We want to pass off a little piece of advice to other fellow travellers.....never book a bus ticket to a destination before you have accomodation. Sounds obvious, but when the trip is cheap you might get excited and just book....which unfortunately is what we did. We booked a bus ticket to take us from Belgium to London. Turned out though, that it was not only a long weekend there, but also they were holding a big Jazz fest. It is impossible to find a room during an event like that at the last minute. So our only choice was to travel somewhere different. We start with an email to Euro lines.....who then tell us we have to contact the Belgium office directly. We go to a shop and buy a phone card, of course with instructions in Dutch. We tried to make the call to Eurosline from the nearest payphone but the credit was gone in seconds. .....we used the wrong international number. We buy another phone card, and try once more with the correct number to the same avail. 10 Euros gone out the window with no result and still a useless bus ticket! Time goes by and we eventually learn from the locals at the hostel that pay phones are not worth anyone's money, the only affordable why to make a phone call in Europe is a mobile, which of course we didn't have. At this point it looks like we are taking a trip into Belgium just to catch a bus.
So we move on to the next city, hoping someone there might be able to help us, keeping an open mind, and trying to stay relaxed while at the beach. Lucky for us the lady in Rotterdam Eurolines just phoned the company for us (something the staff in Amsterdam Euro lines were not willing to do for us). With in five minutes our bus was changed, and with only a 25% loss b/c it took us 5 days to get in touch with the company.....meaning a change penalty:(
With that taken care of we load our stuff onto our bus in Rotterdam, to realize not one of could sit together, the bus stopped in Amsterdam first and the bus was almost full. Both of us ended up sitting beside two big guys, that thought it was totally okay to take up 2 seats, and even with obvious hints at the crowded space, didn't budge. It took Scott throwing his own leg over the beast of a man for him to keep to his own side.
Now on to the real story.......our bus driver. He gave us dirty looks and refused to load our bags until last. Turns out later that he assumed we may have drugs (i guess since we look like dirty backpackers?). This man refered to himself as Indiana Jones.....heres why.
We are on the bus for about 20 mins when all of a sudden, somewhere in a small town, our bus came to a complete hault.....jolting everyone forward. Unsure of whats happened we all look outside the bus to see Indiana Jones himself chasing after 3 teenagers into a park. Not minutes later 3 men from the bus run out to help. Still not sure what has happened, we are stuck in the middle of the street in tim buck two, with no idea where the bus driver was or what exactly his mission was. Yes, its true.....our bus was egged. The driver and his helpers came back with only one of the kids......the poor sucker, and had called the cops. He was arrested and we were on our way, of course losing out on our only break on an 8hour overnight ride.
Because our bus started in amsterdam our bus was stopped at customs in 3 different locations. All 3 times we were required to unload all of our belongings and Scott was searched everytime, causing us to miss our first ferry to the UK. Too bad it was the quiet guy in the back of the bus that was arrested in France for carrying a bag of drugs. Indiana Jones isn't so good with his intuition!
At 730am (1.5 hours late) we finally arrived in rainy cold London.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Holland Part 3: Rotterdam
Back to the big city life. We didn't realize, but it turns out that Rotterdam is the 2nd largest city in Holland. After a thiry minute hike with our packs, we arrived at our hostel which is more like a hotel, a little on the boring side. We embarked on our tour of the city, and apparently took a turn into the ghetto. Being late at night, we quickly ducked into a place to get some food, and then retraced our steps and decided to explore the city in daylight.
And so the chaos begins... We throw our backpacks on, and embark on our hike to our next hostel that had been pre-booked a week prior. After a 40 minute walk through the streets of Rotterdam with 50 pounds on our back, we finally see it... The Clipper. A little dinky boat that was supposed to be our hostel. Once getting past their dog, we go inside to meet a sketchy Dutch couple... think South Shwa. He looked suprised when the 3 of us walked in, put his paper work down in front of us, and then proceeded to explain that he read our reservations wrong. Instead of booking 3 of us in for one night, he had booked ONE of us in for three nights! Without telling us what was going on, he was one the phone, speaking Dutch, to who knows where, apparently trying to find us accomodations. Being Saturday night, during a festival, of course everywhere was booked (why we had booked a week ahead). He gave us back our deposit, well some of it, and then said we could go to a campsite somewhere in the middle of nowhere. We said we were unsure of this place, and asked for more information on the location and safety and that is when he flipped his lid! All of a sudden, this man who had just put US onto the streets, was pissed at us, yelling at us, saying how his country was safe, no crime or gangs had even been "invented" yet, and then he stormed off saying he won't help us anymore!!
So off we go again, packs on our backs, and not a clue as to where we are heading... we found an info center, which proved very helpful. After many phone calls, we found a room in a hotel. So needless to say, our first impression of Rotterdam was not so good...
Once we had a chance to explore the city, it turned out it was beautiful. The city was wiped out during World War II so all building were modern architecture. We made our way to our dinner reservations at a restaurant called Look, where in Dutch it means Garlic. As soon as you walk through the door, you realize you won't be having much conversation after a visit to this delicacy. Every item on their menu, including the dessert, was made from garlic. mmm mm good! Definitely worth the splurge.
On our last day in Rotterdam, we had a chance to visit their world music festival. It was held in their sea side park. We spent a beautiful afternoon wondering through the stalls, garden pathways, and stopped at each of their 5 stages, to listen to their multicultural music.
Turns out Rotterdam's not so bad after all...
And so the chaos begins... We throw our backpacks on, and embark on our hike to our next hostel that had been pre-booked a week prior. After a 40 minute walk through the streets of Rotterdam with 50 pounds on our back, we finally see it... The Clipper. A little dinky boat that was supposed to be our hostel. Once getting past their dog, we go inside to meet a sketchy Dutch couple... think South Shwa. He looked suprised when the 3 of us walked in, put his paper work down in front of us, and then proceeded to explain that he read our reservations wrong. Instead of booking 3 of us in for one night, he had booked ONE of us in for three nights! Without telling us what was going on, he was one the phone, speaking Dutch, to who knows where, apparently trying to find us accomodations. Being Saturday night, during a festival, of course everywhere was booked (why we had booked a week ahead). He gave us back our deposit, well some of it, and then said we could go to a campsite somewhere in the middle of nowhere. We said we were unsure of this place, and asked for more information on the location and safety and that is when he flipped his lid! All of a sudden, this man who had just put US onto the streets, was pissed at us, yelling at us, saying how his country was safe, no crime or gangs had even been "invented" yet, and then he stormed off saying he won't help us anymore!!
So off we go again, packs on our backs, and not a clue as to where we are heading... we found an info center, which proved very helpful. After many phone calls, we found a room in a hotel. So needless to say, our first impression of Rotterdam was not so good...
Once we had a chance to explore the city, it turned out it was beautiful. The city was wiped out during World War II so all building were modern architecture. We made our way to our dinner reservations at a restaurant called Look, where in Dutch it means Garlic. As soon as you walk through the door, you realize you won't be having much conversation after a visit to this delicacy. Every item on their menu, including the dessert, was made from garlic. mmm mm good! Definitely worth the splurge.
On our last day in Rotterdam, we had a chance to visit their world music festival. It was held in their sea side park. We spent a beautiful afternoon wondering through the stalls, garden pathways, and stopped at each of their 5 stages, to listen to their multicultural music.
Turns out Rotterdam's not so bad after all...
Holland Part 2: Noordwijk
We needed to get out of Amsterdam. As interesting as it was, it was hectic, dirty, and full of weird folk. Other travellers recommended a Noordwijk beach hostel as a perfect alternative to the busy life of Amsterdam.
We sat on the side of a street in Amsterdam with a group of california surfers, waiting for a shuttle to arrive. Along came a white van and hopped the curb to stop and ask if we were heading to the beach. Off we went having no idea what to expect seeing as this is not a place on the map. The driver made the 45 minute trek in 20 minutes flat... and there we were in a little piece of heaven.
This place was straight out of a movie, kinda like the movie 'The Beach', only not as difficult to get to. Full of laid back travellers, much like ourselves looking to wind down and meet other likeminded backpackers.
The hostel was small, which made getting to know everyone that much easier. It was like a small family even though people were coming and going every day. The beach was 30 seconds away full of local dutch families and only a handful of backpackers. The weather was scorching and tan lines appeared after just an hour! What a change from Scotland :)
Unfrotunately, we had booked our next destination before we had arrived to this awesome place, so our time was now done in our little piece of paradise, a place we will definitely re-visit in the future.
We sat on the side of a street in Amsterdam with a group of california surfers, waiting for a shuttle to arrive. Along came a white van and hopped the curb to stop and ask if we were heading to the beach. Off we went having no idea what to expect seeing as this is not a place on the map. The driver made the 45 minute trek in 20 minutes flat... and there we were in a little piece of heaven.
This place was straight out of a movie, kinda like the movie 'The Beach', only not as difficult to get to. Full of laid back travellers, much like ourselves looking to wind down and meet other likeminded backpackers.
The hostel was small, which made getting to know everyone that much easier. It was like a small family even though people were coming and going every day. The beach was 30 seconds away full of local dutch families and only a handful of backpackers. The weather was scorching and tan lines appeared after just an hour! What a change from Scotland :)
Unfrotunately, we had booked our next destination before we had arrived to this awesome place, so our time was now done in our little piece of paradise, a place we will definitely re-visit in the future.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Holland part 1- Amsterdam
We are now in a town that is really different from what we are used to. We landed here yesterday, and after trying to get ourselves on the right bus while listening to Dutch instructions, we may our way to the city to start taking in this beautiful city and all its great sites. The roads are made of cobblestone, and are filled with people on bicycles. Although the streets change names at every main intersection which resulted in us becoming lost about 10 times, we did finally make it to the infamous red light district.
We went to the Anne Franke house and it was quite amazing, there is just an overwhelming feeling of suffering in there that you can't shake. The house is still standing and you walk through almost all of it. You can stand in annes room where she wrote her diary, and see the hidden staircase where their helpers got into the hidden part of the house......it was really quite breathtaking.
Walking down the street we realized that their coffee shops have a much different aroma coming from them then the ones in Canada:) People were just chillin out smoking what they pleased, while just hanging out with friends and listening to some tunes. There are 270+ coffee shops in this city alone, we had no idea it would be the prevalent, but it sure is, they really are all over. Our hostel even consistantly smells of MJ from the time we woke up until way past the time we passed out.
The canals here are beautiful, and if we can ever figure them out, we will be able to meander the streets without any trouble. it seems as though if you know the canal system you can find you way around the city no problem. We have a sneeking suspision though that we will never figure it out!
Today we are going to make our way to the Hemp Museum and Sex Museum. More to come from Holland, where prostitutes are legal, Pot is legal and the internet is FREE!
We went to the Anne Franke house and it was quite amazing, there is just an overwhelming feeling of suffering in there that you can't shake. The house is still standing and you walk through almost all of it. You can stand in annes room where she wrote her diary, and see the hidden staircase where their helpers got into the hidden part of the house......it was really quite breathtaking.
Walking down the street we realized that their coffee shops have a much different aroma coming from them then the ones in Canada:) People were just chillin out smoking what they pleased, while just hanging out with friends and listening to some tunes. There are 270+ coffee shops in this city alone, we had no idea it would be the prevalent, but it sure is, they really are all over. Our hostel even consistantly smells of MJ from the time we woke up until way past the time we passed out.
The canals here are beautiful, and if we can ever figure them out, we will be able to meander the streets without any trouble. it seems as though if you know the canal system you can find you way around the city no problem. We have a sneeking suspision though that we will never figure it out!
Today we are going to make our way to the Hemp Museum and Sex Museum. More to come from Holland, where prostitutes are legal, Pot is legal and the internet is FREE!
Edinburgh was awesome
Well, everyone in Edinburgh was great company. the city was beautiful, and unfortunately we have now left the beautiful country of Scotland. We went to museums, attended a mass at the Cathedral and saw an African tribe called the Warriors perform some rituals. We went to the writers museum and saw Shirlock Holmes house. We met some locals and slipped into a pub that was located in the underground city. to say the least, this was the sweetest looking pub we have seen.
Well, although there is so much more we could talk about, we have only 10 minutes of free internet time here so we have t now get off the net.
Cheers!
keep posted for our next trip..... AMSTERDAM!!
Well, although there is so much more we could talk about, we have only 10 minutes of free internet time here so we have t now get off the net.
Cheers!
keep posted for our next trip..... AMSTERDAM!!
Friday, May 18, 2007
First Stop: Scotland
We have landed in possibly the most beautiful city ever, Edinburgh... We went to the underground city on Mary King's Close and it is amazing the conditions of living that the people lived in back in the 1700's. Plague ridden, small enclosed houses, two sometimes three families living in a den with the ceiling 5 feet off the ground. creepy, but worth the visit.
We have experienced our first pubcrawl! To be able to afford some brews we ate toast and beans for a meal, funny enough, it's a common trade around here. We met some amazing people from around the globe.
There is still so much to see, so we are off to explore some more!
We have experienced our first pubcrawl! To be able to afford some brews we ate toast and beans for a meal, funny enough, it's a common trade around here. We met some amazing people from around the globe.
There is still so much to see, so we are off to explore some more!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Partying with friends in canada!!
Well, this is the end of Canada for 2007 for us! but man, saturday was a night to remember. Old friends along with new ones too, all got together and we were sent off in style. Sunday was a right off though... lets start the adventure of a lifetime... keep posted
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