My News

A lot is going on in my life right now and there’s no better day to discuss everything than today.

But first a story:

I had a seven hour layover in the Düsseldorf airport, which allowed me to get some work done. I checked into my flight super early and proceeded to gate C46 and waited. And waited. It seemed they were boarding the plane pretty close to take off and when I finally got up to give my boarding pass, the guy goes “visa please.” I thought it was odd since you get visas on arrival in Thailand but I gave him the multi-entry visa I had. He took one look at it and said:

“This is the wrong gate. This flight is to Shanghai.” (No wonder I didn’t see any Thai people!!!) “You need to go over there.” He said.

My flight was supposed to leave at 5.25. It was 5.30. No announcement telling me to get my ass to the gate or anything. So I ran to another gate C46. The attendants saw me and started rushing me on the plane. They were waiting for me and I’m still not sure why they didn’t make an announcement. I get on the plane and say “yup, I’m that guy this time. Sorry”

Then I hear a large laugh. I turn to my right and laugh right back. It’s the woman I saw at passport control. While there, they were rushing a group of people through immigration and onto a plane. The lady translated the German conversation for me. They were so late the plane was about to shut its doors and the staff was yelling at them. “I can’t believe they are late.” I said to the woman. “How can you be late for a flight!?”

I guess karma is a bitch.

What’s New
My seven week trip through Europe is over and I am currently in Bangkok. (So all you gap year people, let me know when you come- I’ll show you around!) A co-worker of mine is coming to visit and I’ll be spending the next 10 days traveling around Thailand and getting a tan. I’m practically see through. From then on, I’ll be working vigorously to earn money to head back to Europe next summer before I move to New Zealand. It’s time to create some roots (more on that development much later.) I’ll also be putting in copious hours on this website so you’ll be seeing a lot of changes soon. Some changes that have already occurred:

I’ve added new travel tips: choosing the right backpack and picking a travel credit card.

I’ve redone my Travel Photo page and have put new photos up. More importantly, if you click on the photos, they now enlarge into a window that gives a description and allows the photos to be viewed as a slideshow. This feature is also used on my blog.

I’ve added a tool to book hostels on this site. Go ahead. Book your holiday with me. It helps generate income to pay for all my hosting fees. In fact, book anything with me! If you need any travel related items, get them through here- it costs you nothing and helps me out greatly.

I’ve also decided to post less. I was posting everyday, which proved very taxing and didn’t allow people time to see every post. I’ll be moving to a 4-5 posts a week schedule. This will mean more link filled and better edited posts.

Now, I am enjoying Thailand before I start work. In fact, tomorrow I’ll be playing tour guide to good folks from Wanderingwhy.

It’s good to be back.

Tips for Traveling Paris

Paris is an amazing city. I fell in love with it the first moment I was there. American ex-pat, Tanya from Parisian Spring, gave us some tips for beating the summer crowds in Paris. They are wonderful tips as Paris is really crowded during the summer, especially during August. Parisians evacuate the city for the summer and head to the countryside or the beach. The vacuum caused by their departure is filled with tourists who crowd all the sights, streets, and cafes.

Should you find yourself in Paris during the summer months, here are some tips for traveling the city that might make your stay more enjoyable:

Crowds swarm the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, creating queues that wrap around each structure. Should you go mid-day, you’ll be waiting a few hours to climb each. Head there early in the morning to avoid the rush. Queues start to form about an hour after opening.

The maps the tourist office give don’t include all the streets. Should you get lost, you’ll eventually hit a main street and you can coordinate your position there. Moreover, the map is not really drawn to scale. The tourist information map is a good reference but for more detail stick to a guide book map. This is especially true in the Latin Quarter. (I found this out the hard way.

Moreover, Paris has few street maps for tourists. Unlike Amsterdam or London, there are few signs telling you where you are. Don’t expect easy navigation. If you do find a sign, it will be in French and not English. (Signs describing historical monuments are also only in French).

The Latin Quarter is one of the best parts of the city and also devoid of tourists. Head deep into the heart for tiny windy streets and cheap cafes that overlook little plazas. The cafes get crowded during lunch time.

If you want a good view of the city but don’t want to wait to get to the top of the Eiffel tower, head to Montmartre. This little district, where artists like Picasso and Pissaro used to live, provides sweeping views of the city without the wait or the cost.

Internet cafes are expensive- about 6 Euros an hour. Z-net in the Latin quarter has it for 4 Euro an hour and offers wi-fi.

The Louvre is discounted after 6pm on Fridays and free on Sundays. During the low season, it is also closed on Tuesdays. It’s located in the center of the city and has two metro stops- both marked “Louvre.” Get off at either one.

The Jardin du Luxemburg is a great place to eat out and enjoy a nice day. It’s filled with people relaxing in chairs and on the grass. It’s a great day to enjoy the sun of Paris.

South of Notre Dame, Rue Dauphine has some great eateries. The place gets crowded with folks relaxing for drinks after dinner. Pull up a chair, grab a glass of wine, and enjoy a Parisian pastime- staring at what walks by on two legs.

Buy a metro card. Paris has over 300 subway stations so it is easy to get around the city. A day pass is only 6 Euros.

It took me two days in Paris to learn all that. Imagine what a longer stay would yield. These tips, as well as the tips Tanya gave us, can help make your travel experience more enjoyable.

Paris: The City of Love

Paris. Poets, artists, playwrights, writers, journalists, statesmen have all written about it. All came to Paris and walk away in love. It’s hard not to fall in love with Paris. It’s a magical place and I can see why so many flock here. Paris exudes culture, sophistication, and style. Like the millions before me, I too feel in the love with the city.

I remember the exact moment. It was about midnight and I had only been in Paris two hours. I was meeting friends for a night on the town. I hadn’t seen much of the city as I arrived late. Yet the second I got out of the metro and stared at the Arc De Triomphe and marveled at the Champs Elysees, I feel in love. Paris was it- the highlight of my time in Europe. However, the trip to Paris was truncated by a last minute trip to Bordeaux. With only two days in Paris, I’ve only had time to see the big sights and walk around. Two days does not do this city justice and I will be sure to be back.

One of the first things that struck me about Paris was how spacious it was. Paris is filled with wide streets, lots of little squares and plazas, and large parks. In European cities, especially ones as old as Paris, you rarely find such openness. It’s usually in the newly built areas where you find such space. Old buildings were usually built close together and any trip to London, Barcelona, Rome, or Prague will have you wondering how people moved about. Yet Paris is different. There is a lot of wide space here. I was surprised to see so much as all my previous trips had me dodging cars in tiny alleys. The spaces makes the city feel much less busy and far more relaxed. You can walk, you can move, you can dodge that car. It’s refreshing.

With my limited time here, I stuck to the major sites. I stared at the Arch De Triomphe and strolled down the Champs Elysees. The Champs Elysees is always busy and always expensive. With so many tourists and expensive shops, it’s not surprising. I spent my first night club hopping there. My Parisian friends showed my the local nightlife, which does not end until 8 a.m. - Parisians party hard. I strolled down to the Louvre and marveled at its size and wondered if Dan Brown would use it in his books again. I didn’t go in though, the Louvre deserves more time than I can give it this trip.

The highlights of my trip came on my second day. I spent six hours wandering the streets of Paris, falling in love with it more and more. The city is beautiful. All of it stunning. Nothing else needs to be said- I’ll let each photo tell you a thousand words. I really enjoyed the Latin Quarter. This historic area is filled with tiny, winding streets that turn at weird angles to open into little cafe lined squares. Despite being located so close to Notre Dame, there few tourists wandering around. The streets here are much quieter and it seemed like a nice area to eat and relax in. I was glad to get lost in it for quite some time.

Another great place in Paris was the Jardin Du Luxemborg. This huge garden behind the Palais Du Luxemborg is a local favorite to hang out in on a warm summer day. Tree lined paths zig zag the area, connecting parks to picnic or sleep on and tennis courts to be active on. There’s a large central fountain and a little place to race boats. The park is filled with people relaxing and eating. One thing that amazed me about the gardens was the large amount of chairs. In fact, most parks in Paris had chairs. Chairs that were not tied down. No one takes them. They are just there. I was surprised because it wouldn’t happen in the states or most other places I have been- people would take the chairs and slowly they would go away, too costly to replace.

But how could I forget the two biggest sights- The Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.

The Eiffel Tower wasn’t that impressive the first time I saw it. It was raining, and the gray clouds seem to blend in with the tower. Yes, it was cool but it wasn’t breathtaking. Then I saw it a second time. On a clear blue day, the tower stuck out in the sky, reaching high above the surrounding buildings. Walking towards it I got more excited and the second time I saw it whole towering above the Seine, I was impressed. Really impressed. I was not impressed with the two hour wait to the top though and skipped that. But what a sight! The Eiffel Tower, or the “metal asparagus” as Parisians used to call it, is mesmerizing. It is the symbol of the city of love and that is evident by the large amount of couples caressing each other on the surrounding grass.

Notre Dame was cleaner than I thought. I expected a grim laden structure giving the Gothic architecture an even more dark and mystical feel. Sadly, it seems the building as been cleaned over the last few years. I think it takes away from the history and foreboding of the structure. C’est Le Vie right? The inside was pretty standard and the front reminded me of doumos in Italy. The real beauty of Notre Dame is its buttressed oval rear. This part is breathtaking and the Gothic art here is very intricate and well designed. The downside to Notre Dame is the sea of tourists who crowd this place. They swarm around like flies to honey and I quickly decided to leave. It was nice but not worth the annoyance. I marveled at it from afar- away from the crowds.

Paris was amazing. I loved it all and will come back as soon as I possibly can. It is everything I thought it would be and more. My next post will be about tips for traveling around the city and offer more practical advice. But this is my Paris love story. We call have one. What’s yours?

The Saturday City: Places I Don’t Like

For the last three months, I’ve been highlighting different cities from around the world. Each time I have nothing but praise for all these places. I’m constantly asked if I like everyplace I go because it sure seems that way. Well, I don’t. Generally, I like I everywhere but I have come across some places I just don’t like.

Atlanta
Hotlanta? More like Craplanta! I didn’t enjoy this place one bit and it might be my least favorite place in the world. It was dirty, grimy, lacked anything really interesting, and had traffic worse than Bangkok because they have no subway system. Why? Because white suburbanites are too afraid too that if they had one, black people would come from the city out into their area. Seriously. No lie. The only good thing about the city was that it was hot.

Milan
Milan is another useless city. It’s also dirty, grimy, lacks anything but shops, and has some of the rudest Italians this side of Naples. Even most Milanese don’t like it! They just are there for work. The only reason to go to Milan is to shop, otherwise you are just wasting your time.

Birmingham
As you know, I had a lot of good experiences in England. It’s such a great country but if I could skip one place it would be this city. Outside the shopping mall that is the city center, it looks like this place hasn’t been renovated since 1960. I also felt unsafe walking the streets here. The city just gave me a very creepy vibe.

Pattaya
Located on Thailand’s Gulf coast, this city is famous worldwide for prostitutes. Fat old men from around the world come here in search of someone who will tell them they are beautiful, even if that’s only because they have money. Pattaya is like Bangkok on the sea and pollution from the city has ruined the harbor. Now, you need to take a boat out to an overcrowded island in order to find a place worth swimming. The city is popular with local Thais who come for the theme park and Pattaya has tried to clean up it’s image over the last few years but until they clean up that harbor and the fat old men, I’m fine with never going again.

Brisbane
OK, I don’t hate this city like I do the others. It’s more a general ambivalence. There’s nothing really wrong with Brisbane (I mean Southbank is nice) but I found the city to remind me too much of America. It also really lacked any culture or anything interesting besides the shops. I’d go back to Brisbane in the future but did I love the city? Not really.

There are plenty of places in the world I don’t like. Not all Saturday cities are glitter and gold and every so often I’ll rant about one or two I don’t like. However, the explorer in me finds the best in all places.

Carnival of Blogs #5

Another week, another country. I’m now in the French countryside drinking wine, eating cheese, and trying to keep the snails down (weird texture). Since it is Friday, it’s time for another blog carnival. Here are some of my favorite travel sites.

Rambling Traveler- A great site that posts photos from everywhere.

Ron’s Photo Blog- I met Ron via StumbleUpon. He runs another great photo blog site with stunning pictures from all around the world.

Less Than a Shoestring- This excellent travel blog follows the adventures of one man trying to travel as cheap as he can. He manages Europe on pennies a day. He’s a great resource and always providing good tips on frugal travel.

Malena’s Candy Adventure- Malena is traveling the world in search of the best candy it has to offer. She’s currently in Central America.

Itinerant Londoner- Geoff’s blog has some good insight into English lifestyle. It’s always an enjoyable humorous read.

No Place Like Here- Cris and Felipe’s blog follows their life in NZ, their upcoming wedding, and subsequent travels. It’s written in English and Portuguese. Great blog with a nice clean design.

For more travel blogs, check out the links section of this website.

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