1990 deja vu

I watched The Amazing Race 5 again last night; other than Cops, it's still the only reality show I enjoy (probably because it reminds me of my world travels).

In the scene on the bus to Mto wa Mbu ("Mosquito River" in Swahili), one of the Tanzanian drivers charged FIFTY TIMES the going rate ($150 vs $3). It reminded me of the cheating Greek merchants (when I visited Athens in October 1990) which made me never want to return. I hope those attending the 2004 Olympics aren't similarly gouged.

Funny/good stuff I remember about Athens: the winding streets of the Plaka; the Parthenon (and the photo badge in the Parthenon Museum); the Grande Bretagne (hotel); roasting chestnuts on the street corners; the mini-tank in front of the International Air Terminal.

While nosing around the web, I wandered across Athens Survival Guide (which I wish had existed when I travelled there!)

Deep thought #42: I haven't been to Europe since the debut of the Euro (January 2002). Life must be so much simpler, now that you don't have to exchange Greek drachmas for (German) Deutchmarks for Austrian marks every time you cross into another country, losing a little in each exchange. The only unhappy ones must be the European bankers, who made mini-fortunes on those exchanges. Noteworthy: Ireland is in the eurozone, but many European countries have yet to join, so we still have Hungarian florints; Great Britain's Pound Sterling; Swiss marks, etc.

Also (unrelated, but for those keeping score), the guy from Scotts returned yesterday, after the Very Scary Encounter with Gene Bob and his Lawnmower on Saturday.