Travellers on Tour

Have you ever been in a new city wishing you could get a hold of a subway (underground) map. That has happened to me several times, the most recently being Hong Kong. I wish I had heard of www.isubwaymaps.com – it is a great site that has 22 free subway maps from around the world downloadable on you iPod (or iPhone), and then they can be accessed through the photos menu.

It is a great idea and a good use for the iPod – so if you are travelling to a city with an underground, make sure you are prepared and download these maps before you go to ensure you are not one of those tourists looking blankly at a big map on the wall trying to figure out where in the world you are and why the green line does not go where you think it should!

If you travel long distances with any regularity chances are you have had a long stop-over in one airport or another. If you are not at one of the airports with cheap-ish pay per hour hotels in the transit lounges then you have to try and find somewhere – that does not have hard seats with arm rests sleep.

This happened to me at Brisbane airport and I had a pretty uncomfortable nights sleep there on a small two seater couch in the international terminal upstairs. I was thinking it would be nice to be able to find out in advance if someone else had experienced this before and how could I find out. Well now that is possible at www.sleepinginairports.net. This site is great – people rate the airports in terms of how much of a nice place you can find to sleep (for free) – and you can find out if it gets happy faces (approval ratings) or skull and cross bones (bad ratings).

One of my friends is currently in New Delhi airport for 23 hours and he used this site to see where he could nap and unfortunately for him there was nothing but bad ratings for the airport….unlucky Dan!!

There is also a list of favourite airports (singapore being number 1- read my review about why I agree), and airports people would pay more to avoid… have a look it is definately a good site to take in before travelling!

Arusha is a hotbed of tourist activity – it is a key location for climbing kilimonjara, several national parks like the Serengeti and Manyara, or just a couple of hours drive from the world renowned Ngorongoro Crater. Over the past 10 years the United Nations have been in the city administering the war tribunal so a lot of money has been invested in infrastructure and that has in turn brought in a huge growth to the city – including great places to eat out!! I have listed three of my favourite places below.

The first on my list is an Ethiopian restaurant called Spices and Herbs. It is located near the Impala Hotel not far from the town centre of Arusha. The atmosphere is very laid back – and that really adds to the feeling of a community style meal. The food is a kind of sour bread that you use to scoop up different types of meat in spicey sauces -it is a great evening out!

The second  restaurant that I would occassionally visit would be Stiggys bar and restaurant – located just around the corner from Spices and Herbs, it is own by an Australian ex-pat. They offer a wide variety in their a-la-carte menu including stone oven-baked pizza, steaks and a good selection of beverages. There is a very casual feel to the place – and with a bar area and pool table you can spend many an hour hanging out with friends or enjoying a good evening out with some quality food.

Fast food is not something that you would put together with Arusha – but one restaurant is changing that. MacMoodys offers a much wider range of food than a normal fast food chain – from pizza to chips and burgers to chinese food – there is always something to fill up on.  if you are in the centre of town and need to grab a bite to eat in between bartering for a non-mzungu (white) price, and finding the right dala-dala, Macmoodys could be the stop for you!

Having lived in Townsville, Queensland, Australia for almost 10 years now I would like to think that I have a pretty good idea of the best meal values in Townsville.

Molly Malones Irish Pub signature Crumbed Steak meal will only cost you $7.50 and for that price you get a huge crumbed steak and chips (french fries) smothered in gravy, plus some salad. For about $22.00 you can dine out with a friend and each have a steak and split a pitcher or jug of Tooheys New Beer.

With pubs in Queensland now smoke free Molly Manlones Irish Pub is even good value and a good environment for family dining in Townsville. I would recommend that you get their pretty early though if you are going with young kids, as it can get a bit loud as the night goes on.

Molly Malones Irish Pub also has other good meals, including a Guinness Beef Meat Pie, Irish Stew, Chicken Parmigiana and lots of other options if you are not keen on the crumbed steak. I have tried some of the other meals and they are good, but I continue return to the crumbed steak for it’s value and taste.

Molly Malones Irish Pub is located near the end of Flinders Street East, Townsville City, Queensland, Australia. You can read a bit more about them at their website, http://www.mollymalonesirishpub.com.au/.

Technorati Tags: townsville, australia, steak, value meal, family dining

There have been several occasions when I have been travelling that flight connections have not worked out how I anticipated – I have been faced with the fact that I will potentially have to spend a good bit of money of airport accommodation or travel away from the airport to find a cheaper place to stay.

When I flew to Townsville in Australia I had to fly through Brisbane and spend the night there. I was a bit stumped as I did not want to spend a lot of money for a few hours sleep. So I was talking to a local and he suggested I try a Formula One Hotel. I went and for £20 ($40) I got a room with attached bathroom / toilet and a tv. It is nothing particularly fancy – there is a breakfast included and a shared kitchenette that you can heat food in.

They are spreading and recently I saw one near London City Airport. My family have used them several times in France – convenient for an good nights sleep en route somewhere. But they are also located all across Europe as well as Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Japan. If you are travelling to any of these places – I recommend you see if they are near where you are visiting, especially if you are looking for cheap, but quality accommodation!!

I was recently lucky enough to go and visit a friend in Northern Washington state – a border town called Lynden (the town where Smallville farm scenes are filmed). We decided to visit a bit of Canada that day – and despite a bit of hassle from the border patrol we headed for beautiful British Columbia (BC).

We headed for a local vineyard owned by The Fort Wine Company and stepped inside their shop. The have hosts of different fruit wines and spirits – apricot, backberry and apples to name three. I sampled a couple of the wines and they were nice and very different to what I am used to – but I was looking for something exceptional… That is when I found a blackberry port, and I was amazed and the depth of taste! I purchased a couple of bottles – but they did not last more than 2 weeks after getting home. I recommend visiting the Fort Wine Company as it is definately an experience to remember!

After that we headed to see White Rock (which is the town of Smallville in the TV show of the same name – pictured here), and had fish and chips (and deep fried mars bar) overlooking the Pacific Ocean – it was quite spectacular. They have spent a fair amount of money making the sea shore look nice – and a walk along it and out onto the peer is well worth the trip!

If you are ever in southern BC – you really should take advantage of the beautiful areas to the south and east of Vancouver!

Technorati Tags: vineyard, BC, Canada