travels with an ageing punkrocker/publisher
One day I’ll be too old to be standing on a couch in a drag bar next to a transgender cheering on drag queens at 1.30am. For better or worse, that time is yet to come. For all of the multitude of wrong that is the Hard Rock Cafe, the Singapore establishment has been hosting a regular Saturday night drag […]
Read moreAnd yet, despite everything, it’s still not Constantinople. I’m beginning to think that I can’t go back to Constantinople. Our last full day in Istanbul, and kind of the last day of the trip. Tomorrow morning we grab breakfast, then a car takes us to the airport, then the next stop is a couple of hours in Singapore before the […]
Read moreThis might end up as a two part entry as it’s a little after 2am and we’ve just checked in to our Istanbul Hotel. So if I fall asleep typing this I’ll throw some more words at the screen in the morning. The main tasks for today in Vilnius were shopping, shopping, and shopping. All the last minute souvenirs and […]
Read moreVilnius (though the locals barely pronounce the second i) the capital of Lithuania (which is spelt locally as Lietuva) is an interesting place. It’s the second largest city in the Baltics, with just a few less people than Riga, Lithuania is the most populous of the three countries, and as Laura told us yesterday, has a more spread out population […]
Read moreAnother full day in sunny, historic Tallinn. We headed out into the suburbs to see a bit more of Tallinn and check out some shopping. We took the tram, and after a couple of stops could hear an accordion playing, followed soon after by a teenage boy with a cup seeking donations. Not many other passengers paid any notice, and […]
Read moreA full day in Tallinn. Started with the hotel breakfast, which was okay, a bit chaotic as breakfast buffets go, but I was introduced to the Estonian “superfood” kama, a mixture of different flours (generally barley, rye, oat, pea but others could be involved) which was mixed with milk like a smoothie. So a grainy super smoothie or something. We […]
Read moreOur last full day in Helsinki, so we spent it eating, walking, shopping, sightseeing, and for me another sauna. We headed to the harbourfront markets for an early lunch and to check out the various stalls selling souvenirs, things made from wood, reindeer, elk, amber, silver, and other assorted animals. L has been eying off various warm hats, but in […]
Read moreA fairly quiet day really, as the plan was that I’d get picked up around 4pm at the hotel for my flight to HCMC then home. I’m writing this at Da Nang airport, after my flight was due to depart, as VietJet have been sending me updates all day telling me my flight is delayed. In theory I’ve got about […]
Read moreMy last full day in Hoi An, and also L’s birthday. After breakfast we went to pick up our laundry, things sure are fierce along laundry street. once we’d got our clothes we walked the length of the street, and no less than two other locals, looking at our bag (and assuming it contained dirty clothes) gestured for us to […]
Read moreCoffee. Viet Nam is one of the world’s largest producers of these wonderful beans, though they rarely get recognised for this as the majority is robusta, not the better marketed arabica variety. I’m not even sure many self-proclaimed coffee snobs know much about robusta beans, as these tend to form the backbone of the instant coffee market. Kind of like […]
Read moreThe historic village of Hoi An sits about 25km south of Da Nang. Even 10 years ago, there as a definite undeveloped space between the two. These days, the coast south of Da Nang is full of new resorts, and resorts under construction, so it’s hard to say where Da Nang ends and Hoi An begins. If you want something […]
Read moreWhere I become an accidental pilgrim, and walk a lot. Woke still quite tired, but with my hotel room facing east the morning sun was warming it up (there is an aircon in the room, but it is more noise than cool) so it was time to go walking. Found an interesting and popular place, Leni Loves Coffee I think […]
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