In 1995 and again in 1998, we found the Tyn Church closed for repairs. Talking to workers on the exterior they said they had no idea when it would be opened.
We took the splendid 30 minute walk from the No 8 tram line up to the Star Summer Palace in May 1998 and found it closed. A lady leaving through the Palace gate and locking it behind her told us it closed about one year ago and has at least another year to go before renovations were completed.
In Spain you are not allowed to touch the fruit! When you tell them what you want, they cunningly give you all their rotten produce! Be especially careful of the price as most shop owners seem to be in it for easy profit and take advantage of the non- suspecting traveller, totally unfamilliar to the Spanish currency. My friend experienced this when she brought them back to her hotel and found that she had been charged $8.00 for two oranges! My advice is - don’t be afraid to make it clear that you want the fresh fruit and point out the fruit you want and do keep an eye on the adding up at the end!
I got my visa for Russia in Jakarta, Indonesia. It costs USD 75/ passport for a one week process. If you are in a hurry, they could do it in 3 days for double price. The most important thing to get the visa is for you to give them the invitation letter/hotel confirmation FROM RUSSIA.
I got my Estonia and Latvia visa in Helsinki. The fastest time they can process your visa is 1 night. It costs USD 10/passport (free for a baby, even if they are having their own passport). But during the summer, be prepared to come early; the queue is quite long. At the Estonia consulate in Helsinki, there are 3 windows: the left for EXPRESS process (1 night), the middle for NORMAL PROCESS, and the right window for collecting the visa/passport and paying the fee. In the Latvia consulate, there is only 1 window. I travelled using the first class train from Riga to St. Petersburg, and the it was superb. The toilet was clean, and the room was good (there were 2 beds, a table, blankets, towels, television, and music (all in Russian). You’ll pass Estonia, but they didn’t do a checking. So, an Estonia transit visa is not necessary. But in the Russian border, they did a detail check, especially to your passport. I forgot to ask for the currency declaration form. But when I left St. Petersburg through the airport, there was no problem. They asked for it, but when I said that I didn’t get one when on the train, they just let me go. But that might happen differently to other people, though.
Here’s an economical tip if you’re going camping. Buy a cask of wine - drink it, then wash it out with water - freeze it and use it to keep an eski cold, when it’s melted you have fresh water to drink. When you’ve drunk the water, you can blow it up and use it as a comfortable pillow.
What a great destination Rekjaaviik is. The scenery is spectacular, we loved the Golden Circle Tour. In one day we walked along a beach and spotted icebergs, had a snowball fight at a glacier, ran away from steaming hot jets of water from a geyser, and took some fabulous piccies of huge glacial waterfalls and a four hundred year old church. This was all on a thumping hangover courtesy of some of the best nightclubs I have ever visited. Most people in Iceland still believe in little goblins that live under the ground and come out at night so they are a pretty interesting bunch to talk to (and very attractive too!). If possible, I recommend a guided trip into the interior (constantly shifting due to volcanic activity) by four wheel drive. Take plenty of money as everything is expensive and stock up on the duty free booze.
Susan Reid (Apr 9 
It is possible to hire 21-speed mountain bikes from the Reykjavik campground for Ikr1100 for the day. It is not a joke to undertake a bike ride only if the weather is calm and clear. When we left the campground it was overcast but by the time we reached Krafla we could just about see our hands in front of our faces. We only got to Viti by leaving the bikes at the Power plant and hitching along with some Fins who had been living in Iceland for the past two years and even they lost their way as the fog was so thick. When we eventually did reach the crater we could just about make out the line of the water and no more; so if the weather is not clear when you plan on going to Viti, just buy the postcard instead.
Avril Behan (IRE) & Nathalie Chuat (CH) (Aug 97)
All the more incredible, then, when in my Lufthansa in-flight magazine I spotted an advertisement for airline seats. “Yesterday at 30,000 feet between Hong Kong and Frankfurt, tomorrow in you home or office”. That’s right, for the very reasonable price of 1200 Deutschmarks (about $600), you can have your very own row of three (economy-class) airline seats to take home! And that’s not even including lifejackets.
The fact the Lufthansa even considers their seats to have a resale value shows that that pre-war concept of airplane chic somehow remains with us. Back in the 1930s, when flying was the preserve of the rich and the foolhardy, airplanes modeled themselves on luxury trains. There were separate dining areas, cocktail lounges ? even bedrooms. Today, unless they take the corporate Learjet, not even the toppest top executive can hope for such treatment, while for those untouchables flying economy class ? such as you and me ? flying is an experience which, if it was imposed on prisoners, would be declared unconstitutional as being a cruel and unusual punishment.
After Coober Pedy, I drove up to see Ayers rock and nearly got myself killed. The drive there was uneventful, but while I was in the center at Uluru, a big storm was brewing. when I got outside, it was raining lightly. I drove around the rock, and it was amazing. it was too cloudy for the sunset, but the water pouring off the rock was so beautiful, streams all over the face. I should have realized I might be in for some trouble when I had to drive through two large puddles about 5 inches deep, and maybe 15 feet wide. It didn?t really occur to me; I was so glad to see rain, and so awe-struck by the rock covered in waterfalls.
I was driving back toward Yulara, since I needed to buy some gas. A massive, unbelievable storm cloud was hanging over the town. I was excited, so glad to see the rain, that I didn?t care. I did note that the winding road seemed to be trying to keep me away from the storm; I saw the flashes of lightning, and the land was totally obscured by rain. I knew now this was going to be rough, but my room was in Erldunda, 180 miles east, and I had to be there by 10pm. It was now about 6:30pm.
Speaking of deviations, which we can also call perversions, let’s talk about what you look like, ugly. Don’t be afraid to be gross. It’s okay to be a tad nasty when you travel. Some would even say preferable. Plan knowing that you will wear your favorite brown cords every day for ten days (twenty, if you’re anything like me). Yes, you need nice shoes to get into clubs in Europe. But for everything else, your doc’s are okay, or sneakers or whatever you can comfortably live in.
Forget what your mom told you about hygiene: you do not need showers everyday (or even week, really). Especially in the developing world, where many budget travelling acquaintances of mine have been known to eschew the whole bathing process for weeks, you should be prepared to get a little funky. Not out of disrespect for the places you’re visiting, but because travelling on the (really) cheap is more like camping than anything else. Don’t waste your precious backpack room taking extra changes of clothes and excessive toiletries. Be simple; be smelly. Say it with me: I stink, therefore I am. It’s life-affirming stuff, stinkiness. You will be so much happier toting light stuff that your gradually growing stench will scarcely matter.
That said, be conscious of your image wherever you go. Go in dirt, but know whereof you are dirty. Recognize that at a border crossing, you should take the extra step to clean yourself up. You should also be aware of what others see when they look at you. Identify yourself: Do you look like what you are- a longhaired prepster in stony Jamaica over Spring Break on official “business”? Are you a duckbilled fratboy from Long Island with the beginnings of a beer belly and a t-shirt that says Villanova Spring Fest? A severally pierced rocker with torn clothing and skanky green dreads? Or else: Are you a woman? Are you alone? Are you struggling with bags that seem heavy and unwieldy? Do you seem like a likely target? Whatever calls attention to you will probably work against you. These things should help you assess what sorts of risks you should take, and how likely you are to run into trouble in certain situations.
If you have a bike, you may choose to bring it on BART, and get off at Embarcadero station. Head down Market toward the water, turn left on Embarcadero, and enjoy a 1.5-mile ride past some of San Francisco’s most famous landmarks to Hyde Street, where you will rendezvous with the bike renters.
Whether on your own bike or rented wheels, by this point you will be getting ready for lunch. In the immediate area of Hyde and Beach are located many large and crowded seafood restaurants. Stay away from them. Instead, buy a shrimp salad or other marine delectable from one of the many open-air stands lining the sidewalks near the Fisherman’s Wharf.
“Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”
