First off, a massive thanks to everyone who entered our recent compeition to win a weekend in Amsterdam - you certainly kept us entertained!
In fact, there were so many excellent itineraries posted that we had difficulty picking a winner… and we’ve decided to give away two copies of The Rough Guide to Amsterdam for the runners-up.
The prize of two night’s accommodation at The Flying Pig, though, goes to Angie and Rox - partly for the time and effort they put in to creating this poem, but mainly for attempting to rhyme “Rembrant” with “plant”! Congratulations, girls - have a fantastic time! And here’s their entry, in all it’s glory…
With Rizlas in hand,
We leave British sand,
And set sail for our prized destination.
Escaping the rain,
And the daily mundane
We succumb to the ‘city of temptation’.
By bike or by boat,
Though the sights we shall float,
Van Gough, Vermeer and Rembrandt.
The evening grows near,
We head for some beer,
And the lure of that sacred green plant.
No time to sit back,
Hangover sidetracked,
So much in tomorrow to cram.
A weekend away,
We wish we could stay,
Sweet times we had in ‘the Dam’!
Special mentions (and those Rough Guides) go to Brother Kaif for pure entertainment value (Anne Frank in burlesque gear? Genius) and Aled for his romantic vision of proposing in the Ice Bar - and then heading off to a sex show, of course. Email your address to editor@hostelbookers.com and we’ll send on the guide!
Remember to keep your eye out for more great competitions here, and over at HostelBookers…
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.
Wednesday, Oct 15th, 2008 Categories: Random Stuff
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…
A quick tip-off for this morning folks, as we’ve just come across this great idea for a blog.
By getting random people to write in his journal (a Moleskine, of course), the writer of this relatively new site just about turns travel writing on its head. Rather than heading away from home to meet new people and experience new cultures, Write in my Journal stays resolutely put (in Salt Lake City, to be precise) and simply approaches new people from all manner of backgrounds to scrawl a quick memento as they go about their lives.
The result? An unplanned and spontaneous insight into random lives and various backgrounds that is at times harrowing, haunting, uplifting… and just engagingly everyday. And that, when it comes down to it, is what good travel writing is all about.
It seems that the folk over at Road Junky have found themselves in a spot of bother lately.
We recently mentioned their post on cultural idiosyncrasies around the world (such as Albania’s pyramid scheme government woes) but we weren’t the only ones to stumble upon it - and a large number of readers are decidedly unhappy with their findings.
Having ourselves thought the article entertaining (and from our own experiences, containing at least the odd grain of truth in amongst the obvious inaccuracies) we couldn’t help but wonder why it had provoked such violent reactions. For HostelBloggers’ money it was as much a post about the line between stereotype and national characteristic, hearsay and fact… It was hardly portraying itself as investigative reportage, after all!
Admittedly, the subject matter was a little controversial even for a site that tends to be heavy on the frankness, light on the platitudes and rollocks along on a diet of sex, drugs and offbeat writing. But all the writing has the same amused, slightly cynical tone - and that was what caught (and continues to catch) the eye.
Maybe not every one of the ‘culture shocks’ they described was strictly accurate, but where else have we been informed recently that the high-five was invented in Arabia as the best way to greet people from atop a camel?
All we’re saying is, yes, travel writing should be informative and factual. But should it always have to take itself seriously, too?
It was back in the golden days of university, when long, idle afternoons seemed to stretch away forever. After a typically boozy lunch, we headed down to the city art gallery with the intention of spending a couple of hours drifting about.
Anyway, on the first floor at the time was a low-lying art installation in the shape of a beaver eating some sort of electrical appliance. Not really looking where we were going, we walked straight into the artwork and - with an almighty crash - sent it sprawling across the room, knocking its tail off in the process.
To our abiding shame, we quickly secured the tail back onto the poor creature and beat a hasty retreat…
Phew! We’ve said it. It’s out there. And if anyone from the art gallery in question is reading this - we’re very sorry. We never meant to break the beaver. And we’ll never do it again.
*(Although it originally broke at Ananova, HostelBloggers got wind of this story over on Jaunted.com. That’s twice in a week, Jaunted - nice work!)
Wednesday, Sep 17th, 2008 Categories: Random Stuff
Picture the scene: you’re relaxing on a lovely Caribbean Island - say, Maho Beach on the island of St. Martin. It’s all bright sunshine, blue seas and gorgeous white sand - it’s paradise… That is until a massive jet comes tearing in over your head bound for the nearby Princess Juliana International Airport!
Enough said. But St. Martin is far from alone in the dangerous runway stakes. There is, in fact, a whole host of airports across the world that are guaranteed to get passengers (and pilots) clinging on for dear life!
Over at Oddee they’ve made a bit of an extreme list, and here’s a few of our favorites that we reckon will make you think twice about booking that next plane ticket!
1. Barra Airport, Scotland.
There’s no proper runway at Barra International in the Outer Hebrides - planes just land on the beach. Needless to say, the schedules are influenced by the tides, but if you arrive as dusk is falling you’re in for another surprise - the only source of light is from the headlamps of cars in the parking lot!
2. Madeira Airport, Madeira.
It’s probably not a huge comfort to know that this structure was awarded a prize for engineering when you’re hurtling through the air in a jet towards it. We think we might be concentrating on the mountains. And the sea…
3. Courchevel, France.
Courchevel has become rather notorious in the aviation world for having a runway that is so short it needs a gradient to help planes speed up and slow down. It was even dangerous enough to feature in the James Bond movie, ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’! Lucky then that such terrifying landings at this popular ski resort in the French Alps are reserved for the pros in private planes (and 007).
So there you have it - the most hair-raising landings you could ever have the misfortune to experience. HostelBloggers’ two cents: Best stick to ferries and trains, eh?
As part of what’s quickly becoming an ongoing reasons to visit Albania series, HostelBloggers have dug up another one: Albania is the only country in the world whose government has fallen to a pyramid scheme. (It was during the mid-90s and about two thirds of the population were implicated…)
We picked up the scent over at the reliably ribald Roadjunky.com, where they’re running a feature on 101 examples that the world is as crazy as ever and that fly in the face of the creeping uniformity of globalization.
Whether the Albania factoid makes for an amusing story of other people’s misfortune or a rather endearing (if tragic) tale depends rather on how cold-hearted you are. But toss it in with all the other oddball facts about the country, and you’ve undoubtedly got a complete one-off of a travel destination.
It’s hard to put your finger on just what makes Notesfromtheroad.com so great. There are the absolutely stunning photos, certainly. And there’s also the love for (and profound knowledge of) the natural world that comes through in almost every post, too.
Author Erik Gaugerhe describes it as ‘the unvarnished, messy truth of travel, told by a regular guy’ but the reality is something rather different. He has an unusual and solipsistic perspective on life, travel, the universe and everything.
Ultimately, though, the appeal lies in the way he conjures up images of bouncing tumbleweed, encounters with bears and awe-inspiring nature in this distinctive, subjective voice.
During the summer months the extra hours of daylight have a profound effect on people in the uppermost reaches of the northern hemisphere. From the Swedish frog dance to the awe-inspiring White Nights of St Petersburg, the weeks on either side of the Summer Solstice are dotted with some of the most spectacular - and often downright peculiar - events in Europe.
Swamp soccer (pictured), wife-carrying, mosquito-killing, phone-throwing and air guitar competitions - here, eccentricity is very much the norm as a series of one oddball event after another is unveiled.
Given the long hours of gloom that lie in store, it’s hardly surprising that all this extra daylight induces a euphoric effect in people. But don’t just take it from HostelBloggers: “Maybe we are a little bit crazy… maybe we are just bored”, Reuters reports Toni Haukamakix as saying from the sauna-championships.
Crazy, maybe. But only in the best possible sense of the word.
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.
