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Holiday in Cambodia Day 3: Siem Reap
I should have wrapped up my previous post with the affirmation that I am still a fortunate traveller. That I am one of a minority in the world who can earn both enough money and enough time to hop on a plane or two in order to be a Goldilocks. So there, me, take that. Today was aiming for a take it easy day, as the previous day I clocked over 35,000 steps. How hard would it be to just have a quiet meander around the museum, grab some food, and maybe a good foot massage? 23,000 steps later, I think I missed the point. The museum at Siem Reap…
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Holiday in Cambodia Day 2: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat
I am a fortunate traveller. In the past 3 months I have both watched the sun set over Manhattan, and the sun rise over Angkor Wat. I know that I’ve also worked hard to be able to afford both the time and money to travel, so some of my fortune is of my own doing, but I’m in a count my blessings kind of mood. (Not that I’m going to literally count all of my blessings, but we can just say that I’ve probably got more than most but less than some.) Angkor Wat, a huge, impressive temple structure, symbol of Cambodia, world heritage listed, and a monument to Vishnu.…
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Days 14-15: Krakow part 1, the search for the perfect pierogi
Thus begins the solo adventures of a not-so young man in search of the perfect pierogi. Or something like that. With L still in the UK hanging with her mum and great aunt, I’ve got a couple of days in Krakow. I’ve been here before, seen many of the sights, so I’m unlikely to regale you with tourist tales of all that Krakow offers. I’m writing this about half way through my second day here, and so far all I can say is that I’ve slept a lot, and walked a lot. I think that I might have a touch of jet lag, as my sleep patterns are a bit…
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Day 3: Little India and a lot of walking
Sometimes I really suck at this travelling thing. Those who’ve travelled with me will know that I can be prone to indecision when it comes to picking a place to eat, so that a small hunger pang can often be a tired and hangry by the time I do find somewhere that’s just right. And I’m only marginally picky: I usually want somewhere that isn’t a chain or franchise, is serving a local cuisine, and looks like it won’t give me some sort of internal upset. This morning I ended up walking way too far, got way too hangry, and missed breakfast entirely. I did discover a bunch of interesting…
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Say it slowly tour Day 25: Postcard from Budapest
If Mick Thomas is right, and “there’s no point writing postcards on your bad days”, this is a pretty pointless entry. Last night’s train ride was pretty ordinary. Second class carriages slept six, two rows of bunks three high, in a space a little smaller than the average bathroom. I wasn’t expecting the hilton on rails, but in a space that size, I’d hope the airconditioning worked. It didn’t, I tried to make it work, even got the otherwise underworked conductor guy to have a go. Nope. You’d think that the steamed up windows would give someone a clue? Nope. I managed eventually to prise the window open a little,…
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Say it slowly tour Day 19: Warsaw, old town, the ghetto
Spent a good chunk of the day wanting to cry. Warsaw hasn’t had the greatest of pasts, and I’m here just in time for the place to mark 70 years since first the Germans, then the Russians, took half of Poland each. I’m in the right month, too. There are a bunch of exhibitions, displays and other informative bits all around the place. Not too surprising, really, given that between 1939 and 1945, the place was practically levelled, a whole lot of people died of very unnatural causes, many more disappeared and most of the population displaced on numerous occasions. Poland got it as bad as anyone during the war,…
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Say it slowly tour Day 16: Tirana, Kruje, Stuttgart
I’m beginning this entry up a mountain, in a place called kruje, drinking Sprite and waiting for my pizza con prosciutto e funghi. I guess it’s as big a tourist trap that Albania sets; castle ruins, views, pizzerias, souvenir stalls run by friendly, pushy locals. I could be wrong, but again these seem like folks whose friendship extends as far as my wallet. I did have one guy offer me accommodation in his house, and possibly his daughter too, for all i know. I’m getting better at the language and must have all of about 6 words down pat by now. There’s my air conditioned hotel room in Tirana waiting…
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Say it slowly tour Day 14: Tirana, there is no such place
For dinner i went looking for Serenata, recommended by the Lonely Planet. I ended up with Pizza. To cut a long story short, it goes like this: stray cats, stray dogs, long walk, confusing map, wrong turns, wrong side steets, asking for directions, “It is closed”. Then find pizza.
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Say it slowly tour Day 08: Edinburgh, Irn Bru and defying gravity
Woke up feeling better that I probably should have, but maybe it’s one of those things: whisky drunk in Edinburgh during the festival doesn’t give hangovers. it’s a theory anyway. Head a little fuzzy, but nothing that a full breakfast and Irn Bru at the Whiski Bar on the Royal Mile couldn’t fix. Full breakfast wasn’t really full, no black or white pudding, but the bacon was perfect. Admired the whisky menu, too. Then I went off and climbed the Scott monument, all 270 steps or whatever. Rankin calls it a gothic phallic symbol, or something similar. It’s a fair description. Having climbed the Wallace monument, built around the same…
