Soundtrack: “My Island Home”, Warumpi Band Another holiday comes to an end. In one of the many bookshops in Spain I flicked through a Spanish edition of Sylvia Plath’s Selected Poems, and flicked to my favourite, “Dos amantes y un buscador de conchas junto al Mar Real” so it seems appropriate to finish with the opening in Spanish, “Fría y […]
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Soundtrack: Lady Gaga medley It will come as no surprise to anyone who has taken a flight in the last 30 years that standard economy seats are not designed for comfortable sleeping for any normal sized person. So when I say that the Finnair flight from Helsinki to Singapore was pretty good, it should be read with the above caveat, […]
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Soundtrack: every song about spending time in airports, but especially “Departure”, R.E.M. So begins the next adventure: getting home. Right now, L and I should have been sitting in Qatar business class, somewhere over the Mediterranean, perusing the champagne and whisky menus, before lying back in our seats and having a nap 36,000 feet up in the air. Maybe I’d […]
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Soundtrack: every song by every band about spending time in airports and travelling (on repeat) So it begins again. Having spent 4 months back in the real world of day jobs, traffic, kicking against the pricks and generally just doing what has to be done these days, it’s time to dust off the passport. It’s been a long few months, […]
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Soundtrack: “Danger Zone”, Kenny Loggins Not the most exciting of days, basically a get up, pack, check-out, check-in, pass security, wait for flight, wait more for flight, squeeze into plane, squeeze out of plane onto bus, get luggage, get car, check-in, walk, get dinner, sleep. That’s the 30 or so word version — am writing this in Wordpad as my […]
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Soundtrack: “Khe Sanh”, Cold Chisel Having left day 15 on a cliff hanger, I can reveal that I was able to get up in time to head out and get my laundry just after 9am, so I won’t have to buy any new clothes anytime soon. While I’m travelling with a few treasured items, my green The Clouds t-shirt that […]
Read moreSoundtrack: any song about waiting in airports… Writing this in the Pie Republic outlet at Tashkent International Airport, consuming an overpriced chicken caesar sandwich and a cappucino, which in these parts is the same as a flat white. Also, the chicken caesar sandwich has tomato. Also also, the Pie Republic doesn’t sell any pies (though they do have meat filled […]
Read moreSoundtrack: “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” Bon Jovi We queued, we waited, we napped, we queued, we flew, we got there in the end. Due to reasons too boring to detail, our chosen airline to take us into Uzbekistan was Batik, a budget airline that doesn’t have a universal reputation for punctuality. When it’s on time it’s on time, but […]
Read moreThis might end up as a two part entry as it’s a little after 2am and we’ve just checked in to our Istanbul Hotel. So if I fall asleep typing this I’ll throw some more words at the screen in the morning. The main tasks for today in Vilnius were shopping, shopping, and shopping. All the last minute souvenirs and […]
Read moreAnd 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 […]
Read moreA 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 […]
Read moreAnd we’re back to South Seas Asia, Viet Nam again. A quick 12 day jaunt for me (L has a few extra days at the end as she doesn’t need to go straight back to work) for food, shopping, and generally soaking in the VN vibe. The day started, as these trips generally do, with the damn early Singapore Airlines […]
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