Exotic Destinations: From New Zealand to India
No Comments »11th March, 2007; Category: Exotic Destinations
Pete McGregor who is from New Zealand, has an amazing blog called Pohanginapete. It is about birds, natural history, mountains, photography, people, travelling and a host of other subjects. Pete has an engaging and fascinating writing style, evocative of place, mysterious and poetic. It is well worth the effort to spend some time reading his articles.
A major feature of his blog is the photography, whether that be of a Cormorant sitting on a jetty, a wind-whipped seascape, a delicate spider’s web or a panoramic mountain scene the quality shows a master at work.
Pete is currently travelling overseas. His latest articles feature a long journey through India during November through to February. It makes fascinating reading, complemented by wonderful photos from India.
Exotic Destinations: India
When I was planning my trip to Thailand and Nepal I originally wanted to go on to India and explore there for a few weeks. Unfortunately it would have added far too much cost to an already stretched budget. This is a shame because India is such a diverse country both culturally and geographically. If I’d gone ahead with my original plans, I would have only touched a small portion of this wonderfully exotic country. I had intended seeing some of the country within a day or so travel from New Delhi.
So instead, I travel vicariously via travel blogs. Possibly one of the best travel blogs I’ve come across is called India Ink. This blog is written by Basia, an instructional designer who lives in Chennai. Being single, she has been able to spend many holidays in different parts of India, as well as many other exotic locations. Some of these include Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe (she was born in Poland) and the USA, where she grew up.
Basia has written about her impressions of the many places she has visited. These accounts are wonderful; I especially loved her piece about taking a luxurious bath in the Everest View Hotel after struggling up the mountains while trekking in Nepal.
In my opinion, the main strength of her blog, however, is the photography. It is brilliant. She never hesitates to not only take the spectacular, but she focusses her camera on the bizarre, the unusual and the ordinary things of life in these cultures.
Highly recommended.
Links:
- India Ink – India and beyond – the good, the bad, the ordinary and the spectacular.
- Travels in Nepal – from my travel blog
- Travels in Thailand – from my travel blog
Exotic Destinations: The View from Fez, Morocco
1 Comment »9th March, 2007; Category: Exotic Destinations
Over the last few days I have been searching the internet for blogs featuring exotic destinations. These have focussed this week on Morocco in the north west part of Africa. My wife and I would love to travel to exotic destinations like this but at the moment it is but a dream. (Update: in December 2011 this dream came true. Check the archives for posts and photos about our experiences.)
The View from Fez is a blog which has six different contributors. Fez is the third largest city in Morocco with a population of nearly a million. This blog, like so many of its type, has many beautiful photos, well worth the time lingering over them. But this blog is far more than the photos.
It includes a wonderful array of impressions of life in Morocco. It features the people, the culture, the customs and the festivals of this fascinating city. It also has hints for tourists and articles about what to see.
Links:
- Fez, Morocco – the Wikipedia article on the city
- The View from Fez – a blog about Fez, Morocco
- My Marrakesh – another blog from Morocco
- Travels in Nepal – my travel experiences in Nepal
- Travels in Thailand – my travels in Thailand
Exotic Destinations: The View from Morocco
Yesterday I wrote about my wife’s dream of travelling by train from Marrakech to Casablanca in Morocco. I thought I’d do a little virtual exploring of this wonderfully exotic destination.
The View from Morocco is a blog that takes an eclectic look at life in Morocco, a look at all its fascinating mysteries and beauties from shopping though to trekking in the mountains. It includes wonderful photos, hints for the traveller, places to go and see and even recommended restaurants to visit. Goodness – it even includes such diverse things as cycling in Morocco through to genuine Moroccan recipes!
Someday I hope we get there.
UPDATE: in December 2011 our dream came true. Check the archives for articles and photos about our trip.
Links:
- Travels in Thailand – from my journal written during my trip to Thailand.
- Travels in Nepal – from my journal written during my trek in the Everest region, visits to Chitwan National Park and impressions of Kathmandu.
- My Marrakech – a blog about lifestyle and design in Marrakech, Morocco, including beautiful photography.
Exotic Destinations: Marrakesh, Morocco
On my only trip overseas I visited both Thailand and Nepal. Both were wonderful in their own ways and they were culturally overwhelming places for a first time visitor. I thoroughly enjoyed my first, and hopefully not last, foray into other countries and cultures.
My wife and I often dream of visiting some very exotic places. We love watching the several travel programmes currently shown on local television. Armchair travelling is by far the cheapest form, followed closely by vicarious adventures via books and magazines (but not expensive if borrowed from the local library).
This is where the internet can be so useful. One can instantly travel to so many exotic and wonderful destinations with no cost, no danger and no inconvenience. Mind you, it isn’t quite the same as being there, but still very enjoyable.
One blog I recently found was a wonderful site called My Marrakech. It’s about lifestyle and design in Marrakech and has some beautiful photographs to complement the writing. Well worth a visit.
Morocco is one country my wife would love to visit. Her dream is to travel by train from Marrakech to Casablanca. Sounds wonderful. Perhaps one day we will make it. I’ll just have to keep on writing so I can take her on the journey of her dreams. UPDATE: This dream came true in December 2011. I’ve written extensively of our experiences and shown many photos of our time there on this site. Check the archives.
Links:
- Travels in Thailand – from my journal written during my trip.
- Travels in Nepal – from my journal written during my trek in the Everest region, visits to Chitwan National Park and impressions of Kathmandu.
- My Marrakech – a blog about lifestyle and design in Marrakech, Morocco, including beautiful photography.