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Monique – New Zealand

New Zealand is by far my favourite holiday destination. It’s a remarkable country that has it all. New Zealand has something to please almost everyone. You can find some of the most fantastic sceneries. Within a few kilometers, you’ll find yourself on the beach or on top of a glacier for some Heli Hiking! Be impressed by volcanoes, thermal landscapes, fjordland and fantastic mountains.

Everywhere you go you’ll be surprised by one spectacular view after another. It’s a country where you can still wonder about on a beach and run into seals, sea lions or even pinguïns. If all this beauty and quietness gets too much it’s also the place to be for thrill seekers. Of course, everybody knows about bungy jumping and rafting, but my personal favourites are Jetboating on the Shotover jet, Heli Hiking on Franz Josef Glacier, and if you love hiking you should definitely not miss the Tongariro Crossing.

For the finest beaches, you should visit The Bay of Islands on the North Island or Abel Tasman National Park on the South Island. And at this last destination, it’s also great to combine beautiful walks with canoeing or a ride on one of the fast water taxis. And let’s not forget the people. The Kiwi’s are super friendly and hospitable. Truly awesome folk.

If you want to find out more about this fantastic country, please read more on Monique’s blog: www.ontdeknieuwzeeland.blogspot.com or visit her Instagram page @ontdeknz

Amber – Portugal & Tenerife

Hi y’all! I’m Amber, a 19-year-old travel nut from little, rainy Belgium. It’s sooo hard for me to choose one ultimate travel destination…. I’m so lucky I’ve already had the chance to travel to a lot of different places. For instance; this year, 2017, I traveled to four different countries.

I went to Germany (Berlin), Tenerife, Portugal (Lisbon) and Italy (Milan + Venice). I actually love the city life and the beach life… both stole my heart this year. But I think I’m more fond of the beach, certainly during the academic year. I really like to have my holidays quiet and tranquil. This year I visited Portugal and  I loved it for its amazing views and peaceful places. We hiked to places without tourists and breathtaking views… it was wonderful, really. Tenerife is my second fav destination. In Tenerife, we hired a car and went to a few hotspots. We made it to El Teide, a volcano surrounded by an amazing national park. Again, Amazing views here. No houses, no animals, only arid nature. I will never ever get tired of these views. I mean… How beautiful can the earth be? I think I’m probably going back next year… yeah, definitely… I’m going back.

Check out Amber’s blog the Comfy Creative & Instagram account!

Kyana – New York City

New York City is the love of my life. But why actually? In 2013 I went there for the first time and well… she stole my heart. In February 2018 I’m going back for the fourth time because I have never felt more home somewhere else but in NYC.

My place to be in the city is East Village, Saint Mark’s Place to be more precisely. I recommend it to all of you. The atmosphere is amazing and it just feels so different than anywhere else. It offers many piercing/tattoo shops, cafes, vintage stores… The nicest place to have dinner is Little Italy, for sure! It’s a downtown neighborhood very close to SoHo and China Town, also two of my all-time favourites.

With the NY-subway you can go from Financial District (Manhattan) to Coney Island (Brooklyn) in about 40 minutes. The city also offers super nice museums, for example the MoMA, the MET, NYC museum, Natural Museum of American History etc… Times Square, Penn Station, Central Park Bryant Park… all those places are incredible and really make me feel at home, although I’m not a New Yorker ( yet ). I’m always trying to tell people how good NYC has been to me, but it’s so hard to put your feelings into words. But anyway, I still think she is the greatest story I’ve ever told.

Liked her story? Check out Kyanas pictures on Instagram!

Joyce – Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town has it all: mountains, beaches, vineyards, colorful neighborhoods, outdoor markets, … For me Cape Town is the most beautiful city on earth, exploring CT is a pure pleasure. It’s not only the scenery that is amazing but so is the food (as a real foodie I can only guarantee this ). The city has a variety of outdoor activities for the adventure seeker. Hiking up the Lions Head and Table Mountain is a must. Even without hiking, you can enjoy the views thanks to the scenic drive routes through the mountains (such as Chapman’s Peak Drive) and the cable car available at Table Mountain. By the way, did I mention Cape Town has a beach full of with penguins?! I think visiting Cape Town should be on everyone’s bucket-list.

Check out my Instagram page for inspiration!

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January 11th –  Lalibela

Another day in Ethiopia! After our very delicious and filling breakfast we walked to the bus station we were dropped off at the night before and we got tickets for a minibus to Gashena which is more than halfway to Lalibela. The distance from Dessie to Gashena is 225 kilometers which took us about 5 hours to get there. Once we reached Gashena we had a minor altercation with the bus drivers because they were trying to get away with not giving us our change back and also trying to charge us more to get to Lalibela from there. After that was sorted out we had our lunch and we were yet again on our way to Lalibela. It was quite a bumpy ride. From Gashena to Lalibela it is 64 kilometers, which took us about 3 hours to get there.

Once we got at our location we met three young gentlemen who guided us to our hotel free of any charge (we made sure to let them know that it was not necessary and that we could find our way, but they insisted and they seemed friendly enough). I got to admit they were a bit of a distraction because they engaged us with conversation and we couldn’t really concentrate on our surroundings, which is something one wants to do in a new location. They also told us a lot about themselves and that one of their birthday is tomorrow. They invited us to a get together the next day. Not sure if that is something they tell every tourist or not and at this point it was irrelevant. Just wanted to let you all know to just be aware. We found our hotel and got all settled in our room. It was time for dinner.

We went out for some food, found a small restaurant packed with people; not for the food but for the soap opera that was airing on TV, and it was for a dubbed one. We went into the other room, had our dinner and left. When finally back to our hotel room, we were tired and ready to sleep.

January 12th – Lalibela

Woke up and went for breakfast at the hotel we were staying. The hotel was quite the hotel with really beautiful designs, pleasant staff, and nice outdoor scene.

After breakfast, we decided to head on over to the Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela, aka the reason we came which also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a short walk up we found the office to buy tickets, they charged me 10 birr, while they charged Meg 50$ for entrance. They suggested we get a tour guide to walk us through it all. We got a price of 500 birr.

Our tour lasted for a few hours. The tour guide tried his best to elaborate and explain each and every church we went to. We had a lot of questions, came to a point where our tour guide couldn’t answer them. We happened to be at one of the churches known as Beite Denagel (House of Virgins), there was a priest there (FYI every church has a designated priest), and so our tour guide directed the question at the priest. Our question was “Who is in charge of labeling or deeming one person as a saint?” This question came up because he was telling us how the churches came about, and how King Lalibela was considered a saint. What had happened was, after King Lalibela was born every inch of his infant body got covered in bees, which was understood as being covered in angels and or a sign from above. And when he became king, he slept for three whole days, people thought he was dead but his body wasn’t cold so they refrained from burying him. After three days passed King Lalibela arose and was determined to build the churches, New Jerusalem. As the pilgrimage to the actual one was getting complicated due to the Muslim conquest that was taking place. He also continued to say that it was King Lalibela with the help of angels that built all of the churches. We weren’t sure if the angels were a metaphor or not at this point but needless to say, there were more than angles helping. Which brings us back to why we asked the question we did. After some time spent trying and sort of failing to answer the question, the priest resorted to saying that we have no faith, and one must have faith in order to understand. The closest answer to our question came when the priest said, saints are considered saints based on their actions, or what they have accomplished. Which we can all relate to I think, like the saying says, “Actions speak louder than words!” saint or otherwise.

The other thing that I will mention about the tour is that the churches that symbolized heaven and hell.

For more information about the Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela please click here.

We checked out of our hotel that afternoon to try and get the bus to our next destination, Gondar. We got to the bus station and must have waited about three hours in hopes to find transportation but to no avail. They informed us that the buses direct to Gondar leave at 5 AM, and we didn’t want to take a bus to Gashena (that location that is 3 hours away from Lalibela) and have to be stuck there over night, as it seemed to be a little town with no hotels in sight. But what we did do is eat three servings of this delicious plate of food, pic below at this home/restaurant that was across the station.

With our bellies full we headed back to the same hotel to check back in. That evening there was a beautiful full moon hanging in the skies, so we decided to grab a beer at the hotel bar and unwind.

Lella Misikir, 木兰

Like her writing? More articles of her coming & definitely check out her blog too!
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