The first video was shot in Varanasi, a Hindu Holy city situated along the Ganges in UP province. It was taken during the 7pm Arti festival which celebrates the life-giving river. You can see the production that’s put on and the crowd it attracts. [HTML1] ——————————————– The second video was shot (somewhat illegally) inside the […]
(Guess I better hurry up and finish my Vietnam posts since I will soon be heading to India and then will be recounting stories from there.) Looking at a map of Asia you will notice a decent-sized land border between China and Vietnam. Many backpackers through Asia take advantage of this and go overland from […]
Here are a few notes on northern Vietnam, namely Sapa (Lao Cai), Hanoi, & Halong Bay. Halong Bay We really enjoyed our 3day/2night tour of Halong Bay with Bai Tu Long Bay company. We wanted to get out of the well-known and therefore crowded Halong Bay, so we chose the less famous Bai Tu Long […]
(Since my blog just ate the nice post I had written up about this and I don’t have the patience to rewrite it, I’m just going to give the links.) Domestic Flight ticket search aggregator – Qunar International Flight ticket search aggregator – Momondo Cheapest China domestic airline – China Spring Airlines Cheapest China – […]
Despite my doubts whether Beijing would pull off a successful Olympics and the controversy over free press, human rights, the Opening Ceremony, and other issues, in my opinion, China hosted an amazing Olympics. The skies were blue, there were large tracks of greenery, the Olympic Green was very attractive, traffic was not a problem, the […]
The Beijing 2008 Olympics will start in 4 days!! As of this morning, my plane tickets to Beijing are bought and in hand! I have a place to stay and the promise of Olympics Games’ tickets. Beijing Olympics, here I come!!! I’ll be in Beijing from the evening of August 14th to the morning of […]
On more than one occasion I’ve been asked: “How do I get from the airport into downtown Shanghai?” While a simple Google search reveals ample suggestions, I will list the options for traveling from the airport to Shanghai and point to my preferred method (taxi). From Pudong International Airport 1) The Best Way — Take […]
In the past 3months, I have eaten more bread than I have in years. I started out in Chile and Argentina, 2countries that eat a lot of bread, meat, and cheese. Then I went on to Egypt and Jordan both of which eat a lot pita bread with cheese. Then on to East Africa where […]
Nairobi, Kenya Getting off the plane in Nairobi (yes, I know, I’ll get to Tanzania in a bit) we were greeted with just perfect weather–Egypt and Jordan were too cold, Zanzibar was just a little too hot and humid, but the temperature in Nairobi was perfect. We had a very pleasant flight experience with Kenya […]
Visas-on-Arrival at Dar Es Salaam Airport When Andrew and I arrived at Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) airport, the first thing we had to do was get visas (on arrival). A visa agent helped us through filling out the forms, etc. All-in-all it was a very quick and painless process, except for handing over the US$100. […]
Hotel Voucher My flight schedule on Qatar Airways had me flying from Amman, Jordan to Doha, Qatar (Qatar Airways’ hub), a layover there for 13hours, and then on to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Having read online other people’s uncertainty as to their long layovers in Qatar, I called the Qatar Airways office in the US […]
Leaving Petra, we drove along the King’s Highway north through Jordan to Karak Castle, an old fort used by the Crusaders to recapture the Holy Land during the Middle Ages. It was a strategic location as the castle was probably only about 80km from Jerusalem. After Karak Castle, we saw Lot’s wife. This biblical story […]
Arriving off the Red Sea ferry in Aqaba, Jordan was rather uncoordinated and somewhat chaotic. There was a question of whether to get a group visa, which is free, or individual visas. The caveat of a group visa is that the group must go to Petra, which we were, and must hire horses there, which […]
Another early morning start had us passing the Suez Canal in the morning and to the middle of the Sinai peninsula by lunch time. In the afternoon we were climbing Mount Sinai. Being the masochist that I am, I opted for the 3,750 Steps of Repentance. Actually, it wasn’t that bad. In fact if its […]