Stories about Travel from November, 2008
MENA: How to deal with Somali piracy?
Last week a Saudi supertanker was hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Kenya, making it the largest ship ever to have been seized in this way. The problem of Somali piracy is growing; in this post we hear bloggers' reactions from around the Middle East.
Bangladesh: Slum kids visited Germany
In a blog post of The Dhaka Project, an organization supporting children from the slums of Dhaka, you can read about the experience of some of their kids visiting Germany.
Bangladesh: Tour on Padma river
Kristin Boekhoff posts about a photographic boat tour on the mighty Padma River in Bangladesh.
Egypt: Sawiris Takes on Switzerland
Cairo's Scene & Heard celebrated entrepreneur and hotelier Sameh Sawiris's new project in Switzerland saying: “Now that we're branching out into Europe…do you think we stand a chance next to the already existing competition?!?”
Egypt: American University in Cairo's New Campus Sparks Debate
Designed to accommodate 5,500 full-time students and 1,500 faculty and staff, the American University in Cairo's new $400 million, 260-acre campus is technologically advanced and environmentally friendly. Students say that it was a premature move as they suffer sexual harassment and expensive food, among many other issues. Marwa Rakha reports.
Bangladesh: Cox’s Bazar in the New7Wonders
M@q at Here I am… posts a video campaigning to vote for Cox’s Bazaar Beach of Bangladesh in the New7Wonders contest.
Trinidad & Tobago: Flood!
Trinidad and Tobago has been at the receiving end of some heavy rains over the past few days, resulting in severe flood waters that have immobilized commuters, compromised infrastructure and wreaked havoc on the public transportation system. But only a handful of local bloggers were on top of the story (perhaps the rest were too busy trying to find a way home).
Uzbekistan: Khiva, the ancient town
Akmal writes a story about ancient Uzbek city Khiva, “a fascinating place – one of the world’s largest open air museums.”
Russia: The Crisis and the Hajj
Window on Eurasia writes: “For the first time since the end of the Soviet Union, the number of Muslims from the Russian Federation making the pilgrimage to Mecca is set to fall significantly, the result of a financial crisis that has cut incomes, increased prices and reduced private and government...
Poland: “Vexations of the Englishman”
At Polandian, island1 shares his “vexations of the Englishman in Poland.”
Bhutan: On Thimphu
Most Beautiful Cities in the World describes about Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan: “It's expensive to visit Bhutan, and expensive to stay here – a deliberate policy to keep tourism at a low level. Bhutan is poor in material goods, but boundlessly rich in other qualities contentment, inner peace and...
Indonesia: Pesta Blogger 2008
Five bloggers from different countries have joined Indonesia's Pesta Blogger 2008, a blogging trip and festival.
Bangladesh: First Heritage Lodge
Mikey Leung at JoyBangla.info reviews the first heritage accommodation property in Bangladesh.
Iran:Italian Images of Iran
In Iranian.com we can watch beautiful clips of Iran made by an Italian traveler.
Armenia: Casinos
Han's Space comments on the appearance of casinos in Armenia following the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The blog says that there other easier places to go for anyone wanting to gamble, but adds that they might at least be interesting from an anthropological point of view rather than...
Anguilla, Trinidad & Tobago: Memories of The Abbey
Anguillian Don Mitchell takes a trip to his Alma Mater at Mount St. Benedict in Trinidad.
Serbia: Barbie and Ken in National Dress
A Yankee-in-Belgrade writes that he has “seen many a Barbie and Ken in national dress of countries where I've traveled and now Serbia is no exception.”
Central & Eastern Europe: A Travel Roundup
Olive harvesting in Albania, John Paul II monuments in Poland, a Soviet military hardware cemetery in Moscow and more: Central and Eastern Europe-based bloggers share their recent travel stories and photos.
Japan: Granny's blog
The first of its kind, a Japanese blog called Sobolog (祖母ログ) [ literally “Grannylog”] crosses three generations, written by a nephew living in Tokyo in collaboration with her mother (who records the facts), presenting the daily life of her funky granny named Hide (82 y.o.) living in Gunma Prefecture. In...
Costa Rica: Differences in Customer Service
Hazel Feigenblatt writes in her blog about the difference in attention that local tourists from Costa Rica receive, when compared to the customer service received by foreign tourists [es] , and how it seems that locals are treated like second-class citizens. Many commenters share their own bad experiences.
Armenia: Gyumri
jack'sVolunteerWorkInArmenia details his weekend trip to Armenia's second largest city of Gyumri. Situated close to the (closed) border with Turkey, the city will next month commemorate the 1988 earthquake which devastated much of its infrastructure and left tens of thousands dead or homeless. The blog says that twenty years on,...