Mahe island tour in Seychelles

The main island Mahe is really just a small island as well, it takes only about 2 hours to drive around it. So the crew decided to rent a car and find the best beaches. 

We rented the car through our hotel, a small jeep was only 40 euros per day. And the insurance another 20. Transportation in Seychelles is quite expensive, for example if you need a taxi from the airport to your hotel can cost 80 USD. So we were really surprised how cheap it was. 

Roads in Mahe are in quite good condition but narrow and full of tight curves so the average speed is about 40 km/h. And of course you feel the need to stop in every few kilometers because of the stunning views :)

 Anse Royale 

On the East Coast is a he natural beach with safe waters to swim and snorkel. This small village called Anse Royale has few restaurants by the sea, few shops to buy beach wear or souvenirs and an ATM. But the beach is beautiful and it was full of people, both locals and tourists to swim, grill or sunbath.

Kaz Kreol

We had a lunch at a restaurant called Kaz Kreol, the only restaurant that was open on sunday afternoon. It was literally at the beach and they had fresh seafood.. crabs, octopus, fish, squid.. Little bit pricy but I was ready to pay to get some local seafood. So i ordered the crab in coconut milk and even it's a struggle to eat a whole crab especially when you'r hungry it was delicious! Price was about 330 rupees so $25. European prices for sure so not for backpackers budget.

Anse Soleil 

On the West Coast the tides are strong and during few months of the year it's too dangerous to go to swim because of the currents. Last year I had a bad experience about it in Thailand and I'm now scared if I feel the current to be too strong. But for sunbathing this beach was a heaven! Only few souls there, miles long sandy beach and so hot it was a struggle to lye under the sun more than 20 minutes at time. But it was worth it, I got a beautiful tan ;) Also the color of the ocean was so crystal clear blue that it was breath taking!

Anse Soleil

The beach is next to Hotel Banyan Tree, probably the most luxury hotel in the island, a real secret hiding place away from the eyes.

Anse Boileau

We found a local Sunday park festival at the Anse Boileau village. They had local kreol food for very cheap price (25 rupees / dish), reggae music, local manufactured rum on sale and of course the beach where people were hanging out and enjoying the lazy Sunday with their families.

There's a lot of small car rental companies found in the island. I heard that someone rented the car from the airport in advance and they paid more than us via the luxury hotel. So it's wise to make some comparison with the prices. Here's a link to a page with a list of car hire operators. I highly recommend to have a look at the island and of course it would be great to see the other islands as well, there's 115 islands all together in Seychelles which means many empty beaches to spend the perfect honeymoon :)

Relaxing in Seychelles

I was lucky to get the Seychelles flight few days ago. Normally our crew stays in a different hotel in Mahe Island but now they had some problems there so we were transferred to a 5 star luxury Hilton hotel. Actually we were not staying in hotel rooms but private villas with ocean view, huge balcony, jacuzzi, king size bed... AMAZING! Truly a place for honeymooners.

Our airline just announced that they bought a huge share of the Air Seychelles stocks so now this route is going to be even more important and I think they want to have a share of the luxury holiday destinations markets everywhere. But there is also another reason for this tight deal... the president of UAE Sheikh Khalifa has 2 huge castles/villas at the top of the island so he's very much interested in this small country. We saw a glimpse of one of the castles and it was crazy, just at the point of the hilltop!

The hotel was amazing, one of the best I've been to. And the service was so friendly. We talked with the staff, most of them are coming from all over the world to work a year or two and save money. What an experience :) 

View to the balcony through the bathroom 

Beautiful decorations the housekeeping placed every day

 My villa

The view from the villa

The Spa



Relaxing balcony in the Spa



Reception desk by the pool

Infinity pool



Relaxing by the ocean



Secret place for couples




Sunset

Boats set the sails and headed off to China today after spending 10 days in Abu Dhabi. I really enjoyed seeing them so close after watching the competition from tv so many years. It is crazy what these people are doing! I really respect the effort and hard work and extreme skills they put in order to complete the 9 months race. Good job guys and good luck!

Here's an interesting live tv from the racing boats for all of you enthusiasts:

Watch live streaming video from volvooceanracesd at livestream.com

Nr. 1 reason to love this job!

I got my flight ticket today. Take a good look at the price and destination.. From Dubai to Buenos Aires and the ticket price is 127USD! With taxes.

Of course this is only a stand by ticket which means I only have a seat if there's a seat available in the plane. So I need to be at the airport minimum 3 hours before the check inn. But the catch here is that this ticket is not valid only for that one flight. Meaning that if one flight is fully booked I can use this ticket to any other flight I want. And I can even change my destination.

But I really want to go to Buenos Aires. And I'm going there in March when I have my next leave. And I won't plan my trip too much in advance because I just know that when I arrive there all my plans would change anyway :) That's what usually happens when traveling. But at the moment I'm planning to see Buenos Aires, then cross the border to Montevideo Uruguay, take a bus to Iguazu falls (which is also one of the new 7 Natural wonders of the world) and end the trip to Rio de Janeiro and see the Christ of Redeemer statue.

Volvo Ocean Race Abu Dhabi

We have been very lucky to have the Volvo Ocean Race leg here in Abu Dhabi. The boats are here right in the middle of the city and the event area is totally free for public to enter and enjoy.

Volvo Ocean Race is the toughest sailing competition in the world. The teams are sailing around the world during 9 months and visiting 10 ports. I have seen the competitions from the tv before and I feel very lucky to be able to see the boats live this year :) These people have to be crazy and totally made out of iron to be able to stay alive those massive storms they face in the seas. True giants of adventurers.

Yesterday the leading boat Team Telefonica was the first boat to set sails. The boat looks beautiful!

Our team is 5th at the moment and it's going to be interesting to see how the future looks like.

This Suunto compass is from the Team Abu Dhabi training boat but I hope even Azzam has this finnish quality on board :)

The Destination Village is beautiful with many restaurants, games, promotions, free outdoor movies etc. I've been in the area three times already and I'm going there again in few days. Because on 13th they will have a small race just outside Abu Dhabi so the public can see the boats sailing and competing. And on 14th the competition is going to continue to the next destination China so it's going to be a big event to send the teams on their way.

Just few days ago we had a world famous dj Louie Vega performing live in the Puma club. It's a small trendy place with a club downstairs and an open air bar upstairs. So beautiful and comfortable. We stayed there the whole evening yesterday as well just laying in soft Fatboys and listening acoustic band. Not bad in early January :)

More information:

Volvo Ocean Race Abu Dhabi

Volvo Ocean Race official page

The Monkey Temple

View from the temple

The Monkey Temple ( originally named Swayambhunath) is one of the main tourist attractions and a holy place for locals in Kathmandu. The temple itself is ancient and around it is a whole village with monks, shops and cafe's. It takes easily few hours just to walk around the area and enjoy the mystical atmosphere.

Small stupas in the temple area

Area got it's nickname from the hundreds of monkeys living in the area as well as the monkey statue which is one of the holy statues there. Monkeys leave people usually in peace but the guide told us not to get too close for the adults are very protective and might bite.

One of the two entrances to the temple - 365 steps uphill

Roll for good luck. Ancient sanskrit scripts

Shops in temple area

What: The Monkey Temple

Where: in Kathmandu

How: Take a local taxi to get there and away

How much: Entrance fee 200 rupees (1,8 Euro)

New Year in Nepal

I was lucky to get a flight to Nepal, where I had never been before but also a place that is one of the most thrilling places in this planet! I think most of us would love to see the Mount Everest ones during their lifetime.

This picture is taken in downtown Kathmandu. Which you could never guess of course. What is the first thing you see when arriving the city is the thick fog and darkness that covers the city. It's because there is no electricity in most of the buildings and even in our 4 star crew hotel we had electricity power cut offs all the time. So how does the people keep warm in this remote land?

By making fires. So the whole city is filled with this strong smell of smoke and sometimes it felt almost impossible to breath through it. Locals cover their mouth and nose with masks but us weren't that well prepared.

And because there's no electricity the city gets quiet quite early. It was a new year night but after 1 AM there was nobody walking on the streets than taxis and police cars.

We celebrated the new year by eating local food and as you can see from the picture it was delicious! Especially I have to appraise the local lassi drink which tasted totally different from what I'm used to in nepalese restaurants in Finland but it was delicious! And the whole menu was only about 8 euros for 2 persons! Place is called Anatolia Restaurant and you can find it in Thamel, J.P. Road.

The next morning we woke up with my friend at 5 AM, took a cab and drove an hour up to a place called Nagarkot. The small village is on top of the hill in 2000 meters above sea level. And the view is simply amazing! You can see the sun coming behind Mt Everest and Annapurna, lighting mountains little by little.. you get speechless. I think it was the perfect way to start this New Year, to see the light fighting it's way behind those majestic mountains. I truly hope this year will be like that, that the light will come and expose all that is hidden. And to give hope and future.

There are several hostels, lodges and even a nice hotel where you can stay overnight. We went to Club Himalaya Hotel for a breakfast after the sunrise and it was a great ending for that morning.

Bye bye iPad

FInally i got rid of my iPad! Sorry to say so but after i bought it 3 months ago I regret buying every single day. Perhaps you remember my unsuccessful shopping trip to Apple Store on October when I was supposed to buy the MacBook Air. Well that didn't really worked out so I went and bought the iPad instead. Only soon to discover that it needed the laptop to even start the bloody gizmo! Or to get the iCloud.. and how difficult it was to backup my pictures from iPhone to iPad without it. And how iPad doesn't support flash or other Adobe software. So that most of the webpages doesn't open. Or that most of our crew hotels offer free internet but only with cable and I had the wi-fi version!

So yesterday I went and sold that crap! And bought a proper laptop. So here it is: MacBook Pro - my new darling :) And now everything works, finally.

But before getting too excited let's take a step back. Because I still have this iPhone 4 which was jail braked after I moved to this country. And it was done twice. So stupid as I was and too excited about all my new gadgets I plugged my iPhone with MacBook and it offered me to get the new version for iPhone. Without thinking it so much I told iTunes to override my iPhone and install the latest version. But that was a terrible mistake! Because now it has erased the jailbreak and it doesn't recognize this SIM card. So the phone is locked and unable to use it. And the worst part is that I'm leaving to Kathmandu early tomorrow morning for the New Year. And I was planning to see the sunrise behind the Mount Everest... and take some pictures. Well, I think that will be impossible right now if the guys in these dark shops can't fix my phone.

So what is the lesson? Never buy a phone which is not unlocked. Or never ever install anything in it if you do. Or don't buy this shit at all :) Well the last is not an option, i still love my apple products, can't help it..

How to offer services to tourists: by Melbourne

I have to admit that one thing Australia is way ahead is the way they have organized information, services and guidance to tourists nd back packers. I haven't seen anywhere else it done as well as all over Australia.

I had my first flight to Melbourne just a while ago and that city can now be my example of these services. First of all: you can find big tourist information centers everywhere in the city. And it's always located in the middlenof everything sobthat you can't really miss that. And they have everything you need, the brochures, maps, timetables, people answering to your weardest questions...

But that is not so special, many cities have that same. But have you seen a free hop on hop off buss service for tourists anywhere? Inhaven't and when I heard about it i couldn't believe my ears! The bus leaves every 30 minutes and makes quite a trip around the city and it's most important sightseens. It takes all together 1,5 hours but you will stop at least two or three times. It took us propably 4 to 5 hours and could have easily taken longer.

Another special service they have is a free tram that also serves tourists and goes around the city center and it's shopping streets. So you'll have many options to rest your feet and see the city very easily.

Everything doesn't have to cost a fortune and companies/cities can actually give something for free somethimes. I believe because of that the country is so well known among especially backpackers who come to Australia every year and spend months (and a lot of money as well) and gives their share to Australia. I believe the special atmosphere Australia has, that you feel welcomed makes people to come back and tell their frends how great the country is. At least me and my friends have all done the same, shared our great experiences to each other. And i can easily promote this country to everybody :)


More info about the Melbourne Free Tourist Bus found here

Ski Dubai

I spent my Christmas (well actually 23rd December bec I was flying on Christmas) sking with my friends at Dubai.

In Finland we have amazing ski slopes in Lapland but the last time I was skiing was propably more than 4 years ago.

It sounds absolutely absurd to have slopes in the middle of the desert and in fact that's exactly how it is. The place is absurd but believe me - after not having snow in a year and having Christmas I was ready to have a try.

The ski slopes are inside the Mall of the Emirates, a beautiful mall close to Dubai Marina. At the price of 180 AED you get a ski pass for 2 hours, skis, boots, even socks and clothes. The only thing ypu should bring with you are warm cloves. And that we didn't had so we were freezing our hands ;)

At the slopes it is minus 4 degrease so it feels like winter. And at least on that day the slopes were quite empty so it was nice to ski there with no rush. Most of the people went to other snow activities.. most of the locals don't know how to ski so it's better for them (and for us) not to have them there.

I have to admit that even I had my reservations about the place it managed to surprise me very positively. Slopes are not long of course and there's not much variation but it doesn't matter at all. I wanted to see and touch snow, have a hot chocolate and ski for few hours. That made my Christmas :)

More info: www.skidxb.com

Merry Christmas!

Photo taken @ Christmas Market in Souk Madinat, Dubai

One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my whole life <3

Dubai Old Souk

This is my favourite area in the city! It's next to the Dubai Creek at the end of the city center area. Surrounded by the ocean it has a history of trading goods. Even today it's harbours are full with old wooden ships carrying goods from Asia, especially from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

There is a Souk specialized with gold, another with herbs, third with mattresses, another with househild goods such as pots and cattles. There is litterarly something for every need you might have. And you are expected to bargain the prices as the local habit is.

There are shopping areas in oth sides of the creek but no worries - you can take a taxi boat to take you across with only 1 dirham! And it is an experience as well, the boats are old and wooden and sometimes quite full of people.

And don't forget to visit the Heritage Village which is just around the corner!

Dubai Heritage Village

Even though the city offers some amazing modern architecture I prefer the older style and more traditional. You can taste the history of the nation and the bedu lifestyle in the Heritage Village which is located in the city center and can easily reach by metro.

The day I visited it it was very quiet so it's propably one of the places where you can have some time of yourselve and enjoy the outdoor area and some quiet moments.

Next to the Heritage Village is also the Old Souks and Old Gold Souk so there is so much to see and experience. I highly recommend this area for anybody who want's to see something original and get the touch of the real arabian culture.

What: Heritage Village
Where: Downtown Dubai near Dubai Creek. About 15 km from Burj H
Khalifa.
When: Sat - Thu 08:00-22:00, Fri 08:00-11:00 & 16:00-22:00
How: take a subway, get off from Al Khubaiba Metro station ( 8 dir per person). Or you can also take a taxi ( appr. 20 dir from Burj Khalifa)

Burj Khalifa

I just came back from Dubai after spending some time there with my friends and family. I've only been there few times but not really had the time to investigate city's soul. This time I managed to see most of the main tourist attractions as well as the local lifestyle in the western people populated areas of the city.

Here is the number one destination which everybody coming to Dubai should see, The Burj Khalifa - tallest building in the world.

It took 5 years to build it and at one point they even run out of money. So they lended some money from the ruler of Abu Dhabi and after that they had to change the name of the tower to Burj Khalifa. Something that as an Abu Dhabi citizen I'm very pleased of ;)

The building is next to the world fmous shopping mall Dubai Mall and the entrance goes through the mall. But in order to get to the observation deck which is situated at the 124th floor you need to buy the tickets online few days before visiting becuse those are always sold out. The ticket costs 100 dirhams which is approximately 20€. The tour gives you much more thn just the deck and the views and I think it was well worth the money spent. I visited the deck during daylight when I was able to see the city properly. But I will go there again after the sunset because the city looks totally different with all the lights, I think it will be even better.

Here is the official web page for more information:

Www.burjkhalifa.ae

40th National Day of UAE

GeoTagged, [N24.46338, W54.37615]

Today the country celebrated it's independence and they really did it properly!

Here the main attraction is to gather next to the ocean bulevard to watch the cars driving by with some creative national decorations, flags, bears - you name it in, on top or next to the cars! And lso people were hanging outside windows, sitting on the roof or even standing on it while the car was moving!

Locals really love their cars, that's their way to celebrate. Back in the history they used to have camels and horses and they did exactly the same thing.. Speeding, dancing, singing, firing guns. Nowdays they have only moved to more horsepower but you can still see the tradition behind. I really love it!