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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
Aug 28, 2009 02:00 PM Two million visitors... and counting
This morning, I noticed that I got just over 2 million visitors... And yet again I missed the moment the clock turned to the magical figure of 2,000,000. I must have been just a few minutes late! I did not think it would grow this fast. I think I only passed one million a few months ago... Then, it happened in the middle of the night. This time round, I have no excuse - it might have been just after 11:30 am - on Saturday!
Well, I guess I will have to be more vigilant when the number grows to 3,000,000. :)
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Aug 17, 2009 02:00 PM A draft itinerary for Tunisia. Feedback welcome!
Considering a trip to Tunisia ever more seriously, I drafted an itinerary (and a first stab at a budget, too), to see what I could fit into this trip, as far as sights and transfers are concerned.
Now, I am speculating that I could depart on Thursday, Christmas Eve, in the evening, which would bring me in Tunis on Friday, ridiculously early in the morning.
25-12 Tunis
26-12 Tunis to Sousse by train, and then to Kairouan by coach
27-12 Kairouan to El Jem by coach, then to Sfax by train
28-12 Sfax to Tataouine by coach
29-12 Ksar Hadada, Ksar Ouled Soltana, Madenine by taxi charter
30-12 Tataouine to Gabes by coach, then on to Matmata & Douz
31-12 Douz to Tozeur by coach - and NEW YEAR Party
01-01 Tozeur
02-01 Tozeur to Le Kef by coach
03-01 Le Kef to Jendouba for Bulla Regia and Dougga, then Tunis
04-01 Tunis - and escapade to Carthage by commuter train
05-01 Tunis to Bizerte by coach - and BIRTHDAY Party
06-01 Bizerte
07-01 Bizerte (buffer zone)
08-01 Tunis (need to get there by night)
09-01 early morning flight to London
I would be planning to move everywhere by public transport, and only hire taxis for the ksars near Tataouine and for the ancient ruins near Jendouba. Towards the end of the holiday, I have a buffer zone, to allow for unexpected side trips or delays. I would not mind just relaxing near a beach if weather allows, so perhaps a quick transfer to Jerba might be also on the cards... or if Bizerte is nice and warm, I might even just stay there.
If I am missing anything spectacular or important, I sure would like to be told. So, please let me know. Any feedback welcome. I would be grateful.
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Aug 14, 2009 02:00 PM What does one call this syndrome?
As soon as I get home from a trip, I plan another. Or several others. So far, I have been speculating where to go for the next total eclipse, increasing chances to actually see it... It will be hard one to choose, as the event will be happening exactly on the other side of the planet. The line of totality will pass through southern parts of the Pacific Ocean on 11 July 2010 without falling on an inhabited land except a small island of the Cooks and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Right at the end, it will also land on southern Chile and Argentine, but it will be right in the middle of austral winter!
I initially made plans to go to New Zealand and the Pacific islands in the summer instead, six months earlier, and now I changed my mind. This meant that I had to figure out a few options for Christmas/New Year this year. One of the options (an expensive one) was Sao Tome & Principe and Gabon. The other (less expensive) was Tunisia, which I wanted to visit two years ago.
So far, I am leaning towards the Tunisia plan, although I miss the Sub-Saharan Africa very much!
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Aug 13, 2009 02:00 PM Next eclipse lucky? We'll see.
I did not see the eclipse on 22 July 2009. I experienced it, but I did not see the sun. So, what is the next eclipse (on 11 July 2010) be like? On that day, the narrow corridor of the totality will pass through Southern Pacific and will make landfall on one of the Cook Islands, the Mangaia, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) only. It will pass through smaller, uninhabited atolls and islets, and it will finish its path in the southern tip of South America, in the winter-bound cold and snowy Chile and Argentina. Perhaps it would be easier to get to El Calafate of Argentina, in the Los Glaciares National Park, but winter weather there will likely be severe, and cloud cover thick and uninviting. Rapa Nui sounds very nice, but I already have been there. I did consider this option, though, I found that there were no seats on the airplanes left however. Not at the convenient times, anyway.
So, after a few hours of speculations, I thought that I should try my luck at the Cook Islands. It will not be easy there, either. 11 July 2010 is Sunday, which is pretty sacred on the Cooks, with everything closed... I contacted one of the travel agents on the islands, and they advised me that foreign tour operators might be organising something... Well, since I have not been on the Cooks yet, it would be a good destination to try my luck. Even if I do not see the eclipse (like in Shanghai), I will explore places I have not seen before.
Cook Islands are far enough to try this holiday as a round the world trip. I plotted a route and made a provisional ticket reservation with Star Alliance. If all goes well, I should pass via Canada to Hawaii to New Zealand to the Cook Islands to Samoa and Tonga. A lot of new places to see. The ticket will be very expensive, but I guess I could start saving right away... :)
A cheaper option would be just a winter visit (not such a hot idea) to New Zealand and/or Australia with a side visit to the Cook Islands for the celestial event only. Hmm...
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Aug 10, 2009 02:00 PM A brief comeback of low fares airlines? Going East!
Ryanair shocked me yesterday with their offer. Until Wednesday midnight, they are offering £5 all inclusive fares to many destinations from London and €5 all inclusive fares from many European cities. I managed to secure three trips, which all cost me £30 in total! This time, as previously, I am going East. I booked a flight to Sandefjord to see my friends, and a concert; a weekend in Stockholm (so overdue!); and a weekend in Bratislava (after 25 years of absence). I could not believe how lucky I was. I thought that low fares have gone. I tried so many times to get cheap flights to Berlin, but there was no chance at all. The prices did not want to start below €150 total. I can still remember times, where I managed to hop to Berlin for less than €40... I could see my family there more often! Even now, I was hoping for cheap Berlin transfer, but even this offer did not produce good fares for me.
Uh, so it seems that Monday night, about midnight, is good time to scoop some good deals from Ryanair early...
For this late summer and autumn escapades, I also managed to secure hotel accommodation rather cheaply, both in Stockholm and Bratislava (in Sandefjord, I am staying with friends), for €25 and €15 per night, respectively. I tried hostels, but they were more expensive!! And many had no availability.
On a separate occasion, I booked €30 return flight to Gdansk to see my brother for his birthday. If all goes well, I will drop to see my parents in Ustka and my friends in Slupsk.
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Aug 04, 2009 02:00 PM China - photo albums in the making
There is no way that I will post 3,511 photographs on Globo from the trip to People's Republic of China this year. But there will be a fair bit of that. I am thinking to create the following albums:
1. Shanghai
2. Hangzhou
3. Xi'an & neighbourhood
4. Chengdu
5. Nanjing
6. Beijing
7. Datong & neighbourhood
8. The Great Wall of China - Mutianyu (almost done, and already live)
So, the picture will trickle in and in and in. As soon as there are a few photos in the album, I will open it. I will try not to overwhelm the members with too many submissions at a time. It may not be possible to finish all the albums this month...
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Aug 03, 2009 02:00 PM China - so, how much did the holiday cost?
Over two weeks, from the 18th July to 2nd August, including intercontinental and domestic flights, I spent £1,825 or so. The flights alone cost £680 or so for the intercontinental; and £460 or so for the domestic ones. The costs were as follows, and exclude souvenirs, of which I actually did not buy that many:
Intercontinental Flights £680
Domestic Flights £460
Accommodation £240
Food £90
Soft drinks £20
Beer and cocktails £135
Tea £5
Entry fees and tickets £60
Taxis £90
Trains £20
Coaches and buses £10
Metro £5
Other costs £10
By staying at the international hostels, I was spending on average £16 per night. Public transport in the cities was really cheap with single tickets costing less than £0.20. The cost of beer cropped up due to expensive venues in Shanghai and Beijing, where they charged over £5 per pint. Food was relatively inexpensive and I would have spent less had I not splurged a little in Datong, Shanghai, and Beijing. Many local eateries could feed a hungry tourist for less than £2.
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Aug 02, 2009 02:00 PM China Holiday - the last word
I am back home. Next time, I will seriously consider flying direct to London. I am getting really tired with the German airports, particularly Frankfurt, where transfer passengers have to go through multiple metal detectors, even when transferring from one Lufthansa flight to another!
Anyway, the holiday is over. It was full of adrenaline. Some good, some bad. Some really awful. I am not very happy to say that I did not find the country very friendly at all. I could probably get used to the lack of courtesy on the streets and in the public transport, to the harking and spitting everywhere, and inconsiderate loud behaviour. But what happened on the last night at the hostel was totally unnecessary. I do not want to dwell on this subject any more, and I would rather just put it behind me. However, I think I still ought to mention it in my report on Beijing, otherwise my travel report would not be complete. But that will be the last of it.
Actually, I am planning to write a few reports from this trip, which should complement my travel log and better illustrate the places (more photos in the reports than in the logs). I am thinking a report on Beijing, Datong, Nanjing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Shanghai, and maybe one on Hangzhou, too. And one special one - that will break the template a little, or a lot. So, I will need some time to make sure they read as they should. There might be a couple this month but the rest will have to follow later. I also need to catch up at work, and with the swine flue outbreak, I think I will be very busy.
Obviously, I took a lot of photographs (3,511 to be exact), and these should start appearing shortly. I will try to put them in albums for the ease of viewing.
As far as the itinerary went, I did not go to Suzhou (too much partying in Shanghai and Nanjing), Badaling Great Wall (bad weather), and Lhasa (for reasons stated below in the travel log), but managed to visit extra two places around Datong that I had not planned to see. And made new friends, which is always a bonus for staying in hostels!
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Aug 01, 2009 02:00 PM Beijing (CN) - on the way out
I am sitting in the First Class Lounge at the incredible and spectacular Beijing Capital Airport (PEK), still disbelieving what happened last night at the hostel. Over 120 countries on my clock and I have never been attacked by locals just because I am a foreigner, a visitor to the country. Even in places commonly considered unfriendly or unsafe, like Dem. Rep. of Congo or Somalia! But it just had to happen in People's Republic of China! And although it was a racist attack, the bandits almost killed the Chinese hostel manager.
I am trying to reflect on the entire situation. It is clear to me now that the hostel was completely unprepared for an attack like that. At the beginning, the personnel even refused to call the police. This was strange, as they should have been more concerned about the guests' safety and the safety of their own!
The police also shocked me. They took over 20 minutes to start to deal with the situation. They just stood passively as the racists ran around the hostel terrorising everyone and beating people! And at the end, the officers intimidated the travellers by taking their passports and interrogating them! I was not impressed!!
Well, anyway, I knew this holiday was not going to be perfect. Even before I took off, there were massive challenges about my route and then, a few disappointments en route. But as things picked up a little in Nanjing, Datong and Beijing, the conclusion of the holiday just could not be worst! As I look at this from the perspective of all my travels to date, this was the most awful and horrible travel experience in my life and the worst situation I have ever been!
Unless the hostel improves their security procedures, I am not looking forward to go back there. And I think it will be quite a long time before I start considering a trip to China again.
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Jul 31, 2009 02:00 PM Beijing (CN) - the last day and the last night
While browsing through shops at the Pearl Market, across from the Temple of Heaven, I found this simple Chinese eatery opposite the market's north door. I tried diced chicken with peanuts and chilli and it was fabulous. And on my last day, I went to Wangfujing Dajie. On the sixth floor of the Beijing apm Centre was this Thai inspired restaurant called Yummy Yummy. I tried their expensive chicken curry (¥45). It was yummy! Spiced to perfection, gently sweet and very large. Worth every penny!
The main mission however, was to get the Peking Duck. I went to Jian Guo Gate Restaurant at 24 Jianguomenwai, in the Chaoyang District. The whole duch was ¥168.
After a great night out, coming back at hostel at 6 a.m. (and the night before at 7 a.m.), I took it easy. I went for window shopping and the Olympic Park, until they lit up the Cube and the National Stadium. But a giant thunderstorm broke out, and it was raining badly.
When I got back to the hostel, three racist Chinese guys attacked a couple of guests from the hostel just because they were foreigners, and then broken into the hostel and attacked the staff. They threatened a few guests in the bar. They badly hurt the hostel manager, almost killed him. They kicked him down to the floor and kicked his head. They would have killed him if one of the guests from France did not stop them. The police came late and they did not do anything for about 20 minutes even as the racists started breaking items in the bar. It was very scary actually. They managed to terrorise the entire hostel. Only when more police came did the situation improve.
Now, I'm having my last beer in the bar, and will leave for the airport early in the morning.
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