Exotic locations
November 16th, 2009 at 04:11pm
Under Attractions+ Exotic locations
There’s a story on CNN about a golf course owner in Afghanistan, Mohammed Afzal Abdul. The course isn’t a new one (who would be that crazy?), but the tenacity of this man in the face of repeated devastation (and arrest) at the hands, first of Russian troops who used the course as a base and drove tanks over all the greens, followed by Taliban forces who blew up the club house because it served alcohol, is incredible.
Now the grass is gone, replaced by sand stained gray with oil to keep it in place, and visitors are few in comparison to the glory days when foreign diplomats would come to play a round or two before retiring to the 19th hole for a well-deserved drink.
Although the course is on the outskirts of Kabul, I don’t recommend a visit, at least not for the forseeable future, as the road is frequently targeted by bandits looking to rob or kidnap those who pass by. But if you leave it for a couple of decades, perhaps you’ll have the chance to visit Mr Abdul’s course and meet in person a man who epitomizes the Afghani attitude to adversity.
Technorati Tags: kabul golf course
By admin
November 13th, 2009 at 05:49pm
Under Exotic locations+ travel news
The World Travel Market is a week-long premier event for the tourism industry as a whole, where there are many stands extolling the virtues of destinations around the world, as well as travel operators.
The World Tourism Awards are also announced each year. This year the three winners are Tourism Cares, Gap Adventures and Cyrene in Libya, all of whom are commended for their commitment to sustainable tourism and preservation of the cultural heritage.
Iraq’s representative at WTM, Mr Hammoud al-Yaqoubi, the chairman of the Iraq tourism board, says he does not expect a flood of tourists next year, but said, “We want to prove that Iraq still exists and maybe we can change people’s minds about it,” adding that he sees tourism as a way to regenerate Iraq.
In the 1970s, before the first Gulf War, Iraq was a popular exotic tourist destination, and even today, there are specialist travel operators who offer Iraq tours, even though the Foreign Office is advising against traveling to Iraq for the time being.
Inside Iraq are many names familiar from bible study: Ur, Babylon and the Garden of Eden are all to be found, as well as Samarra (from “Appointment in Samarra”) and many other beautiful places which have survived decades of war. It will be a huge step forward when tourism finally returns to Iraq, and I hope that day is not too far in the future.
Lots more interesting pictures of Iraqi landmarks are to be found in the article by BBC News.
Technorati Tags: garden of eden, iraq tourism
By admin
October 23rd, 2009 at 01:34pm
Under Exotic locations+ family vacations
Greece is steeped in ancient history, and the archipelago of Santorini is no exception. The site of Akrotiri is still being excavated, revealing the lives of the inhabitants of this once great trading center of the ancient world.
A feature of the area is the different colored beaches: the red beach, the white beach, the black beach and so on. The water which laps against the darker colored beaches is apparently significantly warmer than on the lighter ones, because dark colors hold the heat while white and other pale colors reflect it.
The buildings are almost uniformly white in color, for the same reason. Temperatures in the area range from 25-32ºC (77-90ºF) in the summer months of June to September, and rarely fall below 10ºC (50ºF) even in the coldest months of the year.
If you are interested in the legends of Atlantis, Santorini is one of the most likely origins of the story. There was a huge volcanic eruption here around 1500 BCE, destroying the city of Thera and possibly causing a tsunami which devastated the island of Crete, leaving the Minoan civilization in tatters.
Santorini is served by Santorini (Thira) National Airport. Flights are available from Athens and Oslo all year round, and other places during the holiday season.
Technorati Tags: greece vacation, santorini vacation
By admin
August 27th, 2009 at 10:57pm
Under Adventure+ Exotic locations
People lured to stay in the UK by talk of a ‘barbecue summer’ this year may now be ruingtheir decision and considering a winter holiday instead. The Adventure Company has some fantastic winter trip ideas to suit all budgets and requirements.
“Winter is a great time to travel since most people will have extra time off work and school,” comments marketing manager James Ingham. “We would recommend booking early, however, since flight demand around Christmas is high and prices sky rocket on last minute bookings.”
Below is a small selection of affordable winter holidays with The Adventure Company.
Best for snow lovers: High Peaks Snowshoeing in Bulgaria
For one of the best value winter trips, head to the snowy mountains of Bulgaria for a winter trekking holiday – on snowshoes. This week-long adventure explores the dramatic snow-clad forests, peaks and valleys of the Rila Mountains. Daily hikes of four to five hours take walkers to sights including the 70m Skakavitza waterfall, which is often frozen solid in the winter; the historic Rila monastery; Mount Maliovitza; and the celebrated Seven Lakes area.
Departures are available between December and March with prices starting from £569 plus €125 per person local payment. Prices include flights, transportation, accommodation, activities as per the itinerary, the services of a local guide, plus most meals (seven breakfasts, five lunches and six dinners).
For full trip details, see High Peaks Snowshoeing in Bulgaria
For travellers wanting a family winter adventure, head to the Rhodope Mountains on the Bulgarian Winter Experience, to enjoy cross country skiing, snowshoeing animal tracking and star gazing
Best for sun-seekers: Felucca Adventure in Egypt
Egypt is one of the closest destinations to the UK for winter sun, also offering great value on the ground. A two-day Felucca cruise along the Nile is one of the trip’s highlights, with train, horse-drawn carriage and donkeys being amongst the other forms of transport use, all helping immerse travellers in to the Egyptian way of life. The 10-day trip includes all of Egypt’s iconic sights, including the pyramids, the Sphinx, Aswan, the Valley of the Kings, the temples at Luxor, plus Cairo, where there is free time to explore and test haggling skills at the bazaars.
Winter departures for the Felucca Adventure start from £749 plus £75 local payment per person. Prices include flights, transportation, accommodation, activities as per the itinerary, the services of a local guide, plus some meals (nine breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners).
For full trip details, see Felucca Adventure in Egypt
A family version of this trip, Feluccas and Pharaohs, is also available
Best for culture vultures: Salsa Cubana in Cuba
Latin America meets the Caribbean in Cuba and this trip combines fascinating culture and history with stunning scenery and tropical beaches. With warm temperatures on hand to cheer up your winter blues, Cuba is the perfect destination if you wish to escape the winter weather in the UK. The adventure starts in Havana with classic American cars, echoes of Hemingway and the sound of salsa beats drifting in the streets. Elsewhere on the 16-day trip, travellers will walk through the tobacco fields of Viñales, explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Trinidad, visit colonial towns and relax on the beaches at Baracoa.
Salsa Cubana is available year-round but December to April are good months to travel – after the hurricane season and before the scorching summer. Prices for this winter start from £1,499 plus £155 local payment per person. Prices include flights, transportation, B&B accommodation, activities as per the itinerary and the services of a local guide.
For full trip details, see Salsa Cubana in Cuba
Families can enjoy a slightly more condensed tour on the Viva Cuba! trip
Technorati Tags: aswan, bulgaria holiday, bulgaria winter holiday, cairo holiday, cuba holiday, egypt holiday, egyptian pyramids, felucca cruise, mount maliovitza, nile cruise, rhodope mountains, rila monastery, rila mountains, seven lakes, skakavitza waterfall, the balley of the kings, the sphinx, the temples at luxor, winter adventure holidays
By admin
March 4th, 2009 at 07:42pm
Under Exotic locations
Mongolia – At The Edge Of The World – Fascinating And Wild
Oelgiy is a sleepy provincial capital at the farthest west of Mongolia – a vast country which has only 2.9 million inhabitants. It’s 1800 km away from the real capital, Ulan Bator, and somewhat cut off through the fantastic Altai mountain chain.
So Oelgiy is populated mostly by kasac nomads, who came here 140 years ago in search of new grassland for their herds. And it’s amazing how people are clinging to their tradition. Although most people in Oelgiy are now living in stone houses, they like to put up their yurts in the courtyard in summer – or they move to the outskirts of the city with them.
In one of the distant outskirts of Oelgiy lives Aidos Schabdanuly with wife and daughters on 25m2 in his “Ger”- (yurt). Inside this small space, beds and all household articles are well organized and a small stove fed with dried cow-dung makes the cool evenings cosy and warm (never mind the stink – I suppose they are used to it).But the modern nomad household sports a solar power station plus a satellite antenna for TV channels from all over the world.
While the daughters are sending one SMS after another – like all teenagers seem to do these days – their father sits in the entrance and gazes into the distance. He is worried – as in socialistic times you knew you could get a small pension when you grew old, today – you don’t even find the meanest jobs. Those are only to be found in the city – 5 days of journey away.And higher education for the girls is just too expensive…; but there is hope, as more and more tourists are using Oelgiy as their starting point for trekking and jeep tours through the wilderness of the Mongolian west. They buy food stocks and petrol, before they start off into the wilderness completely devoid of human life.
We squash into an old UAZ jeep and target Altan Z”gz, around 100km distance from Oelgiy. In Summer, this is the favourite “party” place for many nomad families where they gather to celebrate the Mongolian Naadam Festival. On the 3 hour drive we go through broad valleys of the high mountain region with glaciers on top – a spectacular view – past wild rivers. Now and then we see some yurts standing in the middle of nowhere. No vegetation covers the mountains – a strange sight for someone coming from the European Alps. Grass in the valley is nice and green and the air smells just great, crisp and clean.
At the Naadam festival, horse riding and wrestling are the main disciplines. Since there are no weight classes – like in boxing or wrestling sports here, the winner is obvious: it’s the one with the most fat – or the heaviest, anyway. It is a nice sport and a lot of fun – for us – but naturally, the locals take this deadly serious. The riding competition is spectacular – but you can hardly see much for all the dust.
We get a good explanation for this, too: “We are dependent on the extremes of nature here. All we do is try to enlarge our herds of yaks, sheep, goats, horses and camels.” And it’s not an easy life. The older ones clearly understand why many of the young ones go to the city in search of luck, or are leaving Kasakhstan altogether.
But many of them come back again, too. They are homesick for the wilderness and the freedom of life here. “We nomads, we need our freedom!”
Our friend from Moscow, with whom we have made this trip, had actually planned a guided tour into the Altai mountains with us, from one nomad place to the other, where we would sleep in “guest” yurts, which are somehow adapted to Western tourists – with a broad bed, a settee and a washbasin, (I did not enquire the toilet question) and there is even something like a yurt restaurant, where they serve a kind of goulash made of horsemeat, which you eat with your hands. This comes with Kumys – or salted and buttered tea with milk – great when you are thirsty – and we would have made the entire trip on horseback together with our guides and some extra horses for the luggage.
Unfortunately, I had a bad car crash the previous year with lots of broken bones and would not be fit enough for such an adventure. But – having come here for this mini-excursion, I can see how lovely this would have been. And fancy how much weight I would have lost – with all the excersice and the kind of food, where you only eat just enough so as to not to die of starvation – just like you always should in normal life!
Well, there’s always another time! And since Kasakh people are extremely supersticious, they dip their finger into every drink they take, and flick it in all 4 directions of the sky to the Gods, in order to thank them for their gift. An old woman read in the tea-leaves in her cup that I’ll return – for sure! Some ghosts are sure good for business….she told me some other things that were rather eerie, but this is indeed a travel secret I shall not reveal here!
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to read many more eerie travel secrets on the authors blog: http:www.eerietravelsecrets.com where you’ll also find out how to save 85% on luxury travel resorts and up to 67% on international flights.
Technorati Tags: adventure luxury travel, eco tour, eerie travel secrets, global resorts network, GRN, historic trips, historical trips, historical vacation, horseback riding in Mongolia, life of the mongolian nomads, make money online, make money travelling, mountain tour in Altai mountains, Western Mongolia
By SK
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