Wallpaper* City Guides

I started collecting Wallpaper* City Guides sometime last year after first stumbling upon one in a coffee shop. After reading tons of white texts on numerous Rogue Guides and Lonely Planet, the concise and design-led manner in which Wallpaper presents its city guides caught my eyes. Text were minimal, but always informative. Suggestions were limited to one venue per page or two, sometimes even three!

Wallpaper* City Guides are supplementary guides aimed at design, style and culture conscience travelers. These are not meant to replace your typical Lonely Planet, which are good for pointing out obvious tourist stuff. Published by Phaidon, City Guides books on the other hand are guides for architecture and design fans seeking a more sophisticated and curated experience on whichever cities they are visiting. For example, a listing in Copenhagen suggested a visit to an Arne Jacobsen designed petrol station about 20km outside Copenhagen.

Our current City Guides collection currently number about fifteen, and growing. We aim to get a City Guides book for every city we visited and those we are planning to visit. Some we've skipped (like Genoa) because we were only in the city for a couple of hours, though we will likely visit again due to its proximity to dreamy Cinque Terre. Despite its diminutive and pocketable design, we do not make it to a lot of the venues suggested - normally out of budget constraints - but that's fine as it means we have to visit again.

Visiting the Italian Riviera Liguria and Cinque Terre

The Harbour of Portofino

The Italian Riviera, also known as the Liguria, is one of those ridiculously beautiful places, you have to wonder why it isn't on more lists of places to visit in Italy. Not that we mind. While busy with tourists, both local and international, it never felt like a tourist trap like much of Italy's more popular tourist destinations.

It is here where you will find the Cinque Terre national park, a UNESCO world heritage site. The entire park is only accessible via railway, boats or trails. You could drive within a mile or so distance to a couple of villages, but Cinque Terre is best enjoyed walking. The five villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggioreare are connected via four well marked trails (though two are currently closed due to the devastating floods of 2011), and is via these trails that I recommend you enjoy the national park. There are also other off the beaten path hiking trails around Cinque Terre.

Have a cocktail in Manarola

These five villages are also connected via a railway network to the rest of Liguria. We made our base in Rapallo, about one hour away, putting us somewhere in between the port city of Genoa (where you would normally fly in, or take the train down from Milan) and Cinque Terre. On the east side you have La Spezia which connects the Liguria region to Florence and the rest of Italy. You could also take the ferry to most of the villages (bar Corniglia) from Rapallo, La Spezia and Portovenere. Rapallo is also a good base to stay if you want to visit Portofino, the glamorous harbour village favoured by celebrities on honeymoons.

Four days in Budapest

Continuing with our recent January travels (I promise this will be the last travel-logs for a month or so), we recently spent four nights in Budapest. We flew Ryanair again via London Stansted Airport.

We stayed at the City Ring Hotel, short walk from Budapest-Nyugati Railway Terminal and the Hungarian Parliament building. The hotel itself was fairly comfortable and based on what we paid for, I can't find any fault with it. There's free (but flaky) WiFi connection accessible from our room and a mini-fridge in the room. There is however no kettle (we brought our own kettle), something which we have learned never to expect in most European hotels.

Fisherman's Bastion

As there aren't any direct railway service from the airport to the city centre, we took the frequent 200E bus from outside the airport terminal to the closest metro station (Kőbánya-Kispest) before taking the M3 line into the city. It was rather straightforward if a little tiring process (the bus isn't one designed to take multiple luggage). Taxi rides to the city would cost about 23 Euros, which is rather pricey.

24 hour in Stockholm

Our January trip continues with a quick 24 hour trip to Stockholm. Well the entire trip was closer to two days if you factor in the flight time and the bus to and from both airports. This was our first time to a Scandinavian country, so it was worth the stress.

We stayed at the Anedin hostel on-board the M/S Birger Jarl, one of many boat hotels around Stockholm. It was moored near Slussen, Södermalm (where other cruise ships were moored as well) only 15 minutes walk from tourist island Gamla Stan, and also a short walk to the trendy district 'SoFo' in Södermalm. The cabin itself was small, though it does have its own en-suite bathroom and toilet.

As we were only in Stockholm for 24 hours, we knew that this was more or less an exploratory trip - one designed for us to get our bearings and to see if we like Stockholm enough to warrant a proper holiday there another time. We limited ourselves to the two islands, Gamla Stan and Södermalm, while also getting a metro pass to explore Stockholm's cavern metro system, which is dubbed the world's longest art exhibit.

Six days from Berlin to Vienna (via Dresden and Prague)

Petrin Hill

Early this January we spent six days and five nights visiting four cities in three countries in Central Europe. The budget for the entire trip was roughly £500, including tickets, hotels, attractions, transports, souvenirs, food and coffee. We flew easyjet, and because it was a post-Christmas/New Year period, tickets were as cheap as you can imagine (the entire return flights for both of us were cheaper than lunch for two at Hawksmoor, or a train trip to the North of England).

The itinerary were two nights in Berlin, followed by taking the train to Prague, but with a six hours stop in Dresden, a night in Prague, then the coach the following evening to Vienna (the coach trip takes the same time to get to Vienna as the train, but is significantly cheaper). Then it was two night in Vienna before we flew back to London.

Reichstag dome

Despite our modest budget, we still managed to snag a private room with en-suite shower room at the Generator Hostel in the so-called trendy Mitte district. Right beside a metro station, we are always minutes away from most attractions, including just two stops away from Brandenburg Gate. With only two nights in Berlin, we had to make a lot of it, but with its excellent metro system, we managed to cover a lot more than what we thought was possible, with plenty of spare time to seek out cafes in between sights.

RipCord by iFLY skydiving demonstration on board the Anthem of the Seas

RipCord by iFLY is the first, according to Royal Caribbean, skydiving experience on cruise ship. Located on the stern of a Quantum-class ship, above the FlowRider surf simulator, guests can finally learn how to fly in the safety of a skydiving simulator.

Last weekend we were given the opportunity to participate in a teaser course on board the Anthem of the Seas. Unfortunately, yours was unable to participate because he has had one too many cocktails. However according to other guests, they are first outfitted in a skydiving gear (minus the parachute obviously), jumpsuit and all before being a 30 second go on the 7 meter tall wind tunnel. On a typical cruise, each guests will be allowed two, one minute flights with an instructor.

Embedded is a video of a truly awesome (and terrifying to me) of a flight instructor showing off his mad skydiving skills.

Anthem of the Seas balcony stateroom tour

Last weekend we were invited to sail on Royal Caribbean's most technologically advanced cruise ship yet, the newest Quantum-class Anthem of the Seas. The pre-inaugural sailing was held from the port of Southampton.

During our trip, we stayed on one of the superior ocean view stateroom with balcony. These staterooms are typically about 198 sq ft in floor size and comes with an additional 55 sq ft ocean facing balcony. Our room, 210, was located on deck 7 (7210).

Casa Howard, Florence

Casa Howard is a guest house in Florence, Italy. We stayed there for two nights when we visited the city in December of last year.

The guest house is located on Via della Scala, a street just behind Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. Its location, just five minutes from the main SMV railway station, and the value for money was what drawn us to book here after a failure of a Airbnb host to confirm a booking. Florence city center is small, but it was still neat to find that the guest house was less than ten minutes walk away to the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral. A far cry from the dreadful Airbnb flat we had in Rome.

Casa Howard is located in a very old house (I can't put a date on it but the architecture style is renaissance) with a grand staircase and old fashion lift. It was a delight to find something with character, as most value for money guest house and hotels are lacking in this department. The guest house occupies the first two floors of this building.

Quantum of the Seas balcony stateroom tour

During our short weekend trip on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas pre-inaugural sailing, we stayed at a superior ocean view balcony stateroom. These rooms are typically about 198 sq ft in size in addition to a 55 sq ft ocean facing balcony. Our cabin is room 228 located on deck 10 (10228).

The room comes with a large king size bed, shower room, a large Samsung TV, numerous storage space, a desk with two USB sockets, a telephone and sofa. Our room also has a connecting door to the adjacent cabins, which can be formed together as a family connected junior suite with a single large balcony. This can accommodate 8 to 10 guests via three separate bedrooms.

Configurations will vary, but the short video above will hopefully give you an idea to the layout and size of a typical balcony stateroom.

Setting sail on Royal Caribbean's newest smart ship 'Quantum of the Seas'

Me, on board our first ever cruise

Last week my partner and I were invited to board Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Quantum of the Seas, at their pre-inaugural sail from Southampton for two nights. This was an event catered for the media, members of the press, bloggers, VIPs, travel agents and staff members.

Two70 lounge which can be reconfigured as a performance theatre

This was our first cruise so I had no idea of what to expect. The closest I have ever experience anything like this was in Vegas almost twenty years ago. A mini city resort on a giant boat is probably the closest I can describe this ship. Quantum of the Seas is the first of a new breed of smart ships called the Quantum-class, and is currently the second largest cruise ship in the world, just behind Royal Caribbean's own massive Oasis-class ships. Read on for my impressions.

Taruna Homestay review

Taruna Homestay is a family run bed and breakfast in Pemuteran, North Bali. We stayed there for two nights during our trip to Bali last month (wow, has it only been that long?). Of all the places we've been and stayed in, Taruna was in one of the least touristy and developed area, which suited us just fine.

Each of the twelve bedroom is designed as an individual villa, with their own private entrances and terrace via the courtyard (which leads to a small but nice swimming pool). The bedrooms comes with their individual outdoor shower and toilet area, which we found unnerving at first.

Pemuteran beach

Our room has air conditioning but we did not use it often preferring to use the ceiling fan instead. The room was clean, if a bit outdated in decor and dark. As a budget homestay, there isn't such luxuries like a TV (why would you want one?), but you do get a kettle, daily mineral water and free wifi access for your Instagramming needs. You won't get much privacy as each rooms are on the ground floor unless you have the curtains shut at all times.

Bali: A GoPro holiday

Hello! It's been a while since I wrote on here. We've just returned from our holiday in Malaysia and Bali. Malaysia is the country of birth where I last visited 7-8 years ago, so it was more of a catch up visit (mainly with food).

This was my first trip to Bali and it was amazing. Long story short, we stayed at Kuta for a couple of nights, more out of obligation than necessity. A bit of advice - avoid Kuta and Denpasar as a whole, as the area is a bit of a hell hole and brings out the worst in Bali and tourists.

We moved on to North Bali and stayed at Pemuteran for a couple of nights. The B&B we stayed in is Taruna, a small family run business who were keen to help out with the planning of all our activities. While Kuta is populated by families and surfers, North Bali is far quieter. The people are friendlier and you meet all sorts of European backpackers. Pemuteran is a great base for those wishing to dive in Menjangan Island or visit the beaches of Lovina.

For this trip, my Nikon stayed at home. In its place was a GoPro Hero3+ action camera. We had a couple of reason for bringing a GoPro instead of a high quality image shooter. Firstly, we wanted to travel light and secondly, a waterproof case for a SLR costs more than a GoPro itself. And finally, I just wanted to get my hands dirty on trying out video shooting and editing.

In any case, here's five minutes of our Bali trip, edited down from tens of hours of footage using GoPro's excellent Studio 2.0 program with their Hero3 reel template. Bring on next year!

Gemalto NFC Contactess Challenge: Take the Boat (Thames Clipper)

As a former now almost Londoner, I can categorily state that the best way to see London is through the local river bus service, the Thames Clipper. It is also my favourite method of traveling across London. The Thames Clipper operates between Embankment Pier and Woolwich Arsenal Pier, so if you live or work near one of the piers serviced on this route - I truly envy you. It would be a dream to move into a home just by the Thames.

The Thames Clipper is the only commuter service in Britain (that I know of) which offers commuters and tourists alike the ability to pay as you go via contactless payment. This is in addition to accepting contactless Oyster card and regular plastic payments just like on the regular Tube, Overground and London bus services. These contactless payments are only acceptable on-board the boats. Nobody at the ticket booths are equipped with the equipments necessary to process contactless payment.

The 'I am on a boat' moment

Well the important thing is you could pay on-board the boat, and the good news is I did complete my 'Take the Boat' Gemalto NFC Contactless Challenge this time. The bad news is I found the process far too slow compared to using a bog standard Oyster card. There has been calls for Transport for London to replace RFID Oyster card with regular contactless bankcards and after witnessing how slow it was to take payment, but I can't see that happening, ever. Not with the current technology at least. My attempt to pay today was twice declined by the bank, and once failed to go through because the mobile network was poor in the middle of the river. It only successfully went through on the fourth attempt, and only after the staff switched to a different terminal.

Now imagine this happening on the Tube.

Thames Cable Car (Emirates Air Line)

Yesterday was our first visit to the new Thames cable car tourist attraction in London. When the project was first announced, I was one of the original skeptic of what I would dub as a vanity project. In fact I still and I will explain why in a moment.

But I also love it.

The Thames cable car service is operated by Transport for London and comprises a 0.62 mile gondola line that crosses the River Thames between dilapidated Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Victoria Dock. It is officially known as the Emirates Air Line for sponsorship purpose, but like every sponsored infrastructure in London, the original name sounds better.

Channel Islands travelogue

A trip to the Channel Islands was always on the card, but it was only two weeks ago that we were able to realise it. It was our first proper holiday in years, in that it doesn't involve camping or hosteling. We decided to treat ourselves a bit.

It was unfortunate we picked a peak season to visit but after much searching, we found a lovely self catering cottage in St Martin's Parish, just 20 minutes walk from St Peter Port in Guernsey. We choose a one bed maisonette from independent Tree Tops. For £475 a week, it came out at £68 a night - about half of what it would cost us if we went for a hotel or B&B. And because it has a fully equipped kitchen, we saved a heck a lot more money through home cooked meals.

Castle Cornet, St Peter Port, Guernsey

Richard, who runs Tree Tops, is a fantastic bloke. He has a wealth of knowledge of Guernsey and is funny to boot. A heck a lot funnier than Jimmy Carr in fact, who happened to have chosen the Channel Islands as his favourite tax haven. Richard also has a stable of bikes, including European-style bikes, which is available to residents, because he can't ride them all as he 'is old', as he puts it.

Isle of Skye trip

We had a brilliant time in Skye. The weather was pretty awful the first couple of days (we stayed in our tent for almost the whole of the first full day due to persistent rain), though it did improve much later on (I've even got a nice tan now - many thought we went to some old people's resort in Spain instead). We did one walk - a 15 miler from our campsite in Sligachan to Sgurr Na Stri, where we witnessed, what we think anyway, is the most brilliant view in the British Isles. The sky was clearing, allowing us to appreciate the majectic wonders of the Black Cuillin ridge.

The rest of the time was devoted to exploring the island (we did walk about 5 miles around the Storr, though not to the summit).

Also would like to take the opportunity to say thanks to Gus of Highland Experience Tours for giving us a lift from Kilt Rock to Portree when it became clear that our bus was late. Also a quick hi to Dirk Werges, whom we had a long chat (about camping, walking, cycling and German ales) in the laundry room of Sligachan campsite. Dirk is from Germany and is touring the whole of Scotland for three months on a bicycle. Good luck and enjoy!

Finally, a big thank you to Nationa Rail/London Underground for suggesting us to take the St. Albans to St. Pancras International First Capital Connect railway service, get off at Kentish Town and taking the Tube to London Euston. Thank you for wasting our time and causing us to panic slightly as we found out that the Kentish Town Tube station was closed and would only open at 5:30pm, 9 minutes before our train service to Glasgow departs. We had to pay extra to take the bus (despite having valid Tube tickets) because we didn't want to be late.

What a moronic way to start a trip. Fortunately no such stupidity with Virgin Trains and the Citylink coach we took from Glasgow to Sligachan, Skye.

Pictures available here.

Off to the Isle of Skye... next month

Will be going on a walking camping break in the Isle of Skye next month for about a week. Very excited. Bought a new Vango Tempest 300 tent, which we just couldn't wait to use. The extra space would certainly come in handy.

We are planning to summit one or two Munros/Corbetts on the Cuillin, do the Storr and maybe one or two circuits. Obviously it will depend on how the weather goes, though I am not going to count on it. It isn't called the Misty Isle for nothing! Planning on camping at Sligachan for a couple of nights before moving on to Portree. Any tips or suggestions would certainly be helpful! You can e-mail me direct using the e-mail address posted on the right ->

Now look what I did there, a post that isn't a review or a rant!

Snowdonia trip

We were at Snowdonia for a couple of days. Walked up Moel Siabod on the first day and were rewarded with (almost) clear view of the Snowdon massif, the Glyderau and the Carneddau range. The walk was a quiet one (we only met one other walker later on) and we had the summit to ourself the whole half an hour we were up there (having lunch). The weather otherwise was pretty awful (60mph winds, 70mph gusts), which made it a pretty nerving experience when descending the mountain. The rain didn't help either.

Also did a couple of small walks around Betws-y-Coed, Beddgelert and Porthmadog the next day, where we had to hitch two separate rides (thanks!) in order to return to our hostel in Capel Curig. We were planning to head up Tryfan on the final day, but due to the weather we decided to just leave it until the next time we return.

The trip did expose how unfit I've allowed myself to get into since my Lewes to Eastbourne via the South Downs Way walk back in September. As spring is here, am really looking forward to more hillwalking excursions.

Lewes to Eastbourne via South Downs Way

Did a walk yesterday from Lewes to Eastbourne via the South Downs Way. The weather was brilliant for most of the day - warm with light breeze and clear sky, until later in the afternoon.

Normally most people who start at Eastbourne, but I was planning on ending there to catch the sunset at Beachy Head (plus there are more trains from Eastbourne back to London). Alas, I arrived at Beachy Head at 4.30 pm. Not really looking forward to waiting a couple of hours for the sunset, I decided to leg it to Eastbourne to catch the earlier train. Just as well as it was getting colder and the clouds were kinda ruining the view...

The route itself is straight forward and well marked. The hills can get windy at times and there are no trees to shelter from rain or the sun. You can begin at Southease (saving you a couple of miles as the railway station is right on the South Downs Way) or Glynde. I chose to start at Lewes because I didn't want to wait half and hour for the train to either stations.

At Alfriston, the South Downs Way divides with one taking you to Exceat (and Seven Sisters) via the Vanguard Way and another through Jevington and the Long Man of Wilmington. Both routes will end at Eastbourne, with the coastal route (Seven Sisters and Beachy Head) a couple of miles longer. This route is actually more scenic and worth the extra couple of miles on your precious knees.

Distance: 23.5 miles (37.8 km)
Height gain: 3862 feet