Reading Londinium (Books on or about London for the offbeat traveller)

Change the way you sightsee London!

Necropolis - London and it's dead By Catherine Arnold : London as burial ground from roman times. Different take on it's history
London pocket companion By Jo Swinnerton : Weird and interesting tales in and around London
Ward Lock Red Guide: London : Opens a guide to a London now lost
What's in a Name?: Origins of Station Names on the London Underground by Cyril M. Harris : If you love the tube, buy this
Spectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary Buildings by David Long : Quirky anecdotes.
London Film Location Guide by Simon James : Watch that movie again.

Calling the shots at Starbucks - demystifying the lingua franca

My response to the recession has been to shift from my watering hole to the starbucks in the evenings, and unwind with a travel guide. Why a travel guide? It doesn't look quite as anti social as a sudoku book. Why Starbucks? Because actually it fits both a suit and a trucker, as long as they have that slightly alienated look about them that's de rigeur in these places. It also helped that at my previous job in Edmonton, the company condo I was staying in had a Starbucks around the corner. So over the last one year I went from a simple Timmy's Large double cream no sugar to a dizzying array of ordering options. Here's the benefit of all that research.

Coffee is not just coffee. You get various types. Do remember, if you're in a hurry, just say coffee or the Coffee of the Week, and you'll be in and out in no time. Anything else requires preparation so you'll have to wait after you place the order.

Tea is not just tea. You get various types, including a range of herbals, blends et al, some with lemonade even for the iced versions.
That's the entry level stuff.

Then you get Americano = espresso with water, Latte = espresso with steamed milk or Cafe Au Lait = coffee, not espresso with steamed milk. In Paris by the way, if you want an Americano the only place to get it would be Starbucks.

Lattes is by default coffee espressos, but they also have the chai (masala tea version) and the green tea (ugh) variants

You can decide how strong you want your espresso to be by asking for single, double, triple or quad.

Coffee and Espresso come in surprisingly tasty decaf versions. That's the real reason I switched because I've grown to love their decaf.

For the steamed milk the default is 2%, you can also request whole milk, organic, or soya. I've noticed that not all starbucks carries all of these options. You can also ask for half and half (the starbucks lingo for this is breve)

By default the lattes come with three layers espresso, steamed milk and foam.

You could also have your espresso with just whipped cream over it ... ask for Espresso Con Panna

Or just the foam ... ask for Espresso macchiato.

You can add chocolate syrup to any of the above by asking for mocha. There's also a white chocolate version if I'm not mistaken as I remember hearing others order this.

You can say "no foam" latte or flat white. Both skip the foam option. I say Flat White in one soundbite if it's a regular barista, and 'no foam' in a condescending tone if the barista is new to the place. Your choice.

About the difference between Cappuccino and Latte, the latte I noticed tastes milkier, and has less foam. I'm not sure but I think the shot sizes for the espresso must be smaller for the lattes. Next time I'm in Starbucks I need to figure this one out. Or you can have this as homework. If you like the stronger taste of cappuccino without paying for a half cup of foam, they do have what is called a short cappuccino which is not on the menu that comes with micro foam. It's also cheap at around two bucks.

The Frappuccino is the cappuccino with a sugar based syrup and crushed ice. I call it the smoothie version instead :) There's a bunch of options on the syrups including hazelnut, Cinnamon dolce etc ...

Oh before I forget, asking for extra hot automatically gets you the sleeve as well :)

Cheers!

Remember it's better for the environment to say for here and skip the foam container if you can.

Shane Koyczan - My favorite poet

You know how sometimes the first rain on a summer's day can surprise us? Take us out of comfort into wetness, and heal us in the process. Shane does the same kind of thing, making us go from laughter to pathos on a rollercoaster curve that almost always shocks me with the operatic intensity of his verse woven narratives.

When I first heard him he was only available at Poetry Slam contests. Now he's on the web, he's published books so his work is a lot more accessible now, but I still remember writing down his verse from bad auditorium recordings. For some reason this made it even more precious, like light harvested from a crucible ...

He's the real deal not to be missed at any cost, and at every performance as he weaves words into emotional tsunamis, I experience the singular fear and elation of being swept to a crescendo followed by the vertigo as you fall back into silence ... and find awakened in you suddenly ... the need to look for what you've missed in a lifetime of sleepwalking through dreams and pain ...

Visiting Bali - some tips

#1 December expect some rain. Not so much it puts a damper but yes, it is a factor
#2 Carry $15 ($25 if you're staying for more than 7 days) for your entry fees.
#3 Keep aside $15 for your exit fees. Remember if you don't have the exact change, they will give you the balance in Rupiah, and sharply discounted at that.
#4 If you want to be in the center of it all, stay in Kuta. It's also cheaper
#5 If you want to stay surrounded by manicured lawns, and five star go for Nusa Dua
#6 Seminyak is somewhere in between. It's also got the best restaurants
#7 Go for the Bumbu Bali cooking class run by Heinz Holzen. It's $75 per person.
#8 Only change money at authorized money changers. The others cheat you expertly.
#9 Get a copy of Lonely Planet's Bali. It's the best guide to this place by far.
#10 Visit Tanah Lot. If that's too far check out the Uluwat temple at sunset (they have a very intriguing performance called the Kechak dance then .. be warned it fills up quickly, so if you want good seats get there by 5 ... the show starts at 6PM)

Top three things to do if you're in Bali

Rent a scootie
Those automatic hondas, yamahas, vespas et al are not only the greatest fun to run around in, but it helps you beat the traffic jams, and in Bali nothing is very far.
We stayed at Nusa Dua and it was fifteen minutes to Legian, Kuta beach, Seminyak and about an hour to the mountains. And it's by far the cheapest option. Rent is about 7 bucks, and gas is about a buck for two litres which will keep you going all day. If you don't have an international license, make sure you have fifty thousand rupiah in one pocket only as that's the er fees you'll be charged by the cops. They'll obviously ask you for more, but that's the time you pull out your pockets and say that not only did you leave your wallet home but the only cash you got on you is the fifty and they'll let you go ...


Go for the watersports
Very well organized and while not all that cheap they're very good value for money. The Parasailing experience was incredibly thrilling to say the least. The jetskis were also great. If there's a bunch of you, then the banana boat option is a cheaper way to go tripping over the sea. They also have surfing lessons, and while I didn't do this it looked like loads of fun.



Join the cooking class at Bumbu Bali
It's a nice way to meet interesting women er I mean people :) But the class by Heinz Von Holzen were also a fascinating compendium of balinese lore, cooking tips, market tours,
spice combinations, and of course a fantastic way to sample authentic balinese food. I didn't realize until this class that what I'd been eating till then was actually Indonesian and not Balinese food.