the best of budapest

First, let’s get one thing straight. It’s pronounced Budapessshhhtt! Get this one right and you'll 
pretty much be considered a local.  

I wrote these suggestions for a fellow traveller I met on the road, who only had five hours in Budapest. I would obviously suggest staying longer, but this is still a fantastic list.

Get yourself a map - If you can find the map for the free walking tour get it, as it's got everything you need including transport, attractions and all the pubs.

Free Walking Tour - If you have time, the free walking tour is one of the best I’ve been on and is pitched at young travellers. The meeting point is at Vörösmarty square (tér) daily at 10:30am and 2:30pm


For your morning coffee hit, try My Little Melbourne Coffee at Madách Imre út 3. (Madách square). It has amazing Australian artisan style coffee, the best I had in Europe!

Sample some of the not-so-healthy Hungarian cuisine - There are plenty of great places to eat, try along Király utca (street). You should be able to get a starter, main and drink for about €10!

Get a souvenir at the Great Market Hall – a little touristy but those little paprika shovels are too cute

Take a bath; it’s probably been a while! - Visit the collection of thermal baths that the city is so famous for (http://visitbudapest.travel/activities/budapest-baths/)



Get your arse up Gellért Hill! - There, you’ll find a magnificent sunset! The sun goes down around 8.30-9pm (in summer) but go a little earlier because the light is just perfect for photos. Do what other travelers do and enjoy the view with a beer or two. The view from the Hill is just as spectacular by night; you can get a photo of all the bridges across the Danube.

Get your church on at St. Stephen’s Basilica; the largest church in Budapest

Take a stroll through the Castle District - is packed with historic sights and attractions, museums, great views and charming little streets

Wine me – visit one of the many wine bars and do some wine tasting.  If you didn’t already know Hungarian wine is top notch stuff! Seriously. Plus its cheap as chips at roughly 2 euro a glass!

Take a tram - Trams No. 2, 4 or 6 will take you to most of the places of interest

Marvel at the wonders of Hungary's Parliament Building - Good by day but unbelievable at night. If you want that perfect photo, look at it from the other side of the river. From the hill, walk down and left along the river until you reach it 

Walk along the Danube Promenade - Whatever you do, the views from the Danube Promenade at night are great.

Check out the famous Ruin Pubs - where old derelict factory buildings were equipped with rejected furniture of old community centres, cinemas, and grandmothers’ flats, bringing a retro feeling into the area and reigniting the night-life of budapest. Szimpla Kert is the largest and and consdiered best of them all but there are lots of other great pubs in this area too so just wander around the streets

Visit the best club in Europe - If you’re feeling up to it, head to A38; the famous reincarnation of a Ukranian stone-carrier ship floating on the Danube in front of Gallert Hill. A38 has been voted the best club in Europe and hosts many cultural events

For more info http://welovebudapest.com/en

sailing the adriatic

When I told my well-travelled friends that I was going to Europe for summer, they all raved about the sailing trips in Croatia. And why the hell not?! Travelling is exhausting (yes, I said it!) and to spend a week on the water sailing through some of the most beautiful islands in the world with your whole itinerary planned for you is just a brilliant break from the "train-hostel-cathedral-pubcrawl" scene.

When Mai and I were living in London we went to the London TNT Travel Show to snag some deals, and boy did we get lucky! We bought a 2 for 1 sail Croatia trip that is usually about 800 quid for 399 each. Plus we also bought a 3 day La Tomatina festival pass with festivals all round for 150. We were all set for some good times! If you’re in London, go to the travel show (held in March) and get yourself a bargain!

After sleeping in Belgrade airport, we arrived in Dubrovnik and hopped on a bus to Split where our boat was departing from the next day.  Early Saturday morning we packed our bags and headed to the port where there must have been at least 200 vessels of all sizes waiting to set sail. It was all a bit crazy but we ended up finding our vessel in the end, Rojac.

The best thing about little Rojac was that it was way smaller than the rest of the boats, with only 16 people compared to the usual 30-40. Our new sailing family included two Swedish girls, an Australian couple, an Aussie girl and her English boyfriend, two English guys, two Colombian girls and two Croatian couples (plus Mai and I). It was a nice mix and surprisingly, there were only 4 Aussies! Awesome! I was afraid Sail Croatia would be a massive Aussie Fest.

I love living on boat. It's so simple. Eat, swim, lie in the sun, eat, drink beer, repeat. During the day, we sailed from one island to the next, with swim stops, snorkeling and chillaxing under the sun. In the evenings we explored the town, went out for dinner and hit the famous Croatian bars and clubs. I would totally recommend the company, Katarina Lines. We did the ‘Young and Fun Southern Island Hopping’ and the whole trip was very well organised.

The itinerary from Split included:

• Makarska -  there was an optional river rafting experience on the Cetina River, we stopped for our first dip in the deep blue sea, the town itself was absolutely stunning with backdrop mountains but unfortunately the famous outdoor cave club, ‘Deep’ was closed (we ended up finding some great places anyway!)

• Mljet - with the beautiful lake National Park, a group of us had a picnic dinner over sunset and we met some people who were trying to convince us to swim out to their big boat for a party. Not likely.

• Dubrovnik – we went walking around the old town exploring the hidden gems, I went for a run in the afternoon and we had a free walking tour which was really interesting, covering the history of the town, at night we had a random last minute dinner with our table set up in the street and went to a massive MASSIVE club in a castle

  

• Trstenik - my favourite stop, a beautiful tiny Island covered in vinyards, I went for a run up a hill in the heat, we did a wine tasting tour and played a game of football with a French football player

• Korčula - believed to be the birth place of Marco Polo, I did a backflip off the top of the boat and flipped too many times. The back slap was painful as f*ck!

• Hvar: I’ve heard so many things about the nightlife in Hvar, but it was pretty damn expensive to get into a club. We played a few drinking games on the boat and some of the others went out. Definitely a place I’d like to come back to with more time!

• Split: The last night on our cruise, it was one of the Swedish girls’ birthday so we all went out in style (that is, drinking 1L beer out of plastic bottles in the park and going clubbing). I ended up playing guitar with a small group of people until 4am! We had people leaving the club join us in sing-a-longs. It was a brilliant end to a brilliant trip!

 

I promised everyone I’d write a song to sing on the last day and I did. Although it was a cover, I wrote the lyrics which included everyone one the boat and some of the hilarious things that happened over the trip. 


Some of the highlights of the trip were: the food (the most delicious boat food I’ve had and probably the healthiest we’d eaten in a while!), The Mine game (a rule of the boat where if someone said ‘mine’ they had to do 10 pushups anywhere, anytime – including shops, restaurants, bars etc., it was comedy!), the endless amount of card games we played on deck, the sing-alongs (the two Colombian girls had amazing voices and we sung together a few times) and of course, the friends we made (it was such as small group that we got to know each other well and had a lot of fun).

I would totally recommend a Croatia Sailing trip if you want to have a nice balance of relaxing and partying and it’s definitely the best way to see the stunning Croatian Islands. You’re only challenge is to the dodge the Aussies!

six hours in belgrade

Since our first attempt at sleeping in an airport in Norway turned into a lovely couch surfing experience, we decided to give it another go. This time we were flying from Athens to Dubrovnik with a horrendous 20 hours stop- over in Belgrade, the capital Serbia. The actual flight itself was only 2 hours! It seemed a little ridiculous, but we were prepared anyway.

Like good little backpackers, we decided to get our luggage transferred and spend the night checking out Belgrade city. We met a pretty cool Aussie guy, Jason at the airport in Athens who had the same stop-over, so we ended up hanging out with him. Luckily the bus was pretty easy and cheap from the airport. It dropped us right in town.

Mai and I only took the equivalent of 20 euro with us and we didn’t even manage to spend it all! I did my research on a website called Spotted By Locals (another one of my favourite travel resources) and found some places to go. We had a few beers at the Federal Association of Globe Trotters, an almost secret downstairs atrium club concealed in a patio with a skylight window, worshipped by the Belgrade artistic community. We also went to a pace called Little Bay and although it wasn’t traditionally Serbian, it was still fantastic. We had a starter, main and a few drinks for less than 10 euro. The place inside was stunning  like a theatre with traditional balconies that overlooked the restaurant and we were lucky enough to have live music playing that night with a pianist an amazing opera style singer.

We headed back to the airport after midnight and found a comfy booth/couch that was part of one of the cafes. Mind you, we got kicked off early in the morning but at least we had a decent amount of sleep! It was the best ‘sleeping in airports’ experience, ever.

Belgrade was a gem of a place and little did we know that it is so famous for its teeming nightlife! If I had known how many funky bars and clubs there were and how cheap Serbia was in general, we would have made it a proper stop on our itinerary. I would totally recommend checking it out before it becomes a part of the tourist trail.

check out belgradeatnight.com and stillinbelgrade.com

Apologies for the text-only post!

broken in athens

I’m not a big fan of long travel times, but if you’re going to be stuck somewhere for 12 hours, a ferry is my transport of choice. If you nab a booth (or some where you can lie horizontally) you’re all set for a good ride. You can sleep, watch movies, read, and walk around, whatever you like. I got that bored one time I decided get some exercise and walk up and down the stairs and powerwalk across the hall of the cabin deck. Just make sure you take some food, because not only are meals expensive they are also crap. The great thing is that they also have showers, and after being through the Greek Islands, a shower was much needed.

In Athens, we couch surfed with Takis and his girlfriend. They were super-friendly and very accommodating. After a great night’s sleep, the next day we walked into the centre to the Acropolis and the new museum. It was the first time we had experienced the overwhelming wave of tourists. Plus it was hot, really hot. I actually preferred the museum, a little more comfortable and you can read about the preserved pieces. Later in the day we met up with Takis who took us through the Monaatraki shopping area and to his favourite café called Bliss. It was here in the heat of Athens where I discovered the joys of a double espresso over ice (called a Freddocino); a popular drink with the locals. Absolutely genius!

That evening, a lovely traditional Greek meal of roasted potatoes, onion and assorted peppers was cooked for us and we had a quiet night in. Takis and I played a bit of guitar and he taught me a beautiful song called Romance.  Mai and I felt bad for not being as energetic as we usually are. In our defence, we’d just got back from Ios; party central of the Greek Islands and were completely broken. I needed a good alcohol free week to recover from the messed up things I consumed on that island. But try explaining that to a person who doesn’t speak much English and the message is lost. To them you just seem like a pussy!

Despite the uncomfortably hot and sweaty experience with thousands of strangers on top of the acropolis Athens was nice and we enjoyed our short stay there. It certainly wasn’t ‘the arsehole of the earth’ (a harsh description from a friend of mine). But then again, it’s the people you meet the interaction with them rather than the place itself that makes a trip memorable.

scotland on steroids

It seemed a little pricey hiring a car to road trip around Scotland by myself, but with the initial plan I had in mind it would have turned out for the best. But as always, travel plans change! So it may have been cheaper getting a bus, but my justification was having the freedom to stop wherever I wanted to take photos, as well as the 'mental health' time I get when driving alone!

The next day after café hunting in Glasgow, I drove through the heaviest thunderstorm while passing Loch Lamond. It would have been absolutely stunning if I could see past 10 metres, but within an hour the clouds opened up for me and the sun lit up the cute little fishing town of Oban where I stopped for a local smoked salmon sandwich.

My next mission was to drive north passed Loch Ness to a little town called Findhorn (north of Inverness) where my friend Pippa lived. Pippa was another volunteer on the whale project and after spending years in Sydney, she landed a sweet job as a wildlife guide in her home town. I was pretty exhausted after driving all day, but since no Sagittarian would miss an offer of a beer, we hopped on a boat and zipped across the bay to Cromarty for campfire beers at her mate’s party. 


After returning to the mainland we went to the sailing club to meet her cousin Craig, and as any good cousin would do he encouraged us to stay up drinking. I sampled some nice local Scottish whiskey and chatted to the locals. After about an hour I had about four offers for activities the next day (as Pippa was working). Either horse riding along the beach (with the wife of the whiskey brewer), white water rafting with one of Craig’s friends or mountain biking with the man himself. Since I haven’t’ rode a horse since I was about 14 and I didn’t particularly want to go rafting by myself, I chose riding along the coast! Good fun :) 

After the ride, Craig and I started drinking Guinness in the afternoon while we waited for Pippa, and I took some pretty spectacular photos (if I must say so myself). The evening was so still on the water and the reflections of all the little boats dotted over the bay were unreal. We ended up doing a mini Findhorn pub crawl, consisting of all three pubs. 

   

Craig managed to convince both Pippa and I to join him rafting at Randalls Leap the next day, a bit of a challenge hung over but well worth getting out of bed for. Along the rafting trip, we stopped for lunch, jumped off some rocks into the freezing cold water, and at the end of the trip we saw two baby deer try desperately to run across the river. It was pretty amusing.

If you didn’t think I could squeeze anymore more action packed into this little getaway, think again. The next day Pippa and I drove to the Isle of Skye, which was on my must-do list in Scotland. We ended up hiking a track with beautiful views called Ben Yianavaig. Although the walk itself was relatively easy, it was bloody difficult to find the start of the track! How hard is it to put up a sign?!  I would love to come back here for a camping/hiking, it’s just stunning but I’d definitely take more time.

With an early morning rise the next day, we had a relatively early night after a nice feed at one of the locals of course! The next day, I drove all the way through Aviemore and the Cairngorms to Edinburgh. I would recommend Findhorn to anyone who wants to experience a true Scottish town. But then again, they always say it’s the company that counts :) Thanks Pippa and Craig! I had a brilliant time and reckon that these kinds of active adventures are what travel should be about! 

the backpackers pantry

Cooking some meals while travelling can be a great way to save money and meet people. But saying ‘yes’ to that budget pasta with the tomato sauce that’s been in the hostel fridge for who knows how long and yet another slice of bread isn’t exactly good for your health either. 

When you’re a long-term traveller, you need to get your source of nutrition from somewhere (coz it’s certainly not from the cheap street food you’ve been living off for a week). So I try to make sure the meals I cook are somewhat healthy. To make things easier, I carry a few food items in my backpack so that I can cook nutritional meals and don't have to live on a diet of bread and two-minute-noodles. It’s also great for inspiration and less wasteful. Some say it's pedantic, others say its genius!

The backpackers pantry:

• Miso soup: The health benefits of the stuff are endless. Miso soup (in sachets) is such a valuable addition to your backpack, especially on those late nights when you get off the train absolutely ravenous but you have to spend a good hour looking for a your hostel with your bags in the dark before you can even think about food. All you need is boiling water and you have a nice healthy late night snack. You can even make more hearty meals out of it by adding spinach, mushrooms, chicken or noodles.

• Spices: anyone who loves cooking loves spices. My collection has grown over time, but staples include paprika, salt and pepper, chili flakes, Italian herbs, ground cumin and curry powder. Out of these you can make simple Turkish, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Hungarian meals, just to name a few. 

• Stock cubes: another great staple for cooking things like curries and soups.

• Muesli: great for those early mornings when you don’t have time to go out for breakfast (and way better for you than a restaurant meal anyway)

• Vegemite: Yes, it’s the staple of any Aussie diet, but its bloody good for you with all that vitamin B! To reduce the weight and space I always have vegemite in a tube (which I believe you can only get in Australia). 

• Corn thins /rivitas/vita wheats/wraps/or that awesome Swedish bread: these are great when you’re on the move, you can get yourself a fresh tomato from the local market and some sandwich meat and have a picnic! It’s better for you than bread plus it lasts longer

• Muesli bars/granola bars: I carry one on me when we go out for the day. When you’re stuck in that afternoon walking tour, or you’re so busy seeing the sights that all of a sudden, hunger hits you and you can’t find anywhere cheap to get a little snack, muesli bar it up my friend!

• Single serve sachets: If you are really poor (like we were at one stage), try swiping an extra serving of honey or jam at your hostel breakfast, or a sugar sachet at a café. You didn’t hear that from me!

• Yoghurt: we didn’t exactly have this in our bags but sometimes if we knew we were at a hostel we’d buy some yoghurt for our muesli in the mornings, or we would get a single serve tub for the day.

• Tuna/salmon tins: Ok, I admit I don’t exactly support eating unsustainable seafood but when you’re on a budget, canned tuna can be our only affordable source of protein!

• Rice: we carried a small packet of rice with us, mainly because we couldn’t fathom buying it for one meal and throwing it away. Who does that?! Plus you can make so make meals with rice and it doesn’t crumble in your bag like pasta.

• Cous cous: another great travel friend. The best thing is that it takes up so little room, but a little goes a long way! It’s a great source of energy and you can really get creative with it.

• Cutlery: get yourself a reusable set of cutlery! It can seriously be your best travel friend; I carry mine around in my day bag and avoid getting plastic crap that’s not good for the environment. I also have a sharp pocket knife (coz the knives in hostels are always blunt!)

• Shopping bag: another reusable item that is useful! Personally, I like the ones that scrunch up into nothing so I can carry it around with me all day. 

So there you have it. My backpacker pantry secrets are out there for you all to enjoy! Now all you have to do is experiment with cooking, or watch this space for recipes to come.

cafe hunting in glasgow

When I arrived at the Buchanan bus station at 6am after a 7 hour stop-start journey from Liverpool, coffee was the last thing in my mind. I needed sleep. Night buses aren't necessarily the most comfortable way to spend your sleepy time. I’m pretty sure I learnt that the last time. Ah the life of a traveller.

I walked about 2km to the Glasgow youth hostel up in west end (quite a swanky area for a hostel really!) and despite my lack of sleep, I was excited about the blue skies over head and the day that was to unfold. Of course, I started off with a wee nap in the hostel lounge.  Waking up an hour later, refreshed and sporting a solid bed head (or couch head) I set about my day. The idea of hanging out inside grew on me as grey clouds grew over the blue sky.so I went on a mission to find some funky cafes.

 I was surprised to pass several cafes that would class as funky-independent, artisan, third-wave (whatever hipster name you want to use) by Australian standards. In a mere half an hour I found more places in Glasgow than I did in 4 months in London! I had a fair way to go along great western road before making it to byres road so I decided to pick and choose. The first stop was Papercup. A very simple coffee house that had an open plan bench and fantastic coffee. I browsed through some of the coffee table books, which were ironically about coffee making.  I felt I came out a better educated barista. Cold War Kids were playing in the background and although the barista seemed a little lost without a bench to stand behind, he managed to punch out a few random notes every now and then. 

I walked further to byres road where I was told where the gold mine was. In terms of cafes though, I think the other road had it all. Byres road seemed a little touristy for me and had a lot of the chain shopping stores. Like Glasgow's version of oxford street. I did however stumble across Ashton Lane, a cute cobbled street with bars, a small cinema and fairy lights hanging overhead, which I'm sure would have looked the part at night.

I then found a cool little place near the university on Gibson st with the best cafe decor or I've seen in a long time, Artesian Roast . I had a lovely 3 pound leek and potato soup and sat and watched as the uni students poured in for their caffeine hit. This place bordered on perfection, except it didn't have wi-fi. It had a nice lounge area at the back and more seating upstairs so you really wouldn't notice if half the people sat on one coffee for 3 hours to tap into a little technology.

You could probably spend a good while at places like these, I only went to two. These streets have a few good vintage and second hand shops as well and there a lots of pubs nearby.  I opted out for second coffee coz I needed another nap.

beatlemania in liverpool

Mania: Described in the English Dictionary as

1. Mental derangement marked by excitement, hallucination

2. Excessive enthusiasm

The concocted word Beatlemania entered the English language on 5th November 1963.

Liverpool is a must for any Beatles fan. Mai had already gone back to Japan at this stage so it was my first trip as a true solo traveller, and probably a good thing because I imagine the in depth Beatles experience would have bored her!  I heard the nightlife was pretty good in Liverpool too, with lots of small independent bars, which is right up my alley. 

I set about my evening on an Elise style bar/café crawl (inspired by bar chick of course and random wandering). At the hostel, I got talking to two Mexican guys fresh out of high school and only 2 days into their trip. Somehow they managed to latch onto my night of exploring. I was a bit harsh and found a way to ditch them after an hour but I wasn't really looking for a career in babysitting. I wasn’t after a big night, just a night alone, enjoying a few drinks while taking in the surrounding bar settings. It’s something I really enjoy, and I find when you’re with new people, they feel obliged to create meaningless small talk whereas I’d rather sit and be part of the furniture. It really depends on the night obviously. This night was a furniture night. 

The first beer was at Salt Dog Slims, a hip little hang out with interesting décor. After wandering over to El Bandito, which had a unique and relatively cheap cocktail list, I stumbled across a place called Mellow Mellow. Very cool, very mellow. What seemed to be an independent community based bar/café; this place really does have it all. From poetry nights to open jam sessions, locals obviously come here to hang out for a good few hours, if not days. Great coffees, beer on tap and live music, plus they run their own little weekend festival. It’s a welcoming creative space with lots of charisma. 

I got up early the next day and set about feeding my brain with Beatles facts and paraphernalia.  Visiting museums alone is the best, you don’t feel like you have to rush through because the other person is bored, you can just peruse at your own pace. So I planned to spend a good part of the day immersed in The Beatles Story. I have to admit; if you’re a Beatles fan (even if only a little) I would recommend it one hundred percent. Having read May Years from Now (Paul McCartney’s story) and one of the many Lennon biographies, I already knew a fair bit but it was still fantastic to have it all laid out in an interactive, visual timeline. You felt like you were a part of it almost. Some areas had the café or bar they used to hang out at, the audio tour was really informative. An interesting fact; the boys used to hang out at The Grapes (a bar that still stands on Matthew Street today) and they sat at the same table every time without fail. Purely because it had a great view of the ladies bathroom where all the girls would get changed after work for a night out. Cheeky sods.

The tour ticket also included free entry into a temporary photo gallery and since my bus for Glasgow wasn’t until 11pm, I had a bit of time to waste. Afterwards, I had to check out the legendary Cavern Club.  It really is as sweaty and as dingy as it sounds. These walls have seen some things! The Cavern has live music every day from 4pm, mostly Beatles cover musicians. I learnt that the next night they had their full cover band playing, which was a shame, but that afternoon they had an older solo guitarist. Instead of playing a set list, he shouted out to the audience to request songs. It was amazing how many he knew and how well he played them. I pulled up a seat near the front and stayed there for about 3 hours, by the end I felt like I had had a guitar lesson. The only song he didn’t know was one I requested, Wait.

Later that night, I ended up at Mellow Mellow again. I fell in love with the menu the previous night and had to eat there. I had a yummy haloumi burger with these delicious hand cut potato chips with fresh rosemary. I sat here for as long as I could, just chilling out, drinking coffee and scanning the internet, preparing myself for the long night bus ahead.


If you’re ever visiting the UK, Liverpool is a great little city to check out.

weekend in wales, part II

I've said this previously, but I love combining exercise with another purpose; whether its getting to work, sightseeing around town or something a little bit more extreme like hiking a mountain. There’s no way I’d get Mai to hike up 3000 feet, so I'm glad Joel is as crazy as I am (or at least willing to be dragged along).

Admittedly, we may have underestimated how cold it was in a tent. A storm front rolled in across the south-west coast of Wales that night and we were hit with a cold snap and strong winds. It was a harsh winter in the UK and it was hanging around like a bad smell.  I was so sick of it! But we soldiered on and woke early to drive to the Llyn Gwynant campsite in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park. I'd totally recommend camping here!

 

We were hoping to hike up Snowdon Mountain that afternoon but it was “blowin’ a gale” (haha) so we decided to hike the next day. Joel and I (mainly Joel) awkwardly assembled our little tent that was flapping around like nobody’s business. We went for a pub lunch and some more Guinness at a town called Beddgelert and got talking to a crazy old man who was a Mountain Guide. He had to be like 80 years old, impressive! We managed to get a fire going that night and huddled around our camp watching the kids of the campsite play a game of football.

We woke up early again the next day and set off on the hike up to the peak of Snowdon, a 3560 foot mountain and the highest point in the UK outside of Scotland.  We followed (or attempted to follow) the Watkin path. (By the way, the http://www.visitsnowdonia.info website is great!)

Distance: 8 miles (13Km) (there & back).
Ascent: 3,330ft (1,015 metres).
Time: About 6 hours (there & back).
Grade: Hard Mountain Walk
Start/Finish: Pont Bethania Car park, Nant Gwynant, off the A498.
Grid Reference: SH 627 507.

When we left it was cloudy, the visibility was poor and we were following instructions that seemed a little vague. Now that I’ve got those valid points down I can admit that we got lost. Quite lost. For at least an hour.  After realising we were more rock scrambling in almost freezing conditions rather than hiking we turned around to find the landmark where we thought we took a wrong turn. And wrong turn we did! The clouds blew over and the sun shined down on a more-than-obvious stone path as if we were being led by a higher power.  It was there where we caught our first glimpse of the mountain we were meant to be hiking. It was waiting for us.  The relieving feeling of finally knowing where to go was soon replaced with the dread of having to continue! We were buggered at this stage, but we are both stubborn so we pushed through.

The last 20 minutes was the most difficult, the gradient was steep and the surface was very loose underfoot. The view from the top was totally worth it. The view was unreal! The sun came out and as we looked down through the valley, we had this overwhelming sense of accomplishment.  The hike back was more enjoyable. The sun was shining and we knew where we were going!

Despite our shakey, fatigued legs, we drove north up to Angelsea that afternoon through the stunning mountainous region of Wales. Helen (a ‘whale’ friend) was waiting for us and took us to a pub to get a nice big feed. It was great to talk to her about some of the research she is doing on cleaner fish and just catching up with a familiar face, reminiscing about the field work we did in Noosa.  Joel and I took a few back roads to avoid a massive traffic jam and my lead foot and I roared down the highway back to London late that night.

Although a little rushed, it was a nice weekend getaway; challenging moments and all!

Plus, it’s not travelling without getting a little lost in the clouds...

weekend in wales, part I

I was determined not to too caught up in London scene (like a lot of people do) and I wanted to see as much of the UK as possible. Wales appealed to me as a little outdoor exploring getaway. Also, an old friend of mine, Chris (who was my old Boss from the restaurant scene in Perth) moved over there a few years ago with his Welsh wife, Nadine. They opened a little pub in Pembrokshire and I had to go visit! Another ‘whale’ friend lived up in Anglesea in the North too so Joel and I did a little coastal road trip through Wales over a long weekend stopping at  Cardiff, Little Haven, Snowdonia National Park and Anglesea.

We hopped on a late train to Cardiff on Friday night after work and stayed in a cheap hotel.  There was an extremely overactive EXIT sign that sounded like a swarm of killer wasps boarding a jet rocket about to take off to the moon. We ended up moving rooms. One of our better choices.



The next day we picked up a hire car and drove straight to Little Haven, which is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a gorgeous little coastal town situated in a small bay in the south-west of Wales with a population of about 50 people serviced by no less than two pubs. 

Chris and Nadine were exactly as I remember. It was probably a good six years since I’d seen them but they hadn’t changed, both are warm and welcoming and could talk your ear off about anything. The Castle Inn is situated overlooking the bay of Little Haven. It is an old heritage pub with an excellent selection of beers, hearty seasonal food and a great outdoor patio. Chris and Nadine live upstairs with their two young daughters and are loving it. We had a beautiful pub lunch and a few Guinness and chatted about travelling and things going on (or not going on) in Perth.

The great thing about this area of Wales is that they now have hiking trail along the coast called the Wales Coast Path. You don’t even need to be an experienced hiker as there are short stretches for quick walks as well as longer challenging hikes.  Joel and I went for a walk along a section of this path. It was cold and windy but crisp; the trail took us through lush green fields atop of coastal cliffs overlooking the blue ocean, dotted with shrubs boasting vibrant yellow flowers. It was absolutely stunning.

We hopped in the car and made our way towards Snowdon Mountain, but ended up stopping at a town called Fishguard to set up camp for the night.

 

local music scene > phonoma

While I lived in London, I worked at a bar in Soho, and a couple of my Irish work mates were in a band called Phonoma. It was always a competition to see who could get the night off first to go see them!

Joel and I went to see the band in full swing at Plan B in Brixton one evening and they were fantastic live. You could almost describe their sound as folk-electronic, with rock roots and melodic vocals. Another work mate, photographer Ivo Pauls always works hard to capture Phonoma in action and has made some fantastic videos (see below).

Some of the band members played a few weeks later at a Jam Session at the Hideaway. It was a classic BBQ afternoon in a London beer garden with a few guitars and good company, which turned into an electronic show downstairs later in the evening. Brilliant night!

Lazy Summer Jam Session by Chasing Thunder from Ivo Pauls on Vimeo.

soho date circuit

Soho is what I had always dreamt, and so much more. It's probably the most true to original London of all areas and it’s managed to keep its integrity despite the Oxford street madness around the corner. It's grungy, edgy and trendy all at the same time. A long established entertainment district famous for is sex-shops, film industry and night-life. You can get your hands on anything your heart desires whether it’s a world class cocktail in a secret lounge bar, delicious food from the newest upcoming place or a spot of class a’s in a dingy alley (although I wouldn't recommend it). 

The Soho Date Circuit (I stole the name off a friend who took me on his) is a list of my favourite Soho secrets that aren't so secret. It has been chopped and changed and added to and takes it form mostly because I worked around the corner. Soho was my backyard and I would spend hours wandering around during my breaks exploring what the streets had to offer.  A fine example of its quirkiness; I found an awesome little window in 'stripper alley' that served the best 2 pound tom yum soup. I went there at least 5 times, the guy recognised me as I walked to work and then, it suddenly disappeared. The streets are full of vintage shops, independent retailers, record stores, theatre and cinema, little cafes and daily markets that do fantastic lunch time street food. Plus is the gay centre of London, which isn't surprising considering the funky, hip vibe that Soho oozes with, that heteros surely couldn't pull off. 




During the night is when it morphs into different beast. Party goers frolic in funky underground bars and businessmen (and women) come out to play, in search a little something after work to take the edge off that will surely slow their productivity the next day. Soho is a place where you are guaranteed to have a good night, and you would be shunned upon if you didn't consider stopping off at the strippers on the way home. 

So take a date or take a mate. Just don't take your grandma, it is Soho after all.

The best area to wander is within an imaginary triangle between Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham court tube stations. Try walking down Berwick Street as a starting point but also walk down Wardour Street, Dean Street, Poland Street, Kingley Street, Soho Square and Shaftsbury Avenue.

• Cafes - Flat white, Foxtrot and Ginger and Yumcha all along Berwick St
• Healthy organic bites - try Beatroot for fresh vegetarian and Vitao for an amazing vegan buffet style lunch
• Gourmet Burger Kitchen - you could almost find it in every london suburb, GBK is one of the only 'chain' restaurants I'd support coz its pure deliciousness. Its a little pricey but amazing and make sure you get a milkshake! Its made from real chocolate. Just don't admit it's a kiwi joint; do what we do best and claim its Australian
• Shopping – beyond retro and absolute vintage shops (for other shops read timeout article)
• Busaba - CALAMARI. Get it or get out! It's the f*cking bomb-digitty and everyone in London ould agree. Busaba is the type of place where you share a big table with a bunch of strangers but in no way can you hear their conversation. It's great to go with friends, especially when you're a bit boozed. Inexpensive meals that are well above average. Do it.
• Theatre and Cinema - soho is full of it
• Record shops – sister ray and bm soho
• Feel - a top London hairdresser in the heart of Soho. Seriously one of the best I've been to, ask for Stellios, he's the man!
• Soho House - apparently quite famous although I was naive at the time I went. This place isn't cheap though and it's kind of a private members' club
• Two bars right next to each other on Frith Street; Ceviche (a peruvian kitchen/pisco bar) and the Arts Theatre Club (a cozy underground bar that also does great cocktails)
• Experimental Cocktail Club – classic 'speakeasy' in the middle of china town, good luck finding it and go well dressed, with a ‘I’ve been here before’ attitude is all I can say
• The Toucan – near soho square, this place serves THE best Guinness in London without a doubt. Even the Irish think so!
• La Bodega Negra – think of a normal Mexican restaurant with a grungy underground version below it. Don’t go asking the main resuatnt where the entrance is either , they’ll pretend they don’t know what you’re talking about. Its around the corner from Singing in the Rain, through what seems like a peep show/sex shop. It's a way to keep to the geeks out I guess
• LAB bar – arguably the best cocktails in Soho (try the Solero cocktail) 
• for more bars read BarChick's article Soho Safari