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Christmas Markets in London
Who knew? London has Christmas Markets! There’s only a few but they’ll certainly liberate any cash you have in your wallet. Here’s my picks: Southbank Christmas Market. Ok, so the website seems to go out of it’s way to be underwhelming but for sheer location and atmosphere, this is my favourite. … Read the rest
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Adelaide’s Hidden Gems 4 – Penfolds
Whilst we’re on the subject of wine, let me briefly rave about Penfolds Winery. It’s 20 minutes in a cab from the centre of Adelaide (you can catch a bus and walk the last 1/4 mile but we are talking civillised here) and it’s a lovely spot to enjoy some nice food. … Read the rest
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Adelaide’s Hidden Gems 3 – Winery tours of the Southern Vales and Barossa Valley
If you have the time, and like wine, then a wine tasting tour of the Barossa Valley or Southern Vales is a must. There’s many ways you can do it; a group bus, a limo or (and I don’t recommend this unless you have someone who really is teetotal driving) hire a car and get the iphone app (sadly not available on android).… Read the rest
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Adelaide’s Hidden Gems 2 – Adelaide Festival of Arts
I’ve been to a fair few different Arts Festivals down the years and again, I’ve come across nothing to beat Adelaide’s. Unlike Edinburgh, the performers aren’t desperate to be noticed and offered tv deals and there’s not the whole air of pretentious “look at me!”… Read the rest
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Adelaide’s Hidden Gems 1 – Skye Lookout
One of my hobbies in this life is watching sunsets and out of all that I have seen all over the world, none compare to Adelaide. It has the makings of the best sunset you’ll ever see but you have to know where to go. … Read the rest
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Is Patterns the gateway drug to second life?
Since the announcement of patterns and the stablemates it’s Thanks to Inara Pey’s post I was directed to this interview with Rod Humble on second life. The title is somewhat misleading but at least it wasn’t a “where are they now” article which how is the impact of the demise of phoenix, whose users make up something like 30% of the grid, be managed?… Read the rest
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Adelaide Weather
Let me tell you, Adelaide is a great place to retire to. However, if you’re younger and a little more lively that’s probably not much of a recommendation. Adelaide is actually a great place to go hang out in for a while. … Read the rest
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Unhinged – A festival for Eku’s head. 15 November – 15 December 2012
A festival for Eku’s head. I know everyone has a head but Eku’s is special and needs some TLC. So to raise funds for this, there’s a fundraiser for the next month. There’ll be gachas, items for sale and tip jars all trying to part you from your money to help make it happen.… Read the rest
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Changi Airport
Did you know that Changi Airport (Singapore) has a pool? There really is nothing nicer than a quick dip if you’ve got a couple of hours to kill, so don’t forget to pack your bathers and a towel in your hand luggage. … Read the rest
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Buying advance train tickets in the UK
Usually buying your ticket in advance is cheaper but not always. Before you buy a ticket, particularly if it’s for a day return, check to see what the price of the ticket is if you buy it on the day. As I discovered the other week, buying a day return in advance actually disadvantaged me as you have to book a particular time for both journeys and even the return point was fixed, rather than the generic “london terminals”.… Read the rest
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Walking around Bruges
Bruges is lovely but those cobblestones can be hard on the feet. My pro tips for foot care when doing a lot of walking are to make sure you have some of those sport gel inner soles in your shoes, try to have ankle support (boots or even basketball type shoes) and if you’re susceptible to blisters, a few days before you go make sure you start to rub lots of moisturiser into the places where you usually blister and keep doing it. … Read the rest
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ATMs at Brussels Railway Station
The ATMs at Brussels railway station aren’t well signposted. There’s at least 2 (I didn’t go exploring much further down the corridor) on the corridor by the door closest to the Eurostar platforms. There’s also a cafe beside the first cash point that you come across there that served the best coffee I had on my last trip to Brussels. … Read the rest
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Australian Mobile top ups
If you are in Australia for any length of time or are going to be making calls, it’s worth it to get a sim card. If you get an Optus pay as you go (they call it pre-paid there) and you run out of credit whilst you’re on the go, you can text IOU to 468 and they’ll credit you with $3.00, which they’ll take back when you next top up. … Read the rest
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Chinese Social Etiquette – Handling Money
When you hand something to someone (including money) use both hands. If you want to be even more polite, lean forward (a slight bow) when you do it. As the saying goes, manners cost nothing.
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Jordanian Social Etiquette – Don’t answer the door with wet hair
In Jordan if you have wet hair it’s a sign you’re sexually available. I found in a couple of hotels as soon as I got out of the shower there’d be a knock on the door and one of the (male) hotel staff would be there on some trivial (and unrequested) excuse. … Read the rest
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Local buses in Jordan
If you brave the local buses (and they’re not bad), if they don’t have a bell for you to tell the driver you want the next stop then tap on the window a couple of times with a coin. You’ll see the locals doing it, so don’t be shy.
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Buying Luxury Goods in China
The short answer is “don’t do it”. The import duty on them makes them extortionately expensive compared to Europe. In fact I read an article in the local English language paper (China Daily) that claimed that over half of the luxury goods sales in Europe came from the Chinese flying in to buy.… Read the rest
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Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is not only famous for the guy who stopped the tanks but is also the resting place for Chairman Mao. The queues are pretty long though (at least an hour) and you can’t even take a handbag in so if you go make sure you don’t have a bag and are carrying your passport. … Read the rest
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Helsinki Airport Facilities
There’s only one smoking room in the international departures area and the pro tip is to sit by the door as the air is sucked into the room so if you’re sitting by the window you’ll choke. The duty-free area is pretty small but it does sell all manner of reindeer products – from salami to hides. … Read the rest
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Chinese Power Points
The Chinese are wonderful in this respect – each power-point has two sockets – one is a European two pin and the other is an Australian three pin. There’s no switch for them and the plugs may seem a bit loose when they’re plugged into the socket but everything will work like a dream.
