HostelBookers contest offers cool prizes

Staying in a hostel doesn't necessarily mean you're going to travel any more "like a local" than you would if you stayed in a posh hotel. But it does increase the chances of running into fellow budget travellers, who may be able to point you to restaurants, shops and attractions a little off the tourist trail. That's one reason I've long been a hostel fan.

And here's another reason to check out hostels: until June 9, British booking agency HostelBookers.com is running an easy contest on its website. All you need to do is answer one question (the answer is drop-dead easy to find on the site) and you could win a Travelex cash passport (like travellers' cheques, but plastic) loaded with £1,000 of travel mad money, a Panasonic Lumix TZ8 camera or a 32GB iPod Touch. Not bad for a free contest (you do give them your e-mail address, though).

Ontario walk/run combines fitness and...chocolate? #wanderfood

Haven't you always thought that fitness races would be much more fun if they involved junk food?

Well, have I got an event for you.


The Chocolate Race in Port Dalhousie, Ontario--a cute village in the Niagara Region--attracted almost 600 participants in its inaugural year in 2009. This year's event includes 5K, 10K and half-marathon courses open to runners and walkers alike.

But unlike most similar events, which reward health-conscious participants with fruit and granola bars, this one includes a "sweet aid station" on the course, as well as chocolate goodies before and after the race--everything from chocolate-dipped strawberries to fudge.

The unusual combination of fitness and indulgence takes place this year on August 28 and 29. If you need some training inspiration, check out the event's chatty blog, written by a runner-in-training.

And the best part? It's a chance to get a little off the packed tourist trail centered on the famous cataract nearby. Sure, Port Dalhousie is a bit touristy, but it can't hold a candle to casino-and-wax-museum-packed Niagara Falls.

McChickens = prestige in Pakistan

I'm a bit behind on listening to my podcasts of the always-fascinating CBC Radio One foreign-affairs show "Dispatches," so I just heard an intriguing report from late March about the class differences in fast food in Pakistan.

Western tourists (myself included) are often convinced that one way to get into the "authentic" culture of a place is to eat cheap fast food: noodles from tiny kiosks, fritters from roadside stands, that sort of thing.

But when "Dispatches" correspondent Natasha Fatah went to Karachi, she found out that the local elites wouldn't be caught dead eating a kabab from an open-air grill. So are they flocking to white-tablecloth French restaurants instead? Nope. They boost their prestige with a trip to McDonald's or KFC.

Check out the Dispatches website for the full report (search on "Are You a Burger or a Bun Kabab?" from the March 25/28 broadcast).

Grenada + nutmeg: Inseparable

Quick, now: Name a use for nutmeg.

I'm willing to wager the vast majority of the people reading this post immediately answered, "Eggnog!"

And while the spice is indeed a vital topping for the Christmas beverage, it's used in lots of other things, too, from cookies to sausages. You'll even find nutmeg and its sister spice, mace--they're both made from the same fruit--in medicines and cosmetics.

You'll rarely find a place as passionate about nutmeg as the Caribbean island of Grenada. Islanders use the fruit's sweet-smelling shells to build garden paths. Women in markets sell strings of nutmeg to intrigued tourists. In fact, Grenadians are so fond of the pear-shaped fruit, they put it on their flag.


So what is it with Grenada and nutmeg?

The British introduced nutmeg trees to the island in 1782, and it turned out that Grenada has an ideal combination of soil and climate for cultivating them. They grew like mad and spread everywhere, becoming a significant part of the local economy.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Hurricane Janet in 1955 wiped out 75 percent of the island's nutmeg trees. Almost a half century later, Hurricane Ivan caused similar destruction. In both cases, islanders worked hard to revive the industry. Today, nutmeg trees are beginning to flourish once again.

When I was in Grenada recently, I visited an organic farm belonging to Maca Bana, a charming, family-run resort. The farm is a short drive from the resort, high on a hillside. Originally it was completely planted with nutmeg, but Maca Bana's owners have added lettuce and other vegetables for use in the resort's restaurant. In an unusual twist, the resort's guests are welcome to come to the farm and pick their own dinner ingredients, which they can cook up in their villa kitchen. They may also have the chance to meet Brian Godwin, the farmer who nurtures all this organic bounty and is more than happy to show it off for visitors.

Brian Godwin gives visitors a glimpse of nutmeg.

So if you ever go to Grenada, hit the beach, by all means. But to really get a "taste" for the islands, don't forget to hit the fields, too.

Photo credits:
Flag: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
Brian Godwin: Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet, copyright 2009.

Disclosure: I travelled to Grenada as a guest of the Grenada Board of Tourism.

Cafe with a view in Melbourne

I discovered the St. Kilda Pier Kiosk cafe by accident. I'd strolled up the long pier in the beachfront Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda just to check out the view. And quite a view it is.



The fact that I could munch on a decent, inexpensive sandwich while absorbing the scenery was a bonus. To be completely honest, I don't even remember what kind of sandwich it was! It simply dealt efficiently with my hunger while I admired the sea.

The cafe is located in a cream puff of an Edwardian building dating back to 1904.


As well as sandwiches, it serves milkshakes, tea, pastries and other light snacks. But don't expect to enjoy your cheap meal and a summer sunset, too: the cafe closes at 5:30pm on weekdays and 6:00pm on weekends. (If sunsets are your thing, check out the somewhat fancier Little Blue restaurant in the same building, where dishes include classics like risotto and chicken Kiev.)

And here's the best part: behind the building, a long breakwater shelters a colony of little blue penguins. Ask the regulars sunbathing on the rocks to point them out to you. I took a million photos, but due to poor lighting and meagre skills, this was the best I could manage.


The cafe's food may not be memorable, but how many restaurants can boast their own penguin colony?

If you like reading about food and travel, check out similar posts on today's WanderFood Wednesday site!

Disclosure: I travelled to Melbourne courtesy of Tourism Australia.

My new sweet-tooth fix: Welsh cakes

I'm just back from Wales and will put up some longer posts about my trip soon, but in the meantime I had to share my latest pastry addiction with you: Welsh cakes.

Yummy-looking, yes?

They're a bit like flattened scones and they are maddeningly addictive. I came to crave one at every tea break during my conference.

In case you'd like to sample them yourself, here's a yummy-sounding recipe for Welsh cakes from JoyOfBaking.com.

But when you can't stop eating them, don't say I didn't warn you.

By the way, what fattening habits have you come back with after travelling? Let me know in the comments section.


Licensing information for photo:
This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its author, Moochocoogle at the wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.

Disclosure: My trip was partially subsidized by Visit Wales.

What I love--and loathe--about the U.K.

I've been in the U.K. for a few days now, and my likes and dislikes are becoming clearer by the minute. My likes are legion and my dislikes are few, and I'm passionate about them all.

First, a few of my favourite things.

1. Teakettles

I'm a tea drinker, partly because I can't abide coffee. So it drives me crazy when I check into a North American hotel room and find a container of lovely tea bags on the dresser...and a coffee maker. Tea made with water run through a coffee pot is an abomination. Not only is the water not hot enough, but it tastes like coffee. What a delight to find a full-sized teakettle in all three of my U.K. rooms so far. Granted, coffee drinkers are probably put out by the lack of a coffee maker. I feel your pain, my friends. But I'm still pleased about the teakettles.

2. Expressions
I first fell in love with U.K. expressions while listening to my Northern Irish cousins as a child. (To this day, I think "brilliant" is a wonderful exclamation of delight.) On a trip to County Down at age 12, I decided "dual carriageway" sounded much classier than "four-lane highway." Years later, while on a cruise run by a British tour packager, my husband and I decided on a cruise that "Do you fancy a boogie?" (used in a promo for the ship's disco) was eminently more fun than "Would you like to dance?" And one of my great joys in reading British home decorating magazines is the line, "Ring [phone number] for stockists." Stockists! Much nicer than "Where to buy."

3. Trains
In the U.K., passenger trains apparently don't have to pull over to a siding every time a freight train needs the track, as is the case in Canada. As a result, the trains actually run on time--at least the ones I've been on so far. And those Victorians knew how to build train stations that really made you feel like you were off on a momentous journey--like this one in Manchester.


4. Funky buildings
OK, maybe these buildings in Manchester's redeveloped Salford Quays area are garish. And over the top. And not to everyone's taste. But I have to admire the ambition and bravery behind them. At least they're not boring mirrored glass boxes or brutalist bunkers, which seem to be the two favoured styles in most Canadian cities. These are from Manchester's redeveloped Salford Quays.

5. Lambs
Ah to be in England (and Wales), now that spring is here. On the train from Manchester to Cardiff today, I saw wee lambs everywhere, playing in green fields with their mums. Too darn cute.

OK, now to a scant few but passionate dislikes.

1. Stairs
OK, I understand the Underground stations. After all, they're underground, and many were built long before elevators were common. But why, why, why does every hotel entrance have a pointless set of steps? And why are there odd little staircases partway along every hotel corridor? Is it some sort of national endurance test? Was it a way to keep servants fit, back in the days when no one lugged their own suitcases?

2. Plumbing
Admittedly, it has improved from the days when toilets were operated by long chains dangling from the ceiling. But I have yet to hear a plausible explanation for showers like this.


Why not just affix the shower head to the wall? The rod-and-hose apparatus may be designed to accommodate people of different heights, but in my experience, when you try to adjust it, it detaches itself from the wall entirely and whips about like a watery snake, turning any hotel bathroom into a miniature car wash. Or maybe that's just me. Perhaps I should drink the tea first and get a good caffeine fix before attempting to shower.

3. Fire doors
Yes, I know the Great Fire of London was tragic. But it was almost 350 years ago. Do you still need to install massive great doors every few feet along every hotel corridor? And in front of all the elevators? Inquiring minds want to know.