Sofia - cheap and cheerful

Sofia: one of Europe's cheapest cities

When you are aware that Sofia is the cheapest city in Europe it immediately fills any backpacker/tourist with a sense of excitement. Whether it be the 'Tommy Tourist', the 'Shopaholic' or, indeed, the alcoholic.

With this in mind I thought it best to take advantage of some much needed retail therapy. This belief was enhanced by my journey from the train station to the city centre where, apart from the picturesque backdrop, the city seemed, at least on the surface, to have about as much character as a Swiss guy who was going through an identity crisis.

This initial feeling was altered a little by some of the churches and cathedrals which, apparently, were particularly attractive from the inside. I would have known this for myself, of course, had I actually experienced them but, apart from the occasional glance, I only went inside one.

You have to understand, though, that free tourist attractions are generally most attractive in expensive locations but given that Sofia was cheaper than a Northern bird on a cold November night these buildings were all too frequently ignored, much to the chagrin of one observer who I met in one of the town centre's two Irish pubs. The pub was called O' something or another, I think, and when he asked me what I had done with my day and when I responded with 'Shopping' he gave me a look of disgust.

It is important to realise this guy was one of those people who knew all about what you should and should not do when on holiday - by that I mean where to go and where not to go. Very irritating indeed. He then proceeded to tell me what I should do with my following day. I duly listened, nodded and agreed, so I guess that makes me an even bigger idiot than him.

To make matters worse the local beer in said pub was nearly as tasteless as Budweiser which I put down to some naughty tampering as the local beer, as a rule, was generally quite good.

On the same evening I encountered a rather drunk, middle-aged Austrian who, upon realising I was a tourist, he simply slurred: "Why?" I don't think he was referring to why I was a tourist but, actually, why Sofia? At least, that's what I think he meant.

A pleasant surprise, compared to other poor countries, is the lack of hasssle one receives from restaurateurs and other such marketeers.

On my last night in the city I can honestly say I had the best meal on my travels this year at an endearing little place called just off the Alabin street in the city centre.

Not only was the outside ambience great but the food was both excellent and there was plenty of it.

In addition, the street side ice-cream vendors need to be taken advantage of... By that I mean consume there ice-cream (that's not a euphemism), not... oh you know what I mean.

Finally, I urge anyone who wishes to visit the city to book their accommodation in advance. Not because it is a city bustling with tourists but because there are so few options on offer, or not to the naked eye.

Budapest - tongue in cheek

Tongue twister: The lion at the centre of all the fuss

As I landed at Budapest airport courtesy of a low cost airline that will remain nameless I went straight to the tourist information. I picked up a map, instructions of the best way to get into town and headed for the train station.

I glanced at the map I saw plenty of adverts around the outside. You know, the usual ones. Discounts at museums, local pizza places, where you can pick up a call girl... Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen. Budapest unashamedly advertises such services on the maps provided by the friendly tourist information advisers.

Next up was a walk around the city, from Buda to Pest and back to Buda again, across the many bridges I noticed a concrete statue of a lion. But this was no ordinary lion. This one had no tongue. It was the same on both sides of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. I later learnt, legend has it, that the creator of the statues, János Marchalkó, jumped into the Danube when people began to make fun of the tongue-less beasts he'd created.

Anyway, whilst I was being distracted by all this I was nearly run over by a cyclist who seemed to have no intention of stopping as he careered towards me. I just managed to exclaim an expletive before diving out of the way. What a bastard!

This would not be the only occasion I would have to dodge out of the way of locals speeding towards me at an alarming rate as plenty of out of control skate boarders hog the streets (and paths), coming round corners faster than a McLaren or a Ferrari at the nearby Hungaroring.

After just about manage to keep all my limbs intact I decided it might be safer to use the metro. As good as this was (it can hardly be as bad as London) there was still an element of frustration (or perhaps amusement, depending on if you were in a hurry or not) as the escalators would have people scattered from side-to-side, as opposed to the conventional; standing people on one side, those late for their plane or have a serious case of diarrhoea charging up/down the other.

At least there was the opportunity to indulge in one of my favourite travel past-times: eating. And, by and large, Budapest is pretty good on this front. Plus, it can offer pretty good value if you manage to locate one of the all you can eat and drink (yes, drink!) buffets. Now, in the UK such eateries serve up terrible food, but not here. The meat is good, as is the goulash.

If you fancy dipping a little deeper, but not too deeply, into your pocket there is a delightful food offering down by the river on a Sunday afternoon. If you are really lucky, you may even be deafened by a local band as you enjoy your lunch.

As I wait at the airport to head off elsewhere I am astounded as one person on security says to another: "Can she (pointing at a tourist about to embark on a flight) take this on board?" As she did so I realised said item was in fact a knife. Ah, the times we live in, eh?

World Cup Diary - South Africa 2010

A Summary

In England we have watches.

In South Africa they have time.

In Johannesburg you have two options: either walk and get mugged or get a taxi and get mugged.

In Cape Town during the World Cup one couldn't help kicking balls around the shops at the FIFA football exhibition down at the Waterfront area, to the dismay of all the shopkeepers.

In the Kruger National Park they have lions, but we did not see any  :(

World Cup Diary - South Africa 2010

Saturday 10 July
Arrive at my hotel to find out the Dutch national team have left and moved to a different hotel. A plate of lovely sandwiches is soon polished off before heading to Nelson Mandela Square and a few beers followed by a curry and a good night's sleep - the first one for a while.

Sunday 11 July

The big day, well it would have been massive had England been there (yes, that feeling will persist for another four years!). Still it is a World Cup final and we will all try to get tickets to the big event.

First, a humbling trip to the Apartheid museum in Johannesburg. A moving if necessary experience. Necessary to realise a significant part of this country's recent history, but also because there's not a lot else to do in the city - thank goodness there's a match on tonight.

Talking of which, we head to a shopping mall a few hours before kick off. This, though, is a shopping trip of a different kind - we're looking for match tickets. Some money grabbing Scottish bloke wants £1000 a ticket. Maybe if the Three Lions had been there he may have stirred some interest but the Jock was clearly out of touch and only interested in swelling his bank balance. I hope he failed.

We then got some transport to within a mile of the stadium and found a nice house party selling beer and doing a bbq. A good option, we tell the hosts, should we fail, as expected, to get tickets.

Then we head to the stadium on foot with a sign declaring our intentions - we want tickets - and stumble across some teenagers who seem ready to do business.

At first, I am disbelieving and keep my distance. They then give us the three tickets we require, before quickly exchanging one of those tickets for another. No matter. We are happy to buy a trio of tickets and don't care where we sat.

Now comes the key question: how much? "Nothing," came the response from one. "Free," said another.

What? Something doesn't seem right here. We quickly, very briefly, show some sign of gratitude before I decide the best thing to do is get away from this suspicious situation as pickpocketing/mugging is at the forefront of my mind.

I then inspect the tickets and they seem legitimate but, obviously, they are not. They cannot be. Now the teenagers are well in the distance and we have all our possessions still on us I conclude they must be fake.

Nevertheless, it is worth trying to get in with our false tickets. The worst that could happen is they turn us away. The best case scenario is they're genuine.

I suggest I try first and then my accomplices try an alternative gate, as to not arouse suspicion should I get turned away.

Amazingly I get passed the two points of security and so do my colleagues. We arrive at our respective seats and they are vacant so clearly they were genuine tickets and not fake at all. This still makes no sense to this day and I am dumbfounded. But, hey, we are here. And for free. Amazing!

The temperature is chilly at best and incredibly cold at worst but we are warmed by the sights of Nelson Mandela and Shakira, for very different reasons, prior to kick off.

The result almost takes on an irrelevance but due to my association with the country and that I am in a Spanish section of the ground I decide to support Casillas, Xavi et al, so when Iniesta seals victory in extra time I whoop with delight along with the Spaniards beside me.

The game was not the most interesting as a spectacle but what the hell - we can't exactly ask for a refund on the tickets. And we were just delighted to be there.

We head back to our hotel still shaking our heads in disbelief.