Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Senegal

Im at Cap Skirring in Senegal at the moment - this is Jamaica in West Africa! No problems mon. Will spend a week or more here just chilling out on the beach and drinking Flag beer. Dakar is all noise and commotion, but this is just paradise.

Happy birthday to me - freeking 38 years goes by in a hurry! Im writing some song lyrics and generally wasting time - which as the guide book should be an activity in itself.

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Click photo above for more

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Tunisia Photos

Click on photo below for more from this set

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Pictures from Ksar Ouled Soltane and the Berber village of Douret and Chenini.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Tunisia!

So Im in an internet cafe on the island of Djerba in Tunisia as I type this - trying to use a French keyboard where the letters are in all the wrong spots! Tunisia is an amazing country - a cross between Europe and Arabia, the people speak both languages. They filmed many scenes from Star Wars and the movie The English Patient here. I have photos of camels in the Sahara and ancient Berber villages with huge Palm tree oasis surrounding them - now if I can only find a way to upload them! Will be going to Tataouine and Matmatar next, then the Roman ruins at El Gem on the way back to Tunis. Have been to Carthage to see the ruins of Hannibals empire - amazing stuff.

Prior to Tunisia hit in reverse order Rome (the Hilton Cavellieri is the best hotel in Europe I think), Venice (not much to do there but every scene is a postcard and a place everyone should visit once in their lifetime), Florence (old city), Monaco (rich luxury amazing boats), Nice and Paris per last posting.

Click below for photos from Rome, Vatican, St Gimignano ...

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Click below for photos from Monaco (lots of racetrack corners!!!), Florence ...
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JB

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Tozeur - dunes, oases and Star Wars sets

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Tozeur is a full days bus ride (8hrs) from Tunis in the south west of Tunisia. The town is unremarkable, except for the Palmerie - 400,000 palm trees growing in this oasis. We arrived at the bus station late afternoon, and attempted to follow the LP map to the hotel we had earmarked for the night - through dusty streets and backalleys. We finally found our way and checked out a few hotels, settling on a basic one (name escapes me). Breakfast the next morning was on the rooftop, overlooking the Palmerie - a basic fare of Tom Cake (sweet cake bread), coffee and baguette.

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Our main activity in Tozeur was to take a 4WD tour of the surrounding area and desert. We signed up for a full day tour at 160DN (payable as a 20DN deposit and the balance we paid at the end of the trip as the tour operator office wasnt open at the time we commenced our drive), our driver Kamel was waiting for us at the appointed time (9am) right outside the hotel. The car was a Landcruiser, and in good condition - Nomad Tours seem to run all the cars out of this area as their compound just outside Tozeur was full of them as we drove past.

Our first stop was Medes (El Medes?), the first of three abandoned Berber Villages. The ascent to Medes was spectacular, taking us up into the hills off the plains of the Chott. Beside the ruins was a canyon dropping about 150ft to a river below. The highlight of this location was the date factory - dates from the Palm trees surrounding this ruin are brought into a main room and boxed there. We had a chance to taste them right from the clusters brought in off the tree, adn they were by far the best dates we had ever tasted. We bought a box from there - 3DN (down from 5 - they werent budging much on price!), and proceeded to devour them during our trip.

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Dates

Next stop was Chebika, which was basically a lot of trinket sellers and a pool lying at the bottom of a fissure in rocks. Cactus fruit was available here - and I was keen to try some, but we couldnt find the seller and werent game enough to try peeling this ourselves. We then went to Tamerzia, which has a well established tourist area at the entrance (you can even buy ice cream!) and a path taking you back to the water pool and waterfalls, and a climb up into the surrounding hillside. Note that the minerals for sale along this pathway look spectacular - purple and green crystaline rocks that join together like a clamshell - but they are FAKE! If you rub the purple it comes off on your hands - its been painted on to make the white crystal look more spectacular.
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On the way back to Tozeur for lunch we stopped to donate 1DN to a guy who had a pet salamander available for petting. Thats it really ... :)

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Our guide gave us 1.5hrs to get lunch while he did the same. After lunch we headed into the desert across the Chott (Salt Lake) to Ong Jmel (which means 2 camels I believe). This is basically a rocky outcrop that you can climb, overlooking a vast riverbed which is flat and long enough to land a 747 on. Its also the scene of filming for the movies the English Patient and Star Wars. We stopped and chatted with a crew of men working a natural gas rig here and discussed how we could fly planes into the area on the salt pan ....

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The hard packed sand plus rocky formations here make for a natural race course, and the 4WD tours take advantage of this to give you some thrills. First its the banked curves - the driver races up the side of one bank (similiar to the banking of say a NASCAR racetrack) then across to another, alternating right and left. Then its straight up one of the banks until the car is nearly vertical where the driver shifts quickly into 2nd gear and lets the engine brake the car back down the cliff. Its all been done many times before - youll see the tread marks of many many 4WDs who have done this trick before - but its thrilling nonetheless when your not sure whats coming next. Up and down a few sand dunes and past the film set for the English Patient, then on to the film set for Star Wars which is surreal in the surrounds of the dunes. After that some stops at camel watering holes where Kamel showed Miney how to properly tie her turban.

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Nefta was next, the home of the Sufi sect of Islam. Walking through the Old City and taking in the sights here - married women wear all black with blue stripes on their hijab.

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Back to the hotel and the incredibly hard pillows ...

Prices
Tour - 160DN
Dates - 3DN per box
Turban - 6DN for 3 meters

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Carthage - Sidi Bou Said and comparisons with statues

Carthage seems like nothing when you first arrive, but as you explore more you start to get a sense of the scale and grandeur of the place. The best way to get there is to take the train from the Tunis Marine station - just walk past the clock monument down the Avenue Bourguiba (away from the Medina) and youll find it. There are a number of Carthage stations on the train - we chose to get off at Carthage Hanibal station which by name seemed to be the most central. Price was 900 millimes (for two or one? Cant remember). From the station we walked up the hill, turned left and ended up at the visitors center. Admission here gets you access to all the Carthage sites - you buy a ticket and simply flash it at the entrance of each subsequent site you visit. You buy a ticket for a camera also - we just bought one and made sure only one camera was out at any one time ....

The main site of the visitors center was ok, but not the best ruins experience Ive ever had. The view over the city of Tunis and surrounding ocean, lake and mountains is worth it tho. There's a small museum there, which is worth visiting. Youll undoubtedly get accosted by "guides" wanting to show you the relics and then asking for a gift in return - worth it if you want a running commentary of what you are seeing, but I chose to be left alone. Also, the toilets there are free to use - but youll have to remind the attendant of this fact when you leave the bathroom as he/she will want his gift and try hard for it.

The best Carthage ruin in my opinion is the thermals down by the ocean. The ruins there are extensive, and give you a great feel for how important the baths were to the Carthagians and later the Romans. The presidential palace is closeby here, and youll see signs saying "no photos to be taken in the direction of the palace". There's a heavy police presence also on the small roads outside.

Sidi Bou Said is towards the end of the TGM train line - this little village is a very picturesque place - the blue and white contrast of buildings and doors make you feel like your in a Greek island village. Lots of opportunities for photographers here - we couldnt help but take tons of pictures of doorways. The food options here are great also - we ended up eating at an outdoor courtyard restaurant called Le Chergui - just as the sun set, the couscous was excellent, as was the little cat who ate with us.

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We couldnt resist the chance to do a comparison - apologies if it offends, but this was a huge cack for us at the time ... photo from the Carthage ruins in Tunisia (taken very quickly) ...

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Tunis - Cafes and sheep heads

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Tunis was a culture shock for me at first, but I found myself slipping into this place after a while. Walking the streets of Tunis at night was a great experience - stopping for Chawarma (a chicken pita in my case, with sauces and chips thrown in the top of the creation). We walked down the main street of Tunis (Avenue Bourguiba) taking in the sights and smells. The first thing you notice is that the cafes are a) full of smoke, and b) full of men. Women do not congregate in these venues which are for men only - this is not a hard rule, but seems to be a cultural one.

One meat shop we walked past had a couple of sheep heads hanging on hooks - a common sight, however these guys had gone the extra mile putting sunglasses and cigarettes in their mouths. We stopped to take photos and a passing couple of lads laughed at us saying "pretty arent they?".
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We took a quick look in the Medina, but at night this is a dark place so we decided not to push our luck too much. The next day we went back for a more detailed look. The Medina is the city center, at the end of the Avenue Bourguiba, behind the Porte de France (a doorway monument). We did not explore the Medina as much as we would have liked.

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Tunis began the ritual of drinking from bottled water - so we grabbed a couple of bottles on the way through - 450 millimes (about a half Dinar) for 1.5 liters.

Logistics:
- Tickets from Rome to Tunis on Air Italia were €464 - we found that return tickets were actually cheaper than one way, so we booked and discarded the return sector. Booked on Air Italia site.
- Taxi from Tunis airport to city was about 10 Dinars. This was a drama because we were originally told 5 Dinars, so we climbed in, then were told it was 5 per person, plus a surcharge because we were at the airport, plus a baggage fee! The driver actually tried to get 15 Dinars from us - when we handed over 10 he said "but I thought I was getting 15" - our response was "well we thought we were paying 5"!! Our mistake was not demanding the counter be turned on - making everything a negotiation. If you pickup a taxi from Tunis airport, you should always demand the counter (the meter).

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Rome - why leave the Hilton Cavalieri

Rome for me will forever be defined by the hotel I stayed in - the Hilton Cavalieri. Various other posters agree, but this is my best hotel experience in the world, by a long shot. The 3 main reasons why:

- I checked in as a Hilton Honors Diamond, so I had access to the executive floor and lounge. The lounge is like being in a full service bar - you can have the wait staff bring you anything you like, Cappucinos on demand, experiment with various flavored Martini's to see which one you like, water, juices, etc. Its well stocked with snacks - cucumber sandwiches, deserts, fish pieces, etc. Magazines and newspapers lying around, a big screen TV, and a remarkable view of Rome and the Vatican City.

- The room is outstanding. Hermes products in the bathroom, a huge bed of the perfect Hilton quality, a variety of pillows, and luxurious furnishings reminding you your at the heart of the Roman empire.

- The Grand Spa. My diamond card got us free access to this (I love that card so much!) and it is a perfect place to unwind and destress. The steam room which warms you up to 65degrees C and then the 30 degree plunge pool - try diving into it if you can for the hot to cold fast immersion experience! The spa pool outside the steam room with its perfectly backlit blue water and trickling fountains, and the relaxation room with 12-14 beds and blankets. The outside pool has a fireplace which you can sit next too, but in winter it was a bit cold - they also make you wear these silly hair caps if you want to go swimming out there. The gym looks world class, the machinery all looks new and flat screen TVs galore to entertain you while you work out.

Its expensive true (I was staying on points, otherwise I might have written it off as too much) - but if you are after the best hotel experience youve had Id recommend going there - just be warned you wont want to see Rome much, and youll be spoiled for every hotel from that point on.

Rome itself was good when I managed to pry myself out of the hotel. The shuttle bus runs from the Hotel to the Piazza Barberini in about 25 mins (runs every hour but takes a big break between 12:30 and 3:30 so plan accordingly). Inbound we chose to go from the train station to the Cipro stop and then hailed a cab up to the hotel - which cost about €14 or so.

Other than the hotel, my memory of Rome will be linked to the pizza - which is one of the rare foods of the world that I feel is actually better in its native land than you image it could be. Served like a sandwich, folded over in a square in paper, it is non greesy, the cheese doesnt drip all over you, and it tastes incredible.

The Colosseum is very run down - the one I visited in Tunisia at El Gem is a much better example as it was built later and has withstood the elements and invaders more successfully. The Spanish Steps area is worth seeing - especially at night when the crowds really come out. The designer stores are all here, including one incredulously branded "Expensive".

On to Africa next - the hotel was the perfect preparation, giving us both a dose of luxury before the rigors to come. We took some Hermes soaps and hair products so that we could indulge in some luxury in the dusty places where Hermes and the Cavalieri would be a distant, although pleasant memory.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Venice - everywhere you turn is a postcard

Spent one day and one night in Venice and took a lot of photos - this place is everything they say it is and more. Every scene in this city is a moving postcard, and you cant help but walk around slack jawed at the beauty of it all. There isnt much to actually DO in Venice, but it is a city everyone should visit once in their lifetime.

We arrived on the train, which pulls up right on the edge of the city. There is a public ferry (Vaporetto) which leaves from right outside the train station headed for the Rialto bridge, and terminating at Piazza San Marco. The best way to get there in my opinion tho is to walk it - just head over the bridge and start following the signs to San Marco. This walk takes about 25 mins and leads you through all sorts of alleyways and over small canals - you really get a feel for the city by taking this walk, and making wrong turns! The pathway to San Marco is written on the buildings with arrows telling you which way to turn - we made a few wrong turns, but its easy to backtrack and get back on course if you do this.

The pigeons in Piazza San Marco are out of control. The brave tourists who try to feed them get mobbed. At night however, their demeanor changes at night however, where a bunch of them will huddle together for warmth and climb all over each other, oblivious to onlookers.

Venice inevitably reminded me of Disneyworld (canals, boats, old style architecture, but in this case REAL) - the situation would probably be reversed had I actually visited the authentic one first!