TravMonkey

Some of the more regular readers of TravMonkey.com may have noticed that I haven’t been posting for a while.

This has been for a number of reasons, but in short because of travel and more recently adjusting back into the real world.

Whilst on the road I found it increasingly difficult to find time to write whilst seeing and doing so many interesting things. After twenty two months of travel I finally made it home. Since then (less than 3 months) I have been busy finding a job and a place to live.

So far it has been a bit of a blur traveling back and forth from home in the north to London and having no routine at all, even on the road there was some kind of routine. Pack, move on, see things, meet new people, leave, eat, drink, find amazing new places etc etc

Anyhow, I’m back now working hard and living in the rat race of London ( and I still miss Sydney).

The travel was great and in some ways I am missing it and in other ways I’m not.

Of course I would like to hit the road again but when and where who knows.

Travel definitely gave me a whole new perspective on things.

Happy travels to those out there and those on there way.

Have you ever lived in shared accommodation where numerous people use the same cooking space?

If you have, like me you’ll be familiar with what kind of a state these places can be left in. The bigger hostels tend to have worst kitchens due to the number of people using (and abusing them).

Personally, I don’t particularly like trying to cook in these types of conditions so I tend to have a “a quick as possible” approach. Over the last few days I’ve noticed three different types of traveler in the kitchen, one of whom I find particularly bizarre.

1. The Pot Noodle Chef

This traveler really isn’t in the mood for messing around chopping and dicing, they head straight for the hot water and fill up they’re instant noodles. They are rarely sighted in the kitchen.

2. The Communal Cooker

Often cooking spaghetti bolognese or a stir fry for a group of friends this traveler does some slicing and uses some fresh ingredients, but keeps it simple. After all we’re in a hostel kitchen. They’re sometimes accompanied by a cooking assistant in the form of one of their friends.

3. Back To Basics Chef

This traveler, like the Communal Cooker whips up something nice but simple the only difference is that they are only cooking for one.

4. The Master Chef Contestant

I have come across this traveler on only a handful of occasions but each and every time it really baffles me why they go to so much trouble. I once witnessed a guy produce four stuffed lamb chops, the stuffing was home made and took him a good half an hour to prepare.

More recently I noticed one traveler with the world’s biggest wooden salad bowl, I have no idea where he found it I can only presume that he brought it with him.

Looking out of the corner of his eye he tossed his herb salad around like a pro hoping a few people would notice his efforts. It was like it was a competition in the kitchen, I was competing with my “Pasta with tomato and herb sauce” straight from a jar. I had no chance as he finished off his huge salad with strips of ham and a sprinkle of salt.

Don’t get me wrong I think it’s great to take time to cook a proper meal and be creative in the kitchen, but not in a hostel kitchen. It’s hard enough to find a clean plate in these kitchens at times.

I sense that in some situations some travelers for one reason or another go that extra step in creating something because of the communal environment.

Perhaps they are attempting to gain some sort of kudos from people around them with their abilities in the kitchen. I never really saw this kind of behaviour at university with most people content with beans on toast for dinner.

When some one’s baying for your attention or approval by flamboyantly drizzling the herb salad with a dash of olive oil it’s difficult to have any other opinion about them.

After all, it’s not Traveling Master Chef, it’s a dirty hostel kitchen.

I recently got into a heated discussion on a travel forum. The discussion was about whether it was acceptable to sleep in the same single bed as your girlfriend/boyfriend within a shared dormitory (With no funny business involved). Most people concluded that they would be somewhat annoyed if the couple in question hadn’t paid for two single beds and were trying to get by using just one.

I understood where they were coming from, no one wants an extra person in an already crowded room. It often feels like someone just isn’t willing to pay their own way when you see this happening out on the road. I feel this is not just self-fish and inconsiderate to the other dorm mates but a lack of manners in general.

I agreed with all the opinions that both individuals should pay their own way, but where we did disagree was if the couple had indeed paid for two single beds. I think that a couple staying in a dormitory with other people (usually people they’ve never met before) should stay in their own single beds and not share one single. Surely they are mature enough to be able to sleep on their own whilst traveling? If not they should pay for a private room. Many people argued that private rooms are just too expensive.

Most people disagreed with my opinion. Maybe I’m in the minority, but sharing a sleeping space to me means being considerate and not behaving like it is your own private room at home or university. A dormitory is a communal area and should be treated as such, with respect for fellow travelers.

Do you have an opinion on sharing single beds in a dorm?

Feel free to comment below…

Have you ever been traveling for so long that you´ve started to miss all the little cultural differences that amazed you so much when you first set out?

Maybe you´ve been traveling for too long.

Here are 5 signs that you´ve been on the road too long:

1. You find it acceptable to have a cold shower

You´re so used to battling with the hot and cold taps to try and obtain some kind of warm water that you´d think it was normal. You know never to touch the top of the shower in case of electric shock and reducing the pressure sometimes makes the water warmer.

2. 15 Hour Bus Journeys Are  Just Normal

You don´t even flinch at the thought of sitting on a bus for more than 10 hours, it´s just what you do.

3. You Don´t Even Notice The Chickens On The Bus

The chickens on board to bus used to make you laugh or at least triggered some intrigue but now you hardly even notice them.

4. You Carry A Roll Of Toilet Paper Around With You Where Ever You Go

You once made the mistake of getting to the dodgy looking toilet without any handy. A lesson learnt and you won´t let it happen again.

5. Your First Question To Anyone Is “Where are you from?”

The vital question that everyone asks. When anyone asks “How long have you been traveling for” it makes you cringe… you´ve been traveling for too long.

Have you ever stayed in a dormitory before?

If not, you’re in for a unique experience.

At some point during your travels you’re likely to have to stay at least once in a hostel dorm, especially if you are traveling on a budget. Dorms are great for meeting lots of new people but also have a tendency to give you the odd sleepless night.

Here are the top 8 things that annoy me about dormitories:

1. The Squeaky Bunk

It amazes me that any hostel would think it was a good idea to put in metal and potentially squeaky bunk beds. One such hostel is “Base” in the centre of Sydney, Australia. Picture the situation, you’ve been out for a couple of cheeky beers and being a considerate fellow you tip toe across the dorm room with the lights out. You make sure the door doesn’t slam behind you and you manage to make it to your bed without waking a single soul. Then suddenly all your hard work is dashed as you put one foot on to the bunk ladder to climb when there’s a deafening screeching sound. It usually sounds like nails scrapping down a blackboard or like someone strangling a large rat.

I find squeaky bunk beds annoying because I am the kind of sleeper who does turn over a lot during the night. I end up waking myself and everyone else up in the room.

2. The Plastic Mattress

You get to a nice clean hostel and check out the room to see if it’s worth the money. In you’re head very pleased with yourself about your choice of accommodation, whilst you’re strolling around town sight seeing. As you return weary after a long days sight seeing you jump into bed only to find that it not only sticks to your skin, but it also wakes the whole dorm up in the process. In the morning you will notice that you’ll have to peel yourself off the mattress.

3. The Unmade / Used Bed

You’ve just checked into one of these new big super hostels, reception has handed you your key and after the long tiring bus journey you’re ready for an afternoon power nap. You enter the dorm room only to find that like Goldie Locks and the Three Bears someone or something has been sleeping in your bed. Or more likely, the hostel has just forgotten to make your bed. At this point it’s the last thing you need, you just want to crash out and sleep. This never seems to happen in the smaller more family run hostels, only in the bigger hostels where I feel you become just one of many and any customer service is a very low priority.

4. The Snoring Roommate

Just when you get into bed and you are just about to drift off to sleep does the snoring roommate usually kick in. Snoring in the most annoying way possible, you try throwing the odd item at them but nothings waking them not even your dirty pair of socks. If you are lucky and you’re acquired a squeaky bunk you could try rolling over a few times, that usually wakes them and gives you some kind of rest bite. The key in these situations is to bring your ear plugs or mp3 player; it’s usually the only way to block out the sound.

5. Early Morning Bag Rustlers

Usually at some really obscene time in the early hours of the morning do the plastic bag rustlers come out to play. No matter how much they try not to make noise the sound of a simple plastic bag seems not only to carry but to go straight through most people. The simple solution to this problem is for the person leaving the dorm to pack their bag the night before and make sure they’re not using plastic bags in the morning. You can almost guarantee you’ll hear this sinister noise at least once in the early morning hours.

6. The Random Talkers

I often find this one the most puzzling as it could be easily avoided if the people in question just had a bit of common sense and some manners. Usually you’ll find there will be at least two roommates who know each other, they’ll stroll into the dorm at any hour chatting away and laughing as if it were the middle of the day. I find they usually talk in an undecipherable language and act as if it’s just the two of them occupying the room. They’re oblivious to anyone else in the room who are trying to sleep in or get an early night.

7. Smug Couples Sharing a Single Bed

I touched on this subject earlier in the article, How To Share A Single Dorm Bed. It’s a situation where everyone else in the dorm has managed to pay for their own bed for the night, but the couple simply pay for one single bed and share it. Not only that but they like hanging beach towels on either side of the bunk for a little privacy. It’s selfish and inconsiderate, especially if they decide to “get it on”. In these situations I’d pay for them to have a private room!

8. The Bottom Bunk Shaker

This one can happen if you do get a Number 7 and the couple in question are getting a bit frisky.

You have the top bunk and everything is going fine, you’re drifting to sleep when suddenly your bottom bunk mate rolls in from the local bar. They climb into bed (rather, jumps into bed) shaking the whole structure as they go. All through the night they move and turn, throwing you on the top bunk all over the place like a kid on a bouncy castle. Every time your new friend downstairs wakes up and moves, so do you.

You can usually avoid being one the causes of these problems with a bit of consideration for others and a bit of common sense. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to have the qualities in question.

Other dorm problems are harder to avoid and seem to be down to luck, over time you’ll become less sensitive to these issues with the more dorms room that you stay in.

Have you had any bad experiences in dorms?

Post a message below and let us know…

Do you often find yourself struggling to sleep on board a flight? Do you often get bored during this time?

Here are 14 Ways To Entertain Yourself On Your Flight:

1. Stroll aboard with your sun glasses on making sure you shake all the air hostesses hands on the way.

2. Congratulate those all around you for being on the same flight as you as the plane comes into land and ask a air hostess to carry your bag.

3. Bang your head repeatedly against the chair in front and mutter “Shut up! Shut up! Can’t you all just shut up?!”

4. Get out your broad sheet newspaper, if anyone happens to glance at it shout “What? Can’t you buy your own damn newspaper?!”

5. When the air hostess brings your in flight meal look at it, then at them, and shout “This isn’t medium rare!” and hand it back to them. 6. Open your hand luggage slightly, peer inside ask “are you OK in there? Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.”.

7. Stare at the passenger next to you and smile announcing “It’s my Birthday next week!”.

8. When the passenger next to you is reading the paper or a magazine, lean right over and read. When they turn around, pretend you were looking out of the window and whistle.

9. Make dog barking sounds at random intervals whilst looking out of the window and then proceed each with laughter.

10. When leaving the aircraft ask a passenger if they’ll be your friend, if they say “no” burst into tears and shout “why! why!” until you cause a scene on the tarmac.

11. Blow your nose on your sick bag then show those around you whilst smiling and pointing out that “that’s a big one”.

12. Break wind as often as possible blaming the person sat in front.

13. Eat your in flight food with your hands.

14. During the flight shuffle out of your seat and to the toilet. Spend a good twenty minutes in there then proudly strut back to your seat proclaiming to the passenger next to you that “it was a floater” and that “I’d leave it a good half an hour if I were you”.

Do you have any crazy ideas to entertain yourself on your flight?Let us know by commenting below…

A while ago I was staying in a Sydney hostel when I met a small group of travelers from the UK. They were all about 18/19 years old and had “round the world” flights booked with STA Travel.

After talking to them for a while I was a little taken back when I was informed that they were traveling around the world in just eight weeks. To me it just seemed a little ridiculous. Surely if you do have limited time traveling it would be much better to spend that time in one or a few countries instead of trying to set foot in as many as possible.

It seems like an increasing trend these days as people want to “tick the box” and to be able to tell people they’ve been to a country. Usually this means spending a day at the airport.

For me this type of travel is missing the whole point of traveling completely. You need time to get to know a country and it’s culture, rather than just getting a vague idea of a place by simply flying in seeing the main attraction and flying out.

Personally I like to give myself at least a month if possible in each country (obviously depending on the country). This usually gives me time to just scratch the surface of the countries culture.

If I had eight weeks to travel I wouldn’t try to go around the world but I’d spend it in one or perhaps two countries. It’s not about the number of countries you’ve set foot in but unfortunately in today’s ever increasingly competitive and boastful society some people think it is.

Last week I took a trip to the doctors. To my surprise there was little in the way of a waiting list like the UK, this was due to the fact that it would cost about 55 Aussie Dollars for the appointment.

Some of the 55 Aussie dollars can be claimed back with a medi care card. I also attempted to get one of these but found out that I required my visa stamp in my passport which means a trip to the immigration department.

For many countries in South America I require a yellow fever jab and proof of the jab in the form of a small yellow booklet. If you don’t have this you will be refused entry in some South American countries (Check the requirements of the country you are visiting). The jab itself was absolutely painless, so much so that I wasn’t sure if the doctor had actually done the deed of not.

The yellow fever jab cost approximately 65 Australian dollars and lasts up to ten years.

I have yet to plan most of my ongoing trip but in all honesty I prefer it that way.

So far I can tick the following off my to do list:

- Second/backup bank card
- Contact Lenses and Eye Check
- Check up at the doctors
- Immunisations
- Book Flights
- Check Visa situations
- Save Some Money

The following are still on my to do list are:

- Read a guide book or some travel blogs on the countries I’m visiting to get a feel
- Claim Tax back from working
- Close bank account
- Buy some warm clothes for New Zealand
- Photocopy important documents. i.e. passport, immunisation booklet(s)
- Obtain more passport photos for numerous visas on arrival


The clock is ticking down and there is definateley light at the end of the 9 till 5 tunnel.

In the travel blogging world a group of travel bloggers have emerged to form a network of blogs. The group is still in its early days and is discussing what rules or policy it should have. The blogs have the following in common:

“1. they’re recognized for consistently high publishing standards and 2. their content is not influenced by lasting or undisclosed affiliations with third parties. “

Whilst in principle I think no. 2 is a good idea I can’t help thinking point number 1 is meddling just a little too much. I have opted out of the network because I don’t feel it is necessary for blogs to be “trusted” or “monitored” on the World Wide Web. After all the major appeal of the Internet is its freedom.

I was recently reading an update on the “Trusted Travel Blogs Network” on in my all stars. When I first heard about the idea spawned from an article on the National Geographic I thought the idea had its merits. The idea that a group of travel blogs could be trusted not to take money or gifts from third parties in order to write biased blog articles seemed like a good one.

Enforcing Standards

My faith in the project disappeared after reading the update on “In My All Stars”. The post and proceeding comments from fellow “trusted bloggers” seemed to be splitting hairs about whether having no “in-text advertising” should be a policy for the network (”personally have issues with in-text advertisements” - In My All Stars).

For me, this is deviating from the central, original point of the network and has a sense of a moral high ground about it.

Blogs Are Not Magazines

People read blogs because they are not sterile; they are much more personal than a magazine. The network seems to be trying to standardise something that doesn’t need to be because the beauty of blogging is its rawness.

“Another thing I would like to make a requirement is that member blogs provide a feed.” - In My All Stars

What will happen to a blog who is part if the “network” if they don’t offer an rss feed for example? Will they be thrown out and banished? It seems like the “open-mindedness” and creative aspects of travel blogging are trying to be controlled for no real reason.

I have respect for the bloggers from the network, their blogging work is top quality and they have put a lot of work into their individual blogs.

But I think the “network” is starting to deviate from its central theme, I do hope it gets back on track or there may become a split between the blogs claiming the moral high ground and those who opt out.

I believe bloggers don’t need to be told what their blogs can or can’t contain and how they are laid out because it is the reader that is the real judge.

If the reader can’t handle “in-text” advertising or distracting banner advertising then it is their own decision to close the browser or surf to a different page never to return.

It is not for a group of individuals to impose rules upon an art form that is meant to be organic.

- Trav-Monkey

The key to making it happen is to ensure you stay focused on the goal of travel rather than falling back into the comfortable pattern of everyday life.

It’s easy to lose focus and put off or delay travel plans, but don’t lose hope…

Here are five steps to make that dream a reality:

1. Change Your Mindset

Make the decision to go traveling and stick to it. Have a long hard think about what you are letting yourself in for before you make that decision. Let friends and family know your plans and make sure you change your whole mindset in the direction of your future goal.

2. Start Saving

Start sorting out your finances, starting early with ensure you are as prepared as possible when the day comes to leave. Pay off debts, credit cards and begin to put money aside each month. It’s a good idea to cut down on things like monthly gym membership and put the money saved towards your travel. Whilst saving focus your mind on the prize.

3. Take Action

Take action by organising things. Book in to have your vaccines, buy a rucksack, some travel gear anything to start the wheels in motion towards your goal. By taking action you can begin to visualise what your about to do and it helps to remind you that it will happen.

4 Inspire Yourself

Inspire yourself and get excited about your forthcoming trip by reading up on the places you want to go. Don’t just use guide books, one of the best sources of inspiration comes in the form of real peoples travel blogs, there are lots of them available on the Internet. I’ve just started to re-publish my travel blog here, TravMonkey’s Travel Blog.

5. Book Your Flights

One great tip to make a big commitment to your big trip is to go out and book your flights. For some reason this really brings home what your about to do and you can almost taste the freedom of traveling. Perhaps it’s because once you’ve booked your flights there is a sense of “no going back”.

Taking small steps on the road to your big trip needn’t be very stressful, it’s usually the waiting around that is the hardest.

A good friend of mine decided to head off around the world, he bought a guide book for every country he was to visit. For one reason or another he never did quite make it.

Make sure you do, you won’t regret a thing.