pihn

Ok, to wrap up our Eurotrip, we ended up in Greece. To be quite honest, by this time I was a little tired of lugging my backpack around everywhere but the heat in Greece made it all worthwhile. I think I got sunstroke for like the the 12th time, but it's probably the after effects of boozing, partying and no sleep. Thank the gods for Gyros! First stop Athens. Freaking hot. Hot enough that my sweat glands become my primary means of survival. The Acropolis was lovely, and had great views. Historically, I can understand the significance of such structures, but there were moments when I questioned whether I was just staring at bits of rock. I am officially over pottery too. I can't believe people are facinated with bits of clay from yesteryears. Sure it's ... read more

Ok, Munich to Croatia - got into Dubrovnik and had to transit straight to Split on a bus ride that lasted freaking 5+ hours due to traffic problems. Croatia is really a beautiful country. The war ended 10 years earlier and signs of it still show however we found Split / Dubrovnik to be welcoming and just on the cusp of exploding (in terms of tourism). Writing now from a trip done quite some time ago takes a lot away from the moment because I recall at the time just how exciting it was just to be there. We were due to take a cruise around the islands of Croatia. The pictures just don't do it justice. Split is a vibrant city - we took a bike ride around the coastline around the park then chilled ... read more

We flew into Berlin from Copenhagen which took all of say 40 minutes, which was probably the shortest plane ride i've ever been on. Deprived of sleep we found the hostel and checked in around midnight. Now one of the toughest things i've found about budget travel is that it's always an adventure trying to find your accomodation - even if it's booked in advance, and you have a semi-legible map. Why? Because most of the time, you are just dog tired from the trip, hungover, or hungry. 2 out of those 3 makes it hard to concentrate. Ok, so our hostel in Berlin, after much negotiation with the duty manager due to booking problems, turned out to be quite good - massive room. Past midnight, just new in town - what to do? Party. Asked ... read more

Which brings us to Denmark. We flew to Copenhagen (you could throw a rock and hit it from Stockholm) as we just love airports...... I thought Denmark was much more interesting than Stockholm. Went to a couple of castles / forts (Roskilde....etc), saw some old viking ships (beware, these are just skeletal remains so not that interesting if you don't have time) but the highlight to me were the nights. We asked the girl who worked at our hostel where to go (she was cute so see Tourist tip 45) and she suggested a few places. The first one we went to was the Carribean Cocktail Lounge. This was run by this West Indian / English fella who thought Marge Simpson was the sexiest woman in the world (weirdo, doesn't he know its She-Ra Princess of ... read more

After a short jaunty in Barcelona, we clicked heels and arrived in Stockholm, Sweden. I honestly didn't know what to expect. When you think of Sweden, you think IKEA, meatballs (which we had, and they were delicious) and blonde people hottubing - in other words, soooo my type of place. So we got there, had a walk around. There was a tall ships festival on which perked up harbour, and an ABBA tribute band playing during on of the nights (oh yes, forgot about ABBA). It was a weird vibe being in the home of ABBA, and having and ABBA tribute band belt out dancing queen. I think that they are one of those bands that really do transcend language and cultural barriers as they were people of all sorts swaying to the music, myself included, ... read more

Ok, so after 4 days, off we left Lisbon and caught a flight to Madrid. We stayed at some hostel called Pop Hostel. It was in a pretty alternative location with lots of small shops and fantastic graffiti, but also next to Cheuca - the gay district of Madrid. It's ok if you're packing leather chaps, but if not, then i'd suggest elsewhere. First night was spent wandering around the streets looking for places to go out. As fellow travellers can attest to, when you're backpacking, you don't have too many choices for 'nice' duds so that rules out a number of locations. However, I did bring 1 'love' shirt and that was being saved for Scandanavia. So, after hitting up some bars and a shit load of walking, we ended back at the Pop Hostel, ... read more

Just a word of warning - this is going to be a long one, so don't try reading this before bedtime. Don't blame me if you get cranky the next morning. Also, I am writing this after 6 weeks, so will tend to forget some of the finer details. 15 July - my last day @ Deutsche bank. The lead up to that day had been eventful. Lots of boozing, partying, and a number of unscheduled 'breaks' during work to catch up to some work crew before i left. Reason to leave has always been my own, but primarily to break away again and experience that European adventure that cloys my mind. 6 weeks travelling around Europe, then BAM back home to Sydney to visit family and attend a wedding (thanks Nadeem and Sharon for deciding ... read more

Well, with my brother Siu Pin (yes we have similar names) visiting me, we took the opportunity to jaunty up to Edinburgh. Fun fact #131: it used to be called Dunedin meaning Fort on a rock, or something like that. Then it was called Edinburgh, with burgh meaning English for town (i.e., burrough). This was one little tidbit that we learnt from our slightly senile, but very friendly bus driver who continued to regale us with bad jokes. Much like travelling with your grandfather, or a sober version of Billy Connolly. One tip I can offer for those looking to tour the highlands of Scotland - don't. Go tour the whiskey factories instead, check out some castles, but i must admit that lochs weren't that impressive, nor did the hills fill me with a sense of ... read more

3 weeks ago, somebody said let's go to Prague. It's my birthday. I'm getting freaking married. Prague. So with those words, I found myself on a plane to Milan. No, contrary to what some may believe, we are still in control of all faculties - this was just a transfer. Flights sucked, but hey, at least they didn't lose my bag on the way there (a la Amsterdam). Got in at night, and so, with the arsenal of a full packback at my disposal, Gibbo, Weish and myself went out of our hotel room in search of what all virile, red-blooded men search for in Prague. A good photo of Charles Bridge so that we can reminisce when we're older. Seriously, I think that throughout that whole trip, we inadvertently hit up the bridge like 77 ... read more

Norig Bakla - XXth birthday. Amsterdam. Who could resist that type of invite? Not me. So packing my bags the night before, made the flight, touched down at Schipol airport only to find out that British Airways had lost my bag. F*CKERs. Ok, I do get some trendy BA day pack though that consisted of disposable toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and a cool white BA t-shirt. In other words, after 1 day, if i didn't get my bag, i'd become a dork. Oh well, i was in the 'dam and excited. C'est la vie. Met the Nogster then off to find our place - booked if off the internet - Jonas's Houseboat. Cool idea. On the water. Serenity now yes. Jonas is a cool dude. Very friendly, but you could tell he had lived on a houseboat ... read more