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Showing posts from 2009

Country #82: Myth-busting Incredible India: Varanasi

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I am an excellent procrastinator. I am so good at it that there are moments when, after noticing that an entire day has passed and nothing has gotten done, I feel an almost bizarre kind of pride in the extent of my skills. I believe it is this same well-honed tendency of mine that I have to blame for not having visited India earlier. For reasons that are still not clear to me, every time the subject of India, and more specifically of traveling therein, arises, there is someone in the room wanting to talk about how dirty/ crowded/ difficult/ smelly it is. Sure, there is usually someone crowing about how special and beautiful it is, but they are quickly shouted down by someone whose friend's cousin's neighbor went and got so sick that they developed a rash and eventually sprouted a tail. It is enough to wear you out. The flight has not been purchased or the hotels booked and already you are exhausted. Based on little more than this hearsay, I always thought of India as somewher

What do you mean – you haven't heard of Leipzig?

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It’s funny how things are. Several months ago, I was completely unaware of the existence of Leipzig, Germany. As far as I can recall, I had never heard anything about it, be it good, bad or indifferent. This is no longer the case, due primarily to my work. I have been provided with not just one but two opportunities to visit Leipzig within the past two months. Along with this chance to spend some time in the lively East German university city, I have become aware of the fact that word of Leipzig is simply everywhere you look.

Sibiu: European City of Culture '07

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Back in 2007, Romania joined the European Union. That news, monumental as it was, had to share the country's headlines with another big story. Sibiu, a small medieval city in the northern part of Transylvania, had been named the European City of Culture for the year. The city formerly known as "Sibiu", now became known as "Sibiu...you know it's the the European City of Culture" in everyday casual conversation. The least patriotic Romanian was incapable of holding back his pride when the topic of Sibiu came up. Of course, as a frequent visitor and huge fan of Romania, I bragged right along with them. Only, there was a slight problem. I had never been to Sibiu.

Country #81: Riga...A brilliant choice

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Way back in August, I found myself with some unexpected days off, the last few I would have for this year's Amsterdam stay. I was wandering around, unsure of what to do with this time, when I came across an ad for Baltic Airlines touting cheap airfare to Riga. That afternoon, I did a quick search for hostels in Riga, found there were some highly recommended ones, saw some pretty pictures and decided that Latvia was to be my 81st country. I proudly went around proclaiming that I was heading to Latvia. Not surprisingly, this was usually followed by blank stares or questions as to why, exactly, I was going to what was it again? I had no good answer at the time (other than the obvious best answer: Because it's there). I did not even have any idea as to what I would find once I got there. I did know that there was a possibility to bungee jump from a cable car, but oddly, that was about the extent of my research. Arriving at the fun to say Naughty Squirrel Hostel on a Monday after

Oslo: The Wet Day aka Day 3

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One last day in Oslo (technically just an afternoon, really, since I had a 5pm flight back to Amsterdam) but I had saved the best, or at least the most scenic, for last. On this, my final hours, I had made a reservation for a lunch cruise around the fjords. For the past two days, I had watched families cruise by, enjoying the gorgeous summer weather and the majestic panorama offered up by the fjords. Now it was my turn. So why was I waking up to the sound of rain on the windowpanes accompanied by loud claps of thunder. I convinced myself for a brief moment that it was noise coming from the air conditioner. A noise that I just had never noticed before. I even shared this fleeting fantasy with my hot roommate, the one who had just finished hiking through Pakistan and is currently working on a guide to outdoor adventures. Curiously, he did not share my delusion. With the reservation already made and the $65 cruise included for free with my $68 Oslo Card, I decided I could brave the elemen

Oslo: Day 2

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My second day in Oslo was devoted to two things: art and exploring the city itself; or one could say artfully exploring the city. I started off with a self-guided walking tour around the comfortably compact downtown area. The city was as clean and tidy as one would expect, but what I found a bit disconcerting was the number of junkies I encountered throughout my walk. I had noticed them the previous day at the train station, but I had chalked it up to the sad fact that oftentimes, that is where those living on the fringes of society tend to congregate. I should quickly point out that at no point did I feel threatened or in any kind of danger, it just struck me as such an odd dichotomy between the stereo-type of the hale and hearty Viking and those sunken-eyed lost souls that seemed to be simply everywhere. My walking tour lead me to The National Gallery, where I had my first chance to see Edvard Munch's iconic painting, The Scream. I say it was my first chance, because Munch, being

Country #80: Oslo: Day one

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When discussing Norway, there are two things which are invariably mentioned by all who have visited. First is the natural beauty of the fjords and second the exorbitant amount of money the visitor paid for a pizza/ soda/ beer or some other implied gauge as to how expensive this city is. Actually, I think if a highly scientific poll were to be done, the order of those two would probably would have to be reversed. So to address the elephant in the fjords, yes, it is a very vast and beautiful landscape and yes, this allure has caused them all to lose their ever-loving minds when faced with a price gun. My plans for visiting this, my 80th country, were to stay in Oslo for three days and see about a half-dozen museums, preferably without having to resort to selling a kidney or other organ that I may someday want back to pay for it all. That is where the Oslo Card came in very handy. For one price (approximately $68), I had unlimited access to the city's museums and very efficient publ