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Landing on a runway covered in ice with an airport covered in knee deep snow was our 2nd introduction to Finland, the 1st was as we boarded our Finnair flight in Hong Kong, after a great 11 hour flight with a modern aircraft, friendly cabin crew, comfortable seats, nice meals and a collection of good movies our evening arrival got us used to winter in Europe.

Helsinki was covered in a blanket of snow which made for slow drive into town from the airport. How cold was it ….?

An early morning start gave us a great introduction to explore Helsinki.. It was -11o, had stopped snowing and cold.. But a dry cold.. Walking the streets gave us a chance to get to see Helsinki like a local, the streets are covered in snow, the road covered in ice, people rush off to work and we were amazed at all the snow, everything covered, the entire city was white. Helsinki being a harbour city, most things are focused around the harbour … which was totally frozen solid and to our amazement saw local Finns walking & riding their bikes across to a small island in the harbour for coffee….. The Finns are a shy group of people, however once you make the initial conversation – they are warm & friendly and have a curious desire to learn about Australia. It’s an easy city to get around even in the depths of winter as everything operates no matter what the weather is. The main shopping area is the ‘ Esplanade ‘ its home to the famous Hotel Kamp , iitala  & maremiko’s  flagship stores , Stockman’s and a collection of typically Scandinavian Design stores that have the most amazing home wares.

If you want to see something truly mind blowing then come to Hong Kong in GOLDEN WEEK .. This is a national holiday for the mainland Chinese and they all flock to HK … you won’t believe how many people manage to get into this small & wonderful place.

We flew with Virgin Atlantic who were just fantastic , great seats , great food , the crew were happy , friendly and welcoming and with 3 kids an airline with good in seat TV’s and entertainment is a must and Virgin didn’t disappoint the kids , who sat and watched movies and TV show all the way to HK .

We did a split stay   3 nights in Kowloon and 4 nights on HK Island – it was a great mix and while in Kowloon we stayed at the Mira Hotel – a member of the Design Hotel group. If you like design and a cutting edge hotel then this is your place, rooms were good size and staff were fantastic, a great restaurant & funky bar. On HK island we stayed at EAST another design hotel with amazing views over HK harbour , ceiling to floor glass walls in the rooms , a funky bar & restaurant , outdoor pool and spa and best of all its connected to the City Plaza Shopping Centre  – 100’s of shops – the best thing was the area is semi business and semi residential and away from all the crowds, there is an MTR stop below the hotel and literally within minutes you are in Central , Admiralty and 20 minutes from the Temple Street Night Markets in Jordan .

HK is a fascinating place, we did a walking tour of Mongkok – the flower markets, the bird markets and wove in and out of the local streets – seeing food shops, local bakeries and got time to walk around a century old monastery.

I’d recommend HK to anyone who wants to experience the perfect mx of East & West, in craziness and organised chaos, who likes good food and interesting sight BUT also likes to shop!

What the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, The Grand Canyon is to America and the Opera House is to Sydney the Blue Lagoon is to Iceland. The Blue Lagoon is a MUST see and is one of the main reasons for going to see Iceland, you’ll be missing something very special if you don’t go.

Set in a large black lava field, the milky blue spa is fed by water at a steady and comfortable 38oC from the futuristic Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant, which provides and off the planted scene setter for your swim.

Strict rituals must be adhered to before you take the plunge , including a shower and a wash down with special shower gel , then it’s off into the murky blue warm waters of the spa , cover yourself with silica mud for an amazing skin treatment – but don’t get it into your hair !!!. Float around or swim in the spa for as long as you like and enjoy the warm calming waters, take time out to reapply the silica mud at the many buckets around the pond, all in a calm and relaxing 38degree.

The day we visited the Blue Lagoon it was -18 degrees , freezing cold ( and by 11.00am the light was just trying to break thru the dark night sky )  but this didn’t matter as we so happily walked out from the warm and dry spa complex into the frozen pools of ice and snow to get to the pool. Placing our robes and towels on the racks provided we spent a fantastic 45 minutes in the warm and relaxing water, covering our faces with the silica mud and having a huge amount of fun.

 When it came time to get ready to leave we didn’t think anything of the freezing temperatures above the water – only to realise this when we went to get our robes to walk back into the spa – they had frozen solid to the racks along with our towels .. We then realised we were the only ones this happened to… Yes us Australians do really stand out as tourists … not an issue as we easily got another set and off to the showers to wash off the effects of the silica mud and thermal waters.

This is truly an amazing experience and one we will never forget. It was a wonderful way to end out 3 days in Iceland – a remarkable country full of natural amazement and scenery, wonderful people and a landscape that looks like the moon!

 If you would like to know more about Iceland and the packages available – contact me

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