TravelStream™ news feed for member jamangie on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jamangie en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:43:35 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1218893580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1218893580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1218893580/tpod.html Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:43:35 -0500 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Tirana, Albania

...........we were driving past the border at a break-neck speed in a golden old Mercedes with our newest Albanian friends..... our cab driver had left us on the Montenegro side of the border where he negociated with the golden Mercedes people to drive us to the city of Shkoder for 5 euros...........it was a Sunday and there were big white weddings everywhere....... people were looking after their cows......... everywhere looked kind of runned down........ and I smilled...... because this country has no pretentions...... what you see is exactly what you get......   the road was bumpy and the Mercedes was flying and avoiding any nasty collisions with the other Mercedes........... because you see the Republic of Shqiperia - a.k.a. Albania - went throught the nineties in a lawless ride..... and part of the fun in those days was to go to Western Europe and steal as many Mercedes as possible and bring them back to the lawless republic......... we made it to Tirane that same day.......... Tirane - the glorious and unceremoniously delapidated capital.......... hardest city to find a restaurant......... but charming in a decrepit way......cýty of Jacob and hýs techný-colour dreamcoat well the buýldýngs anyway..... and almost devoid of tourists........ after Croatia and Montenegro being in a country still untouched by the evil claw of mass tourism was more than one could dream of........... go there now before it gets its guts gnawed........... go now i tells ya.........and Albanian people are simply one of the nicest and most polite people we've encountered so far....... it's true that they don't have a good reputation in certain countries and some of them admit straight away that there are certain groups of people that tend to misbehave......... but that certainly doesn't apply to the majority of the Albanians......... after years of paranoid communist rule that amongst other things left around 70.000 bunkers throughout the country (another brilliant idea by Enver Hoxha paranoid megalomaniac leader number 1) everyone seems quite ready to move on and everyone seems a tad sad that the world tends to look at them in a generalised discriminatory way............my advise to anyone: just go there.......    
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1220279820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1220279820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1220279820/tpod.html Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:30:51 -0500 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cirali, Antalya, Turkey

Lets set this straight from the start.............Cirali should be the model on which any beachside tourist development ( If there has to be one) in the world should be based on...........Cirali is what Oludeniz could've been or perhaps once was before it became the hilariously awful package holiday village it is today.There are some pretty special things in Cirali that obviously can't be replicated elsewhere ie _Ancient ruined city_Rare natural phenomenon; The eternal flame of the Chimaera ( A mysterious natural gas emanating from a  nearby hill which bursts into fire as it hits surface oxygen)_And some generally spectacular cliffs and  mountains as a back dropBuuuuut............what it can demonstrates to others is pure unpretentious simplicty..........low rise guest houses set in fruit  orchards.....simple beachside restaurants set amongst forests of poplars magnolias and the like.......no pumping clubs.......a reasonable amount of beach chairs.....no watersports........and you guessed it as a result no dickheads!Cirali is a joy..............a close to perfect retreat........only pure squeaky white sand could complete it........but perhaps thats whats keeping the dickheads away.....!?!?!?Happy Ramadan much love jamangie
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1222724640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1222724640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1222724640/tpod.html Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:50:40 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

New York City, New York, United States

hello my pretties............being in N.Y. is like being permanently in a movie set, where everybody is the protagonist and the two of us are the extras..........stereotypes abound: there's the war vets on the streets, the homeless, the trendy people, the small dogs........staying at the trendy Lower East Side in Manhattan........ where everyone and everything is so damn cool...... walked down Broadway and got dazzled by the lights........... tricksy lights, they are.........haven't seen Spider-Man or the Tenage Mutant Ninja Turtles around yet........ i kinda expected to see a few webs hanging from some of the buildings.........
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1222005480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1222005480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1222005480/tpod.html Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:43:29 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Istanbul, Turkey

Merhaba!Istanbul.......... parte desta cidade situa-se na Europa, parte na Asia....... 10 minutos de barco de um continente a outro...........visitamos o Palacio Topkapi........ é o palacio mais bem preservado e impresssionante que visitamos nesta viagem....... e tem tesouros dignos de si........ o diamante maior que ja vi....... rubis e esmeraldas do tamanho nesperas........ espadas e punhais encrustrados com diamantes, perolas, rubis......... uma caixa com esmeraldas enormes..... e tem mais:- o varão de Moises- a taça de Abraão- a caveira e o braço de São João Batista- pedaços da barba, um dente e uma pegada de Maomécomo sabem, o Velho Testamento é o mesmo para Muçulmanos, Cristãos e Judeus....... portanto todos estes profetas são sagrados para as pessoas que seguem estas religiões..... (acho que com a execpção de Maome, que é sagrado so para os Muçulmanos)visitamos a Aya Sophia (ou Santa Sofia) que foi construida no seculo 6 d.c. e foi a igreja maior e mais impressionate para o mundo Cristão até 1453, que foi o ano da conquista e os Turcos converteram-na numa mosque........ e antes de julgarem os Turcos eu digo-vos que a dignidade da Aya Sophia esta intacta...... ao contrario do que os Espanhois fizeram à Mezquita em Cordoba..... converteram na igreja mais ridicula que ja vi y estragaram com o que foi uma das mosques mais espectaculares do mundo......... Aya Sophia é impressionante....... em frente fica a Sultan Ahmed Camii ou Mosque Azul, que é deslumbrante tambem....um dos meus lugares preferidos foi visitar a cisterna da Basilica...... desce-se umas escadas e entra-se num mundo diferente: é um reservatorio de agua antigo....... tem 336 colunas....... espectacular e dificel de descrever......... depois pomos fotos ou vão ao google..... vale a pena......à beira mar, perto da Ponte Galata, come-se umas sandes de peixe deliciosas..... frescas, feitas na ocasião........ ah, tenho que mencionar os gatos......... a Turquia tem milhares de gatos por todo o lado........ tem montes de gatos por aqui em Istanbul....... e bem poucos cães....... esta cidade pretence ao gatos........... e a maior parte deles parecem ser bem tratados e estimados............ tem um gato especial turco, chamado gato de Van...... Van é uma area perto do lago com o mesmo nome no este da Turquia...... vimos alguns destes gatos por aqui...... eles são invariavelmente brancos com um olho azul brilhante e outro verde brilhante....... e são altamente estimados, porque um gatinho destes vale umas Liras valentes (Lira é a moeda Turca)........ e eles adoram nadar e brincar na chuva............ se quiserem uma cidade para passar uma semana, Istanbul é uma escolha excelente: montes de lugares para visitar, cosmopolita e cheia de historia........... tem uma mistura de antigo e novo interessante....... e o pessoal é amigavel............o senso de hospitalidade turco é um dos melhores que encontramos........gule gule....... 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1219674900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1219674900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1219674900/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 10:12:58 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Fethiye, Turkish Aegean Coast, Turkey

merhaba
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221400500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221400500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221400500/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 10:11:46 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

I don't think that Ankara is the type of city that will amaze anyone......but i think that if given a chance, it may reveal a few surprises...... we first spent a night there on the way from Kapadokia to Amasya....... saw Ataturk's Masoleum from our hotel balcony and it looked quite impressive.......... similar to uncle Ho's masoleum back in Hanoi maybe............then spent a few hours there on the way from Amasya to Selchuk..........this city has quite a modern vibe about it........ spent a few hours playing cards in a cool cafe where they played french and turkish music and had its walls filled with posters of old turkish movies........ooohhhh....... maybe we'll give Ankara a real go next time!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221659820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221659820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221659820/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:58:32 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Canakkale, Turkish Aegean Coast, Turkey

ngeck!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221486960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221486960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221486960/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:57:25 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Selcuk, Izmir, Turkey

nheck?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221054600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221054600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1221054600/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:52:12 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Amasya, Turkey

will write soon
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1220702520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1220702520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jamangie/1/1220702520/tpod.html Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:18:58 -0400 Jamangie takes on the world

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cappadocia, Turkey

Merhaba!we've just came back - alive - from a stroll through Pidgeon Valley........ yes, the many Christians that made houses in these many fairy chimney rocks around here used to sell the pidgeon manure....... so the result: pidgeons are cool in Kapadokia!anyhoo, made our way down to what looked like a very nice and easy valley to walk...... we were trying to make our way back from the Ushiser Castle to our village, Göreme...... and all went well..... an English couple got stuck on the wrong side of the ravine so we went back and guided them to our side of the ravine..... we all kept walking happily chatting with our two new friends, Will and Emily, for another 2 minutes until we got to a point where we had to pick from a couple dodgy looking paths...... both seemed to lead to a certain death.......... that ravine was about 25 meters deep.......... enter the Turkish farmer who just happened to be around at the right place, right time....... we look at him..... he looks at us...... he says: "there are two dangerous ways and a normal way to Göreme...... which one do you want?"..........." normal one, please".......... "follow me" he says......... we back-tracked a bit and he starts going up........ it all looks good and logic........ then he leads us up a hill that had some tiny and old looking steps in de middle of it........ he was walking up like he was a Turkish Spider-Man......... we were crawling up with our hands........ at that moment i was thankful for those few hours spent at indoor rock climbing back in Perth........."he lead us to the top of a ridge!" was all that Will said...... we found out later that he suffers from vertigo..... and at the top of that hill was a drop of about 18 meters and some loose gravel to add to the excitment....... the Turkish Spider-Man was walking back and forward on that ridge smilling.......... there were a couple of people down on the other side that just stood there in anticipation to see which one of us would drop first, i bet....... Will was wearing some very slippery shoes........ James and I were wearing sandals.......... off we went....... after all, it was only a few steps across that ridge without slipping and breaking 30 bones............ too easy.......after we climbed down, he lead us throught a small narrow tunnel and throught a few bigger ones........ glad we picked the normal way....... imagine the dangerous? it would have involved jumping onto a pidgeon back, avoiding repeated attacks by the eagle we saw flying around a bit earlier and then, just as the pidgeon starts to come down, grab the nearest tree branch while skillfully avoiding falling into the spiky desert bushes....... or so i imagine........ so that's Pidgeon Valley done....... we're off to Rose Valley next......... sounds lovely, doesn't it??
]]>