- budget
- (2532)
-
A sumptuous, cosy Mediterranean restaurant that serves mouthwatering lunches at an amazing price.
Impress your friends by taking them there for melt-in-your-mouth mousakka, tantalising halloumi or satisfying salad for starters.
Recommended mains include heavenly seafood spaghetti, Mediterranean chicken and beautiful burgers. Vegetarians can also enjoy a wide variety of appetising dishes.
Don't forget to book!
8 Theberton St, off Upper Street, Islington
Nearest tube: Angel
A brilliant self-service restaurant. Amazingly vast portions of food. Perfect for vegetarians. Great cow pattern everywhere. Very, very cheap.
Myasnitskaya St 14; nearest metro: Lubyanka, Kitai Gorod area;
Arbat St, 45/24; nearest metro: Smolenskaya, Arbat area;
Komsomolsky Prospekt, 26-1; nearest metro: Frunzenskaya;
Mira Prospekt, 114; nearest metro: Alexeevskaya - outside;
Korovy Val, 1; nearest metro: Dobryninskaya; Leningradsky Prospekt, 62; nearest metro: Aeroport
There are thousands and thousands of taxis in Buenos Aires. They are very, very cheap, reliable and safe. During our three week stay we occasionally took the metro and the bus (el collectivo), both of which were cheap and efficient but the taxis were in a class of their own. Not once were we taken out of our way and the drivers (always happy to chat) invariably used their meters.
It was completely unnecessary to negotiate a price in advance, and quite the opposite of what we'd been led to believe. We were told never to hail them off the street, but we always did. I have never felt safer than I did in Buenos Aires.
Arbat Ulitsa (Arbat St) is a pedestrian only stretch of road just east of the Kremlin. It is lined with shops and restaurants as well as souvenir kiosks. The sellers are not in your face and haggling is a must. Most of it is pretty camp, but some is quite nice. Make sure you are looking for Arbat St and not Novy Arbat St, which is a bit dull and lifeless.
Get off the metro at Arbatskaya and look for the statue of Gogol. Walk past the statue and you're pretty much there
Simple, clean, friendly and obliging hotel. It’s central, just along from the Casa Rosada. Doubles are around £17 a night including breakfast, although that should be taken next door at the fantastic Café Tortoni.
861 Avenida de Mayo; email: hhispano@hhispano.com.ar;
Tel: 00 54 11 4345 2020
www.hhispano.com.ar/
Google map: tinyurl.com/nwwfnq
Godzilla hostel is the only hostel in Moscow located inside the Garden Ring (the avenue that circles the centre of Moscow). Not many people know about it, but it's quite a nice place with dorm rooms, kitchen, shared bath and toilet. A bed is $25 (£15) per night.
Bolshoy Karetny 6, ap 5; nearest metro: Tsvetnoy Boulevard or Tverskaya; www.godzillashostel.com
Mu-Mu is a chain of canteen-like restaurants serving traditional Russian food. The quality is not excellent, but some things are very good and the prices are low: you can have a three-course meal for £7 per person, but it's also possible to eat for £2. Besides, it's a good chance to try local specialities.
There are sometimes queues, but then it's a perfect opportunity to mingle with the locals who love this place.
Myasnitskaya St 14; nearest metro: Lubyanka, Kitai Gorod area;
Arbat St, 45/24; nearest metro: Smolenskaya, Arbat area;
Komsomolsky Prospekt, 26-1; nearest metro: Frunzenskaya;
Mira Prospekt, 114; nearest metro: Alexeevskaya - outside;
Korovy Val, 1; nearest metro: Dobryninskaya; Leningradsky Prospekt, 62; nearest metro: Aeroport
Don't bother with inflated prices and dressing up for a restaurant. Get yourself a kartoshka (baked potato) with a variety of fillings, a blini with smoked salmon and smetana (Russian sour cream), some tost (toasted sarnie) or a hot dog from any of the numerous and popular street stands.
You can just point and say “Da” if you don't speak the lingo, as the ladies in the stand will treat you like an idiot even if your Russian is perfect. Wash it down with a Baltika, Nevskoye or Zolotnaya Bochka beer. Beer is considered a non-alcoholic drink, although drinking vodka on the street may get you in trouble.
Find yourself a bench on ul Tverskaya, Alexandrovsky Sad, one of the beautiful bulvars, or Red Square itself (when the young guards let you). Sit on top of the bench rather than the seat, and watch the pink-clad Russian ladies and wannabe gangsters/movie stars/oligarchs wander past. Drinks and a meal, Moscow style.
Anywhere in this beautiful city. Most street stands are either in or near a metro station
Looking for some cheap clothes, and can't be bothered to haggle in the markets? Or perhaps you need to stock up on toiletries for your trip, or you need baby supplies - for all of these reasons you might want to join the locals and head for the nearest hypermarket. Tesco have a major presence in Bangkok, but for most tourists the best located hypermarket is the Big C store on Ratchadamri Road, right opposite the Central World Plaza mall. As well as the main store, there is an excellent food court and a multiplex cinema in the building. Open 9am until 11pm daily.
Walk up from Chit Lom Skytrain station;
www.bigc.co.th/en/index.asp
The Union is a bohemian piratical bar in a bohemian, piratical area (St Gilles). It was originally the home of the Union of St Gilles football club (holders of the longest unbeaten record of any football club in Belgium) and now plays host to punks, hippies, and stoners of every description (although I wouldn't recommend lighting one up there, new Belgian legislation regarding cannabis notwithstanding).
The décor is composed of insane clowns, grinning pirates, a nice poster of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and various other head toys that will both amuse and fascinate the casual observer. Some nice runework in the loos is representative of the anarchistic spirit of this counter-cultural icon.
St Gilles, the 'Parvis'; nearest tram stop: Parvis de St Gilles
Generally, beer in Moscow is either crap or very expensive crap pretending to be German at £3 a glass. 317 serves a good pint called Rubinovoe (Ruby) at 70 roubles a go.
The place is relaxing, none of the modern Russian pomp and forced chic. TV with endless reels of fashion walks is, alas, on all the time (muted), but concentrate on beer and you'll be fine.
Find the White House, the seat of government. Turn your back to the river. The very next street to the left of the government compound is the one you need. Nearest metro: Smolenskaya or Krasnopresnenskaya metro
A sprawling maze of wooden turrets and walkways housing the largest souvenir market in Moscow. If you make it through the obligatory matrioshka and amber stalls, crowded with American tourists, you are rewarded with a bewildering array of miscellany from antique busts of Lenin and Stalin to old toys and household junk. It's as popular with Russians as it is for tourists so the prices are reasonable, although if you have a foreign accent you'll have to work hard to haggle them down. The entrance fee is a mere 10 roubles.
Nearest metro: Izmailovo
A 19th-century canal and towpath that runs west from Rock Creek between M St and the Potomac River, and parallels the river 185 miles to the mountain town of Cumberland, Maryland.
Four locks lift the water level through Georgetown; a "living history" canal boat drawn by two mules carries passengers between spring and autumn through a lock or two for about a mile upstream, then back. A lot of folks just watch the locking operation and walk along the towpath.
It's a wonderful and pastoral contrast to the shopping and nightlife of Georgetown, itself an 18th-century town that was absorbed into Washington DC.
The boat is found between Thomas Jefferson Place and 30th St NW; www.nps.gov/choh/
A vibrant nightlife district of Bangkok. However, amongst the shows, bars and endless offers of “DVD, VCD, sex,” there is a reminder of how the west abuses the east. There are some great bargains, though (in the clothes markets, I mean!)
Lovely, good value guest house - spotless, excellent food and reliable information / guides for the temples of Angkor.
Wat Bo Road;
www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-twodragons.htm
Royal Teas is a wonderful café slightly off the beaten track in Greenwich. They do wonderful hot chocolate, teas and coffees. Coffee beans are ground there and then and you can by loose tea and coffee beans there too.
All of their food is vegetarian and is fantastic - and this is coming from a committed carnivore.
It is also very good value, with prices much cheaper than Starbucks and other chains that are also to be found in Greenwich.
In addition to all of this it is in a wonderful part of Greenwich. I recommend going for a walk round Royal Hill and up towards Black Heath, you can stop off here for a nice drink on the way back.
76 Royal Hill
Greenwich
London
SE10 7RT
www.royalteascafe.co.uk
0207 8691 7240
The Thais like to say that the best food in Thailand is on the street. Many visitors to Bangkok stick to hotels and guesthouses for their meals and neglect the most delicious, not to mention cheapest, food around - street food.
If you pass a street stall and see lots of Thai people tucking in, it probably means there's something delicious getting served up, so get involved.
Don't be worried that you can't speak Thai - just point at what looks good and your friendly Thai server will be more than happy to oblige.
I can particularly recommend laap (north-eastern spicy minced meat salad), khao man gai (boiled chicken served with spicy sauce and rice) and large roasted salt fish.
On the street, anywhere in Bangkok
Go to this iconic pie stall after a night out, or even before, and have a 'tiger pie' while sitting on a log looking out at the sea - a great Aussie pie experience.
Woolloomooloo; Tel: 61 (0)2 9357 3074; inquiries@harryscafedewheels.com.au
Set aside plenty of time to visit the Royal palace and Wat Phra Kaew, it’s not just that this is one of the city's major tourist attractions and therefore full of visitors, but that there is just so much detail to take in.Your senses will be crowded with the vivid flood of colour from the fantastically decorated buildings and statues, the sound of bells along the rooflines and the smell of incense.The Emerald Buddha - a figure of great reverence in Thailand – dressed in one of his gold costumes (they are changed dependent on the season) is housed in a wonderfully decorated royal chapel.The palace, by contrast to the classical Thai architecture of Wat Phra Kaew, is almost a Western looking pavilion (it was designed by a British architect) topped with Thai spires. It is currently being renovated so any photo opportunities are rather scuppered by scaffolding.There is a very strict dress code for the Wat and palace complex. You should wear long trousers or skirts that are below the knee and shirts with sleeves (a shawl/wrap over a sleeveless top will not do). If you don’t adhere to the dress code you can borrow suitable wear from an office near the entrance.
Entrance off Thanon Na Phra Lan. Nearest Boat Stop: Tha Change. Open: 8.30pm-3.30pm. Entry Fee: 250 baht.
www.palaces.thai.net
Looking a bit like the Arndale Centre circa the mid-eighties, MBK (Mah Boon Krong) is basically a huge covered market spread over five floors also incorporating a cinema and food court. Need a new watch? Choose from fake Rolex, D&G, Guess and any number of other names. Always wanted a Thai football shirt? You’ll find one here. Run out of credit on your mobile phone? Just buy another one. If you want plenty – and I mean plenty – of choice in you fake goods/souvenir/gift shopping then this is the place. Be prepared to bargain, be prepared to spend and be prepared to buy yourself that Louis Vuitton handbag you always knew you really wanted.
Corner of Tha Phra Ram 1 and Th PhayathaiNearest Skytrain station: National StadiumOpen: 10am-10pm
Is this your business?