Backpackers in London keen to be part of a public art exposition should get along to Trafalgar Square in the coming months.
Over the course of a period of 100 days, members of the public will be given the opportunity to stand on a plinth – day and night – for an hour.
The artist, Antony Gormley, is quoted as saying: “Through elevation on to the plinth and removal from common ground, the body becomes a metaphor, a symbol and allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society.”
Whether or not that’s any consolation for standing on a plinth, in the rain, at four in the morning, remains to be seen.
Really enjoying sleepinginthemountains, a fantastic blog from adventure travel writer Tim Patterson.
He’s just got back from Patagonia (and before that Uruguay), and HB picked up the thread of his time there from an article he wrote for worldhum.com.
Like much of his writing, it’s a curious, thought-provoking piece taking in reflections on Bruce Chatwin’s brilliant In Patagonia, branding and what it means to be a traveler in the 21st Century.
“In the brave new world of a California-based search and technology information company, a California brand takes precedence over a place that is half the size of California.”
Hard as it is to believe looking out of the window at the grey perma-drizzle of London, but midsummer’s almost upon us.
And Midsummer’s Eve/St John’s Night/Summer Solstice has, since pagan times, been the date of one of the year’s biggest parties - from the new-age celebrations at Stonehenge to the downright peculiar ‘Frog Dance’ in Sweden.
But one party packs more of a punch than all the others put together: the Festa de Sao Joao. Anyone within a sniff of Portugal’s usually reserved city of Porto should make sure they’re there to see it get turned upside-down by a mad midsummer street party on June 23rd and 24th.
Ostensibly a celebration of the city’s saint’s day (Sao Joao), any religious connotations are overshadowed by a raucous festival.
Porto’s streets are filled with locals progressing through the town carrying leeks and plastic hammers with which to hit any (attractive) passers-by to (somehow?) commemorate the saint’s patronage of lovers.
Hammer Time!
For female travelers, this tends to be funny the first time and mildly annoying the second. By the hundredth time, though, you’ll probably be prepared to throttle the next hammer-wielding Portuguese teenager with an amorous glint in his eye!
The focal point of the party is the main square, Avenida dos Aliados, which becomes a giant marketplace filled with stalls, people and illuminated balloons.
Aside from offering a fascinating slice of local culture, the hastily erected bars, barbecues and live music stages that fill the city guarantee an orgiastic night of eating, drinking and dancing in the streets.
The festivities reach their formal climax with a dramatic fireworks display along the Duoro estuary at midnight.
Porto Fireworks
After the fireworks, though, the party decamps to the Praia dos Ingleses beach, where bonfires are lit, the music’s cranked up and nobody goes home till well after the sun comes up.
With the next day (the day of Sao Joao itself) a public holiday, the city is totally deserted as revelers lie in darkened rooms groaning. In the afternoon, the entertainment returns to the riverfront, this time in the gentler guise of a regatta of the area’s traditional wooden boats.
Oddly, given its scale and vibrancy, Festa de Sao Joao is practically unknown outside of Portugal, but it’s definitely worth a visit to experience one of the liveliest summer festivals – and wildest parties – in Europe.
An old ‘un but a good ‘un. This video from vagabonding.com is of one of India’s more unusual religious sites: the ‘Rat Temple’ of Karni Mata in Rajasthan.
Definitely not one for the squeamish or the musophobic!
Lovingly christened ‘The Baby’, it was developed at the University of Manchester, weighed in at well over a ton and took up a whole lab.
Obviously you don’t have to look too hard to find what the computer’s done for budget travel. These days the computer – and its offshoot the internet – isn’t just important to budget travel, it is budget travel.
Ok, so the Competitive Traveler (see ‘Annoying Hostel Types’ post) will swear blind that the internet was the death of the genuinely footloose globetrotter.
But the truth is that travel has been opened up in a way that would have been beyond the wildest dreams of the grand tourists, the hippy trailers and even their much more recent descendents. And not just to some, but to many.
From booking a hostel in Ulaanbaatar or a rail pass in Europe, to finding out the local exchange rate or reading detailed up-to-the-minute blogs, what the internet allowed you to do for the first time was really plan your trip and prepare an accurate budget.
Which in turn, of course, brought it increasingly into the realms of possibility.
So there might be just a little less spontaneity to traveling as a side effect of all that planning, but the modern traveler is a whole lot better informed about where they’re going, what to see and do and how to behave…
And for that, we have the birth of the computer to thank.
Nath Richards is chronically afflicted with the independent travel bug, a condition which he channels into a great budget travel site. He also (rather thoughtfully) writes a fantastic blog, which keeps you abreast of his tumbleweed wanderings. Addressing some of the main issues, concerns, interests (and cliches) of traveling, it’s also written in a lively, and often pretty amusing style.
His latest post - Finally at ‘The Beach’ - was a case in point. Nath’s in Thailand, and he rattles through savvy Canadian backpackers, Leonardo di Caprio, Thailand travel mythology, fleapit phuket hostels, travel budgets, Dagenham and Redbridge(!) and semi-longing sideways glances at Lonely Planet expense accounts… All in a couple of hundred words. Phew.
Wimbledon: Seen from the TV, it often seems like there’s a conspicuous absence of ‘normal’ people in amongst the crowds of champagne quaffing, strawberry scoffing spectators.
Backpackers and budget travelers traveling in London this June and July should be aware, though, that there are ways of doing it (sort of) on the cheap.
On-day Sales
Wimbledon is one of the few remaining sporting events that sells many of its tickets on the day of play. Queue overnight for the 500-odd Centre Court tickets that go on sale, or join the queue (it starts in Wimbledon Park normally, and ends at Gate 3) a few hours before gates open for Ground Admission tickets.
The latter give you access to all the ‘outside courts’, and the seating area for Court 2, but not Court 1 or Centre. Buying tickets this way is surprisingly cheap – Ground Admission tickets are a mere £20 (CASH ONLY) for a whole day’s play.
Grandstand tickets can’t be purchased – you have to enter into a public ballot, and the deadline’s long gone. However, get your Ground-Admission pass and hang around the entrances to Centre or 1 Court and you might just get lucky.
Other Viewing Options
As the day goes on, people will have to leave for home – meaning you can pick up a free ticket and see some play in those two prestigious stadiums. And don’t feel scared to ask – the ground staff don’t normally object to you hanging around looking for a free pass.
If you want to watch the action on the main courts but don’t have a pass, take a seat on the hill north of Centre Court (known as Aorangi Park, or Henman Hill/Rusedski Ridge/Mount Murray, depending).
A huge screen broadcasts the play, and the hill is invariably packed with people picnicking, drinking and cheering away. Oh, you might just get on the TV here, too.
Seriously. The tickets may be cheap, but the LTA need to make their money from somewhere. Whether it’s strawberries and cream, or a harmless bottle of water, you’ll end up paying through the nose.
It’s Ok to take soft-sided bags into the grounds, so cram one with as much grub as possible (including an all-important punnet of strawberries), and live off that for a day.
You’re allowed to take alcohol in – to the tune of one bottle of wine or two cans per person – although we dare say that can be stretched if you use your imagination…
Take sun cream, water, and an umbrella. All three are useful when it’s hot, and the second two are useful when it’s not! (Again, avoid paying for anything once you’re in.)
Memorabilia & Mementoes
Take a small pad and pen. You’ll almost certainly see a few stars walking around the grounds during the day, and they’re normally obliging when it comes to signing things. Buying pads on the day won’t be a cheap experience.
If you want to take memorabilia home with you, avoid the official souvenir shops like the plague and head instead to the Used Championship Balls kiosk.
Here you can pick up a tin of used match balls for a relatively reasonable 4 quid by the tin (that’s 4 balls). The tins come stamped with an official mark, as does each ball.
There’s a chance that the balls here have been hit by Roger Federer (they might even have spent a breathless moment resting in Maria Sharapova’s utility underwear).
Of course, if taking these measures still makes a day at Wimbledon too expensive, you can always make like the rest of London and slink off to the pub to watch it. Cheap and cheerful.
The artist, Antony Gormley, is quoted as saying: “Through elevation on to the plinth and removal from common ground, the body becomes a metaphor, a symbol and allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society.” 
