HotelsCombined Blog

The Biggest Baddest Bucket List competition offers a trip around the world AND a cash prize of $50,000!!!

Our friends over at major travel blog My Destination set the online world buzzing when they announced their Biggest Baddest Bucket List competition earlier this year. In addition to trekking around the globe with all-expenses paid for six months, the winner of the travel blogger search will also get a cash payout of $50,000!

With the shortlist now down to 10 individuals and with the announcement of the lucky victor just around the corner, we asked My Destination’s social media manager Anna Lucy Terry what the BBB experience has been like so far and how the team over at headquarters feel about making a final decision:

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Ben Southall on one of his explorations of the Great Barrier Reef

Back in 2009, Ben Southall was considered the luckiest person on earth when he snagged Tourism Australia’s dream job of becoming the caretaker for the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Four years later, he still has a career that anyone would envy thanks to amazing gigs as a Queensland tourism ambassador, travel TV host and all-around vagabond.

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Not Quite Nigella – a.k.a Lorraine Elliot

If you’re on a diet, it’s probably not a good idea to visit Lorraine Eliott’s website. The popular Aussie food blogger, better known as Not Quite Nigella, populates her site with so many delicious food photos and recipes that it’s impossible not to develop an appetite!

But that’s precisely why we love following Lorraine’s gastronomic adventures – whether she’s eating her way around Sydney or Singapore, this nomadic foodie’s vivid imagery and flavourful write-ups never fail to make our mouths water. And that’s one of the reasons we recently named her one of the top 10 Aussie travel bloggers for 2013!

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Our friends at MyDestination.com share their picks for the best Easter egg hunts around the globe!

Gone are the days when Easter egg hunts consisted of a basket and some signs in a back garden directing enthusiastic children to chocolate delights. This time-honoured tradition has moved much past its humble beginnings to become a global activity with thousands of people partaking in hunts around the world. Here are 10 of the biggest and best Easter egg hunts that travel experts MyDestination.com can’t wait to sink their teeth into, from across the globe:

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Jane O’Neill, the Art Series Hotel’s resident art curator.

Australia’s art scene is one-of-a-kind and there are few organizations that celebrate its unique flavour quite like Melbourne’s Art Series Hotels. A trio of three high-end properties inspired and named after famed artists Adam Cullen, John Olsen and Charles Blackman, each hotel is decked with the luminaries’ unique artwork. We recently chatted with the hotel group’s resident art curator, Jane O’Neill, about what guests can expect to experience at Australia’s trendiest abodes:

The Art Series properties are all named after famous artists. Which of the three is your favourite?

Of the three, I would have to say that Adam Cullen is my favourite artist. There is a keen sense of absurdist humour in his work that is translated through bold colours – the works are both alluring and jarring. I am intrigued by how the energy of his work sets the tone for the atmosphere of the hotel.

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Miss Emma Gardiner – otherwise known as “SheGoes”.

Here at HotelsCombined, we’ve recently become besotted with Emma Gardiner’s quirky Aussie travel/lifestyle/culinary blog. From heartfelt musings on relationships to suggestions for a “kick ass” Canberra weekend getaway, there is never a dull post in the SheGoes arsenal – moreover, you’re likely to find plenty of Down Under hidden gems that you wouldn’t learn about from a Lonely Planet guide.

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Introducing Lindsay Anderson: The gal with the best job in the world.

It’s every foodie’s dream job – a gig that involves eating out at a different restaurant every day for a year and getting paid $50,000 to boot.  Add on a one-year gym membership as well as living expenses, and you’re looking at one of the sweetest set-ups ever.

As the winner of Tourism Richmond’s global search for an official food blogger, that’s exactly the amazing opportunity that Lindsay Anderson has snagged. Beating out over 1,500 other applicants from around the world, the former Vancouver resident is now living la belle vie in the neighbouring Canadian city of Richmond, British Columbia. Renowned for its Asian cuisine (more than 65% of the city’s population is of Asian descent) and for its historic fishing village of Steveston (full of acclaimed seafood and fish n’ chip joints), Richmond’s over 800 restaurants have given Lindsay plenty of material for her daily blog posts.

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Gung Hay Fat Choy! The Lunar New Year is now in full swing across the globe.

By Joshua Hergesheimer

With Lunar New Year now in full swing, we’ve scoured the globe for the best spots to say goodbye to the Year of the Dragon and welcome in the Water Snake. So get packing, since the last day of Lunar New Year is on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Got that? As the full moon rises that evening, more than two-and-a-half billion people are going to party like it’s 4710. And that’s epic. So get under the skin of the Year of the Snake with our top hotel tips:

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Dan and Audrey from UncorneredMarket.com.

Dan and Audrey from major travel blog Uncornered Market are a professional writer/photographer team who have visited a whopping 75 countries in the last six years! With all that trekking around the globe, these nomads are naturally full of helpful travel tips and advice – and we wanted to tap into all that knowledge. Lucky for us, the duo kindly agreed to answer some questions from our HotelsCombined community and recently provided their guidance on destinations ranging from Colombia to Singapore. Without further ado, here’s your travel advice from the experts:

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