Travel – Page 16 – travellingzombie.com

Happiness Only Real When Shared: Reflections From The Top of Sulphur Mountain, Banff.

We look back at our favourite image from 2017

As we hurtle towards the end of the year, we thought that we would look back on the year until now. 2017 saw the launch of this blog and it’s great to have been able to share some of our adventures with you!

Helpfully, the daily post’s photo challenge this week was on the topic of favourite photos from this year. With this in mind, me and Wandering Beeb went digging through our photos to see what we would class as our favourites.

Some of the stand out ones from this year were our ‘walking the glacier‘ set – just because the experience was so surreal and so different to our usual trips.

The photos on Sulphur Mountain in Banff grabbed us and made sense for us to share on this theme, although probably not for the reasons you would think!

Sulphur Mountain was impressive, with stunning views on a near 360 degree viewing platform. We were lucky in that the haze from the forest fires had cleared a little, moving the view of the mountains from a fuzzy outline in the distance to 3D relief, affording us some stunning vistas. We made the short trundle from the observation deck to the now defunct Cosmic Ray Station, heading up inclines made manageable for most visitors by structured steps and under-foot decking. So much so that a small child was walking confidently the length of the observation deck, loudly proclaiming ‘Eeek’ to the surrounding mountains, blissfully unconcerned with the breath-taking drop below. Looking back at the photos, the views are clearly stunning, but this wasn’t the reason for singling them out.

One of the best things about travelling is speaking to other people from different cultures, countries and perspectives – even when it’s only briefly. Those snippets of conversation are what add flavour to the otherwise routine trawl through the sightseeing gambit and it was the connections we made on this part of the trip that we were reminded of by these photos.

Whizzing along on the upward gondola trip, we found ourselves sharing the four person gondola with two guys who were catching up on a trip out to Banff. They explained that they had been neighbours 10 years earlier, with one of the pair only being a kid at the time. Learning about two people and their stories in an 8 minute ride up the mountain can only give you a flavour of their history, but we had the sense that they were two really cool guys, enjoying their time catching up. There was an easy-going banter between the two of them which helped to reduce my anxiety at being suspended above the ground by a single cable.

The way down saw us sharing the space with a couple from Sweden who were clearly as freaked out by the height as I was (you can read more about my terrible relationship with gondolas here).

Despite the anxiety, we talked about their trip, starting with Reykjavik, heading on to Quebec and learning about their observations on Toronto (a smaller version of NYC). We shared our views on Vancouver (to which they were heading soon). They took a couple of snaps and asked us about our football preferences back home in the UK (Zatan was a favourite topic of conversation). As soon as people find out we are from Manchester, the first question is always ‘are you a red or a blue?’ By the time the gondola had reached the bottom and we wished each other happy travels, we had shared travel tips, made new acquaintances and had some ideas for our future travels. It’s those memories that have made these photos some of our favourites.

This is our favourite part of travelling and regardless of beautiful scenery and amazing experiences, it’s the people and the connections that makes the journey worthwhile.

A Birthday in Central Park

Up and down, up and down, the scenery flashed past as the carousel spun, taking us laughing riders nowhere and everywhere all at once. It was my 30th birthday and I’d been lucky enough to convince Wandering Beeb, my sister and her partner to spend it with me in New York.

I’ve been a couple of times to New York, but never ridden the carousel in Central Park – and so this was the one thing that I wanted to do for my birthday.

The carousel has been in existence since 1871, first operated by a mule and horse who would pull the ride round from an underground platform. Fortunately, these days the ride is much more animal friendly and is powered mechanically.

I’ve always liked carousels and it felt like the best place to do something childlike and fun! Although the ride was short, it created a perfect snapshot picture, something that will always stay in my mind, the wind whipping round us, hair flying and most of all, lots of laughing.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the park, taking in the highlights. Bethesda Fountain took our attention straight away, standing out against the blue sky. The noise of running water from the fountain merged with the sounds of the performers in the court yard, entertaining the crowds with a large bubble display.

We sat perched on the side of the stairs for a while, looking down on the activity below, before heading off to walk around Belvedere Castle. The image of the castle reflected in the pond certainly lived up to the castle’s name, which means ‘beautiful view’ in Italian.

The nearby pond, known as Turtle Pond was full of cheeky little turtles, all bobbing up in the water to see the human visitors wandering around the side of the pond. Once we spotted one, it was easy to see all of the other little shapes in the water, following people around for a sneaky bite of their lunch.

We stopped off at the Chess House – a brilliant idea of a place, filled with outdoor tables where people can set up their own games. I loved this and it felt like a hidden gem, bringing people together in a beautiful setting.

We rounded off the day sat on some of the large rocks, soaking up the sun and people watching, turning snippets of over-heard conversations into elaborate made-up back-stories. It was the best way to spend an afternoon, by being New Yorkers for the day in the hub of the big city.

What bits of Central Park did you enjoy the most? Are there any highlights we missed? Tell us your stories in the comments.

24 Hours in Cairo

Like most people visiting Egypt, the pyramids were one of the highlights of the trip that I’d been most looking forward to.

Arriving in Cairo following a quick flight from Luxor at some inhuman hour, I was bundled into a private taxi with a bouncy, energetic guide who immediately took me to a local shop to get me ‘something to wake me up’. The ‘something’ turned out to be a strange mixture called Sugarcane Juice. It did the job, even if an inevitable sugar crash was hovering just around the corner.

Back into the cab, a quick, scary rush down the busy roads and the first stop was to the Giza plateau. Making my way over to the pyramids, crowds of people were looking to get tickets to enter and there was no queuing system – everyone pushing to get to the front. The guide jumped in with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary, surfacing a couple of minutes later clutching a small ticket that would let me into the centre of two of the pyramids of Giza. For some reason (possibly due to the environmental impact) tourists are only able to enter two of the three pyramids on any given day. I chose the Great Pyramid and the Second Pyramid to explore.

The Great Pyramid is also known as the Pyramid of Khufu and is thought to be the oldest of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The Second Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khafre is so called because it is the second tallest pyramid at Giza. Spending time during the earlier part of my trip to read up on the structures, I already knew that I wouldn’t be seeing ornately decorated interiors, similar to those in the tombs at the Valley of the Kings, however I was just excited to step foot in a pyramid – that’s not something you do every day and I’d always wanted to be Indiana Jones!

Approaching the Great Pyramid, I was surprised by how near I could get to the actual pyramid exterior, the blocks looking even bigger up close. It was fairly claustrophobic inside, the floor sloping upwards in a steady incline and the walls less than an arm’s-span apart. If you are not a fan of small spaces, this is not the trip for you! There were railings on the walls to help move up the incline and the flooring was boarded with slight raised notches every couple of steps. A small cadged light was perched above the passageway, providing dim lighting to direct my steps.

Although the inside of the Great Pyramid’s main chamber was sparse and undecorated, it felt incredible to be standing in the centre of such an iconic and historic landmark. I’ve always been fascinated by ancient Egypt and despite the mustiness, dust and sand, I felt elated to be undertaking such an adventure.

Always one to let my imagination run wild, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like when the pyramid was first discovered, with the archeology teams taking their first steps into the darkness of the structure, unsure of what lay ahead of them in the darkness.

The Second Pyramid was just as exciting and my attention was captured by small shafts in the building, leading upwards to align with the stars. The attention to detail, coupled with the scale of the structure was hard to comprehend. Emerging from the depths of the pyramid, blinking into the light, I achieved my Indiana Jones moment, the noise of the crowds chasing away my imagined rumblings of the unseen, oncoming boulder.

Heading away from the pyramids, the Sphinx was my next destination. It rose out of the dust, flanked by the outlines of the pyramids in the distance. The Sphinx was stretched out at the end of a long pathway, which ran the length of the monument. Actually touching it was just out of reach, but up close, it was stunning to see. Considered to be one of the oldest monuments in Egypt, it was incredible imagine how this must have looked when it was being discovered, half buried in the sand. The plateau was full of people, all being encouraged to take posed pictures to show the scale of the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The final couple of stops of the morning were to the Giza Solar Boat Museum to look at the boats which had been buried nearby, thought by some to have been used as funeral barges.

The afternoon was spent visiting Khan Al-Khalili, a large souk in the bazaar district as well as wandering around the Cairo Museum. The contrast between the hustle and bustle, bright colours and noise of the shopping market and the calm, collected and hushed tones of the museum perfectly illustrated the two sides of Cairo that I’d experienced.

There were multiple treasures within the museum, but unfortunately the unbearable heat inside made it difficult to stay for too long. Regardless of the heat, I was determined to visit the hall of mummies and, the highlight of the museum, Tutankhamun’s burial mask. It was absolutely worth the discomfort and incredible to see.

The day was rounded off with a meal at the Hard Rock Cafe Cairo where I was able to spot one last wonder – Micheal Jackson’s hat from Smooth Criminal! It was a whirlwind 24 hours, with so much packed in to such a short time. I would love to go back some day to take it all in at my leisure. For now, Cairo stays on my list of places to visit again.

Have you ever had a 24 hour visit to somewhere? Would you go back or did you get to see everything you wanted? Let us know in the comments!

Magpie and Stump Vs High Rollers

Bowling, drinks and Canadian atmosphere in Banff

The barmaid in the Magpie & Stump obviously wasn’t happy with our selection of drinks – we chose the rum over the tequila and the prices didn’t seem to top us over the threshold of ‘well paying customers’. The slight ‘dishwasher-like’ taste came as a freebie, and lingered around well after the last swallow.
It was a strange place, Mexican style with hundreds of monkey nut shells covering the floor. Our group weren’t sure if this was by design or by lazy cleaning. Either way, the place didn’t have the vibe we were looking for.
After tipping the waitress well, she warmed up a little and told us about a place down the street called High Rollers. From her description, it sounded a bit more our kind of scene.
Hanging a right down the road, we headed down a small staircase where the room opened out into a space big enough for a couple of bowling lanes, a DJ booth, sports on the TV and an eating / drinking area. It was here that our group found the atmosphere we had been hunting down – something between nightspot hangout and first date location.

Sharing a few drinks (including a fishbowl not quite big enough to fit a goldfish in comfortably), we alternated between reviewing our trip, watching the other diners and providing unintentional entertainment for the couple sitting opposite us as they laughed at the competition we had going on between two of our group to finish the fishbowl in record time (there was some cheating going on and the green goo didn’t always seem to disappear as quickly as it should!). The relaxed vibe and friendly bar staff seemed to rub off on the other people in the room and everyone was laughing, smiling and shooting the breeze with the people on their tables – this was the Canadian night out I’d been looking to find.
High Rollers can be found at: http://www.highrollersbanff.com/