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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! 
Sep 28, 2005 02:00 PM Sabratha (LY) - lovely ancient theatre
This magnificently surviving ancient Roman city offers the most complete theatre of the antiquities in the world. When I saw it appearing from behind the hill, I thought I was dreaming. Maybe not totally, but I guess I thought I moved back in time to the year of 190, when the construction began. I have never seen anything like it in my life, and I did see quite a bit before arriving to Libya. I did go to Rome, Greece and Turkey, but nowhere can one find a theatre like that. There are arenas like the Colosseum in Rome or similar ones in Arles or Nimes in southern France or Pula in Croatia, but those are totally different structures, erected for a completely other purpose. The arenas were built for the bloody sport of wrestling between humans and hungry wild animals or between gladiators. The theatres were built for actual art; music and play. The Sabratha theatre is remarkable, because the city of Sabratha with no city arch was much less important than the neighbouring ones, like Leptis Magna and Tripoli. However, the theatre with the 95 meters auditorium was the largest one in Africa! What is the most mind-boggling is the classical behind the stage façade with its three tier alcoves combining 108 columns which are over 20 meters tall. This makes this theatre, the theatre of theatres!
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Sep 27, 2005 02:00 PM Tripoli (LY) - welcome to Libya!
The capital city of Libya is not very large. It is home to one million people, which is rather small for a North African nation. It was in the past a Roman city, of which there are a few remains, like the Triumphal Arch of Marcus Aurelius. I liked it very much and its location, right by the walls of the medina make it so easy to find. It stands slightly below the street level, almost in a lower garden and it contrasts harmonically with the surrounding Arabic architecture of the old medina. After the Romans, the Ottomans came and they left some legacy, one of which is the Red Castle – right at the end of the medina and close to the harbour. Part of it is ruined but secured and the rest is housing a museum. It looks nice but is not excessively impressive. I like it location and shape. Just outside of the castle there are two columns, which resemble those standing in Rhodos, Greece. That was intriguing because the columns did not look very old… The medina, although very old, it fails to impress that much, compared with those in Fes, Meknes or Marrakech of Morocco. I was expecting a more bustling and colourful place. Nevertheless, the Tripoli medina is unmistakably Arabic and there are small souqs and shops selling carpets, amphorae, desert roses, and obviously gold. There are many cafés with plastic chairs and sweet sticky tables, serving excruciatingly sweet mint tea and other soft drinks.
Modern Tripoli is still growing. The new high rise buildings only start to grow. There are still concrete and ugly, but I saw plans for more modern ones of glass and steel. I saw on Qathafi billboards that skyscrapers mean development and progress to him, so one should expect tall building to rise in Tripoli faster than one can say ‘37th Anniversary’. Eating in Tripoli reminded me the holiday days in Morocco nearly a decade ago. I wanted seafood, so after arriving at the seashore, I saw a number of fishermen selling their catch from tables lined up along the street.
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Sep 26, 2005 02:00 PM Brussels (BE) - Mussels from Bruxelles
In Brussels, there are a couple of streets, right by the Grand Place (Grote Markt), which are full of relatively poor quality restaurants 'specialising' in seafood, most of which offer mussels. One has to be really careful with them. Some have fresh produce, but most lure naive customers, mainly tourists, with special deals, free bottle of wine, etc. Some of them have good wine, but the one on offer is never from the top shelf!
There are only a couple, which are decent restaurants and they usually require reservations, whilst others have to employ (often very aggressive) touts to invite the passers by.
I am not one of those, who eat mussels on their own for dinner with much passion. So I passed, but I had a seafood platter, which did contain some clams and mussels. But the main attraction was the mackerel and salmon. Yummy.
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Sep 25, 2005 02:00 PM Brussels (BE) - Grand Place (again)
Tonight, there was enough time after work to go and see one of world's most beautiful squares, the Grand Place (Grote Markt) of Brussels, listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site. The architecture and the facades of the buildings there are impossible to describe. The place is always busy. It does not matter if it is summer or autumn or winter or spring. People gather there to admire the genius of the square and step into some of the eateries. There is less than a handful of drinking holes there. But there are a few nearby. Later, in autumn, there is a display of flowers on the square turning its floor into a colourful carpet of flowers.
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Sep 24, 2005 02:00 PM Brussels (BE) - Here I am again
What does one do in the capital of Belgium on a business trip for the nth time? Fortunately, it is summer so there are always more options, days are relatively long (at this time, equally long as the nights) and it is warm enough to stay outdoors. I have to deal with my business stuff for the entire day and even in the evenings I need to take care of some of the delegates, some of whom had never been to Belgium before. But, it will most definitely be the typical - Grand Place, The Palace of Justice, the Royal Palace, the streets full of restaurants, the shops, the European institutions if time allows.
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Sep 23, 2005 02:00 PM Long Pacific and Atlantic flights from Seoul to Brussels
From Seoul I took a very long transpacific Air Asiana flight to Los Angeles, which lasted 15 or so hours, and got me from South Korea to the USA several hours before I departed, as I crossed the International Date Line. Then, I boarded a 14 hour Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt in Germany to board a small plane to Brussels.
The Air Asiana flight was superb. The amount of attention I was given by the lovely flight attendants was almost overwhelming! Sure, I was travelling in business class, but the friendliness and warmth of their approach truly impressed. Plus, they offered yummy noodle Korean traditional soups at any time during the flight in unlimited quantities.
It was tricky to adjust the body clock. Since I was due to land in Brussels at 1pm, I decided to stay awake during the entire flight over the Pacific (although it was leaving in the evening) and then sleep for the majority of the duration of the transatlantic flight. It worked well. Lufthansa had slightly worse service on their flight and I had already seen the vast majority of films they were showing.
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Sep 22, 2005 02:00 PM Seoul (KR) - the second day in the city
There were many palaces, temples and gates in Seoul. I went to see a few only. The second emperor built his own palace, the Changdeokgung (Illustrious Virtue), as he would not live in the first one, since he killed the royal family there to claim his throne. What a concept! The palace was built in 1405, also destroyed in 1592, but quickly rebuilt in 1610 and served as a primary palace until the first palace was rebuilt. This one is considered a fine example of Korean architecture keeping balance between the natural and the built environment. The emperor built a rural traditional house in the gardens as he wanted to experience the life of common people.
On my walking tour, I almost missed the Old Town (Insagong). In fact, I had to turn back from certain point. It was a pleasant part of the city with narrow alleys, petty shops, numerous art galleries, teashops and fairly good restaurants. The main street there was supposed to be pedestrianised but it was not true.
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Sep 21, 2005 02:00 PM Seoul (KR) - the first visit to South Korea's capital
My tour around Seoul started on foot with tracking down the royal palaces. I was staying at the Hilton (I know, not a budget or backpacker option!!), which was conveniently located near the main route leading there. It was surreal to see that there was absolutely no-one visiting the elaborate Gyeonghuigung (Shining Celebration) Palace. It was situated only slightly off the main route. When I visited in the morning, the sun was still shining low, struggling through the occasional if thick cloud, and was giving long shadows in the small park there. The park was empty, and it made me feel rather sheepish stepping into the premises. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to take my shoes off or pay somewhere for the entrance. The palace was built in 1616, and used to be the largest in the country, containing 100 buildings. The Japanese pulled them out during their colonisation of Korea and only the audience hall and a few residential buildings remained. And a lovely gate.
I moved on to see the Gyeongbokgung (Shining Happiness) Palace originally built in 1392 by the founder of the Joseon Dynasty (lasting from 1392 to 1910), Emperor Teajo, destroyed by the Japanese in 1592, and rebuilt in 1868. In fact, the restoration job continues to this day on a number of other palaces and buildings in the complex - scheduled for completion in 2009. What had been restored by the time I visited was truly remarkable.
I was lucky to see the change of guards at the main gate, which was quite a spectacle that lasted almost 45 minutes. It involved a parade of soldiers dressed in traditional and bright uniforms carrying traditional weapons and fake moustaches and beards. The ceremony involved striking a massive and very loud drum. It was possible to imagine easily how Koreans were six centuries ago. It was really great.
The entire complex of palaces was extensive and contained a royal village within its walls. Only the royal family and their servants had been allowed there.
The place to go out in Seoul was the Itaewon district. It was full of bars, eateries, American soldiers and working girls. Many clubs there had security guards, who wore bullet-proof vests. I didn’t think much of it, but then I remembered that the country was still in the state of war with North Korea. There had never been a peace treaty and the current situation is based on an armistice signed in 1953. Although I wasn’t entirely convinced that I wanted to go out that night - I must have walked 40 km that day - but I was curious. I wanted to try some of the places, which played jazz or blues, like the Just Blues Club. But it couldn’t be found. I did check my map, but it looked like I somehow passed it twice. Instead, I went to Gecko’s, Woodstock and Nelly’s. The places were packed with American soldiers, particularly the Gecko’s, and people visiting them in Korea. A few locals attended as well, but mainly just to meet up and go somewhere else. The clubs were great, though. I had fun.
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Sep 20, 2005 02:00 PM Sydney (AU) - harbour in the morning and off
My last day in Australia's main city I spend on wandering around the harbour, the Opera House, the parks snapping happily. I was trying to get an angle I did not get the year before. I wanted to snap the Opera House with the Harbour Bridge.
It worked. I walked and walked along the harbour and the parks, until I could see almost the entire skyline of Sydney's downtown. I was content. I wanted to photograph this too.
It was a good day. Relaxing. I stopped in cafes, drank coffee and delicious Ozzy wine. I loved Sydney so much! I could not believe that in just a few hours I was going to say goodbye to this wonderful city of sunshine and watersports and board an aircraft to Seoul.
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Sep 19, 2005 02:00 PM Sydney (AU) - real Aborigines playing
I was for a treat today. I went down to the Rocks and the Circular Quay and I met a few Aborigines playing large tubes and some string documents. They were enjoying themselves and the crowds seemed to be happy as well. I was. I must have stood there for 45 minutes listening to the unmistakable sounds of indigenous Australia. The guys posed for photographs happily and the only thing they required was a small donation for their basking. They looked great, painted in traditional colours. I think the country should convert its flag to the beautiful aboriginal colours. It will be unique and immediately recognisable - not like today; confused with the New Zealand.
It was a lot more happening down the Circular Quay. A few guys kept jumping on their bikes and a few artists painted the quay, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
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