Mapping M's Planet

Metz

2010-04-21T16:03:00.000+05:30

So I know it's been mentally long since I last posted. I should have done lots of little posts on places to visit in Paris, but those abound the Internet. So instead, I'm going to concentrate on places I've seen since I've moved to Paris. Since it should be in chronological order, let's start with Metz.

The basics

Metz is a town in the Lorraine province of France. It's had a bit of sketchy history, swinging back and forth between Germany and France, since we have all studied about the Alsace Lorraine region of the World Wars fame. Now, since the eastern parts of France are not particularly known for their good weather, Metz is not an obvious place to visit and I only went there because of work. But if you are in the region, maybe in Strasbourg which is famous for its marché du Noel, you should stop by to see some of the main sites. It doesn't take very long and the whole city can be covered in about 2 hours by foot. There's something still very medieval about the town so it's like a throw back to the Middle Ages for a couple of hours.

Getting there

TGV trains depart from Paris to Luxembourg and Metz is usually one of the stops on the way. There are hourly trains so timing is not an issue and since using the TGV is totally idiot proof, it's the best way of getting there. You could also drive if you take the A13 from Paris en route to Strasbourg.

Accommodation & Food

Once you get out of the train station, there are any number of small hotels that would be good options to stay. If you're looking for slightly luxurious digs, you could check out La Citadelle, which prices at about €150 a night. A more budget friendly option are the many Ibis hotels scattered across the town, which are about €70 a night, on an average. The Ibis is not luxurious in the least but they're clean and utilitarian, which is all you really need for a night. Most of these places have 24 hour checkouts, which is convenient if you want to pack up and leave once you're done.

The town has plenty of typical cafés in addition to Lebanese take away joints. However, like with all small towns, things get quiet by about 6 pm so head out a bit early if you still want to eat with the people. As in most parts of Europe, a lot of the restaurants have set menus, which is an entrée + plat or plat + dessert for a set price, and usually works out cheaper. There are tons of little French places so unless you're really craving Indian food or something, French food is the best option.

Main sights

A lot of the historic buildings in Metz are made from yellow limestone, which with aging lend a sort of green tint to the town.

Walk the expanse of the town from the gates of Porte Serpentoise to Porte des Allemands. These were the ancient portals to the city and have been maintained in their original state.

The one thing you should definitely see is the Metz Cathedral. It is known to have the largest expanses of stained glass in the world and some of the depictions are just exquisite, especially the creations of Chagall. It's free entry and worth a stop.

As you walk through the heart of the town, you'll see a lot of quaint sights and mingling of the old with the new. Stop and stare for a bit and a get a coffee at one of the bistros. Life is slow in this town but great if you need a breather.

Maldives

2009-02-03T14:48:00.000+05:30

My visit to the Maldives was in February 2003 with my parents. Having been to Thailand the year before and done a holiday filled with history and culture, we decided to take things easy this time around. We had heard of Malé’s gorgeous white sand beaches and turquoise waters and decided to see it for ourselves.

Getting there

We flew out on Air India from Chennai with a hop at Trivandrum. The stop over was slightly tight since we had about half an hour to disembark at Trivandrum’s domestic terminal and briskly walk over to the international terminal. Keeping this in mind, we had decided to pack intelligently and had only carry-on luggage. Remember though, this was at a time when liquids were allowed on board so life was a lot simpler.

It took us about 5 hours in total to get to Malé. The landing at Malé International Airport on the island of Hulhule was spectacular since the runway pretty much started from the sea and touchdown on the tarmac was slightly surreal since the plane felt like it would touch water any minute.

Visa

Being Indian passport holders resident in India we did not require a tourist visa for our visit provided that we did not stay in the country for more than 30 days. The usual questions regarding purpose of visit etc. were however asked at immigration and customs and by now we had perfected the ‘tourism’ answer, which seemed to satisfy them.

Stay

Maldives is filled with island resorts, most of them 5 star and luxurious. Since this was meant to be a decadent vacation we went whole hog and booked a 3 night 4 day package at Paradise Island Resort for the 3 of us. At that time it was USD 100 per person per day, with breakfast and dinner buffets thrown in. The hotel picked us up from the airport since the only way to access Paradise Island was by boat. On arrival we were greeted with welcome drinks while we checked in and were assigned rooms. We got a fairly largish room for ourselves, right on the beach, fully outfitted with garden showers and the works.

Things to do

1. Sand, surf and food: A better part of our time on the island went in getting tan and marveling the clear waters and powdered sand. We also spent time stuffing our faces with the vast breakfast buffet. Dinner was a similar affair. The hotel had assigned a table to us for the duration of our stay so that made navigating the food queues easy. We also caught up on a lot of sleep and our reading and wandering about the resort, exploring the different kinds of services they offered.

2. Snorkeling: The atoll formation of the country with its coral reefs makes for great snorkeling. It was organized through the hotel at an extra charge so that made the logistics of it easy. We were taken out to a reef and fitted with flippers and masks. Since it was the first time for all of us, the breathing technique took some getting used to and we swallowed a fair bit of sea water. Once we got the hang of it, we got right down to it, careful to not touch or disturb the corals or fish. It was quite an experience being face down, peering into a world so different from our own, in the middle of the Indian Ocean with no land in sight.

3. Visiting Malé: The capital is an island by itself and the hotel had regular boats heading into town for those interested. We docked for a few hours which let us traverse the length and breadth of the city. The Palace and other places of interest were easily accessible making for a lot of picture taking. The natives were very familiar with India and ‘Bolly’wood, rattling off names of Amitabh Bachhan movies they knew of. Souvenir shopping wasn’t particularly budget friendly since it was all geared towards foreigners bearing USD but we managed to pick up the odd piece with fish and other tropical motifs.

All in all, our vacation was restful and well worth the time. The Maldives are beautiful and definitely worth a visit for a relaxing, doing nearly-nothing-but-taking-in-your-surroundings kind of vacation.

Visapur Fort

2009-01-27T11:17:00.000+05:30

On one of the rare weekends we had to ourselves, a bunch of friends and I decided to try the hike up to Visapur Fort. The trek was organized by Wild Escapes and it was a good day spent out of the city.

As the whole thing was organized all we had to do was confirm our attendance and Wild Escapes took care of the rest. We assembled at Dadar T.T. Circle bright and early on a Sunday and piled into a mini-bus, which was to take us to the destination. The trip to Visapur, via the Eastern Express Highway, took about an hour and half from Mumbai in the early hours and we were fed breakfast on the way. They also handed out calorie packs – biscuits, toffees, etc. to keep our sugar levels up since lunch was a long way away. We had brought 2 litres of water each so were pretty much set for the trek. Once there, we were assembled for a head count and were given the mandatory safety and “please don’t litter” talks. And then we were off.

We had been told that the climb was medium difficulty but given that it had been years since I had been hiking (the last being when I was part of the Nature Club in school), it was akin to scaling a mountain as far as I was concerned. The way up was slippery since it had rained recently. We soon discovered that it’s best to place footholds on grass and not on rock or mud, lest we fancied sliding all the way to the bottom. We were very often overtaken by the locals who were wearing nothing but flip flops and bounding up like mountain goats. There were several waterfalls on the way up and after a while we gave up on trying to keep dry, happily plunging into the pools of cold water. A change of socks though would have been a good idea. With a little help and holding on to the guides for the especially difficult parts, we reached the top of the hill. Visapur Fort itself is vast but beautifully green and quiet. We spent about an hour exploring the place, catching our breath, tearing into the snack packs and taking in the surroundings. A particularly funny moment was when we finally got to the crest of the hill and discovered that buffaloes had already beaten us to the place. You could almost imagine their amusement at seeing these humans huffing and puffing their way while they sat around enjoying the green grass.

There was only one way down and that was scaling down a waterfall. Seeing as I have a small fear of heights, I couldn’t quite shake off the idea that I was going to plunge headlong into the boulders. It was important to make sure we had a very firm grip on where we placing our feet, so the going was slow and I made the descent practically on all fours. After what felt like quite some time, we reached mid-way the hill and made our way to the local dhaba for lunch. The fare was basic dal roti types but it felt good to sit on chairs. After lunch, we made our way down to the base of the hill but this time it was just about following a vehicle route so it wasn’t very taxing. We finally stumbled into the mini-bus and took off for the city. Since we encountered a fair bit of traffic on the way in the commute back took the better part of two and hours.

The next day was fun in dealing with sore muscles but overall we had a sense of achievement having done something out of the ordinary on a hum-drum weekend. We were told that the entire distance covered was about 9-10 km and the guides were overall pretty non-intrusive and around only if you needed help. It's worth a try if you're up for something different.

Mykonos

2009-01-21T11:26:00.000+05:30

Apologies for the delay in posting this last one. I’ve been caught up in the mundane events that make my life. Anyhoo.

Our last stop in Greece was the famous party island. Since we had worked our way from the furthest island to the nearest to mainland, we ended up doing Mykonos last, which in retrospect may not have been the brightest idea since we were pretty tuckered out by the time we reached. But hey, you live and learn right?

Getting There

As I mentioned in my previous post, the ferry connections from Sifnos turned out to be pretty sketchy. So for our trip to Mykonos, we spent about 9 hours on ferries, first from Sifnos to Athens and then from Athens to Mykonos. We also had to kill time at the Piraeus port between connections. In sum we spent 24 hours on ferries and I can tell you, it took a few days to have the rocking sensation stop for us. So for all ye who are prone to sea sickness, ferries may not be the best idea.

Stay

After extensive research, we zeroed in on Mama’s Pension near St. Stefanos beach. It is about 5 minutes from the port and we had Christina, the woman who runs the place, pick us up from the port. She was extremely helpful and put up with our many emails about arrivals & reservations. The pension is located on top of a hill with quite a view of the sea. We got 2 rooms with attached baths, very clean and well appointed. The pension came with a small cafe, but the beach which a quick hike down the hill, is lined with places to eat as well. So overall, our stay was very comfortable.

Things to do

Since Mykonos is known for its cosmopolitan nature, we decided that we would party come what may. Setting aside 9 hours of commuting and sleep threatening to take over, we painted our faces and headed to town. The island is plied by a local bus which stopped at the bottom of the hill, atop which the pension was perched, and took us into town for € 1.5. It also makes stops at the port on the way so that’s another way of getting there. The buses do their rounds every half hour till 2 am so one needs to be careful about getting back because you don’t want to get stuck in town. There are schedules at the various stops to let you plan it all out. We didn’t notice too many cabs and had been warned by Christina that they wouldn’t come cheap even if we did find one.

Our time in town was eventful to say the least. The entire partying populace had emerged from the wood works and we had quite a time trying to find a decent club. We finally retired to a place in Little Venice, which is literally on the water. While the night didn’t quite go as we had planned, we enjoyed our time seated and took in the vibe of the place.

The next day was spent on the beach, perfecting the bronzed look and wandering down the alleys of the town, marvelling at the windmills. We settled ourselves at a quaint cafe in town, toasted to our last night of the vacation and reluctantly headed back to get ready for departure.

Last Hurrah

I’d like to say that our journey back to Athens was uneventful but I would be skipping out on the most bizarre part of the trip. For the way back, we had booked tickets aboard G.A. Ferries for sleeping berths. Once we boarded the vessel, we discovered that Saloni C Class berth meant making yourself comfortable anywhere on the floor of the boat. After the initial shock wore off and realizing that we needed to get some sleep to not be zombified for all the duty free shopping we had ahead, we also settled down for the night in the dining room. The beach towels and wraps came in particularly handy. Again, I’m warning you. DO NOT TAKE G.A. FERRIES!

The ride to the airport was uneventful, having killed some time at Syntagma Square. And when announcements were made for flights to Santorini we were tempted for that one second to reroute ourselves.

We probably took a more arduous course in planning out the entire trip on our own instead of going through a booking agency. But this did give us the option of planning it the way we wanted and not being bound by rigid time lines. I think we learned a lot on this trip, lessons to be kept in mind for all further adventures. But most importantly, we have no regrets in doing things the way we did.

Sifnos

2009-01-14T15:36:00.000+05:30

Sifnos is one of the quieter and less trod islands in the Cyclades. It is fairly small and its description of peaceful beaches and olive trees sold us on the idea of spending time soaking in the sun and doing nothing.

Getting There

One of the two drawbacks of the island was that it is less frequently plied by ferries and routes to and from the island, that suited our schedule, were hard to find. The ferry from Santorini that we did finally find was about 7.5 hours on paper. In reality it was actually about 9 hours. We had booked ‘air deck’ tickets on G.A. Ferries, figuring it couldn’t be too bad sitting out under the stars and watching the moon rise. We also didn’t have a choice since those were the only tickets available by the time we booked them. What we weren’t prepared for was that deck seats meant plastic chairs, the kind that people put on their lawns, on the deck. Needless to say, these were not reserved seats so it was a bit of a mad scramble to bag the chairs. Seasoned travelers were savvy on this one and immediately made a beeline to the piles of chairs in the corners of the deck. Most of them had also come prepared with yoga mats and blankets. We, on the other hand, first struggled up the stairs with our bags and then took a good 2 minutes to let the reality of the situation sink in. Thankfully, we collected our wits quickly and sprang into action.

Once we had arranged ourselves and became comfortable, as comfortable as non-malleable plastic chairs allowed us to be, we sat back for the long haul. The ferry had a snack bar that provided basic refreshments. Since we were captive on board for several hours, we decided to make the best of it, passing time talking, analyzing fellow passengers, enjoying an uninterrupted view of the sunset and trying to take naps, contorting ourselves within the chairs. This is where sleeping bags would have come in use. One particularly enterprising passenger had brought a hammock, which he hung from the rafters of the ferry roof and bunked down for the night while we watched with envy.

As the evening wore on, it got quite cold out at sea and we regretted not having brought jackets or wraps to keep ourselves warm. So that was another thing to keep in mind. The last few hours of the ride to Sifnos were quite painful since we had had enough of the water’s rocking and wanted to be on terra firma. When we finally rounded into the Kamares port of Sifnos at 1.30 am, the relief was palpable and we prayed that the long journey there was worth it.

Stay

The other drawback of Sifnos was finding accommodation within our budget with ease online (it seems to have gotten better since my online search for Sifnos led me here). After some searching on the Internet, we stumbled on Hotel Kamari, at Kamares. It required some correspondence, emails and faxes, with the hotel owner to book our rooms and we needed to wire transfer the booking amount to their account, incurring additional charges due to foreign exchange fluctuations. However, the hotel itself was about 200 metres from the port and easily located since the hotel owner waited up for us near the port. A nice gesture I thought. There were no checking in formalities and we pretty much stumbled into our rooms and fell into our beds that first night.

Sights

Our plan in Sifnos was to pretty much eat, laze on the beach, work on our tans and get rid of the dark circles around our eyes. And that’s precisely what we did. The water front was lined with cafes all serving breakfast, where we gorged on waffles with fresh fruit and yogurt, and we leisurely strolled down to the beach. We rented beach chairs for the day at € 5 per person, strategically placed under umbrellas just in case we needed to retreat to the shade during the day, and proceeded to make like lobsters with the occasional dip in the sea to cool off. We managed to retain our beach chairs even when we left for lunch, leaving our towels and books behind and finding them intact when we returned. After a whole day’s sun, we decided to explore the island in the evening.

· Appollonia – after some searching we managed to find a cab at Kamares and struck a deal with the cabbie to take us around the island and drop us back at Kamares for € 20. Our first stop was Appollonia, the capital of the island. It is a lovely town, much like Santorini, and we wandered around exploring its alleys for about an hour, admiring the quaint little houses and the bright colours of the shops.

· Kastro – this ancient city had a footpath around it, which we followed to see the sights. We found one particularly beautiful church set out at sea with just a narrow path connecting it to the mainland. We didn’t have very much time here as the cab was to pick us up in an hour’s time but watching the sun go down on this town was quite something.

The drive back to Kamares was swift but slightly nail bighting as the way back was extremely winding and I was thanking my stars we had decided not to rent a car on this island.

Onwards

We spent about 1.5 days on Sifnos, catching the noon ferry out to Athens and then to Mykonos (another story for the next post). Even though we spent less time here than Santorini, I think the tranquility of the place won us over and it acquired favourite island status for us.

Santorini

2009-01-12T13:48:00.000+05:30

Santorini is the furthest island from Athens in the Cyclades formation. It took us about 4.5 hours to get there, with one stop on the way at Milos. The ride itself was very comfortable and we spent a lot of time out on the deck, being whacked by the wind and trying not to get blown off into the sea. Quite an experience and tons of fun!

The approach to Santorini is very picturesque, as the ferry comes in through the caldera, which is the tip of the sunken volcano and a very large part of the mystique of the island. Basic history of the island tells you that Santorini has suffered a series of earthquakes over time and during one of the major ones, the volcano that was part of the island, sunk into the Aegean. Legend has it that this inspired the fable of the lost world of Atlantis and a glance at the map of the island makes you realize that the island itself is crescent shaped, a major part of it still being under water.

Stay

We had booked a 4 room dorm at Holiday Beach Santorini Hotel at Perissa beach, one of the black sand beaches at Santorini. They had a free transfer from the port to the hotel on arrival and we only needed to locate the Holiday Tours office at the port. Once done, we were taken across the island to the hotel, Perissa beach being about 20 minutes from the port. We checked in and were allotted a quaint split level mini-apartment with a double bed, a single bed, an attached bath and air conditioning. They provided us with an extra mattress for the fourth person. The hotel was about a 10 minute walk from the beach and was quite clean and well appointed.

Once we checked in and washed up some, we decided to quickly walk down to the beach for some grub, being ravenous by mid-day. This is when things got hot. Literally! The black sand beach acted like a perfect black body surface and absorbed every little ray of sunshine hitting it. This made the walk down to the beach scorching, with heat waves emitting from the ground, and we collapsed into the shade of the first cafe we found. The heat of the day was of course no deterrent to the whites who were merrily out in the sun, making like lobsters, but we beat a hasty retreat back to the hotel to recoup. The evening was very pleasant and when we ventured back to the beach it had mostly emptied out leaving us nearly alone with the cold water.

Food & Drink

The entire walkway along Perissa Beach is lined with restaurants and cafes, boasting all kinds of food so we had a tough time choosing places. As we were browsing the first evening, being entreated to try each place by the waiter designated to stand out and hail down customers (it helped that they were all very nice looking), we passed several bars belting out dance music and packed to the brim with holiday makers. It was very reminiscent of the pictures of spring break that one normally sees on MTV.

The beach was quite chilly by night, the extremes in temperatures being very desert like clime. We found ourselves a very nice lounge bar with a view out onto the sea and let the vacation soak in a little. It also helped that the bar tender confused us for Brazilians, an always welcome ego boost!

Getting Around

While there are local buses and taxis that ply the island, they are infrequent and slightly tough to flag down. We had been told that one of the better ways to navigate around the island was to rent quad bikes for the day and to motor up and down the island. They come for about € 20-25 for 24 hours and seat 2 people, equipped with seat belts and helmets. Seeing as how hot it could get, we decided to spend just a little more and rent a car instead. That would give us the added advantage of air conditioning and little fear of being forced off the road by buses.

After some hunting on the main street of Perissa, we finally located an automatic transmission Hyundai Accent for € 50 for 24 hours. The rental required nothing more than a valid domestic driver’s license and an id proof. The automatic was also very convenient because it would have been the first time I was driving on the right side of the road so I really didn’t want to navigate the twists and turns on the island while looking for the gear shift on the wrong side of the car. The rental agency also provided us with free maps of the islands, laying out all the places we should not miss. It is actually a better idea to rent the vehicle from the port, for the duration of the stay on the island. This applies to all islands, if you’re up for driving everywhere. We faced a slight logistical problem when we had to drop off the car at the rental agency at Perissa and needed a ride down to the port, which our hotel manager very kindly gave us. But it would make it a lot simpler to be able to drop off the vehicle at the port and board the ferry from there. That way all luggage hassles also get taken care of and there is no added anxiety of wondering whether you will make it to the ferry in time.

There were plenty of gas stations on the island and € 20 of fuel was enough to last us the entire time. Santorini has one main road that traverses the length and breadth of the island so it was fairly easy to get around. There are signposts everywhere so with a little attention destinations could be found and each major town has huge parking lots where we left the car for hours. However, driving by night is a little tricky since the island is pretty hilly, with several sharp turns which are not very well lit, and it is easy to land up in a town different from the one you seek. And trust me, trying to navigate up a mountain with only your own headlights and no markers on the road can leave you shaken and discovering God for the first time.

Sights

· Fira – it is the capital of the island and straight out of every image of Greece I’d ever seen. The streets are cobbled, narrow and winding around whitewashed buildings. It has a breathtaking view out over the sea and is definitely worth spending some time wandering around it, discovering the little shops (some of them very pricey but pretty nonetheless) and generally soaking in the ambiance. It also has several places to eat and since we had become a little tired with Greek food, we made a beeline to the only Chinese restaurant in the place and relished the spicy food. Yes, you can’t keep a good Indian down. Fira is also the boarding point for the cable car down to the volcano, which has hot springs, but since it required more than an hour’s time we didn’t manage to fit it into our itinerary.

· Oia – situated at the northern tip of Santorini, it is famed for its view of the sunset out over the caldera. This town is littered with art galleries, gorgeous boutique hotels with infinity pools, streets that go in all directions and houses all placed one on top of the other, making us overflow with jealousy at the people who actually live their lives amidst such beauty. Finding a spot to watch the sunset took some jostling around the crowds and we managed to perch ourselves on top of what I think was someone’s roof, but it was worth it. The crowds hushed as the sun neared the horizon and when it dipped under, everyone broke out into spontaneous applause. I half expected the sun to come back up and curtsy in gratitude.

· Ancient Akrotiri – situated to the south, it is right next to the red bluffs. Unfortunately it was shut on the day we went to visit but the drive there is pretty and it has a wealth of archaeological treasures that are worth visiting.

· Pyrgos – this town is nothing spectacular but is worth a look if you have some time and if you’re on the search for THE BLUE DOME, as we were. Somewhere in the beginning of our stay at Santorini, we became obsessed with finding the blue domed church that features in every postcard of Santorini. After several misses, we stumbled on it by pure accident and battling the midday heat, ventured out to take pictures. Pyrgos is also home to the Monastery of Prophitis Ilias.

· Santo Wines – Santorini is dotted by several vineyards, Santo Wines being amongst the better known. It is situated on the seaward side of a hill, looking out onto the sea. For € 10 we got to sample 6 wines, ranging from sweet to dry, with bowls full of bread and cheese. It also boasts a fairly extensive wine shop with souvenirs. While it was very tempting to purchase the bottles right there, we found the same wines at the duty free shop at the Athens airport, so it saved us having to cart around the bottles from one island to another. All in all Santo Wines is a great place to relax and spend the time.

We spent about 2.5 days at Santorini and found the stay very comfortable and well worth our while. We headed on to Sifnos for the next leg of our journey, and what a journey it was!

Athens

2009-01-09T11:55:00.000+05:30

Immigration at the Athens airport was a fairly painless procedure. The officials glanced at my passport, asked the mandatory questions about purpose of visit and stamped me right through. It took about 20 minutes in total, which is record time in comparison to India.

Getting to the city

The airport is well connected to the city by the Metro (the blue line terminates at the airport and leads directly to Syntagma Square) and by shuttle bus. We were, however, operating under a slight time constraint because we needed to pick up our ferry tickets from the Danae office before 5 pm (the office was going to be shut for the next couple of days in honor of the Assumption of Mary festival, which fell on August 15 and most of the population was going home to the islands to celebrate). Since we had about 3 hours to get into the city to collect the tickets, we decided not to experiment with the Metro and just take the shuttle to Syntagma. The bus terminal was right outside the airport and there were plenty of information desks inside the airport to ask questions at. These kiosks also had free maps of the city and the Metro which were really helpful during our stay. The ride to the city cost € 3 and there was sufficient space in the bus for luggage. We kept an eagle eye out for the Square but we needn’t have worried since it was the last stop and the driver yells pretty loudly to let you know you have arrived. Just in case you decide to ride back to the airport with him for fun.

Once there, we lugged our bags (thankfully roll ons) and walked down to the Danae office. A word of caution: their office is hidden away in a small building off Psylla & Filellinon Streets, about 2 minutes from the Square. It really helped that we had a working cell phone on us to call them for directions otherwise we would have wandered around for quite a while in the mid-August sun! So remember to activate international roaming on your cell phone.

Bunking Out

In our search for reasonable accommodation in Athens, we came across Athens Backpackers. All the Internet reviews of the place were very positive and it had the added advantage of being in the center of the city and a stone’s throw from the Acropolis. It was easily accessible by the Metro, being down the street from the Acropoli stop on the red line, and if that was hard to find, one only needed to follow the constant stream of backpackers down to the place.

We checked in at the reception, which is open 24 hours, and were given keys to the dorm. This is where we learnt our first lesson. Backpackers has a small elevator large enough for 2 people with luggage, which goes up till the 4th floor. Since our dorm was on the 5th floor, with no elevator access, we needed to drag our luggage up around a fairly steep spiral staircase. Not fun since we weren’t in the best of physical shape and the suitcases banged our legs bruising us some. We would also realize, as the trip progressed, that having luggage packed into backpacks makes a lot more sense, especially if the vacation entails packing up and moving fairly often, which we did. The cumulative hauling of bags over staircases at the hostels, Metro and ferries did ensure that we burnt the calories we had consumed by way of Feta and had perfectly toned arms by the end of the vacation!

We had been assigned to a 6 member mixed-dorm with bunk beds and an attached bath. Backpackers was a good idea for a base camp because it was clean, we got free breakfast and the staff was pretty helpful with suggestions on where to go, including providing us with an animated map of Athens which charted the course for sightseeing on foot. After bagging our beds and washing the journey off us, we decided to unwind a bit by hitting the rooftop bar, which had happy hours going on, with a great view of the Acropolis. It was also a good way to meet fellow travelers and overhear ideas on what to do in the city.

Food

There were many dining choices in the streets adjoining Backpackers and the Plaka. On our first day we decided to sample traditional offerings – stuffed wine leaves, Greek salad, tzatziki, tons of bread with olive oil & vinegar and Retsina to wash it all down. We had budgeted for each meal at € 10 per head per meal but very often ended up spending less since we weren’t very large eaters and usually split the bill 4 ways. Vegetarians should be warned though. Other than Greek salad and stuffed tomatoes & other varieties of stuffed vegetables, there’s little else on offer and after a few days of that, it can get kind of tiring. And the stuffing is usually rice – the Greeks seem to have a thing for it. We did find however that sticking to salads and yogurt was the best way to also ward off the heat.

Sights

Athens is chockablock with historical monuments and quaint little markets, which are worth visiting. We did most of this on foot, since they are not very far from each other and took the Metro, which is easily usable since the ticket machines all come with an English option, to the more distant places.

· Acropolis – no surprises here. We visited on August 15, which meant no entry fee, but also meant that masses of people had descended on the place to spend the day with their families so it was crowded. While the sight itself was awe inspiring, it was slightly marred by the renovation scaffolding that was in place. We also found it strange that none of the write ups chronicled its history and instead let us know the periodicity with which the monument was restored. The guide books came in handy at this time. An interesting thing about this place is that since it is atop a hill, it is visible from nearly all parts of the city, kind of like an all seeing eye. Makes you wonder what actually went on in there in ancient times. The Acropolis is a stunning sight by night, with strategic lighting and we were lucky to be in town on the one night in the year that it was open for tourists – the night of the August Moon, which was a strange phenomenon of a full moon eclipse. The entire thing just seemed to lend a little more magic to the place.

· Theater of Herod Atticus – just down the hill from the Acropolis, it is a stone amphitheater still used today for various events. The one thing to watch for is the packs of stray dogs that surround this place, big, furry ones at that. They are mostly harmless and more interested in territory battles with each other so there’s nothing to worry about. But a lot of them are starved for affection so the slightest friendly overture may result in you being followed around by one such animal hoping to be adopted. It happed to us and yes, I take full responsibility for the dog.

· Temple of Olympian Zeus & Hadrian’s Arch – a 5 minute walk from the Acropolis led us to this mammoth construction, which is particularly known for the fallen column. It is marvelous to wonder how they managed to construct something so large without the help of modern machinery.

· Prison of Socrates & Temple of the Muses – down the road from the Acropolis is Filopappou Hill and a quick hike up the hill brought us to the Prison of Socrates, where Socrates drank the famous Hemlock. Further up is the Temple of the Muses and the top of the hill offers an incredible view out over the city, very peaceful and with stones to sit on to drink in the sight.

· Parliament – just in front of Syntagma Square, this yellow building is nothing spectacular but the changing of the guards, every hour, is certainly worth a watch. One has to wonder how these men in yards of cloth and tights withstand the sun every day!

· Plaka – this colourful market, right across the street from Backpackers, comes to life at night, with hundreds of little restaurants and knick-knack shops around narrow windy streets, the kind where we could buy Greek souvenirs for friends and family. While it is by no means cheap, there are some good deals if you have an eye for them and the general festive atmosphere of the place makes it a MUST SEE.

· Thissio – accessible by the Metro on the green line, dinner at the one of the quiet restaurants here and then a visit to the flea market that lines the canal is highly recommended.

Nightlife

While we weren’t really looking to party in Athens, we decided to join the pub crawl initiated by Backpackers and ended up at Lava Bore, which had free entry and one free drink for all people staying at Backpackers. It wasn’t particularly exciting since it was flocked by English speaking foreigners and was playing the same old club music we’re all used to in any part of the world. What I found strange was that all bars and clubs there played the regular English play list without the smattering of local music that we thought would feature. We all know that no self respecting club in India can go the night without playing at least one local remix song. Anyhow, we had fun nonetheless, fending off questions of where we were from and why we speak such good English, something that still surprises me no end!

We also tried venturing to Excharchia Square, having read that it had some interesting cafes to visit, but found that the place is fairly run down with deserted and poorly lit back alleys. Needless to say we beat a hasty retreat back to the center of the city and I would definitely rate the place as imminently avoidable.

Off to the Islands

Athens has 3 ports, Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrion. It is important to find out which one your ferries are located at, especially if you are taking any connecting ferry rides via Athens, as they are each some distance from the other. We had all our ferries docking at Piraeus, which is the largest port and accessible by Metro. It is the last stop on the green line, about a 40 minute ride from the city and a better option since there are no traffic snarls on the way. Once there, it was simple enough to locate our gate and get ourselves settled into the ferry to Santorini, having stashed our luggage away, and ready to begin the next part of our journey.

Our 2 days in Athens was about all we actually needed there. Barring the historical places and some shopping, there is little else to do in the city and it is as cosmopolitan as any other country capital. The authentic flavour of the country is better captured by the islands, which was possibly the best part of our vacation.

Greek Odyssey – laying the groundwork

2009-01-07T11:12:00.000+05:30

I don’t know what made my friends and I pick Greece. Perhaps it was the all pervasive air of history or the many pictures of whitewashed houses that characterize the countryside. Once we had settled on the destination and having only 10 days in hand, it was imperative that we make the most of our time and cover whatever we could of the vast country.

To most people Greece starts and stops with Athens, being personified by the Acropolis. And while it is an important part of the heritage of the country, Greece is actually a lot more about its islands, where most of the populace lives.

Timing

We traveled to Greece in August due to various work commitments that cropped up. August is peak tourist season since it is mid-summer there and flocks of white people descend on the Mediterranean region to work on their tan. This meant that the prices were high so we had to be careful about the bookings. Luckily, since we had planned well in advance, our accommodation bookings were in place by end April. August also meant that it was seriously hot! Being Indians, we assumed we could easily withstand the high temperatures. However, we weren't quite prepared for what the Greek sun could do to you in the middle of the afternoon. The expression “mad dogs and Englishmen” acquired new meaning for us. We now know that the best time to visit is around May-June. It’s still off season and the weather is apparently a lot more pleasant.

Narrowing Down

After extensive reading on the net and having purchased Lonely Planet guides to Greece and the islands, we narrowed down our destinations to Athens and 3 islands, Santorini, Sifnos & Mykonos, in the Cyclades formation, which is supposed to be the most picturesque of the formations. Santorini for its incredible beauty and much famed sunsets, which have been the subject of many a postcard. Sifnos because it is the island that the Greeks escape to and the quiet and solitude it offered was very tempting. And finally Mykonos as it is widely acknowledged as THE party island and there was no way in which we could have missed it.

We had decided to spend 2 days at each destination leaving 2 days for the actual flying and ferry time between the islands. We also learnt that it is always best to pick islands within the same formation because ferries between the islands are likely to be more frequent and easier to book. And it’s always a good idea to check the schedules before making accommodation bookings on the islands themselves since some islands are less frequently plied than others.

Getting There

Once we had finalized our dates for the vacation, it was time to book a round trip to Athens. A Google search for flights to Athens was a good way to start. The inevitable results from Cleartrip let us decide which flights worked best and then we could book them directly from the actual airline’s website, saving on service charges that the Tripadvisor lot charge on the overall fare.

Those of us flying out of India found that Gulf Air offered the cheapest tickets at about Rs. 31,000 for the round trip. The flights were out of Mumbai and Delhi and stopped over at Bahrain and the total flying time was about 12 hours. Gulf Air wasn’t particularly friendly but the overall service was not too bad either.

The Stay

Being budget travelers and there being 4 of us, we decided to do it the good old fashioned way and try and stay at dorm rooms in hostels & pensions. Hostelbookers was particularly helpful on this one as it categorizes the hostels by price, area, gives a little description of the place with pictures and lets you book well in advance. 4 bed dorms are fairly common at these places so it worked well for us and helped us stay within budget as we ended up spending a maximum of € 30 per person per night for a room. I’ll give more specifics on each place in subsequent posts.

Ferries

We did consider flying between the islands to save on time but some sectors were too expensive and most people told us that getting around the islands was best done by ferries since there are several options that let us schedule better. The high speed ones of Hellenic Seaways were particularly good. They’re new, clean and comfortable and since we booked well in advance, we got first class tickets to Santorini very cheap. I absolutely do not recommend G.A. Ferries – they are reminiscent of cattle class aboard the Titanic and the staff treated us like it too. Danae helped us book all our tickets online and we only needed to physically pick up the tickets at their Athens office (walking distance from Syntagma Square) on arrival. The staff spoke English and very helpful with directions to the Piraeus Port at Athens.

Visa

Once we had all our bookings in place and all the paperwork ready, the last hurdle to the actual trip was the getting the visa. Schengen visas are notoriously difficult to get so we were mentally prepared for a few battles. The Greek Embassy is in Delhi so I had to get all my documents in place and courier it to my friend who had them submitted at the Embassy. After much chasing, resubmitting bank statements because online statements weren’t deemed sufficiently authentic, and following up with them, I was called for an interview on 24 hours notice, even though all my documents were in place. This entailed a day trip to Delhi, which increased the cost of the overall trip as air fare in India had spiked at about this time.

As I waited outside the Embassy in Chanakyapuri, I noticed that several applicants were farmers. Then I found out that due a large influx of immigrant labour into Greece, they had become a lot more stringent with their visa process. When I was finally called in, the interview lasted all of 5 minutes! I was asked what I do for a living, how much I earn per month, what my plans in Greece were, where all I planned to visit (Sifnos raised an eyebrow here since it’s off the beaten tourist path), how may people were traveling, how many men with us, and how long I would be there. The interrogation was to essentially establish that I was not planning to run away to their lovely country without enough money to feed myself. I think what surprised the lady at the embassy the most was that we had made all our bookings on our own without the help of any travel agent. I didn’t think explaining the miracle that is the Internet would have helped my case but it just goes to show that if you do want to go, it can all be done online.

This was possibly the most painful part of the preparation process. After that it was smooth sailing and I got my visa the next week. However, I would suggest for those wanting to visit Greece to apply for the Schengen through any of the other countries that are part of the EU. The only hassle is that your identified country needs to be the first port of your arrival in the EU. I hear Austria is particularly lax on this count and is one of the easier countries to apply through. Applying for a Schengen also becomes easier if you already have one stamped in your passport.

With all the donkey work behind us, all that was left to do was to actually get to Greece and get down to the business of having some serious fun.

Base Camp

2009-01-05T14:51:00.000+05:30

Some of you know that I have aspirations to somehow combine travel & writing into a single profession. While that will take a while to fructify I've decided to chronicle my travels in the meantime as a starting point.

Suggestions on how I can improve this blog are welcome and I hope you get out there and see the world. I plan to.