Spider Exhibit in Havana. 

The Capitolio Nacional in Havana. 

Ian Wright - Live in Toronto!

Ian Wright – Cult Figure and Regular Guy Next Door

Yesterday my buddy Arnie and I had a chance to meet one of my idols in person: Ian Wright, the most famous presenter of the Pilot Guides travel show. The event was sponsored by three great players in the Canadian adventure travel industry: Outpost Magazine – Travel for Real; Mountain Equipment Coop – one of my favourite travel equipment outfitters; and Gap Adventures, a major adventure travel company in Toronto. It was great to see Ian live for the first time.


Ian - one of the inspirations for my site.


In many ways, Ian has been an inspiration to me for creating this website. When I started this travel website, I set out to create my own “Pilot Guides” experience, of course without the TV show, without the sponsors or the syndication deals, just me setting off on my own discoveries several times a year and sharing my experiences with like-minded people on the web.

In the 11 years of hosting the show Ian has been part of 55 episodes and traveled to over 70 countries. I have watched his shows for years and his quirky humour, cute English accent and physical comedy really add a special twist to this travel program. Ian never shies away from participating in activities with the locals, and he often samples rather outrageous types of food on his travels, including cockroaches and sheep eyeballs!

What makes Ian unique is that he delves into the culture, often sleeps in hostels, celebrates with the locals and regularly hitchhikes on the back of a truck. Luxury travel this is definitely not, but its entertaining, funny and informative at the same time. What’s great is that Ian always shows great respect for the country that he travels to.

The Pilot Guides travel programs are broadcast all around the world and Ian in particular has a very enthusiastic fan base. He said that his biggest fans are in Canada, Taiwan and in Norway while he is less well-known in England, his own home country.

Canada takes a special place in Ian’s schedule because it’s the only country where he holds lecture tours and the venue, the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall, was booked almost solid with several hundred admiring fans.


My buddy Arnie, a huge fan.


We got to see a slide show and Ian shared many of his humorous travel stories, but he also told us a bit about his time growing up and how his headmaster told him at his high-school reunion that he remembers that Ian always got other people in trouble. (Ian does have that mischievous twinkle in his eye, like he’s always ready for a prank...).

He also told us about how he got a job with Pilot Guides – “the best job in the world”, and that he obviously sent a pretty hilarious demo reel to the producers. He gave us the useful advice that if we wanted to get a job like his, we’d have to pay special attention to the first 10 to 15 seconds of the demo reel since they are crucial in making an impression.

At the end Ian spent a whole extra hour fielding questions from the audience. People asked him about the strangest type of foods he has eaten on his travels (he’s actually a vegetarian), his favourite animal (camels “’cause they are so rude”), his favourite places (Mongolia, Cambodia, Greenland), places he’s never been and would like to go (Antarctica, Central America).

He also razzed my own home country a bit, saying that Vienna’s museums put him to sleep and that he enjoyed the cardboard cops that are posted in various Austrian towns to prevent people from speeding. Of course you will only find cardboard versions of cops in a really sedate and safe country like Austria….

Ian also shared a couple of personal insights, that he travels much less now that he has settled down with a family, that he hosts drama classes for teenagers and that he loves painting. As a matter of fact, when I met him today at a meet-and-greet event at Toronto’s Mountain Equipment Coop store, he gave away beautiful autographed posters of his paintings entitled “Ian Wright – Painting the World”.


Ian and me at the Mount Equipment Coop.

For me the most fascinating part of the experience was that for all intents and purposes, Ian really is a global celebrity, and he has remained just a regular guy, humble, friendly and very approachable. No wonder everybody loves him....
SQ.

www.youtravelcheap.com
www.textronics.com

New York City - Budget Accommodation Guide - Small Hotels

New York City is obviously one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, so the demand for reasonably priced accommodation often outstrips the supply, which makes it difficult to find a reasonable priced hotel. One of the secret tricks to getting budget accommodation in New York City is to actually find a hotel room in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River, where hotel prices are substantially less expensive than in New York City, and in particular Manhattan.

If you are looking for hotel accommodation in NYC proper, here is a listing of properties, some of which could be classified as boutique hotels, that as of March of 2005 have rooms starting at below or close to US$100 per night (be careful though, their rates for single and double rooms are often different):

Amsterdam Inn: www.amsterdaminn.com
Broadway Inn: www.broadwayinn.com
Carlton Arms Hotel: www.carltonarms.com
Hotel 17: www.hotel17ny.com
Habitat Hotel: www.habitatny.com
Harlem Flophouse: www.harlemflophouse.com
Herald Square Hotel: www.heraldsquarehotel.com
Hotel 31: www.hotel31.com
Larchmont Hotel: www.larchmonthotel.com
Murray Hill Inn: www.murrayhillinn.com
Off-Soho Suites Hotel: www.offsoho.com
Pickwick Arms: www.pickwickarms.com
Union Square Inn: www.unionsquareinn.com

Staying in New York City shouldn't break the bank, hopefully these places will help you contain your travel budget.

SQ.

www.youtravelcheap.com
www.textronics.com

New York City - Budget Accommodation Guide - Bed & Breakfasts

In my experience, bed and breakfasts are one of the best ways of experiencing a new place. In many cases the rates can be quite reasonable although there is an increasing number of high end luxury bed and breakfasts and inns, many of whom may end up charging several hundred dollars per night as well. At some of the more budget-oriented B&Bs you can get a simple, yet usually comfortable room, often with unique décor. Sometimes bathrooms are shared which will result in lower prices, so if utmost privacy is important to you check whether your B&B accommodation offers private bathrooms.

B&B stands for “bed and breakfast”, now obviously we have discussed the “bed” portion of the equation. As far as the “breakfast” portion is concerned, there are also a range of choices available. Some B&Bs will offer full breakfasts, some even with home-made ingredients, jams, preserves or various gourmet breakfast dishes etc. while others may only offer a simple continental style breakfast. In larger cities B&Bs may even exclude the breakfast option altogether, so if a nice meal in the morning is important to you, make sure you check whether your desired accommodation actually includes breakfast or not.

One additional advantage of B&Bs is that generally these places are owned by private individuals or couples who enjoy hosting people from all over the world. Quite often the hosts end up being quite entertaining and they can become your built-in local travel expert for the area. At any rate, be prepared for a rather personal experience since often the hosts share the house with the guests. Inns are usually larger and take on an atmosphere of a small historic hotel, so there the atmosphere will be less personal.

Here is a listing of websites that specialize in bed and breakfast accommodation for New York City:

www.citylightsnewyork.com
This website offers hosted bed and breakfasts in a range from US$ 80 to US$130. Unhosted bed and breakfasts go for between US$ 130 and US$ 300.

www.athomeny.com
At the time of writing this article, this website offered single occupancy rooms for US$75 and up while most double occupancy rooms ranged between US$125 and US$175 (and higher).

www.nyhabitat.com
This website specializes in apartment rentals and has a variety of different types of apartments available. As of March 2005 their rates were as follows:

Studio
$85 to $165
One Bedroom
$135 to $225
Two Bedrooms
$200 to $375
Special Apartments
$250 to $500

The following websites specialize in bed and breakfasts and most have search engines or pull-down menus that allow you to search for accommodation by location.

Through www.bnbfinder.com:
This website offers several properties in New York City ranging from US$40 and up:

Stay The Night (New York, NY), $60-$125
1291 Bed & Breakfast Accommodations (New York, NY), $40-$150
Regina's New York B&B in Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY - 5 miles), $75-$150
Honey's Home (Brooklyn, NY - 10 miles), $75-$150
Berry Preserve Bed and Breakfast (Asbury, NJ - 54 miles), $95-$130


Through www.bedandbreakfast.com:
This website offers quite a few bed and breakfasts that start below US$100 per night and their listings are divided between Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. I have picked out the ones that come in at the lower end of the scale although you will find a lot more properties that offer rates in the range from US$100 and up.

Chelsea Lodge - Manhattan, NY, Rooms: 20 Rates Per Night: $95 - $110
Bed and Breakfast NYC - Manhattan, NY Rooms: 5 Rates Per Night: $95 - $225
1291 Bed & Breakfast Accommodation - Manhattan, NY, Rooms: 23 Rates Per Night: $65 - $85
Rooms in Soho Loft - Manhattan, NY, Rooms: 2 Rates Per Night: $90 - $110
Bed and Breakfast Mont Morris - Manhattan, NY
Efuru Guest House - Manhattan, NY, Rooms: 4 Rates Per Night: $60 - $125
Room in East Village - new york, NY, Rooms: 1 Rates Per Night: $80 - $100
The Harlem Flophouse - Manhattan, NY, Rooms: 4 Rates Per Night: $75 - $100
Bibi's Garden - Brooklyn, NY, Rooms: 5 Rates Per Night: $65 - $125
Angelique Bed and Breakfast - Brooklyn, NY, Rooms: 6 Rates Per Night: $75 - $150
Eve's B&B - Brooklyn, NY, Rooms: 0 Rates Per Night: $70 - $125
Astoria B&B - Queens, NY, Rooms: 1 Rates Per Night: $50 - $70
The Harbor House - Staten Island, NY, Rooms: 11 Rates Per Night: $59 - $150
Victorian Manor Inn - Staten Island, NY, Rooms: 7 Rates Per Night: $75 - $120
Victorian Bed And Breakfast Of Staten Island - Staten Island, NY, Rooms: 4 Rates Per Night: $75 - $105
Victorian Villa - Staten Island, NY, Rooms: 3 Rates Per Night: $79 - $98
Hartshorne House - Staten Island, NY, Rooms: 2 Rates Per Night: $55 - $95


Other bed and breakfast directory websites that you may want to check include the following:
www.bbdirectory.com
www.bestinns.com
www.bbonline.com
www.ibbp.com
www.iloveinns.com
www.newyorkbedandbreakfast.us

If you have never tried b&b-ing, check out this way of travelling. You might like it too....

SQ.

www.youtravelcheap.com
http://www.textronics.com/

New York City - Budget Accommodation Guide - Hostels

Hostels generally offer dormitory no-frill style accommodation, separated by gender, with shared bathrooms. Most hostels offer real budget type of accommodation with only the very basics. Some hostels do offer private rooms, however, and occasionally these rooms may even have a private bathroom. Many hostels offer shared kitchens and living areas and some also have Internet access on site. Hostelling is a popular way for students and young people to travel, but most hostels nowadays don’t have age restrictions any longer which means even middle aged individuals and seniors are welcome to stay. It’s a bare bones way of traveling, but one of the benefits is that it does offer the opportunity to connect with other like-minded travelers. Often the atmosphere at hostels is very informal, casual and friendly, so even when traveling as a single person it should be quite easy to make new friends.

Some of the hostel websites also offer message boards, travel stories and various travel-related services such as travel insurance, rail passes, adventure tours, flights & car rentals. One very nice feature of some of the hostel websites is that they offer ratings of hostel properties that were completed by previous travelers, providing some insight into the quality of the property in question. Hostel websites generally allow you to search for availability by date and to make a reservation online.

As of March 2005, dorm-style accommodation in NYC hostels can go for as low as US$ 25.00 per night, with most of the properties charging between US$30.00 to $40.00 per night. Private rooms range from about US$27.50 and up per person, with most of the properties coming in between US$35.00 and to US$ 70.00 per night per person.

Here is a list of some of the main hostelling websites:

www.hostels.com
The Hostels.com website indicates that it features the most comprehensive selection of hostels on the internet with almost 7,000 hostels listed.

www.hostelsclub.com
Hostelsclub refers to itself as a young and dynamic company providing the budget traveler with an online booking engine for destinations all over the world: Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Hostelsclub offers a wide range of accommodation choices for all budget travelers.

www.hiahy.org
Hostelling International (HI) operates a network of more than 4,000 hostels in over 60 countries. Their website indicates that the USA they offer the largest network of quality hostels.

www.hostelweb.com
Hostelweb specializes in the Western United States with over 67 hostels in 11 western states. Obviously not a choice for NYC, but certainly a good reference for western US travel plans.

www.hostelworld.com
Hostelworld.com provides online bookings at thousands of hostels worldwide. You can check out their hostel reviews, view photographs and read detailed descriptions of all their hostels. You can confirm reservations at a selection of youth hostels, independent hostels and international hostels in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania.

Happy hostelling....

SQ.
www.youtravelcheap.com
www.textronics.com

Hello from Quebec (Magog) - 2

So I am cheating a little, I am already back in Toronto, writing this little summary of the second half of our trip to Quebec. While we didn’t ski on Wednesday because it was too friggen cold, we did have a beautiful day of sunshine on Thursday, albeit a little on the cool side (about minus 15 Celsius…).


La Cathedrale de Sherbrooke.

Well, it was certainly a perfect day to go skiing on Thursday and we chose to go to Jay Peak in Vermont, just south of the Quebec border. It took us about an hour to drive to Jay Peak from Magog and getting through the US border was very quick. And the US border officials were very friendly and even cracked some jokes with us.

Jay Peak is the largest ski resort in the area. We had skied Mount Orford (1770 feet vertical drop), Owl’s Head (1770 feet vertical drop as well) earlier in the week, but Jay Peak clocks in at 2153 feet in vertical drop. It feels like a real mountain, with the rocky outcrop on the highest peak and an aerial tram (or gondola) that ferries skiers up to the highest point.

But we did notice Jay Peak was a fair bit pricier than the ski resorts in Quebec. We had paid Can$34 for a half day at Orford, Can$15 (!) at Owl’s Head (the Tuesday and Wednesday full-day special, regular half-day rates are Can$26). Jay Peak came in at US$42 for a half day or US$56 for a full day. Good thing was they were willing to accept Canadian dollars at par as long as we paid in cash, but even so the price differential was substantial.

On the other hand, Jay Peak offers by far the highest elevation as well as the largest number of runs with 75 trails. We had a great day at Jay, we truly enjoyed all the blue and single black diamond runs although we are not daring to touch the double black diamond runs yet. It was a fabulous day and we had a gorgeous view over the Appalachian mountains set against a brilliant blue sky.

Friday morning was the second time we saw sun and I decided to drive to Sherbrooke and do a little photo safari. Sherbrooke is a rather picturesque city of about 100,000 people or so and it has a beautiful cathedral, city hall and various other rather amazing architectural jewels. Driving back on Highway 10 I came over a hill and at one point I was able to see all 3 major ski mountains (Mt. Orford, Owl’s Nest and Jay Peak) at the same time, even though the latter two were about 30 or even 50 kilometers away. That panorama was amazing.


Sherbrooke's City Hall.

Of course the snow drifted back in in the afternoon and rather than to go skiing we decided to play a late afternoon game of tennis at the Centre Sportif de Memphremagog. In the evening we had a beautiful dinner at a great little Italian spot on the main street of Magog: “La Piazetta” where we both had one of the best meals in a long time.


Architecture in Sherbrooke.

Despite my self-professed bent of adventure, I am admittedly a culinary wuss and on Friday I decided to be daring and order escargot (okay, snails) with garlic, camembert and basil. It was truly one of the must succulently delicious meals I ever had, despite ingesting a slightly chewy rendition of mollusks.

Saturday we got our stuff ready and started the drive home, naturally surrounded by snowfall, as we had experienced most of the week. Funny enough, just after the Quebec/Ontario border the clouds started to clear up and we had a clear blue sky all the way home. It took us 7 hours door to door and 657 kilometers. And it was worth every minute. This was a really nice, relaxing vacation.

SQ.

http://www.youtravelcheap.com/
http://www.textronics.com/