Book Here, Not There...

March Break 2012 is in full swing and activity at my office is significantly quieter with many a parent on vacation.  The Friday before March Break is typically one of the busiest travel days of the year, while many crammed into waiting areas, braved line-ups, and wrangled children in that mess, I booked some plane tickets from the peace and quiet of my computer.


That's right, my first (and hopefully not last) international trip this year will be to Moscow and St Petersburg!  I've heard some mixed reviews about women traveling to Russia, but ultimately the beautiful architecture, palaces and promises of all-night arts festivals won me over.  As an advocate of public transit and art lover, the idea of subway stations that look like museums has me excitedly planning a day of exclusively exploring underground.

I've been checking plane ticket prices to Moscow (which is a more common route for us in North America) for months now, investigating possible sales (the conclusion is that there are very few sales on flights to Russia), flight routes (there are many, but few are direct) and times. Though I've been told time and again to shop around, even amongst online booking sites, I typically favour expedia.ca.  They usually have the lowest fares and are completely reliable for flight and hotel bookings 100% of the time.  I'd been eyeing a flight on their site for a few weeks, the price held steady at just under $1300 (most flights are between $1400-$1500), but much to my disappointment it started to go up 2 days before I was ready to book.  You may have read on other sites that airfare sales typically begin on Tuesday afternoons, and by Wednesday, competitors of the airline may also drop their prices to match.  This is your best window as a lot of sales end on Thursday.  My "special fare" (as it was called on Expedia) had held steady for a few weeks so I was hoping it'd go on for another week, but by Thursday (while it was still listed as "special fare") the price was over $1300 and on Friday it was closer to $1400 with ridiculously early departure times.  Early departures are usually cheapest; it's understandable that to save a buck you need to make some sacrifices, but sometimes it's near impossible to get to an airport for 4am in a foreign country.  Not to mention a bit unsafe.

While mulling over what to do next, I decided to click on one of the advertised links, which took me one of those sites that search a bunch of travel booking engines simultaneously.  I decided to give it a shot and see what options came up, one of the tabs was for CheapOAir, which I've used before to fly to Italy.  At the time they were a U.S.-based site, but have now expanded to include a .ca site as well.  The CheapOAir.com site pulled up a flight for $1133!  To double check I opened a new window and went directly to the CheapOAir site to try the search again.  Unbeknownst to me, it defaulted me to the Canadian CheapOAir.ca site, where the prices were on average $100 higher.  Perplexed, I eyed the page from different angles until I noticed it wasn't the US site.

The only difference between booking on the US site vs the Canadian site is that you're charged in US dollars.  With the dollar pretty much at par last week, it was quite the savings.  Guess what the experts have been saying are true, from now on I will search more extensively instead of just booking anything that "looks reasonable" from my default travel site.

(Caveats:  My flight was $1133 US, likely a bit over $1200 from CheapOAir.ca and not available through expedia.ca.  It is Toronto via NYC to Moscow.  On the way back I actually have to change airports.  Flight from Moscow lands in JFK but my flight home to Toronto will leave from LaGuardia after a 4.5 hr layover.  I'm pretty familiar with NYC and feel confident I can make my way to over in time to catch my flight home.  Also it's the last leg going home so there's less on the line for me to mess up, absolute worse case scenario I miss my flight and they won't rebook me, alternate flights home are relatively cheap or I can even resort to a bus if I have to.)

Surviving the Long Haul...

...Long Haul Flight that is.

After reading this article from The Traveler Zone website last week, I was inspired to write my own guide on how to survive a long haul international flight.  I've been flying to and from Hong Kong since I was 15 months old and only in recent years have they managed to get that flight time down to 14 hours, so I feel I qualify as an expert on the subject. 

Everyone seems to have different methods and ideas on how to make long flights more humane... have a drink to help you sleep, don't have a drink lest it make your jet lag worse;  sit in the emergency row for more leg room, don't sit in the emergency rows because they're next to the washroom... We all know upgrades are an obvious answer but speaking as your average thrifty traveller, I already paid enough for this plane ticket, I am not paying any more!  So let's just work with the cards we've been dealt...

Flight time can certainly be taxing on our bodies, but flight comfort plays a part as well.  A 15 hour flight to Hong Kong on an Air Canada or Continental craft with newer seats and more leg room is sometimes only minimally worse than the time I flew on an old Zoom Airlines (remember them?) plane for 7 hours to London; I remember zero leg room and chairs so 'retro' there were ashtrays built into the arm rests!...  Still, one shouldn't underestimate the discomforts 15 hours of being trapped on a small craft can bring, so it's important to do what you can to improve the situation.

Find Physical Comfort
It's true, unless you're in Business or First Class, this may well be a pipe dream.  I'm 5'7" with a bad knee and poor circulation, half my carry-on contents are an assortment of pills and accessories designed to alleviate pain and soreness.  I favour my inflatable neck pillow (depending on how much I inflate it, it provides a customizable amount of cushioning) or memory foam pillow for my lower back usually.  I'm also the sort who takes off my shoes on the plane (feet swelling in my shoes doesn't sound comfy to me) so I bring an extra pair of socks to keep my feet warm (slippers work too).  It's not all about slumping into your chair properly though, human beings need to move and stretch their muscles.  So after the food carts have gone by but before they dim the cabin lights, you might want to consider doing a little stretching in the aisles or pace back and forth for 5 mins.  The area outside of the washrooms are usually a little roomier, I like to get in my stretches there.

Maximize Sleep
With some physical comfort should come a bit of sleep.  On a long flight I figure if I can manage to sleep at least 5 or 6 hours of it away, that's already half the flight in the bag (let's face it, the bottom line is how to effectively kill all that time).  The cabin crew helps out by dimming lights between meals etc. but sometimes your body isn't quite functioning on their schedule, or even worse, the screaming child behind you isn't on the same schedule.  You can usually request blankets and really flat pillows from the cabin crew, in addition I keep an eye mask handy.  I fall asleep better to soft music so hello ipod!  If you sleep better in silence, bring earplugs.  Put it all together (minus any babies in the vicinity) and you should have enough sensory deprivation to get you to sleep.

Minimize Boredom
A person can only sleep for so long I guess, especially while crammed like a sardine into an airplane seat. The rest of the flight is spent puzzling over how to pass the time.  You'll hopefully have thought ahead and brought a book, laptop, Nintendo DS, journal, sudoku, crocheting, cat's cradle, whatever... The personal entertainment consoles on the newer planes aren't bad either, I've caught my share of good movies on those 4 inch screens (though I may be the only person crazy enough to watch a CGI epic like Thor for the first time on an airplane screen)

 When All Else Fails...Self-Medicate
Optimistic as I try to be that the above can get me through a long haul flight, I know better than to leave home without an arsenal of painkillers, muscle relaxants, and sleep-aids.  It's best to have the tried and true handy, but in a pinch anything will do so long as you use as directed.  I like Robax Platinum best, my back ceases to feel a thing for 4 hours, and something in those pills knocks me out every time.  I've also tried Advil Nighttime, which doesn't quite soothe the muscles as well but has a proper sleep-aid (make sure only to use when you're able to get a full night's sleep, I took it halfway through an 8 hour flight and the effects had not worn off yet by the time I landed).  If you're in favour of a natural remedy, melatonin works as well (I find I need 6-8mg for it to be effective and will need at least 6 hours of sleep).

There are people who are able to step off a long haul flight fresh and alert, strutting off to customs in a designer leather jacket and high heeled boots.  That's never going to be me, but I'll do what I can to look and act human.

More links to bolster your travel smarts...

Just because I'm stuck behind a desk until April doesn't mean I can't be a tourist...albeit a travel blog tourist...  I jest of course; there is much to be learned from fellow travel bloggers as you can see from my recent posts.  I'm happy to bring you another compilation of informative articles this week:

The Travel Belles' tagline is "The Travel Magazine for Women Who Know Getting Out of Town is a Beautiful Thing"  Quite right ladies!  However we all know the travel bug isn't exclusive to women, and so do they by providing a number of articles with universal appeal.  Some of these topics I have covered in my own blogs, but a second opinion is always valuable.  My favourites were: 

10 Things to Do Now to Prepare for International Travel
Under the "Become Familiar with, not fluent in the Language" section, I would add 'I don't know', 'I don't understand', 'toilet' and perhaps 'I'm lost' to the list of key phrases to know.  Having interacted with a number of ESL folk in my life, I can tell you that arming someone with simply yes and no as their only vocabulary can be a dangerous thing.  As for "Cut back on electronic gadgetry. Or at least get ready to charge it."... get a tablet.  Trust me on this one.

How to Pack Like a Travel Belle Pro
I haven't mastered the "discard half of each pile" step just yet, but I'm pretty confident my methods are also reasonably efficient.  They include a tip about buying travel size toiletries, suggesting that "If you run out of body lotion on your trip, buy the smallest bottle possible, refill yours and give the remains to somebody who will use it, like the woman who cleans your room."  Points for generosity and kindness, but if you want to be super thrifty, walk into the nearest department store cosmetics/beauty section and inquire for free samples.  This is an easy way to score quality products in travel-size portions.

Not going to lie, I found www.thetravelerszone.com to be so-so.  However there were a couple articles of note:

The Coolest Travel Essentials
This articles starts off with a cool solar powered backpack that I'd want to use at home and abroad!  The main problem with this article is that is provides no links to a site where we can actually purchase these items.  The first aid kit suggestion also seems a little comprehensive unless you're camping.  I may be frugal, but given my travel insurance coverage, I would go running to a doctor long before I have to bust out a roll of gauze!

Tips For Making That Long International Flight Travel Somewhat Bearable 
I know the pains for long international flights well!  I've been flying to Hong Kong since I was 15 MONTHS old and only in recent years have they gotten the flight times DOWN to 15 hours!  I actually have a number of suggestions not covered here, I do believe I've now found the topic of my next blog...stay tuned!

Other stumble-upons include some good specific tips from TravelingMom.com about What to Do When Your Flight is Delayed

And from Vagabonish:  The Culinary Essentials Every Budget Traveler Should Know
I'll be the first to admit I won't eat half the stuff listed in this article, but the ideas present here still make a great launching pad for coming up with your own cheap food alternatives.  Cooking/baking is one of my few UN-blogged about passions, to say I have a fixation with food is an understatement.  Ideas and thoughts I've gotten from this article will also be expanded on in a separate blog.

Travel Advice from Ninjas and Hackers

(the title is kind of deceptive...I know...)

I'm not really in the mood to give instructions or prattle on today, so I will simply point you towards two travel blog entries I read today that I found particularly informative.  I do not know either of the authors, I came across the sites in a google search.

The first is entitled: Buying Air Tickets – How to find the best flights and cheapest fares

The writer gives a clear, basic run-down of the differences between major and budget carriers, including the pros and cons of each.  Followed by some good general tips on how to obtain cheaper tickets.  I personally prefer Expedia.ca over Kayak for flight search engines.  The Skyscanner site he mentioned was good when I tested it with flights within Europe but didn't pull up anything insightful to get me across the Atlantic.  I know little about Round The World tickets but I'd be willing to investigate :)

The Ultimate Travel Hacking Guide's title made me chuckle (I'm easily amused), I collect aeroplan and air miles like everyone else, but I guess I don't have that kind of cash and flexibility to take weekend getaways to random places for the sole purpose of earning "double the miles". The tips for how to search around different sites and what to look for is pretty helpful if you're willing to put in the time and patience to find some savings.  As for the part about saving a few bucks from a favourable exchange rate, I haven't tested other currencies much, but CheapOair got me some small savings when I flew to San Francisco. The credit cards and mileage runs are not for me, but it is interesting to learn how to win one back from these credit giants and overpriced carriers.

Another handy little tool that I plan to start utilizing more is the Bing Travel price predictor for popular routes.  Search for your flight and in the results page you will see a "Price Predictor" with a suggestion to either buy now or wait, if you click on the link it'll give you a little more background info.  I wouldn't use Bing Travel for booking my flight per se, but sometimes it does make a difference knowing I can wait until the next paycheck to pay for my flight.  Some other sites are also beginning to develop price predictors as well, glad this is catching on.

Cross-border, it's not just for shopping...

Despite lofty plans to see the world, I've never focused my attention on much of the U.S., Caribbean, nor South America.  Therefore I've had little to say about travels going in that direction until some travel-related status updates/tweets last week sparked a conversation with a knowledgeable friend.

I'm struggling to find a cheap flight to Newark/New York City for Easter weekend and my friend Jos suggested I look for alternative flights out of Buffalo or Niagara Falls airport.  Though I have yet to take advantage, I have kept an eye out for flights from Buffalo for some previous travel.  I don't know enough to write about it, but I'm aware that contracts exist between certain countries which will make travel between them cheaper, and airport taxes and fees differ between airports/countries.  Therefore it is advantageous to look into flying out of the US sometimes, perhaps less so since 9/11 tightened security, but there are times when money is money.

From what I've learned clicking around on the net, Buffalo Airport offers a large number of domestic and international flights.  Most still require a stop in one of the major hubs (ie. New York, Newark, Chicago, Detroit) before actually crossing international lines, but for flights to the west coast, or if the US offers much more affordable travel to your destination, it's worth the drive across the border.  For those who don't drive, both Greyhound and Megabus have buses that will take you directly to Buffalo Airport in about three hours (hopefully there's adequate time in there for getting across the border, I've personally had some difficulties with Megabus.  Definitely allot extra time in there.)  Megabus has excellent pricing from Toronto to Buffalo Airport, I've found a number of $1 tickets.

Niagara Falls airport is much smaller and more akin to Toronto Island's Billy Bishop Airport.  While there are fewer flight options, it was also easier to isolate what they do offer -- and that's affordable travel down south, specifically Florida (where you can catch many connecting flights to the Caribbean, Central, and South America.  The airport is serviced by three airlines - Direct Air, Spirit Airlines, and Allegiant.  Their flight routes are as follows:

Direct Air:

Allegiant:

Spirit Airlines:

For non-drivers like myself, Jos has informed me Greyhound has a bus that goes to Niagara Airport. Sweet!

Have any of you flown out of Buffalo or Niagara?  I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts about this route.  I've been told about flights from Buffalo to New York for under $100, hope one of those flight sales pop up soon!

Happy New Year! Happy New Travels!

Greetings to 2012!  I hope this year brings lots of exciting travels for everyone and adventure where ever you can find it.

I'm hoping for a number of trips this year to destinations new and old, as always please write to tell me about yours, then we will scope out deals together.  I'd shared with my facebook friends at the end of the year that it doesn't take a new calendar year to set new goals, make changes, find forgiveness, etc...but Jan 1st is as good a time as any.  That being said, whether you have travel plans outlined for this year or not, now might not be a bad time to start thinking about it.

The concept of saving money has always eluded me.  It took me years to get into the habit of rustling up the cash for tickets, hotels and spending prior to leaving on a trip rather than begging mom for her credit card and then being stuck paying her back for months on end after I got back.  The idea of putting money aside without a tangible goal aside from 'saving' never appealed to me, the world could end tomorrow and where would all those savings get me?  Better to enjoy it today in the form of a sushi lunch and some new movies.  This is one of reasons I like to look ahead and have travel destinations in mind, it gives me an idea of costs and how much to put aside.

Even with best intentions though, sometimes it's hard to come up with all the cash when you need it.  For example, if the plan is to travel in June with a price tag of $3000 and start saving now, that would mean finding $500/month (if you get paid bi-weekly or bi-monthly that's $250 per pay).  For me personally, $500 is tough, but not impossible.  However it's not as straightforward as putting away $250 every pay, because not every travel expense is evenly proportioned as such.  Usually there are benefits to buying your plane ticket 4-6 months in advance, but at this point you may not have that kind of cash ready.  By the time you do, ticket prices may have risen.  A great hotel deal might pop up in March, but you're not ready to book, and by the time you've saved up enough in May, the hotel might be sold out.  It's these little frustrations that will mess with your regimented savings plan every time.  Hopefully you're nothing like me, and have lots in the bank, and even more credit at your disposal.  Otherwise, it might not be a bad idea to start saving now, whether you've decided on your destination or not.

The methods and thought process of choosing a vaca spot are numerous, I won't even try to advise you on how to do that.  I'm the girl that's picked cities based on Cirque du Soleil's touring schedule and Andy Warhol exhibitions.  Once you do narrow it down though, the first thing to do is get an idea of how much it's going to cost you.  This is a list of things I try to find out before making my final decision:

• What are the different methods/flight routes to get there?  Which is the cheapest mode of transportation/route I'm willing to take?  How much will that cost me?
• What time(s) of year do I want to visit?  How does the price fluctuate if I go a few weeks earlier/later in the year?
• What types of accommodation can I safely stay at?  What is the price difference between them?
• How can I maximize this vacation and what will the additional costs be?  Are there any nearby cities I can visit on the same trip?  How do I get to the additional destinations/how much to stay there?
• Are there any costly events/shows I want to attend while I'm there? (This is to factor into the cost)

 At the end of this deliberation, you should not only wind up with your final decision, but also a bunch of numbers that you can now total to see the estimated cost of your trip (this is often the part where you get a little weak at the knees :P).  Don't forget to add in meal costs and general spending.  Though prices fluctuate wildly from country to country, for Europe/US I would suggest factoring in $40-$50 a day for meals ($10 breakfast, $15 lunch, $20 dinner... you will obviously be under or over for individual meals but I find it usually evens out as long as you don't dine in fine restaurants for every meal).  Under general spending would be public transit costs and admission fees into tourist attractions, museums etc.  If you're at at all-inclusive resort you obviously don't need to worry about this, with the number of galleries and museums I go to, I factor in $50/day (however I spend less than the average person on food so I cut back there).  It's up to you whether you want to include a shopping/bar budget now or later.  Take your total and round it up (it's always better to have a bit more than not enough), that's your savings goal.

Despite it's shortcomings, the equal portion per pay savings plan is still the easiest one to stick with and there's nothing wrong with doing it that way.  If you can manage though, get as much saved up early as possible, it'll make life easier on your credit card.

Dream big, plan ahead, and have fun!  Happy New Year everyone :)

More Best & Worst Airport Lists

Thanks for the Prague love -- for loving Prague and liking my blog/pictures of Prague.

I'm a little tardy on the Milan photos currently so I thought I'd break up the monotony with CNNGO's 10 Best & Worst Airport Lists for your reading enjoyment.

10 Of The World's Most Loved Airports
10 Of The World's Most Hated Airports

Previously I'd posted links to Sleeping In Airports' site with their best & worst lists and a number of the same aiports appear on CNNGO's lists.  I'm a little biased towards the latter only because they list HKIA (Hong Kong) in the #1 spot, which echo my sentiments.  It's coming up to midnight and 22C in Hong Kong right now, my friend Jason has just flown thru HKIA very recently and I wish I were there too.

As for the worst airport, I'll save my breathe trashing Charles de Gaulle and let everyone else do that for me.  The appearance of Heathrow still makes me think of the time I almost missed my flight to Lisbon in 2006, I will have to repost that tale here sometime.  Suffice to say that place is big enough you can run a marathon through it, and I kind of did.

I am a little discouraged (though not completely surprised) to find New York's JFK on the Hated list, as I'm trying to pull together a big trip for 2012 that will likely have me flying through there. (My back-up plan being a return to Paris, which will take me right into de Gaulle Airport...great...)

For better or worse, sometimes you just have to deal with a lousy airport as the price to pay to see a wonderful foreign land.  Either that or stick to Hong Kong ;)

Euroventures 2011 - Budapest

It was a 10am train going from Vienna to Budapest.  Luckily I had figured out the day before that Wien Meidling train station was in fact accessible through Philadelphiabrücke metro station as opposed to my first guess - Meidling Hauptstraße which would have involved changing trains, plus I'm not sure if it's actually connected to the train station?

Much as I complained about my poor comprehension of Italian and German, that was nothing compared to when all the rail station signs changed to Hungarian! Most people I encountered in Budapest spoke English and were very helpful and nice to me, so that was a relief.  My greatest language barrier moment came when I was standing in a small grocery store trying to figure out which bottles of water were carbonated and non-carbonated (I highly dislike the former).  In Italy I quickly learned the key word to look for was 'naturale' and in German 'ohne'... Hungarian and Czech...no clue.  To further complicate matters, carbonated water often comes in 2 forms, carbonated and a sort of mild carbonation (that's still pretty gross in large amounts).  Eventually I figured out the solution is just to pick up the bottle and squeeze it (similar to way you might test to see if your friends have shook up your bottle of pop before handing it to you...what?  didn't anyone have those types of friends in school? :P)  The plastic bottle can be squished a bit for still and mildly carbonated water, if you shake it a little the still water bottle will still have the same amount of give, the mildly carbonated one will have a little more resistance.  From there I just memorized the colour of the bottle cap and stuck with the same brand of water for the rest of the trip.

But in less mundane news, I stayed at the reliable Ibis City Hotel in Budapest, Ibis being a lower-budget brand of hotel that still offers a clean room, safe stay, and reliable service (wifi notwithstanding... I had some difficulties with it).  We'd been told they would take euros in Budapest, but in fact that was not true.  Tourist spots will take euros at a rip-off rate but everywhere else you will need the local currency.  Luckily we weren't far from Vaci Utca (aka tourist central -- a street filled with souvenir shops, restaurants, and shopping) where there were Change places galore.

Despite being distracted by cute souvenirs, the Eastern-meets-Western European architecture, etc. I did keep in mind my friend Aniko's recommendation to see Buda Castle that day (as many places are closed on Sundays), it was pleasant hike up and there was much to learn about the rich history of Budapest from the Museum.  It was interesting to see pre-historic artifacts outside of North America (ok, so I'm stereotyping but I always think Canada/US when I think of dinosaurs and cavemen), also to learn that one of the first inhabitants of Budapest were a Celtic tribe.  I had been hoping to check out the House of Terror (it's more about Facism and Communism than serial killers), which I should've gone to Sunday because it was closed when I passed by on Monday.  Still, I managed to glimpse other sites (including a education tour of the Dohány Street Synagogue) and really enjoyed wandering the streets of Budapest.  In fact, it was probably my favourite city of this trip and certainly the most photographed.

Parliament Building photographed from across the river while lit up at night.

The beautiful Dohany Street Synagogue

Chain Bridge

Everything seems delightfully affordable in Budapest thanks to the favourable exchange rate.  Despite all my previous joking around, I did pick up souvenirs that were not paprika (the only thing I knew Hungary was famous for prior to this trip).  If you're strictly about the sight-seeing, 2 days or 3 days tops is enough in Budapest.  However I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city and would have no problem staying longer.  I got my hands on a culture guide from one of the tourist stands and there are a number of smaller museums that I wouldn't mind seeing.  So I hope to return to Hungary in the future.

Euroventures 2011 - Prague

Prague is what I now call (after the fact) my 'ghetto' portion of the trip, please indulge me while I attempt to justify my (sometimes poor) decisions...  While I was hardly in the lap of luxury this trip, I tried to strike a balance, spend a little more in some places so ensure comfort, and cut back in some other areas to even it out.  For example Budapest is a very economical place to visit, so I got myself a decent hotel and ate 3 course meals in nice restaurants.  Vienna was a longer stop (hard to believe 3 nights is "longer") so I got a private flat so that I'd be guaranteed a fridge, a means of making tea, and could scatter my stuff around without worrying about housekeeping messing with it.  Prague was probably my 2nd cheapest destination overall, for 2 nights, and so I opted for a hostel that featured nice photos on its webpage.  Now my tolerance for hostels has changed a lot over the years, at age 23, spending 10 days in the Cambie Hostel in Vancouver sleeping on a creaky bunk bed (I still got a private room, only child syndrome...) and sharing a bathroom was perfectly fine (granted I was also crazy enough to think it'd be ok to go traipsing about Vancouver in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey without getting heckled and looks of disdain).  Nowadays I will not share a washroom, I hardly want to share a bed, am wary of all hostel bedding, and will bring my own pillow/pillowcase (I'd bring my own blanket if I could only fit it in my bag!)  The Ragtime Hostel looked ok from its pictures (and to be fair, I've stayed at hostels that are far nicer that "hotels" so I'm not quick to judge), was a reasonable price, and hey, hostel = kitchen, which means I'm able to make tea and other food if I wish.

Before I even get into the hostel situation, let's add to the ghetto-ness of this trip by taking an overnight bus from Budapest to Prague on discount coach lines Orangeways.  The decision to take the bus actually had nothing to do with money, train tickets are perfectly affordable however time was precious and trains from Budapest to Prague only ran into the daytime (overnight travel sucks, but it does save you time, also money)  I couldn't afford to lose a day on the train.  The Orangeways bus was ideal, 11:30pm to 7am (that's less than Toronto to New York on Megabus - esp since the bus arrived on time!  Early even...) and of course it was cheap (about  €20 and €1 to stow a bag beneath the bus).  A bit of confusion with where to find the bus aside, it was a decent ride as far as overnight buses go - Orangeways doesn't not stop in the Nepliget bus terminal, but rather across the street at the corner of the football stadium.  Luckily their brightly coloured buses are hard to miss.  They do show movies despite it being an overnight ride, so if you're sitting right under the TV monitor (like me) and want to sleep (like me), don't forget your eye mask (like me :S).  I was able to sleep after a while, plus I got to pocket the earphones they were distributing (mini win!)  The bus does make a few middle-of-the-night stops, including one in Bratislava, Slovakia (one of the places I would've stopped if I'd had a few more days).

The Ragtime Hostel was a little challenging to say the least.  First off, you need to check in at their sister hostel - Hostel Emma, at which point they took us on a 6 min walk (weary travelers, narrow streets, heavy bags... *sigh*) to an apartment building, up to the first floor to an unmarked door (have to say, some big dude leading me inside a non-descript building to a door with no signage whatsoever and beckons me to go inside... a little freaky!)... which turns out to be a converted space split into a number of rooms and one shared kitchen.  That's it though, there is no reception on site.  If you want anything you need to find your way back to Hostel Emma.  The room itself was spacious enough, the private bathroom a good size, and kitchen had all the essentials.  I'm not expecting any miracles for a good bed, the sheets are colourful but on closer inspection made me worry about their cleanliness a bit.  The biggest annoyance at that point were the glass-window doors.  The door to our room was glass with fabric covering, and it was the room next to the main entrance, I had some noise concerns off the bat.  What was even more awkward the bathroom door was partially see-through glass!  Uh...I'm not traveling with a partner here!  Even if I were I'd still like some privacy while in the loo.  Seriously, the way the doors were angled and line of sight, if we shut the bathroom door but opened the bedroom door, a person in the hallway would be able to see the person sitting on the crapper. *smacks forehead*  Imagine my level of discomfort from the get-go.  To make matters worse, that evening when I tried to take a shower there was no hot water!  It wasn't even tepid or room temperature, it was near ice cold and temps were below 10C that night.  Thank god it was a hand-shower, and so I washed my hair like I did as a child during Hong Kong summers...head hung upside down careful to aim the cold water only at my scalp and not the rest of me.  Hot water finally came back around 1am and lasted for maybe 10 mins.  I was so livid I nearly marched into Old Town to see if the Ibis there had any vacancies.  However that would've meant forfeiting the amount I'd prepaid to Ragtime, so I stuck it out.  The second night was better, the hot water lasted for almost 25 mins before it went tepid for another few minutes and finished off cold again. (I was 2nd to use the shower so I got all the temperature fluctuations.)

Enough with the accommodations though, the city itself was a much more positive experience.  For all its shortcomings, Ragtime was very conveniently located.  There was public transportation around the corner, a big Tesco supermarket that had a pretty good bakery section (I really enjoyed the random baked goods I kept picking up for breakfast, plus the delicious mango smoothies that were on sale), and it was a short walk to shopping and Old Town.  It's a very walkable city overall despite the easy tendency to make wrong turns in the web of streets (it could've been just me, but next to Venice I thought Prague was toughest to navigate without a map - to clarify:  I did have a map for both, but sometimes it's nice to put it away or else you wind up staring at it more than the beautiful buildings in front of you).  There's lots to see and lots to eat, the first night I decided to get authentic and had Old Prague Ham and beer in the square.  Then followed it up with a visit to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments, which was right next to the famous Charles Bridge.  The clouds rolling in past the castle on the other side were extra creepy that night.  I made sure to take lots of pictures.  Of all my stops during this trip, I would have to say Prague most embraces the night.  Stores were open pretty late by European standards, many tourist traps opened until 8 or 10pm, and of course there were a lot of little theatres with evening shows.

View of Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge

Quoting the classics in artwork on the John Lennon Wall

 The second day was spent on the other side of the Charles Bridge in the Mala Strana (aka Lesser Town) area with visits to the castle and the John Lennon wall (I'm sure no one is surprised that this stop at the graffiti tribute to my favourite Beatle was one of my must-sees). Followed by the search for a highly recommended Asian restaurant - Maly Buddha - which was up a pretty long slope.  It was all worth it though!  I would go back to Prague just to have dinner at that place again.  Their menu includes a selection of Tibetan, Vietnamese, Malaysian, etc. with a large number of vegetarian options to cater to those of the Buddhist faith.  Tho the guidebook recommended pho, we opted for other Vietnamese selections.  Even the starter soup was amazing, I think it was just some standard clear broth with vegetable.  And the rose black tea I ordered was probably some of the best tea I've ever drank!  It was the perfect meal to get rid of that rainy autumn chill I'd been enduring all day while exploring outside (that chill is also the reason I opted out of getting absinthe ice cream, which I had been planning to sample).  Capped off the night by catching "Rock Therapy", a cute little blacklight show with puppets and live performances featuring music by the Beatles and some familiar iconography.  It's not a highly polished and thought-provoking show, but entertaining all the same.

Prague is definitely a worthwhile place to visit.  Having gotten most of the major historical attractions out of the way this visit, I could really see myself making a return trip with friends to do a proper pub crawl and hang out in absinthe shops.  In the two days I think I saw most of what I wanted to see, another day and I would've gotten in a couple more art museum/exhibits.  If you're gonna do a pub crawl, then maybe factor in another day for your hangover?

Euroventures 2011 - Vienna

It's a short train ride on the OBB (Austrian Rail) to Vienna from Salzburg, the trains are relatively comfortable and there are partial announcements in English.  Took the 9am train and got to Wien Westbanhof noon-ish.  However I should note that riding the OBB (Rail Jet high speed train) within Austria is actually kind of expensive, a <4 hr ride from Salzburg to Vienna cost me €44, whereas a >6 hr ride from Venice to Salzburg only cost €29 (with 3 hr ride from Vienna to Budapest costing the least at €19).

 I rented a flat not too far from the train station from www.airbnb.com, my first time using the site.  I got pretty much what I expected at Rosemarie's flat, which was mostly spacious with 2 bedrooms and a open concept kitchen (that I did a little cooking in one evening).  The bathroom was ridiculously tiny, to the point it was almost comical trying to get undressed and then squeeze through the gap into the shower.  Not the end of the world though, and having a private flat is a very nice change from staying into hotel rooms.  The location was very convenient with a big mid-range shopping mall half a block away that included a very large supermarket that I couldn't resist shopping in (I remember cheap mushrooms and Ritter Sport chocolate bars in flavours I'd never tried or even heard of!)

It was very comfy in the flat, almost too comfy because it took me a while to get motivated to go out (I was happy resting and going over guidebooks and maps spread out on the dining table!) thus my first day in Vienna wasn't very productive.  The movie tie-in for my stop in Vienna was Before Sunrise (staring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy about young love, where 2 people meet on a train and decide to spend a day wandering in Vienna), so I strolled past a couple sites that they also checked out, hopped on a tram for the hell of it (damn, the new trams vs. the old ones... big difference!  The Ring Tram looked so quaint as it chugged along on the tracks, the new tram that I rode, as soon as the door closed it jetted off and it felt like only seconds before I'd reached my intended stop... I'm sure the look on my face must've been pretty comical as I hurried off because I didn't know where 10 more seconds on the tram would take me)

My favourite discovery in Vienna is the Naschmarkt with vendor stalls selling everything from spices to teas to sugary confections to souvenirs down one aisle, and a fabulous variety of little restaurants in a second aisle.  The eateries ranged from fancy seafood places that prepared fish so fresh and delicious-smelling that even I would eat it, to classic Austrian fare (I have my reservations with wiener schnitzel...sorry, but I don't like breaded meat, even less so when it's not chicken...), to endless Asian options!!  The sushi I had there was so fresh and delicious for €13, I'd venture to say it's better than the combos in Toronto!  No surprise I went back to the market every day I was in Vienna.

Food aside for a moment, I also visited a number of beautiful churches, I recall Baroque period decor, which is pretty jaw-dropping for it's ornate tendencies.  More on this when I have all my photos sorted.  I also enjoyed the Albertina Gallery which had a special exhibition entitled "Monet to Picasso -The Batliner Collection" showcasing Impressionist to Contemporary Art (naturally encompassing Cubist art which I'm always very excited about).  Also part of the whole Hofburg Palace complex not far from the Albertina was the Sisi Museum, Sisi (aka Empress Elisabeth of Austria) being a fascinating female figure who defied gender and royal conventions in the 1800's.  I really enjoyed seeing the palace apartments and Sisi's rooms while learning about the story of her life.  One of the evenings I put my earlier Vienna Opera research to the test and indeed managed to a score €3 to see Madame Butterfly.


While walking around Vienna, I couldn't help but compare it to life in Paris.  A bustling city with a historic backdrop.  Public transportation and heavy traffic rumbling on the streets amidst a backdrop of old buildings each showcasing unique moldings right above a high profile retail sign.  As with every busy metropolis...there is shopping!  Therefore I took a culture break and checked out the Danube Mall, where they had a regular Desigual store (see last entry for related note on one of my fav clothing labels) and put my Visa card to good use there.


On my last evening in Vienna, I had not seen close to everything I wanted to see (which was expected, I knew even before I arrived that 3 days would be insufficient but I had to get moving on).  I'd meant to go to Cafe Sperl, a Before Sunrise location and classic Viennese cafe, in the late afternoon for some coffee and cake but didn't get into the area until almost 7. By then they'd begun serving dinner, which I was less interested in, so I took a peek and kept walking despite my growling tummy.  Just around the corner I see a "Ra Mien" sign and the window is a picture of busy waiters and patrons at every table.  I was sold.  It turns out it wasn't the traditional Japanese noodle that I'm accustomed to, but more like what we, from the Canton province, know of as 'Ho Fun' however freshly shaved off this big hunk of whatever-noodle-is-made-of (please don't ask me to explain, I'll never get this right).  Most importantly, it was delicious!  The soup, the noodle, the ample amount of seafood...  When I ordered chrysanthemum tea, they actually brought me a small tea pot with real chrysanthemum flowers soaking in it!  You'd be hard pressed to find that even in Toronto. The noodle joint functioned as both culinary hotspot and a bar lounge at night, on my table next to the menu was the DJ line-up for the month.  Awesome.

Vienna is a first-class city in my books with much to offer.  You can hand me a ticket to fly back there anytime!