Category: Travel Reviews

Review: Down Under Cruise And Dive – A Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Adventure

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

So my Mom and I were originally going to do a retirement victory lap around the world to celebrate my retirement in 2020. Obviously that didn’t happen 🙂 . But the main point of that trip was to go to Australia for the first time specifically to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef – a bucket list item for both of us.

Well after the pandemic calmed down, we finally made that trip in September 2023! However, because it’s us and we have not had the best travel luck, there was a fly in the ointment. A few days before we were set to go snorkeling on the reef, we heard from our contact that it might not happen because there were high winds as well as the king tides and visibility would be low so basically, even if we went to that spot, we might not be able to see anything. BUMMER! Continue reading “Review: Down Under Cruise And Dive – A Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Adventure” →

Review: Virgin Australia Business Class

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

I’m always curious about airlines I’ve never flown before. So in my typical neurotic fashion, I always Google around to find reviews of new airlines before I fly them. And in the interest of helping anyone else that’s like me out there, this is my experience flying Virgin Australia for the first time.

However, I have flown Virgin Atlantic before. I flew Business Class to London for a weekend before I discovered travel hacking (unfortunately you read that right). Continue reading “Review: Virgin Australia Business Class” →

Review: Los Arcos Snorkeling Tour in Puerto Vallarta, México

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

I first visited Puerto Vallarta, México in 2019 and from our house I could see Los Arcos National Park, which is composed of a group of islands off the coast of PVR. Someone told me that I had to visit because there was awesome snorkeling and wildlife over there.

However, I didn’t get a chance to go during that quick trip. I was too busy sipping margs, laughing in the pool and eating so much delicious food I could burst 😉 , I but promised myself that the next time we visited, I would go to that national park! Continue reading “Review: Los Arcos Snorkeling Tour in Puerto Vallarta, México” →

Review: Singapore Air First Class Suites – A $4,280 Apartment In The Sky For $26

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

Finally we have arrived at my experience flying an apartment in the sky. It’s been a long time coming, but it finally happened and somehow lived up to the expectations I’ve built up over the last 5 years. So let’s see what my journey was like flying Singapore Air’s A380 First Class Suites! Continue reading “Review: Singapore Air First Class Suites – A $4,280 Apartment In The Sky For $26” →

Review: Ethique Shampoo, Conditioner and Lotion Bars

by A Purple Life, posted in Hobbies, Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

Earlier this year I declared that my favorite nomad hack was my discovery of concentrated beauty bars, specifically conditioner bars, that work for my type of curly hair. I was looking for a solution to carrying around liquids since I board airplanes semi-often. Continue reading “Review: Ethique Shampoo, Conditioner and Lotion Bars” →

Review: Singapore Air First Class (FRA to SIN) – A $15,000 Flight For $27 [Part 2]

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

Hello again 🙂 . Last time we walked through the first leg of my trip, a First Class experience from NYC to Frankfurt, Germany. You can read about that in detail here:

But in summary, I had a fantastic time in Singapore Air’s First Class and was excited to embark on an even longer flight: the 12.5 hours from Frankfurt to Singapore. So let’s see how it went!  Continue reading “Review: Singapore Air First Class (FRA to SIN) – A $15,000 Flight For $27 [Part 2]” →

Review: Singapore Air First Class (JFK to FRA) – A $15,000 Flight For $27 [Part 1]

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

Finally, we have arrived 🙂 . We started planning this Australia trip in 2018 – that’s when we started accumulating points and planning our route around Australia and New Zealand. Originally this trip was to take place in October 2020 to celebrate my retirement at 30. I think you can guess how well that plan went 🙂 . Continue reading “Review: Singapore Air First Class (JFK to FRA) – A $15,000 Flight For $27 [Part 1]” →