Sunday, December 28, 2008

7 Wonders

After the public announcement gala of the New 7 Wonders in the World held in Lisbon in 2007, the 7 Wonders of Portugal were also announced, and now the votes are up for the 7 Wonders of the World of Portuguese Origin. Although the text is in Portuguese, it is interesting to browse through them and for Portuguese speakers please feel free to vote for your 7 Wonders...
Here's the link:
http://www.7maravilhas.sapo.pt/List.aspx?contentId=3&areaId=3&subAreaId=3

Saturday, December 27, 2008

European Capitals & Capitals of Europe

I must admit that when I was living in Europe most European Capitals wouldn't attract me at all, but after living over 7 years in an Arab country, returning to Europe is for me a rebirth, it's refreshing and truly surprising, makes me proud of being called European!
Two cities that I wouldn't consider visiting for pleasure in earlier years would be Amsterdam and Brussels, now two cities I truly admire, love to return to and keep surprising me every time...
They are never too cold to enjoy the outdoors, never too extravagant, never the same... They are the center of tolerance, wisdom, culture, allowance, creativity, innovation, humanly pulsing in all ways...
I love how manifesters gather every single day around the E.U. buildings to voice their personal struggle, a special manifestation worth mentioning was when the Green Peace tried to influence the E.U. to stop permitting fishing in certain zones and allow proper fish development, it seems that in 20 minutes they were able to close the main gate with huge building blocks not allowing security to stop it from happening, it's still a practical joke that runs the corridors that they'll call them back when a house needs to be built...
I think it's priceless to be able to freely assist to a gay parade just for the fun of it, or go to a prostitution zone without being afraid of being mugged, go to a coffee shop and have a little bit more than coffee...
And no matter where you're from, how long you'll stay or where you're going to, you will fit in easily and most importantly you'll get the feeling that you're received by chronic happy people!!!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Down Memory Lane - Bon Voyage!

Well, as much as it is enjoyable to physically go places, revisiting memories is sometimes as pleasurable... I finally got to do something I was planning to do years ago - scan all pictures from the time I wasn't even born - what a ride!!!
It's incredible what one can learn by looking back at pictures of one self, there's two things I learnt today about me by looking at those pictures, since very early on I was always: 1) smiling & 2) on the move...
Take a look at this!!!
Me at the age of 4....

And me at the age of 12...
So I was wondering where did this come from, the smiling comes from my mom for sure, but the travelling??? and how much of it comes from ancestry, how much was I affected with genes, how much will my daughter have it as well?
Influences other than plain Portuguese blood, well, my favourite uncle did a Magellan - he sailed around the world in the Sagres ship and used to tell me his tales, which I would listen to in absolute amazement. And just before I was born my father lived several years in Macao, (I was actually supposed to be born in Macao, learning Mandarin would have done wonders!!!) got also some pics of my father in Macao, hehehe....
Him here with the army attire....
With his band, he's the one in the shades...

As for my daughter and influences, I guess she has the travel bug already, likes the airplane, loves to see new people and places and even gets into her own world when we travel... Look at her in this pic, in Rajput traditional dress:

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Travel Channel

I don't know anymore what makes me go to the gym, if it is the adrenaline pump or Travel Channel... They both make me extremely happy... The last 2 weeks I learnt a lot about different places, yesterday we were in Mexico City, and Teotihuacan. I learnt about the most unusual places to visit in Turkey, how to cook a slow traditional stew in South Africa, typical holidays in Morocco's Casablanca and Marrakesh, what I missed to see in Paris - the neighbourhood of Montmartre and how they have a very particular bakery called LeGay where they make male genitalia shaped bread, have to try that next time I stop by!
As the cup holder became the choice determining the right car to buy, I think Travel Channel is definitely dominating my gym choice!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Dragon Blood's Tree

Legend has it that the tree sprung up from congealed blood shed by a dragon and an elephant as they fought to death. Cinnabar, the crimson red resin from the tree's leaves and bark, was highly prized in the ancient world. It was used as a pigment in paint, for treating dysentery and burns, fastening loose teeth, enhancing the colour of precious stones and staining glass, marble and the wood for Italian violins. Although it no longer has a commercial value, cinnabar is an important resource for the 40 000 people who live in Socotra. They use it to cure stomach problems, dye wool, glue pottery, freshen breath, decorate pottery and houses and even as lipstick.
The only place in the world to see the Dragon Blood's Tree is Socotra and it's been a while that I've been considering a trip to the Island. Socotra is a natural wonder in itself. There are rare species of fauna and flora, I'm more interested in the flora, as for the fauna it constitutes mostly huge spiders (urgh)!!! Here's a list just for your reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spiders_of_Socotra
Since I'm not planning to see them outside of their pictures, I started checking possibilities...
There is only two weekly flights to Socotra, one return flight on Friday from Sana'a and one return flight on Monday from Eden, it's just better to take a whole week to visit Sana'a, Eden and Socotra...
Socotra had many visitors throughout time, the Portuguese arrived in 1507 but left after 4 years because the population of Socotra is what we nowadays call - tough cookies... Some believe that Alexander the Great had great interest in this island not because of it's strategic location but mostly because of its natural resources - the Aloe Vera, which he used to treat their battle wounded.
In Socotra it's easy to arrange for a 4x4 car and driver and the accommodation available is usually in tourist camps. (Omm Seti tried the spells of the pyramids and she claims they work, I'll make sure to use them to scare away the spiders around my tent...)
Ohhh it's important to note than Socotra is spelled Suqutra in Arabic and the 'q' is guttural, so expect to hear people say it as if they're doing some sort of juggling with their throats! The name Socotra is not originally Arabic, it is believed that it came from the Sanskrit 'dvipa sakhadara', which can be translated as 'Island of Bliss'.
Socotra is one of the 7 New Natural Wonders of the World and a Unesco Heritage Site. For more information you can log on to:
http://www.socotraisland.org/

Friday, December 19, 2008

Jabal Al Akhdar - Green Mountain

Less than 2 weeks ago I was in Oman and although you can find the same landscape throughout the Emirates, the most defining characteristic of my preference for Oman in comparison to the Emirates is the people and secondly the history...
I love my weekend getaways, but I can't go all the way to Ras Al Hadd like I did recently, it's just too much driving for a weekend alone, but I might have found something better than that (without the beach though!).

While I was out there, my flat mate Max was pestering me to bring him bottled water from Jabal Al Akhdar, I was wondering what is so special about the water, well, the water is pretty good but after seeing pictures of the place, it got even better!!!

In the Middle East the favourite destinations are always the greener ones, that's why Salalah is a heaven on Earth for most Middle Eastern's, but Jabal Al Akhdar can really compete with Salalah on the green ground on a smaller scale of course, and so close by...

Jabal Al Akhdar is a left turn somewhere before reaching Nizwa and the proximity to Nizwa is an advantage in terms of accommodation. I read somewhere that there's a small budget hotel right down the mountain, surprisingly called Jabal Al Akhdar Hotel, I tried sending an e-mail with no response yet. But Nizwa has plenty accommodation to fit different budgets. I think the most luxurious hotel would be the Tulip Inn and for cheaper solutions there is Tanuf Residency and Falaj Daris Hotel, both on the outskirts of the city, 5km away from Khanjar Roundabout. The rates for these hotels as per reviews I read are supposed to be 20-40USD although I wasn't able to reach them also...

Anyways, there's still time, my exploring of Jabal Al Akhdar will start in January 2009, new year, new destinations, insha'allah!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Bundi or not to Bundi

Still working on my Rajasthan trip, ufff!

It's particularly difficult because of the road travel time... If you think 150km is easily do-able, you have to think again as you can easily spend 3 hours and a half on the road, that is, if you're lucky!

Going to Bundi means adding around another 150km to the whole journey, considering that I'm travelling with a child that means that I have to plan everything in order for her to strecth her legs in between trajects, so Bundi means a lot of time, will have to mull over it and check out pics to see if it's really worth it...

In the mean time my plan might have to be changed slightly to include haveli watching in Shekhawati... The original plan was to drive straight from Delhi to Bikaner, but I might just stop over in Shekhawati and continue early morning to Bikaner... Lots to consider!!!

Mt. Abu, I'll have to miss already!!!!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Ranakpur, Rajasthan


Having travelled to the golden Triangle recently, I fell automatically in love with Rajasthan. As soon as you cross the state border (which I don't really know where it is apart from how it feels so different once you are in this state), everything is just different, you can sense in the air the glory and outstanding culture of the Maharajah's... The streets look more defined, the fields more golden with the sun, the saris much brighter and strongly coloured, it's amazing how they can keep them so bright and clean provided mostly works in the farm...

Absolutely enchanting!!!

As soon as I came back to my daily life, I started researching and planning my next trip to India - the whole of Rajasthan!!!

It is a big state, the whole of India is huge, so I've been visiting piece by piece and still feel there's so much to see, but I'll get there! My residence in the Arabian Peninsula helps in the logistics of my ambition anyways...

So, after a lot of revising and reading articles, I finally reached a sustainable plan that will probably show me the whole of Rajasthan in no more than 12 days and cover between 2000 to 2500 km... The driver and car costs for this trip should be between 30,000 to 35,000 Indian Rupees, might be wrong, hope I am wrong by excess... Anyways, it's well worth it. The agency provides with a driver and an A/C comfy vehicle, usually a 6 seater, all-inclusive, so the more people to share the costs the merrier!!!

After just having yesterday another review of my plan, I went to the gym and to my surprise, Travel channel was having a report about India, extremely helpfull!!!

One more spot to visit is Ranakpur, a Jain Temple between Jodhpur and Udaipur, a must see... I'm posting a picture of it from Wikipedia...

Another mentioning was a sort of a retreat in Puna, I still haven't researched about it but will and keep you posted...