Finding the universe

Discovering Oslo, Part I: outside

2013-05-16T10:57:00.001+02:00

When we arrived in Oslo, the weather forecast announced that we would have a sunny day and a rainy day during our stay in Norway’s capital. Ever the brilliant organisers we decided we would cleverly visit all the outside sights on the sunny day, and the inside sights on the rainy day.

And even though we have had our fair share of the weather forecast being completely wrong at times, this time everything went according to plan!

In fact the concept worked so well, that we are going to also use it for blogging about Oslo – you need some form of categorising, anyway, with the many sights on offer! So without further ado, let’s go and discover Oslo’s outdoor sights – sunshine on aaaand action:

Oslo’s sights

The Holmenkollen

The Holm… what? If you can’t even remotely think of anything that this could be, let me help you out: it’s the world’s first purpose-designed ski-jump! Yes, Norwegians take their winter sports seriously – we shared the subway with quite a few people in their full skiing monty. Oslo is a great city to live in when you’re into skiing because you’re out on the ski field in less than half an hour.

But that’s not what made us tackle the hills – we came for the view! The Holmenkollen has a viewing platform on top, and what you get to see is pretty amazing: the city of Oslo, of course, but also the Oslo Fjord and all the surrounding forest. Plus, you get to stand on top of the ski-jump from where all the pros hop off into the valley, and might experience what experts refer to as “the jelly knee”.

Should you have found the sensation that caused your jelly knees rather exhilarating, we recommend you top it off with a visit to the Ski-jump Simulator, which lets you experience the jump itself, as well as the looong way down.

We also checked out the Ski museum and found it really interesting – in a fun way! You learn about the history of skiing, which at the same time tells you a lot about the history and culture of Norway. So even if skiing isn’t your thing, this museum is worth taking a look at!

How to get there
From the city you take the metro 1 to “Holmenkollen”. From the station it’s another 10-15 min. walk up to the ski-jump.

Admission
Holmenkollen ski jump and museum: 110 NOK
Holmenkollen ski-simulator: 60 NOK

Vigeland-Park

This is not your ordinary sculpture park: 212 statues made from bronze, granite and wrought iron populate this park to demonstrate the circle of life of man. It’s a monumental piece of work, all created by one artist: Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), who is said to be Norway’s most significant sculptor. He also designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal in 1902.

The Vigeland park is one of Oslo’s most popular attractions – and rightfully so. Next to it lies the Vigeland museum, where you can not only find the almost complete collection of the master’s works, but also more background information about the origination of the sculpture park.

How to get there
By bus No 20/ Tram No 12 to “Vigelandsparken”, or by metro to “Majorstua”

Admission
Vigeland park: Free
Vigeland museum: 60 NOK

Norsk Folkemuseum

Interested in the cultural history of Norway? Then this open-air museum is the place to go! From the famous 12th century “Gol Stave” church to a rental apartment in the present: they have it all here. There are over 150 buildings for you to explore; be it a farm from the middle ages or a gas station from 1928.

The grounds are divided in two different areas: the country-side and the town. Additionally, there are some pretty interesting indoor exhibitions, both permanent and temporary.

It’s really up to you what you make out of your visit. You can get a good impression by walking around for one or two hours, or you can spend the whole day here.

You can focus on the very old, or on the rather new. You can chat with a farmer from the 17th century about the ‘good old days’, or maybe you meet a Sami-girl and learn how to throw a lasso in order to catch a reindeer. I imagine you’ll quickly learn to be excited what is waiting for you behind the next corner – I was!

How to get there
With bus No 30 to “Folkemuseet” or by boat (only in summer, though) No 91 to Dronningen

Admission:
Norsk Folkemuseum: 110 NOK

Akershus Fortress and Castle

When King Hakon v. Magnusson built the fortress in 1299, he most likely didn’t think that future generations would love this spot as a good place to enjoy the sunset from. Admittedly, the grounds have had their share of less peaceful activities – Swedish sieges, for example, or the occupation of the Nazis during WWII, when the fortress served as a prison.

Nowadays, after a thorough restoration, it is the residence of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, while the castle is used for state representations and cultural events.

You can just wander around and explore (for the changing of the guard be there at 1:30pm), but you can also spend some time here and learn more about its history: either at the visitor centre, on a tour of the castle, or in the Armed Forces museum and the Resistance museum. The latter documents the five years of occupation under the Nazis during WWII.

How to get there
By metro: to “Stortinget”; by tram: No 12 to “Christiana Torv”

Admission
Fortress: Free
Castle: 70 NOK
Visitor Centre: Free
Norwegian Armed Forces museum: Free
Norwegian Resistance museum: 50 NOK

The Royal Castle and more

Although I’ve always added a how-to-get-there with public transport after each attraction, I find Oslo quite walkable. All the sights in this post are pretty central and can be reached by foot, apart from the ski-jump and the Folkemuseum – there you will need the metro or the bus. Having said this, I now present you with a series of rather representative buildings which you can see in the city centre and which are all fairly close to each other. Perfect for a tiny tour. Peeking inside optional.

The Royal Castle: okay, this is more a ‘palace’ than a ‘building’…There’s a changing of the guard at 1:30 pm, and you can do a guided tour which lasts an hour (95 NOK).
The City Hall: built in 1950 and therefore not so old, but there’s a bell tower and the facade is decorated with motifs showing aspects of Norwegian culture. Furthermore, this is the place where they host the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony every year.
Oslo Cathedral: inaugurated in 1697 and nowadays the cathedral for public events. The beautiful arcades around it were added between 1841-1858.
The Parliament: Crazy but true, it’s the seat of the Norwegian parliament (who would have thought!). An impressive building (from 1866), with a pretty little park in front of it (“Eidsvolls plass”). Not too far away you’ll find the National Theatre, quite a little gem, too, as well as the University, the Historical Museum and the National Gallery.

Modern: the Opera house and Tjuvholmen

Does this big white structure at the harbour look familiar? The Opera house was designed to resemble an iceberg rising from the sea and is therefore almost completely surrounded by water, with part of it even being under-water. Built out of glass, granite and marble, it was opened in 2008, winning the odd architecture award on the way. If neither opera nor architecture is your thing, you should still come, because this is the place where you can shout it from the roof top!

That’s right, the opera’s roof is walkable and a very popular spot for watching the sunset. From here you also have a good view of another fascinating piece of art: the sculpture “Hun ligger” (“She lies”) is made out of glass and steel and floats on the waters of the harbour basin.

Tjuvholmen is a seaside township, and quite a stylish one, with many restaurants, shops and galleries. It’s also the place where you find the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, another spectacularly designed building. You can furthermore take a look at the associated sculpture park and many more architectural highlights and pieces of open air art whilst wandering around.

How to get there
Opera: by bus/tram to either “Oslo S” or “Jernbanetorget”
Tjuvholmen: by metro to “Nationaltheatret”; by tram No 12 to “Aker Brygge”; with various busses to either “Bryggetorvet” or “Vika Atrium”

Admission
Astrup Fearnley museum: 100 NOK

Last Tips and a Thank you

Like almost always, I recommend checking out the tourist information (situated between the National Theatre and the City Hall). This is where you get a map of the city, can browse brochures to see what’s out there, and talk to friendly and helpful staff.

They are an excellent source of online information as well (you can find them under VisitOslo). We were lucky enough to work with them and were given plenty of tips and material.

We also received an Oslo Pass, which we can absolutely recommend. For example: all the sights in this post that cost entry are covered by the pass, as well as the public transport. Only exception: the guided tour in the Royal Castle and the Holmenkollen ski simulator (you do get 20% off the latter with the Oslo Pass, though). The 24-hour version costs 270 NOK which is already offset after visiting the Holmenkollen and two museums. Well worth it if you plan to see a lot and like a good deal that saves you some money!

We would also like to thank HostelBookers who took care of another important travel feature – our hotel! It ended up being “Cochs Pensjonat”, a real former boarding house, which is centrally located (AND next to a park) and enchanted us with a cosy and wonderfully warm room.

And you’ve made it! This was Part I of our Oslo tour – it would have been even longer if it had been summer, I reckon… So, did any of the above mentioned intrigue you? Would you like to visit Oslo, or have you already been and want to add another outside sight? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments – and thank you for reading!

Instagram tips: an Interview with Larry Closs

2013-05-13T14:21:00.000+02:00

Portrait of the Artist at Work by @artboy11211

I’ve been very much enjoying Instagram since it was released onto Android in 2012, and have discovered a great many fine artists on the platform. So I was delighted when the opportunity to interview one of my favourite Instagrammers arose. And with nearly 40,000 Instagram followers, I’m not alone when it comes to enjoying his work.

Larry Closs is a published author, with his debut novel Beatitude getting very positive coverage. He also runs the adventure and travel focused website Trekworld. I could go on for a while, but as this is an interview, I’ll let the man speak for himself. I hope you enjoy his words and photos as much as I did and do, and learn something to help you with Instagram along the way!

Hello Larry! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I usually describe myself as a New Yorker who often wanders far from home. I love to travel and there are few experiences I find more exhilarating than waking up in a place that is completely foreign in every respect—culture, customs, food, transportation, architecture, language, landscape, electrical outlets.

When and why did you start using Instagram?

My best friend joined Instagram in early 2011 and was having a lot of fun with it, producing really amazing photos and enjoying the give and take of the community. My debut novel, Beatitude, was scheduled for publication in October and he kept saying that Instagram might be a “novel” way to promote it.

Beatitude by @artboy11211

I was intrigued but hesitated. Although I’d been a photographer for many years and made the transition from film to DSLR, I wasn’t sure how my skills would translate to an iPhone. At my friend’s urging, however, I finally jumped in. I posted my first picture—three pictures, actually—on August 12, 2011.

What can an Instagram follower expect to see in your feed?

Views that inspire me—and, hopefully, others—from my day-to-day life in New York and my travels, with an occasional bit of humor.

Do you ever pre-plan shoots specifically for Instagram, or is it spur of the moment stuff?

I don’t pre-plan but I will sometimes make an effort to be in the right place at the right time. Two Central Park shots come to mind. I got up at sunrise on a snowy Saturday morning in February and headed to the Park to shoot while the snow was still falling and the Park was deserted. I went to the Bow Bridge, one of my all-time favorite locations in New York, and snapped an awesome image of the empty, snow-covered Bridge, with the frozen Boat Pond below and the twin towers of the San Remo rising in the distance.

Bow with Snow: The Bow Bridge in Central Park

A friend who saw the photo later that day commented, “How did you get that shot? I’m there now and the snow is nearly all gone and there are people everywhere.”

I wrote back, “I was there at dawn.”

In the midst of another snowstorm in March, I went to the Park again. It was a Friday afternoon, I’d finished work early, and I had the place pretty much to myself. Almost. I was trudging along Bethesda Terrace when I spotted someone walking down the center of the tree-lined Mall in the distance with a big red and black umbrella. It was a perfect shot—so perfect it looked staged—but I was too far away. I literally ran for several hundred yards, praying the entire time that the umbrella-holder wouldn’t change course. She didn’t. And I got the shot.

Spring Ahead with an Umbrella

There are occasions when I will also wait for the picture I want, which can produce unexpected results. I was on the High Line, a very popular park built on an abandoned elevated railway, and came upon a cello player surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. In the empty circle around him, there was a woman in a chair seated a few feet away, listening intently.

I knew the shot I wanted instantly—just the cellist and the woman—and I waited and waited for the crowd to move along. But just as the view cleared and I was lining up the shot, a guy with a backpack stopped and stood there, enjoying the music. Frustrated by another wave of onlookers approaching, I reluctantly snapped the shot, only to conclude later that the serendipitous shot was better than the shot I'd planned.

Plus One

Tell us about your Instagram hardware - what do you use to take the shots in your feed?

I shoot with an iPhone 4 and will be upgrading to the next iPhone when my contract expires (soon). Once in a very great while, I’ll post a photo taken with my Nikon DSLR, but I like to keep the feed iPhone-focused because, to me, that’s part of the challenge.

Tell us a bit about your workflow for editing your images. Any particular apps you love to use?

Snapseed and Camera+ are my mainstays. I also use Photoshop Express, PhotoStudio, Photo fx and ColorSplash. I think I’ve only used an actual Instagram filter twice. I can spend hours on a photo, experimenting with many different edits before I finally get the one I want, which is why I only post every other day or so and sometimes only once a week.

Red estelada, Girona, Spain

You're a published author (congratulations!), and you used Instagram to help publicise your book. Tell us about how that worked?

In addition to writing, editing, photography and videography, my background also includes marketing and communications. I had outlined an overall marketing plan for my book that included an author website and a book trailer, as well as accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. I wondered how I might add Instagram to the mix and hit on an idea.

Godzilla

Beatitude is a fictional story that unfolds in a very real New York City, 1995. I went around and took photos of a dozen locations where scenes in the book are set—some famous, some only a New Yorker would know. In keeping with the aesthetic I’d created for the website and book trailer, I edited the photos as black and whites.

Then I did something that, as far as I could tell, no one else was doing on Instagram: I added captions of several hundred words that included a relevant quote from the book as well as background stories about each location.

Beatitude at the High Line Rail Yards

At the time, most photos on Instagram were only accompanied by a short title of several words and I wondered if anyone would even read my captions. But people did, and I think the unusual length was the very reason they did. The captions inspired as many comments as the photos and both generated interest in Beatitude. I included a link to my author site in my profile, and I always referred to that when someone asked where to find additional information about the book.

Interestingly, another bit of promotion happened quite spontaneously. The cover of Beatitude, by the brilliant artist Anthony Freda, features an illustration of a cat’s face—half a cat’s face, actually—with a vintage New York City subway token for an eye. Readers spontaneously started posting photos of themselves holding the book up and completing the missing half of the cat’s face with half of their own.

I still promote Beatitude on occasion. I did a shoot with the book on the undeveloped Rail Yards section of the High Line, for example, and I’ve posted photos from that, overlaid with quotes from the book.

You've got a fair number of followers! Can you share with us some tips for growing a following on Instagram?

Go back in time. I joined Instagram before the follow limit of 7,500. The rule that applies to most social media also applies to Instagram: if you follow someone, they’ll likely follow you back. I followed lots of people and most followed me back. You can’t do that now, not in the numbers that I did, anyway.

Still Standing

Of course, if you want to keep followers, you have to post great photos. I’ve kept nearly all of my followers and gain new ones every day, so I assume I’m posting photos that people like. Having said that, I will add that I constantly study the number of likes and comments on every photo in my feed and I’ve determined the intersection of the kind of photos I like and the kind of photos my followers like.

Saturated, iconic scenes of New York City are very popular. Black and whites, not so much. So, I tend to post the former instead of the latter, even though I really like black and white photography.

Across the Pond

But photos are just the beginning. Likes and comments are equally, if not more, important—you can never do enough. Smart hashtags help, as does the inclusion of your Instagram username in all your online profiles.

And some tips for taking great Instagram photos?

Remember where you are. What are you seeing that no one else is seeing? Instagram is a truly global community. Walking around New York, I have to constantly remind myself that the things I see on a daily basis, things that are a part of my everyday life, are incredibly exotic to someone on the other side of the world.

The subway, yellow taxis, the Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central, the New York Public Library. I catch a glimpse of the Empire State Building nearly every day. Central Park is literally my backyard. So many movies, TV shows and books are set in New York that everyone on the planet has been here, even if they’ve never been here, and everyone connects with photos of New York.

But every place on Earth is equally exotic in its own way. Just be aware of that. Show me your world through your eyes and I’ll follow along.

Is there any photo or series of photos you are particularly proud of, and why?

One of my favorites is of a single rose floating in a bowl of water that I took in a rented artist’s flat in Paris. It was my first trip there. I was with my closest friends and Paris was everything I’d ever hoped it would be and more—romantic, poetic, intoxicating.

La Vie en Rose, Paris

I love the simplicity of the shot, the organic nature of the rose and the ceramic bowl juxtaposed with the stainless steel counter. That shot always evokes memories of that trip and reminds me I need to go back.

Finally, would you share with us three of your personal favourite Instagrammers to brighten up our feeds?

@artboy11211: He does what I only wish I could do, posting incredible iconic and intimate shots of New York City life every day. How I wish I could be that prolific—and talented!

@kirstenalana: If you ever need to be reminded of all the beauty in the world, follow Kirsten. Her photos are as lovely as she is.

@djorkaeff: When I need a laugh, there’s no better place to find one than in this wonderfully macabre collection of twisted pictures. Think Tim Burton meets Edward Gorey. Be sure to read the captions.

Finding the Good in Goodbye

Huge thanks to Larry for taking the time to answer all my questions as well as provide me with some truly fantastic photos to share with you guys. If you’ve got any questions for Larry, you are welcome to ask them in the comments below. You can also find Larry in the following places:

Twitter, as @larrycloss
Google+, as +Larry Closs
Instagram, as @larrycloss

An Instagram tour of Europe

2013-05-09T10:31:00.001+02:00

Remember when I was all like “We’re going on an adventure around Europe with Eurail and HostelBookers!”?

Well, that adventure is now over, and what a lot of fun we had. From the moules and frites of Belgium to the snow swept streets of Oslo, we managed to take in seven countries in 21 days, which was a lot of fun.

Today I’m pleased to share with you some of our favourite Instagram captures from the trip, from the street art as seen above, to snowy mountains and gorgeous sunsets. Enjoy, and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram if you want to see more from our travels on a regular basis!

We started the trip in France, with Vera toting an incredibly photogenic red suitcase. Sadly. photogenic was all it was, and it didn’t entirely survive the rest of the trip, but it made for a good subject!

We were in Berlin for Vera’s birthday, where we found the time to pop along to a performance by the Berlin Philharmonic, which were free every Tuesday at lunchtime.

Berlin is an eminently instagrammable location. Just next to the iconic Checkpoint Charlie is this flag, the last of its kind, helping to mark the divide between east and west. Don’t forget to check out my post on exploring Berlin, for some more ideas of how to spend time in this incredible city.

And of course, no visit to Berlin is complete without a visit to the Holocaust Memorial, which helps us to remember the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during World War II.

I have to admit that my plan to explore Europe in March had largely involved visions of an early and wonderfully warm Spring. This vision was shattered by a seemingly never ending and rather frozen Winter, which included quite a lot of unplanned for snow. Still, it made for some pretty pictures.

If you happen to be lucky enough to be travelling by first class rail in Europe, you may be able to experience the Panorama class – a seating option on some of the high speed trains which puts you right behind the drivers shoulder, and lets you experience a train view quite unlike any other.

From Berlin we headed up to Denmark and Copenhagen, where we visited the little mermaid looking a bit chilly on her rock. She was, as we both noticed, a little larger than we had expected! For more on Copenhagen, check out Vera’s posts, one about exploring Copenhagen by Segway, and the other offering ideas for a self-guided walking of Copenhagen.

Copenhagen, like so many of the cities we visited on our tour, was just beautiful. This is Nyhavn, an old harbour, and one of the most picturesque streets in Copenhagen.

We saw some gorgeous sunsets on our travels, including some across water, which are my favourite. This is the sun setting across the Swedish capital of Stockholm. For more ideas on visiting Stockholm, take a look at our post on the subject which offers a whole bunch of ideas for getting the most out of your visit.

During our time in Stockholm we had the pleasure of staying at one of the most unique hostels I’ve ever stayed at – the Jumbo Hostel. This can be found in a converted 747, and was without doubt an experience we will never forget. Read more on our thoughts on the Jumbo Hostel in this review we did, and of course, thanks to HostelBookers for sorting us out with that one!

There’s that suitcase again, this time about to board our InterCity train from Stockholm to Oslo.

In Oslo the weather conditions were a little snowy, as the view from our hotel window demonstrates! It was admittedly very picturesque, but the temperatures weren’t ideal. The weather improved on our stay – keep an eye out for a couple of upcoming posts on Oslo, one featuring options for indoor activities, and the other being more outdoor focused.

Oslo has a remarkable Opera House, the roof of which you can climb for a great sunset view. This was taken from just in front of the Opera House, looking across one of Norway’s frozen fjords.

We didn’t know it at the time, but this was the last voyage that the red suitcase was going to survive, as she ended her days in Bergen, unable to continue. At least her last journey was spectacular – the train ride from Oslo to Bergen being one of the most incredible train journeys in the world, as the following shot shows:

My experience of trains in the UK is that they don’t do too well with snow. In Norway this wouldn’t work as a feature, especially on the Oslo – Bergen route, which features one of the highest routes in Europe. We sailed past snow bound villages with aplomb, gazing at scenery that was just out of this world. If you do just one train trip in Europe, I can very much recommend making it this one.

And to finish off our Instagram tour of Europe, a view of the coastal city of Bergen in Norway, as we came down from one of the many mountains which offer a scenic view of the surrounds. Despite the cold, we lucked out on the weather for a great deal of our trip, so can’t complain too much!

And that’s it for today’s Instagram tour of our European adventure. I hope you enjoyed reading along! We’ve still got plenty of content to share from our trip, and to be sure you don’t miss out, don’t forget the many ways you can be kept up to date with Finding the Universe, including the all new Google Chrome extension, subscribing to receive every post into your inbox, and the soon to be published newsletter!

Khao Sok National Park – Leeches, lakes and jungle

2013-05-06T09:00:00.000+02:00

The only encounter I’ve had with leeches, prior to my trip to Khao Sok National Park in Thailand, was in Australia of all places. Friends and I were visiting the Barrington Tops National Park, a range of mountains on the east coast, a couple of hundred kilometres north of Sydney. They are supposed to be rather beautiful.

I say supposed to be, because we spent our three days there being rained on, traipsing around muddy puddles, wading across rivers, and learning that Australia is not only home to creatures that want to kill you, it also has a number that are happy to just suck on your blood.

I would say that it wasn’t exactly a high point of our trip – between the leech battles, the never ending rain, and the struggles with leaking tents, it could best be described as character building. Character building with leech lessons.

Fast forward a couple of years, and we found ourselves in Thailand, visiting the Khao Sok National Park for five days. We spent one of those days getting shipwrecked and having adventures in a raft house, which you can read about in this post.

Today though, I’m going to focus more on the rest of the park, looking at what you can get up to beyond lazing in a lake house, plus some logistics for getting there and away and where to stay. And yes, leeches are going to raise their sticky little heads at some point in this post.

Orientation

Khao Sok National Park is a little bit confusing. There are two distinct parts to it – the lake and the village, which due to the vagaries of road construction and geography, are around ninety minutes apart by vehicle.

Both are worth visiting – the lake for scenery that is just out of this world, and the village for a laid back vibe and all kinds of exciting jungle activities.

What to do in Khao Sok

Hike in the jungle

The main draw of Khao Sok National Park is the rainforest, which is the largest area of virgin forest left in Southern Thailand, and the last part of a rainforest that dates from before the Amazon. It’s stuffed full of flora and fauna, with something for everyone, from monkeys to giant flowers.

Naturally this means that any visit to Khao Sok should involve a trip into this spectacular rainforest, and there are a number of walks that you can access directly from the village.

We did two of the hikes in the park, a 14km trek to a waterfall and an 8km trek to another waterfall. What can I say – I like waterfalls.

The first of these was, I must admit, fairly arduous, and not exactly what could be described as well travelled or well marked, particularly after the first easy 3km were up. It went up and down a lot, had a habit of branching unpredictably, and to be honest it’s kind of a miracle we didn’t get horribly lost.

In addition, it didn’t take long before we noticed our legs were bleeding, and discovered that we had picked up a fair conglomeration of little blood sucking friends between us. Between stopping every ten minutes to check for leeches (read: hop around screaming and flailing a lot) and the baking heat, this was one walk that wasn’t exactly at the top of my must-do walks ever.

I’d love to report that the waterfall at the end of the walk was worth the effort, but other than a quick dip in the pool to cool down, it wasn’t all that.

Still, we learnt a lot about how to deal with leeches, which set us up nicely for our next walk, the shorter 8km round trip to another waterfall. The rainforest wasn’t going to beat us that easily. Vera bought some seriously fashionable leech socks (large white knee length socks that are made out of a thick cotton that leeches can’t bite through). I went for the option of dousing my feet in DEET. Vera’s approach worked better, and is the option I would recommend in hindsight.

The second walk was a lot nicer, being well marked with interesting variations in landscape, from bamboo forests to immense buttress trees. Plus it had a worthwhile waterfall at the end. Of the two, I think it’s pretty obvious which I’d recommend!

If you do plan on doing either of these walks, then I can recommend reading up on my guide to preparing for a day hike, and at the very least carrying lots of water. It’s hot out there! Entry to the National Park was 200 Baht per person per entry.

Take a canoe or tube ride

If you’d rather see the jungle in a slightly more relaxed style, then there are a couple of water based options you might want to consider. We took a canoe ride down a local river, an activity we arranged through our accommodation provider. This slower and quieter transport option let us get up close to wildlife that perhaps we might not have seen during our leech filled jungle tramples, including seeing some fantastic snakes hanging out in trees.

If the river levels are high enough, you can also go tubing from Khao Sok village itself, and most of the guesthouses have tubes you can hire out to do just that.

Wander to see the worlds largest flower

If you are lucky enough to be in Khao Sok at the right time of year, then you might get a chance to go and see the world’s largest flower in bloom. We weren’t so lucky, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be. Our poor luck also means I don’t have a picture to share of it. Here’s some bamboo instead.

At around a metre wide, the Rafflesia is a serious bit of flower. It only grows in a few places in the world, flowers for a few days at a time, and smells horribly of rotting meat. It’s also carnivorous, so don’t get too close.

The easiest way to see it is with an arranged tour, with guides who will know where to find one that is in bloom. Most guesthouses will be able to arrange this sort of tour for you.

Lie in a hammock and compare leech stories

Seriously, all this doing things is quite tiring. Particularly when it involves fending off hordes of leeches. Or the thought of fending off hordes of leeches. So why not do what holidays are designed for, and do nothing. I know, a to-do list with “nothing” as an option. This is mould-breaking stuff, people.

Khao Sok village, and particularly the guest house we stayed in, seemed perfect for a bit of down time. Good food, interesting company, hammocks – what more could you need for a bit of you-time? Add a chilled beer or two and you’ll be set. Who needs to go out the door, right?

Enjoy the local scene

If lying in your hammock isn’t quite exciting enough for you, then you can head out to sample the delights of Khao Sok village. This, I must admit, is a bit of an odd place, or at least it was when we visited, which may well have been the off season. I’m not sure.

The main street has all sorts of bars and places to go have a party, from the obligatory reggae themed bar playing Bob Marley on loop to the, well, other reggae themed bars playing Bob Marley on loop. Ok, so there are some other bars which aren’t reggae themed. Which may or may not play reggae. Still, they are all very nice, and some of them have fire pits to enjoy your beer around on a cooler evening.

The strange thing that we found was that everywhere was deserted, other than the motley crue of travellers we managed to assemble for our night out, which included a Swedish sushi chef and a laid back Californian. It felt like a town on the cusp of being discovered. Or in the off season. Again, I have no idea. Maybe when those flower hunting botanists come into town the place kicks off. Get in while it’s quiet, I say.

How to get there

Getting to Khao Sok isn’t too hard. If you’re coming down from Bangkok, then a good option is the overnight train from Bangkok down to Surat Thani, and then the local bus from Surat Thani, which takes a couple of hours. If you do this, be sure to book the night train well in advance as this is a very popular route and books up early.

We didn’t do this and ended up on a train that got into Surat Thani at 4am. This is not an optimal time to arrive anywhere.

Coming from the south, you can catch a bus from Phuket, which leave fairly regularly. Other towns also have services, but as the bus system in Thailand isn’t entirely scheduled, it is best to check with locals.

Where to stay – in Khao Sok Village

Khao Sok village has a good number of guesthouses to choose from. The trip we were on was arranged by Thailand’s tourism authority, who chose Smiley’s Guest house for us. We liked it so much that when our arranged visit was over, we stayed another four nights on our own budget.

Smiley’s was perfect for us. The on-site restaurant cooked up some of the best Massaman Curry I’ve ever had (I had it four nights out of six!), the wooden bungalows on stilts came with en-suite, jungle view and hammock equipped terraces, as per the photo above, and the staff went way out of their way to help out. On our last day, when we missed our bus, the owner loaded us up in her car and drove after the bus until we caught it. And yes – everyone is smiley!

Prices for accommodation when we were there ranged from 300 Baht to 600 Baht per bungalow per night. Free Wi-Fi was also available in public areas.

Smiley’s can also arrange tours of pretty much everything you might want to do in the area, including viewing the largest flower in the world, tubing down the river, and kayaking. In addition, they offer a lake tour, which brings me to the next point:

Where to stay – at Khao Sok Lake

Staying at Khao Sok lake requires you to stay on one of the lakehouses, of which there were sixteen at last count. These are usually all-inclusive affairs, sometimes including transport to and from the pier, as well as the boat ride, food and accommodation.

The prices for these all inclusive affairs range from the basic 800 Baht a night option, for which you are looking at a simple room with fan, up to well in excess of 10,000 Baht a night for a slightly posher room, likely including air conditioning, which you probably won’t need. Whichever option you go for, you’re going to get an amazing view and have an incredible time.

Well, that’s it for our tour of Khao Sok. As you can tell from the post, part of our trip in Khao Sok was arranged as part of our collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, including some of the activities we took part in. Our opinions remain our own, as always!

A self-guided tour of Copenhagen

2013-05-02T09:00:00.000+02:00

There are definitely more comfortable places to sit than on Hans Christian Andersen’s left knee. On top of that, instead of telling me a story out of the book that is resting on his right knee, he is staring over to the Tivoli, the famous theme park, completely ignoring me.

Well, I can’t say that's good manners but I do understand why he is like that. Who even knows how many people sit on his lap on a daily basis to have their picture taken. Apart from that, it’s a really nice sunny day in Copenhagen, with the first flowers announcing that spring might finally have arrived after this long cold winter. So maybe Hans is just day-dreaming.

I, on the other hand, ain’t got time for that! I arrived here in Denmark’s capital yesterday and I have only today to see the city. Luckily it’s very walkable. Hey, why don’t you guys tag along? Yes? Cool! But I’m warning you: I’m a fast walker… Alright, let’s go!

Okay, so we’ve seen the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish author who is mainly famous for his fairy tales, like “The little mermaid”, “Thumbelina” or “The emperor’s new clothes”, for instance. The building next to him? That’s the City Hall. It has even got a bell tower you can climb. I like the little dragons in front of it best, though – and the Dragon Fountain on the Town Hall Square!

Dragons are a good way of starting a city tour, don’t you think? So now we’ll walk along H.C. Andersen Boulevard, with the Tivoli on our right, until we get to the Glyptotek, which is also on the right. Now, this is a bit of a pickle. I have heard really great things about this gallery. Not only because it houses a broad art collection and many works of famous European masters, but also because the building itself is quite special. There is for example a huge winter garden with palm trees in the centre of it. But I don’t think I have enough time to visit it today.

So let’s move onwards – we head towards the city centre now. Past the National Gallery to Christiansborg Palace. No, the Royal family doesn’t live here; this is the seat of the House of Parliament and the Supreme Court. Okay, so the king USED to live here, but the palace burnt down in 1794 and they had to move – but the Royal stables are still here!

Am I going too fast? If you want to, you can stay and go inside – the grounds have quite a history! No? Right, then let’s walk over Christiansbridge to Christianshavn. Look at the canals and the houses – reminds me a bit of Amsterdam. And do you see that twirly church tower over there? It belongs to the “Church of Our Saviour”, our next destination. You’re not scared of heights, are you? Because we are totally going up that tower!

Wow, good view! Oh look ,over there, that’s Christiana. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. In the 1970s a bunch of university students, hippies and artists occupied this former army base and finally declared it autonomous. They have their own supervision and don’t allow cars in their freetown, as they call it. It’s a big tourist attraction.

It’s another place I really want to see, but would like to take my time – and time is scarce today, so I’ll save it for my next trip. Now we’ll go back over Christiansbridge and take a right turn, walking along the waterfront. Aren’t we lucky with the weather? What a great day! Let’s go to “Nyhavn”, which means “New harbour”. It’s rather old, in fact, but very nicely done up. Can you imagine that this used to be a pretty disreputable area?

Indeed, it’s the place where all the sailors came once their ship had docked in Copenhagen, looking for wine, women and song. What exactly Hans Christian Andersen was looking for, we shall never know, but he liked this place well enough to live here. Nowadays the house front is beautifully restored and shines its colours at the spectators.

By the way, I’m getting a bit nibbly, what about you guys? The restaurants here at Nyhavn have a good reputation, but also a steep price… Wait a sec, do you see that place on the corner over there? They have a lunch special and you can even sit outside. Perfect.

Mmh, that was yum. Could you hand me the map, please? Let’s see… Here, if we walk up this street, “Bregaden”, we’ll automatically get to the Marble Church. Impressive cupola, right? And despite the name, it’s not all marble – there were some financial issues. Turned out that the Norwegian marble they started building it with was quite expensive, so a good part of it is Danish sandstone.

Let’s head over to the waterfront again, because Amalienborg Castle is right on the way. Look at the Royal guards, walking up and down. Oh no, I completely forgot: at 12 ‘o’ clock you can see the change of guards… Well, I guess we missed that. You could come back tomorrow to see it, if you want to. As long as the queen is in residence, they’ll do the change of guards at noon. Just check if the flags on the buildings are up – this indicates the queen’s presence.

Yeah, I know: it doesn’t really look like a Royal Castle, does it. It wasn’t meant to be one, either. The King ordered four nobles to built four identical palaces around the equestrian statue in the middle of the square. When the former Royal Palace burnt down – that was Christiansborg Palace, oh yes, I did very much tell you that! Where the parliament is! Really…- the King moved in here, and since then, it has been the Royal residence.

Right, on we go. We’ll walk along the waterfront again.

Can you guess what’s next? Exactly: the little mermaid! I’m quite excited. Let’s go through Churchill park – see this massive monument here? That’s the Gefion fountain, which shows the Norse goddess Gefjun ploughing the earth with two oxen. Next to it is Denmark’s only Anglican church, St. Alban. Sure looks British, doesn’t it!

There are a number of sculptures in this park, but where now is Copenhagen’s landmark? Must be over there, where the cluster of people is standing… There she is, we have found her: the little mermaid! Now that’s funny: so many people have said that they were disappointed by her size because they expected her to be bigger that I actually find her much bigger than I thought she would be.

Wait, just one more picture…! Alright, where to now? Oh, the park over there? That’s actually not a park, but Kastellet, a military defence, built in the 17th century. It’s a star fortress – looks like a pentagram from above. Come on, let’s check it out! Going through the gate, it doesn’t feel too military, does it? It looks more like a neat little village although it’s actually the seat of the Danish Defence ministry. But the whole thing is also a public park and a historic site, so we can walk around, no problem. Look, there’s even a little wind-mill!

From here it wouldn’t be too far to the Lakes, a popular recreational area in Copenhagen. They have swans there, too – you know that the swan is Denmark’s national animal, don’t you? If you walk even further, you’ll get to the Assistens Cemetery, where a bunch of famous people are buried, Hans Christian Andersen being one of them. And don’t be surprised: cemeteries in Copenhagen serve as public parks, too. I guess you don’t throw a crazy party in one of them, but I did hear about barbecues…

Uhm, looking at my watch I think we should probably head back, though. We can walk past the Rosenborg Castle – it’s where the crown jewels live and many more Royal things you can look at. On the other side of it are the Botanical gardens. More parks than you can shake a stick at, definitely. Although the park surrounding the Rosenborg Castle is actually called King’s Garden.

Let’s check the map: so, if we walk down this street called “Landemaerket”, we should come to the Round Tower. This is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe! And that’s not all: you can walk all the way up to an outdoor platform, but not via stairs. They built a spiral walk inside that would allow a horse with a carriage to deliver books and other goods to the top – quite extraordinary, right?

We’re pretty much done, folks. Not that Copenhagen doesn’t have more to offer, but I think we covered a good bit of the most important sights. If we follow this road, we’ll pass St. Peter’s Church, and if we turn left there, we can have a look at the Copenhagen Cathedral. Can’t go wrong with churches when sight-seeing.

Hey, should we go back to the City Hall via the Stroget? That’s a shopping district, pedestrianized and everything. They’ve got quite some unique stuff here, from budget to luxury. How would you like a bit of window-shopping? What, you would rather have a beer? Well sure, why not. You should have told me, than we could have gone to the Carlsberg Brewery – they do tours, beer included!

Man, I gotta say, you did really well, keeping up with me like that – it was a good day, wasn’t it? Tell you what: the first round is on me. How do you say “Cheers” in Danish again? Pardon? Right! So: to us and the many sights of Copenhagen – Skal!

During our time in Copenhagen we stayed at the Absalon Hotel (full review here) thanks to our accommodation partners on our trip: HostelBookers.com. Thanks guys!

A lake house adventure in Khao Sok National Park

2013-04-29T09:52:00.000+02:00

Getting into boat based trouble is something that you would by now think I am a little bit used to, particularly after that Seychelles based boat adventure I told you about.

You might assume that as a result of that, any boat based adventure I decide to undertake, however short it is supposed to be, might involve me doing a little bit of fore planning, such that I won’t end up sitting in the baking sun, at the wrong end of an enormous man made reservoir, with no sun cream or water to speak of, in a boat whose engine firmly refuses to start.

You would of course, assume wrong.

Because this was the situation I found myself in when we visited the Chiao Lan reservoir in the Khao Sok National Park in Thailand, one of the most stunning places we had the privilege of visiting on our trip around Thailand, which is saying something.

Let’s start at the beginning.

The beginning started well. We left our accommodation in Khao Sok village and drove the 90 or so minutes to the pier where a long tailed boat was waiting to whisk us to our lake house, home for the next couple of days.

If you’re not familiar with the long tail boats that feature heavily in this part of the world, just imagine a normal boat with what appears to be a truck engine bolted onto the back of it, and an improbably large propeller shaft sticking out the back. I have no idea who came up with this boat design, or why it is so popular (if you know, do enlighten me in the comments), but I do know that they a) look the part and b) are noisy as hell.

Anyway, the boat trip to the lake house was around forty minutes. We were in a group of around nine, who had all signed up for an overnight stay at Smiley’s lake house, arranged by the nice people of Smiley’s guesthouse in Khao Sok village. More on that in an upcoming post.

The scenery was quite spectacular as our boat roared across the lake. Huge limestone karsts towered around us, along with the long dead remnants of trees, bleached white by the sun and drowned by the water when the reservoir was created. Along, rather sadly, with a great number of animals. The price of progress.

We made it safe and sound to the lake house, which was pretty much everything I had hoped for in a floating bit of paradise. Simple (en-suite!) rooms bobbed on floats, with a central bar / restaurant area. The lake was beautifully warm, ideal for swimming, and given how warm a day it was, it wasn’t long before everyone was in the water or enjoying a paddle in the kayaks.

With chilled beer on hand, the ingredients for a wonderful day were all in place, meeting fellow travellers and generally just gawping in amazement at the scenery.

But Laurence, you say, tell us about this ship disaster. It’s coming, I promise. I am setting the scene and building suspense. Exciting stuff, eh?

After our lake house lunch, our host, who went by the letter D, informed us with a twinkle in his eye that the afternoon was going to be a bit different to the norm (although none of us really knew what the norm on a floating hotel was), as they had received instruction from the park management that the lake house had to be moved to a new location, a few kilometres away.

It seemed that this wasn’t an operation that was undertaken very often, in fact in the four or five years that the lake house had been in operation it had been moved precisely once. And despite their ability to bob gently, lake houses are generally not designed with movement in mind.

Still, this didn’t seem to perturb the various boat drivers and helpful staff, who nosed up some long tail boats to the back of the raft house, fired up their engines, and started to push.

in a lake filled with dried out tree stumps which require careful navigation, steering is quite important. And lake houses don’t come with steering wheels. The best you can do is shout at the drivers of each boat to adjust their power accordingly.

Although, as I mentioned previously, long tailed boats aren’t exactly silent running. So what actually happens is someone runs around a lot between the three boats, shouting instructions at the drivers, as the lake house slowly and carefully manages to narrowly miss every obstacle out there, and pipes and joints groan and mutter under the strain.

Three hours of narrowly avoiding these obstacles later, and having had a ringside view of spectacular Khao Sok scenery as it gently puttered by, we arrived at our new spot, which came with just as magnificent a view as the original spot.

Time for sunset and an evening long boat safari before an early night was had by all. We were to get up early after all – the following morning held the promise of a cave adventure and an early morning boat safari.

No, we’re still not stranded. I am totally getting to it though.

After a peaceful nights sleep, we awoke before the dawn to this view.

Not bad, hmm? And just perfect for an early morning half hour long tail boat safari to see some monkeys and other assorted wildlife, especially as the clouds cleared with the sunrise.

And so we set off, the five brave souls who made it up early, the boat driver, and D, our ever cheerful guide. We cruised to inlets, past other lake houses, and to a hidden corner of the lake where monkeys could be seen hopping between the trees. The driver killed the engine, and we drifted toward the bank, happily snapping shots of blurry monkeys and wild pigs on the banks of the lake. What a way to kick off the day!

After many photos of excited monkeys by excited people, the driver went to fire up the engine, which made an ominous clicking noise followed by some silence. We all looked at the driver, wondering if this was a cunning Thai practical joke. When he started hitting the engine with a spanner, it seemed that perhaps it wasn’t.

After much peering at the engine, complex use of a spanner as a hammer, and even changing to a spare battery, it was fairly clear that the engine wasn’t going to be taking us anywhere. Which was a bit of a shame, as we were a fair old distance from our guesthouse, and a significant distance from the nearest lake house where mechanical help might be forthcoming.

We surveyed our supplies. The journey had started at 7am, and had been scheduled for half an hour, so no-one had thought to bring water, sun cream or a spare engine. There was one paddle, which D bravely got about using. Another feature of long tail boats that you might not be familiar with is that they aren’t exactly lightweight, especially with a truck engine bolted onto the back. Progress was a little on the slow side.

After a while of paddling, and covering at least two hundred metres, a boat was spied far off in the distance. There was much standing up and waving and yelling, which achieved precisely nothing other than to make our boat wobble a bit, and the potential rescuer dwindled into a speck of nothing.

At this point we figured that it was a little unfair that poor old D had to do all the paddling, so we cast around for ways to help. Seizing upon the planks that made up the benches, we transformed them into paddles, and set about helping. Progress continued to be slow, but at least we were doing something.

Still, all is well that ends well. We eventually made it to close enough to the nearest lake house to summon help, with nothing worse to show for it than a few blisters from paddling and a bit of sweat. Bottles of water were thankfully consumed, and we were returned in fine style to our lake house by the kind crew of a slightly upmarket looking guesthouse. Here, our vessel’s engine was fixed up for the next voyage, which involved exploring a cave. After which our lake house adventure came to an end.

If you do happen to go to Thailand, then I can recommend a trip to Smiley’s lake house. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be shipwrecked, but I can guarantee you’ll have an awesome time!

Keep an eye out for an upcoming post which will detail the logistics of getting here and away, as well as other options for things to do in Khao Sok. Which may or may not involve leeches…

Our accommodation and adventures in Khao Sok at Smiley’s guesthouse & lake house were in part supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, so thanks to them for that. I’m not sure they arranged for the lake house moving or stranding, but it was a lot of fun anyway!

Things to do in Ghent

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Ghent is in Belgium. Which, other than chips, Audrey Hepburn, chocolate and a statue of a small boy peeing, isn’t exactly famous for anything. It’s almost famous for not being famous for anything in fact.

Which is a bit of a shame really, because Belgium has a lot to offer, the small town of Ghent being one of these things. We visited recently as part of an adventure around Europe and loved it. Here are some of our favourite things to do on a whistle stop tour of Ghent!

What to see and do in Ghent

Wander, wander, wander

Ghent is a city that is really all about the wandering. Get yourself lost in the side streets, stumble across hidden little cafes and bars, marvel at the many waterways and cobbled streets. It’s a town from another time, with a largely car free centre, and you’ll find yourself stopping to take pictures every few paces of the medieval architecture and sights.

Some must-wander locations include the Graslei, the old harbour, which is lined with wonderful old buildings, and of course the old city centre itself, where you will find some of Ghent’s most famous landmarks, including the old post office, Saint Nicholas church, Saint Bavo cathedral and the dragon topped Belfry. Speaking of which:

Climb the Belfry

I know, if you’ve read a few of my city guides, this advice is not exactly going to shock you. I just happen to firmly believe that the best way to get orientated in a city, whilst scoring some decent views, is to get above it. And Ghent has a handy number of options for a view, including the UNESCO world heritage listed Belfry of Ghent.

Dating from 1313, and with a height of 91 metres, the Belfry offers spectacular views across the city of Ghent and particularly the historical city centre from the 66m high viewing platform. The different stages on the way up to the viewing platform have information about the history of the tower, the dragon that sits atop it, and the many bells for which it was built.

At the time of writing it cost €5 to go up, and was well worth it.

Visit the Cathedral

Ghent’s cathedral, Sint Baafskathedraal (also known as Saint Bavo Cathedral) has to be one of the oldest buildings in Ghent, dating from 942. That’s one old building. It is impressive from the outside (and looks good from the top of the Belfry, which it is next to), but the real draw is the display of art inside.

It is the Ghent Altarpiece which takes pride of place – a 15th century set of panels which are painted on both sides, and are nearly five metres wide. It is widely regarded as being one of Europe’s most significant pieces of art, and it has survived a whole host of events, including fires, war and theft. So yes, you can very much get your culture on in Ghent, if that’s your thing.

Check out the Castle

Gravensteen castle, dating from 1180, sits monolith like in the centre of Ghent, a testament to a time when buildings were all about the longevity. Unfortunately the castle was closed when we got there, so all we could do was admire the walls from the outside, and the ebb and flow of time around it.

If your timing is better (and it’s open all day, so you shouldn’t have a problem), then you’ll be able to climb the ramparts, check out a display of arms, and feel generally medieval for 8€. Which seems good value to me, and we’ve put the castle firmly on our “next time we’re in Ghent” list. Which will hopefully not be too far away, because we loved this place!

Getting there and around

The easiest way to get to Ghent is by train from Brussels. These run approximately every half hour, and take about half an hour. Be sure to catch the fast version of the train though as there are slower options which take twice as long.

The central train station in Ghent isn’t particularly central. Luckily there is a handy tram service which will take you to the town centre – just turn right out of the train station and catch tram number 1. If you’d prefer to walk, just go straight ahead as you leave the station, you’re looking at about a 20 – 30 minute wander. If in doubt, follow the tram tracks of the number 1 tram.

Ghent itself is best explored on foot – it’s not a very big place and one of the best things about it are the countless little streets to wander, so that’s the option I’m going to recommend. Otherwise that tram is excellent network, which is probably the next best option if your feet are tired.

Where to stay.

Ghent being so handy from Brussels means that it’s easy to stay in Brussels itself, and take the train to Ghent for the day, thus widening your accommodation choice. This was exactly what we did.

We stayed in the funky Pantone Hotel (as in the colours) in Brussels, thanks to HostelBookers, our accommodation partner on our Europe trip . This was two stops from the main train station on the subway, and within walking distance of the main sights of Brussels.

Our room happened to be right at the top of the building, with two balconies offering 360 degree panoramic views over the Belgian capital – which was pretty epic. The breakfast (included) was also rather jolly, from waffles to bacon and beyond. And the colour inspired decor was delightful, with everything from the toilet rolls to the tea packets coming in multiple bright colours. An easy place to recommend!

Naturally there are plenty more choices when it comes to accommodation, both in Ghent and in Brussels, catering for the majority of budgets, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding somewhere to suit.

Thanks for reading today’s post on the city of Ghent! As you can tell, our accommodation in Brussels was provided by HostelBookers, thanks to them for that. Have you visited Ghent? As always, do share your thoughts in the comments below!

Exploring Berlin

2013-04-22T12:00:00.000+02:00

Berlin is a hell of city. I’ve had the privilege of visiting a number of times, and each time it has delighted and educated me in equal parts.

Part of this is due to the amount of recent history, from the horrors of the second world war, through to the collapse of the wall. It’s also a hive of activity, with everything from tech start-ups to street artists on hand. You can find pretty much whatever you want in Berlin, which means it’s always worth a visit.

Let’s take a look at some highlights of the city that should be on your list when you decide to drop in, based on some of my favourite things to do here.

Highlights of a trip to Berlin

Take a walking tour

One of my favourite ways to experience a city is on foot, and Berlin has no shortage of walking tours on offer. On one of my visits I took an alternative walking tour of Berlin, which covered some of the history of the alternative culture in Berlin, from the street art to life in abandoned old buildings, to a sticker museum to bombed out train stations that have become trendy nightclubs. You can read about that here.

Of course, if that all sounds a bit, well, too alternative, there are walking tours to suit every interest, so if street art isn’t your thing, then I’m sure you’ll find something that is. Tours usually last 2 – 3 hours, and group sizes (and prices!) vary.

Go up something

I love going up things to get a good view of my surroundings and orientate myself. Berlin has a number of options for getting some height between you and the city. Probably the best place to go up something is at Alexanderplatz, where you can climb the Fernsehturm, or TV tower.

This 368 metre tower looms over all of Berlin, with an observation deck and restaurant at around 200 metres, offering a pretty spectacular view if the weather is good.

Another good spot for a view is the Berliner Dom, or cathedral. Found in the intriguing museum district, which is all islands, waterways and bridges, this late 19th century church features a massive dome and 270 steps to the top, which offers a unique view of the surrounding area.

Take in the street art

Berlin is an incredible city for street art, with examples from some of the worlds most famous street artists on display, including Banksy.

The East Side gallery is one of the best places to see the street art whilst also seeing one of the largest pieces of intact Berlin wall – the wall being the canvas for the art in this case.

Other spots for street art include the area around Tacheles – a building that was once home to a thriving artistic community and more painted walls than you could shake a stick at. If shaking sticks at walls is the sort of thing you get up to. Sadly the actual building largely closed down near the end of 2012.

Finally, for an excellent take on one slightly out of the way location for street art, check out this post from fellow travel bloggers OverYonderlust all about the graffiti paradise that is the abandoned spy station of Teufelsberg. Yes, it’s as cool as it sounds!

Be moved by the Holocaust Memorial

It is impossible to visit Berlin without coming across visible reminders of the most brutal war humanity has experienced. The Jews of Europe suffered particularly during this time, subject to horrific ordeals at the hands of the Nazis.

The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, serves as a tribute to the estimated six million Jews who were murdered during this war. It’s a sombre place, a maze of stone slabs, underneath which you will find a museum dedicated to those who were killed. It’s hard not to be moved when visiting.

Visit the Brandenburg Gate

At the centre of nearly every major event in recent German history, including the famous pre-wall speech by US president Ronald Reagan, the Brandenburg Gate is about as recognisable a symbol of Berlin and Germany as you are likely to find.

It won’t take you long to visit, but it is next to both the Holocaust Memorial and the Reichstag, or German parliament, which is also worth visiting if you have the time.

Learn about the terror of the Nazi regime

As previously mentioned, it’s hard to wander Berlin without finding the scars of history, from Checkpoint Charlie to the chunks of wall that still remain as memories.

The Topography of Terror is no different. Here you’ll find one of the longest surviving pieces of Berlin Wall, as well as the location of the former Gestapo and SS headquarters. These latter were bombed into nothing near the end of the war, and the site is now kept as an outdoor memorial and museum, featuring information about the Nazi regime and the unspeakable acts that they perpetrated.

Where to stay

I’ve always been lucky enough to be put up by friends when I visit Berlin, which makes giving specific recommendations a bit tricky. Still, and as you might expect, searching a major travel portal for hotels in Berlin reveals that there is there is no shortage of options to choose from, ranging from the cheap to the extravagant. You’re likely to find something to suit nearly every budget!

If you’re on a particularly tight budget, then there are also hostels to choose from, and if you are looking for a more private, local experience, then you will find various apartment rental services on offer.

Getting there and away

Being a capital city, Berlin is serviced by an excellent airport, so flights to Berlin are easy to find from all over the world. It’s also connected to the rest of Europe by excellent high speed rail services, which was how we arrived. Nothing beats arriving into the centre of the action by train!

Of course, you can also drive to Berlin, and I’m sure there are a variety of bus options as well, although I’m not a big fan of driving into major cities as it’s normally a slow and tedious affair.

I’ve no experience of the long distance buses in Europe, but I expect they are a cheaper, if lengthier, option than the above.

The Temple on a Volcano: Phanom Rung, Thailand

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When you visit Thailand, you are going to be very excited to see some Thai temples. And you should be excited, because they are pretty damn impressive. From the Wats of Bangkok to the crumbling ruins of Sukhothai, there is enough temple in Thailand to sate even the hungriest of temple addicts.

It might surprise you though, to learn that you can actually become somewhat overwhelmed by all the temples on offer, leading to you suffering from the travellers malady of being “templed out”. Symptoms include a lack of enthusiasm for visiting temples, uttering phrases such as “all these temples look the same” or “It’s not as good as Angkor Wat”, with the final result being that you’d rather stay in your hotel with a book instead of venture out.

If these symptoms do overwhelm you, fear not, I have a whole post about keeping the awe alive, which you can read here.

Luckily, being templed out was not a problem for us in Thailand, despite having spent days exploring places like Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. Everywhere we visited was just so interesting and different, incomparable and unique.

Phanom Rung was no exception - a temple which can be found perched on an extinct volcano, way over in the eastern part of Thailand, far away from the usual north-south trail, and a wonderful place for a few hours exploration.

Some brief history

I’m not one to bang on about history, but I figured a quick bit of background won’t do you any harm. Phanom Rung was built by the Khmer Empire (the same geezers who built Angkor Wat), between the 10th and 13th centuries, which makes parts of it older than Angkor. It is one of five Khmer temples that can be found in Thailand.

Phnom Rung is a Hindu shrine, built in dedication to Shiva, and symbolises Mount Kailash, his heavenly dwelling. These days it is open to the public, in the Phanom Rung historical park. It has also been submitted for evaluation as a UNESCO world heritage site, a title of which I think it is entirely deserving.

I suspect that’ll probably do for history. Let’s get on with seeing what this place is like to explore…

Highlights from a trip to Phanom Rung

The best way for me to share Phanom Rung with you is via the medium of the photograph, which will explain the place better than I ever could. Let’s take a wander.

After climbing the staircase from the visitor centre (which has an excellent information display about the history of the place, if you feel the urge to get a bit more detailed than my “It’s really old, woo!” explanation), you are greeted by this long pathway to the main temple complex.

To the right, out of shot, is the “changing room”, a large pavilion where, you guessed it, the royal family would change into processional garbs before taking on the Processional Walkway, which is the 160m long pathway in the photo above.

Once you’ve walked the full length of the walkway, between the lotus bud tipped sandstone posts, you’ll come to three Naga bridges which lead up to the temple. Guarded by five-headed Naga’s (fearsome looking chaps), the first of these bridges represents the connection between heaven and earth.

The view back along that processional walkway isn’t half bad either.

At the top of the stairway there is an area with lotus filled ponds, as well as the outer wall of the temple, which can be accessed via this rather impressive doorway. Through this door you can see the light of the inner gallery, and in fact, all the way through the main tower and out the other side of the temple complex.

The inner gallery is a large space dominated by the main temple, which takes up this shot. This would have been where the main rites would have taken place, and was also home to the linga – the symbol of Shiva.

More shots of the main temple and entranceways. There are four doorways into the main tower, one on each side.

The detail on the lintels and temple walls is quite remarkable.

Finally, a shot from the far side of the temple, having emerged through the outer walls. The location, 400m up at the top of a volcano in the middle of an otherwise flat plain, means that as well as great views of the temple, there are also lovely views of the surrounding area which will impress you, and make all the stairs climbed to this point seem worthwhile!

How to get here & around

Phanom Rung isn’t exactly on the main tourist trail, so getting here will require a bit of legwork. The best way is going to be with your own transport, be that a car or a scooter.

Alternatively, you could consider a tour, either privately arranged with transport and driver, or as part of a larger group. There is no public transport that I could find to Phanom Rung, so that option is out of the window.

Where to stay

The nearest town is Nang Rong, 35km away. Whilst this isn’t exactly a must visit destination, the fact that it’s not on the tourist trail does make it an interesting place to stay for a night. You can get here by bus from Bangkok, and there are a number of accommodation options.

Other attractions

Since you’ve made the effort to come here, it would be a shame to only see one temple! Luckily, there is plenty more to see in this area, all of which will be covered in an upcoming post.

Prasat Muang Tam should be very high up on your to-do list, another Khmer temple dating from the same time as Phanom Rung. This one is surrounded by beautiful ponds, making for some lovely reflections.

The Silk weaving village. One of the projects of the Queen, this village creates, as the name would suggest, silk. The whole process of silk weaving, from the worms to the material, is on display, and you can even have a go at weaving yourself.

For a real dose of knowledge the Northeastern Cultural Centre is where you need to come. This details the history of this part of the world, covering the rise and fall of the Khmer empire, various Thai Kings, and of course, loads of information about the architecture. A good starting point for your explorations!

Our transport and accomodation to Phanom Rung was arranged in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, although we paid our own entry fees to this particular temple. Which, as you can see, was very much worth it!

A warm welcome in Copenhagen at the Absalon Hotel

2013-04-15T08:08:00.000+02:00

I like warm weather. This fact should be apparent by the destinations I’ve covered in the blog, and the way that they rarely seem to include snow, or ice. Other than that trip around New Zealand, where poor timing meant we occasionally saw some actual snow.

So when I booked my trip around a number of Scandinavian countries in March, it was with high hopes of a beautiful spring-like experience. Bunnies would be hopping in the fields. Daffodils would be nursing their way towards sunlight. Lambs would be playing cards in the fields. You get the idea.

What I hadn’t counted on was a severe cold snap hitting northern Europe in early March, leaving the streets of Berlin covered (I’d like to use the word dusted, but it would be a startlingly inaccurate description for the amount of snow that descended in one night) in the white stuff, and us peering at our itinerary which took us from Berlin, in a very northerly direction, to Copenhagen and then beyond. It seemed unlikely to be a directional choice that was going to result in warmer weather.

Our journey was by train, thanks to Interrail.eu, which meant it started with cosy warmth (after we got out of the blizzard at Berlin central station).

Unfortunately, a part of the journey required a ferry crossing, and due to a technical problem with the train, instead of it going onto the ferry as it would otherwise do, we had to disembark and walk to the ferry terminal.

This involved battling a severe sideways wind that was chock full of snow flakes and snow covered platforms, against which my choice of attire (basically as many things as I could put on at once) seemed oddly ill prepared to deal with.

We managed to board the ferry, in which we sat and watched as fierce winds blew snow around the deck. We wondered, for quite some time, as to whether or not perhaps Italy might not have been a better destination. Or Spain. Or maybe we should have stayed in Thailand – Europe clearly not being quite as warm in March as we might have initially hoped.

Still, we were where we were. Another battle against the snow later, and we continued our journey into central Copenhagen by rail, where, rather pleasingly, it was bright and sunny, with no evidence of any snow having fallen.

I have heard that it can be too cold to snow, and this probably explained the lack of snow, because getting off the train revealed that whilst it looked nice and sunny, the trillions of tonnes of fusing hydrogen nuclei around which we orbit were just a bit too far away to combat the icy wind which seemed more than capable of penetrating any weakness in my many layers.

Hopefully you’ve got the idea that it was quite cold.

Luckily for us then, it really wasn’t very far from Copenhagen’s central train station to our venue for our three nights in Copenhagen – the Absalon Hotel, which is only a couple of blocks away from the train station and so only about a five minute walk, even when rolling the kind of suitcase that Vera elected to bring round Europe, which is high in fashion value and low in actual wheelability.

The welcome at the hotel was friendly and warm, which went some way to helping defrost us, and our room was incredibly cosy, with a lovely big bed being front and centre. Having got up at 5am to catch our train, that was a welcome sight.

The staff explained everything to us, from the best way to get around the city, to how to walk to the various attractions, and even where to buy thermal underwear. Copenhagen, it turns out, is eminently walkable, although you’ll want to wrap up warm if you visit in Winter and choose that option, like we did.

So our room. This was beautifully designed, with purple being the colour of choice to accent the room. I’m not normally someone to notice details like this or use phrases like “accent the room” (actually, I have no idea what I’m talking about), but as purple has long been my favourite colour, it rang a chord.

Other details helped out – the kettle and tea bags made Vera particularly happy, given her tea addiction, and the en-suite bathroom was lovely. Free wi-fi and an extensive buffet breakfast that kept us going pretty much all day was the icing on an already rather warm and tasty cake.

The Absalon Hotel makes the perfect base for a city based break in Copenhagen. It is in walking distance of all the highlights, and has friendly knowledgeable staff who speak excellent English on hand to help out. Rooms start at around sixty euros per night for a single, and 115 for two people, with en-suite.

We’re happy to recommend the Absalon Hotel for your trip to Copenhagen – we really enjoyed our stay here. Just wear lots of clothes if you choose to venture outside in winter!

Note: our stay at the Absalon Hotel in Copenhagen was provided to us by HostelBookers.com and the Absalon Hotel, who asked that we pen our thoughts on our stay. The content of those thoughts is, as always, entirely up to us!

What to do in Stockholm

2013-04-11T10:00:00.000+02:00

Five minutes after our arrival in Stockholm Centraal, the main station, I realized that anyone who has ever asked me if I was from Sweden (instead of Germany), has really given me a huge compliment by likening me to these Nordic goddesses. Wow. There is an unusual amount of really tall, really slender, really blonde and really, really good-looking women walking around, and I felt a bit like I had accidentally wandered into “Sweden’s next top model confuses strangers at the Stockholm Centraal Station”.

So that’s the first thing you could do when you’re in Stockholm: hang out at the station and watch people. I waited for Loz while he picked up our Stockholm cards from the tourist office, and I had quite an entertaining twenty minutes.

But I guess you haven’t started reading this post to be told to visit the main station, have you? Oh well. I’ll tell you something: when I tried to find out what we could do during our stay in Stockholm, I got slightly confused. Instead of obtaining information about the most important landmarks of this city, I got repeatedly stuck with advice like: “Just wander around”, “Enjoy the scenery”, “Eat lots of cake”, “Walk through the parks”.

Friends, the Internet and various brochures, who and which are usually more than eager to supply me with an impossible amount of sights when I come looking for advice, instead boasted a chilled out: “Eat lots of cake!”. Yeah right. As if I would trust this unexpected attitude of relaxation. You don’t fool me - I will search for the sights, and I shall find them!

So we set off. And we are not beginners, you know. We know where to go. If you need to find out what you’re dealing with, you’ve gotta go to the top. Here are your options for a good overview of Stockholm:

the Käknas TV-Tower. It’s 155m high, and you can also enjoy the view while having your lunch, as they have a restaurant on one of the view-levels.
the Sky-View. This is different: you will be going up in a glass gondola outside the world’s largest spherical building, a 130m high globe. Talk about an exciting view…
the tower of the City Hall, 105m tall – and closed in winter! But not so fast: visiting the City Hall is still a good idea, as this is the place where the banquet for the Nobel prize is held – the guests have dinner in the Blue Hall and dance afterwards in the Golden Hall. Guided tours are held daily.

Talking about views, I should mention two other spots that are great for taking pictures of Stockholm: the Västerbron Bridge, which connects Kungsholmen and Södermalm, and the promenade above the Photography museum (which is on Södermalm). The latter is also worthwhile your time, with both great International and Swedish exhibitions.

But I hear you moan: “This is a European city – where is the OLD stuff?”. I’m glad you’ve asked. Because when people recommend you eat cake, they will usually tell you to have it at the “Gamla Stan”, the Old Town.

This is one of the best kept city centres from the middle ages, and it is very, very picturesque. When you wander around here, you will at one point pass the Royal Palace, which you can also visit. Nearby are the Storkyrkan Cathedral and the Nobel Museum. You are allowed to eat as many chocolate balls in-between visits as you like, by the way!

You are still not happy, are you? “But where are all these cute typical red Swedish houses?”, you ask. “Well, they are really more of a country thing…”, I try to appease, but you are having none of it. Fine, I’ve got something for you: Skansen, the oldest open-air museum in the world. It was founded in 1891 to preserve an impression of the traditional Sweden, which was feared might vanish during industrialization.

Most of the buildings are originals which were brought here by the founder, Arthur Hazelius. The people walking around in historic attire are not originals (probably for the best), but you can sit down with them in their respective houses, and chat about the life back then – don’t be shy; it’s so interesting!

Skansen is located on the island of Djurgarden, and while there are many more things to see and do here, I cannot let you leave this island without a visit to the Vasa museum.

“What’s in it?”, you ask. “A ship.”, I reply. “So. A ship. Hm”, you say.

…Yes, I know, it clearly doesn’t sound interesting, unless you’re a pirate or something, but don’t be fooled: the moment you step into the exhibition hall, you will instantly feel that this was well worth doing. It’s massive! A Royal Warship that sank in 1628 – within the harbour, on its first passage (which I found quite comical, but most likely no one did back then).

Around the corner are many more museums (the SPRIT museum – dedicated to alcohol, for example!), but the one I wanted to see wasn’t open yet. You will have to go for me and tell me what it is like: the ABBA museum!

I’m not sure if we would have made it there, anyway – you can only do so much in the 48 hours we were in Stockholm! As I said in the beginning, we had a Stockholm Card, given to us by GetYourGuide, the booking website, which is a really good deal, as all the things we did were part of that (and many more things we didn’t do). It had basically paid itself off after three sights.

Public transport is also included with the Stockholm Card, which saves you figuring out the system and also carrying another ticket around with you. I conclude: “One for all” is not only a good motto for the three musketeers, but also for travellers.

That is not to say that you can’t have a good time just wandering around in the parks for free – the one on Djurgarden is especially popular-, or the old town, or along the water. You could also eat yourself silly with the aforementioned baked goods, as the Stockholm Card doesn’t provide unlimited access to chocolate balls (I think I’ll write a letter to them and suggest it).

You could strike up a conversation with a local and talk about the Royal family or which spots they would recommend to see. Or visit the Woodland Cemetery which is Unesco World Heritage (free guided tours from May to September on every Sunday at 10:30 for Stockholm Card owners. Just saying).

In fact, this is only one of three Unesco World Heritage sights in the area of Stockholm, but the other two (the Royal castle Drottningholm and the town of Birka on the island Björko) will rather ask for a day-trip. You are probably starting to see that your most precious good is, as always, time! If you can, bring a lot: Stockholm will live up to it!

So when you go to Stockholm, please don’t forget about your mission to go to the ABBA-museum for me – and to leave a comment about what you thought of it! Other than that, I’d be interested to know what you would like to see when you go to Stockholm, or, if you have already been, what your personal highlight was during your visit, so comment what you can! Thanks for reading, and take care.

As mentioned in the post, our Stockholm cards were provided to us by GetYourGuide, an awesome booking engine for tours and activities all over the world. Our chocolate balled filled wanders around Stockholm, and subsequent opinions on said wanders, remain our own.

Exploring Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand

2013-04-08T11:20:00.000+02:00

Coffee! I’d love to do another post about the awesome coffee available in Doi Inthanon, and just leave it at that, but it turns out there’s a lot more to do in this national park than drink coffee and hang out with coffee growers.

Today I’m going to tell you about everything else you can do in this fantastic national park in northern Thailand (and maybe suggest that coffee again. Read on to find out!)

Found not too far from the northern city of Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon National Park is famous for being home to Thailand’s highest mountain, also called Doi Inthanon.

That big mountain means all sorts of things. It means there are micro climates up here that you won’t find anywhere else in Thailand. There are waterfalls that are both accessible and magnificent. And there are some fantastic buildings to visit. Let’s take a look at some:

Highlights of Doi Inthanon National Park

The Waterfalls

A big mountain surrounded by forest in a part of the world that has a rainy season means that you are likely to find some spectacular waterfalls, and Doi Inthanon doesn’t disappoint in that regard.

We visited a number of them, but the ones that stick out as being most impressive include Mae Ya (260m fall), Vachrithan (70m fall), Siritharn and Mae Klang.

Mae Ya requires a bit of a side trip as it is not on the main access road to the park, thus requiring a specific journey, so if you are only in Doi Inthanon for a day trip you might miss this one. The other three are all on the main access road up to the peak, and are easy to get to, often with the viewpoint right next to the car park.

In some cases you can walk to the top of the falls for an alternative perspective, and to feel that you’ve earned the view. I don’t know about you, but pulling up in a carpark and hopping out always feels a bit like cheating. Speaking of driving to a sight….

Visit Doi Inthanon peak

The highest mountain in Thailand isn’t going to win any awards for height. Nor, if I’m honest, for spectacularness (I may have just made that word up) – the main peak is surrounded by forest, so doesn’t even offer a view, other than of some trees, which are admittedly very nice. It’s also decidedly easy to get to, with the main road going pretty much all the way to the top.

The top is home to a shrine, in memory of the last King of Chiang Mai, after whom the park is named. There is also a lovely walking track through some cloud forest with explanation panels about the flora and fauna which is worth doing. This is, after all, the start of the Himalayas!

Overall though, after taking in the walking track and taking a picture of yourself with the sign that proves you are at the highest point in Thailand, I’d suggest moving on to some spots that really are spectacular, and maybe:

Take a hike along the edge of the world

If you only do one walk in Doi Inthanon, then the 3km Kew Mae Pan trail is the one you have to do. You have to pay extra for the privilege – it’s 200 baht per group to hire a guide for the trail, which isn’t optional.

It is totally worth it though, and the guide knows all kinds of things that you probably don’t, so the two or three hours that the walk will take you (I know, it seems unlikely that 3km will take three hours, but trust me, the views are so epic that you’re going to take this long!) will also be stuffed full of knowledge. And knowledge is good!

The wonderful thing about this walk is the variety it offers. You will walk through cloud forest, past waterfalls, then up out onto a plain that offers incredible views across northern Thailand. Well worth the effort and tiny cost, I assure you!

Visit the Royal Pagodas

Built in honour of the King and Queen’s 60th birthdays by the Royal Thai Air Force, these two massive pagodas command perhaps one of the most impressive views in all of Thailand. Certainly the best pagoda view at least.

You can visit and go inside both pagoda’s, and also wander around the beautiful gardens outside them. But the real draw has to be that view, as they are perched on the side of the mountain, with fantastic views across the park and parts of northern Thailand.

Visit a hill tribe and drink some coffee

Oh wait, I did a whole post about this already. Well, one of the things you are able to do in Doi Inthanon national park is to visit a hill tribe, and many tours include this as an activity.

Your mileage may vary – we had a great visit where we met some awesome people and drank locally grown coffee. We enjoyed it so much we went back the next day and took a guided walk with one of the locals, and bought some of the coffee, which was superb.

Not everyone reports having such a positive experience visiting hill tribes though, feeling that it is a little contrived and artificial, so read up before you go and ensure that where you are visiting is going to work for you.

How to get there & around

There are a few options for exploring Doi Inthanon. The easiest is probably to take a tour from Chiang Mai, which will include transport to, from and around the park, as well as take in the main sights, which will likely include most of the above except perhaps the hike. Expect to have to pay the entry fee to the park on top of the tour fee – this is currently 200 baht for a foreigner.

If you want a more independent voyage, then hiring a car or scooter for a day or two will certainly give you more freedom, and let you spend more time in the bits you want to visit.

You could also consider getting a group together yourself, and hiring a Songthaew (covered pick up) for the day. Ensure you negotiate with the driver as to the cost up front, and check if it includes fuel.

There isn’t really any public transport in the park, although you can get to near the park entrance by public transport from Chiang Mai, and then try and hitch if that’s your thing.

Where to stay

The highlights of Doi Inthanon can easily be covered in a day, but if you wanted to explore a little more, perhaps with a hike, or to visit some more waterfalls, then staying for longer is a good option.

One way to do that is with one of the aforementioned hill tribes, many of whom offer home stay options. Alternatively, the National Park service offers both camping (with tent and equipment rental if required) and bungalow accommodation options. The latter tend to book up well in advance, and camping is also very popular with locals, so if you are interested in these, do check they are available well before turning up!

We hope that you enjoyed today’s post on the Doi Inthanon National Park. If you’ve got any questions, or experiences to share, or just some thoughts, do fire away in the comments below. And thanks, as always, for reading!

In photos: From the Facebook page Edition VII

2013-04-04T10:00:00.000+02:00

Once you’ve got to seven of a thing, then I suspect introducing it is probably unnecessary. In fact, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to write in this part of the post any more.

The deal, in case the last six of these have passed you by (and good news if that is the case, you’ve got another SIX of these things to look at now!), is that due to the vagaries of the Facebook algorithm, and the fact that only 1 in 7 people on the planet have Facebook, it occurred to me that not everyone out there will be getting to see all the photos that we share on our Facebook page.

This seemed a terrible state of affairs, which I resolved to fix by posting a sort-of-monthly post, which involve me repeating myself in the introduction with long waffley paragraphs that no-one reads (high five if you’re still here), and then hitting you up with some eye candy consisting of the most popular shots from the aforementioned Facebook page.

Also, I’m not sure what I’ve been allowing to enter my brain recently, but I must apologise for the use of phrases like “hitting you up with some eye candy”. I don’t know what’s going on there. Let’s get on with this, what-ho!

We had an amazing time in Thailand, particularly in some of the incredible national parks. This is the magnificent multi-tiered waterfall known as Namtok Karom, in the Khao Luang national park, just near the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Ah, Mount Taranaki. One of New Zealand’s most perfect bits of mountain scenery, looking just like a volcano should. So perfect in fact, that it stood in for Japan’s Mount Fuji, in the Tom Cruise sword wielding epic: The Last Samurai. It’s also an amazing (and challenging!) day hike in New Zealand. Worth the effort, I assure you.

Deep in the Australian outback lies this incredibly colourful geological formation known as the Painted Desert. If you are in the Coober Pedy region, then you might want to take the side trip out here too. And on the way, you could stop off at the Moon Plain. Because why not?

Thailand’s Doi Inthanon national park is where you’ll find the highest peak in the country. It’s also home to some unique flora, such as this rhododendron, which can only be seen up here, amongst the clouds.

New Zealand sure has it’s fair share of scenic drives, and the road to Mount Cook National Park is no exception. Admittedly the road doesn’t go anywhere else, so you’re going to have to go back on yourself, but with views like this in every direction, that’s not exactly a hardship.

Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia has to be my favourite cathedral in the world, and it’s not even finished yet, a fact the cranes give away. Over a hundred years in the making, this masterpiece has quite a way to go still, but it should still feature at the top of any visitors Barcelona itinerary.

From a wacky church in Spain to a wacky temple in Thailand – this of course being the White Temple of Chiang Rai, which as well as featuring, obviously, a white temple, also comes with some rather interesting garden ornaments. Another one that has to be seen to be believed.

When visiting Paris, everyone will make a bee line for the Eiffel Tower, from where you can get some amazing views across the city. But the problem with the view of course is that it doesn’t feature Paris’s most famous landmark. So instead, why not climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, and get the view with the tower. Or do both. It is Paris after all.

You can see my house from here! I love islands, which is a good thing, as I had the good fortune to grow up on the above island for a good few years of my life. This is Bird Island in the Seychelles. Pretty stunning, I think you’ll agree.

When all else fails, make a giant statue out of an ordinary object. That seems to be a very popular line of thinking in some parts of the world, with Australia and New Zealand in particular being big fans of this theory. The object in question is the giant carrot of Ohakune, on New Zealand’s north island. This area is one of the countries top carrot producing regions, although is also home to the incredible Tongaririo National Park and gorgeous hiking trails and waterfalls. And a carrot.

France is no stranger to castles, although many of them are in the more recent renaissance style, all beauty and no beast, from a time when the French decided to switch from making war to making love. Well, as far as my rather vague understanding of European history goes. This example though, Chateau Lastours, is from a time when castles were built with function rather than form in mind, that function being war.

When you think of Australia, you probably think of beaches, surfing, outback and crocodiles. But Australia is a land of contrast, with something to offer everyone. So if a bit of alpine scenery is more your thing, then you’ll want to head to the Victorian Alps, and take in a bit of spectacular mountain scenery. There’s even skiing, if that’s your thing.

At the time of writing, Europe is in the grip of a seemingly never ending Winter, with white Easter’s and snow bunnies all around. I posted this shot of some dandelions in the hope that it might hasten spring. The jury is still out as to the success, but at least I tried.

More from the central Australian outback, this time in the form of some boulders known as the Devil’s Marbles at sunset. There’s a lovely campground here, which is a good stop off point if you are heading through the red centre.

I do enjoy a bit of rock art, although in this case the sentiment caught my eye. I’d love to know the story behind this one, and how it all worked out.

More from Australia – this time the outback sculpture park known as Inside Australia, an installation by British artist Antony Gormley. It’s a bit of a trek into the Western Australian outback (although to be honest, everything in Australia is a bit of a trek, this is one big place), but entirely worth the visit, even if it’s a bit wet on the day of your visit.

That endless Winter I was telling you about? It encouraged me to post a skiing picture from a trip a few years back. If there’s one thing snow is good for (apart from making snowmen of course), it’s skiing. This is in the French alps.

Talking of countries of contrast – would you have pegged this shot as being in New Zealand? Well done if so – this is a shot at farewell spit, a 26km long sand dune at the very northern tip of New Zealand’s south island. Great for a walk, and for birdlife.

And finally for today’s round up – we recently visited Berlin as part of our European adventure. And if there is one thing that Berlin does well, it’s street art. I loved the expression in this piece.

And that about wraps up the seventh edition of the series! As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the post and pictures, and don’t forget you can like our Facebook page below to see all the photos we share with you guys!

What the Segway? A tour through Copenhagen.

2013-04-01T10:11:00.000+02:00

Every now and again, Loz fails completely. Like when we went to Copenhagen.

He looks at me, very excited, beaming: “I booked us on a city tour through Copenhagen – a Segway tour!!”

I smile politely back: “That’s great. What’s a Segway?”

“A Segway! Oh, you know them – they are these big electric scooters where you basically stand on a little platform and drive around. I did a tour once in Chicago; that was really cool.”

“Wait,”, I say, ”you mean these things people use in airports or on big conferences? I thought you had to wear a suit to use them – because I’ve never seen anyone without a suit use them…”

Loz is not impressed by my attempt to be humorous: “They are really fun, you know!”

I’m sure they are fun – but so far it was me having the fun watching people like they were on a Mars mission on these big-wheeled vehicles. In my head people using Segways are not cool, you know. Not like skate-boarders or BMX-bikers or quad-bikers. Segway doesn’t scream ‘action’ or ‘skill’. And some people wouldn’t be caught dead on a Segway, I’m sure.

But let’s not think about it too much, I tell myself, because apparently, I soon will be segwaying (is that a real word?) through a big city and everyone will stare at me and then something embarrassing will happen, like I’m driving into a lamp-pole, because that’s what usually happens, let’s be honest here. Hooray.

So on a Monday morning we make our way to the Segway Tours office in Copenhagen. It’s not warm. In fact, we look like we are about to board an expedition into Antarctica. Scarfs wrapped around our faces, we enter the office. Sam, who is going to be our guide, probably thinks we have come to rob him…

We all say hi and chat a bit. Then comes an incredibly glorious moment: we get our helmets – and they look GOOD on us! Yes, I know, hard to believe. They also have a built-in radio so Sam can talk to us during the tour, and a mounting bracket for a Go-Pro camera if we feel like videoing my encounter with the lamp-pole. Maybe next time…

Outside we hop – today’s group only consists of the three of us. I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to slowly freeze to death on a Segway Tour in a Copenhagen that boasts cosy –6 degrees (-18, if you add the wind). Luckily the Segways have bright red oven mittens attached to the steering bar, and Sam announces that we’ll be taking a little break in between the tour and warm up in a café.

I step on the Segway and Sam motherly pulls the oven mitts over my wrists before he gives me some instructions and tips on how to move and steer. I nod and carefully start moving. Very slowly (you never know what a sudden movement will do, do you). Slow as a snail, in fact. Because there is a lamp-post in our practice area, and it’s looking at me. Sam is also looking at me, and after he’s happy with how I’m doing, we’re off to the real world.

Copenhagen is one of those cities where cycling is very popular. In fact, the average Copenhagener possesses two bikes! This means there are cycle paths everywhere and they are fairly spacious as well. Segways fall under the bike category when it comes to transport, so we happily drive along the cycle paths.

It doesn’t take long until I think that this is pretty much the perfect way to do a tour. It’s an absolutely beautiful day and because there is so much to see, I even forget about the cold. From one point on I manage to take pictures while standing on the Segway, even though I can’t quite keep it from moving. The guys blame it on my lack of balance. Oh yeah? …Damn.

Sam points out the different sights and has a lot of tales to tell. He is originally from England, but he has lived here for a while now and contributes to the tour by sharing some stories from his every day life as well. For example, when he was apartment hunting he learned that a lot of the older houses used to have common showers in the basement, due to the expensiveness of plumbing.

When plumbing became more affordable, every apartment could have its own shower – but now there was the problem of finding a space for it. This resulted in apartments where you have your shower in the kitchen, for example. I mean, I guess you can save time when you’re in a hurry by taking a shower while fixing yourself something to eat…

The modern times – it’s all about multi-tasking, isn’t it? I haven’t considered doing a city tour in a while because I often found it a bit boring in the past, but this is different. Driving the Segway while getting shown the sights is fun. There, I said it. It’s fun! Sam confirms my discovery by saying that each time when he steps on his Segway to take people around Copenhagen, he’s excited again – it never gets boring.

We somehow manage to blow the two hour concept of the tour but it turns out that Copenhagen has a lot of sights as well as many interesting corners. Also we have the warm-up coffee break in between – but not anywhere: it’s the place where Princess Marie herself gets her hot chocolate from. She doesn’t make an appearance while we are there which is for the best as Sam has not properly briefed us how to behave towards Danish royalty.

Apart from that, we learn quite a lot. We see the oldest building in Denmark, we find out how to tell which members of the Royal family are currently in the Royal Palace, we get shown the place where to get the best sandwiches in Copenhagen, we Segway along the lake where Hans Christian Anderson might have been inspired to write “The ugly duckling”, we see the house where he lived while he wrote it.

We cross the first street in Copenhagen that went two ways and that was built by the Carlsberg brewery. We see “soft graffiti”, hear of festivals, drive past art work, historic buildings and even through a cemetery. We see ships and the little mermaid, the opera house and the parliament – and much, much more.

We feel we’re getting a very good impression of all the different layers and facets Copenhagen consists of, and when we suddenly find ourselves in front of the tour office again, 14 km later, I realise that not only every lamp-pole in Copenhagen is still un-harmed, but that I am converted: Segways rock.

I know, you’re a bit sad now that I didn’t end up in a lamp-pole, but even I get a break every now and again. Or it is because I’m a natural Segway talent? We shall see the the next time when I step on my new favourite Mars scooter!

Should you in the meantime feel intrigued to roll around between the sights of Copenhagen, I highly recommend the Segway tour from ToursCPH (who are also authorized by Segway). They advise to book in advance, which you can easily do via the booking site GetYourGuide. Do think about how good you’ll look good in that helmet – kind of like a helicopter pilot! A helicopter pilot on a scooter, admittedly.

So, are you rather suspicious towards the whole business like I was, or can’t you wait to hop onto one of these things, or have you already segwayed – with or without hitting a lamp-pole in the process? Do tell!

Our tour of Copenhagen by Segway was kindly provided to us by GetYourGuide. Our ability to make a two hour tour last three hours and manage to not fall off is our own, as are our thoughts in this post.

Tips for sleeping on a plane

2013-03-28T10:00:00.000+01:00

A lot of people tell me that they have difficulty sleeping on planes. Well, I’m here to tell you today that sleeping on a plane is easy. You just need to find the right plane. Here’s a quick rundown of four tips to know you’ve found a plane that is going to offer a good nights sleep:

Find a plane with no engines. This is likely to be much quieter than a normal plane, as engines are very noisy.
Cut out noise from your fellow passengers. Passengers are the number two noise concern on a plane, so you’re going to need to isolate yourself from them. I’d recommend finding a plane with interior walls that shut you off from the other passengers, creating what I’m going to call “rooms”.
Find a plane with real live actual beds. Despite what airlines may try and tell you about those three extra inches of leg room, a seat is rubbish compared to a bed for sleeping in.
Have a couple of drinks. You’ll want a plane with a well stocked bar and seating area to properly enjoy these – those tray tables and plastic cups you get on planes can really spoil a drink’s mojo.

Ok, so these tips do happen to come with the slight caveat that you aren’t likely to wake up someplace different to where you went to sleep. If you’re ok with that, then read on, and I’ll tell you where to find a plane that meets all of the above requirements.

Otherwise, here’s a guide to sleeping on the more common variety of planes that involve going up in the sky. In case that’s your thing.

How to find this magical plane

First of all, you’re going to want to head to Sweden, and more precisely, Stockholm. Then, you’re going to want to head to Stockholm’s Arlanda airport, about 40km north of the town. If you happen to be arriving by plane, this is going to work out well for you, as you’ll already be in the right place.

Now, hop on the airport shuttle bus, and hop off at the giant 747 called the Jumbo Stay. Congratulations, you’ve now found yourself at the home of the best plane in the world for getting a good nights sleep, without having to pay a fortune for one of those fancy first class tickets.

Here’s the deal. Some time ago, a chap called Oscar wanted to open a hostel. Unfortunately, none of the buildings available at the time met his requirements. Conveniently, a large 747 was coming up for sale as the result of an airline going bankrupt. Seizing the opportunity (that perhaps, many might not have), Oscar decided that a 747 would make the perfect hostel, bought it, and set about the conversion process.

One year later the Jumbo Stay was born.

So how did I end up here? Well, as part of my trip around Europe, I mentioned to my accommodation partner HostelBookers that we’d quite like to stay in unusual properties if they had any available. Not that I have anything against your more normal hotel, but I figure you guys are probably more interested in reading about something totally wacky like a converted 747 where possible.

So there we were. HostelBookers were filled with joy that they could send me to something that took my brief of “unusual” and pretty much blew it out of the water, and I was excited to be staying in a plane. Let’s talk about the actual experience.

Staying with Jumbo Stay

There is obviously a huge novelty factor that comes from staying in a converted 747. These are very big planes, something like eighty metres long, so there is certainly plenty of space. The rooms are mostly down the body of the plane, off a central corridor.

The rooms on offer vary from simple twin bunk beds through to the impressive cockpit suite, which, as you’ve guessed it, is in the cockpit.

The majority of the rooms feature shared bathrooms, with storage in the form of overhead lockers (what else?), although the more premium rooms do feature their own en-suite, including the cockpit suite and the black box suite, which takes up the whole rear width of the plane.

The hostel also features free wireless internet throughout, a bar, an eating area where some snacks can be bought, and also breakfast, which is served from 3am (!) until 10am. It’s very well kept and spotlessly clean, and it’s rather nice that shoes aren’t allowed in the plane itself.

Around the outside of the plane you can wander freely – there is a tyre swing made out of an actual aircraft tyre, one of the wings is soon to be opened as an outdoor seating area, and the four engines are in the process of being turned into rooms of their own.

Is it for you?

The question is – would I recommend it? Naturally, this depends.

The Jumbo Hostel is 40km north of the city centre, so is not really well situated for exploring Stockholm. To get to the city centre there are a variety of transport options, including buses and the high speed Arlanda Express train, but even with the shuttle bus from the door of the plane, you are likely looking at no less than a forty minute ride door to door, with associated costs (the Arlanda Express is Europe’s most expensive airport train service).

So as a base for exploring Stockholm it’s not a brilliant choice, although this isn’t really what it’s about.

As a stop over to and from Stockholm airport, it is a brilliant option. It offers value for money, and the main airport terminals are a five minute free shuttle bus ride away. With a 24 hour reception and that early breakfast option, it’s clearly well set up for people with flights to catch.

It's also a great place to come if you’ve got kids (or are a bit of a plane geek!), and want to stay somewhere really a bit different. Getting this close to a plane is tough unless you’re in a museum, and wandering around under the undercarriage and experiencing the enormity that is a 747 within touching distance is really quite an experience.

Lastly, although billed as a hostel, this doesn’t really have a hostel vibe. Most people arrive fairly late on, stay just one night, and leave quite early. There is a common dining area, but there isn’t the time to meet people and develop the kind of relationships that you might otherwise find at your average hostel. In this respect, it’s much more like an airport hotel. But a really funky one.

If you happen to be passing through Arlanda airport, or have a spare night in the Stockholm region, I can very much recommend giving this one a try. The novelty factor alone is worth it, and the hostel has everything you need for a comfortable stay. Just don’t expect to wake up anywhere new in the morning…

As mentioned in the post, our stay at the Jumbo Stay Hostel was provided to us by HostelBookers and Jumbo Stay in return for penning our thoughts, the contents of which, as always, remain our own. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this hostel in the comments below!

Not getting scammed in Thailand

2013-03-25T10:00:00.000+01:00

Before I came out to Thailand I did a bunch of research into the country, both online and offline. Mostly about places to go and things to see, but also about the various dangers and annoyances to keep an eye out for.

Which, I was pleased to discover, were rather few and far between. Thailand is a pretty safe place to travel in.

There were a few scams listed though, some of which I noticed first hand, and others I’ve heard other travellers have fallen victim to. Nothing serious in most cases, although enough to keep me on the lookout for the common ones. Here’s the story of how that went in Sukhothai:

How I wasn’t scammed in Thailand

Here is the scene, common to transport terminals all over the world. A group of people descend from a mode of transport (in this case a bus), and are mobbed (ok, so in Thailand it’s more of a gentle query) by touts demanding to know where they are going and where they are staying.

If an individual engages in a discussion with this group (and it’s kind of hard not to), and goes so far as to disclose a destination, it is quite normal to be informed that said destination is closed. Or burnt down. Or, as one fellow travel blogger was told, has fallen into a lake.

This sad tale is then followed by the good news that the person relaying the tale happens to know a much better accommodation option. Where they, quite by co-incidence, happen to get a commission (that bit is usually left out of the tale). Would you like them to take you there?

The savvy answer at this point is to say no, to stick to your guns, and to go the place you originally had in mind, which will mysteriously not have closed, burnt down, or fallen into the lake.

So it was when I arrived into the city of Sukhothai in Thailand. As one of only four westerners on the bus, we were gently probed by various transport toting chaps as to where we were headed.

Having done the minimal amount of research required, and not wanting to say I hadn’t decided, I thought the best option would be to claim we had a reservation at one of the more popular looking destinations, as rated by both wikitravel and the Lonely Planet, which would head these chaps off at the pass and let us get a breather.

Having named my guest house, I was greeted by much eye rolling and shaking of heads. It wasn’t open, we were informed (we’d formed a posse of four by this point). It was too far to walk. Wouldn’t we much prefer to ride along with one of these nice chaps to a guest house they knew was open?

I stuck firmly to my story. We were fine. We had a reservation (this seemed like a good thing to say) – how could we have a reservation at somewhere that was closed? We were going to consult the map, and just walk over, as our information said it was no more than ten minutes walk away.

We set off, the four of us, into the darkness surrounding the Sukhothai bus terminal.

A particularly persistent taxi driver followed us along the road. He kept asking us if we were sure we had a reservation. He seemed genuinely concerned. He also said it was at least a 3km walk, and that he could take us there for 10 baht a head. As our bags got heavier, and the map (which, I later found out, I had been reading upside down) didn’t seem to be lining up to reality, this sounded like a pretty good deal.

We bundled ourselves in and set off, first on a highway, and then on a smaller road, and then finally onto a single track lane which didn’t exactly inspire confidence in our destination. After a kilometre or so of darkened, single track lane, where the only indication we were headed in the correct destination was a faded, hand painted sign for the hostel, we arrived.

It has to be said, this was about as close to the scene from a horror movie as I’ve ever got. This was clearly not a place that could be defined as well lived in. A single light illuminated what had clearly once been a thriving little hostel. The gate was firmly nailed shut. There was a battle going on between the jungle and the property, and nature was quite clearly winning. This was not a hostel that was accepting guests.

Our driver looked at us, looked at the nailed shut gate, and with the sort of seriousness that only a Thai person can muster at this point, out of respect for the person he was talking to, said, “Are you sure you have a reservation”.

At this point, clearly, the game was up. I mumbled something about not being sure, and asked him if he knew anywhere else in town. Thankfully, he did, and took us there, and it turned out to be very nice.

After this adventure, I concluded that being quite so wary and closed up wasn’t necessarily going to benefit the holiday.

Sure, there are a whole bunch of popular scams in Thailand. There are the tuk tuk drivers in Bangkok who will promise to take you anywhere in Bangkok for 20 Baht, which will result in you visiting far more fake jewellery stores, over priced restaurants, dodgy tailors and shady tour agencies than you were perhaps expecting.

There are the chaps who stand near temples and explain that the temples are closed, for very plausible sounding reasons, and they know a much better option, which will oddly also result in you being taken on a tour of a variety of un-temple like commission based outfits. And there are also the gambling scams, which may start off as an invite to come over for dinner from an entirely random person on the street, and will quickly go downhill from there.

So I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be wary when travelling in Thailand. Read up on the likely scams, and if something sounds suspicious, or too good to be true, then assume it probably is. Check out this post from the Globe Trotter Girls on how they were scammed in Thailand, to get an idea of how even experienced travellers can be caught out.

But on the whole, you don’t want to wreck your experience by mistrusting everyone. As we came to discover, Thailand is a country full of incredible, helpful, and above all, friendly people. Let yourself be open to that, and good things will happen!

How about you? Have you visited a country and been the victim of a scam… or do you feel you’ve missed out on the genuine offer of help because you were in defense mode? Share away in the comments below!

Lub d Siam Square: Hostel review

2013-03-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

You know what’s nice? Sandwiches. Sandwiches are nice. Well, apart from the ones that are sold at or near train stations in the UK, which are enough to make the Earl who invented this remarkable treat terribly sad. Were he still around to be terribly sad that is, which he isn’t.

The thing about sandwiches is that wherever you are in the world, they follow a nice pattern. Two bits of bread, with a filling. Ok, so sometimes you can go posh and have one with a third bit of bread, but really that just causes a mess. No-one has a mouth big enough to deal with those things.

I mention sandwiches because our trip to Thailand had something rather in common with a sandwich, in that we arrived in and departed from the city of Bangkok, and during our time there we were invited to stay at the Lub d hostels, of which there are two. So if our trip around Thailand was the tasty sandwich filling, the Lub d hostels were the bread, holding the whole thing together. The start and finish of any trip is important, much like the bread in a sandwich, and so it was important to stay somewhere nice.

I could have done this whole post using book ends instead of sandwiches of course, but they are far less tasty and prone to splinter in the mouth.

Allow me now to talk to you about the Lub d Siam Square, which is the subject of today’s post, and is the sister hostel to the Lub d Silom, which was the launching pad of our Thailand adventure, and was reviewed in detail in this post.

The focus at Lub d, as a chat with the management team revealed, is cleanliness, and that shows. The place is spotless, and teams of cleaners seem to be working constantly to keep it that way.

Don’t think though that you’re checking into the accommodation equivalent of a satellite construction facility. Sure, clean is one thing, but a place has got to have character, right? Soul is as important as spotless rooms, in my mind anyway.

Well, the good news is that soul is very much present. From the funky colours of the railings (think Paul Smith stripes, and yes, I did just make a reference to fashion) to the giant sofa in the lounge / bar / reception / restaurant area, Lub d Siam just feels like a cool place to be from the moment you step off the street and onto the giant terrace area.

Naturally all the options you’d hope to find in a hostel are in place, and then some. Clean towels and room turndown every day? Check. Free wi-fi? Of course. Separate women’s only sleeping area? You got it. Luggage room where you can store your bags for up to two months? No problem. Cinema room? Yes indeed. Clearly, someone has put a lot of thought into thinking what needs a traveller could have, and then added some on top of that, and turned it all into this hostel.

There’s a bar, of course, where they also serve up snacks. Breakfast is particularly good – if you’re not feeling like Thai food, then you can grab a croissant as part of the excellent continental breakfast. Which, after three months of Thai food, was rather novel. I may have eaten a few too many in fact. But if Thai food is what you’re after, then don’t miss the free taster sessions on Thursday night, where you’ll get an introduction to Thai street food, sticks and all.

Location wise, Lub d Siam couldn’t be any more different from Lub d Silom. Where the latter is in a relatively peaceful part of town, Siam is in the heart of the shopping district, with glitzy malls rising all around. Street food is a hop and skip away, particularly in the evenings, and there are roof top bars and clubs to provide entertainment should you be so inclined. The escalator to the Sky Train – a fast way to get around Bangkok – is located at the hostels entrance, so much of Bangkok including the main airport, is very easy to get to. Despite all this, the hostel offers a calm, relaxing environment, and street noise isn’t a problem.

Rooms come in five types. Naturally there are dorms, for the more budget minded traveller, although they sleep a maximum of four, so they are still fairly private. There are also ladies-only dorms, as well as private rooms of the twin, double, and deluxe double variety. The latter feature an ensuite bathroom and TV. A far cry from the hostel rooms of old.

So would we recommend this hostel? Absolutely, without a doubt. The location is superb for both retail therapy and exploring Bangkok. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and there is usually some kind of tour or activity arranged of an evening if you’re up for that sort of thing. The vibe is chilled, relaxed and friendly, and the design is superb. So yes, totally one to recommend. The hardest thing to do will be deciding which Lub d to pick for your stay…

Note: our stay at Lub d Siam Square was provided to us free in return for posting our thoughts on the property. Our thoughts remain entirely our own :)

Southern Thailand by Instagram

2013-03-18T12:12:00.000+01:00

Instagram is brilliant. Unlike other social networks, there’s none of that need to actually pay attention to what people are saying, or doing, or listening to. Instead, you can just gawp at the snapshots of their lives (or, their cups of coffee), and be transported to a world of wonder.

I love the way I can follow folks from all over the world, and have a window into what’s happening in countless locations. And, of course, I love letting people have a peep at what’s been going on around me as I travel.

Our trip to Thailand was no different – I shared a whole host of shots on Instagram from that trip that i worry you may have missed. Well, I need worry no more. After the success of my Northern Thailand by Instagram post, I figured the southern half of the country deserved it’s time in the sun. Speaking of which, as this is the part of Thailand which is home to incredible beaches, don’t be astonished to see the odd sunset picture below. Let’s get on with the tour!

After our hectic trip around Northern Thailand, we took a bit of time out and chilled in the beach town of Hua Hin, around 150km south of Bangkok. Naturally, this meant we spent a lot of time on the beach!

We actually had the choice of two beaches at Hua Hin. On one of them we found this rather interesting sand sculpture!

And of course, we witnessed some spectacular sunsets and sunrises! This is the latter, a rare sunrise shot (I’m not normally up early enough!)

After Hua Hin we headed down to Khao Sok national park, which is famous for its gorgeous lake (see below) and fabulous jungle. Jungle, in this case, meaning leeches. The above is my leg, after tangling with a leech. This one was a victory to the leeches I think.

When not battling leeches, Khao Sok is remarkably pretty. This was the view from our rafthouse on the lake.

After Khao Sok it was down to Nakhon Si Thammarat, where we spent a few days soaking in the local vibe, and visiting the temples.

The south of Thailand is much more Muslim influenced than the north, and it isn’t long before mosques start to pop up with as much regularity as normal temples. Which in Thailand, is quite a lot.

From Nakhon Si Thammarat we went across to the west coast of southern Thailand – the famous Andaman coastline. We based ourselves in the Trang region for a few days and spent some time enjoying gorgeous views like this, and the first picture in this post.

From Trang we headed even further south, via a four hour bus journey, to the town of Satun. This is about as far as you can go on Thailand’s south west coast before crossing into Malaysia. The vibe in this town was very Muslim, with regular prayer calls providing the soundtrack. Although, of course, the Buddha could still be found presiding!

No, we didn’t take a detour to Copenhagen! Beyond Satun we headed back across the east coast again, and visited the town of Songkhla, home to this rather spectacular mermaid statue.

The mermaid wasn’t the only statue in town. Songkhla was also home to this duo, the cat and mouse, who represent the islands in the bay, Cat and Mouse Islands.

Songkhla had an absolutely fantastic stretch of beach to explore, upon which we came across all kinds of interesting debris which had been washed ashore. This giant light bulb really intrigued me with it’s reflective properties – and the above shot was a real challenge to get!

Songkhla is also home to this Royal pavilion, which can be found on the main hill overlooking the town.

It turns out Songkhla was rather photogenic! This is the old town at sunset.

Moving north now, and this is the northern end of the Andaman coast - the 10km long Thai Mueang beach. There’s not much here other than a beach and a couple of restaurants – in fact the bus driver was a bit concerned about us getting off here, but I think you’ll agree, the deserted beach was worth it!

We spent my birthday wandering around old Phuket town, where we discovered all sorts of charming streets and shops. This piece of street art was absolutely stunning.

From Phuket we took a day trip to visit James Bond island in Phang Nga bay, as well as do some canoeing in the sea caves. The water was an incredible shade of green!

And then, we were nearly done with the holiday! Here Vera tackles the futuristic malls of Bangkok

And then.. sadly.. our incredible three month adventure was over, and it was time to leave. Ah well. I’m sure we’ll be back!

I hope you enjoyed this look back at some of our favourite Instagram moments of southern Thailand. If you want to follow me on Instagram, you’ll find me as @Lozula!

Hammocks! And some thoughts on Novica

2013-03-14T09:00:00.001+01:00

When Novica contacted me recently asking if I was interested in reviewing their online shop for artisan products from around the world, they could have made their lives easier by pointing out that they have hammocks for sale and I was welcome to test out the service by ordering those.

Instead, we went back and forth a bit to ensure that they were a legit company, that their service was beneficial to all involved, and that it was something I’d want to share with you guys. Not that I can be bought off with hammocks. (Well, not any more, thanks to Novica!).

So, what is Novica, and why should you care?

At first glance, they would appear to be an online store. If you are as excited about shopping as I’m not (I probably should have got Vera to do this review, although then we would have ended up with impractical things like jewellery instead of all purpose hammocks), then you may have dozed off already. But fear not – they are an online store with a difference.

You see, Novica works with artisans from all around the world, allowing them to sell the products on their site to a much wider audience than they might otherwise have been able to reach. These artisans sell these products to Novica at a price they set, and then Novica makes them available to people like you and me, obviously with a markup to make the whole thing worthwhile to everyone. They’re also backed by National Geographic, which is a pretty significant plus in my book.

The good thing about the setup is that it is a win/win situation for the artisan. They aren’t locked in to an exclusivity contract, and they set the prices for the products they sell. They can keep selling their products in their traditional retail channels, whilst knowing that folks from around the globe are also able to buy from them. So how does that work in practice?

I popped over to the Novica website to take a look, and gosh, do they have a bunch of products from around the world for sale! After spending some time peering at wooden dragons, romantic gifts for him and romantic gifts for her (sorry Vera, the hammocks won this time!), I spied the hammock section, after which I was lost. With no less than twelve hammock categories to peruse, this was no easy task. Luckily I had this picture of Vera in a hammock to keep me strong.

It was around this point that the only minor hiccup in the whole process popped up. Whilst the artisans are based around the world, shipping costs are biased towards US residents. So if you live in the US, you’ll find shipping to be very reasonable. If you happen to live in Europe, like me, you’ll find that many products become fairly expensive fairly quickly once you’ve added international shipping. Light items become the order of the day.

This actually made my decision making process a lot easier. Charly from Indonesia happened to have a line of hammocks designed for travel, made out of parachute silk, in a variety of exciting colours which, most importantly, were very light, meaning shipping costs to Europe were affordable. Obviously I had to order three.

Not very much later, a package arrived on the doorstep, within which were three beautifully gift-wrapped hammocks. It was almost a shame unwrapping them actually, that is how well they were presented. There was also a handwritten note from the Novica guys in Bali & Java, thanking me for my purchase, and featuring a few Indonesian phrases for me to practice when in my hammock. You’ve got to love that personal touch. There was also a little story card about the artisan who had put the hammocks together. All very nice.

So what else can I tell you about Novica? Well, as I said, they’re supported by National Geographic, a partnership which started in 2000 and that continues to this day. That’s a pretty significant vote of confidence. They’re also no flash in the pan, having been going for nearly fifteen years, which in web terms is basically forever (did the internet even exist in 1999?). So they are clearly doing something very right. Additionally, feedback from the artisans on their website is very positive. And I can’t fault the service – it was flawless.

Well, that’s enough from me – I’ve got some hammocks to road test. If you’re looking for interesting and slightly different gifts for someone in your life (or yourself!), that also help support artisans around the world, then I can very much recommend giving Novica a go!

The Belly of the Dragon

2013-03-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

It seems that in this world of ours there are quite a lot of people with irrational fears. In fact, every now and again I stumble over an article that lists the latest fears that have been given names, and wonder what it means exactly for your life when you are afraid of… garlic.

To anyone who thinks he or she is a mess I recommend looking at this list of phobias – I can assure you that you will find plenty of phobias you didn’t think existed, in addition to some that will make you chuckle.

You don’t chuckle that much when you are actually affected by a phobia, it has to be said. Then the irrationality of it all completely fails to amuse you.

In my twenties a life phase of the wilder kind led to symptoms of anxiety. I felt I couldn’t breathe. I felt my heart raced incredibly. I felt I was somehow far away from people. I felt horrible things were about to happen. I abruptly left rooms, I abruptly left trains, I opted out of a multitude of events because the thought already made me dizzy. Endless hours of fun.

I finally went to a doctor (a GP) to have the physical side ruled out of the equation. Who knows, maybe my symptoms were actually caused by something real. They certainly felt real, so I wanted to make sure I was “just” bonkers. Fortunately (well) I had a panic attack right while the doctor was taking my pulse and blood pressure. I thought my heart would explode. She said to me: “Let’s see… Oh great: your values are excellent!”. Which basically meant that my mind was officially capable of messing with my reality big time.

Not being able to fully trust my senses anymore has definitely changed my life, but that’s what happens. I dealt with it best I could, and eventually the ugly monster left me mostly alone and stuck its head out only occasionally.

But boy, it surely had the time of its life when we were in Thailand, the little sucker!

It started when we were in Kanchanaburi, where the River Kwai Bridge is. Checking out the area by bike, we found a temple in a cave, the Koapoon Cave Temple, and went inside to look at it.

Golden Buddhas and other godly beings awaited us in the various caves, along with crystallized limestone in odd and wonderful forms and shapes. We wandered around and took pictures when suddenly I got hit by the mean cold sting of massive panic taking over my brain, triggered by a particularly narrow passageway and maybe the air not circulating that well right there. That was a newbie, though. I never had a problem with caves or small spaces before. Not exactly smitten with my new-found ability I carried on and just stayed away from anywhere you kind of had to crawl into. Apart from that, the caves were really quite stunning.

And so it went. I noticed that my new claustrophobia popped up every now and again, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. It was just weird to step into an elevator after having done the same for the last thirty years, just now it felt slightly different. Like it could be a really bad idea.

Then we came to Trang, a city in the South of Thailand. We had a little itinerary for the day, and started with the Thep Taro Wood Handicraft Souvenir Shop where they turn the root of the Taro tree into auspicious receptacles and other things. It is quite a popular place because the Thep Taro Wood is believed to be a lucky symbol. And it was also a place where you could witness the whole line of production – something I really like about Thailand.

So we were shown a Taro tree, we got a little tour around the actual shop where all the different products were for sale, we went to the workshop where we even had a go at burning patterns into the wood which resulted in a very nice smell (we’ll not say anything about the patterns we created, though). And the smell is what makes the Taro tree so special: because the root gives off a scent, which the receptacles then also contain.

You think I’m completely off-topic now but I always have to think back to the shop, because when this nice chap named Tanes showed us around, he mentioned the many benefits of the tree, including the leaves which you can make medical tea from.

I asked if you can eat them just like that, too, since I was crumbling a leaf between my fingers to release the smell. He answered that yes, you could, but it would result in diarrhea (so I didn’t try to taste the leaf). I keep thinking about that, probably because that was the first clue for the theme of this day which seemed to be intensively about functions of the colon.

In the shop there were also flyers for the cave we wanted to go next: the “Belly of the dragon”. I knew this sight would involve us being paddled through a cave, but wasn’t aware of details. Then I saw pictures of people lying flat down on a paddle boat, the ‘ceiling’ about 10 cm away from their noses – wait, wait, wait: I was NOT going to do that!

Loz replied that he was sure it would be fine and not that crazy, and Tanes too assured me that it wasn’t a big deal. So I thought the picture on the flyer maybe showed one tiny bit of the passage and I would regret missing the whole adventure, should I not go and Loz afterwards tell me how great it had been.

Thus we drove up to Khaokob Cave, paid our fare of 300 Baht for the little boat and hopped on. Two guides, one in the front, one in the back, accompanied us. First we were taken down the river and just enjoyed the scenery and the greenery, then we disappeared into the darkness of an underground cave in the mountain Pha Nang Koy.

One of our guides told us to lie down flat and I thought: “Here we go!”. Indeed the ceiling came closer and closer, but not further down on us than 30 cm. Which was okay for me, as I noted with relief. I relaxed and when we reached the first cave we could walk around in, I jumped out of the canoe, listened to the guide’s explanations, and took pictures.

Several stops and caves and a lot of pictures later, we went back on the boat and, after a nice bit of floating down the dimly lit river, were once again asked to lie flat down. This time the ceiling seemed to come a bit closer than before. The passage got more narrow. There weren’t any lamps anymore and it got pretty dark. I realized I had been relieved too early: this was becoming quite intense. The guides were lying down too now, pushing the canoe forward with their hands along the ceiling which basically left me less space than if I had been buried alive in a coffin – less than 10 cm certainly.

I became a bit nervous and just wanted to position my hand differently, but the guide told me not to move my flattened body. He was amazing – he just kept talking, made jokes, repeated that he was taking care of us here and pretended to nearly get hit by the odd bit of ceiling hanging into our faces.

So what do you think about when you find yourself in your own worst nightmare? Funnily enough, I just had to think how we were exactly like food in the digestive tract. We might have entered the belly of the dragon, but now we were definitely in its colon, and I felt so deeply sorry for everything I had ever eaten to go through this process of being pushed through the tiniest, darkest space, not knowing how long it will take, and being all afraid and claustrophobic. I was moments away of swearing to never eat again to spare anything from having to endure this. I kid you not.

The thing is: you can not afford to freak out in a situation like this. You just can’t. So I closed my eyes and thought that I could be anywhere, and that helped, so I opened them again. The guide talked and talked, and I laughed and pretended that I was just a bit nervous, but of course by no means fighting in my head not to lose it. I mostly pretended to be fine in order to convince myself of it. Then I started hearing screams from further behind us, where the next canoe was coming. It wasn’t quite clear if it was your delighted “This is so exciting!”-screaming or the “Oh my god, we’re all gonna die!”-screaming. It echoed on in my mind and had quite a contagious touch, but I shook it off.

I held Loz’s hand very tight (okay, so I nearly broke it) and let my thoughts jump from little kittens to golden ponies, flying over rainbows in a land with trees made out of pink candy floss. Then Loz saw the light at the end of the tunnel and slowly the walls moved away and the ceiling lifted again. I felt a bit pooed out. Our guide seemed to be equally exhausted. I realized that I couldn’t be the only one who would get the jitters – he had quite a lot of responsibility making sure people didn’t freak out because that wouldn’t go well in there, and he did a really, really good job; I have to say that. I contemplated for a moment to propose marriage but we had already finished our ride and they were waiting for us to step out of the boat, so we did.

Then Loz told me (and I love how he always tells me these things AFTERWARDS) that he had read that the tour through the “Belly of the dragon” was something like an auspicious activity with the “colon”-part probably showing that extra bit of commitment for the extra bit of good luck, but that he hadn’t thought it would be this extreme and hadn’t it been just the greatest adventure? I had to agree that I certainly felt ahead of other people now, having had the proper “poo being pushed through and out of the colon of no return”-experience, but could not quite get as excited about it.

And the saddest part is that this is indeed all that I learned from it: how poo would feel. I would have thought that if you dare to face your fears, and manage to successfully overcome them in a critical situation, then it would weaken the power of said fear and strengthen the belief in yourself, but nope, nada. I think back and just feel panicky.

But I guess in a way I now have my own internalized “colon cruiser” who will give me a big harangue the next time I feel funny in an elevator. You know, about how this is nothing compared to the audacious colon cruising tour, and how much room there is even in the tiniest elevator compared to a colon, and how everything changes once you are a SURVIVOR, and so on, until I get more irritated about that than about any claustrophobic impulse.

So if you’re claustrophobic, you might want to skip this sight, unless you’re into confrontational therapy – then this is pretty much the queen of confrontation, my lovely. You’ll never know how long it can take to move 350 m (that’s how long that last bit is).

If you’re not claustrophobic, then this tour might make you! …I’m just kidding!! Exploring Khao Kob Cave, the Belly of the Dragon, is a neat little adventure, and the caves with their funky stalagmites and stalactites are beautiful and fascinating. It’s a tourist destination recommended by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and rightfully so! In fact I think the visit to all the different bits of the cave completely took my mind off my worries and “awed” a bit of perspective into me (which is the thing that I lose first when it comes to my fears), before undertaking the “colon cruise”.

You can arrange transport from Trang City, it’s a drive of around 25 minutes. You pay per boat (300 Baht) which will take up to five people, should you travel in a group. You will not need flash-lights, as there is electricity – mostly. So off you go – collect your own bit of good luck, and rub that dragon belly (probably with your nose – even luckier!) until you see the light. I’m pretty sure you will feel very lucky at that point… I did!

Islands and boats: Exploring Thailand’s Trang coastline

2013-03-07T10:39:00.000+01:00

The Trang region of Thailand is pretty epic. Tucked away at the southern end of the Andaman coast, it is every bit as beautiful as its northern counterpart, whilst remaining much quieter and less developed.

I’ve already waxed lyrical about the gorgeous interior region, stuffed full of waterfalls, cultural attractions, dragon caves and endlessly tasty food.

Today therefore I’m going to tell you all about the bit you are possibly more interested in – those turquoise beaches and far flung white sandy islands that you may think of when you imagine Thailand.

We were lucky enough to be able to spend around a week on the Trang coastline, basing ourselves on the gorgeous 5km long Pak Meng beach, from where we could pop across to any of the islands in the bay. And what islands they were! From the incredible beaches of Koh Kradan to the nature lovers paradise of Koh Libong – there really is something here for everyone. Here are some of our highlights from our time exploring the Trang coastline.

Highlights of a visit to the Trang region

Swim in the Emerald Cave (Tham Morakat) on Koh Muk

Undoubtedly a highlight of any visit to the Trang region is a trip to the Emerald Cave on the island of Koh Muk. This 85 metre long sea cave is only accessible by boat, and if you swim all the way through the dark tunnel, you emerge at a hidden lagoon and beach which is only accessible by this cave, and was once the hideaway of pirates and smugglers. Romantic stuff!

It is important to time your visit correctly, as the lagoon is only accessible at low tide. Unfortunately, the day we visited the tide was not in our favour, so instead we just got to swim around the inside of the cave. This was still very cool, as the light shining in through the cave entrance turned the water an eerie shade of green – perhaps explaining the name. We’re just going to have to go back to get the full experience – which you can read about in full over at this blog post at PlacesAndFoods.com.

Island hopping by long tailed boat

The thing about the Trang region is that there is no shortage of islands to choose from. And choice is a difficult thing! So instead of picking one island, why not visit a whole bunch, via the ever popular transport method of long tail boat.

This way you can get an idea of what is on offer – taking in such highlights as the above Emerald Cave, the gorgeous beaches of islands like Koh Kradan or the fishing villages of Koh Muk. It’s a wonderful way to sample what’s out there, and may help you decide how you want to spend the rest of your trip.

Tip – you’ll want to do this on a calm day. Long tail boats aren’t so great in choppy seas, and you might not be able to visit all the islands you had planned on visiting if the seas are too big.

Bird & Sea Life in Hat Chao Mai National Park

The Trang region is a nature lovers paradise, particularly if you are into marine or bird life. The Hat Chao Marine National Park, covering a 230 square kilometre area, is home to countless species of birds, as well as the symbol of Trang – the Dugong.

These endangered animals can only be found in parts of the world where there are plentiful sea grasses – such as Australia’s Shark Bay. You’ll have a pretty good chance of spotting one in Hat Chao Mai National Park – particularly if you visit or stay at Koh Libong island, where the local villagers will be able to help you out with tours. Which nicely brings us to our next highlight:

See local life at a fishing village

The island of Koh Libong, easily accessibly by local ferry from Hat Yao pier, is the perfect escape from the Thailand tourist scene. If you’re looking to get an insight into what life as a local on a Thai island is really all about, then look no further than Koh Libong.

The local population, which is majority Muslim, largely survives on fishing and rubber production. There are a few resorts on the west coast, but I’d recommend spending some time in a homestay if you really want to get a feel for life here. The food will be of the freshly cooked seafood variety, with entertainment provided by returning fishing boats. There are walks around the interior, largely deserted beaches, and of course the aforementioned wildlife options.

It might not be as picture post card perfect a location as Koh Kradan, but for getting a glimpse into local life, this one would be tough to beat.

Get Married Underwater

Everywhere needs a special thing it seems these days. Gorgeous white sandy beaches and turquoise waters just aren’t enough to attract your discerning wallet toting holiday maker any more.

The island of Koh Kradan has a thing. That thing is the underwater wedding ceremony, where every Valentine’s day, romantic couples who are into diving can get married twelve metres below the surface, in the largest wedding ceremony of its kind. There’s even a Guiness World Record entry for it.

So if your trip to Thailand includes a wedding, and you were looking for something a little bit different, and you and your partner happen to be divers, well, this could be the place for you to tie the knot.

Take a walk on the beach for sunset

One of my favourite activities in the world is watching the sunset, and if I have a choice in the matter, then my preferred sunset watching location is a beach, with the sun setting into the sea.

The whole Andaman coastline is conveniently located on the west coast of Thailand, meaning the sunset watching options are entirely optimal. We took a walk on Pak Meng beach every evening, enjoying the sunset whilst imbibing a chilled beer from one of the beach side restaurants. Quite spectacular stuff.

Where to stay

We stayed at both the Pak Meng resort and the LayTrang resort on the main land, from where we were able to explore the attractions of the main land as well as pop across to the islands on day trips.

You can also stay on the islands of course, with accommodation options ranging from cute homestays in fishing villages – such as the one we stumbled across in Koh Libong - through to bamboo huts on beaches and upwards to resorts.

Prices range from as little as €5 a night for a basic homestay option for two people, to €20 a night for a mid-range hotel, and then, naturally, the more you want, the more you pay. Certainly something is available for every budget though!

How to get around

For our exploration we based ourselves on the main land, and did a variety of day trips to some of the islands, which is easy to do, either independently by hiring your own boat (in the region of €100 a day for the boat), or as part of a tour (ranging from €20 pp and up).

Most island resorts will be able to arrange transport for you, all the way from the town of Trang to the island in question, which will include mini bus transfer to the right pier and then the boat itself. Depending on which island you go to, you will be departing from either the Pak Meng pier, at the north end of Pak Meng beach, or Hat Yao pier, some kilometres south.

And that pretty much sums up our thoughts on this stunning part of Thailand! Have you been to the Trang region? Got a favourite island or beach you’d like to share? Or has this post inspired you to add it to you world travel list? Let us know in the comments below!

For our time on the coast we stayed at the Laytrang resort on Pak Meng beach, thanks to HostelBookers. Our transport and other logistics were provided in part by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Things to do in Kanchanaburi

2013-03-04T09:17:00.000+01:00

Kanchanaburi. Even if you’ve not heard of the town, I’ll hazard a guess that you’ve heard of the bridge which is the town’s main attraction. Which is the one over the River Kwai. Yep, that one.

Even though the original bridge, as built by both allied prisoners of war and conscripted locals, isn’t standing any more (the Allies blew it to pieces towards the end of the war), the current version is still so seared into the consciousness that you can’t visit Kanchanaburi without taking a trip here. But there’s a lot more to this town, around 100km west of Bangkok, than a bridge.

And if you, like us, end up wanting to spend more than a day or so here (we planned two and stayed for eight!), you might want some ideas for things to do. Here are a few ways we passed our time.

Things to do in Kanchanaburi

Visit the River Kwai bridge

Seriously, you can’t visit Kanchanaburi and not go see the bridge over the River Kwai. It would be like visiting London and not having tea with the Queen. Some things are just not done.

It’s actually quite a strange place to visit. There are party boats going up and down the river, hordes of people, and vendors selling trinkets all over the place. This seems oddly juxtaposed against this memorial to suffering and horror. Although, having visited plenty of sobering locations, I can’t say as that this is a worse approach.

I don’t know how the builders of the original bridge feel about how it is remembered today, but I guess it is better to have the sounds of Gangnam style banging out rather than the sounds of gunfire and death.

Take in the JEATH war museum

Now this is a truly sobering place to visit. This museum, located in downtown Kanchanaburi (and not next to the bridge, despite the misleading signs to another museum), features a bamboo hut that is built in the same style as the accommodation that the prisoners of war were housed in during the railway construction.

It features stories, eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, and as much information as possible regarding the construction of the railway and what life would have been like as you can absorb. Other than the below cemeteries, this was the place where the true horror of the railway construction became real for us.

Visit a War Cemetery

Building the Burma Railway was not a task without loss – there was a reason that this was called the Death Railway. Around 16,000 Allied prisoners of war and 90,000 conscripted Asian labourers died during its construction.

There are three cemeteries holding the majority of the dead, two in Kanchanaburi and one across the border in Burma. In Kanchanaburi the main cemetery is by the towns train station and holds 6,982 graves. Chungkai War Cemetery, a little out of town, holds a further 1,750 graves.

Visiting these graveyards, with their rows upon rows of immaculately tended headstones lends an air of perspective to the incredible loss of life that this war project incurred. It’s hard to take in, and even harder to try to understand that these two graveyards account for less than 10% of those who died.

Non war related activities

Whilst the history of this town is very much about the impact of the war, there is a lot more to see in this area than war history, and this was why our trip ended up being extended to nearly two weeks.

If you take a bit of time to explore, you’ll be able to see one of Thailand’s most impressive waterfalls, a seriously enormous tree, and a whole host of temples, including one featuring a floating nun. Read on for some ideas.

Take a day trip to Erawan Falls

About 50km north of Kanchanburi are the Erawan Falls, a seven tiered waterfall which are regarded as some of the most beautiful in Thailand.

It’s around a 2km walk from the first tier to the top tier, and all the levels are great for a swim, so you can easily spend a whole day enjoying yourself here.

The cheapest way to get here is by public bus. These start running at around 8am and are clearly marked as going to Erawan Falls. You can flag these down on the main road through town. Entry to the falls as a foreigner is 200 baht, which is standard for nearly all the national parks in Thailand at time of writing.

See a giant tree

If you’re up for exploring the gorgeous countryside surrounding Kanchanaburi, then a ride on bike (or scooter, if you’re not feeling like tackling a 30km round trip in the heat) can be very rewarding. As soon as you leave the city behind you’ll find yourself in a world of green, peaceful surrounds, with limestone peak scenery and plenty of temples to investigate.

We cycled all the way out to the giant monkey puzzle tree of Kanchanaburi, which was quite the adventure, as the map we had been provided in the tourist office was vague to say the least. Still, plenty of friendly locals helped us on our way, and the tree was indeed particularly giant, so the trip was entirely worth it.

Visit a temple in a cave

Kanchanaburi is surrounded by limestone peaks, which means that there are caves galore in this region.

Some of the nicest caves have been co-opted for use as temples, such as Wat Tham Khao Pun, a few kilometres west of town. This is a series of caves featuring a variety of Buddha statues, including a reclining Buddha at the entrance, and is very much worth the minimal entry fee.

Outside of the caves, you can head towards the river and take in a lovely view of the surrounding region and river, in the company of a giant sitting Buddha.

Climb inside a giant dragon

Wat Ban Tham is another cave temple, but with a slight difference. The cave is located half way up a mountain, and the entrance is reached by climbing through the mouth and insides of a huge dragon statue.

Various moments of the Buddha’s life are painted on the walls inside the dragon in detailed pictures but I have to admit to just being excited about the whole dragon staircase thing.

At the end of the dragon is the actual cave, home to a large Buddha statue and various shrines. You can also climb further up the mountain, to a spot which offers a great view across the surrounding countryside.

Go to the night market

No town in Thailand is complete without a night market where you can gorge yourself silly on incredible local food at rock bottom prices, and Kanchanaburi is no exception. You’ll find the night market near to the main train station, with all the tasty food you can eat, as well as clothing, movies and so on.

There is a lot more to do in the Kanchanaburi area beyond that above, and you could easily spend a heap of time relaxing and exploring here. I’d recommend giving it more than a passing glance – you won’t regret it.

Geography of Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi is one of those towns that is far longer than it is wide. There are three main clumps of interest – the northern end is where you’ll find the bridge, and various stalls and shops selling trinkets.

The middle part is home to the main tourist strip, and is where most of the accommodation and restaurants and bars are. The southern end is the “proper” town, with malls, the bus station and the tourist office, as well as the JEATH war museum.

How to get around

In total, Kanchanaburi stretches for around 6km, so if you’re living in the middle (which is the most likely scenario), you’ll be looking at around a 3km walk to the bridge or the southern part of the town.

Whilst this is all very walkable, renting a scooter for 200 Baht /day, or a bike for 50 Baht/day, is likely going to be an easier option, particularly for visiting the temples and sights out of town.

Getting there and away

This being the home of the death railway, naturally you are able to arrive here by train from Bangkok. There are two train stations in the town – the main one is near the central part of town, where most of the accommodation is focused, and the other train station is at the River Kwai bridge itself.

Arriving by train is of course very appropriate, but you’ll find that it is a bit inconvenient, as first you have to go to a train station in Bangkok which is somewhat out of the way (Thonburi train station), and second, the train is a lot slower than the bus. Buses to Kanchanaburi run from a whole variety of Thai towns, including Bangkok, and if you’re in a hurry, then this is the way to go.

Where to stay

Kanchanaburi is not short of places to stay. The main focus of accommodation is in the central part of the town, which is also where most of the food options are, as well as the main War Cemetery and train station.

A popular option is a raft house on the river, where you will be rewarded by being gently rocked to sleep and some quite spectacular sunset views. The downside is that depending on the time of year and week that you visit, you may find your sleep disturbed by the pounding beats of the party boats that go up and down. These seem to be more prevalent on the weekend.

We stayed at the River Guesthouse, which had perhaps seen better days, but was wonderfully quiet and stuffed full of character. We would recommend just dropping in to a number of venues and seeing what is available before committing.

And that about sums up our thoughts on Kanchanaburi! We’d love to hear what you think about this post. Have you been to Kanchanaburi, or would you consider going? Anything you’d add to the above? Do let us know in the comments below.

Best Things To Do In Stockholm

2013-02-28T08:00:00.000+01:00

Today I’m delighted to be hosting a guest post by Sofia von Porat of travel blog AsWeTravel. The post is particularly timely given our upcoming European focused adventure, where we’re going to be spending a few days in Stockholm. Now, thanks to this post, we’ve got more of an idea of how to fill our time! Over to Sofia:

Stockholm is one of the most beautiful capital cities in Europe, and once you visit it's easy to see why.

Built on 14 islands with water surrounding you in every direction, it’s a very unique city, and it feels like everything but a bustling cosmopolitan capital:

Locals fish in the canal in front of the parliament, swim in the middle of the city and park their boats outside their apartments.

Here are a few of the best things to do and places to check out on a visit to Stockholm...

Exploring Gamla Stan

With a history dating back to the 13th century, Gamla Stan (the Old Town) is one of the oldest medieval towns in Europe.

It is the prettiest area of Stockholm, with narrow cobble stoned streets, old medieval houses and tiny squares.

I would definitely recommend spending some hours getting lost in the alleys, shopping in the boutiques, and sitting down at one of the many cafes for a “fika”.

Going for a “Fika”

Having a “fika” is mandatory when you’re in Sweden, as it’s a big part of Swedish culture.

Fika is similar to tea time in England, where friends, family or work colleagues get together for a cup of coffee with “fika bread” (a tray of biscuits, sweet bread or buns, often all of it together).

Swedes can have fika several times per day, and in some families (like mine) it’s almost like a ritual..!

Island-Hopping in the Archipelago

To get a typical Swedish experience I highly recommend exploring the islands in Stockholm’s archipelago.

During summer, locals take the ferries to their summer cottages that are dotted on the 30,000 islands in the archipelago, and others take a day trip to go swimming and relaxing in the sweet and salty waters.

Unlike in the city, life on the islands is still very much the same as it always has been, with typical Swedish red wooden houses and quiet atmosphere.

Dinner with a View

Perched on top of a hill overlooking Gamla Stan and the harbor, Hermans has the best view in town, and their terrace is awesome.

They only serve organic vegetarian food made from scratch in their kitchen - every day there is an all-you-can-eat buffet both for lunch and dinner.

Every weekend there is a different theme on the buffet: Tex Mex, Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, Scandinavian etc - the food is very filling, so make sure you’re starving before you visit!

Address: Fjällgatan 23b on Södermalm.

Open hours: Mon - sun 11 am - 10 pm

Royal Djurgården Park

A walk in Royal Djurgården park will make you feel as though you’re miles from the city.

It's a great place to relax and have a picnic, and the famous Vasa museum (the only preserved medieval ship from the 13th century, it sank 20 minutes after being put on water and was found 300 years later), the National museum and the museum of Eastern Asian history are all located there.

It’s a huge area with an amusement park (Gröna Lund) and an open-air historical museum called Skansen, depicting Swedish life in the past by recreating real-life Sweden of the 1900s.

I hope you found these tips useful and that you take the opportunity to explore Stockholm!

Huge thanks to Sofia for providing today’s post! Sofia writes for AsWeTravel, a travel blog sharing travel tips, videos, guides and inspiration from around the world - you can follow her at www.aswetravel.com.

Travel Pinspiration: Western Australia

2013-02-27T10:00:00.000+01:00

It’s been a while since I’ve taken part in a travel Pinspiration. I’m going to blame spending three months of travelling around Thailand, and hope you forgive me.

This weeks theme though was a real doozy, and to top it off, the bloggers behind this whole idea, Caz and Craig, used one of my shots for their post this week. Of all the great photos of Western Australia on Pinterest, they picked one of mine. Thanks guys!

I felt therefore that it would be remiss of me not to take part in this week’s Pinspiration. The theme is Western Australia, one of my favourite states in Australia. So much so that I wrote a post all about what is unmissable in Western Australia, followed up by another one, because one post just wasn’t enough! Suffice to say, if you go to Australia and miss out the west coast, then you are doing yourself an injustice.

Anyway, lets get on with this weeks travel Pinspiration post. The idea is to find my five favourite pictures from Pinterest on the subject of Western Australia, but, well, I happen to like sharing my own pictures on the blog, so that’s what we’ll be doing. Let’s start with:

The Bungle Bungles, or Purnululu National Park, are a series of incredible rock formations deep in the outback of Western Australia, accessible only by four wheel drive, or aircraft. See more photos and get ideas for a visit in my post on visiting the Bungle Bungles.

Way up at the north end of the Gibb River road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia are the spectacular four tiered Mitchell Falls. It’s another four wheel drive only spot, but worth the effort! I have a whole guide to the Gibb River Road, which takes you from one of of the Gibb River Road to the other, if you are interested in tackling this legendary adventure.

This art installation a few hours drive north of Kalgoorie-Boulder is by Antony Gormley, a British artist who is known for his fairly massive installations. This particular one, called Inside Australia, is no exception, spanning a ten square kilometre area on a salt lake. Find out more about how to get here, and why it’s worth the visit, in my post on visiting Inside Australia.

Cape le Grand national park, at the bottom corner of Western Australia, is a mesmerizingly beautiful part of the world. The beaches and water are just world class, and the hiking isn’t half bad either!

And finally for today, to provide balance with the Wave Rock, which is the first shot on the post, a shot of a real life wave at the blowhole near Geraldton. Parts of the WA coastline are very wild and rough, and waves crashing on the shoreline make for a spectacular sight!

If you liked this post, why not check out some of my previous posts on this topic, including beaches, waterfalls & sunsets. And if you want to find out more about Travel Pinspiration, check out the post from yTravelBlog which explains it all!

Laytrang Resort – a Thai diet on the Andaman Coast

2013-02-25T09:00:00.000+01:00

There’s one serious problem in Thailand: the food is just too good. Okay, so maybe that’s not a problem for people who don’t enjoy eating very much (where are you folks? Haven’t met any of you yet!), but Loz and I certainly don’t belong to that group.

And Thailand is mean, my friends: tasty stuff everywhere. There’s hardly a street without a multitude of tiny carts, loaded with anything that could tickle your fancy, be it fruit, smoothies and shakes, sticky rice banana, whole regular meals even – and fried stuff. Oh, the fried stuff. Danger, danger.

We did fairly well, it has to be said. Always being out and about made excessive night market stints (“Oh God, I’m so full! –Wait, is this ‘ancient ice-cream’? Oooh…”) more or less forgotten. But when there’s a period where you don’t move around that much and keep on eating like there’s no tomorrow (could of course be the case, you never know), it takes a toll on your waistline.

Then we got to Trang, and that was the beginning of the end. We sure did a lot in and around Trang, but this involved plenty of eating as well because as it happens, Trang is home to numerous delicacies that set it apart from the rest of Thailand. Woohoo!

This ‘woohoo’ lost a fair amount of its original enthusiasm when it turned out that we had consequently attired a case of the well-known traveller's shrinking belt syndrome. This was of course just before heading out to the islands, where you strut your stuff in shorts and a bikini. No room to hide the food sins you’ve committed. Unless you go Thai-style and jump in the water with all your clothes on, but we needed to get a tan, obviously. Is a tan not one of the traveller's most important credentials? Why, naturally.

Then HostelBookers came to the rescue (they didn’t know that, though), asking us if we wanted to review a resort at Pak Meng Beach (which is handily still part of the Trang region). We looked the place up and spotted one lonely comment on the infamous Tripadvisor-webpage from someone who complained that it was a two km walk away from the town centre and thus the shops and restaurants.

Loz joked that we would have to actually walk if we wanted to get our fried food fix on, but that made us realise the incredible potential this resort had: it would be our little diet island two km away from ‘the real world’, and to get food and other stuff, we would be forced to become active and, er, kind of swim out to the main island (the town centre)! So we agreed to chill out at Laytrang Resort, having this montage in our head, where we jog along the beach early in the morning (may I mention the unimportant background information that we both don’t jog) and end up with some nice toned beach bodies.

Significant fail dawned upon us as soon as we discovered upon our arrival that this resort offered home-made and inexpensive ice-cream, sold either in a waffle cone or a little bowl. In the name of science, we of course had to try it. Loz denied the waffle, and I thought: “Respect, he’s at least avoiding extra calories”, but had to find out later that he chose the bowl merely because it seemed to be the way to get more ice-cream. Hm. Maybe our whole plan wouldn’t really work so well.

We also found that we were not exactly isolated – apart from the resort restaurant and shop, there were a few other shops and also another restaurant around; even a little coffee shop and a tiny bar. And a food cart with fried stuff. Doom.

We avoided temptations by staying in. That’s what a resort is about, isn’t it? You don’t need the outer world, everything is on site. And the site was pretty much about chilling out. You could get your action going due to the resort being handily situated right at the pier where all the tours to the islands and caves leave from, but we had already been on various tours here and needn’t feel guilty about not taking advantage of that.

Also, we wanted to get some work done. Writing posts for the blog, you know. Or training the geckos to do it (they kept running away, though. Maybe an allergy to fame and fortune?). Of course writing is a very crafty and creative task, so Loz smartly started out by reading a fiction book he had found in the book shelf in the lobby. Because to write, you have to read. Everyone knows that.

But the montage! We set up a routine of walking half an hour along the beach to the town centre each day, where we then treated ourselves to ice coffee which contained two heaped table spoons of sugar per cup and tasted pretty amazing. We ignored that we had well seen the nice coffee lady pour the sugar in our cups, as it doesn’t count if you don’t know about it. Diet cheating rule no 4. After this we would walk back again and lose even more calories getting excited about the beautiful sunsets (this must count!).

Somehow we didn’t really lose weight, though. So we gave up and focused on other things. Like working on blog-posts while enjoying this view:

Well, so maybe Loz worked on blog-posts while I wrote post-cards. Sixty-three of them. Yes, that’s more than none. We also met a lovely American couple who were on a vacation from their teaching job in China. We secretly put them in charge for the activity based review of the resort. They rented canoes from the resort and paddled out to the next little island. They took a local ferry to the island of Koh Libong and had a guide show them around. They even extended their stay because they found the resort to be an excellent base. Which it is, but I think they really got hooked on the ice-cream.

The last couple of evenings we had dinner together at the resort – you know, you just run into each other and everything unfolds organically. I remember that on our last night, I ordered the spicy shrimp paste. Our waiter, smiling as always (he was SO nice!!), although a tad wryly after I had filed my order, looked at Loz who said: “Are you sure? If it already says ‘spicy’, it could be really spicy…” but I felt I was on a constant chilli-tolerance building mission, anyway, so I stayed with my decision.

I received a large plate with various raw vegetables, a multitude of leaves and a bowl of shrimp paste from the waiter who seemed to expect me to send it back to the kitchen instantly. Did he doubt my like of foreign… leaves? Challenge accepted! I smiled reassuringly: everything was under control!, and started eating. Many tissues later I came to the conclusion: it was a tasty deal, like always in Thailand, but boy, when they say ‘spicy’, they really mean it in the south!

It’s not always easy to estimate the respective level of spiciness as it is written down in the menu in Thailand. It depends how touristy the area is (then the dishes are not so spicy), on the region you are in (the South: very,very spicy), and sometimes on the cook who might find he doesn’t want to risk knocking you out of your shoes. But generally their rule is: if you order it, you can handle it.

So anyway, I felt that sitting there, with my mouth wide open for a little bit of cooling, justified an ice-cream for dessert. Loz had one too, although I couldn’t quite see how he had deserved his. You’ve gotta earn it, don’t you?

And then, on the next morning, it was already time to leave (how could that have happened so quickly again? Miraculous). Only that we didn’t really know how. How would we get from the resort to Pak Meng Beach Centre, and from there to Trang? We hadn’t seen any Tuk-Tuks around, and all the mini-buses coming to the pier seemed to be from tour companies.

Silly us. When you’re in Thailand, there’s always a bus. Our waiter and general contact person lead us outside the resort and told us that there would be a mini-bus within five minutes. And there was! Also, all of a sudden ten other people appeared out of pretty much nowhere and filled the vehicle up.

Gets me every time. How do they do this? There’s always a bus, it’s always there within five minutes and they always manage to fill it up fairly well so as to not have to drive half-empty.

Forty-five minutes later we were back in Trang and hopped on another bus (a big one!) to our next adventure.

So maybe we didn’t lose weight whilst staying at Laytrang Resort, but we sure took a lot of (sunset) pictures, met some great people, managed to up our chilli tolerance, collected some shells on the beach, got some blog-posts and post-cards written and recharged our inner batteries more than sufficiently.

We didn’t even mind that it turned out that we had accidentally caught the slow bus to Satun, which managed to take four hours to drive the 125 km. Our reward was a cheerful lady coming on board with a little monkey wearing diapers. But that, my friends, would be another story.

Our stay at the Laytrang resort in Trang was provided to us by HostelBookers in exchange for penning our thoughts up. We’ll never let those thoughts be anything other than our fair appraisal, even if plied with ice cream :)

Finding the universe

Discovering Oslo, Part I: outside

Oslo’s sights

The Holmenkollen

Vigeland-Park

Norsk Folkemuseum

Akershus Fortress and Castle

The Royal Castle and more

Modern: the Opera house and Tjuvholmen

Last Tips and a Thank you

Instagram tips: an Interview with Larry Closs

An Instagram tour of Europe

Khao Sok National Park – Leeches, lakes and jungle

Orientation

What to do in Khao Sok

Hike in the jungle

Take a canoe or tube ride

Wander to see the worlds largest flower

Lie in a hammock and compare leech stories

Enjoy the local scene

How to get there

Where to stay – in Khao Sok Village

Where to stay – at Khao Sok Lake

A self-guided tour of Copenhagen

A lake house adventure in Khao Sok National Park

Things to do in Ghent

What to see and do in Ghent

Wander, wander, wander

Climb the Belfry

Visit the Cathedral

Check out the Castle

Getting there and around

Where to stay.

Exploring Berlin

Highlights of a trip to Berlin

Take a walking tour

Go up something

Take in the street art

Be moved by the Holocaust Memorial

Visit the Brandenburg Gate

Learn about the terror of the Nazi regime

Where to stay

Getting there and away

Further reading

The Temple on a Volcano: Phanom Rung, Thailand

Some brief history

Highlights from a trip to Phanom Rung

How to get here & around

Where to stay

Other attractions

A warm welcome in Copenhagen at the Absalon Hotel

What to do in Stockholm

Exploring Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand

Highlights of Doi Inthanon National Park

The Waterfalls

Visit Doi Inthanon peak

Take a hike along the edge of the world

Visit the Royal Pagodas

Visit a hill tribe and drink some coffee

How to get there & around

Where to stay

In photos: From the Facebook page Edition VII

What the Segway? A tour through Copenhagen.

Tips for sleeping on a plane

How to find this magical plane

Staying with Jumbo Stay

Is it for you?

Not getting scammed in Thailand

How I wasn’t scammed in Thailand

Lub d Siam Square: Hostel review

Southern Thailand by Instagram

Hammocks! And some thoughts on Novica

The Belly of the Dragon

Islands and boats: Exploring Thailand’s Trang coastline

Highlights of a visit to the Trang region

Swim in the Emerald Cave (Tham Morakat) on Koh Muk

Island hopping by long tailed boat

Bird & Sea Life in Hat Chao Mai National Park

See local life at a fishing village

Get Married Underwater