When the Cheshire emerges...

Has anyone seen this shitty excuse for a travel article? First the Sydney Morning Herald were reporting on the outrage from New Zealanders... continuing on from the previous entry on my uncertainty of visiting Christchurch, I can kind of see their point.

Then it got ridiculous.

Perth and the western coast were a possible no-go. Because of shark attacks apparently. NEWSFLASH: THEY'RE EVERYWHERE. Especially if you don't swim between the flags like you're told. What a joke.

Then (of course, of course) there was Greece. Yes, they've had riots. Yes they're financially unstable. But why fuel the theory that Greece is only ever good for the islands??? Ok so there's a tiiiny bit of bias being of Greek heritage - BUT - this is something I have never really understood since first visiting.

The islands are pretty amazing. I've been to six. And will go back for more. But the mainland is different entirely and is interesting for it. Athens is a MUST for the Acropolis and surrounds, yet people don't give it the time of day or go there expecting a Paris and then become sorely disappointed. The history is what makes the country, and if you can ever get further north than Athens, or Patra on the Pelopponnese, the never-ending mountains as well as artefacts will entrance and surprise you. Plus Thessaloniki has a similar vibe to Melbourne in its chilled nightlife, a very cool place.

My point: she said to tread lightly in Athens and only go to the islands right? She's obviously never been there. If there's more taxi strikes or what not (which I don't see happening now their summer's over) where's the first place they hit? The ports. That's where you DON'T want to be. I went through it and considered myself lucky to have hit the mainland by then, except when it affected us in Corfu (Kerkyra). I'll post a video from that someday.

In short, the article is utter rubbish.

PS: SMH has pushed me towards Christchurch being on the itinerary through this story. And THIS photo...