tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-147079902024-03-07T00:46:23.419-07:00Travelography - Experiencing The WorldA place where I occasionally blog about my tourism, my travels and travel experiences. - Alan A. LewThe Travel Geographerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374093285849135840noreply@blogger.comBlogger265125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-80087242675168233032017-02-04T07:03:00.005-07:002017-04-20T20:15:07.683-07:00Adjectival, Specialty, Niche & Conceptual Tourisms<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What are Adjectival Tourisms?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.8px;">Adjectival Tourisms are all those forms of tourism that have an adjective in front of them. I can currently think of two broad forms of adjective tourisms. The first is niche tourism markets -- those that focus on the special interests of particular clients. This is also known as Specialty Tourism.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.8px;">The second approach consists of ways that academics describing the phenomenon of tourism and broad forms of tourism, including the tourism and travel experience and tourism landscapes and economies. I refer to these as Conceptual Tourisms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.8px;">These approaches are both listed below, in separate sections, along with an Unusual Tourisms section for concepts that have been thrown out there, but have not, in my opinion, gained any use. To get more information on any of the terms in this list, you can simply search for them in your favorite search engine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.8px;">Suggestions for additions, as well as appropriate links, are welcome in the comments section.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Specialty Niche Tourism Markets</span></b><br />
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For many of these, the word "Travel" is interchangeable with "Tourism"</div>
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<ol style="font-size: 13.8px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em 2em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Aboriginal Tourism (also <a href="https://www.roughguides.com/article/the-truth-about-tribal-tourism/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tribal Tourism</a> and Native American Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Active Tourism (participating in sport activities)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_travel" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Adventure Tourism</a> (usually outdoors; also <a href="http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/ultimate-adventure-bucket-list/?source=link_tw20110130adv-bucket" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Extreme Adventure</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Adventurous Leisure</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/12/12/aerial.tours/index.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Aerial Tourism</a> (also Flightseeing)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agritourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Agritourism</a> (or Farm Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Alternative Tourism (involving risk)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Alternative Sport (involving risk or counter culture)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.tourism-intelligence.co.uk/intelligence-guides/11-ancestral-tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Ancestral Tourism</a> (see also Roots Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Armchair Tourism (also Vicarious Travel -- experiencing travel without traveling)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Atomic Tourism</a> (also <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140917-nuclear-tourism-chernobyl-stalker/?utm_source=GooglePlus&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_gp20140918news-chernobyl" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Nuclear Tourism</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Atrocity Tourism (also War, Disaster, etc., below)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Audio Tours / Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpacking_%28travel%29" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Backpack Tourism</a> (or Youth Backpack Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Battlefield Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Beach Tourism (see also SSS, below)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/capital/2010/08/13/obama-signs-border-security-bill-as-immigration-fears-grow" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Birth Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Border Tourism (or Cross-Border Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_travel" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Business Travel</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Celebrity Tourism (including Celebrity Cruises)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Commodity Tourism (based on fishing, agriculture, etc.; includes Plantation Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Community Based Tourism (or Community Supported Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/14/corruption-tourism/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Corruption Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_ship" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Cruise Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culinary_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Culinary Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Diaspora Tourism (related to Roots Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Disaster Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dark Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Death Tourism (Dark Tourism to sites of disaster and death)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Dental Tourism (a form of Medical Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Desert Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Dive Tourism (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCUBA_diving" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SCUBA</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Drug Tourism (to buy legal or illegal drugs)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ecotourism </a>(or Eco-tourism in some countries)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Educational Tourism (or Edutourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Emersive Tourism (educational, volunteer, adventure and working travel)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://savvytraveler.publicradio.org/show/features/2001/20011026/interview.shtml" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Enclave Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2010/12/new-trend-engagementcations/136345/1?csp=tf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Engagementcations</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Equestrian Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Ethnic Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Event Tourism (or Special Event Tourism, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivals" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Festivals</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Extreme Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Fare Travel (application of "fare trade" to travel and tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_tour#Free_Independent_Traveler" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">FIT - Fully Independent Travel</a> (or Free and Independent Travel)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Good Tourism (also Gastronomy Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Free and Easy Travel (transportation and accommodations only package)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Gambling of Gaming Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Garden Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Gay Tourism</a> (also LGBT Tourism - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-city-reaches-1-000th-gay-marriage-163333590.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Gay Marriage Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Geography Tourism (also Extreme Geography Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopark" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Geoparks </a>Tourism (geology-based parks)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Geotourism </a>(related to GeoParks, and to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sustainable Tourism</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Girlfriend Getaway (all female trip)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- GIT - Group Inclusive Travel (also All Inclusive Holiday, related to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_holiday" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Package Tour</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Golf Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Green Tourism (related to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ecotourism </a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sustainable Tourism</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Greif Tourism (related to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanatourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Thanatourism</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.ttnworldwide.com/Article/16319/The_buzz_around_halal" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Halal Tourism</a> (sensitive to Islamic practices)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Health Tourism (overlapping with Wellness Tourism, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Medical Tourism</a> and New Age Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200407592/summer-heat-tourists-sweat-with-smiles-in-death-valley" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Heat Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Heritage Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Hobby Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/apr/10/dont-worry-i-wont-kill-you-the-strange-boom-in-homeless-tourism?CMP=share_btn_fb" target="_blank">Homeless Tourism / Tours</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestay" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Homestay Tourism</a> (also Village Stay Tourism and <em>Kampung</em> Stay Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Hot-Spot Tourism (places of current conflict)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Incentive Travel (gift or award vacations for employees)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Inclusive Tourism (for disability travelers)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://globetrooper.com/notes/group-tours-vs-independent-trips/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Independent Tour Groups</a> (aka "Donkey Friends" in China)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Island Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/12/21/256002951/jihad-tourism-from-germany-to-the-syrian-battlefield" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Jihad Tourism</a> (travel to support one side in a Muslim conflict)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://paulbennetts.co/millennials-are-beginning-to-choose-jobbaticals-over-jobs-and-bar-tips/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Jobbatical </a>(work exchange sabbatical)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeymoon" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Honeymoon </a>(or Second Honeymoon)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg47316/pdf/CHRG-111hhrg47316.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Libel Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/literary-cities/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Literary Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Local Travel (aka Proximity Tourism; related to Staycation)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Mass Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/03/maternity-tourism-makes-headlines-new-york-hotel-cited-in-report/149764/1?csp=34travel" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Maternity Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Medical Tourism</a> (also Organ Tourism and Transplant Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Meditation Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetings,_Incentives,_Conferencing,_Exhibitions" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">MICE </a>- Meetings, Incentive Travel, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Conventions </a>and Exhibitions</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Mountain Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Nautical Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Age_travelers" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">New Age Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Nightlife Tourism (also Entertainment Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_holiday" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Package Tourism</a> (related to GIT)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Perpetual Tourism ("travel as a way of life")</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Photography (or Photo) Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Plantation Tourism (Agritourism to tropical plantations)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Poverty Tourism</a> (or Poorism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Pro-Poor Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.tec-conseil.com/files/library/documents/10_TRA.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Proximity Tourism</a> (aka Local Travel; related to Staycation)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/faq" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Reality Tourism</a> (real world experiences; often related to Responsible Tourism and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Poverty Tourism</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Relationship Tourism (experimenting with brief, non-committal relationships, such as <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Students-on-Chatroulette-Fuel/65227/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">this</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Religious Tourism</a> (or Faith Tourism; includes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrimage" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Pilgrimage</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Residential Tourism (retirement in another country)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Respite Tourism (for care givers)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Responsible Tourism (or Purposeful Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reunion_Tour" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Reunion Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- River Cruise Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Romance Tourism (or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_sex_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Female Sex Tourism</a>, as opposed to Male Sex Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Roots Tourism (or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Genealogy</a> tourism; related to Diaspora Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Ruin Porn (related to: <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23urbex" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">#urbex</a>, <a href="http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/hidden-city/articles/about-the-show" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">hidden city</a>, <a href="http://www.abandonedamerica.us/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">abandoned america</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Rural Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Second Home Tourism (also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacation_property" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Vacation Home</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Senior Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sex Tourism</a> (also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Child_sex_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Child Sex Tourism</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Shopping Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Social Tourism (meaning social welfare, associated with European communist policies)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Space Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Sports Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- SSS - Sun, Sand and Surf (also Sand, Surf and Sex)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staycation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Staycation </a>(became widely used in Summer 2008; a form of Local Travel and Proximity Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanatourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Thanatourism </a>(meaning 'death' related tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Urban Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Vacation Rental Travel</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- VFR - Visiting Friends and Relatives</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Virtual Tourism (a modern form of Armchair Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_travel" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Volunteer Tourism</a> (also Voluntourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">War Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Wine Tourism (a form of Culinary Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Winter (Sports) Tourism</li>
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<span style="font-size: 13.8px; font-weight: bold;">====================================================</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>New and Unusual Tourisms</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.8px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.8px;">These are terms that I have come across, but I consider them concepts that are not yet used in any regular way -- at least not be most people and academics. ...Or perhaps I just feel uncomfortable putting them in either of the lists above.</span></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babymoon" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Babymoon </a>(a pre-birth honeymoon)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Biotourism (travel to biological sites and sights)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/black-hole-resorts-turn-up-tune-out-log-off-6917364.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Black-Hole Tourism/Resorts</a> (disconnecting from technology)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_town" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Book Town</a> tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Celebration Vacations</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Community Assistance Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Creative Tourism (tourist participation indestination arts)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Danger Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Deep Tourism (as opposed to shallow or supericial tourism, like "deep ecology")</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://tourismplace.blogspot.com/2006/11/emo-tourism.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Emo Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Fire Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Forever Tourism (a trip from which one never returns)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Genetourism (from the Greek, genesis = birth; tourism to birth places of famous people)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.eturbonews.com/5107/netherlands-man-charged-ny-graffiti-tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Graffiti Tourism</a> (travel to commit graffiti)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/16/8511/3529/travel/Infidelity+Travel%3A+Despite+Bad+Taste%2C+Madonna+and+A-Rod+Move+Forward" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Infadelity Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Intrabound Tourism (intra-regional? - appears on several websites, including Wikipedia, but is never defined)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Killing-Fields Tourism (a form of Thanatourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Lest We Forget Tourism (or Never-Again Tourism, meaning in rememberance of events that we should not forget)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libel_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Libel Tourism</a> (I am not sure this is really tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2016/12/10/libertine-tourism-how-naughty-travel-is-becoming-a-growing-industry/#c9fb84e7746a" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Libertine Tourism</a> (aka 'Naughty Travel' - for swingers)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Mea culpa Tourism (or perhaps Guilt Tourism; related to Lest We Forget Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancation" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mancation </a>(an all male trip)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Momcation (for mothers)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Pornographic Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Purposeful Tourism (also Meaningful Tourism, related to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_travel" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Volunteer Tourism</a>)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40758961/ns/travel-seasonal_travel/?ocid=twitter" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Resolution Tourism</a> (as in New Years resolutions)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.vagabondish.com/riot-tourism-2009s-best-international-hotbeds-anarchy-dissent/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Riot Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Sado-masochistic Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.good.is/posts/summer-communes-an-alternative-and-temporary-way-of-living-together" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Summer Communes</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Tummy Tuck Travel (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">medical tourism</a> for plastic surgery)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/15/15285/622/travel/Adventures+of+Link%3A+Ultra+Budget+Travel" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ultra Budget Travel</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Unguided Travel (random explorations of place)</li>
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Related to this list is an article on <a href="http://www.eturbonews.com/5051/dumbest-travel-trends-ever" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Worst Travel Trends</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Conceptual Tourisms - for Academic Research</b></span></div>
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These are more on the theoretical and academic concepts of tourism experiences and landscapes.</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Active / Passive Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Authentic Tourism (or Tourism and Authenticity)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Behavioral Tourism (studying tourist behavior and decision making)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Clustered Tourism (or Destination Tourism) / Dispersed Tourism (or Touring Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Critical Tourism (or Critical Tourism Studies)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Deep Play (or Deep and Dangerous Play; involving risk)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Existential (Authenticity) Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Experimental / Participatory Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Experiential Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Globalization / Localization / Hybrid Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Inbound/ Outbound Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Inauthentic / Placeless / Staged Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Modern / Postmodern Tourism (or Pomo Tourism and Post-Tourists)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Pro-Poor / Responsible Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Recreational Tourism</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Serious Leisure (the opposite of Recreational Tourism)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_tourism" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Sustainable Tourism</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Tourism 2.0, Travel 2.0, Tourism 3.0 and <a href="http://web20travel.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-is-travel-30.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Travel 3.0</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://tourismplace.blogspot.com/2011/03/tourism-incognita-importance-of.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tourism Incognita</a> (the unexpected and unknown in travel)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- <a href="http://tourismcommunities.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tourism Resilience</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">- Structured Tourism</li>
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Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-80517315766813881242016-03-16T15:05:00.002-07:002016-10-24T08:27:16.805-07:00My Best World Atlas<div class="style1" id="hubtitle" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
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My Best World Atlas</span></h1>
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<span style="color: purple;">This list of map and map-related sources had gotten old, so I deleted it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>For a current list of map things that I use for teaching, please visit: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b><a href="http://www.wrgeography.com/world-atlas.html" target="_blank">http://www.wrgeography.com/world-atlas.html</a><span style="color: purple;">.</span></b><br />
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Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-59653058628136261472016-02-08T15:33:00.000-07:002017-11-01T11:26:48.890-07:00The World's Top Tourist Attractions<div id="title" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px;">
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The World's Top Tourist Attractions</h1>
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Updated on 1 November 2017</div>
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Purpose</h2>
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I use this to keep track of websites that provide lists to the most important tourist attractions around the world -- which I use for my work. I maintains this more like a webpage and will update it as I find resources to add. Suggestions are welcome.</div>
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Lists of theTop Tourist Attractions in the World</h2>
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<strong>1 - <a href="http://www.planetware.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Planetware</a></strong> - Attractions listed by country - based on Baedeker Guides, this may be the most complete list of top attractions (4 and 5 star-rated), listed by country, that is available anywhere. From this link, click on a country, then click on Top Attractions. For a more complete list (and alternative attractions) click on the Attractions link.</div>
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<strong>2 -</strong> <a href="http://www.worldtravelguide.net/destinations" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>World Tourist Attraction Guide</strong></a> - A fairly comprehensive list of major world tourist attractions by region. Also includes country information, contact addresses for additional tourist information, videos and photos of some destinations, and maps. Some areas may still be under construction.</div>
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<strong>3 - </strong><em>Hillman Wonders</em><strong> - <a href="http://www.hillmanwonders.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">World's Top 100 Wonders of the World</a></strong> - Also liste by country. Individual descriptions are provided for most sites.</div>
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<strong>4</strong> <b>-</b> <strong style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;"><a href="http://www.sightsmap.com/" rel="" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sightsmap</a></strong><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;"> - A Google Map of the most photographed places on the internet. Zoom in at any scale to see the ten most photographed sites, which are frequently also the ten most popular or visited attractions. Zoom in even more to see actual photos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;"><b>5 - <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/?source=sitenav/" target="_blank">National Geographic's Destinations</a></b> website - with travel guides organized by region and country.</span></div>
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Top Specialty and Niche Attractions</h2>
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<strong>1. <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">UNESCO World Heritage List</a></strong> - Even better is <strong>The Tentative List </strong>(on the sidebar menu of this site), which includes sites that countries plan to propose to the Heritage List in the future, and many of which are "undiscovered" by the mass tourism industry.Also on the sidebar menu is their <strong>World Heritage in Danger List.</strong></div>
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<strong>2</strong><strong style="font-size: 13.8px;">.</strong><strong style="color: #551a8b; font-size: 13.8px; outline: 0px;"><a href="http://www.topworld.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a></strong><strong style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;"><a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/places" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Atlas Obscura</a> </strong><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;">- A listing of some of the more obscure (odd, unusual and often dark) attractions around the world.</span></div>
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<strong>3. <a href="http://www.protectedplanet.net/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Protected Planet</a></strong> - A Google Map showing protected natural areas of the world, with links to additional information.</div>
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Related Attraction Resources</h2>
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<strong>1 - </strong><strong style="font-size: 13.8px;"><a href="http://www.worldtourismdirectory.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">World Tourism Directory</a></strong><span style="font-size: 13.8px;"> - Comprehensive list of tourism offices, tourism schools, country and attraction information, and more. Also try the </span><a href="http://unwto.org/en/members/states" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; font-size: 13.8px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b>UNWTO Membership Directory</b></a><span style="font-size: 13.8px;">.</span></div>
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<strong>2 - </strong><strong style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;"><a href="http://www.travelphotobase.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Travel Photo Base.com</a></strong><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;"> - Annotated photos for a huge number of places around the US and the World. - Also see: </span><a href="http://www.fotopedia.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #551a8b; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Fotopedia.com</a><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 20.7px;">, which seems to have become more popular in recent years.</span></div>
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Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-82618708686387935662012-08-31T16:06:00.000-07:002012-09-02T08:57:31.955-07:00A Passport Encounter Makes My Day<br />
My flight from Münich landed in Philadelphia about noon yesterday, en route to Phoenix. I had started my journey home early in the morning (waking at 5:45am, Germany Time) and I had been awake most of the flight, though I did take a couple of short naps. After sitting for many hours on a plane, I typically enjoy taking an invigorating brisk (i.e., fast) walk from the plane to wherever I need to go, often skipping the automated walkways completely because they are too slow.<br />
<br />
First stop yesterday, after the restroom, was the passport immigration check. There was a pretty long line which was filtered into many shorter lines of eight or so people each. When I was about in the middle of the shorter line, I noticed the person who was with the immigration agent in front of me. He was there with his wife, who was holding a baby, and the look on his face and his body language was one of total disgust at having to be put through the passport check process. His wife also had a frown on her face, though she did not have the totally negative body language that the guy had.<br />
<br />
When they left the agent shook his head and raised his hand as if to give the guy the finger, though he did not actually do that. For some reason, I thought to myself that I should try and get him to smile when I got up there. It is unfortunate that people who are just trying to do their job have to put up with the bad moods of others. The next two people in front of me, however, did not smile at all, though they were not grumpy like that one guy was. That then made me think that, well, maybe I wont be able to make him smile after all, and I mostly forgot about trying to do that.<br />
<br />
It was now my turn. The agent asked me where I had been, how long I was gone and what I had been doing. I told him I was in Germany for about 10 days to attend a conference and visit some relatives. He then asked me what I did, and I told him I was a professor at Northern Arizona University, after which he asked me what I taught. I told him geography -- that is when things changed. He said he has come to like geography since he started his current job. I said that our students are typically a bit older than some other majors, because they usually discover geography later. He laughed and said that he was too old to go back to school. I wasn't trying to recruit him, but I laughed as well.<br />
<br />
And after I left him I thought to myself, wow, that was pretty amazing. I hope the rest of his day went well, because that encounter sure made my day. It really is those small and unexpected encounters that are the most memorable when we travel.<br />
<br />Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-47971079116322543122012-06-22T19:08:00.000-07:002012-06-22T19:08:04.439-07:00Travel Tip: AirAsia's Row 4<br />
Warning: This is not for the superstitious! During my semester in Malaysia, I have flown on AirAsia maybe a dozen times now. AirAsia is the most successful discount airline in the world, and is a great money saver. And, I have found an *almost* guaranteed way to get a full row of seats to yourself on an AriAsia flight. First, you have to pay a little extra for a "Hot Seat". These are the first five rows and the two exit rows of most AirAisia planes. They have a little more leg room (I think) and you get to board and unboard before everyone else. Next, select Row 4. <br />
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The word "four" is considered unlucky by Chinese, for whom it is a homonym of the word for "death". Thus, most buildings in East and Southeast Asia do not have a 4th floor. They either call it 3A or just skip it altogether. I saw one hotel recently in Hong Kong that skipped both the 4th and 13th floors.<br />
<br />
I accidentally stumbled on AirAsia's 4th row on a flight about a couple of months ago. I was on a packed AirAsia plane on which almost all of the Hot Seats were taken (which is extremely rare -- perhaps caused by a canceled flight?) and I was in the 4th row, which I had selected not remembering the Chinese superstition at the time. I had the whole row to myself, allowing me to lean against the window and put my legs up on the seats next to me.<br />
<br />
No, I am not superstitious when it comes to numbers. My lucky number has always been 13, and I have never had an unlucky number. While I generally avoid 4 and favored 8, due to my Chinese background, it is not something that I have strong feelings about. In fact, I think bad luck numbers are really silly.<br />
<br />
I suspect that this 4th row tip may apply to most all airlines in East and Southeast Asia (and especially in China). So, if you are comfortable with the number 4, like me, take advantage of this more comfortable upgrade before everyone else figures it out!<br />
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<br /></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-30507669376067370912012-05-30T13:02:00.000-07:002012-05-31T03:31:29.430-07:00Oh Cambodia!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYvI6nC3HUDqJpbQU2vedKPbIAr4ezgjA9P3mBiGeYZWqeyARORHYjftvXpPDn_YduL6kUqGTtxAifRdA2nmdVxYjm1gvPLu7GpF4mykwr-rmyNO3tTBgSNNleLWC11QStLSnYw/s1600/DSC00184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYvI6nC3HUDqJpbQU2vedKPbIAr4ezgjA9P3mBiGeYZWqeyARORHYjftvXpPDn_YduL6kUqGTtxAifRdA2nmdVxYjm1gvPLu7GpF4mykwr-rmyNO3tTBgSNNleLWC11QStLSnYw/s320/DSC00184.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">It was election time in Cambodia when we were there. These are two of the opposition parties, which hold only a small number of seats in Cambodia's parlaiment.</td></tr>
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<b>Phnom Penh</b><br />
<br />
We just returned from a short trip to Cambodia that included a one day symposium in Phnom Penh on community based tourism and visits to the Killing Fields and a Cham village in the Phnom Penh area, a visit to the Khmer Village Homestay (a "community involvement" social enterprise) between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and visits to Angkor Wat and the Tonle Sap out of Siem Reap. We (the 25 people in our group) had brought donations (school supplies and used clothing) for the Cham village and a Khmer village next to the Khmer Homestay.<br />
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Except for my wife and me, all of our group were Malaysians and most were Muslim Malays. So the trip tended to include places of interest to Muslim Malays, including the Cham village (the Cham adopted Islam through Malaysia and many speak Malay, as well, because of visits there for religious education), another Cham community in Siem Reap where we had lunch one day, and restaurants in Phnom Penh that served Halal food to Malaysian (and other Muslim) tourists, though the food also tended to be Malaysian dishes and not Cambodian.<br />
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We also had Cambodian food, cooked halal when we were with the group and probably not when we were on our own. One of the best meals was in a small restaurant a few blocks from the Tonle Sap River, which is where most of the international tourists are located. The food was fresh, with lots of vegetables -- among the healthier restaurant meals that we have had eating out in Asia. We also had some durian one evening, which was tasty and not nearly as smelly as Malaysian durian.<br />
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We stayed at the Ohana Hotel near Wat Ounalom and next to an interesting local street market. Having been in Cambodia before, though not to Phnom Penh, I already knew that US currency was used everywhere, though I still felt uneasy about the colonial nature of that. What struck me even more was the large number of western faces in this part of town -- they were everywhere, of all ages and from many different parts of the world. I heard Australian and US versions of English, French and German. I also saw quite a few men, either by themselves or with one other man, which might reflect the large number of young women sitting in front of the many bars along the side streets in this area.<br />
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The Malaysian aspect of the trip was actually quite interesting. The Cham, for instance, are the largest minority group in Cambodia (about 5 to 6% of the country's population) and are among the most impoverished (though the Khmer villages looked about the same). Apparently there are two types of Muslim Cham, one that is close to Malaysia in their practices, and one that still practices traditional animist beliefs and are less tied to the outside world. I am sure we only saw the former.<br />
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<b>A Killing Field</b><br />
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The day visiting the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (a former Khmer Rouge prison) was quite haunting. Because of all the photographs, the museum seemed to have a deeper impact than the Killing Fields, which is actually just one of some 340 around the country! However, it is the nearest to Phnom Penh and has been best developed to memorialize that sad period in Cambodian history. Adding to the impact was our guide who was about 15 years old at the time (1975-79) and remembers it well!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtTxBoj7YtMb3sIx-AjKgTqfbVjVrDHfC4EQrSPCBNpZE4jB6sYJS3AHJCA1UCYELHvHboO9_t9DduDzV4pduXz1CzlFUV2JRzvTFnrEvuNxPmPPV2Yk2E9FZp99lhFJJzfAKog/s1600/DSC08480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtTxBoj7YtMb3sIx-AjKgTqfbVjVrDHfC4EQrSPCBNpZE4jB6sYJS3AHJCA1UCYELHvHboO9_t9DduDzV4pduXz1CzlFUV2JRzvTFnrEvuNxPmPPV2Yk2E9FZp99lhFJJzfAKog/s320/DSC08480.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Photos of victims of the Tuol Slep Prison (click photo for larger view).</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GrU10OE8sSJKiVNwvcxJ6ibUJTOVgDfrLwgnXB6C0AWk5ANVgpUbKhLi-YUdwF9lH13CYXcJ1sC_iIxGu1bBtu9AYOhv67f1h8V5Whke4DZLrKQ5iswvB-oemMuCXJJI6wPvJg/s1600/DSC08520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GrU10OE8sSJKiVNwvcxJ6ibUJTOVgDfrLwgnXB6C0AWk5ANVgpUbKhLi-YUdwF9lH13CYXcJ1sC_iIxGu1bBtu9AYOhv67f1h8V5Whke4DZLrKQ5iswvB-oemMuCXJJI6wPvJg/s320/DSC08520.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The Tuol Slep Prison was originally a school. Holes were broken in the walls to create viewing doors between classrooms (so guards can keep an eye on each other), and prisoners created their own cells from bricks (for men, here) and wood for women.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5iUZBP-Gc7wUaPwB_gr9lPwhJog25YhTM8N4zYD2A4cXa5KBGXA6HLu1vxh9tHvr2a4nl34snFcgCt_FobwOl2HSoY4gR44oDnP1JubbibgSIKc0A1QrtUB9ZKYL5Ips-3vDcg/s1600/DSC08584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5iUZBP-Gc7wUaPwB_gr9lPwhJog25YhTM8N4zYD2A4cXa5KBGXA6HLu1vxh9tHvr2a4nl34snFcgCt_FobwOl2HSoY4gR44oDnP1JubbibgSIKc0A1QrtUB9ZKYL5Ips-3vDcg/s320/DSC08584.JPG" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">One of two living survivors of Tuol Slep Prison (out of the seven who survived).</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HLOZG9yMxCry-I_-BXUozEzXqmLXRK0aFSDZsvUJKhNS7WeJd_NQpDpWoLrUtd0lIarYJ6cK3j0ZBsA9OtnIKfdZmhyKlqQkP2LoVab5wD90VBFdXj2F2U_GAp2Ca5HCPsriCg/s1600/DSC08719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HLOZG9yMxCry-I_-BXUozEzXqmLXRK0aFSDZsvUJKhNS7WeJd_NQpDpWoLrUtd0lIarYJ6cK3j0ZBsA9OtnIKfdZmhyKlqQkP2LoVab5wD90VBFdXj2F2U_GAp2Ca5HCPsriCg/s320/DSC08719.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The child killing tree at the Choeung Ek Killing Field near Phnom Penh. A mass grave of over 100 babies and childen, plus some women, is to the right. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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In the afternoon of our visit to the Killing Fields sites, we visited a Cham village along the Tonle Sap River just north of the city. This village occasionally has Malaysian tourists come to visit, because of their interest in things Muslim and because some of the villagers speak Malay. The villagers main income is from fishing in the river. Most have very simple homes on stilts, which are similar to that of many of the Sea Bajau in Sabah, Malaysia (where I have been living). The children seemed very happy, however, and the village elders expressed an interest in having more tourism as a way to supplement their livelihood. We did not pay to visit them, though we did bring donations of food stuffs and office-type supplies (I think).<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKzpSb4GWNTD7fKtHr_zymOc6QL2tiZG1FNqz5hGEBx3qLuAiT_IC8ZVXnjlqrCTki5l8rQ_BQLOOlcV5j3CfuMVeRQ3h8xhCEAN1ba1SOl522gqcO6n56NKp9lZoYsEF2XC64g/s1600/DSC09114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKzpSb4GWNTD7fKtHr_zymOc6QL2tiZG1FNqz5hGEBx3qLuAiT_IC8ZVXnjlqrCTki5l8rQ_BQLOOlcV5j3CfuMVeRQ3h8xhCEAN1ba1SOl522gqcO6n56NKp9lZoYsEF2XC64g/s320/DSC09114.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Chatting with the leader of the Cham village (in pink) at the village mosque. Our guide is to the right of him. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6WcBq62JD7959NVUtApXZ_LSoQf98qweOOSAmEsKDQW_c8k0fgk0RKfbucsYVUjg8N59na7ruN-jILrmnBkjmZFKcZYxbPRIfFm28xWORHCsTUEsZiZSKdk5ZGWjce6y8xi6QA/s1600/DSC08451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6WcBq62JD7959NVUtApXZ_LSoQf98qweOOSAmEsKDQW_c8k0fgk0RKfbucsYVUjg8N59na7ruN-jILrmnBkjmZFKcZYxbPRIfFm28xWORHCsTUEsZiZSKdk5ZGWjce6y8xi6QA/s320/DSC08451.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Two young Cham girls.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1OsSw3io4dhwzJw5MPhV4xtRoyzYm3mqBhES29Xv8p2t_x1jRmclGro_Jxc-4qWlY13bd5wRzYzPH6L-ynfkpLRJrOLayM0d1LuguCm6fStNaFtGqnEQIV4tFitGbrRsPwMisw/s1600/DSC09144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1OsSw3io4dhwzJw5MPhV4xtRoyzYm3mqBhES29Xv8p2t_x1jRmclGro_Jxc-4qWlY13bd5wRzYzPH6L-ynfkpLRJrOLayM0d1LuguCm6fStNaFtGqnEQIV4tFitGbrRsPwMisw/s320/DSC09144.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Typical house in the Cham village, with the Tonle Sap River behind. Some are much more simple thant this, a few are much better.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKVM6W9uksCR2Uumi5ubP_L9MZHyttah7sGg1AUIa6kXsniEIhtkkecjesufj2NIkJRaVP1RXdMpws8RJ48G90WZ6HdBpy0xkvjXlB_cOeGrnCgwjAfGQ1pykf024stVh36j0Og/s1600/DSC09180c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKVM6W9uksCR2Uumi5ubP_L9MZHyttah7sGg1AUIa6kXsniEIhtkkecjesufj2NIkJRaVP1RXdMpws8RJ48G90WZ6HdBpy0xkvjXlB_cOeGrnCgwjAfGQ1pykf024stVh36j0Og/s320/DSC09180c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The kitchen area inside one of the Cham houses.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUOqAejSEHlQfSEWXnxRrBKrAVhAntkwA0wE-9LQq2DTeIUS0AF30YGLizLPuwRc9Uajn2XNWYnTXAe5f8sEhILPP6c3NCG-Xe6uQ2ta1lIUyESqZ4Rw_7PSo-daCMcLMFSSLDA/s1600/DSC09193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUOqAejSEHlQfSEWXnxRrBKrAVhAntkwA0wE-9LQq2DTeIUS0AF30YGLizLPuwRc9Uajn2XNWYnTXAe5f8sEhILPP6c3NCG-Xe6uQ2ta1lIUyESqZ4Rw_7PSo-daCMcLMFSSLDA/s320/DSC09193.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Cham kids playing in the water puddles after a rain. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<br />
After the Cham village we stopped at another village that specialized in hand crafted silver and other thin metal products. On the way back to Phnom Penh, several of us opted to take an evening river cruise to watch the sunset which was nice. It was on the Tonle Sap River. Phnom Penh is located where the Tonle Sap River connects to the Mekong River. I say connect because the Tonle Sap River flows into the Mekong River during the dry season (November to May), while the flooded Mekong River flows into the Tonle Sap River during the rainy season (June to October). In this way, the river changes direction from every six months or so. I think this is the only place in the world where this happens!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64hZLMcARu2TOvYeQtJLrcnbHsAwIXar_s8GnAINtsnTRK1FpuGR3dplk6hCjnpKPIQ0igT9p5KElw8FMk87rvvCoQpYoiYh7AhutbZPPjX3A4a_4G81gqOxWssJwxm7JtpzQHA/s1600/DSC09308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64hZLMcARu2TOvYeQtJLrcnbHsAwIXar_s8GnAINtsnTRK1FpuGR3dplk6hCjnpKPIQ0igT9p5KElw8FMk87rvvCoQpYoiYh7AhutbZPPjX3A4a_4G81gqOxWssJwxm7JtpzQHA/s320/DSC09308.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Two young boys copying the adults in the family, who are actually making silver crafts for sale. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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Phnom Penh is a fairly pleasant city of about 1.5 million. The culture and ambience is reminiscent of Hanoi, though the buildings are not nearly as old. People are friendly, there seems to be a lot of international tourists, prices are high in the most touristed areas, but pretty cheap if you venture further beyond.<br />
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<b>Baray District</b><br />
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The next day we drove from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. On the way we stopped at a rest stop that specialized in selling fried spiders and crickets, and at the "Khmer Village Homestay". The latter was created by a Malaysian Chinese woman who came to Cambodia to do missionary development work in the 1990s, but recently started a a restaurant and dormitory-style accommodations to train and teach entrepreneurial and other skills to the locals. We ate at her SOLAR restaurant (<a href="http://www.mekongresponsibletourism.org/cambodia/30-do-cambodia/10-cbt-homestays-in-cambodia/a-cambodian-rural-homestay-away-from-home.html" target="_blank">School of Livelihood and Refuge</a>), and toured here accommodations, which can hold up to 100 in stilt houses.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXB0PJQYqNtqsmP5w9SN41ZS4d21cwdYJhunjniIVGtIJo05SZXT-dyM6-UnTl2IBjx3VOZO2PiyDwcQY7XkrHkRp_zSVfKcbJvOFtkDfBz3idRPfia-RHENu8hYipI0xdlVZIg/s1600/DSC08778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXB0PJQYqNtqsmP5w9SN41ZS4d21cwdYJhunjniIVGtIJo05SZXT-dyM6-UnTl2IBjx3VOZO2PiyDwcQY7XkrHkRp_zSVfKcbJvOFtkDfBz3idRPfia-RHENu8hYipI0xdlVZIg/s320/DSC08778.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Khmer Homestay. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_p1p8zVaGnrx3r5aLj0k8RcOCKoqEiv4G532VtV3OoOttXQwJApsYstCikup8PNk2lTmyWFampii1BRpxkBlpGGXWihPIBmsLbixVfx1wvtd_qbY1FKxAjIOk5WABHk552Tz89g/s1600/DSC08817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_p1p8zVaGnrx3r5aLj0k8RcOCKoqEiv4G532VtV3OoOttXQwJApsYstCikup8PNk2lTmyWFampii1BRpxkBlpGGXWihPIBmsLbixVfx1wvtd_qbY1FKxAjIOk5WABHk552Tz89g/s320/DSC08817.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">One of the dormitory accommodations at the Khmer Homestay. They come in a wide variety of styles. You can see the mosquito net where the beds are.</td></tr>
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Most of her guests are young people from Singapore, where a volunteer experience to a less developed country in Southeast Asia is a required part of their secondary school curriculum. This is in the Baray District, which used to be a Khmer Rouge stronghold and was, until recently, considered one of the more "wild" part of Cambodia. While there, we visited the Khmer village next door where all the children stood in line to receive gifts of school supplies and used clothing that we had brought.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAB_Vo9uActiCGVRHLj1fGudL0TcQoOITuFPAWkbR4tUNFItjmb6qsC1Xnt2PdFoX44DG1qi9GQDHJsyJiCtD_SEKgs5IftMwvXlNQAuNCVkjekCOvv0CDgnz_QWmTtv9hLKF2Zw/s1600/DSC09972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAB_Vo9uActiCGVRHLj1fGudL0TcQoOITuFPAWkbR4tUNFItjmb6qsC1Xnt2PdFoX44DG1qi9GQDHJsyJiCtD_SEKgs5IftMwvXlNQAuNCVkjekCOvv0CDgnz_QWmTtv9hLKF2Zw/s320/DSC09972.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The Khmer village next to the Khmer Homestay. Note the plastic sheets. These are lit up at night to attract crickets that are collected in the water below the sheet and then fried for eating. You see this all over the Baray District.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6P-T-bS8GHtXZuEvRMY5SKOyzVwhTQDrl7KVmULAq-63khp1E_6Sw2TV5JuIaDlsE8Wg6dHvwBKEio9eMDukg96Tv4wNJwjmlm4hM1FfSZcXNyIzGMgALh30ArVhPrGqHfqXDg/s1600/DSC08850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6P-T-bS8GHtXZuEvRMY5SKOyzVwhTQDrl7KVmULAq-63khp1E_6Sw2TV5JuIaDlsE8Wg6dHvwBKEio9eMDukg96Tv4wNJwjmlm4hM1FfSZcXNyIzGMgALh30ArVhPrGqHfqXDg/s320/DSC08850.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Children lining up to receive gifts from the tourists at the Khmer village. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<b>Siem Reap </b><br />
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That night was spent in Siem Reap and the morning of the next day was spent visiting the three most famous temples of Angkor Wat: Angkor Wat itself, Ta Phrom (famous of the tropical trees that are tearing it apart), and Bayon. We had lunch as the Cham village that I mentioned above, then after a rest we went to the Tonle Sap Lake.<br />
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This was our second visit to Siem Reap. Last time we were here was in 2008 and we spent one day at Angkor and one day at the Tonle Sap. While a somewhat slower pace at Angkor Wat would have been nice, we did see the three most impressive sites there (we saw six sites last time, which may have been too many).<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXfjEBjlZ2UHubySJz7vhaZjbwsUypWQqu6nYuQx2j87skNg8fT_BB_Evco7trNgoSLzn69oCK5qljrO-54uZbB3KINx545oqZNuRpcp-uc4NzPeDdVO-d0lwg54MCrnP6cVNcg/s1600/DSC00519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXfjEBjlZ2UHubySJz7vhaZjbwsUypWQqu6nYuQx2j87skNg8fT_BB_Evco7trNgoSLzn69oCK5qljrO-54uZbB3KINx545oqZNuRpcp-uc4NzPeDdVO-d0lwg54MCrnP6cVNcg/s320/DSC00519.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">View from the top of Angkor Wat (which was not yet open when I came here in 2008). (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZc0CKOA80quIUvRYvlZjEV7eSTQ4i_x_0X5oQIAEjsjnpGwr_5Rz5OyqgT_czct0SmQjF0Tf6_T89nFY5m08_cvDQwbK41UTdL6zUZgZNAApdfTFPM_NKHhrsW8qsuSZRd3msw/s1600/DSC00654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZc0CKOA80quIUvRYvlZjEV7eSTQ4i_x_0X5oQIAEjsjnpGwr_5Rz5OyqgT_czct0SmQjF0Tf6_T89nFY5m08_cvDQwbK41UTdL6zUZgZNAApdfTFPM_NKHhrsW8qsuSZRd3msw/s320/DSC00654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Victims of land mines play music for donations a the Ta Prom Temple. I also gave them some money the last time I was here.</td></tr>
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The biggest change was that our tickets (which had our photos on them) were checked at every site we visited. Last time they were never checked! I think that is a good thing. There is also a lot of reconstruction going on, especially at Ta Prom (the Raiders of the Lost Arch movie temple). I hope they do not rebuild too much. To me, leaving a good part in its more "authentic" decay is a good thing. Other than that, however, the experience of the temples was the same: awe inspiring!<br />
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For us, the Tonle Sap was a little bit of a let down in comparison to our previous visit there in 2008. At that time, the the year-round port facility was under construction. It is now finished and this is now where tourists get on boats to go out to the lake. The waterway to the port is now wider, but seems to be more shallow, causing more challenges for boats going in both directions.<br />
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<tr><td><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnMxEx-GLkZOInaeMbEsMSAtZECp_n2cburiIjmMKnepKlAkvs_CA-kghtrijh6vMFtiN-ZdlZmvBxC-lfUWZ-Z88NAC7iHYM8ebsyzAd6xSzrpo5Y4vpObF4hXtkHLR9i0y_qQ/s320/DSC01398.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Close to where the small river enters the Tonle Sap lake. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITxQN0JEIpYD7XqA0lUlwfPyEi_b7tieoz7Aox_I44a01DPNtXw16OV2haLkkFPW4A4mSMQ64MsKordZM8LqktnoDKRb7C5mzttHPt1pJulPlPaQuTUiG6nCWCeBCBytr8xg3hg/s1600/DSC01360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITxQN0JEIpYD7XqA0lUlwfPyEi_b7tieoz7Aox_I44a01DPNtXw16OV2haLkkFPW4A4mSMQ64MsKordZM8LqktnoDKRb7C5mzttHPt1pJulPlPaQuTUiG6nCWCeBCBytr8xg3hg/s320/DSC01360.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A tourist boat revs its engine, splashing muddy water on villagers who approach the boats asking for money. (click photo for larger view, not the one boy in a round pan)</td></tr>
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The Tonle Sap (usually translated as "Great Lake") triples in size during the Mekong River's rainy season, when the Tonle Sap River flows into the lake, and shrinks in the dry season, when the river flows from the lake and into the Mekong River. In theory, the lake should be higher this time (in May) than it was the last time we came (in March). However, it seemed like it was lower! (drought? new up river dams?) Because it was so low, our boat could only take us one of the floating restaurant platforms (same one we visited in 2008), and could not take us through the floating village, itself.<br />
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That was a bummer. The village is really cool, with floating churches, stores, gardens, poultry, and even a basketball court. It seemed like there were several more restaurant platforms now, compared to before, and even more floating houses. Perhaps the floating village is experiencing urbanization?!?!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoQl1BTnUDnIij2206-oYlHBJYLt7S5C6Kz_fSrfFUZxEKWnkFSlAXGxWcmZJMhlpwcmcNdlBoChcPZmmYYZudhnbfR1D0qQ5VhmxJe1EfK0q6fk3UfSdAnIodaORITuDpxz7wQ/s1600/DSC01427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoQl1BTnUDnIij2206-oYlHBJYLt7S5C6Kz_fSrfFUZxEKWnkFSlAXGxWcmZJMhlpwcmcNdlBoChcPZmmYYZudhnbfR1D0qQ5VhmxJe1EfK0q6fk3UfSdAnIodaORITuDpxz7wQ/s320/DSC01427.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The buildings here will be floating when the lake reaches a higher level, and all of the trees seen here will be covered by water. (click photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALh77AK-VtKyo6ElxDMgMeYH38tIpLEZpbRIXn_t_4J7t9kEbsTXWAGLgrNjWKLf6zkOjT64Y3RdscivE0WfXOMveL-9aZ-L0Ws0F3FqRZSTDvIrf4AyjC9fdayHqqOSOQ6cpqg/s1600/DSC01440c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALh77AK-VtKyo6ElxDMgMeYH38tIpLEZpbRIXn_t_4J7t9kEbsTXWAGLgrNjWKLf6zkOjT64Y3RdscivE0WfXOMveL-9aZ-L0Ws0F3FqRZSTDvIrf4AyjC9fdayHqqOSOQ6cpqg/s320/DSC01440c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">"Real photographers" (you can tell by the long lenses!) visiting one the clusters of buildings along the side of the river linking the new harbor with the Tonle Sap lake.</td></tr>
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<b>Oh Cambodia!</b><br />
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The trip may have been very different if the original plans had not been thwarted by money issues. The symposium was supposed to include a dozen or so people and papers by Cambodian academics, in addition to the Malaysians. Malaysia, a much more wealthy country, was paying for it all, and the Cambodians had requested about US$400 per person to use their university facilities (which is a lot of money!). The Malaysia side, however, was not able to come up with the money as quickly as the Cambodians said they need it, so the Cambodians canceled the event.<br />
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The only problem was that the Malaysians had already bought all of the airline tickets and booked the hotel rooms for the trip. So they found another venue for the conference, at a fraction of the price, and went ahead organizing it all on their own. The Cambodians were invited, at no cost to them, but they all had other commitments and could not make it. Too bad. The symposium was really good, and would have been better with their input.<br />
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Apparently (and this is just a guess), someone on the Cambodian side did not get paid their cut in organizing the event, causing it to be canceled. From what I understand, bribery is part of the culture of Cambodia. There are hierarchies of authority throughout the society and money taken at any lower level must include enough to pay off each of the higher levels. So when a policeman takes a bribe, he keeps part of it and passes on the rest to higher ups. This is just they way the society works (or so I was told): everyone getting a cut of every bribe and scheme.<br />
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Unfortunately, we experienced some of this ourselves, both coming into Cambodia and leaving the country. (We were fine within the country, itself.) On arrival we had heard that even though a "Tourist Visa on Arrival" for Americans only costs US$20, they will try and charge you US$25 (the price for a business visa), and you just need to call them on it to get your money back. Well, they did that to us, as well. Unfortunately, we were so concerned about getting our passports back, and a bit tired and dissheveled from the flight and trying to figure out what line to stand it that we completely spaced the fact that they gave us US$50 in change instead of US$60. We did not realize our mistake until we were on the bus to the hotel!!!<br />
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On the way back, we flew AirAsia from Siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur. On arriving in KL, one of our two checked bags had the lock missing, meaning that someone had opened it to inspect it. They had opened my computer accessories bag, full of wires, chargers and an external hard drive. After we got back to KK, we found (1) that they had manhandled the external hard drive, bending the USB 3.0 cable, which now needs to be fiddled with to get it to work; and (2) they had taken three SD memory cards from a pouch that was now empty! Oh Cambodia!<br />
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(All photos are by Alan A. Lew and are release under a creative commons copyright with attribution required, only non-commercial uses allowed, share alike final products. If you do not know what that means, look it up!)Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-87022660582210402892012-04-01T01:47:00.001-07:002012-04-01T18:21:32.017-07:00Dive 54, Where Are You?<br />
There was a sitcom from youth called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_54,_Where_Are_You%3F" target="_blank">Car 54, Where Are You?</a>" about the antics of some wayward NYPD policemen who drove car number 54. This came to mind as I wrote some notes in my dive journal about my 54th dive, which I did yesterday on Pulau Sapi, just off the coast here in Kota Kinbalu.<br />
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I recently decided to try and do at least one dive a month while I am here in Malaysia, excluding January, when we arrived, which is generally not a good dive month due to the monsoons. In early February, I went diving at Mamutik Island, which is close to P. Sapi and also part of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. I did three dives yesterday, the last day of March, at Pulau Sapi. And I hope to get two dives in April, if possible -- other travels may get in the way. In May, I will be diving at Mabul and Sipidan islands, the latter being one of the top dive destinations in the world. In June we head to Peninsular Malaysia, where I will have a couple of opportunities to dive before we leave Malaysia at the end of the month.<br />
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Pulau Sapi is the smallest of the five major islands that make up <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunku_Abdul_Rahman_National_Park" target="_blank">Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park</a> (the islands) and Marine Park (the underwater areas), which is named after the founding father and first prime minister of Malaysia. The islands have become a huge tourist attraction for Kota Kinabalu, mostly drawing tourists from East Asia who are looking for a sun, sand and sea destination. The islands are developed by Sabah Parks as recreational parks, with grassy picnic areas, a small restaurant, roped off areas for swimming and snorkeling, and banana boats and other recreational activities to partake in. Hiking trails are also found that go into the interior jungles of the smaller islands. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulau_Gaya" target="_blank">Pulau Gaya</a> is much larger and has several high end resorts scattered on its edges, as well as large illegal immigrant (Filipino) settlements on parts that are outside of the national park.<br />
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Many people have told me that Pulau Sapi is their favorite island in the national park. I actually never stepped foot on it, as I was either on the boat or at a restaurant on P. Gaya, a short distance away from P. Sapi. My wife (not a diver) signed up for snorkeling and had a great time, seeing a lot of coral and fish while snorkeling with a guide and hanging out on the beach on P. Sapi. She was the only snorkeler with <a href="http://www.diverse-borneo.com/" target="_blank">Diverse Borneo</a> that day, and so she had a personal guide to show her the highlights in the coral reef. We met for lunch and she did her third guided snorkel off the boat in the same area that I did my dive #54.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-FEIWSekBkQZQ559mhcN2_cWMv744O8A4v4SNzh3z3WxtAzkKyrl43XSTL7eF1_einM5WCpxqCv6jT5nIveKYn13iGJIdPgEHZ_JS4g0ktuHuX_B8ajHheXx-uRz0GUGNntmzw/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-FEIWSekBkQZQ559mhcN2_cWMv744O8A4v4SNzh3z3WxtAzkKyrl43XSTL7eF1_einM5WCpxqCv6jT5nIveKYn13iGJIdPgEHZ_JS4g0ktuHuX_B8ajHheXx-uRz0GUGNntmzw/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="320" /></a>
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Dive #52 and #53 were both really good. Looking back at my photos, the best ones were from the first dive (#52) at Clement Reef. The sunlight must have been just right for that dive to bring out the color, which can be a challenge underwater. I actually thought the second dive (#53) at Agil Reef was better than the first while I was doing it, both in terms of coral and fish. I saw a very large porcupine puffer fish, though mostly the fish I saw throughout the Sapi area were on the small side. My wife said that she saw large fish snorkeling. The two reefs for #52 and #53 were on the back side (the South China Sea-side) of the island, away from the beach and town side. <br />
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After the second dive we picked up my wife and had lunch at the restaurant on P. Gaya. The food was great! We had curry chicken with rice and fried kway teow (flat rice noodles) with seafood. The noodles, in particular were delicious. On the other hand, I think most any food tastes really good when you are diving. We sat with my dive buddy from the second dive. He was from the Tubingen area of Germany, where I had taught a semester many years ago, though he now lives and works in Shanghai.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQPoljHw-70VYp8QzhO3RMtOe8FCngRTMIFJDa2_JTpNKl9kp3l_1zW5fhQ0_8OA595Rc896B5Am19dBcXUaXMBezL7yKmbg61dSEerl-1GEQ0LI9MtEc_7PrywoohswRtrrmKA/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQPoljHw-70VYp8QzhO3RMtOe8FCngRTMIFJDa2_JTpNKl9kp3l_1zW5fhQ0_8OA595Rc896B5Am19dBcXUaXMBezL7yKmbg61dSEerl-1GEQ0LI9MtEc_7PrywoohswRtrrmKA/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="230" /></a>
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<br />
Dive #54 was at the Coral Garden reef, which was just beyond the Sapi Beach swimming and snorkeling area. I was amazed at the great diversity of coral in this area. There were many different kinds coral, all densely jumbled up and blanketing the ground. I was going a bit crazy taking photos and videos, though the resulting pictures were less colorful than from the earlier dives. As I was doing this, I kept falling behind my group and had to paddle to catch up. Once I lost them entirely in the murky waters deeper down, but found them quickly by swimming in the direction they were going ... or at least I think I found them.<br />
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After taking a short video, I again could not find them. I again swam in their direction and soon found the orange fins with a white cross on the bottom that our group's guide was wearing. I did not lose them again, but was kind of surprised when he started heading to the surface, as I still had about 70 bar of oxygen left (normally the dive ends at about 50 bar). It was also only about 35 minutes into the dive, instead of the ussual 45 or more minutes. However, sometimes there are reasons to end a dive earlier than expected, so I went up with the others. At the top of the water, much to my surprise, I discovered that this was not my guide. It was a different guide for a different company (<a href="http://www.borneodream.com/" target="_blank">Borneo Dream</a>).<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDhdgAY8YL_SKPdyoqRXxubSn4rQHx0HjNkpZ_eR0RhkHQUJZvQxQjAlMluda8rLjGSqDc7s72kiMDNMnZ95g6uAi_wrnqRu3B_qL3nv1Gs0RZs5BkyDwIDKzoKHjZPdai5-1QQ/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDhdgAY8YL_SKPdyoqRXxubSn4rQHx0HjNkpZ_eR0RhkHQUJZvQxQjAlMluda8rLjGSqDc7s72kiMDNMnZ95g6uAi_wrnqRu3B_qL3nv1Gs0RZs5BkyDwIDKzoKHjZPdai5-1QQ/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
OOPS!!! I had lost my group on dive #54. This was the first time this had ever happened to me, and it was very embarrassing. <br />
<br />
I was surprised at how far away my group had come up compared to where I came up. I am guessing that there was a strong current, which is why my group kept getting so far away from me. The Borneo Dream boat came to pick up its divers and offered to take me to my boat. That was nice of them. <br />
<br />
When I got to our boat, others from my group were just starting to return. They had told my wife that they had lost me. She thought they might just be kidding -- until the other boat appeared with me on it! My guide was actually out looking for me and did not get on to our boat until just after I did.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipucWEjgvYrFb0Sc078WLxWNETR0Yc7Np3qTTTrscUrCfsv1qgJNzbOnlLw3w8JJaGfI70rER01pUr7yUWGEFfB7wUSMZ0aLPirhTBnJux2cN_nYnBqtqQo_TPVHF5sOfOvRRlrQ/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipucWEjgvYrFb0Sc078WLxWNETR0Yc7Np3qTTTrscUrCfsv1qgJNzbOnlLw3w8JJaGfI70rER01pUr7yUWGEFfB7wUSMZ0aLPirhTBnJux2cN_nYnBqtqQo_TPVHF5sOfOvRRlrQ/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
I readily agree that it was my fault for falling behind the others and not paying close enough attention to where they were. On the other hand, we did not have "dive buddies" on this last dive, as we did on the second dive. (My German dive buddy only did the two morning dives and was not with us.) I kind of think that if I had a dive buddy on this last dive, that I would not have gotten lost. Maybe I need to proactive in asking guides in the future to assign buddies.<br />
<br />
Also, in the future, I need to carry my emergency signal tube, which is a long orange plastic tube that you fill with air so people can easily find you on the surface. I have one, but never bring it when I actually dive. If I had lost my group and not found another (which I actually thought was my group), I would have slowly made my way to the surface and waited there for someone to find me. That is the appropriate way to deal with being lost.<br />
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<i>Dive 54, where are you?</i> Yes, I was embarrassed by my dive #54 -- but at least not until the end, after I had actually finished diving for the day! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fVkvD9sPV1i4safcoRy83CVZg48YTxHFcBICAlw7g8jvvUZ5dnTtWrDFoiHt7IClva5tJl7CXGyoKkNcMpGKaC1qnb_PjO1wPOTIMUVVQx498R8nvcdQ1SvbCObW3BZKnEJWuw/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fVkvD9sPV1i4safcoRy83CVZg48YTxHFcBICAlw7g8jvvUZ5dnTtWrDFoiHt7IClva5tJl7CXGyoKkNcMpGKaC1qnb_PjO1wPOTIMUVVQx498R8nvcdQ1SvbCObW3BZKnEJWuw/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
===<br />
<br />
<b>On a somewhat related topic....</b><br />
<br />
I am also embarrassed by this new promotional effort to sell Sabah to China. A local company here in KK has hired 13 "<a href="http://www.cnngo.com/shanghai/play/shanghais-hottest-bikini-girls-f1-charity-and-dead-serious-news-500239" target="_blank">Beachhoney Models</a>" from China (famous for their bikinis) to sell Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park in <a href="http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/3/27/nation/10994163&sec=nation" target="_blank">an effort to get even more Chinese to visit Kota Kinabalu</a> and Sabah. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunku_Abdul_Rahman" target="_blank">The Tunku</a> would probably turn over in his grave! While I find it both exploitative and the wrong message/image for Sabah, it will probably work with China, and unfortunately tells a lot about the future of tourism development here in Sabah, which used to be (and mostly likely still is) among the premier ecotourism destinations in the world.<br />
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===<br />
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<br /></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comPulau Sapi, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia6.0135564554325152 115.99914550781255.887217955432515 115.8412170078125 6.1398949554325153 116.1570740078125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-53881550785479985282012-03-24T08:51:00.000-07:002012-03-24T19:23:01.915-07:00Hanoi: How to Make a Place Memorable“A guest never forgets the host who had treated him kindly.” - Homer, <i>The Odyssey</i>, 9th Century BCE<br />
<br />
I was reminded of this statement from the over 3000 years ago following my recent visit to Hanoi, Vietnam. I was there for a conference that brought together 60 Fulbright Scholars (professors and PhD students) from throughout Southeast Asia. It was the most Americans I think I had ever seen in one place in Southeast Asia, which is generally not on the travel map of people back in the US! I opted to stay two additional days as I had never really spent much time in Vietnam and I had heard that Hanoi was an especially interesting place. I was not disappointed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivau9yTuFutdG9whcIbbz9DPMwTC5IKSTT9Jrmufbw28bkKFvuogvCZXEzmlFhA6bEL9diFGR3MwhMBSBDW23ql_G3MP0u82OM5fvHwWRRQYMlH_VQHA6v_ByQFwn-SP4qgqNp8Q/s1600/DSC00123s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivau9yTuFutdG9whcIbbz9DPMwTC5IKSTT9Jrmufbw28bkKFvuogvCZXEzmlFhA6bEL9diFGR3MwhMBSBDW23ql_G3MP0u82OM5fvHwWRRQYMlH_VQHA6v_ByQFwn-SP4qgqNp8Q/s320/DSC00123s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first stop for the Food on Foot tour was for dumplings. The temperature was maybe in the low to mid 70s -- enough for down coats in Hanoi. (click on photo for a larger view)</td></tr>
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Prior to our visit, my wife had read about a "Food on Foot" tour on TripAdvisor.com. Being an amateur "foodie", this sounded like the kind of tour that we would be particularly suited to so we gave Vietnam Awesome Travel a call when we got to Hanoi (their website, <a href="http://www.vietnamawesometravel.com/">www.VietnamAwesomeTravel.com</a>, had been hijacked and was not accessible). Mr. Anh came to our hotel and we arranged to do the three hour Food on Foot tour for dinner that night (US$20/pp). It was a great introduction to the city's Old Quarter, and especially to its food.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDd4FGsFC3eaaRE12kaDzQk712cDmSeK6PMyEhftcNUcsIz-6Np7Mfd46TaSe7J1F_PCxZdki77cQ8sVNZn0dLLMKXMDMtHaTATrCVtq2773byCCdtc85F1Xz65gemCf0Kj2fpQ/s1600/DSC00211s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDd4FGsFC3eaaRE12kaDzQk712cDmSeK6PMyEhftcNUcsIz-6Np7Mfd46TaSe7J1F_PCxZdki77cQ8sVNZn0dLLMKXMDMtHaTATrCVtq2773byCCdtc85F1Xz65gemCf0Kj2fpQ/s320/DSC00211s.JPG" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pho Bo (beef pho noodles). A bit blurry, but in the background, upper right corner, hangs the semi-dried beef for the pho.</td></tr>
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Based on our interests, which border on the more exotic, we at a variety of dishes, each at a different restaurant. In fact, each of the restaurants specialized in particular dishes, and several only sold that one dish. The restaurants were mostly on the sidewalks, where we sat on small step stools and ate on slightly taller step stools. We had dumplings, deep fried fermented pork, fresh jicama and green guava as vegetables, eel soup, pho bo (beef pho noodles), and a fresh fruit cocktail with thick cream as a dessert. We ate so much! It was great!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4d5XpZd16ZH-Cr-hD5dYCb_G_YRICFMb4wOEisP2a2cVXLiiqZU7AiuwmH_Q4VtO9y1DbZr38uAJkDD9M3ru5OWi47vdQehv77Vug21k0fbpdZLn3e0-s7IVQzTeIsnKZCcOPw/s1600/DSC00422c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4d5XpZd16ZH-Cr-hD5dYCb_G_YRICFMb4wOEisP2a2cVXLiiqZU7AiuwmH_Q4VtO9y1DbZr38uAJkDD9M3ru5OWi47vdQehv77Vug21k0fbpdZLn3e0-s7IVQzTeIsnKZCcOPw/s320/DSC00422c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hao Qua</i> (what I called "fruit cocktail" in the blog) is fresh fruit, jelly (the white thing) and and avocado slice on top, with thick cream. Ice is an optional topping. This was sold on a side street with about four shops all selling this one dessert.</td></tr>
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We stayed near the southern end of Hoan Kiem Lake, which put us just outside of the core of the Old Quarter, but within a very easy walk. During our Food on Foot tour, Mr. Anh introduced us to some of the major sites and interesting back alleys of the area, where some of the restaurants were located. Hanoi's Old Quarter is such a great walking area -- compact, lots to see on every street, Some of the most narrow buildings you'll ever see, easy to get lost and then re-found, and very easy on the wallet (be sure to bargain). There are also lots of small hotels and tourists everywhere.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrjxYPirXzJzrKg_cq0cnMNiwhVgGiq43reNAUN2efQj9qYUwKFyR8FARR9ZKoqJsP5x370EgBn3bapwickc7BRdAYqxndU5V727MzuzQ0a42sXeff4Q2esQlYsSXS-fnCBZ7CQ/s1600/DSC00305s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrjxYPirXzJzrKg_cq0cnMNiwhVgGiq43reNAUN2efQj9qYUwKFyR8FARR9ZKoqJsP5x370EgBn3bapwickc7BRdAYqxndU5V727MzuzQ0a42sXeff4Q2esQlYsSXS-fnCBZ7CQ/s320/DSC00305s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoan Kiem Lake, with its turtle island. The core of the Old Quarter is in the background.</td></tr>
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Downsides? Well, there are a lot of motorcycles, which the government encourages by charging a fairly low licensing fee compared to cars. Some of the streets near the Dong Xuan Market were among the most crowded I had ever seen --- with motor scooters. It is actually a very intense experience, almost overwhelming at times, but also quite memorable.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgYCD12HUnhddX57enFYJIj5rkf8swr36O8bEcmOi2YX5RGIDh1qg6WaCqOqsMlSeo7EXiRF_QiTCrw64iao3g9Y-_y_s3SFvj-G6nhL8mkzbhsiFW9Uxp19eEjNyx5GfqfW4Uw/s1600/DSC00376s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgYCD12HUnhddX57enFYJIj5rkf8swr36O8bEcmOi2YX5RGIDh1qg6WaCqOqsMlSeo7EXiRF_QiTCrw64iao3g9Y-_y_s3SFvj-G6nhL8mkzbhsiFW9Uxp19eEjNyx5GfqfW4Uw/s320/DSC00376s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Hanoi's Old Quarter. There are some pedestrian-only streets, as well.
(click on photo for a larger view) </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhVMGPdjiigh_77HIA49GqyfERNqiuoN_A57ehBdKaA4w4N6PWjspoAXK_dv9rCkSZvLOYAZ_0l_T2Ykd5aZ24XX0yEGWRKTXf1plMRpuYFZ2Z_UFZ3tGOuauuvw8auF-Wjf6gw/s1600/DSC00513s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhVMGPdjiigh_77HIA49GqyfERNqiuoN_A57ehBdKaA4w4N6PWjspoAXK_dv9rCkSZvLOYAZ_0l_T2Ykd5aZ24XX0yEGWRKTXf1plMRpuYFZ2Z_UFZ3tGOuauuvw8auF-Wjf6gw/s320/DSC00513s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dense street near the Dong Xuan Market.</td></tr>
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The other downside that we experienced was our day trip to the famous Halong Bay limestone islands. After a 3.5 hour bus ride with off and on rain, we got to Halong Bay to find that none of the boat tours had been allowed to depart. All of the tours were standing around waiting to see if the port authority would allow them to go. After awhile we went to a restaurant for a long lunch, and then finally, giving up, we returned to Hanoi. At least we got to see the Vietnam countryside -- and why Vietnam is a major global rice exporter. And we also met a very international crowd at our lunch table: China, Netherlands, UK, Italy and Thailand. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgPeS_noC6B9PWSMjwxp0Jpa_5Zljz4UcAAJDmbe0HqKGEGO04Ad6xM49hq0vmcDlZ7YyxB0Ni9d6SmVpPIJE68lyG8rcWKHelPndo66f3DFOh6GOjlxmSEhj_5BGozWB8faJvg/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgPeS_noC6B9PWSMjwxp0Jpa_5Zljz4UcAAJDmbe0HqKGEGO04Ad6xM49hq0vmcDlZ7YyxB0Ni9d6SmVpPIJE68lyG8rcWKHelPndo66f3DFOh6GOjlxmSEhj_5BGozWB8faJvg/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice and vegetable fields north of Hanoi, on a rainy day and through a bus window.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTJ-ce2GaqF4_jis4ubHeic10yWDnVP5UAFUixN_vOmc3V4mR5VEnhTOBSH1U5-SZyH5ZcWcNriUXgnrLJHikm6IjfxVazl6iaUczHU_2tbwzeq8zB3g_gP5KS_ePYF64rvTkTQ/s1600/DSC00993s.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTJ-ce2GaqF4_jis4ubHeic10yWDnVP5UAFUixN_vOmc3V4mR5VEnhTOBSH1U5-SZyH5ZcWcNriUXgnrLJHikm6IjfxVazl6iaUczHU_2tbwzeq8zB3g_gP5KS_ePYF64rvTkTQ/s320/DSC00993s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tour
boats at Halong Bay. With so many boats, it is understandable why they
would ground them all due to the fog. Could be like bumper cars in the
relatively small space between the limestone islands! </span>
</td></tr>
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</td></tr>
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For us, at least, it was not a total loss since we had seen Halong Bay a decade earlier on a Star Cruise from Hong Kong. We felt bad for the others, though, who have yet to see this remarkable place. We did, however, get a full refund on the tour. Mr. Anh, who had arranged this trip for us, said he works with this particular tour company because they share his high service values, as evidences by the 100% refund. Other tour companies only gave a 50% refund for canceled tour boats.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOcMXmO4tjuACgT4athRS_V0GW1C7OQgFLeeCWDvFdPQPcD4FKkRvgFu4hYyvaQfhtYECO76wgXXOq_YrbS_1cu2HHQr8GodG9Wu_j7_7oV9tlcW8veDN_76EOzlyZSpDeTt6sw/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOcMXmO4tjuACgT4athRS_V0GW1C7OQgFLeeCWDvFdPQPcD4FKkRvgFu4hYyvaQfhtYECO76wgXXOq_YrbS_1cu2HHQr8GodG9Wu_j7_7oV9tlcW8veDN_76EOzlyZSpDeTt6sw/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruit and vegetable sellers on the street behind the Dong Xuan Market.</td></tr>
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Everywhere we went in Hanoi we met such friendly people. You can find foods at international level restaurants with international prices, but you can also find great foods at really low prices, like about US$1 for a bowl of pho bo. I really liked the ice cream cones for 6000 to 10,000 Dong (US$0.30 to 0.50).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCikmwc_gMsX015MBP0RJDWG0KFyx7zGJ_BaWmXHzNdsrjz6rF66lJ75VEcJWuiBtiqS9vp8hl3cx_ch_zGXFTqUDbm4QgY3acDxuTV7gtBYFi4nALA4KzXfLy3ZrhL5qrmYyD4Q/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCikmwc_gMsX015MBP0RJDWG0KFyx7zGJ_BaWmXHzNdsrjz6rF66lJ75VEcJWuiBtiqS9vp8hl3cx_ch_zGXFTqUDbm4QgY3acDxuTV7gtBYFi4nALA4KzXfLy3ZrhL5qrmYyD4Q/s320/%255BUNSET%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncle Ho's Mausoleum. We joined the very long morning line here (guided tourists get to cut the line) to go into the mausoleum to see Ho Chi Minh's preserved body.</td></tr>
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Also food related, we booked a private city tour (USD$55/pp) on a Sunday, our last day in Hanoi. We decided to do the private tour, rather than a group tour, so that we would have more control over our time and places where we went. We did some of the standard city tour sites, such as the Ethnology Museum, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and home, and Temple of Literature -- all of which were very interesting. And we also did the top of the Sofitel Plaza Hotel, which a friend told me had the best view of the city and Red River -- and which was a first time visit for Mr. Anh.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmWKWEha8oANnVIRancMwzShCzerdiYeAWsRXknELhm5wbr-XBkJwWFo1TGN84N5uo9bwWsJJflxU8jglMW69A4HVtaoiRtAhTk5DzGrBCMjNRayGHVFpVwAMVK3B2Qoucg5NTA/s1600/DSC01489s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmWKWEha8oANnVIRancMwzShCzerdiYeAWsRXknELhm5wbr-XBkJwWFo1TGN84N5uo9bwWsJJflxU8jglMW69A4HVtaoiRtAhTk5DzGrBCMjNRayGHVFpVwAMVK3B2Qoucg5NTA/s320/DSC01489s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Mr. Ahn's apartment.
(click on photo for a larger view)</td></tr>
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Yes, Mr. Anh was again our guide for the city tour and he gave us the option of either having lunch at a restaurant or with a private family. We chose the family option, which turned out to be with his family and sitting on the floor in his apartment. He said 90% of his guests choose that option, which he usually only offers on Sundays because of the family's work schedule. Meeting his wife, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and toddler aged daughter and nephew was another highlight of the trip!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22IMon07KTcOQvbZ4nWZQ93W5XodAgnJq8akjb8TRWOkxe6PAglslbBYGNuyHdeaHEKQObREIiBtnbh7VhzvOXp4wPdXPVdbGkFNbJ7FyhYXpEWFpUybZSiTXHEGK_oLktgiwYw/s1600/DSC01511s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22IMon07KTcOQvbZ4nWZQ93W5XodAgnJq8akjb8TRWOkxe6PAglslbBYGNuyHdeaHEKQObREIiBtnbh7VhzvOXp4wPdXPVdbGkFNbJ7FyhYXpEWFpUybZSiTXHEGK_oLktgiwYw/s320/DSC01511s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch on the floor at Mr. Ahn's apartment. </td></tr>
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We left Hanoi feeling really good. We thoroughly enjoyed the city and felt like it was a place that we both wanted to visit again some day. Part of that was the great walking and exploring opportunities of the Hanoi's Old Quarter. Being able to "explore", "discover" and be "surprised" is a really important part of a good tourist experience.<br />
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The other key to our very positive experience of Hanoi, however, was the friendliness and hospitality of the people we encountered. Not just one person, though Mr. Anh really stood out, but also so many of the other people we encountered. Homer was so right when he wrote that “A guest never forgets the host who had treated him kindly.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSJENQGAAX_l_2JsxPSwstEM4dR2KqS-NMnw5iPxmQ4Yk4ZYVSOzFC8o7tJXlQCmG6efK2Hdgb3VodTWm4uuZKBEf7yspvXASqJLJsWau7TYFJSB3fN00IoA8miHxlD_EVyUcFA/s1600/DSC00174s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSJENQGAAX_l_2JsxPSwstEM4dR2KqS-NMnw5iPxmQ4Yk4ZYVSOzFC8o7tJXlQCmG6efK2Hdgb3VodTWm4uuZKBEf7yspvXASqJLJsWau7TYFJSB3fN00IoA8miHxlD_EVyUcFA/s320/DSC00174s.JPG" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This has to be among the thinnest functional buildings in the world -- just wide enough for a door. Hanoi has many narrow buildings because taxes are based on street frontage -- the more narrow the building the lower the tax (or so I was told).
(click on photo for a larger view)</td></tr>
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<br />Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comHanoi, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi, Vietnam21.0333333 105.8521.0036918 105.81051799999999 21.0629748 105.889482tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-70551077092476011132012-02-21T09:20:00.000-07:002012-02-23T01:23:19.957-07:00Living the Good Life in Kota KinabaluSo many adventures, and so little free time to write about them....<br />
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As I mentioned briefly in a previous post, we arrived in Kota Kinabalu for the first time on this Fulbright trip on January 11, 2012. It was my second time here, the first time being in January 2007 as an External Examiner for the Universiti Teknologi MARA (aka UiTM) to visit their Sabah branch campus, review exams and write a report. I was here for three or four nights and fell in love with the place. In addition the the great diversity of physical landscapes, from Mt. Kinabalu and its surrounding highlands to its beaches and many islands, I think it was the way people here get along and relate to each other that made it the focus of my return.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kota Kinablau from AirAsia (click on photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double rainbow over the Central Wet Market area on the KK waterfront at sunset.</td></tr>
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This was supported by comments made while I was in KL last month by two friends (one Chinese and one Malay) who separately told me about how special they felt Sabah was. In essence, they said that people in Sabah are Sabahan first, above their ethnicity, and that the ethnic strains of West Malaysia (aka Peninsular Malaysia) we far less evident in Sabah because of this. An Orang Sungai man who I met this past weekend in Kinabatangan (who was also part Filipino and part Sulawesi) told me the same thing in a discussion about language and the Sabahan accent that they all share.<br />
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Anyway, we were here for one week in January to find a place to live and to find a car to rent. The problem we had was that apartment rentals are mostly either for the day (vacation rentals that are costly in the long term) or they want a one year lease. We only needed three months (which I have since extended to four months).<br />
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After being a bit frustrated in the process of home hunting, we thought to ask the nice lady at the front desk of our hotel, Eden54. She said she had a friend who was a part-time real estate agent and she would ask her. Later that day, we were sitting in the hotel lobby looking at the local paper for rentals, when Susan introduced herself. She said she had a client who had a place that might work for us, but she needed to confirm with her about the less than one year term.<br />
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Later that same day we finally looked at an apartment at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Borneo_Hypermall">1Borneo Hypermall</a> -- billed as the largest shopping mall on Borneo. 1Borneo is a large, sprawling complex of structures all jumbled into one, including hotels and a couple of apartment towers. It also has the highest concentration of fully furnished apartments that can be rented on a daily to monthly basis.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsmgLxp7mDgRxeGXdhHTOKq-hgf50f9Ur98CCPD3eerkYwWWAR_IbUogAfVLVvrXDxq8N3tqZGpimUOazk76-Oh3ugxVraYn3er4FX4SFW2kRjffSiZ7e4uAx7Yw96rq4yXzD9Q/s1600/DSC01074s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsmgLxp7mDgRxeGXdhHTOKq-hgf50f9Ur98CCPD3eerkYwWWAR_IbUogAfVLVvrXDxq8N3tqZGpimUOazk76-Oh3ugxVraYn3er4FX4SFW2kRjffSiZ7e4uAx7Yw96rq4yXzD9Q/s320/DSC01074s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1Borneo Hypermall (click on photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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The one we looked at there was OK. It came with everything, including a rice cooker, though the furnishing were quite bare and it was a little worn. 1Borneo is somewhat far from KK's great downtown area, but it is closer to the UiTM campus and would have worked.<br />
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We then got a call from Susan and so our hosts from the university took us to look at the place she had. It was a brand new apartment, no one had ever lived in it! It had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, though overall was only <strike>about 1200</strike> <b>972 </b>sq ft.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9AIpYtYFzGiOzvP0EGyTneysTdT2tatmrbrWKHPjFMxu08D9NSIffw2qNhRq-VCvzDl4DkVw1kaw3niqQC9lPvGWNYkPCWZDr9rXmk5hwTBmYaQ-zgJDnksm71ksc8ERgIifDg/s1600/DSC0404s1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9AIpYtYFzGiOzvP0EGyTneysTdT2tatmrbrWKHPjFMxu08D9NSIffw2qNhRq-VCvzDl4DkVw1kaw3niqQC9lPvGWNYkPCWZDr9rXmk5hwTBmYaQ-zgJDnksm71ksc8ERgIifDg/s320/DSC0404s1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Our new home (click on photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_VyWCWqmBfXx76CQQ6SiR0EdJIun0CFiJ7ovPoF9Zr2pmNk-CUM8_D7H7PuyCvkqmjNUa_RnKcTKhNKO2NU-Ja2ge24P0t3uvY3aIktInbuR__W-fWjpeLFoVDzglaIwe1Zlkg/s1600/DSC02379s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_VyWCWqmBfXx76CQQ6SiR0EdJIun0CFiJ7ovPoF9Zr2pmNk-CUM8_D7H7PuyCvkqmjNUa_RnKcTKhNKO2NU-Ja2ge24P0t3uvY3aIktInbuR__W-fWjpeLFoVDzglaIwe1Zlkg/s320/DSC02379s.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The location was just outside of the downtown, but only a 10 minute walk to the very popular Foh Sang and Damai eating districts! It also has a small gym to work off all that great food. The price was RM2000 a month (USD$667), plus utilities, and after a few minutes of thought we grabbed it. (Fulbright gives us RM1500 a month for housing, and KK tends to be more expensive than most other parts of Malaysia, except KL.)<br />
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While it was not fully furnished when we looked at it, Susan and the owner managed to get us everything by the time we moved in on Feb. 1st, including a washing machine, rice cooker and microwave oven. The only downside has been a second block (apartment building) that is under construction outside our bedroom window, which makes for some noisy daytime hours (actually they work almost 7 days a week and as late as 11pm on some days - the workers live in the building that is under construction). <br />
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One nice feature of our apartment is a shoe cabinet outside of the front door. Here in Malaysia everyone takes their shoes off before entering a home. Many homes have shoe racks, and some, like ours, has a shoe cabinet where we could actually lock our shoes -- though we never do that. The floors of homes here are all very smooth and usually large tiles, which make sweeping easy to do (with the ceiling fan turned off). They also help to keep the homes cool on very hot days.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children of the constructions workers playing on the site.</td></tr>
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Our friend at Hotel Eden54 also contacted the company that she gets rental cars from for her guests. He gave us the best deal yet on a monthly rental (with insurance). We got a 2011 (almost new) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_1.3">Proton Saga</a> for RM1700/month (USD$567; Fulbright does not cover this cost). It is a four door, automatic transmission sedan that was designed and made in Malaysia. Interestingly, while it has air conditioning, it has no heater, because they are not needed so close to the equator. There are cheaper cars available, but they are tiny boxes that are more like toys than cars. Thank you Ling Ling.<br />
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I bought a GPS unit because even though KK is fairly small (population about 200,000) and compact, some streets can be pretty confusing. while I could probably figure it out eventually, the GPS saves a lot of time in having to do that! Driving in KK is interesting because of the use of center u-turn lanes. These are often placed in the middle of a long street so people do not need to go all the way to the next intersection to do a u-turn. They are everywhere and widely used -- first and only place where I have ever seen this. In addition, I always find driving on the left side of the road a lot of fun (I'm serious, I like it).<br />
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Another interesting car-related note is that all of the cars in Malaysia come with backup beeping systems. When you approach an object while backing up it starts beeping. The closer you get the faster the beeps come, until it goes solid, which means you better stop. I know that this is an option on some cars in the US. Because of the often tight spaces in Malaysia, it is required for all cars here -- and I really appreciate that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Y02yklmaDvx1UnPRNOwQcgCPm6jVbYLDi6_KB0C9MSTSNv_zCxX51JW-9Q3TXEdE5kHRtaymQteuPKhdceJVVUDDqNVWOun5_t9uFpJa3kfyBT2x1VTCoDKqyPzwTs4w_0kH6g/s1600/DSC04010s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Y02yklmaDvx1UnPRNOwQcgCPm6jVbYLDi6_KB0C9MSTSNv_zCxX51JW-9Q3TXEdE5kHRtaymQteuPKhdceJVVUDDqNVWOun5_t9uFpJa3kfyBT2x1VTCoDKqyPzwTs4w_0kH6g/s320/DSC04010s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Foh Sang morning wet market (click on photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our purchases typically include some breakfast items, as well.</td></tr>
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In our local neighborhood, Foh Sang is our favorite destination. The 10 minute walk to get there makes a nice little exercise when getting vegetables and breakfast items (like Chinese meet baus) in the morning, or going out to eat in the evening. We try not to go out too often because we have both put on more pounds than we would like since we got here. The nearby City Mall (a 20 minute walk, though we usually just drive) is one of the new malls in town and has a really good food court and a huge Giant Hyperstore (groceries and household items; like a smallish Walmart Super Center).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How Lee is one of the more popular evening restaurants in Foh Sang.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(click on photo for larger view)</td></tr>
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So now we are living the good in of Kota Kinabalu. We are enjoying it so much that I managed to change my research plans to spend four months (or close to it) in KK, instead of just three. Now I need to get back to work...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_j1JBhS-C5lRgKaa0vnEyJbl6XEMoHjUjJeCeUYW4bKYF6zWRkaJT-lo1qjFZueScTfrjguJk5aO2TiuWCnK5fnyVd2gIpAAKtwYo86d89RsVwQwN1PHaV1X99j2HALHVQUhKg/s1600/DSC04065s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_j1JBhS-C5lRgKaa0vnEyJbl6XEMoHjUjJeCeUYW4bKYF6zWRkaJT-lo1qjFZueScTfrjguJk5aO2TiuWCnK5fnyVd2gIpAAKtwYo86d89RsVwQwN1PHaV1X99j2HALHVQUhKg/s320/DSC04065s.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese New Year lasts 15 days and even though fireworks are illegal in Malaysia, it was a very noisy in our neighborhood each night until the middle of February. (view from our window)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(This blog was brought to you by about 10 cats at <a href="http://writtenkitten.net/">http://writtenkitten.net</a>)</span>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comKota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia5.976474 116.1157775.8501354999999995 115.9578485 6.1028125 116.27370549999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-69830820015736301162012-02-16T16:15:00.000-07:002012-02-18T21:43:27.069-07:00A Rungus Road Trip to the Northern Tip of Borneo<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Last Sunday we drove from our new apartment in Kota Kinabalu<b> </b>to the Northern Tip of Borneo. Google maps and online websites said it should take 3 to 3.5 hours. However, with major road damage and construction underway following this past winter's heavy monsoons, it took us over four hours. Highlights of that road trip were:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. <b>The</b> <b>Kota Belud Tamu (market)</b>. The market was one of the more colorful that I have seen (supporting all that I had read about it) and reminded me of the morning market that we visited in <strike>1995</strike> <u>2005</u> in the city of Keng Tiong in the Shan State of Myanmar. Then, as now, it seemed that we were the only tourists at the market. We only bought a couple of food items. I got a small doughnut thing with chicken floss and sambal (chili sauce) inside for 60 sen (US 20 cents). I gave the guy 1 Ringgit and he gave me 50 sen back, along with a smile. We also bought a small bag of banana chips that we tasted and loved (not sweet at all) on Mt Kinabalu a couple of days before. The guy told me they were 2 Ringgit, but when I gave him a 5 Ringgit bill he gave me 4 Ringgit back. (More on this below...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mable got this great photo of a lady selling small silver fish at the tamu (above). She is probably a Rungus, which is the dominant ethnic group in the Kudat district of Sabah (which includes Kota Belud and the Northern Tip). They are a branch of the Kadazan-Dusun, which is the largest ethnic group in Sabah at about 18% of the legal population (excluding perhaps a million Filipinos. The Rungus are also the only group in Sabah that traditionally lived in longhouses -- which are very common in neighboring Sarawak. We also visited the lesser known Rungus village of Kampung Tinangol, which specializes in bead work. More interesting, though, were all of the longhouses that people live in still today (photo below), though these had been enhances with satellite dishes. We also visited a longhouse lodge, which gets a lot more writeup on the tourism websites for Sabah than does Kampung Tinangol.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. <b>At the Northern Tip of Borneo</b>. The second highlight was our geographic destination of the Northern Tip of Borneo. Getting there was more than an adventure as, in addition to the road issues mentioned above, my Garmin GPS took on a road that turned to dirt and then became impassable due to mud. The approach to the tip was lined by a beautiful beach and the tip itself was a well developed park. The northern tip is marked be the rocks (photo below) that point to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. The South China Sea is on the left and the Sulu Sea is on the right. Palawan is so close to this point, yet when I visit there later this month I will need to fly through Hong Kong and spend one night in Manila (bummer)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had lunch at a restaurant here on a cliff overlooking the Sulu Sea. I had read that the islands we say in the far distance were part of the Sulu Islands of the Philippines, but looking at a map, I think they were actually still part of Malaysia. The photo below shows the chalets that extend beyond the restaurant area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. <b>Buying Roasted Corn</b>. The third highlight of the trip was a short stop we made on the way back. Someone had told me to eat the roasted corn that is sold along the side of the road, so we decided to stop and try some from one of the roadside shops that had clouds of smoke rising from the fire on which the corn was being roasted. I asked the girl how much and she said 5 Ringgit (US$1.70) -- which seemed a like a lot. Walked further down and I asked the next girl who said the same thing. I said 4 Ringgit and she laughed and said OK. She heated up 4 corn husks and gave them to us. Mable gave her 16 Ringgit and she laughed again saying it was only 5 Ringgit -- giving her 11 Ringgit back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">What made this such a highlight was the pleasant honesty of the girl, who could have taken our 16 Ringgit without us ever knowing that we paid too much. Note that this came on top of the two experiences of paying less than I was expecting to pay in the Kota Belud Tamu (above), though it was far more dramatic this time. I had read about the relaxed and friendly nature of the Rungus people, but I had not hear about how amazingly generous and honest they were. Perhaps all of those character traits go together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">This last experience, in particular also supports my belief that some of the best memories from travel come from the small and unexpected encounters with people and places. The photo above shows the girl who sold us the corn, as well as our two friends from Taiwan whose visit prompted this trip to the Northern Tip of Borneo.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comKudat, Sabah, Malaysia6.8285469999999986 116.724124099999936.6503379999999988 116.61111109999993 7.0067559999999984 116.83713709999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-1955782797181924882012-02-15T01:21:00.003-07:002012-02-15T01:21:56.727-07:00Malaysia Whirlwind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For some reason the word “whirlwind” comes to mind when I
think about this past month here in Malaysia.
It has been one of the more sustained periods of travel that I have done
in quite a long time. Because of the
constant moving, I have barely blogged about this trip at all. Now that I am more settled here in Kota
Kinabalu (KK), it is probably time to start.<br />
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We
arrive in Malaysia on January 4, 2012 after about 36+
hours of driving, flying and sitting in airports. Our first week was in
the Kuala Lumpur (KL) area. Our first and last nights were in the
Quality
Hotel in Shah Alam, so I would have easy access to the university that I
am
affiliated with for my Fulbright stay (UiTM – Universiti Teknologi
MARA). The rest of the week was at a friend’s
apartment in KL, which happened to be a penthouse with an amazing view
of the
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Although I have been coming to Malaysia quite often (about
every 1.5 years) since 2005, I did not always make it to KL. This time, I was pretty much blown away at
the level of development that the city has achieved. It now has one of the most modern skylines of
any city on the planet. And maybe it was because my wife was with me, but I also
found that KL had become a more fun city to visit. </div>
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We went up to the top of the Petronas Towers (world’s
highest twin towers), visited the new capital in Putrajaya (outside of KL), and
went to Chinatown, in addition to getting a bank account and meeting with the
Malaysian Fulbright office. I also gave symposium
lecture at the University of Malaya, and was asked if I would serve as an
external examiner for their brand new urban planning program. (My stint as the
external examiner for UiTM’s tourism program is what has been bringing me
Malaysia recently and had just ended last year.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiwf8XP5cMcEz0Jqr8KGMg36GlUV6sM9WlhL6aPQwxLrSm-lfdg_NcdhyHCjNqtxG23DiOEPizi8Z_9PTO9aSXN7Hsy9wuoaUO9zsjfLZFOeRN2fG0cYdmCVPe8ZnIyvMzm2lCQ/s1600/DSC00507.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiwf8XP5cMcEz0Jqr8KGMg36GlUV6sM9WlhL6aPQwxLrSm-lfdg_NcdhyHCjNqtxG23DiOEPizi8Z_9PTO9aSXN7Hsy9wuoaUO9zsjfLZFOeRN2fG0cYdmCVPe8ZnIyvMzm2lCQ/s320/DSC00507.JPG" width="179" /></a> <i>View from the 86th floor observation deck of one of the two 88 story Petronas Towers.</i></div>
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The highlight of KL for us (in addition to the great food)
was a visit to Batu Caves (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves</a>),
which is large cave complex that has become a Hindu Temple and is the site of
the colorful Thaipusam Festival (which just took place yesterday, Feb 7, 2012; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam</a>).
In addition to the Hindu caves, which
are reached via a 272 step staircase, there is the “Dark Cave”, which is a
conservation site for bats and other cave creatures. It is immediately adjacent to Batu Cave, but
has never been developed, and you need to pay for a guided ecotour. Together, this was a great experience!</div>
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After KL we flew to Kota Kinabalu with the goals of getting
settled with the university there (UiTM Kampus Sabah), find a place to live,
and find a car to rent. This was my
second visit to KK, and I have been wanting to return ever since I was first
here in January 2007. We stayed in the
Hotel Eden54 – which is on the north edge of the city core and close to a lot
of great food and sites to see (like the Philippine Market and Sunday Gaya
Street Market). More importantly, it was
through the hotel’s front desk staff that we found our apartment and our car
rental – after having mixed success looking on our own online and in the
newspaper. </div>
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During our week in KK, a friend from the university took us
to the Sabah Tea Plantation, on the slopes of Mt. Kinabalu (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt_kinabalu">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt_kinabalu</a>), and we spent half a
day on the island of Manukan, where I snorkeled and tried out my new underwater
camera case. </div>
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What stood out the most to me about that first week in KK
was the food. As good as it was in KL,
we had some really great food in KK – especially seafood. Sabah is famous for its seafood, and I really
think it was some of the freshest and tastiest that I have ever had. The restaurants and bakeries near our hotel
were really great, too, especially the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bak
Kut Teh</i> (white bone tea; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bak_kut_teh">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bak_kut_teh</a>), which is a pork or other meat herbal soup. Our last night was the start of Chinese New
Year activities in KK and Gaya Street (near our hotel) was closed for nighttime
activities, including lion dances, performances, food (of course), and a lot of
other things for sale.</div>
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Our next stop was Singapore, where we stayed at a friend’s
place in the Bedok Housing Estate (government subsidized housing; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedok">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedok</a>). There was no air conditioner, but her place
was sufficiently cool enough, especially at this time of the year. I gave a lecture at the National University of
Singapore’s Geography Department and had lunch at the popular yong tau fu
restaurant in the canteen there. NUS continues
to have the best student food options of any university I have ever visited. </div>
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We visited Singapore’s Chinatown twice – once in the daytime
and once at night to fully experience this center of Chinese New Year
activities. And we celebrated the traditional
“reunion dinner” with our friends, which starts with the traditional <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yusheng</i> salad (aka <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lou hei</i> in Cantonese, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng</a>)
where everyone around the table helps to mix the dish before it is eaten.<br />
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<i>Mixing our Yusheng salad for Chinese New Year</i> <i>in Singapore</i></div>
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The biggest surprise was the new Sands Hotel and Marina Bay casino
and shopping center area, which was just starting construction the last time I
was in Singapore. The other big shock
was the prices for most everything in Singapore – often three times higher than
in Malaysia! Our biggest challenge there
was finding internet access, which my friend did not have. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, in neighboring Jorhor
Bahru, sent a car a driver to pick us up in Singapore and take us across the
border, which was pretty fast since most people were away on holiday. Our last
week of travel included a couple of nights in Johor Bahru (for another
lecture), then a couple of days driving up the coast with a night on the beach
in Cherating (a backpacker haven).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our first night in the state of Terengganu was at the brand
new Terrapuri Heritage Village Resort (<a href="http://terrapuri.com/">http://terrapuri.com</a>),
all of the building of which are over 100 years old on the outside, but very
high end on the inside. They were houses
for the ruling classes in the past and have been moved here from around the
state of Terengganu in an effort to save them.
We spent about three hours with the owner of the project (who is also
the owner of Ping Anchorage, one of the larger travel agencies in
Malaysia). It is a very interesting, and
so far successful, effort at conservation and community development (involving
local fishing villages).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also spent two nights at a high-end hotel that is the
base site for the Monsoon Cup yacht races, and a couple of night in the
downtown area of Kuala Terengganu (KT).
The Monsoon Cup race in November is very successful – filling all of the
hotel rooms in KT when it is held in the middle of the rainy winter monsoon (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon_Cup">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon_Cup</a>). Our stay at that hotel (the Ri-Yaz) was
hosted by the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), where I gave a guest lecture (and
was asked to serve as a program reviewer of their brand new tourism degree
program).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMZojRoES7fxIzmYOgqPmbiUA2VJz97c4f_-roXK7sMpsksepgg3UqXal8yqDRls5JvvncGzSPJi6jvWQtlYgNNdAckS7V5GHDoIPMQlb6BFAzvF7nsRLN6537QILIWddoz78/s1600/UMT+Lecture+Poster+of+Me.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMZojRoES7fxIzmYOgqPmbiUA2VJz97c4f_-roXK7sMpsksepgg3UqXal8yqDRls5JvvncGzSPJi6jvWQtlYgNNdAckS7V5GHDoIPMQlb6BFAzvF7nsRLN6537QILIWddoz78/s320/UMT+Lecture+Poster+of+Me.jpg" width="320" /></a> <i>We were surprised to see my large face, from a 20 year old photo, near the entrance to the UMT campus.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chinese New Year was still going on (celebrations last 15
days) and KT has a really nice little Chinatown that was close to our last
hotel. We also had some great seafood
and visited the Crystal Mosque and its adjacent model replicas of famous
Islamic architectural sites. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, a main focus of our visit to Terengganu was to
investigate possible places to live when we return to Terengganu in May for a
one-month stay. We looked at both legal
and unlicensed homestays. The unlicensed
ones range from smelly dumps (still a bit pricy) to some nice clean ones. We are still exploring options for that part
of my Fulbright stay.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I told a friend here in KK a couple of days ago that that
Terengganu was nice, but its great to be back home in Sabah. He said that I sounded like a true “Sabahan”. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">:-)<br /><br />----<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Related to this: <a href="http://tourismplace.blogspot.com/2012/02/have-blog-will-travel.html" target="_blank">Have Block, Will Travel</a> </span></span><br />
<br /></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-73847597701575459832012-02-15T01:20:00.000-07:002012-03-24T19:57:27.947-07:00The NEW Travelography<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This Travelography Blog used to be a place where I posted links related to my old <i>Travelography Podcast</i>. I have not done that podcast in a couple of years now, and I have no plans to restart it.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So instead, I am going to blog here about my travels, of which I do a lot at this point in my career.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Enjoy!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">BTW -<b> I Do Not Recommend Go-Sim</b>, shown in my older links. I have used it and found that it only works in about 50% of the places that have gone to -- which is quite frustrating.</span></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-59590064000981472812010-02-18T13:53:00.003-07:002010-02-18T14:04:58.542-07:00Travelography #167: Cleaning Up After Tourists<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #204063; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~alew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast</span></i></span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">My top story is an article about cleaning up New Orleans after Mardi Gras, which relates to many other tourism venues, as well. Also: The World's Most Dangerous Countries, The World's Most Delayed Airports, and When Travel and Facebook Do Not Mix.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #003366; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">*****<br />
T</span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">his podcast is available at:</span></em><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><em><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> PodcasterNews.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">, </span><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://blubrry.com/" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Blubrry.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> and </span><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://travelography.info/" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Travelgeography.info</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> and the </span><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">TravelCastNetwork.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">.</span></em></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> And also follow</span></em><em><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://twitter.com/travelography" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> </span></em></span></em></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Click Here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> for links to ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</span></strong></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<b>*****</b><br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" mce_href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" target="_blank"><img alt="Go-Sim" height="130" mce_src="http://www.gosim.com/images/uploads/15_GO-SIM_strap.jpg" mce_style="border: 0px initial initial;" src="http://www.gosim.com/images/uploads/15_GO-SIM_strap.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="393" /></a><br />
<strong><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" mce_href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" target="_blank">GET YOUR INTERNATIONAL GSM PHONE SIM CARD FROM GO-SIM</a></strong><br />
<br />
<b>*****</b></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-53302141322583580172010-01-05T22:37:00.000-07:002010-01-05T22:37:11.183-07:00Travelography #166: Travel and Tourism Forecast for 2010<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #204063; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~alew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast</span></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #003366; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Everyone else is doing it, so here is my forecast for 2010 (which I came up with after reading a bunch of other predictions!)<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">*****<br />
T<em>his podcast is available at:</em><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><em><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"> PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://blubrry.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://travelography.info/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a> and the <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>.</em></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><em> And also follow</em><em><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://twitter.com/travelography" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </em></span></em><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for links to ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</strong><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">*****<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><img alt="Go-Sim" height="130" src="http://www.gosim.com/images/uploads/15_GO-SIM_strap.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 470px;" width="393" /></a><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">GET YOUR INTERNATIONAL GSM PHONE SIM CARD FROM GO-SIM</a></strong><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">*****<br />
</div></span></span></b></span></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-57546807460945804822009-12-17T19:50:00.000-07:002009-12-17T19:50:52.958-07:00#165: Looking Back at Travel and Tourism<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #204063;"><b>Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="entrydata" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is the end of the year and time to reflect on where we have been and where are we are going in the world of travel and tourism. Today's podcast looks at the past, starting about 10 years ago. We will look at the future in the next podcast.<br />
<br />
<em>This podcast is available at:</em><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><em><a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="1161" target="_blank"> PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" linkindex="1162" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="1163" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a> and the <a href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" linkindex="1164" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>.</em></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><em> And also follow </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" linkindex="1165" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </em></span></em><br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" linkindex="1166" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for links to ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</strong><br />
<br />
*****<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" linkindex="1167" target="_blank"><img alt="Go-Sim" height="130" src="http://www.gosim.com/images/uploads/15_GO-SIM_strap.jpg" width="393" /></a><br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" linkindex="1168" target="_blank">GET YOUR FREE INTERNATIONAL SIM CARD FROM GO-SIM</a></strong><br />
<br />
*****<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-82913615809592344192009-12-03T15:13:00.003-07:002009-12-03T17:31:35.237-07:00Travelography #164: Goodbye Carbon Offsets, Hello Chinese Tourists<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #204063;"><b>Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="entrydata" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The top story this past week was ResponsibleTravel.com's quitting carbon offset programs for travelers. Everyone seems to be competing for China's tourists these days, even the country of China. Plus the Nine Nations of China, a surge in Rhino poaching, and Go-Sim.<br />
<br />
<i>This podcast is available at:</i><i><span style="font-style: normal;"><i><a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="22" target="_blank"> PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" linkindex="23" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="24" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a> and the <a href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" linkindex="25" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>.</i></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><i> And also follow </i><i><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" linkindex="26" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </i></span></i><br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" linkindex="27" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for links to ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</b><br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1259882768964"></span><span id="goog_1259882768965"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" linkindex="28"></a>*****<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHhXun7NJuy_cPCXZlXLl8Kpqo5bGWInL8fNOFyawNPbILs0EMX2IUA4mDJezN6aonTjxqcfPUD4UomOO2Vs_h8pazWXossV951oGYO5lN61fWS4nlw5gzDIR5F0D5XIIrIF8Yg/s1600-h/15_GO-SIM_strap.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="29" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHhXun7NJuy_cPCXZlXLl8Kpqo5bGWInL8fNOFyawNPbILs0EMX2IUA4mDJezN6aonTjxqcfPUD4UomOO2Vs_h8pazWXossV951oGYO5lN61fWS4nlw5gzDIR5F0D5XIIrIF8Yg/s320/15_GO-SIM_strap.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><b><a href="http://www.gosim.com/landing.php?product=gs000500spfr_us&ref=402&currency=usd" linkindex="30" target="_blank">GET YOUR FREE INTERNATIONAL SIM CARD FROM GO-SIM</a></b><br />
<br />
*****<br />
</div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-39390375250763643362009-11-24T23:57:00.001-07:002009-12-03T15:14:07.506-07:00Travelography #163: Looming Challenges for Airlines and Travellers<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #204063;"><b>Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The US government is, for the third time in 16 years, going to try to fix our dysfunctional airline industry. But the challenges are huge. The UK started its Green Tax on air travel on Nov. 1st, and people are complaining but this more such taxes seem to be coming. And is it the end of the World in Dubai<i>?</i><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This podcast is available at:<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><i><a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="1165" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" linkindex="1166" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="1167" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a> and the <a href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" linkindex="1168" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>. </i></span></i><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;"><i>And also follow </i><i><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" linkindex="1169" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </i></span></i><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" linkindex="1170" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for links to ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</b><br />
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</div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-86599419045809892322009-11-12T17:50:00.000-07:002009-11-12T17:50:47.737-07:00Travelography #162: The Right to Free Hotel Wifi<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="entrydata" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first story today is about how unions are calling on more regulations to stabilize the very unstable airline industry. The second is eight reasons why all hotels should provide free wifi, with mention of Google's and Bing's free offerings this holiday season. And then I talk a little about Taiwan's Modern Toilet Hotel.<br />
<br />
<em>This podcast is available at:<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><em><a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="76" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" linkindex="77" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="78" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. and <a href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" linkindex="79" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>. </em></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-style: normal;"><em>And also follow </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" linkindex="80" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </em></span></em><br />
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<strong><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" linkindex="81" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</strong><br />
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</div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-44455329759148388882009-11-02T20:16:00.000-07:002009-11-02T20:16:32.216-07:00Travelography #161: H1N1 on a Plane<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="entrydata" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">H1N1 Swine Flu and its impacts on travel in the US was the top story for this past week. Most of us who have the flu will be flying on a plane because airlines make it hard to do otherwise. Also, how to buy travel insurance; don't trust tourism numbers, like those from Lebanon; and Yosemite bears know which cars have kids.<br />
<br />
<em>This podcast is available at:<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><em><a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. and <a href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>. </em></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-style: normal;"><em>And also follow </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </em></span></em><br />
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<strong><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</strong><br />
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</div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-66185427988138245082009-10-24T20:50:00.001-07:002009-10-24T20:51:23.823-07:00Travelography #160: Tourism and the Internet: A Match Made in Heaven<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b> </b></span></span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Travelers primarily use tourism-related social networks to get up-to-date information, as do a lot of business travelers. Southwest Airlines is flying its new green plane. Bali is raising baby coral. Thailand find a home for retired elephants. And Cyprus is a major wedding tourism destinations for certain couples from Israel and Lebanon.<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This podcast is available at:<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><i><a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. and <a href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>. </i></span></i><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;"><i>And also follow </i><i><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </i></span></i><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</b><br />
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</div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-3423107903915064862009-10-15T20:17:00.000-07:002009-10-15T20:17:48.666-07:00Travelography #159: Tourism and the Economy: Uneasy Bedfellows<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #204063; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~alew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /> <span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 9px;"><b>Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #003366; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #204063; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px;"><br />
</span></span>Business travel is in the dumps, and a new study is commissioned to try and turn that around. The Australian dollar is stronger than ever -- which is really bad for Australia's tourism. Finally, I can take my precious water on the plane -- in Europe. And are floating hotels the future is a global warming world?</span><br />
<span style="color: #204063; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #003366; font-size: 14px;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #204063; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em>This podcast is available at:<br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><em><a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. and <a href="http://www.travelcastnetwork.com./travelography/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>.</em></span></em><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><em>And also follow </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Travelography News on Twitter.com.</a> </em></span></em><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</strong><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><br />
</b><br />
</div></span>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-81887812050101462082009-09-28T14:04:00.004-07:002009-09-28T16:24:33.463-07:00Travelography #158: Global Economy Hurting Tourism, Helping Sharks<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~alew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /> <span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</span></span><br />
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</td><td align="left" valign="top"><em><strong>Summary of the some of the more interesting tourism news stories from this past week, most of which are related to the continuing global economic crisis in the tourism industry. There are, though, a few brights spots -- Natonal Parks, Cuba, Haiti, and Paulau's sharks.</strong></em><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<br />
This podcast is available at <a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="42" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/travelography/" linkindex="43" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a>, <a href="http://travelcastnetwork.com/travelography/">TravelCastNetwork.com</a>, and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="44" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. And also check out <a href="http://twitter.com/Travelography">Twitter.com/Travelography</a>. <br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/1" linkindex="46" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</strong><br />
<br />
<em>A couple of the top stories are:</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/tinews/archive/tinews2009/20090928.html">International Visitor Spending in the United States Down Sharply in July</a> - July 2009 marks the ninth straight month in which U.S. travel and tourism-related exports were lower when compared to the same period of the previous year, having declined in November 2008 (-4%), December 2008 (-2%), January 2009 (-6%), February 2009 (-10%), March 2009 (-18%), April 2009 (-14%), May 2009 (-23%), June 2009 (-22%), and July (-24%). <br />
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<a href="http://www.eturbonews.com/11950/protect-tourism-palau-creates-shark-sanctuary">To protect tourism Palau creates shark sanctuary</a> - In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Johnson Toribiong declared his country’s entire Exclusive Economic Zone, an area of 629 thousand square kilometers, or roughly the size of France as a "shark sanctuary," which will ban all commercial shark fishing. [I hope they can enforce it! - Alan] <br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-62010992348048791572009-09-20T20:44:00.001-07:002009-09-20T20:48:07.092-07:00Travelography #157: Fighting the Image War for Tourism<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /> <span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"> Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td align="left" colspan="1" valign="top"> </td><td align="left" colspan="1" valign="top"><em>This podcast is available at <a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="42" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" linkindex="43" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="44" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. And also check out </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" linkindex="45" target="_blank">Travelography on Twitter.com.</a></em><br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://delicious.com/alanalew/pcntravel+t157" linkindex="46" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.</strong><br />
<br />
The Two Highlighted Stories for today are:<br />
<ul class="bookmarks NOTHUMB" id="bookmarklist"><li class="post isSelf" id="item-f2be45d0b38ce3f1708ec389e48a5cd5-3"> <div class="bookmark NOTHUMB"> <div class="data"> <h4><a class="taggedlink " href="http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-17-voa26.cfm?rss=asia" linkindex="47" rel="nofollow">Political Instability, Violence Threat to Asia's Tourism Industry</a> <div style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; height: 16px; padding-right: 16px; width: 16px;"> </div></h4><div class="description">Political violence has done considerable damage to tourism in Asia and the Pacific over the past few years. But industry experts say the damage is not necessarily permanent. Governments and industry leaders say much can be done to rebuild tattered tourism reputations.</div></div></div></li>
<li class="post isSelf" id="item-b21f82eef9b6af12b0c959a5ad3df5d4-4"> <div class="bookmark NOTHUMB"> <div class="data"> <h4><a class="taggedlink " href="http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/wish-you-were-here-asian-war-zones-battle-for-tourists-1788714.html" linkindex="48" rel="nofollow">Wish you were here? Asian war zones battle for tourists</a> <div style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; height: 16px; padding-right: 16px; width: 16px;"> </div></h4><div class="description">Across a swath of south and south-east Asia previously wracked by war or strife, officials are carrying out a rebranding exercise to lure back tourists who have long been scared of visiting. In places such as Nepal, it is more like fine-tuning. In others, such as Kashmir, it means a complete overhaul.</div></div></div></li>
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</tbody></table>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-91412076452357717162009-09-13T19:52:00.000-07:002009-09-13T19:52:39.616-07:00Travelography #156: What do Brazil, Russia, Argentina have in Common?<img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /> <span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span><em> <br />
</em><br />
<em>This podcast is available at <a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="39" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" linkindex="40" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="41" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. And also check out my </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" linkindex="42" target="_blank">Travelography on Twitter.com.<br />
</a></em><br />
<h4><a class="taggedlink " href="http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/tinews/archive/tinews2009/20090911.html" linkindex="43" rel="nofollow">International Visitation To US Down 11% In June 2009</a> <div style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; height: 16px; padding-right: 16px; width: 16px;"> </div></h4><div class="description">June 2009 marks the eighth consecutive month of decreases in international visitors spending. In the first six months 2009, visitors spent $60 billion, down 15 percent from the same period in 2008.</div><div class="description"> </div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707990.post-22368312274310418982009-09-06T15:16:00.000-07:002009-09-06T15:16:16.769-07:00Travelography 155: Our Changing World: Geishas and Satellites<img height="50" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ealew/images/40x32.jpg" width="40" /> <span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<em>This podcast is available at <a href="http://www.podcasternews.com/travelography/" linkindex="1215" target="_blank">PodcasterNews.com</a>, <a href="http://blubrry.com/" linkindex="1216" target="_blank">Blubrry.com</a> and <a href="http://travelography.info/" linkindex="1217" target="_blank">Travelgeography.info</a>. And also check out my </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/travelography" linkindex="1218" target="_blank">Travelography Twitter Blog.</a></em> <br />
<div class="data"> <h4><a class="taggedlink " href="http://www.arabianbusiness.com/566689-geisha-turn-barmaids-to-keep-japans-floating-world-afloat" linkindex="1219" rel="nofollow">Geisha turn barmaids to keep Japan’s ‘Floating World’ afloat</a></h4><div class="description">A traditional two-hour dinner with a geisha, who will entertain with music, dance performances and conversation, can cost as much as 67,000 yen ($715), more than half of which goes to the teahouse and an arranger, ... "It's a luxury industry, and like the high-end hotels, it has dropped," ... [However,] bookings have declined 50 percent since last October, the month after the collapse of [financial services firm] Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, ... <br />
</div><div class="description"> <div class="data"> <h4><a class="taggedlink " href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090904165302.htm" linkindex="1220" rel="nofollow">Economists Measure GDP Growth From Outer Space</a> <div style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; height: 16px; padding-right: 16px; width: 16px;"> </div></h4><div class="description">Using U.S. Air Force weather satellite picture composites, they look at changes in a region’s light density over a 10-year period. “Consumption of nearly all goods in the evening requires lights,” ... “As income rises, so does light usage per person, in both consumption activities and many investment activities.” ... For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lights suggest a 2.4-percent annual growth rate in GDP, while official estimates suggest a negative 2.6-percent growth over the same time period. The Congo appears to be growing faster than official estimates suggest. At the other end, Myanmar has an official growth rate of 8.6 percent a year, but the lights data imply only a 3.4-percent annual growth rate.</div><div class="description"><br />
</div></div></div></div>Alan A Lewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12229384291025691794noreply@blogger.com