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Page 1: Shoestring Issue #4

ShoestringExploring the world - on a budget

Issue #4 | FreeApril / May 2011

Mongolia # Yumthang Valley # Oxford tours # Malaysia

Star ChildrenCaring for autistic youngsters in China

Teaching abroadJobhunting in South Korea

Music KickstartOnline fundraiser for gigs

Baltic to BalkansFrom the sea to the mountains

Benefits of a Gap YearWhy travelling the world is good for you

Plus:

Stay in touch!Tell mum what you’re up to

Page 2: Shoestring Issue #4

Exactly one year ago, I was finishing my

degree and part of it was to create a

magazine. Thus, Shoestring was born. Now,

on its first anniversary, it has grown into a

32-page travel magazine with worldwide

readership and globetrotting contributors.

And for this, I want to thank every reader and

every contributor from my heart! You are

making Shoestring possible!

In this birthday issue, you will see some new

and some familiar faces. Niamh shares her Malaysian adventure

about being a scam victim. Our intrepid contributor Erik has had a

look around in the Eastern parts of Europe. Alex has been working

with autistic children in China whereas Courtney and Thantcyn were

exploring the remoter regions of Mongolia.

As always, some practical tips concerning your travels are also

included, so Shoestring doesn’t just offer experiences and inspiration,

but also safe and sound advice! Let’s keep it this way!

Happy Travels,

2 Shoestring

Issue #4

Editor-in-chiEf: Cornelia Kaufmann

PicturE Editor: Cornelia Kaufmann

dEsign & Layout: Cornelia Kaufmann

contributors: Erik Jelinek, Niamh Keoghan,

Gio Andollo, Tom Stockwell, Pariket Doshi, Brittany

Kemp, Alex Hofmann, Nicolai Larsen, Lacey Thacker,

Courtney Niday-Nyan, Thantcyn Nyan, Jennifer

Levenbook, Dana Couppoussamy

PhotograPhErs: Cornelia Kaufmann (CoKa),

Youth Hostel Association Australia (YHAAU),

Courtney Niday-Nyan (CoNi), Michael Loyd Young

(MiYo), Alex Hofmann (AlHo), Kelly Larbes (KeLa),

Vikash Kumar (ViKu), Pariket Doshi (PaDo), Niamh

Keoghan (NiKe), Pushpak Banerjee (PuBa), SSG Music

(SSG), Gio Andollo (GiAn), Erik Jelinek (ErJe), Simon

Butcher (SiBu), Tom Stockwell (ToSt), Todd Adams

(ToAd)

covEr Photo: Red phone box by Ben Brown

contact: [email protected]

WEbsitE: www.shoestring-magazine.com

G’ Day!

CorneliaIn this issue:

Living in a ger with

Mongolia’s herders

P. 5

Visit India’s beautiful

Yumthang Valley

P. 9

Teaching English in

South Korea

P. 11

What’s the best way of

keeping in touch?

P. 14

A cautionary tale about

cons in Malaysia

P. 16

Planning a tour with

fundraiser Kickstarter

p. 23

Exploring Eastern Europe

from Baltic to Balkans

P. 26

Meeting up with Mowgli in

Peru

P. 28

And much more inside!

Page 3: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 3

Travel News & Deals

Musicians Corner

Musicians Corner, Nashville’s freelawn party featuring music of allforms, will kick off its secondseason on Saturday, May 7th from

3 to 6 p.m. Inspired by London’sSpeakers Corner, Musicians Cornerbrings musical diversity to a free,outdoor setting in Centennial Park.

Kenya flies to Ivory Coast againKenya Airways flights toAbidjan/Dakar were re routedAccra, Ghana on 1st April due tosecurity reasons. But as a result ofthe improved political and securitysituation in Cote d’ivoire, Abidjanflights have been reinstated. KenyaAirways flies daily to Dakar, 3 timesa week via Abidjan and 4 times aweek via Bamako Mali.

New ride at UK theme park!

2011 sees the arrival of a brand ne

w

ride for thrill lovers, Storm Surge

at Thorpe Park, Surrey. Visitors can

climb aboard a life raft and get in

a

spin on what is set to be the ulti-

mate sky-high spinning water ride.

It

offers the chance to go round the

twist and lose control on the jaw-

dropping 64ft spiraling descent

whilst trying to stay dry in the

line of water cannon fire!

Check out what festivals theUK has to offer in 2011 atwww.thefestivalcalender.co.uk

Changing the

guard at the

Tower of

London, Unite

d Kingdom

Girl’s tattoo: M’aim

er pour qui je

suis - Love me fo

r who I am

Sunset over Kande Beach, MalawiDo you have a story to tell?Have you had the experience of

a lifetime somewhere off the

beaten track? Discovered some-

thing new to do? Or taken a

spectacular photo that’s just

too good to be hidden away?

Then get published in

Shoestring. Send your stories and pictures

to [email protected] from

the steps of the

Capitolio, Havana, C

uba

Page 4: Shoestring Issue #4

4 Shoestring

In need of a summer job?Work at aYouth hostel!Youth hostels and Backpackers are a great place to meet new people, but also a greatplace to earn the money to fund the next trip. Whether abroad or at home, youth hostelsare always looking for friendly staff. If you can’t travel, just work where the travellers are.

‘I met my bestfriend workingat Chester YHA!’

We’ve probably all doneit before: spent a nightin a youth hostel.

Whether on a school trip orbackpacking tour, YHA’s are anall-time favourite place to stay.And working in a YHA is just asmuch fun as being a guestthere, say David Simister andLauren Moore.

While his course matesheaded towards home and thesun for the summer at the endof his first year, journalismgraduate David Simisterdecided to stay in Carlisle.

He had been offered a job atthe Old Brewery, which turnsinto Carlisle YHA every July toSeptember. “I worked there forthree summers in a row – I justliked it.” In fact, he liked thejob so much, that he evenworked at the YHA in Chesterfor a month.

“The YHA is a friendlyorganisation. There was a senseof community that mostcompanies don’t seem to have.Everybody there had a goodtime; it was always a laugh andgood fun. And the job isbasically the same in everyYHA” David explains.

His job included working atthe reception desk, cleaningthe rooms and answering anyquestions the guests had. “InCarlisle, I was the specialist forbus routes in Cumbria” hejokes. “I didn’t even have tolook them up.” And although hewasn’t a local or an expert on

anything in Chester, hemanaged to get by there aswell. The only thing Davidadmits would have helped himon the job was training in aforeign language, ascommunication with foreignguests got tricky sometimes.

Travel journalist LaurenMoore, who worked at ChesterYHA for nine months, agreesthat language was an issue attimes. “I tried to check in aFrench family once and I don’tspeak any French. It was a bitawkward” she admits.

However, both Lauren andDavid think that the goodexperiences of working at aYHA far out-weigh the negativeones. “People there seem tohave a different mindset. Youget to talk to guests and someof their experiences and storiesare really inspiring. It’s stufflike that, that you wouldn’t getworking in a bar which makes itgreat” says David and has aspecific example in mind.

“There was this retiredcouple from Kent and they hadan old Morris Minor 1000 andtook that car along every mileof the UK coastline – that wasjust incredible!”

“Getting to meet people is

one of the best things aboutthe job,” Lauren agrees. “It’snot just the guests; it’s thestaff as well. We were allroughly the same age between20 and 25, and were on thesame wavelength.

Some of us had beentravelling before; some of uswere planning to go, so it wasa constant exchange. I met mybest friend in Chester! I lovedit!”

While the staff in Carlislemostly stayed the same whileDavid was working there, hesays it changed quite a bitwhile he was in Chester. “Itbroadened everybody’shorizons, as the staff was notonly from all over the UK, butalso from all over Europe.”

The Old Brewery has beenCarlisle’s YHA for 12 years, andopens for 10 weeks everysummer. According to managerDee Carruthers, it’s a very busy

time. “We’ve had 1,700 visitorslast year. Many think we justclose down when the studentsleave, but instead it’s busierthan ever!”

The location is a majorfactor as well. “Many of ourvisitors do Hadrian’s Wall walkand cycle tours. There’s a realdiversity of people staying withus and some are reallyinteresting groups. Some go onCharity treks, others do it forfun. There’s never a dullmoment.”

So, if you’re still undecidedabout what to do over thesummer, or don’t fancy goingfar to meet interesting people,why not apply at a YHA?Accommodation is provided andall bills are included, whichmeans the money you earn isyours to keep. And on your daysoff, why not go around and seewhat’s going on elsewhere inthe country?

Writer Profile

Name: Cornelia KaufmannAge: 23This globetrotter caught thetravel bug in 2003 and has nointention of ever getting ridof it again

Above: Greeting guests at

the reception.

Left: Entrance to Bellingen

YHA in New South Wales,

Australia. YHAs and

backpackers can be located

anywhere, from rural

settings to big cities, so

choose one you’d be happy

to work at. Photos: YHAAU

Page 5: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 5

lIvIng WIth mongolIan

Yak and coW herders

‘The young herdergirls’ giggles sailedacross the lengthof vast fields’

Writer Profile

Name: Courtney Niday-Nyan& Thantcyn NyanThis couple from Texas ispropelled by a whimsicalwanderlust for action-packedfrolicking around the world.

Experiencing and immersing yourself in other cultures is veryimportant when you are travelling. A Texan couple spent timein gers far away from Ulaanbaatar to get to know the rural life.

Living in a ger is like beingAlice standing under thecaterpillar on his fleshy

mushroom. The wood burning stove

vents plumes of white smokeout of a rusty iron pipe just likethe chain smoking caterpillar.

An umbrella of wooden gillsvein across the underside of themushroom’s meaty top. Woolenfelt pounded to the thicknessof steaks form a fat layerblanketing the ger’s woodenskeleton and dampen all soundmaking one feel like a baby inthe womb.

Our neighbour was aMongolian baby and a marvel tome with his powder-softpillowy cheeks, vice-lockgripping fingers, and easysmile.

I’d peer out through myminiature door and see himriding belly first across thegrass on a blanket pulled by hisauntie. “Come outside, stepthrough the tiny portal,” heand the countryside beckoned.

Entering this world, normalis readjusted in the smalldifferences. First, you meetthe quiet. Here whirring of the

winged crickets is shushed andnot fat mouse nor bird darepeep.

Quiet is an all consumingentity that stuffs fluff in yourears until sound foils its plans.Sound swims great distances insearch of an available ear.

The young herder girls’giggles sailed across the lengthof vast fields, like voicesthrough a dream.

In this land of no ocean, theonly waves found are waves ofgrazing animals. The ger campmust have been a stop on theirfavorite restaurant tour. Ashuffling, first thought to be aperson, revealed its un-humanvoice neighing to a neighbour.

Cows, yaks, and their hybridoffspring, lumbered their furryrumps up and down themountains everyday past us.Sneaking up on hundreds ofsneezing goats I edged among asea of incessant plucking ofgrass from ground to spendlunch time with my goatyfriends.

I wondered if they would askme to tea, when I saw twostruggle to dunk heads into apot of raisin tea left by a sillyhuman, but alas no tea for mejust plucking pals.

I laughed at the mountainsmocking the sky, and ticklingthe clouds, while patches offorrest gossiped in the rustlingwind. That was until the cloudsblackened, puffed to theirpuffiest, and boiled through

the August sky, to pelt me withice balls.

Run, run to the safety ofyour mushroom! Lighteningsizzled in the dark grey world,and bit a poor tree simply forbeing too tall. I hefted the feltup over my small door to peekout at the falling sky.

Night brought out gigglingteens who helped inmaintaining the ger’s ceilingflap, and fed our stove, till awarm mesmerizing glow pulsedfrom its fiery heart.

Sleep wiggled slowly in, as Iwatched a shadowy animationof flickers, dance on white feltwalls. Somewhere in the night,the fire died and cold crept in,making layers of blankets tucktighter around chins, to lockout the frost.

I felt like the princess andthe pea, only in reverse, beingburied under a stack ofblankets. Gray smoky puffsbloomed, coiled around mydreams, and transported methrough my dark landscape.

Check out Courtney andThantcyn’s travels on

www.ourtravelingcircus.com

Above: A Mongolian Ovoo

surrounded by khadags - blue

scarves- to pay respect to the

gods of the sky (CoNi). Below:

Inside of a ger. Bottom left:

Mongolian horse herder (MiYo).

Bottom right: Typical ger or

yurt (CoNi)

‘Giggling teenshelp maintainthe ger’s ceilingflap and stove’

Page 6: Shoestring Issue #4

6 Shoestring

a trIp to seattle got me

stranded at the aIrportThere is nothing more frustrating while travelling than flights being cancelled or

delayed. Shoestring contributor Brittany Kemp gained some first-hand

knowledge of what to do when your plane just isn’t going anywhere soon.

When I decided to fly toSeattle in February tovisit a friend, I thought

nothing could possibly gowrong.

It was supposed to be astraight-forward round-trip,soaking up the rain andreturning home. Little did Iknow it would turn into anodyssey.

I, for all my neurotic habits,could not control the weather. Icould not change the fact thata gigantic snowstorm wasripping through the UnitedStates when I was headed backfrom Seattle.

“Oh, I’ll be okay,” I stupidlytold my parents when I calledthem from the Detroit airport,the first time around. you!”

Little did I realize thatgetting out of Detroit, in themiddle of a blizzard, to thelittle town across the lake I callhome, would be impossible. Atthat moment, I xqhad ne ideathat I would be spending thenext 48 hours in an aiportwithout the possibility to leave.

At first, the airline was niceenough to give me a spiel abouthow I can use vouchers to get adiscount at a hotel.

But I was groggy and I had

just travelled across thecountry. When the smilingcustomer services personhanded me the voucher, I couldonly squint to see the price tagon this new and reduced hotelroom.

"What?" my mind screamed.I dropped said voucher into anearby litter bin. And then thefun began.

takE airLinE frEEbiEs

AllI had to live on was afeeble amount of money, mylaundry, some books, acomputer and a chocolate bar Ihad bought for my dad back inSeattle. Airports are infamouslyexpensive for just abouteverything, especially food andbeverages. So long, chocolatebar.

"They either give me a freehotel room or I sleep the nighthere! No backing down!" I tolda friend. "I hope you have ablanket."

In retrospect, I wish I haddished out the money for thehotel. Free breakfast, freecoffee, free wi-fi, access toshower and especially a bed. Areal bed. Not one you fashionout of laundry under a chair.

"Do you need a blanket?”one of the airport’s employeescame by. I nodded, eager totake whatever I could get forfree. I was not imagining afluffy comforter and what I gotwas like a fabric paper towel.Keep your expectations low.

bring food With you

I will never forget the dazedmorning-after when I foundmyself a Wendy’s, scoping outbreakfasts. “That will be 11dollars,” the cashier told me. Igrimaced, feeling the vicariouspain of my wallet as I handedher my debit card.

I recommend packing alunch before you go to theairport when a delay orcancellation seems likely.

Also pack a couple ofhandwipes. Some airports donot have showers. Use yourimagination.

don’t go to thE bar

The second day I wasstranded, the airline must havereally counted me as a lostcause. Not even an offer of ahotel this time!

“Your flight’s in themorning,” the woman said tome, ripping off my new receipt.

I gave up, sat under themonitor constantly playing CNNand sulked.

That night, I decided to goto the airport bar. It wastypical- drowning sorrows inwhat I thought would be cheapalcohol.

One thing about thesesituations is the charactersthey tend to throw together. Inmy case, it was me, an olderman en route to a businessfunction in Indiana and asoldier headed back to Erie, mydestination. We all sattogether, slumped over ourdrinks like characters in a BillyJoel song.

After about an hour orthree, I got my bill from thebartender. To say I spent aboutfifty dollars on what amountedto three and a half beers is abit embarrassing, but I did.

The second night washellish. I could barely sleep anddidn't have the energy toattempt the art of "shower in asink." Instead, I rolled into aball and listened to the janitorswax the floor and gossip intheir native languages.

Wait. it's aLL you can do

So I waited and bought toomuch caffeine and made myselflook like a horrible, colourblind nun. People would talk tome around 5 am and I could notform sentences.

"So, where are you fromgirl?" "Banerjemerme zaerene.""Oh sweet. Is that by Tajikistan?I'm digging the hijab." And thenI would just stare. It didn't helpmatters to have a slighthangover. Another reason toavoid alcohol in such scenarios.

This applies in a lot ofdelays. Don't think it's just forthe airport. Whether you'regoing by train or bus, as myfriend Erica informed me of hersimilar dilemma on aGreyhound bus.

"Do not forget your MP3player," she advises. And otherGreyhound-specific tips: "packlots and lots of snacks becauseyou will inevitably grow hungryat the most inopportune times,and use the bathrooms inrestaurants near your stopsbecause the one on the bus isnasty .”

With the airport, though, allyou can do is just wait.

Lesson learned from this:airline delays and cancellationare becoming more and morefrequent. You can take thenecessary precautions, butexpect pitfalls along the way.Such is life, I suppose.

Travellers stranded at

Minneapolis airport. KeLa

Page 7: Shoestring Issue #4

stars and raIn for

autIstIc chInese chIldren

Shoestring 7

Writer Profile

Name: Alex HofmannAge: 21Working with autistic peoplein Germany publishing a bookin 2012 about people withAsperger Syndrome.

While working with a group of Chinese

‘Star Children’ in Beijing for two months,

Alex Hofmann learnt to appreciate

small achievements as well as to accept

everyone just the way they really are.

The first things you will getrid of when you travel toChina are a few habits –

and your own name. „A li ke se“ – I react to these

linked sounds as soon as I walkthrough the colourful door ofthe XingXingYu.

The walls of the old farmhouse have seen better daysand the colour is crumbling tothe floor; every piece offurniture tells stories ofbrutality and seems unique inthe collection of donated gifts.

Everything looks rough-and-ready, a dull smell lingers in theair and the radiator is onlylukewarm. But on the walls Idiscover colourful drawings,cut-out panda bears and a lotof stars.

XingXingYu means “Stars andRain” in English and is anorganisation that provides careand support for autisticchildren – the only one in thewhole of China, althoughalmost 800.000 autistic peoplelive here.

Star children, that’s whatautistic children are called inChina. Parents come from allover the country with theiryoung children to do coursesand learn how to deal witheach other, as well as to meetother parents who experiencethe same problems. My work isin Group Home, where sixautistic children live during theweek.

I will get up with them, eat,go for walks and learn withthem, all according to a strictdaily schedule. We eat –vegetarian – in the smallbasement. Meat would be tooexpensive.

Even though theatmosphere is happy andfamiliar, they save where theycan, unless many peopledonate furniture or money.

I begin to feel at ease in thehome, even though I was afraidof the unknown task ahead ofme when I got there.

Every child has differentcharacteristics, and differentproblems with things that seemso normal. I soon learn howhappy you can be aboutbrushing your teeth properly ordrawing a red circle. But mostof all, I am amazed at thehonesty among them.

XingXingYu’s motto is: “Nomatter where you come from,which language you speak andhow you look – you’reimmediately one of us!”

Belonging together –Something that seems so

At the XingXingYu, autistic children learn and

play. Brushing your teeth properly is as much

an achievement as colouring in shapes.

Photos: AlHo‘Parents come fromall over the countryto do the courses’

‘Most of all, I’mamazed at thehonesty there’

Page 8: Shoestring Issue #4

8 Shoestring

Top: Children as well as their parents learn how to deal with

each other and the society they live in. Above: Alex and Ma Bai

Chi make soap bubbles together. Below: Group photo of the

children and carers at the XingXingYu in Beijing. Photos: AlHo

important in the MiddleKingdom but especially autisticpeople are often refused bysociety. To educate peopleabout autism and offer care forchildren, Tian Huiping – herselfmother of an autistic child –founded the home 15 yearsago. A lot has changed sincethen.

The project is watchedinternationally and the peoplein the village do not stare atthe screaming childrenanymore when they take anevening stroll through town.

It is astonishing that the goalof our work is basically tointegrate these people into asociety, in which they cause theleast amount of trouble. Thework is not easy, but honestand natural. Every person is theway he or she is, no masks, nofacades and maybe for the firsttime I feel a lightness thatresults in the fact that I do nothave to “fit in”, I can just“be”.

With every passing day Ilearn to love the people aroundme the way they are, drooling,giggling and sometimes very faraway. The curious thingsbecome normal in day-to-daylife, I’m not challenged in thethings I’ve learnt but in myselfas a human being.

As soon as I feel at homethere, running through the cor-ridors laughing and screamingloudly, saying goodbye againcomes closer and closer.

I will miss how Ma Bai Chistarts getting homesick everyWednesday and runs to thetoilet. I will miss playing hideand seek with Ma Xin andfinding him behind a curtain.

And I will miss running downthe street laughing with Lian ZiMing every night as well as howZhu Yao waits until I don’t payattention for a moment so hecan sprint into the yard and spitin the corner.

As I live my last day atXingXingYu, I realize howabsurd day-to-day life withFacebook posts, clean toiletsand dress codes suddenly seemsto me.

How strange.

‘How absurd everyday life withFacebook seems’

‘I do not have to fitin here, I amallowed to just be’

voLuntEEr ProjEcts

XingXingyu

www.autismchina.org

volunteer guide

volunteerguide.org/volunteer/

vacation/autistic-children.htm

gap guru

traveltree.co.uk/volunteering-

programs%5Cvolunteer-at-a-

centre-for-autistic-children.htm

true traveller

www.truetravellers.org/the-

autism-centre-volunteer-ghana/

camp4autism

camp4autism.org/volunteer.htm

Page 9: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 9

Writer Profile

Name: Pariket DoshiAge: 24AI live my life for thevarious experiences andbelieve that travelbroadens my horizon

natural perfectIon In

the Yumthang valleYThere are many gorgeous valleys hidden in India’s north-eastern Sikkim region. Lined

by snow-capped mountains and overflowing with flowers, they are a favourite for

locals and tourists alike who enjoy good hiking paths and beautiful scenery.

The Yumthang Valley inIndia is one of the mostbeautiful valleys I’ve ever

seen. It comes close toperfection, even though it cantake a while to get there.

We are in Sikkim bang inmiddle of December – I stillcan’t remember why we choseNorth-East India when it is atit’s coldest - and just after aday in the city of Gangtok, wedecided to behave like tourists.

Warning: We love callingourselves ‘backpackers’ andhate doing the regular touristythings anywhere we go. Eitherways, on the recommendationof a helpful local, who, to oursurprise had lots of interestingstories to tell us, we took tothe travel agents office at 7am.

Now, my pea-sized brainworks only at half the speedanytime before 9am, soimagine my plight when I’masked to have a picture takenat the agent’s office. This, hesays, is required for securityreasons to get to Lachung.

Only on my 7 hour gruellingjourney do I realize, that thearmy has a real strong hold inthese parts and require a lot ofidentification to let you passthrough as visitors.

So, when the jeep carrying10 cramped for space touristsreached Lachung, all I wantedto do was rest my butt. Sincenight had set in, we quickly

finished dinner and retired forthe night. What really got myattention were the tens ofthousands of stars I couldnotice just above the jaggedmountains.

I’ve never seen anythinglike that… a diamond studdedblack velvet blanketing theearth. The wonders of naturenever stop amazing me.

Early the next day weheaded north towardsYumthang. Yumthang valley isby far the most beautifullocation in Sikkim. During thesummers, it is carpeted withblooming purple flowers, whichelevates its magnificence tonewer levels.

Snow clad mountain peaksfence the valley on all sides.The blue of the sky reflects offthe snow, shimmering brightwith the rays of the sun. Thetops of the incredibly tall treesresemble a wig on bald men’sheads … trying hard to just fitright.

We take a walk in the valley,with a bunch of us amblingaway in search of a perfect

>>

Above: The milestone marking the start of the Yumthang Valley.

Below: The valley is famous for being filled with flowers in the sum-

mer months with stands in harsh contrast to the bare mountains at

either side of the valley. Photos: PaDo

‘The blue of thesky reflects offthe snow’

Page 10: Shoestring Issue #4

10 Shoestring

photo spot. The shimmer of thestream passing by and the rockslining the banks, make for anoptimum spot to experimentwith our cameras.

A shepherd’s hut, not toofar away from the stream,brings out the photogenicmodel in me. I pose for some ofmy most memorable pictures,on the roof of the hut, throwingmy arms high up in the air,trying hard to imitate theStallone of the Rocky series.

Just around where weparked our vehicle, were a lineof mist covered huts, each oneconverted by the locals intoshops. The locals would come

down 20 kms everyday fromLachung, to run their shops.

They kept a brilliantinventory of hot food items,tea, biscuits and even the localBrandy. I had my share ofsteaming hot Maggi and sip ofBrandy.

Suddenly, I felt warm. Thejoy of slurping down the Magginoodles was fully understood inthose circumstances. Justaround the corner stood apublic washroom, which hadthe most delightful sign outside‘Rs. 5 for Long, Rs. 2 for Short’.Use your imagination.

Soon after filling ourstomachs, we headed back toour vehicle in a haze of mistand headed back to Lachung.Most of my journey was spentstoring the memories ofYumthang in a special place inmy heart and mind. It’s noteveryday that you come closeto perfection in nature.

Clockwise from top left: One of many waterfalls

in the Yumthang Valley (ViKu). Buddhist prayer

flags flying in the wind (PuBa). Pariket and his

friends in front of the snow-capped mountains

lining the valley (PaDo). The town of Gangtok

on the way to the Yumthang Valley seen by

night (PuBa).

‘It’s not everydaythat you come closeto natural perfection’

Page 11: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 11

south korea: hagWon

hell or expat ecstasY?More and more young graduates are drawn to Asia to teach English in private

academies and language schools. But not every school is as accommodating as it is

made out to be. Here are tips and advice from a current English teacher in Korea.

So, you’ve graduateduniversity and aren’t quitesure what you’re doing

with your life. You’ve been working in a

boring job for two years, butpeople are being laid off indroves due to the worldwidecredit crunch.

You want to go out, see theworld, but putting all thoselittle luxuries on your creditcards has added up and you’restretched to the limit.

Searching online, you findsomething peculiar. Jobsabroad that require nothingmore than a degree certificateand that you are a native of anEnglish-speaking country.

Your flights are paid for you,you get rent - freeaccommodation, and a salarythat allows you to save moneyand still have something thatresembles a life.

It all sounds too good to betrue, doesn’t it? There’s got tobe a catch? That’s what Ithought when I submitted myCV to a recruiter in March 2009.Two years later, I’m in Daegu,Korea’s fourth largest city, andI’m loving it. Welcome to SouthKorea.

If you’ve ever looked intoteaching English abroad, you’llno doubt have come acrossavertisements recruitingEnglish teachers in SouthKorea. Private academies, or

hagwons, are big business.However, if you’ve looked

more closely, you’ve probablynoticed something disturbing.Teachers who haven’t beenpaid in full, or at all, formonths. Teachers getting firedin the 11th month of theircontract so that their bossdoesn’t have to pay theirreturn airfare or the end - of -contract bonus that is writteninto most agreements. Shoddyhousing, no vacation time,monthly wage deductions forexpenses that don’t even exist.

The horror stories put off alot of potential applicants fromapplying. Of course, it’s wise tobe cautious. How can you avoidthe hovels that call themselveshagwons, and ensure you endup contracted with a regularemployer?

It just takes a bit of commonsense. It all starts when you’reapplying for the job – the onlysource you need is thehagwon’s existing foreignteacher.

Always insist on speaking towhoever you will be replacing.I cannot stress this enough. Thismay seem obvious, but all toooften people forget to do this.

The Korean boss tells youhow magnificent the hagwon is,what a fine and hallowedinstitute you’ll be working for,and what a great studioapartment you’ll be movinginto. You land in Korea, and it’sturned out to be a pack of lies.

Surprised? Well, youshouldn’t be. All the Koreanboss wants in this case is awestern face to entice parentsinto enrolling their kids, sothey’ll say anything to get you

>>

Top: Teaching in a Korean classroom. Whether you are a good

teacher or not is entirely up to you but will have an impact on your

students. Above: Private academies - hagwons - can come in all

shapes and sizes. Below: Cherry blossom in South Korea.

Photo: ToSt

‘All the Koreanboss might want isa Western face’

Writer Profile

Name: Tom StockwellAge: 24I'm saving up to fulfilthe dreams of that geekykid who always had hisnose stuck in an atlas

Page 12: Shoestring Issue #4

12 Shoestring

‘Rejoice when you find fitting shoes’ on board.

Of course, not all bosses arelike this. However, ensuringthat you speak to the existingforeign teacher is the only wayyou’ll get to know the realdeal.

There’s the real possibilitythat the boss will be breathingdown the foreign teacher’sneck when you’re on the phonewith them, so, if you can, makesure you get an email addressfor the teacher, too.

If it turns out that thehagwon is one that you’d ratheravoid, politely inform therecruiter that you’ve declinedthe job offer and have foundanother, more suitable position(even if you haven’t).

Never ever ever cite theexisting foreign teacher as thereason why you didn’t take thejob – it could get them fired.

If the recruiter says thatthere’s currently no foreignteacher working at the hagwon,or refuses to put you in touchwith them, then move on.

Don’t just decline the job – geta different recruiter altogether.

Before accepting a job offer,you should also check thehagwon blacklist. Google willbring up a variety of siteswhere previous wrongedteachers have named andshamed their hagwons. Checkfor the school and employernames on here.

Once you’re in Korea, thenhow things pan out is largely upto you. Are you going to makean effort with the language,accept your boss’ invitation todinner, and get to know thestudents’ names?

Or are you going to getdrunk on weekdays and cometo work smelling of JackDaniels the next day, glance atyour books three minutesbefore class, and constantlydeclare how things are“different from Wisconsin /Toronto / Leeds / wherever youcome from” whilst looking likeyou just face-planted into a vatof grapefruit? It’s your choice.

Ask the right questions and,once you’ve found somethingyou’re happy with, hop on thatplane and have the time of yourlife.

Stuff your face with grilledpork and fresh vegetables,

drink too much soju on theweekend, traumatise your newfound friends with your AvrilLavigne renditions and rejoicewhen you finally find shoes thatfit you.

Teaching English is anadventure. What kind ofadventure it is is up to you.

Follow Tom’s adventures onhttp://waegook-tom.com

‘Before accepting ajob offer, check thehagwon blacklist’

Above: Street scene in South

Korea. Below left: A publicly

accessible pagoda. Below

right: Colourful lanterns on

display during the Lantern

Festival

korEa Links

the hagwon blacklist

http://hagwonblacklist.tripod.com/

public_html/list.html

teach English as a foreign

language

www.teflengland.co.uk

teaching in korea

www.teaching-in-korea.com

flying cows

www.flying-cows.com/

footprints recruiting

www.footprintsrecruiting.com/

English as a second Language

www.eslteacherrecruiter.com/

teach korea tips

www.teachkoreatips.com/

Page 13: Shoestring Issue #4

gettIng Your clothes

clean WIthout a machIneWhile packing, many travellers do not consider how and when they will be able to do

their laundry. Using washing machines and dryers is expensive and the nearest

laundry room could be miles away. Good thing then that Jennifer Levenbook has

come up with free and effective method of getting the dirt out of your clothes.

When you begin to thinkabout travel, youbecome inundated

with advice about how to packas lightly as possible.

One of the tips often givenis to do laundry in your nearestsink, while using the proverbialflat sink stopper. There areeven the occasional differentstyles of bungee cord clothes-line that promise you that youdo not need to bring pegs.

Luckily, I am here to teach youhow to do travel laundrycorrectly. This method will:

1) Get your laundry as clean asif you had used a mechanicalwashing machine.

2) Pamper your feet after along and hard day on them.

3) Take 15 minutes, at most.

hErE’s What you nEEd:

1) 1-Gallon Zip-Top Bag

2) 2 pieces of twine / stringthat are as long as you are tall.

3) 2 small sized binder clips

thE Washing

Bring your laundry kit, thethree items listed above, withyou into your shower. Placeyour clothing into the zip-topbag. As you run the showerwater and wait for it to warmup, collect the unacceptable-temperature water into thebag, allowing it to wet yourclothing.

Let the water level justcover your clothing, but don’tfill up the bag to comptely.The bag should hold itself openand upright. Set it aside as youshower.

Before you put away yourshampoo, squeeze a quickdollop of shampoo into yourzip-top bag. This shampoo isyour laundry detergent.

Finish your shower, butbefore emerging from theshower, and even before dryingyourself off, you will now turnyour attention to yourwashing. For this, you will needyour strings and clips.

Grab one of your strings andfold it in half. Clip your binderclip through the middle of thefolded string. Then clip thatclip to one of the sides of yourzip-top bag, making sure thatthe clip goes past the zipperportion.

Do the same with the otherclip and string. As you washyour clothes, the clip willnaturally try to slip up and offof the bag. The zipper on thebag creates a stopping point sothe clip cannot slip past it.

Hold the ends of one of thestrings in each hand, sort oflike reins on your zip-top bag“horse”.

This is where it gets fun.Take one of your feet and lift itoff the ground, so that you arestanding on only one foot. Ifyou are wearing shower shoes,this is a good time to removethe shoe from your suspendedfoot.

Place your suspended footover the opening of your bag,holding on to your zip-top bagreins, and lower your foot intothe opening of the bag. Wereyou not holding the reins, thebag would attempt to collapseflat at this, but your reins helpkeep it open and bucket-like.

The best way to insert yourfoot is toe-first, rather thanflat-footed. That way, if yourfeet are too large for the bag,you will still be able to get asmuch foot in the bag aspossible.

Press your foot as far downinto the bag as possible,attempting to touch thebottom of the shower/tub.

Now lift your foot and do itagain. In fact, do it 50 times onthat foot (50 foot-stomps). Ifyour heel never touches theground, that is okay. Switchfeet and perform 50foot-stomps with the otherfoot. S

witch back for another 50foot-stomps, and then again fora final 50 foot-stomps. Youshould have performed a totalof 200 foot-stomps, alternatingfeet every 50. This should havebeen a splash - filledexperience, which will makeyou very happy that you did notyet dry yourself and are stillnaked.

Now look at your water. Howgross is it? Really dark black? Orjust barely gray? If it is trulyblack, go for another 100 to200 foot-stomps, because itmeans your clothes are trulynasty. If your water is gray(meaning that you can see theoutline of your foot through thewater) then you can continueon.

Pick up the bag, holding itopen with one hand and theother should be gripping thebottom on the outside, to holdyour clothes in. Pour the waterfrom the bag.

Put the bag under yourwater source and fill it withnew, fresh, clean water so thatit just covers the level of yournow soaked clothing.

As before, grab the reinsand perform 200 foot-stomps,alternating every 50. Drain thewater again.

Refill, grab the reins, andgive another 200 foot-stompsusing the same method as be-fore. Again, drain.

Is the water still soapy? Go

for one more rinse cycle. If not,it is time to dry!

thE drying

Your strings can now beunclipped from your zip-topbag. Those strings can now beused separately as clotheslinesor tied together (using a bow)to create a single, ratherlengthy, clothes line. Thisclothes line can be put upwherever you have access, kee-ping in mind the the cornerhinges of doors are often-ignored tie-down points.

Wring your clothes and placethem over the clothes lines. Forsmall items such as socks, thetwo binder clips makewonderful clothespins. Pantsand shirts can just be thrownover the clothes line.

drying thE ZiP-toP bag

Your zip-top bag will dry, butyou can do something to makeit dry a bit faster. Turn itpartially inside out and it willdry in half the time of leavingit fully one way or the other.

I hope this tip helped.Because a picture is sometimesworth 1000 words, and usuallyhelps to illustrate the point, Ihave made a video of thistechnique, which is availableon my blog.

WEbsitE

h t t p : / / t h e i n f a m o u s j . l i ve

journal.com/410759.html.

You can also find all sorts of other

practical travel tips on the same

blog.

alternative tip: If you know that

you will have access to washing

machines, carry a bit of detergent

with you in a bag. This saves you

having to buy some everytime you

need to put a load on.

Shoestring 13

Page 14: Shoestring Issue #4

14 Shoestring

lettIng mum knoW You

made It to the hostel

Writer Profile

Name: Cornelia KaufmannAge: 23This globetrotter caught thetravel bug in 2003 and has nointention of ever getting ridof it again

It is often hard to stay in touch with everyone while you’re on your adventure. Shouldyou call or maybe send everybody a postcard once in a while? Or maybe you’d liketo share your experience with friends and family online and upload photos, videos andyour journal as you go along? Make up your mind before you go!

“Call me when you getthere!” Many parents havesaid goodbye to their

globetrotting children this way. And most globetrotters are

happy to oblige, eager to telltheir parents and friends allabout the trip.

But international calls areexpensive, which then posesone simple question: What isthe best way of keeping intouch during a journey?

tELEPhonE caLLs

A call is themost straight-forward wayof gettinginformat iona c r o s sc o n t i n e n t s .However, it isalso one of themost expensiveways of stayingin touch. We areall used tohaving mobilephones, butmake sure youenquire aboutglobal roamingcharges beforeyou leave if youintent to takeyour mobile withyou. Mobiles are

great for emergencies and usein regions were the nearestlandline is miles away, but theyshould not be used to call homeregularly.

Instead, opt for pay phonesand get yourself internationalcalling cards with credit to useat public telephones.

Every decent newsagentshould stock calling cards andyou will sometimes even findthem at hostels and internetcafés.

On top of calling cards, or asan alternative, consider

checking the internetfor cheap calling codesbefore you leave.These numbers areusually dialed beforethe regular phonenumber, and willreduce your costsconsiderably. Bear inmind though, thatsome of these cheapnumbers only applyat certain times.

If you insist onusing your mobile,make sure you getyourself a SIM cardfrom the countryyou’re travellingthrough. Callinghome will still bemore expensive

than using a landline,but your in-country calls tofriends or prospectiveemployers won’t incur roamingcosts anymore. Some providerseven offer a limited number offree international callingminutes if you top up a certainamount per month on pay asyou go, so if you plan on stayingin a country for longer, it isworth shopping around for thebest options.

It is also an idea to set up aphone chain with your familyand friends before you leave.This means that everybody gets

a list with everyone’s numberson it. This way, when you callsomebody, that person willthen pass your message on tothe next person up and downthe chain, so they can pass iton further. This will keep yourcalling costs low, but defeatsthe point of speaking toeveryone.

Writing LEttErs

Good letter writing is an artform. Sitting down and relivingeverything on paper can helpyou jog your memory, but italso means that you might endup spending a lot of timewriting about instead of livingyour adventure.

Bear in mind that you willneed a lot of paper andenvelopes as well as stamps,which might not be easy tocome by if you run out of themin the middle of nowhere.

Letters do give you theopportunity to send small itemshome, like a photo, souvenir orwork certificate (for safe-keeping). However, this is aone-way system of news. If youmove around a lot, you mightnot be able to receive mailbefore you leave again, so youmight not hear what’s new athome. Letters sometimes alsotake time to be delivered,which means that by the timethey reach their recipient,you could have moved

on andd o n e

something different. Then again, letters are a

great keep-sake, and you canalways ask if you can see yourletters again to see how youfelt back then and what it wasyou wrote about sopassionately. Especially if youdon’t keep a journal or havelost parts of it along the way,these letters will help youpiece your trip and experiencesback together once you’re backat home. Everybody like sittingdown and reading a good letter,so make sure you write it welland tell them something newand exciting. This way, thosethat stay at home canarmchair-travel with you.

Writing Postcards

As with letters, everybodylikes receiving postcards. Theyare colourful and give asnapshot of what you’ve beenup to. The front of the postcardis as important as the messageon the back, so as a rule ofthumb you should choose apostcard that you would like toreceive as well.

Postcards also give you theopportunity to gloat, as itshows the reader “I’m here andyou’re not.” But as withletters, sending postcards couldbecome expensive. You willneed stamps again, but as you

don’t just write one bigletter, you

might betempted

t o

Page 15: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 15

sendmore short

postcards to more people.Bearing in mind that the frontof a postcard is important as itshows the reader exactly whatit is like there, a cheapalternative to buying a lot offancy postcards everywhereyou go is to bring a bulk pack ofblank postcards with you fromthe start.

This way, if you arecreative, you can design thefront of your postcardsyourself, which will make themeven more special for yourreaders. Or you could use thespace to make your messagelonger. All you need to do is tobuy a book of stamps.

These blank postcards canalso multifunction as notepaper or even makeshiftbusiness cards. Or you could leteveryone you’re travelling with/ sharing the dorm with /working with design a card as akeep-sake!

instant mEssEngErs

Instant messengers such asMSN, Windows, ICQ or GoogleChat are great to keep in touchand share gossip. You can evenhave multiple conversations atthe same time, which enablesyou to share the rightinformation withthe right people.But if you aretravelling in adifferent timezone, you willneed to agree atime to chat.You mightcatch the oddfriend orrelative whet-her youagreed a timeor not, but tobe efficient there would haveto be some kind of routine.Some of these messengers haveto be downloaded before youcan use them. Some internet

cafés might havethem installed,others might not.Always askb e f o r ed o w n l o a d i n ganything!

skyPE

T h ephenomenon

of internettelephones makes it possible

to have calls over the compu-ter. Skype lets you either chatnormally or use voice chats tohave an actual conversation,just like over the phone. Hereas well, you should have somesort of routine as to when youwant to talk with whom. Skypeconnections can sometimesbreak, so you will need to finda steady connection.You also require a headset andmicrophone. Skype also showsvideos, so if there is a webcam,you can even look at the personyou are talking to.

Writing EmaiLs

Like letters, it can take awhile to write a decent emailthat shows those at home whatyou have been up to. However,emails give you the opportunityto send one email to severalpeople, which makes it a freeand very efficient way ofstaying in touch. You can sendphotos and videos andobviously also receive newsfrom home.

sociaL nEtWorks

More and more people relyon such networks likeFacebook, StudiVZ, MySpaceetc. to stay in touch. This way,you get all the gossip and canread what your friends are up

to. You

can leteveryone know what’s on yourmind, share photos and videosand weblinks. It is also a goodway of

keeping up with people youmeet on the road. Some pa-rents and especially grandpa-rents will not have accountson social network sites so youwill have to find other ways ofstaying in contact with them.

WEbsitEs and bLogs

It might be a good idea toset up a website or blog if youplan to keep a journal anyway.There are many free websiteand blog providers on theinternet like Blogger,WordPress, Live Journal,TypePad, Jimdo, Freewebs, Wixetc, and you just have to lookaround for the one that’s bestfor you. These websites can beindividualized even withouthtml knowledge, keep all yourupdates and posts togetherand give your family andfriends a place to check whatyou’ve been up to. Most blogsfeature photo galleries, youcan embed video and audiolinks and have forums orguest books which allowsthe readers to com-ment on what you havewritten.

It can also double asyour journal. As it’s all on-line and posts are dated,you will always be able tocheck what you wrote on aspecific day or what youhave done on any given day.

Obviously you will needaccess to the internet, but youwill not need to downloadanything as all the sites can beaccessed and edited from theinternet. You can upload photosas soon as you take them anddisplay them so that everyonewill be able to see what it waslike when you write about yourlatest adventure. Blog postscan also be directly linked tosocial networks so nobodymisses the news.

Websites and blogs also letyou set up an email list, whichautomatically alerts all friendsand family members that youhave written something new.You might even gain followerswho do not know you but areinterested in how you go aboutyour travels.

My advice would be to setup a blog as the main means ofstaying in touch and then use amix of the others forindividuals. By all means, callyour parents or grandparentswhen you get off the plane sothey can stop worrying thatyour plane might crash.

But with the blog’sversatility you can post as oftenas you have access to theinternet and keep a journal.After I lost two of my Gap Yearjournals in the post (I wassending them home for safe-keeping, funnily enough), I wasglad I had an online journal toexactly know what happenedduring the lost period.

Call people on theirbirthdays, on special holidays,or if you really need to discusssomething urgently. If you likewriting letters, then writeletters. It all depends on yourpersonal preferences and whatyou think will be easiest waytelling as many people aspossible in the shortest amountof time.

usEfuL Links

free blogs and websites:

www.blogger.com

www.wordpress.com

www.jimdo.com

www.livejournal.com

www. freewebs.com

www.wix.com

www.typepad.com

www.yola.com

www.weebly.com

www.moonfruit.com

free / cheap calls:

www.skype.com

www.freecall.com

www.evaphone.com

www.justcall.co.uk

www.just-dial.com

internet cafés:

www.cypercafes.com

www.globalgossip.com

There are many free website

hosts and blog providers

online. You don’t need to know

html, they can be updated in

minutes and you can choose

from thousands of templates

Page 16: Shoestring Issue #4

16 Shoestring

‘Before I knew whatwas happening wewere in a cab’

malaYsIa’s magIc Was

ruIned for me bY scamUnfortunately a lot of tourists are walking targets for con artists and elaborate scams.

Niamh Keoghan lost all her money when she fell victim to a scam in Kuala Lumpur

and shares her experience so that it does not happen to you.

See good in others. To takethis statement to heartlets us appreciate people

and the world we all dream ofembracing through adventuroustravels. It can be very true.

However, it pays to realizethat even though there’s goodwithin everybody, not everyoneacts accordingly. For travellerswho can be inclined to only seehonesty in other peoples’actions, I’m offering a word ofwarning. I do so by sharing oneof my ‘adventures’.

As a female single travellerI set out to explore South EastAsia for a month. I took a flightfrom Australia to Singapore and5 days later I found myselftraipsing through Kuala Lumpur– Malaysia’s chaotic capital. Forthe first time I was in Asianterritory.

Laden with my overweightbackpack, I was still affectedby the difference in cultures.However, I tried desperately toproject an attitude that stated:“I know what I’m doing, I knowwhere I’m going and I’m suchan experienced traveller!” Butnone of this was true. I wantedit to be true and I wanted thatattitude of ‘knowing it all’ toprotect me from the stares thatwere coming from people whowere so foreign to me, whenreally I was the one who wasforeign to them!

My attitude attracted,first-off, an Australian traveller

who was actually moreexperienced in Asian countriesthan I was (except for KualaLumpur; it was his first visittoo). He was searching forfamiliarization in this new cityand that’s when he turned tome for guidance! He thought Iknew where I was going andwhat I was doing, which provedI was successfully projecting an‘attitude of experience’!

This meeting, still on myfirst day in Kuala Lumpur, firedup my passion to become ‘one’with the Asian world, as he toldhis stories of his full year of lifein Asia. I felt so inspired andafter hours of chatting, weparted ways and I thanked mylucky stars for this brilliantintroduction to my first Asiantrip.

My second day in the city Inow considered to be thecraziest yet most amazingplace in the world, was still

fuelled by the motivation I’dreceived from my ‘newAustralian friend’. I was eagerto experience Asia and itsculture. I was so excited thatthe eagerness was turning intodesperation. I needed an en-counter that would show me apart of Malaysian life thatwasn’t recommended by theguidebooks. I wanted toconnect with Asia in a way thatnot all travellers do. And soonthe following statement provedto hold so much truth: ‘Becareful what you wish, becauseyou just might get it’.

Full of life, excitement andopen for experience, I walked

Writer Profile

Name: Niamh KeoghanAge: 27Travel is my source ofinspiration and creativityand it's a method of expressingparts of myself

through Kuala Lumpur. In thedistrict of Bukit Bintang, out-side the shopping mall ‘BBPlaza’, I was approached bytwo local girls, who claimed tobe cousins. We started chattingand were both interested ineach others backgrounds. I wasdelighted to be speaking to lo-cals that held their roots insuch an amazing part of theworld!

Their acquaintance felt likea step closer to Asia. They wereoffering me friendship andguidance for the remainder ofmy stay. I let myself get sweptaway by their hospitality andbefore I knew what washappening, the three of uswere in cab, heading to theirhome that was just outside thecity. I didn’t question anything.

We got to their house andonce I entered, everythingchanged. The girls were lessfriendly and they let their‘uncle’, who was living theretoo, do the talking and the‘hosting’. Regardless of thechange in the girls, I wasfeeling safe and high on what Iwas experiencing. I acceptedeverything they offered me;food, drinks and advice. Soon Ifound we were playing cards ina small white room.

We started playing Blackjackjust for fun. We gambled with‘fake money’. After a while, Istarted to feel like I was havinga so-called ‘out of bodyexperience’. I felt dazed andhad trouble keeping up withthe rules of the game but

Jalan Bukit Bintang is a

busy place and eateries

are open late. NiKe

Page 17: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 17

somehow I was ‘winning’ somuch ‘fake money’.

When I recall this event,even to this day, I can’t exactlyexplain how it unfolded. All Iknow is that my excited moodhad turned into dazedconfusion. I couldn’t graspreality. I found myself in ahouse of which I didn’t know itslocation, in a city where I knewnobody and with people who Ididn’t know.

This reality first cameknocking on my door when Ifound myself at a bank-link,withdrawing every cent Iowned. I knew nothing at thismoment, except that I had togo with the flow, for fear ofupsetting anybody. The secondknock from reality came when Iwas sitting back in the tinyroom playing cards again.

The third knock fromreality came and I couldn’tignore it; I suddenly realizedthat I had lost every singledollar I owned!

Yes, I had answered the doorto reality and behind it was my‘oh so wonderful world’ thathad come crashing downaround me. I had felt as high asa kite, only five hours previous.Now, I was at an all-time low.

What I saw behind reality’sdoor was: me, penniless andalone in Kuala Lumpur in aroom with three strangers, whotold me I’d lost my savings ‘fairand square’.

What happened next? I wasstill in a daze, I washeartbroken by my stupidity forlosing my money and I wasterrified of getting myself intoserious trouble with somedodgy contacts ‘uncle’ claimedto have.

For some reason ‘uncle’gave me 100 ringgit (the equi-valent of 30 euros) so I couldeat for a few days. Then a taxiwas called and I was dropped atmy hostel. I never saw or heardfrom them again.

Luckily I’d already paid myhostel up front when I firstarrived, so I had a place to stayuntil I sorted out my finances.But I couldn’t move from thedorm bed for two days; I criedmy eyes out. It wasn’t until Istarted to feel less dazed that I

realized it was a scam!

I reflected on the wholeevent and could see how thecard game was set-up in such away that I was always going toloose my hard earned cash. Islowly became less scared ofgetting myself into serioustrouble with the Malaysiancriminals - who I’d envisionedto hold me captive in Asia untilthe money I owed had beenrepaid.

My rational mind took awhile to take action. When iteventually did, I still waswithout money, in a country sofar from home. My return flightwas booked for three weekslater; from Bangkok toAmsterdam. How was I going tosurvive three weeks? I had nomoney! So I had to overcomemy pride and contact home.

I didn’t confess to the messI’d gotten myself into. Iadjusted the truth, to save myfamily from weeks of worries,by claiming to ‘simply’ be inneed of financial backup forsecurity reasons.

With financial security, I gotmyself out of Malaysia andheaded to the island of KhoPhangnang, off the east coastof Thailand. I wanted seclusion,peace and safety. In the end Ispent the rest of my trip inisolated paradise and my eyeswere delighted by simplyseeing the Thai beaches. Thiswas all the excitement Ineeded after the incident inKuala Lumpur!

This experience is one thatwill never be told in theguide-books. Writers wouldavoid speaking of suchincidents as it could take awaythe magic that foreigncountries are supposed toexhibit. However, corruptionand scams are just as real asthe magic our eyes will see.

What happens underneaththe magic and the paradise willonly come to the surface whencertain travellers are searchingfor something deeper. Isearched and I found somethingbehind that amazing city. It willstay with me forever. And eventhough I’m such a strongbeliever that to see good inothers will let us live in

appreciation, I now know theimportance in being aware thatnot everyone expresses thegoodness that’s within.

I’m happy to be able to passon this experience, so otherswho may travel alone or be lessexperienced and easilyoverwhelmed by theexcitement that’s out there inthe world (as was I), willsubconsciously be aware thatseeking magic doesn’t guaran-tee that others are always andonly offering foreigners amagical experience.

But this incident neverstopped me, and it will neverstop you either!

So, safely, we can allcontinue to explore thebeauties and wonders of theworld, more aware of thereality. Enjoy it all!

‘I found myselfwithout money in acountry far away’

‘I was still in adaze, heartbrokenby my stupidity’

Top: Street scene in Kuala

Lumpur. Below: The famous

Petronas Twin Towers . Bottom:

Niamh finds tranquility at a

beach in Thailand. NiKe

Page 18: Shoestring Issue #4

18 Shoestring

smartphone applIcatIon

guIdes around oxford

Page 19: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 19

‘All I could do wasmarvel at thearchitecture’

Finding yourself without a map does not require you dashing into the nearest

newsagent to buy a road atlas anymore. Shoestring founder Cornelia

Kaufmann got lost in Oxford, and simply downloaded the map to her phone.

Ihad come to Oxford in a spurof the moment. The city isworld-famous for its ivy-

league University of Oxford andthe prestige that goes with it.

Oxford, the birthplace ofsuch literary gems as Alice in

Wonderland and The Lord of

the Rings; but also the settingfor Inspector Morse. I wantedto see it, experience the cityand take in that air ofacademia that seems to lingeraround the colleges and halls.

The city and the universityhave been written about atlength in various guidebooks,and maps of the city centre arereadily available at bookstoresthroughout the country. I,however had nothing but myhostel’s address and mysmartphone in my hand when Ileft the car at a Park & Rideand headed into town.

A quick look through theonline application store on myphone, and I had not only amap of Oxford in digitalformat, but also a handy littleapp called “Oxford City WalksLite.”

This free guidebook containsdetails for nine walks throughOxford, with specializationssuch as “Museums andGalleries”, “Nightlife”,“Interesting Shops” and“Religious Buildings” as well asthe obligatory “UniversityTour” and city introduction.

Each of these walks is up totwo hours long and takes in anaverage of eight sights in thecity, but all the walks can becombined.

Once I reached the citycenter, I started walking aroundwith my phone and camera atthe ready, admiring thearchitecture.

One thing I immediatelyrealized was how similar mostof the colleges look. Luckily,my plucky little app includedpictures of the collegesfeatured on the university tour,which made distinguishingthem a whole lot easier.

My point of orientation

became the Carfax tower in thecity center. Standing at the footof this 14th century clocktower, I had the busyintersection of Cornmarket, StAldates, Queen and The High toexplore with the tower as alandmark I would recognise if Ilost my way.

I started by getting an icecream from George & Danver,an Oxford institution on StAldates, before I set aboutexploring Christ Church Collegeacross the street.

The custodian was very niceand gave me student discountfor the tour around the college.All I could do was marvel at themedieval architecture as wewere guided through dininghalls, past ancient dorm roomsand across spacious quads.

Back on The High, I foundthe entrance to the CoveredMarket, and I could have spenthours browsing the stalls forflowers, books, and clothes,but settled on trying one of thecafés instead. Emerging intothe sunlight of CornmarketStreet, the map on my littlesmartphone app told me thatthere is more to see if I headtowards Broad Street.

The Saxon Tower of StMichael at the Northgate is onethousand years old and wasonce used as a prison. Turningfully onto Broad Street, I justhave to stop at the famousBlackwell Bookstore, with theNorrington Room – theestablishment’s basement –having 3 miles of shelving,which stretches all the wayunder Trinity College.

Just opposite the book shopis one of Oxford’s most famousbuildings, The Sheldonian. Theapp tells me that it wasdesigned by Christopher Wrenin the 1660s and named afterthe chancellor of the university,Gilbert Sheldon.

Also on and around BroadStreet is the Bodleian Library –housed in five buildings – whichis one of the main researchlibraries of the University ofOxford, one of the oldestlibraries in Europe and is onlysecond in size to the BritishLibrary.

Due to my short stay in thecity, I didn’t have enough timeto check it out, knowing full

Opposite page: The famous Bridge of Sighs, looking down New

College Lane. Top: The Radcliffe Camera. Above: View down

Cornmarket from outside St Michael at the Northgate towards

Carfax. Below: Finding your way around Oxford is not as hard as

it might seem - all sights are clearly signposted. Photos: CoKa

>>

Page 20: Shoestring Issue #4

20 Shoestring

well that if I ventured inside Iwould get distracted by all thebooks and not see sunlightagain that day.

Turning down Catte Streettowards the famous RadcliffeCamera, I have to dodge agroup of students on theirbicycles. The amount of bikesin the city is incredible, butwith narrow lanes, and Oxford’sflat topography, I can see whyit’s the students’ number onechoice of transport.

I make a mental note totake my bike next time I payOxford a visit. A glance downNew College Lane on my leftstops me in my tracks as I seethe sunlight catching the Bridgeof Sighs, which links the Oldand New Quads of HertfordCollege and resembles theRialto Bridge in Venice.

Strolling down New CollegeLane, I notice an alley called StHelen’s Passage. It doesn’t looklike it leads anywhere, but Ifollow it and end up at the TurfTavern, a 16th century publichouse, where I have lunchsitting among studentsdiscussing lectures and touristsasking the barkeeper whetherBill Clinton really used tofrequent the pub when he wasa student in Oxford.

Back-tracing my steps to theRadcliffe Camera, my phoneapp informs me that it is notactually a camera obscura, asthe name might suggest, but a

library. The word camerasimply means chamber orroom.

Following Catte Street backto The High I turn right andmake my way towardsMagdalen College, pastUniversity College, The Queen’sCollege and All Souls. Theside-by-side colleges and shopson The High make way to thespacious grounds of MagdalenCollege.

Magdalen – alwayspronounced “Maudlin” – is oneof Oxford University’s richestcolleges, which shows in thebeautiful deer park andspacious cloisters.

Crossing the river Cherwell,I watch the punters on thewater below. Sitting down totake a short rest in the shadowof a tree along the shore, I amtempted to give it a go myself,but eventually decide to let theuniversity teams practice inpeace without the annoyingvisitor splashing aroundin between.

Walking back towards myhostel, I pass some moreimpressive looking buildingsthat I cannot tell apart. A quickglance at my phone tells methey are colleges and halls aswell. The entire universityconsists of almost 40 self -governing colleges, some ofwhich are almost 800 years oldand they are scattered all overthe city.

The next morning, I get upearly to see Oxford when it’squiet. The sun is shining, and Imake my way up the tiny andtight spiral staircase to the roofof the Carfax Tower to seeOxford’s legendary DreamingSpires.

The sun catches the spires

of all the college towers andchurches as I take in the aerialview of the entire citysprawling out beneath me.Unfortunately, I have no timeto explore this amazing cityfurther, but I keep thinking thatI would have loved to studysurrounded by all this historyand tradition. That, and thatI’ll definitely be back for alonger visit.

Top: Busts outside the

Sheldonian Theatre. Bloew:

Inside the covered market,

strolling along the stalls.

Opposite page clockwise from

left: Punting achievements

commemorated on Christ

Church College’s wall. The river

Cherwell. Bikes are the main

transport for Oxford students.

The view down New College

Lane. Photos: CoKa

‘The sun shines onOxford’s legendaryDreaming Spires’

frEE iPhonE aPPs

city Walks Lite auckland

city Walks Lite Edinburgh

city Walks Lite glasgow

city Walks Lite cologne

city Walks Lite johannesburg

city Walks Lite sydney

city Walks Lite frankfurt

city Walks Lite Wellington

the app „free city maps and

Walks“ comes preloaded with

over 470 cities.

there are also some paid-for

apps to the same effect. these

include such cities like London

and marrakech.

Page 21: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 21

‘In the shadow of a treealong the river Cherwell,I almost consider tryingmy hand at punting’

Page 22: Shoestring Issue #4

22 Shoestring

What benefIts does a

gap Year reallY brIng?

get certified. Now those areskills to boost about!

PEoPLE skiLLs

You will also developexcellent people skills. On adaily basis, you will have tocope with a plethora of peoplefrom different countries andcultures.

Whether you work withthem daily or share a dorm withthem for one night, you willlearn to approach people,make friends and learn a bitabout their culture.

You will also develop a sensethat tells you who you can trustand who better to avoid.Travelling alone is actually a lotbetter for developing peopleskills than if you weretravelling in a group to startwith.

Groups hang out togetherand speak their own languageswhich is why people usuallydon’t introduce themselves forfear of being an outsider. Butbeing by yourself makesyou approachable and if youare confident enough, you can

even take the first step andintroduce yourself. You’d beamazed what kind of contactsyou can make!

organisationaL skiLLs

Inevitably, you will also honeyour organisational andnavigational skills. Travellingthe world with just 20kg ofluggage requires you to be ableto pack for all occassions andremember where you stashedeverything. Keeping track offlight times and tickets, bookedhostels and all your otherexpenses, you will develop yourown filing system and work outa budget to stick to.

When you have a budget,you might not be able to buy amap or guide to every place tovisit. Learning how to pick outa landmark and finding yourway back to the hostel fromthere will help you navigateany city.

imProvE your cv

Those taking a Gap Year todo work experience or

voluntary work can use this totheir advantage when it comesto writing CVs and applying fora job or place at university.

Work experience in adifferent country is alwaysimpressive, especially if youhave to speak a foreignlanguage.

Volunteering is always amajor plus on any CV. It showsyour engagement in acommunity or preservationproject. Voluntary work couldalso help open some doorswhen it comes to jobs - showingthat you care about and takecare of your environment isalways good - and somebursaries and scholarships arebased on volunteering.

So if you plan to work orvolunteer, ask for a certificateto prove your involvement.

discovEr yoursELf!

But on top of everything justmentioned, you will learn onevery special thing: you learn tobe yourself!

Getting away from peoplewho have known you for mostof your life gives you thechance for a fresh start. Weoften take on the roles friendsand family see us in which canlimit us. But if nobody knowsyou, you can start all over anddiscover who you really are.

The experiences you haveon your Gap Year will influenceyou immensly and with allthese benefits, some commonsense and a little bit ofplanning, your Gap Gap Yearcan be the best career moveyou’ll ever make!

Going around the world straight after education is sometimes seen by parents as a bad

move as it will create a gap in employment or education. So Shoestring founder

Cornelia Kaufmann found a few reasons, why a Gap Year is actually good for you!

Taking a Gap Year is oftenseen as a way to escape.For some, the need to

escape comes from trodden-down situation, others want toget away from a particularplace or country and some justwant to clear their heads.

Many High School leaverscontemplate taking a year offbefore they go on to highereducation or join theworkforce.

However, a lot of parentsreact with mixed feelings tothe news that their offspringwants to travel the world.Costs certainly have to beconsidered, and a gap ineducation or work might notseem ideal.

But Gap Years are actuallyvery beneficial, and manyemployers look at thefavourably.

sELf-confidEncE

The very first thing going ona Gap Year will boost isself-confidence. Especially ifyou are not used to travelling,or travelling on your own,getting on that plane to a placeyou do not know requires morecourage than you might ima-gine. After all, you will leaveeverything and everyoneyou know behind fora considerable amount oftime.

There will also besituations, when you get anopportunity to do somethingyou never did before orwouldn’t get a chance to dootherwise. I, for example, havewalked with lions, worked as acowgirl and snorkelledalongside Galápagos turtles andpenguins.

Take the opportunities youare given. The sense ofachievement, to be able to say„I did that!“ is an enormousego boost! You might want totry scuba diving or sailing and

Page 23: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 23

kIckstart Your musIc

projects successfullYBy Gio Andollo

Page 24: Shoestring Issue #4

24 Shoestring

Online fundraiser Kickstarter enables musicians to raise enough money so they can

book their gigs or record an album. So if your are serious about your music and want

to get heard, you too can raise the funds to go on tour for next to nothing.

I’d been attempting sleepfor some time on aGreyhound bus from

Chicago to Cleveland and foronce my inability to sleep hadnothing to do with mydiscomfort.

I knew I needed someshut-eye for the day ahead as Ihoped to hitch rides toPittsburgh immediatelypiggy-backing the bus, whichhad a seven-in-the-morningarrival time; and I knew I wouldbe totally exhausted if Icouldn’t get some rest.

But there was thisincandescent bulb, visible onlyto me, floating ratherobnoxiously over my head; andI just couldn’t turn it off.

In late August, I was in themidst of my Vagrants &Vagabonds, Outlaws & ThievesTour, a summer time adventurewhich began about four weeks

earlier. I’d left New York Citywith plans to hitch hike toMiami for a family reunion,then up to Chicago, and finallyan eastward swing back to NYC.

I wielded my guitar all thewhile, busking and playingeighteen shows I’d bookedalong the way.

I reached up and flipped onthe actual light switch above,obtaining a dim green glowover my seat. I opened my tournotebook to a blank page andwrote Florida Winter Tour 2010broadly over the top margin.

My eyes scanned over theFlorida spread in my road atlasas I scribbled an itineraryincluding twelve of its largestcities. Finally I wrote a shortto-do list:

• Secure touring band

• Secure ride

• Book shows

On the eight-hour bus ridebetween two stops on my hitchhiking tour, I was painfullyaware of my need for a reliableset of wheels.

I was already burnt out byhitch hiking, busing, andridesharing, finding it verydifficult and stressful to makeit to destination cities within arigid schedule.

If I was going to make myway around Florida I would

need to find a Florida-based actwith his/her own vehicle. Icould do the grunt work ofbooking shows, they coulddrive, and together we’d splitexpenses.

A week or two later, withthe VVOT tour finally under mybelt, I touched down in NYC.Within days of home-coming Iwas again in the throes ofbooking tours, working throughthe to-do list I’d written on thebus. Though now my vision wasgreater still.

For the past two years I hadattended the School of theAmericas (SOA) Watch protestand vigil in Columbus, GA,which typically falls theweekend before Thanksgiving.

The event always featuresmusical acts, performance art,and all kinds of politicalactivism/artistry. So myambition for 2010 was notsimply to attend; I hoped tojoin the ranks of artists andperform my music on behalf ofvictims of the SOA.

Plus I intended to visit myfamily in Miami for the holidayone week later and for

Christmas one month later. Icertainly couldn’t afford to flyto Miami and back to NYCmultiple times within just acouple months. Could I bridgethe gap with my Floridianwinter tour?

As soon as I receivedconfirmation from SOAWorganizers in early September Ibegan sending out e-mails inthe hundreds.

My first task was to findtouring partners in Florida. Icontacted all of my musicianfriends in Miami, Orlando, andTampa; musicians onCouchSurfing.org; venues listedon doDIY.org for artists theymight recommend; Floridachapters of Food Not Bombs;and the more I inquired, thetaller the order revealed itselfto be.

I sought a South-Florida-based musical act with its owncar and at least four weeks offree time to leave home andtravel the country – all on justtwo months’ notice!

I nearly hit the jackpot inearly October with Noah Eagle,a young musician who playedthe Cocoa Beach show on mysummer tour.

A DIY folk/punk singersongwriter (mandolinist)himself, he sounded as thrilledabout the prospect of this touras I was; but he didn’t have acar either.

While I waited for him to

Writer Profile

Name: Gio AndolloAge: 26

Singer, songwriter, tourisngand recording artist, freegan,hitch-hiker and much more!

Previous page: Singer Brandi Carlile performing in Se-

attle. (SSG). Left: Hitch-hiking and busking to get

around. Right: Gio playing one of his gigs (GiAn)

‘I hoped to join theranks of artists andperform my music’

Page 25: Shoestring Issue #4

nothing. Meanwhile wecontacted more venues, artists,and promoters, wranglingtogether 25 shows in 26 daysand cities between Florida,Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee,North & South Carolina, andGeorgia!

We kept our friends andsupporters updated on bookingand fund-raising progress untilfinally, thanks to theircontributions – including oneincredible donation of $1000 –we surpassed our goal and hadmore than enough funds tocover our biggest expenses:gas, food, and carmaintenance.

Thus on November 27, twodays after Thanksgiving, wefound ourselves sitting in avegan bakery in Orlando – thevenue for our tour kickoff show– reeling at the prospect ofwhat was about to happen.

The car was packed, ourvocal chords and instrumentswere ready for a-strummin’,and we were all stoked forthe month-long adventureahead.

http://gandollo.weebly.com

Read what happened to Gio

on tour in Shoestringissue # 5!

In the meantime, head to

the Shoestring website

for some of Gio’s videos of

his tour to get a feel for

what’s possible on a bud-

get when you just put your

mind to it!

Shoestring 25

secure a ride I got busymapping out the itinerary andcontacting venues on the wayto Columbus, Miami, and allaround the southeastern US.

After all, if we were going tobe on the road for three or fourweeks, we could cover a lotmore ground than just Florida!

Noah sought out his friendsand family for a ride or vehicle.Within a week’s time wereceived confirmation from hissister, Amber, who asked for thetime off from work to drive usaround for a month.

Now there was nothingstopping us – except, perhaps,a lack of funds. Being a starvingartist myself, I knew I couldn’teven afford my share of the gasand food expenses.

Fortunately, I had recentlywitnessed the success of anonline fund-raising platformcalled Kickstarter. It’s awebsite that artists, musicians,and otherwise-creative peoplecan use to promote and raisemoney for specific projects.

A close friend and fellowstarving artist used the site toraise thousands of dollars torecord an album. Surely wecould do it too!

We set up a Kickstarterproject with the creative aimof throwing together a tourvideo log and documentaryabout CouchSurfing, DIY music,and other forms of freeganism.

We had thirty days to raiseat least $1500 and it was all or

hoW doEs kickstartEr Work?

Kickstarter is an online fundraising platform,not just mor musicians but for everyone with acreative project.

It uses an all-or-nothing concept, which meansthat you have to collect your target amount inthe time you specified or no money will changehands. The system has been nicknamed„crowdfunding“ as it’s not just one or twobigger investors but hopefully lots of supportand smaller donations

The emphasis is on creativity. And getting yourprojects noticed.

The only downside - at the moment - is that youdo need a US bank account to start a project onthe site.

www.kickstarter.com

‘We had 30 days toraise $1500 and itwas all or nothing’

Page 26: Shoestring Issue #4

26 Shoestring

The ferry from Finland toEstonia may take only anhour and a half, but the

difference is great indeed. Europe’s ex - Communist

countries – I hesitate to use theterm Eastern Europe, as forsome of its inhabitants it hasnegative connotations, andsome prefer to call themselvesCentral or Northern European –have come a long way since thefall of the Iron Curtain some 21years ago.

Installing successfuldemocratic governments,passing to free marketeconomies, opening up toforeigners, and (many of them)joining the EU.

Nevertheless, 40 years ofCommunism cannot be erasedso easily and part of theattraction of travelling in thesecountries is discovering thesetraces and learning about thisperiod of history.

With the proliferation ofbudget airlines weekend tripsto the likes of Prague, Krakow,Tallinn and Riga have becomecommonplace, and on anygiven weekend you are likely tocome across an inebriated,British stag party falling out ofa bar in the central square.

These major towns areindeed beautiful and deserve tobe seen and experienced; butthere is far more to thesecountries than cheap booze andmedieval town squares, and Ihope to give you some tips onhow to make your pennies go

further as well as a few ideason places worth taking theeffort to see.

First of all the languagebarrier is a greater hurdle herethan in Scandinavia and theremay be times when Englishalone may not suffice to makeyourself sufficientlyunderstood. If you are planningon visiting the region I wouldcertainly recommend learningthe basics of at least one Slaviclanguage. It doesn’t reallymatter which one as they areall very similar, and with aknowledge of one it is easy topick up some elementary wordsand phrases in any other.

I would recommend Russian,even if you are not planning tovisit Russia itself, as during theCommunist era it was theobligatory foreign language ineducation and so most peopleover 30 will have at least abasic understanding (and thoseunder 30 will usually have someknowledge of English).

And even though Russiansthemselves are not particularlyliked in many places (especiallyEstonia and Poland), it is auseful lingua franca.

Despite the fact that freecamping is not as enshrined inlaw as in Scandinavia theconcept is familiar, places arereadily available, and peopleare generally understanding. In

fact, due to the collapse ofindustry and populationdecline following the fall ofCommunism, it is possible tofree camp in urbansurroundings too as there aremany abandoned buildingsdotted around all over theplace.

This has the added bonus ofnot having to pitch and thenpack up your tent. If freecamping is a little less straightforward then this is more thanmade up for by the ease ofhitchhiking which is still verymuch an accepted means ofgetting around, especially inmore rural areas.

In some places though,especially in Romania, acontribution to petrol money issometimes expected andcertainly appreciated.

The dual plagues of Nazismand Communism playedthemselves out brutally inEastern Europe and across theentire region, from the Balticto the Balkans and Bohemia tothe Black Sea, there areinnumerable museums,monuments and memorials to

the human tragedies thatplayed out during the period:concentration camps such asAuschwitz and Majdanek inPoland, secret political prisonsin Romania and Lithuania,partisan hideouts in Estonia andSlovenia, and abandonedJewish shtetls in Ukraine.

Perhaps the most moving isthe Warsaw Uprising museumwhich describes how betweenthe Communists and the Nazisthe capital was annihilated andmuch of its population killed.At the end of the war only 10%of it was left standing and it’sa testament to Polish tenacitythat the country didn’timplode.

Communism may have beena grim and exceedingly dullexperience to live through, butmany people in Eastern Europeview the period with humourand there are some lovely littlemuseums that deal with thedifficulties of the time withtongue placed firmly in cheek,whilst still giving you an idea ofwhat life was like.

Top amongst them is GrutasPark, tucked away in a cornerof Lithuania, where a localbusinessman bought up as manystatues of Lenin, Stalin andvarious other beardedCommunists that he could findand has created quite amenagerie of Socialist Realist

In issue # 3, he was exploring Scandinavia, now Shoestring’s intrepid backpacker

is filing a new report from the road. This time he has taken on the Eastern European

states and tried them on for free travel opportunities and socialist encounters.

Erik on the road:

From the Baltic Sea to the Balka

ns

Writer Profile

Name: Erik JelinekAge: 30The world is a far moreinteresting and weirdplace than you could everimagine

‘Some of the smallmuseums are reallytongue in cheek’

This communist relic rises out of the

mist on Buzludzha peak in Bulgaria

looms like an eerie UFO. The

abandoned remains are one of the

strangest sights you will ever see.

Anywhere. Photo: ErJe

Page 27: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 27

sculpture that is fun whilst stillportraying the realities andabsurdities of life in the USSR.

Slightly less sombre are themultitude of quirky odditiesthat are to be found throughoutthe region for the moreenterprising traveller – you willcertainly need to do your ownresearch and be prepared forthings not to go exactly asplanned as tourist informationoffices are thin on the ground (Ionly found one in Ukraine, inthe city of L’viv) and reliabilityis but a handy word atScrabble, but perseverance willpay off.

The eerie boat graveyards ofthe Kolka Peninsula in Latvia;the geopolitical oddity that isthe Autonomous Republic ofGagauzia (with a population ofjust 155,000 spread over threetowns and a handful of villages)in Moldova; an abandonedCommunist meeting centre thatlooks like a UFO crash-landedon a mountaintop in Bulgaria;and a disused salt mine inRomania that is home to aFerris wheel, ten-pin bowlingalleys and mini-golf.

You can even arrange ahomestay with some Romaniangypsies to truly shatter thestereotypes that abound aboutthese passionate people. Andfor those who like their musicthe continent’s largest musicfestival takes place in the smallSerbian village of Guča(population 2000) where brassbands from around the worldconverge for a week of

mayhem with over half amillion revellers.

My personal favourite forstrangeness has to be Ukraine.The effort needed is greater,but the pay-off is worth it. Topbilling goes to perhaps thefreakiest organised tour on theplanet: to the exclusion zonesurrounding the Chernobylnuclear power plant.

When the reactor blew up in1986 a 30km no-go area was setup around the plant and all theinhabitants evacuated leavingabandoned ghost towns.

The power plant is stillrunning (and employs 4000people) and, for an admittedlysteep £75-100, it is possible fortourists to explore the area andget the ultimate holiday snap,posing only 150m from thedamaged reactor. For addedfun take your own Geigercounter and see it go off thescale as you point it at variousradioactive hotspots.

Other gems include amuseum dedicated to theex-Soviet nuclear deterrenthoused in an old nuclear missilesilo where the guys who hadtheir fingers on the buttonshow you around; the craziestOrthodox Jewish New Yearcelebration, when over 100,000Hasidic Jews converge on theotherwise unremarkable townof Uman’; and a bar dedicated

to L’viv’s most famous son,Leopold Sacher-Masoch, whoserisqué stories shocked theVictorian world and gave us theterm masochism.

For the avid hikers and fansof just setting off into the wideunknown, the mountains ofRomania and Bulgaria offersome of the wildest and mostunspoilt regions in Europe(without the cold ofScandinavia). Bulgaria has anenviable network ofexceedingly well-marked trailseverywhere there are hills.

All you need to do is getyourself to any village next to ahill and you can be sure therewill be a trail ready to take youoff on an adventure. Romania’s

mountains are far lessdeveloped, but offer greatopportunities for getting offthe beaten track and catchinga glimpse of traditional rurallife that has changed little incenturies – a rarity in Europe -just watch out for the bears!

And for those who like life’slittle luxuries, withoutnecessarily wanting to payboutique prices, considerstopping off in Moldova, whichis home to the world’s largestwine collection and winecellars.

So next time you’re thinkingof going to Eastern Europethink about ditching Krakow forKazanlak, and give Bucharest ago instead of Budapest, you’llbe pleasantly surprised: thetourist hordes are nowhere tobe seen, the locals arefriendlier, and prices will makeless of a hole in your wallet.

tchecossais.blogspot.com

‘My favourite forstrangeness has tobe Ukraine’

‘Bulgaria has aneviable network ofwell-marked trails’

Abandoned buildings make

for great shelter if you are not

fussed about slumming it a

little. Right: Communist

statue in Grutas Park,

Lithuania. Photos: ErJe

Left: The Livonian minority on

Cape Kolka, Latvia, keeps

pagan traditions like their boat

graveyards. (ErJe). Right:

Reactor number four at

Chernobyl is now, 25 years

after the nuclear catastrophe, a

tourist attraction (SiBu)

Page 28: Shoestring Issue #4

28 Shoestring

on the WaY through

peru to meet moWglIHeading down to South America, Nicolai Larsen is experiencing colectivos, bananas

and Peruvian cities. All in the quest to meet up with a friend in Paracas.

Travelling with the busesin south American ismuch like being part of

the movie “Fast and theFurious”.

It’s an adventure in itself torace down to Peru in the steelmonsters bouncing more thatTigger thanks to the roads thatcontain more holes than a Swisscheese.

The wonderful thing is howthe culture is shown throughsuch a mediocre thing such as abus ride, every now and thenlocal salesmen step onboardoffering their foods and drinks,it’s through their goods one cansee a shift in culture betweenEcuador and Peru.

In Ecuador they eat cookedgreen banana in so many waysto every meal during the daythat it’s hard to count them all.

So of course the salesmenare loaded with differentvariations of green bananawhen driving through Ecuador.

But once one crosses theborder into Peru, there is noneto be found among thesalesmen’s stashes, which iscriminal, since green bananamelts on your tongue like honeyfor utter deliciousness!

I arrived in Piura, the firststop on the road towardsParacas in south Peru. Along thebumpy ride I teamed up with aChilean named Jugo.

As soon as we hit the greyasphalt stepping down from thesteel monster, we wereattacked by a taxi driver, and Imean attacked, he wasaggressive in his ways.

But it didn’t set off anyalarms since many taxi drivers

are like that here. What did setoff alarms was acombination of several factors.Firstly we had under an hour tolocate the bus terminal in Piuraand in Peru, they don’t collectbus companies in one big busterminal, they are scattered allover the cities making it verydifficult to find the rightcompany.

Secondly Piura is not one ofthose cities you wanna findyourself walking around thestreets after dark with abackpack and a confused lookon your face.

The driver knew the locationof Olturosa the bus company’sterminal that we were lookingfor, so we followed him out ofthe terminal and into what Iwould describe as a suspiciouslooking taxi. It wasn’t even ataxi. My thoughts were drivingme crazy, I knew that thesekind of unofficial taxi driversoften also can be those whowould turn a corner, wherethree bodybuilding friendswould be waiting to empty our

credit cards gladly. I was looking febrile out of

the window, if I was going to berobbed, I wanted to see itcoming to accept my fate inadvance.

We turned a corner and ourdriver suddenly hit the brakeshard pulling into the side of theroad while three men jumpedthe car.

I looked at Jugo, he quicklylocked his door making my asstighten up even more. The menwere yelling loudly, Jugounderstood the Spanish ofcourse, which I clearly didn’tand pulled down the window.

At this point not knowingwhat these mens agenda was, Iwas scared, Jugo had eased upas he learned that these menwhere money exchangers anddelivered the news to me. Thatwas close.

Normally, I wouldn’trecommend exchanging moneyon the streets, but in life ordeath situations like this one,where I was in desperately inneed for Soles to pay a bus

ticket, you just have to trustthat they will leave a fewscrapes for you after theattack.

The night bus to Lima wasspicy, 90 soles, but I happilypaid the fare to get out of whatwould seem to be a modernPirate island, where no law isenforced.

In the afternoon the nextday, I grabbed a bus to Pisco.The lady at the counter told methat there were no buses toParacas, but that it was veryclose to Pisco and I could grab ataxi from there.

Once again I arrived in anotorious city shadowed bydarkness creating a perfect

‘I followed him intoa suspicious lookingtaxi’

‘The driver had noidea where thehostel was located’

Page 29: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 29

scenario for ripping me fromeverything I own.

Pisco had a few years beforebeen hit by a massiveearthquake that put most ofthe city in ruins, leaving thecitizens in poverty. The localmarket tells the situation inPisco. Normally markets sellfoods, clothes, normalconsumer goods, but here inPisco you would find weapons,screws, hammers and toiletseats as the most commongoods in the market.

When an old friendlyPeruvian offered me a ride toParacas for 20 soles, I gladlyaccepted (realizing later thathe royally screwed me, sincethe fare in a colectivo taxiwould normally be 3 soles toParacas).

Colectivos are a wonderfulcombination of a taxi and abus. A colectivo is much like anormal taxi, except that itwaits till the car is loaded withcustomers to decrease the costfor each one. In this way youcan drive long distances for nocoast at all compared towestern prices.

My driver had no clue wherethe hostel I was looking for waslocated, so when we enteredParacas, he pulled in at themain street to ask around,some senoritas sitting in frontof a hostel approached us andasked if I didn’t had a friendwho was waiting for me,describing him as small withspiky hair.

I was convinced, but mytaxi driver was certainly not,he smelled a con, so hestepped on the speeder andaccelerated away like we hadjust robbed a bank. We droveback to the tourist office,where the guide told us he hadnever heard of the hostelwhere I was supposed to meetMowgli. But there was anotherhostel called pretty much thesame, so we headed towards itwith the guide joining us in thecar.

Once again as we drove bythe senoritas, they approachedthe car, this time with theguide, the driver didn’taccelerate, and the senoritaspointed towards Mowgli’spresumable location. I left mydriver and guide on the otherside of the road walking intothe hostel. As I entered, thesecurity guy told me that hehadn’t checked in here, but abit further down the mainstreet.

As I closed in on my targetlike a hungry lion, a lady yelledfrom the street leading to thebeach that Mowgli was havingdinner at a restaurant.

How she knew and how shegot involved in my questlooking for Mowgli, I had noidea, it seemed like the wholecity was helping me out withmy personal quest and tactinglike a fierce SWAT team huntingdown Mowgli.

Meanwhile another lady wasyelling a little further aheadthat mi amigo was living in herhostel. They argued a bit andthe first lady seemed to hadwon the argument, so I follo-wed her down to the beachfront looking around inside therestaurants, where I spottedhim sitting innocently waitingfor food. I thanked the lady andas I moved towards him oureyes met like two loverswaiting for each other on adate.

Find out what happenednext to Nicolai and Mowgli on

http://lifeofnicolai.org

Opposite page: A market stall

in Lima. This page from top:

Plaza de Armas. Below: The

rooftops of Cusco. Bottom: A

typical colectivo bus.

Photos: ToAd

Page 30: Shoestring Issue #4

30 Shoestring

Festival - TimefLavour of thE momEnt:PavLova

Ingredients for 6 people

3 egg whites

3 tea spoons of cold water

1 cup of sugar

1 tea spoon of vinegar

1 tea spoon of vanilla

3 tea spoons of flour

Pre-heat oven to 150°C. Beat the egg whites and add the

water. While mixing, add the sugar regularly.

Slow down the beater and add vinegar, vanilla and flour.

Line an oven tray with backing paper. Draw a circle of

approximately 22cm diameter onto the paper. Add the

pavlova to the center of the circle and straighten it out.

Leave about 2cm between pavlova mix and the edge of

the circle. Make sure it’s even and round.

Bake the pavlova in the oven for 45 minutes and let it

cool down.

Carefully place it on a plate and add whipped cream and

fruits to your liking!

UFULUnG DYenDenA

Rain ghosts festivalMay, Ziginchor / Senegal

YOM HAATzMAUT

Independence DayMay, Israel

KeSenIAn

Art & Culture festivalJune, Denpasar / Bali

GYAnTSe

Horse racing and folkloreJune, Tibet

FILM FeSTIvAL

City-wide film festivalJuli & August, Melbourne / Australia

Language lesson in... FrenchSalut, je m’appelle...

Hello, my name is...

Je suis de...

I’m from...

Où est l’auberge de jeunesse?

Where is the youth hostel?

Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous m’aider?

Excuse me, could you help me?

Comment je pourrais aller à la gare d’ici?

How do I get to the train station from here?

Quelle distance nous sépare de... d’ici?

How far is ... away from here?

J’ai réservais une chambre pour ce soir.

I booked a room for tonight.

Est ce que ce bus va au centre ville?

Does this bus go to the city centre?

Combien ça coûte?

How much does that cost?

Puis-je avoir un café s’il vous plaît?

Could I have a coffee please?

Où je peux trouver...?

Where can I get ... from?

S’il vous plaît / Merci

Please / Thank you

check out the website www.shoestring-magazine.com for a french pronounciation podcast!

Translation by Dana Couppoussamy

Page 31: Shoestring Issue #4

Shoestring 31

My kind of town: Little Rock

I imagine what I would think of Little Rock if I had never been to Arkansas, let alone theUnited States. I imagine hillybillies missing teeth would be at the top of the list of mentalimages. After all, Arkansas is backwater, full of nothing but hills and creeks...right? Well, Right.Sort of.

Arkansas is beautiful, full of misty hills, gorgeous, warm valleys, and wonderful swimming holes.There's hiking for any level, and funky, small towns with hold-out hippies--and any of thosethings are available even only an hour or less outside the main capital. However, as a city, LittleRock is truly beginning to come into it's own.

I remember as a child, downtown Little Rock was an area no one wanted to enter after dark.Now, it's the place for nightlife. The River Market strip has an amazing farmer's market fromMay-October on Tuesday and Saturday. Aside from veggies, they also have some really friendlyartists who love to have conversations with new people. Year around, there are severalexcellent pubs and eats places. Sticky Fingerz, affectionately known as Stickyz, serves up someof the most amazing chicken fingers a girl could ask for--doesn't hurt that they also provideincredible local and regional musical talent on an almost nightly basis. Want to sing along withsome dueling pianos, or get just a bit embarrassed on stage if it's your birthday? Hit up Willy D'sDueling Piano Bar; make sure to ask your waiter for a Blue Motherfucker. They are, in fact,blue, and will rock your world.

If you enjoy branching out, you absolutely have to head over to the Heights area. It's an older,more progressive neighbourhood, perfect for walking in and out of shops. Its neighbour isHillcrest, home to Rivercity Coffee, Tea, and Cream. Rivercity is definitely where the localshang out, and, with its kind barrista (always ahead on the most recent gossip), free Wi-Fi, andendless supply of coffees and truffles, it's truly a lovely spot to wile away the day. Just next dooris Vieux Carre, a New Orleans inspired restaurant with the best Sunday Jazz Brunch I've ever hadthe pleasure of attending.

While some individuals might be looking for a slightly more 'refined' experience than whatfollows, I wouldn't be doing justice to all the options available in Little Rock if I didn't mentionWhitewater Tavern. The first few times I went there, I couldn't find it to save my life.However, I discovered it's actually quite easy to find, and is also quite close to a place I livedonce. Whitewater is where the 'hipsters' go. There's typically only one thing on the menu, likeit or not. Beer is incredibly cheap, and pool can be found upstairs. Whitewater is known for it'spractically nightly shows - including a Christian band once a month! They truly allow thecustomers to dictate what they want to hear.

Sometimes, even those visiting a city on purpose want to get a little taste of the outdoors. Ifthat's the case, take a short drive down Highway 10, until you see the turnoff for PinnacleMountain State Park. There is a park for kids, a creek to paddle, a couple of short, flat looptrails, and some awesome longer hiking options. There's even a section of the Quachita Trail thatcan be accessed. (It's like the Ozark's version of the Appalachian Trail). I've never failed to enjoya trip here, as it's got something for any mood you could possibly be in. The park also hostsseveral events through the year (such as owl watching, or a meteor shower paddle trip), for freeor only a nominal cost.

If one can summarize the feeling of a city, I hope I've done it here. It took getting older, movingaway, then moving back, but I've come to love Little Rock. It's not quite the same experienceas some other cities, but it has developed a lovely culture all its own. I hope very much to see,some day, a reader of this article who decided to stop by, for a day, a week, or even a lifetime.

http://barefootcityfeet.blogspot.com/

By Lacey Thacker

Top: Lacey Thacker having a drink at

Outback. Above: Fresh produce at

Rivermarket. Left: Pinnacle Mountain

State Park. Right: Little Rock Skyline

seen from the river.

Page 32: Shoestring Issue #4

32 Shoestring

Which way to flyaround the world?

Many so called Round-The-World tickets are

tied to specific routes. Most start in a European

city, and then take in stops in Asia, Australia

and the USA. Some routes can be more

elaborate and stop on every continent.

However, these routes can only be flown in one

direction, which means you cannot back-track.

Say for example, you want to work in China,

then Africa and then India - you could not do

that on a RTW ticket. You’d have to go Africa,

India, China.

There are some quite popular countries like Ghana

or Cambodia, which are unlikely to be on RTW

routes. In this case you’d have to work out whether

a RTW ticket with extra single tickets to get to the

out-of-the-way countries is the cheapest option, or

whether it makes more sense to book each leg of the

trip separately.

This will allow you to have a more individualised

itinerary.

A lot of flights can be booked up to a year in

advance, and if you have decided on a route

it is worth checking the internet for cheap

tickets. Early bookers usually get the cheap

seats. You should also remember that airlines

have less passengers on Tuesdays and Wed-

nesdays than they have over weekends,

which means there will be more seats and the

airline will be desperate to fill them so that

you can get a bargain!

Once you have found cheap flights or a route

you like online, go to a travel agent and ask

them to beat the quote. They like a good

challenge! You don’t have to book through an

agent, but they would have a copy of your

itinerary and tickets in case you loose them

on the way.

www.statravel.co.uk

www.roundtheworldflights.com

www.flightcentre.co.uk/flights/roundtheworld

Maps from statravel.co.uk


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