After Part I, which was all about discovering Oslo on a beautiful day out, now comes Part II, in which we find that Norway’s capital boasts so many fantastic museums and exhibitions that bad weather is absolutely no let-down. The only problem might be that you don’t even know where to start. But have no fear: we are not going to let you stand in the rain! Let us … [Read more...]
What To Do In Bergen, Norway
If you're heading to Norway, then a visit to the town of Bergen on the coast needs to be on your short list. And in this guide to what to do in Bergen, we're going to explain why. Bergen is home to a UNESCO listed old town center, stunning mountains, and a number of excellent cultural attractions. It's also in the heart of Norway's beautiful fjords, meaning there's a lot to … [Read more...]
Discovering Oslo, Part I: outside
When we arrived in Oslo, the weather forecast announced that we would have a sunny day and a rainy day during our stay in Norway’s capital. Ever the brilliant organisers we decided we would cleverly visit all the outside sights on the sunny day, and the inside sights on the rainy day. And even though we have had our fair share of the weather forecast being completely wrong … [Read more...]
An Instagram tour of Europe
Remember when I was all like “We’re going on an adventure around Europe with Eurail and HostelBookers!”? Well, that adventure is now over, and what a lot of fun we had. From the moules and frites of Belgium to the snow swept streets of Oslo, we managed to take in seven countries in 21 days, which was a lot of fun. Today I’m pleased to share with you some of our … [Read more...]
A self-guided tour of Copenhagen
There are definitely more comfortable places to sit than on Hans Christian Andersen’s left knee. On top of that, instead of telling me a story out of the book that is resting on his right knee, he is staring over to the Tivoli, the famous theme park, completely ignoring me. Well, I can’t say that's good manners but I do understand why he is like that. Who even knows how … [Read more...]
Four Things Not to Miss In Ghent
Ghent is in Belgium. Which, other than chips, Audrey Hepburn, chocolate and a statue of a small boy peeing, isn’t exactly famous for anything. It’s almost famous for not being famous for anything in fact. Which is a bit of a shame really, because Belgium has a lot to offer, the small town of Ghent being one of these things. We visited recently as part of an adventure around … [Read more...]
A warm welcome in Copenhagen at the Absalon Hotel
I like warm weather. This fact should be apparent by the destinations I’ve covered in the blog, and the way that they rarely seem to include snow, or ice. Other than that trip around New Zealand, where poor timing meant we occasionally saw some actual snow. So when I booked my trip around a number of Scandinavian countries in March, it was with high hopes of a beautiful … [Read more...]
Tips for sleeping on a plane
A lot of people tell me that they have difficulty sleeping on planes. Well, I’m here to tell you today that sleeping on a plane is easy. You just need to find the right plane. Here’s a quick rundown of four tips to know you’ve found a plane that is going to offer a good nights sleep: Find a plane with no engines. This is likely to be much quieter than a normal plane, as … [Read more...]
Laytrang Resort – a Thai diet on the Andaman Coast
There’s one serious problem in Thailand: the food is just too good. Okay, so maybe that’s not a problem for people who don’t enjoy eating very much (where are you folks? Haven’t met any of you yet!), but Loz and I certainly don’t belong to that group. And Thailand is mean, my friends: tasty stuff everywhere. There’s hardly a street without a multitude of tiny carts, loaded … [Read more...]
The friendliness of the Thai people (& a hostel review)
Before I came out to to Thailand, I was informed on more than one occasion that the Thai people are known for their friendliness. I even hosted a whole photo essay from a fellow blogger all about Thailand being the land of smiles. But third party information is only worth so much. I needed to find out for myself what the situation was, and handily my review of our Banbua … [Read more...]
What to Do in Ayutthaya
If I was going to ask you where the largest city in the world was in the year 1600, I wonder where you might suggest. London? Paris? Beijing? Cairo? I’m going to guess that the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (or simply Ayutthaya), might not have made your shortlist. Well, in the year 1600, Ayutthaya was the capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the precursor to modern day … [Read more...]
Viva Chiang Mai: a homestay review
Heat. Waves of the stuff. It was a prevailing theme on our bus trip up to Chiang Mai. Sure, the bus had air conditioning, but this particular bus had more pressing concerns to worry about than keeping its passengers cool. For example: getting its passengers to their destination. The bus we had chosen for the trip was perhaps not the most robust of creatures. An hour into the … [Read more...]
Visiting the hill tribes of Doi Inthanon
When I saw our planned schedule for visiting parts of northern Thailand included visits to various hill tribes, I have to admit to feeling a little uncomfortable. You see, I’m not really a big fan of seeing people as a tourist attraction. It often feels artificial, or contrived, or like we’re trying to preserve some aspect of life that would no longer be true had we not … [Read more...]
HostelBookers: it’s all about the accommodation!
I want you to conjure up an image of a hostel in your mind. It’s probably best for the purposes of this exercise if you’re the sort of person who wouldn’t normally stay in a hostel, filled as they are with unwashed backpacker types. Got that image in your mind? Rows of slightly unsafe looking bunk beds, a lazily turning fan, and a couple of people engaging in the age old … [Read more...]
Hanging out with Lub d in Bangkok: a review
Industrial. It’s not necessarily a word I’d normally use to describe a place to sleep. Instead, I might associate it with somewhere like a steel mill. And experience has taught me that generally a place for making steel doesn’t normally make a relaxing place to sleep. Ok, I haven’t actually racked up that particular experience, but I’m fairly certain of the theory. In the … [Read more...]