A Young Person's Guide To Hitting The Road In Style

Here's the lowdown. I have just returned, remarkably still alive, from an incredible trip through Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Greece. A lone ranger of a best friend, complete with an entirely unprecedented mohican, decided to plan, fund and stick by this daring trip by my side.

James Rothney. The man who made the bold move to hit the road with me. 

In the weeks before our departure, we heard often that seventeen was too young to be undertaking such a trip. Perhaps we would be mugged, murdered, or, worst of all, unable to book accommodation.

Yet here we are, safely home.

A strong element preventing people from realizing their potential to see the world outside their front door is fear. Fear of the unknown, of leaving their steady financial bubble, of the types of people they will encounter in certain destinations.

Here is a guide for young people wanting to visit new places for themselves. A guide which could help you to become fearless.

This section is home to some vital tips I wish someone had talked us through prior to the big journey. Often crafted through unfortunate personal experience, these pointers will ensure you have a safe and satisfying adventure, without making the same mistakes as us!

• Don't trust train timetables and routes planned in advance online. The information you get about European rail transport on the internet is often misleading, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, where funding for railway maintenance is seemingly almost non-existent, and much less of a damn is given about your convenience.

Seriously, only trust the information you get at the train station itself. Or you'll end up like us:

•In need of a night out and lacking funding? Simply strapped for cash? Save yourself a considerable amount on feeding yourself by grabbing something a little lighter on your savings. James and I found that some winning budget options include:

Instant rice, noodles, and pasta   are easy to make, quick to cook and seemingly cheap everywhere.

Croatian bakeries are renowned for their delicious budget food. The man depicted was fined for giving away free bread..

Bakeries not only offer an interesting variety of delicious local foods, but also cost a considerable amount less than eating out at a restaurant. Individual pizza slices, huge and at around 50p a pop, were the way forward when trying to keep a close eye on funds in Croatia.

Hostel Kitchens actually contained enough communally available ingredients to rustle up a decent meal without having to spend a penny. Just scour the cupboards and hope it's yours to take!

•Staying safe is essential as a young tourist. Your risk taking reputation is seen by some as an easy target for taking advantage of. So, when hooking up with people you don't know already, make sure you have a public meeting place to avoid running into getting trouble. Ultimately, taking this precaution means that you won't feel under threat whilst mixing with others abroad.

A couple of these guys wanted to chill out with us in Serbia, so we arranged a public meeting place at Belgrade Arena. Check out the evening we had over there!

•Before entering any country for any length of time, know the conversion rate. This will help you budget, and ensure you avoid being ripped off, as we were by a Macedonian taxi driver who managed to make us withdraw £210 of Macedonian Denar for a journey he offered at £50.

Never trust these tricky individuals when you're travelling. Not that I'd let a personal vendetta influence the advice..

Here are some memorable moments from our underaged venture through Eastern Europe.

Night Train Supernova
My first ever night train was a mesmerizing and unusual experience. It was just two days after landing at Zagreb airport and beginning the fearsome feat of going out alone into Eastern Europe. Already hungry for more adventure, we found ourselves leaving the rugged charm of Zagreb behind for the allegedly more relaxed and easygoing beach setting of Split.

The journey time shouldn't have been anywhere near nine hours. However, with an average train speed speculated by a local shopkeeper to be around 35 km/h, we would have to work with what we had.

Opting to keep ourselves safe from bag snatchers, James and I chose to sleep in four hour shifts. I was quite content with drawing the sunrise slot. It meant I could stay awake and marvel at the dawn with my headphones firmly on a perfect playlist for the moment.

The sleepless nature of a nine hour night train journey allowed for glimpses of rare beauty through the Croatian mountains caught between Zagreb and Split.

Just as the sun crept it way over the mountains, "Champagne Supernova", an Oasis classic, chose just the right time to narrate a perfect little moment, established as the warm hue of the sun spilled its way over the mountaintops and out into the dull blue canvas of an early morning sky.

Balcony Bliss
See above for the sublime rustic surroundings to our hostel balcony in Split, Croatia.

An unexpected rule of thumb was established by James and I on our travels - if a hostel has a balcony, you're going to have a smashing time there. Our balcony in Sarajevo was jam-packed with beers, cockroaches, and a vast array of great characters such as this creative rapper , However, the balcony revellers in Hostel Ana, Split, are the most memorable.

I'd give an arm to once again spend time chatting and drinking beers in the cooling shade of the canopy with the seemingly endless network of family that own the hostel. Not to mention some of the open minded and unanimously party-loving crowd of various visitors. People we spent hours just kicking back and enjoying the scenery with include:

Marco: Finnish maverick with definite weak spot for women, and who owned the world's first mobile phone to come with a camera while working for Ericsson. Ended up coming with us to Bosnia and Serbia!

Pedro: Self-professed Brazilian Badboy living in London. Constantly cracking jokes, a really hilarious and genuine guy who won't hesitate to make fun out of anything possible.

Matilde, Marie and Marue: Trio of bubbly French girls who always seemed to have bought every ingredient the supermarket had to offer for their  mealtime picnics.

Costa Rican Freddie: Hilarious guy who we spent several hours hanging out and having a deeply interesting political conversation with very late at night, before he proudly announced around 4am that there was a local girl texting him claming that she was waiting for a quickie. I've never seen a man leave more promptly in my life!

Last Man Standing

After spending an evening drinking our hostel's own supply of Rakija (a concentrated spirit), it felt right to settle down for a rare snooze. Yet the night had other plans for me, and after some crafty convincing from a Parisian girl called Marie, it was time to head out for yet another night. Sneaking our way onto one of the floating clubs based on the Belgrade danube, we were treated to a night of heavy (if obnoxiously loud) house music and a continuous flow of drinks.

Belgrade is home to some cracking nights out clubbing.

Although some of our group ventured back to the hostel, a fantastic four emerged victorious over the club closing time. We kept on dancing on the danube deck outside to the distant echo of more hardcore venues which allegedly kept going until 9am.

During our continuous partying on the Danube's banks, we noticed that this guy looked lost and confused. He kept offering to drive the girls home, before asking us if we had a car he could use! We agreed to some snaps with the poor bloke.

As the sun rose over the bridge that had guided us on our way to the clubs, we met other revellers still desperate to dance who continued to join our seemingly endless circle of movement well into the morning after the night before. Belgrade's skyline was the perfect backdrop to our own personal rebellion against closing times.

Appreciating the view. Nothing new there.

Making our way back to the hostel well into the following morning. A beautiful, crisp day for it too!

Here we have a list of everything obtained free of charge during our trip. If you are an adventurous type, you too can take advantage of the fact that the best things in life are free!

Sam Three hefty chunks of complimentary restaurant bread. Fed lovingly to an alarmingly large flock of hungry pigeons.

This particular feat made me feel like Robin Hood, so I made sure to continue the tradition of 'bread borrowing' every time restaurant staff had their back turned throughout the holiday.

James Sketchy use of someone else's shampoo left unattended in the showers of our Zagreb hostel.

Sam Impressively shaped large beer mug, actually a gift from a flustered bar worker who wanted to convince us to leave so that she could close the premises for a night.

James Asked to keep a Mythos beer branded ashtray to a Greek kebab shop owner, who was clearly amused by the request and gave James a brand new one free of charge.

Both Night in a hotel room! No, we didn't do a runner, but owners of a hotel in Thessaloniki were convinced we had already paid our room fee for the night. This never occurred.

Sam Meal in a Greek sandwich restaurant. Again, the manager insisted that James had already paid for my food and that I should start eating before it went cold. No money had exchanged hands.

Many thanks for reading! Make sure to stay tuned, I'll be making more posts for young people who want to craft their own adventures. 

5 Things To Avoid Like The Plague On Holiday

Ever been the victim of a disasterous mishap on your travels? Things tend to go awry when abroad? Your trips should be a domain of excitement, adventure and new experiences, but here's a list of five experiences you really don't want to be having whilst venturing overseas.

5. Hotel Hell

 The unfortunate Colombian lodgings of impromptu world circumnavigator Michael Hodson

Putting plenty of research and thought into your accommodation is always a must, even on the tightest of budgets. Whether it's noisy neighbors, shabby showers or a bed full of bugs, having low quality lodgings can always put a real downer on your holiday buzz.

Don't forget that atrocious accommodation is a worldwide phenomenon; from Paris to Peru, you could end up staying somewhere horrible almost anywhere.


Checking the joint out firsthand is always advisable,  but whatever you do, make sure the feedback online is good few notches nicer from this catastrophic review:



4. Conspicuous Cuisine


By all means, head out and try all of the delicious foreign grub your delicate stomach can possibly bear; an open mind to new types of food is always welcome. Just don't go for anything 'roadside' without taking into consideration the warm, rancid oil your meal may just well have been prepared in.

I have learned this the hard way, after having almost fallen off the summit of a mountain whilst violently reproducing the contents of a suspicious dessert purchased earlier on. Another family member was quarantined at home by the NHS after the same meal caused a rare form of dysentery. Nice.

Moral of the story? It is indeed advisable to be careful about food. Water washed salads and ice in drinks should be avoided in areas where tap water is not safe to drink.
3. Train Sleeping

Heading to Birmingham and ending up in Beirut? You've probably snoozed on the train. Sleeping without setting an alarm on a train can be a deadly mistake, and with long distance trains common throughout mainland Europe and Asia, missing your stop to catch some shuteye can leave you in entirely the wrong country.

If you do plan on sleeping on a night train, make sure you set an alarm or have someone trustworthy to wake you up, and ensure your possessions are attached to you in order to keep the penny pinchers at bay.
2. Poorly Made Package Deals

Aiming to spend your holiday surrounded by the very types of people, activities and even food that you were specifically trying to avoid? A run of the mill package holiday would be perfect for you.

Yes, they are easier to book around a busy lifestyle, and a select few may allow you to customise them to suit your needs. However , when put together poorly, these packages can suck some of the adventure, thrill and sense of possibility out of a holiday.  So don't fall for any package deal which has a complete set list of  things to do/ places to go, and no say in where you stay!

1. Passport Peril


As trivial as this may sound, don't leave yours at home! In doing so, you would not only be denied entry to even the most lenient of destinations, but would also be opening up an endless chasm of social tension between yourself and any companions who mustered up the effort to come all the way to the airport with you and endure a good couple of hours of queuing. You will never live it down, and if they decide to go ahead with the holiday regardless of your disastrous mishap, you may find yourself ostracized for the remainder of the trip.




Tweets about "#tourism"

As a tragic personal footnote, never forget to buy a visa for a country that requires one.

Double check if your next travel destination requires a visa here

My family inflicted this atrocity upon me in a colossal blunder which left us threatened with a fifteen hour flight back to London from Ho Chi Minh. I was only eleven. After considerable bribing and a night in a police-controlled hotel, we were kindly handed a visa and allowed to continue our trip, but I am convinced that other nations would not be so forgiving.

Madness is Misunderstood - A Fresh Outlook on Mental Health

It's no secret that people with a mental illness are consistently ostracized, misunderstood and labelled as society's lepers by everyone from the misinformed public, to the media and entertainment industry.

Personally, this doesn't surprise me in the slightest. It is an unfortunate side-effect of a society desperate to appear organised and well-informed that anything it doesn't properly understand is seen as threatening and socially unacceptable.

Need evidence? Here are a list of things that have been demonised, outcast, or made taboo at some point in history because the world hasn't understood them properly:

•Homosexuality
•Racial equality
•Gender equality
•Atheism
•Tattoos
•Countless Religeous Beliefs
•Disability
•Unemployment
•The Poor
•Homelessness
•Street Art
•Jazz

Mental Illness is just another of those things that is just too complex and controversial for the world to comprehend yet, although 20% of us will supposedly suffer from one during our lifetime. Whereas, after many thousands of years of intensive research, we can understand that bacteria, viruses and fungi are the verified cause of physical illness, mental illness is an almost entirely new concept that divides the science community not only on how it works and the causes behind its occurrence, but also on how it should be treated. Here are some of the ways that we have historically attempted to deal with the awkward and sensitive existence of mental health issues:





Panorama exposes the disgusting physical abuse of mentally and physically handicapped patients of UK "care home" Winterborne View

Mental health treatment today is a far cry from the dingy and dark corridors of  institutions like the Danvers State Mental Asylum (pictured above), which darkly thrived on electric shock therapy throughout the 1950s, but met it's ultimate demise in 1992 when the doors closed for the final time. However, changes in psychiatry saw the number of people given medication for a mental health issue increasing by five times in the same period. Is therapy and understanding for mental health issues really improving, or are pharmaceutical companies influencing diagnoses and taking money treating the issues of your everyday person with drugs no more effective than placebos in treating the 'chemical imbalance' in the brains of those facing mental challenges?

Altering the chemical balance of the brain, and with it the state of mind of the patient,  is rife throughout the USA, the UK, and, in particular, New Zealand, as a  method of helping mental health patients cope with their issues. Seretonin and Dopamine (happy chemicals) levels are changed in the hope that they permanently adjust. The problem for me is that this does not always happen, leaving ordinary people who may not have had a problem in the first place dependant on an expensive pill, often lovingly crammed with side effects, in order to get through the day.

Some food for thought: Perhaps the term 'mental illness' is inherantly flawed, leading the public towards a certain opinion on the people in society who have thought processes deviating from the norm. Tweets about "#mentalhealth"



Just as a footnote, I've started working with local mental health charity SAFE (Suicide Awareness For Everyone) as a committee member creating materials for, organising and carrying out events promoting awareness for mental health issues, and how they are both common and manageable. Advice and support is also offered. Here's a poster I have made as part of the whole shenanigan; of course if anyone can actually make the event, feel free!

Staying Positive: Looking Ahead to a Stellar Summer After Exams!

It's that testing time of year again, in the most literal sense possible. Exam period.

Pressure's on as far I'm concerned. Usually, I am quite a confident chap when it comes to my education, yet as the need to ace my results and begin achieving my journalistic ambitions looms large, unease is mounting within me. Admittedly, it's tempting to just procrastinate and figure that everything will turn out dandy, but deep down I know that's hardly a winning attitude.  I'm certain I'm not the only one starting to lose a little sleep and quiver in my boots.

Sums up the exam feeling perfectly!

In between extensive, occasionally successful attempts at understanding everything I've been taught during this entire year, I have been attempting a little self motivation; things to revive the original, exciting and ultimately bearable brand of lifestyle I had been proudly sporting before teachers around the country started panicking about their competence and exam results.

Much like many teachers' desperate attempts to shove every student up a grade boundary and avoid an unceremonious axing, I ended up doing some pretty strange things to lift my confidence and mood. These include:

- Ordering a baseball jacket personalised with 'SK' on the front, among a startling variety of other unnecessary Amazon purchases

- Playing a role in several night time bonfires
- Starting an extensive collection of secondhand books
- Developing a man-crush on Paolo Nutini, and regularly turning to him for pathetic amounts of reassurance
- Burning exotic incense in every corner of my room, a sure sign of pining for a foreign atmosphere
- Drinking to exam completion before exams had even begun (not alone!)

Such a dream of an album; could get a man through the roughest of patches

Although these quirky little courses of action made a pleasant change from what I like to call 'textboox trauma' (where a person starts to become so accustomed to being alone with solely a textbook for company that they forget entirely how to interact with the people and world around them), I found that I had so much reward to look forward to in the future, I didn't need to focus so much on the struggle of the present, since it would all be worth it!

Things I have on the horizon that just make all the exam effort so much more worthwhile.

Cheeky excursion to Turkey!

It's crazy to think that in fifteen days and after four exams, I'm actually off on holiday! I've never visited the sunny shores of Turkey, and am thoroughly looking forward to seeing a brand new side to Asia. Unfortunately, a little Psychology revision on the beach will have to occur, but this is an art previously mastered in Thailand, and I couldn't ask for a better place to soak in twelve core studies alongside my fair share of sun rays and Turkish culture.

Lycian tombs - Emgrained in the Dalyan cliffside circa 400BC

Unable to resist a little research into this mysterious, Ancient region of Turkey, I have discovered that Dalyan is renowned for its picturesque beaches, mud baths, and curious sea turtle hospitals amongst the ancient ruins that provide an apparently astonishing reminder of the region's remarkably rich history.

I'll be sure to capture a couple of pictures of the beach sports and river tours apparently on offer, and won't be missing out on the Lycian tombs carved into the cliffs!

Interrailing Adventure

Anyone fortunate enough to know me in person or to have already checked out this nifty little blog of mine will be extremely well informed on just how much I am looking forward to scouring the European landscape alongside one of the most hilariously dopey and relaxed people to ever grace this earth, James Rothney https://www.facebook.com/james.rothney?fref=ts.

Tickets are booked to fly to Zagreb in Croatia, and fly back from Mykonos in Greece two and a half weeks later, with an Interrail train pass allowing us free train and ferry transport throughout Europe, affording us to visit an incredible variety of cultural hotspots, backpacker havens, party paradises, and just beautiful places in general in the short time we will be there.  A ridiculous amount of sun, sea, and adventure has been planned to occupy the time.

Images to illustrate the adventure that is planned to take place during our much anticipated eighteen day excursion:

Watersports on the beaches of Split, Croatia

Sampling the famously vibrant nightlife and cultural backbone than runs through the Serbian capital of Belgrade

Residents of the X Hostel in Bucharest, Romania, out and about in town! Staying in a sixteen man dormitary here costs just £4.44 a night, and apparently nice and clean too, although I won't get my hopes up!

Revellers at the Far Out Beach Club on the Greek Island of Ios. £13 a night will treat us to  this

 "Far Out Camping is definitely the most idyllic spot to enjoy your holiday in sunny Greece.
Wake up with in the morning with the peaceful Mylopotas Beach right in front of you and go for a swim, no need to sleep next to a noisy night club.
With pool competitions, table tennis, tennis, volley & basketball, 5x5 football, cinema and cybercafé there are plenty of things to do in the hours between beach and going out at night."

"The Far Out Beach Club is a party zone for backpackers "

Beautiful, expansive landscapes to treat the eyes to on day and night trains throughout Europe.

Reading Festival
Just to top it all off, I'm off to my first festival this summer! Some fantastic artists are hitting the stage this year, and I can't wait to share this experience with a large group of good mates. Here's the line up as of present!



In essence, such an incredible summer gameplan is making all of the hard work seem entirely worth it.  I'm starting to learn that you get out of life what you put in, and this kind of reward package is spurring me on to put a lot in, not only now but for the future as a whole.

Hope you've enjoyed reading. Be sure to keep updated!

The Return of the King: Coming Back Down to Planet Earth from Montpellier Bliss

I am sorry it's been so long since you've been treated to a post. I have been occupied with fulfilling travel duties to write about, and cramming in revision along the way. Nevertheless, I am back, and can assure you that it is with a venegence.

It's certified madness how you can come away from doing something you expected to be interesting at most, and have your outlook on life permanently tweaked, changed even.

Yet here I am, just 888 km away from the scene of the crime (yes, I actually checked the distance between Maidstone and Montpellier), and I feel not only like a better person, but also a more versatile adventurer.

The Surprising Snazz of Montpellier!

A cheeky snapshot of La Comédie I was rather chuffed with. I had one lined up worthy of entering the photograophic history books, but a sly lorry idled it's way into the scene, and ultimately spoiled the glory.

Perhaps if the endless winter that engulfed the United Kingdom had followed us out to Southern France, this place would be another Scarborough or Stevenage. But warmed generously by the much welcome glow of summery sunshine, the effortless charm of Montpellier grew on me almost instantly. Filled to the brim with fashion boutiques, crèpe stands, and stylish, modern bars to cater to the thriving, lively student population, this seemed just the kind of place that anyone would be lucky to live in. The entire place seemed devoid of any concrete; in it's place was a smart marble and limestone cosmopolitan sprawl.

Chowing down on some authentic Pho with the Nguyen family!

Above is a one take snapshot of the family I stayed with. It seems that I got some of the nicest and most interesting people on the rota, and I was even offered to come and stay with them with a friend in the summer when I'm Interrailing!
Left is Marc, a streetwise DJ who took me on a solid night out with his seemingly endless acquaintances. Right is Génevive, a fantastic cook, and Fréderic, a European marathon winner with an incredibly healthy lifestyle and a spiritualist attitude.

Pho is heaven. They literally cooked heaven.

View from my bedroom window on the last day, spent chilling out, reading The Beach, listening to the Arctic Monkeys and basking in the warm sunshine. Real soul food.

Here's a little run-through of the routine that was in place

•Wake up in a spotlessly clean and tidy room in a ridiculously comfortable bed to my alarm, feeling like I actually really wanted to get out of bed. This may be the first time in history that any seventeen year old male has felt this way on a regular basis when forcably arisen at 7:45.

•Have a lovely chat in French if anyone was up, and eat several bowls of cereal.

•Catch the Tram with Ellie, participate in illicit cigar purchasing (for a friend, not me) and entirely legal daily supermarket pottering.

•Recieve AS French guidance from a hilarious character named Floric who wore the same jumper every day, and seemed to have a deep emotional connection with this song.
 

•Sneak out at break and use our time to rush here

To merrily munch our way through these

An exemplary crèpe

With this glorious bunch in our own perfect spot

•Finish of our 'learning activities' (vaguely educational, surprisingly helpful) and grab lunch.

•Spend the afternoon doing a variety of things, including ice-skating, shopping, bowling, laser questing, hitting the beach (during which, of course, I found myself scouring through the hippie beach market to buy incense and postcards like a good little tourist) and catching the train down to explore Avignon.



All fairly harmless and nice. The evenings were, on occasion, a slightly different story.

A little over-enthusiastic with the shots. A previous excursion with Marc and his DJ elite had taken its toll!

All in all, my faith in European travel was strongly bolstered, and I had a great time out with some lovely people. French lessons no longer seem to drag on either, and actually seem much more engaging, so I must have learned something out there.

Bring on the next batch of travel! The travel bug seems to be growing on me more and more. Adventuring is my addiction, and I'm forever itching to get off my English schoolgoer backside and dose up!

PS: I may well start posting a quirky, fun take on world affairs on here. You could well be in for some exclusive world news, and a fresh take on things. That's if you're lucky.

I would say au revoir, but that's far too cliché and annoying.
Ciao!

Exchange Outcast - I'm hitting up Montpellier, and speaking only French!

Thierry Henry is a living god, and he came from France so it's not as shite as some people think!

Want to read this post in a funky new language for a real cultural kick? Check out the all-new 'Translate' button and prepare for either utter confusion, or perhaps even increased understanding if I really can't write!

And so my petulant little fable begins..

Come this time in two days, I will probably be eating a hopefully delicious meal with a French-Vietnamese family (at least supposedly, judging by the second name Nguyễn which over 40% of the Vietnamese population share) in Montpelier, speaking only French and trying to comprehend a notoriously fast-paced language, all whilst attempting to remain in confident and polite prose. I'm not ready.

Apparently, this is Montpellier. It looks pretty nice, in the way that Bristol would look awesome if you took a really knockout picture. Still, if the sun's shining and it's lovely and warm, I am more than pleased.

Apparently we're going skating, bowling, and shopping in Avignon in the pleasant climate of Southern France, and I would be getting really excited, if it wasn't for the sudden realization that my language skills are going to be the laughing stock of the region.

Currently, I am committing the cardinal sin of procrastination from revising my speaking skills and topics right before both the trip and my A-Level French speaking exam. Where I felt prepared and on top of my game after my GCSE equivalent, I feel as if I have been submitted by some kind of nasty AQA accident this time around. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll do fine and come out with a smile on my face, but the scale of what is to be achieved in the coming weeks is getting to me, as per usual.

Culinary heaven. Seriously, if they make Pho, I refuse to leave. Please, please be French Vietnamese.

Literally cannot wait to meet Marc, Claire, and co. I really did luck out getting the (hopefully) Vietnamese family, as we will have plenty to talk about on South East Asia, and Pho in particular. I'm hoping that this Marc fella is a real lad and will introduce me to his mates, and I really hope that Bennett aren't poxy and allow me time go out and hang out with them, maybe drink a couple of beers and have a great time. Guarenteed, I will be doing anything to not come across as the awkward exchange student who isn't really confident or willing enough to mix with anyone. That would suck; I have seen it happen too many times and don't want it to happen again.

I am the only guy going on this trip, which is both a ridiculous ratio, and a mixed blessing. Despite the barrage of females venturing outside of their homeland and, you know, without sounding too crude and nasty, 'feeling experimental', I will also be without fellow men to form a wolfpack, and will be relying on French guys to provide the banter.

They had better be real geezers; not introverted little scamps who write blogs about their feelings!
(Please note that the above sentence may contain a light dusting of sarcasm)

Bring on Montpellier! I'll take some cheeky snaps, bring the banter throughout, and show you guys soon. Perhaps even when I'm there! Peace out.


Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Skurzey
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/samkersee

The Backpacking Adventure

I am eagerly anticipating the much-needed arrival of summertime. An end to the bleak,cold weather will also signify an end to the AS Level Exams, and I have ensured that all of the hard work and adaptation to change will be subject to a sizeable paying off come the 23rd July.

Do I trust the British weather throughout the coveted, fickle British 'sunny-season' these summer months.
No. No way.
I've taken things into my own hands.

This summer, my best friend James and I embark on a two man backpacking mission, with our Saturday jobs having already produced the fruits of two one-way flights from London Gatwick to Zagreb, Croatia and two return journeys from Mykonos, Greece to London Luton two and a half weeks later. Though perhaps shy of a full on, gap year adventure of a lifetime, this is set to be one of the defining moments of our lives so far.

How are we getting about inbetween? Here, there, and everywhere, thanks to the wonders of an Interrail pass that will grant us exclusive free access to every train in Europe.

Eager Beaver - Attempting to book my pass so far in advance that the  Interrail site wouldn't allow it. So much for saving up for it!

I am literally bating my breath for planned excursions to the renowned Hobo Bear Hostel on the first night in Zagreb, through to sea-swimming, beach bumming and and island hopping in Greece, through to sampling the apparently impressive nightclub scene in Serbia.

http://belgradeatnight.com/clubs/

Above is a small sample of our plans. We are banking on a lenient age identification process throughout Eastern Europe! There are hopes to sightsee, take night trains, have a crack at jetskiing and other watersports , go camping, and check out Tomorrowland and Off  festivals in Poland and Belgium. Any oppurtunity that comes our way for activity, we're taking it. Such oppurtunities are begging to be grabbed onto, and we are quite prepared to do so!

 Hostelbookers has shone light on remarkably cheap accommodation. Also I may have somewhere set up to stay with a family in Romania for free, which is a godsend. A fine opportunity to return to my rude introduction to alcohol with the fabled local brew, plum soika, along with some of the best food I have ever tasted, upon my first excursion to Romania.

Having someone as ill-advised and adventurous as myself there will be truly excellent. I've thought about this trip a ridiculous amount, and personally can't wait for the (mis)adventures to begin!

James and I will be sure to keep you updated on the progress of an adventure certain to reach epic proportions.