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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! 
Mar 13, 2009 07:00 PM Another milestone - 90th country travel report
Today, I reached another milestone at Globo. I published a report on Antwerp, Belgium - making it the 90th country I had submitted travel reports on to Globo. I had been to Belgium more than 200 times over the last ten years. I travelled mainly in Brussels and Diest, regularly between 2000 and 2005. The former I visited for various reasons, mainly for business, where I was giving training. But I also visited Belgium's capital several times for pleasure. In Diest I was mainly for business, but the town has the most monuments per square foot in Belgium, and is a lovely little place. Plus it has two of the five best restaurants I have ever eaten in the country. Two other ones are in Antwerp and one in Brussels.
I am also writing reports on Brussels and on Brugge. I will snooze with the Brussels one, as Amanda has just published one. But I will try to finish the other one sooner rather than later.
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Mar 10, 2009 07:00 PM Happy Holi Day!
Today is a Hindu festival of colours, known as Holi. It is celebrated in Bangladesh, Guyana, India, Nepal, Suriname, Trinidad, and the UK by throwing colours on one another - in powder or liquid forms. I mean people throw the colours on one another. So, happy painting everyone!
It has a number of roots and it can be known by different names in various countries, for example Dolyatra or Boshonto Utsav in parts of India and Bangladesh, but may also be referred as the Dhulandi, Dhulendi or Dhulheti in other places.
I wonder if paint balling has got anything to do with this holiday, oops, Holi Day...
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Mar 09, 2009 07:00 PM Happy Purim, everyone who celebrates!
Happy Purim, everyone who follows the celebration of this event, according to the Book of Esther! Spin your ra'ashans quick and and make a lot of noise. We do not want evil in this world!!
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Mar 04, 2009 07:00 PM Domestic flights within China and Tibet booked!
I browsed through the timetable of the Star Alliance, to which both Air China and Shanghai Airlines belong, and figured out the route. There were actually two routes. One starting in Beijing and ending in Shanghai with the total eclipse of the sun on the 22 July; and the other in the opposite direction starting in Shanghai. Then, I got a little concerned that the domestic flights into Shanghai close to the day of the eclipse might become full, overbooked, etc so I decided to start with Shanghai after all.
When I got the itinerary I tried for prices at the Air China's website. The total came to about CNY 6,500. When I checked the China Airpass for the same route, it came at CNY 3,650, although I could not get the Beijing - Datong ticket worth CNY 900 for some strange reason. I guess I will have to get it separately. Just need to get one of my Chinese colleagues to surf through the Mandarin version, as the English version of the site does not allow the booking.
I used the Star Alliance website to calculate and book the China Airpass and selected both Air China and Lufthansa (two routes as mentioned above), and only Lufthansa came back with the final quote and the reservation. I do not need to pay for the airpass until the end of April. How great is that? It will be £400...
The only thing I am struggling with at the moment is finding an obligatory tour agent for Tibet, that is not going to rip me off!
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Mar 03, 2009 07:00 PM Tickets for China!
I still have no Internet at home (it is supposed to come back today, but it might not me before midnight) so I loaned some time from my employer, and surfed the net for some good ticket options for China. I first speculated if I should use my airmiles to get a ticket, but the taxes would come at £320, plus I would pay 70,000 miles. This did not make much [economic] sense, so I eventually opted to buy a fresh ticket.
I tried all the usual discounted and price comparison sites, but none of them came back with good offers, and those that offered tickets below £500 (I wanted London - Shanghai; Beijing - London), upon booking kept crashing. So it must have been some scum.
Opodo came up with an offer with Lufthansa (I wanted to fly Star Alliance) so I went to Lufhansa site and got one. Although some cheaper options were available with Finnair (they often have very good offers for far flung destinations). So, now I am a happy owner of a ticket to Shanghai - just in time for the total eclipse; and from Beijing to London - just in time to relax before coming back to work. Unfortunately, I have to change in Munich on the way out and in Frankfurt on the way in. Air China direct flights from London would of course be much better, but they asked twice as much for their flights. I will however try their services in China on the domestic routes.
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Mar 03, 2009 07:00 PM Back online!
I am finally back online. Sky eventually re-connected my flat back to the Internet. I still cannot believe that it has taken them over a week to do it! And I rather miffed that I might have missed on the promotions from both easyJet (25% off of everything) and Ryanair (£3 tickets), which were available until last night...
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Feb 28, 2009 07:00 PM Cork (IE) - pint of Murphy's or Beamish, please
In Cork, pub scene is legendary. At the beginning I was a little disappointed as many of them when still closed when I was browsing the city in the morning, but then I found the most legendary and famous one - the Hi-B pub (pictured). The vintage owner was really witty and had passion to hate mobile phones. There are two indiscrete signs telling people that mobiles were not allowed in the bar - little was left for interpretation and a few more, poetic ones saying exactly the same. His wit was known to the city of Cork and the local people in the bar had a great time listening to the jokes, and then sharing some of their own. As Cork is compact and the key sights are close one to anther, a visitor has plenty of time left to mingle with the locals at the numerous pubs and bars. It is so easy as everyone is so friendly, and approachable and warm. And witty.
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Feb 27, 2009 07:00 PM Cork (IE) - Ireland's real capital
I have finally arrived at Cork. It was an early start, but, as usual, Ryanair arrived ahead of schedule, and I was in the city centre in no time, ready to explore. I hit the city at about 8:20 am and it was still rather empty on the streets. It was funny, but after a while, I realised that had I not gone on a trip, I would have been still in bed at that time on Saturday morning. Most definitely.
I found the English Market (sic!), my favourite place in Cork as it turned out, where I had a traditional Irish, fried, breakfast. It was really good and the cafe (pictured) was really nice - overlooking the merchants' stands.
I went to see the famous cathedral. Little navigation skills are required in the city, as it is compact and the cathedral stands tall, above all the structures of the centre. The church was shut down and much of it was covered in scaffolding for renovation works. It was a pity. I enjoyed the hike though, and even had a peek at the nearby fort, which only looks impressive from the outside.
Later, I went to see the city jail, oops - sorry, I mean gaol. One has to use the proper Irish words whilst in Ireland. There is no police - there is garda, etc. It blew me away. Just wait for my report to learn more about it...
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Feb 26, 2009 07:00 PM I am going to Cork, IE - very soon. One day to go.
When Ryanair advertised cheap tickets for £10 including taxes, I decided to take this opportunity and visit Cork. I have always wanted to come to Cork, as its reputation of being amongst the friendliest of places on the planet to visit fuelled my motivation.
I hope weather is not going to be too bad. The forecasters change their mind rather regularly about the aura for the city, and it the forecasts have changed ten times in the last three days. I am not counting on sunshine, but I do hope it will not rain (too much!).
I am not entirely sure what I will do in Cork and the area. I will figure it out when I get there. The city is not very big and I plan to do plenty of walking. If there is enough time, I'd go to see the Blarney Castle (8km north of Cork) and/or the Royal Gunpowder Mills (9km west of Cork), if they are open. But I would probably take a bus to get there - otherwise I will not have enough time to explore everything.
And I am looking forward to the Irish stouts, and the lively atmosphere in the pubs.
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Feb 25, 2009 07:00 PM No Internet !!
My Internet connection has been interrupted. It will take until at least Wednesday midnight next week to restore it, my provider said. It is a great inconvenience indeed. Of course I can take my laptop to a pub across the road from my house, where wi-fi is free, but it is not home and they close at about midnight. So, I might not be so often on line to chat with Globies...
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