Dubai – destination nowhere

Posted By John Anderson on 06, Oct, 2014

All the advertising spruiks Dubai as a destination. Jelly summed it up best while we walked around the gold souk in 40+ degree centigrade heat. Dubai is a hub not a destination. And I agree, here’s why. Dubai has some of the biggest shopping malls in the world. But within these shopping centres are the same name brands that you see all over the world, including Australia. There’s very little local content at large Malls. They are...

Prague – Intrigue

Posted By John Anderson on 30, Sep, 2014

City of spies  or city of con-artists? With only a short time to spend in Prague (capital of Czech Republic) before winging our way to Dubai and home, it really is nothing more than a grab bag of Czech hot spots, beer and cheap souvenirs.  Lets get the cheap stuff out of the way first.  We’ve developed a flavour for cups this time round.  I’m not talking about bone china here, these are your fair dinkum tea/coffee mugs....

Auschwitz – He says

Posted By John Anderson on 17, Sep, 2014

Today we visited the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was established by the Nazi’s from 1940 to 1944. I am sitting here drinking a beer – because I need one – and reflecting on what I saw and learned today. I am so overwhelmed by what I have seen that I find it difficult to put my thoughts into coherent words. Forgive me if I offend, that’s the last thing I intend. First I learned that the Nazi party coming into power didn’t...

Our time in Budapest – He says

Posted By John Anderson on 13, Sep, 2014

11-13 Sept – Budapest Hungary A 2.5hour train journey gets you from Vienna to Budapest. Once again the changes between the two cities are striking. Almost immediately we are targeted by a spruiker wanting to change our currency. I tried telling him no but he kept at me so I gave him our remaining Euro which came back as a wad of Hungarian Forints (HUF). While we stood in queue for the money changing booth the rates didn’t...

Vienna – Austria a synopsis by JA

Posted By John Anderson on 05, Sep, 2014

Vienna looks very flat from the air and much greener than Istanbul. Climate is cooler as we step off the plane and into the transit bus to the airport terminal. We notice that very suddenly the language around us has changed from Turkish to German and even though we were surrounded by darker skinned (well tanned) people in Istanbul they suddenly all seem a lot lighter here in Vienna. The airport toilets are good (read: better than...