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A colourful dip into the Baltic

With a few weeks sailing the Baltic sea, I managed to experience an Autumnal viewpoint of a collection of European cities; Helsinki, Tallinn, Visby, Copenhagen and Hamburg. With some glimpses of sunshine and lots of rain, I was able to wonder the highlights of these important places and you will quickly figure out which were my favourite.

Helsinki, Finland

My two day visit to Helsinki was absolutely full of rain, and was very chilly but I still managed to venture out and see some of what was on offer. Just racing around in the back of a Tuk Tuk, I could see that the city was keen on design. There were so many striking buildings of brick and cement, and a clear futuristic feel.

During the day, there seemed to be a reasonable amount of activity, especially in the public saunas where I could see people steaming up and then jumping in the cold waterways that surrounded the city. Sauna culture is huge in Finland, and many people even have saunas in their homes. The Finns are very keen on wellness, which I know first hand from the lovely yoga mad vegan Finnish roommate I once had. She was all about health for the mind, body and soul.

My Finnish friend also loved to be asleep early but now I think she is not uncommon because when I tried to go for dinner out on a Friday night in Helsinki.. there was not a soul to be seen. There were so little restaurants open, I ended up only going to a Kebab house! And having the wierdest kebab ever, might I add. According to the locals I asked, this is not unusual here. It is definitely the quietest capital city I have ever seen.

One of the most interesting things about Finland to me, was the history. I learnt a lot more about this country’s past when taking a rib ride to another island in Finland’s huge archipelago of more than 75,818 islands.

I visited Suomenlinna Island which was once a military base for Sweden, during its rule over Finland.

Finland has had a long history of being conquered, with lots of fighting here between Sweden and Russia for territory over Finland. This is one of the reasons why the Finns are now quite multilingual.

The guided walk I took around this island was very enjoyable and had great views although it was bracingly cold!

Overall, chilly but calm Finland was a good introduction to my Baltics adventure.

Onwards to Tallinn, Estonia...

Tallinn’s old medieval town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a beautiful little place to explore.

I felt like I had been transported back in time, and into a fairytale book in Tallinn. The city has a beautiful stone gateway with pretty turrets as you enter and then I continued to see more of these Rapunzel type turrets as well as picturesque church steeples and sweet little town squares. There were traditional markets and shops and I found myself a very tasty bakery.

As I walked my way up to a viewpoint on what was becoming a very rainy day, I could also see their Russian built church which whilst beautiful, told the instant story of their conquered history too.

Next stop Visby, Sweden…

Now ordinarily, I think Visby must be a very sleepy place. I was lucky enough though to visit when they were having a food festival!

Visby is actually a heritage city on one of Sweden’s islands, named Gotland. This is again a fairytale location but here you get that traditional Viking feel from the design of the place.

The old walls, houses and cathedral are all impressive, but as I mentioned, it was a food festival, so I was taken in by a very tasty and unusual Bison Stroganoff and an amazing selection of cheeses!

After some delicious food and music, I had a wonder around before rejoining my ship to go onwards to Copenhagen.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen was certainly very colourful in their city vibes and friendly people. The city is full of hustle and bustle, mainly around their famous harbour and in the form of the speedy cyclists that zoom around the city.

On foot, I explored the impressive palace squares with their palace guards and procession that could easily compete with London’s own. I also ventured further to the gardens of the pretty Rosenborg Castle and tried some very odd plant food from the public food hall which wasn’t half bad. Later, it was time for a relaxing dinner at one of the harbour’s many restaurants where heaters and blankets were much appreciated in the night air.

I found myself talking to a guy from Argentina that had moved to Denmark. It seems to be the place for many people wanting to run away to a new country and has a lot of easy visa rules for this. On a visit to a sleepy harbour town outside the city, my guide was also telling me about his move from UK to Denmark, after meeting his danish girlfriend. The girls across all of Scandinavia are known for their beauty.

One girl is well known in the city, and that is the little mermaid. A true lurer of men in mythology. The statue sits on the outskirts of the city and is a world famous symbol of Denmark. Whilst well known, for me she was very underwhelming. Sitting alone on the waterside, (except for all the tourists), she didn’t actually look like a mermaid. Apparently, she was actually based on the sculptor’s wife. She was probably the part of the city that was least interesting.

Finally, after all these other places, I can’t forget to mention my afternoon in Hamburg.

Hamburg, Germany

I have been to other parts of Germany and had never thought much about visiting Hamburg. Once there, I was captured by it’s charm.

This red brick city has a famous port and historic district called Spiekerstadt, which is full of converted warehouses and factories that gives a post industrial redesign vibe.

Apparently the city has actually grown on land that has been man made over the original marsh areas that were here. Tons of sand is actually brought into the newest HafenCity to raise its level higher, for construction to be done on a more stable foundation. I went to a part of the city that was still being built and could just see masses of sand there. You can get the sense for the different heights of the city just driving around though.

Walking around the city, there is a lot of life in the streets as well as an intricate network of canals and a gorgeous town hall. I really enjoyed my short time here and would love to revisit. I hear that the nightlife is also well worth it!

So overall, my little dip into the Baltic was a great introduction and even though these places are all in the same part of the world, they all definitely had their own unique identity.

Vietnam: North to South – Part One

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Booked only a week before, after my trip to Israel was cancelled last minute, I decided to have my first go at Asia this month. Vietnam was on offer so I went for it and discovered a crazy and unique way of life with amazing food and very friendly people.

Getting there

The travel to Vietnam was very very long, whilst the flight duration may say 16hrs by the time we had travelled to Heathrow, and waited around in Bangkok and then traveled to the hotel we had stacked up over 24 hrs of travel. I had thought I’d planned out to miss my jetlag but it actually took 3 days of waking up at 3am to get over it.

We flew with Thai Airways which had tight seating but plenty of hospitality from the crew and the aeroplane food was some of the best I have had. On arrival to Hanoi airport, our taxi driver was waiting for us and we got to our hotel in about half an hour, after seeing some of the cityscape lit up at night.

Hanoi

We stayed in a hotel for our first few nights in Hanoi city. The hotel was immediately a relief with a welcome drink on arrival, a porter to carry our bags and a free upgrade to a very nice room. It was all going well, until my 3am visit to the bathroom…

That is when I discovered scuttling across the floor, the biggest cockroach I have ever seen. When you are already sat on the toilet half way through a wee too, the only choice is to throw your legs in the air! I found myself doing toilet balances at 3am to avoid it. Unsure what to do I spent the rest of the night with a light on unsure what to do and worried if I fell asleep I would wake up with a cockroach on my face. It took me a few days to get past this fear and just accept the potential for creepy crawlies around me.

Venturing out of the hotel into the city was another experience of taking your life in your hands. The traffic is some of the craziest I have ever seen. There is no pavement due to mopeds being parked all over it and to cross the road you must do what the locals do and just walk slowly and confidently over (like you’re sleepwalking) and hope nothing hits you! The roads here are so congested that they even have a street that is famous for a train that comes through as well as all the pedestrians and bikes and ends up about an inch from your face!

We cautiously took the steps from our hotel down to the famous lake which thankfully is pedestrianised around the edge and began to explore our first attractions.

First on the agenda was a few impressive buddhist temples, and also the St Joseph Cathedral. This gothic cathedral looks so strange with all the little asian shacks around it and motorbikes everywhere. I couldn’t go in unfortunately but I imagined it was similar to other catholic ones I have seen. A little bit of Europe in the middle of this crazy South East Asia whirlwind. I later found out from my guide that the french actually governed Vietnam for centuries and is the reason for some catholism here and that they now use alphabetic letters instead of chinese characters. Something to be grateful for as a tourist!

Another day in Hanoi took us on our four hour bus ride to Halong Bay, the famous world wonder that is an absolutely huge bay and once a very important port full of huge bouldering islands. We had a relaxing overnight boat cruise here where the service was amazing and we enjoyed an impressive selection of seafood and bar service on a boat all to ourselves in our small group of nine.

There are many local caves on the islands to explore and we ventured into one, and then towards dusk I had the pleasure of exploring an empty and calm section of the bay by kayak. The only thing that was man made around me was a small floating pearl farm where oysters were floating below growing pearls for fine jewellrey.

At night all the boats have to gather in one part of the bay so you can enjoy the sounds of distant karaokes and good times from your neighbours all around you.

We also got the opportunity to see some amazing charitable organisations on our route from Halong Bay. Two groups of crafters that were helping their community by making things to sell, one was doing it for the environment and the other for the disabled. I will touch more on this in a later blog.

Back in Hanoi, we had one more opportunity to look around. We tried for a third time to see the train on train street, but this time at night. The train schedules on the internet were all wrong, so we got there badly timed and when we tried to wait the police made us leave, even though we were half way through a paid meal. Overall, I would say only go to train street if you are happy to waste a lot of time and maybe only see the tracks.

Something that was well worth it for only about £6 and 1 hour was the Thang Long water puppet show by the lake. This show was a traditional artform telling folk stories of Vietnam in their language and with singing, using puppets within a big pool of water.

I wasn’t sure if it would be entertaining enough, but it was actually very funny at times and the show somehow managed to use smoke and fireworks on the water aswell which I dont even understand how. The best part may have been the music though. There was an orchestra of local folk musicians playing traditional and strange instruments and all in vietnamese formal wear. Overall it was super impressive!

Hue

Writing this section of the blog at 4am from a twelve hour sleeper train from Hanoi to Hue. Sharing a bunkbed in a room with three other travellers, I feel quite at home and I am enjoying the bumpy swaying of the carriage more than expected.

At night I can see the reflections of the train in nearby waters and marshlands and the odd distant light of a farmer or two working in the fields and by day the scenery becomes many small villages and plenty of rain!

The train has different classes, we are in a 4 berth, but there are 6 berth and then soft reclining seats and hard seats (for those true hardasses – literally). My room is quite good with a little mattress, space under the bed and a table with a selection of sweets.

The only thing that has been a horror is as expected, the bathroom situation. There is either a squat room for guess what.. squatting, or there is a western style toilet. The toilet started off okay but now I can tell you that by 4am it is not okay. Its a horror show. I am trying to figure out how I can not pee now until 11am. Note to self, must purchase a she-wee for travels!

Once we got to Hue and freshened up at our hotel, with an umbrella in hand, we were guided to the ancient citadel. Hue was historically the imperial capital and home of the kings of Vietnam. It still has the 21 metre thick walls surrounding it and many of the original buildings either still exist or have been rebuilt or are in the process of being rebuilt after collapsing from weather or war bomb damage.

The site is very pretty and a bit of a maze to walk around if you do not have a guide. It is mostly an outside visit except for a few locations where you can visit inside after slipping off your travelling shoes. I Particularly enjoyed the king’s gardens with many bonsai trees and bright green foliage. Obviously, due to all the rain, but green is my favourite colour so I’m okay with that!

The stories about the kings were interesting too. Kings were seen as Gods by the people, but for many centuries the kings were actually puppets for the french to put their influence over Vietnam. The kings ranged from 7 year old boys to a man that went from being a king to a french pilot. So random!

Later in the evening I had dinner with a local family that had been there for generations and the lady’s grandfather had been a direct servant of the king. The family now are well off in the area but still cannot afford to travel much and still work very hard. It is becoming apparent how hard people in Vietnam work to make a minimal living.

The next day in Hue, we ventured around the surrounding countryside and the town centre by motorbike. This thrilling experience was one I will never forget I imagine, it was an adreline rush full of beauty and culture. As I rode pillion to a Vietnamese man named (‘kern’) I explored a king’s final resting place, a local fresh market (where it is so fresh that the animals are still alive), and a local monk community. What a thrill!

Next day we move on to the South to Hoi An… in my part 2 blog.

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Paris of the Americas (Part Two)

Following my first trip to Buenos Aires, I returned to the capital city at the end of my three month trip around Argentina to have a final week there, enjoying some attractions I had not been able to visit in my first visit. This time I was joined by a travel companion and was staying in a luxury hotel.

A focus on Evita

Following my first visit to Buenos Aires, and visiting the grave of Evita, a famous Argentine first lady, this time round, I visited the Evita museum. I was keen to learn more about her life and work for the state. The museum is housed in a previous home for the poor that was set up through a foundation that Evita begun. The museum has several rooms with projections of Evita’s film clips as an actress, her speeches as an activist and also a viewing gallery for her red carpet gowns.

I found the museum to be really interesting but unfortunately photos were not allowed. The information was really good about her early life, career, relationship with president Peron, and her death. I learnt that she had a lot more involvement in charity work than I had realised. She also won the vice presidency but turned it down, which I was not aware of. After finishing our look around the museum, we had a tasty lunch in the museum’s restaurant which has a very nice courtyard.

A walk around the parks

I was able to visit a few more of the park’s in Buenos Aires this time, although not all of them, as the rosalade (rose garden) was closed for upkeep.. very annoying. I did manage to visit both the Botanical Garden and the Eco Parque which are next door to each other. This took a full morning, and both parks were worth a look, and free to enter.

The botanical garden has many exotic plants and large trees as expected, and had attempted to theme different sections by different garden styles, for example french or italian.

The Eco Parque is a very different experience. This pretty park used to be a zoo with many large exotic animals, and elegant victorian styled animal houses. In recent decades, most of the animals have been moved to other locations, or sent back to their natural habitat.

There are a few that still roam through the park though, because they are either too old or unwell to move, or do not need to be relocated. The park still has an old camel, plenty of capybaras, strange half rabbit half deer things, and even some monkeys. It is a pleasant place to take a walk in the middle of this huge city, as you never know what new animal will be around the corner.

Nightlife

In the evening, I was lucky enough to be rejoined by my German traveller friends again as they also finished their journey in BA. We headed out to Palermo Hollywood for a night of clubbing and mischief. After a night that lasted until around 6am, I was glad for my full hotel continental breakfast the next day!

La Plata

For a day out, we decided to visit the capital of the Province, the city called La Plata. The city was easy to get to, only 90 minutes on the train, and the main attraction there is a beautiful cathedral.

The cathedral is gorgeous on the inside, and as well as the main church, the attraction offers exploration of the crypt with a museum about its construction and original pieces, the opportunity to be lifted up the tower, and a sweet restaurant. A lovely morning out.

Horse riding in the Pampas

The province of Buenos Aires is part of the ‘Pampas’ region, and this is where the gauchos (Argentine cowboys) farm cattle the most. So, I decided to book us a day of horse riding in the area.

The four hour riding experience included a traditional asado lunch at the house of a local which was pretty special, and the horse riding itself was an unforgettable experience. For good and bad reasons…

The horse I was given, was a little young and barely broken in. This was coupled by the style of gaucho riding which is very different compared to english riding. The saddles and riding kit on the horse is very different and there is no front to the saddles. You are also expected to ride one handed and without a riding hat.

Whilst a little nervous about my horse’s behaviour, I took on the challenge. We rode through long grasses, roads, ditches, and woodlands and after trotting, cantering and a little bucking by my horse, I did manage to stay on the horse! Even though I was a little banged up. The experience was good fun, but the major downer was the extreme amount of mosquito bites I endured all over my legs i was rubbing toothpaste on my legs for days after! (Fun fact: it takes out the itch).

Lunch in Uruguay

We became aware that you could visit Uruguay easily from Buenos Aires’ port by crossing in the river ferry for around an hour. It’s always tempting to cross another country off the list if the opportunity arises, so we booked our ferry tickets and took the pleasant ride across to a town called Colonia del Sacramento. From here you can also take a bus to Montevideo (Uruguay’s capital) but we decided to save that for another trip. Colonia del Sacramento is a picturesque town with a very portuguese style to it, from when it was colonised by Portugal.

There are a couple of small museums and a church in the town to enjoy, and we had a long and luscious lunch of a traditional Uruguay dish called ‘chivito’. This is like a giant inside out meaty sandwich. Like Argentina, Uruguay also does not skimp on food portions.

Before we knew it, it was time to take the ferry back across the river. We had a good laugh about how we left the country just fot lunch though! 🤣

Tango

You can’t visit Buenos Aires and not watch a little Tango, as the traditional dance of the city. Not only can you see people dance this in the streets of Caminito in Boca, there are also plenty of theatres offering shows and classes. I wanted to do a class but they were multiple hours and I felt too lazy about it, plus I only had walking boots to dance with.

I did decide to book a show and after a little research, I booked a show at Teatro Porteno. You had an option of paying for the show on its own or with dinner included. I chose to purchase just the show which was about £23 but then on arrival, we were also provided with another menu to pick and choose food. We went for some empanadas and a delicious ham and cheeses board.

The show itself was amazing! Focused on locations around Buenos Aires, there was a variety of styles of Tango on display. They also had an act that used drums and cattle whips to create impressive rhythms with the music. I was really glad I visited.

Another location where tango can be viewed and learnt is Cafe Tortoni. This is one of the oldest and most fabulous cafes in Buenos Aires. The decor is very traditional italian/ bohemian and many famous faces have eaten here. We decided to visit for a merienda (afternoon snack) and really enjoyed our visit with some great sandwiches and cake.

There were plenty of other bits and pieces I experienced in this bustling capital, but these were definitely the highlights. My return to the UK following Buenos Aires was a very long journey, but also gave me time to reflect on my amazing journey around this beautiful country.

After my return to the UK, I will soon be embarking on my next journey, working on board a cruise ship around the Mediterranean…

Tips for surviving a 24+ hour bus journey with your sanity

When travelling in South America, large buses/coaches/colectivos/micros are the main form of long distance transport. It is not uncommon to travel for over 24 hours on the bus to get to your destination, as the distances between towns and cities are vast. Whilst the scenery might be amazing, you can only look out of a window for so long. Thankfully, most of the buses offer decent seats, the occasional rest stop and if you are lucky then you could have a shared TV playing movies (in spanish or silent). To survive the inevitable boredom, it is wise to follow some of the below tips.

Snacks

I have seen a few hopeless tourists embark on a 24+ hout bus journey with no food in hand, and then moan about being hungry for several hours. There are normally rest stops but you cannot guarantee what food will be on sale, or the regularity of the stops. Go prepared. There will not be a fridge so choose savoury items that will keep. Empanadas is a great choice. A large bottle of water is a good idea, but also kids sized fruit juice cartons can come in handy, to give you some much needed vitamins. I made sure to keep all my snacks in a separate bag to my main rucksack so that I could keep it on the seat with me, and not disturb everyone each time I needed something from the overhead shelf.

Batteries

Whilst some of the buses have USB chargers over the seats, this is not the case with all of them. I have found a portable charger (fully charged beforehand) to be invaluable. You can bet that you will not be able to access any signal or internet for the majority of your journey either so there is no need to waste charge on your phone trying and failing to get 4G. Put your phone on airplane mode, and you will be surprised how long it lasts you.

Bathrooms

There is normally one toilet on the bus and toilets at your infrequent rest stops. You can be assured that the hygiene of toilets being occupied by 30+ people in a short period, will not be good. Not only can you expect poor hygiene, but also dodgy locks and no toilet paper is common. Take tissue and anti-bacterial gel with you, I can not stress this enough. It is also not a bad idea to carry some pills to avoid any unexpected stomach problems on a strenuous and very shared journey. To give you an example of the demands of the on bus toilet… on a 26 hour journey, I put off going in the bus toilet as long as I could, until I could wait no more. I took myself to have a wee, to the toilet which by this point (hour 20 maybe) was a state. There was not only no tissue, but also no water in the tap, and I had thought the door was locked. Apparently not. When I went to pull up my pants, another lady threw the door open, and said “I’m sorry but I have to go in, I am going to be sick”. She then vomited into the only toilet for a bus full of people about four times. I did not use the toilet again that journey.

Offline entertainment

Before your long journey, do an audit of your phone/tablet/laptop apps. How many of them can you use offline? There are actually a lot of games that you can access offline that can provide some easy entertainment. I have become a regular player of the offline chess.com app at the this point, but I am still struggling to beat the computer… Previously downloaded tv series and movies on streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ or music from Spotify can also be a great way to kill off the long hours. You can also take to the traditional pencil and paper, and do some sketching, or journaling. I have been improving my sketching by drawing copies of photos I have taken of local scenery and wildlife. If all else fails, maybe bring a book?

Offline work

If you have the sort of job that you can work offline with, such as writing, then this can easily be a way to lose some time. If you are feeling like you want to put that time to good use. It is a good idea to test this out before your journey by disconnecting yourself from WiFi at your hostel, to see that everything works okay before you start promising on deadlines to be completed. I have been burnt by this myself when I assumed that the Microsoft Word on my chromebook would still work okay offline, it turned out that it was still powered by an online service, so I missed out on doing hours of work.

Sleeping

If you are on a long journey by bus, you will be travelling overnight, and testing out those reclining seats to the maximum. It can be cold on the bus in the evening, as you have not been moving around much, and the drivers always seem to crank up the AC for some reason. Probably to stay awake themselves. The problem is, this also keeps me awake. If you have a light blanket or something to put over yourself, make it reachable. I tried to get my coat from the overhead shelf in the middle of the night (4am), and it was very dark, and very awkward when in pulling my coat out, I accidently knocked a shoe off the shelf and it fell and hit the sleeping passenger in the face who was sitting in front of me. It was really bad.

Sometimes, being awake when everyone else is asleep can be a blessing though. It is super quiet, and you might see an amazing sunrise that everyone else misses. That is what happened to me on one journey…