Bloody Germans

Ulan Bator

The Germans in the hostel are really getting on my nerves. They sit around all day, moaning about how ill they are, whingeing about how they just simply can't go to Thailand or Vietnam anymore because there are too many tourists, and debating which pirated DVD they want to watch. Only to complain even more when it skips halfway through and they miss 20 minutes of the movie. Last night when I came in one of them had produced some kind of musical instrument and they were all sat round singing some mind-numbingly awful German songs. For ages.

They have the nerve to moan about the buildings here as well. Admittedly this city looks rubbish, but that's hardly the point, it's pretty lively and there's lots going on and lots to do. And besides, I sense a certain pot/kettle situation undermining their constant whingeing. I've been to Germany, and all the cities there look like Middlesbrough. On a bad day. In the rain. And without anything so interesting as that swivel bridge thing. I really can't understand why they've come all this way just to act like this, surely they can just sit around and moan in Baden Baden or wherever it is they're from. And at least then they wouldn't be annoying me.

The German series of Survivor was filmed at Lake Baikal and so there were loads of them in Irkutsk too, taking up all the hotel space and generally flouncing round town, Teutonic arrogance flowing from every pore. Up to now Australians have easily been top of my most-hated travellers list, but now our German friends have quite literally barged in front of them. It's enough to drive a man to (cheap) drink.