World Sightseeing

Packing for Amsterdam

silkmoose — Wed, 13 May 2015 20:52:00 GMT

Amsterdam is a beautiful place which should be on every traveller's list. Its historic roots go very deep and its culture is one of the most interesting in whole Europe, it's not a surprise Amsterdam's tourism statistics have always maintained high numbers of visitors and steady revenue. But there's more, Amsterdam is also seen as Europe's capital of freedom – a place where one can legally indulge in many taboo activities, such as consuming legal marihuana and visiting the Red-light district, turning it into the most preferable spot for progressive youth and open-minded people. But no matter what it is that made you fall in love with Amsterdam, if you're going there, you'd like to be prepared, and packing properly is a perfect start.

Appropriate Clothes

Starting off with the basics, packing for a trip to Amsterdam shouldn't be hard as long as you keep in mind the activities you're planning to engage in and the lifestyle you'd like to live while being there. The climate in Amsterdam is far more forgiving than the one in let’s say, London, so you shouldn't feel too paranoid when preparing. If travelling in winter, naturally you'll want to pack some warm clothes as the temperature tends to get around 0 degrees Celsius. If you’re going for the warmer period, you’ll be happy to know that Amsterdam is generally a very warm place during spring and summer – 20-25 degrees Celsius, so shorts and t-shirts will do just fine during the day. For a night out you’ll want to pack some pants, fancier dresses and something slightly warmer in case it gets cold – sweaters and thin jackets will do just fine.

The fashion in Amsterdam is quite progressive, but so is the open-mindedness of the locals, so make sure you are always feeling as comfortable as possible in your outfit and you should be just fine.

Small Things

Amsterdam has many amazing architectural accomplishments, both historical and modern designed buildings and monuments. You’ll want these things captured on camera so make sure you take one with you. Sometimes your iPhone will suffice for a quick shot of an interesting place, however seeing as you’ll be looking and showing off the pictures to your friends, you’ll want something with a wider lens.

Amsterdam is also one of the few cities that travel almost exclusively by bicycles and trust me, once you get off the plane and witness the beauty and simplicity of this transport method, you’ll want to get on, uhm, the bike. Considering that, you’ll probably want to take a small backpack which you can easily carry around with you even when you’re riding to the next coffee shop.

Protection is also something you’ll need to consider if you’re planning to visit the Red-light district for more intimate fun activities. Even though every brothel offers condoms (a requirement in every respectable place you’ll visit), it would be a great idea to pack a few condoms of your own, just in case. You’ll be glad you did.

Helpful Details

There are some things worth mentioning that I personally believe should be in your suitcase. One of them is small, portable dictionary which you can carry around with you everywhere you go. Sure, Google translate is also an option, but you’ll probably want to have a backup just in case there is no internet connection around (highly unlikely, but still).

Also if you’re going by yourself, make sure you get some reading material. Reading a book in a foreign cafe has to be one of the best meditative moments one can experience!

Preparing Your Car for a Road Trip

silkmoose — Tue, 5 May 2015 21:18:00 GMT

A large portion of the population prepare their holiday by car as of last few decades. Real advantages are a comfortable/relaxing time where things that we pack are all in one spot and do not need to be carried around as in the past. Equally easy is to find accommodation in the enjoyable environment, especially if children are travelling, and pets with them. A conscientious driver will make a list of all the items to check before the family starts with their trip.

Cars can be complicated to maintain so some of the things that need to be checked can only be done by a motor mechanic. Fluids are an item that is simpler to check, so engine oil, transmission fluid, gasoline, radiator coolant, drivers will control on their own, and the brake fluid and power steering fluid are again motor mechanic’s field. The next important thing are tires, and it would be simpler to add that to the list when one is visiting the mechanic. Further on lights and brakes should be checked as well, particularly the later, as well as the battery.

When the mechanical side of this endeavor has been sorted, entertainment while travelling is equally important. The road trips can be long and tiring, therefore the driver in particular should be alert and capable to endure the trip. Music in particular is quite essential here, so travellers are quite particular about their car audio system, and go into lengths of obtain a good quality one. Music will ‘be an excellent company’ to the driver even when everyone else is quiet or asleep. It is important to pick the sort that will please the tastes of all, the driver in particular.

While driving it is important to hydrate and take plenty of water. Children and pets need to be restrained properly at all times. Maps, GPSs, Road Information are also staff that is important for your trip, preparing yourself for inconveniences is useful even if they do not happen. So back to an important rule, after every 2-3 hours of driving have a 15 minute rest and that will refresh you considerably. Driving at night is particularly tricky so leaving more space between cars is a good technique. Another novelty is the ‘road rage’ if possible try not to become a ‘sufferer’ it will only spoil the trip…

And it is important to remember that the purpose of driving a car is to have fun. What was mentioned above is essential preparation but bearing in mind that cars enable comfort and excitement is the reason to do the trip in the first place. Just to mention an Eastern Australian Coastal Drive, that is more than 3000 km long, that would be very different if one was to do it by bus, train or even a plane. Lot of it would be missed and impression altered, car will give travellers the freedom to enjoy the beauty of this timeless land. And the stretches of white beaches sometime hundreds kms long will fully be absorbed only if you are driving a car.

A Manly Trip to Down Under

silkmoose — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:08:00 GMT

Australia is surprisingly full of fun things to do when you take your time to explore and discover all the various locations, especially if you meet a few locals who have the knowledge of these spots and can point to all the fun activities and extraordinary places to check out. Unfortunately, when you’ve decided that you needed a long-due break from your job and all the dull environments, and you bring a bunch of (male) friends on an extended weekend, the entire concept of what a vacation should look like falls into water and you’re destined to come up with new ways of exploring this beautiful landscape while also trying not to look as hungover.

Packing only the necessary things

As we arrived at Sydney’s airport, we realized that none of us were equipped for the unbelievable heat Australia had in store for us. Apparently when you’re accustomed to a “normal” climate and only posses a few pairs of pants and tight-fitted shirts, you’re clearly overdressed. In order to enjoy our stay, the first mission (which was checking out the nearest bar) became finding the nearest tourist shop and gearing up on lightweight, loose-fit shirts and terrible (and yet incredibly useful) tourist hats. If you’re reading this and haven’t packed yet, feel free to turn your suitcase upside down and start again, you aren’t prepared for this.

Researching the destination

None of us had any real idea of what we would like to do or see, somehow we all thought we’d figure it out along the way. Terrible, terrible mistake. The first day or so was wasted on checking Google Maps for fun places and venues while enjoying the all-too-familiar taste of Starbucks. Locals were extremely helpful, especially since I guess we must’ve had ignorance written across our foreheads, that’s how lost we were in this beautiful city.

However this all changed as the sun came down and the city had become alive with this beautiful energy that can’t be described, but experienced in person. Everyone was extremely friendly and we couldn’t believe how easy it was to make friends with Aussies. Even James, who would otherwise come off as a “cold British” (sorry buddy) was discussing Australian sport teams with a group he had just met, while we sipped on our beer in a local beach bar. At this point I believe that Sydney has the friendliest locals, especially when moderate amounts of alcohol are involved.

Connecting with the opposite gender

Australian women are incredibly friendly in their own ways too. I wouldn’t call it over-friendly, but there’s definitely some flirtation involved. Perhaps it was due to our strange looks or the accent, but it seemed as if every woman was having the best day of her life as we spoke and joked around. The atmosphere between 2 genders is always very relaxed and fun. We even made fun of ourselves for preferring to stay friends with these creatures!

I should also mention that escorting is legal in our area and we even went out on a date with 2 beautiful "Red Door Agency" ladies and yes, they were even friendlier, which is certainly an achievement in our overall opinion! It was a great extraordinary experience as we went out to a fancy restaurant and a few drinks after that.

We ended up having so much fun, we had to call in sick and stay another couple of days (making 6 total) and came back full of energy and perfectly tanned, believe it or not!