How on earth do you cover one billion people and more than five thousand years of history in one short article? I am afraid I won't be able to answer that question in regard to writing something about India. I can do no more than give you my week's worth of roaming about in northern India, a country which I found as diverse as it is huge and old. Just to get primed for the speed at which life proceeds in much of this country, our train to … [Read more...]
Maun, Botswana
I remember looking out my window on the night flight from Europe to South Africa and seeing nothing but black below. No city lights for hours. Not until the next morning when the plane was over South Africa, were any signs of civilization present. On that flight I tried to imagine what it would be like to actually be in one of those areas that seemed so dark from above. Well, we finally entered this part of Africa when we crossed the "veterinary … [Read more...]
Australian Sport, raising spirits in a remote East African Village
Sport always has an uncanny knack of triumphing over adversity. In a time when security fears and politics are threatening to encroach on our lifestyles, Australians in particular are continuing to ensure that sport remains distinct from such threats. Most recently for example, our Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has spoken out in favor of touring Zimbabwe, despite Government pressure not to tour for political reasons. Such a decision … [Read more...]
Backpackers and Billionaires
It used to be that backpacking trips to Fiji involved a bus ride from Nadi to Suva, then a ferry to somewhere like Ovalau, Savusavu, Taveuni or Kadavu. No more. These days young budget travelers are lining up to go to the Yasawa Islands, a chain of 16 large volcanic islands and dozens of smaller ones roughly 35 km off the west coast of Viti Levu. The dazzling white beaches, clear warm waters, colorful coral reefs, and sunny dry climate make … [Read more...]
Return to Ouvea
"Ouvea is everything you'd expect in a South Pacific island. Twenty kilometers of unbroken white sands border the lagoon on the west side of the island and extend far out from shore to give the water a turquoise hue. The wide western lagoon, protected by a string of coral islands and a barrier reef, is the only one of its kind in the Loyalties. On the ocean side are rocky cliffs, pounded by surf, but fine beaches may be found even here. At one … [Read more...]
Let your Vacation Bloom in Amsterdam!
Ah yes, Amsterdam - the city of tulips, the city of blooming festivals of color and fragrance in the springtime. However, when you travel to Amsterdam, you'll also find a teeming center of finance and culture, rivaling other European capitals. Begun as a tiny fishing village about 1200 AD, Amsterdam has grown into the capital of the Netherlands, the country that is still, today, called "Holland" by many tourists unfamiliar with the fact that … [Read more...]
Palma
Summer time brings a Philippe Starck-designed hotel bringing Palma's Old Town back into the limelight. The capital of the Spanish island of Majorca it now overshadows the beach resorts. Palma ranks among most sought-after European weekend destinations partly due to the affordable renaissance flights from Europe. Palma's resurgence is credited to the revival of the historic center with cobbled streets, stone palaces, quaint plazas and Gothic … [Read more...]
Kodaikanal Vacation, India
Hai! My name is Vijay and I live in Chennai. Chennai, though a very pleasant city in many other ways, gets intolerably hot in summer. This year, Chennai recorded the second highest temperature in two years! We were melting in our clothes. This is why, we shouted with joy when my father told us he was taking to Kodaikanal (a hill station) for a leisurely summer vacation. Our father booked the tickets through the Internet, for our railway … [Read more...]
India on the Rails
If life is a journey than, in India at least, it chugs along on two parallel steel lines, the railways. No reference here to the local trains of Mumbai, India's commercial capital, where citizens spend a substantial portion of their waking hours commuting increasing distances within ever expanding city-limits. This one is grand - a vast rail network criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country, spanning over plains and rivers, through … [Read more...]
Three days in Laos
Day 1 Greetings all from the heart of Laos! I'm writing from Vang Vieng, sort of a Gimmelwald of Laos... in other words the Laotian version of the Swiss Alps. I walk out of my hotel room onto a balcony that faces the most ethereal, exotic scene! Mountains in the shape of fingers and hands and what not jet up towards the sky, covered by foliage, and below lie palm trees, the village, and the river. Laos is the 10th poorest country in the … [Read more...]
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