Archive for October, 2008
USA Hostels run a chain of big name, big destination hostels across America. And, as this Craigslist advert proclaims, they’re looking for a Receptionist to join their team in San Francisco.
Only three blocks away from Union Square, USA Hostels San Francisco is probably one of the best pound-for-pound hostels in America. Its a nice size (at 210 beds it’s neither too big nor too small), the facilities are excellent, and there’s a great vibe that runs through the entire building.
So if you’re looking for a way in to San Fran, and you think you could hack it on a busy reception desk, this is a great opportunity to work with friendly people and experience the city from the ‘inside’.
The position only requires that you can speak more than one language, and that you know how to smile!
Monday, Oct 27th, 2008
Categories: London
Following our round-up of the top backpackers’ parties over Halloween, I’ve discovered more great events coming up to celebrate this often overlooked holiday.
For travelers in London – and everyone who has to stay close to home and work (like me) – the pick of the bunch has to be Union Chapel’s (on Upper Street, Islington) appropriately titled ‘Chills in the Chapel’ week.
Starting tomorrow, the impressively atmospheric church is screening four top horror movies (including Lynch’s The Elephant Man and the unbeatable Peter Cushings – Christopher Lee duo of the 1958 Dracula) every night in honor of Halloween.
Candles and lighting make the films suitably spooky but it’s the setting that really makes this fright fest special – after all, I can think of few more unsettling spots for a scary movie than an ancient church. In a good way, of course!
Tickets are a reasonable £8 a pop and all proceeds will go towards the church’s restoration fund.
AW
Inspired by the extravagant late-night ‘Nuite Blanche’ events in major European cities like Madrid, the small but arty town of Brighton hosts its first ‘White Night’ this Saturday (25th October).
Eclectic Brighton has a reputation for summer fun and an inclusive vibe but this sounds like a really great way to pull in the crowds as winter draws in and that beach-nightlife-fish-&-chips combo starts to lose its appeal.
So rather than going into hibernation, Brighton is celebrating the turning back of the clocks (and the offical start of British winter and dark evenings) with a bang. From 6pm ’til 7am, there’ll be culture and antics aplenty on the streets and, if the vibrant atmosphere of the town in summer is anything to go by, it’s bound to be a success.
Art galleries and exhibtions are staying open late, and the Brighton Philharmonic will play in the grand Regency rooms of The Royal Pavilion, which is sure to be a highlight of the musical program.
There’s also some rather innovative entertainment on offer, including midnight swims at the Prince Regent Pool with underwater music which promises “leisurely Aquadelica” which, I admit, I don’t quite understand but, well, it certainly sounds exciting.
What really caught our eye though is that nearly all of the activities are free – excellent news for the cheapskates here at HostelBloggers.
After all, London to Brighton is just an hour on the train…
AW
Love art-going but hate stuffy museums? Then here’s a rundown of the best open-air art exhibitions from around the world…
1. Fundacion NMAC, Vejer de la Frontera, Spain
Squeezed between the sierras and sea of Andalucia’s Costa de la Luz, Vejer de la Frontera is a traveler’s dream. A typical whitewashed Andalucian town, it’s just about as calm and authentic a place as you’re likely to encounter anywhere on your travels.
One of the world’s leading art exhibitions can also be found here. The collection at the Fundacion NMAC is simply awesome, including installations by established artists such as Susana Solano, Richard Nonas, Sol LeWitt and Roxy Paine. And, what’s more, like Paine’s giant metal tree (pictured above), it’s almost all outdoors.
The Fundacion is about showcasing contemporary art in natural landscapes, emphasizing ’specific projects which promote social dialogue and understanding through art’. The result is an enchanting and cerebral place that demands hours upon hours of happy wanderings (or should that be wonderings?).
2. Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway
Frogerparken in Oslo is a little bit special. The laid-back urban park is different from most in that, aside from the usual leafy expanses and picnicking couples, it includes an 80-acre sculpture park that features 212 large-scale pieces by Gustav Vigeland.
The sculptures sit along an axis that splits the park into five different segments, each carrying its own theme. At the top of this axis, you find the standout sculpture – a 12-foot high ‘Monolith’ of naked bodies climbing their way to heaven. It’s a magnificent jewel in the park’s already glittering crown.
3. Hakone Open-Air Museum, Hakone, Japan
This massive establishment, based in the expansive Fuji Hakone Izu National Park, was Japan’s first-ever outdoor museum. Opened in the 60s, it has built up a stunning collection over the years and today boasts Rodins, Miros, Renoirs, Picassos and Moores.
The sculptures by Henry Moore, in particular, find a happy home here – as the artist himself proclaimed, ‘Sculpture is an art of the open air’ and, gazing at the solid form of his sweeping pieces cut against the backdrop of Japan’s rolling mountains and infinite sky, you can see what he was getting at.
4. Victoria’s Way, Dublin, Ireland
Spread out across 22 acres of beautiful countryside, Victoria’s Way contains several massive sculptures of Ganesha, provoking the visitor into inner-contemplation and prodding them onto the road of ultimate happiness. Which is kind of surreal, really, since it’s in Catholic Ireland, only a half hour from Dublin.
The Park stands out for a number of reasons: partly because the sculptures are impressive, partly because you can chat to the mastermind behind it all (if you find his workshop next to the car park), and partly because it’s very much a hidden gem. Few tourist guide books cover Victoria’s Way, and fewer tourists still make it out here. Those that do are in for a veritable treat.
5. Frieze Art Fair, London, England
While the Frieze Art Fair isn’t a permanent exhibition (rather, it’s an annual three day event), it deserves a place on the list simply because it’s a mainstay in the calender of every mover and shaker in the contemporary art world.
Held in Regent’s Park, the Fair invariably exhibits the world’s most cutting-edge (and let’s be honest, downright expensive) ‘trendy’ art - although most of the visitors are there just to enjoy the view. Whether it’s the spectacle of the art, or the view of the bigwigs networking, well, who’s to say?
This year’s Fair has already passed but, rest assured, it will be back in 2009. In the meantime, you could always throw some paint at a canvas, hang it on the wall in your garden and then gaze at it intently, mumbling something about the nature of perception in posthumanist times and flicking at your mustache.
Or you could get a friend to do it while you watch and point.
Monday, Oct 20th, 2008
Categories: Hostels
It’s the middle of October, the nights are drawing in and… [Insert series of tired Halloween puns here.] Anyway, hostels all over the world are dusting off their decorations in gleeful anticipation of one of the most decadent and, frequently, downright depraved nights of the backpacking year: Halloween.
When it comes to a big party, most hostels don’t need to be asked twice. But there’s something about hostels and Halloween that go together like, well, two things that go together really well.
So if you’re within striking distance of one of these hostels come Halloween, you’d be mad (but not in a terrifying murderous rampage way) if you didn’t start getting a costume together and drawing on your reserves of courage. After all, the very worst that’ll come of it is a truly horrible hangover. Probably.
1. Generator Hostel, London
“Be afraid, be very afraid” the flier reads, somewhat ominously. And, as anyone who’s ever experienced a 
happy hour there will testify, it’s with good reason, too: The Generator Hostel practically wrote the book on how to throw a good backpackers’ party. And this year’s Halloween looks like it will be a case in point. The party gets underway in the Generator Bar at 9pm and, in true Generator style, will stumble its way, bleary-eyed and blinking, into the early hours of Saturday morning.
2. Nathan’s Villa Hostel, Krakow
Nathan’s Villa has got Halloween Party 2008 written all over it. You can spend the afternoon happily drifting around the creepy Remuh Cemetery like a lost EMO kid, before nipping into one of Kazimierz’s atmospheric old drinking dens. Then it’s a case of everyone back to Nathan’s for the main event: the bitterly contested ‘Best Outfit Competition’, and bathtubs full of free punch.
3. Caledonian Backpackers, Edinburgh
From grave robbing duo Burke & Hare, to beaky plague doctor, John Paulitious, and the subterranean gloom of Mary King’s Close, the streets of Edinburgh are splattered with more gory goings-on than you can shake a stick at. Caledonian Backpackers are looking to really tap into this wellspring of Gothic horror for their Halloween party, and celebrate it the only way they know how: with the party to end all parties.
(On this note, a word of warning, however: the HostelBloggers crew aren’t exactly shrinking violets, but after a couple of nights of punishment in their bar, we were forced to admit defeat and slink off whimpering, with pounding heads and tails firmly stuck between our legs.)
4. Loki Hostel, Mancora
Halfway around the world in Cusco (and Lima and La Paz), Loki Backpackers would give Caledonian Backpackers a good run for their money in a party hostels battle royale. And though the surfing beaches of Mancora aren’t quite the traditional image of a gloomy, mist-enveloped Halloween, by tying the event in with Loki del Mar’s official opening party, all the signs are pointing to a night to remember!
5. Nomads Capital Backpackers, Wellington
Nomads Capital are really letting it all hang out this year – in the alluring form of a Rocky Horror Picture Show Party. Held in their on-site bar, Blend, it promises an intoxicating Halloween cocktail of “warm waters of sins of the flesh – erotic nightmares beyond any measure…” So it sounds pretty good, then!
Altogether now: it’s just a jump to the left, and then a step to the riiiiiiiiight…
Milton Keynes comes high on the list for many things, but as a destination for skiers and snowboarders? Surely not…
Well, OK, you’re probably not going to book a week’s skiing holiday in the city, but as a place to head to for a day’s snow-bound fun, it’s actually one of the best options in the UK.
The massive Xscape complex on the edge of the city center includes, among other things, a 170m purpose-built artificial slope, complete with genuine snow, a beginners’ area, and even an ice-slide. HostelBloggers gave it a bash over the weekend as a bit of a team outing, and found it to be as much fun, as, well, bombing down a slope on a couple of planks of wood…
Getting There: The train from London (Euston) only takes about 40 minutes and costs just under £15; having arrived, it’s another five minute bus ride to the Dome.
Facilities: Along with the SNO!Zone facility itself, the complex includes a bowling alley, rock climbing walls, a cinema and a bunch of assorted snow-wear shops such as Quicksilver, Rossignol and Animal.
Skiing/Boarding: The snow at SNO!Zone is genuinely impressive (or so the experienced ones amongst us claimed!). It’s soft and completely natural – not at all like the gritty ’snow-cannoned’ snow you sometimes get out on the busy open-air slopes.
A two hour pass costs £31, including equipment hire. Lessons are a little more costly – £27 for an hour, or £72 for three hours.
There are also regular ‘freestyle’ sessions where the slope is decked out with kicker and rail combinations for the more accomplished boarder.
Apres Ski: In true ‘piste’ style, SNO!Zone caters for those looking to indulge in post-exertion fun. The stylish 
SNO!Bar is a good place to retreat to after a few runs on the slopes (or a good place to start if you need to steady the nerves). Come Friday night, the bar turns into a real dancehouse, with a DJ spinning tunes while you ski or chat the night away. A ski pass on these nights is £35 for 4 hours (7pm – 11pm). And for those content to just prop up the bar and watch everyone else break their necks, entrance is free.
So, the verdict? SNO!Zone in Milton Keynes is a well-run place with lots going on and helpful, friendly staff. The slope is ideal for beginner or newly intermediate skiers/borders – anyone of a higher level should make sure they go during ‘freestyle’ hours to maximize their fun.
But part of the appeal is the good vibe - it’s essentially just about the ideal place to spend a few hours or so mucking around with your mates.
While we’re on the subject of adventure travel, we’d like to share the whispers we’ve been hearing about an exciting new television show…
Basically, they’re trying to hunt down a female traveler and survival enthusiast to front an upcoming travel project.
The premise will be similar to that of hit British program ‘Born Survivor’ with Bear Grylls in which the explorer eats grubs, climbs up some very steep cliffs and generally proves his mettle in extreme situations. Only this time, they’re looking for a woman to take on the challenge.
So if you think you’ve got the know-how and the spirit to be cast as the first female survival star on the telly, please leave a comment saying why you’d love to be the female Bear Grylls (with your email address) and get ready for an adventure!
We’ve just come across an ad placed on the job section of hostelmanagement.com by the International Student Center in Manhattan, New York.
They’re looking for a full-time member of staff to man the front desk, deal with bookings, check people in and help with the various non-profit educational programs that the hostel runs (these include an Arts for PEACE gallery and an International Counselor Exchange Program).
Salary is to the tune of $300 per week, which is really pretty good when you consider the free accommodation that’s thrown into the deal. Seems like a good way to land on your feet in New York to us…
There are a few things in life that are guaranteed to come around once every other year or so. A sporting tournament that whips everyone up into a state of nationalistic frenzy, for example, or a largely disappointing Oasis album.
And then, of course, there’s James Bond. This sleek, sexy, and occasionally Scottish super-spy is about to return to our big screens in the much anticipated, and ludicrously titled, Quantum of Solace. (Having thought about it for some time, we’re fairly sure this basically means ‘A Little Bit of Comfort’, which sounds a whole lot less Bond-like…)
Anyway, Quantum already has Bond fans salivating, not least at the caveat that the film will end with a chase set to the backdrop of the spectacular – if precarious – Il Palio di Siena. (Unsurprisingly, the same warning has left animal rights activists spitting poison at the movie.) Whatever your stance on the moralistic quandary, the scene promises to be another memorable set-piece in a long line of famous Bond locations…
1. Piz Gloria, Switzerland; On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
In Bond circles, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the one that got away. The film has everything to make a great addition to the Bond franchise – wicked action sequences, a great plot, and some arm’s length anti-authoritarian sentiment, too. Everything, that is, apart from any real semblance of Bond.
George Lazenby just doesn’t cut the mustard in the role, and as a result the film is as famous for his wooden acting as it is for the thrilling ski chase down the Schilthorn Mountain. Still, there’s some great scenery throughout to distract you from Lazenby’s ineptitude - not least the magnificent Piz Gloria establishment. Sitting atop the Scholthorn, today it’s a swanky restaurant where you can take in the view over a ‘James Bond Breakfast’.
2. James Bond Island, Thailand; The Man with the Golden Gun
Camp and perversely comic, The Man with the Golden Gun marks Roger Moore’s second ‘outing’ as Bond. Christopher Lee aside, the film isn’t very interesting until its closing moments, when the famed Hall of Mirrors combine with the breathtaking scenery of James Bond Island to produce a real cinematic highpoint.
James Bond Island is perhaps the exotic Bond movie location. Formally titled Ko Tapu, the island changed its name after The Man with the Golden Gun used its shores as Scaramanga’s iconic lair. Settled in Pha Ngang Bay, James Bond Island is about two hours’ boat ride from Phuket, and is now heavily inscribed on the tourist map.
3. London, UK; The World is Not Enough
Pierce Brosnan’s third Bond film is basically a winner, though you only really have to watch the opening 15 
minute sequence to experience the film’s fundamental thrills. Set on the banks of the River Thames, The World is Not Enough wastes no time throwing Bond into the heat of the action. First he’s launching out of the MI6 building in a souped-up stealth boat, then he’s sliding down the Millennium Dome’s vast tarpaulin – all in chase of a typically attractive vixen, and all without so much as fraying one dyed black hair.
London looks awesome during these moments, and (whisper it quietly) makes a bit of a mockery of Brosnan’s peacock-like sense of self-regard.
4. Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio; Moonraker
For a film that was supposed to jump on the 70s sci-fi bandwagon, Moonraker actually boasts some of the most consistently jaw-dropping (and defiantly Earth-based) locations of any Bond film. From the gorgeous canals of Venice to the mighty Iguazu Falls, Moonraker is surely a testament to one location scout’s eagerness to blag an open ticket around the world’s headlining sites!
One moment of location splendor stands out, however, and that’s Sugarloaf Mountain. Perched on the edge of Guanabara Bay, this oddly-shaped mountain is the awesome backdrop to a monumental fight between Bond and his indestructible adversary, Jaws. They grapple along the lines of a cable car, suspended hundreds of meters up, before Jaws finally falls to his death. Or does he?
5. Cadiz, Spain; Die Another Day
Die Another day is straight-up stupid. While watching its desperately outlandish attempts to keep up with modern-day blockbusters – from a man with a ‘dream mask’ to a disappearing car – it’s pretty easy to see why producers decided to totally reinvent the formula for the following Bond installment, Casino Royale.
And yet, Die Another Day did pretty well at the box office. Why? Could it be something to do with Halle Berry – and especially her emerging, bikini-clad, from the Cuban ocean? Probably, although the informed Bond fan will know she was nowhere near Cuba at the time. Rather, she was in Cadiz, where the scene was actually shot.
Presumably, the Spanish government were a little easier to persuade than their Cuban counterparts when it came to the filming of a Western spy flick. Still, Cadiz’s beaches are wonderful, and the scene loses none of its undoubted power…
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Any other locations that should have made my list? Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below…
JBC
So the banking system has crashed, no one has any money left to speak of (just where has it all gone?), and we’re now all doomed to a life of eating cigarette butts picked off the road. Or something like that.
Alright… so we’re hardly experts on world finance, but it does seem that people are going to have a little less cash to splash in the coming months. Before you go hastily canceling your backpacking plans, however, it’s worth taking a mo to figure out a cheaper way of doing things. Of course, it goes without saying that you’ll be staying in a hostel, but how about saving on transport, too?
Hitchhiking has a bad rep. And it’s undeserved, since it’s quite simply one of the very best ways to travel the world: you meet new people, you see the great outdoors though the window (or, if you’re that way inclined, from outside the window, tongue lolling like an excitable dog…) and you spend practically nothing.
What better way, then, to negotiate the world during these supposedly troubled times than to get yourself on the road and start exercising that imploring thumb action? Here you have it, then, our Top 10 Tips for Hitchhiking…
1. Find Out about Local Hitching Customs
It’s not always easy to do, but when possible try to find out about the official and unofficial local laws of 
hitching. It can be helpful to know, for example, that while hitching isn’t exactly illegal in the US, there are major restrictions, and these can change from state to state. Similarly, knowing that hitchhikers are often expected to pay their way in parts of South America can help you avoid unexpected and unnecessary arguments.
2. Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd
Hitching in pairs can be a great way of cutting down on roadside-waiting time, especially if you’re a mixed pair or two women traveling together. While a lonesome figure thumbing a lift instantly calls to mind images of escaped convicts (well, for some at least), two friends looking for a ride appear comparatively amiable and less inherently dangerous. Avoid groups of three or more, however. That’s a gang (and it’s also logistically less plausible for small cars).
3. Scrub Up
Working on the fairly safe assumption that drivers are a little wary of picking up escaped convicts, try not to look like an escaped convict! The shabbier you appear, the less likely you are to get a lift. So hide those stripey rags, dress in something at least a little clean, and maybe even have a wash and shave, too. Trust us, it’ll help.
4. Look Happy
Even if you’re wearing your Sunday best, drivers aren’t likely to stop if your face screams ’suicidal junky without a fix’. Try to look alert and interesting.
5. Choose a Spot
This is a big one. Choosing a good spot is vital if you want to be picked up quickly. Common knowledge amongst hitchers has it that you need to find a spot where cars will see you for as long as possible, and where they have plenty of space to stop if they decide to help. So try to avoid corners and busy roads without run-off areas.
Your spot doesn’t have to be on a road – it could be outside a petrol garage, or at a motorway rest stop. Hitching from these places is more likely to land you a long-haul ride inside a truck, as it’s a lot of effort for truckers to stop their heaving juggernauts on the side of the road.
Finally, while hitcher theory differs on this one, we say choose a spot and stay there. It’s a bit like fishing… Or panning for gold… The grass is always greener, and it’s always easy to be tempted into thinking your spot isn’t good enough. But it’s all random really, and you’re on the road anyway, so where’s the rush?
6. Make Eye Contact
Assuming you’ve found a good spot where you can see cars from a long way off, try to make eye contact with drivers – that little flicker of human contact can make all the difference. Don’t, on any account, wear sunglasses. Escaped convicts wear sunglasses to hide from the law.
7. Talk to the Driver Before Getting in
Once a car’s stopped for you, walk up to the driver’s seat and ask the driver where they’re going. That way you have a little time to assess your potential ride, and decide whether it appeals or not. If there’s something not quite right, you’re not in the car, so you can simply walk away.
8. Talk to the Driver Once You’re in
Hitchhiking is all about the stories and the characters… so get chatting!
9. Carry a Phone if Possible
If you have a mobile phone, carry it with you in your pocket. The phone may come in handy if you get yourself into a situation you wouldn’t want to be in. In reality though, it’s more likely you’ll use it as something to write your new traveling buddy’s number into.
10. Do Unto Other (Hitchers) as You Would Have (Other Hitchers) Do to You
Compared with the heady days of the 40s and 50s when just about everyone was hitching all over the place, today hitchers are something of a dying breed. So if you meet a hitcher on the road, respect them as brethren - don’t steal their ride by standing 20 meters in front on the same road!
Unless they’re an escaped convict, that is, in which case stand behind a tree and call the police.
