The Travel Diaries: Greece

It has been a couple of days since I left Greece, I'm actually in Zanzibar, Tanzania right now, typing away at a messed up keyboard in a tiny internet cafe. I don't have any photos to upload right now, I'll have to do that some other time as wi-fi isn't available here.

Athens
I flew into Athens Airport on the 17th and took the metro to the Acropolis. It took a little over an hour and set me back 8 euro, I later found out there was a 5 euro airport bus that took you right to the centre of town (the X95). I stayed at the Athens Backpackers, which I'd highly recommend to anyone travelling there on their own, it was a bit of a bitch to find, but the locals were very helpful. 

Spent my first day checking out the markets and my hour long stroll turned into a 3 hour hike in the 38 degree heat because I got lost and didn't know how to read my map. The streets are really hard to navigate because they seem to just go everywhere and there aren't any street signs anywhere. Cool markets though.
I met Jasmine from Melbourne who was staying in my dorm, and we went out for a drink and dinner. She had been travelling for about a week around the Greek Islands and was finishing her trip in Athens.
Athens Backpackers offers a 6 euro tour around the city, and depending on which tour guide you get, it can go for as long as 4-5 hours. I met some pretty cool people on my walking tour, including Evan, who's video of him playing the piano backwards went viral and landed him guest spots on Ellen and Jay Leno.

Mykonos
Andrew, Mari and I took a 3 hour ferry from Piraeus and arrived in Mykonos. We stayed at Hotel Teo (worst place I'd stayed at in all of Greece) and was picked up from the port by Theo, the guy who ran the place. Our room was TINY, infested with mosquitoes, our bathroom light didn't work, the toilet didn't flush and the shower clogged up every time we used it. I was so fed up by the second day, I had a shower outside our room with the garden hose while an old creepy man watched me from across the road. Backpacking in true class and style. Honestly, there was not all that much to do in Mykonos unless you really like drinking, partying and laying around on the beach. We tried to sleep on the beach one of the nights we were there but it was so windy. There were also lots of Aussies there.

Santorini
Hands down, my favourite place in all of Greece. We stayed at Villa Manos, Poppy who runs the place, made us a dinner when we got there, free of charge and we were put up in a really nice two bedroom suite. Just what we needed after our hellish ordeal in Mykonos. We visited a volcano, a couple of the smaller islets around the main island, rode donkeys and watched the sunset in Oia. I also swam fully clothed into a hot spring and spent the better half of the afternoon walking around town in a black dress with very obvious white salt stains all over the place. It was definitely not a good look and not one my proudest moments, but I definitely don't regret it.

Crete
Crete is the largest island in Greece and also the most boring. We stayed in Heraklion and all we really did was see the Palace of Knossos and spent the rest of our time watching Parks and Recreation, there was nothing really to do there. Crete was pretty shit, don't go there. We were told there was a really nice beach, Bali Beach, about an hour out, but we just couldn't be bothered.

Things you should try when in Greece: ouzo (disgusting liquorice tasting alcohol ), moussaka, stuffed peppers, gyros (the Greek version of the kebab at only 2.50 a pop) and souvlaki, of course.

The Travel Diaries: Singapore

I left Sydney on Sunday July 15 for Singapore on my way to Athens. I realised once I left the house that I had overpacked, I could barely put my pack on myself and when I checked it in at the airport, it weighed 17kg and my carry on was 7kg. Oh god.

I spent my last Australian dollars on a breakfast cider at the airport before I boarded my flight and sat out on the porch for about an hour with Roxy.

I flew with Scoot Airlines, my ticket was only $286 for a single journey to Singapore, but didn't include any amenities. It was average, the seats were really uncomfortable and I was really fidgety after about an hour and did lots of stretches and walked around a bit for a good 45 minutes.

The woman sitting next to me refilled her water bottle in the bathroom, returned to her seat and drank from the bottle. Ew.

After about 8 hours, we arrived at Changi, and I took a $9 shuttle bus from the airport to my hostel, I had to walk my gear up 4 flights of stairs to the hostel in humid, 28 degree weather. I was dressed in my heaviest clothes, and was about to pass out by the time I reached the 3rd floor. The hostel was great, the staff were really helpful and I got a free upgrade to a 6 bed dorm (I'd originally booked a bed in 26 bed dorm), went for a stroll around Chinatown for a bit, and had dinner (Spinach Mee) which set me back only $3! Got back to the hostel, had a shower, played Xbox Kinect with other guys at the hostel, met some really cool people from Holland and Germany.

Next morning, I woke up at 6am, got my things ready, had breakfast with 4 (very cute) French medical students from Lille, who were on an epic trip through South East Asia for about 6 weeks - they were travelling from Singapore, through to Malak, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. 

I only had a day in Singapore so I planned to do the zoo and check out Topshop on Orchard Road. I also had enough time to squeeze a walk to Marina Bay, only the Merlion was on 'holiday' and was being prepared for its 40th birthday.

The zoo was really impressive, I caught a couple of shows and gave myself a good two hours before it started to rain. I ran into a very bogan family from Perth and we caught the tram around the zoo two times to kill time until the rain died down. 

I caught the MRT to the airport during peak hour, it was pretty intense experience especially with the heat and all the stuff I was lugging around. A random stranger gave me $2 to pay for the train ticket since the machine didn't accept $10 notes. So it only cost me $1.20 to get to the airport. Win? I think so. 

See that black pack in the bottom right corner? That's me.

I bumped into another Australian family who were on their way home to Brisbane from Phuket and they gave me the rest of their sunscreen when I mentioned I didn't have any. I love it when fellow travellers just strike up random conversations with you and you get freebies out of it. Haha!

There wasn't all that much to do in Singapore other than shopping so I'm glad I only gave myself a day. If I hadn't packed so much already, I would have definitely hit up the shopping there, Orchard Road was insane! My only regret was not getting to try an ice cream sandwich. I also lost my American Apparel Circle Scarf somewhere in Changi Airport which was lame, but I'm going to try and pick up some fabric in Athens before I head over to Tanzania and make my own circle scarf.

Next stop? Greece!

Warrior - Mike Foster, A-Trak and Kimbra

So I've booked my flights for The Trip.

After months and months laboriously flicking through travel guides, bookmarking thousands and thousands of websites and endlessly talking to friends about all my possible travel plans, I have finally booked my flights!

I am relieved and terrified all at the same time. I bought my backpack - a 70L Macpac Genesis which I am very eager to use, packing cells, stuff sacks, you name it. I've planned outfits, itineraries, made lists of places I want to see, budgets I should stick to and how I should pack my backpack. It's all a little overwhelming and has been occupying quite a lot of my time lately, but now that I have officially booked my flights, I can relax a little.

I fly out July 15, first stop being Singapore. I'm there for just under 24 hours and it was not part of the plan, but it was the cheapest way I could get to Greece. My flight was only $285 with Scoot Airways, which is incredibly cheap, so I hope the plane doesn't fall out of the sky. If you haven't heard of Scoot, it's the new budget airline under Singapore Airlines and launches Monday 4th June this year, so at least it'll give me a bit of time to change flights if I need to. My flight from Singapore to Greece is with Qatar Airways and set me back only $580! Considering flights from Sydney to Greece are about $1,200-1,400 one way, I am pretty pleased.

From what I've heard, there isn't really all that much to do in Singapore, so I only really want to see Singapore Zoo and maybe the Botanic Gardens and maybe do some shopping (I plan to hit up Topshop and Uniqlo, haha).

I fly out of Singapore July 16 for Athens and I have an 8 hour layover in Doha, Qatar. I was thinking of maybe booking a hotel room to sleep for a couple of hours, but I was really worried I might miss my flight. There isn't all that much to do at the airport aside from a few restaurants and the one duty free store, but I read that you can pay about $40 USD to stay in the Oryx Lounge at the airport for up to 6 hours. Included are snacks, wifi, newspapers/magazines, an airconditioned room to sit in, and even showers! Apparently the airport even offers a free breakfast for people who have long layovers so I'm all set!

I haven't planned too much, if anything at all for Greece, but I definitely want to see the Acropolis in Athens and maybe some of the museums, then hit up the Greek Islands - Santorini, Ios and Mykonos are on the top of my list, and if I have time, maybe even Crete!

I am planning to meet Lexie in Tanzania sometime early August - we're planning to spend about a week climbing Mt Kilimanjaro,  a volunteer program for two weeks and then Zanzibar for a couple of days if we can fit it in. I'm actually a little nervous about this leg of the trip because the Smart Traveller website has listed Kenya as a 'Do not travel' destination and I'm planning to fly into Nairobi and take a bus to Tanzania from there, on my own. With all the political unrest and conflict there right now, I'm worried we'll be turned away at the boarder and throwing all my other travel plans out of whack.

After Tanzania, I am hoping to get to Valencia, Spain for La Tomatina - I need to be there before August 29, so I really hope I make it there in time! It's been a life long dream of mine to participate in a food fight, so this will be just the perfect opportunity!

I thought I would start blogging about this trip so that I can see if my trip goes according to plan! I'll also put up some reviews of things that I've purchased for my trip and things that come up from now till I leave. My first review will be of my backpack so keep your eyes peeled!

Seeker Lover Keeper - Rely On Me

With it being New Years Eve and all, I thought I'd write up a list of New Years resolutions for 2012!
I'm not usually one for resolutions but I guess it doesn't hurt to have some goals.

1. Get fit, tone up and just eat a little healthier. I have lost a lot of weight since coming home from the States, but I think there is still room for improvement.
2. Stick to a strict savings plan for Europe and Peru. If I'm going to do Europe, I definitely want to do it comfortably and not have to worry about eating bread and fast food all the time. I also will need to cut spending on unnecessary things like clothes and gadgets I don't need.
3. Focus on my last semester of uni and do well! I also need to manage my time better and find a better balance between work, uni and friends/family.
4. Stop being so angry and fired up about everything all the time. I need to calm down, maybe take up yoga regularly?
5. Be a better and safer driver. I totalled my car earlier this year and have been in a few other close calls, calming down occasionally might help with this.
6. Dip dye my hair a crazy colour when I finish my last semester of school!
7. Be a better photographer!
8. Read more!
9. Spend a little less time on Facebook.
10. Blog regularly and not just about crap.

I can't think of anything else, but I will probably add more to this list once I have a bit more time to sit down and brainstorm a bit more. 

I also wanted to thank a few people for making my 2011 such a great (and bearable year).

Eileen - for always being there whenever I needed to talk about anything at all, and putting up with all my crazy talk. You are the most thoughtful friend I have ever had the pleasure of having in my life and I'm so glad that we've become such great friends over the course of 3 years. I love you Eileen and I hope I get to spend more of 2012 with you! My fondest memory of 2011 is that time we were in New Orleans and I woke up in the middle of the night to find your head nuzzling my chest.

Roxy - Thanks for making so much time for me this year, I love those random unplanned outings we have every week or so. Everything is always so much better when you're near. You are the funniest, coolest, quirkiest person I know and you mean so, so much to me! I hope that we get to spend more time together and maybe keep to our savings plans for our epic travel adventures next year!


Lucy - Thank you so much for being that crazy friend that I can always call and talk to whenever I am feeling down. I feel like I have known you the entire time I've been at uni even though we really only started spending more time together this last year. I had so much fun in Melbourne and thank you for being so tolerable, and it is so reassuring to know that you always have my back.  I will never forget the night you made me feel you up, because that was the night we first met and I didn't even know your name.

I feel like I'm writing the same things over again for every person I want to thank.

Tonia - I never really realised how close we've become over the last year, but I'm glad to have had such a ball of a year with you. I love that we can be so blatantly honest with each other without being the least bit angry with one another, and I can always count on you to tell me if my cupcakes suck. I know you think I can be very silly and naive and I'm glad that you have been in my life to keep me in check! You are a great friend and I hope we can both keep pushing each other to go to the gym as much as we have, even if it kills us.

Aaron - you are the best adopted brother anyone could ask for! Even though you do some of the stupidest things and annoy me to no end, I have to give you some credit for putting up with my non-sensical rants, so thanks Aaron!


Andrew - it has been one weird roller-coaster ride for the both of us and I'm glad we have stayed such great friends. It's nice to have someone in my life who understands and appreciates my crazy talk (most of the time) and sorry I forced you to eat so many cupcakes this year. I really mean that. 

Happy New Years everyone, hope your new year is better and brighter than any other!

Set Sail - Whales

I have been going on a bit of a baking rampage these last couple of days. I baked some red velvet cupcakes for a friend's birthday, brownies and some raspberry, white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies. I stocked up on some baking equipment at the Boxing Day sales and got a little carried away - I got my hands on a sifter, a few baking trays and pans and set of some much needed measuring spoons.

My savings plan has been put momentarily on hold, I got a little bit carried away at the Boxing Day sales and purchased so many things that I didn't really need ($40 beach towel, another swim suit, clothes that I didn't need). I hope I have enough for my big Peru/Europe trip come June, groan.


I adapted this recipe from the Tasted by Two recipe found here. 


Red Velvet Cupcakes (makes 12)


Preparation time: 1 hour
Baking time: 18 - 20 minutes


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
50 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup caster sugar
3 - 4 tbsp red food colouring
1 egg, room temperature
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp baking powder


Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a cupcake pan with patty pans, I like the larger cupcake liners, I think they work a little bit better. Sift the flour and salt in a small bowl and set it aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I made the mistake of putting too much sugar the first couple of attempts, so make sure the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.


In a small bowl, mix the cocoa, vanilla and red food colouring together, if the mixture isn't wet enough, add a little bit of milk, I found the cocoa powder made the mixture a bit clumpy. Add this to the butter and sugar mixture and beat with the electric mixer until you get an even colour.


Add the milk and flour mixture to the batter in even parts. I didn't do this the first time around and the mixture was really wet and looked like brains, and you really don't want that. Beat until smooth and make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and continue beating until you have an even mixture.


In a small bowl, stir the cider vinegar and baking soda together and add this to the mixture and continue to beat the mixture until it is smooth and even.


Divide the batter evenly between the patty pans. I like to use an ice cream scoop with the flippy handle to do this because it makes things easier. I try to fill the patty pans to about 3/4 of the way, any more and the cupcakes look like toadstools when you pull them out of the oven and any less than half way, won't fill out the liners and the cupcakes don't look generous enough. Bake them for about 18-20 minutes and I usually use a toothpick or skewer to test if the cupcakes are ready - if the toothpick comes out clean then they're okay!


Leave them in the pan for about 5 - 10 minutes and then take them out to cool on a rack. Make sure they are completely cool before you ice them.


After the cupcakes have been in the oven for about 10 minutes, I start on the cream cheese icing.


Cream cheese icing
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes


Ingredients:
100g cream cheese (the Woolworths Home Brand cream cheese works really well, I've tried others and they left rubbery bits in the mixture and I had to throw out the entire thing and start again)
50g unsalted butter
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract


Blend all the ingredients together until smooth, light and fluffy. I like to pipe my icing onto the cupcakes and I really recommend the plastic disposable ones you can get from the grocery store, they work really well.


That's it! This is my favourite recipe and the cupcakes are always really dense and work really well with the cream cheese. I've tried to do a fancy dollop of icing like the ones from Sprinkles or Magnolia Bakery, but fail every time, so piping works fine. Let me know how you find the recipe!

About a fortnight ago now, I dragged a friend to the highly interactive Rafael Lozano-Hemmer Recorders exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art here in Sydney. It was so much fun, I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was. Mexican-Canadian Lozano-Hemmer was there to do a talk about his work and what he was trying to do with it. I really appreciated that his aim was to invite all kinds of people to participate and experience his art rather than an exclusive group of art critics. It was really interactive, and was so different to anything I've ever seen before - lots of trackers, heart monitors, light bulbs, mirrors, scanners, very, very cool. I really enjoyed the exhibit and I encourage everyone to go and see it while it's still in town (Feb 12), I should probably also mention that it is also free!

Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

Last weekend, I participated in the Gay Marriage Rally in Hyde Park. It was such an exhilarating experience, I don't think I've had so much fun dancing (in the street) to Lady Gaga or Kylie Minogue. 

The Finders Keepers Markets were quite disappointing this time around, to be honest. I bought one print, a necklace and a canvas tote bag. I was hoping there would be more clothing stalls, but nothing really caught my eye. The Lomo store was really cool, and I was so tempted to get my hands on a Diana Mini (I really want one), but stopped myself from being whisked away by the sales guy. I still think I will get one, but I might wait a while. I haven't even touched my Blackbird Fly yet!

I also picked up a Janome sewing machine at a garage sale on the way to the market, for $20! What a bargain! It's in working order and I love it! I've already named her Nancy. I am still learning how to use it, I think I might make bunting or something to hang up in my room as a first project. I would really like to make a shirt dress from a men's business shirt by the end of summer, and I had a trawl through a Vinnie's store near my work, but they were all about $20 a shirt, I don't think that's really worth it, so I might wait till I perfect my sewing skills before I ruin a perfectly nice shirt.

M83 - Midnight City

One more exam to go. I cannot wait till this is all over!

I have just finished a packet of Tim Tams and I'm not feeling too good. Egh. All those months of slaving away at the gym, wasted.

In other news, I just booked tickets for Eileen and I to see Foster the People at the Enmore, I haven't seen too many shows this year, so I'm very excited. They are definitely going to sell out, so if anyone is interested, you should probably book them ASAP.

There are so many BDO sideshows I want to see - Girl Talk and Best Coast and Laneway! I really want to go to Laneway next year, talk about an amazing lineup - M83, Chairlift, Feist, Girls, The Panics, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Drums and Laura Marling! Oh, I am totally jizzing in my pants.

Problem? None of my friends seems too keen. I need to make more friends. Where do you meet people these days?

I don't have anything of substance to discuss, but here's a video very inspirational video you might enjoy. So great.