Tagged with: Travel

  • Day 1

    The Plan: to take a rail holiday in Europe, going where we want, changing plans on a whim. The players: John, Chris, and Sunil, all old friends from school. Sunil is after the cool climates and rugged landscapes of Scandinavia, while John would rather have the sun and the sand of the Med. Chris likes the coasts, and I prefer the cities. So I go into this with a sense of trepidation.At 09:30, Chris and Sunil arrived at my house. At ten dad drove us to our local train station for a short journey to London’s Waterloo, where we met John and checked in for our Eurostar service to Brussels.

  • Europe 2002

    DayLocationSummary1London / BrusselsIn transit2Brussels / AmsterdamBored in belgium, European democracy and how to buy cheap weed in Amsterdam3AmsterdamA day of education in the ways of windmills and wonky houses, loopy lockers and the art of queueing4Berlin”Eventually, every wall falls”5BerlinWe visited the Bundestag, and I got conned by a pensioner, but the most important thing about today was ice cream7BudapestPoor directions send me on a wild goose chase, but it was worth it for the escalators8BudapestTook a hot thermal bath to recover from a cheesy labyrinth, and finished the evening with some Hungarian folk dancing. Yee-har it is not9BudapestA jammed locker makes for an unelegant introduction to an interesting fellow traveller on the train to Venice10VeniceA stream of immigration officers fails to stop me getting a good nights sleep, and there’s a surprise reunion in store11VeniceI watch in amazement as globs of glass turn into horses in seconds, and I’m a little close for comfort when the bells ring two o’clock12Venice / CortinaA ten minute detour costs me almost four hours on the way to Cortina, where the local delicacy looks exactly like a yellow cow pat13CortinaThe dolomites prove breathtaking in more ways than one, as I almost kill myself on a hiking trail14CortinaWaking up above the clouds, I spent the day walking back to civilisation and a train to somewhere less expensive15RomeThe Vatican Museums didn’t impress, but St Peters Basilica and the Coliseum provided the necessary wow factor16RomeThe day was in ruins, but only of the Roman kind17RomeA visit to the catacombs and how not to avoid a nasty encounter with an Italian ticket inspector18BrindisiA new traveller joins us as we wait for a boat in Brindisi, while Chris decides first class is the only way to go19Patras / AthensThe benefits of being a student, the delights of the Acropolis, and someone who isn’t me falls off a chair20AthensSome more ancient wonders to see, with a modern touch provided by a crowd of football supporters21SantoriniMet an old friend and learnt how to drive a scooter on the wrong side of the road22SantoriniDriving scooter on wrong side of road proves more difficult than it initially appeared. No fatalities, nice sunset23SantoriniVolcano tour. I get to play the hero and miss the boat in the process24SantoriniHaving learnt lessons from scooter hire, we got a car. Driving standards appeared to be improving25Athens / PatrasSome fast connections and a luxury ferry have us speeding our way back to Italy26Ancona / FlorenceA last minute decision has Chris and I on a train to Florence27FlorenceMore artwork than I think I’ve ever seen before, but there’s no substitute for getting really seriously lost. And we did28FlorenceMichaelangelo’s David, the Ponte Vecchio, and a long walk in the rain is required29Florence – LondonOn reflection, flying would have been more sensible

  • Day 3

    location:Ramwort – Acle
    trip:sailing02
    day:3

  • Day 2

    location:Thurne Dyke – Ramworth
    trip:sailing02
    day:2

  • Day 1

    location:Ludham (Hunter’s Yard) – Thurne Dyke
    trip:sailing02
    day:1

  • Sailing 2002

    DayLocationSummary1Ludham (Hunter’s Yard) – Thurne Dyke2Thurne Dyke – Ramworth3Ramwort – Acle

  • Day 24

    I had an hour to kill before boarding, and another before takeoff, so I wandered along the concourse looking for somewhere to get a final Thai massage before leaving. I found somewhere, but the prices were six times what you’d pay in town, plus there was a queue. I found an internet area and had to buy prepaid credit in blocks of 100 baht, so I wasn’t exactly rushed. I spent an hour online, chatting to friends back home (where it was still early evening), checking my email and reading the news. Thinking about Palm and her upcoming trip to the states, I checked into the climate in Utah – wow, cold.

  • Day 23

    I woke at about 5:30, and showered before i realised what the time was. I went back to bed again until a wake up call rang my phone at 8:30. I phoned Palm, to remaind her to bring her uni report on the River of the Kings show, which I was really interested to see. Fortunately by the time they showed up in the lobby Palm had found a baby to play with, which always seemed to make her smile. Wee had brought along her boyfriend, Bernard, who was pretty hard to miss at 6ft 8in. I’d guess Wee was about 5ft, if that, so it made so quite a contrast.

  • Day 22

    Wee and Palm showed up a little late, and while I waited Charlotte appeared again. She spent last night on the sleeper train and had just arrived – a proper goodbye was now in order but we’d done it twice already so it didn’t seem necessary. We walked to the local pier to get an express boat to the skytrain stop. We were heading for the weekend market, and I wanted to use the skytrain to get there since I hadn’t used it yet. We got sidetracked temporarily by a couple of german students who needed a complex set of directions, so we took them to their pier to get them started.

  • Day 21

    I got up fairly early to pack, and got to the beach at 8:45am. The boat was due at 9. Sue and Steve turned up as well, mainly to see how the boat ferry was organised so they’ll have no problems tomorrow. I arrived in Trang and took a Tuk Tuk back to the Trang Hotel, where my backpack with the rest of my stuff was waiting. After surviving the last few days with no more than what I could fit in a laundry bag and my day pack, I realised that most of the stuff I was carting around in my backpack was unnecessary. I repacked the backpack, integrating the island bag, and went down the road to the internet cafe.