The time wasting/attraction building/comfort game

What you need : 2 Laptops, internet connection, creativity.

 

I get on a bus from Quetzaltenango to Lanquin, Guatemala.  It’s a 7 hour ride in a shuttle bus and I’m not looking forward to it.

When I step into the bus, im greeted with a nice sight, a cute, young 22-year-old Danish girl.  We start chatting and about an hour in, I invite her to play a game of cards, then after that I explain the rules of the next game we will play.

The Swap iPod game.

I set the scene for the first selection -

‘Its friday night and its around 9pm, you’ve had an amazing dinner with your family and you’re getting ready to go out to meet your friends.  You’re in your room and you put some music on… the song you play puts you in an amazing mood, your thinking about all the fun your going to have, about all the people your going to meet and your already smiling in anticipation. (Can anyone say NLP)

Now find the song on your Ipod that you would play, I’ll do the same and we will listen to each others selection.

I play

She plays

Next scenario is – Your driving along the highway in your car, its route 66 in the US, or the AP7 in Spain, a song comes on the radio that makes you want to dance, sing and tap your hands on the steering wheel.  A la John Candy in ‘Planes trains a automobiles’.

Mess Around

I play

She plays

Next round –  It’s Sunday morning, you wake up and put on your burgundy terry towling dressing gown and your brand new slippers.  You walk into the kitchen of your house, you check the refrigerator and pull out eggs, bacon, sausages and tomato.  You start cooking breakfast and you play this song, it makes you forget the slight hangover you have from last night.

Chateau Hampstead, Sunday.

I play -

She plays

Next round – A song on your Ipod that gives you goosepimples.

I play -

She plays

As you  can see, it goes on and on for another 20 rounds… we played this game for about 3 hours. every time the scenarios became more and more descriptive, with loads of NLP.  It was pretty awesome… By the time we got to the hostel, I had her wrapped around my little finger.

Alas it wasnt to be, the hostel I arrived at was full of mid 20′s drunken douchbags who were hell-bent on validating and supplying all the neccesary attention her mind needed.    But simply as a comfort tool, I think it’s amazingly good.

The Long Time Coming

Just met this guy, doing an amazing thing for charity, and doing a bad-ass trip from Mexico to Peru, not using any roads, all  off-road on a 4 wheel ATV. Travelling over 12,000 km, with the aim of raising funding and awareness for abused and disadvantaged children. The mantra – sometimes there is no path but you have to go. Go Marc.

Fuck all you guys, I'm on a Quad.

He’s a good bloke, knows a lot of good drinking games and spins a good yarn.  Check out his website here

and like him on facebook.  It will help him with his goal of raising £110k for charity.

 

Quote of the Day

“With the palms zipping past and the big sun burning down on the road ahead, I had a flash of something I hadn’t felt since my first months in Europe – a mixture of ignorance and a loose, “what the hell” kind of confidence that comes on a man when the wind picks up and he begins to move in a hard straight line toward an unknown horizon.”

Hunter S Thompson – The Rum Diary.

+1 and F-Town

Story to come….

Another one for the Collection

City Guide – Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

When to go

December to May – After that it gets terribly humid.  Plus Spring break is around Easter, so something to be either be wary of, or look forward to.

Hard to Beat

Where to stay

Dorms – Hostel 6-15 or Hostel Che – both clean good hostels, expect to pay 140-200 pesos per night for a dorm bed.

Private room – Hostal 6-15 or hotel colores. – both good and cheap, think about 300 pesos for a double room for the night.

Where to eat

Everywhere, there is amazing taco stands all around the town, the best Mexican food is El Fogon on 30^th ave.  But in the morning head down to the street that runs toward the beach next to McDonalds, you will find a few guys selling Cochinita Pibil (highly recommended) – if you want something different from Mexican food try the amazing pasta place – Cheester on  40^th ave, or La bodeguita del medio on the 5^th avenue.

TacoLoco - Eat it.

Where to meet women

Everywhere in Playa del Carmen…. If you stay at one of the big hostels in town, you should be drowning in young, nubile, travelers.  Playa is a big travelers hub, and year round there is a lot of nice women getting about.  During the day, hit the beach with some peeps from your hostel, social circles grow quickly.  At night, head to the bar at Hostel Che or to the 12^th avenue which is the area for all the big fancy clubs and bars, pick of the big clubs to hook up are Blue Parrot or Coco Maya.  For something a little smaller and (slightly) less hectic, try Bar Mezcal – just next to Blue Parrot. Avoid the bars on the beach, they are usually way too expensive and full of retirees.  All the girls head to 12^th ave.

Yankee attention whores, an all too familiar sight.

What to see

Daytrip to Akumal or Tulum, dive in the cenotes, check out the ruins at Tulum. Hang by the beach, your on one of the worlds most beautiful beaches, clear blue water and white sand.  Rent a catamaran or a jetski if your feeling flush and swan about the Caribbean, Captain Strangelove style.

My experience

I spend 2 months in Playa, I only expected to stay a few days, but as any weary traveler will tell you, some places are like quicksand, it becomes hard to leave… I made some amazing friends, hooked up with some very nice ladies, got a tan and ate loads of tacos.  Heaven.

Well worth a look… Cancun is for morons, and you’re an idiot if you go there.  Tulum is really quiet, chilled out and has better beaches than Playa, But PDC is right in the middle… not too many american’s and not too many hippies.  You can do what you like,  there are different types of Playa holidays, you can relax, you can party,  you can go clubbing or dive… Loads of options.