Halki Visiting Forum

 

Anyone that has visited multiple Greek islands will struggle to say exactly which island is their favourite. Every island has its own quirks and charms that appeal to different people making it difficult to pick one over another. Obviously, if you have only ever visited one island then there is no contest!

In my case I really couldn't make a definitive choice of favourite but would prefer to list my top choices in no particular order. These would be Lipsi, Halki, Tilos, Paxos and Alonissos. All different experiences (and I didn't even get to Ithaca in that list).

Given that Halki (often written as Chalki) was in that top five and that I have visited it more times than any other island I was delighted to take over as Administrator of Halki Visiting - the online forum dedicated to the island earlier this year.

First some history. There was once an English language newspaper published on the island called Halki Visitor and they also had an online forum with the same name (I used to look at it). In 2008 they closed down much to many peoples disappointment. One enterprising forum member Liz took action and founded a replacement with the slightly altered name of Halki Visiting. Many members of the old forum migrated over and the new version thrived with discussion, questions and reviews.

Fast forward to 2026 and the forum had slowed right down to the extent that Liz announced it was closing down unless someone else wanted to take it on (which I certainly did!). I was convinced that the forum had a role to play in providing information and knowledge about the island and in addition had an eighteen years history of posts documenting events on the island which deserved to be retained.

The elephant in the room, of course, is Facebook. It's easy to just post up photos from your trip and many do - the harbour/ferry/lunch/castle/cat/cocktail are all there. The forum doesn't host images (you have to link to somewhere else your photo is hosted). Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against FB and am a member of all the main Halki groups. I see the forum as totally complimentary not competition to Facebook with a place for both.

Where the forum scores is having separate categories (Beaches/Tavernas/Transport/Reviews etc) where you can easily find the information you want. It also enables lengthy posts such as Trip Reviews which don't lend themselves to the FB format. There is also a Search option for finding what you are interested in.

Tempted? Have a look, read, enjoy, sign up, post. The more people that become involved the better the forum will get. Anyone that loves Greek islands is welcome and I hope to see you there!

Halki Visiting Forum

Laskarina Merchandise

 As well as the Laskarina shopping bag mentioned in my previous post clients also received a very handy travel wallet to keep your airline tickets in. These certainly proved very durable as mine still goes with me now. Passport and GHIC in the secure zip up part and travel itinerary and boarding passes in the larger slot at the rear. If anyone still covets one Ian Hogg (Nissia Holidays rep on Tilos) told me a year or two back that he still has some at a price (money goes to a cat charity).

You could also purchase some branded items from Laskarina such as a water bottle carrier. I saw someone on the beach at Livadia with one a few years back. I cannot remember what else you could buy! For a long time you could spot the odd sun umbrella - presumably at their former properties but I haven't seen one now for years.

Anyone else still using anything from those days? Have you spotted anything out and about? 

Laskarina Lost (Twenty Years On)

 October 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of the sad demise of Laskarina Holidays which announced it's impending closure in October 2006 with operations finally ceasing the following month once the last clients had completed their travels.

Founded in 1976 by Ian and Kate Murdoch the company was based in Wirksworth, Derbyshire but had moved to Bolney, West Sussex by the time of the closure. The Murdochs had a great love of Greek islands and named the company after Laskarina Bouboulina a renowned heroine and navy commander who fought in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in the 1820s.

Laskarina prided themselves on a very personal service with guests being welcomed to their accommodation with a reusable linen goody bag filled with arrival essentials such as bread and jam, tea and coffee and a very welcome bottle of wine. The bag could then be used for shopping during your stay - saving on the use of plastic carrier bags. A rep was always based on the island (at least in my experience) and would hold a welcome meeting the day after arrival to provide a mine of information about the island and to give details of an organised trip/picnic as an optional extra.

They did have a web site (though, as I recall, you couldn't actually book your holiday online) but they did have a forum Laska Chat which was full of useful information. One of the moderators had the unusual name of Daffy (who I assume was none other than Triantafyllos Psaras (known as Daffy) now of Nissia Holidays. I think I did ask a few questions on the forum - using painfully slow dial up internet.

I personally went on three Laskarina holidays Lipsi, Halki and Tilos and was considering where to choose next from their extremely tempting brochure when news of the closure came through. Press reports at the time cited the rise of internet bookings and budget airlines as the reason for closure. It was feared that a small loss in 2006 could become a bigger loss in 2007 and Ian Murdoch was quoted as saying that it was better to close down whilst still able to pay everyone. The sad death of Kate Murdoch in 2005 was said not to be a factor in the closure decision.

Could Laskarina have survived? Other holiday companies have adapted to the rise of the internet and budget flights. Greek island specialists such as Nissia, Olympic and Sunvil continue to offer the magic of the islands twenty years later. We will never know now.

What memories do you have of Laskarina? Did they make the right decision to close while still solvent? Could they have adapted to new technology whilst still keeping their personal service intact?

Culinary Confusions

When I first started going on holiday with my former partner she would get annoyed when I pointed to the menu when ordering drinks or food (to be fair, she got annoyed at quite a few things) but she did manage to convince me that this wasn't a polite thing to do as it implied that the server didn't know their own menu or wouldn't understand someone ordering in an English accent. So, duly convinced, I dropped the habit and things (mostly) worked out well. However there have been a few memorable exceptions.

Like when heading to a Roman amphitheatre for a performance of Oedipus Rex performed by a Korean troupe (in Korean) which, possibly, would make quite a few want to put their own eyes out but actually turned out to be quite dramatic. What better way to start the evening than a tequila based Margarita cocktail? Remember, no pointing involved, so what we got were two ice cream sundaes. Could have been Margherita pizzas I suppose (but they're coming up next). 

Like at one of our favourite beach front tavernas when we ordered Greek salad and delicious hot chips (I rarely eat chips at home but always enjoy them in Greece). The salads were fine but the longed for chips (still no pointing) arrived as a bowl of shrimps. Just what two vegetarians hadn't ordered. It was made worse by our feeling these were probably quite an expensive item on the menu. We felt a bit awkward about going back there for a few days but decided that we liked the place and we liked the food so went back for lunch. We ordered Margherita pizzas (said they were coming up). Sadly, that's exactly what didn't come up and we were presented with Pepperoni pizzas instead. After the shrimp incident we just felt we couldn't send them back so did the only thing we could which was to fork off every piece of Pepperoni and put it to the side. Quite what they made of that in the kitchen I can only imagine.

Another island, another lunch (and still no pointing). Cheese omelette and (you guessed right) a portion of chips. A few minutes passed and the charming young woman came back to ask if I wanted the chips with my omelette to which I said yes ( I didn't want them as separate courses). My omelette duly arrived and I waited for my chips but eventually started to eat only to discover that the chips were inside the omelette. Clearly, the word "with" had been taken in quite a different way (and no amount of pointing would have helped here). Not a dish I can recommend in case you were thinking of trying it! 

What do you think - is pointing at the menu impolite? I now think it is and don't do it anymore. 

What are your own culinary confusions, food fails, dining disasters? Please keep it confined to Greece ( no I got sea slug instead of snake stories thank you) and above all please do not identify individuals, taverna names or locations -just keep it generalised.

Remember it's not them, it's you (probably).

Christmas 2020:

At the end of a strange and unexpected year, wishing everyone the best Christmas possible and a much better 2021. Stay safe. Regards, David.