Entries Tagged 'Favorites' ↓

The following post originally appeared on Neighborbee on December 23, 2008.

Times are tough. The Dow is down, prices are up, our wallets are empty. But we’re not going to let the recession keep us from enjoying the greatest city in the world. So let me present my Chrismukkah gift to you: the Ultimate Wallet-Friendly New York Date. (It also goes over well with out-of-town relatives.)

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The following post originally appeared on Neighborbee on December 16, 2008.

Everyone, even our own Bruce Springsteen of Queens, is raving about Slumdog Millionaire. While I haven’t yet seen the movie, I do have something in common with the main character. Earlier this year I was a contestant on an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and now I am going to tell you how you can get on the show too.

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• Inflatable neck pillow, eyemask, and foam earplugs: Indispensable for overnight buses or rowdy hostels, and the pillow will also come in handy when camping. Spend a few bucks on an eyemask with a soft lining, and keep the airplane freebie as a spare. Make sure the inflatable pillow has a removable, washable exterior.
• Convertible pants: Space in my backpack is precious, so everything must perform double duty. Convertible pants zip off at the knee into shorts. You’ll find these at outdoor stores like REI, EMS, The North Face, and Patagonia. Shop around to find a brand that fits and flatters, and remember these are “summer clothes” that won’t be in stores past September.
• Space Bags: Put clothes into these plastic bags, zip shut, and roll the air out.  I simply would not be able to fit all my clothes into my backpack without Space Bags, available at The Container Store.
• Collapsible water bottle: Both Nalgene and Platypus make soft water bottles that take up little space or weight when empty.
• Quick-dry towel: It may only be one foot long by two feet wide, but hey, it dries quickly.
• Sarong: If you’re going to be spending time on beaches, bring a sarong or buy one as a souvenir. I’ve used mine as a beach towel, dress, bathrobe, picnic blanket, and scarf.
• Video iPod: If you’re going to be on the road for a year, buy an iPod with the most memory available. Load it with as many TV shows and movies as it will hold, especially videos that you can tolerate watching over and over again. Ever wanted to watch all six seasons of Lost, from the start? Now is your chance. (Ripping DVDs takes time, so don’t leave this for the week before you depart.) Take advantage of all the free (!) podcasts on iTunes and stock up, especially on language learning podcasts like Coffee Break Spanish. Add some audiobooks and upload some games too, while you’re at it. When you are homesick or stuck on yet another 20-hour bus, your iPod will be your most valuable possession.
• Sleeping bag liner: Perfect for when it’s BYO linen, or when your sleeping bag needs to be just a bit warmer. Invest in a silk liner, which weighs less and takes up less space.
• Flash drive: This isn’t a must, but it’s nice to have, and they are teeny tiny. Use it to store scans of your passport, immunization records, and résumé. Flash drives are also perfect for transferring photos from your camera. Otherwise, be sure to store a scan of your passport in your online email account.
• Money stashes: To split up your cash and cards, you’ll need something in addition to a money belt. Try flip-flops with a secret compartment, a bra stash, or a belt with a hidden zipper. The flip-flops are heavy, but worth it.

Wondering what else is in my backpack? Tennis shoes, hiking boots, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, ten pairs of underwear, ten pairs of ankle socks, two pairs of hiking socks, three bras, one tank top, four short sleeve shirts, two long sleeve shirts, one skirt, a micro fleece, a 3-in-1 jacket, t-shirt and boxers for pajamas, three bikinis, sleeping bag, mini first aid kit, assorted toiletries, camera, journal, books, a deck of cards, backpack rain cover, small Swiss Army knife, one bandanna, one bucket hat, three luggage locks, electric plug adapters, one small bottle of hand sanitizer, and a copy of my travel insurance policy. Now that we are out of cold weather for the foreseeable future, I’m ditching the winter hat, scarf, gloves, and sweater I bought in South America.  Pack much less than you think you’ll need, I can’t say it enough.

What are your travel essentials?

Just before I left New York, I exchanged a few emails with Amanda of The Lost Girls, who had just returned to the city after a year around the world. Their hilarious travel blog made me realize how much I had to look forward to on my travels.

Now that the Girls are back in the Big Apple, they regularly profile a Lost Girl of the Week. This week, it’s my turn! Click here to read why I got Lost.

We managed to skip winter this year, or so we thought. In February, during Carnaval in Brazil, I would check weather forecasts in New York and feel sorry for all you poor suckers stuck in the cold. Now while you are enjoying warmer temperatures, spring flowers, and baseball season, Jared and I are in a topsy-turvy place where it is almost May and the trees are covered in red and gold. While I always equated “south” with “warmer,” it gets colder the farther south we drive. Cry me a river, you are all saying. I know.

Like the US, New Zealand is best seen from your own set of wheels. Since our budget is squeezed tighter than Lindsay Lohan’s jeans, we rented the cheapest camper van possible. Instead of a fancy new RV, our ride is the size of a Volkswagen bus with a convertible table and bench, double bed, and a pump sink in the back. To save cash, we sleep in free campsites when possible. Suddenly hot showers have become a luxury. Our 1994 Toyota Hiace can only go about 20 mph uphill, and every time it starts in the morning, we breathe a sigh of relief. Jared is stuck doing all the driving because I don’t know how to drive stick shift, but he has become quite adept at it, and on the left side of the road, no less.

New Zealand in the fall is stunning, but I am sure it is beautiful all year round. By missing summer peak season, we are being treated to gorgeous foliage, lighter crowds, and slightly lower prices. We need all the discounts we can get–NZ is by far the most expensive country we have visited. Gasoline is $6 a gallon (and we use about $50 of gas each day), a cup of coffee is at least $2.50, and restaurants are out of the question. Instead of our $25 per day budget each, we have been spending about $60 per day here, not including excursions. But the views are free, and priceless.

After flying from tropical Fiji, we were greeted by a chilly downpour in Auckland. At the airport, we had our tent and hiking boots inspected as part of New Zealand’s biosecurity, which keeps out foreign algae and pests out of NZ’s ecosystem. With 1.3 million people, Auckland is NZ’s largest city, and the home of 25% of the country’s residents. Yet it still feels like a small, manageable city. Unfortunately, we only had 24 hours in town, and it was pouring for most of them. Oh well.

With only one week to spend in the North Island, we headed down to Rotorua for a dose of Maori culture. We visited Whakarewa, a Maori village sitting on an active thermal area. (Believe it or not, that is the village’s nickname, short for Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao,’ meaning “The uprising of the warriors of Wahiao”.) It was interesting to learn that the Maori language is actually having a renaissance, after nearly dying out 20 years ago. Throughout New Zealand, government signs and plaques are shown with English and the Maori translations.

Itching to explore New Zealand’s famous terrain, Jared went hiking (or “tramping,” as they say here) in Tongariro National Park, said to be one of the most beautiful day hikes in the country. Tongariro is a dual World Heritage area, recognized for its three volcanic peaks and Maori cultural significance. He hiked right by Mount Ngauruhoe, which was used as Mt. Doom in the climax of The Lord of the Rings. (I stayed behind. When traveling and staying in a van, it’s hard not to spend 24 hours a day together.)

From Tongariro we made our way down to Wellington, the capital city. If you are going to be in Wellington, don’t miss the outstanding Te Papa museum, where we experienced simulated earthquake. (Better a simulation than the real thing, which is all too possible here.) The next day we took a 3-hour ferry across the Cook Strait to the South Island.

Before we left on the trip, my boss warned me that we may be missing out on life while we were gone. “But Charlie,” I replied, “this is life.” Still, we are missing out on some special times, especially our friends’ weddings. So we’d like to send our love to Andrew and Caroline, Jack and Davi, and the newest newlyweds, Alex and Ximena, and Will and Dina. Congratulations, you guys.

Inspired by Esquire magazine’s regular feature, here is what I’ve learned.

Keeping in touch with friends keeps homesickness at bay.

In small towns, there are always street dogs running around. All they want are scraps and some love.

Everything weighs something.

Indigenous people do not like having their picture taken.

Toilet paper: don’t leave the hostel without it.

Grilling on an Argentine parrilla is serious business. They don’t care if it takes hours; for them, the taste of steak cooked over wood coals is worth it.

In first class, a 17-hour bus ride can be enjoyable.

If my daypack feels heavier than normal while I am wearing it on my back, someone is trying to open it.

Ceviche cures a sushi craving.

People love wearing Yankees hats, even if they don´t know exactly what the NY stands for.

Don’t travel on the Day of the Dead, especially if it falls on a Friday.

Hand sanitizer, peanut butter, and my iPod are worth their weight in gold.

Keeping a daily journal and a blog of our travels are major commitments.

Chileans and Argentines speak entirely too quickly.

Liability isn’t really a concept there. We’ve climbed the rafters of churches and walked right up to the mouths of geysers.

The whole continent is obsessed with soccer. Cities practically shut down to watch big games.

If I order one of my favorite American foods such as a cheeseburger or pizza, it will never turn out quite the way I’d hoped.

Vitamin B tablets will make you smell bad to mosquitoes.

Tang packets make purified river water taste good.

In Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, the set lunches at restaurants are a steal. A three-course lunch for $1.50? Count me in!

You have to shake a mercury thermometer before using it.

If you want to visit Argentine wineries, go to Cafayate instead of Mendoza.

All the dollar coins ended up in Ecuador, which uses the U.S. dollar.

Never wake a sleeping anaconda.

Sometimes Lonely Planet can be a little too enthusiastic when describing places. If they say a place is “off the beaten path,” it will be overrun with backpackers.

I never met a hot spring I didn’t like.

Street food is yummy. Meat kabobs, fresh squeezed orange juice, caramel popcorn, churros, corn on the cob….

You can buy carne (meat) at a carnecería, libros (books) at a librería, but you can´t buy ferrets at a ferretería. They sell hardware.

Argentines and Urguayans love their yerba mate tea. Even on the hottest days you’ll see them clutching thermoses and gourds of tea with metal straws.

Portuguese doesn’t sound a thing like Spanish. I learned that the hard way.

There are still nice people in the world. In Saquarema, Brazil, a woman walked 20 minutes out of her way to take me to the one shoe repair shop in town. Instead of asking for a tip, she gave me her phone number in case I had any other questions.

You can buy anything at street stalls in La Paz. Batteries, eggs, you name it.

The best way to learn geography is to travel.

After our tour of Southern Brazil’s beach towns, it was time to visit the biggest beach town of all, Rio de Janeiro. My expectations for Rio were so low that it was easy for me to be pleasantly surprised.

The best part about Rio was that our good friend Maria flew down from New York and met us there. We miss all of our friends and family more than we can say, so it was such a treat to spend a few days with Maria. She even came bearing gifts–real New York City bagels! Jared and I ate those bagels with cream cheese and huge smiles.

Rio de Janeiro is quite possibly the most naturally beautiful city I’ve ever visited. Set in a bay and surrounded by sloping granite hills, Rio is much more than its famed beaches. Although those beaches are pretty nice too. While we didn´t run into any trouble in Rio, we didn’t have to look far to see Rio’s notorious favelas, or slums. On the hill below the Christ the Redeemer statue, only a small highway separated the favelas from guarded mansions.

All in all, we did Rio right. The three of us made the mandatory stops at Pao de Azucar (Sugarloaf mountain), Christ the Redeemer, and Ipanema beach. We snacked on coconut water straight from the coconuts and a sorbet made of a tangy fruit called acaí. At a samba club in Lapa, we happened onto a concert by an amazing band called Loroza. Lapa was a sight in itself, with a party in the streets and stands selling every snack and cocktail imaginable.

Without a doubt, the highlight for all of us was the soccer game we went to at Maracana Stadium. We splurged on tickets for the Rio championship between Flamengo and Botafogo. Getting into the stadium was one of the scariest moments of our trip, as our petite guide raced to the entrance with our tickets. Fortunately we got in fine and found ourselves with ridiculously good seats–twenty rows behind the teams’ benches.

The game was the Rio city final, but you would have thought it was the World Cup Final. These fans were INSANE. Both sides flew flags, chanted taunts, and even set off firecrackers in the stadium. American sports fans are just a bunch of pansies compared to Brazilian futebol fanatics. We didn’t shoot this video, but it gives you a good idea of the energy at the game. In the end, Flamengo beat Botafogo, 2-1, to repeat as Rio champs.

I had heard many firsthand accounts of muggings in Rio, but we got lucky. The three of us never carried purses, backpacks, or even wallets. All of our jewelry, even my $7 earrings from Bolivia, stayed in our hotel. When we went to the beach and had to carry bags, we used plastic grocery bags. To minimize any potential losses, we only carried the smallest amount of cash necessary, and I hid credit cards in the secret stash of my Reef flip-flops. Our hotel, Hostel Copa Praia, was in a very safe part of Copacabana and we highly recommend it. Jared and I didn´t bring our cameras out much, so take a look at Maria´s photos of Rio.

After saying goodbye to Maria, it was time to board a 38-hour bus back to Buenos Aires. Flights were $360 each, and the bus was $120 each, so it was a no-brainer. Our seats were like Lazy-Boy recliners, so the ride wasn’t that bad, though I am not itching to do it again anytime soon.

Both Jared and I were thrilled to be back in Buenos Aires. After more than four months on the road, B.A. is the closest thing to home. It was great to catch up with our friends and indulge in as much ice cream from Freddo as I possibly could. We retrieved our cold-weather gear and boarded a flight to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.

As I write this post, Jared and I are marking four months on the road. Over the past four months, we have spent countless hours on buses because we would rather save the plane fare. Then again, an 18-hour bus trip isn’t so bad when you have an attendant serving you champagne and a seat that folds down into a flat bed. We traveled to Puerto Iguazú on the holy grail of buses, one with genuine flat beds.

Before we visited the famous waterfalls, Jared and I stopped at Triple Frontier landmark. As we stood across on Argentine soil, we could see Paraguay to the left and Brazil to the right, just across the river. Each country’s territory was marked with an obelisk in their national colors. Most likely, that is the closest we will get to Paraguay.

How can I describe Iguazú Falls? Only a poet could do it justice. Iguazú Falls are a series of 275 waterfalls along 1.7 miles of the Iguazú river. The cataratas, as they are called in Spanish, are mostly 210 feet tall, though some are as tall as 269 feet. (Niagara Falls, for the record, are 167 feet tall.) Separating Brazil from Argentina, the falls should be seen from both sides to be properly appreciated. Argentina has the closer look–we took a boat into the base of some of the falls–while Brazil has the panoramic view. And, oh what a view. Take a look at Jared´s photos and try to imagine the roar of Iguazú Falls.

We finally got our Brazilian visas in Puerto Iguazú. The small consulate in the Argentine border town didn´t want to see any bank statements or proof of onward travel, they only wanted cold, hard cash. My visa cost $147, and Jared´s cost $70, almost 50% more than we were expecting. (Sometimes it pays to be Canadian.) And for some strange reason, my visa has a big stamp on it that says “FREE.” If only that were true.

From beautiful Iguazú Falls, it was another overnight bus to Florianópolis, Brazil, where we would spend Carnaval. We stayed on the Ilha de Santa Caterina, at the Armaçao beach. In the small village of Armaçao, the Carnaval party was centered right outside our hostel. Music blared from a lone parade float, hundreds of people danced in the streets. As soon as the Super Bowl was over (congratulations, New York Giants!), Jared and I grabbed our caiprinhas and joined the party. Check out our photos of Carnaval and Florianopolis.

Honestly, up until Carnaval, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to visit Brazil. The language barrier, higher costs, and crime stories made me nervous. All my fears disappeared when a group of Brazilian women grabbed me by the hips during the party and showed me how to samba. Even though I can’t understand their language, the warmth of the Brazilian people is infectious.

Remember the volcano we saw back in October in Banos, Ecuador? Now it is erupting, though currently Banos isn’t at risk.

Ah, Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay, why do you keep making movies that look like they stink? Why? Unlike your (ex?) buddy Paris, you can’t get away with making crappy movies because people know you’re actually talented.

I mean, come on, who didn’t like Mean Girls? Freaky Friday was a gem of a remake. The best part of A Prairie Home Companion was your song at the end. Aside from those movies, you’ve taken some awful career advice lately. It turns out that you cannot open a movie on your own unless it actually has a good script. People can smell “Lindsay Lohan” vehicles coming from a mile away. And boy does I Know Who Killed Me reek. (That is, unless your fans just want to see you as a stripper. That’s right folks, Lilo goes pole dancing in I Know Who Killed Me.)

So, please, Linds, hole yourself up in Vancouver and make an independent ensemble movie for no money. Or star in a big-budget musical adaptation of a Broadway smash. (If Spring Awakening gets made in the next two years, you’ll still be young enough to play the female lead.) You could still become your generation’s Jodie Foster if you play the cards right.

I Know Who Killed Me is rated R and opens on July 27. SKIP IT. (Official site)

Russell Crowe + Denzel Washington + Ridley Scott = Oscar Bait. Like The Departed, American Gangster is a gritty mob movie with a shot at Oscar gold and big bucks at the box office. This trailer was just released, and boy am I excited.

Denzel Washington has made a career playing good guys, but as the trailer proves, he’s at his best when he’s playing the bad guy. Washington and Russell Crowe are working together for the first time since Virtuosity in 1995, when Crowe was a virtual unknown in the States. Crowe is reuniting with Gladiator director Ridley Scott. Throw in Brian Grazer, who produced A Beautiful Mind among others, and it’s one big happy Oscar-winning family.

Sometimes Oscar bait can be horribly disappointing, but if this trailer is any indication, we’re in for one damn good movie. The song at the end is a perfect example of how much music can add to a trailer. (See the comments for details about the song in the trailer for American Gangster. I asked, and you answered. )

SEE IT because American Gangster could go down as one of the great crime dramas.

American Gangster is rated R and opens on November 2. Thanks to Ben for the tip. (official site)