The world according to Rod Cuthbert

I had to laugh when I saw this tongue-in-cheek ad campaign for Sydney, the result of another magazine-sponsored attempt to promote the war between cities that never seems to stop. Why is that? Why do cities have to battle each other over which is the “most livable,” “most cosmopolitan” or, even more ridiculous, the “best.”

Mate, I like ‘em all!

For all the same reasons life wouldn’t be much fun if we all looked alike, dressed alike, thought alike or spoke the same way, it’s just really, really good that the world’s major cities are so incredibly un-alike. I hate leaving Sydney and my beloved Bondi Beach, but walking down Piccadilly and through Green Park isn’t too shabby an experience either, and it’s certainly not one you’ll find in Sydney.

That got me to thinking: what are the things I like to do as soon as I arrive in one of these cities, the things that make me glad I’m there? So I made a list.

Ode to the World’s Great Cities

In San Francisco I wait until the weekend (Sunday is best because there’s less traffic) and drive to Treasure Island just before sundown. San Francisco’s skyline is like nothing else; lots of hills, lots of white, tons of quirky buildings and monuments, two big, bold bridges, a huge bay, Alcatraz… there’s a lot to see and it’s all very definitely San Francisco, you couldn’t for a minute confuse it with anywhere else. I see this view in front of an invariably orange sunset and I feel good about being there; that’s a good thing.

London is for walking. Straight out the hotel door, left, right it doesn’t really matter. I keep my eyes open for a park, grab a newspaper — what other city has so many quality daily papers on offer? — and sit myself down on a bench to consume the day’s news. Then on in search of a new pub: with any luck there’ll be a football game on and a partisan crowd to watch it with. Not being a beer drinker is a bit of an impediment, but wine and spirits have the same effect. How many great parks and pubs are there in London? I don’t know, I’m still counting…

Paris is all about watching. Don’t feel guilty: French women — and men too, for that matter — would be annoyed if you didn’t notice how sexy they look in their new Christian Lacroix outfit, their favourite leather jacket, or whatever. They dressed up for you, don’t you get it? So right after unpacking I find a comfortable chair at a cafe on a busy boulevard, pretend to make important phone calls, glance occasionally at the Herald Tribune crossword… and watch the world of Paris go by. Give it a try, and for goodness sake don’t feel bad about it.

Bangkok is for the food. I talked to a couple from New Zealand just the other day, they’d been in Bangkok five days already and admitted they’d had all their meals at the hotel, “it just seemed safest.” OK, if that’s your attitude then maybe this isn’t the city for you. There’s about a zillion street vendors in Bangkok, selling the widest and wildest variety of food and drink you can imagine, so that’s my immersion technique as soon as I land. I’ve even been known to have the cab driver stop before I get to the hotel if I happen to see a vendor doing those little roti-style sweets with egg and carnation milk, rolled up like a crepe. Strike me pink, as my Dad used to say, they’re delicious. Anyway, after one of those I know I’m in Bangkok…

I like visiting Melbourne in winter best of all. That’s because I can go straight from the airport to the football. I mean Australian Rules Football, the real game — maybe that’s not an argument we want to have here — but suffice to say there’s nothing quite like being in a crowd of 80,000 at the MCG, watching Collingwood battle it out with one of their traditional enemies. I know exactly where I am when I hear that roar of “Ball!” go up from 50,000 of our fans — Collingwood supporters are always in the majority — and frankly it doesn’t really matter whether we win or lose, it’s just so Melbourne, so perfect, so unique an experience. Visiting in summer? The cricket works pretty well too…

I find myself in New York a couple of times each year. I don’t mind what season it is, because I know how to connect right away: grab the Times or the New Yorker and check the entertainment listings. Doesn’t matter what month it is, there’s always two or three acts in town that I don’t even have to think twice about wanting to see. And if they’re sold out, it doesn’t matter, just head down to the lower east side and randomise! Any act that’s good enough to get a gig in New York City is worth seeing; there’s tons of great venues, the crowds are always interesting, and if you don’t like the headliner you’ll probably die for the support act. Never fails me…

Got some favourite things to do in favourite cities, the ones you visit all the time and love coming back to? Hit that comments button, OK?

–Rod Cuthbert

Editor’s Note: Viator’s founder, Rod Cuthbert, is a frequent traveller to London. He wrote the following after being asked (one too many times, apparently) how to navigate London Heathrow’s airport shuttles, trains and taxis. Airport transport to London? Rod has your answers below. So please stop pestering the man.

Getting to Heathrow? That’s the easy part.

Heading to London Heathrow? The easy part is finding a flight. The tricky bit is getting from Heathrow into London itself. That’s something we know a little bit about here at Viator, and we’ve decided to share it with you, unbiased, unvarnished, warts and all. Take a few minutes to check out the options.

Heathrow Airport Transport: Piccadilly Line

The London Underground (a.k.a. The Tube) is a good option if you’re comfortable with public transport. On the plus side it is cheap (about £4 per person). There are also a few negatives. First of all, check your hotel’s address and see if it’s near to a tube station, and if so, what line.

If you’re near the Piccadilly line that’s good, but you still need to deal with the fact that the Underground was designed for commuters with briefcases, not travellers with kids and two pull-along suitcases. If you’re arriving at peak time — i.e., 7 through 10am, or 4 through 7pm — be prepared for lots of crowds and jostling. That could be an unpleasant experience; if you have a family group with you, consider other options.

In any case note that the Tube stops at all stations, and your ride into London will take an hour or so, depending on your exact destination. Transfers to other lines can be simple, just a few steps onto another platform, or excruciatingly long journeys down passages, along corridors, and up so many stairs you’ll think you’re in France.

Verdict: Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Heathrow Airport Transport: The Heathrow Express

The Heathrow Express is a superior public transport option, but a lot more expensive at £15.50 per person. You’re paying for a fast train that runs every 15 minutes, and takes only 15 minutes into Paddington Station. There are stops at Heathrow’s Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5; and a quick connection is available from Terminal 4.

The Tube from Heathrow is cheap, but not fast

Once again you need to feel comfortable with public transport, but the upside here is that the whole service is designed for travellers, so there’s no worries about luggage or being jostled by crowds of commuters.

From Paddington you can walk to your hotel if it’s nearby, transfer to the Tube, or grab a taxi from the well-organised taxi stand at the station. Maybe I’ve always been lucky, but using Heathrow Express I generally find I can be at my hotel 45 minutes after I clear customs, at a cost around £25, including the cab.

Verdict: Fast, civilised, good value.

Heathrow Airport Transport: London Airport Taxi

This might be the best option for a group of three or four, but don’t forget you need to fit your luggage in there as well. The fare depends entirely on your hotel’s location and can run as much as £70, which might be a bit of a shock for your first expense on UK soil.

The benefit of this option is it’s door to door; the downside is you may hit traffic and sit on the motorway for an hour when you’d rather be in your room and taking a shower. There are well-managed taxi stands at each terminal, and cabs are plentiful so you’ll be off and going quickly without having to lug your bags and children up stairs and down passageways. Personally? I never take a taxi either to or from the airport because I’d rather just get into the city quickly, and you can’t beat Heathrow Express for that. But I can certainly see that a family group might have a different view.

Verdict: A good option for families and groups of three or four. Bring cash.

Heathrow Airport Transport: National Express Bus

It’s London, after all, of course there’s a bus. And if your hotel is near Victoria Station, maybe this is even the best option. The bus picks up from Terminals 1, 2 and 3; from Terminals 4 and 5 there’s a free train link. Three to six buses run every hour, it’s a cheap option at £4 per person, and the trip to Victoria takes about an hour. Some people can hack riding the bus, and some can’t. I can’t say much more; I’ve never tried this service and I never stay near Victoria, so that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Verdict: Staying near Victoria? Like the bus? On a budget? This one’s for you.

Heathrow Airport Transport: Shared Airport Transfer Shuttles

A shared London airport transfer from Heathrow is a decent alternative to a London taxi and public transport options. It’s good value at around £19 per person, so it’s perfect for one or two people travelling together; three or four might be better off in a cab. You do have to put up with the annoyance of stopping at other people’s hotels. (I don’t know about you, but whenever I use services like Supershuttle I am always the last to get dropped off.) Of course another way to look at this is you get to see some more of London at no extra cost. There are well-located desks at Terminals 1, 3 and 4; and a meet and greet service at Terminal 2. Like the taxi option this will take about an hour, but then add the extra 15 to 30 minutes drop everyone else off.

Verdict: Good value door-to-door service for one or two.

Heathrow Airport Transport: Private Airport Transfer Services

If you’re envious of the people who are met on arrival by their own driver, holding a sign and carrying bags and so forth, a private London airport shuttle is for you. It’s pretty good value, too: £50 total for one, two or three people; £60 total for four to six people; and £78 total for seven or eight. It has all the benefits and shortcomings of a London taxi, but add the nice feeling associated with being met on arrival.

Verdict: For many travellers this is the best option, but it still may be slower than the Heathrow Express.

–Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s London tours & things to do in London, including a range of private and shared London airport transportation from Heathrow and Gatwick.

He’s not visiting there, or on vacation, or anything like that. No, my dentist lives there. He works in a wonderful, big, shiny and modern dental centre with lots of other dentists and nurses and hygienists, and all the other people and equipment you expect to see at the dentist.

I like him being there. Besides charging me about 80% less than what I’d pay for similar work in Sydney or San Francisco, I like the fact that he’s far enough away that he doesn’t call or email every few months about my next check-up or some other annoying “procedure.” No, he just waits patiently for me to transit through Bangkok on my way to or from Sydney. I am firmly in control of our relationship.

Deep in Bangkok, Jordan in Thai food heaven

And what a great place to have a dentist! As my colleague Jordan Digby — a Thailand resident — likes to say, Bangkok is a very fractal city. No matter how deep you go, there’s always another interesting pattern to be revealed. The guidebook is almost a distraction. The real action is… everywhere.

Visiting Bangkok last week to see one of our suppliers — and to drop in on Dr. Chat for a, well, a chat, I suppose — Jordan and I decided to venture deep into culinary Bangkok to sample a tiny restaurant that the New York Times has twice, over a period of 12 years, described in terms that would have their readers imagine it’s the “best of the best” Thai restaurants on our small blue planet. Having eaten some pretty good Thai food in our time, this was a claim we were interested in testing. We set off at 5pm with detailed address details and a hunger built up specifically with our mission in mind.

We stopped within walking distance, we guessed, of our destination, and watched the world go by while enjoying a cold drink. Observing the passing traffic is one of Bangkok’s delights, especially at dusk when the light coats everything with a little extra Oriental mystery. By 6:30 we’d gotten ourselves into the right state of mind, and figured we’d be safe finding a table before the rush later in the evening.

Two minutes later Jordan searched for the address details and realised they were gone, left at the bar or fallen on the street, but in any case gone. In Bangkok that’s not a good thing: it’s such a big city nobody really knows where anything is unless it’s important or big, and our destination was neither. Having got this close we didn’t feel like giving up, so we relied on Viator’s famous 24-hour Customer Service team to save the day: Jordan called Lindy in Sydney, she Googled “new york times thai restaurant” or something similar, and through the wonders of modern search technology and text messaging, we had the address about a minute later.

So far, so good.

But have you ever tried to find an address on foot in Bangkok by showing a text message to passing strangers?

Yep, it tasted as good as it looks

Fortunately all Thai kids learn English in school, and after some frustrating encounters we came across a family group that included the most precocious eight-year old in the city: she not only knew the street, she knew the restaurant, and couldn’t have been prouder showing up her big sister, who clearly hadn’t been paying attention in class.

The rest of the story is predictable: the restaurant, Chote Chitr (five tables, and the menu is in Thai), was every bit as good as the reviews. We followed the owner’s guidance and ordered all the good stuff. You know that thing about not believing everything you read in the papers? Forget that. The NY Times is 100% right.

So, here’s a thought: next time you see your dentist, ask him if he knows any good Thai restaurants. You may not be ready to move him to the other side of the world, but you can at least dream a little…

–Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s things to do in Thailand, Bangkok tours and activities in Phuket.

Editor’s Note: Speaking of rock music, don’t forget to enter Viator’s New York City Rock n Roll tour contest. Tell us in 10 words or less: Why do YOU rock?

Memories of the Beatles are all over London

It’s a sad fact that many London visitors only ever get as far as seeing the West End, The Mall, Big Ben and The Tower. Many travellers don’t ever make it to where Londoners actually live, which is a very different place to the high-traffic tourist zones. That’s not to say those places aren’t important, but you might get just as much enjoyment out of an afternoon on the Kings Road as you would from yet another “must see” attraction, but how do you make that call: Westminster Abbey or Chelsea? That’s a tough one if you don’t know what to expect.

The London Rock Music Tour is a great way to solve that problem, and it’s a lot of fun if you have any interest at all in the Beatles, the Stones or any of the big UK pop and rock acts of the last 40-odd years. The tour picks up at the Hard Rock Cafe on Picadilly and winds its way though parts of London you’ll just never see unless you move there. And it’s a slightly surreal experience passing a huge monument of clearly important historical value and then hearing the guide start explaining — not about the monument, which remains a mystery — but about the cake shop on the left that’s run by Paul McCartney’s ex-girlfriend, Jane Asher. And she works there some days, so you can go right in and get your picture taken with her, because she’s a really nice lady!

And that’s one of Mick Jagger’s London homes right there, the one with the Vespa in the front yard; and that’s Bill Wyman’s restaurant, Sticky Fingers, and here’s Abbey Road, where we can all get out and have our photo taken crossing that crosswalk, you know, the one on the album cover?

Yeah, it’s all sort of corny but as it happens the rock and roll world is and was centered on Chelsea and Kensington and Earls Court and all the parts of town that really are still such fun today, so by the end of the tour you’ve figured out exactly where you want to go for dinner tonight, or shopping tomorrow, or just for a stroll in a part of town away from the crowds but with a history a little more relevant to your own life.

At least I can say I’ve been there…

And who knows who you might run into? But stay cool when you do, you’re a traveller, not a tourist…

–Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Book a London tour to suit your fancy, or do like Rod and try the London Rock Legends Tour for something a little different.

Someone said the great thing about travel is the journey, not the destination. At Viator we take issue with that for about 5,000 different reasons — as in the 5,000 tours and things to do you can book in hundreds of destinations worldwide at viator.com. For us travel is all about the destination, and certainly not about the journey.

But that’s not to say we don’t think getting there can be a lot of fun. With that in mind I accepted an invitation to fly with our new partner, Silverjet, who operate one of the new all-business-class services between London and New York. OK, it wasn’t a difficult decision, given I had to fly from London back to San Francisco anyway. Why not see what all the fuss is about, and pick up a commuter flight from NYC to SF the next day?

Silverjet: Big comfy seats, less stress all round…

The Silverjet difference starts at the check-in terminal. Based at one of London’s smaller airports, Luton, Silverjet have their own separate building and a process that looks nothing like a regular check-in. Walk in and you’re met by one of their staff who relieves you of your burden; you take a seat, grab a drink, a snack, have a shower or generally just chill out in luxury. A staff member will appear at some stage to check your passport and hand you a boarding pass, but you never have to wait in line or anything déclassé like that.

The Silverjet departure lounge at Luton

Boarding is similarly low-key: the security is tight but friendly, everything flows smoothly, and things happen on time. The planes are nice big Boeing 767s, lots of room, all one class and all comfortable sleeper seats. Personal video and all that stuff goes without saying. Service on board is attentive without being overpowering and the food is exactly as it should be for an up-market carrier.

But the thing I liked best about Silverjet is not something you can see or even describe very easily: it’s the lack of pressure, the total absence of having to worry about the mundane elements of travel like checking in, lining up, getting a good seat, whether the meal will be edible, who you’ll be sitting next to, and so on. Put simply, flying with Silverjet is a relaxing experience, and sort of fun. This is probably what air travel was like on those early trans-Atlantic flights, when everyone dressed up and it was a social event.

Anyway, I’m happy to add my voice to the many reviews I’ve read in praise of this new class of airline. If you’re planning to fly across the pond anytime soon, do yourself a favour* and try Silverjet.

–Rod Cuthbert

* Apologies to my countryman Ian “Molly” Meldrum for use of his trademark line. And click here to read a previous Viator Blog post about Silverjet.

Editor’s note: We asked Viator’s founder, Rod Cuthbert, to pick some of his favorite travel experiences in 2007; in this edition he makes us all very hungry with a review of his top meals in 2007. Also check out Rod’s Top 5 Travel Destinations for 2008.

Pasta with Lobster Sauce, Venice

I arrived at Venice’s Marco Polo airport late on a low cost carrier flight that made it clear why they’re called low-cost carriers… but forgot all that with a water taxi ride into the very heart of Venice. It’s after 11pm and the town is quiet, but the hotel manager calls a little restaurant around the corner and yes, they will take us if we come now. OK, we’ll unpack later, let’s go. We arrive, there are still a few people eating, and it feels warm and inviting. Red wine appears before we ask for it, as well as bread, and there’s no need for menus because there’s just one dish on offer: pasta with lobster sauce and “it’s bellissimo, you will like it.”

OK, we’ll take it. And our waiter was right, but maybe only half right because really this might be the finest pasta meal either of us have ever had, without exception. Fifteen minute later the meal is over, but we don’t want to move. There’s no rush to unpack, and just looking at our empty bowls is somehow satisfying. I just wish I could remember the name of this place, it’s somewhere near the Palazzo Vitturi Hotel…

Dinner at The Lido Cabaret, Paris

Either my memory is failing me or I’m just giving the Lido a plug, right? How could a meal served to 800 others at the same time as mine possibly be any good? Cabaret food has to be rubber chicken, doesn’t it? Well, that’s what I thought, and I had to keep checking with my fellow diners to ensure I wasn’t hallucinating… but the fact remains that of all the meals I had in Paris that week, the Lido’s three-course banquet stood out. It helps that Michelin-starred Paul Bocuse has consulted on the new menu, and that the Champagne was outstanding, but it was still a pleasant shock to encounter quality food in a “volume” environment.

House of Nanking, San Francisco

There’s a reason why a line forms outside House of Nanking every night of the year, no matter how thick the fog. It’s not the service, which is workmanlike at best; or the ambiance, which is minimalist to say the least; or the fact that most of the guide books list Nanking so that visitors just follow the advice blindly. No, it’s the food.

Everything on the menu is good, and of course it tastes even better if you have been standing outside in the fog and cold for 40 minutes. I’ve been to Hong Kong and China enough times to say with at least some confidence that you’ll go a long way to find better Chinese food than this. Just don’t go on the nights I go, OK? The lines are long enough already…

Breakfast at Bills, Sydney

I’m a great believer in a good breakfast to get your day started right. In Sydney, Australia, breakfast at some restaurants has become as famous as dinner at others, and Bills (in Surry Hills or Darlinghurst) is at the top of the pile. Once you’ve had Bills’ scrambled eggs you will give up making them yourself, unless you buy his cookbook in which case you will probably make them so often you’ll tire of it altogether, which would be an awful pity. Once again, I’m moved to say that words are not the right tools with which to describe Bills’ most famous dish: you need to go there and try it for yourself.

Roast Lamb Sandwich, Jet Blue flight, SFO to NYC

Really, when everyone around you is eating airplane food and you’re tucking into a home made organic lamb sandwich with roast vegetables and chutney… well, you get the great taste plus the satisfaction of knowing that for once, your forward planning worked. Leftovers always taste great, but they taste five times better at 36,000 feet!

–Rod Cuthbert

What was your most memorable meal in 2007? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Editor’s note: We asked Viator’s founder, Rod Cuthbert, to make a list of his top 5 travel destinations for 2008. Favorite, that is, when he’s not surfing and people-watching on his local beach, Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Sometimes Rod, you do make us a little jealous.

Gordon River, Tasmania

1. Tasmania, Australia

And not just because I am from Tasmania! Hobart, the capital, enjoys that slightly more relaxed pace of life that isn’t something you see so much as experience. Tasmania as a whole has a wonderful blend of natural beauty — the World Heritage Area centered around the Gordon River is worth the trip in its own right — and modern lifestyle, with superb wine, cheese and seafood making it an ideal destination for anyone who enjoys life’s finer things.

More info: Tasmania tours & things to do
Photos: Tasmania on Viator’s Flickr site

* * * * * *

Sunset on the canals of Venice

2. Venice, Italy

Before it sinks? No, that won’t be happening anytime soon. Anyway, I can’t possibly describe in words why you have to visit Venice. See it for yourself, but don’t go alone. Visit outside the high seasons, and don’t be afraid of the cold. Take a water taxi when you arrive (hang the expense); grab a red wine and some cheese, standing at the bar, in the mid afternoon; take photos at the Rialto as the sun is setting, and send them immediately to all the people you don’t like; take in a Vivaldi concert in one of the 150 churches around the city; and definitely buy pizza slices for lunch, to be eaten in the nearest square as you watch the world amble by. But don’t miss it, and don’t be scared by the fact that it’s all been done before.

More info: Venice tours & things to do
Photos: Venice on Viator’s Flickr site

* * * * * *

The London Eye at Night, London

3. London, England

OK, so you’ve been to London a dozen times. Well, OK, but this is a big city, and there’s parts you haven’t seen. Stay in Mayfair (yes, you can find well-priced hotels in Mayfair!) and walk the streets made famous in a thousand novels. Try the bike tour of East London, and go back to Brick Lane later on for the best markets and Indian food you’ll find anywhere. Ride the London Eye at night. Take a day trip to Stonehenge or Bath. Here’s the thing: even people who live in London haven’t seen it all. You certainly haven’t!

More info: London tours & things to do
Photos: London on Viator’s Flickr site

* * * * * *

Miss Van is all over Barcelona

4. Barcelona, Spain

There must be a reason why so many people list Barcelona as one of their favourite cities. I certainly do, but — typically, for me — I’m not quite sure why. I just know the food is great, the shopping is superb, great art is everywhere — even spray-painted onto the walls, and the city is compact enough that you can walk most everywhere comfortably. If you’re anything like me you’ll feel good in Barcelona the moment you arrive. If not: well, the rest of Europe is right next door.

More info: Barcelona tours & things to do
Photos: Barcelona on Viator’s Flickr site

* * * * * *

At the Forbidden City, with a fellow tourist from the provinces

5. Beijing, China

An Olympic year is always a good time to visit a host city: it’s all spruced up and everyone’s on their best behavior… at least that’s the theory. Beijing is one of those giant-scale destinations where everything is worth seeing: the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, the restaurants, the museums, the parks, the markets, the people, the dogs, the birds in cages that people take on a walk… Like it or not, China is going to take over as the world’s superpower any minute now, so it might be wise to discover just what makes this giant tick. You’ll enjoy the experience.

More info: Beijing tours & things to do
Photos: Beijing & the Great Wall on Viator’s Flickr site

Happy travels in 2008.

–Rod Cuthbert

Has Tasmania gone missing??

Imagine my shock when, arriving back at my New York hotel recently after purchasing a new pair of Merrell World Passport slip-ons, with the patented world map on the sole, I discovered that Tasmania, the place of my birth, does not exist in the Merrell world!

Good gracious!

I had been in Tasmania only recently, but a quick check of the “manufactured on” stamp on the box showed that the shoes were newer than my latest visit. This left open the possibility that something had changed in the antipodes, and just maybe that “something” was quite awful.

This really did lay me low: I immediately cancelled plans to attend the Morrissey concert at Madison Square Garden that evening in order to fully think through the implications of this potentially disastrous news. (By a freaky coincidence, the performer also cancelled, leaving thousands of devoted fans disappointed. But not me: by then I had far more pressing matters on my mind.)

I left New York immediately for my US home-base, San Francisco. From there I initiated a series of international calls to my loved ones in Hobart and other parts of Australia’s island state (known to most Americans only because of the Tasmanian Devil, a nasty little critter best seen on TV rather than in person, if you want my opinion). The calls left me a little confused and not quite certain of the actual state of affairs: my dear Mother didn’t understand my query as to whether her home had been obliterated and she was now living in a parallel universe; my brother Geoff hung up on me; and the Hobart Police Station put me through to a terrorism call-in line, where I waited 20 minutes before hanging up myself.

Tasmania, as it should be

Clearly I need more concrete evidence. I quickly raced to K-Mart, where a large array of world globes were available at attractive prices.

I wasn’t so much interested in the price as the manufacture date; I wanted one that contained the latest, most up-to-date cartographic representation of the southern latitudes.

And yes, $49 later, I see that Tasmania is there, the globe was literally hot off the factory floor, my mind was at ease.

What were those people at Merrell thinking? Don’t they understand the flow-of effects of a mistake like this? If I were a litigious type I would consider some sort of legal action, I suppose. But I’ll be happy if they just put Tasmania back on their map…

–Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours in Hobart and things to do in Tasmania, then send Rod a postcard letting him know that his beloved homeland is still alive and kicking.

Cool tattoo, cool board

For the five or six months I spend each year in Sydney, I’m happily lodged in a small but unbelievably well located flat (Americans would say apartment) right across the road from Bondi Beach, Australia’s most famous strip of sand. Bondi is only a kilometer or so long, but it’s a magnet that attracts both an intensely loyal bunch of locals and a wide-eyed and never ending stream of tourists, eager to know what the fuss is all about. It’s impossible to take a walk along Bondi without seeing something that will instantly strike you as new or beautiful or weird or crazy or talented or… well, you get the picture. Here’s a snapshot of some things I noticed during my most recent visit…

Surf Culture

OK, surf culture is kind of obvious at Bondi, but the depth of it is unreal, with many sub-genres in existence. Here’s three you might not notice unless you look for them:

1. The recently minted tourist surfer
They’ve done three lessons with “Let’s Go Surfing” and bought their own board. Unfortunately the lessons were mostly in two-foot waves, and the new board has a sharp, pointy nose. So, imagine being out there on a five-foot wave with one, no — let’s say six! — of these guys, they’ve all been out drinking the night before, they’re slightly aggressive at the best of times anyway, and they weren’t paying attention during the lesson on “sharing the waves.” You get the picture, right?

Clubbies take to the water

2. The clubbie
Mostly seen in the early mornings — before 7:30am, say — or anytime at all on a Sunday morning, when the Surf Lifesaving Clubs literally take over the beach. Look out for well tanned blokes in little red speedos running down to the water with a surf ski under their arm, then disappearing for an hour as they paddle around to Bronte. On Sundays there’s all sorts of organised competitions or training, and on certain weekends clubs from other beaches visit Bondi for a full-on carnival. Expect beer consumption to peak later in the day. If you’re wondering why the clubbie is an important species, hang around at the beach long enough for a freak wave event and see what happens when two hundred tourists get washed out to sea. Very few people drown at Bondi; clubbies are the reason why.

3. Cool Japanese surfer-dude
A rare though not entirely uncommon breed, there’s usually one or two in the surf on any given day, but frankly they’re more interesting out of the water. Straight from Harajuku to Bondi, they have the coolest hair, the hippest clothes and the best looking friends. They sort of blend in when they pull on a wetsuit, so look for them on Hall Street instead. No-one is certain if they all surf, or just come down to look good and hang with their mates. Full marks for appearances, though.

The Shark Boat

No sharks, again

Sharks? Well, there hasn’t been a shark attack at Bondi since the 1930’s, when nets were first introduced. Few people notice the boat come in each week to check the nets, which seem randomly placed across the mouth of the bay. There’s a lot of debate about keeping the shark nets, focused on what other species get trapped alongside the occasional shark. Authorities are unlikely to remove them, though, for fear that an attack will leave them open to litigation. In the meantime, enjoy Bondi knowing that should you be taken by a shark, you’ll be the first victim in almost 80 years…

Sculpture by the Sea

Big blue beach, big blue sculpture

From modest beginnings in 1997, this annual outdoor art event is now the biggest drawcard on Sydney’s arts calendar. And why not? With over 100 sculptures placed along the Bondi to Tamarama Beach walk, there’s probably no better way to spend a weekend morning in Sydney than visiting this impromptu seaside gallery. In the early years some artists created pieces that were anchored or in some way interacted with the water. During the course of 18 days you’ll always get a big storm or two, and it’s tough seeing your work blown out to sea, so nowadays everything seems to be safely on land. If you’re in Sydney in November Sculpture by the Sea is un-missable. That may not be a word, but you’ll know what I mean.

Paparazzi

Everyday Bondi: Paparazzi lie in wait

The first thing I do when I get back to Bondi is make a cup of tea and a slice of toast with butter and vegemite, then sit in the sun-room and look out at the beach. I did just that couple of weeks ago, and spotted two very suspicious blokes skulking (yes, skulking) behind the bushes across the road. “Jeez, these blokes look like paparazzi,” I said to myself. Turns out they were, and they were stalking Rodney Adler, the high-profile businessman who’d been released from jail a few days earlier and was enjoying an espresso at Aquabar, a coffee shop downstairs from me. Bondi fact #1: Americans go to Disneyland to celebrate, but Sydney-siders go to Bondi.

Aquabumps

If you’re on the southern end of the beach around 6:30am on weekdays you’ll spot Eugene Tan, with his long lens and a serene gaze that seems to capture just about everything that’s interesting, colourful and cool. Two or three hours later, 25,000 people around the globe open Eugene’s newsletter, Aquabumps. It’s a daily dose of what the waves are doing, a couple of sublimely liquid surfer shots, the odd pretty girl in a bikini coming out of the surf, and anything else that catches his eye. That you could build a whole business around a newsletter with pretty much the same content options day after day after day says something about Bondi: it’s always changing, and always its same old beautiful self…

-Rod Cuthbert

Rod’s sure-fire, patented, 100% guaranteed cure for jet lag

First, an admission: Until recently I had never, ever taken one of our many hop-on hop-off bus tours.

That’s despite the fact Viator offers them in tons of great locations, like Rome, Paris, New York, London, Barcelona, Florence, Washington DC etc, etc. But I’ve always looked down my nose at them, thinking they were way too “touristy” for me, and that I could find lots of other ways to get to know a new city without rubbing shoulders with the hoi polloi or getting sunburned* on an open-topped bus.

(Editor’s note: strictly speaking, hoi polloi means “the masses” so “the hoi polloi” is a bit redundant. But I’m the Editor and Rod is the Chairman. Say no more.)

Anyway, a few days in New York recently cured me of that elitist view, and now I’m a fully-fledged convert. An evangelist, even. And just so you don’t cling to the same viewpoint, I want to share my new-found awareness, and I’ve put together these five pretty good, possibly even compelling reasons, to take one of these tours next time you have the chance.

1. The Cure for Jet Lag

When you travel you have to do a little, or maybe a lot, of adjusting to ensure you don’t sleep through the best part of the day. Sitting on the top deck of a sightseeing bus is about the best possible thing you can do to defeat jet lag, because it allows the sun to tell your brain it needs to adjust the hour hand on your body clock. I’m not sure how it does that, but believe me, it does. Lesson one: spend your first available time in a new city on a hop-on, hop-off bus, not under the fluorescent lights at the museum!

2. Discover Which Way is Up

Or, more specifically, where is the Lower East Side? The Left Bank? Trafalgar Square? The White House? The Magnificent Mile? Where can I get dry cleaning and breakfast close to the hotel without paying crazy prices? Reason two: these and a million other questions can best be answered from atop your sightseeing bus, not from the subway, a taxi or a limo!

3. Comfort Zone

How many visitors to New York City miss the opportunity to visit Harlem, Brooklyn or the Lower East Side because of some baseless concern about taking the subway, or the expense of taxis, or even some perceived danger in “straying off the beaten path?” Well, nothing could be safer than the comfortable confines of your top-deck perch, where you’ll quickly see that a city’s previously off-limits neighborhoods are inviting, not too far from your hotel, full of regular people, and just as safe as your own neighborhood back home. Reason three: you can get comfortable with a city quickly, once you’ve seen it in comfort!

4. Travel Fitness

A typical sightseeing day in a big city involves so much walking, standing, waiting in line, eating, exploring and generally wearing yourself out that you need all the help you can get to see it all. OK, here’s another way of saying this, less diplomatically: you probably aren’t quite fit enough to do half these things AND take a walk down to Greenwich Village. Or the White House. Or The Rocks. Or Pont Neuf. If you really want to see everything, you have very few choices: walking (you’ll only see 5%); subway (hello? it’s underground!); taxi (limited view, expensive); limo (ditto and more); skateboard / rollerblades (really?) or… hop-on, hop-off. QED.

5. Hello, and Nice to Meet You

Of course you have your own posse with you, whether it’s just your partner or the whole tribe of kids, grandparents and the other usual suspects. But there’s just nothing quite as much fun as meeting someone from another place — like, really another place, say Iceland, or The Isle of Skye — and discovering that you are both celebrating birthdays, or that they can help you get your new camera to work, or that they know the name and the address of the seafood restaurant you read about in the Times last month. Meeting new people is the best part of being a traveler, and the top deck of a bus is just a perfect place to meet them. I might even be there.

OK, are you convinced? I hope that, like me, you can put away your prejudices and jump on board next time you are in a big city. You won’t regret it. And… Viator loves hop-on tours so much we have a whole page devoted to them, so don’t complain you couldn’t book in advance…

–Rod Cuthbert

* Oh, yeah, about that asterisk: take a hat.