Drinking Keyword
Grape Grazing
For a poor backpacker 50 euro seems a stretch. It can cover 25 cheap beers or five cooked dinners or even three nights at a dodgy hostel. So when busabout suggested the Vienna Grape Grazing tour at the princely sum of 50 euro it is no surprise that people were slow to pull out their moth eaten wallets.
How misplaced our apprehensions were. So far misplaced that they may as well have been left in the Czech Republic. From the moment the 25 or so backpackers stepped onto the train that beautiful morning all doubts of our decision were cast joyously to the wind.
The first leg took us to Melk, about an hour by Austria’s beautiful trains from Vienna where we walked through the town to meet our first activity a ferry ride down the Danube. The group enjoyed a couple of wine tastings down sitting by the stack of the boat while we watched the scenery glide by. Our first winery was practically at the jetty we pulled up to, where a little old lady served us generous glasses of four wines. With smiles and a glow in our cheeks we picked up bikes and made for our next stop. We rode through the winding streets along the Danube, through orchards and vineyards, the sun on our backs lifting our spirits.
Stopping for lunch we stepped onto a little terrace and sitting down under olive trees we all looked out over the small towns that spread before us. It is hard to describe just how wonderful a sight it was. After a massive lunch and more than a few more wines we jumped onto our bikes and headed for the Danube for a swim. The icy glacial waters proved a little too adventurous for some, myself included. I wasn’t willing to risk the chaffing.
Continuing down the river we reached the location of King Richard the Lion Hearts imprisonment for 10months by the Austrians. Perched at the top of the hill the ruins of the small fort he called home look out over the vistas that stretch seemingly endlessly in every direction. It was hard to imagine it being much of a horrible time for old Richard.
A short ride later, tired and happy we stepped onto our train home where we finished off a few more bottles for good measure then adjourned to the travel shack to share our experiences with the load of busabouters that just arrived. All in all it was one of the best days of my adventure so far, and by far worthy of my hard earned cash.
Berlin Pub Crawl
Here’s a tip to anyone who thinks being hung over on a bus is a good idea: it isn’t. There is no possible way to have a worse bus trip than fighting off the effects from a blinder the previous night.
With that out the way, the Pub Crawl I stupidly scheduled for the night before I left Berlin turned out to be a Blinder. Populated almost entirely by Busabout adventurers we hit some cool small and large bars around Berlin. Here’s another tip: just because you get a free shot of jager with every drink you buy in most clubs doesn’t mean you have to drink said free jager shots. We finished up at a club under my favourite part of the city and I wandered back through the cold, lost, hungry and alone. Was a fantastic night.
One day I’ll take my own advice, but for now: I am having just too much fun. Check the photos.
Rotter-DAAAAMMMN!
Thanks to my Queen’s Day posse my last night out on the town in Holland ended up being one of the best nights out I have had on the Odyssey. Not only was I surrounded by 6 gorgeous girls all night but they provided entertainment for the whole of Rotterdam. I couldn’t stop smiling.
The girls took me from club to club. We saw a girl fight at ladies only night at the Cinema, burned the dance floor at Vibes and did a ridiculous amount of free shots at some bar I forget the name of, unsuprisingly.
All in all, a great night. For those who adhere to the “fotoz or it didn’t ‘appen” rule: marvel in awe of the beauty of the Queen’s Day Posse!
The Church
Religion is one of those things that really isn’t something I can discuss without the conversation getting heated or me just having to shut my trap. The mere idea of it makes me cringe. I am tolerant of those who have beliefs, and I think people should be able practise what ever religion they want as long as they keep themselves. Hell, I support Pastarfarianism, but I’ll never push the teachings of the flying spaghetti monster on anyone even if I was touched by his noodly appendage. That said, religion does have some merits. Like its role in the creation of public holidays.
Easter weekend is one of those holidays we have to thank some of the bigger groups of Invisible Cloud People followers for. It is a great weekend. Some people get chocolates, everyone gets a Holiday and as always, there’s an excuse to get rat shit maggot pissed. Which is what I did this Easter Sunday. I met up with Jessica Cullen, a friend from Perth and, with a few of her mates, we hit “The Church“.
The Church is hard to describe. For three and a half hours, every sunday, it hosts a multitude of yobbo aussies, sleazy south africans, goofy americans and smelly brits as well as a sampling from pretty much all corners of the globe for an afternoon of debauchery. This is real hedonistic stuff. Drink can only be purchased three at a time and are handed to you in a plastic bag to be easily attached to a belt. A preacher delivers a rousing speech, taking the piss out of everyone in the room. Strippers, both male and female strip right down for the heaving crowd and drinks flow into gullets faster than they can be dispensed.
While a little crazier than most night clubs I have been to, it was just like being at home. Sweaty dudes with their shirts off, chicks that couldn’t handle their drinks, the same songs you’ve heard in every pub, every weekend. Booze covered chicks and strippers is pretty much the only way you could ever get me into a Church. Pure-fucking-gold.
Attached is a gallery of the usual “Simon’s been out drinking” photos I take, most of which are of me looking pissed. Majority were taken at the Church, some at the Shepard’s Bush Walkabout later in the day. Enjoy.
New Edinburgh Pub Crawl
I’ve been doing a lot of drinking in Scotland. When in Rome and all that. Last night in an effort to satiate this alcohol fueled demon that seems to inhabit me whenever I stay in a hostel I joined the New Edinburgh pub crawl. The tour, organised by the same company that ran the walking tour I went on earlier in the day, took in about 5 pubs and a night club. Starting the tour at the Bank Bar, 70 people gathered together in the cold and fog and drink tokens in hand trudged the streets.
I made a few new friends, dominated the video pub quiz (scoring a share of the 10 pound payout), and drank, drank, drank. It was a great night, but I lost everyone at the Hive. I hit up another club, and headed home about 2am. For anyone looking for a great tour group to explore Edinburgh with, I don’t think you can really go past the Sandeman’s New Edinburgh group. Fantastic stuff.
In other news I managed to score a room at St. Christopher’s, the hostel I’ve been at the last two nights, even though I left the booking until this morning. Pretty lucky, as the interwebs were telling me the whole of Scotland is booked solid.
Belushi’s
I’ve arrived in Scotland. Nine hours on a bus sure builds a thirst. I quenched said thirst pretty hard at the bar below my backpackers. Belushi’s. For the first night in a new city it proved pretty fun, however the loud Americans in the common room this morning are a bit tiresome. Their voices are piercing. Obnoxious. I want to tear out their tracheas.
Bit harsh? You wouldn’t think so if you were here, nursing a killer hangover.
Club Pure, Shibuya
Saturday night saw my first night out on the town for this visit to Japan. Finally getting a few of my new friends together in the same place at the same time we headed into Shibuya, Tokyo’s ‘younger’ part of town. A couple of the girls had a friend, Greg, who had been living in Japan for 6 years, and we met him at the station. He took us to an awesome japanese style private restaurant which was great fun, but left us to continue on our night unaided.
We were looking for Club Pure, a place that had been recommended to me by a few people, including the manager of the hostel I am staying at. It is a hip hop club, typically american styled. The main benefit of this club was the cover charge, 3500yen (about 55 Australian dollars) which may sound steep, but included all you can drink from 11.30 till 5am. Boy did I get my money’s worth. Shots at the bar were never passed up, beer flowed freely. We danced all night to cheesy R&B and Gansta rap, people watched and had an all round great time.
Catching the first train home we all managed to fall asleep, missing our stop and having to navigate our way back through the labyrinthine collection of train stops and subways till we got back. Not something that is easy to accomplish while trashed. I flopped onto bed at about 7am, head spinning, reeking of cigarette smoke and booze. The new day was calling, but I needed a few hours sleep before I could face its fury.
Anyone looking for a cheap, cheerful and most importantly FUN night in Japan, head over to Shibuya and search out Club Pure. You wont be disappointed.
Surfers Paradise
My plans for a Saturday morning trip to Surfers were waylaid by Tegan’s suggestion to head to the markets, grab coffee and visit a travel expo. This was probably for the best as the weather, as it has been since I got here, was pretty terrible. At the markets I got a french sweet crepe made by some of the Frenchies that live at WhyNot Street. We wandered the overly commercial Travel Expo only to be stung by a 13 dollar parking fee for the 15mins we were there, and then relaxed at the Three Wise Monkey’s coffee shop.
I started my mission to see the Gold Coast at about 1pm, leaving Tegan to complete her assignments over a mug-a-chino at the coffee shop. Jumping in the car I was once again on the motorway, cruising past other road users on the 70km trip South to Surfers Paradise. (On a side note: Drivers here are just as bad as Perth, however; their road rage is misplaced, and they are overly accommodating to the point of destroying the flow of traffic. The complete opposite to Perth drivers insistence in not allowing over-taking or merging.)
I drove the streets of Surfers, huge residential towers dwarfing my compact car, until I found Surfers Paradise Boulevard. I parked and walked the almost mile long strip of beach that runs almost the complete length of the city. The beach reminded me of Scarborough back in Perth, the golden sand stretching as far as I could see.
As it was still miserable weather I didn’t swim. I was longing for a nice beer and meal in a pub on the beach, but to my amazement I couldn’t find a single decent place. How an entire city can exist by the beach and not have a slew of upmarket beach fronting pubs just flabbergasted me.
I didn’t spend long in Surfers, just enough time to grab a beer and a Red Rooster burger. I did get to see the ridiculous, advertising plastered metermaids that Surfers is so famous for. The girls pimped themselves to me, offering a photo with them for a fee. I gave them one look and informed them I had a whole selection of photos of me with much hotter girls (albeit wearing more clothes) who didn’t ask me for money. They were not amused. I don’t seem to amuse many women.
I left the coast soon after that, walking through an altercation between a dickhead in a Commodore who backed into an Asian family’s Mercedes. A traffic cop was mediating, trying to keep control of a flurry of hand waving, pointing and racial slurs when the bogan fled the scene in a squeal of tires, leaving the car load of mates he had with him at the time standing by the side of the road. Yup: I’m in Queensland alright.
Card Games – Chems
I’ve learnt a few new card games and I thought I would share them with y’all. Seeing as these are games, thats right GAMES Colin, they will be stuffed whole-heartedly into the “Gaming” category of the site.
Chems
Today’s card game is Chems. I am not sure of the exact pronunciation, as it’s a crazy french game. The Frenchies here assure me that “Chems/Cams/Kerms” means nothing, it’s just a word so you can substitute whatever you like. It is a team game, real time strategy of sorts, where the aim of the game is to hold four of the same card (every suit of a card), and working as a team attempt to get “DOUBLE CHEMS”, two people with full hands each, and it works like this.
The game must be played with an even number of people, with everyone broken into teams of two. Take 1 deck of cards, shuffle and distribute four cards to each player. Place the remaining deck on the table face down. Each player picks up their cards and looks at their hand. Players may want to rearrange their cards for easier sorting. Once everyone is ready, the dealer flops four cards from the top of the pack onto the table face up. Players wait for the dealer to call “Go” and a mad scramble of choosing one card from your hand and swapping it with one of the cards on the table begins. There are no turns, just all in.
Swapping continues for as long as the players like, unless 3 of the same card (ie, 3 jacks) appear on the table. At this point, or when everyone is done swapping, the dealer takes the cards on the table, turns them back over and puts them in to “burned” pile. A new lot of four cards is flopped onto the table and the process begins again. Once a player has “Chems” they must signal their partner secretly and their partner must say “Chems” or “Double-chems” if they suspect their partner has “Chems” as well. If someone has “Chems” and this noticed by an opposing team they can call “Contra-chems”. If the player is found to have “Chems” when “Contra-chems” is called the player holding the “Chems” must place their cards in the burned pile and take four new cards from the top of the pack. If the player does not have “Chems” they must show two different cards secretly to the accusing player and that player must forego their cards and take four new ones from the pack. The round is won when a team successfully calls “Chems” or “Double-chems”. A team gets one point for “Chems”, two for “Double-chems” and the game continues for as long as you want. Scoring can be replaced easily with “drinks to be distributed” for conversion into a drinking game.
The strategy lies in the relationship and signals you have with your partner. You cannot call Chems on your own cards, so it is important that your partner is always checking for your secret signal, and the signal must be subtle enough that the other players cannot detect when you have “Chems”. Counting cards comes into play where good players can see when someone on the opposing team or their own partner has picked up enough cards to be holding a full hand.
So there you go. Give it a bash, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s a great game to get to know people with and the real-time card swapping of it makes it very fun and keeps everyone on their toes.
Keep an eye on the blog for more card games to appear, they’ll appear under the “card games” keyword.
Raining Again
Rain seems to be a bit of a theme of my adventures so far. Rain on Australia Day, rain around Sydney and, now that I am in Brisbane, constant rain for the past few days. Not that I’m complaining at all. I love the rain. Sitting on the veranda listening to the drumming rain on the tin is one of the most relaxing experiences in the world. Anyone who thinks that rain is depressing is a little tapped in my opinion.
My friend Tegan has been kind enough to offer me a place to stay in Brisbane. It is a shed out the back of a share house and it is perhaps the most wonderful place I could ever have imagined. The rain falls hard on the roof. I am awakened by the scratching of Bush Turkeys and the purring of Lilou the cat, and the vibe is just great. I have met pretty much the whole house, and we went out drinking last night. Brisbane has a very Perth feel. The city is very young, just growing up. I am looking forward to exploring more in the coming few days.