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Baltics24: Day 10 – Riga
Our first full day in Riga and, well, it’s closed for Jani Day, their midsummer public holiday. It turns out that in these parts, the pagan cosplay also involves staying up until dawn, screaming at the dawn, then going to bed. So we missed out on the majority of the celebration, but I’m okay with that, it’s cool that we are here at the right time but the Latvians have been through enough in their lifetimes, they don’t need a few extra tourists bumbling through their traditions and celebrations. While I’m sure we’d have been welcomed, from all we’ve seen Latvians are a friendly, hospitable people, but being real, we’re…
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Baltics24: Day 9 – Tallinn – Riga
Hello Latvia! Having set an alarm to make sure that we’d be up in time for breakfast, check out, and a taxi to the bus station, we were awake well before. First there were the crowd of folks who decided to have a bit of a street party outside our window at 4am, I guess in fairness it was already light, but really? As much as no one really wants to be threatened with being dumped in a fountain at 4am, similarly no one wants to be woken up by the sound of this going on. All I can say is, thankfully, whatever nationality the group were, they weren’t English…
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Baltics24: Day 8 – Tallinn
Another full day in sunny, historic Tallinn. We headed out into the suburbs to see a bit more of Tallinn and check out some shopping. We took the tram, and after a couple of stops could hear an accordion playing, followed soon after by a teenage boy with a cup seeking donations. Not many other passengers paid any notice, and even had we wanted to, so far it’s been a pretty cashless trip — I didn’t need to get any SEK in Stockholm, and haven’t had to withdraw any euro here, it’s all been card. Even the public transport both here and Helsinki could be done using a standard credit…
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Baltics24: Day 7 – Tallinn
A full day in Tallinn. Started with the hotel breakfast, which was okay, a bit chaotic as breakfast buffets go, but I was introduced to the Estonian “superfood” kama, a mixture of different flours (generally barley, rye, oat, pea but others could be involved) which was mixed with milk like a smoothie. So a grainy super smoothie or something. We then headed out to the Balti Jaama Turg market, probably Tallinn’s largest daily market, three floors of food, clothes, random stores, and weird bric-a-brac masquerading as “antiques”. The antique corner had a number of crowded stalls, jammed high with everything you could imagine: every shape of glassware, badges, soviet army…
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Baltics24: Day 6 – Helsinki – Tallinn
Said farewell to Helsinki this morning as we boarded the Gabriella to Tallinn. As we’d heard, there were a number of passengers whose luggage consisted solely of fold-up trolleys, as their mission was to catch the ferry, head to nearest liquor shop in Tallinn, stock up and then catch the next ferry home, as apparently the price difference for booze is significant enough between Finland and Estonia to make these regular trips worthwhile. For added amusement, the soundtrack to our journey was provided by sensitive car alarms, the sort that go off when a car shakes, as can happen to ferries crossing the Baltic Sea. Estonia! A small nation that…
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Baltics24: Day 5 – Helsinki
Our last full day in Helsinki, so we spent it eating, walking, shopping, sightseeing, and for me another sauna. We headed to the harbourfront markets for an early lunch and to check out the various stalls selling souvenirs, things made from wood, reindeer, elk, amber, silver, and other assorted animals. L has been eying off various warm hats, but in the end decided that Perth just isn’t likely to get cold enough. Lunch was a shared plate full of potatoes, salmon, and crunchy fried vendace, a freshwater whitefish a bit larger than whitebait that the Finnish love to eat. Its bones are soft, so I ate them tail, fins and…
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Baltics24: Day 4 – Helsinki
A full day in Helsinki. With the weather forecast promising sun, we took one of the harbour tour boats for a bit of fresh air and history. People have called Helsinki home for thousands of years, but it’s first major development kick was thanks to the Swedish occupiers in the 16th century. They turned Helsinki into a major trading hub, set up boat building, and probably imported meatballs, along with building some impressive forts among the islands that are scattered around the harbour. The forts didn’t really help when Sweden and Russia had a war in the early 19th century, which sent the Swedes packing (leaving their meatball recipe behind).…
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Baltics24: Day 3: Aland – Helsinki
Spent most of the morning’s ferry cruise dealing with Optus help trying to get reconnected. At various times I was connected to Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian telcos but at no point would any data flow. In the end Optus have cut my 5G access at account level, which seemed to work (I say seemed as I wouldn’t be surprised if it drops out tomorrow, as I had most of Saturday without issue without having to change any settings). We’d booked the premium breakfast, so I went for the viking breakfast option, which seemed like the closest thing they had to a big breakfast. While tasty, it was a little on…
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Baltics24: Day 2: Stockholm – Aland
Today is brought to you by Optus Global Roaming is shite. Legs a little stiff and sore, I got up and started the blog. made some progress, then my phone stopped talking the language of data, and what basically followed involved being told a bunch of crap from a support person who did everything to assume me, the customer, was wrong. Then eventually they went away and got someone else I was able to convince to escalate (only had to say it 3 times and Telecommunications Ombudsman once), before i got a case number and a vague timeline. Downside I spent the bulk of the day with no phone data…
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Baltics24: Day 1: Stockholm
It was a long day. The flights were all the goodness that business class delivers, and Thai airlines do a solid job of that. The obligatory champagne before the flight, then a number of solid menu options, helpful staff always ready to top up glasses, and comfy if a little narrow lie-flat seats. Nothing to complain about there really, though their selection of Korean movies is perhaps a little less than with Singapore. I still managed to catch the solidly entertaining Miss Fortune (who doesn’t love a mix of comedy, con artist, and mother-daughter bonding action) , as well as the action-packed Japanese Revolver Lily, set in 1920s Japan. The…
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Baltics24: Day 0: Perth – Transit
And we’re back, like we’ve never been away. Or never been home. Or home for quite a long time working up an appetite and budget for the next jaunt. Does any of that actually make sense? I don’t know, it’s already been a long day and it’s only getting longer. This time around the focus is the Baltic Sea and surrounds: Stockholm, Helsinki, Talinn, Riga, and Vilnius, with a stop at the end in Istanbul (not Constantinople) (and I can’t promise that’s the last time I say that). L has already had a week over that way, and we’ll meek up in Stockholm. L has done some of her booking…
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Viet Nam the fourth: Day 12 Hoi An – transit
A fairly quiet day really, as the plan was that I’d get picked up around 4pm at the hotel for my flight to HCMC then home. I’m writing this at Da Nang airport, after my flight was due to depart, as VietJet have been sending me updates all day telling me my flight is delayed. In theory I’ve got about an hour until I board, in practice who knows. It turn out that while VietJet are cheap, they aren’t actually that good. Despite booking a two stop ticket, I’ve been told that they can’t check my bag through to destination, so at HCMC I get to pick up my case,…
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Viet Nam the fourth: Day 11 Hoi An
My last full day in Hoi An, and also L’s birthday. After breakfast we went to pick up our laundry, things sure are fierce along laundry street. once we’d got our clothes we walked the length of the street, and no less than two other locals, looking at our bag (and assuming it contained dirty clothes) gestured for us to come to them for laundry. Once they realised we were carrying a bag of clean clothes they went back into the shadows, watching, planning, scheming. If not today or tomorrow, some day soon laundry wars are coming to Hoi An. We checked out a different massage place this morning, one…
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Viet Nam the fourth: Day 10 Hoi An
Coffee. Viet Nam is one of the world’s largest producers of these wonderful beans, though they rarely get recognised for this as the majority is robusta, not the better marketed arabica variety. I’m not even sure many self-proclaimed coffee snobs know much about robusta beans, as these tend to form the backbone of the instant coffee market. Kind of like grain whisky, it’s the bulk of all of the popular scotch blends, but only a big whisky nerd could name any of the grain distilleries. Robusta beans are higher in caffeine, generally more bitter, lower in sugar, higher in anti-oxidants, and are more resistant to disease so need less pesticides.…
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Viet Nam the fourth: Day 9 Da Nang – Hoi An
The historic village of Hoi An sits about 25km south of Da Nang. Even 10 years ago, there as a definite undeveloped space between the two. These days, the coast south of Da Nang is full of new resorts, and resorts under construction, so it’s hard to say where Da Nang ends and Hoi An begins. If you want something made, go to Hoi An: clothes, shoes, glasses, jewellery, you name it, they can probably find someone who makes it. Las time we were here, not long after VN opened up post-covid, it felt like we were almost the only western tourists, many shops were closed, and street vendors made…
