An Australian in Greece (and everywhere else) — travel stories with too much ouzo and not enough planning…
Monday 20th October 2014 We have arrived in Udaipur at last, after our 'Spice-Jet' flight from Delhi was delayed by 5 hours ( delayed or cancelled, hard to know?). Lucky for us, I received a phone call from our Mr Ashish at 'Oriental Routes'. (there's a joke there somewhere…. ever had an ori… forget […]
Read MoreJust a very quick update before we depart in 15 minutes for Jaipur…….Memsahib and I are in a small desert town half-way between Jaiselmere and Jaipur…. it's called Naguar, and no, I'd never heard of it before either. We've been here for 2 nights, staying in the most fantastic place you could wish for…. The […]
Read MoreUp early, as we have to meet up with our personal tour guide at 9:30 this morning. After a superb breakfast in the '1911' restaurant, we get to the lobby 15 minutes late, to find him waiting patiently for us….( I find that most Indians seem to be the patient type here) He introduces himself […]
Read MoreGlad that long flight is over. Memsahib and I sailed through customs at Delhi's 'Indira Gandhi International Airport'…. no worry's about th excess wine we have either. The main concern for the authorities seemed to be the Ebola health inspection check that everyone off the Emirates flight had to go through…. all flights coming from […]
Read MoreThe last time I posted on the blog from Dubai I remember complaining about the price of the coffee as well as the service…..( actually it was in Doha airport, but both are in the ‘Yewknighted’ Arab Emirates, both begin with letter D, and both are places to be avoided at all cost, unless in […]
Read MoreIt was a real ‘spur-of-the-moment’ decision a couple of months ago that saw me make a booking for India. We were spending a few nights of relaxtion up at our country retreat ( calm down… It’s really just a rural 50 acre lot, with a comfortable ‘country style ‘weekender’ house on it, hidden away […]
Read MoreSuva, 23rd April We wake this morning in Suva, the most nostalgic of the ports visited, as it's where YM and I had our first 'date' together on dry land. Never thought then, that one day, 41 years later, we'd be back, and still, happily, together. Boy, am I glad that we had the opportunity […]
Read MoreTuesday 22nd April, Lautoka, Fiji. Up bright and early today, and head straight for the Gym up on deck 10, must try and work off all the extra calories I believe I consumed yesterday. I'm not unlike the man in a leaky boat, having to keep on bailing out the water just to stay afloat, […]
Read MoreLuganville, Espírito Santo, Vanuatu. Easter Sunday, 20th April 2014 We berthed this morning at Luganville at about 8am, but no hurry, let all the passengers on tours get off first, and so after a light breakfast in the Neptune Lounge, we head ashore at 10. We have never visited this island before, and YM and […]
Read MoreGood Friday, 2014 I'm certainly on an island, and quite a small one at that. YM and I slept in a little later than planned ( what a joke, we dont have any plans!) and so we didn't wake up to see our arrival…no, not at Easter Island…although it is Easter, but at the mysteriously […]
Read MoreWe've now been onboard this 'Dam' ship for 5 nights now, since leaving Sydney on Sunday. The first couple of days Captain Henk Draper ordered 'full steam ahead' (or whatever the command is nowadays on these non-steam vessels) in order to leave behind as quickly as possible the remnants of Cyclone Ita. The seas were […]
Read MoreDay one onboard the Dam ship! After a comfortable and very pleasant nights stay at Swissotel in Market Street, we woke quite early and took a quick walk (in the rain too, not unpleasant either as it's only a light drizzle, and it's something we haven't experienced for over 4 months in Perth!) down […]
Read MoreLast minute preparations What a joke. Why do they call it ‘ last minute preparations’ when I need at least half a day to complete all these ‘last minute’ tasks. Ah well, that’s all in the past now as we are at last on our way. Sitting back in ‘First Class’ on JetStar ( Ok, […]
Read MoreThe TomTom gets fresh batteries and a new mission: a Pacific cruise aboard the MS Oosterdam from Sydney. This is no ordinary two-week cruise — it’s a big one, and Yineka-mou and I are ready.
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Valldemossa, Majorca. This is the main reason we are back in Europe again, to be here in Majorca for a good mates daughters wedding….which is being held at the Valldemosa Hotel in the town of same name. After a brief but very enjoyable 2 nights in Barcelona, we have now arrived on the island of […]
Read MoreYineka-mou and I are on the move again! It's ten to seven in the morning and it find's us sitting in the 'Coffee Beanery' ( motto; Coffee people who care) in Doha International Airport, ( they still haven't opened the NEW airport terminal here yet…it's now over 18 months behind schedule) enjoying an overpriced cup […]
Read MoreIt's 1:30 pm on Friday afternoon, we have just been driven to the port by Florian. Yineka-mou and I are, sadly, having to say goodbye to Koufonisia after just over two fantastically enjoyable weeks here. We are now going to get the seajet ferry to Naxos, there catch another ferry to Piraeus, to spend a […]
Read MoreMonday 3rd June, aboard the Anek Lines ship 'Forza' , somewhere in the Adriatic, en-route to Patras,Greece. After two nights in Venice, ( and YM has at last had her long-held wish come true…. a gondola ride with a handsome lover…. OK, maybe she didn't get exactly what she wished for, but a ride is […]
Read MoreAfter arriving one and a half hours late in Patras, we disembarked the good ship 'Forza' at around quarterpast midnight. We walked down the gangway to the deserted 'new port' and I asked ( in Greek) a couple who were waiting on the jetty where I could get a taxi…They looked at me in surprise […]
Read MoreYineka-Mou and I now left Vernazza, one of the five towns of the Cinque Terra, this morning at 10:30. We first caught a local train to Monterosso, one station along the line, and at 11:05 ( the train was 10 minutes late) caught the Inter-City express to Milan, via Genoa. We're hoping that they make […]
Read MoreTuesday May 21st; Barcelona Up quite early, around 7:45, and went out for a long walk from our Hotel in Provenza, down the Rambla de Catalunya, into Ramblas and eventually to the waterfront. The day looks as though it'll turn out fine….at least it's not raining. The street-sweepers and cleaners are out in force, preparing […]
Read MoreEvery time Tom hears the word Barcelona, he thinks of Freddie Mercury. And why not — it’s a great city, wet May weather aside. Here’s what happened after two unforgettable nights in one of Europe’s finest cities.
Read MoreTerminal Sickness…. relax…it's not me that has it, at least not yet ( everything comes to those who wait!)… Driving to Perth Airport tonight with Yineka-mou to catch the Emirates flight to Dubai and then Barcelona… factually that's incorrect… we're being driven by YM's best friend AJ, who kindly offered to pick us up from […]
Read MoreThe rain in Spain falls mainly on the plaaaain……and in Barcelona as well… We arrived at Barcelona's quaintly named 'El Prat' Airport at 1:30 pm on Sunday , and the weather, while a little cloudy, was still quite sunny. A short cab ride to the city centre, and our small hotel, ' Circa 1905', (http://www.circa1905.com/eng/home […]
Read MorePerth to Ho Chi Minh City via KL, up at 2:30am, and already loving it. TomTom navigates Saigon’s extraordinary chaos on two wheels — and discovers that getting lost here is half the fun.
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Travels with a TomTom 