mtran's Travel Blog

Ancient Wonders of Ephesus - Selcuk, Turkey

 This place was Great visited Jul 2, 2005

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posted Aug 5, 2005 | Comments (0)

The Amazing Race - Bari, Italy

 This place was Average visited Jun 19, 2005

After leaving Stromboli....we embarked upon our AMAZING RACE! We had left ourselves 3 days to get from the Sicily to the Greek Islands(where we had pre-booked our week of luxury accomodation) using train, ferry and buses....... we thought this would be heaps of time........ DOH!!!!!!!! And it would´ve been except for the Italian train system which rarely runs on time (seriously it rarely runs on time). Journey start....hopping on a ferry at Stromboli after only 4 hours sleep post 6hr volcano walk..no time for breakfast.... must catch ferry. Well ferry times are all wrong.... get to train station late and have to miss lunch cos need to get first of three trains to get to the other side of Italy (Pete scared that Minh has gone wihout food for 6hrs... scared for his safety that is). Doh!!!!! Its 10pm and we´ve just missed one of the connecting trains in a small town in the middle of Italy. Hmmm.... Pete getting really hungry....its a sunday night and the whole town looks closed...time to check the Lonely Planet for potential accomodation and food since the next train doesn´t come till 3am in the morning. Hmmm.... no food or accomodation listed in Lonely Planet.... oh well...... we could always pull up a bench at the station for a 5hr nap along with the other sorry dude who might have missed his train or who might have slept there everynight (we´re not sure). I guess it´s chocolate biscuts and sleep for dinner :-| Ahhh.... trainstation benches are so comfy when you´ve only had 4 hours sleep in the last 36hrs. So rude to have to wake up for the 3am connecting train.... but way cool.... it´s on time and we get a whole 6 "seater" carriage to use as two beds..... Wooohooooo. 8am the next day and the train pulls into the Italian port (Bari). Doh and Double Dohh!!!! Ferry to Greece is at 8pm..... time is starting to get away. Minh goes to shop for supplies and comes back with half the grocery store as she is determined not to be caught without food again!!!! 8pm Ferry arrives on time. What an experience. Think of something the size of the love boat but with simpler ammeneties. The 16hr overnight trip is really cool. Minh becomes the ships doctor after a passenger presents with signs of pneumonia!!! Hmm.... no upgrade to sleeper class for her services unfortunately. Meanwhile pete is blissfully unaware of the drama that Minh become involved in. As the night progresses the area used for seated class quickly becomes strewn with bodies looking for any floor space to use as a bed.... cool!!. 12pm the next day - hooray we arrive on the West coast of Greece with 5 and half hours to get to the Athens, on the East Coast for the very last ferry to Santorini (our luxury greek island accomodation). Doh!! Again.....all the buses are booked until 2pm...2 hour wait....3hour bus trip....we are becoming very concerned...it appears impossible...:-( ...:-( We arrive at Athens at 5pm...our ferry departs from the port Pireus at 530pm...taxi seems our only option to get the port in time...we hook up with two other backpackers also catching the same ferry...the clock is ticking...we manage to all hop into the taxi at 518pm...after waiting for one guy to withdraw money!!?? Crazy stuntman of a taxi driver....a 25min journey is cut down to 12mins...we hit the port at 529pm!!! from the carpack we see our ferry loading the last cars...1 minute left to buy our tickets and then run 100m with our backpacks..(ticket guy looks at his watch and almost doesn´t sell pete the tickets). As we run onto the ramp of the ferry we can´t believe we made it (and we did it with our Eurail passes) 9 hrs later we arrive at Santorini in the Greek islands....the time is 230am the next morning and we didn´t miss out on our first night of luxury accomodation. Minh and Pete very pleased!!!! :-) :-)

posted Aug 5, 2005 | Comments (0)

Ancient Ruins - Selcuk, Turkey

 This place was Average visited Jun 5, 2005

After leaving Stromboli....we embarked upon our AMAZING RACE! We had left ourselves 3 days to get from the Sicily to the Greek Islands(where we had pre-booked our week of luxury accomodation) using train, ferry and buses....... we thought this would be heaps of time........ DOH!!!!!!!! And it would´ve been except for the Italian train system which rarely runs on time (seriously it rarely runs on time). Journey start....hopping on a ferry at Stromboli after only 4 hours sleep post 6hr volcano walk..no time for breakfast.... must catch ferry. Well ferry times are all wrong.... get to train station late and have to miss lunch cos need to get first of three trains to get to the other side of Italy (Pete scared that Minh has gone wihout food for 6hrs... scared for his safety that is). Doh!!!!! Its 10pm and we´ve just missed one of the connecting trains in a small town in the middle of Italy. Hmmm.... Pete getting really hungry....its a sunday night and the whole town looks closed...time to check the Lonely Planet for potential accomodation and food since the next train doesn´t come till 3am in the morning. Hmmm.... no food or accomodation listed in Lonely Planet.... oh well...... we could always pull up a bench at the station for a 5hr nap along with the other sorry dude who might have missed his train or who might have slept there everynight (we´re not sure). I guess it´s chocolate biscuts and sleep for dinner :-| Ahhh.... trainstation benches are so comfy when you´ve only had 4 hours sleep in the last 36hrs. So rude to have to wake up for the 3am connecting train.... but way cool.... it´s on time and we get a whole 6 "seater" carriage to use as two beds..... Wooohooooo. 8am the next day and the train pulls into the Italian port (Bari). Doh and Double Dohh!!!! Ferry to Greece is at 8pm..... time is starting to get away. Minh goes to shop for supplies and comes back with half the grocery store as she is determined not to be caught without food again!!!! 8pm Ferry arrives on time. What an experience. Think of something the size of the love boat but with simpler ammeneties. The 16hr overnight trip is really cool. Minh becomes the ships doctor after a passenger presents with signs of pneumonia!!! Hmm.... no upgrade to sleeper class for her services unfortunately. Meanwhile pete is blissfully unaware of the drama that Minh become involved in. As the night progresses the area used for seated class quickly becomes strewn with bodies looking for any floor space to use as a bed.... cool!!. 12pm the next day - hooray we arrive on the West coast of Greece with 5 and half hours to get to the Athens, on the East Coast for the very last ferry to Santorini (our luxury greek island accomodation). Doh!! Again.....all the buses are booked until 2pm...2 hour wait....3hour bus trip....we are becoming very concerned...it appears impossible...:-( ...:-( We arrive at Athens at 5pm...our ferry departs from the port Pireus at 530pm...taxi seems our only option to get the port in time...we hook up with two other backpackers also catching the same ferry...the clock is ticking...we manage to all hop into the taxi at 518pm...after waiting for one guy to withdraw money!!?? Crazy stuntman of a taxi driver....a 25min journey is cut down to 12mins...we hit the port at 529pm!!! from the carpack we see our ferry loading the last cars...1 minute left to buy our tickets and then run 100m with our backpacks..(ticket guy looks at his watch and almost doesn´t sell pete the tickets). As we run onto the ramp of the ferry we can´t believe we made it (and we did it with our Eurail passes) 9 hrs later we arrive at Santorini in the Greek islands....the time is 230am the next morning and we didn´t miss out on our first night of luxury accomodation. Minh and Pete very pleased!!!! :-) :-)

posted Jul 25, 2005 | Comments (0)

Windsurfing!! Rock Jumping!! - Naxos, Greece

 This place was Amazing visited Jun 30, 2005

After leaving Stromboli....we embarked upon our AMAZING RACE! We had left ourselves 3 days to get from the Sicily to the Greek Islands(where we had pre-booked our week of luxury accomodation) using train, ferry and buses....... we thought this would be heaps of time........ DOH!!!!!!!! And it would´ve been except for the Italian train system which rarely runs on time (seriously it rarely runs on time). Journey start....hopping on a ferry at Stromboli after only 4 hours sleep post 6hr volcano walk..no time for breakfast.... must catch ferry. Well ferry times are all wrong.... get to train station late and have to miss lunch cos need to get first of three trains to get to the other side of Italy (Pete scared that Minh has gone wihout food for 6hrs... scared for his safety that is). Doh!!!!! Its 10pm and we´ve just missed one of the connecting trains in a small town in the middle of Italy. Hmmm.... Pete getting really hungry....its a sunday night and the whole town looks closed...time to check the Lonely Planet for potential accomodation and food since the next train doesn´t come till 3am in the morning. Hmmm.... no food or accomodation listed in Lonely Planet.... oh well...... we could always pull up a bench at the station for a 5hr nap along with the other sorry dude who might have missed his train or who might have slept there everynight (we´re not sure). I guess it´s chocolate biscuts and sleep for dinner :-| Ahhh.... trainstation benches are so comfy when you´ve only had 4 hours sleep in the last 36hrs. So rude to have to wake up for the 3am connecting train.... but way cool.... it´s on time and we get a whole 6 "seater" carriage to use as two beds..... Wooohooooo. 8am the next day and the train pulls into the Italian port (Bari). Doh and Double Dohh!!!! Ferry to Greece is at 8pm..... time is starting to get away. Minh goes to shop for supplies and comes back with half the grocery store as she is determined not to be caught without food again!!!! 8pm Ferry arrives on time. What an experience. Think of something the size of the love boat but with simpler ammeneties. The 16hr overnight trip is really cool. Minh becomes the ships doctor after a passenger presents with signs of pneumonia!!! Hmm.... no upgrade to sleeper class for her services unfortunately. Meanwhile pete is blissfully unaware of the drama that Minh become involved in. As the night progresses the area used for seated class quickly becomes strewn with bodies looking for any floor space to use as a bed.... cool!!. 12pm the next day - hooray we arrive on the West coast of Greece with 5 and half hours to get to the Athens, on the East Coast for the very last ferry to Santorini (our luxury greek island accomodation). Doh!! Again.....all the buses are booked until 2pm...2 hour wait....3hour bus trip....we are becoming very concerned...it appears impossible...:-( ...:-( We arrive at Athens at 5pm...our ferry departs from the port Pireus at 530pm...taxi seems our only option to get the port in time...we hook up with two other backpackers also catching the same ferry...the clock is ticking...we manage to all hop into the taxi at 518pm...after waiting for one guy to withdraw money!!?? Crazy stuntman of a taxi driver....a 25min journey is cut down to 12mins...we hit the port at 529pm!!! from the carpack we see our ferry loading the last cars...1 minute left to buy our tickets and then run 100m with our backpacks..(ticket guy looks at his watch and almost doesn´t sell pete the tickets). As we run onto the ramp of the ferry we can´t believe we made it (and we did it with our Eurail passes) 9 hrs later we arrive at Santorini in the Greek islands....the time is 230am the next morning and we didn´t miss out on our first night of luxury accomodation. Minh and Pete very pleased!!!! :-) :-)

posted Jul 6, 2005 | Comments (0)

Climbing Volcano!! - Ginostra, Italy

 This place was Amazing visited Jun 19, 2005

Well, before leaving Lipari for the Greek Is there is one other thing we did in Italy. We walked up a active Volcano (with exploding hot rocks and all). Yep that's right. Before leaving the Aolian Islands in Italy Minh really really wanted to go to the Island of Stromboli to climb to the walk to the top of the volcano and watch the hot rocks spurt out at night. For pete, well his instincts told him that if there was an active volcano to the right then he should be heading left. So as Mipin Baggins Tran plotted their path to the firey depths of Stomboli, Peterus Took Vun reluctantly decided to follow his master and protect her from any danger that may come. Well, what an adventure, we arrived at Stromboli without any accomodation booked, fended off the pushy hustlers at the port wanting to sell various types of accomodation, walked 2kms with backpacks to a dodgy Lonely Planet recommended hostel. Unfortunatley, we would have been much better off financially and comfort wise if we had accepted accomodation from the pushy hustlers at the port. But alas the departure time for the volcano walk was close and we didn't have the time to be be picky with searching for accom. 4:30pm, so off to the town sq to sign up for the 5:30pm walking party to the top of the Volcano. But again we were foiled by all the volcano guides being booked out so the best we could do was to add our names to a waiting list with 10 already ahead of us on the list. On top of this the weather was threatening to cause all the guides to cancel the walk. The actualy walk to the top is about 3hrs and so you arrive at about 9pm and spend an hour at the top. With 30min to up our sleaves Pete had just enough time to race around like a madman and grab some food, batteries for our torches, and all our "bad" weather gear from the hostel. And Vivien and Manue, no we didn't take food to the top because we wanted to have a picnic but because the guides insisted we take the food, torch and bad weather gear. (Ok ok we probably wouldve taken a picnic anyway) At 5:30pm on the dot Pete appeared at the meeting point with all the "gear" and to the good news that we were now on the departing list. So we grab our helmuts and off we go. Our guide took a nice pace up the volcano. Lesurly enough for us to chat to an amusing Scottish backpacker chick who we swapped ammusing travel stories with and who entertained us with Ali G (impersonations). After three hours we reached the top look at point (above the craters), a small ridge not more that 5m wide. A scene of clouds, mist and more clouds..... Doh!!!!! At first we couldn't even see the crater or the explosions because of the clouds. Pete was happy to just eat and be alive while Minh was slightly dissapointed at the lack of visual fireball activity. Having said that...... it was actually quite scary to hear the explosions nearby while being surrounded by clouds. We had no idea how close to the craters or the exploding rockes we were, we could just hear them. The sound of the explosions is just like in the movies. Then after 30min of sitting in darkness n listening 2 explosions the clouds parted and allowed the volcano to show off it's impressive fireworks show. Wow!!!! Unreal!!!!! so for 10mins camera film and memory cards were quickly used up by the 30 or so people in the group. (Ok at this point for the sake of my Mums blood pressure I should probably point out that we were never really in any danger as the explosions are consistently small and in one direction only. so the lookout point is in a very safe spot. the only real dangers are loosing the group n guide n getting lost. U def don't want to try walking back urself as there is a reasonably chance u could end up walking towards the crater. the other danger is the volcano erupting violently which we would hopefully get some warning off because of all the automatic monitoring that they have installed on the volcano. Infact the volcano is considered safe enough to live on n there are roughly 500 people permanently living there...... all on the safe side of the volcano of course). Then for the 2.5hr hike back down the mountain. Oh so tired and oh so much sand in Pete's shoes. Minh's hicut boots saved her from the same fate. 11.30pm, arrival back at ground zero and we were shown footage of the volcano erupting, not small explosions like we had seen but a huge eruption that caused a 20m tsunami by the rocks falling into the sea (Doh!!!) and caused massive ash plume. This footage was from 2003!!!!! :-| and they had closed the walks for the last two years. Walks only started up 2months ago.... Doh!!!!!! So we dragged our tired asses back to our crappy hostel for a 5 hour rest before having to catch our morning ferry to head for the Greek Is. YAYYYYY!!!! And so begins the Amazing Race..... you'll have to read the next entry to see what that means.......

posted Jul 6, 2005 | Comments (0)