Some people already know about this, but after having some much-needed time off form work and some time to unpack from my last trip, naturally my mind started whirring and I've managed to hash out a rough plan of my next major trip later this year.

Well, it's taken 4 years, but I've done it: I've seen Europe, pretty much all of it. And now that I've run out of this continent to explore, I've now cast my eyes to the next closest to explore: Africa. My favourite travel group Intrepid have just the tour in mind, one I've been wanting to do for the last 2 years now, but only now have had enough holiday time to successfully take it. It's a big one: a trek across the entire northern stretches of the Sahara, from Cairo to Casablanca across the Maghreb, through 5 countries, over 1.5 months.



The details so far are:

• 08 Nov: Plane, London to Cairo, Egypt (Intrepid tour starts)
• 09 Nov: Train, Cairo to Alexandria, Egypt
• 10 Nov: Alexandria to Marsa Matruh, Egypt
• 11 Nov: Marsa Matruh to Tobruk/Apollonia, Libya
• 13 Nov: Apollonia to Benghazi, Libya
• 14 Nov: Plane, Benghazi to Tripoli, Libya
• 16 Nov: Tripoli to Gharyan, Libya
• 17 Nov: Gharyan to Ghadames, Libya
• 19 Nov: Ghadames to Sabratha, Libya
• 20 Nov: Sabratha to Jerba, Tunisia
• 22 Nov: Jerba to Tataouine, Tunisia
• 23 Nov: Tataouine to Matmata, Tunisia
• 24 Nov: Matmata to Mahdia, Tunisia
• 25 Nov: Mahdia to Kairouan, Tunisia
• 26 Nov: Kairouan to Tunis, Tunisia
• 29 Nov: Tunis to Ain Draham, Tunisia
• 30 Nov: Ain Draham to Le Kef, Tunisia
• 01 Dec: Le Kef to Tozeur, Tunisia
• 03 Dec: Tozeur to El-Oued, Libya
• 04 Dec: El-Oued to Ghardaia, Libya
• 06 Dec: Plane, Ghardaia to Illizi; then to Djanet, Libya
• 07 Dec: Tuareg trek: Djanet to Tamanrasset through the Hoggar mountains (via Tadent, Tin Agoula, Youfihakit, Tamekrest, Mt Assekrem), Libya
• 13 Dec: Plane, Tamanrasset to Algiers, Libya
• 15 Dec: Plane, Algiers to Casablanca, Morocco (Intrepid tour ends)
• 17 Dec: Train, Casablanca to Tangier, Morocco
• 18 Dec: Ferry, Tangier to Algeciras, Spain; bus to Gibraltar, United Kingdom; plane to London

This trip is certainly longer than most of the ones I take: I have deliberately left it later in the year to visit North Africa to avoid both an oppressive summer, and this year's Ramadan.

I could fly directly from Marrakesh, or even Tangier, to London, but that wouldn't be as exciting: crossing the straits of Gibraltar will hopefully be memorable, as will visiting the furtherest corner of the UK, at the entrance of the Mediterranean: EasyJet fly from Gibraltar to London easily enough, in time for me to get to work later in the evening. However, I also have an extra three days up my sleeve at the beginning of the trip: I could arrive as early as November 5th if I wanted and spent some extra time in Cairo, or even fly elsewhere and make my way there a day or two later (EasyJet fly from London to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh; while I'm not a fan of Western-style resort cities, they may be handy otherwise, I'm still investigating). Can anyone suggest an alternative destination that could get me to Cairo by November 7th?

Intrepid, as a sign of appreciation of how often I travel with them, offered me a whopping 20% discount on any trip back in March as part of their 20th birthday. With this trip pushing the £4000 mark, you can imagine why I opted for this one. Once I sort out my current finances and decide where precisely I'll be going, I should be able to book early enough while still keeping costs down. Suffice to say, the length and price of this trip will ensure it's the only other major trip I take this year.

Tags: travel (plans)
Current mood: excited
Current music: The Prodigy - The way it is

( There is one thing you must be sure of, I can't take any more! )

Tags: lyrics
Current music: Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey | Powered by Last.fm

Not long after we'd crossed border, leaving the former Soviet Union behind the train stopped outside Kisvarda in Hungary at 0630hrs in order to stamp us into the EU. Our bags received a quick rifling through by Hungarian immigration, probably for cigarette smuggling. Most of us returned back to sleep as we trundled west across the country's Great Plain. I slept for as long as possible, considering my late night, and managed to wake only half an hour outside of the capital city. We rolled into Budapest's Keleti station just before 1130hrs European time, having gained another hour in timezone changes.

( Sat 13th: Budapest, Magyarország )

The international hydrofoil left Budapest bang on 0900hrs: with an early start, that allowed me 30min for breakfast, and a subsequent quick 30min hike straight to the ferry dock.

I'd never actually taken a hydrofoil before, let alone an international one. I'd been sailing on huge international ferries before (between Finland and Estonia, Germany and Denmark, UK and Ireland) but not on a light boat that skimmed on the surface of the water at 60kph before. It was one of the reasons I elected to take the boat (I was getting rather sick of trains at this stage), and although it took 6 hours, it was actually both a fun and fascinating way to go. We passed both Esztergom and Győr, viewable out the side and front windows along the Danube, crossed the border into Slovakia, and even stopped at its capital in Bratislava (I was last there nearly two years ago), easily identifiable by the twin towers of the Bratislavský hrad (Bratislava Castle) on the north bank, and the Nový most (or UFO bridge, named after the odd saucer-shaped structure on the pylon) across the river. It was another interesting way to see the city, as we floated past (and underneath it). We had to stop twice for locks outside the Gabčíkovo dam (in Slovakia) and another in Austrian waters just before the Danube (Donau) split off into the Donaukanal outside Vienna.

We docked there just after 1500hrs Sunday afternoon just yeards away from the Reichsbrücke on Mexikoplatz. Thankfully it was only a 2min walk away from the Vorgenstrasse U-bahn station, which I took into the heart of Austria's capital.

( Sun 14th-Tues 16th: Wien/Salzburg, Österreich )

My last major international train for the trip left Salzburg Hauptbahnhof on time at 1032hrs, stopping past St Pollen and Innsbruck, before travelling onwards through the mountainous western stretches of Austria. I had elected to take the train to Switzerland to relive the first time I took this train this time 4 years ago, when I'd only just arrived to Europe in 2005 and hadn't yet moved to London. It's a fantastic rail-trip in itself, snaking up and down and around the Austrian (and later Swiss) Alps, with snow-topped mountains even in the middle of summer, making for fantastic views; I indulged myself to a sit-down meal in the train's restaurant carriage and enjoyed the view from the windows over a hot meal and two Ottakringer beers. Even though I was travelling in second-class cabins, most of the train was empty at this time, and besides the occasional passenger between Salzburg and Feldkirch, I had the entire cabin to myself for the rest of the journey, which I was happy about.

We crossed without fanfare into Liechtenstein: the only giveaway that we'd done so was the different numberplates on nearby vehicles, and the occasional flag, before 5min later we'd officially crossed into Switzerland (at Buchs SG station), where the Austrian ÖBB locomotive was swapped for a Swiss SBB one. The subsequent trip to Zurich was uneventful, but watching the train trundle past the banks of the Zurichsee (Lake Zurich), watching the city of Zurich slowly loom closer and closer was fascinating, eventually arriving just after 1630hrs in Zurich Hauptbahnhof. It didn't leave me much time in the city, but it hadn't changed much in the 4 years I had last been there: I was content to walk along the Limmat Quai and over the Quaibrücke to the mouth of the River Limmat emptying into Lake Zurich, sitting on the benches and watching the passenger ferries cross the lake, before eventually slowly walking back up Bahnhofstrasse where much of the city's financial heart was, before boarding a regional double-decker train to Zurich Flughafen, arriving at the airport at 1730hrs for a 1900hrs flight back to the United Kingdom.

The British Airways BAe 146 departed Zurich on time (a fixed-wing plane made for far shorter people), and we were only in the air for 90min before we landed at London City Airport at 1945hrs UK time, gaining yet another hour due to timezone changes. London City was incredible: I had to wait only 5min for immigration, another 5min for baggage, and a little longer for the DLR arrive, before arriving back home (after a DLR change) in a record time of 40min. I was impressed: it usually took me at least 40min just to clear immigration and baggage and proceed to leaving the airport at Heathrow/Stansted/Gatwick in that time! Flying out of London City wasn't cheap, but being so close to home it was worth it in time alone: I must remember to try flying in or out of there again!


And that wraps up my trip notes, scattered over the last few days I've been able to find time to consult my notes or my memory. I don't think I'll do the stay-awake-for-more-than-a-day thing again before leaving, but it was necessary to force my bodyclock into shape at the time. And even though I'd stretched my holidays to the last possible day (I had to go straight to work the next day), I had arrived home with enough time to recover and work without the usual sluggish after-effects of jetlag or adjustment, something that usually plagues me for a day or two after returning to work. Maybe it was moving through timezones one hour at a time that eliminated the jetlag...? At least I was able to dump my tripnotes into electronic form far quicker (only a week after I returned!) than previous trips.

Linguistically, it wasn't too bad. I knew only one or two words in Finnish, enough to bluff my way past shopkeepers buying items, but most assumed I was a local anyway, amusingly enough: gotta love that Scandinavian phenotype of mine. I was actually very surprised how quickly I picked up Russian, to be honest: as a Slavic language, it sounded quite a bit like the small amount of Serbian I had learned in the former Yugoslavia nearly two years ago, but probably because most of Russia didn't actually speak English even as a secondary language, I may have been forced to use it more than I usually would compared to other European countries (where even younger people seem to speak it in passing); the tour guides and even the provodnitsa on the trains we took seemed to comment on how good it sounded, regardless of how little I could actually speak of it. Amusingly enough, our guide in Kolomyia made a comment the Ukrainian I was trying to speak "had a Russian accent", to my surprise. The Ukrainian language actually reminded me of a combination of Russian and Polish languages, not surprising I guess since the country was either ruled as a part of or dominated by both in its history. It was also amusing just how many times I was mistaken for German as well in the former USSR! This naturally stopped as soon as I was in German-speaking countries: while my German was far better than the small amount of Russian I learned, most Austrians and Swiss would automatically switch to English once they heard my German, correctly pegging me as a tourist (not immediately at least: even they thought I was a local to begin with!).

All in all, a marvellous 3 weeks away. I've finally seen western Russia and Ukraine, regions I've been wanting to see for a long time. St. Petersburg and Kyiv were the highlights of the trip, followed closely by Moscow, Lviv and Tampere; Novgorod and Turku were okay, but Salzburg was just beautiful. Helsinki, Budapest, Bratislava, and Vienna were also good to see or pass through/by again. I'd love to see St. Petersburg again, although the next time I visit I know to schedule more time there for the Hermitage museum, and the next time I'm Kyiv I must book in advance to visit Chernobyl.

Tags: travel
Current mood: tired
Current music: Talvin Singh - Traveller (Cafe del Mar, volumen 7)

Last night's difficult theatrics with Russian immigration aside, most of us woke early morning (needing to adjust out watches back an hour), sluggishly rolled up our bedsheets and re-converted our beds back into seating, and watched as we rolled slowly into the capital's vokzalna (the city's main rail station) bang on 1100hrs.

( Sun 7th-Mon 8th: Київ, Україна (Kyiv, Ukraine) )

Our overnight UZ intercity train from Kyiv to Ivano-Frankivsk on the Carpathian regions of south-western Ukraine departed at 1915hrs that evening, once everyone had bulked up with Ukrainian beer and something for breakfast later that evening. Ukrainian sleeper carriages were exactly the same configuration as their Russian versions - complete with a provodnitsa dispensing sheets and hot water - and it was a fairly uneventful trip. We rolled into Ivano-Frankivsk bleary-eyed around 0700hrs, and squeezed into a marshrutka (shared bus) for another hour, arriving at the country town of Kolomyia just after 0800hrs.

( Tues 9th-Wed 10th: Коломия, Україна (Kolomyia, Ukraine) )

The morning train left Kolomyia at 0915hrs, passing back through Ivano-Frankivsk on the way to Lviv. We were on a platskart (third-class) open sleeper carriage, rather cramped with everyone else already on board and our luggage as well, so I folded down a bed-ledge and spent most of the trip in the foetal position sleeping, until we rolled into Lviv's vokzal in the ciry's outer west around 1100hrs.

( Thurs 11th-Fri 12th: Львів, Україна (L'viv, Ukraine) )

Our international train (and the last overnight sleeper for the trip!) arrived at 2130hrs, and were in for a surprise: we'd been allocated 1st-class berths, meaning there were only two sleepers per carriage and a lot more space for us. The train had originated in Moscow, so while carriages had been added for different destinations and would be shunted off for different destinations as it went and our service was Ukrainian, the gray-haired provodnitsa for our carriage spoke only Russian, something I had to remember how to speak after the last week attempting Ukrainian. This meant I was immediately roped in for translation problems, as other people appeared to be in the carriages we had booked, and once the train started moving, she needed to keep track of her new passenger's nationality for immigration, and if anyone needed bedsheets and blankets. I think she liked me, actually (after initially mistaking me as....yes, you guessed it, German): she later invited me into her personal cab for a vodka or three (to which I gave her a beer, it's common courtesy to share everything you have to eat or drink with Russian tavellers) and cigarettes, and we had a conversation in broken Russian (probably aided by the vodka, to be honest) over my holidays over the last two weeks.

Everyone seemed to go to bed early that night, but I wasn't at all tired: I ended up sitting in my cab in the dark, listening to my iPod (while my roomie was already dead asleep), drinking beer, and watching the countryside roll by out the window as the world slowly got darker, for nearly two hours afterwards, just enjoying the atmosphere, before I eventually retired. Ukrainian immigration woke us some hours later in the border town of Chop at 0400hrs in the middle of the night to stamp us out; I took my usual perch by the window and watched as the carriages were slowly elevated and the bogies were changed out for the European standard gauge. We trundled onwards 2 hours later, crossing back into the EU and onwards into Hungary.

Tags: travel
Current mood: busy
Current music: New Order - True faith

Crossing the Finnish-Russian border on the train outside Vyborg, one could immediately see where Finland ended and Russia began just by looking out the window: the changes in the immediate environment was obvious. Uncut grass, rubbish, cinder blocks, unbroken slabs of concrete, burned-out car bodies....you get the idea. It was only once I crossed the border I realised how clean Finland actually was.

Immigration was done on the train without a hitch: we were given immigration cards to fill out not long after leaving suburban Helsinki, but no instructions on exactly how to do so. I only filled in one side with the best details I could, but wasn't instructed to fill in the other side for departure: this would cause a problem for me later on. Otherwise it was painless: Finnish immigration officers stamped us out, and their Russian counterparts took our passports for closer inspection for about half an hour, returning them to us with our visa stickers with new stamps on them; we had officially entered the Russian Federation. It wasn't long afterwards the train made its first and only stop at 1225hrs, for 30min in Vyborg just beyond the border, where the immigration officers alighted and the train swapped locomotives from Finnish VR to Russian RZhD ones. I adjusted my watch an hour forward to local Moscow Standard Time (MST).

The rest of the trip was uneventful, mostly me chatting with the American travellers in my carriage and peering intently out of the window. Eventually we crossed into the Leningradskaya Oblast, and soon the fingers of the St. Petersburg suburbs beckoned towards us. At 1415hrs, we slowly rolled into Finljandiya vokzal (Finland Station) on the northern banks of the River Neva, and after adjusting my backpack, I stepped into the suburbs of my first Russian city.

( Mon 1st-Wed 3rd: Санкт-Петербург, Российская Федерация (Sankt Peterburg, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) )

Our intercity coach left at 1330hrs, following the M10 federal highway south out of St. Petersburg. The driver seemed to think we were dying of pneumonia and had the coach heated to boiling point for some reason; I was gasping each time there was a smoke-stop for (relatively) fresh air. Thankfully our coach ride was only 4.5hrs long, but I was thankful to be dropped off alongside the main rail station of our destination, clammy and with a soaked shirt. Our hotel was only a short taxi-ride away; by this stage I had begun to master extremely basic Russian words for a variety of destinations and could actually give short but understandable directions to the drivers.

( Wed 3rd-Thurs 4th: Великий Новгород, Российская Федерация (Velikiy Novgorod, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) )

The sleeper carriages for our overnight train to the capital were surprisingly modern, fitting four people (two on each side, one above the other on each side), including a TV screen (which was never turned on anyway). The train left Novgorod at 2120hrs and we were introduced to the provodnitsa for the first time, the train attendant for the carraige who usually dispensed sheets and blankets and hot water, and the better you treated them the more agreeable your rail trip would be, I quickly learned. Most of us had already bought vodka for the overnight trip, and it was this night we all learned the hard way most Russian vodka is cheap and nasty, and that regardless that the locals drink it like water, it can actually tear your head off the next morning. We had either Coke, apple Fanta or lemon and bitters for mixers with our vodka, and by the time it was bedtime most of us were well on the way to getting drunk; thankfully we ran out of vodka or we well would have been! By the time we rolled into our destination the next morning, more than one of us was nursing a headache not quite entirely caused by our accommodation.

( Thurs 4th-Sat 6th: Москвa, Российская Федерация (Moskva, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) )

The train left Moscow Kievskaya at 2120hrs, heading south-east. Suffice to say, we learned our lessons from our last vodka-fuelled trip, and so stuck to cheap, but very decent, beer instead. Our international sleeper was the same configuration as before, only rather more dated, and with a male carraige attendent (provodnik) this time. We didn't stay up as late this time either, falling asleep before midnight this time.

We left Bryansk just after 0100hrs Russian time, which was when Russian immigration locked the carriage and performed their tasks. Unfortunately, because I hadn't filled in the departure part of my immigration card, the immigration officer took an immediate dislike to me, despite me acting as an impromptu interpreter to the rest of everyone in the carriage when he barked our questions in Russian, and despite the fact I had kept every registration form from each place we'd stayed. I couldn't explain that I wasn't given any instructions how to fill it in to begin with, and had to explain in a roundabout fashion in broken Russian how and where exactly I arrived in the country. He also took issue with the condition of my passport (no front detail - it having worn off long ago - and no spare pages - I travel a lot, look for yourself! - I wasn't too sure if he was angling for a bribe or something with the obvious difficulty he was putting me through, but I think because I could vaguely understand him it wasn't going to stand. He eventually stamped me out with great theatrics, but that was it, thankfully. We could hear from other carriages other people in our group getting hassled, but thankfully nothing major.

We stopped again, this time across the Russian border and officially in Ukraine, in Konotop, at 0400hrs Ukrainian time (regaining another hour in another timezone change), the train changing its Russian RZhD locomotive to a Ukrainian UZ one. Thankfully there were no such theatrics with the Ukrainian officials, and most of us slept for the rest of the 13 hour rail-trip until finally arriving in Kyiv on Sunday at 1100hrs.

Tags: travel
Current mood: tired
Current music: Leftfield - Release the pressure

My trip started in a very odd fashion: well over a day without any sleep. Having been awake from 1700hrs Wednesday afternoon for a 12hr workshift ending at 0800hrs Thursday morning, I knew that if I slept during the day on Thursday it would only upset my sleeping pattern - needing to switch suddenly to day-time - if I arrived in Finland with the sun up and wanting to sleep. So I did took the crazy option of staying away as long as possible through Thursday and sleeping Thursday evening to "normalise" my sleeping pattern, a task both tar0r and mr_laughing_boy ably helped me with, keeping me entertained at theirs with company and eventually with a surprising amount of alcohol. By the time I stumbled home, far later than I'd expected on Thursday night and reluctantly turning down an offer to go out with them, I spent the next three hours simultaneously sobering up and frantically packing. I got to sleep just over 30 hours later in the early hours of Friday morning, only to wake up barely 3 hours later at 0430hrs, catch two night-buses to Paddington, and take the Heathrow Express train (at £16.50 a pop - ow! - but no tube would get there early enough) to the airport, board the FinnAir Airbus A320, and take off from Heathrow on time at 0730hrs. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep after breakfast and the mobile liquor cabinet had done their rounds.

( Fri 29th-Sat 30th: Helsinki/Tampere, Suomi )

I left Tampere at 1511hrs and trundled south-west on another VR intercity train towards the Baltic coast, arriving at Finland's old capital at 1655hrs.

( Sat 30th-Sun 31st: Turku/Helsinki, Suomi )

Monday morning was the big one: my train to St. Petersburg departed Helsinki Central railways station right on 0700hrs Monday morning. I splurged on a first-class ticket and quite enjoyed it, sharing my specious private cabin with only two other older American travellers. The train had a resturant car as well, which I had a celebratory pint still on the Finnish half of the trip, relishing the views and beer from the train carriage. We crossed the border not long after midday, stopping close after the border on the Russian side in Vyborg around 1225hrs Russian time.

Tags: travel
Current mood: busy
Current music: Orbital - Chime

I just realised, having flipped through my passport after getting back home from Switzerland, grinning at all the new stamps, that I've passed the halfway mark of my UK work permit. It was officially issued back in December 2006 (December 4 to be precise), and expires 5 years later in December 2011. Which means that June 4 2009 was officially the halfway point of the visa; I was in Russia at the time (in Velikiy Novgorod actually) and it didn't even occur to me.

I guess it's all downhill from here then, hey? :)

Looking ahead, should I actually want to stay in the UK long enough to get a passport (which is still a future option), once the work permit expires I'd need to switch to an ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) first and stay on that for a minimum of 12 months before I can apply for it. Still, one hurdle at a time.

Tags: thoughts in passing, travel, work
Current mood: curious

Just got in about an hour ago from London City Airport, with a short leap-frog flight from Zurich earlier this afternoon. From the airport to my front-door in 30min: I'm impressed (I must fly through London City airport more often!). I finally unlocked my front door for the first time in nearly a month by 2045hrs, gratefully shrugging off my uberpack for the first time this year. I've had to go around turning things on, and - since my larder is bare - am currently awaiting dinner delivery from the local Indian joint. It won't be a late night either, as I've got work first thing tomorrow morning, so I've put off unpacking until later. Typical, I really do stretch out my holidays, don't I?

I've really enjoyed my trundle across the furtherest stretches of eastern Europe, and into the heartlands of the former USSR. Russia was great: as much as Moscow is the heart of Imperial and Communist Russia, I'd probably have to put St. Petersburg (the heart of Tsarist Russia) on the top of the list; Novgorod was interesting too. But above all that, Ukraine was the surprise hit of the trip. The Ukrainian Carpathian ranges was great for a break, and Lviv was a delight, but Kyiv outshone every other destination, and is probably a city I'd love to return to, given the slightest chance. And crossing back into central Europe, Salzburg was beautiful (and of course Budapest and Vienna were always at their best).

The more-daunting quest to empty out my inbox will start later, as will reading back on everything else I've missed since I've been gone. Looking over my photos, I've taken about 700 or so in the month I've been gone. I'll start whittling them down and begin the usual preparation for inclusion in my photo gallery when I somehow find some free time. But for now, here's a sneak peak:

Russia: St Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow, 05/06/2009

So what have I missed in the last month?

Tags: travel
Current location: London, United Kingdom
Current mood: tired
Current music: Noiseworks - No lies

Another long travel day finally over: I've just arrived in beautiful Salzburg in north-western Austria an hour or so ago, and am taking advantage of the free internet in my hotel.

Ukraine was fantastic: it was probably the highlight of my travelling through the former USSR: Kyiv would probably shine as the best city I've visited since I left nearly a month ago. Lviv was also fantastic: probably the most (Eastern) European city I've seen in Ukraine, with a notable lack of Communist architecture and a perfectly-preserved (and now Heritage-listed) Old City in its heart. Hayfever unfortunately put a dampener on things for me while I was there, but at least this time (keeping my last trip through Bulgaria in mind) I was better prepared and it didn't keep me down too much. It was a bit sad leaving Ukraine, actually: I must try to return there again sometime.

Another overnight train trip (that's four now in total over the last three weeks, there's a lot of distance to cover) found me in Budapest again, a city I'd visited twice before in the past, so I was able to put my feet up for a little while. And this morning, I crossed off another first on my list, taking an international hydrofoil up the Danube from Budapest - and via Bratislava - to Vienna, taking 6 hours (and, interestingly, through two river-lock systems) and delivering me from the heart of one city to another.

I'd also visited Vienna many times in the past, so I only stayed there an hour or two to refuel (mmm, genuine Weiner schniztel) before catching yet another train our west to tonight's destination. At least now I can stay put for a little while: thankfully the weather lately has been nothing short of perfect, so I'm looking foward to exploring Salzburg tomorrow, hopefully without all that 'Sound of Music' rubbish everywhere.

Tags: travel
Current location: Salzburg, Austria
Current mood: happy
Current music: New Order - Bizarre love triangle

Flying update before my credit runs out.

Since I last updated, I've been to Moscow, which was mind-boggling: as the heart of pre-Tsarist and then Communist Russia, a casual fly-through wasn't going to cut it. I visited the red-bricked Kremlin, and the adjoining Red Square, went shopping in the GUM store, visited Comrade Lenin's waxy remains in his mausoleum, boggled in amazement walking through the splendour in the Armoury, visited Gorkiy Park, waved at the Russian White House, and walked past many ridiculous Stalinist high-rise buildings on the outskirts of Moscow.

The overnight train from Moscow to Kyiv left late evening and arrived late morning: I was woken up twice (once to stamp out of Russia - the border guard took an instant dislike to me even though I was the only one in the carriage who spoke even a small amount Russian *boggle* - and then again three hours later to stamp into Ukraine). Kiev so far has been amazing: different atmosphere and attitude to Russia. And I'm off again this evening for another overnight train, to Ivano-Frankivsk and the Ukrainian Carpathian mountains for a while, before onwards to Lviv.

Another update later!

Tags: travel
Current location: Kiev, Ukraine
Current mood: busy
Current music: Nine Inch Nails - With teeth

Comrades! Greetings from the Rodina!

So I'm finally in Russia, after all this time. It's quite an adjustment from Europe, but it's also terribly exciting as well. Crossing the border on the train outside Vyborg, one could immediately see where Finland ended and Russia began just by looking out the window: the changes in the immediate environment was obvious.

However, St. Petersburg is one hell of an experience in itself; it's HUGE: I spent the best part of two days seeing as much of the city as I could and still had to leave things or places behind (visiting inside the Hermitage museum/gallery was one of them, unfortunately). It's a lively and fantastic example of a European-influenced Russian city, with a cosmopolitan air, making the transition between Europe and Russia far easier, and one that leaves quite an impression. There is so much to see: churches (with titles like the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, probably the best of Russian Orthodox onion-dome cathedrals I've yet seen), fortresses, palaces, museums, statues of Lenin everywhere, and the St. Petersburg metro, an experience in itself.

Of course, vodka shots in former Communist bars are a must, and there's more Ladas on the road than you can point a stick at. The tour group I've joined once I arrived in St. Petersburg are a congenial bunch, and the leader I've actually travelled with before, so a familiar face is great. I arrived on Monday, and we all eventually left Wednesday afternoon, arriving (where I am now) in Veliky Novgorod by local bus early yestreday evening. Today we've been walking around (it's by no means as big as St. Petersburg), giving me a chance to take inventory and check my budget.

We take the overnight to Moscow later tonight!

Tags: travel
Current location: Novgorod, Russia
Current mood: excited
Current music: Leftfield - Open up

Greetings from a warm and friendly Finland! It's been three years since I was here last, but all is just as I remember: it's surprising how much of Helsinki I was able to recall after only two days here in mid-2006.

Owing to the lack of sleep before arriving here (awake for 30 continuous hours from beginning end of work Wednesday evening to a quick 3hr kip before dashing to Heathrow Fri morning), I've been dozing every spare second I find myself not moving, mostly on the plane, and on the train to Tampere yestreday, until I was able to have a 14hr sleep (!) last night and let my body catch up and switch back to days again. Tampere was interesting, with all the red-brick chimneys everywhere and a small rivulet over rapids in the heart of the town. I'm just about on my way to explore Turku this morning before I dash back to Helsinki later this afternoon.

I'd forgotten just how expensive Finland - and by extension, Scandinavia - can be: standard prices are usually 20% over what I'm used to in the UK, but thankfully I've pre-booked most of what I need before I arrived here. I've also done my usual thing and learned some basics of the Finnish language, and due to my colouring I've been pretty much accepted as a local here, until I need to ask something: the amount of times people have approached me and asked me something in Finnish until I reluctantly have to ask them to speak in English is beginning to be too numerous to count! That Viking heritage of mine....it has its uses sometimes. *grin*

Off to Russia tomorrow!

Tags: travel
Current location: Turku, Finland
Current mood: happy
Current music: Stratovarius - Fright night

My British Airways flight to Helsinki leaves in a little over 2 hours from Heathrow, and I've spent the entire evening packing and preparing. Now it's just a trot to the appropriate nightbuses and off to the airport with the rucksack in tow.

It's time: my trip to Russia and far-eastern Europe is finally beginning after all the much planning and budgetting! I'll be back in the United Kingdom mid-June-ish, and may be able to check my email or get online from time to time as I move around. My mobile is also SMS-able, but as I'm charged for incoming calls while abroad, please don't call unless necessary.

Outta here! Goodbye London: I'll be back in 4 weeks.

Current location: London, United Kingdom
Current mood: excited
Current music: Tool - Pushit (live)

The beginning of 2009 is now available to see, with the trip to the Vatican and Italy (in February), Cyprus (both north and south halves) in April, and of course my recent Anglo-Irish loop through Wales and Northern Ireland. All just in time too, as I'm soon off on another trip!

Naturally, the entire gallery is available at the usual place.

Tags: travel
Current mood: tired
Current music: U2 - Discotheque

A lovely 5-day trail behind the wheel through Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England for my birthday, and much socialising in the middle and end of it too, clocking up just over 1,000 miles.

( Tues 19th: Wales )

The Stena Line ferry left Fishguard at 1130hrs, steaming west out from Wales and across the St George's Channel, reaching the port of Rosslare in Ireland fairly quickly in just over 2hrs at 1330hrs.

( Wed 20th: Ireland )

Thankfully the weather lifted again and before I knew it, I'd crossed over the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland on the main N1/A1 road. I nearly didn't see it: no signs, no advisories.....only slightly different road markers and speed-limit sign quite some distance down the road specifically mentioning speed was now measured in miles per hour. So much for an international border.

( Thurs 21st: Northern Ireland )

The trip back across the Irish Sea was fairly uneventful otherwise, but I was outside once the ship sailed within visible distance of the coastline of England, and once I recognised the unmistakeable outline of the Royal Liver building in Liverpool's centre, I felt a little sad that my adventure was nearly over and that I would be officially back in the UK in a short while. We docked at Birkenhead at 1830hrs, and it was with some reluctance I got back into Lana and trundled back down the gangway and onto British soil again for the first time in 3 days.

( Fri 22nd: England )

All-in-all, a great 5 days away, with plenty of time to see new parts of old countries already visited. I realised later I actually packed a fair amount of both travel and touristy things in the 2-and-a-bit days I was on the Irish isle; I also did a fair amount of socialising as well, considering. But mostly I was reminded of all my long drives I used to do alone across Australia: the feeling of the road underneath me, behind the wheel, enjoying the journey just as much as arriving at the destination.

Long-distance driving has always been an enjoyment for me, and it also serves to calm me as well, which is exactly how I felt once I woke up later today, looking over my destinations and mapping out where I'd been. I always feel good after a long drive: if I could afford the petrol, I'd do it more often.

Photos up in the usual place soon!

Tags: travel
Current mood: happy
Current music: Underworld - Born slippy .NUXX

TodayTwo days ago, twofour days after my birthday, is another interesting anniversary of mine: it's now been four years since I left Australia permanently. On May 21st 2005, I took a Malaysian Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur on the first leg of my first trip to Europe, and left my homeland for the first time.

So in that spirit - comparing to how much I'd seen of the world at the time in 2005, in 2006, in 2007, and in 2008 - here's what I've seen of the world four years later.



create your own visited countries map


Of course, I keep a more-detailed version of current travels on my website (click to enlarge):



Not bad for four years' effort! Let's see where another year will take me. :)

( List of countries in one year: )

Tags: meme, travel
Current location: Manchester, United Kingdom
Current music: Prince - Batdance

Ah Dublin, you've barely changed since I was last here nearly 4 years ago...and I like you better for it. :)

This little trip has been great: it's the closest thing I've had to my old (numerous) long-distances drives across Australia, only over here I'm actually crossing international borders. I weaved across southern Wales yestreday visiting castles and other towns, found a B&B in St. David's on the coast, and even came second in a pub quiz I joined at the last second (heh, surprised me too). And this morning I drove over to Fishguard, and took the ferry across the Irish Sea to Rosslare, Ireland. It's the first time I've actually driven my own car in another country (Bahrain and Cyprus were hire-cars, and Isle of Man didn't count), and it was probably because of that I couldn't stop giggling like a little kid for some time when I drove off the ferry ramp onto Irish soil. I had a brief break and look-around in Wexford, and after a hectic drive complicated by multiple drenchings (the weather has annoying schizophrenic, bouncing between bright and sunny, and heavy rain/white-wash in 30min-intervals), I finally managed to navigate southern Dublin virtually off memory (and intuition when that failed) and made it to Aoife's place in Rathmines; I'm stealing her bandwidth currently with my laptop. It's been about two years since we last saw each other: we've spent all afternoon catching up, going for a nostalgia walk around central Dublin, and for the mandatory pint or two in Temple Bar.

Tomorrow is off to another city, in another country, in as many days: Belfast!

Tags: travel
Current location: Dublin, Ireland
Current music: Crystal Method - Busy child

Happy birthday to........me! *twirl*

Tags: thoughts in passing
Current mood: ditzy

I've been given the next Tuesday off work - well, someone owed me a shift-swap - which just happens to be my birthday. This also has the pleasant side-effect of giving me a 5-day break between shifts, so I've got some time to kill. I've already completed all the preparations for my next major trip, and have my passport back, so why not a minor one? I was told tongue-in-cheek one shouldn't work on their birthday, so....off I go again!

I'll be driving to Wales and catching the ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare, spending a day in Eire, and then the next two in Northern Ireland, before catching the ferry from Belfast back to Liverpool later on Friday afternoon. I'll be taking my car with me again, driving outside the UK in it for the second time since I bought it. I was last in Ireland nearly four years ago, just before I started working actually (the trip was actually a celebration for finding a job in the UK), and while I spent a fair amount of time looping Eire, I barely spent any time in Ulster, hence the majority of my visit there. I'm looking forward to seeing the Giant's Causeway: is there any other must-see destination in the northern part of the island?

So the question is: as I'm arriving in north-western England on Friday night (May 22nd), I wouldn't mind dropping by Manchester or near-by to say hi. Could anyone put me up for the night? *smile* Actually, I was also considering going out to a restaurant or something (I'm sure someone will suggest Negresco's) to celebrate my coming of age....what's everyone's thoughts on that? Any other decent eating in central Manchester worth trying? Drop me a line?

It's been some time since I was last in Ireland. Behind the wheel of my own car will be much more interesting this time, and Stena Line had a special on ferry tickets from Wales. I'm quite looking forward to seeing the emerald isle again.

Tags: travel (plans)
Current mood: cheerful
Current music: Ween - Voodoo lady

More running around today, with further preparations for my Russia and far-Eastern Europe trip, now just over two weeks away. The final arrangements are now dropping into place.

After work finished for the week at 8am, I was back over in Notting Hill later this morning to pick up my passport again from the Ukrainian embassy. I've got another new sticker in it now, this time with a Ukrainian Cyrillic version of my name, which is actually easier to read I think (heh). It's also highlighted the fact after the new visa stickers, I have only one completely blank page left in my passport. I shall have to arrange to get it replaced through the Australian embassy once I return from overseas, and opt for the 64-page version this time: I will have completely filled my current 32-page one in just 4 years' travel. *boggle*

Next stop was the bank, to pick up my pre-ordered wad of travelling money: mostly Euro notes, Hungarian forint, Russian rubles, and US dollars (the last for trading, as I couldn't get any Ukrainian hryvnia here in the UK). That's £300 in one go (ow!) but I've found it's always handy to have currency on you at the time you need it, instead of being stuck waving a credit card looking for the nearest bankomat/ATM/hole-in-the-wall.

After that, it was a bus-ride to Victoria to drop by my travel agent, finalise and pick up the vouchers for my accommodation in Finland and Austria (Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Salzburg), before catching the tube back home and stumbling through my front door just before 1330hrs. And just as I was typing this, VR (Finnish Railways) have responded back confirming my booking number for my Helsinki-St. Petersburg train: I'll be picking up the tickets in person from Helsinki Central station when I first arrive in the city, three days before I'm due to leave for Russia. They were on special too, so I decided to hell with it and reserved a 1st-class ticket. Why not?

So that's pretty much it now: the last of the arrangements have been made, and all that's left is to turn up! I feel completely exhausted, but it's worth it: as I worked night-shift last night, I'm approaching 24hrs without sleep, so I might toddle off and enjoy a temporary coma now.

Tags: travel (plans)
Current mood: tired
Current music: New Order - The perfect kiss