Athens

Our much anticipated Europe 2009 backpacking trip began in Athens, where we flew in on the 3rd of June. Our plane was late and the bus we took from the airport terminated about 3kms earlier than it should have so we had a long walk to find our hostel with all our luggage. We were off to a great start.

In Athens we stayed at a hostel called 'Athens Backpackers' run by a friendly bunch of Aussies in Acropoli, walking distance to the Acropolis & in the heart of the Plaka district - full of shops, restaurants and cafes. By the time we checked in it was about 10pm and we headed out to get a bite to eat. We both realised that it was our anniversary on our way to Athens andd decided to have a sit down dinner.

The hostel receptionist recommended a restaurant nearby called 'God's Restaurant'. I'm not sure who the cook was at the God's restaurant by the food was not that great. On our way back to the hostel, we stopped for Gelato(this is not the watery version you get back in Oz, its proper homemade ice cream). The girl at the Gelato shop let us taste a new flavour which was tequila, chilli & chocolate. It was way too alcoholic for our liking so we ended up buying the Creme Brulee flavour.

While the hostel was clean and the beds were comfy we didnt get much sleep thanks to the mosquitos. The next morning we headed up to the rooftop for breakfast with staggering views of the Acropolis almost touching distance from us. After breakfast we signed up for the daily walking tour of Athens run by the hostel. Our guide was a 23 year old crazy chatterbox Greek girl called Paula. We headed off the in direction of the Acropolis with the sun already high and the temperature in the early 30s. Some of the sights visited in the walking tour included Herod's Odean, Athens First Court (a rock on a hilltop used by Greek elders to preside over criminal matters), Ancient Agora (old marketplace where Socrates used to come to challenge people's views on social and moral questions), Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arc, National Garden, Parliament (watched the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier), Olympic stadium (home of the modern Olympics, which is normally not open to the public but we managed to go inside because of some ceremony).The rest of the day we spend sleeping and eating and walking around Plaka.

The next day we made plans to visit Sounio, a 1.5 bus ride that takes you to the Temple of Posoiden & great beaches. Unfortunately as it was a national holiday the buses were irregular and we gave up the idea after wasting a couple of hours waiting. On national holidays all sights and museums entry is free so we decided to make use of this and head to the National Archeological Museum. First we had lunch in Mynastirakas, 2 gyros(open kebab sandwich consisting of pork/lamb/chicken + salad, chips, taziki on pita bread) at a place recommended by lonely planet. We came to love gyros in Athens as it was quick, convenient, cheap and tasty. Lunch was again followed by Ge‏lato.

The archeological museum was well worth the visit, though so much so since we didnt have to pay to get in. They had some great sculpture and egyptian sections. After taking a well earned rest back at the hostel we decide to visit the Acropolis at sunset. This turned out to be a great decision because there were no queues as per normal and we got to the top very quickly. The Parthenon was an impressive sight and it was fun trying to imagine what the whole site you have been like in its hay day. Its so sad that so much of the beautiful sights around Athens are no longer in tact mainly due to war and people's stupidity. If I could go back in time I would have liked to have seen the Temple of Zeus as it was meant to be; not the 12 columns its reduced to now. The 25 foot seated Zues with human size nymph in his hand would have been a spine tingling sight.

After the Acropolis closed at 8pm we headed to the rock right next to the Acropolis to survey Athens from above (also known as the First Court) and watch the sunset. The sunsets in Greece are fabulous due to the excessive pollution and fog levels. All in all it was a great day.

Our third and last day in Athens we spent shopping in Mynastirakas and meandering about town till our 5:30pm ferry to Santorini. Most peope who have been to Athens dont describe in very pleasant terms. While its not the prettiest city I've been to I had a great time there. Plaka was a nice area to be in although very touristy and all the main historic sights are very close by. The city is seeping with history and the Greeks were friendly & hospitable. The Metro was quick and convenient and who doesnt love gyros & gelato? One thing I could not stand there was the excessive smoking. People smoked everywhere indoors and out & some at ticket booths and other enclosed spaces. Mothers, teenagers, old folks.. everybody smoked. It's quite ridiculous.

The other thing I noticed was that the Greeks are crazy drivers. Although not as bad as Sri Lankans they still dont pay attention to any road rules. A lot of them use motorbikes especially women who dont seem to mind big chunky bikes to go about town.

All in all I think that if you are going to visit Greece Athens is well worth a visit.

Istanbul

The first weekend of May in 2009 we went to Istanbul with some of our London mates. Lucky for us we had Turkish guides (our mate Efe & his friends/family in Istanbul). We arrived in the dead of the night at our hotel. I wasn't too impressed with the facilities for the price we paid, but the location was very central in Sultanahment the historic part of Istanbul.

Next day we woke up to rain but as determined tourist Pramo, Fede, Cheech, Jase and I headed out to see some of the sights near by. First we arrived at the Blue Mosque the national mosque of Turkey built in the early 1600s and still in use. The interior was covered with patterned blue tiles rising to an impressive height. The Blue Mosque was built with six minarets equaling that of the mosque in Mecca deemed a bit presumptuous at the time. Thus the Sultan paid for an additional minaret to be built in Mecca to restore the correct order of things.

The Blue Mosque is directly across from Hagia Sophia, one of the oldest and most venerated mosques in Turkey. Hagia Sophia was built originally as a church, then converted to a mosque and now a museum. Its a world heritage site but had fallen into disrepair prior to that so there was on-going restoration work when we visited. It consisted of two levels and some of the Christian murals that were painted over when Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque were now on display. When we stepped out of Hagia Sophia the rain has stopped and the sun was out, which cheered up all of us.

Across the road and around the corner was another historic site - the Basilica Cistern. This is a huge underground chamber built in the 6th century to store fresh water for Istanbul. The cistern consists of 336 columns lit beautifully for the benefit of its visitors. Soon it was time for lunch.

We had a relaxing lunch at one of the many outdoor cafes in Sultanahment, with fresh pita bread, dips, grilled meats and soothing apple tea to finish. Only a short walk from the cafes was the Grand Bazaar the oldest and largest in Istanbul. The main concourse was packed with people and every 20-30 meters there were paths adjacent to the main concourse leading to more stalls and shops getting ever smaller. The stalls were full of everything from colourful ceramics, clothes, jewellery, antiques, souvenirs, leather wear so on and so forth. The sellers were very pushy and annoyingly over familiar. Over and over again we were asked where we were from and many were perplexed when we told them we were from Australia; unable to imagine Australia as a multi racial country. Soon we learned to ignore them. After trying in vain to meet some of the London crew that we got separated from earlier we took a break to sip apple tea at a cafe inside the Grand Bazaar. Then we headed back to the hotel to rest before dinner.

Dinner was in Eminonu, on the Istanbul harbour which we got to via the Metro (tram). The sun was setting on the busy skyline dotted with mosques. The Galata bridge on the harbour was lined with fisherman on the top level fishing day and night. The second level was full of seafood restaurants displaying an impressive array of seafood to entice customers. As you walked by each restaurant the maitre d' tried to coax you to come in for dinner. We met our friends at one of the restaurants and feasted on some great seafood accompanied by Raki - anise flavoured alcoholic drink taken with water in a shot glass.

Next day we headed out to the Topkapi palace the Sultan's residence. The gardens were overflowing with tulips in bloom and the palace was situated atop a hill overlooking the harbour - with fantastic views of the golden horn. There were many rooms and exhibits to see inside the palace including Prophet Mohammed's walking stick - in surprisingly good condition ;) .

For lunch we headed into the heart of Istanbul away from the tourist and had an amazing lunch - course after course of beautifully rustic Turkish food full of flavour accompanied by a frothy sheep's milk drink. Dessert which we now knew to be always way over the top in Turkey was surprisingly simple in the form of a semolina pancake with the creamiest home made ice cream.
At the end of lunch we were so full we could hardly move so we decided to walk back to town and head to the Galata tower. On the way we stopped to have some fabulous profiteroles from a cafe which seem to only serve that. The second dessert finished we headed up to the Galata tower - a striking cone capped cylindrical tower overlooking the Istanbul skyline. The sun was about to set and the view was fantastic. Istanbul looked like a vast and crowded city from above. We enjoyed picking out some of the famous sights which we had visited so far along with the Golden Horn and the Istanbul Harbour.

By this stage we were all feeling quite tired so we chillaxed with apple tea and Turkish coffee. Arriving back at the hotel via the tram we showered and headed out for a light dinner. Our hotel in Sultanahment was near a small bazaar that had an open air area with restaurants. We settled outside and had a small dinner enjoying the live music and a whirling dervish performance. We then met up with some more Londoners for dessert of baklava and apple tea before calling it a night.

The next day Pramo and I headed back to Eminonu to the Spice bazaar, while the other guys went to a harem - a Turkish bath. The Spice bazaar was full of colourful sights, sounds and smells. It was smaller than the Grand Bazaar and seemed to be where the locals shopped unlike the Grand Bazaar. We stocked up on Turkish delights and apple tea while admiring the weird and wonderful things on display. After a quick lunch soon it was time to head back to the hotel for a ride to the airport.

Istanbul was an exciting city and a great place to visit over a long weekend. We were lucky to have some locals to show us around and take us on a historical and gastronomical journey we both wont forget soon. I would like to go back to Turkey to see more of the places outside of Istanbul including Gallipoli. Maybe someday I will...

Cornwall

Its been ages since Easter and I just realised I hadn't written about our trip to Cornwall and the south-west of England. It started with a train trip to Bristol where we went to pick up a hire car for our four days in Cornwall. We took the new packs we bought for our backpacking trip in June to test them out.

Friday began grey and with the threat of rain. For the first few hours of our drive it rained quite hard as we made our way to Barnstaple via some obscure B roads courtesy of the GPS lady. We giggled at her instructions but soon realised she was leading us a bit astray when we configured the GPS to avoid the motorways. We decide to switch to the motorway to get there quicker. The rain stopped along the way and the sun started to shine much to our joy.

Barnstaple is the oldest borough in England with the oldest high street in England. It was quite a small town close to the sea and bustling with people. We stayed at the hotel attached to the biggest pub in town. After some burgers at the pub we checked in and decided to head out to check out some of coast line. The drive lead us through some narrow roads lined with hedges and speckled with spring flowers such as daffodils, dandelions, magnolias and tulips. This was to be a common sight throughout the weekend much to my delight. The gorgeous flowers growing wild and free really took my breath away. I never got any good pictures of them as Pramo was driving quite fast past them (to avoid getting stuck in places we couldn't pass oncoming traffic). After a while I gave up trying to capture them on camera and just enjoyed the view with the sun in my face.

We drove along beautiful cliffs with heart stopping drops to white sandy beaches below. The beaches were full of people swimming, surfing and enjoying the sun although the temperature was about 11 degrees ..brrrrr! We went to cute little seaside villages so different to the seaside towns in Australia. I could understand why these places got so busy in summer, the beaches were nice and the towns themselves were small, old and full of character.

We returned to Barnstaple and relaxed in the hotel room till dinner time. As the sun was going down the high street was getting quite empty as people gathered in pubs and restaurants. We went to get some pizza and while waiting realised that the 'pizza express' was in the oldest building in the town. It had a very low ceiling and a little inner enclosure where in the olden days people put shoes for good luck.

The next day we checked out from the hotel and headed directly south to Plymouth via the Dartmoor national park. Lunch was at Princetown in the heart of Dartmoor after which we set about on a hike along a disused railway line. Dartmoor national park is full on flat wide planes.. 'deep wooded gorges, beautiful lake-like reservoirs and tumbling rocky rivers.'. .. We went up a steep hill to the BBC radio tower for long reaching views across the valley all the way to beach. On the way down to join the walking track we met some friendly Dartmoor ponies looking for food from us. The walk was relaxing but tiring and we were happy to get back to the car to resume our drive to Plymouth.

Plymouth was a big city but only 6 miles from the centre we were in beautiful farm country. After the GPS lady led us astray(again!) we finally found the farm house/B&B we were staying at. The farm was set in large grounds, beautifully kept with a large pond as its centre piece. The house was cute & cosy. The couple who owned it were lovely. We were led upstairs to our room with great views of the garden which we enjoyed with a relaxing cup of tea.

After a hot shower we drove back into Plymouth for dinner at the Barbican waterfront. Barbican is the old harbour area which managed to escape destruction during the Blitz in WWII that flattened most of Plymouth. The area was bustling with people & full of seafood restaurants along the water. We ended up having a relaxing 3 hour long dinner at a fancy seafood restaurant.

That night we got a good nights sleep and woke up to a hot breakfast with the owners and another couple who were also staying there. Over breakfast we found out that the other couple had been coming to this farmhouse for about 10-15 years and were now great friends with the owners. They were all such lovely people and it was so nice to talk to them.. our day was off to a great start.

We decided to drive down to Penzance and the west most tip of England. The drive was relaxing and we enjoyed the spring flowers, green fields and the long windy road there. Penzance is a big harbour town on the water which provided a nice backdrop for lunch in the sun. Then we headed to Land's end the west most point in England and to the beautiful cliff side Minack theatre over looking turquoise waters and sandy beaches glistening in the sun full of people enjoying the clear bright day. Minack theatre carved on the side of a cliff was an amazing sight, I would recommend going here if you are ever in this part of England.

Next we headed to St Michael's Mount , a tidal island in Penzance, the Cornish counterpart to Mount Saint Michael in Normandy, France. The path to St Michael's is walkable in low tide but gets completely covered in high tide and you have to resort to taking a boat over. We got there in low tide but as it was coming in quite quickly. All the sightseeing was quite tiring and so we decided to take a break with some Cornish cream tea - scones, clotted cream & jam with a pot of tea. Cream tea is something that the English do really well and I have to say I'm a complete convert although its not great for the waistline to say the least. The drive back to Plymouth was pleasant in the afternoon sunshine and we explored the Plymouth citadel and maritime war memorial as the sun was setting. For dinner we ended up at a great Thai place with a great array of local seafood on the menu. We asked for a spicy red fish curry and was given the hottest thing we had eaten in about 2 years.. it was unbelievably so over the top hot by UK standards but made beautifully. My stomach burns just thinking about it!...

Next day we drove back to Bristol at a leisurely pace and arrived back in London via the train. Cornwall won me over completely and it was one of the most relaxing and pleasant holidays I'd had in a while. That part of England is so beautiful and serene.. I'm so glad we got to see it before leaving the UK.

See photos here.

Pitfalls of an Adaptation

At the height of hype and acclaim for the Slumdog Millionaire recently I got the chance to watch it, finally. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I mean what is all the fuss about? Its a feel good movie, yes, probably not meant to change someone's life. Sure in that respect it kinda works. Is it worthy of best picture? Hell NO! It's corny and conceited white man's view of India. Enough said about it I think.

I just read a great article by Salman Rushdie on the failures of adapting novels to films. Its well worth a read if you have the time. It got me thinking of the impending screen adaptation of Shantaram, one of the best books I've read in recent times. I really hope they don't mess it up, but what are the chances of that happening? It would be impossible to do the book justice but like Rushdie states the film will have to stand on its own, its own form of art, an interpretation of the essence of what the book is trying to convey.

My dad does a lot of translations from English to Sinhalese and vice versa. Everyone from Shakespeare to Chekhov and Chaucer and many more. He always speaks of it as 'Transcreation', the work reborn as something different in the new sphere, its not a copy, but a new creation holding the essence of the original. Like Rushdie says you may loose something in the process but you can also gain something.

I hope the in the same way Shantaram can come to be something altogether different on screen without loosing its core. Roberts(the author) is suppose to be writing the adaptation and Johnny Depp is suppose to be the main character... hmm not sure how that will go. I love Depp and he is perhaps the most versatile Hollywood actor there is today, so maybe it will all work out... Will just have to wait and see.

Maldives

At the end of our time in Sri Lanka we went to the Maldives for a bit of fun in the sun. We left Sri Lanka the day after Shivani and Dinesh's wedding and arrived in Male in the middle of the night. We were staying in an island resort called Bandos not far from Male. When we arrived at the Male airport we were greeted by some people from the resort and taken to the resort by a speed boat. It was exhilarating travelling so fast on the water in the dead of the night.

Bandos is an atoll about 500m in diameter and we stayed in a villa about 10m from the beach. The vegetation in the Maldives is much like parts of Sri Lanka, with tall coconut palms, beautiful tropical ferns and flowers. It also has white sandy beaches, gorgeous aqua blue water and is surrounded by a band of coral about 25 meters in width. The weather was perfectly balmy and the days long and bright a complete opposite to London at the moment.

We spent our time in the Maldives snorkeling and swimming in the ocean several times a day. The sea water was warm and inviting and full of a myriad of wonderful fish and sea life. The coral looked quite drab next to the colour and vibrancy of the fish which were friendly and unafraid of the awkward humans in their snorkeling gear. There were a lot of activities available for the resort guests including scuba diving, para gliding, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling as well as island hopping and night fishing. We took a trip out to snorkel around some other hot spots in the area and were happy to just swim around the island most other times.

As the sun sets at Bandos all the guests flock to the Sundowners bar, a deck out on the water with the sun setting majestically behind it. Waiters serve cocktails while a group of musicians entertain the guests with classic covers and some Maldivian numbers which sound remarkably a lot like some Sinhalese songs. As darkness encroaches guests head into Sand bar, the main bar in the resort.

Sand bar had a lot of Sri Lankans working behind the bar and it was nice to talk to them in Sinhalese and attempt to explain that we were born in Sri Lanka, from Australia but currently living in the UK. Every night Sand bar had something to entertain the resort guests. There was a Maldivian night with traditional singing and dancing and again I was taken aback by how similar the music was to Sri Lankan baila.

The food in the Maldives was awesome. Tuna is native to the area and is available in abundance. We had fish in all forms while we were there. We tried many Maldivian dishes which were similar to Sri Lankan food in many ways and gorgeously spicy. We had the best ever tuna sashimi while there, my mouth salivates just thinking about how soft and succulent it was.

Overall it was one of the most fun and relaxing holidays I've had in a very long time. While the Maldives is expensive I think its worth it. The people are very friendly and its great to experience some of their culture while enjoying the sea and sun. I definietly want to go back someday again.

Maldives from above.
Maldives from below.

Sri Lanka

We returned to Sri Lanka earlier this month after 2 years for Shivani & Dinesh's wedding. We went from sub zero temperatures & snow to 33 degrees and glorious sunshine. We arrived with the war in the north east raging forth and a highly militarised Lanka. Everywhere you looked there are posters of victorious soldiers. Security was high but I guess we were used to this. Though not much else had really changed in the time we were away one thing we did notice was the increase in the number of apartment complexes particularly around Colombo.

Our time in Lanka passed quickly in between fit-ons, shopping trips and visits to friends and family. It was great to see dad looking much healthier albeit a little thin. A lot my Sydney friends were also in Sri Lanka for Shivani & Dinesh's wedding and it was great to catch up with them, most of all my brother who stayed with us at Dehiwala. The wedding was to be at Mount Lavinia hotel an old hotel set by the sea with its own private beach. We had dinner in one of its restaurants called Seafood Cove on the beach. Dinner at Seafood Cove is simple but very fresh. All manner of fresh seafood is layed out in buffet style freshly caught on that day. Customers select what they like and instruct the chefs on how they wish it to be cooked. The fresh seafood is then cooked in front of you and brought to your table. We had devilled prawns, squid and fish deep fried, grilled as well as in a gorgeously spicy curry. These were accompanied by rice & salad. It was a divine experience, sipping cocktails, eating freshly cooked seafood with the sea breeze in our hair and sand beneath our feet. One that I will not forget soon.

The time passed quickly and before we knew it, it was the day of the wedding. It took place on the beach with the sun setting in the background. I was one of the bridesmaids along with 2 other friends. Shivani looked absolutely gorgeous and the wedding ceremony went well. It was great to have a lot of my friends and family there. Dad looked very handsome in his new suit and it was also great to see him having a good time. The send off for the newly married couple was in a done up 3 wheeler accompanied by a papparey band. We had the after party at bu bar just a few hundred meters away from the hotel on the beach.

We left Sri Lanka for the Maldives the next day... watch out for my next post about the Maldives...

See the lanka picture here.

Berlin

Its been ages since I last wrote. I know I've been a bit slack. I think I go through phases of intense interest in blogging and then sometimes it doesn't seem as important. Anyway its not as if there hasn't been anything to write about either but I just got lazy. I realised that I haven't written about our trip to Berlin yet. It feels like such a long time ago that I had to look at my google calendar to find the date. We went to Berlin in early September. We caught Easyjet there and we were delayed again. Besides that the airport we arrived in was deep inside East Berlin, and coming back into town in the train we saw many decrepit and creepy looking train stations along the way. The train ride in took ages and it was very late when we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Westin off the main street of Unter den Linden. Saturday morning we grabbed some breakfast in a nice cafe on the way to the Brandenburg gate. That was where our free walking tour of Berlin began. The guided walking tour was excellent.. and the best way to see the main historic sights of Berlin for anyone going there. It covered the following places:

• Pariser Platz
• The Brandenburg Gate
• The Reichstag
• The new Holocaust Memorial
• Hitler’s Bunker
• Luftwaffe HQ
• The 17. June Memorial
• The Berlin Wall
• The Former SS Headquarters
• Checkpoint Charlie
• The Former Red Light District
• Gendarmenmarkt
• Bebelplatz
• The Book Burning Memorial
• The Old Royal Boulevard
• Neue Wache
• The TV Tower
• Museum Island

As you can see it covers numerous places of historical interest, many of which have a lot of significance to the Nazi era and when Berlin was divided into east and west. We saw the remnants of the Berlin wall and its path in the city still etched on the ground where it once stood. Our tour guide (a soft spoken English girl) told us many stories about people escaping the wall and trying to reunite with loved ones trapped on either side. We went past the Humboldt University, Berlin's oldest, at the sight of which the Nazi book burning took place. There is poignant memorial to that day on the square giving a view of a room through a glass sheet embedded on the ground full of white empty book shelves representing the books burnt on that day. Across the road in front of the University there is a free book fair held every weekend giving away copies of those books once burnt. That place stirred a lot of sadness for me.

After the tour we had a late lunch and went back to the hotel to rest. We headed out to dinner that night to an area full of restaurants and there was too much choice for us. In the end we went to a Cuban restaurant and had great food. After dinner we made an impulse decision to go to the ultra modern parliament building which is open for tours till very late at night and gives a good view of the city. We rushed through the streets in the rain but were not let in as we were one minute late!!!! After getting over the disappointment of that we walked to the Brandenburg gate which is lit up beautifully at night and took some great pictures there. Berlin is full of great bars and an excellent night life and if you like to drink its a great place. We skipped the bar experience as we had just finished a bottle of wine between the two of us at the Cuban restaurant. We got back to to hotel and had some nice apple strudel and ice cream :) It was sooooo good!

The next day we spent a lot of time at museums and riding around the different parts of the city on buses. The time went quite quickly and soon it was time to head back home to London. At the end of the our time there I understood a little better how much the city itself had gone through, its legacy and why some of the wounds of the past will take many more years to heal. That is not to say that a lot of people are not trying to do just that. The city is full of history & culture but a little depressing and hard to stomach when you are there for a short visit. Much of the east parts of the city are still quite run down, grey and dirty while there are areas in the west which are newer and greener. The city is full of contrasts and the people friendly. One thing I did love were the alldescribingwordsstucktogether German names for places and things which were a bit hard to get used to at first but were a delight once you were a bit clued in.

Check out the photos of Berlin we took.