Tomorrowland

So earlier this year I was lucky enough to secure myself a ticket to Tomorrowland, a music festival in Belgium which is being held in July, so fits in perfectly to my European holiday plans. I was extremely lucky to get these tickets, in 2013 the festival sold out in just one second! So I wanted to share a couple of tips with you to help you secure your ticket in the future.

1. Pre-register early
In order to be able to even buy a Tomorrowland ticket you need to pre-register. Use an email address that you check regularly and put the date that you can pre-register in your calendar so there's no way you'll forget. 

2. Organise a group with four people max. to go to the festival with
You can only purchase four tickets at a time if you're lucky enough to be able to connect to the website and buy a ticket once it goes on sale. It makes it a lot easier to have a group that's four or less so no one gets left out, and you can have four separate people trying to buy the tickets at once, so hopefully at least one of you will get through. 

3. Decide what ticket you want to buy in advance
Talk to the people you're going with and decide whether you want to purchase Dreamville tickets and camp at Tomorrowland, or whether you just want to purchase the three day festival access passes, or just a day pass. This just makes it more simple when you get through to the choosing ticket stage. If you do not get Dreamville tickets remember that accommodation in Boom sells out very quickly, so you should try to book as soon as you buy tickets, or if you want to take the risk, purchase in advance of getting a ticket. 
tip: when you get to purchase the tickets you can also purchase 'boozebags' which contain the Tomorrowland currency - if you plan on drinking or eating food at the festival purchase at least one of these per person, it works out cheaper in the long run.

4. Tips for getting through to actually purchase your ticket
Pre-register as soon as it opens, then you have the chance to purchase in an international pre-sale, so are pretty much guaranteed a ticket (this is what I was lucky enough to get). The first 10 people from each country are allowed to purchase tickets first, then Belgium, then the rest of the world, so it's in your best interest to pre-register ASAP. To be able to connect to the website to pre-register you will need multiple computers / devices connected to the site, do not give up, persist until you have successfully pre-registered. It took me maybe 15 minutes to pre-reigster, I had my iMac, a laptop, iPad and my iPhone all refreshing the website. The same goes for purchasing the actual ticket, if you don't make the top 10 to pre-register then you'll have to buy with the rest of the world, keeping hitting refresh and have as many devices refreshing as possible! 

So I haven't actually been to the festival yet, I'll be going in two months time, so I don't have any tips for what to do when you're there, but I've done a bit of research and have come up with the following for when you're at the actual festival:

• remember you're ticket & ID (duh)

• buy lots of water

• make sure you wear shoes that you can party in for a long time

• slip, slop, slap - protect yourself from the sun

Good luck for anyone attempting Tomorrowland 2015! For anyone going this year, hope you have the best time, cannot wait to party with you and 180,000 other EDM lovers!

Laters,
Maddy

Croatia Sailing Options

Eurotrip continued...

So as part of my holiday to Europe I really wanted to go to Croatia. I'd never been there, and it looked really cool on all the websites and in the pictures I'd seen from friend's holidays. I started to look into it and everyone was telling me that the best way to do Croatia is on a boat. Naturally I looked to Google for different options, but also talked about the different ways to sail in Croatia with my friends that had done it before. To help out future Croatia travelers I thought I'd post a comparison between the different options.

So just as a quick disclaimer I did end up choosing the Yacht Week, so may be slightly biased towards them, but I'll try my best to depict each of the options fairly :)

The main sailing options that I found for Croatia are:

• The Yacht Week
• Sail Croatia
• Med Sailors
• Busabout

I'm only going to compare the first three because they were the one's that I considered. I had friends that had done Sail Croatia and The Yacht Week, both having positive but different experiences.

Price

In terms of price the most expensive is the Yacht Week, and with this one the booking cost is not the only cost, there are many other costs including fuel and food which are not included. These costs are not hidden, you can read an estimation of them all on the website, they're just not included in the total price, so if you're price conscious this kind of trip might not be for you. The price also varies based on the yacht that you choose. Given that it's a private yacht the more people you have (reaching the yacht's capacity) the cheaper it'll be per person. €325 Euros is the cheapest yacht price per person, but there are additional costs of €78-119 and that's not including food and alcohol expenses. Comparatively, Sail Croatia offers four different tourist boats at different prices, the most basic being the 'standard ship' which you share with other people so it is a fair amount cheaper. Med Sailor is somewhat similar to The Yacht Week, despite not having the same reputation, you can get your own yachts or choose to travel with other people, prices start at £422, which translates to about €514, so is a bit more expensive, but breakfast & lunch is included, so the price is similar to that of The Yacht Week.

Who am I sailing with?

On the Yacht Week and Med Sail you can have your own private yacht with just your friends, so it's a bit more exclusive. If you can't sail that's no problem, just add on a skipper! If you're a group of guys you need to be wary that you need at least two girls on the boat in some weeks for The Yacht Week, 'in order to maintain a good gender ratio' according to the Yacht Week website. This worked fine for me because I'm traveling with girls. If you're traveling alone you can join other people's yachts, but it's a little more difficult as the Yacht Week does not facilitate this. If you're traveling alone or with a small group of people you may prefer Sail Croatia, where you are on a larger boat with other people. All Med Sail yachts fit 8-10 people, so if you're travelling with a smaller group you will need to join up with other people.

I personally chose The Yacht Week because it had amazing reviews and looked the best to me based on the experience I wanted. I didn't want to share bathrooms with people I didn't know and wanted a more luxurious experience than the other sailing options. I can't think of a more amazing holiday than spending a week on a yacht, I mean surely you aren't going to have that experience that many times in your life so you may as well go all out once!

One more Europe post to come, finishing off with Tomorrowland in a day or two :)

Peace out, Maddy X

Euro Trip Planning - Berlin

Next stop on my Europe holiday is Berlin, this capital city of Germany is well known for being the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia back in the day (17th century till early 19th century), it was also the Capital of Nazi Germany, so if you find history interesting, like I do, then there's a lot you can learn when traveling to Berlin. In addition to the historical attractions Berlin has beautiful forests, cool markets and what;s said to be amazing clubbing (keeping with the theme from my last blog post on Ibiza).


The main things that I'm personally interesting in doing in Berlin is shopping, clubbing and learning about the city's history, so that's what I'm going to write about.


The Shopping
I've been doing a bit of research on the best places to shop, the streets around Kurfürstendamm are said to be the main shopping area in Berlin.If you're more intrested in boutiques and non-department stores, like I am then the East of upper Friedrichstrasse and Northwest of Alexanderplatz are said to be the places to head.Apparently the best vintage store to check out is Stiefelkomninat, I honestly have no idea how to pronounce all these German names, going to need a crash course in German before I go!


When I go to shopping in different countries I like to buy the brands and products that the specific country specializes in, rather than just buying the brands I can purchase at home. Some of the more famous German brands include Adidas, Etienne Aigner, Jil Sander, JOOP! and Escada.

Clubbing

I'm really interested in deep house music, and Berlin is said to be one of the world capitals for house and techno and is renowned for it's clubs. The club that I've heard the most hype about is Berghain, it's one of the top clubs in the world (sitting at no. 14 according to DJ mag), and is known for being extremely hard to get into. Apparently once you get in you don't come out for days. It's hard to find pictures of this club because of the strict no cameras rule for entering the club, but from what I could find it looks like a very cool place to check out:

Other notable clubs include Katerholzig and Sisyphos which is said to not have as strict bouncers as the first two mentioned. If you're interested in attempting to get into Berghain there there are a couple of things you should do to give you the best chance of getting in:

• go in small groups, large groups don't get in

• dress cool, don't turn up in something you'd wear to Pacha Sydney

• act cool when you're in the queue, apparently it's not a good idea to laugh

• don't touch your phone, leave in in your bag

• Berlin Wall

• Brandenburg Gate

• Memorial to the Holocaust

Best of luck!

History
I don't actually know that much about Nazi Germany, apart from the general knowledge about Hitler, I don't know the details, but have always found history really interesting! I've done a quick Google and have found a number of key historical attractions that I'm going to try visit whilst on my trip:
Just a quick background on these places, the Berlin Wall is a symbol of the cold war and was the divide between Eastern and Western Europe, the Berlin wall fell in 1989, so it's only the remnants that are left. The Brandenburg Gate has been used to symbolise many things, it was intended to symbolise peace, but then was used as a party place by Nazi's, I want to see it because in my opinion it's one of the iconic things to see in Berlin.

Finally, I think it would be very interesting to visit the eerie memorial site of the murdered Jews, aka the memorial to the Holocaust. I think it's important to remember World War II and to pay respect to the millions of innocent Jews that were murdered by Hitler.

I hope you're enjoying our posts! First hand takes on Berlin to come in July :)

Cheers,Maddy

Guide to Ibiza

I'm traveling to Europe in just over two months with a couple of my best friends, Ibiza is at the top of the list of party destinations for us, so I thought I'd share what's motivated me to go and do a bit more research on the best things to do in Ibiza and share them with you.

The Clubs

So obviously one of the main reasons that people go to Ibiza is for the clubbing, this was a huge attraction for me. I've heard of a couple of clubs like Ushuaïa, Amnesia, Space and Pacha, apparently the clubbing experience is nothing like we have here in Sydney Australia. The clubs in Ibiza get huge name artists every weekend that only come to Australia max. once a year if we're lucky!

Check out the video of the Ushuaïa opening party for 2013

Watching this video makes me want to go to Ibiza like crazy! If the real thing is even close to this it will be absolutely amazing! It's like a festival in a club on a beach!

We just don't have anything like it. If you compare Pacha Sydney to Pacha Ibiza there is really no comparison, the quality of the residents is much better in Ibiza, no offense meant to Will Sparks, SCNDL, Tigerlily and Uberjacked who are all great DJs, they just are no where near the quality of the Pacha Ibiza residents, well in my opinion anyways. If you look at the crowd size, Pacha Sydney is held at the Ivy which is a huge amazing venue, but it just looks tiny compared to the crowd at Pacha Ibiza below:

Another thing about clubbing in Ibiza is you seem to be able to go to clubs every night, whereas in Sydney Pacha is only on a Saturday night at Ivy and the biggest nights of the week for going out tend to be Friday and Saturday.

Anyway I seem to have gotten a bit off topic, I've done a bit of research on clubbing in Ibiza and have some tips for Ibiza virgins like myself:

• because you can party in Ibiza every night of the week there are variations between the nights, so check the party calendars to see what's on
• consider buying tickets for events online because they can sell out, they're expensive too between 40-80 euro for one ticket
• drinks can cost up to 15 euro
• you must be 18+ to enter clubs in Ibiza
• the clubbing season starts from the end of May and goes until the beginning of October
• Ibiza is most expensive in August
• if you're going on a clubbing holiday look at the locations of the big clubs before you go so that you can book hotels near them
• none of the VIP will let you in if you're wearing short shorts!
• driving limit is two standard drinks

Other Things To Do

Oh so I seem to have forgotten to talk about all the other things you can do other than clubbing haha, you can go to the beaches, do watersports or an island tour, but likely you'll be too hungover recovering from the previous night out :p

I'll let you know some more tips when I get back from my holiday, but for now I hope this helps :)

Cheers,
Maddy

Beijing: Public Transportation

pic from

Because Beijing is a huge city, necessity has forced it to develop fast and efficient forms of public transportation.  With the 2008 Olympic Games, the subway system was extensively improved and extended. There are three main forms of public transportation: subways, buses and taxis (see separate article on taxis).

The Beijing subway has been extended over recent years and it is planned to be the largest in the world. The subway system is an excellent inexpensive (2 RMB single journey ticket) option for getting around. It is fast and convenient with English signage and announcements and most stations have self serve ticketing machines. It connects with the Airport Express train, which begins service at 6am, and there is also a surburban rail link which extends out to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. All the major mainline railway stations are serviced by the subway. The subway system runs from about 5am to 11pm daily. The subway can get very crowded during peak hours but trains run frequently. The carriages have seats for 60 and standing room for 200. 

pic from

There are thousands of buses operating in Beijing with hundreds of routes, so getting almost anywhere within the city limits, as well as reaching suburban areas is possible. Buses are generally crowded as they are the cheapest form of public transport. Getting a seat is sometimes impossible so get ready to squeeze in and stand. There are double decker buses for the popular inner city areas. The bus service is not timetabled as such, so make sure to bring lots of patience along for the journey, but buses are usually quite frequent. They run from about 5am to 11pm daily; the times of the first and last buses from the termini (not the bus stop) are displayed. However, most of the information is written in Chinese which makes bus travel less appealing to tourists. Buses are quite modern, some have a conductor - some don't, but most have automated announcements of station stops in both Chinese and English. It is uncommon for place names to be translated into an English equivalent, though. One can find which bus to use by using Google maps. Bus stops are shown on the map when zooming in. Buses between 2 points can be found using the "directions" function. For some buses the fare depends on the distance which makes it difficult for a tourist to buy the right ticket from the bus operator. This is not an issue if you have a swipe card.

pic from

Apart from buses to the Great Wall at Badaling (877 from Deshengmen watchtower), there are a few city bus routes that are very useful for tourists. 专1 is special route circling around Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. This is an excellent and easy way to get from the north exit of the FC back to the Qianmen area. There are also a couple of handy trolleybus routes with a flat fare of 1rmb cash. Trolleybus 107 runs between Dongzhimen and Baishiqiao East (next stop past Beijing Zoo). From Dongzhimen, it travels west through Ghost Street restaurant area (Dong nei xiao jie station) and all the way along to the Drum Tower (Gu lou station) where it turns south before continuing west between Beihai Park and Qianhai Lake (Bei hai bei men station). Eventually it turns north before resuming its westward trek and calling at the zoo (Dong wu yuan station). Trolleybus 124 provides a convenient way to get from the north entrance of the Forbidden City (Gu gong stati on) to either the Qianhai/Houhai Lakes area (Di an men wai station) or Drum Tower (Gu lou station) by skirting around the east side of Jingshan Park before continuing north.

It is possible to buy a swipe card (20rmb) for public transport called the 'Yi Ka Tong' at subway stations and bus stations and preload it with cash to save time (minimum 20rmb). Single subway tickets can only be purchased for the impending journey and are only valid from the originating stations so you cannot stock up with these in advance. For flat-fare buses there is no need to swipe the card when alighting. With a swipe card a 1rmb bus journeys cost only 0.4rmb! They can also be used in taxis but you must inform the driver before he switches off the meter. There are no discounts for using swipe cards on the subway or in taxis. Certain supermarkets and convenience stores also accept payment from this card.

pic from

Travel to other city from Beijing, airplane and High speed train are you best choice.

pic from

pic from

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post by 42513804 pengfei xing

Weather in Beijing and Shanghai

Click this link to get weather information in the next three days.

China Weather Forecast 04-20-2014

Weather influence is most important part of travel. so before we travel to China we must to know in the coming three days's weather.

Beijing next three days weather

Sun 20/Apr : Cloudy 22℃ No wind at <12km/h

             Cloudy 10℃ No wind at <12km/h

Mon 21/Apr : Cloudy 24℃ No wind at <12km/h

             Sunny 10℃ No wind at <12km/h

Tues 22/Apr: Sunny 26℃ No wind at <12km/h

             Cloudy 13℃ No wind at <12km/h

Shanghai next three days weather

Sun 20/Apr : Cloudy 18℃ NE at 16-24km/h

             Overcast 13℃ NE at 16-24km/h

Mon 21/Apr : Light rain 17℃ NE at 16-24km/h

             Moderate rain 13℃ NE at 16-24km/h

Tues 22/Apr: Overcast 19℃ E at 16-24km/h

             Cloudy 12℃ SE at 16-24km/h

post by: 42513804 pengfei xing

China cultural center --Beijing

Beijing is capital of the People's Republic of China, it is the nation's political, economic, cultural, educational and international trade and communication center. Located in northern China, close to the port city of Tianjin and partially surrounded by Hebei Province, it also serves as the most important transportation hub and port of entry and one of the most populous cities in the world.

Well, please follow me to our fist stop.

reference :pic from

• Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

reference: pic from

reference: pic from

• The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC; these, later joined together and made bigger and stronger, are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the majority of the existing wall are from the Ming Dynasty.

reference: pic from

reference: pic from

Forbidden City and the great wall can be a best tour space in you first day in Beijing.

post by: 42513804  pengfei xing

Chinese FOOD

Hi guys, I am showing some famous Chinese cuisines in China, it will attract you to interest on it and guide you to taste Chinese cuisines.

• Travel to Beijing

 As we know, Beijing duck (Peking Duck) is kind of  famous Chinese food in China. If you travel to Beijing, you can find Beijing Duck restaurant in any main street, and you have to taste.

reference: http://www.airasia.com/travel3sixty/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/werf-00004312-001.jpg

reference: http://beijingfever.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/beijing_duck_pancakes.jpg

In Beijing, sugar-coated haws on a stick is popular by girls and children.

reference: http://image211.poco.cn/mypoco/myphoto/20090221/07/46272264200902210722183619328028451_002.jpg

http://www.douyar.com/data/attachment/portal/201105/06/121905wbev55v5xiv2aoav.jpg

• Szechwan hot pot

Travel to China, you can see and find hot pot restaurant in every city and everywhere, it is very popular for Chinese people. Also, Szechwan hot pot is famous and attract people to enjoy.

reference: 

http://bendi.hlj.net/bdtAdmin/upload/uploadSale/200805/270935384780.jpg

http://1821.img.pp.sohu.com.cn/images/blog/2009/1/6/18/21/11f54a19e28g215.jpg

• Do you like eat noodle?

if you want to find more easy and quick food, noodle could be best choice for you.

this is Lanzhou Beef hand pulled noodle.

reference: http://news.sxpmg.com/UploadFiles_7807/201008/20100818093835233.jpg

http://pic.xooob.com/20090523/1247821192638.jpg

post by :42513804 Pengfei Xing

My Top 4 Places to Visit in San Francisco, California

http://ppcdn.500px.org/8608675/e702769233db7f1808f5c336dc76098e0224c266/5.jpg

San Francisco is a largely populated city located in the upper Northern part of California. It is a beautiful city known for its wide cultured nature.

1.     The Golden Gate Bridge

http://www.jimcoda.com/data/photos/894_1_o1a7285_golden_gate_bridge.jpg

The Golden Gate Bridge is a significant part of America attracting thousands of tourists from across the globe annually. The bridge is definitely a technical masterpiece due to its architectural beauty. Its striking red-orange towers surrounded by the beautiful Pacific Ocean are what make this bridge so unique.

2.     Lombard Street (the most crookedest steet in the world)

http://static.thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/files/2009/09/street.jpg

Who wouldn’t want to see the most crookedest street in the world, must I say more?

3.     Union Square

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Union_Square_-_San_Francisco.jpg

Union Square, also known as the heart of San Francisco’s shopping district. This area is surrounded by more shops than you could count, along with many restaurants and high-class hotels. A definitely must visit place for me personally, as I absolutely love shopping. Especially when all the shops are located in one area.

4.     Fisherman’s Wharf

http://www.travelenvogue.com/app/webroot/img/userfiles/Fisherman's%20Wharf%20SF.jpg

Fisherman’s Wharf located on the outer water skirts of San Francisco California, features world class hotels, restaurants, and family friendly attractions. It is must visit for anyone who looks seafood. The beautiful views seen during the sunset and sunrise is also a must.

Post by Dalena, 43239145

Guide to Los Angeles, the "City of Angels"

http://club-in-la.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/5752129243_b348238d2b_z.jpg

Los Angeles also known as the “City of Angels” is one of the most popular cities in the United States of America. It is widely known for its entertainment, culture, and media strengths.

Its regions include:

1.     Beach cities/LAX

2.     Beverly Hills

3.     Downtown/LA Metro

4.     Hollywood

5.     Neighboring Regions

6.     Pasadena

7.     Santa Monica

8.     The Valley

9.     West Hollywood

10. Westside

Travellers have the option of both staying coastal in Santa Monica for example, along the beautiful beaches, or they can stay in the Downtown city area where it is much more busy.

Popular Los Angeles attractions according to me include:

·      Hollywood

http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Hollywood.jpg

Hollywood is the place of entertainment where travellers can immerse themselves in the world of entertainment culture. Popular attractions are the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame and Universal Studios.

·      Disneyland California

http://www.luxetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Castle-50-years.jpg

Whether young or old, Disneyland is definitely an unforgettable experience for all. From the theme park to character dining experiences, this place is a truly a world where dreams come true!

·      Walt Disney Concert Hall

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Image-Disney_Concert_Hall_by_Carol_Highsmith_edit.jpg

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in itself is just an amazing piece of architectural work. Its unique stainless steel look has become one of Los Angeles most popular attractions, even though it is probably the youngest site.

·      Venice Beach

https://s3.amazonaws.com/fathom_media/cache/e8/ec/e8ec90d7c9ee88f5e0db294b42b05320.jpg

Venice beach is known the vibrancy it brings to Southern California. It is a popular hangout for locals and as well a tourist attraction for foreigners.

I am visiting Los Angeles later this year and have decided to stay in Downtown LA because I love lights, busy streets, and the city life altogether. I have heard many great things about this city from past experiences of others and definitely want to take a visit to the places listed above. The weather is perfect all year round in LA with warm and sunny temperatures. I’m looking forward to enjoying two Summers this year as I will be visiting this city in July J

Post by Dalena, 43239145