Australia

If you ask me what’s my favorite place on planet Earth, one of the two countries / places that would likely come out of my mouth would be Australia … Lizard Island in Australia specifically.

I was there in 1992, and haven’t forgotten about it since.

photo credit Lizard Island
What’s so wonderful about Lizard Island?

It reminds me of the old TV show “Fantasy Island”. You fly in on a small plane, are at the hotel about a minute later, and you walk barefoot around the immaculate grounds. The snorkeling in eight feet of water at Lizard Island is better there than every dive I’ve done in my life put together. There are (when I was there) giant clams, colorful fish are everywhere on the shallow reefs, and the 600 pound potato cod fish at the Cod Hole, not far off the island’s coast are unimaginably huge and memorable. When they flap their tales you hear a big “smack”.

 

photo credit Lizard Island

 

Years after, my wife and I visited Hayman Island … in the Whitsunday island chain, however it didn’t even compare.

In 2019, I visited Australia for the third time, this time spending time in Brisbane. I spent time going all around the Parklands area, a 20-acre boardwalk adjacent to the waterway.  Here’s how TripAdvisor describes it:

“South Bank Parklands is Brisbane’s premier lifestyle and cultural destination. Located on the southern banks of the Brisbane River, its 17 hectares of lush parklands, world-class eateries, stunning river views and hundreds of delightful events all year round make it the perfect place to relax and unwind.”

 

Yemen

The road toward Haouf, Yemen   Country Information: The capital is Sana’a and the country’s population is about 26 million. The official language is Arabic and the dominant religion is Islam, split between Sunni and Shia Muslims.  For those who do travel to...

Andorra

Country Information: Andorra is a landlocked country, sandwiched between the French and Spanish borders. The country is a parliamentary democracy that is ruled as a co-principality by two princes—the French president and a Spanish Bishop. There roughly 86,000...

Laos

Country Information: A country slightly larger than Utah, Laos is a landlocked country home to approximately 7.5 million people. The capital of Laos is Vientiane. The official language of Laos is Lao, but French, English and various ethnic languages are also widely...