Machine Gun Sarariman: Buddha Pest

Warning: This post requires warmer clothing.

Part of my trip to Europe over New Years was around 20 hours in Budapest, mainly to visit Andris (a mate since '06: he went to Gaidai and we met at the kid's camp I mentioned earlier). He's just had a kid with his wife Adrian, a bouncing bubble-cheeked girl named Viktoria. Anyway, my lack of time and money meant I flew over in the afternoon and back out at midday the following day, but it was worth it to catch up and see where the man is at these days.

I flew via Wizz Air - I think they're Hungarian, and they have hot pink planes. They also have very cheap flights. It ended up costing me 60EUR or so each way, but that's with a week's notice and at the end of the year. I can't get prices like that in NZ or Japan even if I book 4 months in advance for a Tuesday morning in February.
The flipside is that the flights are almost guaranteed to be delayed 1-2 hours and there's no meal (nor seat-allocation), but hey - what you pay is what you get.

My impression of Budapest (all 5 hours or so of it) was one of a country sitting on the fence between developed and developing, between Eastern Europe and Western culture, with layer upon layer of ancient architecture, relics of Soviet control, and, well, Tesco's. It felt beautiful and also withered - but maybe that's just what winter does to a place.

The Hungarian women, who are vaunted by men (though it is mentioned in Lonely Planet that hotties are often used as bait for muggings in bars) certainly stood out, but they're not really my type. Something about the fashion or the extensive eyebrow-waxing just feels like they're trying too hard. The girls who tone it down a bit are probably very attractive, but so many look a bit "cheap". Or is that "expensive"? Certainly either way they look like they have a price.

Photos are on Facebook and Flickr of our "Budapest in 90 minutes" tour across the city in the morning. There's also a few videos I took of Andris's apartment and driving over the famous Budapest "chain bridge". Good times.