellers in a place you don’t know. The people you meet along the way all adds to the adventure of travelling!

05. Where would you travel just to eat the food?
Thailand. Exotic food by the plentiful and so cheap! Im not great with heat/spice, but I do love me a good Pad Thai! Oooh, and Italy for the Gelato…

06. Airplane essentials and how do you pass the time?
Water. Especially for long flights. Along with my IPod, Kindle and notepad. I usually bring some sort of scarf/pashmina that I can wrap around my neck for more comfortable naps (when they do happen)

07. Is there a place you would never go to again?
I wasn’t wowed by Paris to be fair, didn’t get the hype, although my time there was quite brief.

08. Your top 3 travel items?
My phone, camera and suncream!

09. Preferred method of travel, planes, trains or vehicles?
Planes if it’s short distances and trains if they’re longer. It depends on the country I’m in though really as I’ve experienced some rough budget airlines and really old sleeper trains in my time!

10. Can you recite your passport details by heart?
Yes. I know my passport number off by heart but not my bank account number #priorites!

11. Favourite Passport Stamp?
Probably my Cambodia or Vietnam visas as they take up a whole page! I have two India ones too as the first one was wrong! Oops.

Till next time!
Gem x

P.S. Keep an eye out for my guest post on South East Asia over at Big World, Small Me coming in the next few days!