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Culture Shock – Driving in Africa Advice
CULTURE SHOCK I never knew exactly what was it. I thought it would only happen to people who aren’t open-minded or don’t like travelling to remote areas. When I travel, it is the different ways of thinking and the unusual ways of living that excites me. But this one late evening, 3 weeks into my time in Tanzania, I found myself speechless, with my stomach turning when I found out that our other guide and driver hit a pedestrian and ran away. Our guide said he had to do it, “everybody does it”. I knew he wasn’t a bad guy but at first I couldn’t understand why this crimewas okay…
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9 Things to do in Stone Town
Stone Town is the port of entry to the paradisiac island of Zanzibar, perhaps overshadowed by the idyllic palm trees on the beach of the east and north coast, most people tends to avoid it. However, with so many things to do in Stone Town, I would say stop here for a spoonful of cultural history embedded in spices, better appreciated sitting barefoot on a pillow of a rooftop with a sunset view. You certainly won’t regret it. You will want to spend at least one to two days exploring this charming old town, eat your way around and sail to a nearby island to feed giant turtles. ~ TO…
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The Sunniest Town in Germany – Freiburg
May I present you the sunniest town in Germany: FREIBURG. Sun is out, no doubt! Not internationally famous, but the city of choice for many Germans who look for a sunnier place to live in the land of the Sausage’s! Freiburg is located in the south-west corner of Germany.
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Neuschwanstein, a Fairytale Castle
“Pinch me!! Am I dreaming?!” No, I wasn’t dreaming. Neither was I the sleeping beauty and (sadly) I definitely didn’t have a Prince standing outside my bedroom to wake me up with a kiss… But believe me, when the grandiose Neuschwanstein Castle appeared in the distance, the last thing I thought was the kiss of the Prince… An authentic fairytale Castle stood upon the hill,
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SANTORINI: 4 THINGS TO DO OFF THE BEATEN (BLUE AND WHITE) PATH
If you have read my previous post or even ever googled Santorini, you will have seen the famous dreamy cliff-towns painted in blue and white: Fira and Oia. But outside these towns, Santorini has other colours and much more to explore… So I have put together a little list of 4 things to do off the beaten path: 1 – VISIT THE RED BEACH OF AKROTIRI At the extreme opposite side of the island,there is a red South-West corner worth having a look at:
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Dreamy Pink Lake in Thailand
“Sonhos cor-de-rosa”, he said. It is the Portuguese translation for “sweet dreams” and, literally, it means “pink dreams”. A wish that peace and beauty takes over your mind and you let go of reality: and so I did. There I was, on my last day in Thailand, floating on board a blue long tail wooden boat surrounded by “pink peacefulness.” This rather unusual lake is located 50km south of Udon Thani in Northeast Thailand. It holds a special “pink dream” which can be seen every early morning from December to February, the Red Lotus Sea (Talay But Daeng). Don’t be mistaken by the name, it isn’t red, it isn’t lotus…
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Pai, Northern Thailand
More than a destination, a lifestyle The river is refreshing but not that powerful. The mountains are curvy but not that steep. The waterfalls are hidden but not that full. So what is it that makes Pai a destination that compels travellers to stay longer than they had originally planned?! I originally booked for 2 nights, stayed for 5 and then wished I could have stayed longer. I wasn’t alone in this feeling. It was a recurring theme that people initially came for couple days but ended up staying for several weeks or even months. Travelers who had flexible schedule found they had a difficult decision to make… when to…
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Plan Your First Trip to China
So you have decided to visit China?! Yeyy (little dance move)! So here are a few tips to help plan your first trip to China from someone who has just planned it all from scratch, no agencies used and with that I saved a lot of money. Now, it can be overwhelming to decide where to go. China is the 4th largest country in the world, with 22 provinces and 5 autonomous regions. It’s so much more than just the Great Wall (and that is already pretty awesome on its own by the way). FIRST: you need to ask yourself a few questions: HOW LONG ARE YOU PLANNING TO GO? China…
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Hanging Temple and Yungang Grottoes – Datong
Hanging Temple When I read “hanging temple” I didn’t really expect 1500 year old wood sticks sustaining a 40 rooms temple built into a mountain cliff. Scary? Yes and yet I am standing inside it! This is the Xuan Kong Si Hanging Temple, 65km from Datong, in China. To me, architecture is yet a mystery art when mixed with other beliefs, such as religion. Over 1500 years ago, a genius monk hoping to get some peace and quiet decided that the ideal place to build a temple would be, not on the top of the mountain (it can snow), not on the valley (for the risk of floods), but in…
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Marrakech – we arrived! HELP!
– Follow me!!! – But the taxi driver said to turn right… – No no, your hotel is this way! We look at each other, the taxi driver didn’t quite know where was the Riad but refused to let us go when we said we would find another driver and acted like he knew. Then dropped us here and told us to turn right at the end of this street. Now this tall man, dressed with a long dirty vest, came out of nowhere, literally grabbed the paper with the address of the Riad from our hands and started showing us the way to the left… It’s night time, the…
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