travels with an ageing punkrocker/publisher
Another 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 moreSaid farewell to Helsinki this morning as we boarded the Gabriella to Tallinn. As we’d heard, there were a number of passengers whose luggage consisted solely of fold-up trolleys, as their mission was to catch the ferry, head to nearest liquor shop in Tallinn, stock up and then catch the next ferry home, as apparently the price difference for booze […]
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 full day in Helsinki. With the weather forecast promising sun, we took one of the harbour tour boats for a bit of fresh air and history. People have called Helsinki home for thousands of years, but it’s first major development kick was thanks to the Swedish occupiers in the 16th century. They turned Helsinki into a major trading hub, […]
Read moreSpent most of the morning’s ferry cruise dealing with Optus help trying to get reconnected. At various times I was connected to Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian telcos but at no point would any data flow. In the end Optus have cut my 5G access at account level, which seemed to work (I say seemed as I wouldn’t be surprised if […]
Read moreToday is brought to you by Optus Global Roaming is shite. Legs a little stiff and sore, I got up and started the blog. made some progress, then my phone stopped talking the language of data, and what basically followed involved being told a bunch of crap from a support person who did everything to assume me, the customer, was […]
Read moreIt was a long day. The flights were all the goodness that business class delivers, and Thai airlines do a solid job of that. The obligatory champagne before the flight, then a number of solid menu options, helpful staff always ready to top up glasses, and comfy if a little narrow lie-flat seats. Nothing to complain about there really, though […]
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 moreViet Nam: beautiful one day, invisible the next. Well, if you head into the hills anyway. The regular reader may recall our experience on the last trip when we summitted the highest point in VN, Mt Fan Xi Pan, where we found ourselves well and truly in the clouds, ensuring the view was John Major grey all around. Today’s adventure […]
Read moreA day of exploring the strange wonderland that is Da Nang. After an okay hotel breakfast we took a stroll, the first stop being the Da Nang Cathedral, otherwise known as the pink church. Why is it pink, I don’t know. A quick google didn’t tell me either. It did tell me that the church is around 100 years old, […]
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