What I've been doing lately...

Trulli houses with pagan motifs
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

Wow, I can't believe that it's been almost 2 weeks since I managed to write a decent entry on what I've been doing. Anyway, I'm in London now, at the Apple Store on Regent Street where they have free internet access, so let's see how long I can go before I get politely booted off!

Here's what I've been up to in a nutshell: after Parga we took an overnight ferry from Igoumenitsa to Brindisi. Getting there around 6 in the morning, we made our way to Lecce on the train. Lecce has a beatiful walled old town, with lots of baroque buildings. On my first day there I managed to gatecrash a wedding in the duomo! They were allowing tourists to enter while the wedding was in progress so I just went in with everyone else... The next day a few of us headed off for a day in Otranto, a very old port town which reminded me a bit of Fremantle. Explored the castle, had some gelati and went for a swim. Well, I tried to swim but the water was freezing! There were some locals in the water but they seemed to be content wading around--I suspect that this is the seaside eqivalent of promenading. Made a new friend on the bus over and had dinner with her that night, which was fun!

After Lecce we had 3 days in Alberobello, which is famous for its Trulli houses, which fill much of the town and the surrounding countryside. They are conical in shape and are built from stone. They were originally built entirely from dry stone so that they could be hastily knocked to the ground (the local duke didn't like having to pay land taxes). Some of them predate the arrival of Christianity in the area and still have pagan symbols painted on their roofs. We all stayed in Trulli while we were there. There isn't a lot to do in Alberobello but I did go for a few bike rides around the area, making it to some of the neigbouring towns, sampling lots of the local cherries along the way.

Went to Naples for a very short afternoon and evening. Naples is crazy and I really want to go back again. It has a much harder edge to it than the other cities I visited in Italy. The people look different too; less showy and tougher-looking. That evening we stumbled on a political rally, which was quite amusing. It started off with some guy wearing a white suit, black tie, and no shirt, lip synching to some Italian hip-hop music while getting down and dirty with some pretty ordinary dancers (we speculated that they might have been his cousins or something like that, it looked pretty amateur...). That was followed by a bunch of old guys getting up on stage to gee up the crowd with some rousing speeches. As we were leaving, they started setting off fireworks, from within the audience. My travelling companions thought they were gunshots!

Spent another brief day in Rome, seeing some of the sights. We had a farewell dinner at the Piazza Navona, followed by a fun journey back to the hotel after we discovered that the Rome Metro system closed at 9pm.

Really wish I stayed in Rome for longer. Was definitely thinking this when I arrived at my dingy hostel in cold, smelly, expensive London!

Ciao!

We just got to Rome a couple of hours ago! Have to dash off, though. Will try to write more this evening, otherwise it might be when I'm in London, where I'm flying off to tomorrow.

Ciao!

Parga, where the beaches are a lot better than the internet connections...

I wrote this post in Athens a few days ago. Was going to finish it off earlier but didn't get to an internet cafe yesterday. I'm in Parga (west coast of Greece, seaside town, beaches, lots of sun, very nice on the whole!) and the internet connections here are apparently flaky, so when I completed the post and hit "Publish", the whole thing died. The guy at the cafe threw up his hands and said something about nothing working in Greece so I gave up. Hopefully I'll have a bit more luck today... Anyway, here's what I've been doing over the last week and a bit.

After Istanbul, we got onto an overnight sleeper train to Thessaloniki. It took about 14 hours for us to get there, including a four hour wait at the border during which we were repeatedly woken up. First it was the Turkish passport check, then Turkish customs, then the Greek passport check then finally Greek customs! Got to Thessaloniki feeling a bit tired!

Thessaloniki, a.k.a. Salonica and Solon, is in the north-east of Greece and was at one stage the second largest city of Byzantium. It's now the second-largest city in Greece. Amongst the many concrete apartment buildings you can find archaeological sites, some of them quite extensive, like the Roman Forum in the center of the city. There's also a church (St. Demitrius ?), which was originally built in Byzantine times and has been partially destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries.

After a day in Thessaloniki we got on a bus to Litohoro, a small town at the base of Mt. Olympus. Litohoro is quite a charming little town by itself and has spectacular views of the mountain. We were originally going to do a two day climb to one of the many summits but unfortunately the cold weather has lasted a bit longer than usual the refuge was snowed in. Instead, we took a taxi 1 km up the mountain to a place called Pirea and took the 10 km hike down the mountain.

On Thursday we headed off for Athens, which was great. Athens gets a bad rap for being dirty and full of concrete. This is possibly true for much of the city but the central areas are fascinating. Things have been cleaned up since the preparation for the 2004 Olympics but there's still enough of a dilapidated feel to the city for it to retain plenty of character. Been spending most of my time around the Acropolis and the Plaka, the old town where most of the touristy bits are.

I think I could get used to the Greek lifestyle. People start the day fairly late (it's a Saturday today and most of the shops were only opening around 10am), and have a nice long siesta in the middle of the day. At around 8:30 the restaurant districts start to fill up--on weekdays too, Perth! After a meal, probably involving a basic but sturdy red wine, several types of bread, some feta, olive oil and vast amounts of lamb, the patrons of the streetside cafes and bars take their places for some people watching. Okay, so it is a pretty patriarchal society, and you do see a lot of old guys sitting around playing backgammon while their wives are no doubt in the kitchen preparing the nights meal. On top of that, nothing ever gets done in a hurry. But people haven't forgotten about enjoying life over here!

We had a night in Meteora after Athens. Meteora is famous for its six 15th century Byzantine monasteries which are perched atop giant stone monasteries. Very spectacular.

With legs still aching after Mt. Olympus and Athens, we made our way by bus to Monodendri, right next to Vikos Gorge, where we had an invigorating 5 hour hike. Vikos Gorge is huge; at some points the walls reach over 1km above the bottom. To add to the excitement, rockfalls have engulfed the path, leaving only a steep incline of (thankfully not too unstable) gravel.

Our last stop in Greece is Parga. Got here yesterday and it was off to the beach. Today we took a boat to Paxos and Antipaxos to get a taste of island life and swim in some amazingly blue water. On the boat to Brindisi tomorrow night.

If I get time I'll add some photos but for now you can see them at the same place as usual (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sajaraki/).

Hello from Athens

In front of the Parthenon
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

We're in Athens! Here's the obligatory photo of me in front of the Parthenon. We're going off for coffee now so I have to go but will write about what I've been doing soon.

Aaaahhhh!

Had a Hamam (Turkish bath) this afternoon! It's quite an experience. You go in and pay your 30 lire and they give you a loofah and direct you to a room upstairs where you get your clothes off and wrap a towel around your waist. Taking the loofah with you, you come back downstairs and go into the bath room. The room is hot and full of steam, with sunlight streaming in from the skylights above. You lie down on a round heated marble slab in the middle of the room where stay for about 20 minutes, sweating away and breathing in the warm steamy air. Eventually you're directed to the edge of the slab, where a bath attendant lies you down and scrubs you with the loofah. You're then doused with suds and given a good scrub down. After you've had a few bucketfuls of water thrown over you, you get the massage, where the knots in your muscles are forcefully pummelled and kneaded away. You're then directed into another chamber where your hair is washed and you're subjected to more massaging. After you've showered off at the end, you're wrapped in a fresh set of towels and are free to go back to your room where you can lie down for a while before heading back outside feeling refreshed and invigorated!

I've managed to fit quite a bit into these last few days. Been doing some more walking (and getting lost) around town, gone for a boat ride on the Bosphorus, seen the Aya Sofya (which is absolutely amazing), Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar.

I've also been sampling some of the local food--if you're in Istanbul, try an Iskender Kebab from the "world famous" Pudding Shop on Divan Yolu, but avoid a place called Cennet, further up the road. They look the part, with the musicians and the old ladies in the middle making the pancakes, but their servings are tiny and the food is ordinary! Overall, the food has been great, though.

The tour started yesterday evening, when we had our first orientation meeting. We all went to Topkapi Palace this morning before our Hamam, and tonight we're getting on a sleeper train to Thessaloniki.

A few more photos...



Inside the Grand Bazaar


On a Bosphorus Ferry


A fish sandwich stall on the jetty

There's a few more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sajaraki/

Hello from Istanbul (or I don't want to go to your cousin/uncle/friend's f*%&/+ carpet/hat/t-shirt shop so f)&* off!)

I'm in an internet cafe in Sultanahmet, Istanbul, taking it easy after a long day yesterday. Posted some photos from Singapore which should appear on the earlier blog posts.

Got to Istanbul around 8am local time after about 14 hours travel from Singapore. Decided that I wasn't feeling too tired so I would have a walk around. My hotel is almost next door to the Aya Sofia, originally built as a cathedral in the 6th century at the founding of the Eastern Roman Empire. When Istanbul was conquered by the Ottomans in the 16th (?) century it was converted into a mosque, and when Turkey emerged out of the Ottoman Empire it became a museum. Will probably go and see it today.

No matter where you go around here, there is someone who wants to sell you something. Some of these guys can pick out tourists from a mile off. Along with the straightforward requests to buy stuff, I've had offers for personal guided tours around the city by people wanting to brush up their English, no doubt ending up at some craft shop somewhere! I caved once at the Blue Mosque, getting a personal guided tour around mosque which was quite interesting. Cost me 15 lire and I had to look at some t-shirts and crafts at the end but was worth it :-).

Had lunch after that then went wandering around the old town, promptly getting lost despite my map. The place a hive of activity, and doesn't feel like a historical area that has been spruced up for the benefit of tourists. There are still plenty of shops running along the obviously unplanned maze of streets that sell anything from bottles of water to lawnmowers.

Ended the day feeling overawed, cold, jet-lagged, and suffering some culture shock, but am feeling a lot better after a long sleep and a good breakfast. I'm going to take it a bit easier today.

Well, as the call to prayer sounds from the minarets of the mosques around the city I'll sign off to do some more exploring (and get some washing done before I start to smell).

Singapore from 70 storeys up

Singapore from 70 storeys up
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

Taken from the Equinox bar at the top of the Swissotel building. You can see the Esplanade on the bottom left-hand corner, part of the colonial area on the bottom right-hand side, and the boat quay on the other side of the river to the right.

A Hindu temple in Little India

A Hindu temple in Little India
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

Little India

Little India
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

The Hangout @ Mt. Emily

The Hangout @ Mt. Emily
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

The hotel where I was staying in Singapore.

At the "Southernmost Point of Continental Asia", Sentosa Island

At the "Southernmost Point of Continental Asia", Sentosa Island
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

At Underwater World, Sentosa

At Underwater World, Sentosa
Originally uploaded by Sajaraki.

Obviously awestruck...

And so it begins

Well, I've been away for a couple of days now and I've mentioned the idea of a travel blog to too many people to abandon it so I might as well make a start.

Got to Singapore the day before yesterday after a 4:00am start. Luckily the plane was half empty (I had 3 seats to myself) and even managed to sleep through half the flight. Encountered my first drama of the trip just before getting out of the airport when I tried to take some money out of an ATM. Just as I was about to put my card in the machine it occurred to me that I didn't know the PIN for my credit card! Argh! So I spent the first few hours of my trip stressing about having to call the bank, getting my PIN changed, waiting for the replacement to be sent a few days later and trying not to think of the various scenarios I might have had to have resorted to to feed and house myself until everything sorted itself out. Luckily I had it written down somewhere at home (it's been a while since I was a network security officer :-) ) and was able to get Lou to give it to me over the phone!

Anyway, it's been an interesting few days exploring Singapore. I was curious to see if it really is the sort of autocratic nanny-state that I've heard it described as. It certainly doesn't share the same sense of mistrust of authority that we take for granted in Australia. It does seem a bit like a nation of goody two-shoes, with signs sporting friendly exhortations to civic-mindedness like the ones on the rubbish bins calling for Singaporeans to "take ownership of their litter" to help make Singapore a better place, or the signs on the MRT (Singapore's subway system) encouraging people to be gracious when someone does something nice for them. On the other hand, the place has achieved a remarkable amount of prosperity in the space of a few decades as well as maintained a remarkably harmonious relationship between the various ethnic groups that inhabit the city. You do get the impression that you're in a place where the people are used to pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and would rather devote their lives to making a killing in investment banking than weaving baskets and editing journals of dissident literature. It will be interesting to see if future generations share their parents' willingness to toe the line for the sake of the perceived common good, however.

Singaporeans love to shop. No matter where I went yesterday, I seemed to find myself in a shopping mall. On top of this it was a public holiday (May Day) so all of them were absolutely packed. By late afternoon this was starting to get to me until I stumbled upon one shopping mall (Suntec City) where there was a queue of people a few hundred metres long underneath umbrellas emblazoned with Milo logos. Coming out of the mall was yet another long queue of people, each of them waiting for a taxi and carrying a giant tin of Milo. Apparently they're trying to push Milo on the locals and so anyone who turned up at the shopping centre that day with a coupon from the newspaper and repeated some slogan about Milo being made in Singapore and being really healthy got a free tin. They even had a game where contestants had to stamp a board of Milo logos with a health department seal of approval, with the contestant stamping all of the logos in the shortest time winning some sort of Milo-related prize. Anyway, it make me laugh...

Other than getting lost in shopping malls I've been trying to eat where the locals eat and so have headed off to a few hawker centres where the food is dirt cheap and really tasty. No wonder people don't bother cooking for themselves over here. Also spent a few hours on Sentosa Island today, a very well-manicured island playground with a few beaches, and theme-park-style attractions. After taking the cable car over, it was off to one of the beaches. After that I went to the local Underwater World, touched some sharks and saw some dolphins doing tricks. Had a Singapore Sling at one of the restaurants along the Boat Quay (I know, you're supposed to have one at the Raffles Hotel, but they charge about $25 there!), and then walked back to the hostel (I've been doing a lot of walking these last few days).

The hostel is one of the best backpackers' I've stayed in. Clean, friendly staff, free internet and on top of that they have a rooftop terrace with a speccy view of the city.

So that's the end of my first (and 5th last?) blog post. I'm flying off to Istanbul tomorrow night!