From the northpole with love

What? 4pm and time for bed?

- what to do in Oslo in winter -

Unless you’re equipped with a very stable circadian rhythm, I guarantee you will be thrown off balance if you go to Norway in winter. (For those of you who couldn’t be bothered to click the wikipedia link, circadian rhythm basically means your body clock, or how our 24 hour cycle is influenced by our surroundings in an instinctive manner).

Take one look at this picture:

It was shot at 4pm. Yes! Four o’clock in the AFTERNOON! (The building in the background is Oslo’s National Theatre by the way).

Worse still, it could easily have been taken at 9.30 am. In other words, the hours of daylight in Oslo at the height of winter add up to a shameful six hours.

Two of those count as dusk and dawn, so basically you’re left with four hours of daylight proper. And if by now you’re wondering what daylight looks like in a place where people more or less hibernate in winter, have a look below:

Allow me to indulge in this gloomy mood for a little while longer. Because none of this darkness would have had the power to put me to bed in the middle of the afternoon on its own.

As if to add insult to injury, the outdoor temperatures are constantly below zero, sometimes dropping to below twenty. So when we left Spain in order to spend our Christmas holiday with family in Oslo, we did the only sane thing. We stayed in. At least most of the time.

When we did venture outside, we made sure to get up nice and early (would be a real shame to miss those four hours…).

Here are our top four outdoor activities (cause it’s not all doom and gloom):

1. Ice skating at Frogner stadion - we rented three sets of skates, and paid £35 for the whole day which also included the entrance fee. There are several other places to go ice skating in Oslo, like ‘Narvisen’ in the city center. But Frogner stadion is much bigger and has comfortable changing rooms and a place to buy coffee and waffels. Yummy!

You might also like to know that you’re on historic skating grounds. Seventeen of the records from Frogner are listed among the official ISU world records in speed skating

Getting here: Get off the tube at Majorstua Station and walk for five minutes. Alternatively, catch the blue tram (number 12) and get off at the station called Frogner Stadion.

2. Sledging down the 2 km long toboggan run Korketrekkeren - We rented three sledges, three helmets and one pair of heavy duty wintery boots, and paid £38 for the whole day. You should consider a mid day treat at the atmospheric Frognerseteren, where you get the biggest and best apple pie in the world for £6!

The toboggan run is located right next to the original bobsleigh run, built for the 1952 Olympic games. It is lit up in the evening, and don’t be surprised to find that adults are just as eager as children when it comes to this rather original form of activity.

Getting here: Catch the tube line 1, and get off at the end station Frognerseteren. (If you need to rent sledges, you should get off at Voksenkollen station). Then it’s all downhill to Midtstuen station, from where you catch the tube and take it all the way to the top again. A piece of advice is to buy a 24h ticket so you don’t have to pay for single journeys all day long. It costs £6.50 for adults and £3.50 for children.

3. Skiing at Linderudkollen - This is one of many log cabins situated in the forest surrounding Oslo. It is also one of the few to which you can quite easily catch public transport. You can’t rent skis here, so you have to bring your own, or simply enjoy being a tourist and watch the dare devils take on the wooden ski jump. The log cabin has a cafeteria where you can buy typical Norwegian treats like open faced prawn sandwiches, cinnamon rolls and waffle with brown goats cheese.

Getting here: Catch bus 56 from Storo tube station. It will say ‘Solheimskogen’ at the front of the bus, and you need to get off at Linderudkollen Station and walk another ten minutes from there.

4. Snow boarding at Tryvann - To be quite honest, we never had time to fit this one in. Our kids are six and nine, and although most Norwegian kids this age know both how to ski and skate, ours don’t. (They are far better at flamenco and surfing!). However, Tryvann is a great place for those of you who want to get skiing. There are 18 slopes and 11 lifts, and best of all – it’s a mere twenty minute tube ride from the city centre!

 

Parisian Petit Dejeuner – budget or splash out

Few things in life are as good as a sidewalk breakfast in Paris. Especially when the sun is shining, the waiters are gossiping in French and everything tastes exactly as it should, yet so heavenly exotic as only a p’tit dej made with beaucoup d’amour can do.

The only thing to consider really is whether you want to fork out a whopping 50 euros for breakfast for two, or a down to earth 8 euros per person.

SPLASH OUT! Legendary Café de Flore is obviously the fifty euros option. What do you get? Well, tout simple, you get to eat your feather light croissant in surroundings where the likes of Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Jacques Tati found inspiration over a drink or two in the 1930′s and -40′s.

Predictable and expensive, but oh, so iconic!

The service here is reported to be rude, and alongside the breakfasts, most items on the menu are generously over prized. However, if it’s old time charm and a whiff of Paris’ golden era you’re looking for, you won’t be disappointed.

Address: 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain

Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés

 

 

 

BUDGET FRIENDLY! The fact that you can get a filling breakfast with a big mug of coffee, a selection of freshly baked pastries, a choice of crispy baguettes or slices of whole grain bread as well as a selection of home made curd, chocolate spread and jams for only 8 – EIGHT – euros should not be the only reason for choosing ‘La Salle à Manger’ as your breakfast spot.

The place also has a to die for location on foodie street Rue Mouffetard. It also has Simon, a drop dead gorgeous waiter who is more than happy to explain where the fruits used in the jam are from.

   

Oh la la, where to look - at him or at the jam

 

Address: 136 Rue Mouffetard

Metro: Censier-Daubenton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Planning your own trip to Paris? We totally recommend the services of Special Apartments. They are trustworthy (we have stayed with them on three occasions), reasonable and they have the coolest selection of authentic apartments in Paris, be it a writer’s studio or a three bedroom, wooden beamed attick. Their properties are truly special apartments as the name suggests.

Check out our favourite apartment on the Ile St. Louis where we stayed a couple of years ago in our previous post ‘Parisian Island Paradise’.

 

Portugal, all that glitters is silver

Portugal is one of our favourite countries in Europe. It’s quaint, cheap and beautiful. Only one rule applies: Stay clear of Albufeira! This is your bit of England, Ireland and Scandinavia thrown together under the sun. (Please ignore this piece of advice if your idea of a summer holiday is to sizzle during the day, get wasted during the night, and pretty much do nothing else for a week or two.)

Then there is the Silver coast, or the Costa da Prata as the Portugese say. It’s located just north of Lisbon and stretches almost all the way up to Porto. Why is it called the Silver coast, I hear you say. This is a typical case of ‘a picture says more than a thousand words’, so I’ll let this photograph taken near Peniche explain:

See it? The silver sparkle from where those sunny rays hit the surf?

Surf is indeed a keyword on this coast. Every year the ASP World Tour lands on the spectacular Supertubos beach. It is renowned for its continuous feed of powerful barrels. When the surf competition is on, the area is full of that laid back buzz which surrounds the likes of champion Kelly Slater, John John Florence and Owen Wright.

Here’s John John Florence and his spectacular surfing family kindly posing for a photograph outside the Praia d’El Rey Merriot:

 

 

The boys below can’t adorn themselves with being professional surfers, however, they can brag about having one of Europe’s best beaches on their doorstep! 

Once you’ve got your surfboard, the waves are FREE!

 

 

There’s plenty more to do along the Silver Coast if you’re not up for surfing. There’s golf (Seve Ballesteros designed one of the courses before he passed away), horse riding (on the beach just like in the movies!) and gourmet food. But we would be chewing over far too much if we tried to cram all that this lovely place has to offer in one post. So if you’re up for a different Portugal experience, stay tuned for our next Silver Coast update in one weeks time.

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We have previously unveiled some of our preferred places in the Algarve. They have the same unspoilt character as the Silver Coast, and are a secret we reluctantly shared with our readers here.

 

 

Child friendly Bangkok

The honest truth? It would have been far easier writing a post about how unchild friendly Bangkok is. But hey, what would life be without a challenge, right?

Our kids are pretty much like every other kid out there. They are six and nine years old, and seem to be interested in seeing something different (but not for too long), trying strange foods (as long as they don’t have to finish it), shopping (strictly items for themselves of course, and preferably football related, and why do they never get tired of trying on sunglasses goddamit…), animals (any shape or size), riding weird vehicles (a tuk tuk ride always put huge smiles on their faces) and last but not least, they like their ice cream. The bigger the better.

Thrown in at the deep end in Bangkok’s maze of over crowded pavements, crazy traffic and concrete avenues, I felt that our four day stopover would prove a huge challenge. There are only so many Buddhas and temples you can see before the kids start complaining. This caused for alternative thinking, and this is how we not only survived, but somehow managed to get Mattis and Siena to love Bangkok!

1. Covering Buddhas with gold leaf

Bangkok is full of beautiful Buddhist temples, but Wat Pho sort of takes the biscuit. Its 43,5 meter long reclined, golden Buddha is as popular with the Thai themselves as with us tourists. The kids loved this place. Not just because the Buddha is a fascinating sight in its own right, but also because the whole site is embalmed in a mystic and serene atmosphere. Best of all? You can buy golden leaf in a little stall, and place them on many of the smaller Buddha statues scattered around the temple area.

Location: Maharat Rd

 

 

2. Fish tank pedicure

  

Khao San Rd. is an exciting place for adults and children alike. Find out more about this weird and wonderful stretch of road in our previous post here. The fish tanks caught our kids’ attention immediately, and it took our son approximately one nano second to kick his shoes off once we gave him the go ahead. First time around we paid 4 euros for fifteen minutes. Second time around, two weeks later, we haggled it down to 2 euros.

Location: Khao San Rd.

3. Feeding the turtles

Wat Prayoon is a surprise of a place, not far from the Memorial Bridge. In fact it’s another temple with lots of little shrines scattered around. However, the biggest draw here is no doubt the huge turtles and fish who live in the small lake. Kids love this experience. First of all because they can get really close to the animals and interact by feeding them. Secondly because it’s a really laid back place with few fences and no traffic what so ever.

There’s a fruit vendor on site, dishing out bits of ham, sliced banana and those sticks to feed the turtles. Very cheap – 50 centimos for a full plate.

Location: 24 Th Prachathipok, cnr Thetsaban Soi 1

 

 

 

4. Frequent tuk tuk rides

We tuk-tukked everywhere. Be it just across the bridge     or further afield. Simply because it gave us, and especially the kids, a buzz. We had our own set of tuk-tuk rules too:

1 – Always put on sunglasses in order to protect our eyes from wind, fumes and dust.

2 – The kids were never allowed to get on the tuk-tuk first, nor to get off it last. I get a bit over protective when we’re travelling, and admit it – I was worried some crazy tuk-tuk driver would take off with the kids. Location: Everywhere!

5. Boat ride

I am still not sure if our daughter fell asleep because of, or in spite of, the rocky backwaters of Bangkok… Nevertheless, we had a private tour of the canals of the city in a traditional long tail boat, and were really amazed to discover how beautiful Bangkok is from this perspective.The boat was a rickety old wooden vessel that had seen better days for sure… and I wasn’t totally comfortable with the ill fitted life vests, but then again, the canals weren’t very wide, so I assumed we would be able to save ourselves should the boat give in to the currents…

Location: We boarded at the one of Bangkok’s many bridges. Sorry, can’t remember which one…

6. ‘Doing’ Khao San Rd

Khao San Rd is a haven for remote control addicted kids! Here you’ll find every shape, size and variety on planet Earth. They were also thrilled to pick up torches, flipflops, t-shirts, football shirts, SUNGLASSES, etc, etc.

Our son soon realised how to work his haggle magic, and became an expert at turning his back on the desired item, and saying ‘No, I’m not too bothered’. This would always result in the vendor calling us back with an offer to lower the price.

 

 

 

 

 

7. Ice cream heaven

In our family, ice cream is never a bad idea! We tracked down world famous ice cream chain Swensen’s in top notch shopping centre ‘Siam Parakon’.

Definitely not a backpacker place, this shopping centre is stricktly for the ones who are not Baht conscious – we are talking brands like Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Gucci, Lamborghini, Porche as well as the five star Kempinski Hotel Siam. Having said that, the ice cream was still affordable, delicious and safe for little stomachs.

Location: Siam station with the Skytrain

8. Seven Eleven

Prior to arriving in Thailand, we had no idea there would be a Seven Eleven on practically every street corner. Believe us, it’s an air conditioned piece of child friendly heaven when the intensity of Bangkok starts getting to you. Seek refuge, let the kids pick up an ice cream, browse the weird and wonderful section of crisps and just chill out. As strange as it may sound, we fell in love with Seven Eleven.

Location: Every street corner

9. Get your regular place

There’s nothing quite like returning to the same cafe a few days in a row. The staff recognizes you, the menu is familiar, and you know where the best table is. We found our regular place a few blocks down from the hotel. Nothing fancy, just a hole in the wall Thai restaurant, frequented by the locals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Seek refuge in the hotel

We totally recommend this down-to-earth-with-an-arty-atmosphere hotel in downtown Bangkok: Phranakorn Nornlen! It’s extremely child friendly, and consequently frequented by many families with kids. Their breakfasts come with hot chocolate for little vagabonds, and their interior design features vintage sweet shop and toy shop facades. In a pond in the garden, they have tadpoles and frogs which entertained our kids for hours! Another huge bonus are the delicious smoothies which ensure your little ones stock up on their healty fruits. BIG THUMBS UP from us!

We have written about this hotel before here.

Finally, after surviving/falling in love with Bangkok, we took a well deserved island break in Ko Chang. Find out all about our secret Ko Chang beach here.

 

Mr and Mrs Lonely Planet

Do you really need a guidebook?

My first ever guidebook was the Lonely Planet on India. I bought it back in 1995 prior to a round-the-world trip with a friend of mine. Little did I know that I would never make it around the world, or that I would leave my LP behind in one of the first hotels on the journey.

But nevermind. I still managed to discover India, and who knows what experiences I would have had if that holy travel bible hadn’t gone missing… Maybe I wouldn’t have made it to the Taj Mahal that foggy morning where I met my husband to be?

Who knows, maybe there’s a paragraph in the Lonely Planet warning single girl travellers against roaming the streets of Agra at day break? Either way, I choose to think that destiny had a say when my guide book decided to continue its life without me.

This has caused me to think of all the other Lonely Planets out there. The company sells a whopping SIX MILLION books each year! Imagine the incredible places these books have been to, the fascinating people who’ve flicked through them, the doors they have opened and the memories they have caused.

Every so often I come across other LP users, and it’s almost like meeting a long forgotten family member. We nod at each other, exchange glances, and may even strike up a conversation. This happened for instance, with this backpacker couple in Luang Prabang, Laos:

I know there are others out there. Guide books that is. But I’m still a LP kinda girl. I’ve tried to grow accustomed to the Rough Guide, Fodors, Footprint and Louis Vuitton, but my heart belongs to Lonely Planet. I suppose there’s still a trace of that first love and fascination when I travelled outside of Europe for the very first time. This is not to say we haven’t had our ups and downs. It’s been a bumpy ride at times, and there have been unfaithful moments. The disappointments have been their guidebooks on Norway and Cuba. Both small countries, where they have let me down simply because they published what seems to be the unbiased opinion of one author.

However, I forgive and forget and continue to update my bookshelf with brand new editions.

 

Night train from Bangkok

Bangkok to Laos – overnight train ride or one hour flight?

What is it about tedious train rides? I suppose I can only speak for myself when I say that they form seriously fond travel memories. This time we decided to take the kids on board to see if they share our sense of ‘old school’ adventure.

Before the seats turn into beds

We made sure we turned up well before departure time at 20h. This gave us time to stock up on some interesting necessities like hibiscus flavoured drinks,  seaweed crisps and tangerine coated nuts (not a favourite!). We’d already had supper, but hey, snacks and kids go together like gin and tonic. Mummy and daddy had opposing approaches to on board drinking. I feared the train toilets so much that I only had a few sips of my daughter’s soda. My husband opted for the more masculine approach where he hoped that enough Chang (thai beer) would ensure a good night’s sleep. More on that later.

FACTS: Travelling by train in Thailand is not a particularly cheap way to get around. We spent just over £100 for the four of us (kids in their own bunks) one way. Compared to other Asian countries like India, this is definitely not cheap. We opted for standard class, which means that you get a designated seat which turns into quite a comfortable, two meter long bed once the staff do their ‘bedding’ rounds at 22h. They supply you with a clean sheet and blanket, as well as a pillow with a paper like casing. So far so good.

This is what it looks like when people have drawn their curtains in order to get a good night's sleep.

Motherhood in all its shapes and forms

We killed a few hours playing cards, munching our snacks and eventually calling it a night. The atmosphere on board was really good. Lots of friendly Thai students were heading home for Christmas, and a handful of Western travellers kept drinking Chang and exchanging their stories from the road. At one point I was worried it would turn into a party train, but once the bedding staff had come through, everybody settled nicely into their own bunk and things went quiet.

The kids were really excited about sleeping on a train, and especially about being allowed to close the curtain themselves. In a way, it’s like when you played house as a little kid, using a blanket as a door, and feeling all snug inside your own little den.

It took them exactly five minutes to fall asleep. I believe the rocking motion helped, whereas I lied awake regretting that we had booked a separate bunk for them. I would have preferred to have them in our beds, so we could keep an eye on them. When we’re on the road, I must admit that I can get a bit panicky about them disappearing, and I was obsessing about the noise of the train which would have made it impossible to hear them if they called for me. Eventually, I climbed up to my daughter’s bunk, where we both fell asleep. It’s a funny old thing being a mother…

So. How did my husband’s plan pan out? After four Changs he gradually started to realise that his plan would have to include several trips to the dreaded train toilet… where he spent a considerable amount of time during the night. Enough said.

Ladyboy

Next morning we had ordered a rather over prized (and horrible to the point of being inedible) breakfast in order to wake us up in the best of moods. However, none of us could have predicted just how funny breakfast on board a Thai train can be!

It started the previous night, when the train hostess came by with refreshments. ‘She’s a he!‘ whispered my husband once she had passed. I objected. No way! She was slim, well dressed, groomed and there was nothing masculine about her apart from, perhaps, a rather strong jaw line. I regret now not having taken a photograph of her. Because the morning after, it was too late… When our hostess appeared with breakfast at 7 am sharp, there was no longer any doubt about her gender. The stubble on her chin said it all. This of course, put us in the best of moods. It was on board entertainment of best sorts.

And the kids – did they have a good night’s sleep? Well, the bedding staff came around not once, not twice, but three times before the kids eventually woke up and got out of bed (bunk). They didn’t notice that we were stopped for about one and a half hours in the middle of the night, and probably in the middle of no where. They didn’t notice their dad getting up to go to the loo three times, and they certainly didn’t notice anything when the ladyboy (or kathoey as they say in Thailand) shouted ‘TEA! COFFEE!’ as (s)he walked down the train. Her voice was not quite as smooth as I remembered it from the previous night. But then again, neither was mine:)

When they eventually did wake up, we were twenty minutes away from Nong Khai in northern Thailand. Next stop: crossing the Friendship bridge over to Laos!

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Over in Laos, we spent two days in the capital Vientiane, before we headed to Luang Prabang. Read our TOP 5 things to do in Luang Prabang here.

 

Our hero!

In the world of travel photography there is a God, and his name is Steve McCurry. We’re in total awe of his work, and the way he always manages to bring together a magical blend of colours, hues, shapes and action.

If you haven’t heard of him before, you are sure to know his most iconic photograph – the Afghan girl with the piercing green eyes – published on the front cover of National Geographic in 1985. Today she is simply known as the ‘Afghan Mona Lisa’ due to her strong presence in the photo, and the image has been named “the most recognized photograph” in the history of the magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We own most of Steve McCurry’s books, and they are a constant source of inspiration. Both to keep travelling and to produce beautiful images. His blog is a great way to keep up with his recent adventures, and we are hereby humbly recommending it to our readers.