Spent the afternoon swimming and sailing languidly on the Nile River along its western bank just up river from Luxor. Fellucas (wooden boats with one large sail and no boom) dot the shoreline on both sides of the river in Felluca. As a result competition is stiff for tourist dollars and like anything else we've tried to buy you can really bargain down the price. We ended up at 30 Egyptian pounds for a several hour sailboat ride after the price … [Read more...]
Notes from Dave’s India Journal
Here in India, where there is land there are people. Where there are people there is trash. Where there is trash there are cows. Where there are cows there is cow shit. Where there is cow shit there are people collecting the shit and making cow pies. Such is the state of the outskirts of Agra. We drove through fields where we saw many cow pies drying in the sun today on our way to an old Mughal city of Fatehpur Sikri 40 clicks from Agra. … [Read more...]
Turkey Welcomes You
"Turkish hospitality is impossible to ignore", proclaims the in-flight magazine as I fly to Bodrum. You can't miss it when you set foot in the airport: the welcome visa costs $20. By the exit, the passengers are greeted by a forest of A4 sheets with the names of the people to take to the hotel. It is nice to go to an unknown place, and find somebody waiting for you and calling you by name: in this case, Turkish hospitality will set you back $40. … [Read more...]
Acapulco: Litterly the Mother of all Mexican Resorts
I was walking on the Costera Miguel Alemn, Acapulco's main thoroughfare, with a colleague who had last visited the city in the early 1960s when he remarked, "I can't believe how Acapulco now looks! When I was last here all I remember is the grit, annoying peddlers, polluted beaches and unsafe streets. Look at it now!" He continued, "Now what some travellers once described as 'a dazzling resort spreading on the green towering Sierra Madre del … [Read more...]
Wadi’s, Deserts, Ocean, Arabic Hospitality – Enjoying Oman
The following is taken from Dave's Journal regarding his time in Oman in which he covered parts of Muscat, several Wadi's including Tiwi, the fort town of Nizwa, the main north south highway, and many areas within several hours driving of Salalah in the south. We have driven over 2000 miles so far! I must say that Oman is TRULY THE PINNACLE of off roading! With its huge, steep, rocky, remote wadis, large sand dunes, and tracks anywhere you … [Read more...]
Dhaka, Bangladesh
If you are looking for a country that often many westerner's cannot even identify its location on a map, a place where foreigners are generally treated with care and respect, a country that has not been polluted with tourism, the "land of smiles" and a country where you will rarely see foreign tourists, then consider a trip to Bangladesh. However note that tourism can be difficult for independent travelers. Airfare is generally fairly … [Read more...]
Iran; the most misunderstood country of the world!
Over the years when talking to a foreign tourist who has come to my motherland for the very first time I've gotten used to hearing expressions such as "wow! I see you have restaurants in Iran!", or "Believe me Iran was not what I'd thought", "I never thought you had such a beautiful country" and so on. For the global public opinions and the mass majority who do not have any particular way of knowing a distant land rather than relying on the … [Read more...]
Exploring Turkey’s South West Coast
Turkey is one of the world’s most popular destinations for tourists, and it’s easy to understand why. The year round sunshine and balmy climes while its European neighbours are battling the biting cold is just one. But the warmth doesn’t just come from the sun; it is also exuded from the Turkish people, who are some of the friendliest and most hospitable people on the planet. From the Blue Mosque and spice bazaar in Istanbul to the Ottoman … [Read more...]
Exploring Havana: Queen of the Caribbean
To fully discover Havana both old and new, we decided to explore the city in two stages. In the morning, we would explore the new part by auto and in the afternoon roam through the old section by foot. I had visited Havana numerous times before, but I had not truly discovered the city. This time it was to be different. We began our exploration of Havana by car in the Miramar district, with its foreign embassies and plush hotels, in the new … [Read more...]
ALO’s guide to Morocco, Outpost of the Middle East
"Sure," I said, waving goodbye. I hadn't the heart to remind her that the film was shot on a Hollywood sound stage in the 1940s and that Rick's Cafe opened in Casablanca only three years ago. Nine short miles across the Straits of Gibraltar from the Southern Coast of Spain, Morocco, the world's westernmost Arab country, looks both ways'to its ancient roots in the Middle East and north to its European neighbors. Long an outpost of the Roman … [Read more...]
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