Monday 30 December 2013

Adopt a Backpacker


A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about how much I've enjoyed meeting up with old friends and how lucky I've been to have been offered a place to stay for a lot of my trip so far. For me, getting to stay with locals – especially ones I'm already friends with – makes travelling that much better.

Sometimes though, it goes even further than that. Sometimes you get to stay in a situation where, not only do you stay with your friend and have them show you around, sometimes the whole family adopts you.

I've been in a situation like this for the last few weeks in Mexico City. Since catching up with my room mate from Melbourne I've been welcomed by her family and friends as one of their own. Not only have I had a place to stay, I've had the best tour guides ever, been given some great information and taken to the best food places.

Waiting for our "Tacos Al Pastor" 

Its not the first time I've been fortunate enough to be adopted while on the road. My first backpacker adoption came courtesy of my sisters new in-laws – the House Family - in England. While they are in fact also real relations, at the time they adopted me they barely knew me, and yet they helped to create my first “home away from home” when I first started travelling.

Since then I've been fortunate enough to have home cooked meals and a place to stay with families in countries all over the world, and its something that I truly appreciate every time. You sometimes wonder what the adopting family gets out of the situation. Are they just being polite? Or do they really want to share their culture and thoughts with someone from another country?

Christmas in Mexico has to include a piñata

Christmas is a time of year that many backpackers miss their families. Often travellers will organise “orphan Christmas” with fellow foreigners and celebrate as they would back home. I was fortunate enough to have the House family – my sister included – during the Christmases I spent in the UK, however my first Christmas in Canada saw me sitting in a cafe by myself, and I'll admit to feeling quite alone. While Christmas, for me, is not a religious thing, it is a family thing and the following year I was lucky enough to be adopted by my Ottawa room mate's family for Christmas. And while he forgot to mention it to his family beforehand (awkward!), they still welcomed me into their home.

This year I was able to be part of a Mexican Christmas, witnessing the traditions, eating all of the amazing food and even getting a couple of gifts. It was great to be a part of a family environment, even if it wasn't my own family, because to me that is what Christmas is all about.

My Mexican Family for Christmas

Being adopted while on the road doesn't just have to be at the Holidays though – it is appreciated at any time. While it has always been an amazing unexpected surprise for me, I'm hoping to encourage some people in Brazil to get into the spirit in June and July. Yes, I know this is a cheap plug, but there will be a huge amount of travellers hittingBrazil in June, and many would love to see not only the World Cup, but plenty of the Brazilian culture and lifestyle.

So come on Brazil, open up your doors and adopt a backpacker!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays, however and whatever they celebrated and I wish everyone a happy new year! 

Friday 20 December 2013

Extra Baggage

They call it the Heathrow injection. The extra few kilograms that Australians tend to come back with around their mid sections after a working holiday in the UK and Europe.

Whether its the stodgy food, the copious amounts of ale or the cold weather comfort eating, its rare that an Antipodean returns home from his or her time abroad without a little more to love.

Fish & Chips in England

I'm far from immune. After over two years in the UK & Europe I returned home with around 15kgs (33lbs) extra baggage – and I'm not talking about souvenirs. Just to prove that Heathrow is not the culprit, I returned with a similar result after two years in North America.

One of my favourite things in Canada, Poutine

This has become an inevitable part of travel for me, and one that I'm willing to accept. Why? Because I love food. For me, trying all of the local food in each country is a huge part of the reason I travel. Sure I lovemeeting people, and obviously have an addiction to live sport, but on a day to day basis, its almost always the food that is most memorable.

The last two weeks in Mexico have been foodie heaven. There's been tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, chalupas, mole, quesadillas and many other types of food that I cant remember the names of. Everything seems to come with salsa, cheese, cream and chili – even at breakfast - and its becoming evident that my travel gut is well and truly back.

Tostadas

It didn't just start in Mexico though. After leaving Australia in pretty good shape, things were actually looking pretty good for the first month or so, travelling through Burma and India, where I ate a mostly vegetarian diet to avoid falling victim to any sketchy meat handling practices.

Vegetarian tali

And then I got to the UK. While I think British food is sometimes unfairly maligned for being boring and drab, there is really no doubting that the traditional fish and chips, pie and chips and increasingly these days, kebab and chips are anything but healthy. Throw in the aforementioned copious amounts of ale and the need for a “full fry up” to ease the inevitable hangover, and the beginnings of travel gut 3.0 were well established.

One of many fine ales consumed in England

The next leg of my trip saw me return to the US and Canada where I caught up with a lot of good friends, but also got reacquainted with some of the food I'd been missing. Poutine, chicken wings and visits to my favourite burger places were almost daily occurrences. By the time I'd finished in the US, I could start to feel my travelling diet catching up with me. I certainly wasn't the same person who completed the Tough Mudder event in February.

A Krusty Burger

All of that, though, was just a warm up. It's been Mexico that has given me some of the most delicious food I've ever had, but also the biggest contributor to the gut. It appears to be virtually impossible to eat out in this country in a healthy way. To be honest though, I'm loving it.

Enchiladas with mole (chocolate & chili)

Arriving in Mexico City after a long day of delayed and cancelled flights, to be greeted with enchiladas swimming in a delicious salsa verde, its hard to be too conscious about your body shape. You just have to enjoy.

Some of the best street food in the world

And if nothing else, when I arrive home and people ask if I bought back any souvenirs, I'll know I brought with me the best reminder of just how good a time I had.

As I move ever closer to Brazil for the World Cup starting in June, I'm looking forward to trying all the food that Central and South America can throw at me. And hey, its almost Christmas...

Who else loves eating as much as me when they travel? What are your favourite travel foods and what are you most looking forward to trying on your next trip? 

Tuesday 10 December 2013

Preparing to Invade Brazil

The moment much of the world had been waiting for came and went last week, with the FIFA World Cup 2014 Final Draw taking place on Friday.

World Cup Draw

Well, that went well.

Spain, Chile and the Netherlands. You could hardly have feared a worse group for the Socceroos to face on the worlds biggest stage. Sure, Australia were always going to be a bit of a long shot to win the prize – or even make it out of the group stage – however the draw they've been given means that even getting a single point out of the tournament may be beyond their grasp.

Not only are Australia facing the defending champions in Spain, they're also facing the runner up from 2010. Add to that one of South America's local powers, and Ange Postecoglou and his men are really up against it.

While one could dwell on the negatives of the draw and wallow in our own self pity, I'm choosing to look forward. This will likely be the one and only FIFA World Cup I ever attend, unless Australia ever wins the rights to host, so therefore I'm going to make the most of it. Sure, Australia will likely end up putting in results similar to their effort against Germany in 2010, but at least there's no real way they can underachieve. Anything north of slaughter will be positive. And as I've just submitted my request for tickets for the group games, I'll (hopefully) be able to see some of the best players and teams in the world.

World Cup 2010: Germany 4 - Australia 0

The other positive, is that I get to go and discover some new cities, with Australia's matches being outside of the major centres of Rio and Sao Paulo. I know nothing about the three cities Australia is due to play in – Cuiaba, Porto Alegre and Curitaba – but I'm going to make it a point over the next few months to learn what I can about these cities where Australia will go into battle, and hopefully help out any fellow Aussies travelling to support our boys.

All of the info below is just what I've been able to find online so if you have any more details on any of these cities, please feel free to let me know in the comments and I'll post an updated blog closer to the tournament. Accommodation is going to be a major stumbling block for many of us, so if anyone has any tips on this, please let us all know!

Match 4: Australia V Chile – June 13 @ 18:00
Cuiaba, Mato Grosso

Australia will kick off their campaign against one of South America's big hopes, Chile, who will likely bring with them thousands of dedicated fans, so it is going to be important for as many Australians as possible to be there to support our boys.

Cuiaba, a city of around a million, is the capital of Mato Grosso state, and is located ideally between the southern tip of the Amazon and the Pantanal which is known for being a great place to see some local wildlife.

To get there by bus from Rio is around 32 hours, so a flight would be preferable, however its looking like flights will be difficult to come by and very expensive – so perhaps settle in for a couple of long bus rides.

FIFA TV Documentary on Cuiaba

Match 20: Australia V The Netherlands – June 18 @ 13:00
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

This city of 1.5 Million and the capital of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul sees the Socceroos go up against 2010 runners up Holland. The Dutch are perenial contenders and will be tough to get any points out of, however Australia has a couple of players who ply their trade in the Dutch system, and will be looking forward to having a crack at players they regularly compete with and against.

The city is another long haul, 24 hours from Rio, however it is only 12 hours on a bus from Uruguay's capital of Montivideo, so it may be worth crossing into the country of the Socceroos' traditional South American nemesis for a few days if you're lucky enough to get tickets to this game.

FIFATV Doco on Porto Alegre

Match 35; Australia V Spain – June 23 @ 13:00
Curitiba, Parana

Spain has taken all before them for the last several years and will once again go into this tournament as one of the hot favourites. The city of Curitiba will provide an extra dimension to this one, being over 3000 feet above sea level – something neither side will be at all used to. This host city, of a little under two million residents – is also the closest to Rio, with just a 13 hour bus ride.

It may be after this match that many Australians start their exodus from Brazil, so it is worth noting that Buenos Aires (Argentina) is 34 hours away on a bus, while Santiago, with its daily QANTAS flights to Sydney is 54 hours away.

FIFATV Story on Curitiba


While the chances of us making it further in the tournament do look bleak, remember how happy we are just to be there. Sure, we want to put in a good showing, but as long our boys gives us some effort and something to cheer for (and we all find somewhere to sleep) this could be the trip of a lifetime.

The Josh Kennedy goal that had us all celebrating

There are plenty of tour companies, such as the Green & Gold Army and the Fanatics who do a great job and are running packages for Australians to go to all of our group games, however I'm hoping to find some more info for people like myself who hope to do it independently and on a budget. For those Aussies still looking to register for tickets, you've got plenty of time, and should log onto Football Australia or go to the official home of FIFA.

Once again, please feel free to contribute any information you have about Australia's three host cities, or any other details you think the travelling fans might appreciate. Or just let me know if you're going too and we can help each other out. I'll submit an updated info blog closer to the date. 

See you in Brazil! 

Wednesday 4 December 2013

My Addiction

My name is Steve Cram, and I'm a live sports addict.

Sure, this is probably not news to anyone who actually reads my blog ever – I am taking a year off to slowly make my way towards the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in June – but it is fair to say its bigger than any one sport.

With friends at the Socceroos second last qualifier Vs Jordan

My addiction probably started when I was 13 years old and my dad took me to see the Melbourne Tigers (Australian basketball, NBL) back when basketball was actually popular in Australia. The addiction soon took hold and we went on to become season ticket holders for the next 12 years. This, combined with dozens of Australian Football League games as well as NRL, Super Rugby, A-League, cricket and Tennis matches I've attended over the years, meant that there was scarcely ever a week that went by without me going to see some live sport.

With 90,000 other people watching Liverpool 

Recently though, I've combined live sport with my other major addiction, travel and things have started to get out of hand. In the last few years I've been lucky enough to attend sporting events in countries all over the world. I attended a Premier League Football game in London as well as an international friendly in Edinburgh. I've seen cricket in India, (ice) hockey in the Czech Republic and basketball in Lithuania, as well as being fortunate enough to work at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The Olympics rings at Whistler Village, 2010

Its in the US and Canada though that I've attended the most live sporting events. Living in Canada one soon learns that, much like Aussie Rules Football in Australia, if you're not into hockey, you're considered something of an outcast. Luckily its a great sport and I became a big fan almost straight away. I also recently attended my first NFL game, getting to see the New York Giants . Sitting in that crowd of 80,000 people you could see that, while the world game is at the top of the pile in most countries, in the USA, their own version of football is king.

My first NFL game, meaning I've been to all four major league sports in North America

Where my addiction is most obvious though, is still with basketball. Since attending my first NBA game in New York City at Madison Square Garden in 2009, I've been to 21 more games. I don't even want to start to think about how much money I've spent on tickets as well as overpriced food and beer. But its been worth it.

Of the 22 NBA games I've been to, eight have been at the ACC to watch the Raptors

The most recent game I attended saw the two time defending champion Miami Heat hosting the Charlotte Bobcats. I was a bit late getting to the stadium and the cheapest walk up ticket available was for $108. Its time like this I really have to tell myself I'm here for a good time not a long time. The game turned out to be an absolute classic with the crowd among the loudest I've ever heard. Its just that kind of atmosphere that keeps me going from city to city watching NBA games – I've now been to games in 15 of the league's 29 stadiums and seen 23 of the 30 teams play. I sure don't want to pay $108 each time to go to a game, but I've never regretted it when I have.

Miami Heat crowd goes nuts at Chris Bosh hits his third straight three

A week or so ago I was lucky enough to meet former Australian men's basketball head coach Brett Brown in a cafe in Orlando. Brown has this season taken over the head coaching role at the Philadelphia 76ers and was in town for his team's game against the Magic. Having an Australian connection has certainly helped keep my love of the NBA going, and earlier on this trip I was able to see Brown coach against the San Antonio Spurs, featuring two Aussie players - Patty Mills and Aron Baynes.

Supporting the Aussies in the NBA

While basketball is my first love, my attention now turns back to the world game, with the final draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil coming up this weekend. The draw will decide which three teams Australia has to face in the group stage and will soon lead to deciding when and where these games will be played. My aim is to get to all three of the Socceroos group matches, so this weekend is a very important one for deciding where I will be in June.

I'm hoping to see Australia grouped with Switzerland, Algeria and Bosnia - a group that I think will make it repetitively easy to get tickets - but I'm just happy for the next stage of the event to be coming up.

Who else is sweating on the World Cup Draw? Who do you want to see Australia (or your country) be drawn against?