Stories about Travel from August, 2012
Controversial Tibet Theme Park Project Launched
Tibetan dissidents have described the USD 4.7 billion Chinese project as the “Disneyfication of Tibet.“ The park will first be used to shoot 'Princess Wencheng', a film about the niece of a Tang-dynasty emperor who married a Tibetan king.
Lebanese Tourism Pays the Ultimate Price
Recent political upheavals in the region and kidnappings in Lebanon have made tourists, mainly Gulf nationals, flee the country. Lebanese and Gulf netizens react to the development.
East Timor: Return Trip of an Indonesian
Dalih Sembiring, an Indonesian journalist and travel blogger, wrote “Postcards from Dili“, on a trip he did to East Timor 16 years after he left the country. On his post...
France: An Epic Flight from Paris to Beirut – via Damascus
An Air France flight from Paris to Beirut on August 15, turned into a 20-hour nightmare for its passengers, including the French Ambassador to Lebanon. After diverting to Damascus, Syria, for fuel and security reasons, the crew then had to ask around for money to pay for the kerosene after their credit card was refused.
Kazakhstan: The Beauty of Altai Mountains
A group of Kazakhstani photographers have recently toured the mountainous region of Altai in in the country's east, known for its picturesque alpine scenery. Photos made during the trip can be accessed...
Philippines: List of National Roads
The Philippine government has uploaded a spreadsheet identifying the quality of the country's national roads. It's also a mechanism for citizens to report and monitor badly paved roads
Angolan Tourists Spend Big Bucks in Portugal
'Little by little we see Angolan money starting to dominate businesses and the economic sectors in Portugal.' According to a netizen this is in stark contrast to 70% of Angola's population which 'is barefoot, have empty stomachs, (and) live in a slum.'
France: Mandatory Car Driver Breathalyzers in Bid to Reduce Accidents
Starting from July 1 2012, every vehicle driver in France has had to carry a breathalyzer. This measure is aimed at diminishing the number of accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol.
The Day I Got Arrested in China
Hannah from Seeing Red in China blogs about his experience of being stopped and detained by traffic police for a suspected car stolen case while driving back from a trip...
Peru: Amazon Officially Inaugurated as Nature's Wonder
On Monday, August 13, the city of Iquitos was the scene of colourful celebrations marking the official inauguration of the Amazon as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Netizens shared diverse reactions to this new recognition for the Amazon.
Côte d'Ivoire: CivRoute, a Citizen Project to Monitor Road Traffic in Real Time
In Abidjan, Cyriac Gbogou introduces on his blog [fr] the citizen collaborative project Civroute [fr] that he co-founded. This online plateform will collect information sent by car drivers on the...
Athens: Virtual Community Initiative Under the Acropolis
Shop owners on picturesque Pandrosou street in Plaka, Athens, have started a virtual community initiative with a blog and Facebook page. They aim to “rebrand the image of Greece into one that reflects collaborative cooperation, innovation...
Bangladesh: Traveling In The Ganges River
Bangladesh Unlocked provides a fascinating account on a journey from North in Rajshahi towards South in the Nijhum Dwip via boat on the Ganges river. The blogger comments: “travelling here...
China: Xinjiang's Five-Colored Hills
Josh from Xinjiang's far west China gives some travelling tips to a magnificent touristic site, the Five-Colored Hills in Xinjiang.
Bolivia: New Video Campaign Seeks to Boost Tourism
'Bolivia Awaits You' is the name of a promotional tourism campaign recently launched by the government of Bolivia. It seeks to boost tourism by investing 20 million US dollars in the next five years, which will primarily benefit indigenous communities.
Iraq: Six Months Before the US Invasion
Blogger Maryam Monalisa Gharavi posts some photographs on her blog South/South of Iraq six months before the US invasion.
Latin America: LibreBus Preps for Southern Cone Tour
The LibreBus project, born in Central America, is getting ready for their upcoming trip to the Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay): “Travellers from various countries, with different skills,...
MENA: Bridge Blog for Maghreb and Arab Gulf States
A Moroccan-American blogger Samia Errazzouki and a stateless blogger from Kuwait Mona Kareem have joined hands to start a new blog which tackles the stereotypes between the Maghreb (North Africa) and the Gulf. The aim is to start a conversation to bridge differences between them.
