In August, we began a special initiative in the Travel category where we invited you to share your fondest memories of landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes and skyscapes through your travel stories and anecdotes.
Spread over four weeks, with each week catering to one particular theme, this initiative showcased the best holiday destinations and the most awesome travel stories that came from you!
The four questions we asked on each category received some of really great responses. So we’d like to thank you all for your responses to this initiative as we announce the winners of each question whose best answer won 50 bonus points.
Our first question was about landscapes: What was your most picturesque and idyllic holiday in the countryside? the Best Answer came from Doug:
“Several years ago myself and a friend visited Khao Sok rainforest in Thailand. Travelling there from the island we’d been staying on, we opted for a local bus rather than a tourist coach, and spent the six hour journey sat at the back happily sharing laughs and cigarettes with the conductor as we watched the landscape change from palm tree plantations to rainforest, with spectacular limestone formations towering up from the earth.
“We couldn’t afford to do everything we’d hoped for in the area, but one activity involved a personal guided walk around the forest at night. Our two guides, I forget their names, were friendly (as is the Thai way) and seemed to enjoy every moment of taking us along trails and over streams, all the time pointing out the most hidden of animals, including encouraging a flying lemur to glide between trees right above us and chasing a snake in a very ‘Steve Irwin’ manner. Just before returning to the resort we sat on a small ‘bridge’ (a few planks) in a clearing, looking up at the clearest view of the stars I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“That was one part of a superb two week holiday. I’ve been back to Thailand since, but not to Khao Sok. Perhaps one day I will, but I doubt it’ll ever match the experience of that short stay there.”
– Best Answer from Doug
The question, What was your most memorable beach or seaside holiday?, received 79 great answers, the best of which was from Mike.
“At the end of a contract, where I had been working in S. Africa, I was invited to go on a trip to Maputo Elephant Game Reserve with a South African colleague and friend. Coming from the UK, where camping generally involves a small field and enough facilities to support an army, the prospect of spending 10days in a remote elephant park with no running water, toilets, shops or medical facilities nearby was daunting…But not one to pass on a challenge, I found myself sitting in a serious 4×4 surrounded by fishing gear, tents and all the drinking water and diesel we would need for the 10 days.
The wildlife was exciting – elephants in the park, and a visit from an enormous sea turtle one evening as she came up the beach to lay her eggs which was a magical experience. And the tranquillity was heavenly – in 10days, the only people we saw, apart from Alfred, were two park rangers who walked by one day.
At the end of the 10days we parted our beach with sadness, looking forward to a shower with fresh running water, but even more so, looking forward to the prospect of one day returning to this small piece of tranquillity. This was a holiday where we could get away from it all with such ease, but one we’ll never forget.”
– Best Answerer Mike S Holmes
You guys had a few interesting plane stories and advice on where to catch the best sunrise/sunset. We received 9 answers for the question – though if we’re honest and given our experiences of flying on airlines, especially the budget ones – we half expected a few more tales of epic or unbelievable flights!
Do you have a special travel story about air travel or an unforgettable skyscape you have experienced?.
“When I was 7, I went to the family home of my Grandmother in Ireland. The cottage in which she was born was then occupied by two of her sisters and one brother. My Nan had spoken of her childhood in rural Ireland as quite harsh, the property even in the 1978 when I visited, still had no bathroom! However, when I saw my Nan with her siblings they all reverted to children and their accents were furiously fast..I couldn’t keep up. The nostalgia was flowing and my Nan insisted that evening we were all to walk to the ‘Sunset view’ as it was something they had done as kids.”
What was your best memory in a foreign city? Why was it so memorable? The last question received 64 answers, including one amazing one by Jamie from Scotland.
“I left my home city of Glasgow, Scotland last year to take part in a British government funded voluntary placement in the city of Kathmandu, Nepal. Living and growing up in a relatively quiet area of Glasgow did not prepare me for the noisy polluted city of Kathmandu. Stepping off the plane at Kathmandu Airport I remember seeing the mighty mountains of the Himalayas peaking over the foothills surrounding Kathmandu. I got a real sense that I was about to enter into a different world and I that couldn’t be further from the truth. Driving from the airport to my hotel in Thamel, the tourist district of the city is an experience I will never forget.”
“…The things I saw during my visit to Kathmandu has changed the way I live and see the world, so much so that I have decided to pursue a career in helping combat poverty in Kathmandu and I hope to one day return and to start my own NGO to help the street children, homeless, disabled peoples and the people of Nepal to rise up and be part of the world.”
– Best Answer by Jamie from Scotland.
Congratulations to all the winners!
So, have you had a memorable travel experience? Did you enjoy this initiative? Leave us a comment.
And once again, thank you all for making this Travel initiative a success! And if you are inspired enough by this and are preparing to set off somewhere anytime soon, Bon Voyage!
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