Joe 90
In my travelling experience, it is often the small events and phenomena that stay in your mind long afterwards and become the anecdotes of future conversations. I hope to include some of my personal travel pictures and experiences that you may find of interest. Joe 90
Travel Blog Posts
April 4th 2007
I had two major experiences in Beijing. One was the Great Wall and the other I’ll mention later. A two hour flight from Shanghai and I was in old Peking. Grabbing a taxi from the official and well organised taxi rank saw me at my hostel in about an hour and for a reasonable 105 yuan. It was about 6pm and I decided to look into the organised tours to the Wall. A helpful American couple gave me a few tips about the tour and strongly recommended the one ran by the hostel. All in all it would cost 210 yuan for transport and admission fees along the way. There was a tour leaving at 6.30am - bit early…but then that’s what you come to Beijing for. The journey there was ok - about 3.5 ... read more
February 24th 2007
Just a normal Saturday afternoon. Click the clip to see and hear the sights and sounds. CLIP WILL APPEAR SOON - TAKES A WHILE FOR TRAVELBLOG TO UPDATE THEIR CACHE. ... read more
February 23rd 2007
As with the Budapest blog - this entry on Prague will be equally brief. A city this well known perhaps doesn't require much of an introduction anyway. It is a fantastic city with a history of much political and social change. Yet it has survived this as well as 'accidental' bombing by the Americans during WWII and more recent serious flooding. It's wealth of architecture and history coupled with an atmosphere only parts of Eastern Europe can offer, make Prague a hot-spot for all tourists to Europe. Winter/summer - go anytime. ... read more
Budapest - the most enchanting city in Europe?
Published: February 23rd 2007Europe » Hungary » Central Hungary » Budapest
February 23rd 2007
A word of advice to all bloggers - do your writing as soon as possible after travelling. I remember the sights of Budapest very well, but names and details are a bit sketchy as I have left it too long. Hopefully the pics will make up for it - but this is going to be short and sweet. There's something about Budapest. I've visited several times and will go again. Known as the 'Paris of Eastern Europe', I travelled a few times from Vienna by train - 2.5 hours. There's a lot of talk of the railway station being a bit dodgy and there are people hanging around asking if you have a hotel. If staying in Budapest, it is probably best to get one before arriving. Upon arrival, the underground is very easy to use ... read more
February 20th 2007
To be honest, Shanghai has never seemed so quiet. In terms of the traffic and number of people that is - it's a bit spooky. The fireworks though (see Issue 1 for a clip) continued on after New Year's Eve and were still going off, although less frequently, on day 3 of the new year. As a semi-tourist, I've done some of the things that most visitors to Shanghai may expect to do during a visit here so it's worth mentioning a few of those things. A stroll down the Bund is a must. One the Puxi side, remain the colonial buildings of banks and investment companies of yore. Across to Pudong is the new Shanghai; the Pearl Tower, huge shopping malls and plush hotels. Take care on the Bund as you will be approached by ... read more
February 17th 2007
The Year of the Pig it is. But not just any old pig.....oh no. 2007 is the year of the 'Golden Pig'. Still looking into that. Unfortunately the pig in the first few pics seems to have had his years already. It's a very bizarre experience to see a pig's face (complete with eyes) staring at you grotesquesly from a vacuum pack. At first I thought I was looking into a funfair mirror - well, just an ordinary mirror.....Anyhow you can buy this porker's visage for about a fiver and then.....well.....fry it? Who knows. I was tempted to buy it, pull it over my head and run around screaming 'Monkey....Sandy...Trippythingy......I've been transported to the future!'. That would have raised a few looks. Speaking of which. Where I live outside of Shanghai, a Western face is still ... read more
February 12th 2007
Visiting Hong Kong after living in Shanghai was like a breath of fresh air - literally. Those currently based in HK are rightly concerned about the growing pollution - but it's nothing compared to the smog that usually surrounds Shanghai. Maybe I was just very lucky during my stay 6 day stay but other research seems to back me up. The weather was glorious and it was easy to forget that Xmas Day was just a week away what with sunny days in the 20s and short and t-shirts still in use. Arriving at the airport, I purchased an 'Octopus' card which includes the fast train journey to Central and 3 days of metro use. It also included boat trips on the Star Ferry to Kowloon and the catamaran to Lantau Island. I was amazed to ... read more
February 11th 2007
A very positive aspect of living in Slovakia was the ease of getting to ski resorts. Well, you still have to get a train. In Slovakia the public transport is very good - reasonably priced tickets and very efficient in terms of punctuality. You do have to know where you're going though as information for tourists travelling within the country is still badly lacking. However, 3 or 4 hours from 'Bratislavia' is all it takes. During my time there, I visited two ski resorts - Donovaly and Jasna. As a relative beginner to the sport, the slopes of Donovaly were sufficient for me. A fairly small resort with possiby the slowest self-service cafeteria in the world, my friends who were advanced skiers were not challenged by the handful of slopes at Donovaly. Our accommodation was provided ... read more
February 6th 2007
The Ice Festival is probably the main reason why many tourists visit Harbin in winter - it may be the only reason to visit Harbin all year round. A 2.5 hour flight from Shanghai will get you there. Upon arrival, some guys from Beijing were hovering around in the -10 cold, deliberating about taxis. 'These guys here are major rip offs' they warned. My companion and I hopped on the bus for 20 yuan into town and to the main railway station. Some other friends caught a taxi and it cost 100 yuan which is the going rate. It's difficult travelling sometimes when you aren't sure of what's what. I know of a few people first-hand who have been conned in China (including myself - more on that later). Of course it happens everywhere, all I'm ... read more
January 25th 2007
This canal town nearby Shanghai made a good day trip. Xitang means button and that's what put it on the map. They still make them and there is naturally a museum for all fans of the button industry. Today it is a very popular visit for us tourists and even Hollywood has noticed Xitang. The very out of place placard with a picture of Tom Cruise on is a fairly recent reminder that the town was used for filming some scenes for Mission Impossible III. I've never seen it but apparenty there's a bit where Tommy Cruise is running around the canals and streets. Ah, there he is. I already mentioned the museum and besides that it's really enough to potter around the many shops selling bric-a-brac, take a ride on the canal and have ... read more
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