My bride and I can't decide on where to go for our honeymoon in mid January. There is a lot of travel experience on this forum and I would be very interested and grateful to hear about the different places that people would recommend as the perfect honeymoon destination for newly weds traveling with a Leica. I would prefer to avoid the Middle East with the way things are going right now. We will be leaving from Hong Kong and will be returning to Vancouver after the honeymoon. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks a lot.

-- Bill Lee (Bill_Lee@telus.net), October 16, 2001

Answers

You just can beat Acapulco, and it is safe too!

-- Paul Nelson (clrfarm@comswest.net.au), October 16, 2001.

I haven't been there, but given the current environment, I would go to the Caribean (and I generally don't care for the beach). If I weren't an American, I'd go to Cuba.

-- Ron Buchanan (ronb@fusive.com), October 16, 2001.

Well, I see it may of course cost a couple o' bucks coming from your vicinity, but how about Italy? I have been there several times already and would always return again. Like anywhere/everywhere between the Tuscany and Venice. There you got the Leaning Tower of Pisa, The Ufficialle Museum, all those churches and bridges, vineyards, olive oil orchards... fantastic things to photograph! As if that weren't enough, the weather is usually great, and the food is alwaysgreat (IMHO). The whole area is a fantastic aim for any vacation. P.S. Don't forget your camera.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 16, 2001.

Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain), China in Jan. It will be very cold but Jan is the best season for its grand scenic views. Tourists are few because of the sub-zero temp. Tmw we are leaving for Juizhaiguo. We are joining organized tours specialized in photography for these destinations. In both trips I am sure I am not the only one who uses Leica. If you want more details please let me know.

-- Damond Lam - Hong Kong (damond_lam@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001.

Congratulations B! I second Paul's idea of ACA as a honeymoon spot but not as a Leica spot (yes, safe and cheap!). I have 30 years of experiance in ACA and IMHO the best photo ops can be found at the farmers market or in the fishing villages north of town. Cliche tourist pix can be found around every corner if that is your interest, but I imagine they are not. Consider Belize or Costa Rica as warm weather destinations for both love and leica.

-- Brooks (bvonarx@home.com), October 16, 2001.

How about Phuket or Krabi Island in the south of Thailand? Don't feel like going to a beach resort, then Chieng Mai is another choice up north.

-- Yuth (nuchyut@asianet.co.th), October 16, 2001.

Nicest place I have ever been in the whole world is New Zealand. Not too bad of a trip from Honk Kong either. Photographers paradise.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), October 16, 2001.

In January, I'd stay south of the equater, so I second Andrew's vote - New Zealand in January would be PERFECT! Another fun spot would be Peru (The ruins in Makapichu - sp? - and with advance reservations you can stay in a hotel at the ruin site) or perhaps Brazil. Any of these would be great from a photographic standpoint.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), October 16, 2001.

I'd stay away from Alaska because it's just too darned cold up here in January, but you do have a Leica, and they do withstand our extreme temperatures! Come on up.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@mail.com), October 16, 2001.

Bill

Where ever you go it is fine for the Leica. She doesn`t drink your beer, is true to you and lets you sleep at night....!!!! Ha ha ..... .

Don`t forget you wife...!!!

-- Salvatore Reitano (reitanosalvatore@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001.

Without jokes..

A nice place to go is Playa del Carmen in Mexico.

You can organize trips to a lot of Maya Temples from there and visit the XCARET-Parc where you can watch animals, see how Mayas lived before and many other cultural exebithions where it would be a great opportunity to take intersting shots with your Leica equipement.

Here a link http://playadelcarmen.com

PS: The most nice and romantic Hotel there is the LAS PALAPAS

Have a nice honeymoon

-- Salvatore Reitano (reitanosalvatore@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001.

Italy or Spain, a good compromise for both romantic and photo spots. A lot to shoot with your lovely Leica, but you can always bring the bride to a good dinner with good wine - for compensation that you did spend more time hugging your Leica... that's what I did last year for my honeymoon.

Try to be in a big city on New Year's eve, you won't forget it. ...congrats ^^

-- Fred Ouyang (yo54@columbia.edu), October 16, 2001.

Try Iguazu Falls. My wife & I stayed on the Brazillian side. It is simply magnificant!

http://www.greatestplaces.org/book_pages/iguazu2.htm

To get a feel of the place rent "The Mission" with Robert De Niro.

Brig a plastic bag to cover your Leica!

-- Tony Oresteen (aoresteen@lsqgroup.com), October 16, 2001.

I spent some time in Rome last January, it is the perfect place for the Leica (M) and not bad for a honeymoon, either. It was a little nippy and it did rain a bit, but nothing too miserable. Within the HK to Vancouver part of the world, though, I would certainly give consideration to Thailand. It is a very interesting country, the food and water are clean and wholesome, the people are friendly and the scenery is exceptional. It is overwhelmingly a Bhuddist country and the temples are everwhere and each is splendid. I have not been to Phuket but I've heard wonderful things. Bangkok is a large, smoggy city but well worth seeing. Chaing Mai and Chaing Rai (in the north) are smaller and cleaner. The hill tribe villages in the north are also wonderful to see, though many disdain being photographed. Thailand is best seen as part of a small (<10 persons) tour.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), October 16, 2001.

I think that Jerusalem rocks the house! Lots of religious and wonderful sites to shoot with a Leica and great place for dating. I guess that you can't get bored of being at a multicultural center of the world :)

Alfie

-- Albert Wang (albert.wang@ibx.com), October 16, 2001.

Wow! Thanks for so many great responses. It is so hard to decide because there are just so many great places with their own unique character and attraction that we want to visit them all. It is doubly hard because it is our honeymoon vacation and so we would like it to be especially romantic.

I am trying to imagine photographing my bride in all these different places to help me decide. I think we would like to avoid places that are too cold in January so we don't end up with a lot of pictures with ourselves looking like cartoon characters from South Park in heavy winter coats. I had considered Bali and Mauritius but it is heavy rain season in those types of places during January and we would end up with too many pictures of a soggy bride.

Thinking about my honeymoon destination has made me think about how wonderfully diverse and beautiful our world truly is. Most of the news has been dominated by the craziness that has recently affected everyone and could really leave one wanting to just cocoon. But there is much beauty in our world. Anymore suggestions? Thanks a lot everybody. I'll let everyone know about where we decide.

-- Priscilla & Bill Lee (Bill_Lee@telus.net), October 16, 2001.

Bill, Women always seem to enjoy Hawaii and there are lots of things to photograph. I took my wife there for our 25th anniversary and wound up going again the following year. Each time we visited two of the islands. Oahu and Hawaii were our favorites although Maui and Kauai were also great. Best wishes for a long and happy marriage. LB

-- Luther Berry (lberrytx@aol.com), October 16, 2001.

Try Tahiti, more specifically, the island of Moorea.

-- Grant Kelley (kge2@qwest.net), October 16, 2001.

Bill: Ask your bride? Leica's can't answer and don't care as long as they have a steady diet of film. Wives on the other hand care about the diet and the atmosphere.

Last but not least, enjoy yourselves.

Mark J.

-- Mark A. Johnson (logic@gci.net), October 16, 2001.

La Digue island, the Seychelles.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), October 17, 2001.

I'd second Mark J's answer above. Don't obsess about finding nice places to take your camera; obsess about finding nice places to take your wife. But here in New Zealand it's definitely summer in January - and what with the international situation the way it is, other tourists are already fewer. Have fun!

-- David Killick (Dalex@inet.net.nz), October 17, 2001.

Priscilla and Bill, Come on "down under" to the land of OZ. Cheap Air fairs and our dollar is only US51cents. Safe and friendly. The morning and evening light will blow you away. You saw the Olympics on TV but you must see Sydney live. The colours of Spring are here as we head for Summer. You have been given some great choices but Sydney...Well.. for me it's no contest. (I must confess to being a wee bit biased - Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are pretty good too.) All the best for your wedding.

-- Tim Gee (twg@optushome.com.au), October 17, 2001.

That's "air fares" (need sleep)

-- Tim Gee (twg@optushome.com.au), October 17, 2001.

Solms.

-- Wim van Velzen (wp.vanvelzen@12move.nl), October 17, 2001.

Solms... hey, great, Wim. Bill, if you and your wife happen to go there, then drive to Wetzlar too which is 5 min away by car. The whole town of Wetzlar with even mediaeval remains is much more interesting as far as taking photos. Both towns are just north of Frankfurt am Main (airport code FFM).

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 18, 2001.

Just another brief touristic plug for New Zealand. Check out www.nz.com for some pix of what you could expect to see.

-- David Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), October 18, 2001.

Aloha!

There's no better place for a honeymoon than in Hawai'i. It'll be cool in January, but no snow, rain, mosquitos, high humidity, and pollution. In fact, you'll be farthest from any other continent in the world, but you won't feel isolated. Plus, it's practically half- way between Hong Kong and Vancouver, depending on which direction you'll be travelling.

Picture it now, photos of your wife on the beach, a sunset, or a rainbow in the background; plus the ocean and palm trees. There are also volcanos, water falls, and coral reefs for snorkelling or scuba diving. However, underwater activities are not recommended for the Leica.

You'd also feel safe travelling with your Leica since not a lot of people in Hawai'i are familiar with the camera.

In any case, good luck on whatever choice you and your wife-to-be make.

-- Ron Gregorio (rongregorio@hotmail.com), October 18, 2001.

Ron, that's terrible. You made Hawaii sound so fantastic that I think I'll have to head off out there too myself. All I need is a new wife first.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 18, 2001.

Michael, warning: getting a new wife can be far more expensive than a new Leica...

-- Wim van Velzen (wp.vanvelzen@12move.nl), October 18, 2001.

Mike:

What happened to your old wife?

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), October 22, 2001.

She's already out there with a guy called Nikon.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 23, 2001.