Travelingbug.org

The best guitarist in San Telmo, Buenos Aires - Feria every Sunday

Every Sunday, in the barrio (neighborhood) San Telmo in Buenos Aires, Argentina they have a huge Feria (street festival).  It is located on calle Defensa, and this Feria is about 15 blocks long.  They shut down the streets to all cars so that people can walk up and down the streets.  There are all kinds of people selling jewelry, art, glasses, and anything ele you can imagine.  My favorite part of the feria is the street performers.  While approaching Plaza Dorrengo we saw this older man jamming on the guitar and singing love songs to all the chicas!  This guy didn't realize we were taping him, and asked if we wanted a foto foto, but when we told him it was a video he said, "eschuca" (listen), and gave us a his go to song!  Enjoy the video!  Peace

Running of the Bulls part II - Video of the week

Part two of the Running of the Bulls confirms that the most dangerous part of the run is actually in the ring.  The run (which you can see in Part 1) is only a couple of minutes long through the streets of Pamplona.  Once you reach the stadium they close the gates once the last bull gets in the ring.  So if you haven't made it in the stadium then you are locked out.  Once all of the bulls are out the ring the crowd goes crazy!  Then they start to release one bull at a time into the ring to run around for a couple of minutes. It is hard to get out of the bulls way, because there are so many people shoving and pushing that people get caught off guard and crushed by a bull!

In this video you will see all kinds of crazy stuff that happens inside the stadium!  Reed, who took the video, got a love tap from one of the bulls in the ring!  Enjoy the video that Reed put together! 

Running of the Bulls 2008 - Must see video

One of my good friends who I met while traveling the world just went to the Festival de San Fermin.  He was able to capture the opening ceremony (and how crazy it is), how much or a party the festival is, and also the first day of the running of the bulls.  If you really want to experience what the Festival is all about then you have to check out this video.  Enjoy

Festival de San Fermin - Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain

My trip started in Ireland, where I met up with Gary, Jay, and Parker.  We went to Gary's sisters wedding in Northern Ireland, and from there the only thing we had booked was a trip to Barcelona, Spain.  We had talked about going to the Running of the bulls before I arrived in Ireland, but had not decided for sure.  So after 3 days in Barcelona (Thursday morning), we checked out of our hostel and decided that we were headed to Pamplona.  We had one big problem...we had no way to get there.  If you have ever traveled with me, you know that something always goes wrong or that I don't plan to far in advance!

So we first headed to Estacion Sants where the train (operated by www.renfe.es ) leaves Barcelona headed for different parts of Spain.  Gary, Jay, and Parker sent me to talk to the reservations desk to see if there were any tickets on the trains, because I knew how to talk a little bit of Spanish.  The employee told me there were no more tickets (which I thought before I got in line, but I had to ask), and also gave me a warning not to run with the bulls.  He was telling me that only extranjeros (tourists) run with the bulls and hardly and Spaniards because it is so dangerous.  I told him thanks for the help and the tip and left to tell my friends that option one was a no go!

Next we walked to two rental car company's that were located within two blocks of the train station.  They had no cars available for another 2 weeks.  There is also a bus station that is located right next to Estacion Sants.  All buses headed to Pamplona were sold out too!

How to get to the Running of the Bulls - Festival de San Fermin

Two summers ago I went to the Festival de San Fermin or more popularly known as the Running of the Bulls.  This festival is in Pamplona, Spain.  It is one of the most famous festival in all of Spain and possibly the world.  This festival takes place the beginning of July.  (The dates can change each year so please check to make sure).  The Festival starts at 12 pm on a Thursday, and runs for the next 9 days.  Don't miss the running of the bulls, because you are not sure how to get there!

5 ways to get to the Running of the Bulls (from Barcelona, Spain)

1. Train - Book a train ticket months in advance from Estacion Sants (Barcelona) to Plaza de la Estacion (Pamplona) through the train company RENFE or call +34 90 224 02 02.  If you have not booked your train ticket before June then I would not even bother with this option, because if you show up at the train station in June there will be no tickets available.  Tickets will general run between 30-55 Euros for a one way from Barcelona to Pamplona.
2. Bus - Ride a bus from Barcelona to Pamplona.  There are two bus stations in Barcelona.  One is located next to Estacion Sants (which is usually for all international bus travel). The other is called Estacion del Nord Bus Station, and is located by the Arc de Triomf.  This bus stop has more buses running to local cities in Spain including Pamplona.  A bus ticket will cost any where from 22-40 Euros one way.
3. Car - Rent a car through a local car company in Barcelona for a couple days or a week.
4. Travel Bar  -  There is a bar that is located right of La Rambla in the heart of Barcelona.  This bar provides a bus ride up to Pamplona, a meal, and a bus ride back down to Barcelona.  They take care of everything so that you don't have to worry about it.  You will get to Pamplona around 6pm and then the bus leaves in the morning around 10 am.  In reality, that is all the time you need in Pamplona to run with the Bulls and then leave town.  I believe the cost last summer (2007) was 55 Euros.  This is the best option for a budget traveler who plans last minute events!  www.travelbar.com
5. Plane -  Right now there are 6 direct daily flights from Barcelona to Pamplona through Iberia.  It is an easy hour or so flight. I would almost use this as the last resort if you have no other way to get to Pamplona, because a one way flight is going to cost you about $200 - $300 US Dollars.  You can't put a price on how much fun you are going to have compared with missing the festival.  So if it is your only option then it is definitely worth it!  When I went to the running of the bulls there was no other option so my friends and I booked a last minute flight to make the first day!  It was worth every penny

Oktoberfest...Germany at its Best

Oktoberfest is a 16 day annual celebration of Bavarian culture and beer held in Munich, Germany from mid to late September until the first week of October.  The exact dates of the festival change every year based on how certain days fall, but the good times and unforgettable experience do not.  This past fall, two friends and I attended the first day of Oktoberfest, which proved to be one of the defining if not the defining experience of my three month tour of Europe.  What could be better than good times, liter after liter of delicious German beer, and the distinctive Bavarian culture?

Our Oktoberfest experience began at the main Munich train station at 6 am on day one of Oktoberfest.  We had just spent four days in Prague, and took an eight hour night train from Prague because we couldn't miss Oktoberfest when we were so close.  This train could have been easily avoided if we had planned a little earlier.  More than six million people attend the 16 day festival. So accommodations in Munich and the surrounding areas are booked months to years in advance, not to mention prices from hostels to hotels are astronomical during the festival.  So if you are planning on going I strongly suggest planning up to a year in advance in booking your travel and accommodation, because demand for it in the city during the festival. 

Thai New Year - Songkran

One of the highlights of my whole world trip was while I was traveling around the world was Songkran (Thai New Year).  Songkran is when the Thai people celebrate their New Year.  The New Year festival is from April 12-15, and is not the typical new year's party that you are used too.   I personally don't think that anybody in Thailand works for 3 or 4 days.  The Thai people and tourist celebrate Songkran by having a huge water fight for 4 days in every city throughout the whole country.  The most famous spot in Thailand for Songkran is Chiang Mai (located in Northern Thailand).

It is hard to describe in words what it is like in Chiang Mai during Songkran.  It made me feel like I was a little kid playing with squirt guns.  This small city is basically transformed into one big party!  There is a huge wall and moat that surrounds the old part of the city on all four sides.  On the inside of the walls, the locals have squirt guns and buckets of water outside of the their houses  They wait outside their house to drench  innocent victims.  They drench tourists, tuk tuks, and mopeds that are driving/walking by.  They will not discriminate against getting you wet if you have nothing in your hands or if you are carrying your travel backpack!

On the outside of the old city walls there is a moat that goes all the way around the walls.  People line up and down the streets around the moat.  The moat is the main source of the water for this festival.  The city supposidely cleans the water before the festival, but I have heard stories that people get really sick, because they end up drinking some of the water when they get water thrown on them.  Be careful not to drink the water when it is thrown on you!