If you’re in Sydney and want to get a few good notches on your art belt in one solid hit, head to 2 Danks Street in Waterloo for a whole slew of galleries under one warehousey roof. Wander in and you enter into an artful lucky dip. One gallery might be pungent with an installation of rotting flowers, another will have concrete casts of TV sets engraved with the word ‘silence’, while another displays an affordable pop mash-up of plastic cast ravens and busts of Andy Warhol. All this awaits you – if you manage to drag yourself past the incredible Danks Street Depot café at the front. This is no manky-muffin-and-crappucino operation – as the slow cooked broccoli and eggs will attest.

Why do we feel the need to dress differently when we travel? The ‘traveller/tourist’ look is usually very easy to spot – it falls into two broad (and insultingly generalised) categories: The Sensible and The Native. Why does the former get about in chunky, overly practical, asexual synthetics and the latter in baggy cottons, waistcoats and toe-rings?

Sensible doesn’t have to mean you dress like you’re about to climb the Eiger and Native shouldn’t have to include exposed navel and dodgy tattoo.

A mate and I travelled together in Mexico some years ago and he insisted on wearing a very clean white panama hat and cravat everywhere we went – we were assumed to be a nice gay German couple, which was very understandable in hindsight.

Why are ‘normal’ clothes so wrong?

Larry O’leary

Whether you’re a blogger, an ardent correspondent or just want to keep up with the news or book ahead for accommodation, these days the internet plays a big part in the way we travel.

Several sites offer directories for where to find internet cafes, like this one in Australia. Or if you, like many others, don’t dare travel without your laptop, you’ll love a great wi-fi directory for Australia, Europe, the UK.

Got any hot-spots? C’mon, we want in!

Jenni Kauppi

Las Vegas and Orlando have laws that ban the feeding of homeless people in certain public spaces. Put that ladle down, son, and come out with your hands up! Such laws in a self-proclaimed Christian country have raised hackles all over the world – but what’s your ethical position on giving food or money to beggars when you’re travelling in poorer countries like India or Thailand? It can go against the heart to resist a plea for help; on the other hand, many argue that giving to beggars unbalances and corrupts communities, creates dependencies and encourages child trafficking. So, what to do? Do you give directly to a local charity, even though that will probably not help the unfortunate directly in front of you? Do you harden your heart and walk on?

-Cherry Washington

One of the hottest (but sadly, let’s face it, most boring) topics of conversation right now is the price of fuel. One glance at the price boards at the local service station is seriously the cheapest facelift you can get – those eyebrows aren’t coming down for a good long while. In light of this rise in fuel prices, some airlines are cutting their services to less popular destinations (or ‘low-yeilding leisure routes’ as they call them – how’dya like that, Gold Coast? Wow.) Both domestic and international services will be getting their wings clipped.
This is really interesting. Are the days of 10-cent travel over? Is that flurry of budget flights finally coming to rest? How is this going to affect the future of travel? Are we all going to start investigating destinations closer to home or are we just gonna suck up that price hike and awkward schedule?

I’m interested, I’m conflicted, I’m kinda excited. How’s this going to pan out? What do you think?

– Slickarus

In about six months or so I will be heading off to Europe for three weeks with my Mum. We are off to England to celebrate my London-based older brother’s 40th birthday and then on to Portugal.

We’re expecting to have a great time travelling with Mum; she is an adventurous, curious traveller, with a lively mind who adapts well.

However, from what I have gleaned, most web-based travel advice concerning travelling with older parents assumes they are drug-dependent, semi-invalids, prone to fatigue with an insatiable appetite for dietary fibre.

Is my trip to Europe going to involve very little except medicating, reviving and hydrating Mum, eating bland bran-based food and washing tired legs?

This sounds worse than travelling with a squalling brat.

Have you ever travelled with an older parent? Was it fun, or an ordeal?

Larry O’Leary

Long-gone are the days when travel meant tying your belongings neatly in a hankerchief, securing it to the end of a stick and casually slinging it over your shoulder.

These days travel means gadgets, and travel gadgets can be highly technical, including essentials like MP-whatsits on mobile hoo-hahs, with GPRS thing-oes.

Do you have a favourite travel gadget? What do you never travel without?

Jenni Kauppi

OK, I have to admit it: I’m hardly a beer connoisseur. I know what I like and what goes down well on a hot tropical afternoon, but I’m certainly far from as critical as the folks on Ratebeer.com.

That said, I found Vietnamese beers to be an incredibly pleasant surprise. Apart from bia hoi (fresh draught beer), which you can get on almost any street corner for a few cents, there are several national breweries that produce a fine drop. Here’s my take, in order of preference:

1. Huda – Native to Hue, the old imperial capital, Huda is cheap, clean, thoroughly refreshing, and complex enough to sip slowly (if you have the self-control). A huge thumbs-up.

2. Bia Hue – Very similar to Huda, and brewed by the same company, this is a pale lager that sucks up your thirst magnificently. Harder to find than Huda.

3. Bia Ha Noi - North beats South in the battle of Vietnam’s ‘two capitals’. Hanoi’s brew is golden, fizzy and eminently drinkable. It lacks the richness of its Hué counterparts, but it has no bitter aftertaste and sports a pleasant, malty flavour.

4. Bia Sai Gon – Ho Chi Minh City’s answer to Bia Ha Noi, Bia Sai Gon is darker, more honeyed and less carbonated. It’s better for a cool, breezy evening than after a hot day spent dodging scooters.

5. Halida – Produced in North Vietnam under the supervision of Carlsberg, Halida is an OK drop. Cheaper than chips and almost as uncarbonated, Halida can leave a full feeling in your stomach and a slightly bitter aftertaste. It’s a fine accompaniment to spring rolls or bun, though.

6. Bia Festival – Easily the worst of the three big Hué beers, Festival is overpriced and slightly sour. Go for Huda instead.

7. Bia 333 – Pronounced ‘ba ba ba’ (don’t ask me about tones!), 333 might not be quite as poor as Festival, but the weight of expectation sends it to the bottom of the list. It’s supposedly an ‘export-quality’ beer, but it’s horribly disappointing. If you want full flavour, go for Sai Gon; if you want a great balance, go for Huda.

Again, these are just the opinions of a complete dilettante. Anyone been to Vietnam who can recommend better/other beers, or improve this list?

– Vivek Wagle

Let’s do the Time Warp again

It’s not hard to be a bit of a sophisticate these days. Most people know a shiraz from a cab sav and can wax lyrical on the pleasures of a lovely, room temperature, washed-rind cheese. But some days, it can all get a bit much and you feel the need to turn your back on gourmet gentrification in favour of simpler times. In some of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, you can still find time-warped treasures doling out old school rissoles, instant coffee or greasy fried eggs while all around them, foams and foie gras abound. I respect the grim militancy of Sydney’s ancient Oceanic Café, adore the homespun rudeness of Melbourne’s Scheherazade. I have traced my initials in the greasy film adorning the laminex tabletops of London’s New Piccadilly and chowed down on the signature tuna salad sandwich with pickles at New York’s Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, which proudly, prophetically sports a sign that reads ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

Care to share any of your favourite time-warp eateries?

- Nancy Drool

Fancamp has been set-up to cater to football fans who will gather all over Europe to witness the first ‘All England’ Champions league final between Chelsea and Man United. It promises secure, convenient accomodation with bonuses including in-house hair & make-up artists and ‘fairly-priced’ beer.

The actual digs are a little spartan: somewhere between a monk’s cell and a polling booth.

Keep in mind, the game is being played in Moscow, Fancamp is in Vienna.

The Viennese are obviously keen to avoid Manchester’s fate at the hands of Rangers fans watching the Uefa cup final last week.

This all got me thinking. If it’s alright for football fans, why not other types of travellers? One of these could cater to young Aussies in London – they all live in crowded sharehouses, why not set-up a giant sharehouse along the lines of the FanCamp model.

FanCamp: cramped hellhole or budget accomodation solution?