Posts from ‘Brian's Karaoke World Tour’
Karaoke World Tour – Austria
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
It’s time to jump back on Brian’s Karaoke World Tour and for Chapter Eleven we’re off to Kirchberg in Austria. When I worked as a tour leader for Top Deck dragging drunk 18 to 30s around Europe (the stories from that became my book Rule No.5: No Sex on the Bus) the itinerary would often include a couple of nights at Club Habitat, a traditional chalet in the heart of the Austrian Tirol. The quaint old wooden chalet had squeaky floorboards, squeaky beds, squeaky stairs and squeaky doors, but it certainly wasn’t squeaky clean. Club Hab (as it was affectionately known) had possibly the most debauched karaoke night in the world. The bar itself was nothing special. It was tiny with a low ceiling and the walls were covered with framed photos of the bar in full swing. And in full swing it certainly was. Most of the photos showed large groups of girls standing in neat lines at the bar with their breasts out… (read more)
Karaoke World Tour – Thailand
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
We’re off to Thailand for Part Ten of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour and a bit of ‘Speed Karaoke’ in Chiang Mai. I was travelling around Thailand in March this year for my new book when I dragged my girlfriend Beth into a dimly lit and very empty karaoke bar in a back street of Chiang Mai. There was all of five other patrons in the bar, so the barman was very happy to see us – and sell us a drink (the pic is of all the five guests with me singing in the background). The barman handed us a thick song book then flicked to the very back. That was because there was about fifty pages… (read more)
Karaoke World Tour – Russia
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
It’s Chapter Nine of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour and this time I’m singing with the Russian Mafia. I was in Moscow after completing the Trans Mongolian train journey for my book Planes, Trains & Elephants. It was on one of my usual aimless wanderings through the streets when I spotted a very upmarket ‘Karaoke Bar’ with two very large, very menacing and very well dressed bouncers standing at the doorway. This was some exclusive karaoke bar, but that didn’t stop me going in. Even when the bouncer told me that there was a $US25 cover charge… (read more)
Karaoke World Tour – Singapore
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
I spent a couple of hours in a karaoke bar in Singapore and didn’t buy a drink. Or sing a song. But that was because one drink cost more than some Air Asia flights and I had to escape from mini-skirt wearing girls trying to pick me up before I got a chance to sing. It’s Chapter Eight of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour and although I was in Singapore doing research for my new book I couldn’t pass up a chance to add another country to my list. There was a whole line of Karaoke bars near my hotel and I picked the largest one with the biggest crowd – although the room was so dark it took my eyes a while to adjust before I could actually see the crowd. I was escorted to a table and given a drinks menu… (read more)
Karaoke World Tour – Switzerland
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
They didn’t have yodelling on the karaoke list in Switzerland, but they did have songs about asparagus and breasts. It’s Chapter Seven of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour and this time we’re off to the Swiss Alps. I know Swiss karaoke bars pretty well because I must have gone to the same karaoke bar in Wengen, Switzerland at least fifty times. I was working in a ski resort for a tour company as a ski guide and we would take the ‘clients’ up to Sina’s Bar in Wengen every single Monday night for karaoke…
Karaoke World Tour – THE WHOLE WORLD!
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
I’ve crossed the line. Yes, I do love karaoke and I do try and hunt down karaoke bars around the world, but now I’ve got karaoke on demand on my computer whenever I want and I’m well and truly hooked. I was contacted by the lovely Teresa Lang from The Karaoke Channel Online asking if they could do a blog about my Karaoke World Tour and when I checked out their website I just had to join. So, I’ve been a ‘member’ for a couple of weeks now and I can’t seem to drag myself away from the site – particularly when I should be doing work. It’s a great website with over 5,000 songs to croon along to. And, as well as singing along you can also record… (read more)
Karaoke World Tour – Philippines
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
It’s Chapter Six of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour and this time I’m in the Philippines. I was in Manila ‘couch surfing’ for my book Sleeping Around when my host suggested that we do what all good Filipinos do. Go to karaoke. We went to a small karaoke bar and when I told Jude that I was going to sing ‘My Way’ he said, ‘You can’t sing that. You’ll get killed!’ Only the week before a man had been shot dead in a karaoke bar for singing My Way. He was halfway through the song when the bar’s security guard yelled at him for singing out of tune. He ignored him and kept singing, so the guard pulled out a thirty-eight-calibre pistol and shot him dead…
Karaoke World Tour – England
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
We’re off to England for Part Five of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour and the most visited place in all of England – Blackpool. In fact, with 120 000 holiday beds, Blackpool has more tourist beds than the whole of Portugal. What is even more amazing (and frightening) is that Blackpool attracts 11 million visitors annually, which is more than twice the number of people that visit Australia every year. And as a draw for tourists, nothing comes close to Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach (an amusement park)… (read more)
Karaoke World Tour – Sweden
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
In Part Four of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour we’re off to Sweden. And Finland. Well, it’s actually in the middle of the two on the overnight Stockholm to Turku ferry (this was part of my ‘Ferry’ chapter for my book Planes, Trains & Elephants). I was leading a group of Hong Kong Chinese on a Russia/Scandinavia tour for tour company Top Deck and my passengers were very, very excited because there was an all-you-can-eat buffet followed by karaoke. I both love and loathe buffets. I love them because you have so much food to choose from, and I loathe them because you have so much food to choose from… (read more)
Karaoke World Tour – Kyrgyzstan
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
Not much to talk about this week, so due to popular demand, here is Part Three of Brian’s Karaoke World Tour. I was in Kyrgyzstan as part of the research for my book Where’s Wallis?and on my final night I hit the streets of the capital Bishkek in search of karaoke (as any good travel writer would!). It was there that I found most of the young cool set of Bishkek loitering on the footpaths of the main drag Chuy Prospektisi. Kids loiter on city streets at night in every city in the world, but these kids had a better reason to hang about than most. Every twenty metres or so… (read more)