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Pre-departure With Australia finally opening its international borders, we were determined to go overseas for our annual Easter break. Trouble was, where could we go without too much hoop-jumping? We also wanted to stay within an 8-10 hour flight of Australia in case our government went feral...

Just came back from a week in Lord Howe Island. Were it not for international / interstate lockdowns, it's probably not a destination I'd have considered in the short term versus overseas or further afield interstate. But as the Tourism Australia campaign urges, 2020 is the year to...

We went to Milos, Santorini, Paros and Mykonos (plus Athens) last September and absolutely loved our first visit to Greece. I keep meaning to write up a proper TR 'at some point' but life took over so hopefully this abridged report of sorts helps someone. Happy to answer any questions...

Have loved the stuff ever since we tried a complimentary bottle of Nyetimber at the h club in London, and pleased to find out that Dan Murphy's now stocks Digby. Not one for idle quaffing however - at a touch over $50, you can get some great traditional method Aussie sparkling for way less...

Since people apparently found my list of eateries & bars in Honkers helpful, I'll post a few of our favourite spots that we visited over Easter weekend in Singapore (en-route to Chiang Mai). The trouble with Singapore, much like Hong Kong, is its 56 million throughly on fleek restaurants and...

Took advantage of the Queen's Birthday long weekend in Sydney and went on a cheeky extra long 5 night weekend jolly to Hong Kong. Mum also flew up from Malaysia to join us. Plus QF's $560 return fare made it hard to say no to flying whY. Fares on the SYD/MEL-HKG market have collapsed since VA...

Without hesitation, our time in Iceland over the Christmas/New Year break was one of the best holidays of my life. Very different from anything we've ever done (usually our trips are more city or beach resort centric)! Feel free to ask any questions if you're planning a trip, and I'll try my...

Some of the merchants I shop with online have an Australian website and charge in AUD, yet are considered overseas transactions by credit card companies because the merchants are actually located outside Australia. An example of this is Strawberrynet where I purchase something off the Aussie...

The OH and I stayed at Macalister Mansion during a visit to Penang over Easter and highly recommend it for anyone visiting Penang and would like a great design-oriented hotel experience. Like many establishments of the thriving boutique hotel scene in Penang, Macalister Mansion is a refurbished...

Given the thought provoking discussion and debates in the "Advice on champagne" thread, I thought it'd be a great idea to start another thread on whisky in the hope that someone here may be able to assist with my suboptimal (ie, non-existent) knowledge of whisky! The OH's birthday is coming up...

Hi, Just got my brand new Altitude Black cards. As I'm not likely to retain my SPG Gold membership unless they comp me again like the previous year, I'm hoping to take advantage of the Black MC's accelerated SPG Gold membership. Do I need to create a brand new booking with Starwood in the Asia...

Great analysis on the W brand, now in its 15th year. HotelNewsNow.com article I wouldn't really say that it pioneered the hip hotel concept - that will always belong to Ian Schrager and the Royalton in NYC. It has however breathed life into the category and made the luxury hotel experience...

Better late than never - our trip to the W Maldives from Easter 2012. It was of course WOW in every single way. :D It was the most anticipated W visit and top of the bucket list to tick off, and indeed the pinnacle W experience of my life. Airport to W: Sea plane jetty W lounge at the...

AusBT has put up some pics of the new VAust Lounge in Melbourne: First pics: Virgin Australia Melbourne Lounge opens today - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller SERIOUSLY impressive! Super hip, almost as if it's a trendy ultra lounge in town. I'm...

Well there are enough knowledgeable people on here to ask about cars so here goes... The OH and I are looking to trade up from our current baby Bimmer 118i to a convertible (looks set to be an Audi A5 2.0T at this stage :D). We are also thinking about complementing the convertible with a more...

Australian Business Traveller contacted me via Twitter asking me to contribute a story on my experience onboard the last ever QF74 SFO-SYD, and I have obliged: Report: On board the last Qantas flight from San Francisco - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business...

I knew the free Flying Blue status was going to be good for something. ;) Lufthansa M&M is offering a status match to Flying Blue elites. FB Silver gets matched to M&M Frequent Traveller status (LH*S) whilst FB Gold and FB Platinum will be matched to M&M Senator status (LH*G). Given M&M...

I have to make several personal trips to SIN this year. And SIN alas is another city where Starwood properties don't work for me. The ugly, tawdry and overpriced St Regis has gone up in category, thus eradicating the only good reason to stay there that was the fab value cat 5 Cash+Points...

Is it just me or is there something wrong with the booking engine on VAustralia's website? I tried to look up flights, both ex-MEL and ex-SFO, only to get an error message telling me there aren't any flights on the requested dates (when there clearly are). This is for dates in Oct and Nov. I...

Seductive, glamourous, fantastical, and totally electric... welcome to the latest chapter in the Worldwide WOW sensation that is W Hotels, the all new W Retreat & Spa Bali. Central to all that is trendy, happening and SO now and surrounded by all that is 'it', the W is set to be rockin'...