Group Video

Our long awaited "Group-Video" is here!

With a heavy heart, we welcome you to this Travel Guide's last blog post.

This project has been enormously fun for all of us involved and we couldn't be more emotional when letting you, our audience, go.

Our Travel Group Video!

When we first started this blog 4 weeks ago... We asked ourselves what we wanted to achieve and walk away with from this project... "enjoyment" "friendship" "organizational" were all words that we believed we could attain and better throughout this assessment, and I can strongly affirm, that we assure we have had these experiences and more and I (Xavier) couldn't be happy to work with such a group of dedicated guys!

                                                                      ***

In our video we decided to keep it basic, where travel is concerned, and stuck to the roots that we all were familiar with;

"Transport within Macquarie Univerity"

While making any project, written, oral or visual alike, is daunting with this team I have no regrets.

                                                                      ***

In our group of four.

Xavier was in charge of the EDITING! He edited the video with a software called Sony Vegas Pro 14 and has been amazing in responding to the group's discussions and questions about how the video should be portrayed. This video is a testament to his skill, as well as having a personal youtube account with 100 subscribers! We couldn't have done this without you Xavier.

Alvin was in charge of the DIRECTION! Alvin was our teams "Captain" so to speak. Quick with decisions, Alvin kept this team on track and without any issues at all, which for a uni group project is outstanding. Should we be uncertain, he was there to lend a hand and there was no one else we would have trusted to film and push this video in the right direction! Thanks for everything you did Alvin!

Lionel was in charge of the ORGANISATION! This was no easy feat... Through both the blogs and the video making, Lionel had organized it from the start. Having drafted a plan within minutes of the task being issued to filling in at a moments notice, and although Lionel isn't the boldest in the video, it is safe to assume that without his plans and quick thinking that this project would be more than two weeks delayed!

And finally, last but not least,
Jason was in charge of MOTIVATION! Now Jason was even quieter than Lionel, and although motivation may not sound like much, the work Jason did behind the scenes, contacting group members individually to ensure their commitment and himself, always on the ball made him an asset I'm glad we had. Jason, I know it was hard to measure the amazing work that you've done, and continuously done in keeping my video editing on track, puts - in my mind at least, you as the MVP of this group!

Overall, everyone was an essential part of this group, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I know we'll all keep contact and should another project arrive?

We'll be ready...

Thanks once again!!!
- Travel Guides (ISYS 100)

From Xavier, Alvin, Lionel, and Jason

London

London, situated in north-western Europe, attracts 27 million tourists every year!

From Hyde's Park legacy of protests (even featured in the board game monopoly), to Westminster, where parliament house sits, Big Ben rings and is home to Westminster Abbey! London has a full history with activities do do everywhere, the London-Eye is an example, being an enormous Ferris wheel, originally built in the millennium.  As well as Tower bridge, which i might add, pails in comparison the Australia's, "The Habour bridge" but is still amazing to walk across and above no the less. 

(Big Ben bordering along the Thames - https://www.thecrazytourist.com)

Other sites such as the Thames River and Baker Street, where Sherlock homes lived, are often very popular destinations and need good planning should you want to get there at not peak time. There is even a Sherlock museum, close to the underground there!

                                          (Baker street - https://www.thecrazytourist.com)

Talking more about museums, London has an amazing range, inducing the "National History Museum," "Science Museum" and the "National Art Museum" all on the same street! Now the BFI isn't a museum, but it's cool none the less. The British Film Institute is an awesome place to spend hours looking at new and old films and even visit a library attached to see their whole range of film should you want to take anything home!

Finishing up, London has some honorable mentions. ones which aren't 'that' exciting, but still nice to say you've been there. This list includes; Oxford Street, Bond Street, Piccadilly and Lester Square.

Lastly, i can't not go to London and not mention tow very important things!

Buckingham palace (changing of the guards and the lovey scenery) - is where the royal family lives! And did you know they don't even need ID! And to finish up the list and review, would be none other than platform 9 and 3/4 in kings cross station. This is a reference to the hit book series by J.k Rowling, Harry Potter!

                                      (platform 9 and 3/4 - https://www.thecrazytourist.com)

Overall, i loved my time in London, and will definitely go back there sometime.

I've hoped you have enjoyed our blogs! From the team at Isys-travel, this is us signing off.

Thanks for reading

- Xavier and the Isys Team. 

The Islands of Cebu

It's Alvin again, now in Cebu City with my family. For the last few days I have been travelling all over the beautiful islands of Cebu. I went swimming in Kawasan Falls, a beautiful turquoise lake with one of the most famous waterfalls in the world, surrounded by lush greenery.

(Source: https://images.christineabroad.com/2017/02/Kawasan-Falls.jpg)

Cebu is also famous for their many beaches! Amazing white sand and crystal clear water that reflects the calming blue of the sky. Philippines is know for its crazy hot temperatures so having the chance to cool down in the waters was amazing. 

(Source: https://www.cebutours.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lambug-beach-cebu1.jpg)

Cebu is a beautiful place and I highly recommened anyone looking to go on a tropical getaway to check out the islands of Cebu. 

India

12/5/19

In the second half of 2013, after I graduated high school, a friend and I went backpacking in India.
I stayed in the stinking hot Dehli for a few days before making my way west to Rajasthan. 

After a week or so in the west, and after we spent a night on camels in the desert, we made our way east. We stopped in the town of Khajuraho, which is home to some very beautiful temples.

After some sight seeing I made my way to Varanasi. Here we spend a few days, one was spent waking up very early to ride on a boat across the Ganges. Situated along the holy river are cremation ceremonies. 

After Varanasi, we had to stop by Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. 

After visiting the Taj Mahal, we ventured north to the mountain town of Manali. The stoner capital of India, where marijuana plants line the sides of the walkways.

After Manali we left for Nepal! But that's another blog post.

Washington D.C.

Among my travels, I've been lucky enough to have spent 2 weeks in this AMAZING city, below is my review...

Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States of America. Located on the eastern side of the country, this state has plentiful tourist attractions to spend your time. The Lincoln Memorial is probably the best place to start, with a stunning white building and a 200 meter long reflective waterway (tidal basin), making any sunset look positively beautiful.

Along with the National Cathedral, and the National Gallery of Art, (both with free entry), you can easily spend hours walking up and down the calm streets before settling down at any number of delicious local food stalls.

The Martin Luther King Jr memorial is also a must, and the local zoo is, again free! Though make sure you've checked open times and ensure you're not attempting to receive entry on a public holiday.

Lastly in my favorites of Washinton, would be the Newsum.

Here I spend four hours with my family, learning about previous news events, 9/11 was a large focus and how the media portrayed it. As well as, learning about the Anchorman! The movie featuring Will Smith and even practicing to be a news anchor.

They had green screens with cameras set up, and you could record yourself reading a script or just ignore it and go all out ab lib style. We could even see them on youtube, later the same day! So it was probably best that we weren't too inappropriate...

Overall, I had thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Washington, and although I only stayed there for a fortnight I feel like it was ell worth it and satisfactory.

10/10

-Xavier

Vietnam

Hey guys its jason i will blog about Vietnam. Vietnam is such a heavily cultured country where my dad came from. The first thing you will notice when you go on the streets is the amount of scooters on the street compared to the ratio of cars. This in my opinion gives is a very special vibe you can only get from the Vietnam

Their food is very native and interesting as some dishes are a fusion of french cuisine and vietnamese cusine one example of this is the famous Pork Roll. As the bread came from the french side and the filling was from the vietnamese culture.






Another experience from Vietnam is shopping at the markets where you will see alot of products with fake brands such as fake sport shoes and shirts but for cheap prices. Not only that but the sellers will approach you and convince you to purchase their products for an expensive price. This is where being able to speak Vietnamese and negotiate comes in handy.

Rizal Park and Manila Ocean Park

Alvin here again, still touring Philippines. For the past few days my family and I went around Manila city, first to Rizal Park. The park is a memorial of Josey Rizal, a national hero of the Philippines who died fighting the Spanish 123 years ago.

 

(Source: https://cdn2.gbot.me/photos/Su/Vf/1284634702/Rizal_Monument-Rizal_Park-3000000038624-500x375.jpg)

We had a great time walking through the park and admiring the scenery. The weather was perfect for an outdoor picnic, so we found a shaded patch of grass and ate traditional Filipino foods.

After that we headed over to Manila Ocean Park because the kids hadn’t been yet. Even though I’ve been to Sydney Aquarium a few times already I still enjoyed seeing the varying ocean sea creatures here in the Philippines. 

Sorry for the late upload, I've been having technical issues here on my end. Nonetheless I'll still be updating you all on my experiences here with my family