from Dublin to........Mirissa, Sri Lanka: Bathing in Budapest

There are two ways you can see the famous ancient baths of Budapest, either when the sun is up or when it is down. Each experience will be completely different I can assure you.

If going to a bath during the day I recommend Szechenyi in the large park to the NE of the city centre. If walking there you will probably pass the House of Terror (which I didn’t go to but was told it was a must-see) and eventually come to Heroes' Square. The baths lie behind this and are huge. Three large pools plus countless spas and saunas indoors. There was a whole section that I couldn’t find a way to access (perhaps you needed to pay more) which had jet spas, private spas and saunas etc. Spent nearly four hours there jumping from pool to pool and spa to sauna. You couldn’t possibly not leave that place feeling relaxed. There was one really cool outdoor pool that had three sections to it. The main outer part (see photo below) with big jets shooting up from the bottom, a middle inner circle area and within this a typical spa. The jets in both the inner spa and the outer area would alternate every 15 minute or so with the inner circle area which would turn into a whirlpool and send you spinning around the ring. Once the spas stopped everyone would pile into the inner circle and go around and around and around. It was quite fun. The facilities are great too. Very well set up. And it has a number of bars. Can easily spend half a day there although you may not want to on a Sunday after you read the below.

Each Saturday night in Budapest some of the baths turn into clubs. Szechenyi and Rathus that I know of anyway. I was drinking with Gore in his hostel and we got chatting with two girls (Azra an Laura), friends from Sweden. Gore had decided earlier to buy some small bottles of vodka and get some girls drunk. Nice thought but execution was a little lacking. He was catching the long-haul bus to Bucharest early the following morning - dangerous timing. The girls wanted to go out and another girl that joined us, Celina (from Mexico) had a few friends at one of the baths but she wasn't feeling up to it as she'd been out the night before. With a little twisting of the arm we were all ready to go. None of us had any idea which baths to go to though. A quick Google and Rathus came up as a decent club to go to. We arrived around 12:30am to be greeted with a very long line and what seemed to be an outdoor club only. Not what I have envisioned. Music was good, crowd was mostly local, a homeless man was bopping away on the road keeping the girls entertained and security were doing their job, punting queue jumpers to the back of the line. Top shelf security. Golf clap for you all. Gore was getting frustrated at the long line as he didn't have time to waste, he needed to get up in a few hours. It was going to be a fair wait. And sure enough it was, almost an hour but what can you do? Gore had left long ago. So it was me and three girls. Sound like good odds? Well they diminished pretty quick as Celina randomly met some guy she had hooked up with the night before not long after we entered and was being stalked by him for much of the night which left the two Swedish girls. It was a little hopeless trying to separate them. And I couldn't talk to most of the girls there as they didn't speak English. Oh well. Fun night though.

I later learned that Szechenyi is the place to go if you want a really loose night. You get to go inside the baths at this place and anything goes. Next time.

Like most cities you have to visit Budapest on the weekend when it is at its’ liveliest.

Food and sights:

- Kiado Kocsma Kavezo (1061 Budapest Jokai Ter 3) – Cozy restaurant, dimly lit with good ambience about it. Tucked away far enough that there are only a few tourists there. Prices are reasonable – you can get cheaper but the quality is fairly good if you order smart (I didn't). Serving sizes were large! Attentive service.

Goulash soup – a thin but chunky meaty soup packed with flavour. Very tasty indeed. Get just a cup for entrée or try the other vegetable soup which looked equally as yummy.

Main dish was a risk. There were a few duck dishes on the menu and I had not tried any since being in Hungary. Tip – if it sounds a bit weird, it probably will be. Flavour combinations and sauces eaten in Hungary are very unusual at times. The main arrived before I had finished my soup, and it was huge. Gnocchi with duck breast and a honey mustard ragu. I know. Wtf is that. It was weird. No skimping on the duck but way too much sauce and unsurprisingly it just didn't work together. Shame, as the duck was perfectly cooked and the gnocchi was good. It was the sauce that spoilt it. Shouldn't have been so adventurous. I felt sick. Having said that I'd happy come back and get something less experimental or more traditional. Cooking skills were demonstrated which I fear is somewhat rare in Budapest, outside of local cuisine. Kozel to wash it all down (cheaper than local beer??). The local Dreher beer is awful. Dog friendly place.

- Just down the road from Kiado Kocsma (further along the plaza) is .... (just realised I've thrown the map out with the name on it). I didn't eat here but it was recommended. Very large corner location with plenty of outdoor seating. Blankets are provided for those that get cold - I wasn't particularly cold though yet most people were wrapped up snug. Was too busy when I arrived (8pm on a Sunday) so get there early. Assume the food is decent. Bright, open place that is rather noisy and didn't have the quaint, more intimate ambiance of Kiado Kocsma. Stick your head into both, but at least have a vino at Kiado.

- Just past the House of Terror is the Eco Café (Andrassy Avenue) which serves organic coffee and a small range of cakes and sandwiches. Probably the best coffee I had in Budapest (not that I had too many when it was over 35 degrees each day).

- History Museum – A bizarre assortment of historical artifacts from all eras, most quite average and second rate in terms of quality. The one good section was devoted to the history of Budapest which contained detailed text that was very informative. The artifacts accompanying each era where difficult to marry which the text and I found myself reading all the explanations and breezing trough the various items on display. I was going to attempt to summarise the history of Budapest but I fear it is too great a task.....so here you go. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Budapest

- Central Market - Wouldn't bother going here to shop for anything. Glorified junk and touristy crap. There is however on row of food outlet on the second level serving many yummy stews, sausages, meats and sweets. Bit overpriced but exceptionally good tucker.

- Walk up to the top of the hill in Buda to where the statue overlooks the Danube and Pest. The statue itself isn't much chop (didn't even take a photo) but the views are awesome. Walk across to the adjacent hill with the castle atop. Perhaps avoid this in the blazing sun - ain't much respite along the way.

- Kebabs (Doner) - Consumed a few. The city is rife with them. Every second eatery seem to sell doner. They are EVERYWHERE!! They're pretty good and not all that unhealthy (I kept telling myself this anyway). I frequented a popular establishment near my hostel in the north. Find one with a queue and jump in line. Unlikely to be disappointed.

- Hommus (has a couple venues across town). Sells hommus and falafel. Falafels are made fresh to order - slightly different to ones I'm used to - smaller, crunchy and perhaps less flavour because they are too small. Good hommus and salad (rare in Budapest). A nice change from meat and stew.

- "Free" walking tour - Attempted it but only lasted 15 minutes. Couldn't stand the guide. Irritated me too much (she looked like a cliche hippie - that's not what irritated me, but just so you know what she looks like). Would have liked to have heard the history. Hopefully you get a better guide, a much better one.

- Don't stay at Tiger Tim's Hostel! Tim is great but his staff are shite (useless Australians) and the hostel is shite.