TRAVEL BLOG
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The lure of European Trains
Whenever I pass a grand European train station I can't help but have a look inside and see what possibilities are on offer. Even though I am in one of the great cities of Europe and not in any hurry to leave, the lure of European train travel is always strong.
Budapest has three main train stations, of which Keleti palyaudvar receives most of the international arrivals and departures.
Keleti Palyaudvar
One afternoon when I wandered past there were trains waiting on the platform for Moscow, Zurich and Venice, with a train for Bucharest listed on the departure board.
Budapest Keleti Departure Board
Moszkva Train
Venezia Train
Zurich Train
Budapest has three main train stations, of which Keleti palyaudvar receives most of the international arrivals and departures.
Keleti Palyaudvar
One afternoon when I wandered past there were trains waiting on the platform for Moscow, Zurich and Venice, with a train for Bucharest listed on the departure board.
Budapest Keleti Departure Board
Moszkva Train
Venezia Train
Zurich Train
Labels: budapest, europe, hungary, train, train station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Saturday, October 27, 2007
Blood in the Water
This week was the 61st anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, which began on October 23rd, 1956. This day is now a public holiday in Hungary, and as it fell on a Tuesday this year it made for an extra long weekend as many people took the Monday off as well.
Reading up on the events of that time I stumbled upon the event known as the Blood in the Water match. This was the meeting of Hungary and the USSR in the Pool at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics (it is known in Hungarian as the "Blood Bath of Melbourne").
A documentary was made about it in 2006 called Freedoms Fury, which was produced by Lucy Liu and Quentin Tarantino.
Reading up on the events of that time I stumbled upon the event known as the Blood in the Water match. This was the meeting of Hungary and the USSR in the Pool at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics (it is known in Hungarian as the "Blood Bath of Melbourne").
A documentary was made about it in 2006 called Freedoms Fury, which was produced by Lucy Liu and Quentin Tarantino.
Labels: hungary, olympics, revolution
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Thursday, October 25, 2007
No to inflight mobile phones petition
There is talk of introducing technology that will allow mobile phones to operate inflight. Britain's Telegraph have been running a petition to Say "no" to in-flight mobile phones. To add your name to the petition, follow this link:
Say "no" to in-flight mobile phones
Say "no" to in-flight mobile phones
Labels: inflight, mobile phones
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Hurdy Gurdy Man
A Hurdy Gurdy, or "wheel fiddle", is an instrument used in folk music, particularly in Hungary and France. (And I thought hurdy gurdy was just psychedelic dribble by Donovan).
The Hurdy Gurdy has a bass drone like a bagpipe. I find the sound of bagpipes hypnotic and I always end up following them in parades. So to with this curious instrument.
Here is a busker in Budapest playing the Hurdy Gurdy.
Hurdy Gurdy Busker - Budapest
The Hurdy Gurdy has a bass drone like a bagpipe. I find the sound of bagpipes hypnotic and I always end up following them in parades. So to with this curious instrument.
Here is a busker in Budapest playing the Hurdy Gurdy.
Hurdy Gurdy Busker - Budapest
Labels: budapest, busker, hungary, hurdy gurdy, music
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Autumn in London
Landmark Fatigue?
Today I took a walk I've done many times from Victoria Station to Trafalgar Square via Westminster Abbey and the Houses of parliament and down Whitehall.
I realised afterwards that I didn't give a second look at Westminster Abbey or bat an eyelid at the Houses of parliament, two of the most magnificent buildings you'll find in London. I used to work in this area so I would see these buildings every day, so when I see these buildings now they feel very familiar to me.
Brompton Cemetery
This thought occured to me as I was wandering around the Brompton Cemetery in West London. When in London I usually stay around this area, and I always make a visit. It is one of my favourite places in London.
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery Crosses and Angel
The Brompton Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven, a group of cemeteries that were opened in London in the 1800's to cater for London's population explosion and subsequent overcrowding of burial grounds at the traditional Parish Churches.
Brompton Cemetery Mossy Crosses
Of the seven, Highgate Cemetery is perhaps the most famous with its tomb of Karl Marx. Its overrun vegetation and broken tombstones made for ideal sets in Hammer Horror films.
Abney Park in East London has a similar run down feel and its location is way out of the usual tourist path. It has an abandoned church which is featured in the Amy Winehouse filmclip Back to Black.
I like these ones but my favourite is Brompton, if only for its convenient location for me. Once inside you are taken away from the hustle of London to a peaceful parkland. If it wasn't for the never ending procession of aircraft on the Heathrow flightpath and Chelsea's homeground Stamford Bridge looming over the southern end, you could be anywhere in England.
Mausoleum
Mausoleum Angel
R.I.P - Chelsea's Premiership defence.
Today I took a walk I've done many times from Victoria Station to Trafalgar Square via Westminster Abbey and the Houses of parliament and down Whitehall.
I realised afterwards that I didn't give a second look at Westminster Abbey or bat an eyelid at the Houses of parliament, two of the most magnificent buildings you'll find in London. I used to work in this area so I would see these buildings every day, so when I see these buildings now they feel very familiar to me.
Brompton Cemetery
This thought occured to me as I was wandering around the Brompton Cemetery in West London. When in London I usually stay around this area, and I always make a visit. It is one of my favourite places in London.
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery Crosses and Angel
The Brompton Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven, a group of cemeteries that were opened in London in the 1800's to cater for London's population explosion and subsequent overcrowding of burial grounds at the traditional Parish Churches.
Brompton Cemetery Mossy Crosses
Of the seven, Highgate Cemetery is perhaps the most famous with its tomb of Karl Marx. Its overrun vegetation and broken tombstones made for ideal sets in Hammer Horror films.
Abney Park in East London has a similar run down feel and its location is way out of the usual tourist path. It has an abandoned church which is featured in the Amy Winehouse filmclip Back to Black.
I like these ones but my favourite is Brompton, if only for its convenient location for me. Once inside you are taken away from the hustle of London to a peaceful parkland. If it wasn't for the never ending procession of aircraft on the Heathrow flightpath and Chelsea's homeground Stamford Bridge looming over the southern end, you could be anywhere in England.
Mausoleum
Mausoleum Angel
R.I.P - Chelsea's Premiership defence.
Labels: cemetery, england, london
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Have you smiled at anyone today?
Doing the rounds on the Tube in London at the moment is a Nokia advertisement asking this question.
This reminded me of an interesting article I read recently about the decline in manners.
Have you smiled at anyone today?
Too many people these days grunt and ignore their way through life.
We used to be a nation that would happily talk for lengthy periods to perfect strangers about the weather.
We used to know our butchers, bakers, though probably not any candlestick makers, but we did know the old woman at the post office. When did we slip out of the habit?
However it isn't too late for us.
We could, with a little effort, be a lot nicer to each other.
So: betwen the hours of 12am and noon say "good morning" or "morning", noon to 5pm a simple "helllo" will do and 5pm to 12am "evening".
Good luck.
This reminded me of an interesting article I read recently about the decline in manners.
Have you smiled at anyone today?
Too many people these days grunt and ignore their way through life.
We used to be a nation that would happily talk for lengthy periods to perfect strangers about the weather.
We used to know our butchers, bakers, though probably not any candlestick makers, but we did know the old woman at the post office. When did we slip out of the habit?
However it isn't too late for us.
We could, with a little effort, be a lot nicer to each other.
So: betwen the hours of 12am and noon say "good morning" or "morning", noon to 5pm a simple "helllo" will do and 5pm to 12am "evening".
Good luck.
Labels: advertisement, england, london, tube
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Call to prayer - in the air
On Emirates flights the location of Mecca is shown on the common TV screens at the appropriate time. They restrain from the Muezzin's call to prayer over a crackly tannoy. I'm not sure how they set the prayer times though considering that while flying you are constantly crossing time zones.
Call To Prayer - flying towards Mecca
Call To Prayer - flying away from Mecca
Call To Prayer - flying towards Mecca
Call To Prayer - flying away from Mecca
Labels: call to prayer, emirates
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Dubai Airport
Dubai Airport (DXB) was recently named the best airport in the Middle East according to Skytrax. The airport is home to Emirates, which accounts for 50 per cent of all flight movements in and out of the airport.
Dubai Airport Duty Free Shopping
It is a spacious airport and easy to get around, despite all the building work going on outside. There is a metro line being constructed out the front and a terminal expansion (which is out of the way of the current operating area).
Dubai Airport Extension
Dubai Airport Arabian Landscaping
As if it wasn't enough to have one great airport, Dubai is currently building a second airport, the Jebel Ali Airport - Dubai International Airport City. Keeping with Dubai's current construction theme, this will be big! 6 parallel runways, 4.5 km in length, each separated by a distance of 800 metres, and of the 6 runways, 4 can be used simultaneously. The Airport City will cover 140 square kilometres.
Dubai Airport Duty Free Shopping
It is a spacious airport and easy to get around, despite all the building work going on outside. There is a metro line being constructed out the front and a terminal expansion (which is out of the way of the current operating area).
Dubai Airport Extension
Dubai Airport Arabian Landscaping
As if it wasn't enough to have one great airport, Dubai is currently building a second airport, the Jebel Ali Airport - Dubai International Airport City. Keeping with Dubai's current construction theme, this will be big! 6 parallel runways, 4.5 km in length, each separated by a distance of 800 metres, and of the 6 runways, 4 can be used simultaneously. The Airport City will cover 140 square kilometres.
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Monday, October 01, 2007
A guide to budget accommodation in Dubai
There is not much in the way of budget accommodation in Dubai. Cheap guest house style accommodation that is common in Asian destinations does not fit in with Dubai's grand master plan of being a luxury holiday and shopping stop-over destination.
Hostels
There is one hostel in Dubai, the UAE YHA, though it is not the most convenient location.
Guest Houses
There are budget accommodation options available, but booking online is generally not possible. Most of these places don't even have a website, let alone booking facilities, and their contact details are via a yahoo address.
If you are looking for a guest house in Dubai they can be found in the Deira and Bur Dubai area (the Dubai Creek area). I found a number of places that had single room accommodation for 150 UAE Dirham (about $40 US) . As a comparison, the cheapest room I could find on any hotel booking site was 300 UAE Dirham (about $80 US).
These guest houses are spread out all over the city as well, so it is not like you can just turn up in an area and look around, like say in the Khao Sanh Road in Bangkok or Colaba in Mumbai.
Mirage Guest House, an example of a basic Dubai guest house.
Hostels
There is one hostel in Dubai, the UAE YHA, though it is not the most convenient location.
Guest Houses
There are budget accommodation options available, but booking online is generally not possible. Most of these places don't even have a website, let alone booking facilities, and their contact details are via a yahoo address.
If you are looking for a guest house in Dubai they can be found in the Deira and Bur Dubai area (the Dubai Creek area). I found a number of places that had single room accommodation for 150 UAE Dirham (about $40 US) . As a comparison, the cheapest room I could find on any hotel booking site was 300 UAE Dirham (about $80 US).
These guest houses are spread out all over the city as well, so it is not like you can just turn up in an area and look around, like say in the Khao Sanh Road in Bangkok or Colaba in Mumbai.
Mirage Guest House, an example of a basic Dubai guest house.
Labels: dubai, guest house, hostel, hotels, uae
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Betel Nut Stains
Just as in western countries most pavements have chewing gum dots all over the pavement, across Africa and Asia is the Betel Nut stain.
Betel Nut Stain
Betel Nut Stains
Betel Nut Stain
Betel Nut Stains
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Beach Camels - Dubai
Jumeirah Beach Residence Camels
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Air Conditioned Bus Stops - Dubai
It sounds crazy, but then this is Dubai. The Dubai bus shelter project is billed as the first ever air conditioned bus shelters in the world on such a large scale. The will be 500 of these built eventually.
Dubai Air Conditioned Bus Stop
Dubai Air Conditioned Bus Stop Seats
Dubai Air Conditioned Bus Stop
Dubai Air Conditioned Bus Stop Seats
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Speeding is a Sin
Speeding is a Sin - Dubai
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The New Dubai - Projects completed or under construction
Here is a list of notable projects that are completed or currently under construction in Dubai. It is not an exhaustive list but it gives you a general idea of the scope of construction going on at the moment. Most of these projects contain the words "world's" and "largest".
Dubai Marina
This area is known as the New Dubai. Upon completion it will be the world's largest man-made marina
Dubai Marina
Jumeirah Beach Residence
The world's largest single phase project. Jumeirah Beach Residence consists of more than 40 towers, mostly for residential purposes.
Jumeirah Beach Residence
Jumeirah Beach Residence and Beach
Ski Dubai
What to do on a 45 degrees summers day? Snow skiing of course. Dubai has the largest indoor ski resort in the world.
Ski Dubai
Dubailand
An entertainment complex consisting of six zones. Some of the projects are complete but much of it is still under construction.
- Attractions and Experience World:
A theme park area that will be bigger than Disneyland/DisneyWorld combined. Will feature a Universal Studios and Dubai Snowdome, an indoor ski resort.
- Downtown:
Includes the Mall of Arabia, which will be the world's largest shopping mall.
- Retail and Entertainment World:
- Themed Leisure and Vacation World:
- Eco-Tourism World:
- Sports and Outdoor World:
Dubailand is expected to be completed in 2010.
Dubailand
Dubai Metro
There are 4 metro lines proposed for Dubai, and two are under construction.
There will be a total of 70 kilometres of lines, and 42 stations (including 9 underground stations).
Dubai Metro
Burj Al Arab
The Burj Al Arab 5-Star Deluxe hotel, (advertised as the world's only 7-Star hotel) stands at 321 metres, which makes is taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Burj Al Arab
Burj Al Arab
Rose Tower
The Burj Al Arab was the world's tallest hotel until the 333 metre Rose Tower took the title.
Rose Tower
Burj Dubai
The worlds tallest tower. Its eventual height is still a secret.
Burj Dubai
Jebel Ali Airport
Still under construction, this will become the world's largest airport, with 6 parallel runways and covering 140 square kilometres.
Jebel Ali Airport
The World
A man-made archipelago of 300 islands in the shape of a world map currently being built off the coast of Dubai.
The World
The Palm Trilogy
Like The World project, The Palm Islands are being built off the coast and it will be the three largest artificial islands in the world. The project features The Palm Deira, Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali.
The Palm
Further reading: Dubai Megaprojects
Dubai Marina
This area is known as the New Dubai. Upon completion it will be the world's largest man-made marina
Dubai Marina
Jumeirah Beach Residence
The world's largest single phase project. Jumeirah Beach Residence consists of more than 40 towers, mostly for residential purposes.
Jumeirah Beach Residence
Jumeirah Beach Residence and Beach
Ski Dubai
What to do on a 45 degrees summers day? Snow skiing of course. Dubai has the largest indoor ski resort in the world.
Ski Dubai
Dubailand
An entertainment complex consisting of six zones. Some of the projects are complete but much of it is still under construction.
- Attractions and Experience World:
A theme park area that will be bigger than Disneyland/DisneyWorld combined. Will feature a Universal Studios and Dubai Snowdome, an indoor ski resort.
- Downtown:
Includes the Mall of Arabia, which will be the world's largest shopping mall.
- Retail and Entertainment World:
- Themed Leisure and Vacation World:
- Eco-Tourism World:
- Sports and Outdoor World:
Dubailand is expected to be completed in 2010.
Dubailand
Dubai Metro
There are 4 metro lines proposed for Dubai, and two are under construction.
There will be a total of 70 kilometres of lines, and 42 stations (including 9 underground stations).
Dubai Metro
Burj Al Arab
The Burj Al Arab 5-Star Deluxe hotel, (advertised as the world's only 7-Star hotel) stands at 321 metres, which makes is taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Burj Al Arab
Burj Al Arab
Rose Tower
The Burj Al Arab was the world's tallest hotel until the 333 metre Rose Tower took the title.
Rose Tower
Burj Dubai
The worlds tallest tower. Its eventual height is still a secret.
Burj Dubai
Jebel Ali Airport
Still under construction, this will become the world's largest airport, with 6 parallel runways and covering 140 square kilometres.
Jebel Ali Airport
The World
A man-made archipelago of 300 islands in the shape of a world map currently being built off the coast of Dubai.
The World
The Palm Trilogy
Like The World project, The Palm Islands are being built off the coast and it will be the three largest artificial islands in the world. The project features The Palm Deira, Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali.
The Palm
Further reading: Dubai Megaprojects
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Dubai - old and new
The old part of Dubai is centred around Dubai Creek, an inlet of water from the Gulf which served as Dubai's original port, and still handles small cargo vessels today. Old Dubai consists of Deira on the north side of the creek and Bur-Dubai to the south.
Dubai Creek
The area around the creek is where the older and more interesting streets of Dubai lay. Here you will find old and reconstructed market laneways (souqs) on either side of the creek.
Bur Dubai Souq Laneway
If you are staying in the creek area of Dubai you could be forgiven for wondering what all the noise is about regarding Dubai. The old part of town is an interesting if architecturally unremarkable place, and there are not many high rise buildings in the area. Old Dubai looks like what an Indian city would look like if it had no rubbish and livestock on the streets and if the roads were all sealed. That Dubai is 60% populated by Indians probably contributed to my illusion.
Dubai Marina Construction Workers
It is not until you get out of the old town and drive along the coast that you start to see the jaw dropping expansion of greater Dubai. The Emirate of Dubai has lofty ambitions of become one of the great global cities of the world so there are construction sites on steroids all over the place.
A canyon of construction at Dubai Marina
Dubai Creek
The area around the creek is where the older and more interesting streets of Dubai lay. Here you will find old and reconstructed market laneways (souqs) on either side of the creek.
Bur Dubai Souq Laneway
If you are staying in the creek area of Dubai you could be forgiven for wondering what all the noise is about regarding Dubai. The old part of town is an interesting if architecturally unremarkable place, and there are not many high rise buildings in the area. Old Dubai looks like what an Indian city would look like if it had no rubbish and livestock on the streets and if the roads were all sealed. That Dubai is 60% populated by Indians probably contributed to my illusion.
Dubai Marina Construction Workers
It is not until you get out of the old town and drive along the coast that you start to see the jaw dropping expansion of greater Dubai. The Emirate of Dubai has lofty ambitions of become one of the great global cities of the world so there are construction sites on steroids all over the place.
A canyon of construction at Dubai Marina
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