David Wilson is always right

Regular readers of this blog will know that David is rarely, if ever, incorrect. His comment dated 25 June 2005 has shown up my internet research skills with a comprehensive list of countries. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49alpha.htm. This shows that attempting to conduct research from a Bratislava internet cafe is folly and not recommended.

Cathy gladly will take back Hong Kong as she powers towards 47.

PS Prague is Great.

PPS Please stop emailing regarding Cesky Krumlov. We are not going to get there and you are all making us feel bad that we have missed something so wonderful. We realise that this is a UNESCO world heritage site however we are only going to UNESCO world heritage sites for the rest of the trip (Krakow, Auschwitz, Warsaw, Torun, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn) so you can't see them all I suppose!

PPPS You are also correct regarding the Pies. They are rubbish.

Country Counting

There's been a lot of comment on this site and many a private email regarding country counting. It seems as if a regular correspondent to this site has had enough and wants explicit details of said count. Well with the prices of Brataslavan internet so low, today is a great opportunity.

We have decided to use the official list of countries produced by the United Nations as our guide. Therefore this list http://www.un.org/Overview/unmember.html (with some exceptions) is the one that will establish whether we count a country or not. The exceptions seem to be Macau and the Vatican which are not members of the UN. Cathy has agreed to forego Hong Kong and I have foregone Scotland in the name of consistency. My revised count as at today's count is 35. Cathy is on 40. I realise this will make David Wilson happy as he has never accepted Scotland is a country. I now agree that this must be correct.

We have both been to Australia, USA, Germany, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Italy, The Vatican, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Andorra, Spain, Liechenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and Slovakia.

I have been to Mexico and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland where Cathy has not been .

Cathy has been to Fiji, Singapore, China, Macau, Japan, Samoa and Thailand where I have not been.

We intend to visit Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Great Britain and Thailand in our last 34 days. Therefore Cathy will return home with 46 and I will be on 41. (Sorry Shelley - hope you remain on 46 after reviewing the UN list linked above!)

In accordance with a recent request I offer the following observations:

1. The country with the most mangy dogs is Romania with apologies to Mexico (or at least in Tijuana where I have been).

2. The country with the weirdest train platforms is probably Belgium. Brussels as the European capital really should have a better signed train network. It appears however that everyone is happy with the mystery of where their train is actually going to stop.

3. The best place to buy Coca Cola in the world is Montenegro. 500ml for 80 cents (Australian). The cheapest Espresso shot was Bulgaria where Cathy scored a super strong Bulgarian type coffee for 25 cents (Australian). The worst is the island of Capri in Italy. 5 Euro for a 250ml bottle was a sting in my tail that I was not expecting.

4. The best place for free glassware is either The Netherlands or Hungary, with my vote going to the Hungarians for being so damn nice about it.

5. I've made numerous statements about English language guides in museums across Europe and my comments have been interpreted as meaning that I am only happy with those countries that speak my language. This is not however the case. It just seems funny that 30 countries can provide English (and generally German, French, Italian or Spanish where appropriate) but not France. It seems to be quite arrogant that the money of English speakers (ie USA and the Commonwealth) seems to flood into French museums (such as the Leuvre) and they can't teach those people about the art using our English. Its arrogance in the extreme and it reaks of the French having a chip on their shoulder regarding the lack of importance of their language in the 2000s compared to the 1800s when they were actually a power.

6. Toilet facilities are always an interesting topic. The best in the world are in the Vatican city, 6 star toilets (with hot running water and soap) which cost nothing to use. The worst are the portaloos on the railway stations in Italy and the ones that were available in Africa. In our experience you were better off with the Hyenas than you were using the facilities at African truck stops.

In country counting we have never included passport stamps as a valid criteria as in the EU you wouldn't score any points when travelling between those countries for which you do not need a visa. It was however amusing to see Cathy chastasing a Croatian official for stamping my passport and not giving her book a stamp. He looked ready to explode but then saw the funny side of it and provided the stamp.

I look forward to regular readers of this site providing their stats and experiences in the coming weeks.

Hrvatska (Croatia) - Better than Greece

Wow.

Dalmation Coast might well be the prettiest place we've been to. Its got all the beauty of the Venetian archecture without the stench of Venice. It has the tranquil Med Island feel of Greece, without the 10000 Australians who've just been to the Anzac Day rave at Gallopoli and are now "looking for work" on Ios.

We have now seen 3 places on the Coast; Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is the pick for its extraordinary beauty and complete medievel wall. Hvar is the perfect island except for the lack of sand which again we found uncomfortable when the rocks jutted through our towels into our backs as we attempted to catch some rays. Split has Roman ruins converted into modern coffee houses which we enjoyed.

A special day trip planned for tomorrow sees us trekking to Montenegro for the day. Passports in hand we will see all the sites that we can in 12 hours. We are very much looking forward to that and will report later in the week on the scenery.

37 days to go - see you soon.

PS - Will respond to recent comments in our next internet session.

Hungaria

A couple of things that have perplexed us recently.

1. How does a bloke at a train station in Veliko Turnavo, Bulgaria tell us that he has a friend in Australia and then pulls out a red Middletons business card of a solicitor who shares a first name with the writer and a last name with a surely Australian female golfer? We panicked thinking the man was handing me my own business card as the centrepiece of some grand scam. Fortunately, our train came and we removed ourselves from this rather surreal situation.

2. Why does English not call countries by the name the countries call themselves. Hungaria is a great example. Why do we call it Hungary when they call it Hungaria. Brasil is another example. Quite strange.

3. How does a train from the Hungarian border to Split arrive 3.5 hours late without breaking down and no hassles at the border? Extraordinary.

4. Why is it that we love it so much when waiters say "moment" prior to getting you drinks, food or a bill. Gold.

5. Thanks to everyone who gave us lovely glassware for our wedding. Unfortunately we are amassing a collection of beer glasses "souvenired" to us by waiters from the East who leave saying "moment" and return with glasses which will take pride of place in our pool room at home.

Signing off from Split now, 36 degrees outside, time to get some sun and ice cream.

In case you are wondering, Budapest is the pearl of the Danube. No doubts.

Romania: Micro Minis, Bribes and Boars.

We arrived in Veliko Turnavo, Bulgaria full of expectation after surviving 2 nights in dreadful Sofia. VT was the type of town we have come to love. Less than 100,000 people, interesting gimmick (a 14th century fortress overlooking a river bend of two gorges) and great food and wine. We met some Aussies setting out for a couple of years in London and we gave them our tips on surviving Western Europe.

We then set off for Bucharest Romania on the slowest train ever. The pace was diminished somewhat at the Romanian border as each border official from Bulgaria and Romania entered the train to receive their bribe from the gypsy women carrying their 10 plastic bags full of contraband. The officials took one look at our Aussie passports and valid visas and scurried off to the next compartment to receive their share of the booty. As we watched official after official pocket his tens of thousands of Romanian Lei, we became increasingly interested as to what was in the bags. Later an American missionary summised it was either cigarettes or Bulgarian rose essence products. Either way, everybody seemed to make a little bit of money and we crossed the Danube and were on our way.

Lonely Planet advised that one of the great dangers of Romania is its hayfever inducing wildflowers. 15 minutes across the border and I was reaching for the Zyrtec. LP was right again. We were therefore pleased that a number of things have changed since our 2003 edition was published. Firstly the stray dogs have mostly now been executed by the city Mayor in a kind of zero tolerance Rudolph Guilanni style crackdown. We also found that we kinda liked the Romanian capital (sometimes referred to as the Paris of the East). We spent the afternoon walking around taking photos (where permitted by over zealous officials), ate dinner and left quickly so our good impressions were not ruined.

Bucharest has the second biggest building in the world, created by Ceausescu in his last years in power. It is amazing in its grandiose dimensions and if you didn't consider the peasants who lost their homes so this thing could be built, it is quite lovely. The rest of the neighbourhood also has a French feel and we kept being amazed at the development and prosperity of this city compared to Sofia. Cathy even enjoyed the shops at the train station and her Sofia induced depression lifted, hopefully not to be seen again. I can't blame her however, Sofia sucks.

Romania is full of nature, the forests are thick and full of wild creatures. Fortunately the taverna restaurant we found last night also allows you to eat said creatures in a medieval hunting setting. Bear, civit cat, deer and wild boar graced the menu, so we tucked into some culture appreciation along with ogling the waitresses, each in a short micro mini skirt and cleavage highlighted by a well placed pen.

We have made it to the land of Vlad the Impaler from Transylvania, five months after meeting Vlad the Russian carpet cleaning man from Cheap as Chips (no relation). Our host, a 120cm grandmother who speaks not a word of English other than "no problems" has put us up in her dining room. We are loving Romania but we are still looking out for "perfect 10" Nadia.

Off to Budapest tomorrow night for (hopefully) a lovelier city and a longer stay.

Turkey / Bulgaria. A long way from home.

Wow. A lot has happened since my last post. Our sleep regime has gone to the dogs as our trip through Turkey was engineered to cause as much sleep deprivation as possible. Overnight buses and early morning balloon flights meant that any sleep we got, day or night was cherished.

Goreme, backpacker capital of Cappadocia was as amazing as the tourist brochures told us it would be. The fairy chimneys reminded us of the Pinnacles in Western Australia albeit they are bigger, more varied and located over a vaster area, however the concept is the same. Strange shapes jutting out of the ground caused by erosion of volcanic and softer rocks over many years.

The best way to experience the area was in a hot air balloon and so we woke at 5:00am for our flight. Unfortunately the wind was floating the wrong way and our flight was cancelled. The next day we were up at 4:00am for our flight which fortunately was not cancelled.

Ballooning in Turkey was one of the great experiences of our lives. The company we travelled with are very experienced (http://www.kapadokyaballoons.com/) and often the balloon was located only 5 metres above the fairy chimneys while we hung out of the balloon taking photo after photo. Having never ballooned in Melbourne, I am not sure if they have the control to be able to drop down and pick fruit from trees in the Yarra Valley, the Cappadocia blokes brag that they can do it, and dropped down to look for Apricots. None were on the trees but it was great adventure for the troops.

The other highlights of the area are the underground city (built to confuse enemies and provide protection for entire communities and their stock for 6 months) and the local cuisine. The locals cook a stew like concoction in a terra cotta pot and break the pot open in front of you when it is time to serve. Obviously the crockery is a use-once item and the restaurants hang them out the front to advertise the meal for passing tourists.

Speaking of which, apparently Aussie and NZ tourists make up most of the tourists in Turkey as every place has an Aussie or Kiwi flag flying proudly.

A day in Istanbul followed Goreme after another overnight bus trip. 12 hours on a bus is never fun and I won't whine that I am bigger than the average bloke to boot. Nevertheless, not a lot of sleep for me on either trip. In Istanbul we allowed ourselves the pleasure of a Turkish Bath at a 500 year old bathhouse. It was a great experience, especially when the man puts on the sandpaper glove and scrapes the dead skin from your person. Obviously I had some desert dust in my pores as my skin came off in great strips, much to the amusement of the Turk. A massage and a steam finished the afternoon and we prepared for our overnight train to Bulgaria.

The overnight train was brilliant. We had our own cabin and it did not take long before we fell asleep. At 2:45 we were woken to be told that we were at the Turkish border. We alighted from the train and got our passport stamp. Having fallen asleep again we were woken at 4:00 to find the train had not moved but the Bulgarians were wanting to check our passports. OK, we waited and then fell asleep again and we were woken up at 4:30am for the actual passport check. Finally at 5:00am we started moving. Therefore in 3 hours we went nowhere, got woken up 3 times and made it to Bulgaria, once again quite tired.

Our first stop was Plovdiv, the second biggest city in Bulgaria and apparently the "real Bulgaria". A beautiful little city which I highly recommend for a 5 hour visit. We stayed all day and became quite bored by the end of it.

So much so that for A$2 we decided to see the film "The Aviator" on the big screen. Wow! What an experience as we were led upstairs into a Soviet style power station in pitch darkness. On the second floor was a small room with a projector and speakers no larger than my ipod headphones. We watched the film and endeavoured to listen as best we could (no THS - The Audience is Listening or Dolby Train in Plovdiv!). When the film finished we emerged in pitch darkness again to find that everyone had gone and we had to let ourselves out. Reasonably frightened we scurried home.

Unfortunately for us our kind landlady and her husband wanted us to drink a traditional Bulgarian beverage. This grape beverage was apparently 60% proof and tasted like Ethanol. After consuming a full glass, I signalled that it was time for bed. NO NO I was told, another glass for you. Shit I thought, I kind do any more of this vile liquor (I had drunk about a litre of water as well). But drink it I did, and finally I was released from the table to toddle off to bed. As Cathy said, no wonder the Slavs have liver problems in Australia.

We arrived in Sofia today and not a lot can be said for Bulgaria's capital really. Just think of a ruined Soviet style city with things falling off buildings and roads that look like they were made by the Romans for their chariots. Cathy has objected to this place and stated that "there is nothing lovely here" and cracked the shits. She is probably right but the people watching is fantastic and certainly beats anything that the Bourke Street Mall can dish up.

The best thing is the quality of food and beverage you get for $A10. Two course meals and beer for 10 bucks is not a bad thing at all I reckon.

Hopefully a trip to the Rila Monastery tomorrow (the holiest place in Bulgaria) and Velico Tarnovo (the postcard picture small town with the fortress) will cheer things up.

OK, that's all from me. Things look to be progressing nicely at home, looking forward to returning for Finals time, where the smell of cut grass will once again make Melbourne the best place in the world to be.

Cheers

Rounders

Turkısh Delıght

We have made our way ınto the Turkısh countrysıde and dıscovered the joys of Pamukkale, a natural wonder about 3 hours from the Aegean sea ın Turkey. Thıs place ıs a serıes of whıte pools each wıth water cascadıng from one to the next. The scientific explanation for thıs place is that hot thermal springs pouring down the hillside deposit calcium carbonate, which solidifies as travertine. Pıctures of the phenomen are located here.

The problem for the Turks ıs the thermal waters were redırected ınto hotel pools ın the 80s and 90s and now the wonders are startıng to grey and the water has largely dısappeared. Consequently the Turks are rebuıldıng thıs place usıng concrete, whıte washıng and pumped water. Its stıll spectacular but I'm sure ıt was much better ın the 70s when the fırst backpackers would have made theır way through here.

The hıghlıght ıs the natural pool at the top of the clıff ın whıch punters can swım ıf they pay the equıvalent of 18 Australıan dollars. The Eastern Europeans were handıng over theır Turkısh Lıras faster than they could strıp down to theır bıkınıs and speedos. Then they draped themselves all over the rocks ın the pools and started takıng photos. Thınk Sports Illustrated Swımsuıt edıtıon wıthout the Sports Illustrated Swımsuıt edıtıon models and you get the ıdea. Cathy and I watched on fascınated as gırl after gırl perfected her 'come hıther' look wıth her wet haır hangıng loosely over her shoulders. The real tragedy however was theır haıry plaın boyfrıends ın full 'bloomer' style speedo takıng snap after snap untıl theır gırls decıded they had struck the rıght pose. The locals and us looked on agog.

We are off to Cappadocia tonıght. Some pıctures of thıs place are located here. The faıry chımneys are meant to be amazıng and hopefully are worth two overnıght bus trıps that we wıll be forced to take. We are consıderıng a balloon rıde over the terraın as ıt ıs recognısed as the best place ın the world for balloonıng. The tıght fısted budget of February to May ıs but a memory as the Turkısh carpet salesmen and balloon rıde sprukers work theır magıc on us.
Oh and by the way, we saw more Roman stuff today, yesterday and the prevıous day. They were frenetıc buılders of stuff those Romans we have learned.