Aim High! aka TRGTALP's Guide to Great Views!

In my last post, I wrote about, and included some pictures, of my climb to the top of Zadar's highest building, the Bell Tower at the Cathedral of St Anastasia.  I gushed about how the ascent to the top of this fine bell tower afforded some fantastic views over the Old Town and across the sea to the islands that lie off Zadar.  Even before I started the climb, I knew it was going to be good; views from atop a building almost always are.  And, it is this that I urge you to do whenever you travel...AIM HIGH!

I always enjoy taking in the view from hillsides to dizzying my high Ferris wheels to glorious edifying monuments of a Communist past and even the odd ancient religious building.  It must be in my nature as a Capricorn; the desire to want to be like the mountain goat and climb to the top of all that is high.  If there's a tall building with a viewing platform, I probably will want to be up it!  The funny thing is...when faced with these ginormous buildings, my foot on the first step of a 354 step spiral staircase climb, I often think, "Surely the Benedictine Monks installed a lift!"  But, despite my moans, both internal and to anyone who will listen, I always think it is worth the effort and have never regretted a hearty ascent and the view that comes with it.

I'm not going to lie to you. These climbs are not for the faint-hearted!  You will need to be of good health, risk life and limb when placing your foot on that ropey looking wooden step and happy to be pressed up against a whole host of travellers; in many cases, on both the ascent and descent!  On the whole, you'll  find that it is more than worth the hassle and a great way to get up close with your fellow traveller...whether you like it or not!

So, where can you grab a feast for your eyes from on high?  Below, I have listed a tiny amount of the world's best dizzying highs; splitting them into free highs and ascents you are going to have to pay for...

TOP 3 FREE VIEWS...

- Primrose Hill, London - This North London spot offers great views over this mighty fine city. Grab a picnic, get among the crowds on a summer's day and live the high life in this fantastic city!

(source - wikipedia.org)

- Griffith Park, Los Angeles - The City of Angels has its detractors, but who could argue with the stunning view from Griffith Park, looking over this sprawling US metropolis?

(source - drewrtw.blogspot.com)

- Printemps, Paris - Many will recommend a climb to Montmartre and the church of Sacre Coeur for an impressive free view of Paris.  Avoid the crowds of tourists and wind your way through the immaculately arranged departments of the Printemps store on Boulevard Haussman for a brilliant 360-ish view of the French capital, including a close up of La Madeleine and the gilded rooftop of the Paris Opera.  The rooftop terrace has a cafe where you can soak up the views over a cup of creme or sparkling fizz.

 (source - MikeW)

TOP 4 PAID VIEWS...

- Arc de Triomphe, Paris - The 'city of views' features twice on the list and what list of great views would leave out the Eiffel Tower?!  Well, this one, for a start!  Notoriously busy, a little pricey and filled with a constant stream of couples proposing to each other, I would rather recommend the triumphal arch at the end of the Champs Élysée anyday!  Though, not as high, this does not mean the view on offer is not as good. Far from it. Because you are not as high, you get to see more of the city close up, including the direct symmetry of I.M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid through the Arc, all the way to La Defensé, as well as enjoy the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest junctions in Western Europe!  Not only that, but time your visit right; getting there just before dusk and you will have the benefit of a daytime view of Paris coupled with a brilliant nighttime view, as all the cars drive in 8 different directions towards the Arc, the myriad of headlights a sign that Paris at night has come alive!

(source - commons.wikimedia.org)

- The Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, New York - Two impressive skyscrapers in one mind blowing city!  But which to ascend?  I am no authority on this, having only been to the top of the Empire State Building (which offers excellent views), but have been reliably informed that the Rockefeller Centre is a better experience as it allows you to see both the Empire State Building AND the magnificent Chrysler Building from the same rooftop.

(source - Aludon at flickr.com)

- The Academy of Sciences, Riga - If you ever visit Riga, I can highly recommend a trip to the top of 'Stalin's birthday cake'.  This ornate Communist block was built as centre of agricultural education.  Its two attractions are the fact that it really isn't visited in large numbers; leaving me and two giggling girls as the only people at the top of this monument the whole 30 mins I was there!  Also, by getting up that high, you can really appreciate what a green and pleasant land lies so close to this city.  The locals I met made such a great play on the fact that Latvians are proud to say that their country is their 'breadbasket', with much of their food coming directly from the countryside to the capital city.  Once you see the expanse of fields and forests so close to Riga, what the Latvians claim suddenly all becomes clear.

(source - MikeW)

- Castelo Sao Jorge, Lisbon - High over the Portuguese capital is an old castle with some fantastic views. On a clear summer's day, I was able to enjoy a superb view across this city of 7 hills!  Watching trams work their way through the maze of narrow streets and Lisboetas make their way around this wonderful capital city.  In addition to the views from the castle, I would certainly recommend catching the views and the sun's rays from the many miradouros across Lisbon, where people gather to socialise, drink beer and generally have fun as they watch the sun set.

(source - MikeW)

So, whenever you are in a place that has a tourist sight that towers over all others grab yourself a ticket and get to the top!

Oh...and, of course, please feel free to add your own suggestions in the comment box below!  I would love to hear where you think is worth a look.

How Can You Afford it?! (AKA - The Art of Funding Your Travel...)

MikeW splashing out on his bargain trip to Budapest at the Szechenyi Baths (source - author)

I have been getting myself a bit of a reputation, these past few years, among my friends, family and work colleagues.  The gadabout, the one flush with cash and the line everyone says (or variants of)..."you're always going on holiday!"  Granted, I do take a fair few trips here and there, particularly in the last three years.  Last year alone, I visited 7 countries and this year I have taken trips to 4 countries and with 2 more on the horizon before the year is out.  So, how do I do it?  Am I, perhaps, rolling in money...unfortunately not.  Do I have family to fund my trips?  Apart from a contribution to the 'Ice Cream Fund' or giving me money for my birthday and Christmas presents to put towards the costs of my trips, my family do not bankroll these adventures.  Are you selling your body, MikeW?!  Alas, what I would get for that would not get me the bus fare into Leeds!

What follows are a series of tips to help you save and build up some funds for your trips; whether that means blowing it all on one big trip to a long haul destination or doing what I have been doing these past couple of years, taking a series of short haul trips throughout Europe.  We live in tough economic climes and, as a budget traveller, I like to ensure I get the best value and make my money go further so I can get more from my trips and get to go on more trips too.

1. Cut Back!
One of the biggest ways I save money is by not going out every weekend partying, drinking, dining out or on expensive leisure activities such as attending football matches, owning and buying games for a Playstation of XBox.  For some people, this is a deal-breaker and I understand that.  However, I think a balance can be found.  Please do not misunderstand me, I like to think I have a fairly good social life, but to think I could save £50 from a night out on the tiles over the period of a month, would leave me with a hefty £200 to put towards flights, accommodation and spending money on my travels.  Can you economise elsewhere in your life?  For example, by finding a cheaper contract for your mobile or satellite television package.  Giving up a 20 a day cigarette habit would leave you with approximately £200 to spend per month.  Assuming you work 20 or so days a month and buy a £2 coffee every day, why not walk past Starbucks and save yourself £40 per month/£480 per year that you could put towards a trip abroad.

I find Martin Lewis's fantastic Money Saving Expert website a brilliant source of information, but particularly like his 'Demotivator' tool to help you reduce your spending!

2. eBay
Prior to my big backpacking trip to Australia and New Zealand, in 2005, I got into (by chance) buying and selling books on eBay, the Internet auction site.  I never made big bucks, but made enough in about 4 months to pay for my flights to Australia and New Zealand on Singapore Airlines.  So, hunt round your house, and get selling what you do not need or want anymore.  Remember the motto - 'Someone's trash is another's treasure'!  I recommend eBay and Gumtree as great places to offload your things.  Who needs stuff anyway?!  I firmly believe a fulfilled and fulfilling life is one filled with family and friends, not belongings.

3. Budget Airlines
You may not like the idea, especially if you like a bit of luxury when you travel, but one of the best ways to save money is to fly with one of the many budget airlines.  Ryanair, easyJet and the many others that dominate the European flight routes offer cheap and cheerful flights to a comprehensive range of destinations.  And when flying with these airlines, my recommendation is also that you travel light or you will face a number of charges for your luggage that the person taking a city break can easily avoid through some careful and clever packing.  My previous post on baggage (No Baggage!  Dare You Travel This Light?!) simply highlights how easy it is to travel with very few things.  By flying with a budget airline and timing your flight purchase right, some real bargains are to be had.  For example, my return flight to Krakow from Leeds Bradford Airport with Ryanair, last October, during the school holidays was a rather reasonable £29!  Budapest during the 2012 Easter holidays, a 'stonking' £52 return from Manchester.

4. Staying with friends
On 3 of my trips last year I stayed with friends.  Coincidentally, friends I had met on my travels previously in Australia and New Zealand.  I have extolled the virtues of staying with friends before from the viewpoint of having a local guide on hand to show you the best sights, bars and local dimension to your destination; but, these people can also (kindly) offer you somewhere free to stay.  I always make a point of taking a gift or buying dinner one night to thank the hosts, as I am extremely grateful (and humbled) that they let me stay in their homes and treat me as one of their own.  I too have done the same for the very same friends on their visits to me, here in Leeds!  If you do not have this option, I recommend staying in hostels or sharing the cost of accommodation with friends by renting an apartment.

5. Keep Costs Low
Staying in budget accommodation will dramatically reduce your trip costs, so take advantage of the places offered on HostelBookers and HostelWorld.  If you have a student card or an International Student Identity Card (ISIC) it can be used to get free or reduced entry into many of the best museums and art galleries in the world, as well as many other sights and attractions in the places you visit.  Try not to use taxis or public transport wherever possible; walking will not only keep you fit, you will see more of your destination and it is completely and utterly free.  Please, however, do not compromise safety to save a Euro or two by walking through an area that may present itself as dangerous or unsafe.  When eating out, make your lunches using bread and fillings from the local markets and supermarkets.  These are almost always cheaper than buying lunch.  Also, ask for recommendations for places to eat.  One big advantage of staying in a hostel, especially one where the staff are friendly and helpful is that they will sit with you for 5 minutes and, using a map of the destination, highlight all the places to eat and drink that offer the best value.

You too could marvel at the historic sights of Tallinn in Estonia (source - author)

6. Travel Savvy and Combine Trips
Taking a two centre trip can often save the plucky traveller a fair bit of cash.  Rather than take two separate trips to places combine your trips together into one big trip.  For example, last year I visited both Riga in Latvia and Vilnius in Lithuania, flying into the former and out of the latter and connecting myself between them via a rather luxurious and cheap coach journey.  Or, you might find, a day trip is viable to another destination that interests you.  This May, I visited Tallinn in Estonia, but managed to squeeze in a day trip to Helsinki in Finland.  Having been shocked by the prices of everything in Finland's Nordic neighbour, Sweden in the previous month, I made sure I took all the food I needed with me for the day and only spent money on my boat journey across and a couple of coffees throughout the day.  Taking the trip separately would have involved an expensive hostel in the city and rely on me purchasing my foods and drinks there.

So, there you go!  Not a comprehensive list, but one that I hope will save you money and allow your cash to go much further.  It has worked for me and provides me with the opportunity to travel more and maximise my adventures.  Please let me know how you save for trips and add your tips to the comments section below!

Happy budget busting travel!

USA...Tick! France...Tick! Azerbaijan...erm...

Location, Location, Location!

On a recent flight, I was surrounded by a party heading to Slovenia to...erm, party.  One of the group, exclaimed to the others a few minutes after we took off, "when we land, this will be my 50th country!  And, all before my 30th birthday too!"  The milestone birthday, it turns out, was being celebrated in Slovenia, so the girl in question made it to her target by a whisker!  This little story got me thinking...do we travel to put a notch on our proverbial hostel bedpost or is this just a satisfying byproduct of a wide and varied travel diet?  For those of you that were wondering, I have made it to 24 countries - so long as you count Monaco and the Vatican City as independent states.  I think that is pretty impressive for someone who has never taken a gap year that wends through a number of South East Asian and South American countries or is that flush with cash.

Some people take this tick-listing of countries visited to an extreme.  Take, for example, Kashi Sammadar, who has visited all of the countries of the World.  Or even our own Queen Elizabeth II who has visited 116 countries to date.  You can compare your travels to Liz's on this BBC News website - 'Have you been where the Queen's been?'

Though, sad to admit it, I quite like seeing where and how many places I have visited.  I love updating my travel map on Facebook; putting virtual pins into a map to highlight the cities and countries I have trampled with my size nines.  I look at the gaps on the map and think, 'I really must visit ... or ...'.  I do this, not to ensure I fill in those gaps, but help me think about the places I would like to travel to, not the ones I feel I should visit simply to pin on my map.  My travels this year have included four new countries and hopefully, a fifth before the year is out.  I realised looking at my map, I had not really seen much of Eastern Europe, but for a short break to Prague a few years back.  So, when I saw the flights to Hungary, Latvia and Slovenia at a reasonable price, I jumped at the chance to see these countries and cultures that had previously been virgin territory for me.

As for the girl at the start of the post, she may have achieved her 50 countries mostly via travel through her work commitments.  For all I know, she could have been a pilot or stewardess; jetting all over the world on a daily basis.  She might be filthy rich, with a purse deep enough to allow her the opportunity to travel lots and see a whole host of countries.  It is easy to become cynical about such people - mocking their approach to travel.  Besides, we all enjoy travel for different reasons.  Either way, we all have something in common...we like to travel.  Therefore, I am always in admiration for those people that are lucky enough to visit so many places.  They make me want to travel more as I reason with myself, 'if they can do it, so can I!'  I often fail to remember that they may have more time or cash at their disposal, but still the desire to travel remains.  So, look to your tick-listers as inspiration, a source of ideas for future destinations and most of all enjoy the experience of travel, seeing it not simply as a chance to 'tick' another place off on a list of places you have travelled to.

The Glorious Free Tour...

The Ljubljana Free Tour - MikeW in the middle on the front row! (Source - The Ljubljana Free Tour)

 

Free!  My favourite price!  The old saying goes, "there's no such thing as a free lunch", but I disagree when it comes to one 'free' aspect of travel and it is one of my top tips for the solo traveller.  Whenever I am in a place that has one on offer, I always take the free tour.  I've free toured in a number of cities including Lisbon, Budapest, Riga, Vilnius and most recently, last week, in Ljubljana.  And, what a treat these tours are.  The concept is pretty straightforward: a person in their early twenties (often an inhabitant of the place) will have advertised a meeting point somewhere in the city, at a set time everyday, usually via a leaflet or poster in the hostels and tourist information offices.  They will walk you and a group of other fact-hungry tourists around their fair city all for nothing, nada, nowt!  OK, OK...before you all scream, "Mike, you're wrong...it's not free!"...the tour is not completely free as the tour guide will explain to you at some point on your walk round the city.  They work on a tip based system, whereby you pay what you think the tour was worth.  So, in theory you could pay nothing for an abysmal tour and thus, get yourself a free tour, but if you are paying nothing, it is probably safe to assume the tour was a waste of time or you are just one tight-fisted git!

I like the free tour for a number of reasons.  First of all, you get to meet a local; someone who is always very passionate about their city and their country; happy to share many interesting facts and stories about its people, buildings and culture.  I have learnt some fascinating things from these free tours.  The quality of the guides varies.  The tours where I have laughed heartily, learnt lots about the place and felt like the guide was genuinely interested in our experience have been fantastic.  The tours where the guide has been very serious or a little eccentric, making the tour all about themselves, I have found less interesting and have tipped accordingly.  Secondly, free tours are really useful in helping you get your bearings; allowing you to see the highlights of a city in a short space of time, but then give you the opportunity to decide what you want to visit again and see in more detail.

Free tours are a great way to meet other like-minded travellers.  Free tourers are usually backpackers, probably travelling solo (and on a budget) just like your good self.  On the tour in Ljubljana, I was able to meet a great girl who me and a fellow traveller, from my room in the hostel, spent the day exploring the city with and dined with in the evening.  Further than that, the people on the free tour might become future travel buddies...an Aussie girl I befriended on the free tour in Riga I am travelling to Krakow with in October.

So, take the free tour...learn about the place you are visiting, soak up the culture and meet people!

Latvia and Lithuania...Conquered!

A shot of the tower in Cathedral Square, Vilnius

I am back on British soil!  Well, I've been back a week and a bit now and from a really cool trip to Latvia and Lithuania!  Both Riga and Vilnius, although similar cities; having an historical centre along with a great expanse of green, forest land surrounding both capitals, were great fun.  I highly recommend a visit to both.  The fears I expressed in my last post were completely unfounded (as I had predicted) and I managed to meet some cool people as part of my explorations somewhere new to me!  Once again, the trepidation I felt prior to my trip was completely unnecessary.

Me and the view from the top of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Riga

Favourite bits, you ask?  In Riga, I enjoyed the views from the Academy of Sciences (AKA Stalin's Birthday Cake).  It was so strange visiting a tourist attraction, in a capital city, where I was the only person there, but for a couple of giggling Latvian girls.  I also loved creating some impromptu art at Galeria Darbnīcā - www.grafikaskola.lv, where I was helped by two patient ladies who put up with my wavering artistic temperament during the hour and a half I spent at their workshop.  In Vilnius, the main highlight for me was heading out for the afternoon to Trakai; a castle on an island in Lake Galvė - www.trakai.lt.  Overall, a top trip!

Butterflies...

Riga in Latvia 

(copyright - www.flightsaustralia.com.au)

So, tomorrow I head off on a 6 day trip through Latvia and Lithuania.  I've got my Lats and Litas, my passport is out and the holdall I'm stuffing full of clothes sits on my bed open, like a basking shark ready to swallow its prey...in this case, my socks and underwear.  But something is bothering me.  I know this feeling; I've had it before...I get it on every trip I've ever taken alone to a foreign land.  It's the one where my stomach is turning knots at the thought of arriving in a country where not one single person knows me, where I fear I'll be wandering aimlessly bored out of my skull wishing I was back in sunny Leeds.  Looking back, every time I have had this feeling, the trip itself has smashed any notions of fear about the solo travel experience out of the water.  I've yet to travel on my own somewhere and not meet fantastic people.  I've always tried to be brave enough to throw myself into social situations where I can try to make friends and sample the place I am visiting to its fullest (see my post 'My First Time...').  So, I'll be looking for the free tours on offer, the chance to get to know the people in my hostel and most of all enjoy myself as I explore exciting and interesting places I have never visited before.  So, here goes...Riga and Vilnius, I embrace you and all that you have...I'm sure you'll look after me!

By the way, if anyone has any last minute Latvia and Lithuania tips they are very muchly appreciated.