Birthday weekend in Brisvegas

I am fortunate to have amazing godparents who spoil me rotten! My godmother wanted to take me away to watch a West Coast Eagles game so I decided on an Australian city I'd never explored before - Brisbane. It worked out that my birthday fell just after the weekend so we made it a joint birthday celebration.

Game on at the Gabba

Having been to Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Darwin and my home city of Perth before, I wasn't sure what to expect from Brisbane. We left on a morning flight and arrived in Brisbane mid afternoon. We stayed at Mercure Brisbane, which was a short walk to Brisbane Square, Treasury Casino and Queen Street Mall. I must say how pleased I was with the staff at the Mercure. I don't think I have ever noticed the work of a concierge before but their's was superb!

That evening we grabbed an early dinner at Milano in Queen Street Mall and then caught the free bus to the Gabba to watch the West Coast Eagles take on the Brisbane Lions. Lucky for us West Coast won.

Pre-game dinner

The following day we explored South Bank, taking in the view of Brisbane's skyline, the ferris wheel, the man made beach and markets. South Bank is also home to the Queensland Maritime Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, State Library of Queensland and other arts institutions. We did a full loop on the free City Hopper ferry along Brisbane River and finished the day with shopping in the mall.

Walking to South Bank

Pretty flower arches

South Bank Beach

That night we visited the Treasury Casino, in Brisbane's beautiful treasury building. We enjoyed a three course dinner at Kitchen at Treasury for $30 per head before heading into the casino. I must say it wasn't as exciting a casino as Crown Perth, but Andrew and I didn't care as we both won on roulette.

Treasury Casino

The next day we hired a car and took a road trip up the Sunshine Coast to Noosa. The roads were pretty easy to meander once we got out of the city and on the right freeway entry. We drove through Mooloolaba and continued up the coast to Noosa. Noosa was a nice coastal town with a main street (Hastings Street) of boutiques, cafes and restaurants. We walked up Hastings Street and checked out the shops before settling into a seafood lunch overlooking the ocean. Upon leaving Noosa beach, we stopped into Noosa National Park's lookout and admired the view from above.

Noosa

Hastings Street, Noosa

The lookout at Noosa National Park

From Noosa, we headed to the hinterlands and made our way to a quaint town called Montville, as recommended by a friend of Andrew's. We stopped into The Edge Cafe for afternoon tea and admired the view of the rolling hills and over Queensland. I honestly felt like I was in country Switzerland! I must say I was very surprised at Queenland's mountainous terrain... it was really quite beautiful. Back in Brisbane, that night we enjoyed a dinner at Sono Japanese Restaurant in Queen Street Mall.

In the hinterlands - the view from The Edge Cafe in Montville

The next day was my birthday. We started the day with breakfast at Brew in Burnett Lane - a tucked away cafe I found on Urbanspoon. The rest of the day was spent shopping and pampering for the ladies (manicures, pedicures, wash and blow drys). When I returned to my room at 6pm, I was greeted by a lovely surprise! The hotel staff left me with bottle of champagne, birthday cake and cards for my birthday. It was honestly the nicest experience I've ever had at a hotel and really highlighted what an amazing concierge they had!

Hotel surprises

That night we enjoyed dinner at Aria Restaurant - Matt Moran's restaurant at Eagle Street Pier. We started with a sherry for aperitivo before enjoying a red wine over dinner. I tried kangaroo for the first time for entree, followed by the mulloway for main and hazelnut dessert (plus two pieces of bread somewhere in between). The waiters surprised me with some Happy Birthday petit fours also. The restaurant's food and service was amazing, but I must admit I was so full after it, that it was difficult to breathe.

Happy Birthday!

The next day was our last day in Brisbane with a 5pm flight back to Perth. We started the day with a City Sights hop on hop off bus tour. Even though we'd been in the city for four days already, we hadn't really seen much except South Bank and Queen Street Mall. The bus tour took us out of the city to the Botanic Gardens, Suncorp Stadium and Mt Coot-tha, which provided an amazing view of the city. It also went through Chinatown, ANZAC Square and past the GPO.

Brisbane from Mt Coot-tha

Queen Street Mall

We ended the day with some final shopping and where it all began - a meal at Milano. It must sound like all we did on this trip was shop! I really enjoyed my first visit to Brisbane and found many comparisons to home.

Third time's a charm for Bali

Before this time I'd been to Bali twice before. Once as a 12 year old the other for New Year's four and a half years ago. I've never been a "Bali person"... someone that loves it and returns year after year, but I must say on this trip, I actually enjoyed my time on the holiday island.

Holiday time!

It was a family trip with my partner's family for a friend's wedding. We stayed at a lovely resort in Seminyak called Vasanti, which was on a quiet back street but close to W Hotel and Potato Head. Everything at the hotel was perfect - they even screened football games in the early hours of the morning - but one point to note is you can't just walk out onto the street and take off for the day, you need to take a taxi to leave the hotel.

Vasanti Seminyak Resort

The four day, three night trip saw us leave Perth at 7.30am and arrive into Denpasar's new airport - impressive I must say - around 11am. When we arrived at the hotel we couldn't check in yet so the first stop was Potato Head for lunch. I enjoyed my first coconut of the trip and soaked in the holiday atmosphere. After lunch, my sister-in-law and I headed to Cocoon Beach Club for hens day celebrations for the bride to be. I'd never experienced the Bali beach clubs so it was nice to experience two in our first day.

Lunch at Potato Head

That night once more of the family had arrived we headed to Jimbaran Bay for seafood on the beach. We enjoyed lobster, crab, prawns, fish and more while the kids ran around and made friends.

Dinner in Jimbaran Bay

The next day the girls started the day with a bit of shopping around Seminyak Square, approximately a five minute taxi ride from our hotel. We then found a beauty salon to get manicures and pedicures, ready for the next day's wedding. Following we headed back to the hotel for a swim and lunch by the pool. That afternoon three of us headed to W Hotel for sunset cocktails. What an amazing hotel - will definitely stay there the next time we come to Bali! We sat on the deck laid with lanterns and overlooking the ocean listening to tunes by the DJ and enjoyed an espresso martini and lychee martini.

The amazing W Seminyak

Sunset Cocktails

That night we headed to Mozzarella's in Legian for dinner - a nice Italian restaurant. After dinner we checked out the markets on the street outside and then three of us took a taxi and braved Kuta. We headed for the Sky Garden - a multi-level club on Kuta's main strip. We went to the top level, which had views overlooking Bali and enjoyed some drinks and dancing.

The next day was wedding day. After spending the morning swimming, we then got ready and headed off to the venue in Nusa Dua early afternoon. We arrived with plenty of time to spare and sat around the bar admiring the view while we waited. At 4.30pm the ceremony started followed by photos, food and dancing. It was a lovely night under the lanterns and stars and marked my first overseas wedding so is sure to be something I won't forget in a hurry.

Nusa Dua Wedding

Swinging

Wedding lanterns

Sunday was our last day in Bali with a late flight home that night. We all headed into Kuta for some market shopping and then Andrew and I had a one hour foot massage (a must for any similar holiday). Following we all met up again at Bamboo for lunch - apparently owned by an Australian which was apparent with the number of screens showing AFL games. We then head to Beachwalk Shopping Centre which has the likes of Topshop, Zara, Victoria's Secret and many more international fast fashion stores. Our day ended with a coffee before Andrew and I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and make our way to the airport (the rest were staying an extra three nights).

All in all it was a much more enjoyable experience of Bali so I can actually say I liked it! I think staying in Seminyak and frequenting nice places helped with this ... who knows when I will be back!

New year full moon

On the bucket list for a while was a Full Moon Party in Thailand so when I started thinking about where to go for New Years around mid year, a New Years Full Moon Party was the perfect idea. We planned the trip with another couple and spent four nights in Phuket and four nights in Koh Samui.

I had been to Phuket with a girlfriend five years ago so I had a pretty good idea of what to see and do but it also helped to meet up with someone there who part lives there and had a car. In Phuket we enjoyed $12 massages everyday, did a day trip to Maya Bay and Phi Phi Island, hung out at Catch Beach Club, shopped at the markets, bought some artwork in Phuket Town, enjoyed the nightlife of Patong and all its quirky bits and hung out at our beautiful resort - the Kalima Resort & Spa.

Phi Phi Island Tour

Bangla Road

The plane ride to Koh Samui from Phuket was interesting. The plane was so small it used propellers instead of jets - scary! In Koh Samui we enjoyed $10 massages, made the journey to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party on New Years Eve, shopped at the markets, went to a Thai boxing tournament, did an elephant trek and went jetskiing. We also enjoyed the nightlife at Ark Bar and a meal at The Cliff Bar.

The view from The Cliff Bar

Koh Samui beach

The Full Moon Party was an experience in itself. We purchased a return transfer through our hotel in Koh Samui and left the port in Koh Samui around 5pm for Koh Phangan, enduring rough seas. When we arrived on the island, we were greeted at gates to purchase our 'ticket' (wristband) into the party. Past the gates, the buckets and body paint stalls started. I decided to get into the spirit and had my arm painted with colourful stars. I also added some flashing pink horns to my outfit which I picked up for a few dollars at the port in Koh Samui.

We made our way to the beach and checked out a few of the bars. It was still daylight but the sun was setting. We walked along the beach and had a drink at the bar on the far corner, perched above some rocks. We stayed there for a couple of hours looking out over the beach. We then made our way back to the beach where music was in full blare at each of the bars and stopped at one which had the music we preferred. By now people had overflowed out of the bars and were dancing on the sand. We bought some buckets and danced the night away, watching as thousands of tourists made their way onto the beach.

At midnight, for a few minutes, fireworks exploded into the sky as we all celebrated the start of 2014. The only real annoying part of the experience was the boat ride back to Koh Samui as there were massive lines at the port and a lot of pushing and shoving. I would recommend booking a room and staying on Koh Phangan for the night.

Koh Phangan beach - the night is just beginning

Flaming rope jumping

Beach partying

Full Moon Party Koh Phangan

Dancing the night away

All in all though it was a lot of fun and an experience I won't forget. Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes to party.