Stories about Travel from December, 2008
Thailand political crisis: Reactions from the region
Thailand’s airport takeover has affected hundreds of thousands of passengers from nearby countries. What are the reactions of bloggers in the region? What is the situation in Thailand today?
Central & Eastern Europe: Mikołajki, Mikuláš
In Poland, “Santa Claus visits twice” – according to the POLSKI blog: on St. Nicholas Day and for Christmas. Same in Slovakia, writes The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia, and in the Czech Republic (more about it on CzechFolks.com and on My Czech Republic Blog.
Lithuania: Christmas Gifts
Top 10 Lithuanian gift ideas for Christmas – at Lithuanian Jotter.
Costa Rica: High Fines in New Transit Law
Costa Rica is preparing to enact a new transit law, which according to Fusil de Chispas [es] will contain high fines for traffic infractions.
Malaysia: Traffic lights
Kampua Talk feels Sarawak in Malaysia has the most traffic lights in the whole world. She also suggests some activities while waiting for traffic lights to turn green.
Playing for Change: Peace Through Music
MeetJohnSong brings to our attention a global collaborative musical project called Playing for Change: Peace through Music. The concept behind it is that music is a common uniting factor between different cultures, ethnicities and regions.The film and music will be available in 2009, and more information on the project can be found on the Playing for Change website.
Bahamas: Customs Corruption
Sidney Sweeting at Weblog Bahamas blogs about the alleged corruption within the Customs Department.
Iran: Images from Iran
Pars Arts has done an interview with Tom Loughlin a Colorado-based artist whose portraits of Iranians in Iran are being shown in a groundbreaking and thought-provoking installation across the United States.
Kuwait: Holiday season
From Kuwait, G.Q. is celebrating December and the holiday season.
Oman: Unequal Treatment over Visas
Muscati from Oman is enraged at the treatment Omanis receive when they apply for Schengen visas to visit Europe. “The reason I'm writing this post is that I am pissed off that Oman has a visa on arrival policy for countries that don't have quick visa procedures for Omani citizens,”...
Argentina: Closing of Restaurants in Buenos Aires
Many restaurants in Buenos Aires have had to close due to the decrease in international tourists writes Jorge Gobbi of Blog de Viajes [es].
Thailand: Complaint of stranded Filipinos
Coffee Stains & Inks from the Philippines hints that embassy officials were slow in helping Filipinos who were stranded in Thailand during the airport crisis.
Serbia: Coverage Critique
Belgraded critiques a story on the political and social situation in Serbia that appeared in the Irish Tribune.
Serbia: Corn Husk Dolls
A Yankee-in-Belgrade posts a picture of a popular Belgrade souvenir – corn husk dolls.
Poland, UK: “Pole Poll” – Sylwia Presley
A quick interview with Britain-based Global Voices and Lingua contributor Sylwia Presley – at the POLSKI blog.
Czech Republic: Moravia
The Journeys of Captain Oddsocks writes that “Moravia and Moravians deserve more recognition for their homeland and the role they’ve played in Czech and European history.”
Uganda: Kampala taxis and Karamoja country life
Rucco van der Merwe of Eyeing Africa posted a series of photos of a taxi-park in Kampala and of beautiful landscapes in the Karamoja region.
Belarus: Tanya Kazyra Returns Home
Tanya Kazyra, a participant in a summer program for children from Belarus’ Chernobyl-affected areas, has finally returned home, and now there is some hope that the governmental ban on travel outside the country for all “Chernobyl Children” might be lifted, Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog reports.
Estonia: Pärnu
Itching for Eestimaa writes about a trip to Pärnu – “pop. 44,000, is the fifth largest city in Estonia, located on the country's southwest coast. It's also the ‘summer capital’ of Estonia, which made our choice of visiting during the first major blizzard of the year somewhat unique.”
Thailand: Airports reopen but crisis not yet over
Bangkok’s airports are now open. The protesters have agreed to end their protests. But the crisis is not yet over. The ruling party is still dominant. Protesters could still launch similar daring actions in the future. The next few weeks will not be quiet for Thailand.
Hong Kong: Murphy’s Law
Erynnyes from Those were the days said that the SAR government in Hong Kong is under the spell of Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Any issue, small as evacuating tourists from Thailand, has gone wrong [zh].
