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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Budapest (Hungary) - Not Robbie Williams

Budapest (Hungary)
22nd August - 24th August 2017

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Budapest is a beautiful city and each time we’ve stayed I've left wishing that we had allowed ourselves to dedicate more time to discovering all the city has to offer.

On this occasion we planned our stop around the Robbie Williams concert that was going to take place at the Groupama Arena on the 23rd.

Let me tell you this, driving 1200+ kms, no matter who you are is energy sapping. Even though we arrived in Budapest on the 22nd and slept reasonably well, by the time the concert was upon us the next day we just couldn't lift ourselves of the canvas in order to head to the show. 

Sorry Robbie but you just weren’t worth the the additional effort it would have taken us to make it for show time, and frankly, looking at the set-list – what the hell is 14 songs!? That’s half a show! That’s half-arsed!!!

We did manage to make it to the Budapest Hard Rock for a drink though.


Hard Rock Cafe Budapest - Hungary


Hard Rock Café checklist, one to the scoreboard.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Krakow (Poland) - Just looking, not buying

KRAKOW (Poland)
21 August - 22 August 2017


Poland makes for some hard driving, it really challenges your patience as all major roads seem to be constantly under construction or re-construction.

Inching along at 60kms an hours when you really want to be beating a path through a flat, unchanging landscape has you visibly beaten at day's end.

We stayed at the Apartamenty Grzegorzki Park,  a little outside of the centre. It was supremely comfortable, had reasonable city views and was fully equipped.

That's all to add on this stop in Krakow, just a drive-by, but a destination in waiting, that's for sure.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Suwalki (Poland) - Never say never

SUWALKI (Poland)
20 August - 21 August 2017

Somehow we found ourselves transiting through Suwalki again, this time heading south to Belgrade. If felt as though we were migrating early for the Winter.

Considering this was our second stay in the town, and unexpectedly so once again, I'll add a couple of quick facts as to what it's about.

A north eastern Polish town with a population just shy of 70,000, it's the first major town of notes as your cross over from the Lithuanian border. We've founds ourselves now, twice, bedding down for the night after a light run from Riga which would usually take 5-6 hrs depending on how many times we stopped on the way.

I would like to make a small mention to the Fresco Hostel in Suwalki. It doesn't come across as a hostel at all, even though it appears in the name, I'd term it as more of an Inn. A warm, welcoming, very clean style of accommodation that has no resemblance to its poor cousin, the hostel, in other parts of the world where they don't to be petri dishes of festering bacteria.

On both occasions I enjoyed our stay here, so to you Freso Hotel in Suwalki, here's my salute!

Friday, August 18, 2017

Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) - An enforced detox

ABU DHABI (United Arab Emirates)
12 August - 14 August 2017

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Not exactly an afterthought but not a priority, Abu Dhabi was a necessity for purposes of exiting the UAE with the flights we had purchased.


View from the Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Our welcome at the Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

View from the Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque - the Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shisha @ the Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates


The extent of the sightseeing we did in Abu Dhabi extended to the pool area, gym and shisha lounges of the marvellous Hotel Shangri La Qaryat el Beri, a grand hotel on the Khor Al Maqta waterway.


Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Breakfast @ Shangri La Qaryat el Beri, phenomenal!! - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Breakfast @ Shangri La Qaryat el Beri, phenomenal!! - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates


An opulent hotel with plenty of bars, restaurants, cigar lounge, fantastic gym, private beach, breezy poolside bar and views to the mighty Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque. This was the perfect way to ‘de-buzz’ from our honeymoon.


Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

Shangri La Qaryat el Beri - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates


Somehow 6 weeks had just slipped on by so effortlessly but that’s a holiday for you, gone before you know it but the impressions and images you take with you for a lifetime.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Muscat (Oman) - Old Muscat

MUSCAT (Oman)
09 August - 12 August 2017

I recall the pilot advising over the in-flight comms we were ‘Now flying over Muscat’. Looking down at a small part of the Arabian peninsula I remember thinking that it was amusing that we were flying over a city whose name was the same as the surname of my football coach. That was some 35+ years ago now. The skies were crystal clear and blue, and the land beneath looked grey and parched, standing out starkly against the Gulf of Oman and the sky around us.

Way back then I wanted to go and experience what was once 12kms below my feet. That’s the oddity of flying around the world and over foreign places where in actuality you can be very close to a location, within 8km-12kms, but reality tells you that you’re a world away.

Considering the U.A.E. are neighbours with Oman then why wouldn’t we take the opportunity to going on down there?

So what did we find?




The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


Omani rials


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


Honeymoon welcome - The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


Honeymoon welcome - The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


On first passing the city is unmistakably modern but not in the same manner as what you find in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It feels like a modernist Soviet country in terms of its architecture. A formless straggle of low-rise, washed buildings and suburbs string out down the coastline, the result of an increasing population generally defined through the modern 20th century migration of people out of the rural and into the urban. For me, this part of Muscat was uninspiring. I had the expectation that I’d see something closer the way a place like Marrackech currently presents itself, but it appears that was a long way from reality.

Contemporary and consumerist, typified by a string of coastal hotels that are opulent and pander to a new wave of tourists wanting to discover this safe, liberal, Islamic country. We were more than fortunate to have booked ourselves into The Chedi (Muscat),  for the duration of our stay. A place, where they say in their promotions, the Al Hajar mountains meet their luminous reflection in the serene waters of the Gulf of Oman. The place itself was exquisite, a beautiful Arabian mix of white walls, dark wood panelling, elegant chandeliers and intricate carpeting. The shapes and forms within the structure of the building are very Arabic but as a whole the feel is light and airy. The whitewashed façade sits beautifully amongst their large 21 acre garden oasis. The real highlights of the grounds were their glorious pools, three fantastic features, one of which was a 103 mtrs long which seemed to drift out into the Gulf of Oman.


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman




The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The most charming part of Muscat however was the engaging port district of Muttrah and the nearby quarter of Old Muscat. Spread around a tight bay the seafront is lined with Portuguese forts, colourful mosques and an assortment of typical Arabian buildings. This to me is where we found the true character of Muscat, or perhaps I should say, what we wanted the true spirit of Muscat to exude. It seems to be these days that the old towns in cities serve less as the cultural epicentre of a city and act more as a forum of nostalgia and touristic fascination. Old Muscat felt a bit like that to me, slowly being diluted by commercialism & capitalism, being strangled by a whole world that’s no longer held at arms length but is pervasive in their everyday lives.


Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Muscat - Oman


Muscat - Oman


Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Old Muscat from Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Old Muscat from Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Al Jalali Fort - Muscat - Oman


Muscat - Oman


Old Muscat, up until relatively recently was all Muscat had to offer. The walled town was home to the residence of the sultan and other notables, a beautiful oasis like city bounded by mountains along the coastline. Viewing this part of the city from its various vantage points you get the feeling of the idea that attracts people and has them interested in discovering more about the location and culture.


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The 103 mtr pool @ The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The 103 mtr pool @ The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Chedi - Muscat - Oman


The Gulf of Oman - Muscat - Oman


Inga and I split our time between Old Muscat and The Chedi. Truh be known, the hotel was actually a fair distance from the old city, which itself resides more on the periphery of what is known as Muscat these days than anywhere considered to be particularly central. For us this meant a lot more time spent in the majestic Chedi pools and staring out into the Gulf of Oman on beautiful 30 degree days with cocktails in hand, swaying palms overhead and an ongoing honeymoon buzz.