Hastings - the fishing town

It was time for a romantic break, the coast was the destination and heading in the Southerly direction was the intention. Storms had been battering Britain for weeks, we new whichever coastal town we were heading to that it would be cold, wet and potentially bleak.

We chose Hastings, I had last visited in 1993 and my only memories were the ruins of the castle and the pebble beach. We booked bed and breakfast at Alexander's Guest House with a sea view for a respectable £70 just 10 days prior - so we expected Hastimgs to be reasonably quiet.

On the drive down we stopped at Bodium Castle, we were aware it would be closed between the Christmas and New Year break and I was concerned that this detour would be a waste of time. Fortunately the parking gates were wide open and the skies cleared long enough for us to enjoy a walk around the mote marvelling this historic building, the beauty of the surrounding landscape was accentuated by the flooded plains and burst banks of the river. Families hopped across muddy pastures and dog walkers enjoyed the relative peace. The cold soon bit at our cheeks so we headed for the 30 minute remaining drive to Hastings.

Hastings old town is small but perfectly formed. Historic small buildings line the narrow street as you pass trinket stores, vintage shops, fish restaurants, quaint cafés, old pubs and antique hordes. Climb to the East Hill for the castle ruins (closed over Christmas) and enjoy the roof top views overlooking the sea and fisherman's quarter, the roofs covered in vibrant green moss. 

We spent our time dipping in and out of pubs and enjoying fish and steak, the quiet weekend between Christmas and New Year was a perfect time to visit, a romantic time - the cold, the wet, the wind all added to the magic in this historic town as dusk set in at 4pm and the town was lit by amber lighting. 

After another stroll along the promenade, a coffee stop we then headed back home, stopping at Ashford Designer Outlet along the way. We will return to Hastings in the summer to enjoy some Lobster!

Lisbon, Portugal - gay guy hanging out in the city: I love you Lisbon

Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon - I love you Lisbon!.

I didn't know what to expect before I made plans to go to Lisbon. Okay, I lie, I had started to develop some expectations. My friend and business partner, Flavio, has lived in Lisbon for many years - raving about it all the time. My university housemate was also living there for a few months, and perhaps her silence by email and Skype was enough of indication to know there was more to Lisbon than meets the eye.

Transport

Prices during the summer were extortionate, EasyJet was the best deal all round, however at nearly £200 I knew I had to leave it until the kids returned to school, at which point October proved the best time to visit at just £100. The return flights on a Sunday are pretty late, so I booked space at AirParks for the car - and plus petrol, only worked out a few pounds more than going by train - and much quicker.

Lisbon Airport is connected by the developing metro station, and took me to Rato within 45 minutes.  Just West of the City, Rato is just a 40 minute walk to the centre, and easily accessible by the Tram number 28. Plus its spitting distance from the main gay scene. It's not long before you're in Bairro Alto to start your night, and then head to gay Rato and crawl home.

Exploring
Tram, Metro, Bus, Taxi and by foot. Lisbon isn't that big and you can really get around on foot, but be fit - as there will be a lot of hills to climb and its all on cobbled streets. When the cobbles get warm, their smoothness becomes slippery and you can find yourself slipping down the roads.

Visit the National Art Museum, walk along the river front and head to Centrale.  It's that simple.

You will however, get lost in Bairro Alto and surrounding areas, as the streets have no shape and order to them. So whether you have a printed map or a SatNav, I assure you, you will have navigational issues!

Food & Drink
It's so cheap! Whoop! Seriously! Look forward to that.

An average meal in the evening: expect to pay about €12 - 15.
This included for me, Grilled Sea Bass, Chips, Salad, 2 glasses of wine, beer, coffee

An average lunch: expect to pay €3 - 7
If you just want a basic sandwich, or opt for the famous Portuguese cheese and ham toastie, with a drink/coffee, this will set you back just €4.

I generally had breakfast at my friends apartment, simple bread, yoghurt and coffee to kick start the day.

You need plenty of water with you while exploring the city. It's pretty much always nice in Lisbon. It gets cold November - March but certainly nothing like Germany or the UK. In Middle of October the temperature was 28 degrees and blue skies for all days.

SuperBock - the most served beer. It's simple and easy to drink, but nothing to get excited about - but of course I did, since this was my first taster! Love discovering new beer!

Chapito - head to this multi-use venue. There is a restaurant overlooking Lisbon, with an exquisite sunset! We enjoyed a few beers and Green wine here. But the food looked excellent and there seemed to be no complaints from the diners. During the day you can find circus acts here who are practicsing, and it's apparently used by other groups of local people.

Traditional Portuguese Restaurant/ (cafe to the British).
Perhaps the best place to get food. They are small and squeeze a lot of people into the space, but the food is incredibly well priced, it's quick and very good!

Discovering the Gay Area
Don't do this by day. Do it by night, it is much easier to figure out where the bars are. It's all incredibly discreet during the day. The bars don't tend to open until 9/10pm, so have patience. Find out more in my Gay Guy Guide. Main bars include Les Marais, Woolf, Trump, Bar 106, Tres, Lux

Visit a Flea Market
I was told the flea market is open pretty much every day until 4pm. We arrived about 1.30pm to discover a large flea market. Some of the items were extraordinary, and probably could fetch a good price, and some items demonstrated the desperation of the poor. Portugal is suffering financially, and its residents are pretty poor.

Belem
Spend an afternoon in Belem. Here you can explore Jerónimos Monastery, its a real beautiful building!
Grab yourself a Custard Tart while here, it is worth the 15- 20 minute queue wait. Also, enjoy some ice-cream, the flavours are brilliant!






Costing
Flights - £100
Accommodation: Double room hostel €70 for 2 nights

Vietnam - Heading to Hy Long Bay, direct but rough

We packed up and left our short stay in Hanoi, I felt I could have done with a few more hours. I actually was quite keen to see the dead body of Ho Chi Minh, but we really didn't have time. It was time though for our onward journey Easy,  heading to the coast for the sea of 1,969 islands - Hy Long Bay.

The journey was just a few hours by coach, so we made ourselves comfortable for the onward drive. Not long after leaving Hanoi on the grey, bleak highroads the heavens opened and the driver forged through torrential rains but this wasn't as bad as the way Vietnamese drive. The roads are full of potholes, and while they are meant to drive on the rightm if the driver wants to get somewhere fast he will take centre location between the two lanes and at full speed (of around 50km) swerve around Tuk Tuks, mo-peds, cars and lorries and should an even bigger vehicle be coming in the opposite direction will swerve right at the last minute to avoid a collison. I couldn't figure out if they are excellent drivers or totally insane.

We were being thrown left and right and it wasn't worth looking forward outside the drivers window - so I buried my head in a book.

We arrived in Hy Long Bay around 7pm as the sun was setting, it was very much dusk. The skies were a purple grey and the islands smoothly jutted out from the water, as was described, like "a dragon's back spikes as it descends into the sea." On the beach it was quiet, and romantic, not somewhere for a lone single man to be gazing into the placid evening sky. The water rippled gently and tourists were making their way to dinner. I had to wait to the morning to discover the true adventure in those 1000's islands.

The evening we dined on local fish, another 12-dish experience, giving me chance to explore as many different varieties of fish as I could for the first time in my life. Following food, there is little to do in Hy Long Bay. Walk along the bay, it's quiet yet warm. Stop and gaze at horrendous Vietnamese karaoke, burn your ears and move on. Shop in the tourist markets and barter to get a good deal. Head back to the hotel for an early night.

Next day, we hopped on a boat and headed out to the bay. Another overcast day made it somewhere cool, a mild 21/22 degrees. We made our way to some caves between the maze of jutting islands. Admittedly if the weather was clearer I would have been in my element, the water was an exciting green and the rock formations did put me somewhat in awe - but the weather lost the sparkle it would otherwise have. Keen to take photos, the images that were coming out weren't so impressive either - so I resided to chill out and follow the tour.

We cave walked, deciphered stalactites and stalagmites and the limestone interiors that at one point had also been submerged in water and battered by the sea. Stopping at a manmade beach we got the chance to swim - my first time in Asian sea. I had really wanted to jump from the boat, but that wasn't to happen. Instead I had to tiptoe in from the sand, surrounded by washed up debris and rubbish, to wade into waist height, quickly bathe, just to say I had been in. But it was hardly clean, very unfortunately.

Dinner was served on the boat, the boat that had been painted white under orders of the Government. Apparently a government minister had visited Europe and liked the look of all the white boats, and ordered for them to be painted in Vietnam - as you can imagine the owners were unhappy with it - and as you can further imagine, these wonderful wooden boats looked nothing as glamorous as the super-tanked 007 Sunseeker variety in Europe.....