A perfect escape or a blog post hit?
“You need a holiday?”, my friend remarked with a smirk when I told him I needed a holiday.
That was quickly followed by: “You’re a travel blogger. You’re always on holiday!”
I thought about those two remarks for a bit. Yes, travel bloggers seem like they’re always on holiday because they’re travelling all the time. What many fail to realise is that it’s a job. True, it’s a job I love but it remains a job. As a travel blogger who’s often on the road, I’m always thinking about things to write about, taking the best pictures and conjuring unique angles to a story. Once I’m back at my hotel or at an internet café, I start tapping away on my laptop, uploading my pictures, piecing everything together, proofreading and publishing. When that’s done, I log onto Twitter, facebook and other platforms to market my blog posts. This is a process that repeats itself several times a week. Pretty glamorous, don’t you think? 
Taking off the blogger cap
As with any other job, I believe it’s important for travel bloggers to get away from it all, even if it’s just for a weekend, to unwind and recharge our batteries. During my last blog trip to Valencia, an interesting discussion about travel bloggers taking a holiday caught my attention. The main question was: “Is it possible for a travel blogger to take a holiday without having our blogger caps on?”. As a travel blogger, it’s hard not to think of an ‘angle’ or a good shot for a potential post wherever we are. We wondered if it’s possible at all to take off that blogger cap. My answer was YES, though certain conditions have to be met. These are:
- Go to a place you’re familiar with; a place that relaxes you
- Leave your laptops, iPads, etc.. at home
- Ensure the place you’re going to doesn’t have an internet connection that’s easily available
- Bring your camera if you wish but try not to use it as much as possible. Even better: leave it behind!
- Don’t check your emails via your phone!
I would call this a cold turkey unplug! And that’s exactly what I’m going to do for the next five days. I’m going camping on a small island for some chill time. No laptop, no camera, no internet connection. Just my tent, the trees and the beach.
My next post will be on Tuesday 3rd August right in time for #TravelTuesday! Yay!
Hope to see you then.
Cheerio!
Keith 
This week’s Velvet Moment was taken during my recent trip to the Benicassim Festival in Spain, where I had a pass to enter the photographers’ pit during the performances. It was an incredible experience to be mashed in between the band on the stage and probably 30,000 wild fans behind us. My initial focus was to take some pictures of the band (Vampire Weekend was performing) but as the song came to an end, the fans went crazy, jumping and cheering. The energy was almost tangible. I swung around as the stage lights changed to a bright blue hue, emanating an unworldly blue glow over the crowd. This picture I took turned out to be one of my absolute favourites of this festival – I love it just the way it is, without any digital enhancements. A big hug goes to the girl for wearing that awesome orange hat!
Note: my trip to the Benicassim Festival 2010 was sponsored by the Land of Valencia.
There’s nothing more spectacular than a city with an imposing skyline and a nearby mountain-top from which to enjoy the view. There’s just something magical about it. I guess it’s the adventure of getting to the top of the mountain and the first moment you feast your eyes on the incredible view. It’s always an enchanting, often surreal experience that makes the effort so worthwhile.
I’ve listed below ten mountains which I’ve visited for truly breathtaking views. If you’re in any of these cities, I highly recommend making it to the top of these mountains for an unforgettable visual experience.
Victoria Peak – Hong Kong
It’s a fun ride to the top with the funicular. Once at the top, you’ll be rewarded with a magnificent view of one of the most spectacular skylines in the world.
Grouse Mountain – Vancouver
Just a short hop away from downtown Vancouver, Grouse Mountain is a ski-resort as well as a much-loved hiking area. The views of Vancouver and the snowy peaks of Vancouver Island in the distance on a clear day are stupendous. This amazing picture was taken on a foggy night.
Corcovado – Rio de Janeiro
The ‘hunchback’ mountain of Rio de Janeiro is the home of the Christ Statue (one of the new ‘Wonders of the World’) and the perfect place to enjoy an unforgettable panorama of Rio de Janeiro.
Table Mountain – Cape Town
Table Mountain overlooks Cape Town and Table Bay. The cable-car that brings visitors to the top is the start of a spectacular visual experience. The views from the top of Cape Town, Devil’s Peak, Lion’s Head, Table Bay and Robben Island are amazing. Save some time for a lovely stroll around the fijnbos shrubs on the mountain-top.
Twin Peaks – San Francisco
Twin Peaks is the place to be for the most mind-blowing views of San Francisco. The view of the city-lights at night is absolutely awe-inspiring.
Mt. Victoria – Wellington
Mount Victoria lies at the edge of downtown Wellington and is a great place to enjoy Wellington’s beautiful location, wedged in between Wellington Harbour and the surrounding mountains of the Rimutaka Range. Various scenes from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy were shot on Mount Victoria.
Tibidabo – Barcelona
Tibidabo is the highest peak in Barcelona and the views of the city and the coastline from up here are truly spectacular. There’s more up here to keep visitors occupied other than the views, such as the beautiful Sagrat Cor Church and Barcelona’s oldest amusement park.
Cerro de la Cruz – Antigua
Cerro de la Cruz is not the highest peak overlooking the stunning UNESCO Heritage town of Antigua in Guatemala but it offers some of the most stunning views. It’s a relatively easy hike to get to the top and the classic view of Antigua below with the imposing Volcan Agua as a backdrop will leave you speechless.
Cerro San Cristobal – Santiago
Located to the north of Santiago, Cerro San Cristobal is a superb spot to view the Santiago sprawl as well as the mighty Andes mountains that overlook the city. A huge statue of the Virgin Mary stands proudly atop the mountain.
Elephant Mountain – Taipei
Elephant Mountain lies smack in the middle of Taipei and offers arguably the best vantage point over the city and its famous Taipei 101 Tower, until recently, the world’s tallest building. A pleasant 20-minute stroll leads to the top. The trail is lit so you can walk up in the early evenings to take in the sunset and the city lights.
Do you know of other city peaks that are worth the climb? Please leave your suggestions in the comments section below. Thanks!
Read other articles in the Velvet Escape “Ten” series:
My trip to Valencia in Spain has been an excellent source of Plane Views posts: there was Paris from the air and a study of the European patchwork of fields. On my flight back to Amsterdam, I chose a window seat on the left side of the plane (row ‘A’) and got very lucky! Row ‘A’ is the place to sit for stunning views of Valencia from the air if the plane takes off in the direction of the sea – from my experiences in Valencia so far, this seems to be the default direction.
The plane took off in an easterly direction towards the Mediterranean Sea. The city sprawl quickly came into view straight after the take-off. The labyrinth of streets in the old town of Valencia quickly made way for a boxy grid and the broad boulevards of modern Valencia. The City of Arts & Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias), with its striking white buildings and shimmering blue pools, was unmistakable. Seeing this architectural masterpeice from the air provided a great perspective of this massive development that stretches 2 kilometers along the old riverbed of the Turia.
As the plane flew over the city’s port, it banked to the left in a northerly direction, providing more stunning views of Valencia and its seemingly endless stretch of beaches. Awesome stuff!
Note: my trip to Valencia was sponsored by the Land of Valencia.
Read other Plane Views posts:
Remember the days when we had to wait several days in great anticipation for our holiday photos to be developed, only to discover that more than half of them could be thrown out? Failed photos caused by too much light, too little light, shaky hands or unforeseen circumstances like someone running into the shot just as the camera goes click! Then came the digital age. I remember my very first failed photo on my brand new digital camera. It was an amazing experience to be able to recall the image, confirm that it was indeed a rubbish shot, then hit ‘DELETE’! Wow!
Since that very first time, I’ve taken thousands of failed pictures and deleted almost all of them. I did save some of them though for a variety of reasons. Some turned out rather artistic-looking or downright quirky while some were saved for sentimental reasons or simply because of the hilarity of the situation. Most of the failed shots were taken during a mobile situation, i.e. taken from a vehicle, or at night (I’m still learning how to work the settings for night photography!). Here are some of my favourite failed photos. Enjoy!
Loved these fish in an aquarium in a restaurant in Bruges. I tried different angles & settings to get rid of the reflections but nothing worked. This shot turned out pretty cool though.
I was in a taxi and wanted to take a shot of the Balinese rice fields. I clicked just as these two guys on a motorbike decided to overtake the taxi! LOL!
I had a great view from my seat in the bus of the walled-town of Morella, but this tree got in the way.
Another shot from a car. We were at the base of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. I whipped out my camera but the traffic light turned green the moment I clicked.
I wanted to capture the stunning view from my plane seat of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean when the pilot changed course. Instead of the sunset, I got a picture of the plane's wing like it was on fire!
It was a clear night and Kuala Lumpur looked like a shimmering fairyland from my plane window. The Petronas Twin Towers were unmistakable. Too bad I didn't have my tripod with me - my hands were too shaky to get a decent shot.
