Driving the Amalfi Coast

Introduction

This drive usually makes it somewhere on the the most scenic road trips in the world list. We spent some time in Rome and then hired a car to drive down to the Amalfi Coast. We stayed 2 night in the area driving through the villages stopping to take in the spectacular scenery and enjoy driving the narrow twisty roads of the region.

Whilst our car was a little Fiat Punto it was aptly sized for the roads of the region. For anyone dreaming of driving these road be warned they are typically busy and dreaming of harbouring James Bond like chases through the hairpin roads of the region be careful. The road are teaming with traffic and the narrow twist mean that you have to be careful with speed and keep the red mist of road rage at bay. With the stunning views either side this is not too difficult to focus on what you're there for. As a summary choose your rental car carefully.

We were based in Sorrento but drove the entire coastal road. Ideally you would spend more than a few days here and take the time to stop off at the lovely bays littering the coast. Get out to Capri (which we did not manage but a reason to go back). The bays have a lovely snorkelling opportunities and clear warm waters.

The focus of our trip was around the Positano area which harbours the best view. On you drive taste the fruits and the local lemonade which are generally sold at the parking and stop offs positions on the road.

What will it be like ?

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Day 4 (20 July 2016) - Las Vegas to Death Valley

Introduction

Leaving Las Vegas was hard after three days of unwinding at the venetian and the baking at the pool. The trip to the Grand Canyon has us both familiarised with the car and so the read road journey began in earnest. The drive out to death valley is a well laid out drive. Our route is shown below:

Dante's View

Our first stop was Dante's View the drive to Dante's View was close to four hours but punctuated by very interesting scenery. It is largely desert landscape reminiscent of the moon. Dante's View is view point looking down to the floor of Death Valley below. The photos show the view down from Dante's Peak looking down into Death Valley.

The above photograph is on a stop approaching death valley - it was an information point where we stopped off. Interestingly we picked up a lot of useful information from the stop including a detailed map.

The two pictures above are the view down from Dante's View down into Badwater basic (the lowest point in the US). There are pictures below of the Badwater Basin.

Its difficult for anything to survive but despite the conditions of over 40C heat. There are still plants and small signs of life.

From Dante's View we moved down the road to Zabriske Point. This is largely piles of mineral deposits (borax) that used to be mined using mules. The areas takes on a fantastic look and the colours change around sunset. While we were there by chance it is no worth disrupting your itinerary for.

The area has the 20 mule canyon. All these are trails that you can attempt. Be aware that it is super hot. So be prepared.

Zabriske Point

Badwater Area (devil's golf course)

Once you drive on from Zabriskie Point you approach a fork in the road for the Badwater area. The Badwater basin is the lowest point in the US and possibly the hottest point largely because the hills surrounding the basic form a cauldron of heat concentration.

The center of the badwater basic is about 20 miles from the fork in the road across Death Valley. You can walk to the salt flats  on the basin and its quite an interesting walk but the heat is a real killer and be ready with a lot of water or exhaustion.

Artiste Drive.

Once of the things worth doing is the Artiste's Drive, this is a 9 mile loop through the Badwater area. The road twists and turns goes through dips and rises and is an exciting drive. The drive is a one way road so you can drive through the dips without fear.

One of the more interesting stop along the drive is the Artists palette which are rocks / sand with a variety if different colours largely caused by the mineral deposits. The variety of colours form the artist's pallette.

General Advice for Death Valley

• Make sure you have enough water with you. You will need 4-8 bottles of water per person. If they are cooled it will keep your body temperature down
• Wear a hat, for the follic'ally challenged you definitely need to wear a hat. In my case I tend to soak the hat from inside and then wear it
• There are lots of warning about the sign of heat stroke make sure you read and adhere to it
• Temperatures in Death Valley are in the region of 120F (50C) as norm
• Keep a map - there is very little phone reception in the region. We met a couple without a map and we gave them our tourist map (we took a spare from the information point)

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Have a break, have a Sig

Introduction

No, not a cigarette, have a break in Singapore. After two years away from Asia the withdrawal symptoms for the family were too much so a visit back there was warranted. We did a 10 day stint across Singapore and Hong Kong. For us all, both visits were home away from home.

Singapore has a bunch of obvious things to do that you can get from trip advisor. Given we had done the sights before we stuck to a few of our favourites. So here are our pictures from Singapore. The new attraction was Gardens by the Bay which were very nice but would be a complete orgasm for the avid gardeners. You will definitely have your " When Harry met Sally" moment. While an avid gardener it did not hit such a high note but definitely worth a visit.

Gardens By the Bay

Night View of Gardens by the Bay

Chrysanthemum Close up

More Chrises

Display

Gardens by the bay Sky Walk

Chris - unfolding

Orchid Gardens

No trip to Singapore would be complete without a visit to the Orchid Gardens nestled in the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Each time we've visited Singapore we've always been to the Orchid gardens and this is probably our third or fourth visit to the Orchid Gardens. Some of the marvels you'll see are shown below.

Get up early and bike

If you're in Singapore for a longer period of time try and do the ECP cycleway that stretches along the bottom cost of Singapore from the Gardens by the Bay past Changi. We did the cycleway during the weekdays and early in the morning so the path was quiet. There are a number of eating and coffee places located along the coast so easy to stop for something to eat or drink.

The Singaporean are obsessed with the pollution levels and there are period of the year where it is a serious problem. So bad you cant see your nostrils! Learn to check the pollution levels when you're there.

McRitchie Walk

We also did the McRitchie walk in the middle of Singapore island, the walk is a time pass and should probably near the middle to the bottom of your list. But if you're a regular visitor to Singapore this is a good detour of an attraction. The walk has a lovely rope bridge and monkeys that are the key sights to see along the way.

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Hong Kong Twins - the experience

Introduction

So this is not what you would expect from the title. The Hong Kong twins are not some explicit fantasy that the title may suggest in your mind. Although you could question my mind for thinking it up. The Hong Kong Twins refer to the trail between Parkview over the mountains to Stanley. This is in fact the reverse of Stage 1 of the Wilson's trail.

On a normal day this is a gruesome trail with a straight 1000 step climb up the mountain from close to sea level to the top of the first twin. The trail for most part is either ascending or descending so particularly heavy on the leg muscles. For anyone attempting this who's not particularly fit - take it slowly and preserve your energy.

To add some excitement we did the trail at night and here are some of the picture I took along the way to give you an idea of what the night hike across the twins entails.

Twins - the explicit photos

As a plug the best head torch to use is the diamond black - they are like a proper light beam illuminating everything around you. You can do this with your phone light. The trail is excellent for insects, in the night the trail is littered with spider webs and the occasional snake. Thankfully any snakes you spot on the trail will be small and usually the bright green sort, so easy to spot.

All in all a must do for anyone fit and up for an adventure. For me my Hong Kong business trip was a trip down memory lane as the trail was something we did over the winter months in Hong Kong. You usually see a mass of walkers and runners on the trail primarily people training for the moonwalker or Maclehouse trail races. Suggest you attempt to finish before 10pm

This is a picture of the terrain of the trail.

I obviously took my time, but the fastest time i've encountered is 45 minutes in the night running across the entire trail. Be careful you all, but above all enjoy it the views are magnificent especially on cool winter evenings. Good company and exercise makes it a fantastic evening. We usually finish with a big communal dinner we do not want to lose any valuable calories.

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