Travel guides you’ll like

Posted by Eliza - 30/03/09 at 09:03:47 am

Popular British travel magazine Wanderlust recently announced the winners of its annual Travel Awards. Winners are decided based on readers’ responses and are awarded in categories like “Top TV programme” (Amazon, followed by Long Way Down and Tribe), “Top country” (Japan, followed by Namibia and New Zealand) and “Top rail journey” (Scotland’s West Highland line, followed by Cuzco-Puno / Lake Titicaca, Peru and Cuzco-Machu Picchu, Peru). Click here for the full list of winners.

Perhaps one of the most useful categories is “Top guidebook series”. In somewhat of an upset, the DK Eyewitness Travel series claimed top spot, ahead of last year’s winner Bradt and perennial favourites Lonely Planet.

You can learn all about these books and their top destinations by clicking on the websites, but in advance of that, here are a few subjective comments on the top ten, prepared by your helpful Dohop scribe.

1. DK Eyewitness Travel: Beautiful guides for beautiful people. Well, for any people really. The great thing about these guides are the “Top 10″ sections and the many stunning colour photographs. The downside: the photos on high quality paper make for a pretty hefty tome to lug around.
2. Lonely Planet: The granddaddy of budget travel guides. Been receiving a bad rep of late, and have even had to lay off a large number of the head office staff. However, they’re always comprehensive, and they cover almost every inch of the globe.
3. Bradt: A personal favourite, the Bradt guides cover less visited regions of the word. They have great guides to Benin, Belarus and Ethiopia, but you won’t be able to purchase one exclusively on Italy. Authors get good leeway to write in their own style, and these guides are heavier on the text than the photos. But for out of the way spots, they’re hard to beat.
4. Rough Guides: Similar to Lonely Planet, some prefer them to LP, some don’t. Good coverage of the globe as well, and comprehensive listings printed on lightweight paper, which don’t make them too cumbersome to carry around. Excellent maps.
5. Footprint: I can’t comment on Footprint, as have never used one of their guides, but I’ve heard good things.
6. Insight: Same goes for Insight, I’m afraid.
7. Time Out: Time Out guides are great for specific aspects of a city (e.g. dining in Paris). Written by resident locals, they have top notch information that “parachute” authors (those who just fly in and out to research a guide) just don’t have the time to find.
8. AA: Another guide with which I am unfamiliar.
9. Cadogan: And yet another. Perhaps I need to arrange a few more trips….
10. Blue Guides: A friend once recommend the Blue Guide to China because of its unmatched commentary on Chinese history and architecture. The Blue Guides are renowned for their extensive background knowledge of a region or country.

Personal Recommendation: Trailblazer guides didn’t make Wanderlust’s cut, but I have always been a fan of these books. Their guide to the Trans Siberian rail is the best on the market, and they have a very creative way with maps. They are especially strong on walking and overland guides.

Wizz Air a winner

Posted by Eliza - 27/03/09 at 11:03:34 am

Wondering which airline to select to wizz you through the skies to your next business or holiday destination? If you’re based in or heading to Central Europe, it might be time to consider popular low-cost carrier Wizz Air. The airline, with its main hubs in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Ukraine, recently won “Best Low Cost Airline 2008″ in Poland. The prize was determined by readers of pasazer.com and Wizz Air was given this accolade for the fifth consecutive year. (In the interests of impartiality, we should probably point out that this web site is in Polish and Wizz Air has a pretty heavy presence in the country – but that means readers are going to be very familiar with the perks of their favourite airline too, right?)

The airline’s Head of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Natasa Kazmer, added her interpretation of the win: “[It is] a great honour for us but above all it confirms that what passengers really want is low fares couple with a great customer experience and that’s what Wizz Air stands for.”

Wizz Air offers flights on 120 routes. Start booking right here!

On my own

Posted by Eliza - 25/03/09 at 08:03:30 am

Getting excited about a big trip? Already booked your ticket? Got your shots and an updated passport? Doing it all on your own?

If you’re about to head out on a solo adventure, here are a few tips to avoid any trouble, particularly in less visited parts of the globe:

• Tell people where you’re going: you don’t need to start your own blog, but it’s pretty hard nowadays to avoid an internet café or mobile phone connection. Even if you don’t have a set itinerary, let someone back home have a rough idea of where you’re planning on being in the next few days.
• If you’re arriving somewhere new late in the evening, try to have a hotel booked before you arrive. Not only will it make the chaos of a new destination a little calmer, you’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep before seeing a new place.
• Get a scan of all your documents: passports, traveller cheques (hey, some people still use them!), etc. Keep a copy on a memory stick with you and one at home. If something gets lost or stolen, it’s much easier to replace that way.
• Be an expert. Do lots of research in advance. And even if you’re not an expert, act like one. Don’t wander aimlessly through streets with a map open. Be aware of cultural sensitivities, including for attire. Walk like you know where you’re going, even if you don’t.
• Lie-when you have to. If you feel like you’re in an awkward situation, there’s no harm in explaining to someone that you’ve got to meet your husband/girlfriend/travelling companion back at the hotel.
• And most importantly, enjoy it. Travelling solo affords plenty of opportunities to meet both other travellers and friendly locals. Plus you get to see and do what you want, when you want. In many ways, there’s no better way to go exploring!

There will be items missing from this list. Don’t forget to comment here to add your advice or check out this site.

Everything but the kitchen sink

Posted by Eliza - 23/03/09 at 11:03:50 am

Unless your holiday is of the all-inclusive variety with meals, towels, and those fun little mini-shampoo bottles all provided, you’ll need to pack more than just your clothes and a good book. Everyone has their own “must pack” items to make a journey a success. Here are my top ten:

1. Universal Sink Plug: One hopes you’ll want to wash your clothes at some point. And there never seems to be a plug when you need one.

2. Cord: Now you’ll need to dry said clothes. You can buy special cords that hook across a room, and you can use them for various other things too.

3. Tilley hat: Not to promote one brand specifically, but Tilley really do win hands down in the headwear department. Broad rims keep sun off faces, they have a long guarantee and – shhhh- there’s a secret pocket at the top to store some emergency funds.

4. Postcards from home: They say a thousand words you know. Now you won’t be fumbling around to describe your own neighbourhood. They make great souvenirs for new friends too.

5. Sarong: Men, you’ll want this too. Sure, you can wear a sarong on a beach, but you can also use it as a blanket, hold-all for clothes, pillow case, and towel. You’ll use it all the time.

6. All-purpose soap: Get some soap that can be used to wash you, your clothes, your hair, and your food, and you’ll cut down on heavy, leaky bottles in your backpack.

7. First-aid kit: You never know.

8. Photocopies: Copy your passport, your traveller’s cheques (some people still use ‘em!), your visas, etc. Keep them with you and you might not need to relinquish the real thing at a road block.

9. More photocopies: Copy the guidebook maps for cities you know you’re going to visit (or just rip that page out of the book). When you’re wandering around Hanoi for the day, you won’t need to lug information on all of South-East Asia with you.

10. Mug and utensils: If you have a thermal mug and knife, fork, spoon with you you’ll be able to share in all that great food you get offered on trains.

What did I forget? Please add your recommendations in the comments section of this blog.

PS – Got your top ten list and still have room? If you’re visiting a developing country, check out Stuff Your Rucksack, a UK-based charity which puts you in touch with organisations in your destination country. Then you can fill your suitcases extra nooks and crannies with whatever might really be needed on the ground, be in paper, pens, used books, or whatever!

The best travel books: a subjective list

Posted by Eliza - 20/03/09 at 11:03:39 am

The travel writing genre has expanded greatly in recent decades, and every inch of the globe has been covered by some intrepid on some intrepid journey. Here are five of my all-time favourites:

A Writer’s World: Travels 1950-2000, by Jan Morris

Jan Morris has been publishing travel articles and books since her 20s, when she covered such regions as Palestine and apartheid South Africa while a foreign correspondent for the Times and then the Guardian. A Writer’s World is a beautiful introduction to her prolific work. It is a collection of essays and book excerpts from her travels around globe over half a century, and also, as she describes it in typical self-deprecating style: “the passage of a life, from the twilight of adolescence to the dawn of senility.” Morris has an uncanny ability to capture the crux of a city’s personality without over-reliance on its history or geography, which is what makes her one of travel writing’s most admired authors.

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, by Peter Godwin

“Some believe – like the Zulus – that a solar eclipse occurs when a crocodile eats the sun. The celestial crocodile, they say, briefly consumes our life-giving star as a warning that he is much displeased with the behavior of man below. It is the very worst of omens.”

Peter Godwin’s memoir of a country spiraling out of control captivates from the first paragraph, telling a story mostly takes place in his homeland, Zimbabwe, a country which was Africa’s fastest growing economy as recently as 1997, but is now stricken by poverty and violence.

Against this backdrop of political chaos, Godwin writes about his aging parents, immigrants to the country from Britain after the Second World War, and their refusal to abandon their adopted homeland. While his father becomes increasingly ill, Godwin discovers a secret about his family history that his parents have kept hidden for almost 50 years.

This book will stay with you long after the last word has been absorbed.

Phaic Tan, A Jetlag Travel Guide, by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, and Rob Sitch

From the authors of the bestselling guidebook to the elusive country Molvania comes the authoritative story on that South-East Asian gem, Phaic Tan. Yes, everything you need to know about Phaic Tan, birthplace of the trouser press and irritable bowel syndrome, can be found in this irreverent book.

The minor detail that Phaic Tan does not exist should not distract the reader from learning all about the country, including its cuisine (“a fiery combination of chilli, garlic and pepper to which food is occasionally added”), road rules (“Remember to always sound your horn before overtaking, turning, pulling out, pulling in, changing lanes or stopping”) and the national sport, kick boxing.

The Wrong Way Home, by Peter Moore

Peter Moore’s 1999 travelogue of his overland trip from London to Sydney is one of the most entertaining accounts of this hippie trail trip through countries like a war-torn Bosnia, Iran and Afghanistan. The story boasts an eccentric cast of characters from Mirindi the friendly Albanian to Earnest Young English Speakers everywhere. Even better, visit Moore’s website for a slideshow of the entire journey, colorful characters and all.

Moods of Future Joys, by Alastair Humphreys

When Alastair Humphreys first toyed with the idea of cycling around the world, he found it easy to come up with numerous reasons why he should abandon his quixotic dream. Happily, he didn’t, and four years later he had completed 46,000 miles around the globe.

When Humphreys returned home to the UK to publish a book about his adventures, thus launching a glorious career as a travel writer, he also faced challenges. None of the big publishers was interested. Undaunted, he published himself, selling online and agreeing to donate part of the proceeds of the book to charity.

Possibly as a result of the self-publishing, or more likely an off-shoot of the sheer determination it takes to both cycle solo around the world and then write and publish about it, Moods of Future Joys flows in a wonderfully unpretentious and straightforward way, clearly the labor of love the author had always intended it to be. Chapters alternate in length and in rhythm between the chronological and the practical (how he slept, what he packed, etc). There are even a half dozen or so recipes from of easy-to-prepare – say if you’re camping alone at the side of an isolated road – recipes from the continent.

Happily, the world also took notice, and Humphreys has secured a well-known publisher and released his second book.

Famous Sights: the Eiffel Tower

Posted by Eliza - 18/03/09 at 09:03:25 am

Dohop introduces you to the first in a series of blogs on famous monuments. First up: the “Iron Lady” herself, Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower.

Originally erected in 1889, the centenary of the French Revolution, as part of the Universal Exhibition, the Eiffel Tower initially had its detractors (the local arts community wrote a letter of protest to local newspapers about the design). Success was on the side of engineer and builder Gustav Eiffel, however, for whom the tower became his professional crowning glory (despite a fairly illustrious career, including creating the interior of the Statue of Liberty).

In order to see his dream become a reality, Eiffel had won a competition sponsored by the Journal Officiel, which wanted to “study the possibility of erecting an iron tower on the Champ de Mars”. He and his team of engineers and architects was chosen ahead of 106 other entrants.

The Eiffel Tower, made of puddle iron and built-in elevators, was immediately a modern attraction. It was also the world’s tallest building (and remained so until 1929 when the Chrysler building opened in the US).

Originally built to last only 20 years, the dawn of the radio age created a new use for the Iron Lady and she stuck around, with telecommunications masts perched atop her at 324 metres into the air.

With over 6 million visitors annually, the Eiffel Tower requires some annual repairs. It is completely re-painted every seven years, using 60 tonnes of paint to cover 200,000 square metres, painted painstakingly by 25 painters using only brushes. Plans are underway to modify the re-painting schedule, so this seven-year rotation may change in future.

The tower is also affected by wind and even the heat (portions hit directly by the sun expand more than those parts in the shade, causing the structure to lean slightly).

In its more than hundred year history, this icon of Paris has witnessed bungee jumpers, tightrope walkers, and even people ascending it on mountain bike.

The Eiffel Tower is open to the public 365 days a year – click here to find a cheap flight to Paris and a hotel to boot.

Global events round up

Posted by Eliza - 17/03/09 at 09:03:08 am

If you’re still seeking inspiration about where to take your next vacation, look no further! Your friendly Dohop blog editor has compiled a few of the most exciting happenings around the globe for the week of 22-28 March.

South by Southwest music festival, Texas USA:

Twenty-two this year and still going strong (getting stronger, in fact), this music, film and “interactive” festival, one of the largest in the US, takes place in Austin, Texas. The festival garners international media attention each year, and has included groups like Kings of Leon, Razorlight, Billy Bragg and the Lemonheads. This year, look out for acts like Tori Amos, Metallica, The Decemberists and David Fonseca.

But hurry, the festival’s last chapter, music, ends on 22 March! (Although if you miss it, the same group is affiliated with North by Northeast (NXNE), a similar gathering held in Toronto, Canada each spring.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Melbourne, Australia:

Get cooking! – or drinking! The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival boasts over 200 foodie events. These include “Wicked Sunday”, a selection of delicious, decadent, delicacies; “Connex Sizzle”, an ode to that wonderful Aussie tradition, the BBQ; the “World’s Longest Lunch”, a popular meal whose name refers to the size of the table rather than the length of the meal; a bread making workshop; and, for the wee ones, “Mud pies and Butterflies”.

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival runs from 7 – 23 March.

International Puppet Festival, Strasbourg, France:

The young and the young at heart alike will enjoy the International Puppet Festival, held annual in this gorgeous French town. Tickets for performances (mostly at the The Théâtre Jeune Public, but also other venues) are available for individual performances, or, for the truly puppet-mad, you can also buy a festival pass.

The Sand Marathon, Ouarzazate, Morocco:

Masochists may enjoy the Marathon des Sables, the Sand Marathon a gruelling (to say the least!) 240-km, week-long, ultra-marathon that runs through the beautiful but barren Moroccan desert. Participants, who come from dozens of countries and can compete as individuals or in teams, must carry all supplies with them and are only issued with nine litres of water per day. Each section of the race varies from 17.5 km to 75.5 km. The oldest competitor was 78 years old.

Malaysia Flora Fest, Malaysia:

Running from 1 Mar – 30 May, the Malaysia Flora Fest has an annual theme (last year’s was “Colours of Harmony”) and showcases the nation’s many beautiful flora. There is also a floral parade, as well as bazaars, competitions, exhibitions and workshops.

Inspired? Get booking now!

[Original photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anirudhkoul/2045735047/]

Culinary travel:Chocolate around the world

Posted by Eliza - 16/03/09 at 11:03:39 am

Dark, sweet, white, bitter, fair trade. There are nearly as many varieties of chocolate as there are fans of this sweet treat. And whether you’re flying to Switzerland, France, Guatemala or Russia, you’ll be sure to find a local variety of this delicacy. If you can figure out how to lug it home without it crumbling or melting, then you’re set.

Once you’ve arrived back with your culinary souvenir, take a look at some of the following recipes for a few creative uses of chocolate around the world.

Mexican Mole: This Mexican dish is famous for its inclusion of dark chocolate in a spicy main course. Delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Chocolate chip cookies are a staple of every American child’s lunch and this recipe is the most famous one of all.

French Chocolate Cake: Serve dusted with icing sugar and you’ve got a rich, decadent dessert.

Hungarian Seven-Layer Cake: Seven layers of heaven.

Cocoa and Spice Slow-Roasted Pork with Onions: Another chance to try something savoury with chocolate.

Where to rest your head

Posted by Eliza - 13/03/09 at 11:03:12 am

Tired of accommodation options that offer those boring old “bed with en-suite, mini-bar and satellite television”? Looking for something you can really write home about? Check out some of the world’s wackier hotels….

Bottoms Up!

If you’ve always fancied a night cap before sleeping, you might enjoy staying at the new Hotel De Vrouwe van Stavoren in the Netherlands where you can spend the night in a 14,500 litre wine vat.

It’s a bird, it’s a ….

Cheeky marketing folks have dubbed it your chance to join the mile high club. Opened in December last year, the Jumbo hostel in Sweden provides you with the chance to sleep in a renovated jumbo jet.

Live like a monkey

If you’re not afraid of heights, we recommend the Parrot Nest Lodge in Belize where rooms are in thatched huts up in the trees – just like the parrots!

Throw away the key

The big plus about the The Jail in Mount Gambier, Australia is that it’s now a haven for law-abiding and fee paying guests. Hey, the rooms at this former prison now lock from the inside!

Woof woof

If you ever find yourself in Cottonwood, Idaho, USA, consider yourself lucky. This is, after all, the only chance you will have to sleep inside the world’s largest beagle. That’s right. This giant, 12-foot tall wooden structure can sleep a family of four and is known as the Dog Bark Park Inn.

Get booking now!

Celebrate good times

Posted by Eliza - 12/03/09 at 12:03:53 pm

If February and March seem endlessly chilly and grey where you are, fear not. Somewhere on this lively planet there is always a party going on. Check out some of the following feasts and festivals taking place in the next two months:

Nice Carnival, France

13 Feb – 1 Mar

This year’s theme is “the King of Masquerades” – enjoy flower and light parades, float processions, firework displays, rock music and theatre, plus all the usual fun and excitement of this lively French city.

Carnival, Trinidad & Tobago

Continuing on the carnival theme, Trinidad and Tobago’s contribution, said to be the largest outside of Rio’s, includes masquerade bands, spectacular costumes, pulsating music and an unparalleled stamina for partying.

New Orleans Mardi Gras, USA

24 Feb

The daddy of all mardi gras festivities takes place on 24 February. Enjoy the craziness from this legendary event.

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