#i missed the tram and missed the last bus (24 minutes ago) and now have to wait (36 minutes more) for the next one

[evil-ontheinside]

Went to a pride event today and had lots of fun! Also took a picture of the most important flags ✨️

[underuroobasumbrella]

Colores, Calores y Caleños: Colombia 2016-2017

This is an account of my recent trip to Colombia, from Dec. 27, 2016 - Jan. 2, 2017.

“You’re a Scorpio, right?”, he asked. “Yes, how did you know!?” I exclaimed. “Because Scorpios do everything with great passion. I should know, I am one too”, he smiled.

We had met just hours earlier, a chance encounter facilitated by technology — he was my first Tinder match in Colombia, when I arrived to the new country at the stroke of midnight by myself.

As I lay in my hotel bed, teeming with nervous excitement for the days that awaited me on my first solo trip, Anthony sent me a message, “What a beautiful smile you have.”

When we met outside my hostel the next day, as I scanned the streets for the “guy with glasses and a blue shirt”, I knew instantly we were not soulmates. We would not have a passion-filled romance, or even a casual vacation fling.

But meeting Anthony aligned so well with my recent resolution of not wasting my time by having meaningless, unfulfilling and temporal encounters with men, it set the best precedent for the rest of my trip.

We climbed some nearby hills to catch the best view of Cali, sipping Colombian Pokers. Later when the sun set, we walked along the riverside boulevard adorned with holiday lights and a rush of people, eating alitas rellenos, salchipapas and churros, and discussing Colombian literature.

Well, I only offered my insights on Gabriel Garcia Marquez, while he pointed out the significance of each lesser-known Colombian poet, as we stood next to their statues in the Parque de Los Poetas.

Not a bad date locale.

My resolution was off to a profoundly good start: Anthony liked me for my personality and my work, a welcome first.

While I could not reciprocate his feelings, proven as I stealthily thwarted his attempt to kiss me at the end of the night, I was grateful for that evening. It was a reminder that I didn’t have to stand at the fulcrum between the purely platonic and purely physical in my relations with men, and served as a hopeful omen for the coming year.

With my appetite for risky spontaneity satiated, along with my belly full from the food tour I took earlier in the day, it was time to experience Cali for what it was: the salsa capital of the world.

The market we went to during our food tour.

The best ceviche!

Feria de Cali was in full swing when I happened to be there, the city’s most anticipated event of the year. Swathes of people filled the streets at night, swaying to salsa — and its edgier cousin, salsa choke, my favourite. Snack vendors dotted the outskirts of the crowds, that were all of young and old, working class and otherwise.

After a few hours of sashaying my hips, it was time for me to tuck into bed: a 5:30 am wakeup call awaited me, as I’d be heading on a three-hour journey to San Cipriano — for a full day of hiking, trekking and swimming, deep in a Colombian tropical rainforest.

As our bus halted to a step the next morning, we tumbled out, rubbing the last of sleep from our eyes, and found ourselves in front of train tracks. No train ran on them, but instead a bruja, a wooden tram run by a dude on a motorcycle that would course through the lush landscape to bring us even deeper into the tropical rainforest.

Our bruja.

Coursing through the Colombian rainforest.

With our adrenaline pumping from the ride, we embarked on a full day of hiking, waterfall jumping and river tubing.

Later that evening, as I sat on my 45-minute flight to Bogota, the woman next to me struck up a conversation.

“You didn’t get a seat with your friends, did you?” she asked.

“No, I’m travelling by myself!” I told her.

Her eyes widened and she scrunched her nose.

“Ok, honey, I love Bogota, but you have to be careful. Here, write my number down, if you need anything call me,” she said hurriedly, as she typed her number into my phone.

I chuckled to myself, as I glanced into my screen to see she had written “Marcela Plane Friend”.

Marcela was a glamourous woman, manicured nails, blow-dried hair and all. She was Colombian, but had spent most of her life in Atlanta, in the United States. Although most of her family no longer lived in Colombia, she still visited every year during the holidays, with her son.

She told me she was going to be meeting her new lover on this trip — a man she had met decades ago as a teenager, before she had gotten married. Now single after years, they had been in touch again.

I listened in awe, amazed that Bollywood plot lines could actually manifest for people in real life.

After she finished her story, she looked at me quizzically, then said, “You know, I have a son around your age, sitting up there,” she motioned to the front of the plane.

“Oh cool,” I replied, slightly nubbed that she had known me for all of 20 minutes but could already tell I was single as fuck.

That “oh cool” would later change to “oh damnnnn” when she introduced me to this son of hers in the airport. As I awkwardly mumbled “hi”, I cursed myself in my brain for wearing my coveted “travel shirt”, an actual maternity shirt with boats and palm trees imprinted all over — quite possibly the least sexy shirt I own.

In expected Urooba fashion, I said goodbye to them, too awkward to function in the presence of this hot dude and started to walk away in the opposite direction.

It turned out the exit was only one way, so I turned around, catching up to them and chuckled, “Guess we’re going the same way.”

Needless to say, I did not sweep Marcela’s son off his feet.

***

Have you ever travelled to a city and could see yourself living there? I’ve been from Bali to Bellingham, but it was in Bogota that I first felt this.

My hostel was in the La Candelaria area, amidst some of the best graffiti and street art in the world.

The infamous Bogota graffitti tour.

I walked through the city with a carefree ease, treating myself to a fancy meal in a nearby restaurant and arriving at the conclusion that food in Colombia was much better than in Ecuador, as much as I love Ecuador for other reasons.

My first day there was New Year’s Eve — I had no definitive plans, or expectations.

But the night I rang in 2017 was by far the best way I have rung in a new year in my 24 short years.

After a Colombian buffet meal at my hostel, I was itching to get away from all the shallow, privileged people there and their terrible opinions on Cuba, the working class, Palestine and….pretty much everything else.

Luckily, a friend of a friend from Quito, Ellinor, happened to be in town, and was staying at a hostel one street over. I decided to meet up with her and her new friends there.

What happened next is nothing short of a spooky miracle.

I met Ellinor and the others in one of the rooms they were staying in. After a few drinks, we decided to head over to the city’s main square to ring in the new year with locals.

As most of the group left to walk over there, Ellinor and I got left behind because we took one too many selfies. As we scrambled out into the night, we decided to walk on our own, hoping to catch up with the others later.

Trouble was, we had no idea where we were going.

So we decided to ask the next people that walked by for help. They were a suave pair, the two people we stopped. They were musicians, young, and carrying through the world with a carefree ease, muy tranquil.

They joined us, and we decided to cab to the square all together.

Shortly after we arrived, we ran into the others. Their faces were panic-stricken, and two were missing from the group.

“Hey guys! Wow, we found you! ...What happened?” Ellinor and I blurted at once.

“Shit, guys,” one of the guys began. And then he told us how they had walked through a deserted, quiet alleyway on their way over, and were approached by a man acting deranged — and who wielded a knife at them. The two not there had been so terrified, they had run back to the hostel.

Ellinor and I listened in wide-eyed disbelief. And then we noticed — our new friends, the couple — were gone.

“Were they our guardian angels?” we asked each other when we were away from the group. Like literal angels that had dropped down to earth, they had gotten us where we needed to go that night, without harm.

We smiled and laughed in both disbelief and joy, citing the incident as another good omen for the year to come, and then we heard the crowd chanting.

“Diez, nueve, ocho, siete, seis, cinco, cuatro, tres, dos...uno! Feliz ano nuevo!” we screamed.

This was it — and just the beginning of the night.

New Year’s Eve crew.

We scurried in ubers and taxis to head to our next stop — an EDM club that I would dance the night away into, only realizing that we should head back, when we saw the first sun rays of 2017 enter the glass ceiling of one of the club’s rooms.

It was on that ride home that morning that I found myself smiling to myself. While 2016 had its tough moments, that challenged me beyond belief, it also gave me some of the most adventuresome, euphoric experiences of my life, mainly because I had moved to Latin America.

My trip to Colombia instilled in me the confidence to travel solo, and I would encourage all women and femmes out there to do the same at least once in their life.

I’m already dreaming about my next trip to Colombia.

Te amo, Latinoamerica.

[roycruisesthebaltic]

Friday May 22 09:34 mid flight Syd to Mel

Very busy prior to today getting things done and Anne with her business and uni work. Bed last night at 23:00 finished packing. Up at 05:45 and had lots to do before leaving the house at 07:00 15 minutes behind schedule. Drove to Liana who drove us to the airport. Plane delayed about 40 minutes due Melbourne weather. Another scissors confiscated but no fluids nor toothpaste this time. ETA Mel. about 10:15. Jetstar A321 a little squashy but only for 1 hour.

14:35 downtown Melbourne

Hotel across the road from the airport just a short walk. Btw Jetstar took carry on luggage down to the cargo bay and we were lucky not to be charged. We are at the hotel today and leave for Hong Kong tomorrow at 07:25. How convenient just a walk across the road from the hotel.

We caught the sky bus into town. Walked around had lunch, window shopped. Free tram from Spencer St outlet mall to Bourke Street. Currently having another coffee, to wake up and kill time. The chocolate and cake shops are very tempting but we are resisting, not sure about resistance on the cruise in a week or so. It's quite cool here in Melbourne and the jacket I brought may not quite cut the mustard so we bought a jumper from an outlet shop. Coffee at Myers.

Dinner was at Triim a Mediterranean restaurant in Hardware lane. Read my review on trip adviser (anneroy contributor). Free tram back to Spencer St interchange. Then skybus back to Park Royal airport. Watching Eurovision. Tomorrow flight to Hong Kong departs 07:40. Wake up call at 05:00

Sat May 23 07:35

Email during the night to say flight delayed so we slept till 6. Dressed, packed, checked out and walked to airport. Currently having breakfast.

Sun May 24 16:25

Comfortable seat that lies flat, daytime flight so movies. Interstellar and John Wick. Too much food. Smooth flight only a couple of times to fasten seat belt. Installed SIM card into my phone. Arrived Hong Kong delayed docking due weather. Lucky flight was not diverted to Malaysia or China due weather. Easy quick transit though arrivals. MTR train to Kowloon HK$140 then free airport shuttle to Salisbury YMCA hotel. All too easy. Upgrade to view of harbour. Dropped bags in room then walked to Marianne jeweller. Most shops closed so back to hotel, fruit in our room for dinner and early night. Up early, bought coffee downstairs and took back to room. Fruit for breakfast. Walked 1st to tailor chose material and measured up for suit. Last time 2010 and 5 centimetres thinner now. Then to Jeweller Marianne, then a haircut and shave. Lunch across the road. Anne bought watch and hand bag. Currently Coffee in hotel cafe. Plan to catch airport shuttle at 20:30 across the road. So 4 hours to kill. I bought an "S" SIM card for iPad from honest Ali ( turned out to be a dud) in shop in arcade. Let's see if it works for 4 weeks.

23:15 Emirates lounge

Plane leaves 12:30 just past midnight so we are filling in time sitting in hotel foyer. Airport shuttle leaves every 12 minutes to Kowloon. Anne read book I walked thru hotel next to YMCA. Shops are all classy expensive like Prada Louis Vuitton and other names I've never heard of but Talia would know. And watch brands that are probably ridiculously pricey.

Decided we might as well suffer at the airport so caught early shuttle to Kowloon. Rather quick trip without traffic. Well surprise surprise, at the train station, Kowloon, you can check in your luggage. Then you board the train to the airport luggage free. The airport is something else, the size of a small city. A shuttle train takes you to the appropriate gate and lounge because it is so far away. So we ate lots, charged up the phone and iPad and now wait patiently for another 30 minutes to board the plane to Dubai.

Mon 25 12:15 pm

Amazing Emirates A380 flight to Dubai, overnight flight so we missed out on enjoying everything Emirates has to offer. Arrived early Dubai about 04:00. Easy transit thru customs, immigration. Chauffeur driven to Regent Palace hotel. Arrived hotel about 05:00 far too early to check in lovely hotel front of house Essi now Facebook friend, so we paid extra ¥200 for the luxury of a room. Had a snooze. At about 09:30 went across road to shopping centre including French supermarket Carrefour. Lunch at Dome. Bought fruit to fill in before dinner. It's very hot probably about 40 Celsius.not many burqas several men in traditional gear. Swishy shops in shopping centre. Weighed myself with clothes and shoes so possibly 1kg extra weight. Gotta be careful.

17:40

Waiting till 19:00 to be picked up for cruise dinner and dance performance. Rosemary and Garry arrived from Sydney. I checked out the trains just next to the hotel and they come often.

Tuesday May 26 21:36 in our hotel room

Dinner cruise was interesting. Mostly Indian passengers and a few locals including women completely covered in black. Magician and Egyptian dancer. Indian cuisine buffet. B- evening but something to do in the evening. A good nights sleep and breakfast at 09:00. At last a hotel breakfast that is different albeit an Indian cuisine. Off to Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa tall tower. The mall is awe inspiring in its size. The train trip to it was easy and efficient and the station located next to the hotel..well done Anne and Rosemary. Note that some carriages are women only, a friendly local explained to me I could be fined being in the wrong carriage.

At the destination 7 travelators to get you to the mall. We did the aquarium, had coffee then went up to level 124 of the tower in a super smooth elevator. Great view. Dinner at Wafi gourmet, somewhat expensive but quite good. Enjoyed the water show then train back to hotel.

12:25 old Souk Dubai Eating at Masti

Hotel Breakfast at 09:00. Taxi to Old Souk but he got it wrong and took us to old Gold Souk. Eventually went to the right place. Walked around the market mostly clothes, materials and trinkets. Very hot and dry. Bought a white Arabic garment plus keffiyeh. Pestered by hawkers.

Lunch at small cafe Masti. AED¥75 (2.7) Biryani chicken and fish plus fruit juices. Call to prayer loud and clear from several mosques.

Thursday23:30 Southampton Mercure hotel

After our shopping trip to the Souk we returned to hotel by taxi. Picked up at 16:00 for our desert safari. Our guide Botiri. Driven to the desert where we swapped to a Land Rover vintage model and given goggles and kaffiyeh.. A drive over the sand dunes looking for animals oryx, antelope like mammal. Refreshments sweet Apple juice and a falcon demonstration during which the sun set. A drive to dinner in the desert with entertainment, rifle dance and Arab lady dance. Lentil soup, rice, chicken kebabs, camel stew, dates, coffee, sweet drink mezze dips and bread. I lay on the cushions and fell asleep. Returned to the hotel by 22:30

Thursday morning vip taxi (lexus) to miracle garden. A 35 minute trip. Gardens were lovely. We waited for taxi to return us to the hotel 10:15 patiently which eventually arrived so we would make it on time back to the hotel. Picked up at 12:00 by Emerites and driven to airport. Boarded at about 14:30. 7 hour flight to Gatwick England. Emirates drove us to Southampton Mercure hotel where we are now.

May 31 sailing from Southampton to Denmark 05:48

A small room in the hotel but conveniently located. Met up with the other two families. I woke up early and walked up to the shops. After breakfast drove to Portsmouth dockyard and toured it. Took lots of photos. Light Lunch potato and cheese in a pub and had a pint. Met up with Chris and Diane in the street. Local restaurant fully booked so we ate at the hotel which was quite good. Saturday June 30 had early breakfast with Chris and Diane. Invited them to Talia's wedding (I know Diane will read this) Sadly said farewell then we drove to Highcliffe Northern Forest. Returned to hotel via the ship Celebrity Eclipse then finished packing. Checked out of hotel dropped off bags, Anne and I embarked at about 13:00 after about an hour line up. The ship is amazing. It just had a refit a month ago. Cabin spacious. Buffet level 15 very yummy. Dinner in restaurant very delicious. Prior to that we went to forward Skye lounge for drinks, part of our unlimited drink package. After the dinner went to the show, a very funny comedian. Bed early. Couldn't resist room service chicken soup at about 22:00.

12:00 noon may 31

Up early. Gym for 30 minutes 300 calories. Breakfast at Ocean View Cafe level 15. Yummy smoked salmon and herring. Spa level 12. Trivia sky lounge level 15. A,R,G playing cards.

Monday June 1 in bed 12:16 am

Lunch in dining room. Dinner yummy as usual. Singer evening show very good lady.

Monday gym, smoked salmon and herring breakfast. Spa with Anne, Denmark talk. How to cook a steak demo. Lunch in ocean view cafe. Arrived Denmark 15:00. Taxi to canal boat ride, which was excellent. Tour guide Kiya. Met Karina and had coffee and talked a lot. It was just great meeting her after 16 years. Anne had 5 herring sampler. Taxi back to ship. Dinner in Ocean View. + wine( part of drink package). A,r,g cards in our cabin. Show at 21:30 very good singer Ben 3rd place X factor, sounds like rod steward. Coffee and iced tea in cafe bed at 12:30.

Wed June 3 10:00 in cabin

Yesterday taxis all booked up so took hop on hop off bus into town. Anne and I got off at department store like David Jones. Bought mascara for Liana then a Danish with coffee ( not called Danish here). Walked to "3" shop and along the way bought clothes at H.M. At "3" shop they got internet working on iPad and spent a short while skyping the girls.

Returned to catch the bus and the first one did not stop. Fortunately second one did stop because we have no Danish Kroners left for taxi fare. Back to ship, lunch, afternoon sleep, dinner at 6:30 then excellent show, circus, lucky to find a seat. After show my iced pear ginger tea. Watched rest of movie in cabin whirlwind or whirlpool.

Up at 07:30 and gym for 30 minutes. Then Oceanview cafe for smoked salmon, herring and toast with OJ and coffee. Returned to cabin with fruit for Anne then spa with Anne level 12.

Friday may 24 05:30

Wednesday: early gym. Port talk about Stockholm and Estonia. Show was juggler comedian, excellent. Afternoon matinee was Ben the singer and the west end lady singer together. They were terrific. Lunch in oceanview level 14. After show we all met up in the cafe and I had my iced pear tea.

Thursday May 25

Arrived Stockholm. Gym for 30 minutes and met everyone for breakfast. My weight ok but I think the scales are wrong. Taxi to Vasa museum (fitted 8 into a 7 seater) ended up doing Abba not Vasa. Skyped the girls in Abba museum. Abba interesting but needs a lick of paint. Ferry across harbour to old City. Walked around. I had my Swedish meat balls and beer. Anne had herring. Walked around then long walk back to ship. My phone says 12000 steps today. Returned to ship smoked salmon open sandwiches delicious and scones. Met chef yesterday and asked for buffalo wings. During dinner maitre de said buffalo wings tomorrow (Friday) show was impressionist, least entertaining so far. Early to bed everyone, all quite tired.

Friday May 26 clock forward 1 hour. Up at new time 04:30.

Saturday 20:30 St Petersberg.

Yesterday Stockholm. Shuttle bus into town. Lunch at restaurant. Fish soup and potato dish and Swedish beer. Bought a few nick nacks for kids and friends. Old city with history, small lanes and old buildings. Returned on shuttle bus. Dinner at 18:30 and magic show at 20:30 quite good. Everyone is quite exhausted so early to bed finished watching night stalker movie in cabin. Up early in St Petersburg.

A magnificent sickly opulent city with palaces decorated in over the top paintings, crockery and gold foil. On a tour. Had to pass through customs to get off ship past miserable government employees. Tour guide Lena, good English and very knowledgable. We were early so avoided huge crowds at various venues. We are a little disturbed that Russians do it tough while such lavish opulent churches and palaces. Part of the tour was a subway ride on a noisy train over one stop. The longest escalator I've ever experienced. We had lunch provided creamy soup and chicken crêpes. Garry and I had vodka. A lot of walking today 17000 steps according to my pedometer on the Samsung. We were agog at the size of the palaces as well as the fit out. The nazis more or less destroyed these places when they left and the Russian government restored them in record time. Much artwork was removed just before the nazis invaded. Much was stolen or destroyed. Back to the ship at about 18:00, dinner in dining room at about 19:00. Everyone is tired but we all want to see St Petersburg entertainment at 22:00 tonight. Early start tomorrow another 1/2 day tour with Lena and Peter.

Sunday 23:48

Early start 07:30. Easy thru immigration today. River cruise. Churches, palaces, lunch piroga (big piroshki) blood church, mosaics. Synagogue, hermitage museum. Farewell Elena and Peter our tour guide and driver. Dinner in Murano at discount thanks to Robert. Fantastic experience. Broadway show. Delay setting sail due 40knot wind.

Monday 21:00

Sea day sailing to Lithuania. Gym, new scales more accurate, I'm a little shocked at my weight. Excursion talk. Go pro talk (bought one). Chef demo how to cook fish. Lunch, sleep, dinner with Ruth and Stephen. MacDonald brothers show. Iced ginger pear tea. Anne did trivia.

Tuesday June 9 12:00 midnight

Arrived Lithuania. Gym, weight terrible. Walked thru town. Wi fi at cafe. Lunch back on ship. Trivia. Men vs women fun quiz. Ventriloquist show. Time running out for cruise.

Thursday June 11 08:35

Yesterday Poland. Taxi tour. French markets ate pistachio nugah. And apple donut. Church of many bricks. Church with lovely orang recital. Famous ant communist ---------- place.

Thursday arrived Germany. Gym, spa, breakfast.

Coach to Berlin 3 hours. Stopped at Maccas for toilet and coffee break. Toilet 50c. Swapped at 1936 Olympic stadium to group of 8 of us with excellent tour guide Lee an American who has been here for 30 years. All day tour of various places. Berlin Wall, railway station where Jews were loaded onto trains, square where books were burned. Various other places. Currently driving back to ship, a 3 hour trip. It's 20:00. Thursday evening.

Oops Sunday June 14

We arrived back at the ship at about 21:30 and dinner in the oceanview cafe bistro. A German feast including German sausages which chef Darren went on shore to buy , sauerkraut and German beer affordable on our drink packages. Ship departed at midnight.

Friday and Saturday sea days. Gym. Trivia, talks about confessions of a customs officer, and necrotourism. Other talks from officers, navigation and engineering. Shows were Beatles(yesterday evening, Chinese magician matinee yesterday and production show. All quite good. Four families met outside our cabins in team earth to discuss tips for crew. Rosie's trivia team earned various prizes including new lanyards, most appreciated. I walked around the ship and photographed most places with my new gopro. Obviously I've put on weight. We disembarked today (Sunday) at about 08:30. Phone call to taxi company. Taxis to Southampton airport. Little hiccups with Rosie's champagne and my bottle of wine but all sorted. Weigh was ok. Howard and my priority cards got us into business lounge. Free wifi so we spoke to the girls and caught up a little on the Internet and ate nibbles. Currently 22:05 on a Dash 8 at 28000 ft on track to Dublin.

Monday June 15 22:35

Yesterday arrived Dublin. Picked up car. Drove to Sandymount Hotel. Walked to local village. Asked Una Mollony a Dubllin resident directions and she ended up making two trips in her car to take us Moto dinner at the Old Spot where I had hamburger and Guinness.

Up Monday morning, hotel breakfast then caught hop on hop off bus to trinity college, then to town and shopping centre. Irish stew at cafe below museum the Hutch. Shopped then walked to Dublin castle to catch up with Rosie and Garry. Bus to Guiness storehouse for interesting tour then a pint of Guinness on level 7. Bus to stop 24 to dinner show, Gaelic music and dancing. Train home to the hotel.

During the day I got interviewed for a Father's Day show on Saorview.

Wednesday June 17 21:30 just arrived Sligo Park Hotel in Sligo

A summary of the last two days. Belfast :Titanic museum exhibition. We had a tour. It was terrific.a few levels of information, a chair lift taking you through a mock up ship yard. A cinema showing the remote camera view that surveyed the sunk ship. The drawing room. And lots of information. The Crumlin road Gaol, a morbid but interesting historical tour of this infamous place including the gallows. A show at the Old Opera theatre in Belfast. The Business of Murder. Slow at first but quite interesting second half. It had an 8 year run in the west end. Meals at various pubs and even a Chinese meal at the red panda opposite the Europa hotel. On the way to Sligo from Belfast today we stopped at the rope bridge Carrick-a-Rede. £5.90 and a mile long very difficult walk then a precarious walk over this shaky bridge. Hmm a lot of calories burned up today. A visit to the Bushmills distillery too late for a tour but not too late for a taste and to buy a bottle of honey single malt.

An historic black taxi tour if Belfast telling us about the history and the political problems faced by Ireland. Protestants are loyal to England Catholics are republicans. Some very sad stories of the struggle.

Saturday June 20

Left last drove to Sligo. Nice hotel for 1 night. In the morning a spa. Breakfast. Off to Galway. Dinner at an Italian restaurant. Looked through Dunnes department tour.

Currently travelling to Killarney. Cliffs of Mohr along the way but fogged in. Diverted by car ferry. Stopped for chowder and potato. Currently in Listowe having coffee. During this last two days we visited a castle in fact a fortified mansion. Today's road trip passed a bicycle rally.

Last night we stayed at a B&B Seashore lodge. Had to carry suit cases up the stairs. A good B&B but a poor hotel. Breakfast was basic. Coffee finished now 1 hour to finish our trip for today.

Sunday 10:30 June 21

Arrived Killarney yesterday via fogged in cliffs of Mohar and a ferry ride across a lake. Nice hotel Brooks. Great position near shops. Big room. OK breakfast. Here for two nights. Today we drove the ring of Kerry and enjoyed the scenery. Dinner both nights at Scala Eile and they gave us left over cakes to take away. Barbara from Poland the waitress my new Facebook friend and Maurice was the manager. Good value nice food great service. Had my sixth Guinness. Tomorrow early start to Cork.

Wed June 24

Taking off Dublin on route to London central airport. Just left Dunboyne castle hotel. A great hotel, great dinner here and good breakfast. Spa was €10 for the room and had steam rooms, sauna, spas of all sorts, relaxing rooms. I note that maintenance was lacking with multiple issues in several rooms.

Prior to that we were at the Ambassador hotel in Cork where we met Tommy and Anthony, Marian's father and brother. They picked up Anne and me from St Patrick's Street outside Brown and Thomas department store and took me for a Murphys at a local pub.then a Jamesons whisky. We had a cheap Chinese meal at a local (pity we missed out on a genuine not tourist meal).

Btw last night was my seventh Guinness.

Spa, nice dinner, and good breakfast here.

Friday June 26

Currently in Lancaster hotel London. Couple of days ago flew to London City airport. Gotta remember not to take liquids on plane! Fitted 8 of us plus baggage into taxi..a miracle. Hop on hop off bus. Thames cruise with the funniest tour guide ever! . Harrods ( crazy prices AUS$14 for coffee). Saw musical Beautiful last night excellent, in the audience Gene Simmons and Michael Cain. After Harrods walked through Hyde park back to hotel. Saw Princess Diana memorial fountain and squirrels.

Wednesday July 1

Have not written for a while so here's a catch up.

Back to London where Anne and I picked up the SIXT hire car with a little difficulty interpreting the gps. We caught a train then walked till we discovered it in a car park. It's a manual Citroen and had a challenge finding out how to start it and how to engage reverse. Then to negotiate London traffic, avoiding the congestion tax. We drove to the Lancaster hotel, farewelled Cheryl, Adam, and Howard and Shirley. Then off we drove to the Cotsolds and our lovely Roman period house at Bouton on the water. We stayed here for 3 nights during which we did road trips all around enjoying English countryside. We had cooking facilities so we cooked two dinners, 3 breakfasts and made lunch twice left over sausages on rolls with coleslaw. We shopped at Tesco a short distance from our house. the Cotwolds are a magic place with a creek running through it and old English charm and a lot of weekenders over Saturday and Sunday. We bought duck food and fed the ducks. Garry and I had a pint of Hobgoblin beer brewed locally and served at 12 Celsius. Restaurants close at 6 on Sunday so we were forced to eat Chinese. On the morning of our departure a police car pulled up as someone complained about where we parked.

We left the Cotwolds and drove the Staffords to Gatwick via Stratford upon Avon and Brompton where Downtown Abbey is and was being filmed. Behind schedule we tracked to Gatwick on the M25 my gps not working, turned out we ran out of data. I drove for about 7 hours this day. Traffic on the M25 was horrific for over 100 miles. A nightmare. Went under some bridge and paid the toll on line at Jeff's place. We planned to arrive at 5, we arrived after 6. We had planned to do dinner with the Simons at 7 ended up thee at 8:30 without gps and about 10 at Monica's place after that. And we tried to ring Sharon turned out we had the home number not mobile and ringing Jeff the phone cut out yep unbelievably stressful. Wi fi at the restaurant gave us a map to Jeff so Alls well that ends well. Stayed with Monica overnight after talking till midnight. Yummy breakfast. England has great berries and yoghurt. I had a short morning walk to the seaside. We went to Smileys for lunch on the seaside I had fish and chips. Then at about 11:45 set off to Heathrow early as I was scared of the traffic. As it turned out traffic was excellent and I cruised at 70 mph. At the airport we retrieved VAT and octopus credit then relaxed in the lounge until we realised our plane was at sector C a shuttle away.

11 hour flight passed quickly I think I slept a long time as I can't account for all these hours.

Arrived Hong Kong knew the train and shuttle protocol and here we are at the YMCA and the temperature is 35 Celsius.

July. 2 Thursday

Just filled in time on an hour harbour cruise.

Did recon this morning about our trip to Macau.

Went to jeweller and to polo bag shop.

Yesterday went to jeweller and tailor. Suit measured and will be posted to Australia. Ring ready for Talia and bought earrings for Liana.

Dinner in authentic Chinese restaurant around the corner. Checked out of hotel at 12 and they are storing our bags and facility for shower if we want.

[wanderingfadz]

BUDAPEST

I was in Budapest for 2 nights from 15-17 July 2016. After the frantic run from the centre of Krakow’s old town and through the confusing signs at the central station + shopping mall, I finally reached the bus stop. There was already a big crowd waiting for the bus. It was supposed to have arrived by now (around 11 pm). The crowd was getting restless. Rumours were swirling around that the bus will be an hour late as they’ve received notifications on their local numbers or email but I checked my email and I didn’t get the news ( the email came in late ). I killed time talking to a Singaporean girl and a Ukrainian girl over some biscuits that they happily shared with me.

The Singaporean girl was having a different set of problem. A few hours ago, there was a military coup in Istanbul, Turkey ( 15 July 2016 ) and she was supposed to fly there in a few days after her trip to Budapest. She was now thinking if she should go or if her flight will even fly there now. The bus was 2 hours late and arrived around 1am.  Even then, there were more passengers for one bus. So we squeezed through to get into the first bus or else we’d have to wait for the second bus to arrive. The second bus arrived as we were leaving the terminal. The night was a bit chilly since it was windy and looked like it was going to rain soon. I just wanted to board the bus asap.

The bus drove all night for around 7 hours driving through the the Polish, Slovakian and Hungarian countryside. Not the best way to spend a Saturday night. I was half awake and dozing off throughout the journey so I wasn’t sure where we were but it started raining a few hours before we arrived in Budapest.

We finally arrived at the Budapest bus terminal which is a few metro stops away from the city centre at around 7 am. It was raining heavily and the bus dropped everyone at the roadside near the metro station (Budapeszt Kelenföld vasutallomas M) in the pouring rain. The station is a few kilometres from the city centre. Everyone might be tempted to queue and buy tickets from the first vending machine they find near the entrance causing the queue to be long. Walk a bit further down and there will be more ticketing machines there.

Ticket types and prices. Click to see more clearly. Wet screen due to me getting wet from the rain outside

The machine only accepts Hungarian Florints ( HUF ) so I used my credit card to buy my ticket. I bought a single ticket to get to the hostel ( HUF 350 ). Looking at the map, it didn’t look like I would need to use public transportation that much especially considering it was raining and it kept on raining until the afternoon of the next day ( which was also my last day so I couldn’t really explore the city properly). The next day the weather was a bit better so I bought a 24 hour transport ticket ( HUF 1650 ) and as it turns out, I didn’t feel like walking too much.

After taking a shower and dropping my stuff at the hostel, I walked around my hostel which was located close to the old part of town. Not the best place to stay if you are not a fan of bunk beds as it had a triple bunk bed more than the usual double. The first thing I need to do was to was to get some local currency. I changed €20 and got HUF 6170. As I walked around, the soviet feel is in the air as you can see through the building designs and old trains+trams used in the network.

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€20 = HUF 6170 (including commission)

Old school looking metro train

Trivia fact : Budapest is actually the combination of 2 cities that lie on opposite banks of the Danube River.

The city to west of the river is Buda and the east is Pest hence the name Budapest. The main places to go in Budapest lies near the Danube River. I joined the free city tour but due to the Red Bull Air Race, there were detours and some places had restricted access. So the free tour route had to be adjusted accordingly and we skipped some places.

Places To Go

The major sights and things you can do in Budapest includes :

1. St Marks Basilica

Can get very crowded. Try to get there early.

St Mark’s Basilica

2. Hungarian Parliament

Unfortunately, it was closed when I arrived maybe because it was a Sunday. It has a large square in front of it which can be a good spot for that tourist photo. The area of town surrounding the parliament is also surrounded by a lot of architecturally beautiful buildings housing government, cultural institutions as well as dwellings. There’s a metro station near the parliament building.

Hungarian Parliament Building

3. Buda Castle

You need to cross the river to Buda part of town to get to Buda Castle but the castle itself is on top of a steep hill. You can pay to take the funicular train or like me, walk up the stairs to the castle. On top of the hill, there are loads of nice looking buildings as well as observation areas where you can get a stunning view of the city. This spot is also crowded with tourists.

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View of the castle from Pest across the river

View from the castle towards Pest with the Hungarian Parliament in the far left and the Chain Bridge

The castle complex is quite big so I would recommend allocating at least 1.5 – 2 hours if you want to see everything. Initially, I walked up the stairs to get to the castle but I took the bus to go back down. The metro station at the northern end of the complex was closed because of the Red Bull Air Race but the view you get along the bus journey is not bad either.

4. Chain Bridge

Didn’t know it was a famous city landmark initially but it looked beautiful.

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Chain Bridge

Chain Bridge with Buda Castle in the background

5. Walk along the Danube River

You can get a very nice view of the city from the walking paths along the river. You will pass through some of the main city attractions such as the Hungarian Parliament and the Chain Bridge.

6. Synagogues

You can visit the Grand Synagogue which is one of the largest in Europe. Look at the opening times as it was closed when I came. I tried to go again the next day but the queues for tickets was very long. Instead, I visited another rather hidden synagogue and no tourists were inside. I showed my international student card and the person decided that I don’t need to pay.

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A rather hidden synagogue that I came across while walking around not too far away from the Grand Synagogue

Inside the synagogue

7. Museum

I went to the Hungarian National Museum which was free to enter.

8. Communism Free Tour

I would recommend joining this free tour as the tour explains the history of communism and the significance of some of the buildings and statues that you will find along the way. Leaves from the same place as the free tour which is at the column in the square near to Vörösmarty tér metro station.

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Places we visited as part of the communism tour

Places we visited as part of the communism tour – Reagan statue

9. Other Stuff

Another attraction in Budapest are the thermal baths which I did not go due to lack of time and the famous ones were a bit pricey for me.

As for dining in restaurants, I went to some local restaurant where if I understand correctly, tips are expected or a tip is included in the final bill (around 10% ).

Leaving Budapest

The first day I arrived, I knew I was headed to Zurich, Switzerland the next day. I had earlier looked at online prices for a night train. I asked at the train station in case it was cheaper but it turns out the online prices are cheaper by a lot ( around €20-30 difference ). So I bought the ticket online and went Nyugati which is one of the major train stations to get my real ticket. I keyed in my reference number that I got when I purchased online and the machine will dispense your boarding ticket.

Make sure you take note of the station where your train will leave from because Budapest has a few major stations located not  so close to each other and in different directions. My train left from Budapest Keleti station. I met 2 Dutch guys who booked on their ticket using the Rail Europe Pass with a sleeper bed but they went to the wrong station so they missed their train. They ended taking my train but with no seats. They only got seats when some passengers disembarked. Other people were sleeping in the side corridor walkway because they booked last minute and there were no more seats available.

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Sleepless night..it was hot too that’s why we left compartment door opened

Train to Zurich

tip toeing my way to the toilet

My overnight train from Budapest took almost 14 hours leaving at 8.40pm and arrived in Zurich the next morning at 10.20am. It was not the comfiest ride even though I got a seat. I think it was run by the Hungarian railway network since the trains looked quite outdated. In one compartment, 2 rows of 3 seats each faced each other. Hence, everyone has to fight for leg space especially if you are tall and have long legs. There were no space in the middle in case you need to go out for the toilet. The air conditioning was not working properly making the train hot and stuffy.

Expenses ( 2 days 1 night)

Hostel ( LOL Boutique Hostel – 1 night )   = €20.60

24 hour transport ticket   = HUF 1650

3 x 1 way transport tickets HUF 350 x 3   = HUF 1050

Lunch at restaurant   = HUF 2190 (Includes 10% tip)

Other meals (kebabs, McDonalds, groceries)   = HUF 2500

Personal expenses ( toiletries, tour guide tip etc )   = HUF 2000

Train to Zurich Switzerland   = HUF 22648/ €71.90

TOTAL   : HUF 9390 + €92.50 

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Budapest, Hungary BUDAPEST I was in Budapest for 2 nights from 15-17 July 2016. After the frantic run from the centre of Krakow's old town and through the confusing signs at the central station + shopping mall, I finally reached the bus stop.