Reluctantly we left Varanasi despite the naked people sitting in the dirty streets, the unbelievable amount of cow poop clogging the narrow streets, the CONSTANT power outages, the smelly garbage everywhere, the people urinating and defecating in open view along some of the ghats, terrible pollution, large bellied obviously malnourished children, incredible poverty, CONSTANT badgering and aggressive pan handling by the touts and "guides" (worst … [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...]
Relaxing in Ubud, Bali
Recently we were in Bali for a week. We spent most of our time in the Ubud area and this article focuses on area attractions and information regarding this region. The closest International Airport is in Denpasar which is about 1 hour and 20 minutes from the town of Ubud. From the airport the cheapest way to get to Ubud is to take a taxi to the bus station in Legion/Kuta and from the station, a bus to the bus station in Ubud. Note that … [Read more...]
Greetings from Yemen & Notes from Oman
What a remote, interesting, economically poor (despite sitting on huge undeveloped oil reserves), culturally rich country. We left the Indian influence far behind in Oman in as India's great influence all over this part of the world hasn't quite made it to this part of Northern Yemen. The food here is much better than the food we dis-joyed in Oman. Typical scene - we walk into any one of numerous restaurants - US: "what type of food do you have" … [Read more...]
Penang Malaysia, Exit 161
As you cruise down the main north south freeway in Malaysia take exit 161. This will lead you across the 12km bridge connecting the island of Penang to the mainland. Penang, Malaysia is a fast growing city; the new very tall apartment complexes that seem to sprout everywhere from its shores are testament to this. Part of the island is a "free trade zone" and many International businesses are located here including Aigilent, Dell, Bosch and more. … [Read more...]
Varanasi, India – January 2008
Varanasi India is one of the Hindu's most holiest cities and is located on the banks of the great Ganges River. This can be a chaotic city at times from the cows blocking the narrow streets, to hundreds of bicycle rickshaw drivers all jostling to get by. This is the only place we've ever seen naked people sitting in the street totally being ignored by passer bys. Bathing and cremation "ghats" are located along the river - essentially these … [Read more...]
The Fire Temples of Darius
Just down the street from where the Ayatollah Khomeini's simple house stands in a leafy northern suburb of Tehran, someone had scrawled the following on a wall: 'America: there is not a damn thing you can do!' It was spray painted in English. Elsewhere, I spotted large murals depicting skulls on the American flag with the words "Down with the USA!" across it. Also in English. None of this came as a shock to me; in fact I expected to see such … [Read more...]
Macleod Ganj, Northern India – November 2007
Macleod Ganj Northern India - Macleod Ganj is located in the Himachal Pradesh state of Northern India at the base of the Indian Himalayas. This is truly an International back packer haven as people from all over the world come here. The Dali Lami lives here in exile from Tibet and there is a real Tibetan feel to this town. But the one thing that truly dominates Macleod Ganj are the massive towering Himalayas. From the town streets you have to … [Read more...]
Golden Temple, Amritsar India – October 2007
Golden Temple Amritsar India - The incredible Golden Temple is located in North West India minutes from the Pakistan border. This beautifully constructed temple, courtyard, buildings and huge pool is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Northern India. It is a spiritual haven and is the most holiest shrine and pilgrimage site for the Sikh religion. Hundreds and hundreds of people visit this every day - most colorfully dressed and … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- Next Page »