View Accommodations of our luxury large spacious tents

Enchoro Wildlife Camp recently unfolded its newest website; it provides key information that will facilitate travelers of all walks of life in choosing the best tourist programs around the Mara region, and to promote tourism as well as to provide people with quality adventure holidays and with the great accommodation

If you are interested in planning a wonderful and remarkable tour in the Mara region is no longer a problem, it is now easier as enchoro camp will help you manage everything.

If you are enticed by Volunteerism, wildlife Safaris, walking&trekking, this will ensure that our visitors gain local knowledge and at the same time, the local communities economies will also earn from it.”Masai dances”

“Go direct to enchoro, Save Money and give more back” This philosophy guide’s enchoro wildlife camp with its product and service development.

Enchoro offers a lot of direct booked adventure tours and holidays accompanied with a comprehensive route plan, Trip information, clearly marked tour durations, and give back to the Masai communities through volunteer program plan activities.

Our volunteer options are planned to suite Group travels, Families or individual options enabling every individual to choose from several activities which they can do during their trip.

Enchoro is strictly committed to its policy regarding responsible tourism and thus, it chooses to work with those local Masai organized groups of Men, Women and Youth that offer and represent the local communities with great long term benefits that maintain the welfare of the preservation of their environment, culture, believes and traditions. This however develops relationships across with the goal to promoting better understanding between foreign tourists and the Masai communities while freely interacting, sharing of cultural social practices and their traditions.

Ah, the wonders of shuffle mode on an iPod. Today, for instance, the song “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People popped up. This has the distinction for me of being the first song i ever bought – or rather the first i ever got my mum to buy for me. I was ten years old and we were holding a concert at school, or maybe it was a talent contest; i can’t remember now. At any rate, everyone was being encouraged to join in, so i got together with another kid, C, and we decided to do a dance routine. “Y.M.C.A.” was our soundtrack. What a dance routine it was: all high kicks, claps and those other ‘groovy’ moves: drop to the floor, turn around, make a funny little circle gesture with your arms*. We thought were it!

The song itself, i didn’t really understand. I vaguely imagined the “Y.M.C.A.” was some sort of American version of a youth hostel. Not that i’d been to a youth hostel, but there was one on the main road that led to my Nan’s, so i knew they were big old houses that hikers stayed at. Who knew why anyone would write a song about one and quite honestly who cared? The main thing was that it was catchy as hell and one of the guys in the group wore a “Red Indian” costume. How i loved that costume.

Gay references? What did ‘gay’ mean? Mind you, to be fair, i didn’t know what ‘straight’ meant either. I quite naively believed that sex – which i was aware of in an anatomically incorrect sort of a way – was something married people did. Nor do i remember anyone worrying about the political correctness of spoofing a Native American (or whatever the current term is). It was all about fun and energy. AIDS was just round the corner, about to bring with it a different, darker image of homosexuality – at least in the short term; but also an increased openness. So that these days most school kids know what it is to be gay – or at least think they do, which is much the same thing when you’re ten.

Anyway, back to that concert (or talent show, whichever it was). Only as an adult could i appreciate how painful it must have been for the assembled parents to watch us. Or rather mothers, because back then it wasn’t yet the done thing for men to take time out for their kids, at least not in Britain. Children are so innocently self-centred that the idea that their audience might not be enjoying watching them as much as they’re enjoying being watched doesn’t really occur to them. And if it does, it doesn’t cause them much guilt. Yet it must have been torture: dance routines (ours wasn’t the only one, oh no), songs, magic tricks, ‘comedy’… even juggling i think. Everyone had to have their spot in the limelight. ‘That’s what you get for not using birth control,’ i thought to myself smugly when i looked back at the scene.

And yet… when my own son went to school and entered upon his own round of nativity plays and concerts i made an interesting discovery. Other people’s children are indeed tiresome, but your own are wonderful. Bona fide talents no less. His Jimi Hendrix routine was marvellous (no cheesy disco for him!), his leading role in the anti-smoking polemic which prefaced it no less so. And as for his interpretation of Shepherd #1 (or possibly #2 or #3, i’m not entirely sure) paying homage to the infant Jesus in the school nativity play… well, words fail me. Unfortunately, the camera failed me too, so i have no pictures of that one.

So, maybe my mum did enjoy the imaginatively choreographed dance that C and I performed to the song “Y.M.C.A.”. Or maybe she too was wondering why someone had written a song about a hostel.

*A bit like demonstrating how a wheel works while wearing a muff**
**As in ‘handwarmer’!

Riding the bus towards Daegu, my mind once previously scattered with projects needing to be completed, slowly begins to enjoy the scenery of autumn leaves and apple farms outside my window. Seldom we passed by burial sites perched up a hillside, in sacred magnitude. My mind was exhausted and grateful to be empty but physically I was restless, awaiting the moment when I could get off the bus and start exploring. After a 2 hour bus ride from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal to Mungyeong Terminal, and then a short 10 minute ride to the park (문경새재) with sufficient waiting in between, I had finally arrived. It was the first breath of real, crisp, fresh air that I had inhaled in more than 9 months.

The deep browns, yellows, reds and greens scattered the mini-mountains bringing me to humble awe of its captivating beauty. First, observing my surroundings, I saw a Youth Hostel across the parking lot (in case I didn’t make it back in time), and checked the return times for the bus. “Ok, everything seems to be in order…”The never ending pathway begins with homey restaurants on both sides and some apple stands. A little walk and you get to the main strip of apple stands, with white canopy booths and more than 40 kinds of apples to choose from. I tried as many as I could (before feeling like my stomach would burst), amazed at how every sample had its own unique taste varying from soft, crispy, mild, lemony, citrusy, sweet, sour…etc. I tasted cherry, orange, floral, rum, honey and various other undertones with every enthusiastic bite. Some of the apples on display where 분산, 양광, 감홍, 홍옥, 후지, 올보사 and 아이까향 just to name a few. I was determined to find the crispest and most delicious apple suited to my taste buds to take back with me, before the end of the day.There were more than just apples to sample, too. Omija was also a feature fruit at today’s festival. 오미자 aka Schisandra chinensis is a wood berry similar to a huckleberry but bitter in taste. Here you could taste wine, bread (오미자보리빵), teas, and even bibimbap made with omija, at restaurants nearby.  Other samples and sale items were waffles slathered in honey and cream, chestnuts, pomegranate juice, makgeoli, dates, mushrooms medicinal herbs, seaweed and so much more.After much digestion, I decided to purchase my apples at booth #33. Prices vary depending on size and quantity but you can expect to pay 15,000won to 20,000won for 20 to 25 medium sized apples, the cheapest being 10,000won or 50,000won for a crateful.

Continuing to walk straight ahead, I came across the Tourist Info Booth. They had to scrimmage the office in order to find their English brochures but I managed to get one. The map told me I was only 1/6^th of the way into the park! Good thing the festival didn’t cover the whole area. Walking further you will see inflated toys and main stage. Elders outfitted in hiking gear danced and sang to oldies music. Another highlight is the apple museum, with a small castle statue made of apples in front of the entrance. Go to the other side of the stream to partake in games and other activities.Ahead of me was a large wall fitted with a tunnel gate and wood roof, in the traditional Korean style. Curious, I walked beyond the gate and discovered the grounds for some of the more famous KBS dramas set in a hanok village from the early 1900’s. For the price of 2,000won you can explore the area and perhaps even run into a film set! I was lucky to see horses and other props being moved back into storage during my trip, but no celebrities, making a mental note to definitely come back another day for further exploring!As I returned back my eye caught a sign for Omija and mountain herb bibimbap (오미자 산채 비빔밥)! Even though my stomach was full I knew this would be my only chance to try it and pushed aside the risk of being lethargic, picking a  restaurant with an old whiskey mill (전유기) in the front.After about 10 minutes my food arrived. You would think to expect a large bowl of rice with a few vegetables and side dishes…how wrong was I! In front of me lay a meal fit for a king, 10 side dishes made of kimchi, mushroom, roots, radish, sprouts, leaves and other well-being ingredients surrounded my plate of bibimbap and hot plate filled with tofu soup. (Note the bibimbap and most side-dishes are vegetarian friendly). I took my time to individually taste each plate.

A while later, a group of young gentleman being videotaped entered the restaurant, 문경식당. Too busy with my own food, I concentrated on trying to finish (a mere cost of 6,000won)… Happy and sleepy it was time to go home.

If you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of downtown Seoul, I highly recommend you visit this 5 star city.

*MORE NOTES: When returning back to Mungyeong Terminal from 새재 (location of festival), check the bus times to follow before the last bus back to Seoul. The bus to Mungyeong takes about 10 minutes and run almost every hour or so, at 735, 815, 900, 1000, 1150, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1615, 1640, 1720, 1810 and 1905. The last bus going up to Dong Seoul Bus Terminal (the building across the street after you exit Gangbyeon Station, exit 4) is at 1940. If you decide to stay overnight, there is the 문경새재유스호스텔 diagonal from the bus stop, on the other side of the parking lot, between two big hills.

**I ended up purchasing omija wine (5,000won), 2 bottles of pomegranate concentrate (10,000won) and a bushel of apples for 15,000won to give some away to my fellow workers at tbs. If you consider the price of pomegranate juice (about 7 to 9,000won for one bottle) and produce in the supermarkets, you can see the benefit in coming to not only purchase some of these items, but also take in the fresh air while you enjoy a piece of Korean culture.

This is from Sibiu’s youth hostel, which is owned and run by the Evangelical Cathedral. It’s just opposite the Cathedral in Piata Huet.

1 October 2007

Ilam Hall is a grand old limestone building in the beautiful Dove Dale in Derbyshire. Check out the photo

And yet it is let to the Youth Hostel Association for anyone from kids to ancients to enjoy overnight stays while in that part of the Peak District on hikes and bike rides.  I chose to stay there one night this week during a farewell bike ride from Chester to Nottingham.

My son decided to try cycling to work in Nottingham and in my garage leaned the first Dawes Super Galaxy I owned. Surplus to my requirements since my wife bought me a brand new one two years ago today, I offered it to my son. Of course he expected me to take it on the train or the car but where’s the fun in that? And my bike deserved one last cross-country ride. It had faithfully taken me to Cheltenham many times as well as to Snowdonia and beyond. I’ve had the urge to ride to Nottingham since son went to university there but the route eluded me. It seems easy planning north to south minor road routes, embellished by National cycle routes but not so west to east at this latitude. Nottingham is almost due east by about 100 miles from Chester with the Pennines (the backbone of England) in the way. Also there is the conurbation of Stoke-on-Trent with its subsumed towns of Kidsgrove – never easy to cycle through while navigate on the wheel. Nevertheless, I enjoyed planning the route and on Wednesday I set off with two loaded panniers on the rear, and a map-holder on theh handlebars. The forecast was cloudy but no rain and a slight headwind, made worse the faster I cycled so I cheated and cycled slowly.

On nearing Sandbach close to the dreaded conurbation, I saw a National Cycle byway sign for route 5. Umm, tempting because it headed east and in the direction of one of many canals. They have tow paths, many of which have been surfaced for cycling. Risking going off my route I hurtled into unknown but quiet country lanes. They actually took me over the canals and their humped-backed bridges but along a disused railway. Marvelous cycling but for one thing: I didn’t know where I was! Mile after mile, the nice level gravel path passed under bridges and when by a canal up the lock slopes, but there were no signs to say which roads passed on the overhead bridges or what the towns were. I just had to stop and cycle up to one of the overhead bridges and ask a local: “Is this the A50?”

“Dunno, mate, it’s the Stoke Road.” Grrrr.

Route 5 leaves the security of traffic-free journeying at Kidsgrove but, hey, a Tesco! Toilets, cafe, hooray. Not many customers in there only buy one banana, and one bottle of isotonic energy drink but I did, then asked an assistant for where they hide the single bars of Snickers. She made a wild guess and said: “Are you on a bike ride?” I resisted a one-liner and followed her for miles away from multipack confectionery. Since I had an operation on my calcaneous heel many years ago, I walk slowly. After a couple of hours of my legs in rotating mode, I found walking even more silly and so had to guess which aisles she steamed around. In the Mens I enjoyed washing the salt off my face. To amusement of others, I used the high-force drier to jet the moisture away from my face.  It nearly blew away my nose – amazing how powerful - those new driers. In Stoke-on-Trent I had to leave Route 5 to cross a suburb – very hilly Chell – to find Route 55 for a few more miles. I met a few unleashed dogs, most of which returned to owners when called. I stopped, ready to blast them with my dog-dazer though it wasn’t necessary.

Back on my route, the hills climbed up the foothills of the Pennines. I found no alternative but to cycle along the A52, ostensibly a main road. However, it was surpisingly quiet but more up than down. Some stretches warned drivers to use low gears on the uphill! I did too, but I have a rule: if it’s faster to get off and push then do so. I did, for hill after hill. Funny thing is that sometimes once the momentum of downhilling runs out on the up, I could carry on far easier than on other hills. I think some tarmac is more go-faster than others. Eventually I saw the very welcome sign for Ilam Hall, 3 miles. And downhill! My brakes were in danger of meltdown but it is so heart-lifting to see the final signposts for your destination after a days hard cycling.

My brain must have been tired too because it took me a few cycle arounds the grounds to find Reception. Once there I asked directions for the cycle store. “Sorry sir, there isn’t one.”

What? A youth hostel boasting of its refurbishment last winter and with pictures of cyclists most of its door signs and yet has no safe cycle store. The 12-year-old receptionist recommended I took the bike around the back to a recycle store instead. No locks on the gates and I had to move the large bins to get at the only metal bar available to lock my bike to. The need to use a recycle store instead of a cycle store aside, the youth hostel is very fine indeed and I slept like a hibernating bear, waking up hungry.

Thursday morning it was foggy with light rain. Aaarrggh. Even so I had to go. There are several problems cycling in rain: poor visibility for drivers, brakes don’t work, slippery roads, I couldn’t see the lovely Dove Dale so well, and my glasses don’t have windscreen wipers. Nevertheless, the route to Nottingham from Ashbourne, although mostly on main roads, went very well and it was a joy to reach the boundary of Nottingham.

I handed over the bike to bemused (he’s quite mad) looks from son’s fiancee’s mum and in exchange son made me a wonderful humous and olive sandwich for the return journey by train.

It felt strange being back in Chester on Thursday night, knowing that I’d left it only the previous day having cycled and pushed hard for 100 miles. Strange but wonderful and answering the question I’d asked while struggling up some hills on why I did it.

On another matter entirely, my scifi Exit, Pursued by a Bee, is soon to be serialized by http://www.kalkion.com

This is one of a series about a three-month hitchhiking trip I did across Europe when I was 18.

Glasgow in January.  Neither place nor time makes any sense.   I think I picked the destination because (a) it was served by Icelandic Airlines, the cheap way to go to Europe, and (b) I liked the idea of roaming the highlands of Scotland.  Could anyone possibly have been more ignorant?

It was January because I came up with the plan in the fall of a “year between” and I was hoping to spend six months or more in Europe before going to college.  With some high school graduation money from Granddad plus my earnings from a job as a cashier, I had about $800 in total.  Believe it or not, that lasted me until April, for  I managed to live on less than a dollar a day during parts of the trip.  But my money did run out, as described in my last post, and Mom and Dad bailed me out.

Yet it was actually my own money to start, and I was 18, and for the past several years of teenage rebellion Mom and Dad had been saying to me, “We have a legal responsibility to take care of you until you’re 18.”   I called them on it when I was 18, and on principle they had to let me go.  And they did.

One thing hard to remember now is that this mode of travel seemed more normal, more safe than it does these days.  Lots of kids were doing the hitchhike/youth hostel thing, though they were mostly a bit older than I was, recent college grads.

The flight over was broken by a stop at Keflavik Airport in Iceland in the middle of the night.  We all got off the plane, shuffled around the airport gift shop looking at Icelandic sweaters and low-price cigarettes, then got back on, carrying big plastic bags with “Marlboro” on the sides.  (I didn’t buy anything.)  On to Glasgow.

Once we arrived and collected our luggage, I had a tough time manuevering my green frame backpack with its “sleep sack” bundle for the youth hostel bunks.  They provided a blanket, you provided two sheets sewn together to sleep in underneath.  The pack wasn’t really that heavy, but I hadn’t learned how to get it on and off easily.  I had to sit down on a bench and back up to it.  And I kept remembering things that I needed, then had to take it off all over again.

I got a map and figured out where the youth hostel was, and with some help from strangers I boarded a bus that took me to the general vicinity.  While I stood on the sidewalk puzzling over my map, two nice fellows came up and asked if I needed help.  They looked at the map and determined where the hostel was, then actually walked with me all the way there, chatting along the way.

I hardly understood a word they said to me, their dialect was so thick.

The air was literally brown from the house coal.  I mean, you could just about cut it with a knife.  It smelled of sulfur.  (I gather that Glasgow’s air quality is much better now.)

I expected to meet other young people at the hostel.  I rang the bell and was let in by a dour man.  As it turned out, I was the only guest in the hostel that night.

I sat in the front room, wrote in my diary, and tried to read.  The wallpaper had  yellow and brown stripes.  I felt frightened, unable to go out and explore.  I managed to get down the street to a shop where I bought some bread and some candy.  I didn’t feel up to going to a restaurant.

After a while, I went into the bunkroom to sleep.  It was unheated, a cavern of damp, cold air.  I laid out my sleep sack amidst rows and rows of empty bunks, then piled up several blankets against the frost.

At 12:30 at night I woke up in a complete panic.  I wanted to give up my whole trip and go home.  I scribbled in my diary, “I am miserable.”

After unpleasant hours in the cold darkness, I hit upon a plan.  I needed to see somebody I knew.  Forget about “roaming the highlands.”   I was going to take an express train straight down to London and visit the Rosenfelds, old friends of the family.

And so I did the very next day, and after a day or so I got my bearings.  And from London I hitchhiked to Wales, and from there I took a boat to Ireland, and then…  and then…  and then….

Iiiieeyaaah,

we recently got back from our first trip – saturday: Macau, sunday and monday to ShenZhen.
I’ve been to Macao with 7 exchange-in students and we started our trip at 10:00.

We first been to Wan Sheung where we bought some tickets for the trip. It is very useful to check the prizes of different ferry companies.  Our final offer was 260 HK$ including return. It takes some time to go to Macau by ferry – 1:15h. Some prefer a heli (20min, 2000$HK)  The ferry is a speed boat and inside,  it looks more like a airplane with all these entertainment equipment. The seats are business-class-like. Anyways, most of us used the time for a short sleep. Unfortunately, since both Macau and HK are SARs you’re obliged to undergo the passport controls and forms for  health declaration. (Now, it is going to be a bit irritating – noone reads them and actually swine flu is definitely not that dangerous)
Whatsoever, having arrived in Macau we, eventually, took  one of the shuttle busses to the venetian – a casino.
Macau is little Las Vegas.  Please confer to my photos. Some places look exactly like those in Vegas but the shows are missing. We had true luck since on saturday there was a firework competition and could enjoy a beautiful enlightened sky. Afterwards we went back home with the 1.am. ferry. I got to bed at 3:15 a.m.

Next moring 7:45 a.m. I packed my bag for the 2-day trip to ShenZhen. ShenZhen is something like the’ workbench of the world.  The city is so special in China that I must provide some additional information about it here:

ShenZhen is the gateway to the western world. In 1979 there was a small city called Bao’an with 30k inhabitants as Deng Xiaoping decided to found a new City: ShenZhen. This city should become a SEC (special economic zone) China’s first and arguably still one of the most successful. Many technology manufacturers have plants here.  Take Apple as an example – they built its iPhone here. But many many different companies are here, as well. Some Chinese: Huawei, Tencent and ZTE.  ShenZhen has benefitted a lot of the fast development of HK. The flying goose model worked out. (Indeed might be an interesting topic for a geography exam)  Besides that, the ShenZhen stock exchange is the biggest trading place next to Shanghai in the RPC.
Nowadays the metropolitan area is living space environment for about 12 million people (HK: 6.7)  The conatiners that are traded here have almost overtaken HK and Singapore.

Back to our story: We went there with 4 people. Unfortunately, David had to leave us because he got a cold. (aircon)
So I was alone with to pretty girls in ShenZhen.  But that’s only one half of the truth. The other half  is that we went there for shopping. After a sometime we split up because they had sympathy with me .
This indeed was pretty dangerous because it turned out that my mobile did not work in ShenZhen and we had not agreed on a meeting point because we thought I can give a call.  Thanks to some chinese merchands I was able to call Cathrene.
I bought a lot of stuff in that mall. My favorite: a suit with two shirts – fully customized: unique!
I think I improved my negotiation skills by 110% or so. My first deals weren’t that good. But it’s hard to guess their BATNA – especially if you have no clue about how to estimate the quality. My last buy, however, was close to perfectness. 35 RMB = 3€  for a poloshirt of 100% cotton.  My room mate (he’s from Beijing estimated 80 RMB – i had the impression that  he felt a bit offended because of the low prize. Chinese people are very proud of their country – likewise the Americans. ) To make the long story short, ShenZhen is a shopper’s paradise – esp. for women.

We stayed in a youth hostel. I was with to portuguise guys in a room.  Simple but of good quality. I can just recommend it!

Yesterday, as we returned typhoon level 8 was hoisted. (10 is max) It was in fact a heavy  one. In our common room there’s now a large puddle. Anyways, it’s over now and as far as I know no one got injured.

Getting back to my Mandarin course material …

http://www.iyha.org.il/eng/

Enchoro Wildlife Camp

(The Place to Stay).

Welcome to the Enchoro-A Masai word meaning “Natural Spring Water”.

Enchoro Camp is an affiliate member of YHA-Kenya, which is part of  a worldwide network of Youth Hostels in the World.

YHA-Kenya enables you to explore Kenya on a budget while maximizing your fun, freedom and flexibility.

Location.

Simply in the best location of Masai Mara’s Oloolaimutia gate to the world renowned and one of the  best Game reserve. ‘Masai Mara’ .

It offers a panoramic views of Oloolaimutia hills on the East gate of the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Accommodation.

Offered in luxury large spacious tents, all ensuite bathrooms with hot and cold showers, flash toilets, changing room and lockers for safety of one’s valuables. We ensure that your stay is enjoyable, Comfortable and safe as possible.

Dinning.

A very spacious dinning room where you get served with tasty finger liking foods from  local and international cuisine, buffets or alacate.It also serve as a meeting room convenient for all kinds of meetings, Training seminars, conferences ,Retreats ,product lunch, weeding receptions etc.

Activities.

We do all kinds of tailor made excursions, game drives with safari vehicle or 4×4 wheel drive, hot air balloon safaris, walking safaris,masai traditional dances, visit to masai village to learn more about their culture and traditions as well as volunteer work and community service like tree planting with the masai people.

Our promise.

We provide you with a single point of contact at each stage event.

Professionalism.

24 hours tailor made packages.

For more information and reservations, please contact us.

Enchoro Wildlife Camp (Masai Mara)

Po box 4473-00200, Nairobi- Kenya.

Tel 254 20 2726011 /254 20 2723012

Cell. +254710322787

Online: info@enchorowildlifecamp.com     or enchoro@africahomeadventure.com

Web: http://www.enchorowildlifecamp.com

Booking office;

African Home Adventure Limited

Nairobi International Youth Hostel

Ralph Bunche Road off, Valley road.

YOU MAY KNOW I’M A HOSTELLLING INTERNATIONAL LIFETIME MEMBER SO FELT I HAD TO PASS THIS ON, esp’ as one of these is only 10 mins walk from my place in Christchurch city — kiwi travel writer

FEATURED HOSTELS

YHA Ohakune

At the base of Mt Ruapehu YHA Ohakune, Matai Lodge is one of the closest backpacker hostels to the start of the Tongariro Crossing and provides convenient shuttle transport to get you there and to other Central North Island attractions.

YHA Ohakune, Matai Lodge is a friendly, comfortable and inexpensive hostel. There is a wide range of backpacker style accommodation options to suit your needs and the recreational facilities have been recently improved for your enjoyment. Backpacker accommodation at YHA Ohakune includes doubles, twins, family rooms, tent sites and a variety of different multi-share rooms in which all bedding is provided. There are two fully equipped shared kitchens, dining and lounge areas. YHA Ohakune facilities include internet, home theatre, X-box, overseas TV channels and pool table.

Top 3 activities to do while backpacking in Ohakune:

• Tongariro Alpine Crossing, one of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’, passing through volcanic craters and glacial valleys.
  
• Ski Turoa ski field on the south side of Mt Ruapehu, the nearest ski area to Ohakune.
  
• Take a canoe tour down the mystical and lonely Whanganui River.

YHA Christchurch City

Situated in the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand’s ‘Garden City’ – this modern and spacious backpacker hostel is the perfect base for your Christchurch experience. YHA Christchurch City Central is in the centre of Christchurch just minutes away from the Cathedral Square and all the many, many restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops of this lively South Island city. Everything you could need is just a short walk away, including Christchurch’s Centennial pool and gym.

The YHA Christchurch City Central hostel has an amazing array of facilities including two spacious fully equipped kitchens (one on each floor), a comfortable common room, a TV room, a games room with pool table/foos-ball/video games, internet access including wireless, locker facilities, two laundry facilities, library exchange and disabled access…phew! YHA Christchurch City Central has a large variety of modern and clean backpacker accommodation in a safe and secure environment. And because there is no pub at this Christchurch backpackers you can be assured of a quiet night’s sleep.

Top 3 activities to do while backpacking in Christchurch:

• Take a trip up the Gondola for breathtaking views of the patchwork Canterbury plains, the majestic Southern Alps and gorgeous Lyttelton Harbour.
  
• Visit some of Christchurch’s many cultural centres: the Antarctic Centre, the Canterbury Museum, the Tamaki Heritage village and the colourful Arts Centre weekend craft market.
  
• For animal lovers, swim with the dolphins at Akaroa Harbour, visit the kiwis at Willowbank or Orana Park or simply feed the ducks along the picturesque Avon River in Hagley Park.

Special Offers

I was in this youth hostel in Lviv for 2 nights. I had a room that is cheaper because that room as the door to the kitchen. I noticed that the price was cheaper because Lviv is a city where people go out at night a lot. So the majority of visitors go party and while arriving late they like to sleep until late also. So the kitchen is a place to serve breakfast (included on price), and if you want to sleep until late you’ll listen to people on the kitchen and will not let you sleep much 8unless you’re completely wasted of course ). In my case it was OK as I get up early so I did save some money.

Hostel Corridor at The Kosmonaut Hostel

The hostel is right in the city center, 5 minutes of Rynok Square in the historic center. Being accommodated here is really good because you don’t need to waste time in transportation as you’re just 3 minutes away to the Opera and near the center square like I mentioned before.

This youth hostel in Lviv has a retro-style decor, creating a scenario of the socialist Soviet time. The kitchen can be used at will and even has a tap filtered water, the house bath rooms and shower are super clean, there is a washing machine, Internet access PC and free wireless Internet in the reception area. There are rooms with 4 beds to 12 beds.

Prices of The Kosmonaut Hostel

• Room with 12 beds = 10 EUR = 14 USD
• Room with 10 beds = 11 EUR = 15.5 USD
• Room with 6 beds = 12 EUR = 17 USD
• Room with 4 beds = 13 EUR = 18.3 USD
• Room with 4 beds economic = 7 EUROS = 9.8 USD

The Kosmonaut Hostel

Address: 8 Sichovikh Striltsiv, Lviv, Ukraine
Phone: +380322601602 (24 hours)
Email: info@thekosmonaut.com
Web Page: www.thekosmonaut.com

Cheap Room in The Kosmonaut Hostel, Youth Hostel in Lviv Ukraine

Following on from my recent blog regarding dancing to YMCA by the Village People at Wareham Conservative Club last Saturday night, the fact was my girlfriend Jane and I were on our way down to Lulworth Cove, part of Dorset’s World Heritage Site listed Jurassic Coast.

A geologist’s dream, Lulworth Cove is one of the places I remember visiting on a school Geography field trip. My overriding memory was of staying in a youth hostel run by a man in very short and very tight leather shorts. Something in the back of my mind says they were pink, and with the passage of time eating away at my brain he could well have had a handlebar moustache and been part of the Village People.

Shorts like these, only pink.

Aerial view of Lulworth Cove.

Speaking of visitors, Lulworth was swarming with millions of the buggers, making the place look untidy. A mere short chalk line away, Jane and I sat ourselves down at the rather more sedate Stair Hole, a mini-Lulworth Cove in the making. Apparently Stair Hole is what Lulworth Cove would have looked like a few hundred thousand years ago. With the young kids ignoring the keep off warning signs and scrambling all over it and with the uniformed Geology police hot on their tale I’d guess those few hundred thousand years will be over in less time than it takes to say taumatawhakatangihangakoayauota-mateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukypokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Stair Hole.

From Stair Hole we took the well-trodden path across the chalk hill of Hambury Tout to Durdle Door, another of my field trip studies. Durdle Door is a large arch formed by wave action breaking through the Portland limestone. Not so visible, oil sands beneath the sea bed form the largest British oil field outside the North Sea, containing the highest quality oil in Europe.

Durdle Door.

On the other end of the quality scale, Durdle Door was the film location of Cliff Richard’s Christmas number one Saviour’s Day. Watch at your peril…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b9MFTQNyWo

This weekend saw my annual male bonding exercise. Six men on a testosterone fuelled display of strength, endurance and all-round manliness on a yomp around the Peak District.

This year included two of my best friends in all the world – friends from university who I have known for more than half of my life. Then there were three others who have joined the group over the years either by being a friend of a friend or by marrying into the group. They are all great guys and fun to be with. But, I still don’t want to sleep with any of them.

We spent Friday night at the YHA in Eyam, Derbyshire. Youth Hostels have changed a lot since I last used them – which was some 22 years ago. Back then the typical age range would be from about 14 to 25; you were segregated into male and female wings; there was no alcohol; and, you had to do chores to earn your breakfast. Now, our group of forty somethings were amongst the youngest of the residence; the corridors were mixed-sex; they had a bar; and, all we had to do for our breakfast was strip our beds.

That said, our room was still reminiscent of a POW camp – three bunk beds, a window with bars, and a single sink. And, the facilities were less than salubrious. The carpet in the corridor was suspiciously tacky. If you were not first up (and I was not first up) then you waded into the shower. And, you didn’t want to think too hard about why the floor of the toilet was a little damp and tacky. Men and their toilet habits. Pigs the lot of them!

As much as I love my guys, sleeping with them is not the most enjoyable part of the walking weekend. That would be the pub at the end of the walk. Indeed, my sleep on Friday night was somewhat deprived. It is never a good idea to follow a trip to the pub (during which several pints of ale and lager are consumed in order to wash down fish and chips or sausage and mash followed by some pudding that has not passed ones lips since school dinners) with communal sleeping. It is doubly not to be recommended when the walk from the pub is up a one in five slope on a very muggy and humid evening.

I pity the three women in the room next to us. I pitied me. Within just five minutes of our return to the hostel our room and the corridor we shared were, well, fragrant. Beery, sweaty, farty fragrant with an undertone of mint. The one brief attempt at cleanliness seemed to involve a communal huddle around the single sink in our room for a bout of tooth cleaning.

Isn’t it funny how different people clean their teeth? Me, myself, am one who needs to hang over the sink in case I dribble and I need to rinse and spit a lot. Some of my fellow ramblers were very adept at brushing while walking around the room.

We all then sucked in our bellies, averted our eyes to ceilings, corners and floor and undressed for bed. This involves grunting and harumphing in a deep, gutteral, manly way as if to say “yes I am dropping my trousers now so avert your eyes or, as alpha male, I will be required to beat you”. 

There was a strange array of pj bottoms, boxer shorts and briefs, with or without t-shirts. We all clambered into and onto our bunks, said goodnight (like the Waltons), and turned our faces to the walls. Turning our faces to the walls was clearly a failed attempt to convince our psyche that we were not in fact sleeping in a room with five other men. Like hiding from monsters by burying your head under the duvert, if you could not see them then they weren’t really there.

“Sleeping” is not something that I did much of that night. I did not sleep well because:

1. I was attempting not to breathe the beery, sweaty, farty fragrant with an undertone of mint atmosphere through my mouth
2. I was in the top bunk with my head closest to the door; there was a glass panel above the door through which the corridor light burned throughout the night like a searchlight in a concentration camp
3. My fellow cell-mates have shrivelled bladders or pituitary issues which required an average of two trips to the loo per man; this required the door to be banged and light to flood the room
4. Two of our number snored like troopers while another squeaked and whimpered like a little girl (clearly the face to the wall trick had not worked)
5. All beds creaked and groaned with the slightest movement and there were several wrigglers amongst our number
6. It was hot, hot, hot

It was a relief when 7.30am arrived and I was able to vacate the room to take a gulp of corridor air and wade to a shower cubicle.

Next year I will insist on my usual separate room and restrict my bonding activities to the daytime.

Tvåvåningsbussar
och londontaxi
gungar förbi
på vår promenad
från Victoria station
vi går tätt på rad

Tegelhus med
skjutfönsterstil
gjutgärnsstaket
kring källartrapp
besannar snart
vår Londonbild

Stället vi söker
ligger vid sidan
men ändå centralt
nära Kings Cross
spänningen stiger
- vad är det vi valt?

Nöjeslivet
en fredagskväll
så här vid elva
kretsar kring gatans
snabbmatsbarer
när ställena stänger

Bakom en glasdörr
ung personal
vid en lien lobby
med fuskpälsfotölj
vandrarhemmet
är ungarnas val

Våningssängar
av kortare slag
i kyffigt möblerad
sovrumssal
är man lån får man ligga
på diagonal

Åtta till tio
i källarens matsal
rostat bröd
med marmelad
kaffe och te
samt ett yoghurtval

Ungdomar mest
femton till tjugo
skramlar vant
med bestick och mugg
som i en skolsal
tittar blygt under lugg

2008-06-20 Mats Hammarlund

Lublin, Poland.

Youth hostel.

Tonight I’m staying at a great little youth hostel in the Jing’an area of Shanghai. Been here 4 nights already. Highly recommended. See the linked map for full details.

Map and hostel information

Score: 8/10

We stayed in the hostel come hotel at Zinkensdamm and would really recommend it. First of all, the location is great. Its on Sodermalm, which means there are three or four veggie restaurants in easy reach and there are the shops in Soder nearby to wander round. The public transport links are good – its about five minutes walk away from the number 4 bus route and about 10 minutes walk from the Zinkensdamm T Bahn stop – so you are three stops from Gamla Stan, the old town, or four stops from T Centralen which is the intersection of a number of T Bahn lines and Stockholm’s central station for trains to the rest of Sweden.

The hostel is set in area of parkland, which makes it a quiet and peaceful spot and its right next a set of allotments (more like leisure gardens as they seem to be used mainly for flower growing and all sizeable summer houses). We were fortunate to be invited to have a nosy round one of the plots…

The hostel itself is good. Rooms are clean. We had an ensuite double room – reasonable size, clean, had a TV, wardrobe, bed side tables, heated towel rail, windows that open and a hairdryer (not that I need it). This was 730 Kr per night, which is pretty reasonable compared to the cost of hotels.

Linen hire was extra – 60Kr and we also paid a 70Kr cleaning deposit, which is refunded if you clean and service the room yourself before you leave.

Breakfast is extra, either 70Kr for the hostel buffet or 110Kr for the hotel buffet. There’s very little difference between the two. The hotel breakfast has a slightly wider selection – more choice of cereals, yoghurt, runny rather than solid honey and allows you to sit in a slightly more relaxed setting. Both breakfasts provide access to a range of types of tea bag and hot water. Most importantly, the tea bags include Twinings English Breakfast.

I would really recommend staying here and would definitely come back.

We also stayed at the Gardet hostel on to other side of Stockholm, and would definitely recommend staying at Zinkensdamm rather than Gardet (had a very small room with no space to unpack any clothes, no air con and windows that, at present, only open with a special key that you get from reception and a number of rooms are off a communal lobby area with internet access and books so it can feel a little like you’re potentially being watched as you enter and exit your room). We found the location and the quality of the accommodation much better at Zinkensdamm.

Type:

Building is an old mill, 1.255m2, gross 6.275 m2, with 4.635 m2 of usuable  space. 5 floors, mass stone and brick construction, walls 120-154cm thick

Project:

Renovation project includes a youth hostel (badly needed in the area), with 2 reading areas,  2 galeries, book store, training facilities, auditorioum, day & night bar, restaurant with terrace, museum, …

Value: EUR 4.5 – 5 Mill.

All the necessary permits are acquired and valid. The project can be started right away. Local government supports this project.

All interested investors should contact us via e-mail with their offer.

很開心一覺醒來是巴黎的第二天，昨天晚上睡到四點多就再也睡着了，肚子只叫餓，可能是時差的原因。捱到天剛亮六點鐘就爬起來了。昨晚很累，想立即入睡，發現床單還沒鋪。一塊塊白布都不知能不能稱是床單。和朋友抱怨，這幾年公差和出遊都是住五星級酒店，為什麼委屈自己住來這裡。嘴裡是這麼說，但其實我心中一點也無所謂，只是衡口而出。我是很樂意嘗試這種青年旅社，背囊的旅遊。青春易逝，趁自己還有幾年的青春一定嘗試這種經驗。

 Youth Hostel是包一個早餐的。設在個簡陋的Canteen里，早餐有法包，配牛油，果醬，另有咖啡，橙計無限供應。算是挺豐富了。可是法包特硬，每次要拿餐刀和法包斗爭很久，法包才被我慢慢征服，支離破碎地散在盤子裡，全是面包碎。牙根嚼得很酸，要連喝幾口橙汁才能咽下去。

 我一早就坐在Canteen裡了，那時還沒有客人。過一會才見到旅客一個個到。有些人我都估不到他們是來自哪個國家。有黃皮膚的，白皮膚的，黑皮膚的，有的是母子，母女。有的看上去已屆中年，更多的是年輕人。不用說大家有着共同的目標是來這個浪漫之都去發掘她的魅力，體驗她的故事…

 今天打算是羅浮宮和迪士尼樂園。