This costs HOW MUCH?! A room with a million dollar view

Item: Oceanfront studio at the Amaroo @ Trinity Beach
Location: Trinity Beach, Queensland, Australia

1. A small, but clean and functional bathroom
2. Double bed separated from the kitchen/living space by a half wall
3. Kitchen with a double burner stove, refrigerator and microwave
4. Living space
5. The deck at the end of the living room.

Please submit your estimates in USD per night.

Cairns, the city

Our sole purpose of coming to Cairns was to see the Great Barrier Reef. Mission accomplished!

After being here for two weeks, we realize that there isn't much to do in this city other than to see the Great Barrier Reef. The water by the beach is too rough to really swim in and you can't really just swim anywhere because of the rip current and the threat of being stung by jellyfish. Downtown Cairn is 4 square blocks of hostels, hotels, mediocre restaurants, souvenir shops, activities(tour operator) centers, a huge public swimming pool and a mall. J took a day trip to the rainforest town of Kuranda and felt a bit underwhelmed.

Regardless, we still had lots of fun, but in the future we think we'd come back for a week if we're doing a multi-day diving trip or just a weekend if we're only snorkeling.

Random Thoughts
  • there's a ton of Japanese and German tourists
  • buses to the Northern Beaches is convenient, but the trip is extremely long.
  • it's worth it to rent a car
  • if you don't rent a car and want to stay outside of Cairns pick Palm Cove as there is an express bus from there to Cairns
  • do a multi-day liveaboard dive/snorkel trip to really see the Great Barrier Reef
  • love the pay-first-then-eat system
  • Cairns waterfront is ugly during low tide
1. Downtown Cairns
2. Cairns Lagoon - a huge public salt water swimming pool. Salt water pools are the standard here.
3. The 2A Sunbus - the public bus that connects the Northern Beaches to Cairns

RTW Lodging: Our very bad experience with Samantha Ford

Samantha Ford, property manager
Sydney, NSW, Australia

This is the story of how Samantha Ford (SF) of www.boutiquevillasandapartments.com left us with no place to live in Sydney a week before our arrival.

I found SF in September 2008 through www.stayz.com while searching the website for a suitable holiday rental for our month's stay in Sydney. After a few exchanges of emails I gave her a 500 AUD deposit to secure a North Sydney apartment for a 4-week rental period in February 2009. This apartment had everything we were looking for (washer/dryer, unlimited high speed internet, convenience to public transportation, A/C, etc.) for a reasonable price.

While I was in Boston for Christmas I received an email from SF telling us that the apartment we wanted was no longer available for rent, but offered us an "upgrade" to a different apartment in Potts Point, Sydney for the same rental price. Although this apartment did not look as nice in the pictures and did not have A/C we decided that as long as it met our internet requirements we'd just go with it. At this point I re-iterated the importance of internet access to SF and she reassured me that they can accommodate us (at an additional fee, but whatever).

On January 30th 2009 I received an email from SF telling me that they are not able to provide an internet connection at the new apartment, canceled my reservation and refunded my deposit. At this point, I was at the tail end of my South America cruise and was arriving in Sydney on February 8th!

My entire next week in Santiago, Chile was pretty much spent prowling the internet and calling various property management companies for an available apartment in our price range. SF said in her email that she'd help us look for a new place but she NEVER gave us any options or a hint that she was even trying.

In the end we ended up renting an apartment for twice the amount we were originally going to pay AND lost more money when SF returned our 500 AUD deposit. Due to the increasing value of the USD between Sept 2008 and Jan 2009, we lost over 100 USD in this transaction.

Given the situation she left us in I should have unleashed more anger on her. However, I asked J to compose the final email (he's more eloquent than I am) and this is what we sent to her:

Sam,

My husband and I leave for Sydney in 36 hours.  You really left us in a bind.  We booked our accomodations several months ago in order to ensure that we would be able to find a good place at a good price and your last-minute cancellation has left us with few, if any, options.  The only places we can find now are $1500+ over our budget and we are seriously considering cutting our trip short.  We have not gotten any options from you or any sign that you care about the situation we're in.  I realize that some factors were out of your control, but we really expected you to make this right.  Needless to say, this has been a horrible experience and will be reflected in our reviews online.

My recommendation: Do not do business with Samantha Ford!

Keywords: boutiquevillasandapartments.com, Boutique Villas & Apartments, Sam Ford, Samantha Ford, samantha@boutiquevillasandapartments.com, samantha@fordandco.com.au, self-contained apartment, serviced apartment, short-term accomodations, holiday rental, vacation rental, Sydney, Australia, New South Wales, NSW, stayz.com, PO Box 23 Millers Point NSW 2000, The Rocks Villa, Retreat at The Rocks, Coogee Manor, Bondi Villa, Darling Harbour Apartment, Potts Point Apartment

RTW Lodging: A modern apartment in Santiago

SimplyChile
Bellavista 165
Apt #1403
Santiago, Chile
 
Immaculately clean and efficient apartment
  • Separate bedroom with a double bed (Picture 1)
  • Spacious ensuite bathroom with a shower/tub combo (Picture 2)
  • Clean and well-equipped kitchen with a 2-burner stove, refrigerator, oven and microwave (Picture 3)
  • Open kitchen-living room floorplan (Picture 4)
  • Wireless internet via 3 different access points
  • No A/C, but did have a fan
  • Beautiful views out the window (Picture 5)
Modern apartment building with all the amenities
  • Entrance through security gates
  • 24 hour concierge/security guard
  • 4 elevators
  • Laundry facilities
  • Fitness room
  • Not one, but two rooftop pools (Picture 6)
  • Nice views from the roof (Picture 7)
Great staff that speaks very little to no English
  • Apartment manager was easy to find, spoke English and responded promptly to requests (early arrival, broken toilet)
  • Housecleaning staff was extremely thorough (cleaned entire bathroom EVERY day and seen wiping the underside of shelving), but spoke no English
Great value, but probably on the expensive side for Santiago
  • 65 USD per night
  • allowed us to check-out at 7 PM for no extra cost

Day 125: An anniversary on the Great Barrier Reef

J and I have this tradition where we lump Valentine's Day, our annual dating anniversary and our x.5 wedding anniversary into a one-day celebration. The actual day varies year-to-year depending on our individual schedules but we always do it sometime in February. Remarkably, February came and went this year and neither of us remembered! I guess we were having too much fun in Sydney!

Today, we headed out to Michaelmas Cay for a sail and snorkel trip. It was J's turn to see the Great Barrier Reef. We saw a variety of different tropical fish as well as many colorful giant clams. It was J's first time using prescription masks and he's hooked! On our way out of the water he managed to spot a baby Picasso Triggerfish no bigger than one inch in length!

During the sail home we were given a complimentary glass of champagne. I sat there first thinking, "Too bad there's no occasion to celebrate." But, then I remembered that we missed our February thing. So, we retroactively made the snorkeling trip our annual February celebration and toasted our free champagne to the past 7 years that we've been together. One of my friends recently tagged me on Facebook as "the smitten one." I will not argue with that.

Current Location: Cairns, Australia

The Great Barrier Reef is indeed a Natural Wonder

11 dives in 48 hours was exhausting, but so worth it! I must say that diving the Great Barrier Reef is thus far one of the most amazing experiences of my life! The diversity of life under the water surface is just incredible. Words cannot describe how amazing it really was!

The night before I left for my 3 day liveaboard excursion with ProDive Cairns James and I attended a 2 hour class called Reef Teach. I'm so glad I went because it helped me gain a greater appreciation for everything I saw during my dives! 

Things I saw underwater and could remember long enough to write it down:  chocolate-dipped damsel, blue streak cleaner, wrasse, humbug damsel, moon wrasse, yellowtail fusilier, blackbacked butterfly, moorish idol, palette surgeon, black and white snapper, red bass snapper, sting ray, various corals (plate, slipper, boulder, brain, staghorn, needle, fire, cabbage), 3 varieties of sea cucumber (black, leopard, pineapple), flatworm, threadfin butterfly, pufferfish, napoleon maori wrasse, black anemonefish, teardrop butterfly, regal angel, giant clams, sea urchin, green turtles, clown fish, seahorse, blue patch butterfly, crab, moray eel, trumpet fish, white tip reef sharks and grey reef sharks.

Yep, that's right. I saw sharks. I saw my first shark on my very first dive, a bunch of them during a night dive and then a couple more the next day. During the night dive the crew threw frozen sardines into the water to attract them so we were practically jumping into the water on top of them. At first I was very nervous about encountering sharks on my dives, but by the end I regarded them as very big fish. They don't like humans and just swim away when you approach them. Although I have to admit - it definitely felt a little eerie to see sharks swim by during the night dive.

Please pardon the fact that there is a lack of fish photos. Taking pictures underwater was extremely difficult because I have not yet mastered the art of buoyancy.

The Boat - ScubaPro II

1. My bedroom for two nights. I got top bunk. No closets, no drawers. Just two hooks and enough room between the bunk and the wall to have one person stand.
2. The very small bathroom with all the essentials - toilet, small sink and a shower head over the sink.
3. The sundeck where everyone hung out while we weren't diving or sleeping.
4. The dive deck where everyone's diving equipment was stored.
5. The awesome crew, sans the Captain, aboard the boat who took care of us for 3 days

The Great Barrier Reef

6. A typical reef scene
7. Cabbage coral
8. A giant clam
9. A green turtle who just surfaced for air
10. A view of the surface from underwater

1st week in Cairns

I am super excited for this upcoming week. I love to dive, but ever since getting my open water certification in 2002 I have dove a grand total of ONE time! Now, I am only a few kilometers from the Great Barrier Reef, the mac daddy of all diving destinations. I really can't wait!

For the next 5 days I'll be completely submersed into the world of diving. On Monday and Tuesday I'll be taking a 2-day refresher course to re-familiarize with everything diving related. Then on Wednesday I hop aboard a boat for a 3 day, 2 night liveaboard diving excursion to see the Great Barrier Reef!

So, what is J up to this week? He isn't a fan of diving and he has to work. So, he'll be staying on dry land and putting in that 40-hour work week from our apartment. Feeling sorry for him? I wouldn't. Just check out his home office for the next two weeks that we're in Cairns!

Day 117: Burglarized!

Today's joyous moments of our arrival in Cairns, Australia was overshadowed by bad news from the US - our house was burglarized! Many of our friends who live in downtown Seattle have had their homes burglarized this past year. Until today I've thought of myself as the lucky one to live in the a safe suburban neighborhood.

On the bright side when I get home I may finally be allowed to get a floppy-eared Doberman Pinscher that I've always wanted! I think he'd be sufficient to scare off anyone!

 Current Location: Cairns, Australia