Born Under a Wandering Star

Night Train to Zagreb

2011-12-08T17:25:00.001+11:00

Travel Dates 25th-27th May 2011.
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Before this trip I hadalmost no experience of European railways. I used Seat61 and theserail web-sites for research:

Stansted Express

Eurostar

TGV Lyria, SNCF, RailEurope

Swiss

Trenitalia

Croatian

Paris Metro, RER

BiH Rail

I also found that theGerman bahn.de website was invaluable for timetables and researchinto the various options for getting from A to B and I received good advice on various travel forums.

In a way, although allthat research helped plan the trip well, some of it resulted inover-planning. Because of my lack of past experience I made twopre-bookings that really would have been better left to the day. One was the Glacier Express,mentioned earlier. Balancing that,pre-booking gave me very good discounts on the Eurostar and the TGVLyria.

The nighttrain from Venice to Zagreb was the other train which would have beenbetter booked on the day. I used the Trenitalia site to pre-book. Ihad to wait a long time for the bookings to open; supposedly 90 daysprior to the trip but in fact it was less than a month before theyopened and I started to worry because of the warning on the web-sitethat trains could book out early. Eventually I rang using Skype tosort it out; that was also a frustrating experience. I chose atwo-berth, prepared to share, but when I arrived on the train I foundI could have paid for the cheaper three or four berth and still had acompartment to myself.

Some trains may book out early, but not thisone.

I enjoyed theexperience on the night train, which according to the conductor wasbuilt in East Germany shortly after WWII. It showed its age, withworn furnishings and limited facilities, but I didn't mind that toomuch. However, if you are looking for a train with a shower (nonethat I could find) and clean modern washrooms (end of the corridor,not ensuite) this is not the train for you.

Nor is it the train fora good night's sleep. It departed on time at 21:20, and arrived inZagreb at 04:20. After watching north-eastern Italy passing my windowby night for a while I slept through Slovenia, but I was woken at theSlovenia/Croatia border at some ungodly hour for passport checks. Ididn't bother going back to sleep after that.

The train arrived in Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor station on time but Ithought the train might not stop. We passed the station building andkept going, finally stopping a long way down the longest platform Ihave ever seen. I reckon we were about a km from the buildings. Thelocals who got off the train were more alert than I. They simplycrossed the tracks and walked to the tram terminus direct from thetrain. Not being a local I plodded along the platform and out via thefront door, with a brief stop at an ATM in the foyer.

I was booked at the BestWestern Hotel Astoria, mainly because it was a short walk from the station and had 24 hourreception. I didn't expect to be able to check in at that hour, butthe staff were quite helpful and let me use the business centre withfree web access while I waited for breakfast to begin. Afterbreakfast I left my bags there and took the tram to the centre oftown to have a look around while I waited for the room.

Zagreb was still waking up, but the coffee shops were starting to see business. Down-town Zagreb has several wide streets which have been turned into pedestrian malls, with the centre of the road filled with a multitude of street cafés. Some are served from kiosks on site and some from cafés in the nearby shops. I was there on a Thursday, but those street cafés were busy and bustling all day. I later found a similar café culture in Sarajevo. There must be a lot of very relaxed employers in the Balkans or a lot of work is performed via laptops on café tables. Or there are a lot of coffee-loving unemployed.

The tram system was excellent. I bought a very cheap all-day ticket (about 30 kuna or $5.50 IIRC) and used it to save my feet when I could. I used it to return to the hotel when my room was ready and, after a shower, returned to the centre of town.

I noticed this funicular on a side street off the main street. It has to be the shortest I have ever seen. I found that it led from down-town up to the Old Town.

The Old Town was almost deserted. It is acollection of older restored buildings and Government Offices. In acouple of hours up there I didn't see another tourist. The onlypeople appeared to be government officials and their drivers.

Zagreb has been around for over a thousand years,with a long and complex history.For much of the 18th and 19th century Croatia was part of theAustro-Hungarian Empire. There were several attempts to break away andachieve independence with limited success in the mid 19th century.Zagreb was also on the edge of the Ottoman Empire; although partsof Croatia were ruled by the Turks Zagreb never was. In the 20thcentury the country came under several different external rulers,with the Nazis eventually being succeeded by Tito when it became partof Yugoslavia.

I liked this little car. Perfect for narrow European streets and limited parking, although that is not a problem in the Old Town.

I spent a very pleasant hour in the bar opposite the Post Office sampling local beers, chatting to the owner and listening to his music collection. Unfortunately I lost his card; I was the only customer.

When I returned via the funicular to the lower section of town a street party appeared to be in progress, together with a craft market and rock band.

The statue is of Count Josip Jelačić of Bužim. He was one of those interesting characters in the chaos of Eastern European history who managed to steer a fragile course balancing the military and political needs of Croatia at a difficult time when the country was under the rule of the Habsburgs. You can't please everyone, as the wiki entry notes:

"Consequently, Jelačić's, reputation differs in Austria where he was looked upon as a rebel seeking to breakup the Austrian Empire, Croatia where he is a national hero, and Hungary where he looked up as a traitor to the Hungarian Revolution for independence from Austrian throne."

For dinner I randomly boarded the first tram going past and decided to travel to the end of the route and back again to see some of the town away from Tourist Central. I stopped on the way back at a small café and tried the local equivalent of fast food: Ćevapčići. I liked it, and ate it quite often for lunch or dinner during my remaining period in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Flavours varied depending on the chef's choices of spices and herbs. It was usually accompanied by some form of salad and suited my lower-carb requirements very well. Croatian red wine is also very drinkable.

After my broken sleep on the train I had a good night's sleep in the Best Western's king-size bed in a room just big enough to fit it in. Unfortunately, there are no trains between Zagreb and Dubrovnik, so the following morning I used the tram to get to the Airport bus terminal and departed by air to Dubrovnik.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Milan

2011-12-08T16:00:00.001+11:00

Statue in the cathedral.

Travel Dates 24th-25th May 2011.
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I spent a very briefafternoon and evening in Milan. Effectively it was just a convenientovernight stop between Switzerland, Venice and places beyond. Iapologise to the Milanese who would be horrified at such casualtreatment of their great city, but I'm afraid that to me it was justthat – another big city.

Possibly, at somefuture time, I will return. However, in that brief time I managed tosee a little of the centre of town.

This imposing buildingis the main railway station, built back in the days when steam powerruled and temples to steam were built all over the world, with eachcity trying to build bigger and better. It was only a short walk tothe Hilton, and not far by cab or Metro into the centre of the city.

I took the metro, whichwas a little confusing in station layout, but fast and efficient onceI learned the system. Down-town was the main square and anotherimposing Italian cathedral. Those princely cardinals of the pastcertainly knew how to make the workplace pleasant and suitablyimpressive for the townsfolk and peasantry.

On oneside of the square beside the Cathedral was another imposingbuilding, which I initially thought must be city hall. It turned outto be a very up-market shopping mall displaying the latest fashions,mostly female, which Milan is famous for, and prices to make husbandsor fathers below the income level of Bill Gates quake in fear.

These, presumably, are the Fashion Police. UK Bobby helmets are back in style for law enforcement.

I was surprised tosee this pro-Berlusconi group in the square; I was in Milan prior toBerlusconi's departure from power. My surprise was caused by the lackof demonstrators and the presence of supporters.

Some of the trams werenostalgically similar to Melbourne's old W-class.

I departed before lunch the following morning for Venice.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Venice Revisited, 2011

2011-12-03T20:29:00.001+11:00

Travel Date 24th May 2011.
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I unashamedly love Venice.

Yes, it's tourist central, and it can be kitsch and it is over-the-top and it is slowly sinking into the Adriatic. But it is also one of the most fascinating cities in the world to visit; a living museum if you can see past the hordes of tourists and locals trying to earn a living off them.

I won't say much thistime, because this was my third visit to Venice. I wrote about previousvisits here: Venice, Aquileia and Trieste

The train from Milan deposited meat the watery gate to the old town around lunch-time. It was lessthan 100m from the gates of the station to the ferry terminal. Ibought a 16 euro all-day ticket for the ferries and used those and myprogressively sorer feet to wander around the town and across to theLido.

I'm not sure whether the workmen were having fun with the tourists, or this was just serendipitous, but the crowd of people snapping shots of this statue was very large and very cheerful. A group of Italian schoolgirls on a convent bus trip, complete with supervisory nuns, thought it was marvellous. The nuns were less amused. Like strip-tease, the crowd seemed more fascinated with a half-clothed statue than the many stark naked ones in other parts of town.

This time Ideliberately chose to wander around the back blocks, as far fromtourists as I could get for the most part, although I still had tosee St Mark's again for its extraordinary decorations.

I made it simple andeasy, with no particular sight to see or place to go I justwandered, soaking in the atmosphere and the magical wonder of thisunlikely living remnant from an earlier era.

If you were wondering how the cruise line got your bags to the hotel...

As I was walking beside one of the minor internal canals six gondolas quietly passed. Then the strains of a piano accordian slowly rose in volume from a player on one of them and, after a few minutes, a singer began. Please excuse the shaky cameraman.

I followed them for several minutes, but left them to glide along the canals after I discovered a pleasant cafe for lunch.

I walked all day, resting on ferries between walks. After a tiring but verypleasant sojourn in Venice I went back to the station after a light dinner ina Lido restaurant, and a final cruise on the ferry in the sunset fromthe Lido to St Lucia station, to depart on the night train to Zagreb. A lovely day of fascinating sights andencounters.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Chur; Bernina Express to Milan

2011-11-28T20:05:00.001+11:00

Travel Date 24th May 2011.
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I decided to spend theevening between the two Alpine Expresses in Chur, rather than StMoritz. The timing worked out better and I thought it may be nice tostay in an ordinary small Swiss town rather than a tourist resort.

I arrived shortlybefore three pm and was picked up by Jacqueline, from BackpackersPlanaterra, at the station. She seemed pleasant, but I did not seeher again after that. The “hotel” was not a long way away, but Iwas pleased to be picked up because I would never have found herlodgings on foot. I have written a review on Booking.com here:BackpackersPlanaterra. If you're a backpacker or looking for el cheapo digs,fine, if not find somewhere else.

Chur is a pleasantsmall town in the mountains with nothing particularly spectacularabout it apart from the surrounding scenery. But I have to admit, that scenery is pretty spectacular.

I found the nearestcoin laundrette, one of the essentials of travelling for me, andenjoyed wandering around the surrounding district while the washingmachines did their work.

Despite being in the German-speaking regionof Switzerland the town seems to have a French style to it'sarchitecture. There are a profusion of cafés and tiny squares andspaces complete with obligatory statues and fountains. I wasn'tdriving, so I decided to try the vin rouge ordinaire, or moreaccurately, gewöhnlicher rotwein, in all of the cafés near thelaundrette. It became an enjoyable afternoon; I believe I had afascinating conversation in one of the bars but can't recall a wordof it.

Next morning I walkedfrom the hotel to the station and left at 8:30 on the BerninaExpress. For me, it was a better experience than the Glacier Express.For the first few kilometres we retraced the route I had arrived onyesterday, but then we headed off to the South towards Italy.

The scenery slowly became greener and less snow-covered than the previous day, butwas more rugged and spectacular to my eyes. Then it got mountainous and snowy again as we reached the peak before becoming green again as we descended towards Italy. The train trackengineering was impressive and at times breath-taking when lookingout of the window at the rugged gorges and slopes we werepassing over or through.

The Bernina Expresssuffered from the same window-glare problems as the Glacier Express,but I found a solution. At the end of each car, opposite the door tothe toilet is a small openable window which allowed me to takeunobstructed shots of the passing scenery.

For a little while Igot some odd looks from passengers who seemed a little concerned atthis odd bald sextagenarian hanging around the toilets, but eventually the othersworked out what I was doing and I found the main problem became sharingthe window with the other amateur photographers in the car. After awhile I moved up a few carriages until I found another vacant window, although by that time almost every car had other photographers doing the same.

We reached the highest pass in the Alps in the only train that crosses them by going over instead of through a tunnel. The pass is known as Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 meters or 7,380 feet. It is also marked as the Wasserscheide or Watershed, defined by the Lej Nair (Black Lake) with an outlet flowing north to theDanube and eventually the Black Sea, and a few hundred metres on the Lago Bianco (White Lake) with water eventually flowing to the Po and the Mediterranean.The colour comes from "glacier milk", the suspended fine white fragments of rock ground up by the glaciers.

Shortly after this we stopped for a shortbreak at Alp Grüm with wonderful views down to the distant valley and to theslopes at the side. Once again the smokers were very grateful for the stop.

The train repeatedlyfollowed snaking circuitous tracks around steep mountains, oftendoubling back under or over itself as it lost or gained height.Unfortunately, one of the most dramatic loops is being totallyrenovated so it is covered in protective hoardings. At this loop thetrain does a very tight turn and goes under the track it arrives on.

After a very pleasantmorning I arrived at Tirano, a town divided by the border betweenSwitzerland and Italy. I stepped out of the Swiss Railway Station, wanderedacross the square and bought a ticket for the local Trenitalia trainfrom Tirano to Milan. Departure time was a bit unclear. I felt theremay not be enough time for lunch at the nearby café so I bought achunk of baguette with ham and cheese and boarded the train. Itglided away from the platform as I sat down.

The train was a fewlevels down from the luxury of the Glacier and Bernina Expresses; itwas also fairly dirty and the air-conditioning was not working on avery warm afternoon. But it was still reasonably comfortable and the passingscenery was interesting.

Slowly we left the Alps and the mountainsbecame hills, with terraced slopes of grapevines and orchards.Villages started to flash past, then glimpses of lake Lugarno, theneventually the industrial outskirts of Milan.

I spent a little timeat the station, using the ticket machine to buy a ticket for the nextday from Milan to Venice and also to print out my pre-arranged ticketfor the following night on the train from Venice to Zagreb.Everything worked as advertised.

Train travel, comparedto air travel, may be slower between A and B, but it is so much morerelaxed at the points of departure and arrival. No queues for checkin, no security queues, no need to be there hours before and youdepart and arrive in the middle of town.

I was staying at the Hilton (at anincredibly cheap rate via Priceline bidding) which was only a shortwalk from the station, so I strolled to the hotel after that.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

The Glacier Express, Zermatt to Chur

2011-11-28T16:49:00.001+11:00

Travel Date 23rd May 2011.
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I spent a lot of time and frustration arranging my bookings for the two special Swiss Alpine trains. Overall I wasn't disappointed.

But there were a few flies in the ointment so I'll get them out of the way first. It was a pity, because the two journeys were very relaxed and enjoyable through some wonderful scenic parts of Switzerland.

The first problem was the on-line booking system. To an outsider trying to book on the web the booking systems for the two trains are quite separate and use different rules. Eventually, after much frustration, I arranged the bookings via Skype and email with some very helpful staff.

The next problem was carriage design. One of the things that would seem to be blindingly obvious to me, but not to the designers of the trains, is that the vast majority of the passengers will be tourists taking lots of photographs of the passing scenery. If you enclose those passengers in a sealed carriage with no opening windows and lots of reflective glare off window glass you are going to get some rather frustrated photographers. I was certainly not alone in my disappointment with the lack of any way to open a window for shots. Later, on the Bernina Express, I found a way. I'll mention that later :)

Finally, on a train that advertises it's meals in this manner:

A feast for the eyes that also appeals to the gourmet in you

Your starter, main course and dessert are all freshly prepared in our on-board kitchen and served to you in the comfort of your seat on the train. Or order our «Farmer’s Special», which naturally includes local cured-meat delicacies from our Canton. Line clear for full enjoyment: with fine dining for the body and panoramic views to feed the soul. Let us indulge your senses.

This is hardly what I expected when I decided I didn't want a big meal (as a diabetic I don't eat large lunches) and ordered the "dish of the day" fish instead of the full dinner:

The breaded fillet of fish was obviously re-heated in a microwave. The fish was rubbery and indigestible but the bulk of the "fillet" was similarly indigestible breading surrounding it. I refused to eat it. The stewards only compensation was a free quarter-bottle of wine in lieu of a refund on the far more expensive "fish". I'm afraid I've rarely attempted to eat a meal that appealed less to the "gourmet in me". At least the wine was drinkable.

OK. Now that I've got that off my chest, the scenery was as good as I expected it to be. My photos have been edited and often cropped to remove reflections and glare, but I hope they give some sense of this wonderful relaxed wander through the Swiss highlands. I'll let them tell the story.

The multi-language included audio guide was excellent. A chime would sound together with a visual indicator on the information screen at the end of the carriage whenever an interesting view was approaching. That allowed plenty of time to pick up the headset and listen to a brief but informative statement of the scene and sometimes the relevant history. That helped make the trip much more interesting.

When we reached Dissentis the train changed engines and combined with the other Glacier Express, which left a few minutes later than us from Zermatt, to become one train for the continuing journey to Chur. We all got out to stretch our legs. The smokers were blissful, after so many hours without a puff.

I used a Swiss Rail Pass for the Swiss sections of my train odyssey.

With the benefit of hind-sight, if I was planning to do this journey again I would not take the Glacier Express or worry about pre-booking. Instead I would use my pass to take the local trains that follow the same route, getting off at a station that seemed interesting and continuing later, after a few hours or a few days, on the next local train. Not only would that be more relaxed, but the windows can be opened for photography. In fact, the difference in prices may make it cheaper to pay point-to-point instead of the pass. Lacking the need for booking, I could also have stayed in Zermatt that extra day for good weather on the Gronergrat.

The positives overcame the negatives and I still had a wonderful day.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Gornergrat Bahn

2011-11-28T15:28:00.001+11:00

Travel Date 22nd May 2011.
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The Gornergrat Bahn isa special railway that connects Zermatt with the spectacularGornergrat Alpine viewing platform at over 3100 m or 10200 ft.

I was surprised to findthat the original track was completed over a century ago in 1898. It was the first electriccogwheel railway in Switzerland. I found the construction andengineering of the system very interesting and enjoyed riding upfront in both directions. The roofed sections appear to be foravalanche protection.

Thereis also a hotel and restaurant on the peak and, of course, theobligatory souvenir shop and local entrepreneurs.

On a clear day thebrochure told me that I could see 20 different spectacular mountainpeaks over 4000m as well as looking down on the Gornergletscher, thesecond-largest glacier in the Alps. Unfortunately, it wasn't a clearday. But it was still pretty spectacular in the breaks between themist and the drizzle.

The scale of thesurroundings is hard to get across in the pictures, until you seethis one with a helicopter flying along the glacier below us.

Despite the dreary weather I still found the scnery stunning, with the black, white and greys of the Alpine scenery interspersed with sudden glimpses of deep blues and greens in the frozen lakes and the glacier.

Of course, the following morning dawned with a wonderful clear blue sky, but I had an advance booking to depart on the Glacier Express early in the morning so there was no time to go up again. C'est la vie. If I ever return I will allow enough days to wait for good weather.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Zermatt and en-route, Switzerland

2011-11-10T17:14:00.000+11:00

Travel Dates 21st-23rd May 2011.
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I passed through Londonon the way to Paris, but I will mention that part of the trip laterwhen I devote more time to my return to the UK a month later.

I deliberately plannedthis trip across Europe using trains and a boat, with minimalflights.

I have loved traintravel since I was small, travelling across New South Wales and laterVictoria by steam and diesel in the '50s and '60s. I wrote a littlemore about that when I described a nostalgic train trip on my Australianblog. Thus, the itinerary for this trip included the following:

Stansted Express fromStansted to London.

Eurostar, from LondonSt Pancras to Paris Gare de Lyon via the Chunnel.

Lyria TGV, from Paristo Lausanne.

Swiss Rail, fromLausanne to Visp, changing for Zermatt.

Gornergrat, to the Alpfrom Zermatt.

Glacier Express, fromZermatt to Chur.

Bernina Express, fromChur to Tirano.

Trenitalia local fromTirano to Milan.

Trenitalia Intercityfrom Milan to Venice St Lucia.

Overnight Sleeper fromVenice St Lucia to Zagreb.

Bosnia and Herzegovinalocal from Mostar to Sarajevo.

MS Lev Tolstoy from StPetersburg to Moscow.

In addition to those Iused local metros whenever available in the towns I passed through.

I departed on time fromGare de Lyon, smoothly and without fuss at 8am. One of the pleasuresof train travel is the difference in stress. Security procedures wereless invasive, the queues were shorter, the whole experience morerelaxed. But make sure you know which platform to go to and be onboard when the train departs. It helped that I did somereconnaissance the day before. The old days of conductors calling“All Aboard” are long gone. The train simply glides quietly,almost imperceptibly away from the platform whether you are on boardor not.

The Lyria TGV is amodern high-speed train but the speed is hardly noticeable until youpass under a bridge or close to a station. Occasionally I noticed wewere swiftly passing cars on parallel motorways; most of those carswould have been travelling at over 110km/hr, but we left them easilybehind. The seating in first class was spacious, the ride was smoothand the scenery pleasant; it became more spectacular as we left therolling fields of France and entered the hills before Lausanne.

I changed at Lausanneand again at Visp, taking photos along the way from the carriagewindows. The local trains in Switzerland were slower and lessluxurious than the Lyria, but the scenery gradually became morespectacular. For photos it was an advantage to be able to slide downthe top section of the windows for unobstructed pictures. I arrivedin Zermatt around 4:30 pm after a very pleasant and comfortable trip.

Zermatt, apart fromit's spectacular surroundings, is a small pleasant village inmid-May. Unfortunately the weather was unkind and my first two dayswere overcast and drizzly, including my ascent to Gronergrat whichI'll describe in the next post.

The first thing Inoticed was the lack of cars. It seems that the Police are the onlyones allowed an internal combustion engine. All the other vehiclesin Zermatt are electric. Even the Police use electric when possible; this is a Police car near the taxis and hotel minibuses waiting near the railway.

I took one of those cabs upto my pre-booked hotel to be greeted by a sign on the door saying thehotel was closed for renovations. Wonderful! But the sign alsomentioned that I should go back down-town to the Best WesternButterfly Hotel, which had the same owners. It turned out to be ablessing; a better hotel in a better locality and they honoured thecheaper tariff of the original hotel. They also refunded the taxifare. I must write a Tripadvisor review after this. I will be recommending the hotel.

The sun eventually came out on my final morning; that tiny white triangle at the top right of the second picture is the Matterhorn from my window.

Down-town is nothing special, but all of the necessities are available. Even in the "shoulder" season between winter and summer most of the restaurants were open with lots of choices of cuisine.

I enjoyed relaxing fora couple of days in Zermatt, despite the drizzle. The architecture ofsome of the older wooden buildings on their vermin-protectionfoundations and with their massive slate roofs was interesting, aswere the various structures designed for avalanche protection and theother differences in the way the village was laid out to a town backhome.

Next, the Gornergrat.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Flying AirAsia and AirAsiaX

2011-09-25T14:41:00.002+10:00

I flew six AirAsia legs on my recent trip; four on AirAsiaX and two on AirAsia. The flights and durations were:

Coolangatta, Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 8: 20

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Kochi, India, 4:00

Kochi, India to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 4:00

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Stansted (London), England, 13:30

Stansted (London), England to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 13:30

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Coolangatta, Australia 8:00

Some of the comments which follow are less than complimentary. For that reason I will make it very clear that I accept that you get what you pay for in life. Despite some of the negatives an overwhelming positive is that I used AirAsiaX and AirAsia to travel from Australia to Europe, via India, return for less than AU$1000 total. That is less than half the price of competing airlines “special” fares for that combined route.

I knew I would be travelling on a budget airline, so I did not expect Qantas service. The comments are not complaints but realistic statements of the service received, intended to help others who might consider using the airline. Despite that, I think the company could improve a few things especially in the areas of food and seat allocations.

The AirAsiaX flight from Coolangatta was less stressful than I expected. The seat pitch was a little tight for a six-footer, but I was lucky to have a vacant seat beside me giving me a bit of room to spread. I needed it, because the seat recline was very limited. That vacant seat was the difference between being fairly cramped and comfort.

The pre-paid meal (Nasi Lemak) was very forgettable and bore little similarity to the versions I ate later in Kuala Lumpur. I was glad I ignored their ban on bringing food on board. As an experienced long-haul flyer and type 2 diabetic I was not going to take any chances on the lack of suitable catering so I smuggled some home-made sandwiches on board. I ate a little at a time during the trip; like a naughty school-boy eating in class. Later I noticed that I was not alone, with several others eating their own sandwiches and salads. The stewards never commented. Eventually I did this, with discretion, on all of the long flights. I don't know what would happen if they decided to enforce the rules; confiscation perhaps?

The cabin staff were excellent and very attentive during the first four hours but their attention waned after that. My stewardess call light remained unanswered for about thirty minutes at one stage. Apart from that they provided a fairly good service.

I wrote earlier that you get what you pay for. On AirAsia that applies absolutely: everything has a price. For example: In-flight services

That includes many things that are part of the service on other airlines, including everything from a bottle of water or wine (not available on the India flights) or a blanket, eyeshade and inflatable pillow. The price on that first flight could be paid in Malaysian Ringgits or Australian dollars; I later found accepted currencies are ringgits or the currency of the departure or destination airport. I also found that the most economical way to pay was to estimate my needs for the flight and convert that amount in non-Malaysian currency to ringgits. The exchange rate for cash was much better than the quick conversion by the steward for individual items.

While in Kuala Lumpur I put aside some ringgits specifically for use on board on later flights.

The aircraft (A330) on that leg was reasonably new and seemed in excellent condition; we had no flight or landing problems. I was surprised to find no air-bridge at Kuala Lumpur LCCT. We descended steps to the tarmac and walked quite a long way to the immigration and baggage areas.

AirAsia does not use the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA ) terminal. Instead they use LCCT (The Low Cost Carrier Terminal); which appears to be co-located, sharing some facilities, but on the opposite side of the airstrip. The road journey between the two terminals is about 20km and takes about half an hour. Before I discovered that I originally booked at the Pan-Pacific Hotel at KLIA for the overnight stay before my flight to London. I had to cancel that booking because of the distance and timing (the shuttle stops operating mid-evening) and booked at the Tune Hotel at LCCT. Tune is the only hotel at LCCT; it is a low-cost budget hotel associated with AirAsia. Again, you get what you pay for: a reasonable bed that only just manages to fit in the tiny room. Extras, like air-conditioning, towels and soap all must be paid for. But despite that the price is still cheap. I paid less than AU$40 including the extras and the one ringgit each way shuttle to the terminal.

The flights to and from India were without air safety incidents, although there were some very odd loud electro-hydraulic sounds from under my seat (over the wing) just before touch-down in Kochi. An unfortunate legacy of being a retired avionics engineer is that I usually have a pretty good idea what the different noises mean even when I would prefer not to know. However, nobody seemed concerned and we landed quite safely.

On the flight to Kochi on an A320 I was asked to move from my reserved seat 3A to the escape row because there were children booked in the escape row seats. I didn't object, but I was very annoyed on the return flight when I was in the reverse situation. I found three large gentlemen, including myself, were side by side and the stewards refused to let one of us move to a vacant seat to allow all of us a little extra room. The steward claimed that only “hot seats” were available and we could not pay to upgrade after the flight had left the terminal. Even if payment had been available, none of us would have been happy to pay extra to move in the circumstances. Eventually, after a frustrating discussion, I gave up. Next time the steward passed I asked for his name. When he asked why I informed him that I needed to include it in my official written complaint. He gave his name courteously. I wrote my notes and tried to get comfortable. About an hour later, with two more hours of flight time to go, the senior steward appeared and offered me a vacant seat, one of two, in the escape row. I decided not to send the complaint. But it was still very annoying.

On return to LCCT the walk from the aircraft to the terminal building was very, very long. I recommend that type 2 diabetics get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily, but I didn't expect to get mine between the aircraft steps and immigration. At immigration the wait was long. There were four staff attending to the 10% of passengers with Malaysian passports and four attending to the rest of us. The four staff for the Malaysians left the room as soon as they had processed their nationals while we spent nearly an hour queuing patiently to be processed by the remaining four. The process was very similar when I returned from London, except that the queue was longer.

The 14 hour flight to London was on an A340. In this case when I asked to be moved to a vacant seat there was no difficulty at all. However, it was still a very long and mainly sleepless flight. The vacant seat helped with extra space, but it did not overcome the very limited seat recline. Long-haul flights are one of the few times I regret being six feet tall; one of the others is when I bang my head on low lintels in old houses. Later, on the return from London I managed to get a trio of seats in the centre; much more comfortable.

I had learned from my earlier experience and smuggled food on board, despite having pre-paid for two “International” meals on the flight. I was very pleased I did; the roast chicken was thickly and inedibly coated in a heavy sugared sauce; all of the other choices on the in-flight sales menu were sky high in carbohydrates. For a diabetic they were a disaster. However, at 18 ringgits the good Aussie wine was not too over-priced so I found some compensation in that.

There were a couple of annoying problems on that flight. The most obvious was the blockage of five of the six toilets within a few hours of departure. When I mentioned it to the stewards they appeared to be totally unconcerned and made it clear that they were unable to unblock them. I got the impression that they would not have performed the task even if they had the expertise.

Another problem was the layout. The premium bed-seats are just forward of the centre of the A340, between the forward and rear economy sections. To prevent DVT I take regular walks along the aisles on long flights. On the AirAsia A340 the stewards were not happy about me passing through the premium seating section on those walks. However, after the toilets became blocked they stopped objecting; presumably because the only working toilet left was in the rear compartment.

All checked baggage has a price with AirAsia. You select the weight limit during the purchase process and pay accordingly. For carry-on luggage AirAsia specify quite strict carry-on bag limits:

Unchecked Baggage: Passengers (except infants) are allowed two (2) items of baggage to be carried on board. The items of baggage may be a combination of any two of the following: cabin bag or a laptop bag or a handbag. The cabin bag shall not exceed the dimensions of 56cm X 36cm X 23cm and must not weigh more than 7kg. Such baggage must fit under the seat in front of you or in an enclosed storage compartment in the cabin. Items determined by us to be of excessive weight or size or of an offensive nature will not be permitted on board.

When I flew I was told I could only take one carry-on bag, so those rules appear to be a little more lenient now. Or possibly I was badly advised. Whether an AirAsia passenger will have a problem with oversize or overweight bags seems to vary by airport. When I departed Coolangatta I noticed several quite large bags being put in the overhead lockers that I am sure were over their size limits. I did not see anyone's carry-on bags weighed at check-in. At LCCT the unusual double security check system made it difficult to tell whether people were refused, but I did not see anyone board with large carry-ons, nor did many of the women have large handbags as well as carry-ons. Kochi India, was almost open slather. There were several Indian ladies boarding who seemed to be carrying half their household goods. Nobody seemed to be objecting. On the other hand, at Stansted, London the check-in staff were very strict. I saw a bag being measured; it passed OK. The carry-on bag for the guy in front of me weighed 9.7KG (the limit for my flight was 7Kg) and he appeared to be charged extra. I don't know how much, but he wasn't very happy.

I wouldn't recommend taking the chance if debating whether to take extra on board. You may get away with it but you only need one check-in person who is having a bad day to ruin yours.

Booking via the web with AirAsia also has its interesting moments. It appears that in certain departure countries not all credit cards, regardless of the country of issue, are accepted despite buying through the same web-site. For example, my Amex card was accepted for flights departing Australia, the UK and Malaysia but not for the flight departing India. For that flight I had to use Visa. There were no warnings, just a failure to accept the card after going through the booking process. That seems an odd way to run an airline booking system.

There is no doubt that the only reason I would fly AirAsia is their low price. However, that can be so low that I would probably be prepared to fly them again some time in the future and accept the inconveniences.

In a way, it is a little like travelling to foreign parts. I appreciate my homeland so much more after seeing the rest of the world. I appreciate Qantas and other full service airlines so much more after flying AirAsia.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Kochi, Kerala, India

2011-09-09T15:36:00.006+10:00

Travel Dates 15th-16th May 2011.
Click on any picture to see a larger version.

We left Munnar in the early morning to descend from the cool peace and tranquility of the Western Ghats to the mid-May heat, humidity and bustle of the Kerala seaboard. The road was initially steep, narrow and and winding, retracing much of the route we took from the airport, but eventually we branched off to head more directly towards Fort Cochin.

En-route to the hotel Sajiv suggested I visit the Pareekshit Thampuran Museum. At least, I think that was the name of the place. It was apparently originally a Royal receptions palace and has been converted into a museum since. On arrival we found a long queue waiting and once again I was reminded of the value of having a driver. He negotiated immediate entry after a chat with a policeman or guard. The policeman assisted with the payment of the entry fee then conducted us to a private parking area near the steps of the Palace.

I committed a major gaffe after that, but got away withn it. I saw a long queue at the main entrance to the building so I wandered off to the side and went in a separate entrance to a building beside it. I had wandered through several rooms with fascinating large paintings of past Rajas when I noticed that everyone else was barefoot or wearing only socks. Oops. I snuck out a back door and back to the long queue where people were taking off their shoes and leaving them in a storage area. That's where I also discovered I had to surrender my camera; no pictures allowed inside.

It was OK to take pictures in the gardens at the rear. Obviously they don't waste water in India.

The museum, especially the pictures of past Rajas and the architectural construction, was very interesting. Unfortunately, they must be having financial problems because there is an obvious need for substantial maintenance work in the buildings, furnishings and displayed items.

After my visit to the museum I asked Sajiv to find a local non-tourist restaurant. The place he took me to was fascinating, with a choice of several rooms. Some appeared to be reserved for men only, some for families, some for women. I was directed to a room for men. After the hot bright sunshine outside I could hardly see in the place in the dim pink lighting; in fact I started to wonder if my request had been misunderstood and a bevy of dancing girls might suddenly appear. But no, it was actually a restaurant. I didn't bother asking for a menu, I just pointed in the gloom to the food being served to a diner near me. What arrived was superb; delicious, fragrant and just the right portion sizes for a light lunch. I wish I had noted the restaurant name; I'm sure the staff at Le Royale could provide it.

We arrived at Le Royale mid-afternoon, where I was greeted by my lovely hosts Jenny and Jose. I was a bit disconcerted to find that I was the only guest, because mid-May is the height of the hot season and thus out-of-season for most tourists to Kochi. However, I was still well looked after, with the best room in the house. That room was also apparently the bridal suite, judging from the style of the pictures on the wall. Jenny also lent me a plug-in modem for web access.

The hotel seemed more palatial than any of the palaces I had visited in India. Opulent furnishings, a vast entrance hall, an enormous room with an en-suite bathroom bigger than many hotel rooms. According to my hosts it was originally the family home. Later that evening Jenny provided a superb dinner, based around fish baked in a leaf. I have been remiss in following up with Tripadvisor reviews; I must do that after I post this.

I had chosen Jenny's service to provide Sajiv and the car as well as the night at Le Royale after recommendations on IndiaMike. I recommend the Le Royale service to anyone visiting Kochi.

Later that afternoon I spent some time visiting down-town Kochi. It was a typical Indian city; crazy traffic, lots of noise, lots of people. A mixture of shambles and wealth. There were differences when compared with the "Golden Triangle" cities I visited in the north; the higher level of affluence was noticeable in the clothes, cars, accessories and jewellery of the locals. There were very few beggars or obvious signs of poverty by Indian standards.

But they still have the interesting Indian attitude to electrical systems and safety.

After that I was taken to an area where the famous Chinese fishing nets were operating. No-one is quite sure when they were introduced to the district, sometime after the twelfth century, but it was certainly many centuries ago. It seems we came on a poor day for fishing. The massive net structures and nets, and the effort needed to operate them hardly seemed adequately rewarded by the few tiny fish that resulted. Hopefully the fishing is better on other days.

The cantilevered net cranes are traditionally built of bamboo and teak, although I noticed one or two with modern steel tubular frames. They are delicately balanced with large stones suspended on ropes at the opposite end to the net, allowing it to descend naturally into the water and just a few men to raise it. But it still looked like hard work.

Next morning I went to visit the "Old Town".

There is no longer an actual Fort Cochin; that disappeared long ago and the name now describes a district of the wider region of Kochi in Ernakulam, Kerala rather than a fort.

The history of Kerala and the Malabar coast was long and rich as a spice trading centre well before the Europeans appeared on the scene. The district was known to traders from ancient Greece, Rome, Arabia and China before Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498 and a succession of Portuguese Armadas followed him.

The history of those expeditions makes fascinating reading if you have the time; these Wiki pages provide an overview but it is worth reading deeper: Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese India Armadas.

In brief, the Portuguese were piratical trader invaders; bloodthirsty, ruthless and adept at playing off local rulers and factions against each other. Very much like the later Dutch and English traders, but with the added insidious scourge of zealous religious colonialism. That remains their most enduring legacy, with Kerala's high proportion of Christians compared with other regions of India.

One of the sites I visited was the rather unremarkable St. Francis Church where Vasco Da Gama's remains hold pride of place. The Keralans are obviously a forgiving people. On the other hand, it was the arrival of the Portuguese that led to a degree of independence for Kerala from their northern overlords in Calicut, so possibly he is fondly remembered for that.

The Dutch defeated the Portuguese in 1663, invited in by the locals discontented with the Portuguese. Among other things they took over a 16th century palace from the Portuguese which has become known as "The Dutch Palace". After some improvements they presented it to the Raja. It is now a museum displaying not only it's own unique construction methods, especially Kerala flooring, but also some of the best mythological murals in India. The flooring, which looks like polished black marble, is actually a mixture of burned coconut shells, charcoal, lime, plant juices and egg whites. Unfortunately interior photos were not allowed. The curators appear to have more resources than the Pareekshit Thampuran Museum as the exhibits and premises are in much better condition.

The Dutch controlled the trade to Europe from this rich source of spices until the British replaced them in their turn in 1814. The British and Dutch agreed to exchange spice sources in a treaty. The Dutch received Bangka, a spice island near Sumatra which is now part of Indonesia, and the British took over Fort Cochin. As usual they started as traders but soon were the effective rulers of Kerala, controlling the Raja of Kochi. They remained so until Indian Independence in 1947.

During the early 20^th century the British expanded and improved Kochi's maritime facilities to become one of India's major ports. The entire district is a maze of waterways meandering between islands. Over the centuries natural changes, such as the floods which led to the rise of Kochi at the expense of an earlier nearby port have been helped by engineering works, dredging and deepening some channels to allow better access and control of shipping. The resulting port area is enormous, and the waterways are constantly busy with everything from massive ships to overcrowded ferries to tiny rowboats and dinghies with individuals fishing.

Near the port many areas are filled with ubiquitous Ashok and Tata trucks, waiting their turn to pick up loads.

Part of the standard tourist's route includes the Old Synagogue. I found the history more interesting than the building, especially as photos are banned. The synagogue was built in the 16th century when there was quite a large community of Jews in the district. There had been a Jewish presence for 15 centuries by that time, varying in numbers and nature depending on immigration resulting from pogroms in other parts of the world. But there are only 11 now, with most emigrating to Israel or the USA since 1947.

The streets leading to the synagogue have become highly prized (and priced) locations for traders hoping for tourist rupees. Some of the shops had fascinating goods on display. I must admit to wondering how they expect the tourists to take some of these goods home in their checked luggage.

I had hoped to visit some spice warehouses, but apparently I chose the wrong time of year for everything but ginger. This is a yard full of ginger drying before being packed for export. Ginger is one of my favourite spices; the aroma was intoxicating.

The other picture is yet another example of the Indian version of construction worker's Occupational Health and Safety in operation. They are building some amazing buildings many storeys tall with techniques like that.

Eventually, it was time to head back to Malaysia; but first I had one more small experience in cultural misunderstandings to encounter.

Near the airport I asked Sajiv to find a non-tourist local reastaurant. After a couple of choices that weren't suitable we came to a fairly rough-looking place on the upper floor of a building. I wanted Sajiv to have lunch with me, but he refused vehemently. Possibly there is something in his terms of service that does not let him eat with the customers. It would have been much better, but less hilarious, if he had. He stayed in the carpark and I went up to the very basic dining room with laminex-topped tables and cheap chairs.

The food on the tables in front of the regulars looked and smelled good. The waiter had no menu but claimed to speak English, so we had fun trying to work out what I should order. He kept saying "salad", but I avoid salads when travelling to minimise the chance of traveller's curse. So I said "No salad" then asked for "Thali" which is what the waiter in the dimly-lit restaurant the day before called my delicious lunch.

Aparently "No" translates badly to Mayalam. The first picture shows what I was served ten minutes later. I didn't complain, I simply asked again for Thali. Maybe it was my pronunciation, but "Thali" came out as bread, papadams, rice, a spicy sauce but nothing else. Eventually I took him to a nearby table and pointed to exactly what I wanted.

The second picture shows what was left on the table as I left after lunch.

The other diners thought it was amusing when I showed him what I wanted; they thought it was hilarious when I finished. They probably had a feast with the leftovers after I left.

Sajiv never quite understood that I invited him to lunch to be interpreter for ordering.

Finally, it was time to depart for my evening flight from Kochi Airport to Kuala Lumpur after an enjoyable, relaxing and fascinating experience. Once again, India was incredible.

Cheers, Alan

Munnar, Kerala, India

2011-07-02T16:59:00.003+10:00

Travel Dates 12th-14th May 2011.
Click on any picture to see a larger version.

I was pleased to see my name being held up by the man from the Angamaly Elite Palazzo hotel, booked via Agoda, when I passed through customs at the Kochi Airport. There is nothing worse than wondering where your "greeter" is in a foreign airport and it is always good to see him quickly. I chose the Elite Palazzo after a lot of reading on different sites on the web. I wasn't disappointed. I didn't just rely on the automatic booking; as with all my bookings I emailed them to confirm the shuttle and other services.

The ride in the free hotel shuttle from the airport, after they waited for me to use the cash machine, was a fraction further than I expected but the hotel was top class. Sadly for them I was one of the few customers that day. The heat of May is the slowest time of the season in Kerala. The fish was good in the restaurant and the beer in the bar was cheap, cold and delicious. One of those "didn't touch the sides" beers on a very hot afternoon.

While I was drinking that beer I noticed a crowd outside a shop opposite the hotel. Apparently elections had been held several weeks ago and the following day was to be "election counting" day and all of the states where counting was to occur would be dry during that day, so all over those states the thirsty people - or those who expected to be - were stocking up to be sure they could either celebrate or drown their sorrows. There seemed to be a very large number of very thirsty people; it took hours for the crowd to disappear.

As it transpired the next day the count was close for Kerala so quite a lot of both celebrating and commiserating occurred. We passed several wildly cheering communist groups at various times that day. It didn't seem to bother them that they had lost the main battle, they were happy that they had won some local seats. The other party supporters weren't quite as excited in the streets.

After my beer I took a walk around the local streets. I reminded myself to watch carefully every foot-step; it was too easy to either step in something squishy or thin air over a hole in the street, just like northern India. Possibly the first real difference I noted was that the large concrete squares forming the footpath were actually a cover for deep and malodorous drains running under those paths; a bit disconcerting when one of the covers was missing if you were not watching.

The next morning, on time, my driver and car arrived. Once again I owe thanks to the regulars on Indiamike for their suggestions and advice in planning the Indian section of my trip. The car, driver and remaining accommodation on my short visit were all based on their good advice.

Sajiv was an excellent driver and doubled as interpreter and as an information source providing answers to my multitude of questions as we drove along. His English was reasonable and we soon worked out a few minor communication difficulties. He had a better knowledge of the Kochi district than Munnar. We encountered this tower on the road from the airport to Munnar. He told me who it was dedicated to, but I’m afraid I neglected to note it. I must admit I was more interested in the art and architecture than the ancient deity or person. The waterfall was a little further along the road.

The waterfalls had become a regular roadside stop for local travellers, with a comfort station and semi-permanent shops and stalls beside the road.

One of the first things I noticed on the drive was the high number of Christian temples and shrines in comparison with Hindu or Muslim temples or mosques. Wiki shows Kerala to be about 55% Hindu, 25% Muslim and 20% Christian. Maybe that is true for the entire state, but it is hard to believe for the district between Kochi and Munnar which seems to be predominantly Christian. Although I saw Hindu temples and occasional Mosque minarets they were vastly outnumbered by Christian churches and shrines. Unlike some other parts of India there appears to be local harmony despite the various very different beliefs.

After a few scenic hours on the road from Angamaly to Munnar we arrived at Royal Mist homestay, my home for the next two days. I will write a review shortly, but it won’t be significantly different to those you will find giving it top marks on Tripadvisor. I had to seek their approval to stay because they have a "no bachelors"rule. I convinced Anil and Jeeva, my lovely hosts, that I was married and OK despite travelling alone. There are three rooms; one was vacant and the other was occupied by an English couple who spent half their time in the UK and most of the rest at their other home in Goa; a very interesting and pleasant couple to chat to on the verandah.

Munnar is not a place to see temples and ancient sites; it is a place to relax and take it easy. To be honest I chose the district more for its cooler climate during Kerala’s hot May than for its attractions. It was 40C down in Kochi but there was no need for air-conditioning up in Munnar. I found it an interesting interlude. I wandered through the small town and its market; refrigeration is a modern novelty that seems to be taking a while to catch on with the fishmongers.

When I asked about a good place for lunch Sajiv thought I needed some luxury, so he took me to the most expensive hotel in town; although not expensive by Australian standards. The food was excellent, but I was the only diner and felt a little lonely. I clarified my actual needs later and ate in the same places the locals ate for lunch. Anil and Jeeva provided excellent breakfasts and dinners.

The Munnar district is all about tea and spices. I did the obligatory tour of a spice farm, with an excellent explanation of the history, cultivation and uses of various spices. I was tempted to say something when the guide enthused over the "insulin plant" but kept my big mouth shut for a change. I had not heard of it before so I will do some research first before putting my foot in my mouth on that subject. Watch my diabetes blog for later comment on that. The tours are cheap, provided you survive the hard sell for various products after it. The first picture is the path bordered by many different herb and spice plants, the second is a hive of native bees, vital to the health of the farm.

Tea was the reason for Munnar changing from a remote region of aboriginal tribes to a major area of British development. I found my tour of the Tea Museum well worth the time. The movie on the history of the region and the hard, rugged early days of the tea plantations was very interesting, as was the demonstration of the machinery in the production area.

The British developed the plantations from scratch, negotiating with the local rulers and tribes for the land and workers and then setting up a paternalistic social system for the plantation workers, including schools and hospitals; infrastructure such as roads, railways and dams for water and electricity; and even their local currency. Over time the local people took control of the plantations and continue to run them today. The massive TATA company in India started here.

I did not include photos for privacy reasons, but I also found the craft factory set up for people with a disability both interesting and educational. Be sure to include it in your programme if you visit the district.

Munnar was a very relaxed and enjoyable couple of days.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2011-06-29T16:17:00.006+10:00

Travel Dates 10th-12th May, 16th May and 22nd-23rd May 2011.
Click on any picture to see a larger version.

Kuala Lumpur was a surprise. Once again my preconceptions were destroyed.

I was at Primary School in the period when Malaya was still a British colony, then at High School during its period of independence (1957) and the creation of Malaysia, which initially included Singapore as well as Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak. Singapore separated from the union a couple of years later. I suppose my mind was still fixed in the mid-20th century and I half expected to see rubber plantations, tin mines and a primary industry based economy.

Instead I found Kuala Lumpur to be a vibrant, bustling modern city. The inner city reminded me of Singapore or Hong Kong.

The outer suburbs, especially the new ones, could have been in Europe or Australia although Australians rarely develop suburbs with street after street of identical houses. I have only seen that happen to the degree it is occurring in Kuala Lumpur in The Nederlands and some areas of Eire. On the bus ride in from the LCCT airport I saw many square kilometres of such developments. The houses looked brand new, mostly unoccupied, and could have been punched out of giant cloning machines.

I stayed at the Bintang Fairlane Residences, booked via Agoda, and it turned out to be an excellent choice for both quality and location. It is an apartment building, not really a hotel, but the minor inconvenience of no room service was more than compensated by the convenience of a fully-equipped kitchenette, a washer-dryer and lots of space with a bedroom separate from the lounge/dining area. Reception is 24 hours. The layouts of the apartments vary a bit, so it is worth having a chat with reception on arrival to see what your choices are. There is a pool on the roof and a gym and spa on the floor below that. Below is the view from the roof; the night shots at the top of this post were also taken from the roof of the Fairlane Residences.

I liked the sense of humour of the person who found this use for an old LandRover. It was the nearest link I saw to the British rubber plantations of the past.

Unfortunately, one of the consequences of all the modernisation seemed to be a shortage of historical sites from the pre-independence era. But there are still some. Below is the Sultan Abdul Samad building, which was built originally to house British government offices but became the home of the Malaysian superior courts after independence. In the early 2000s most were shifted to the new seat of government at Putrajaya; now the building houses government offices again, but Malaysian this time. The building faces Merdeka Square, which was where the Union Jack was ceremonially replaced by the Malayan flag on 31 August 1957. As the square was previously the cricket ground for the restricted-membership Royal Selangor Club (natives need not apply) the choice of location was deliberately symbolic.

On arrival I used the very cheap airport bus from LCCT to travel to KL Sentral, which is a bus terminal in the inner city. There are several bus lines. The Skybus associated with AirAsia costs MYR9 and the others are MYR8. Approximate equivalents are MYR10 = AU$3.00 = £2. I used Skybus once and the opposition the other three times; I found the services identical. Cheap, comfortable and air-conditioned although all could have been a little cleaner. The trip takes a little over an hour if traffic is normal.

If you intend visiting Kuala Lumpur via LCCT make sure you allow at least 45 minutes for the inbound immigration check. The queues weren't really very long but the very small numbers of officials allocated to process people and the unusually long time they took for each person led to long delays on both my entries.

I made a mistake when I first booked a hotel for my transit night in Malaysia between India and the UK. I booked a nice hotel in the grounds of KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). But my flights were using LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal). On the map the two terminals appear to share the same airport, but it turns out that they are 20km apart by road and the shuttle between them is infrequent and stops mid-evening. As I was arriving at midnight that meant a very expensive cab fare to get to and from my hotel. When I realised the problem I managed to persuade the hotel to cancel the booking and I re-booked at the only hotel on the grounds at LCCT, the Tune Hotel. It is also owned by AirAsia. Their hotels follow the same philosophy as their airline; you literally get what you pay for. Extras aren't expensive but include many things most of us are used to seeing as automatic inclusions:

Addon	Price
Air Conditioning (12 hours credit)	MYR 13.62
Air Conditioning (24 hours credit)	MYR 21.20
Towel Rental + Free Essentials toiletries kit (additional RM10 refundable deposit will be collected upon check-in)	MYR 5.30
Wireless Internet Access (24 hour period)	MYR 12.00
Hair Dryer (24 hour period )	MYR 1.00
Breakfast Set (for 1 set)	MYR 6.00
Tune Hotels Insurance	MYR 5.00

I bought a 20 ringgit pre-paid monorail ticket and used that to wander around the inner city area that system covers. I think I used the ticket half a dozen times on my first day but I still had lots of credit left on it when I returned to Kuala Lumpur on the way home six weeks later. I did not get time to travel on the other city metro rail lines.

On the first trip I walked with my bags to the monorail terminal and used that to get to Bukit Bintang. I did not do that again. It is not that long a walk, but there are no lifts or escalators at the monorail terminals and far too many stairs to lug bags up and down. For the subsequent airport trips I took a cab to and from KL Sentral to Bukit Bintang. It cost about MYR10 on the meter going to KL Sentral but 20 outbound; the difference is something to do with vouchers and boundaries. That's still very good value for the trip and a darn sight easier than carrying bags upstairs.

Although there were occasional older crowded apartment blocks and poor districts the majority of housing appeared to be modern, clean and air-conditioned. Similarly most of the multi-storey office blocks looked modern. All the cars I saw seemed very new with the exception of most of the taxi-cabs; the ones I travelled in were clean but old.

With rare exceptions the food choices in Kuala Lumpur were excellent and cheap. One of the exceptions was this Laksa, which had a wonderful curry base but the tofu tasted like coarse foam rubber. The other picture is a combination I chose in a food court smorgasbord: chicken, fish, pork and a hot bean sprouts and vegetables mix. Delicious and less than MYR10.

Petaling Street is a famous shopping area; rumour has it that some of the goods are not quite kosher but I'm sure that the MYR10 Casio watch I bought for a cheap backup and the MYR150 Rolex watches I saw displayed were absolutely genuine. Yeah, right. But there were also lots of good quality goods on sale. For range and quality of goods it was one of the better market districts I have wandered through on my travels. A refreshing change was minimal harassment by vendors. There were a few that were persistent, but nothing like the touting that occurs in places like Cairo or Delhi.

I took a cab to Kuala Lumpur Tower and paid to go to the viewing platform. Unfortunately the platform is fully enclosed so the photos have some reflections, but the view is still spectacular; it would have been even better on a clear smog-free day, but those seem to be rare.

The ticket included a choice of various options for kids or a visit to a small zoo at the foot of the tower. The zoo was educational, but a bit startling as you enter between the giant snakes and giant spiders. Eerie. I doubt that the RSPCA would be impressed at some of the living conditions, but it was certainly interesting. To give an idea of the sizes, the tight circle made by the python in the bottom picture is about a metre or more than three feet across. Some of the spiders in those glass cases are more than 15cm (6") from foot-pad to foot-pad.

The Chan She Shu Yuen Chinese Temple has some fascinatingly ornate and intricate figures on the outside walls, unfortunately there was a ceremony in progress and I was not allowed in on the day.

I enjoyed my time in the city and I will probably return. For that reason I'll be a little circumspect about commenting on the political situation. Let me put it this way. The newspapers I read were full of glowing reports about the government, its leaders, its officials and the economic and diplomatic successes of Malaysia. It was also full of news reports of the peccadilloes, court appearances and jailing of other politicians, all of whom appeared to be from the opposition. On the day I left there was a long news report of a protest march likely to occur in the near future by three different groups. A police spokesman said that any who marched without a permit would be arrested. On another page a different spokesman stated that no groups intending to protest would be issued with a permit. On another was a discussion of whether certain books should or should not be banned.

There appear to be several forms of democracy in the world; some more democratic than others.

PS, added 14th July 2011.

This news report on the BBC is relevant to my final couple of paragraphs:

Breezes of change in Malaysia

Protesters on the streets of Kuala Lumpur were met by police in full riot gear and clouds of tear gas

Read the rest on the BBC page.

Cheers, Alan

Paris, 2011

2011-06-12T21:18:00.006+10:00

Travel Dates 18th-21st May 2011.
Click on any picture to see a larger version.

I am now at the Club Quarters Hotel near Trafalgar Square in London and finally have access to a reliable free high speed wi-fi service. I will take the opportunity to post a few entries on some of the places I have visited on this trip. I will start with Paris, although that is slightly out of sequence.

I loved the Eurostar way of travel. I alighted at the Gare du Nord two and a half hours after leaving London's St Pancras fresh, relaxed and without the stresses of an airport arrival.

I bought a three day ticket for the metro/RER. Possibly it may have been cheaper to buy individual tickets for my travel, but it made it so easy to just get on a metro or bus whenever I wished to. However, I was a bit annoyed to find on my departure morning at 6am that the ticket expired at 5:30 regardless of the time of purchase. Later, I found that varied from city to city. Some, like Zagreb, sell daily tickets valid for a full 24 hours; others, like Paris and Sarajevo (midnight) expire at a set time.

The second picture is taken through the front window of the car at the front of the train on that metro line. Notice something - or somebody - missing? If you are interested here is more on the driverless Line 14 of the Paris Metro.

I used the metro to travel to the Pullman Paris Bercy. I found that web-site with directions instructions since then; at the time I wasn't sure of which station to use. I got out at Cour Saint-Émilion and wandered in progressively widening circles, with luggage, until I eventually discovered the hotel was east, not west, of that station. The Pullman is a fairly good 4* standard and usually charges much more than the price I bid on Priceline.co.uk for my three days. When I won the bid I was a little worried when I found that it is on the outskirts near La Peripherique. I need not have worried; it was only two stops to Gare de Lyon from Cour Saint-Émilion and not many more to the centre of Paris.

The Bercy district of the Seine appears to be an area used in the past for wharves and warehouses for goods delivered by boat, and still is to a lesser degree. The Bercy “village” of cafés and restaurants reminded me of several other places where old docks have been converted for those purposes such as Sydney and New York.

I found the Parisians friendlier and more accommodating to my broken Franglish this time around. Maybe my French is improving (I doubt it ) or they are becoming more tolerant of tourists (just as doubtful) or maybe I just smile more and look more confused now that I'm a sexagenarian.

I managed the 284 steps to climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, but each time I do something like that these days I am reminded that my brain may think I am still 25 but my body disagrees, and disagrees more strongly with each passing year. But I got there and the view was worth it.

This market was a couple of blocks from the Arc de Triomphe.

I checked out the Gare de Lyon long-distance section the day before I needed to use it to depart on the TGV Lyria to Lausanne. I was glad I did. The place is enormous. The SNCF/TGV trains depart from two major (blue and yellow) terminals upstairs from the also enormous metro/RER sections. I found I would be departing from the Yellow (Jaune) terminal which is a bit chaotic as it is under major reconstruction.

When I left the next day, I found that the platform number is only announced twenty minutes before departure. As there are about 20 platforms in each blue and yellow section it is important to keep watching the screens. There are no warnings of departure, no “all aboard” in French, the train just glides slowly and smoothly away from the platform. Don't be late.

I used the metro a lot over the next couple of days to wander Paris, re-visiting places I had been such as Boulevarde St Germaine and wandering through districts such as Opera, Bastille, the Latin Quarter and others.

I did the same things I love to do in all the places I visit in Europe. After ticking off the “must see” tourist traps such as the Arc de Triomphe that I had missed on previous trips I spent a lot of time sitting in kerbside cafés slowly sipping café au lait or vin rouge and watching the Parisians pass by. Yeah, I know, boring, but I love it.

I'm glad I wasn't driving this time and looking for a parking place. The police tow-truck was a common sight.

I took the first photo because of the patterns of light and shade as I stepped on to this bridge, then stayed a while to listen to the musicians.

As I left the bridge I noticed hundreds of padlocks on the balustrades. I found an article on them here: Love Locked on a Paris Bridge

Incidentally, while I was walking past the Hotel de Ville this little bit of excitement occurred. The police stopped us at a barrier; after a while we saw this bomb-disposal robot appear in the distance by the Seine wall. At the same time lots of additional gendarmes and army types turned up in a variety of vehicles following their sirens. But nothing blew up, so everyone eventually wandered off to the nearest café to chat about it.

This "Australian" café menu included two things to watch for in Europe. The "Drink wherever you want" statement is related to the common practice in Italy and some parts of France of charging different prices depending on whether you drink at the bar or at a table or outside at the street tables. The "minimum €15" is also a trap for the unwary; a similar note to watch for is the "cover" charge added to many bills all over Europe. It is wise to look for the words for "minimum" and "cover" on the menu in fine print in the local language or you will get some unpleasant surprises when you read your bill.

Cheers, Alan

On My Way Again

2011-05-14T03:44:00.002+10:00

You know how you get one of those tunes running ceaselessly through your brain sometimes and you can't get rid of it? It happens to me every time I head off again on one of my odysseys. It's Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again". Yeah, I know, you can't leave Australia by road, but it gets in my head on the way to the airport and takes ages to fade out again.

I'm on my way again.

This trip is only 6 ½ weeks, but it is by far the most highly organised trip I've planned. I'm not quite sure why that happened, because I usually only plan the critical nodes and prefer spontaneity in between them. But not this time.

One thing led to another. It all started when I received an email alert (I think it was from Travelzoo but I can't be certain now) last October with some incredibly low fares on AirasiaX from Coolangatta to London via Kuala Lumpur. I couldn't resist the round trip for less than $1000. A quick look at the time envelope for the tickets led me to select a May departure and a late June return.

When I discovered I could do a side trip to Kerala, India and still stay under that price I added that in as well. I enjoyed North India in 2008 and I always wanted to visit the Spice Coast, so this looked like a good opportunity.

Allowing a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur and four in Kerala, that was a week accounted for. What to do with the other 4 ½? I decided I wanted to spend a few days in two of my favourite cities, London and Paris. I also wanted to see some friends and relatives in the Oxbridge region of the UK. Then I looked to add places I had not seen but always wanted to; St Petersburg is top of that list and Croatia and the Dalmatian coast is next.

Add a love of long-distance rail travel since my boyhood to the mix, and also a fond memory of my cruise down the Nile (the only good part of my Egyptian fiasco) and you will start to see the way my mind was working.

I spent a lot of time over the next few months reading and researching air, rail and boat trips to allow me to include all of those. The result is hectic on the surface, until you realise how much of the time I will actually spend sitting in trains and boats watching the world pass slowly by. Well, not so slowly on the TGV Lyria but fairly slowly on the others.

But, I have to admit, it still looks pretty tight:

Fly from Coolangatta to Kuala Lumpur (8 hours), stay two nights.

Fly to Kerala, India (4 hours), hire car and driver to see Cochin and Munnar over four days, fly back.

Stay overnight Kuala Lumpur, fly to Stansted UK (14 hours), stay overnight.

Rail (Stansted Express and Eurostar) to Paris, stay 3 nights.

Rail (TGV Lyria and Swiss Rail) to Zermatt, stay 2 nights.

Glacier Express to Chur. Stay overnight.

Bernina Express and Trenitalia to Milan. Stay overnight.

Trenitalia to Venice, spend the afternoon and evening, then night train to Zagreb.

Stay overnight Zagreb, fly to Dubrovnik, stay 3 nights.

Bus to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stay the night then train to Sarajevo, stay two nights.

Fly to St Petersburg, transiting for one night in Budapest, stay one night in a hotel before joining the ship to Moscow over 7 nights.

Fly to London (4 hours), stay 4 nights.

Rent a car and wander the midlands for a week.

Return home via Stansted and Kuala Lumpur.

It grew from small beginnings. As it grew I made bookings for train reservations, flights, and hotels. As always I searched for the best value for money without sacrificing the pleasure of the trip. Slowly there were fewer and fewer un-booked nights, flights, boats and cars. Then I booked or arranged other things, such as visas for India and Russia and arrangements with friends and relatives. And suddenly I found that it was all booked, something I've never done before.

It remains to be seen whether it will all work out. I have already started. I am writing this by pecking away with two fingers on the net-book as I fight off the mosquitoes in beautiful Munnar. It seems Google Blogger is down so I am not sure when this will actually be posted. Kuala Lumpur was hot, sticky and very, very impressive. So far Kerala is not quite as hot and sticky; it is the same in many ways as Northern India but very different in others. I'll write about both places shortly.

On the road again...

Hey - Blogger just started working again so I'll post this while I can.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Travel, Money, Cards and Cheques in Foreign Lands

2011-05-04T12:16:00.004+10:00

One of the most frequent questions asked on travel forums is "how much foreign currency should I obtain before I leave home" and "how much should I purchase in Traveller's Cheques". My answers are "as little as possible" and "nothing". Instead, join the 21st Century and use ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) wherever possible.

Most of my trips involve several countries and many different currencies. For example, I leave next week for a seven-week trip using in sequence the Malaysian Ringgit, Indian Rupee, Malaysian Ringgit, £, €, Swiss Franc, €, Croatian Kuna, BiH Marka, Russian Rouble, £, Malaysian Ringgit and finally home again, with much of the pre-purchasing using US$. Fun :)

I always carry a minimum of three cards; two credit cards and a debit card. On my next trip I will probably add a second debit card.

I carry two different credit cards on different accounts so that if one is cancelled the other is still OK. At this time I am using Amex and Visa, but I have also used MC in the past.

I use credit cards where appropriate to pay for major goods and services such as hotel bills and car rentals instead of cash. That minimises the amount of local cash I need to carry and has the dual benefit of reducing my security risks and limiting the amount of cash I may need to re-convert as I cross a border to another new currency.

Unused foreign cash is not always a problem, but sometimes it can be costly. Minor border crossings where the locals frequently cross over can have excellent cheap currency exchanges; I have used those in Eastern Europe successfully. But others do not. We lost over 10% converting Swiss Francs to Euros in a French bank near the border. Banks back in Oz charge like wounded bulls for turning foreign notes back into Aussie dollars and will not even look at foreign coins. Back in '03 we didn't know that; we came home with about £40 in coins, which is easy to do with £1 and £2 coins, worth about $100 at that time. The bank would not accept them. We spent them on our return to the UK in '06. Today they would only be worth $60.

The cost of credit card use overseas varies depending on the card and the bank. Mine are usually 1.5% and 2.5% depending on the card fee and the bank fee, plus the hidden cost of the difference between the real exchange rate and the bank's rate. I work on an average of 2.5%.

The reason for two credit cards is redundancy. If you carry only one card, loss or theft or cancellation could be a disaster. It doesn't need to be stolen to have a drama. On our first trip the bank officer handling our account left to have a baby and neglected to arrange automatic monthly credit card payment from our primary account. It maxed out; we discovered that courtesy of a cranky non-English-speaking (and why should she?) French supermarket check-out girl in front of a long and increasingly grumpy queue. The back-up card saved the day – and the rest of that month and my sanity.

I keep one credit card in my wallet and the back-up card in my “secret” wallet with my passport and a cash reserve in € or US$ depending on the region.

Whether it is just for convenience or for better prices for many services I have found that there is always a benefit to carrying some local cash. I use a debit card to withdraw from ATMs for cash where possible. The debit card can be linked to my credit card account or, preferably, to a separate account for security. There's not much point in having two cards if both become unusable when one account is suspended. In the recent past some Australian banks, including mine, have suffered from major computer failures for short periods which prevented any withdrawals world-wide. That is why I will be carrying a second debit card from a totally different bank on my next trip. It's the Irish in me: to be sure, to be sure.

Although my credit cards are linked to my primary account if I select Chq or Sav at an Australian ATM, not all foreign ATMs offer that selection. In that case, a cash withdrawal will cost me interest at prohibitive credit card rates until I pay the account to zero. Additionally, not every ATM in every country will work with every card, even if the appropriate symbol appears. I once tried all of my cards at six different bank ATMs in Rio before I found one that worked. I had similar difficulties in Buenos Aires.

I very rarely use the overpriced currency exchangers here in Oz before departing unless I have a need for a specific currency on arrival. For example, I had to pay cash for my apartment in Buenos Aires in US$; I could not get that out of the local ATM and bought it here instead. Expect a cost in excess of 5% using foreign currency dealers. Instead, I assess my likely need for immediate cash when I arrive in the country and head straight for an ATM at the airport or in the nearest border town that will take my Visa debit card. I never withdraw more than I expect to use in three days.

Using a debit card the fee is simply the difference between the real exchange rate and the bank's rate. With my bank that is usually about 1% (I use www.xe.com for comparisons) and with my building society it is usually a little less.

As I mentioned earlier it is important to plan your cash needs on arrival. There is nearly always an ATM available if you need more. For those times when there is not, I have my "secret" reserve for emergencies of €200 or US$200. One of those two currencies is usually accepted as an alternative, although sometimes the locals use very "flexible" exchange rates. I only withdraw sufficient in local currency for immediate needs for a few days, replenishing as necessary, and try to budget so that I arrive at the border on departure with just enough to buy coffee or a meal or duty-free goods on the air side of the security barrier. If I'm driving I usually turn any remaining cash into fuel at the last gas station before the border.

I do a lot of on-line pre-purchasing of hotel rooms and other services. I don't usually book every night of a trip, but at least the first night after travel. I do not want to be hunting for a place to sleep as I get out of the airport or station jet-lagged or travel-weary. Often the cheapest rate requires full payment (but cannot be cancelled). That has the added advantage of locking in the exchange rate of that day if you think it may drop in the future. Some sites convert to my currency for the purchase at their own exchange rate, which can be surprisingly good, so that debit arrives my bank in AU$ with no fees.

A word of caution. Trying to predict future exchange rates can be risky as others have mentioned. I paid early in March in US$ for a cruise next June from St Petersburg to Moscow because we had reached the dizzy heights of AU$1.00 = US$1.02. Of course, now we are approaching $1.10 I'm regretting that. I'm a traveller, not a Forex trader, so I tend to accept the fluctuations as they happen and say c'est la vie.

Finally, always remember to get your card out of the machine when you finish. I lost a card that way in Argentina. I take extra care these days to look for the final "are you finished" request, not always in English, if the machine is the type that swallows my card.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Where Do You Want To Go and What Do You Want To Do and See?

2011-04-15T19:59:00.003+10:00

For some travellers those questions are irrelevant. You know why you are travelling because you are meeting a specific need. Whether it is for business or personal reasons, to attend a conference or your great-aunt's funeral, you know where you are going and what you intend to do. But for others, such as leisure travellers like myself, the question can be very important.

How detailed your planning should be will also vary. For some trips you don't need to plan at all. If you are heading off for the umpteenth time to see a regular customer or a relative you are fond of, you may not need to do more than throw some toiletries and spare undies in your briefcase, buy the tickets and call a cab to the station or the airport. If you are going to stay a week in a city you have never visited you probably need to do a little more planning and packing, but not a lot. Possibly all you would need to do is some reading on the city and its sights and culture, then choose a suitable location and accommodation. After that, buy the tickets, pack, call the cab and you are on your way.

But I tend to go on trips a little more complex than that. When I started planning my first 'round-the-world trip in 2002 my goal was very basic. I thought at that time that I had one single chance to see the world and I was going to see as much as I could for as long as I could afford. Consequently in 2003 we spent a month in the USA, visiting fourteen states by air and car, a few days in the Caribbean and four months seeing most of Western Europe and the British Isles.

We had a wonderful time, despite cramming such an enormous range of territory, languages, cultures and currencies into a short five months. I rarely felt rushed, threatened or stressed. I believe the detailed planning I did made the difference between enjoyment and disaster. I took over a year to make the plans and learned a lot by trial and error. I discovered something that surprised me along the way. I enjoyed the planning process almost as much as the trip.

I surprised the doctors and found I was still around after that trip so I decided to keep travelling until I couldn't. And I'm still travelling, nine years later.

The trips since then have been a little shorter. We went 'round-the-world again in 2006 for three months. Unfortunately, Australia is a long, long flight from anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere; we are simply too far from the rest of the world after my wife found that long plane trips were not good for her health. I went alone on the third 'round-the-world in 2008 and last year to South America; both were over seven weeks. In between those we travelled together on shorter flights to New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia for one or two weeks and regularly to Melbourne, Australia by road to see our family. We used that trip, 2000km each way, to see as much of South-Eastern Australia as we could by varying the route as much as possible each time.

Over that period I developed some basic techniques for the planning of my complex trips. Possibly some of them may help you plan yours.

The most basic of all questions, before you book anything at all, is where do you want to go and what do you want to see?

There are lots of factors you need to consider as part of those questions. If you are ready to head off to explore foreign lands, how foreign do you want them to be? Are you looking for a comfortable 5 star holiday in a culture not too different from your own, but in a pleasant and care-free climate? Or are you looking for exotic experiences, strange languages and interesting foods and don't mind a little discomfort along the way? Do you want to see old and historic ruins, ancient sites, beautiful countryside, or a modern vibrant metropolis? Or all of the above?

Work out those priorities first, because some of them may become mutually exclusive. Make sure you involve your partner. You don't want to discover your partner is only prepared to stay at the Hilton when you arrive at the youth hostel you pre-booked for a week, no matter how beautiful the view is or how delicious the breakfast may be.

I'll use myself as an example, but you must use your own interests and passions to decide which countries and cultures are the ones you want to visit.

Over time my focus on trips changed. The first one was based on “I want to see it all while I can”. Of course, it wasn't possible but we certainly saw a great deal; ancient and medieval, bucolic and modern. My next trip was more focussed on the cultures of Eastern Europe; I was particularly interested in the ways countries like Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and East Germany were recovering from the communist era. On my next two trips I made a conscious effort to see most of the great wonders of the ancient and natural world that I had not already seen, so I added Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal, Petra, Ancient Egypt, Yucatan, Teotihuacan, the Nazca Lines, Lake Titicaca, Macchu Pichu, Colca Canyon, Galapagos Islands and Iguazu Falls to the wonders of Europe and North America that I had already seen. They became my “Wonders of the World” trips – but I also managed to include re-visits to some of my favourite places such as London, New York and Hawaii.

The trip I am planning at the moment is on a few levels. I love travelling by rail, so I have deliberately planned many long rail trips; some fast and modern, some more venerable. In one brief 14-day period I will take the Stansted Express to London, to catch the Eurostar to Paris, then after a few days the Lyria TGV high-speed train to Visp, connecting on a local to Zermatt, then the Glacier Express to Chur followed by the Bernina Express to Tirano. I change trains there for a local to Milan, then a local to Venice followed by the night train to Zagreb. Whew!!. And I'm going to love every minute of it. I won't be finished there because after flying to Dubrovnik I take the bus to Mostar and the train from there to Sarajevo.

I will have a second focus on this trip: food. I enjoyed eating local foods with the locals on many of my previous trips, especially in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. I deliberately avoid the tourist restaurants when I can. I intend to do that as much as I can on this next trip, especially in Kerala, India and in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. On every trip I try to combine seeing new places, thus Kerala, the Balkans and Russia, with seeing old favourites and friends; in this case those are in the UK.

Do you have a passion? Art? Ancient cities and cultures? Medieval forts? Architecture? Foreign languages? Battles of WWII? Whatever your passion, consider basing a trip around that. That does not mean that is all you do or see on your trip, but it gives an additional interest and structure to your planning.

Once you have worked that part out, decide on the next two most important decisions. How long do you want to go for and what is your budget? Actually, the latter is probably the priority, because that may decide the time limit as well.

Cheers, Alan

Travel Tips Index

2011-04-15T12:37:00.009+10:00

As I write later posts I will return to up-date and improve this index. This initial index is a list of intended posts, but it may change as I write them and think of other things to include,

If you can't click on it, then it hasn't been written yet. As of right now - that means none at all :) Watch this space.

Planning

Where Do You Want To Go and What Do You Want To Do and See?
Using a Spread Sheet
Managing emails
Travel Folders

Packing

Luggage: Checking Bags or Carry-on only?
Wallets - Secret and Normal
Clothing
Toiletries
First Aid and Medications
Electrics
Essential Extras
Packing Summary

Security

Basics
Airports

Money

Travel, Money, Cards and Cheques in Foreign Lands

Booking via your computer

Hotels and Hostels
Airlines
Rail

Food

Avoiding Delhi Belly or Montezuma'a Curse
Travelling on a Diet

Eating with the locals

Flying

Flying AirAsia and AirAsiaX

To be expanded.

Cheers, Alan

Travel Tips From a Peripatetic Wanderer

2011-04-09T14:08:00.004+10:00

G'day All

I have been relatively immobile over the past year since I returned from South America, restricting my travels to a few brief trips to see our family 2000km to the south in Melbourne, Victoria. This pause, before I head off to Europe and Russia via India in May, seems an opportune time to pass on some hints and tips based on my experiences to any readers interested in travelling the world .

This introduces a short series of Travel Tips which I intend to write over the next few weeks. I will commence with an index in the next blog post and then start the series with the basic packing essentials, expanded by following posts. As it develops I intend to follow with posts on booking hotels, buses, rail and flights via the web, planning complex itineraries, deciding on what to see and how long to stay and various other items as they come to mind. I will link each post back to that index.

You are probably wondering what qualifies me to do this? Well, no formal qualifications at all. Just some experience. You may have totally different travel likes and dislikes; so feel free to treat my ideas as a smorgasbord. Use any idea you think may help you, ignore what you dislike. It won't bother me much either way because I'm really writing this for my own satisfaction.

What experience, I hear you cry? Well, apart from the TA map at the foot, here are a few statistics to set the scene.

Countries

Some I have spent weeks in (USA, UK, Eire and a few others) and some I passed through in a day. The rest are between those extremes. Most were visited since 2002, but some are from my time in the RAAF in the late '70s. Where I have written about a country I have linked to the first in that country's series. I may have left some out; I'll drop back and amend as I remember things.

Americas

USA
Canada
Mexico
Peru
Ecuador
Brazil
Argentina

Caribbean

US Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico

Europe

Spain
France
Monaco
Italy
Greece
Austria
Czech
Germany
Luxembourg
Belgium
The Netherlands
Eire
Scotland
England
Wales
Slovenia
Hungary
Slovakia
Poland

Middle East

Turkey
Jordan
Egypt

Asia

Singapore
Thailand
Cambodia
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia

Oceania

Australia
(including Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos and Keeling islands)
New Zealand
Fiji
New Caledonia

Flights

The basic statistics:

Total Airports: 86
Total Airlines: 27
Total number of flights: over 130
Hours flown: nearly 400
Miles: about 180,000
Kilometres: about 290,000

Accommodation and Transport

Countless hotels and motels, too many hostels, many leased or rented cars, several ferries and a lot of trains.

I plan and arrange all my own travel. I rarely use travel agents to book anything other than the initial air tickets and not even that sometimes. I have become fairly expert in using the web to book almost everything from planes, trains and automobiles to hotels and hostels. On the rare occasions where I have used an agent to arrange a set tour I have had mixed results: woeful in Egypt, brilliant in the Galapagos.

Yes, I've been badly infected by the wanderlust bug. And I haven't found the cure yet. I am still searching in faraway places but I always come home to paradise eventually.

If I help with just one tip that helps you in the coming posts, I will be well pleased. I'll be even more pleased if you comment to say so - or add some tips of your own.

Cheers, Alan

BA to Sydney via the Edge of Antarctica

2011-01-19T12:13:00.002+11:00

Please click on any picture to see the larger version.
Travel Date 5th-6th May 2010.

I don't post a lot of pictures taken through the aircraft portholes, but these are a little different to the usual.

The flight from Buenos Aires to Sydney appears short on paper. Take-off is at 2 pm, arrival at 5:50 pm. But that is deceptive because it is actually fifteen hours long, crossing many time zones and the date-line. The flight stewards treat it like a night flight, with most people closing the window covers and settling down for a snooze shortly after take-off. But not me.

If you look at a standard Mercator's projection map of the world you might think a flight from BA to Sydney heads straight across the Pacific Ocean, crossing Chile and heading for Sydney via Tahiti and the top of New Zealand. But that is also deceptive. In fact, the shortest route heads straight down the east coast of Argentina, passing over Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego and skirting the edge of Antarctica.

I was glued to the window, fascinated by the terrain we passed over. This is some of the most inhospitable land in the world. And also some of the most inhospitable seas. The channels between the islands of Tierra Del Fuego hide the remains of many ships and their crews from the sail era.

Then the skies slowly changed colour; it was like flying through a pastel rainbow.

Slowly, the sea turned from the blue of the deep ocean to the ice-blue of the great ice-sheets of the Antarctic fringe, dotted with icebergs. The size of these icebergs is so enormous it is difficult to describe. At one stage we passed over a ship that was not far from a berg. It was like a speck; just a dot compared to the iceberg near it. Unfortunately, I missed that photo.

Each berg had a corresponding ice-free lake in its lee. I think it is created by the currents as the berg becomes an ice-breaker, pushing against the surrounding ice sheet and leaving clear sea in its wake.

Most people hate long flights. I must admit I enjoyed this one. It helped that, as usual, the Qantas service and food was excellent.

And so the journey around South America ended. I had a fascinating time; some day I may return. But there is still so much of the world to see...

Cheers, Alan

Buenos Aires, Palacio Barolo

2011-01-14T17:27:00.006+11:00

Please click on any picture to see the larger version.
Travel Date May 2010.

One of the things I enjoy most when I arrive in a new city is to wander by foot, bus and rail looking at the architecture and style of the suburbs and the city. As an Australian one of the first things that struck me was the similarity in style to some of the inner suburbs and central city area of Melbourne. Buenos Aires is described in some of the guide books as the Paris of the South. It is easy to see why; the French style appears subtly in many of the inner-city Barrios. But it is more than that, with a strong Spanish accent and occasional Italian influences.

The Palacio Barolo is one of the more interesting buildings in the city. It was designed by an Italian architect, Mario Palanti, who was commissioned by Luis Barolo who was an Italian immigrant who had made his fortune in the textile industry in Argentina.

Barolo was also a major fan of the medieval Italian author Dante Alighieri, commonly known just as Dante and his greatest work "The Divine Comedy". The architect was instructed to design the building to relate in many different ways to Dante's work; some are obvious, but many are subtle.

The Dante influence is inextricably part of the building. The Divine Comedy has 22 stanzas; the building has 22 floors. The basement, entrance and ground floor represent hell, with a mosaic and medallions on the floor representing flames. There are also lamps in the mouths of grotesque dragons; male to the west and female to the east.

Floors 1 through 14 represent purgatory and 15 through 22 represent heaven, crowned by the lighthouse representing God and salvation.

There are 100 cantos represented by the height of 100 meters. I was told by the guide that there are many more subtle representations of Dante's work in the building but as I'm not a student of Dante I missed those. The foundations apparently represent a golden ratio.

On a patriotic note, Barolo had the building designed so that on July 9, Argentine Independence Day, at 7:45pm the Southern Cross directly lines up over the tower. Barolo wanted Dante's ashes interred in the building, but that never happened and a statue of Dante designed for that purpose disappeared in the turmoil at the end of the Perón era in 1955.

The building was completed in 1923 after four years construction. Barolo used three floors for himself and let the remainder. He had his own personal secret elevator to his apartments, those elevators have now been sealed.

It was the tallest building in all of South America until 1935 and its lighthouse had a practical use guiding vessels on the broad expanse of the River Plate, or Rio de la Plata. The views of BA from the upper floors and from the lighthouse are magnificent. Unfortunately the smog was a bit heavy on the day, but I hope these photos give an idea of the view.

Optics experts will notice that I turned the reflection from the lighthouse mirror upside-down to show the cameraman :)

I went on the official tour, run by the builder's grandson which finished in the original owner's office.

I recommend the tour as a fascinating and interesting way to spend a few hours to anyone visiting Buenos Aires.

Cheers, Alan

Buenos Aires La Recoleta

2011-01-09T17:26:00.004+11:00

Please click on any picture to see the larger version.
Travel Date 29th April 2010.

When I planned the trip to Buenos Aires I was able to find an excellent apartment in the Recoleta Barrio, or district.

The Recoleta Barrio is famous for two main reasons. In the 1730s the monastic Order of Augustinian Recollects, or Recoletas, established a convent and church in the area. Ninety years later their convent was disbanded but the convent's garden became a public cemetery and the church continued as Our Lady of Pilar. The area at that time was undeveloped.

After the Yellow Fever outbreak in the 1870s the Recoleta neighbourhood became the favoured location for the wealthy as they fled from the older established but fever-ridden barrios of San Telmo and Montserrat to the south. Consequently the cemetery became theirs and very exclusive. Most of the plots are now owned by families, although some have been publicly purchased for the heroes of the nation. The Barrio is now one of the most exclusive in the city.

All the vaults are above ground and some of the coffins are clearly exposed on shelves in the vaults. Surprisingly, the air is fresh and clean with no bad odours, or as fresh and clean as you can get in the smog of Buenos Aires.

There are 4800 plots; the truly wealthy have a single plot for a single person, or go even further and erect elaborate memorials to their memory; others are more efficient, managing to inter many in the same small plot. By far the most visited plot is that of Eva Peron and her family.

Most plots are well-cared for by staff paid by the families, but some have fallen into disrepair.

The cemetery has become a major tourist attraction of the city, but when I went it was uncrowded and the visitors were quiet and respectful.

I found it to be a very interesting place to spend a couple of hours, a restful spot away from the bustle and traffic of BA.

Cheers, Alan

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010-07-26T16:39:00.007+10:00

Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

Travel Dates 28th April - 5th May 2010.

Also see On My Way Again for my first day in BA.

The first thing that struck me about Buenos Aires as the plane circled to land was the size of the city. And the smog.

I planned to end my South American trip with a week in Buenos Aires partly because of Australian quarantine restrictions. As I cannot have a yellow fever vaccination and I had spent a few days in the YF-endemic Iguassu district there was a possibility that I would have to spend six days in quarantine if I had gone directly home. In any case, it was a lovely, enjoyable and relaxing city to spend a week in.

BA is sometimes called "The Paris of the South". There were Parisian influences obvious in some buildings and street styles, but I found BA was also very similar in many ways to the inner suburbs and central business district of Melbourne. The exchange rate meant that restaurants and transport were cheap by Australian standards. 100 Argentine pesos is about AU$28 and US$25; I ate very well for under 40 pesos most nights.

When I arrived at my flat in Recolata I noticed that the district, or Barrio, was wall-to-wall apartment blocks apart from the commercial centre, generally varying from eight to fifteen storeys high with occasional towers of 20 storeys or more. What surprised me was that, unlike Melbourne or Sydney, those multi-storey apartments continued out into the outer suburbs. Later, I took the Subte Linea A out to San José de Flores, many kilometres out of the centre and found the same style of cheek-by-jowl multi-storey apartment blocks out there. The first picture is my street in Recoleta, the second is in San José de Flores.

I always considered Australia to be over-urbanised, with more than half our population living in the principal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. But Argentina makes us look almost bucolic by comparison, with more than half the population of over 36 million living in Buenos Aires and its suburbs. From my own observation a significant proportion of them appear to live in urban apartments. There are probably suburbs with individual houses on quarter-acre blocks, but I didn’t see any.

If you intend visiting this city for more than a few days I suggest renting an apartment instead of a hotel. For me there was the added advantage of being able to cook my own breakfast, but if I had not chosen to do that there were lots of nearby cafés and restaurants. I used BA Stays; the apartment was excellent and perfectly located and far cheaper than a hotel. I wrote a longer report on BA Stays here: Buenos Aires Stay apartment rental.

My Recoleta apartment was about five blocks from the Agüero station on Linea D and only a couple of blocks from the multitude of buses proceeding in both directions along Avenue General las Heras. I rarely needed a cab, but when I did I found them to be inexpensive. If you intend using buses when you visit this city go to any news-stand and buy a current copy of the Guia "T" de Bolsillo, the guide to buses. It fitted easily in my pocket and was easy to understand despite being in Spanish. It is well laid out and was invaluable in planning routes to see the city.

I did the usual tourist things such as seeing the main buildings, parks and attractions. That included the Obelisk and, of course, the Recoleta Cemetery which I’ll describe in the next post, but mostly I took life easy and wandered at my own pace on foot, in buses and on the Subte.

The regional railway lines have almost all disappeared, so the enormous rail terminus now appears to provide for infrequent trains to Villa Rosa. The city Cathedral is next door.

I like seeing the architectural styles and differences in the cities I visit. These are just a couple of examples; later I will write a separate post on a special building, the Palacio Barolo.

The Subte is the city's metro; five main lines, all underground, covering a significant proportion of the inner city but limited in the outer regions. All of the lines are separate but your ticket allows you to transfer between lines at the stations where they pass over or under each other. For more detail see this excellent description: Buenos Aires Subte. They have their own division of the Police Force - the Division Subterraneous.

Subte Linea A line is special. The other lines are reasonably modern, but the Linea A is a step back in time to the era of wooden carriages built and maintained by craftsmen. I believe that it is deliberately maintained in the old style and that there are no plans to modernize it; at least I hope so. I took it to the last stop, then walked around San José de Flores and spent a pleasant afternoon in the cafés and shops before returning on buses to see a different view of the suburbs.

I spent a day in Palermo, walking the streets and visiting the cafés and parks, and another in the San Telmo and Constitucion barrios.

Interesting sculptures appeared without fanfare in some of the streets.

All the barrios were slightly different in their architecture and style, all were interesting. Many of the parks had market stalls, some were surrounded by cafés and some had free public tango displays. I was warned by the locals to avoid Boca at the time I was there; apparently there were security problems at the time. However, I had no problems in the other areas or downtown no matter where or when I wandered. In hindsight I regret not going to Boca.

There was some graffiti, but not a lot by the standards of other major cities. I noticed that Las Malvinas was often the subject of the graffiti. It is a war that may have diminished in UK memories and been forgotten by the rest of the world - but the subject is very much alive in Buenos Aires. This memorial is in the Plaza San Martin.

On the other hand, some of the veterans of that war feel very much aggrieved at their treatment by the government and have camped for a couple of years in the Plaza de Mayo in central downtown. The soldiers who served on Argentine soil and did not actually face the British in battle received no recognition or benefits and they feel rather strongly about it. The government tries to ignore them - but is taking no chances. This was one of three armoured vehicles close to the protesters camp. More details are here and here. Recent oil discoveries near the Falklands have also rekindled interest.

While I was in the Plaza de Mayo there was a crew taking some fashion pictures. Love the shoes and the hat. The things women do to get noticed...Actually, I would have noticed this lady even if she hadn't been wearing the shoes or the hat. Or anything at all.

The food in BA was excellent; I didn't keep a record of the restaurants I tried, because I ate wherever I happened to be at the time, but nearly all had a good range on the menu and the food was tasty and properly cooked. Wines were generally good, but sometimes were more expensive than the food.

For lunches I often had food from small fast-food diners. There were several that specialised in choripan and morcipan. Choripan is a large chorizo sausage on a white-bread bun slathered liberally with a choice of salsas; delicious. Morcipan is a blood sausage served similarly. Unfortunately the one I tried was almost liquid in its interior; nothing like a UK black pudding. I'm afraid it will be the last one I try. Many of the Choripan restaurants also had various cuts of meat available on the Asado grill to be served in a similar way.

One of the unique businesses in Buenos Aires is dog-walking. I know other cities have dog-walkers - but nothing like these. It is a city of apartment dwellers who, for some unfathomable reason, like to own medium to large dogs that must be walked in the fresh air daily. Apparently the walkers, or paseaperros, get paid by the month on a per-dog basis. The more dogs you walk - the more money you make. I often saw walkers with packs of 20 or more, but I never seemed to have the camera ready at those times so this is just a small pack.

As a friend of mine used to say, if you're not the lead dog the view is the same. Despite tremendous differences in sizes and breeds I never saw any of the dogs misbehave or act aggressively to anyone or other dogs. Also, despite the laws on picking up after the dogs, I found it was very wise to watch where I stepped on the streets of Buenos Aires.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week in BA and I'd love to go back some day.

Cheers, Alan

Iguassu Falls - Movies

2010-07-10T17:48:00.005+10:00

Travel Dates 26th and 27th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

This may take some time to load. If you are on dial-up, I'm sorry but it's probably not worth the wait.

I have rarely used the movie function on my Fuji F10, so I'm still a novice at movie making.

That shows in these clips; however, I hope that despite the amateur cameraman you get a sense of the awesome power and majesty of Iguassu Falls.

Click on the triangle at bottom left to play and the four-way arrows on bottom right for full screen. To get back to the main page from full screen press your esc key.

Brazil Side

Argentine Side

Cheers, Alan

Iguassu Falls, Brazil and Argentina

2010-07-07T13:12:00.006+10:00

Also known as Iguazú Falls and Iguaçu Falls

Travel Dates 26th and 27th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

The Iguassu Falls straddle the border between Brazil and Argentina, at the point just before the Iguassu River flows into the Paraná River, which is the border between both countries and Paraguay.

I had previously been to Niagara Falls in 2006, so there is a temptation to compare the two. It really isn’t right to do so. Both are absolutely wonderful spectacular examples of the power of nature; but each is different. Niagara is higher; Iguassu is wider and has more separate falls. Whether one has a greater volume of water passing over the falls than the other depends on the time of year and whether there is a drought or a heavy rainy season. Every cloud has a silver lining. Heavy rains in Peru and Brazil had led to damage to the rail lines to Machu Picchu and to the cog railway to Rio’s statue of Christ the Redeemer when I visited those places. But those same rains resulted in unusually high water levels in the Iguassu River and a massive volume of water over the Iguassu Falls when I was there.

If you are into details such as widths, heights, flows and all that, there are more here on Wiki.

I visited both sides. Both countries have declared the falls and the surrounding district as National Parks and both are World Heritage listed. Local buses service the falls on both sides of the river. On the Brazilian side the 120 bus takes you, via the airport, to the main tourist centre and your Park entry ticket includes another bus to the various stops for walks and hotels. On the Argentine side, after you reach the tourist centre, the transportation in the Park is a tourist train. I took that from the entry to the Falls but I walked back. It is only a short walk to return on foot to the tourist centre, but try not to tread on the locals.

Although getting there has similarities, the experience is quite different on the two sides.

On the Brazilian side a walkway has been constructed with spectacular views of the main falls at the Devil’s Throat and views across the river to the Argentine Falls. The walk is a couple of kilometers long with several stops for photos or just to watch the awe-inspiring display. The thunderous roar of the descending water is continuous as you walk towards the Devil’s Throat, but becomes overwhelming when you reach it.

You are able to get much closer to the falls than you can at Niagara where the only way to get really close is on the Maid of the Mist. On the Brazilian side, when the water level is lower, tourists are allowed to walk out on this platform to experience the full majesty of the rushing water. However, because of the high levels the authorities had closed it and taken the opportunity to do some maintenance.

On the Argentine side there are many smaller falls and also many more walkways between and over them. By smaller, I am comparing with the Devil’s Throat; they are still massive when compared to other waterfalls.

It is a fascinating experience, walking or standing just a meter or two above the lip of a mighty waterfall and watching the water rush under the catwalk and drop directly down below your feet.

Also, on the Argentine side, you become aware that areas that look like typical jungle forests from a distance are actually covered with water up to a meter deep rushing along between the trees in its haste to drop over the edge of the cliffs. I wondered why the trees had not washed away years ago. They must have very tenacious root systems.

On both sides I was impressed by the engineering of the walkways. I assume they must have built them during a drought, because there is no way they could build them when the water levels are as high as they are at the moment.

I’ll follow this post with my first experiment in uploading a few movies of the falls.

Cheers, Alan

Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú

2010-06-24T14:50:00.007+10:00

Iguassu Falls from the GOL 737

Travel Dates 25th-28th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

I've been delayed by many things since I returned from South America, but I have decided to make the time to complete the record. My next post will be devoted to the mighty Iguassu Falls, with lots of pictures from both sides. This preliminary post is about the towns and travel in the Iguassu district.

The flight from Rio to Foz do Iguaçu was uneventful. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the GOL service, which I used from Sao Paulo to Rio and Rio to Foz do Iguaçu. The only significant annoyance was their tendency to change departure gates with no warning apart from a change on the TV screens. Watch those screens if you decide to use GOL.

I’ll use the English spelling for Iguassu Falls, just to add to the confusion. Similar to Niagara Falls being on a river which forms the border between Canada and the USA, the Iguassu River forms the border between Brazil and Argentina. Consequently the correct spelling depends on which side of the falls you are. There are twin towns straddling the falls, both very dependent on the tourist income they attract.

Foz do Iguaçu is the Brazilian city. It has a population of about 300,000 and is also the regional centre. After some pretty bad hostel and hotel experiences in Peru, Ecuador and Rio the Pousada El Shaddai hostel was a pleasant change. Nothing flash, but the beds were comfortable, the bathroom was clean and the staff were excellent with good advice on transport options. Apart from a need to change rooms when a leak appeared in my window when the heavens opened, my two nights there were pleasant.

On their recommendation I splurged on a restaurant a little above my usual budget. That led to the most interesting dining experience of my trip. Just a block from the hostel is the Bufalo Branco Churascaria. I had looked unsuccessfully for places like this in Rio, and later I was equally unsuccessful in Buenos Aires. The menu is a little misleading for those not used to the Churascaria method. I arrived about 6:30 pm; I later realised I was far too early. The lady at the entry tried to explain the system, but I did not fully understand it. The price was fixed at 43 Reais, about AU$25 at the time. This included free choice from both the salad bar and dessert table. So I made my selections and sat down and waited for service. And waited...and waited...

I had forgotten that both the Brazilians and the Argentinians consider 8pm early for dinner, so at 6:30 I was the lone diner. I started to get annoyed, but I sipped my excellent large glass of red house wine and nibbled on my salads and kept waiting. Eventually, a couple arrived, then another, then a few businessmen. Finally, nearly an hour after I arrived, a waiter appeared at my table with a lump of hot barbecued meat on a sword-like skewer and asked me to indicate which part I would like sliced from it. He showed me on the menu diagram that it was from the rump region of the steer. By selecting my own slice I could choose from the charred outer surface or the bleeding rare meat surrounding the skewer to anything between; I chose medium-rare. It was superb – tender, juicy and delicious. But I was a little surprised at the small portion size. I should not have pre-judged.

I noticed that he took that same skewer from table to table, slicing cuts on request for the diners. I had barely finished that small portion when he was back with another skewer and a different cut of meat; before I finished that he was back with the pork ribs, then the lamb, then another different cut of beef, then some delicious barbecued fish. I started visualising the Fantasia scene from the sorcerer’s apprentice, with a never-ending and constantly increasing stream of meat arriving.

Eventually, after I had skipped a few choices and slowed down considerably I got the message across that I was full. It seemed that I stopped before we got to the Turkey Testicles. Of course, I still managed to find space for a small dessert. In hindsight I realise now that they needed a minimum number of diners in the place before they started serving and that was why I had the long wait after arrival.

All of the food was superb. It was a magical dining experience for me despite the misunderstandings at the start. For the diabetics reading here, my peak post-prandial test was excellent.

The hostel was a short walk from down-town Foz do Iguaçu. The town and its people were laid-back and pleasant; I wandered around all of down-town and many of the back-streets without ever feeling insecure. I only ate at the Bufalo Branco once; I found that their house wine was unusually good when I tried the local red wine at other restaurants – the house reds in those varied from terrible to paint stripper. I don’t know what they make the regional red wine from, but I have doubts that it is grapes.

On both sides of the border I used the local bus system to go to the Iguassu Falls. The buses are frequent, clean and cheap. On the Brazilian side the same bus services the airport and is a cheap way of going from the airport to the city. Both towns have a large central bus station near down-town with buses to local, regional and international destinations.

On the Argentine side of the river is Puerto Iguazú, smaller, with a population a little over 30,000, and more tourist-oriented than Foz do Iguaçu. Both towns have their own airport; this had an advantage for me because it meant I arrived from Rio de Janeiro and departed to Buenos Aires on internal domestic flights in both cases. That simplified immigration procedures and may have also saved me some taxes.

The third city in the district is Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, on the Paraná River which the Iguassu River flows into. The Paraná River, which is second only to the Amazon in size in South America, forms a border between both Argentina and Brazil with Paraguay. I had not allowed enough time on my itinerary to visit the city or the associated Itaipu Dam and hydro facility; if I was planning the trip again I would make the time. It is a major free-trade centre and the locals from Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú appear to travel there regularly for shopping.

This was the first time in my travels that I have used local buses to cross a border. It became a little confusing. I took a short walk from the hostel and caught the bus to Puerto Iguazú at a local stop. That took me to the border; I was advised by the driver to hold on to my ticket because the bus would not wait but the next bus would let me continue on the Argentine side of the border. After I followed the short queues through police and immigration I waited with some Canadians at the bus stop for that next bus. We declined two local buses that stopped because we had pre-paid our fares but our bus never arrived. Eventually we gave up waiting and took the third local bus that stopped. When I look back on that, I can’t believe I wasted nearly an hour to save 3 Reais.

I was unimpressed with Puerto Iguazú. Compared to Foz do Iguaçu it was smaller, dirtier and more oriented to separating the tourists from their dollars. I stored my bags at the bus station for 8 pesos and went walking to find a hotel. I tried half a dozen, plus some hostels and found that all seemed over-priced for the quality provided. Eventually I chose the Hotel Alexander, which was 3* and reasonably priced at 150 pesos (about AU$44), probably because it was closing the following day for major renovations. I suspect that was the reason for a rather grumpy and uncommunicative front desk manager. However, it was a comfortable bed and a reasonable room when compared to the opposition.

I also felt a bit less comfortable wandering the streets at night in Foz do Iguaçu. It was nothing tangible; just a feeling that I seem to have developed over the years of my wanders around the world, or even from my years driving cabs on the night shift. Little things, like the attitudes displayed by youths, or the tidiness and condition of houses and yards, or the prevalence of high walls, barred windows and security systems on better homes, or the surliness of cab drivers. Suffice to say I took a bit more care and restricted my after-sunset walking.

Later, in Buenos Aires, I realised I had left my debit card in an ATM machine in Puerto Iguazú. That was my own silly mistake; it happened to be the first card-swallowing ATM I had encountered on the trip and I was distracted while collecting the cash, so I failed to press the button to indicate I had finished and never retrieved the card. The good news is that it was not mis-used before I cancelled it. I always carry at least one back-up card on a different account, so the loss was only an inconvenience, not a disaster.

Next, the Falls.

Cheers, Alan

Rio de Janeiro

2010-05-04T01:25:00.006+10:00

Ipanema at dusk.

Travel Dates 20th-25th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

I did not do all the usual tourist things in Rio; I used it mainly as a pleasant place to rest and recuperate after the Galapagos. Which was just as well because not all the traditional visits were available at the time.

At the same time that rain in Peru washed out the Machu Picchu rail line, rain in Rio washed out the cog railway line to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city. Even if I used alternative means to get there the statue was completely covered by scaffolding for renovation.

My travel from Quito was one of the more tiring nights of the trip. I departed at 8:40 pm with a two-hour flight to Lima, followed at 1am by a five-hour flight to Sao Paulo and, after immigration formalities, another flight to Rio arriving at 12:30 pm Rio time (there is a two-hour difference between Quito and Rio). I was ready for bed on arrival.

Unfortunately I was too tired to go to the other traditional lookout on Sugarloaf mountain by the cable car on the first day and the weather was uncooperatively windy or hazy on the other two days.

But that was not a major loss to me. I enjoyed other things. I wandered, mainly on foot, around Copacabana, Ipanema, down-town and over the bay in Niterói looking at the people, the beaches and the shops and getting a feel for the city.

In Copacabana and Ipanema the people, especially their dress, reminded me of Sydney's Manly Corso.

There are few other places in the world (apart from my own hometown) where no-one raises an eyebrow seeing men and women walking past in costumes ranging from high-fashion business suits to scanty swimsuits such as budgie-smugglers (ask an Aussie to translate that) or thongs (not the ones on feet).

The beaches are just as I expected – golden sand, gentle surf and overpopulated – but so are Manly and Bondi so I can't complain about that. I must admit it was hard to get the tune from “Tall and tan and young and lovely” out of my head but I rarely saw any girls who would have qualified for the song. Maybe I'm just getting more difficult to please in my '60s...

I will use Brazilian Reais when I mention prices; approximate equivalents are R$10 = AU$6 = US$5.50.

I tried most of the public transport options in Rio. The underground Metro trains were useful to get from Copacabana to downtown and cost R$2.80 per trip regardless of distance. The only problem with the metro is finding the station – there seems to be little advertising at the entrance apart from a sign showing hours of operation – and the very long distance from the entrances to the actual platforms.

The local buses all seemed to charge R$2.35 regardless of your trip length. The drivers of the two I used were both trained at the Bob Newhart bus driver's academy (play the clip when it loads). On the first bus I got up from my seat and pressed the button to get off at the next stop. Immediately I found I was hurtling up the aisle to the front of the bus as the driver rammed his foot on the brake. I was stopped abruptly when I reached the turnstile. Nobody looked surprised. Actually, I had never seen buses with turnstiles before; I found them in all the buses in Brazil, including Foz do Iguaçu. On the next bus I had learned my lesson and stayed seated after pressing the button. But on that bus I already had white knuckles from gripping the hand-holds while we hurtled down the roads from Ipanema to Copacabana. Who needs the excitement of a cable car or a roller-coaster when you can get the same adrenalin rush for R$2.35 on a Rio bus?

While walking around downtown I came across a ferry terminal. The ferry for Rio's sister city over the bay, Niterói, was just leaving. When in Sydney I enjoy wandering around on the ferries, so I decided to take the trip. I recommend it; the journey is pleasant and Niterói is a little different in style to Rio. There was a street market which appeared to be permanent, lots of restaurants and shops which appeared to be slightly cheaper than Rio, and almost no tourists apart from me. The long bridge in the distance goes to the same place. It was a warm day: 37C translates to 100F.

As a traveller who has fairly strict dietary needs I loved Rio. One of the most common forms of restaurant are a form of buffet or smorgasbord which charge by weight. The quality varies a little, but most are excellent. I could choose exactly what I wanted from a wide range of choices of meats, fish, prawns (shrimp), vegetables in many styles, salads, pastas and desserts. My usual lunch cost between R$8 and R$12 with dinner a few R$ more. Most also had reasonable quality “house red” or vinho vermelho by the glass for about R$5-8.

Beer is available everywhere and is fairly cheap. It took me a while to realise that “chopp” is not a cut of meat but a draught beer, usually R$3-5. A very pleasant way to spend a half-hour sitting by the sand on Copacabana beach.

One of the odd things I noticed in Brazil, both in Rio and Foz do Iguaçu, was the number of specialist dental surgeries. They are big business here; maybe there is something about the local cuisine or genes that leads to a higher demand. This operator includes a mobile service. So does this cop.

On Saturday afternoon I found another street market not far from downtown Rio. The street cuisine looked interesting but I wasn't brave enough to try it.

After browsing through the market for a while I decided to walk to the Largo de Carioca to go for a ride on the Bonde de Santa Teresa. I thought I knew where that was so I started walking, but I was diverted by a park with it's downtown rainforest.

After I left the park I walked on for a while until my feet were getting sore so I hailed a cab. Once the driver and I had worked out where I wanted to go he proceeded to re-trace my steps and took me an equal distance past my starting point in the opposite direction. So much for my excellent sense of direction.

The tram was fun, but I had to wait an hour and a half in the queue to board it. The fare is only R$0.60 but it's capacity is limited which is the reason for the long delay.

The tram goes over a track high above the roads near the start; the local youths seemed to be having a macho competition to see who could be more daring hanging by one hand with one foot on the running board as we passed over that. It was probably more dangerous when we returned to the roads and were passed closely by buses.

I'll close with a few more shots taken from the tram. Despite some hotel problems (see my review of the Astoria Copacabana) I enjoyed Rio. Good food, nice people and a wonderful place to relax.

Cheers, Alan

Galapagos Cruising on Seaman II

2010-05-02T07:36:00.007+10:00

Travel Dates 15th-19th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

What an extraordinary place.

After a lot of preliminary research on the web I chose the Seaman II, arranged via Gala Cruises. It is a nice change to be able to praise my travel providers. Initially I had some communication difficulties with Gala Cruises, but once we had worked those out the rest of the arrangements worked very well. Possibly the biggest difficulty was their payment procedures, exacerbated by not accepting Paypal or credit cards. But we sorted it out eventually. The Galapagos is expensive. The four nights I spent in the Galapagos represented over 20% of the cost of my 48-day trip to South America.

It was worth it.

The Seaman II catamaran is big, with more space in the cabin and common areas than I expected. There were around ten crew plus our guide to look after seventeen passengers. It was fairly stable in the water but we did strike some heavy seas a couple of times when we suffered from some pitching and rolling. Some passengers suffered for a day or two from sea-sickness.

As a solo traveller I was a little nervous about sharing my cabin with a stranger; I had read too many accounts of difficult sharing arrangements. I need not have worried. I found I was sharing with a nice guy near my own age who was pleasant company. Better still, he was reasonably tidy and neither snored nor filled the cabin with noxious gases; you can't ask for much more than that...

I had a choice of itineraries. Some of the other passengers had completed the other half of the standard Seaman II cruise before I joined the trip. From their reports I think my choice, “Itinerary B” was the better one of the two.

The itinerary started on Thursday with a flight which I expected to be direct from Quito to Baltra in the Galapagos. Unfortunately that was not the case and we flew via Guayaquil, on the Ecuador coast. We were only in the air for 40 minutes from Quito to Guayaquil and 90 minutes from there to Baltra – but spent another 90 minutes on the ground in between. That also happened on the way home. That turned a short journey into an uncomfortably long one of over four hours on board the plane; not a good note to start and end with. If I had known I would have changed to Guayaquil for my final night in Ecuador. If you are planning to do a cruise try to use a direct flight.

On the return trip some of my travelling companions were changing planes in Quito for longer flights to the States and Europe and were very annoyed at the delay in Guayaquil. I chose to stay a night in Quito before moving on to Rio. Those flying on to Europe were hastily trying to re-arrange things. This was the week when Europe's airports closed as a consequence of the Iceland volcano. I believe several switched to Madrid from northern airports such as Schiphol and Frankfurt.

On arrival we were met by a guide who accompanied us on a bus and ferry trip to the highlands on Santa Cruz for lunch and a wander around a farm, where we saw our first tortoises, and then to the Charles Darwin Research Centre. Then we returned to the port at Santa Cruz and boarded the boat. Seas were heavy while we were moored and some passengers did not appear for dinner. The food on board was excellent; my only disappointment was the high price and limited choice of red wines. Food was included, alcohol was not. We had a new guide on the boat; the picture is of Galo, shortly after he lectured us on the need to wear good strong hiking boots when hiking in the lava.

One advantage of seeing the islands by cruise boat is that you sleep through most of the travel time. We woke many nautical miles away at Point Moreno on the far side of Isabela Island after 12 hours cruising through the night, then moved up the coast over the next couple of days to see Elisabeth Bay and Urbina Bay. Our first excursion was a walk across the sharp, new (by geological standards) lava to see tortoises, fish and flamingoes in the natural pools in the rock.

I realised during that excursion that this would be a physically demanding trip for me. The lava was sharp, sometimes loose, and always ready to cause a trip or an ankle twist. I needed to be very careful but managed to stay with the group. I turned out to be the eldest in the party, with my room-mate a close second in age but a long way ahead of me in fitness. He had spent the previous six months travelling around South America as part of an adventure bus group. This cruise is not one for the arthritic or unfit, with several long walks. On the other hand, the two young boys in the group handled it pretty easily.

I found that the three and a half weeks I had spent at high altitude in Peru and Quito helped quite a lot. I seemed to have a lot more energy and reserves now that I had returned to sea level. One final note on health; I discovered that my SPF55+ sun cream, bought in Peru, worked fine provided that I did not apply water but that it washed off instantly in the sea. The way I found out was to look in the mirror on the second morning and see a bright red stranger looking back at me. I must look up the Spanish word for “waterproof” on the label in future. Luckily I had worn a T-shirt while I swam as I didn't need a wet-suit; that had protected me from worse burns. I recall thinking that the land iguanas looked a bit nasty with various pieces of skin moulting off them; a week later I resembled an iguana.

I had never snorkelled before in my life, so that was a new experience for me when we reached Elizabeth Bay. It is something I intend to continue now that I have learned how. What a wonderful place to learn in. The colours and closeness of the fish, sea-lions, penguins and other denizens of the deep were stunning. Unfortunately I did not have an underwater camera to catch the activity below the surface. During the trip I snorkelled several times. Unfortunately, I eventually found it hard to break a phobia for sharks ingrained in me as a toddler. In Australia that is an automatic reaction; in the Galapagos it didn't matter that the guide told me how harmless reef sharks are – my brain understood but my body did not. So I missed the final snorkelling session when the guide enthusiastically reported that we would definitely see more sharks that day.

Over the next three days we travelled up the west coast of Isabela, then over to Fernandina Island, back to the north-west of Isabela, then across to tiny Bartolome Island for the view from the top of the mountain and then to the Plaza Islands where I took the photos of the sea-lion climbing the cliff shown in the previous post. Our final stop was in San Cristobal to see the Interpretation Centre and depart from the second airport.

One of the best things about the Seaman II Itinerary B was the timing and locations. When we first boarded the boat we were surrounded by other cruise boats and I expected to see similar crowds wherever we went. We did not. For the first three days we rarely saw another boat except when we passed an occasional one at sea and we were always alone at our moorings and on our excursions. It was not until we reached Bartolome Island, where we climbed up the long, long ramp and stairs for the view, that we saw other boats in the same bay. Even then our guide arranged for us to rise early to beat the crowds.

The arrangement of the itinerary to give us this solitude was excellent.

In the evening as we departed Ferdinand we crossed the equator. The captain invited us to the bridge to note the event.

Every island and stop was different; I won't go into all the details because it would take much too long.

Over the course of those few short days I walked on lava and through rainforests and scrub; climbed a volcano (inactive at the moment); snorkelled; saw all of the birds and animals – and more - shown in the past few reports; glided silently on a Panga (Zodiac) through hidden waters deep in the mangroves watching turtles and wonderfully coloured rays slip quietly under us; watched hundreds of dolphins speeding and jumping in front of the boat as we cruised; and enjoyed the company of new ship-board friends.

Although the enthusiasm of our guides to imply that Darwin's theory of evolution was based solely on his experiences in the Galapagos is understandable, it should be remembered that Darwin formed his ideas over a long tour around the world which also included the fascinating flora and fauna of South America, Australia and other places. All of those places influenced his thinking, not just the Galapagos. That does not detract from the fascination of a visit to the islands.

An experience not to be missed.
Cheers, Alan

Galapagos Sea-lions

2010-04-30T06:45:00.006+10:00

Travel Dates 15th-19th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

What's the difference between a sea-lion and a seal? Apart from the fact that the seals are smaller and rarer in the Galapagos and we didn't see many the difference is extra body parts, according to our guide, Galo. Sea-lions have four nipples compared to two for seals and sea-lions have external ears.

We later checked at feeding time and noticed one youngster giving mum a hard time while he rotated around all four rather rapidly. She did not seem impressed and gave him a wallop. It didn't stop him. Hunger always wins over fear.

Galapagos sea-lions are also totally fearless of human beings and love to play with them. That can be startling and exhilarating when you are snorkelling along, engrossed in looking at the schools of colourful fish and minding your own business, when a sleek dark-brown express rocket with flippers flashes past and then spirals around you, seemingly laughing at this slow lumbering pale imitation sea-lion with plastic flippers.

Oh, and sea-lions are incredibly cute, according to the female members of our party. They certainly know how to relax, even when the bed is sharp and stony.

This female wandered out of the surf on one side of the island, spent half an hour basking in the sun, then waddled across the island to say g'day and give a kiss to the bull on the other side of the island then headed off to sea again for dinner.

There are three basic types - or genders - of Galapagos sea-lion. Bull males; females and loser males.

The bulls are enormous and tend to get aggressive if you stray too close to their harem of females. He has two aims in life. To guard and protect his harem and the land and water he considers his territory and to service that harem to produce lots of cute baby sea-lions. To become the boss he fights off all-comers; that's why he is usually the biggest boy around. But that also means he has to fight off the sharks when they come around looking for dinner and that can distract him for long periods at sea away from the ladies.

The loser males congregate away from the harems to lick their wounds. The losers we saw had plenty of battle scars - those fights are in deadly earnest.

But maybe they should give in easier. Our guide told us that if he is reincarnated he wants to return as a loser male sea-lion. They laze around in the sun all day when they aren't eating fish from the bountiful Galapagos supplies. But when the boss is out at sea fighting sharks the losers drop in to keep his ladies company; it's good for the gene pool and great for the losers...possibly a misnomer there...

The losers on Plaza Island congregate near this cliff. Despite their apparent clumsiness on land when walking on front flippers and using the back flippers like the middle leg in a three-legged race they are surprisingly agile. This fellow climbed very patiently up the steep, slippery, rocky path to get to his favourite sunny spot on the cliff-top for a siesta. He was a bit like me climbing to the top on Bartolome Island (more on that later); slow, lots of stops to pause for breath, but eventually he made it.

Cheers, Alan

Galapagos Iguanas

2010-04-27T09:29:00.002+10:00

Travel Dates 15th-19th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

Or lizards by another name...

They are also similar to Australian goannas; squatter and fatter, but still very similar. As Darwin's next major port of call in the Beagle after the Galapagos was Australia I am sure the name "goanna" is not accidental. But more on that discussion later.

Just like the tortoises there are wet and dry iguanas. The land iguanas are generally larger and more colourful.

The land iguanas nest in shallow burrows up to a meter long; this pair of males are disputing their territory. Unfortunately for the onlookers - but fortunately for the loser - the near one retired from the fight after lots of posturing and nasty looks.

Most are various shades of gold and yellow, but not all.

The marine iguanas are generally about half their land cousin's size and are coloured grey, shading towards black.

They seem to regard their friends as useful pieces of real estate to walk across or sleep on.

The white colouring on the rocks is evidence of a lack of iguana sewerage technology. I wonder if it is also the root of the word "guano"?

The marine iguanas don't actually live in the sea but near it. They have developed the ability to swim and dive to reach the tasty lichens on the underwater rocks near the shore. You need to be careful walking near them. They are not aggressive but they have a habit of forcefully spitting salt-laden water from their nostrils without warning; it's their way of desalinating their drinking water.

At the beginning of the trip the group eagerly shot lots of pictures of every iguana in sight in the Charles Darwin Research Centre. After three or four days that had changed to "please be careful not to step on the iguanas" as we started to think "just another iguana". They are everywhere, as are the sea-lions which are coming up next.

Cheers, Alan

Galapagos Tortoises and Turtles

2010-04-27T01:10:00.004+10:00

Lonely George, the last of his kind despite attempts to help him meet eligible ladies. Sadly, the resulting eggs have not led to new tortoises.

Travel Dates 15th-19th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

As I understand it a tortoise lives on land and a turtle lives in the water - but it can get confusing. I'll stick to that definition for the moment until someone corrects me. There are both on the Galapagos - land tortoises and sea turtles - and they are both huge.

One of the things that alerted Darwin to the possibility of natural selection was the variation in the species of tortoises on different islands; including obvious variations such as size but also other variations like the shape of shells or the patterns on them.

Just a few pictures. First some land tortoises, including babies in the nursery at the Darwin research Centre.

And some at sea...

As a 63yo, as I watched lonely George I could not help thinking of the intro to one of my favourite British sit-coms: One foot in the grave.

During this trip I have occasionally entered my Victor Meldrew persona when dealing with hoteliers...

Cheers, Alan

Galapagos Birds

2010-04-27T00:22:00.004+10:00

One of the four frigate birds which cruised with us, riding the air currents created by the boat, all the way from Bartoleme to Baltra.

Travel Dates 15th-19th April 2010.
Please click on any picture to see the larger version.

What an extraordinary place.

My camera is only 6.3 megapixels and each photo takes up about 1.4 megabytes. I filled a 1GB card and part of a 512MB card with over 750 photographs in the Galapagos.

I can't upload all those photos so the next half-dozen blog posts will be just a few photos representing each of the major species I saw on the varous islands – land and marine iguanas, land and marine tortoises, sealions, birds and fish. I will follow those with a description of my visit.

More Frigate Birds.

A few of the famous Darwin Finches and a Galapagos Heron.

Swallow-tailed Gulls on the Plaza Islands.

A flightless cormorant and some brown Pelicans.

Blue-footed boobies.

Penguins on sea and land.

Flamingoes in an inland pool in the lava and Galapagos Hawks, one of the few land predators.

Cheers, Alan