The second time is a charm.

We've been to Solair nudist resort once before several years ago and were in the Boston area again.  We had to make a return.  The nude recreation destination is a great day trip from Boston if you want a day of family-friendly fun in the sun.

Solair Recreation League is located in Woodstock, Connecticut in the north east corner of CT, minutes from the Massachusetts border. It is about an hour and half from Boston, MA. If you ever happen to visit Boston (which is a good time in itself), Solair is an easy nakation day trip with a rental car.

We returned to spend the day at Solair late last summer. Having been there once before, we knew what to expect but explored to see some new things we missed on the first visit.

We just paid the day fees at the entrance and were on our way. Solair offers discounted day fees for those under 40. It seems to be a good incentive. We saw a good mix of ages and people under 40.

It was a nice day. Everyone we interacted with were very friendly.  Just like our first visit, the grounds were in great condition.   There's a lot to like about Solair.  Here's my favorite things. 

What I like about Solair Recreation League nudist resort:

  • This nudist resort is member owned.  The members take care of it and are very friendly to guests.  In fact, a lot of friendly regulars who have summer homes on the grounds and know the region well and can recommend restaurants and such.
  • You feel "away from it all" here on the large wooded grounds.
  • Nice pool, sometimes has water volleyball games on busy summer weekends (it did during our first visit)
  • Indoor hot tub and sauna
  • Lake with paddle boats but no alligators like in Florida. Go skinnydipping or take a paddle boat out.
  • Small recreation room with pool table and ping pong - if you get a cool day, there's at least something to do in the nude indoors.
  • Lots of nude hiking and walking on both the paved roads in the residential area and wooded trails (I'm not sure that there are maps for the wooded trails.  You may have to ask a member.)  We took a walk all around the residential area and then onto a short trail that goes up a hill and overlooks the lake.
  • If you bring a bike, you could ride your bike on the paved roads on the grounds.
  • Tennis courts - not sure if you have to bring your own rackets and balls.
  • Some food served in cafe on the weekends

What not to expect:

  • It's not a place big on nightlife.
  • It's more of a "very nice campground" than a "resort".
  • Food options are limited...so packing a picnic lunch might be a good idea.
  • Don't expect you can be disrespectful to others.  The members care about this place a lot and they want visitors to do the same.
Having now been to many more nudist resorts over the years, I have to say that Solair is an excellent facility given that it is a northern US nudist resort that has a short season.

If you are going for a first time visit, read Solair's website or maybe call first. It seems they want first timers to only visit on weekends, at least that is my understanding. I think this is because they need to have someone on hand to give a tour.

At least as of my last visit in late 2009, Solair had a policy that during the first 4 visits, they want visitors to spend time talking with a member who does an interview as part of a membership screening/recruitment process. I had previously thought that this would be a pain in the butt (I have mixed feelings about these types of red tape procedures that detract from nakationing). But we did talk to a member this visit. It wasn't a big deal at all. It was a casual 10 minute chat. The nudist member who interviewed us was friendly and asked us our experience, told us a little bit about the place, and asked if we had any questions.

If you're in the area, give Solair Recreation League a try.

Hunter Valley is definitely one of the must see island when you visit Australia. The warm and sunny climate of the city awaits you. But of course, there's more than just the clear skies, Hunter Valley offers many attractions for you.


There are many places that you can go to in the city. Whether you are a wine lover, an enthusiast of natural beauty and wildlife, Hunters has it all. Barington Tops is one of the most popular areas with if you are a nature lover. Here you can see a large of unspoiled cities of rare wildlife.

List of Activities You Can do In Hunter Valley:

  • Wine Tasting There are over 120 cellar doors that will accommodate you daily.
  • Food and Wine. You can see wide selection of world class restaurants.
  • Golf. Enjoy the three championship courses.
  • Hot Air Ballooning
  • Arts and Galleries If you are into history, you can visit different arts and galleries in Hunt Valley
  • Concerts – Witness the world class acts performing in the vineyards.

For those who prefer the conventional sightseeing routine, there are spectacular building that can be found in the Hunter. You can visit several galleries and museum displaying various antiques and crafts such as glassware, jewelry, paintings and sculptures.

One of the sights in Hunter Valley that is sure to get the attention of all visitors is the Hunter Village Garden located in the heart of the Hunter vineyard at the foothills of the Brokenback Ranges. You will be amazed by the colors and fragrances of the twelve stunning feature gardens.

If you are tired of touring, then you can get outside from something new to do. Feel the glorious sunrise from a hot air balloon, or horse back riding in the vineyard. For a more relaxing adventure, you can head to the beach. Hunter Valley is near the sea, expect that you can find some resorts.

Accommodation is not a problem in Hunter Valley. Whatever your choices in Hunter Valley accommodation, whether it is a simple farm to stay or a luxurious hotel, you can easily find a place to suit your taste and your budget.

Fraser Island is another impressive travel destination in Australia. This island is situated along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia and around three to four hours away from Brisbane. It is 123 kilometers long and at its widest point it’s width around 22 kilometers.


It was year 1992 when the World Heritage discovered the island. After the discovery, the place is considered as one of the world's largest island and the only place with rainforest that grows in the sand. This makes Fraser Island as one of the most rare and mysterious place on Queensland's coastline. In this area, you can see long undisturbed sandy beach flanked by strikingly colored sand cliffs. It is also a home of 100s freshwater both tea colored and clear blue lakes. Hence, Fraser Island is not just an ordinary island. It's an island wherein the Australian's rich natural heritage combine together.

Fishing

During the day, there is plenty to do in Fraser Island. There are endless beaches for swimming, playing Frisbee or beach soccer. Some of the visitors come to Fraser for fishing. In fact, an annual fishing competition is being held in here that last for a whole week.

Day Tours at Fraser Island

You can explore the beauty of Fraser Island from a bird eye view using the MI Helicopters for a day tour. In this way, you can observe Fraser's untamed wilderness, sub-tropical rainforests and crystal clear freshwater lakes. It is perfect for a couple who wants a secluded and romantic getaway.

However, it is better if you explore the scenic highlights of Frazer Island by land. You can visit different pounded beaches, rainforest and freshwater lakes. You can also witness the brilliant spring wild flowers and forest clad dunes and other wildlife settling in the island.

What's more, you can select your accommodation here depending on your budget. There are available luxury hotels and resort for rents, even a simple camp site. If you want a feeling like at home you can set up a tent and a campfire on the beach. Just ask anything you wish, Fraser is a great provider.

In print and online

Posted by TienSu | 8:51 AM

Life has been keeping us busy as usual with our Gran- tourismo project now well and truly under way; you can keep up with our travels and what we're doing here. We've had a few bits and pieces published in print and online in January and February, which we wrote last year, that I wanted to share with you. 
* The first edition Cyprus TwinPack guidebook I wrote for the UK's AA Publishing was released in January. I really like AA's revamp of the TwinPack series - the book's design is much more clean and stylish-looking now. 
* In the January issue of Gulf Life, Gulf Air's in-flight magazine, Terry and I had a piece on the sleek one-of-a-kind sheesha pipes that the manager of Doha W's Wahm Bar commissioned in Designer Sheesha in Doha: blowing bubbles has never been so cool, while in the February issue we've got a piece on Wild Peeta, a fantastic fusion shawarma eatery started by two Emirati guys. 
* The February issue of J Mag, Jazeera Airways in-flight magazine includes more of our stories and pics, including Twitterabia, about the rise in popularity of Twitter in the region and how tweeps in the Middle East are meeting face to face and forming 'real' friendships; Future Planning, about three young Kuwaiti architects hoping to make Kuwait a better place to live through their re-thinking of what's appropriate architecture for the country and their blog Re:Kuwait, aimed at opening a public dialogue on the subject; and Guitar Heroes, a piece about the heavy metal scene in Kuwait, though we're not happy with this last story at all, censored for political/religious reasons. We were asked to remove references to the 'devil's music' and the real challenges the musicians are facing - and we never called the guys geeky! If you're interested in the full story and would like to see the original piece, leave a comment below and I'll email it to you.
* The Jan/Feb/Mar edition of Carlson Wagonlit's Asian-based business travel magazine, Connect, features a '24 Hours in Dubai' piece I wrote.
* The January edition of UK travel magazine Wanderlust contained a special Jordan supplement with a couple of pieces I wrote on Jordanian guides, including a profile of an award-winning guide and recommendations and advice by some of Jordan's best guides. 
* In the Ritz-Carlton magazine's Winter 2010 edition, you'll also find a small piece I wrote for the Doha hotel's concierge.
* We also had a couple of pieces on the Viator blog, including UAE: a Winter Wonderland, and a piece introducing our Grantourismo project (Viator is one of our project partners).

Pictured: a wall of graffiti in Kuwait City, against which Terry shot fantastic portraits of Kuwait's heavy metal heroes for our Jazeera magazine story.

Bungle Bungle is also known as Purnululu National Park. It is one of the popular travel spots for foreigners and it was situated in Western Australia.

If you are interested to know what Purnululu means is, it's a Kiji term for sandstone. On the other hand, the origin name of “Bungle Bungle” is still unknown. This area is almost 5788 meters high from sea level. This park is popular because of its sandstone domes, that were formed 350 million years ago. You can see the domes on the edge of the range. You need to fly over the whole range to see a new area of domes in the making when an erosion happens in the center of the massif. At first look, you can easily say domes come in orange and grey combination. The banding of the domes happens because of the differences in clay content and presence of porosity on the sandstone layers.

Bungle Bungle National Park is also of great significance of both cultural and spiritual to local settlers. It was year 1983 when a film tram discovered the area, yet there are already people lived there for how many years. The government established Bungle Bungle as Purnululu National Park in 1987 to preserve the importance of the area as well as its significance to the traditional settlers.

For a stunning and beautiful experience on Bungle Bungles, it is highly suggested to visit this place during dry season. It is an amazing experience also if you walk throughout the beautiful landscape with its sandstone domes. The plains come in lush and green for they are thickly covered of bright yellow Acacia flowers.

Most of the activities in Bungle Bungle is walking. But that's part of it. You can't find the famous domes here if you don't walk. It's a good thing most of the walk is very open and sunny. And in your way, you can find jaw-dropping scenery such as domes and cliffs, chasms and rock pools. Take advantage too for sunset look out. There are two sunset lookout in Bungle Bungles. One is The Walinginjdji Sunsent Lookout which is close to the Visitor Center and Piccaninny Creek, it takes half an hour to get there.

Take your time to explore this spot, so you will enjoy the beauty of Purnululu and get the most out of it. You will never be satisfied with your one day stay in Bungle Bungles, but that's enough time in absorbing the atmosphere.