domain

同一個搜索引擎優化公司

2008-06-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

尋找一個搜索引擎優化（ SEO ）公司做的廣告及宣傳，為您的網站嗎？最佳徐行是非常忙碌且昂貴。搜索引擎安置需特殊技能和知識。這篇文章將幫助你開始與一些徐秘訣。目標是西區，以獲得高的，在搜索引擎上的排名為某一個關鍵字。不過，最重要的是關鍵字，你是優化，為獲得高流量。如果您不知道如何找出什麼關鍵詞在你的利基獲得最大的交通，然後徐諮詢，可以幫助你這樣做。搜索引擎提交單獨不會幫助你的網站都沒有。你的網站需要有自己的聯繫，從其他網站上攀登，在搜索引擎的結果頁（ serps ）。您可以隨時購買鏈接或按次付費點擊廣告，但不會讓你的長遠有機西區。最好的徐在公司一定會全身心投入真正回到環節，從網站上已經名列前茅，在Google的。有很多方法可以做到這一點，如與新聞發布，社會書籤，獲得博客寫起伏條營銷。好運與你的網站，並記住搜索引擎優化只是其中的一部分，網絡營銷！

検索エンジン最適化会社と仕事をする

2008-06-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

探して検索エンジン最適化（ソ）会社の広告とプロモーションを行うためにお客様のウェブサイトですか？企業の最良の徐在応は非常に忙しいと高価だ。検索エンジンに特別なスキルや知識を紹介します。ヘルプこの記事は、徐在応いくつかのヒントを得ることを始めました。徐在応は、目標の高さを取得するためには、特定のキーワードを検索エンジンのランキングです。しかし、最も重要なことは、キーワードを最適化するためにあなたが高いトラフィックを取得します。お持ちでない場合はどのようなキーワードを確認する方法を知っている中で最もトラフィックを取得してニッチその後徐在応のコンサルティングをしていただけるようサポートいたします。検索エンジンの登録だけではお客様のサイトですべてのヘルプです。お客様のサイトのニーズを持つ他のウェブサイトからのリンクを登ることで、検索エンジンの結果ページに表示する（ serps ）。いつでも購入することができますリンクや広告のクリック単価が取得していない場合は、長期的に有機ソ。徐在応は、最良の企業を必ず正規の背面に集中することは既にランクの高いサイトからのリンクをGoogleです。これを行う方法はたくさんあるようなプレスリリースでは、社会的なブックマークを、取得してブログの記事を書くとマーケティングのUPSです。幸運を覚えてお客様のサイトに検索エンジン最適化とはただ1つのインターネットマーケティング部！

如何做Web 2.0的發展與內容管理系統（合作醫療）

2008-06-01T08:36:00.001-07:00

danogo.com ，一個web 2.0創業階段的公司，是建立在完全使用PHP開源內容管理系統。檢查出的一些工具我用，以建立網站，沒有什麼編程和開發時間。有這麼多的免費開放源代碼合作醫療制度，可說，最大的問題是選擇最佳的。這裡是一個名單的Web 2.0應用和技術danogo.com用於網站的發展：主要博客-在W ordPress 社會網絡-寧社會書籤-p ligg 遊戲-a rcadem房間腳本問及答案-p hpmyfaq topsites -a ardvark 分類信息-諾亞的分類 danogopedia -t wiki 論壇-簡單的機器聊天室-p hpfreechat 就業局-j obomatic 商店-亞馬遜商店最佳整體合作醫療是joomla我已用於客戶端的項目。其實，如果我知道了它的時候，我開始danogo我會用它作為主要的框架而不是在WordPress 。不過，我開始了業務作為一個博客而已。但是當我開始網志的Web 2.0技術，我想實際體驗出來，就是如何本網站的不斷增加，越來越多！它確實可以幫助我在一個網站管理員，有豐富經驗的應用程序開發和網頁設計。我需要做相當多的定制軟件， HTML和圖形。但是對於大多數使用內容管理系統，可以讓我把重點放在營銷，並建立一個Web 2.0的社區。我請你來嘗試所有的路段danogo.com ，可於右導航的這個博客，給人一種感覺：對各種CMS應用。隨時與我聯繫上的社會網絡，論壇或電子郵件聯繫網頁，如果您有任何疑問或需要諮詢。照顧和好運與您的Web 2.0網站！丹鄰網站管理員， danogo.com

HITBSecConf2008 Dubai

2008-06-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Dubai!

The two-day HITB Security Conference just ended (today) and I've got lots of cool stuff for you.

Ero Carrera, Zynamics GmbH: Day one with "Malware — Behavior, Tools, Scripting and Advanced Analysis" presented a Python extension for Bochs, an open source CPU emulator that can be found at bochs.sourceforge.net. According to Ero, some malware such as Storm usually make a call to some ancient APIs. It uses the return values as part of its decryption routine, which cannot be reproduced by sand-boxing and therefore doesn't end up in the decryption part of the malware. Using a full emulator such as Bochs, can bypass most of the anti-vmware tricks.

Jim Geovedi: "Hijacking VSAT Connections" was an update on a previous HITB presentation called "Hacking a Bird in The Sky: Hijacking VSAT Connections". Jim presented ways to defeat detections from local government agencies and also added that this hijacking can also be done via MACs, not only IPs.

Dino Covotsos from Telspace Systems practically showed various method of exploiting Bluetooth technology with some freely available tools. Imagine an attacker that can read and send SMS and make some premium phone calls without your knowledge. He even mentioned F-Secure a few times in his presentation, "Hacking the Bluetooth Stack for Fun, Fame and Mayhem".

With Bruce Schneier, as keynote speaker on day one tackling the feeling of security and Jeremiah Grossman on day two with some nice yet scary statistics on website hacks; this has been a great two-day Security Conference here in Dubai.

Signing off,
Jojo

On 17/04/08 At 04:39 PM

Cambridge, Tampere and Turku

2008-06-01T07:43:00.001-07:00

On the topic of Universities and academic research… here are two recently published theses that are relevant to antivirus research.

Mikko Suominen's master's thesis from the University of Turku:
Searching for Win32 File Infectors — The Possibilities and Limitations of Static Structural Heuristics
Full disclosure: Mikko works in Helsinki Response lab nowadays.
Timo Hirvonen's Bachelor of Science thesis from the Tampere University of Technology:
Antireversing Techniques
Full disclosure: Timo's reverse engineering examples in the thesis include three infamous Assembly Khallenge programs written by Kamil from our lab.

Interesting stuff.

Then the bad news; only the summaries of these documents are in English. Sorry.

And while we're still on the topic: I'll be giving a lecture at Cambridge University next week. Hey, that's going to look nice on my bio.

Drop by if you're in the neighborhood. More info from talks.cam.ac.uk.

Signing off,
Mikko

On 17/04/08 At 07:58 AM

DDoS Anniversary

2008-06-01T07:16:00.001-07:00

There was a "cyberwar" in Estonia one year ago. Civil unrest, protests, and rioting culminated in DDoS attacks against Estonian government websites. What started on the streets moved online with those that couldn't be physically present taking part in DDoS attacks that lasted for more than a week.

We blogged about the attacks here (April 28th), here (April 30th), and here (May 9th).

There were plenty of DDoS tools distributed during the attacks:

The anniversary of the riots haven't generated any activity as of yet and we don't expect anything significant later.

More recent failed examples appear to indicate that a good deal of offline heat is required before online attacks catch fire.

An "e-jihad" planned for the 11th of November never materialized.

And earlier this month a DDoS attack planned against CNN resulted in only random outages, mostly in Asia.

Anti-CNN tools were distributed… but without street protests to really capture people's attention, nothing carried-over to online attacks.

On 28/04/08 At 02:34 PM

Fly Phishing

2008-06-01T04:13:00.001-07:00

Some phishing gangs have a new technique. They're using trojan-spy applications.

Last week we received the following e-mail message:

Notice that the message doesn't mention anything about providing an account-name or password.

Instead, it attempts to convince the recipient that they need to install a Digital Certificate for enhanced safety.
(Anybody want to buy a bridge?)

The message links to a site with the following:

It's basically a page full of jargon designed to overwhelm the potential victim. What happens if the victim falls for the bait and installs the "certificate"? A trojan-spy will be installed.

So now the phishers don't need to ask for passwords anymore, they can just take them.

This technique keeps the classic element of phishing by mimicking the trusted institution — the bank. What they've adjusted is the part that people have become skeptical of, which is giving away their password when requested by e-mail.

Update: Here's a brief video that we captured last week when the site was online. You'll find it on the Lab's YouTube Channel.

On 25/04/08 At 06:12 PM

US Air Force Colonel Proposes Skynet

2008-06-01T04:12:00.001-07:00

This month's issue of Armed Forces Journal features an article by Col. Charles W. Williamson III titled:

Carpet bombing in cyberspace — Why America needs a military botnet

It's a provocative essay… that fails to convince us of the need for an AF.MIL botnet.

Quoting the colonel:

"The U.S. would not, and need not, infect unwitting computers as zombies. We can build enough power over time from our own resources."

In that case the AF.MIL botnet might be missing a key element of success. Criminal botmasters don't use their own resources. Criminals steal resources from geographically diverse locations. Their crimes are international and they can be exceedingly difficult to trace back to their origins. They often avoid resources in their own countries so as to avoid local law enforcement action.

"The truly difficult problems come in defending against attack from devices adversaries have captured from U.S. or allies' civilians."

This isn't just difficult — this is likely to be the main problem that any credible cyber-threat would present. Using the criminal's model of success, an enemy nation-state will just infect resources belonging to others. And in that case an AF.MIL solution would be fuel for the fire by cannibalizing its own and/or other nation's networks without counterattacking the true source of the threat.

In his essay, Col. Williamson uses a fortress analogy. He suggests that the military age of the fortress is over because air power can travel over fortress walls. Military forces respond to such threats by attacking the enemy's airfields from which the attacks are launched. So to extrapolate, AF.MIL botnet would attack the locations from which DDoS attacks are being launched.

However, Col. Williamson seems to have overlooked something from his own essay:

"Homer's epic poems describe how fortified Troy held out against the united Greek armies for 10 years until Troy finally fell when it foolishly brought the threat inside its own walls by falling for the enemy's masquerade in the form of a giant wooden horse."

Trojans are precisely the point. Social engineering, exploits, and trojans are used to create the enemy within. The enemy's launch point will be from within the fortress walls.

It's quite possible that any threat big enough to warrant the use of an AF.MIL botnet would largely come from within the borders of the United States.

Let's take AKILL for example. Owen Thor Walker, an 18 year old bot herder from New Zealand was arrested as a result of last year's Bot Roast II. He controlled a network of one million computers. A failed botnet update resulted in a DDoS on the University of Pennsylvania. The failure led to the arrest of a partner and then Walker himself.

Now let's suppose that instead of Walker being some Kiwi kid interested in making lots of money, that he was an enemy of the state bent on attacking the USA. Do you think his arsenal was located in New Zealand? It wasn't. So what's the military target? UPenn?

"[A smart enemy] could even craft his packets to make it appear the attack was coming from inside U.S. military networks so that if we merely captured the apparent source IP address and used that to aim the attack we would fire our botnet at our own computers."

A smart enemy might not need to spoof US military networks. A herder known as SoBe, whose real name is unknown since he is a juvenile, pleaded guilty in February for helping to herd more than 400 thousand computers along with Resjames. He also admitted to damaging US military computers.

If SoBe can infect the military, a "smart enemy" will do so as well in an attempt to win the cyber-battle before it's even fought.

"The best defense is a good offense" may not apply very well to cyber-threats if you're really planning to play by the rule of law.

What do you think? Does America needs a military botnet?

Comments are welcomed.

On 13/05/08 At 12:27 PM

SQL Injection Attacks Becoming More Intense

2008-06-01T03:44:00.001-07:00

The mass SQL injection attacks we've mentioned here and here are increasing in number and we're seeing more domains being injected and used to host the attack files. We believe that there is now more than one group using a set of different automated tools to inject the code.

Previously, these attacks have primarily pointed to IP addresses in China and we've seen the following domains being used in addition to the ones we've mentioned previously:

   www.wowgm1.cn
   www.killwow1.cn
   www.wowyeye.cn
   vb008.cn
   9i5t.cn
   computershello.cn

We've now seen other domains being used as well such as direct84.com which is inserted by an SQL injection tool (detected as HackTool:W32/Agent.B) distributed to the Asprox botnet. SecureWorks has a nice write-up available. The direct84.com domain fast-fluxes to several different IPs in Europe, Israel and North America.

The injected link eventually leads to a backdoor detected as Backdoor:W32/Agent.DAS.

This is a good time to again mention that it's not a vulnerability in Microsoft IIS or Microsoft SQL that is used to make this happen. If you are an administrator of a website that is using ASP/ASP.NET, you should make sure that you sanitize all inputs before you allow it to access the database.

There are many articles on how to do this such as this one. You could also have a look at URLScan which provides an easy way to filter this particular attack based on the length of the QueryString.

On 13/05/08 At 11:20 PM

Press Release Optimization - Choosing Online Distribution Services

2008-06-01T03:02:00.001-07:00

Press release optimization can be used effectively to aid in extending exposure of your company's press releases, if approached correctly. I've compiled an overview here to give you an idea of the benefits and limitations and how to find free press release distribution sites that suit your needs. Keep in mind that free press release distribution is meant to supplement your press initiatives, which should also include efforts to target your audience directly.

Online Press Release Distribution Overview

Online press release services generally function by allowing you to post your release on a page on their site. The pages of these sites are optimized structurally to rank high in search engines, so your release can show up for keywords it is targeting in the copy. Rankings may show quickly and last for 30 days or so. Sometimes, other news sites may syndicate your release posted on the service, resulting in your release showing up in other places, too. However, this is rare with unpaid services. Wire services are much better for this, as many industry news services draw all their feeds from wires (Businesswire, PR Newswire, MarketWire), so your release can end up everywhere and rank for much longer. However, the free distribution sites will allow you to gain a few spots in top rankings without the $200+ fee of wires. These sites usually offer optional increased exposure for paid posting, but I have yet to find one that is as effective as a wire service or PRWeb (which is now $80+).

Evaluating Free Press Release Distribution Services

Free press release distribution sites can play an important role in your press release optimization strategy, especially as a supplement to other ongoing efforts. Look for press release outlets that offer the following benefits, and keep in mind that you'll need to constantly evaluate their offerings.

Are links supported?
Some services will activate http-format links included, others will support text links (even better). It's a great value to have the backlinks, as it not only lets people follow them to your site, but it helps with overall search engine rankings for your site. Sites that allow you to post html are best for this, as all of your links will be activated automatically.

Presentation
How does your release look on the site? Are there any damaging factors like ads within the text? Some allow you to upload a logo image, but many charge for this. Some services may allow you to log in and edit releases even after submitted - great if you spot an error at the last minute or see that something is displaying funny.

Exposure
Does the service usually rank high in search results? Does it support standards that increase likelihood of inclusion in news engines like Google News? Are there options for targeting industries/geographic areas? Are stats available? Does it support social bookmarking/tagging? With many free services, these may be available as optional add-ons for a fee. However, with fees like $30/link to activate text links and $30 to select a geographical target on PR.com, the benefits of using a "free" service soon disappear. You're better off using a wire service when you start paying for these add-ons.

Lead time
Many require a 2-day lead time, others publish immediately. Some may not even publish your release if the operator abandons the service - and you won't receive notice.

Effort required
Posting can be very time consuming, as extensive web forms are required for each service. I usually prepare a file containing all the required information beforehand (headline, summary, body, contact information, keywords, links, html version), but each service may have different requirements, such as maximum headline length, that require modification of the release. Targeting 3 services should give a good balance of time cost versus benefit.

Ongoing evaluation
The services may change what they offer for free as they attempt to move toward a paid model or their operators abandon them. Each has its pros and cons, and sometimes new services are discovered that offer good value. Some of the press release distribution sites I had preferred until just recently have introduced new constraints, such as limiting number of words allowed for free. So this means that the 3 services you used for your last release will need to be evaluated the next time you go to use them for press release optimization, as well.

The Winter print copy of Search Marketing Standard magazine contained an article on press release optimization that provided some great tips for using your keywords, even showing a sample release. I couldn't find the article on their site, but you may find it useful to subscribe to their publication to get their print issues in addition to reading posts on the site.

Seed Newsvine

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Graphic Designer Turned Web Pro - An Interview with SEO Advantage Art Director and Webmaster Gaby Zapien

2008-05-14T12:11:00.005-07:00

University of Florida advertising/journalism student Maria Rubio contacted me recently to interview me about copywriting for a class assignment. She also needed to interview two others, so I referred her to speak with our web design team leader, Gaby Zapien, since copywriters often work very closely with graphic designers.

Here are Gaby's answers, revealing some great professional insights. Enjoy!

Maria: What does your job entail?

Gaby: Keeping all our sites and clients' websites up to date and working properly.
Posting any necessary edits, making sure the code is up to the current standards, and also that the visuals are appropriate and eye-catching.

For new projects, I research competitors and the requirements for the site, then build and test, starting with a creative concept that I work on usually with a copywriter at SEO Advantage.

Maria: Walk me through your day.

I start checking emails, because this is the way I receive all the tasks.
Then I prioritize and start tackling one at a time!

Maria: How do you feel your role as a graphic designer enhances SEO Advantage's or any other company's website?

Gaby: SEO is mostly based on content and the architecture of the site. But let's face it, no one likes an "ugly" site. I feel that if the content is presented in the best possible way, the user is more likely to spend more time browsing on the site. Graphics and photographs make content more memorable and help prospects better understand the content. In this way, graphic design supports the goals of the web site by engaging the prospect once the SEO brings the traffic to the site.

Plus, nowadays, designers should also be responsible for site usability and standards compliance. This means I have to make sure that the design and functionality works across browsers and that navigation through the site is clear and the actions we want a site visitor to take are supported by the design and layout elements.

[Ed. note: I love this about Gaby! Many designers I've worked with in the past are focused on making your site "pretty" but give no thought to usability. Gaby has a very good sense of how to direct traffic through "paths" on the site and where emphasis needs to be to achieve the business goals of the site.]

Maria: What is your favorite book? Song?

Gaby: There are too many books I like. Fortunately, some of the tasks I perform allow me to listen to audiobboks!

Maria: Do you work from home? If so, do you find it difficult?

Gaby: I do work from home in a sort of "virtual workplace". Our teams use online tools to communicate and coordinate. I really like it, but it requires a lot of discipline. And sometimes it gets lonely. It does have a lot of advantages, but I think it's not for everyone.

Maria: What computer software do you swear by to help create your best work?

Gaby: Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver.

Maria: Where do you get your inspiration for creative content? If not creative, then where do you get your inspiration to create designs that produce traffic to the site being created?

Gaby: I find inspiration online just browsing other sites. I also notice things in magazines that can give me ideas, but really, inspiration is everywhere. As a graphic designer, I naturally notice how shapes and colors are used no matter what I'm looking at.

Maria: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Gaby: Still in this field. This is something I love. I would definitely be designing, but you may see me building a bigger design group for SEO Advantage employing other designers who can help with production, while I focus more on the creative aspect.

Maria: What is your personal motto, referring to your work style?

Gaby: "Everything can be done. Some things just take a bit more time."

Maria: If you have one word to describe your personality and work style, what would it be?

Gaby: It would be hard in one word...

I think whoever likes graphic design is really lucky - it's the kind of job that doesn't feel like a job, and most times gives you the flexibility to work from home or any place you like!

Marketing in a Slow Economy - Why SEO Becomes a Priority

2008-05-14T12:11:00.003-07:00

Several reports I've come across lately have reinforced what today's online marketers already felt to be true: when the economy slows down, look for those marketing activities that will bring in a higher return with less cash outlay.

Enter search engine optimization. If you're not already optimizing your site and every page on it, there's no better time to start.

Why is SEO a good choice in a recession?

1. SEO costs less per qualified visitor than pay-per-click ads and it adds long-term value to your site.

2. Professional optimization can start showing the effects of traffic within a few months.

3. Optimization for the search engines can benefit desired on-site actions by your site visitors. Research shows that when consumers encounter the search terms they used to find your site actually used in the copy on your site, it helps them to feel more at ease about remaining on your site and can even increase conversion rates.

4. SEO is the most cost-effective way of establishing your company as an authority (or maintaining that status). It has been documented that people automatically attribute more trust and authoritative status to those with web sites that display high in the search results. Organic search results are perceived by users to be better indicators than the paid or sponsored ads which may also appear on the page.

5. SEO lets you focus on helping people find you when you they want your products/services, rather than force feeding it to them through advertising. In today's online environment, it pays more to be "findable" naturally than to plaster your ads everywhere, which is also more expensive.

I'm sure there are more reasons, but that's the gist of why SEO becomes a priority during an economic downturn or recession.

See how SEO Advantage is helping companies market strong even when the economy isn't at its best with graphic design, copywriting, and specialized SEO services.

The Effect of Search Engine Rankings on Brand

2008-05-14T12:11:00.001-07:00

As consumers check out their options on Google, the position of your listing can influence how they perceive your brand. Enquiro recently conducted a study with Google to test brand perceptions of Honda according to where it fell within the first search engine results page.

A few key points were discovered when Honda appeared in the top organic spot and top sponsored ad simultaneously.

a) Brand recall more than doubled versus appearing in top sponsored spot only.

b) This also resulted in a 16% greater brand association for Honda when participants were asked what brands came to mind when they thought of fuel-efficient cars.

c) Brands that did not appear in the results experienced a 42% lower brand association than Honda.

Key takeaway: By appearing in both top spots on Google's results pages, a company not only gains points but also edges out competitors in the consumer's mind.

Similar studies have long been conducted to test the effects of print advertising on brand recall and association, demonstrating that companies both advertising in a magazine and also enjoying a mention in an article in the same issue enjoyed magnified recall and favorable impressions among readers. It only make sense to see the same happen online, as humans often seek the fastest way to evaluate their choices and create that "shortlist" of options.

Get the white paper here

Other Updates :: RE: Wireshark updated

2008-05-05T05:46:00.001-07:00

Author: AplusWebMaster
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:43 am (GMT 0)

FYI...

- http://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2008-02.html
Name: Multiple problems in Wireshark®versions 0.99.2 to 0.99.8
Docid: wnpa-sec-2008-02
Date: March 31, 2008 -?-
Versions affected: 0.99.2 up to and including 0.99.8 ...
Impact:
It may be possible to make Wireshark crash by injecting a purposefully malformed packet onto the wire or by convincing someone to read a malformed packet trace file.
Resolution: Upgrade to Wireshark 1.0.0 or later.
If are running Wireshark 0.99.8 or earlier and cannot upgrade, you can work around each of the problems listed above by doing the following:
* Disable the LDAP, Roofnet, and X.509sat dissectors:
o Select Analyze→Enabled Protocols... from the menu.
o Make sure "LDAP," "Roofnet," and "X509SAT" are un-checked.
o Click "Save", then click "OK"...
- http://www.wireshark.org/download.html
"...current stable release of Wireshark is 0.99.8..." (03.28.2008)

- http://secunia.com/advisories/29569/
Release Date: 2008-03-28
Critical: Moderately critical
Impact: DoS
Where: From -remote-
Solution Status: Unpatched
...The vulnerabilities are reported in various versions prior to 1.0.0.
Solution: Fixed in an -upcoming- version 1.0.0.

_________________
AplusWebMaster
~ Are you up to date or vulnerable to Hackers? ...or both?
Be wise, like a fox.

Religion :: RE: Stem cells from skin cells Bush right media won't care

2008-05-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

Author: sundog
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:02 am (GMT 0)

Quote: I'm waiting for the day we have no ownership over our own DNA anymore, and thus belong to some company..

I hope the corporations try this one soon. At the moment there is a chance the world backlash will cause the laws on such things to take into account that describing something which already exists is not ownership of it or it's description.

I can even hope that there will come a push to describe existing DNA as public domain and thus all things buy from it must include include reference and payment to the owners. (perhaps even requiring permission and continued open source uses).

Just kidding myself aren't I
_________________
Burning a candle for my brother who took his own life so short a time ago. It is his birthday

Medellin - Medellin, Colombia

2008-05-05T03:36:00.001-07:00

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Medellin, Colombia

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Spring Break in the Caribbean - Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Isl.

2008-05-05T01:46:00.001-07:00

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Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Isl.

10 jours de soleil et mer turquoise...

Berlin - Berlin, Germany

2008-05-04T23:53:00.001-07:00

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Berlin, Germany

This morning I put on the top I bought in Moscow with the hope that I could get rid of my tan lines from earlier on the trip (so I wouldn't have lines for Angelina's wedding. Unfortunately the weather did not agree with me and it was overcast and dreary.  We met at the hotel lobby to catch the tram and were in downtown Berlin at the Alexanderplaz in no time. Here we walked to a park and met our guide for the morning. The guide was an American girl who was a student in Berlin and did tours in her free time... and she was amazing! You could tell she was following a script at times, but she didn't have any papers with her and was crammed full of interesting facts! When she first met up with us she gave us a lot of history on the city of Berlin, which included the Second World War and the Berlin Wall era. We also got all of this information in front of a statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels... so it seemed somehow apropos! As we began the tour it started to drizzle out, and only about half the group had umbrellas. I still had my slightly damaged Dutch umbrella, but ended up lending it to Kristy and sharing an umbrella with Rhian.

The tour was a walking tour through Berlin. The first stop was the Bebelplaz. Here we looked at the memorial to the 21,000 books burned by the Nazi's. The memorial is simply a room with empty bookshelves, symbolizing the books that were burnt. The room itself is underground and you can see it through a glass pane in the ground. As we had been walking that morning, and even the day before, most people in the group had noticed the Walk/Stop lights, or as we called them, the "Stop-Go Man". These had been the traditional lights in East Berlin, and after unification when signs would stop working they would be replaced with the traditional West Berlin Walk/Stop lights, as normally West Berlin was seen as having the 'better' way of doing things. The East Berliners were not impressed with this idea, and argued to have the cute little Stop-Go Men used instead... and the city relented and now we have the cute little Ampelmännchen all over the city.

The next stop on the tour was a metro station that had been closed for some 28 years when the Berlin wall was up. The Berlin metro had ran throughout the city, and when the wall went up there was a problem about what to do with the metro. The people in the East decided to board up the stations, and the trains would run from the West, through the East without stopping, until they were in the West again. These stations were known as ghost stations, and even now seem somewhat 'darker'. Although perhaps I just heard the story and was seeing the station through jaded eyes!

We wandered on to Pariser Plaz where the Brandenburg Gate is. This is also the location of the Adlon Hotel, which is where Michael Jackson dangled his baby off the balcony, and our tour guide even pointed out which balcony that was. Here we had about 15 minutes free time, and the slight drizzle had turned into rain. Kristy and I decided that we better buy umbrellas (mine was not holding up well with 3 spokes poking out), so we went to a souvenir shop and got umbrellas. I even got one that said "Berlin" on it... although though it cost another 2 Euro! (Apparently I've got money to burn!) With the rest of our free time we went to Dunkin Doughnuts and grabbed a coffee and I had a doughnut. Even though it's a well know American chain, neither of us had ever been to one, and it seemed at least a little more exotic than Starbucks! I was going to throw my broken umbrella out, but I thought it would be nicer to see if some umbrellaless soul in the group would be able to use it. I asked David if he wanted it, and he said no. I was a little surprised so asked again, just to be sure, and again he said that he was fine. At this point I didn't understand, and made it clear that I was going to throw the thing in the garbage, and David finally agreed that he could use it!

From here we walked to the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is a bunch of grey, granite blocks, in row upon row, that start off smaller (waist height), and become bigger towards the middle of the memorial (double or triple me). The monument is designed to make you feel oppressed, and being there on a dreary, rainy, grey day, they had the intended effect. We had time to walk through on our own, and it was easy to get lost in the blocks and feel small and insignificant. Kristy and I walked through, and even though there's nothing dramatic at the monument, I still felt that it was moving and poignant.

After the Holocaust memorial we walked to Hitler's bunker, which is underneath a residential complex! Here we were told about Hitler's last days, the discovery of his bunker and the discovery of his remains, which are currently in Russia. We also learned that in Germany it is illegal to basically exhibit Nazi or Hitler-loving behaviour. Our guide told us that a man had been jailed for naming his dog Adolph! From the bunker we walked past bullet-riddled walls to the Topography of Terror (big painting) and we saw another portion of the Berlin Wall. Our tour ended at Checkpoint Charlie, where people had the option of heading back to Alexanderplaz with the guide, or going off on their own. Several of us decided we needed pictures of ourselves at Checkpoint Charlie. Kristy and I also wanted to go into the museum, but the wait was over an hour, and we only had the afternoon left in Berlin, so instead we hit up a souvenir shop, where I managed to buy myself a Russian jumper! Also, in a 'believe how much I spent on the two jumpers!!! Since I was a little cold I decided to put on my fancy new Russian jumper, but was stopped by Reky. I'm still not sure why, but Reky would not let me wear my Russian jumper because it was Independence Day. It made no sense to me, and I stared at him in total bewilderment for a good 30 seconds before placing my pretty red jumper back in the bag and pulling out my Berlin one instead. Luckily it was as cozy as my Russian one, so I was only sad for a minute.

By this time it was past 1pm and we were getting hungry. We had been told there was a revolving restaurant at the top of the TV Tower in Alexanderplaz so we decided to go there to eat, and grabbed the train. It took a couple minutes to figure out which train we needed, but eventually we found one and started to get on. The doors began to shut, and we saw Rhian and Troy standing on the platform. One stop later we got off and waited for the next train, where we rejoined the boys! On the train ride to Alexanderplaz, Kristy, David and Rhian decided to talk in a made-up language for the duration of the train ride. I can't remember any of the sayings they used, but they insisted it was normal Aussie slang. At this point I gave up trying to understand the millions of words and phrases that consist of Aussie slang, and settled on just overusing my three favourite words: random, heaps, and nackered. I also became convinced that someone would make up sayings "fair dinkum" other than when they try to pretend to us Canadians that they actually use it, and also, really, can you ever be hungry enough to eat the crotch out of a dead Leper's undies!!! (thanks for the visual David!!)

When we got to the TV Tower, some people were worried about the price of the food in the restaurant, and the cost to go up the tower. After a lot of standing around, we finally got to the top of the tower, although only Jenn, David, Stacey and I made it on the first round. The four of us got a table, and tried to get a table for the last five, but something was lost in translation and we got our table and the others had to wait in line. The prices on the menu were reasonable, and we all ordered a drink and our food. While waiting for the food I went to check on the others, and Kristy, Rhian, Tom, Reky and Troy were enjoying the view on the other side. The view from the restaurant was pretty good (worth the 8 Euro to me), but the restaurant itself was spinning a lot faster than I'd expected! You could actually see it moving! At one point Jenn was standing and leaning on David's chair, and within five minutes she had almost fallen sideways! The food was good, and we enjoyed the break from the rain and all the walking we did that morning.

After lunch several people decided they were going to go back to the hostel, and the rest of us decided to take the train to the Reichstag. We got off at one stop, and saw a sign that said "400m Reichstag" and pointed in one direction. So we followed that sign and a little while later saw a sign that said "600m Reichstag" ... something was not working! We reversed directions and eventually made our way to the Reichstag. Again the line looked too long to walk to the top, and we'd just been to the top of the TV tower anyways, so we just took pictures. Then Stacey and I wanted to go to the Jewish Holocaust Museum, and the others wanted to go back to the hostel, so the two of us broke off on our own. Again my impeccable sense of direction came into play, and I led us in the wrong direction. Luckily I had a map and figured it out after a block! At the memorial we walked through, and couldn't seem to find the entrance to the museum! It took a while, but we eventually located it, and then waited in line. While in line it really started to rain, and the line wasn't moving. After about 20 minutes we looked at our watches, and realized that by the time we got in we weren't going to have much time in the museum before we would have to go. So we gave up on the museum and took shelter in a souvenirs shop for about 15 minutes. I also got the last of the souvenirs I needed to bring home. As well, I got myself a Stop-Go Man door sign (like in hotel when they have a door sign that says "Do Not Disturb"). Kristy and I had seen one earlier, and joked that we'd have to get one and put it up that night when we got home from the bar. I saw one at the shop, and it was a little too amusing ... so I decided I had to buy it... just in case we needed it that night (plus it's cuter than a sock on the doorknob!!) After our shopping Stacey and I walked to the train, took the train to Alexanderplaz, and then found the Tram to go back to the hostel. And we didn't get lost once! Although we came close when we were near the hostel as there are two stations that have almost the same name!

At the hostel Kristy was attempting a nap, but by the time I got out of the shower she'd decided that it wasn't going to work, and got up and got ready for the Berlin Dinner and Nightlife tour. That night I had a fat moment, and couldn't find anything I wanted to wear out! I hadn't bought many bar clothes since I quit smoking a year ago and gained a bunch of weight... so everything looked horrible on me! I picked something, and Kristy was decked out in the dress she bought in Warsaw, and we were ready to go! We took the tram downtown, and had a long hike to our restaurant, which was a crazy potato place! We sat down, and were joined in the restaurant by the Eastern Road tour. At supper, David was sitting beside me and as usual bugged me about taking so long to eat my meal. When he went out for a smoke we all got dessert, and I had eaten most of mine by the time he got back in. I commented to David that I was finally going to finish a meal before he did, and he laughed and said he was sure he'd still finish first. I looked at him and said, "No you won't!" and crammed the rest in my mouth... all 4 bites! My mouth was so full I could hardly chew, and David's laughter did not help with the swallowing! I finally swallowed it down, but not before a moment or two when I thought it might come out my nose! After the meal we had time for photos with all the tables, and then went outside for shots of Peach Schnapps before our first bar. Jenn was helping pour the shots, and ended up holding the empty bottle with no garbage bin in sight... so she wandered through the streets of Berlin with a bottle of grog in true lush style!

Our first bar of the night was a Turkish Sheesha lounge. Most people here ordered a sheesha and within 20 minutes the place was filled with a distinct smoky haze. With all the sheeshas around me I was reminded of my trip to Egypt and had a nostalgic moment or two where I happily gazed around and saw the pyramids on the Giza plateau rather than my tour mates in Berlin! I also sat beside Ryan for a bit at the bar and we ended up having a great chat! Ryan had been on the Scandinavia tour and was one of the first Scandi people (along with Dane) to actually integrate with the group as a whole. Beyond small conversations here and there I hadn't talked to Ryan much, but after our brief chat at the Turkish bar I wished I'd gotten to know him better.

The next bar we went to was a little trendier, and here we enjoyed some slushy shots and many more pictures. Reky and I also had what was probably my first and only work related conversation of the tour. I'd had a couple drinks by that time, so probably wasn't as coherent as I could have been, but I think I managed to hold my own in an intelligent conversation! I think I also may have surprised Reky a little, because I know I tend to come off as an airhead, but am actually quite educated, and this may have been the first time he saw that side of me! We chatted about the effect of the sub-prime mortgage sector, specifically as it related to new construction (Reky's a civil engineer), and it's ramifications on the U.S. and international economies. We chatted for a while at this bar, and then we were on to the third bar of the evening, which was a funky little pub with a live band. The singer was good and took requests, which included Happy Birthday for Kenny and American Pie. Here we met Tom's little brother and his friend, and is he ever like Tom! The kid was hilarious, although by no means as cool as Tom! Then we were on to the last stop of the night, which was a nightclub where we could dance the night away. The nightclub was a lot of fun, and we all danced and drank a lot. We also met the Eastern Road tour here, so the place was crowded and subsequently really hot. I could only dance a couple songs in a row before I would start to die from the heat. I spent a lot of time in the bathrooms, not because I have a small bladder, or that I was praying to the porcelain gods, but because it was the only place in the bar that seemed air-conditioned! During the night Tammy, some others and myself were sitting in an un-crowded area of the bar, and started talking to two German guys. The two guys were from the countryside, and really nice. They were also there with Mona, who was from Berlin, and it was her birthday! We ended up talking to her and dancing with her for most of the night and she was absolutely hilarious and a lot of fun to hang out with!

Slowly everyone started to leave, until it was only Kristy, Troy, Rhian and myself. We all wandered out and found a Kebab place that would satisfy our after bar hunger. Rhian and Troy got some kebabs, and Kristy and I each got a Cheeseburger and fries (with heaps of mayo for the fries). After loading up on food we went to find a way home. I'm not sure why, but we were sure that we could take the tram home, even though it was about 4am, and we found a tram with the right number and tried to get on. Since it was locked up tight we eventually gave up and grabbed a cab back to the hostel.

Warsaw to Berlin - Berlin, Germany

2008-05-04T23:02:00.001-07:00

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Berlin, Germany

The spread for breakfast was phenomenal again this morning, and after breakfast we jumped on the bus to head to Berlin. Warsaw was a great city, and I was sad that we were leaving so soon after we got there. One day was not enough time to see everything the city had to offer, so as the bus drove out of Warsaw I decided this was one place I needed to see again, and rather than saying good-bye to this fabulous city, I decided to say "See you Later". Today was a long day on the bus, and there weren't any historically interesting sites to see, so most of us took the time on the bus to try and catch up on sleep and relax.

Just after 5pm we pulled into Berlin, and our first stop was the Berlin wall! We were let off the coach and had time for photos and to look at the wall. Then we walked down the wall for about half an hour to meet the bus, which was filling up with gas. Walking along the wall was interesting, and it was neat to stand beside a part of history. Even though I was young when the wall came down (9) I vaguely remember the event, although mostly what I remember are my parent's reactions.

After we got back on the bus we headed to a Beer Hall for a traditional German meal. We parked the bus and walked through the parking lot to where supper was. On the way I started to cross a road and noticed a large bus heading straight for me. I figured that rather than walk the three steps back to the side of the road it would be smarter to cross, so I quickened my pace to walk across, and halfway across I dropped my purse!! At this point I froze, then screamed lightly, picked up my purse and dashed across the street! After the bus passed everyone bugged me about why I would walk in front of a bus, but I didn't hear most of what everyone was saying because I was waiting for my heart to return to normal!!! We had a bit of time to wander, and the Polish Twins (aka Stacey and I in our matching Polish jumpers) got a photo. We were going to do some souvenir shopping, but it started to spit rain out so we decided to head to the restaurant. Supper was technically included in the tour, but rather than include the same supper for everyone we got each 10 Euro and could spent it however we chose. I decided to get a small stein of beer and a Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. When my beer came a couple of the guys gave me grief about my child sized beer (everyone else was drinking the massive German steins). Reky and Troy decided this would be the perfect opportunity to take a photo of themselves and my beer... with Reky looking like a midget. It was quite comical! Supper came, and was delicious. At first I thought there was no way one sausage would fill me up, but at the end of the meal I could barley get any more food in me! Although Maddie and I decided we did have enough room to share an apple strudel... and it was well worth our while!

The entire meal was a lot of fun, and we spent a good part of the evening talking, laughing, and taking photos! After the meal Reky called on Katya and Che to thank them for everything they had done for us on the tour. Also after the meal Troy went out for a smoke or something and left his camera on the table. We decided to do boob shots of all the girls and let Troy figure out who was who later on. When it came time for me I wouldn't agree because my tattoo would give me away instantly. So Reky somehow convinced me to get an ass crack photo. Although I don't think it turned out well since I was laughing, while Laura V was pulling my pants down and Reky took the photo! The guys even got in on it, adding some 'boob' and ass shots to the mix. Later when Troy noticed the photos we cracked up laughing, and the look on his face when he got to the first guy was priceless! We had a bit of free time before we had to be back on the bus, so Kristy, Laura and I decided to wander over to a church across the road. Then we went to a souvenir shop and bought a couple things, and suddenly it was time to board the bus.

The bus ride from supper to the hostel was the most animated bus ride we'd had all tour. Most of the group was up dancing in the isle... you could tell that everyone had enjoyed a couple steins at the bar! When we arrived at the hostel we unloaded our luggage and checked in. Originally we were supposed to be in rooms of four, and Jenn and Stacey had signed Kristy and I up to room with them. But somehow when we got to the hostel things had been switched, and we ended up in double share rooms, so it was just Kristy and I! The elevators were taking ages, since there were so many people trying to get up, so when one finally arrived, we crammed all of our luggage on with Tammy and ran up the four flights! In our room Kristy and I changed out of our grimy traveling clothes and David and Rhian came over and we enjoyed some Russian vodka together (well, Kristy and I enjoyed ours... but David and Rhian were still drinking Dodgy Serge's rocket fuel, so I don't know if 'enjoy' is the correct word!). After a couple drinks we went to the hostel bar. When we got into the bar most of our Contiki group was already there, and several drinks ahead of us! The bar was busy, but filled with 16-year-olds, and really hot. It was also really hard to get a drink, so I didn't end up staying too late, and was in bed by 2:00 (it's amazing how one's definition of 'late' changes during a Contiki tour!)

We have flown to Ecuador - Quito, Ecuador

2008-05-04T21:22:00.001-07:00

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Quito, Ecuador

Arrived at high altitude for the first time on this trip!

Arrived in Quito yesterday at 2850m, and it really is noticeable. My contact lense solution squirted out like an oil strike when I opened the bottle because the air lacks so much pressure. Noticeably harder to climb stairs, and reading out loud I can`t get to the end of sentences without pausing for breath!

Kyoto back for the festival - Kyoto, Japan

2008-05-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

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Kyoto, Japan

To be continued

Spring Break... - New York City, New York, United States

2008-05-04T18:41:00.001-07:00

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New York City, New York, United States

So I am back dating a bit :)

Warsaw - Warsaw, Poland

2008-05-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

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Warsaw, Poland

The breakfast at the hotel this morning was fantastic! The hotel had a massive spread and everything was very tasty. We even got bacon! After breakfast we got onto the bus, and toured the city with our local guide Jacek. Jacek was an older man and an amazing tour guide. We were driven around the city, and our first stop was the Chopin monument. We walked into some beautiful gardens and then stopped for a bunch of photos with the monument. When we walked out we went past a demonstration of the Warsaw nurses. Apparently the nurses in Warsaw were on strike and they were camped in tents all along the road. There were also a bunch of policemen there... and are the Polish police ever handsome!
 
The next stop on the agenda was the Warsaw Ghetto monument. After reading Mila 18 last fall I was looking forward to coming to Warsaw and seeing the Ghetto. (By the way, Mila 18 is an amazing novel about life in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII written by Leon Uris.) Since the war everything has been re-built, and you don't see many reminders of what happened there less than a century earlier. I took a look at the monument and then wandered off in the park behind by myself. I wanted some alone time to contemplate what had gone on during the war, and the ten-minute walk I had in the park by myself was exactly what I was looking for. After the Ghetto we saw the Warsaw Uprising monument. The Warsaw Uprising began on August 1, 1944 as part of a nationwide rebellion with the objective to drive the German occupiers from Warsaw. During the urban combat approximately 25% of Warsaw's buildings were destroyed. The uprising lasted for 63 days, and following the surrender of Polish forces on October 2, German troops systematically burned the city, block by block. Together with earlier damage suffered in 1939 and during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising over 85% of the city had been destroyed. Even now, all over Warsaw, you can see a symbol that looks like an anchor with a handle at the Top.  The anchor combines the letters "P" and "W" which are the initials of Polska Walczacd, or Poland Fights.

After the ghetto, we were brought to the Old Town. Jacek brought us through the streets and to a church and then finished our city tour at St. Anne's church where we would meet later for the Chopin recital. Then was had free time, and the first thing we wanted to do was eat! Che had talked about a Polish delicacy that none of the Aussies had heard of... perogies!! I couldn't believe these people had never eaten a perogi before! But even some of the Americans hadn't ever had one. I was shocked! Kristy and I wanted to eat in the Old Market Square, and everyone else was just standing around and fiddling their thumbs. Finally we started walking away and I yelled out that we were going to the Old Market Square for lunch. Everyone turned and followed us, and Kristy and I laughed at how all they needed was someone to decide something! We made it back to the Square, looked around and found a place where all of us could sit together... and a place that had perogies. Laura and I had talked these up, so everyone had to try some... and they sucked! I think the place was a fancy place, because the perogi choices were Partridge or Sauerkraut and Mushrooms. And they weren't even as good as the perogies I make! And I'm not a good cook! Laura and I tried to explain to everyone that these were not as good as normal perogies, but I don't think anyone cared!
 
After lunch we wandered around and shopped at some of the stores near the Old Market Square. Unfortunately it was a Monday, and all the museums were closed for the day, so there wasn't much to do other than shop and wander, which we did! Then we wandered towards St. Anna's Cathedral. Kristy and I were planning on going to see the castle nearby, but somehow had spent too much time shopping, so we just went to St. Anna's and climbed to the top of the cathedral. It was a long way up, but we all made it, and were rewarded with some fantastic photos! Then we headed back down, and had a little bit of time to wander through the markets.

 Then it was time to meet up for our Chopin recital. We got onto the bus and were brought to a beautiful palace. We sat down and got to listen to Chopin being performed just for us! It was very relaxing... although considering I was pretty tired I don't think I really needed to be relaxed! At intermission we had some champagne and then listened to the last half of the recital. After the recital we went outside and were able to look at the grounds and the peacocks before wandering back to the bus.

We were bussed back to the old town, where most people headed back to the hotel. Donna had told Laura and Tammy (who didn't go to the recital) that she would meet them at the bus drop off, but since we were half an hour early they weren't there yet. Kristy and I had decided to stay in town, so we sat beside St. Anna's and waited with Donna. Around 6:00 Laura and Tammy showed up. Donna had wanted to head back to the hotel, but none of the rest of us did, so she left to catch a bus and the rest of us wandered back to the Old Square. Laura and I walked past a Perogeria and were both intrigued. Tammy wanted to find a new pair of flip-flops, and Kristy wanted to shop, so the four of us split into two groups. Laura and I checked out a couple restaurants around the area, and then ended up walked back to the Perogeria, where we had some amazing perogies! They had a huge assortment of different kinds of perogies, and you could choose a mixed plate, which is what we each had. I chose cottage cheese, meat, spinach, and potato and cheese, and Laura substituted the cottage cheese for mushroom and sauerkraut. The food was amazing! And even though neither of us was hungry when we walked in, we both polished off our plates.

After we finished we walked back to the bus stop and caught a bus back to the hotel. Initially we were supposed to meet everyone at the hotel lobby at 8:00 or the swinging bench bar at 8:30, but it was already 8:10 and there was no way Laura and I were going to make it to the benches (a 10 minute walk) in time! Luckily we ran into Donna and some other people on the way, and told them we'd be there at 9:00. We asked Donna if Tammy and Kristy were back yet, assuming we were the last, but they hadn't been seen. We quickly walked the rest of the way to the hotel, and checked Tammy and Kristy's room, but there was no sign of them. We each headed off to get ready, and shortly after Tammy knocked saying they had just gotten back and would be ready to leave at 9:00, but had run into some other people heading to the benches and told them we'd meet them by 9:30... only an hour late! In the mean time I was actually almost ready, so I did some laundry and re-packed my bag, and also attempted to look nice for the night. Shortly before 9:00 I headed to the lobby and ran into Reky who had been waiting for about half an hour. Apparently he had mixed up the message and thought it was 8:30 at the lobby and was slightly irritated thinking everyone had ditched him! The rest of us made it down, and we headed to the bar, arriving around 9:15. Once there we took a couple photos, and met Kosta, who was on the Eastern Road tour that was in Warsaw the night. Kosta had actually been on the Scandinavia tour, and had hung out with Ryan, Nicole, Steph, etc. Che had been sitting with the Eastern Road tour (in the same bar), and came over to say they were heading to a bar he knew about if we wanted to join... although there was no guarantee that we would be able to get in with so many people. Even though his invite was appealing (note sarcasm), after the Propaganda incident, and considering we only had a couple days left together, we decided to hit a bar Kristy had found in a tour book.

We ended up going to a bar called Folksal, which was on Folksal street... cunning, isn't it?!? On the way over to the bar several people really had to use the washroom, as we hadn't gone at the last place since it wanted to charge for the use of the facilities. Tom in particular had to go, so when we got in he made a beeline for the basement and the toilets. Ryan was right behind him, followed by Donna, and myself and we watched Tom take a quick left and enter a washroom, followed by Ryan. Then Donna and I walked up and saw the sign that said "ladies". We both followed Tom in, and Donna pulled on a door handle. The door opened... and Donna got to see Tom... mid-stream! Donna was not impressed as she didn't enjoy the view, and there were only two stalls in the ladies room, both of which were being used by men! Finally the guys finished and I got a nice photo of the guys and I in the ladies room! I actually hadn't needed to go to the toilet, but instead, I needed a sink because I got dirt or something under my contact lens. This had happened just outside the bar, and was mildly comical as several people thought I was crying (my eye was watering quite badly), and I lost the lens and had it in my hand and was subsequently having vision issues! Lucky for me Tammy had eye drops with her, and within about ten minutes I was able to see correctly again. At Folksal we enjoyed some drinks and enjoyed the evening. They even had mock-tails for Reky to enjoy! (Yhea Tammy for being one of the most thoughtful people in the world!)

After a while the group decided it was time to head to the next bar. We got to the exit, and saw that it was raining, but Kristy ensured us that the bar was just around the corner. We all dashed outside, down the street and around the corner, then hid in an archway while the navigators tried to figure out where the bar was. Then we dashed from archway to archway, down the street, losing Tom in the process. Rhian and I ended up an archway behind everyone, and then with Kosta, Nicole and Steph. The five of us dashed around the corner of the street we'd seen everyone head down only a minute earlier, but there was no one in sight! We figured they were in an archway ahead, so we slowly kept dashing down the street. Eventually we lost Kosta, Nicole and Steph, as they had more energy than we did (I'd given up on 'dashing' arches ago and was limiting myself to a quick walk). After about 15 minutes going down the block Rhian and I figured we would never find the rest of the crew. We didn't know the name of the bar we were trying to find, and it had started pouring rain, so we attempted to get a cab back to the hotel. Oddly enough, earlier when we didn't need a cab they kept stopping for us, but now that we wanted one, none would stop! Finally we got one and headed back to the hotel looking like two drowned rats! The next day we found out that the bar everyone had gone to was just around that first corner, through a courtyard and in a basement, with no sign. So no wonder we didn't find it!!  As well, everyone assumed we'd taken a cab back to the hotel, so no one looked for us. Apparently the bar was a good time, although the owners were strict about not taking photos and Jenn's camera was dropped and assumed broken for some of the night.

Belgrade - Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

2008-05-04T11:47:00.001-07:00

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Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

The journey to Belgrade was to be my first experience of the overnight sleeper carriage and, as I sat there on the  cold platform in Budapest and watched the ancient-looking Beograd Express creak into view, a momentary wave of dread passed over me. Yet despite its inauspicious arrival, it was with great anticipation and excitement that I boarded the train, and as the attendant escorted me to my compartment he informed me I'd have the two-bed birth to myself. Though I'd been starved of company in Budapest, I was not unduly concerned by the continued solitude, as it was already approaching midnight and any potential conversation would quickly have been curtailed by the desire to sleep. The compact compartment had a cosy feel to it, with a bed that would be unsuitable for anyone taller than my 5'10 frame, a table and chair in one corner and a cleverly concealed sink in the other. It was also impeccably clean, and a goody bag of soaps, towels and refreshments had been left lovingly on the table. I collapsed into the chair and smiled contentedly - my previous train journeys had been fleeting affairs, but this was the romance of rail travel I had come in search of.
 
Though I was tired, I stayed up for a while in order to savour the experience; when I did finally retire to bed, the romance began to unravel. Under the hushed darkness of my bed-sheets, the carriage became like a furnace, and the hot air could neither be cooled nor turned off. I tried opening the window, but this only seemed to let in light and noise. My recumbent posture, meanwhile, seemed to absorb every twist and turn and brake of the train, yanking me unsubtly one way then the other like a favourite toy in the hands of an excitable child. After a restless few hours, a knock at my door drew me from my faux-slumber and signalled passport control. For a moment, as the imposingly-dressed Serbian border guard leafed suspiciously through my passport, I thought he was going to take issue with all my Arab visas. But, with a warm smile, he said simply "Welcome to Serbia", before disappearing to the next compartment. By the time the train arrived in Belgrade that morning, I had managed no more than a couple of hours sleep. Yet, the romance of the sleeper carriage would just about live on for now. 
 
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The walk to the hostel was a confusing one, as I was unable to match the street names that I'd scribbled down in my directions with the Cyrillic street names around me, and I owed my timely arrival to blind chance. Along the way, I passed by two bombed-out buildings, which lay like rotting carcasses of the war-ravaged Balkans of the 90s, and leant intrigue to an otherwise monochrome landscape of soulless office blocks and apartments. The hostel lay in the courtyard of just such an apartment block, and was similarly uninspiring. Inside, I found the receptionist asleep on the couch, strewn prostrate in the kind of drunken pose from which one rises with the surety of a hangover, his out-stretched arm suspended in rigour as if his last drunken action of reaching for the nearby ashtray had been frozen in time. Oh no, I thought, another bad hostel. Elsewhere there were no other signs of life, and I prepared myself for the probability of solitude in another capital. 
 
My exploration of the city that day was as frustrating as it was interesting, the Cyrillic signage perplexing me at every turn, yet punctuating my blind wanderings with serendipitous discovery. After several wrong turns I finally found myself in Republic Square, the focal point of Belgrade's pedestrianised city centre. As with much of the city, it seemed bereft of attractive architecture, the bland uniformity of the Communist era facades still clogging the cityscape like a dull sky on a drizzly day. Yet the streets were abuzz with local shoppers, vendors and eaters, and I could barely believe it was just a normal weekday morning, so vibrant was the scene. And the insipidity of the buildings, meanwhile, was more than compensated by the exotic beauty of Belgrade's women who flanked the sidewalks in improbable numbers, their dark, ethnically-mixed features launching me into involuntary bouts of lechery throughout the day.  

Further along, I came to Kalemegdan Citadel, the city's Celtic fortress. The grounds of the citadel revealed a delightful expanse of lawns, trees and walkways perched peacefully above the suburbs, but incongruously interspersed with scaled-down military memorabilia; and below lay a sweeping panorama of wintered forest through which the Sava and Danube rivers cut lazy zigzags before converging at the foot of the fortress. It was an unexpectedly bucolic scene, and for a while I sat contently amidst it, charmed by its easy silence, and spurred by the crispness in the air.
 
Back in the city, I found myself at a sports cafe where I harboured hopes of catching any of the Australian Open tennis semi-finals (three of the four involved Serbian players). I figured I'd grab a bite to eat, rest my limbs from the ludicrously hilly street-walking, and absorb some fervent, sporting patriotism all at once. Upon enquiring as to whether they might be showing such a match, the waiter replied simply, "I not know much of sport. I know only of women and money, my friend". How helpful, I thought, as I gazed around the sport-filled room to make sure I'd not stumbled into a brothel by mistake. I gave him the kind of laddish smile and pat on the back that such a comment craves then headed out for some street food instead.
 
Re-energised by pizza and burek, I headed down to the train station to buy my onward ticket for the next morning. Upon announcing my desire to travel on the Balkan Express to Sofia, the ticket lady gave me a rather disconcerting "are you sure?" look, but I persisted nonetheless. She quoted me a price and, realising how cheap the fare was going to be, I enquired as to whether there was a first class carriage. This time she shot me a wry smile that said "you'll be lucky if your carriage has wheels" before announcing in an embarrassed tone that there was no first class. While she processed my ticket, I enquired as to whether there was a dining car on the train, though by this stage I could have guessed the answer. Her wry smile had progressed to a barely contained snigger in response to the food question, and I felt it did not bode well for tomorrow's trip that the lady had found the concept of food or comfort so laughably at odds with whatever lay in stall for me on the Balkan Express. 
 

Back amid my blind wanderings, I took in a couple of churches and the parliament building before stumbling upon the Nicola Tesla museum. Now, my knowledge of Tesla (the real inventor of the radio who discovered, among other things, alternating current) had been shamefully minimal given the importance of his discoveries, and in fact derived almost exclusively from having watched the film 'The Prestige' in which Tesla is portrayed by a certain David Bowie (no really). The museum turned out to be an unexpected highlight, as it offered an interesting short biopic of Tesla, and an interactive array of his inventions made into simplified models for laymen like me. At the end of the tour, the guide gave each of the group an unattached fluorescent tube light and told us to hold it up in our hands while he switched on the Tesla machine (made famous in 'The Prestige'). Suddenly, crackling beams of electric lightening spewed forth from the top of the machine, like something from a sci-fi movie (or the opening credits of 'Quantum Leap'); then the bulbs in our hands began to glow by the power of our own bodies. It was all rather cool and, as I stood there waving my glowing fluorescent tube light in the air, I realised this was as close to a Star Wars light sabre fight as I was ever going to get.   
 
Back at the hostel that evening there were still no signs of backpacker life and, having spent my remaining local currency on food supplies for the train journey, I reluctantly decided to call it a night. As I reflected on my all-too-brief visit to Belgrade, I realised I would leave with mixed impressions. On the one hand, my appetite for grand old buildings had somewhat reached saturation, and so the city's fairly uninspiring and bleak architecture seemed insignificant in my overall assessment. What I had found most intriguing about Belgrade, though, was its vibrancy. Its streets - grey and lifeless at first glance - were in fact awash with people of all ages all out enjoying their city. It had had a carnival feel, yet I'd merely sampled a mid-winter's weekday like any other. And therein lay the frustration of my visit. Such vibrancy had hinted at the party atmosphere and nightlife scene for which Belgrade has become famous, but in my solitude I had failed to embrace it, and it too had failed to reach out to me. And so I would leave Serbia with tepid memories, but equally with the feeling that on another day I might just have had the craziest fun night of my trip. And that's enough to make me pencil into my imaginary diary a separate trip to the Balkans in the future. 

Salta - Salta, Argentina

2008-05-04T10:48:00.001-07:00

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Salta, Argentina

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