Best Beach in Asia?

Andaman Day 2: Sat. Aug. 13.

I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning (I did go to bed shamelessly early) and had Nutella pancakes on the beach. Did I mention we have our own private beach? Not sure if this is due to it being the off-season, general lack of visitors, or it actually being private, but we are reaping the benefits.
Our beach

I went to take an open-air shower, and when I got out, my legs suffered a sudden onslaught of painful burning--it felt like someone was sticking a thousand knives into my skin at once. No visible reaction, just clearly something in the water trying to convince me to fully embrace my backpacker status and not shower for the next four days...that's what the ocean's for, right?

After I took some allergy meds and my legs calmed down a bit, James and I headed to Beach Number 7, aka Radhanagar Beach, to check out the alleged Best Beach in Asia, according to Time Magazine. We rented a motor scooter and made the drive across the island, through the jungle. One of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken, actually.
On the drive to Beach No. 7

The beach was gorgeous and not crowded at all, although I think Best Beach in Asia might be a bit of a stretch. Maybe before the tsunami. There was a sign at the entrance warning of the dangerous creatures lurking in the area, which was a bit alarming...I mean, stone fish that you can't see? CROCODILES? I definitely refrained from entering the water. My bronzed complexion is much better suited to soaking up some rays on the beach, obviously...

We headed back to grab some dinner at the resort, when a fellow backpacker let us know about this restaurant down the street that was less than half the price of the resort. We decided to be adventurous, albeit cautious, because we didn't want to get sick. Rony's restaurant turned out to be the best discovery on the island. Huge plates of home-cooked food for dirt cheap. The place is run by a family in what looks like their front porch, and they will cook you seafood they caught that day if you ask them. We saved so much money by making the short trip over from where we were staying, and it was so good!

Almost Thailand

Travel DayAndaman Day 1: Friday August 12th

I left my home in Shantimalai today to embark on a three-week whirlwind trip through India and Nepal with my friend James. Hailing from New Jersey, James is one of my oldest friends. Ever since he saw me frolicking naked in his meadow in Switzerland at the tender age of three, and I laid eyes on that glorious mushroom haircut, we knew this was the start of something special. Twenty years later and we're still on speaking terms, which is impressive. For the next few weeks, we will be traveling together--it'll be interesting to see what having a big brother feels like. I'm annoyed already.
James is doing the hippy chic look now, because he knows he can't get away with it in law school

James and I took a taxi at 3 am in order to arrive at the airport in time for our 10 o'clock flight. Indian airport security is a peculiar thing that seems to defy logic.

For example: I was allowed to bring a 2L bottle of water through without so much as a second glance, but I couldn't put my bag on the security belt without the luggage tag I was supposed to be given at check-in (which was never filled out...so they needed a blank luggage tag. Okay...) Then, when I was boarding the plane, they required these tags to have a stamp (that said something completely illegible, to be given at the same security checkpoint that required the tags...the same checkpoint that DIDN'T stamp my tags). Back through the airport I went for the second time. It just makes no sense.

Then the actual boarding of the plane is another feat in itself. They open 2 entrances at the front and rear of the plane, but don't specify who can get on where. This creates the mother of all traffic jams, because instead of sorting this out on the tarmac where there is room for planes to turn around, it now needs to be resolved in the alley between the seats, which is tough for ME to get through, let alone an Indian lady and her entire family. Of course, most Indians don't understand the concept of waiting in line, and will blatantly walk out and around to the front, completely ignorant of the other 200 passengers waiting to board. But they all do this to each other, so it's a backward system that works for them. For us Westerners, it's agonizing to watch. I definitely stuck out a leg a few times to secure my spot in line, and elbowed my fair share of grandmas out of my way, but it's a dog eat dog world: They know just how small and cute they are, and how stupidly polite Canadians are, and sneak in front, plastering an innocent smile on their face, daring you to do something about it. It's more about the principle, and it's infuriating!

The flight's not so bad; the airport in Port Blair is tiny, and is given to the Indian airforce after 3 pm, which explains all the early flights. We were on a tight schedule--our flight was supposed to land at 12:05, and the last ferry to Havelock Island (where we were staying) was at 2 pm, on the other side of Port Blair. After some difficulty in locating the ticket office, we were on the ferry, en route to Havelock. After about two hours of refrigeration in the ship's air-conditioned belly, we made it. We bargained our way to a taxi that would take us to the Emerald Gecko Resort, where we were staying for the next few nights.

The term "Resort" should be used loosely on Havelock Island--make no mistake, this isn't the all-inclusive Caribbean escape you had on Spring Break. A bamboo cabin not more than 20 feet from the ocean was ours for Rs. 625 a night...about 12 dollars total. It came with an open-air bathroom, which included a parade of various creatures making an appearance on the regular--turning the light on before you go in the middle of the night is CRUCIAL. Being a bamboo cabin (allegedly built using rafts that floated ashore from Myanmar, but I remain skeptical about this), it is not exactly air-tight. The bed has a mosquito net surrounding it, which is fun--it really feels like we're camping, tropical style.

Our cabin by the ocean

After a delicious meal of Butter Chicken and paratha from Blackbeard's Bistro, the restaurant at the resort, we were absolutely exhausted and went to bed by 8 pm. Fantastic schedule. I'm practicing for retirement. I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself..I should probably work on getting a job first. But that's neither here nor there. Day 1 in the books!

Dodged a Bullet (and a Rat)

(view from the hike)Last night, I was supposed to go on Pradakshina (walk around the mountain, its a Hindu ritual here), but I opted out after hiking up the mountain with a bunch of kids earlier in the evening. The group that did go, including two of my close friends, were attacked. They were robbed and they were beaten. I am so rattled right now, because I was supposed to be there, too. they've told us not to go at night anymore, or in small groups--larger groups only. Combine that with the recent bombings in Mumbai, and India is becoming a rather scary place to be for the next couple of months.

***

Today we were treated to a traditional bhangra drumming session at Bhajan, which is an afternoon of music and dancing they have here weekly. The musician who was playing was totally blind, but he came up with the most incredible rhythms!

When we got back to the house, we were discussing dinner when (my roommate) screamed and jumped on the table. "RAT! There's a rat in the house!" Sure enough, I see the thing make a beeline for the bathroom. That rat was massive. No other way to put it. At least a foot long.

We locked it in the bathroom (we hope) and are now with our neighbors upstairs, figuring out what to do next. They offered for us to stay here tonight, which we gladly accepted--no chance I would be able to sleep knowing that thing was across the hall from me.

Gotta love India!

3 Countries, 2 Continents, 1 Travel Day

Think about it. Istanbul is straddling Europe and Asia. I'm flying to Dubai, in the Middle East. Then India. Busy day for me! Waiting to board my flight to Dubai. Hungover, tired, and stressed. Trying to leave it behind.

The plane is massive, and full of people that clearly do not know how to travel. Relax, they're not going to leave without you, and it's not a big deal whether you're the first on board.

No free wifi at the airport sucks-I'm finding it's really hit and miss and totally depends on the country. Also unaccounted for is the difficulty in finding a free socket I can charge my electronics with. At the hostel, you're barely in your room except to sleep, so I don't want to leave stuff like that out while I'm not there-it's too tempting. While I'm sleeping its the same problem-I'm afraid ill wake up to an empty charger.

So basically if i want things charged, I have to sit in my room and wait. Naturally, I'm about to board a 10 HR flight with a dead iPod and an iPad at 14%.

The flight is delayed about a half hour, which isn't too bad; I have a 2 HR layover in Dubai, so it should be fine.

I get on the plane and find my seat, which is at the very front of a section so there's no one in front of me and I have a ton of leg room. Score! As I'm unpacking and getting settled, a steward comes and asks if I would mind changing seats so a family can use the space for a basinette. Well, I would mind, but I'm not that much of a jerk so I agreed. I got a window seat and an empty one next to me, and they gave me the food being served in business class. I sipped free champagne all flight, so it worked out alright. oh, and they had a charging station in the stewards' bay, so they charged my iPad for me while i was on the flight.

We land about an hour and a half behind schedule and now I'm getting antsy. I don't know what the pilot was doing, but I did not purchase a ticket with a scenic night tour of Dubai.

We land and taxi into the plane's parking space, which is obviously the furthest point from the terminal I need to be in. There are shuttles waiting, and these took us on another half hour drive to get to the terminal. Now it's getting close.

I walk in expecting to be filtered into a separate direction for connecting flights, but everyone is being told to go the same way. I take the escalator up to see the longest line of security I have witnessed on this trip so far. Easily a two hour wait. I was faced with a moral dilemma: do i wait my turn, like a good Canadian, or do I throw the 'bows up and make something happen? I mean, everyone was in the same boat as I...

Elbows were up and I crosschecked my way through many disgruntled passengers to let security know i was going to miss my flight if I wasn't bumped to the front of the line...usually they do this for you in Europe or north America if you're catching a connecting flight, but either way I thought once I brought this to their attention I'd be sent straight through.

That would be a false assumption. He just pointed to the line and said "what do you expect me to do? They're also all waiting." that was the last straw for me-I pushed past him, threw my bag on the security belt, scooted through the scanner, and was on my way. No one stopped me, which proves the whole thing was just a disorganized disaster. Not cool, Emirates. Not cool. You WILL be hearing from me, and i do expect something to be done about this. Not the service I paid for.

I put my head down and literally sprinted to the gate for my connecting flight, which was on final call and at the very end of the terminal.

Much smaller plane, middle seat, surrounded by 3 huge Indian guys. Doesn't look like I'm getting much sleep tonight. Note to self: stop booking night flights! They make travel so much harder and tiring! Unless I were flying business class, in which case, note to future rich self: fly all night!

I really wish I had been on a direct flight from Istanbul to Chennai. This whole transfer business makes it so much tougher. Also difficult and not pictured: taking money out before I get to India. Let's hope they have ATMs by now...I remember there was a point in which they didn't have computers in their banks, and everything was kept by hand ledger.

I slept for most of the taxi ride, although we had to stop for a bathroom break at some point. The cab pulls over to this roadside stand with refreshments and says it's in there. In where? This is a shack! Yeah...We walked behind, through a metal workshop, into the sketchiest room I have ever been in in my life. Straight out of Hostel or the Saw franchise. Corrugated metal on all sides, no light, flies buzzing above the hole in the ground that was to be the toilet. GREAT. What choice did I have? Thank god I bought that roll of Charmin To Go in Shoppers before I left on my trip.

TMI? That's India for ya.

Musings on Turkey

(overlooking the Bosphorous and Asia at breakfast on the roof)

Istanbul Day 2 - July 8

When I got off the plane last night, I was walking to passport control when I saw a sign that gave me a mini-heart attack: Visas required for these countries, followed by a list that included Canada. Was my research wrong? Could I not buy one at the airport like I thought? I'm going to be stranded in a Turkish airport, what a disaster! I went up to a help desk and this wonderful young man assured me that I could indeed buy one in the airport for $60 USD, and then proceeded to walk me through directions to my hostel so I wouldn't have to pay for a taxi from the airport. He wrote his number down on the map and said to call him if I had any trouble. I didn't even get his name...

By the time I had got this all sorted out, I went to retrieve my bag, and saw an empty luggage belt that had stopped moving. Cue the heart palpitations. I've lost my luggage for the first time this trip.

I head to lost luggage to ask for some help, and this lovely young Turkish woman looked into it for me--turns out I was looking at the wrong flight from Athens. oops. We went to the proper belt and saw my bag, the lone ranger, just waiting for me to find it. Turkish people are SO nice!

I had to take a subway, transfer to a tram, then get off at Sultanahmet (near all the tourist stuff) and walk a bit. I didn't trust myself finding this place on foot at night, and didn't want to end up in a dark alley weighed down by 80 lbs of baggage, so I haggled with a taxi to take me. They said I could walk, but I'm glad I just took the car. So much easier. Plus i got to refine my bargaining skills!

The city is really unlike anything I've ever seen. You feel like you're in the middle east, but without the poverty, so it still feels like Europe, but there's so much history--the city is older than both Athens and Rome. Napoleon said that "If the Earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital." I can see why...

I woke up this morning still clutching my valuables, which is a good sign for safety in this new hostel. I seem to have misplaced my lock, so until I can buy another one (maybe at the Grand Bazaar), they are being carried with me at all times.

There is free breakfast included, so I headed up to the roof to enjoy some turkish coffee and whatever they eat for breakfast (cucumber, tomato, unidentified pungent cheese, unidentified meat, and bread with fake nutella). I ate in the open air, overlooking the Bosphorous and the gateway to Asia. I'm about as far east as you can possibly go in Europe.

As I was unpacking last night, I realized my aerosol sunscreen had exploded and was totally empty (thanks for the ziploc bags, Mom! My clothes are safe!) so I headed to the nearest market to buy some more. Only one problem: buying sunscreen that is good enough for my alabaster complexion is actually like the quest for the Holy Grail. The highest I've seen so far is SPF 4...

I may or may not come back with skin cancer.

Today I'm having lunch at this place near the Blue Mosque called Cafe Medusa, which had all sorts of signs outside with good reviews from the NY Times, tripadvisor, etc. So I figured I should check it out. I grabbed a table under a lemon tree, and ordered fried squash with cheese and eggplant stuffed with minced meat--hopefully it's good Turkish food! I've seen some signs for Turkish cooking classes near my hostel, so I may indulge tonight or tomorrow.

Fried squash appetizer:

Stuffed eggplant entree:

Things I still want to do here: - Hamam (turkish bath) - Sightsee the Sultans Palace, Hagia Sofia, and the Blue Mosque - Grand Bazaar - Walk over to Asia

I think Turkey is a democracy, but religion is definitely at the forefront of their society--you have to state your religion on your identification. Turkey is 98% muslim, so there are mosques everywhere. 5 times a day, people just drop everything, turn towards the sun, and perform their prayer rituals. It's quite strange seeing this happen in the middle of the sidewalk, but I guess that's part of life here. I heard it's rude to take pictures of people praying, so I refrained, otherwise I'd show you what I mean. I don't need to be thrown in Turkish prison or something, though, so I'm not about to test my luck. You can also hear the prayers being called or sung over a PA system, which gives the feeling that you aren't in Europe anymore.

I'm a few days behind in posting because the wifi at the hostel was really shady. I'll catch up in the next few days.

Exploring Corfu by Quad

The infamous quad we used to explore the island

Corfu Day 3 - July 6

Last night it was pretty quiet at the hostel, so I chatted with the staff and got to know them a bit. Sunrock is a bit of a unique place, because it's not quite a hostel, yet not quite a resort either. All the staff are backpackers from various parts of the world--some came here thinking they were WWOOF'ing (working on an organic farm) but ended up being put to work in the hostel; some came here with no money and now they can't leave bc they don't get paid, so they're stuck here indefinitely; some are just on vacation and decided it's a great way to stay somewhere for a length of time cheaply.

I met Meredith and Dana, two friends who go to Wellesley in Boston. They're the ones who thought they'd be farming. It's really interesting talking to them about college, since Wellesley is girls only.

Antony, the bartender, came here with 40 Euros in his pocket. I could never do that! He says he likes the thrill.

We spent the night watching funny youtube videos and having a dance party in the empty bar. They taught me how to Smang It; I showed them the Bernie, then gave them a tutorial in 80s jazz dancing and Double Dream Hands (youtube these immediately if you aren't familiar...you're welcome.) That led to us wandering next door to Petra, the circular club that is always empty although I have no idea why--if that was in North America, it'd be packed every night. We continued our dance party there, until the bartender asked us if we wanted drinks and we felt bad staying without buying anything, so we jazz walked out of there.

Mer and I rented a quad today--30 Euros split between us (Mer, you still owe me 6 bucks! haha) and headed into town for a quick bite to eat. I found this place that had real greek gyros for 2 Euros! So good--did you know they are supposed to come with fries inside them?...I did not. Amazing surprise.

After that, we debated buying a map of the island but decided to wing it and just drive up the coast--we can't get lost if we follow the water, right?!

We drove into Ipsos, on the east coast, which is quite different than Pelekas on the west, where the hostel is. East coast is all pebble beaches that hurt your feet--so not a fan. It made me appreciate our location that much more, even if it's kind of remote. We continued north after a little photoshoot in the water, and went all the way around the north coast of the island. We drove through tons of small towns.

What I really like about Corfu is that there are no villas or mansions anywhere--everyone's houses are similar in size. Makes you feel like there's a real sense of community here, since everyone's in the same boat. I think it has something to do with the fact that foreigners can't buy beachfront property in greece--it's required to stay public by law (or so I'm told). That means the best locations for these villas are unattainable, and probably why there aren't any estates.

We drove for about 4 hours in the sunshine, the sea on one side, and picturesque hills on the other. The scenery here really is spectacular. We stumbled upon on of the horse trekking places I had researched online and were going to stop for a ride, but they were 2 hours, we were at least that far from home, and Mer had to work that night, so no dice. I booked a ride for tomorrow though, and left him a 5 euro deposit.

We wound our way through the mountains, and began to look for signs pointing us toward home...after an 8 km detour, we were just starting to come down from the hills when I hear the engine sputter. Next thing I know, we've lost power entirely.

Luckily, we were at the top of a lengthy cutback, so we coasted for almost 4 km without the motor, waving motorists around us. As soon as we hit flat ground, though, we had to get a running start before trying to get it going again. It felt like that scene in Little Miss Sunshine where their VW van won't start unless they get it going on foot and then hop in--that was us on this mountain.

We finally found a gas station and realized we were out of oil (the engine was a gas/oil combo). Okay, no problem, we'll just buy some more and we should be fine. That's true...if we knew where the oil tank was. Imagine 2 girls at a greek gas station, trying to communicate this to the attendant who speaks zero english. I finally got under the bike like a mechanic and figured it out. Yes, me. Under a bike. Getting my hands dirty.

I felt pretty handy until the bike died again, a couple of kms down the road. Shit. We kept coasting for a while, just hoping the engine had maybe overheated, and laughed at our misfortune--we were half lost with a faulty quad, no idea where we were going or what was wrong.

We finally found some signs pointing us toward town, and were on our way, until the quad decided to die again. In the middle of the highway. For real. We had to get off and push it into a nearby parking lot!

All this was exhausting so we headed across the road to the supermarket to grab some snacks--did you know Greece is the only country other than Canada that I've seen carry ketchup flavoured chips?!

The worker at the cash was really nice-he drove his car over to our quad and tried to boost the battery with jumper cables, to no avail. Then he called the company we rented it from and spoke to them in greek, finally convincing them to send someone to rescue us. We were 3 km outside town and about 25 from the hostel.

The guy arrives after a lengthy wait, and replaces a part (spark plug maybe? I got my mechanic's diploma earlier in the day, I'm pretty much an expert now), then drives off and leaves us there!

Luckily, the bike was working, so we get on and follow the signs back to the city centre, so we can go home the way we came. That is, if we remembered which way that was. We literally tried every single branch that came off this roundabout and none of them were right. This includes several roads that stopped being 2 ways for everyone except me...leaving us stranded in the middle of an intersection with greek people yelling at us that we're going the wrong way...thanks, Captain Obvious, but I think the stream of cars coming directly towards me gave that one away. Doesnt mean i can do anything about it! Then a squad of cops drove by on motorbikes. GREAT. I was sure I was going to get a ticket, but they more or less just laughed at these two girls who were clearly hopeless and foreign.

The very last street that we tried was finally the right one...after the 8th time around the roundabout we were on our way. It literally took us an extra hour to get home, but we made it just as the sun was setting, in time for dinner!

I had a fantastic time getting stranded in Greece with a new friend. Lesson learned though: cough up the extra Euro and buy the damn map.

Meredith and me exploring Corfu

Steep learning curve in Planning.

I originally booked 3 days in Istanbul before my flight to India via Dubai, but realized after I hadn't factored in travel time. I changed my reservation in Istanbul to 2 nights, booked a night in Thessaloniki and thought I would be fine. Take the ferry to the mainland from Corfu, bus to Thessaloniki, and train the next day to Istanbul. Apparently due to Greece's financial troubles, that train has been suspended indefinitely from service. Now I have an extra night that I have to fill, another deposit I'll lose because I don't want to go to Thessaloniki anymore if I'm not taking the train, and I have to find a flight. I didn't fly in the first place because there are no direct flights from Corfu to Istanbul, so I have to connect in either Athens, Vienna or Stuttgart, making the trip minimum 4 hrs of flying.

In short, planning fail. But how could I know? I'm off to find a flight from Corfu instead, and see if Istanbul will give me back 3 nights. Ugh what a disaster...this is one time where I'm glad I'm traveling alone, because I'm pretty sure whoever I would travel with would want to shoot me right about now.

Bed at Sunrise

Budapest Day 2 - July 2

After our epic night on the town, we dragged ourself out of bed at the crack of noon just in time to grab a quick bite at the BK Lounge (note to self: stop eating fast food. Note to the world: stop making it so much cheaper than anything else...this is why you're fat, America) before heading to the walking tour of Buda.

Jamie and John introduced me to this concept...basically all the hostels advertise free walking tours. You show up at the meeting point at the designated time, and don't pay a cent to be shown the city sights. All they ask is that if you like the tour, you tip the guide at the end. I think this is a great bargain for travelers on a budget, and allows you to get a real feel for the city from someone who cares if you get something out of the tour. You might even learn a few things guidebooks won't tell you.

Our guide, Tomi, spoke the most fluent English I've heard in Hungary so far. We chatted a bit and found out he's a student at the university in Budapest and also studied political science, like me.

He took us down by the river, across the Chain Bridge, up to the castle, parliament, and the Fisherman's Bastion. We learned that Katy Perry shot her music video for "Firework" at this castle, and that Buda is mainly residential. We also discovered that the city has a lively history, being destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, whether it was flood, plague, or war that wiped the city out. One of the Hapsburg descendants even occupied the castle for a while--was neat to understand that after having just visited Schonnbrunn a few days earlier.

The fisherman's bastion is GORGEOUS- I have seen it quite a few times on travel photography sites, and it does not disappoint. It was really full of people, but I saw a wedding party doing their pictures there, and I can imagine that it is just magical when devoid of crowds.

After the tour, Tomi took a few of us from the tour to this little hole in the wall place (literally--it was a shop built into the walls of one of the gates in the city) that had fresh baked strudel, a Hungarian treat. I watched my cherry strudel being taken out of the oven...it doesn't get better than that. So yummy!

We walked down the street to a local grocery store and picked up some supplies. I made dinner (penne with homemade bolognaise sauce--I added zucchini, onion, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of garlic to a store-bought sauce; salad to complement) and we had a hearty meal at the hostel.

We're pretty pooched from last night so we didn't do much tonight--sometimes it's nice to just relax for a bit.

I booked my next destination (it's a surprise...I know you're dying to hear where in the world I'm going next!), but other than that it's early to bed, and up for a walking tour of Pest. That's all for now! Gonna go try to catch some Zzz's, but between it being Saturday night, 2 pubs outside our window, and Jamie's tendency to sleep on his back, it's looking like an earplug night is in order.

Hungarian Hyperinflation

Budapest Day 1 - July 1 Happy Canada Day! I wore my t-shirt with the flag on it during our travel day in honor of the occasion (thanks, Beacon Hall!).

We checked out of the hostel in Vienna and caught an 11:54 train to Budapest, which took about 3 hours. This was my first train ride of the trip, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was reasonably priced, compared to flying, even without a Eurail Pass- I paid 36 Euros. We arrived at Keleti station at 3 pm and were immediately greeted by several men and old ladies consecutively asking us if we needed a nice hostel...ummm so you can lock me in your dungeon or watch me while I sleep? No thanks.

Nothing is in English, and no one speaks English here. It's quite overwhelming, this is the first Country I've been in where nobody speaks my language and I don't know any of theirs. We managed to figure out which way the exit was, amid other travelers clutching their belongings tight--Keleti confirmed earlier comments that theft is common in Eastern Europe. I was not getting a good vibe from this place, even though I was trying really hard to like it.

We found a bank and withdrew about 200 dollars each...which translated to 40,000 Forints. Gotta love that inflation. Really confirming eastern european stereotypes. Necessary ballin' photo included:

We navigate the subway, which is indicated by a rough sketch on a piece of plywood with an arrow...yeah, Im feeling great about this place so far. A one-way fare costs 320, but all we have are 10,000 notes. which the ticket lady and the machine both will not take. I guess the bank likes to get rid of them so they spit them out of the ATM at tourists like us to deal with. It took a trip to an exchange booth and a stop at McDonalds before we had proper denominations of Forints that were usable.

Speaking of. I have had McD's in every city so far, and this may become a tradition--not gonna lie, it's kind of fun to try the local specialty, it's dirt cheap, and you probably won't die from eating it. Although the security guard standing at the door didn't do my sense of security any favors. Is this a target for tourists here? Can I trust you with my life here, Ronald?

We finally found the hostel, which is essentially a 3-bedroom apartment. Really nice. And so different than our last hostel. This is family-owned; they did our laundry for us! And they only staff reception from about 9-5. The rest of the time, we're on our own. There are no locks on the doors, but we have codes to the gates and outer doors. Interestingly enough, I actually feel like my stuff is safer here than in Vienna, I guess I trust this family? May be a terrible life decision, so I'm still being careful and using the locker provided.

So. After we check in, we relax for a bit before getting ready to meet up with some guys from Manchester that the boys had met earlier on their trip. They're in Budapest at the same time but in a different hostel. We trekked over to their hostel (which was like a mexican cantina party--salsa lessons, a pool, and a cabana bar full of goth locals--such a weird and random combination!) and hung out there from about 10 pm til 1:30 am.

Then we hit the club. This place, INSTANT, had 6 bars and 23 rooms. No cover charge, and beer was 350 Forints. The exchange rate is 189:1. So less than 2 bucks for a pint? Don't mind if I do!

We headed down the stairs and emerged in an underground cavern that used to be an old wine cellar. In Budapest many of the bars are "ruin pubs", old ruins that have been converted into popular night spots. It's hard to describe the feeling that came with being in a place like that, knowing its age and history in those walls, seeing the scene of writhing bodies in front of me, just completely lost in the music of the DJ, knowing how lucky I am to be here, experiencing moments like this. It was just a fleeting feeling, but those are why I am on this trip. That's what I seek.

We explored the rest of the club, which included a top 40 room, a bar with seating, and plenty of random alcoves, but the underground techno extravaganza was definitely the highlight. Even the DJ was getting pumped just looking at how much the crowd was into the moment.

We danced til the sun came up...it was about 6:30 am by the time we hit the sack.

Today we are going on a walking tour of Buda (Fun fact, Budapest is actually 2 cities separated by the Danube River--Buda, and Pest).

Also, random observation: public washrooms in Hungary are not fans of toilet paper. Another strike against Eastern Europe. Thank god for Shopper's travel section--I knew that roll would come in handy.

I Brought Too Much Stuff.

In other obvious news of the day...

But seriously. I can't find my adapter that lets me put pictures from my camera onto my iPad. So it may be a while before you get to see photos in my blog posts. But I'll be sure to let you know if and when this changes. For now I'll just have to articulate a picture for you. Like a real writer. Shakespeare! How old school.

Hofburg Palace, Freud, and Tourist Traps

Vienna Day 2 - Wed 29th Last night I managed to navigate the subways of Vienna and make it to the hostel with only a few wrong turns and a detour into the wrong hostel. I met Jamie and John in the lobby, and we went up to the room so I could get organized. We're staying in a 6 person dorm (so 3 sets of bunks...I felt like a little kid again), but so far this is night 2 and no one has joined us--knock on wood--so we basically have this entire room to ourselves, with our own bathroom. Not bad.

The hostel is clean, new, and nice...but the crowd is kind of weird. I'm pretty sure we're staying with about 5 groups of grade 12 German grad trips, so we feel old. And in a hostel, that's saying something.

The free housekeeping and breakfast is definitely nice, though. Wifi only in the common room, so it's a pain to walk down 4 flights of stairs to send an email. They have towels you can rent (not a bad idea, considering a)I forgot to pack one and b)this way you're not carrying around a giant mildewing sack from city to city), as well as laundry, but I opted out of the latter. Mostly because I brought enough clothes to last me a month. But I do have Tide sink-washing detergent packs--thanks, Shoppers travel section!

This is my first hostel experience, so I'm glad I came with people I know so I can ease into it. But it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

After Jamie and I took advantage of our free breakfast (and for those of you that know me know I hate breakfast, so this is definitely about scoring a great deal--free food is free food), we roused John and made our way to the subway for a day of seeing what Vienna has to offer.

...not gonna lie, I thought Vienna was way up in the Alps. Whoops. Way off. Looks like my cartography skills could use some work. We navigated to Stephansplatz where there is a huge cathedral, very beautiful. In one of the towers, you could climb the stairs to the top, so naturally we decide to try it. 3.50 Euros later, we arrive, sweaty and out of breath, to the top, and are greeted by none other than a giant gift shop. In the top of the church. SO TACKY. Then, on the way down, you got so dizzy because of the spiral stairs, and my flip flops were not enjoying the smoothed edges of thousand year old steps. I almost slid down the entire staircase, ass over teakettle. Multiple times. Needless to say, this was most definitely a huge tourist trap...we basically paid 5 bucks to work out. Not impressed.

Next, we walked up Kärterstrasse, which is one of the big shopping streets downtown. One of the really nice things about Vienna is the amount of pedestrian only areas it has. We made a quick stop at the BK Lounge so John could eat, since he missed breakfast. Something I've noticed about fast food in Europe--there are no garbages; you're supposed to leave your tray on the table and someone will clean it up for you. Also, the interior had marble and crown molding...like it was legitimately nicer than many houses I've been in. You stay classy, Austria.

After that, we saw Hofburg Palace, home of the Hapsburg Dynasty, which was absolutely insane to me. I think I took about 200 photos today alone, because from then on, my afternoon was one giant architectural orgasm. I'm not kidding, this place made Buckingham Palace look like a joke. It now houses the National Library, as well as a few museums.

We then walked across the street where two identical, yet equally impressive palaces stood, facing each other. They are also now art galleries and museums, all of which you have to pay for, so we opted for an exterior self-tour instead. (I can google whatever's inside...when seeing something like that is going to be so touristy, it's usually not worth the money)

We walked some more and just kept finding gorgeous building after gorgeous building--theatres, palaces, museums, etc. We ended by walking through the gardens,which were perfectly manicured, and ended up in the big square where the Spanish Riding School is. I really wanted to go watch, but to watch a horseback riding lesson for 12 Euros wasn't worth it to any of us, and the shows are on hiatus for the summer. But we went inside, at least.

After a tumble down some more marble steps--they should really fix that, you know--we made our way to a nearby cafe so Jamie and I could have some lunch. I had a mixed salad and spaghetti bolognese; I just wanted something simple, as my stomach was still recovering from the unknown substance posing as McDonald's that entered my body for dinner the night before.

We decided to check out the Freud Museum, at Jamie's suggestion, and I'm really glad we did -- I studied his work a little in university, and found the bits that I became familiar with to be really interesting. The museum was $7 euros or 4.50 for students (bring your student card everywhere if you have one--you never know what you can get a discount on, and it never hurts to flash it--the worst thing they'll do is charge you full price anyway...like those church stairs....383 divided by 3.50..that's like 1.09 cents per step! Rip. Off.) Anyway, the museum was interesting, it gave a really good picture of Freud's life, some excerpts of his material, and what was going on externally that affected his work (WWII, his emigration to London, etc). I learned a lot.

We came back to the hostel, showered and changed (well, I did--backpacking boys will be smelly boys...thank god I brought my febreeze), and headed out for some dinner. We were on the hunt for traditional Wienerschnitzel. After wandering around a bit to try and find the place recommended by a few places online, we realized it had no patio, so we opted for a different spot. We ordered and basically got veal scallopini with white wine sauce. After 2 hours of waiting. And 2 flies in my glass of wine. UGH. Don't get me wrong, the food was very good once it got there, but they forgot our appetizers, gave me polenta instead of noodles, and it wasn't traditional schnitzel like I specifically asked when we ordered! I guess they take this no tips business seriously in Europe -- I would've never made that mistake while working. What an amateur haha. So I'm a little disappointed and may renew my quest for the Holy Grail of Vienna again tomorrow--the REAL schnitzel deal this time. Deep fried with no sauce, just lemon and potato salad.

Oh yeah, one thing that worries me a bit is that my debit card doesn't work in Austria. I tried 3 different banks, all of which rejected the card saying it wasn't valid when I tried to withdraw money. Jamie's RBC card worked fine, so I know it's not a Canadian thing. It's not a big deal, because I have my Visa which works and some Canadian cash I can change in a pinch, but Goddamn, Scotia..I'm so switching when I get home. Useless!

Tomorrow we are going to relax, take it easy, maybe do a wine tour since we saw most of the sights today. Perhaps have a Viennese coffee, at my Mom's suggestion, and then get in line for those cheap tickets for the Opera. It's a must do, and their last show before they go on holiday for the summer!

We've been pretty low-key in Vienna so far--it's quite expensive to go out, so I think we will take a little more advantage in Budapest starting Thursday. We're just preparing ourselves.

German Soap Opera Star

Berlin Day 2 - Sat 25Christopher Street Parade

Things not to do when you need to wake up at a decent hour: take sleeping pills. I wasnt tired at about 3  am last night so i thought it would be a good idea. my doc said itll knock you out for about 6 or 7 hours, which would let me wake up around 10-11, perfect.

I wake up at 1:48 pm with all these messages from people going "where are you? i thought we were  going to meet today!" shiiiiiit.

to make it even better, my phone wasn't working. apparently sim cards from the UK won't work in Germany, so not only did I have to buy more time, I had to buy a new card. I wonder if I wouldve been better off sticking with rogers and buying an int'l package from them...

Like I said yesterday, another thing I'm realizing is how much I should've spent the extra bucks and bought an ipad with 3G. it is not as easy as I thought it'd be to find public places that have it, and it wouldve been really useful consideriing the amount of times i've gotten lost already on this trip. ugh.

Today is the Christopher Street parade in Berlin, or as we know it in Toronto, Gay Pride. Apparently the road by the Brandenburg Gate fills with like 400,000 people celebrating. I think I'm gonna head down there in a bit and check it out. 

Right now, I'm sitting outside a cafe having penne alla norma and drinking a Berlin beer. This is the life!

Tonight, my friend Johanna, who I'm staying with, has a friend's birthday to go to, and I think I'm going to tag along. A few of my other friends are also in Berlin, so they'll be there too, and itll be great to catch up! We may go to a bar, or Johanna has a friend who's DJing one of the Christopher Street afterparties at like 3 am haha so If we stay up that late, that should be interesting to say the least!

I didn't realize my German was so rusty, but  I guess that's what happens when you don't use it for 5 years. It's almost intimidating to be here, because it used to be so easy when all i spoke was German for a couple of months, and now I know what I want to say in my head but I can't figure out how to say it out loud. Hopefully it'll get better.

I talked to my friend Jamie from Guelph who is also doing the backpacking thing, but he's been here a couple months already. We decided to meet up for a bit, so on the 28th, I'm meeting him and his friend in Vienna for 3 days, and then we're heading to Budapest for a couple of days. After that I will probably do Prague or Romania (depends which is cheaper) and then end in Istanbul on the 8th. I'll spend a couple of days there, and fly to Dubai on July 10!

When i fly  back to Istanbul on Sept 1, I am so tempted to venture down to Jordan--I've heard it's spectacular. But I'm pretty sure I'd have to cross through SYria to get there, which is just a terrible idea. Oh well, maybe in the future the world won't be so messed up and a little girl like me can travel wherever she likes without fear of being kidnapped (I'm looking at you, Somalia). 

Getting Lost

London Day 4/Berlin - Fri 24 Friday I woke up and had to catch the train to Gatwick, after I repacked all my stuff. Instead of going to Amsterdam for the weekend, like my original plan, I decided to hop a flight to Berlin, because Amsterdam's hostels were either sold out or exorbitantly expensive--what's the point of staying in a hostel if Im going to pay the same amount for a hotel? No thanks. I'll catch that city on Europe Part 2. Add it to the list.

I emailed my friend Johanna, who is kindly letting me stay at her place while in Berlin. She face booked me directions. 

So, flight to Berlin. easy jet, $193 Pounds. Not bad. But the one carry-on bag was. I'd bought a bunch of stuff while I was in London if you recall, and I already had 2 pieces of carry-on baggage from my first flight from Toronto (purse and a small backpack). I had bought a large beach tote on sale when we went shopping on Wednesday thinking 'this is great, I can just throw everything inside'...but it definitely was not big enough. I crammed it all in anyways and went on my way--the biggest problem was that with my backpack already occupying my shoulders, I had nowhere to carry this tote, so I had to walk in a perma-bicep curl with this bag that weighed 30 lbs (doesn't seem like much, but when you don't weigh enough to donate blood, proportionally it's HEAVY). I was sweaty and disheveled by the time I got to the airport, but managed to shmooze my way on the plane with this thing. T

The tough part was when I arrived, my arms were so tired that I was sort of dragging this  bag along while wearing this huge backpack, a coat, a lulu lemon sweater, a blazer, and 2 shirts, because none of it would fit in the bag, so I had to wear it. I looked like a crazy person. I'm sure that's why the customs officer took an extra long look at my passport before letting me through.

Once I was through, I realized to my dismay that the directions to Johanna's were sitting in my Facebook inbox...on the internet. which I had no access to. Cue me setting up shop in the airport, buying 5 euros of wireless, and emailing them to myself. So ridiculous. I had to take a bus to the subway, then get off at a certain stop and walk to her place--she said it was pretty easy so it shouldn't take too long.

I navigated the bus and the subway (thinking I was a rebel the entire time, because I didn't buy a subway ticket, until Johanna later told me it was included in the bus ticket..) just fine, and I got out, saw my landmarks, and started walking. And walking. And walking. It was getting darker by the minute, and I hadn't seen the next set of markings or street signs, but I figured maybe it's just a little further. I don't want to not walk far enough, and then have to double up in the end...naturally I got completely lost, I had no map, no phone number for Johanna (not that my phone was working anyway), and no actual street address. I was, in a word, screwed.

I kept trying different streets, thinking, you know Katy, you really suck at directions and that's exactly why you need to get yourself out of this predicament. But I was so hot, sweaty, exhausted, and just frustrated from lugging 60 lbs around for the past hour and a half, when it should've taken 10 minutes, that I just sat down and cried. 

Just as I was pulling myself together to give it another try, a group of people walked by and asked if I needed help. They said I looked lost, and I could only nod. THey used their iPhone to look up the street I was looking for (I walked in the completely opposite direction I was supposed to), and sent me on my way. Turns out they had just come back from living in Vancouver for the past 3 years, and commented on how nice Canadians were. THey saw the flag hanging from my backpack and thought it would be a nice way to pay it forward. So thanks for the flag, Mom! It's already getting me out of trouble.

I made it to Johanna's in the end, and the lessons I take from this are: 1. I still suck at following directions. 2. I should've gotten the iPad with 3G. 

Tomorrow is another day!