WHAT A LOADA BALTICS

Following on from our random FA Cup final experience with the Finnish division of the Chelsea Headhunter`s we decided enough was enough in Helsinki and made our way to Talin - Estonia...  A cheeky local beer (Satu) on the ferry set us up for the arrival of G-Budd!

Got checked in to our Hostel which is complete with its own music lounge!  Shauny G`s heaven... though it almost went sour very quickly when I swiftly managed to break a string on one of their guitars.  Bit of the Brit charm and we were back in the good books.

Headed into town for a wander and grabbed a couple of beers in the most moody looking Irish pub in history - bar staff just didn`t want to know - and found out that another cheeky footie bet had come in courtesy of G-Budd`s vast football knowledge... more dough for the whip!

Enter the arrival of the Austrian Prince into the wierd and wacky world of Jimbotours... a quick shower, a stop off for a Rat Burger (Talin has a lot to learn about fastfood - 2/10) and we were in for a large one!

Headed straight for the Beer House for a Stein of the local brew which was rudely interupted by a member of the pissed Russian mafia equipped with his 500euro sunglasses who fancied a taste of Johnny`s beer which prompted a swift departure...

We headed North up the street to get away from the beer thieving Russain and stumbled on to a live jazz band who were well up for it... G-Budd & Johnny felt right at home cos the locals all danced just like them - crazy kids...

Bumped into the lads who worked at our hostel along with Gary Neville and Gok Wan lookalikes and headed on for a late night drink in a proper local bar...  G-Budd recruited a Korean into the East London team, Shauny G got told by tour leader of the year 2009 that his iPhone was gay and Gary Neville looked well moody.

Stopped off for a Jacket Potato and ropey hotdog and made for bed... apart from Shuny G who had a dude in his bed already - game over!

Feeling remarkably fresh this morning and getting ready for our next stop via plane... where we end up only Jimbo knows!!

Roll on stop number 3!

Shaun y G

Thats Local for hello.

We justy about to leave Vilnius for Riga so thought i'd drop a quick line.

We arrived here at 11oclock at night after a lovely flight from Thalinn. Got the wrong bus - missed our stop and ended up in a war torn council estate at midnight looking like americans. Luckly we got a cab and didn't die.

Hostel been wicked - met a canadian guy called Sandy who's a top dude and works in Canary Wharf and a Dutch guy who is G Budd's favourite friend ever.

Highlights of vilnius include:

- Jimbotour of Vilnius - some uninterested people here.

- Lots of rain

- didnt go to bed until sunrise every morning - feeling sh4t now!!

- G Budd turned 33 (today) Happy Birthday

- Had wicked lithuanian food - lots of meat.

- went to a casino - Jimbo won big - shaun left it behind.

- me and g budd went shooting in the forest 45mins outta town- AK47's, Uzie's, Pistols etc. Wicked.

- General drinking - cant remeber much more!!

G budd has promised to do a birthday blog when we arrive in Riga. TBC

Jimbo

Wow - we have travelled a lot this week and have now reached our final destination, Riga. We got the bus up from Vilnius which took about 4 hours - was sad leaving Vilnius as its a great little town but weather was shit.

Got to Riga round 5. Checked into a wicked hostel called The Naughty Squirrel and we were ready to hit the town. Had a surprise for the lads as Jimbotours had its first ever mystery quest who was Danny who flew in today.

At night to celebrate g budd birthday we went on the town to this b ar the guy at the hostel recommended so we avoided the stag do's. at the pub 5pints of beer and 2 shot's was 3pounds!!! So we stayed there till 3am.

EAST

Hi everyone,

Wow, i dunno where to start.

First of all thanx to all my fans for wishin my a good birthday.

its been absolute class, definitely one of the best birthdays ever - well its in the top 33!

In the last few days - it feels like weeks - but thats wot u get with Jimbo tours. Pure adventure and excitement all the way

I've been firing AK 47's and Magnums (not the ice cream), avoided bein killed by the Russian Mafia about 3 times, met a gr8 Dutch guy, Arno, who knows everything about non league footy, don't worry big fella u'll see Orient nxt season and had so much different meat from roasted chicken livers to bull stomach soup to zeppelins filled with meat (the size of them aint human!

anyway i'm seriously thinkin of movin out here, quote me on that Ross and i wish i was here longer!

its been groovy, god bless the Baltics and god bless Jimbo tours!

east

Here we are on the final stage of our tour

Did a jimbo walking tour around riga¨yesterday after avoiding the rain with a mcdonalds coffee - they have had a lot of our whip money

It good a generous 5 from g budd after being interupted by schemy Russian man!!

We hit the town again last night avoiding stag do,s fairly well - G Budd went all posh packing by ordering rose wine  while the rest of us had to stick to the plastic cups of beer, Finished off with Hesburger who were not very welcoming!

Shaunie G has just finished a conversation with American dude about their burnig desire for big wild brown trout - random!

Danny is in town experiencing his first jimbotour, 2 nights down and 1 walking tour - soon to be 2 - and he is still up for it

G Budd continues to be man of the tour and could be up for some more euro disco tonight

Time to raise the troops for one more night!

Üntil tomorrow

JOD 

Just done it - from what i can remeber.

We kicked off our last day in Riga with a late start after another heaving night ending at 7 in the morning after nailing many more 60p beers and shot's. A long walking tour through the street ended with a nice beer in the park followed by a wicked lativan meal.

We headed into town for one last night to a cool bar where you pour your own beer - just pay 50p for the plastic glass. G budd got on the dance floor and didn't come off it till 4 hours later after dancing half of Riga into submission!!

Another 4am finish was rounded off with another Hessburger and 4 hours sleep before our taxi picked us up to go to the airport.

8am soon came. Me and G Budd would still be in bed now if it wasn't for John waking us up! Tough plane journey which was packed full off stags do's including a load of welsh one's who were producing the most discusting smells ever - tough journey!!

Got home and had a big blow. Was a great break. with all the travelling, walkign tours and drinking it merges into hazy memories so i'm glad we've got evidence to remember it by.

Spoke to Jimbotour veteran Stevie B earlier (remember him??) who's already planning JimboTours 2010 - keep tuned for details.

EAST

So my educated friends,

this could well be the last diary entry of 2009 - or is it?

I gotta say, i have never had such a gr8 holiday and that's says alot for the Jimbo tours trademark.

Normally G. Budd's holly bops goes like this:

Eat very little, Drink a lot, Become agitated, Get ill, Finish the holiday as an absolute wreck.

This time cos i went nautics in the Baltics -

i basically couldn't stop eating (Ross i'd would have beaten u into submission), Loved the factual based walking tours, Met some superb people out there, Went dancing for 4 hrs and felt fine, Drunk loads (and could have squeezed more in), Never felt healthier, Came back home and almost cried as i wanted to stay out there.

This is the greatest advert i can give Jimbo tours and anyone that hasn't tried one hasn't lived.

So wot did i learn?

1)  Shauny G loves Coral bookmakers (and his new gay i-phone)

2)  Johnny O'D is still the Tom Cruise of the tour (does a couple of class acts but then fades out in his latter days)

3)  Danny loves to take the same photo 3 times over and doesn't often lose a drinking game

4)  James is the best captain (Roy Keane type - always up for it and demands 110 per cent from his troops) and after this performance will be forever hailed as the Baltic King. They virtually carried him out shoulder high from Riga!

5)  And never write the English off - we aren't all beer swilling yobs and i think us lot can be proud that we tried our best to improve European relations with this part of the world. Oh and the Dutch know loads about English non league football

So in general, I'm back home, I'm hating it and I can't wait for the next Jimbo tours!

EAST

Following on from the last 2 years we have done a questionaire for our favourite and least favourite moments of the trip:

1, FAVOURITE CITY

John - Talinn

Shaun -  Talinn

Jimbo – Vilnius

Graham - Vilnius, absolute quality.

Danny - N/A



2. BEST DRINK

John - Sacu

Shaun - Saku

Jimbo –  Balsum

Graham - Any of the lagers that were 60p a pint. You can't argue with value like that. The one we had in the park on the last evening tasted soooo sweet. Definitely not the Rose - smelt like lighter fluid and tasted like gone off vinegar.

Danny - Zelta

3. BEST TOURIST ATTRACTION

John – Castle in Vilnius (if only for Shaun's moaning)

Shaun - Riga Freedom Monument... Shauny G's kind of attraction

Jimbo – Freedom Monument in Riga - Also as always Jimbo’s walking tours™ were excellent

Graham - Does shooting AK47's in the middle of nowhere, count? If not, put me down for the KGB prison. Definitely a 9 out of 10 museum. Having said that, the Jimbo walking tours were of their usual excellent standard, so they're well worth a mention as well, even if the Dutch contingent didn't think so.

Danny - The Cats House

4. WORST TOURIST ATTRACTION

John - Rat burger van in Talinn

Shaun - Souvenir shop in Riga... my oh my that bloke talked shite!

Jimbo – Irish bar in Tahlinn - closely followed by Double Coffee

Graham - Definitely the strip joint in Lithuania. I'm so glad that back door wasn't locked!

Danny - Double Coffee


5, WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU

John - Warmer clothes

Shaun - Jumper

Jimbo – Camera that was worth more than £12

Graham - A Hoodie (although I bought a classy one in Latvia)

Danny - A Jumper

6, WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU`D LEFT AT HOME

John - Sun cream - was hardly required and burst in my bag!

Shaun - Smart clothes

Jimbo – Jeans with no button - also wished I left shauns book in estonia when I had the chance 

Graham - Well I didn't really need 3 bottles of sun cream did I?

Danny- Shower Gel - It was free

7. Favourite Boozer!!

John -  Play Bar - vilnius

Shaun -  The French bar in Riga - plastic pint glasses for the Brits

Jimbo - BoBo's in Vilnius

Graham – That place - can't remember the name - on the last night in Riga, where u could pull your own pint and dance for 4 hours without upsetting the locals!

Danny -La  Belle Epoque á Riga

8, BEST SELECTION OF FRUIT (as discussed)

John - Talinn - if only because of the travelling sales person

Shaun - Talinn

Jimbo – Estonia

Graham - Fruit? Don't remember any. Unless you count the old fruit who was perving outside the nightclub in Vilnius. Those 'Apple Pie' shots were bearable though.

Sorry I get it now, stick me down for Tallinn, nay bother.

Danny - N/A- but would def get my 5 a day in Riga

9. BEST NIGHT

John - Talinn - guided tour from Hostel manager


Shaun - Talin - crazy Russians, impromptu jazz gigs & underground bars... all in a nights work for Jimbotours!

Jimbo – Night in Tahlinn which started with the crazy Russian and ended in bar with Gary Neville via cool gig

Graham -  Prboably the night of my birthday. Ended up spending most of it with Sandy and Arnaud, 2 blokes I hardly knew, in a bar, that I'd never before, drinking stuff I'd never tasted before. Totally surreal, but totally wicked!

Danny - Dont remember any of them

10. WORST NIGHT

John -  Casino in Vilnius - was cooked and done my dough

Shaun -  First night in Vilnius ... cooked after travelling to the hostel via the council estate, having a couple in Bobo's with the heating on - big sweat!

Jimbo – Friday night in Vilnius - was cooked by then 

Graham - Every night was cool, except near the end of the tour when I was starting to feel absolutely cream crackered. But after a blow and 2 Jimbo walking tours, I was fine again for the final push.

Danny - As above

11.QUOTE OF THE TOUR

John - I work 24 hours a day (or something like that from Shaun's Canadian mate)

Shaun - After the bird opened the toilet on G-Budd... "She had a Belle Vue alright!!!"

Jimbo – Monmore 3 & 4 closely followed by "a quick church is a good church"

Graham - Take your pick: Could be the Korean Gok Wan who kept saying 'East', James mentioning the 'Sperm Merchant',  Sandy's classic 'I only go for girls half my age +7 years'  or the number of times that the Blue Square Premier Division was mentioned.

Danny - 'What have you done with the real G Budd'

12. WEIRDEST PERSON WE MET

John - Scary Chelsea guys in Helsinki


Shaun - Headhunters...  random

Jimbo – Russian weirdo in Tahlinn

Graham - Either the Russian guy with the 500 euro sunglasses (expensive shades, but he wouldn't buy his own drink) in Tallinn or the strange Italian bloke that fancied James in hostel in Riga.

Danny- Quasimodo - Sweaty git from the last night

13, FUNNIEST MOMENT

John - Shaunie G getting attacked by Alco lady in Talinn after G Budd great directions

Shaun - G-Budd complete with Euro Jacket taking to the dancefloor...

Jimbo – G budd ruling the dancefloor in Riga

Graham - Watching everyone else look confused when I was directing them to airport. I didn't know where I was going either!

Danny - G Budds face after a shot of Balsam


14. FAVOURITE HOSTEL

John - Euphoria


Shaun -  Euphoria - Talin

Jimbo – Eurphoria in Tahlinn

Graham - Euphoria, Tallinn.

Danny- N/A


15. BEST FOOD

John - LIDOS, Riga


Shaun - LIDOs, Riga - the only real meal I ate all tour

Jimbo –  Zeplins in Vilnius

Graham - Zeppelins with meat (a real meat treat)

Danny - LIDOs Riga

16. WORST FOOD

John - Kebab in Vilnius (bad gut ache!)


Shaun - Rat Burger

Jimbo – Rat burger in Tahlinn

Graham - Rat Burger, no argument (Didn't even taste of rat!)

Danny - Double Coffee - Riga

17, SCARIEST MOMENT

John - Housing estate in Vilnius at midnight

Shaun - Council estate

Jimbo – Ending up in communist housing estate at midnight in Vilnius

Graham - The cab journey to the hostel, after the trip to the housing estate. I was so scared at one point I almost jumped out of the car while it was moving. I shouldn't of watched those Hostel DVD's!

Danny - Climbing up the tallest bunkbed in history - p*ssed as a fart


17, BEST SHOWER

John - Olympic Hostel - Helsinki

Shaun -Olympic - Perhaps best Jimbotours shower ever????

Jimbo – Olympic Hostel Helsinki

Graham - The Dirty Squirrel in Riga. (Toilet and Shower combo - perfect)

Danny - N/A

19. BIG QUESTION – JIMBO TOUR’s 07, 08 or 09???

John - 2008 - the football in Vienna just gives it the edge


Shaun -  2008 nicks it if only for Stevie B's tantrums with the Germans and the weather being much better...  Roll on 2010!!!

Jimbo – still 2008 for me – this year was quality but too much squeezed into 1 week and too much booze!!

Graham - 2007, unavailable for selection. 2008, was brilliant but I got really sick with DVD- itis, I mean Gastro-enteritis. So it has to be this year

Danny - N/A

Good Afternoon,

Yes its true, after having so much fun on the hugely successful Jimbo Tours, I have now decided to fly solo and branch out myself.

Just spending 5 nights in Lithuania, catch up on old times (well 4 months ago), enjoy the history and carry on sampling the excellent food and cheap bier.

Arrived in Kaunas on Weds at about 12. Was on the number 29 bus from the airport, went right  through the town centre and ended up in the arse end of nowhere (it was a bit reminiscent of our last visit here - bloody scary and no-one seemed to speak Angleterre!).

Managed to find the city via foot (a lot of walking and with no pretzels!!) Then spent over 3 hours looking for a hostel (there are only 2 in the city), couldn't find either, gave up and ended up booking into a religious guesthouse - it was about 30 quid a night :(

But my whole body was knackered and i was bored of trying to find a hostel. It is times like this that i then realise how much planning goes into a proper Jimbo Tour and that i am one of life's followers, not leaders.

Kaunas itself was pretty boring and non descript. Very few bars, about 3 casinos (i didn't go in Shaun), English at a raw premium yet the birds are different gravy - and all seem to wear knee high boots, have glasses and long hair. i dunno wot they stick in the water round there but Ilford should purchase some of it! By the way i saw just 2 women, of ethnic minority, out there and both of them were fit!

Weds nite went like this - ended up in a restaurant, ate roast pork with flank (?) - bloody tasty, got talking to some fellas at the bar (one of whom was a delivery driver in Wolverhampton) and they got me into a students nite club. They kept buying me drinks as well (and i don't think they were drugged), so it was a right result.

Thurs went to plan. Spent most of the day walking around, visited 2 musems and a presidential palace, had loads of kwaffee, got back to the guesthouse about 6 ish. Had a rest, went out, ate more food, with the odd bier and then came back early. I was conscious of the next leg of the trip, so thought i'd take it easy.

So thats it so far, arrived in Vilnius at 1pm. It took about an hour and 40 mins from Kaunas (its 100km) on the coach, some of the roads definitely need some Irish labour. Checked into a hostel about half an hour ago, seems a bit weird but its got a bar so it can't be all bad.

Anyway that's all for now, updates to follow...

EAST

So this is the second city.

Remember it well from the last time we were here in June. Much more livelier than Kaunas. Definitely more going on.

So Friday afternoon, checked into A Hostel, near the bus station. 34 Litas a night, in a dorm of 8. Not bad value, but the overall impression wasn't a good one. All the staff seemed to be over 45, the toilet/shower room always stank and the only regular in a strange looking common room, was an old bloke who used to watch films in Lithuanian - there didn't appear to be much life there.

It's a bit weird travelling around on your own, especially if u don't know the lingo. Some old fella the other day spent 5 mins talking to me in stern Russian (I had no idea what he was going on about) and all I did was nod and smile at him. For all I know, he was probably threatening to murder me! Got myself familiar with the surroundings again (and I'm afraid Shaun, that Tony Soprano has gone), I know this city better than I know Ilford now. Spent  most of the nite in Bar Bobo, got chatting to a couple of locals - an old guy Edmund, who spoke hardly any English and kept calling me a 'Strong Englishman' (i soon dispelled that theory) and a younger guy who seemed to be the Lithuanian A. Kiely (he understood me enough for a conversation and was a popular man around the ladies). Left about 1am, forgetting that to get to the hostel, was like walking through Ilford late at night.

Next day (Sat), I put Jimbo Walking Tours to shame. I must have walked for at least 6 solid hours, went in numerous churches, up and down the castle (no flip flops this time Shaun) and visited the worst Wax Works museum in the whole of Eastern Europe. Robbie Coltrane was thin, Cliff Richard looked like Elton John and John Travolta was an asian! At least Hitler looked like a Nazi! Came back, absolutely shattered, had a blow, got changed and went out for the night. It was interesting, that I met an English stag party (all in their 40's) that were from Bolton, they had travelled from Manchester Airport with Lufthansa (via Frankfurt and Tallinn), their journey took the best part of 15 hrs. Thankfully London flies direct!

But it was at this point I'd realised I'd made 2 errors, which I will remember for future tours. 1) I should have moved hostel, cos it was crap basically and there was no life or interaction there and 2) I forgot the clocks went back, meaning I had an extra hour. By the time I'd got to Prospekto Bar/Club I was so cream crackered, I could only muster it for a little bit, then went back through the dark alleys. I realise now i should have planned the whole day better, still its all experience.

And now the last day...

Boys,

Its that time of year again. Leave down your glass of red wine and cheese board - its time to hit Europe for the 4th (and best) time.

Stevie B is back on board this year and has been doing some pre-tour planning.

The plan is to go on thurs 10th of June and return the sat or sunday 19th/20th. This will be the first week of the World Cup which will play a big part in our trip.

As always i need some info of each person. So please post your answers to the following questions:

1. Are you up for it?

2. As people might not wanna go for the 8 days there's a possibilty of coming out on the sat 13th - is this you?

3. any city you want to go to?

Thats all for the moment. PLease post your message asap so planning and payment can commence

EAST