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Browsing tag: travel

  • October 11, 2013

    Seven things that travelling has taught me

    seven things travelling has taught me nzmuse
    Long-term travel changes you, sometimes in ways you could never have anticipated. Here’s what I’ve learned from travelling abroad.

    I have so much more respect for people who do our grunt work

    The people who produce our food. Who make sure our trains and ferries run smoothly. Getting out of the office and experiencing so many facets of the tourism industry and beyond has given me way more appreciation for their contributions. It may not be the most enthralling work in the world but it’s work that needs to be done. Even as we move toward a weightless economy, some of the most seemingly simple work remains the most crucial.

    I’m way more environmentally conscious

    It started back in Asia, with all the water bottles T and I must have added to landfill. And it only got worse from there. All the little individually wrapped items on planes, in hotels, and so on… When you live out of your backpack, you become hyper aware of everything that passes through your hands. Paper – maps, tickets, receipts. Packaging. Plastic bags (terrible for the environment as they are, they’re still very handy and in some cases, necessary). Plus, having been through the likes of the Netherlands and Germany, we’ve seen how recycling really gets done. Come on New Zealand, we’ve got a lot to catch up on.

    I’m more globally-minded

    Back home, world events just seem so far away. Protests, riots, bombings all take place on the other side of the globe. Buffered by oceans on all sides, it’s easy to get complacent in our isolation. But being in the thick of it all for a change is a reminder of how closely we’re all connected. When the US was first considering strikes on Syria, we were in Italy. And that’s when I realised: Whoa. We’re not at home anymore. That’s only a couple of countries over. That’s REALLY FREAKING CLOSE TO US RIGHT NOW. (You may find this beginner’s guide to Syria helpful, if you’re interested.)

    There are some benefits to living in a young country

    As one of the most recently settled countries around, New Zealand has a short and relatively dull history. We don’t have much in the way of culture to speak of. It’s not surprising that a lot of travellers find it boring here.

    The upside of that, though, is that we don’t have the integration problems that many other countries have, or at least not to the same extent. Every country has its own racists (usually of the type who conveniently ignore the fact that their ancestors were immigrant settlers not so long ago), but compared to many other countries, I honestly believe that our race relations are positively rosy. We’re also largely spared the strange dilemma that old cities face: how to preserve their heritage while incorporating new influences; modernising without diluting their traditions and culture.

    It’s human nature to play the comparison game

    I find myself trying to draw parallels constantly. Oh, this must be about as far as Hamilton is from Auckland. Oh, this looks just like our mountains! We draw on our knowledge of the familiar to make sense of what’s new around us. I find this annoying when other people do this too much, but I’m guilty of it myself.

    On a similar note, I’ve also come to realise the true power of a strong brand. They can be a lifesaver in a foreign country – Coke, Twix, Subway, or of course, that familiar beacon the world over, McDonald’s. And after flying with a bunch of different airlines, I’ve got a lot of love for our national carrier, Air New Zealand. I genuinely think it’s up there with the best, and let’s face it, their flight videos kick ass.

    Human beings are godawful

    We suckity suckity suck. Our compulsion to meddle in other countries’ affairs, to invade and conquer and kill one another, is beyond belief. The more we travel, the more I realise just how dark and bloodsoaked our history truly is. And religion is to blame for a lot of it. I hate that there were – and still are – people willing to murder over religious differences. I suppose it’s admirable that there are people who are ready to die for their beliefs, but it’s all so heartbreakingly futile, particularly in cases where the two sides believe in basically the same god.

    But it’s the people who make the place

    People are people are people. I knew this already, of course. We’re all human beings, and essentially, we tick the same. We respond in kind, we take pride in where we come from, and we’re eager to help others if we can. Sure, sometimes there are significant cultural differences, and yes, stereotypes exist for a reason – but they’re often less prevalent than you might think.

    And ultimately, people – the connections you make – are what make travel memorable. Amsterdam and Prague and Edinburgh were lovely, but Berlin, Munich, New York, Vermont, Toronto, Chicago… they will all stand out in my memories for the generous, welcoming and friendly people who welcomed us into their homes, who showed us around, who let us be a part of their lives.

  • October 8, 2013

    Travel essentials: What to pack and what to leave behind?

    Travel essentials - what to pack and what to leave

    Our packs average about 9/10kg apiece – that’s a lot compared to the more minimal RTW travellers out there, but not compared to the average traveller. Even so, I can honestly say that most of the time, the majority of the stuff in my pack does not get touched or unpacked.

    So, what’s come in handy thus far?

    Sleep sheet

    Our sleep sheets got their first outing during our first Thai stop at the minimal Ladda guesthouse in Hat Yai. When you’ve got no blanket, or a blanket with no sheet to go in between, having your own sleep sheet comes in handy. We’ve also stayed in a hostel that required us to bring our own bedding, and slept on two floors where they came in handy again. We also brought one sleeping bag between the two of us, but since we’ve mostly stayed in warm countries, in commercial accommodation (as opposed to camping) and with hosts who usually have bedding or even actual beds, it’s only come out a couple of times.

    Bug spray

    We actually didn’t use bug spray half as much as we expected to, but it came in handy in Thailand and again in Italy on the farm.

    Multipurpose balm

    Along with my trusty Trilogy Everything Balm, I brought along a jar of thick manuka honey balm. It’s come in handy on several occasions, usually for moisturising chafed and sunburnt skin.

    Camelbak

    T’s backpack came with a detachable daypack, complete with Camelbak. SO much handier than lugging around water bottles (though we had one of those briefly, too – till he left it somewhere in Notting Hill, that is).

    Toms

    Convenient, comfortable, great for exploring new cities without having to bust out my bulky sneakers. (They now have holes in the burlap where my little toes have rubbed up and through against the material.)

    Extra tops

    Even after I ditched two tank tops in Thailand, I still had lots of options. A week later, I used an old work shirt to stem T’s bleeding hand. I then managed to lose another T-shirt somewhere in Italy. I’m now left with one T-shirt and a few tanks and singlets I can layer, which should do me until we get home.

    Spotify

    Paying the $12.99 a month for offline access has been so, so worth it. T is the kind who needs music/entertainment during long train rides, and since we’ve started driving across North America, it’s been a bizillion times more useful and we’re both benefiting from it.

    For all the advice I read before we left, some of the items that were recommended most often have not come in useful at all. For example:

    Sink plug

    Maybe we’ve been lucky, or maybe it’s the way we travel, but I cannot think of any instance in which I needed to bust out our rubber sink plug. It’s amazing how many basins have them built in.

    Drying line

    This has seen the light of day exactly once. Generally, if I’m handwashing stuff on the road, it’s smaller items like socks and underwear, or light shirts (and those usually go on towel rails or similar). Otherwise, we’re usually using washing machines and dryers – in Asia, for super cheap prices, and elsewhere, at hosts’ houses or occasionally (in a pinch) at overpriced laundromats. Sometimes you just need an industrial mechanical wash.

    Swiss army knife

    Don’t get me wrong  – it’s certainly had its uses, most often for slicing up delicious juicy melons throughout Europe. But it hasn’t been anywhere near as useful as I imagined, particularly when going through security at museums. Turns out bringing it along in anticipation of an afternoon picnic doesn’t work when you’re going to multiple Smithsonian museums in the morning. We had to hide it in nearby shrubs and hope nobody would find it and steal it while we were inside.

    What have you found indispensable (or not) while travelling?

  • October 4, 2013

    Airbnb: A first-timer’s experience

    My first time using Airbnb - NZ Muse

    Modified CC image, original by Flickr user jay galvin

    Airbnb was a total bust for us while travelling around Europe. We never found any good deals, plus the hassle of going back and forth liaising with hosts, when we were travelling on the fly, meant our first Airbnb experience didn’t take place until right at the end of our Eurotrip. We found an apartment in Paris, quickly followed by another two in New York. Paris and New York are both crazy expensive (a friend reckoned he spent $30 for a dorm in NYC last year; this year the cheapest start at $50 a bed), and even staying in hostels would have blown our budget. As it turned out, we had firm dates for both cities, and were able to lock in rooms at much lower prices than we could have found on the commercial market.

    Airbnb apartment 1 – Paris
    It was the first time for both of us – them as hosts and us as guests. Their spotless apartment was on the outskirts of the 15th arondissement, but close to shops, supermarkets, the metro, and the tram. With candles burning and freshly scented air, it was a million times better than any hotel. And despite a wee hiccup with a delayed arrival time and a bit of a language barrier, I think we got along fairly well. They took us to a free outdoors concert one night and shared homemade crepes on the weekend.

    Airbnb apartment 2 – Brooklyn, New York
    I was expecting a preppy, bright eyed 20-something actor based on his Airbnb profile. He turned out to be more of an overgrown teenager in his 30s, though he didn’t look any older than us. And what an introduction to New York! We talked food, movies, politics, culture, and so much more.

    The Williamsburg apartment, while cramped, was a steal, literally a minute from the subway, the supermarket, and above a number of (amazing AND cheap) delis and fast food places. The only downside was the train tracks right outside the window, but we quickly learned to tune out the noise.

    Airbnb apartment 2 – Astoria, New York
    Strike one: It was way further from the subway stop than I thought (a brisk 10-12 minute walk, a leisurely 20-minute stroll). Strike two: The place was falling apart, with gouges out of the walls, peeling paint, a funky smell … by the time we got to the top floor, I was secretly wondering what I’d gotten us into. Strike three: We couldn’t get in, and had to call the host. Turns out they’d given us the front door key and our room key, but forgotten about the apartment front door key. Luckily, I’d gone with the room in the building that the hosts lived in, and not a room in one of the other buildings that they had listed on Airbnb.

    Once we got inside though, it was surprisingly nice – roomy, clean, and quiet. We rented one room in a three-bed apartment; the other two were rented separately to other Airbnbers. (I imagine this is way more lucrative than letting the apartment to a normal tenant; I feel a little guilty, since this is probably contributing to the terrible property market in NYC and making it even more impossible for locals to find a place to live.) There was the occasional wait for the bathroom, but otherwise it was all smooth sailing and we hardly saw any of the other guests. Being a bit further from the metro was less convenient, but it was nice to see a slice of quiet suburbia in New York. The only time it was a real headache was on Saturday night, when we stayed out late and had to navigate the maze of cancelled/rerouted trains on the way back (we ended up walking a very long way from a distant stop).

    Now that I’ve had the opportunity to use Airbnb and actually find a bargain, I’m pretty sold. My initial suspicions are confirmed: Airbnb is best for trips where you have set dates and can book in advance – and most likely for trips to crazy expensive cities.

  • October 2, 2013

    Couchsurfing vs Hospitality Club vs Staydu vs Global Freeloaders – what’s the best hospitality exchange site?

    How to find free accommodation online - Couchsurfing, Hospitality Club, Staydu, Global Freeloaders

    How to find free accommodation online - Couchsurfing, Hospitality Club, Staydu, Global Freeloaders

    Before people rented out their spare rooms and couches through Airbnb, they offered them up for free through a number of other websites. And some still do! Here’s what I’ve experienced with a few of the hospitality exchange sites out there (I’m not counting sites like WWOOF or HelpX where you work in exchange for board here – just those that offer some sort of lodging for free).

    Staydu

    I’m not a big fan of Staydu, and not just because I get random friend requests from strangers a lot.

    PROS

    Variety of accommodation options
    Staydu isn’t a straight Couchsurfing clone. There are three aspects to it. You can search for places to crash for free, places to volunteer, and places to stay for a fee.

    CONS

    Small community
    There isn’t a large user database, and in the sharing economy, there’s strength in numbers. I’ve sent out a couple of requests through it, but never heard back.

    Not user-friendly
    Unlike Couchsurfing, you can’t filter for hosts by, say, the ability to host two travellers. You’ve got to click into individual profiles to see what limitations they’ve set for hosting.

    Initial barriers
    You can pay for membership privileges … or do activities to get points by participating in the community, e.g. writing blog posts or commenting in the forums.

    Global Freeloaders

    Unlike most other hospitality exchange sites, Global Freeloaders is pretty upfront, as the name suggests. There’s no grand vision here about a cultural exchange and enriching experiences – just finding a place to crash. I admire the mercenary take, but as a result, the response rate is pretty abysmal.

    PROS
    Time saver
    Unlike other hospitality exchange sites, you don’t pick out individual hosts and write personal messages to them. Rather, you blast out a mass request to multiple recipients. It saves time, but the impersonal approach obviously doesn’t yield the same kind of response.

    CONS

    Terrible site
    The site is very old, and it’s an eyesore. The layout is totally borked; search results come up sprawled across the screen, forcing you to scroll sideways.

    Inactive community
    Following on from my last point, it seems very few members are actually still active. I think I received two (negative) replies in total through Global Freeloaders, and one of them expressed surprise that his profile was still coming up as available to host.

    Hospitality Club

    We’ve been more successful with Hospitality Club, which is surprising, as it’s another very old site that’s dying out a bit. First, a host reached out to me out of the blue (as a brand new member, no less!) to offer us accommodation in Munich. Then when I sent out a few requests to Berlin hosts, I heard back from one member, who was going to be out of town, but referred me to her boyfriend, who ended up hosting us in their apartment. The response rate from hosts is probably comparable to Couchsurfing in my experience.

    PROS
    Engaged community
    As an established site, I get the impression Hospitality Club has a pretty engaged community. Loads of NYC Sublets, which comes at no surprise. Active hosts seem genuinely interested in connecting and conversing, as was the case with both our hosts.

    CONS

    Ugly site
    It’s hideous. Seriously. Stuck in a 90s time warp. And while the search function is more powerful than Staydu’s, it’s still not as user-friendly as Couchsurfing.

    Couchsurfing

    Perhaps the mother of all hospitality exchange sites right now, Couchsurfing has exploded into a total behemoth in the past few years, thanks to a lot of recent publicity. As a result, it’s getting tough to find hosts. In my experience, you’d be lucky to get any response from half of the requests you send. Heck, surprisingly, even newbies don’t seem to bother replying half the time (tip: they’re often good to target as they’re eager to get started using Couchsurfing and to build up feedback). I’ve had a few hosts reach out to me with invitations to stay after seeing my itinerary – you can post details of upcoming trips and dates that you’ll be in a particular city – but none have worked out, as I’d either already got accommodation sorted by then, or the hosts bailed on me after realising I was not a single female traveller. Read into that what you will.

    PROS
    Big community
    With a membership of over 5 million, you’ve got the best odds of finding a host.

    User-friendly
    Couchsurfing occasionally groans under the pressure, and its backend is being rebuilt, but by and large it works smoothly. You can filter your search for hosts by a number of criteria and search by map. And it’s just so darn purty.

    More than couches
    Couchsurfing is about much more than finding free places to stay. Events are a big part of Couchsurfing, and in big cities, there are meetups every night to suit all types of people. You can also use Couchsurfing to find people to share rides with (like we did in Iceland) and ask for travel advice on the local city pages

    CONS
    Losing its way
    A common complaint about Couchsurfing is that it’s just gotten too big. That the community has changed and is full of freeloaders. It defintely feels like there are too many surfers these days and not enough hosts. (It bugs me when bloggers and mainstream media tout Couchsurfing just as a free way to travel; if people keep taking and taking, soon there’ll be nothing left. It’s an exchange – or at least, that’s the original idea.)

    In conclusion

    Staying with hosts can be a priceless experience, but it’s not an easy path to take. It can be hard not to take rejection personally. When hosts have fully fleshed out profiles, I put in a lot of effort to find common ground and personalise requests, and often get regretful ‘no’s that thank me for writing a thoughtful message. There’s a lot of work involved – and no guarantee of a payoff.

    Have you used any of these couch surfing sites yourself? Or others like BeWelcome or Servas?

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  • September 30, 2013

    A song of ice and fire: Why New Zealanders will feel right at home in Iceland

    Iceland landscape - pingvellir park

    If Italy is New Zealand upside down – geometrically and geographically (plonked down on the opposite side of the globe) – then Iceland is our sister country in the north.

    The people

    Of all the places we’ve been, Iceland is the country where the people have been the closest to kindred spirits. Relaxed, down to earth, friendly. Better groomed, though. (I say this based on observations from a) the hitchhiker we picked up about five minutes after arriving b) the car rental staff c) our Couchsurfing hosts and d) Ben, the random guy who struck up a conversation with us in a bar after asking one of our group to swap shoes with him as part of a scavenger hunt challenge.)

    The first thing that hit me after browsing through a bunch of Reykjavik Couchsurfers’ profiles was that if they were anything to go by, T would fit right in. It’s hard to describe precisely why, but in terms of musical taste, film taste, sense of humour, hobbies and general vibe, it was pretty clear that they were his kind of people. (Add in the weather, and it’s definitely the kind of place he could live.)

    The only person to accept our hosting request was a middle-aged biker who lived a little way out of town with a new and fairly sparse profile, who I contacted as sort of a Plan B. That was a little disappointing initially. But once we got there and met him (along with his wife and kid), all that vanished. They were so welcoming, so youthful, and they were freaking hilarious. The wife gave me a guardian angel necklace with a pearl and lava stone that she made herself, and (as we figured out after the first night), the kid gave up his bedroom for us and dossed on a mattress in their computer/games room instead. Humbling.

    Their (brand new) apartment was amazing, too. As is common in Iceland, it was insanely cosy, with hot water used to warm the floors. The taps were super high tech – we couldn’t work out how to use the shower – though you do have to contend with the, er, lovely sulphur smell. Thanks to hotel-grade sheets, I slept like a baby in a cloud. And because they didn’t live in Reykjavik proper, it was easy for us to see the northern lights – we just detoured into a big park away from civilisation on the way home one night and spotted a faint green rainbow-shaped aurora.

    The landscape

    This is volcanic land, so in hindsight, I shouldn’t have expected to be totally wowed. People rave about how unearthly Iceland’s landscape is, but as it turns out, it’s not so different from home. It resembles the Desert Rd (my favourite New Zealand landscape), with its rocky terrain and muted hues.

    iceland landscape pingvellir park

    iceland landscape pingvellir parkOxararfoss waterfall - Pingvellir national park Iceland
    pingvellir national park iceland

    Driving the Golden Circle was well worth the time and money. After picking up a British couple and one North Carolinan in town – fellow Couchsurfers who were carless and keen to split costs – we made the pilgrimage in our rusty Toyota rental.

    We wandered around picturesque Pingvellir, watched Strokkur erupt at Geysir (in fact, at one point it went off four times in a row, surprising everyone there), and shivered our way in and out of Gullfoss, along with a stop to pet the horses across the road.

    Gulfoss waterfall - Iceland golden circle
    Gulfoss waterfall - Iceland golden circle with rainbow
    Ponies - Iceland horses in the Golden circle

    Deciding to skip the Blue Lagoon was not a decision I made lightly – but it’s one I’m more than happy with. We’re not big on hot pools (and have a few of those back home too), so spending 66 euros for entry into a place where we might spend an hour seemed like a heinous waste of cash. What we did do was drive by, which afforded us a free view of the milky blue waters running like a river between the geothermal plant and the lagoon. It looked exactly like all the photos of the pools. Quite frankly, that’s all I wanted! (I should have snapped a photo to prove I was there, but couldn’t really be bothered stopping the car and getting out in the cold.)

    In the end, we didn’t end up visiting any of the local hot pools, either. The thought of disrobing, given how many layers I had on, plus going through the ritual of scrubbing in an open shower area, was way less appealing than continuing to roam around in the toasty car.

    The weather

    I thought Auckland was fickle; Iceland is even more mercurial, if that’s possible. The skies can change in an instant, swinging from moody, storm-approaching-in-two-seconds grey to a promising blue punctuated with rays of sun. You can look up and see one thing, and five minutes later, look up again to see something entirely different – slate wiped clean.

    Our host told us a bunch of cautionary tales about hapless tourists caught out by sudden storms. Ripping storms that can break windows and peel paint off your car. He also rolled his eyes a bit as he talked about local Icelanders who rush to get a front row view when a volcano erupts and wind up dying in the process; after all, these aren’t particularly uncommon events, so what’s the point of acting like a dumb tourist?

    We were incredibly lucky with the weather, with just a few instances of drizzle throughout our stay. The coldest day was probably our first evening there, after which it warmed up. The real killer is the wind, which has a real bite to it and will cut you to the bone.

    The prices

    Living on a remote island doesn’t come cheap. Everything from beer to bread is eye-wateringly expensive. A loaf is over 300 kronor, and a piece of cake could be anywhere from 700 to 1000 kronor. Yep, that’s right – you’ll also have to deal with the kronor, the local currency. Handily, you can use cards almost everywhere – also like New Zealand, this isn’t a cash-heavy society.

    The nice thing about the kronor was that it was easy to compare prices, as a kronor is basically equal to one NZ cent. In Italy, for example, I’d marvel at the fact that you can get a pasta lunch for 10 euros – there’s no way you could get that for $10 at home. If you were to convert that 10 euros to NZD, however, at 60c to the dollar, it doesn’t wind up being all that affordable. (Overall, European prices on an absolute basis seemed reasonable, but take into account the exchange rate, and things change when you’re talking proportionally.)

    The transport

    Again, like New Zealand, this is car country. As he dropped us off at the airport, our car rental guy told us that car rentals are set to overtake fisheries in Iceland, economically speaking. Tourism is big business, and the best way to see Iceland is by car (or Jeep).

    Bus transfers to and from the airport for both of us alone would have been about 80 euros; renting a car for our entire time cost 117 euros. The Welcome Card offers unlimited bus travel as well as discounts at museums and attractions, but I imagine waiting for buses in the cold can’t be fun.




    Recommendations for Iceland

    Accommodation
    Obviously, it’s hard to beat Couchsurfing on this front 🙂 The couple who carpooled with us got a steal at the Welcome Apartments, though (and I can vouch from going inside that they are pretty swish). The Kex hostel seems to be popular with visitors, and Airbnb is always worth scoping out, too.

    Car rentals
    Affordable Car Rental has the lowest rates (but didn’t have availability for our dates – sadface). Sadcars is the other big name in cheap Iceland car rentals – that’s who we hired from – and they offer a discount if you prepay online. If you’re looking for more grunt, try Cheap Jeeps.

    Alternatively, you could look on Couchsurfing. The Reykjavik page always seems to be full of people looking to carpool. With petrol being so expensive, sharing the burden of costs is the way to go. There was one guy charging 10 euros plus gas or 15 for a day trip (with a full car, I bet he made back the entire cost of car and gas, basically going for free!) whom I almost signed us up with, before we decided to rent our own vehicle. Or you might get lucky and find someone like us, who just asked for a share of gas and called it even. There’s always someone looking for a ride, so even if you decide you want to be in control and rent your own vehicle like we did, odds are you can find someone to split costs with.

    Food
    The cheapest thing we ate in Iceland was hot dogs from the famous hot dog stand in town. (Verdict: pretty good; not mindblowing. The sausage itself was a letdown.) In a country where a burger can cost nearly $20, it’s hard to eat frugally.

    That said, it’d be a shame to skimp on food in Iceland. I highly recommend Seabaron (the whale was sublime, and I hear fantastic things about the lobster soup). The Hamburger Factory wasn’t bad – we liked the chips better than the actual burgers, especially dusted with the freakishly addictive seasoning from the spice shaker on the table. If you’re into fish and chips, Icelandic Fish and Chips is worth a stop too.

    Ever thought about visiting Iceland? Or if you’ve been, what did you think?

  • September 27, 2013

    Sorry London, I’ll take Paris any day

    Dirty. Smelly. Unfriendly. People painted an unflattering picture for Paris for us, and given its popularity as a tourist destination, I went in with low, low expectations. But as with Venice, I wound up falling in love with the place.

    Dirty? Ain’t got nothing on Naples. Smelly? Only down the occasional alleyway. Unfriendly? Not at all.

    Our week in Paris flew by in a blur of baguettes and cheese, flan (I lost count of how many pieces of flan T consumed), crepes, pastries, cakes, tarts, and yes, a couple of macarons (it’s official: they just aren’t my thing).

    Paris - night boat cruise down the river seine

    Paris - Arc de Triomphe

    Paris - river by night

    Saint Jacques tower - Paris at night

    Paris Louvre glass pyramid at night

    Paris Louvre at night

    Paris by night - street corner cafe scene

    Paris bridge at night

    A slightly drizzly night walk with some other Couchsurfers made us feel all Midnight in Paris.

    Paris night concert

    Paris night concert

    Confetti at night blur

    Montparnasse tower at night 40th birthday

    Along with one of our Airbnb hosts, I headed out to a free concert in Montparnasse one night

    Paris street performer soccer ball montmartre

    An out-of-this-world street performer with mad talent in Montmartre

    We managed to stay pretty close to budget, which I’m stoked about – and not pay for any sightseeing at all. That’s right, not even at the Louvre.

    How to visit the Louvre for free

    If you’re under 26 and heading to Paris, weekends can be a great time to go. Why? Because unlimited one-day metro passes (ticket jeunes) are half the regular price … AND you can get into the Louvre for free on Friday evening.

    EU citizens under 26 can visit the Louvre free of charge at any time, but should you hail from somewhere else, you have a small window of opportunity to do the same – after 6pm on Fridays. Just head on up to the entrance (you can bypass the ticket booth) and show your ID to the staff member.

    Museums are also free on the first Sunday of every month, and during Heritage Days. The queues are outrageous, though, so you may have to make a hard choice about what’s worth more to you: time or money? We missed the first Sunday but were there for Heritage Days, and can testify that the lines are rather daunting. Fortunately, we’re just as happy walking around soaking up the vibe in the city’s various charming districts as we are inside cultural attractions – actually, more so, in fact.

    How to skip the lines at the Louvre

    Don’t be lured by the shiny glass pyramids. Head downstairs to Le Carrousel du Louvre, and navigate through the mall until you see the small glass pyramid. You’ll need to get in line and go through the security check, then keep going down the passage until you get to the information and ticketing area.

  • September 23, 2013

    London on a budget: A few ways to save

    IMG_9037

    Travelling through foreign countries takes its toll after awhile. For us, London was a breath of familiar air – first after our Asian stint, and again for a day after our Eurotrip. I’m a little embarrassed to admit to how nice it was to be greeted in English at the airport and in shops, to be able to read all the signs around us, at how relieving it was to have everything be easy again. T was just happy to be able to drink milk again, and you can bet he gorged and gorged. The milk’s nowhere near as good as the stuff at home, but at least it’s cheaper.

    That said, London is blimmin’ expensive. Here’s how we tried to keep costs down:

    Transport

    Now that I’m a seasoned metro traveller, I wish we’d taken the Tube from the airport into the city when we first landed; as intimidating as all the transfers would have been, I think we could have coped. Still, we opted for the cheaper Heathrow Connect train rather than the Heathrow Express, which is half the price.

    Travelling off peak can save you a decent amount if you’re travelling around underground; otherwise, assuming the weather cooperates, you can walk around like we did as much as possible. If you do need to travel a lot by subway, there is, thankfully, a maximum daily price cap, so you won’t pay any more than that.

    Accommodation

    Hostels, while not exactly cheap, are still your best budget option. I’m not sure if we were extremely lucky, but we found dorm beds for a mere 12 pounds each at Hyde Park Smart Inn hostel, which was in a convenient and pretty swanky area. Downside: the hostel itself was on the manky side, though I think this may be par for the course in London in general.

    For our second visit, I found dorm beds for 15 pounds at Journey’s King’s Cross, but thanks to some generous friends, we ended up crashing in a Clapham living room for free.

    Click here to search for London accommodation:

    Food

    It’s amazing just how much prepackaged food there is in the UK – and not in a good way. Nonetheless, supermarkets are your friend, be it Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Cooperative. They all seem to offer $3 meal deals with a sandwich, drink and snack, though we mostly bought breads, dips, and salads (I got hooked on the tomato, olive and spinach pasta salad from the get go). And if you spot a ‘pound store’, don’t walk in – run in! Stock up! Cheap samosas from Spar near our hostel were also a staple.

    Sightseeing

    The one attraction we paid for (and regretted) was the London Eye. Aside from that, simply strolling around taking in the architecture, exploring the south bank, wandering past Buckingham Palace and through all the huge parks, and nipping into some of the many free museums in London, was enough to keep us occupied.

    What other suggestions have you?

  • September 20, 2013

    Foodie Friday: European edition

    Until we got to the Mediterranean, I was unexcited about the cuisine through middle Europe. I gorged on potato salad for weeks, but otherwise, the meats and such weren’t terribly enticing. Perfectly serviceable food, and filling too – just not the kind that would get me out of bed in a hurry.

    For example, bread bowl soup in Prague was cute in a gimmicky way, though overpriced, as was all the other (albeit tasty) street stall food we bought during our brief visit.

    Soup in a bread bowl - Prague

     

    Things started to come right in Greece. Succulent lamb. Dolmades. Salad with feta.

    But Italy? Italy blew my tastebuds out of the water. Stopping to take photos before devouring food proved too difficult in many cases, but here are a few meals I did capture.

    Pizza in Bologna, Italy

    One of our first pizzas (if not the first) in Italy – in Bologna, to be precise

    umbrian wild boar pasta

    A lunch stop in Orvieto – Umbrian wild boar with pasta!

    spaghetti bolognese rome

    A simple bolognese in Rome

    tiramisu rome lunch buffet italy

    Tiramisu at an all-you-can-eat Roman lunch buffet

    squid ring shaped pasta viterbo, italy, la buca di san fastino

    ‘Squid ring’ pasta at La Buca di san Fastino, Viterbo

    Sausage stuffed eggplant, Viterbo - - La Buca di san Fastino

    Followed by sausaged stuffed eggplant

    caprese salad amalfi town

    My kinda salad…

    black mussels amalfi seafood

    Splurging on seafood in Amalfi town

    baked crumbed mussels naples

    And again, in Naples

    Shrimp linguini in Naples

    And again…

    spaghetti with clams, naples

    And again…

    Naples was a bit of a bust, much as I wanted to love it. Like Bologna, it’s meant to be a city of great food, but I found it somewhat underwhelming. Many places were shut down, being early/mid August when locals go away on holiday (timing couldn’t be helped in this instance) and while we had a LOT of great meals (including countless excellent pizzas) we also had one terribly underwhelming one. Never mind – Pasticceria Mazzaro more than made up for that.

    After eating our way through the country, I can only say that it has totally changed my outlook on food. Particularly after our HelpX stint, where we ate veggies and fruit fresh from the garden almost every day, I am committed to shaking up how we eat when we get home. Simple, GREAT ingredients. No more quick and dirty pasta dinners, with a $1 packet of pasta, $3 jar of sauce, maybe some minced meat and a handful of veggies. Nope. Just some top-notch EVOO, tomatoes, cheese, and maybe some courgettes, eggplant, or string beans. For example:

    fresh pasta italy

    Not only do I want to change my diet, I think I need to change how I eat overall. I’m not going to give up sugar or fried food, but my body definitely knows what it likes. I was almost constantly hungry on the farm in Italy while HelpXing, but hunger aside, I felt great. Even though we rarely had dessert and didn’t snack, I didn’t have any cravings at all. On days that I did ingest meat or sugar, I definitely felt an immediate difference, digestively speaking. It was like a second, more complete detox post-Asia.

  • September 19, 2013

    Why you should travel when you’re young

    Should you travel while you're young?

    Today’s thought: It’s so much easier to travel when you’re still young.

    The time/money tension is an interesting one.

    You have more of the former and not enough of the latter when young. Meanwhile, you might have less of the former and more of the latter when old. But money, at least theoretically, is something you can always earn more of. Time is finite. Sure, you might have student loans weighing on your back, but you’re less likely to have a mortgage and/or a family to support.

    And there’s no telling what your health might be like later on.

    In your 20s, you’re more likely to be physically up for roughing it on a budget, not having become used to luxuries.

    Right, now, we’re on the eve of embarking on our whirlwind North American tour. As exciting as it is, it’s also going to be gruelling. We’re as young and energetic as we can ever expect to be, though that’s not saying much. We’re kind of oldies at heart. For example, we ended up getting a taxi (actually more economical than the train) after landing in KL rather than the cheap bus. After an 11 hour flight, T wasn’t up for any more discomfort, and after having gone through the equivalent of my own body mass in tissues up in the air, I was inclined to agree. And T is already carting around the body of an old man, thanks to old sports injuries, high level athletics, and physical work – which has held us back at times.

    I have no idea what kind of shape we’ll be in when we’re middle-aged or retired, but I am pretty confident we wouldn’t have even the (limited) stamina we have right now.  Further, I’m not sure we’d be comfortable dossing on floors and couches (physically or otherwise), HelpXing, Couchsurfing, or AirBnB-ing. But then again, who knows what might have cropped up in that regard in 20 years’ time?

    Visas are another thing to take into account.

    As a New Zealand citizen, I’m lucky – we’re welcomed almost everywhere, and have visa waivers/exemptions in many countries. If you can swing it financially, fresh grads can move to the US to work and travel for a year as part of the snappily named New Zealand and Australia Twelve-Month Student Work and Recent Graduate Travel Program. If you’re 30 or under, there’s a dizzying array of countries offering working holiday visas, which to my understanding are virtually guaranteed – it’s just a matter of applying and paying the fee. Australians and New Zealanders seem to enjoy the most choices, but there are options for citizens of other countries, too.

    For what it’s worth, the youth/under 26 discounts available to you might also be worth considering.

    We qualified for cheaper Eurail passes, an ISIC youth card, and other random discounts along the way.

    An added benefit of travelling in our 20s is that it’s been a real growth experience.

    An invaluable experience. A life-shaping experience. I’m not sure we’d be as open-minded as we are now 20 or 30 years down the track; as receptive to new experiences and ideas. And let me tell you, if there’s one thing travel has taught me, it’s that I’m NOT as open-minded as I would like to think I am.

    Travel is not for everyone. I’m not going to try to sell you on travel, if it’s not your cup of tea. And I don’t think it’s a terrible idea to wait to travel by any means, but if it’s a priority for you, there’s no time like the present.

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