UNKNOWN ISLANDS OF THE WORLD

So you think you know all the little islands this planet has to offer? Well, here are 10 that you probably have never heard of. We're not off to the islands of Waikiki, as Nicki Minaj would say, but the secret islands hidden in plain sight.

1. The Azores, Portugal


2. San Andres, Colombia

3. Summer Isles, Scotland

4. Chiloe, Chile

5. Lord Howe Island, Australia


6. Isle au Haut, Maine



7. Ibo Island, Mozambique

8. Juist, East Frisian Islands, Germany

9. The Corn Islands, Nicaragua


10. Koh Rong, Cambodia


Have you ever been to any of these mysterious islands? I know I sure want to go and see what these islands have to offer.

Travel on wanderlusters!

100 MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN THE WORLD

Tomorrow morning will be the New Zealand post, but until then, here's some fun stuff I am browsing through at my long evening at work. I have been oogling over the 100 Most Beautiful Places in the World, thanks to EscapeNormal, wishing I was somewhere else other than work. 

A girl can dream, right?

1. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
2. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
3. Cinque Terre, Rio Maggoire, Italy
4. Blue Lagoon, Iceland
5.Maldives
6. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
7. Glass Beach, California, USA
8. Pamukkule, Turkey
9. Big Island, Hawaii, USA
10. St. Lucia
11. Santorini, Greece
12. Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
13. Marble Caves, Chile
14. Chittorgarh Fort, India
15. Giethoorn, Holland
16. Crystal Cave, Iceland
17. Aogashima Volcano, Japan
18. Longji Rice Terrace, China
19. Amazon Rainforest, Brazil and South America
20. Venice, Italy
21. Petra, Jordan
22. Machu Picchu, Peru
23. Tuscany, Italy
24. Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, USA
25. Shirakawa-go Village, Japan
26. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
27. Himalayas, Nepal
28. Bali
29. Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa
30. Sahara Desert, Africa
31. Dubai, UAE
32. Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
33. Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand
34. The Great Wall of China, China
35. Antarctica
36. Lake Retba, Senegal
37. Morocco, Africa
38. The Fjords of Norway
39. Socotra, Republic of Yemen
40. Alaska, USA
41. Victoria, Australia
42. Fingal's Cave, Scotland
43.Giant's Causeway, Ireland
44. Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, USA
45. Cappadocia, Turkey
46. Havasu Falls, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
47. Glow Worm Cave, New Zealand
48. The Australian Outback
49. Tikal, Guatemala
50. Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA
51. Reed Flut Cave, China
52. Verdon Gorge, France
53. Bagan (or Pagan) Myanmar
54. Napa Valley, California
55. Zion National Park, Utah, USA
56. Swiss Alps, Switzerland
57. Lake Bled, Slovenia
58. Whitehaven Beach, Australia
59. Luxor, Egypt
60. Meteora, Greece
61. Bioluminescent Bay, Puerto Rico
62. Giant Crystal Cave, Mexico
63. Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland
64. Beachy Head, England
65. Rotorua, New Zealand
66. Lencois Sand Dunes, Brazil
67. Rio de Janiero, Brazil
68. Spotted Lake, Canada
69. Iceland
70. Istanbul, Turkey
71. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
72. Inga Falls, Congo River, Africa
73. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
74. Torres del Paine, Chile
75. Bingalong Bay, Bay of Fires, Tasmania
76. Danxia Landforms, China
77. Death Valley, California, USA
78. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
79. Blue Grotto Cave, Capri, Italy
80. Huanglong, China
81. Positano, Almalfi Coast, Italy
82. Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan
83. Maui, Hawaii
84. Sanibel Island, Florida
85. Nootka Island, Vancouver Island, Canada
86. Fiji, Republic of Fiji
87. Kyoto, Japan
88. Brittany, France
89. Everglades National Park, Florida
90. Lapland, Finland
91. Flaming Crater, Derweze, Turkmenistan
92. River of Five Colors, Colombia
93. Moraine Lake, Baniff National Park, Canada
94. Seychelles
95. Multnomah, Oregon, USA
96.Madagascar
97. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
98. Lake Baikal, Russia
99. Rocky Mountains, Canada
100. Norway

Boooom, there you have it. I just spent a good chunk of time at working doing this, meaning I am closer to going home! I have a hot date with a piece of left-over fish from last night, Eurotrip (the movie), my laptop to work on the New Zealand and my mass amounts of pillows. It'll be great one...in case you are wondering.

Have any of you been to any of the listed 100? If so, how was it? What did you like and what did you not like?

Travel on wanderlusters!

LAOS

Laos...I actually have a friend from Laos back in the U.S. I never knew about the country until I met him...embarrassing for a travel fanatic such as myself. Then again, that was loooong ago (not an excuse, I know). Oh, oh, oh! Traveling with Wanderlust is now on Instagram, as of last night! Follow traveling_with_wanderlust for blog updates, new posts and beautiful pictures of the world!

Laos is an Asian country that is surrounded by Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand (where I was supposed to be this week, insert crying face here). The official name is "Muang Lao" or "Pathet Lao", which translates to "Lao Country". The capital is Vientiane with the national language being Lao and a population of about 6,288,037 people...that's alotta people! 

The currency is called 'Lao kips'. I was looking at prices and saw that entrance into several tourist destinations were 20,000 kips...my jaw dropped and I was like WHAT!? That sounds so much! Then I did a conversion to USD and 20,000 kips was about $2.87. Okay, that's nothing, just all those zeros set me off there for a moment. Imagine how much money you would have a tourist in one week there...hopefully there aren't any muggings or purse snatching. 

Luang Prabang was the capital before Vientiane, it's a small city that is one of Laos' main tourist attractions. The journey between the capital and Luang Prabang reveals some hidden gems of it's own: the Kong Lor caves, rivers in pure nature and isolation and elephants in Shangri Lao. Once in Luang Prabang, some of the popular tourist spots are: Alms ceremony (the monks of the city collect alms of rice at 6:00 AM from kneeling villagers and tourists); Haw Kham (a royal palace turned museum); Phou SI (city's main hill with spectacular views); Mekong sunset walks; Vat Xieng Toung (the oldest monastery) and the Vipassana golden temple (all inclusive with a park!) Also, cooking classes for recipes to make Laos cuisine once you are back home are popular and the Night Market is a must go for tourists looking for a little something to remind them of their trip to Luang Prabang, Laos. 

Outside Luang Prabang, the Tad Sae Waterfalls, Pak Ou Caves, Tad Thong Waterfalls and Nature Trails, Bear Rescue Centre and Kuang Si Falls are popular with tourists. If you spend the day outside the city, one can spend the evening at Laos Red Cross Massage, at one of the several libraries or you can continue to explore the city, not on foot but by a rented motorbike! To rest your head, accommodation is surprisingly cheap...now it's not your average four or five star place but some do offer free WiFi, free home-cooked meals and livable conditions for anywhere between $2-$20 USD per night. Booking my flight now!

Back to Vientiane...some of the most hyped tourist spots are: the Lao National Museum; Patuxai (the Victory Gate); COPE Visitor Center; The Art of Silk; Kaysone Phomvihane Museum; Lao People's Army History Museum and the Memorial of past president Souphanouvong. Popular temples and stupas include: Wat Si Saket; Hophakaew Museum; Black Stupa; Pha That Luang; Wat Si Muang; Wats Onteu; Inpeng; Mixay and Haisok. 

Buddha Park is also one of the most famous destinations in Vientiane with incredible Buddha and Hindu statues. Now, if you aren't into the whole going places to see things type of vacation, some must to-do's in Vientiane include: a once a month Monk Chat, the Green Discovery Laos, kayaking, zip-lining, nature park explorations, picnics on the Nam Ngum Lake, Lao massages (YES, please!), kickboxing- Laos style, meditation (yes, as well!), tours on bikes and enjoying yourself at one of the two spas: Adina Spa or Champa Spa. 

Calling all foodies out there, the food there is well known for it's taste (delicious!) and how relatively cheap it is. The average meal can run anywhere from 7,000 kip to 60,000+ kips. Accommodation is the same, for cheap, just somewhere to rest your head type of places, you can expect to pay around 25,000 kips a night and for some what more luxurious places, anywhere from 60,000 to 400,000+ kips. When you are enjoying your meal, whether it be at the place you are staying or one of the many restaurants, be aware of the water you are drinking there though, there is water called "water without fishes": meaning the fishes have literally been removed, but nothing else...

Now on to safety, it's always in the back of our minds, a midst all the excitement for seeing a new place and taking it all in. Vientiane is relatively safe, however tourists should keep an eye out for pimps (usually in taxi cabs), the gyms (if you have children, there is no watch staff there by the pools), swimming (picking up parasites can happen), dogs (some have rabies in this area), mosquito-borne diseases (no malaria but dengue is a threat in the rainy seasons especially) and again, the water is not the cleanest around (unless you buy a water bottle, of course). 

There you have it! Laos- Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Are any of you wanderlusters headed there next? I sure wish I was...anything for a vacation...and to an Asia country, a continent I have yet to explore but will very soon!


For tomorrow's post, we will be exploring Argentina in South America! Travel on wanderlusters!

Stumbled Upon...

The Huffington Post Travel section just a few moments ago to find a wonderful article about 2013's cheapest travel destinations. While recovering from my first spinning class ever that my friend instructed tonight and an early morning job interview, I decided it was time to oogle and plan some future travels. First on the travel to-do list: book a hostel for Budapest in May when my best friend from high-school comes for our 3 1/2 week "euro-trip"!

Number 1 is my favorite: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!! Definitely might take advantage of this. I'm heading to #4 in June, woot woot! I'd love to go to #5 and #7 this year too, hmmm...

Here's the list of cheapest 2013 travels:
1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Nashville, Tennessee
3. Amsterdam, the Netherlands
4. St. Augustine, Florida
5. Istanbul, Turkey
6. Louisburg, Canada
7. Siem Reap, Cambodia (the picture is of the Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap).

Where on this list have you guys been or where do you want to go this year?!

And now, here's the link for you to read more and start planning your trips this year wanderlusters. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fodors/7-affordable-destinations_b_2535539.html?utm_hp_ref=travel

Travel on wanderlusters...without breaking the bank!