Africa - What to Know Before You Go

Plan Ahead 

I'm a pretty seasoned traveler so I wasn't nervous about going to Africa but I was a bit surprised at how far in advance you need to get organized and booked.  I'm not normally one to book 6 months out (and that's even getting late for Africa) but in this case, it's necessary to get the accommodations and the travel arrangements you want to make the trip more efficient.  In addition, while it's not essential, I think it's very helpful and will save you a lot of time and energy, to find a great travel agency that specializes in Africa travel, if possible. There is so much to see and do that working with folks who have experienced it first hand is a must.  I worked with Extraordinary Journeys, an agency in the U.S.

that was referred to me by some colleagues, and they were fantastic in every way.  Their team members are very passionate and knowledgeable about all aspects of travel in Africa and not one detail is left to chance.  I loved that the person I worked with (thanks Jenny) had extensive knowledge of the lodges, the game parks and other activities I was interested in and was able to match her expertise with the kind of travel experience I was looking for.

Be Flexible and Chill Out 

Remember - Africa is a huge continent and it takes longer than you expect to get from one place to the next.  So, while your itinerary might seem like the travel between places (parks and countries) is pretty straightforward it still takes a more time than you bargained so be prepared for some long travel days.  Depending on the locations you choose to visit, there can be a lot of transportation to get to where you want to go.  And, like anywhere in the world, sometimes things run on time and sometimes they don't.  We explored by plane, train, jeep and foot - we spent a lot of time on bumpy dirt tracks, uneven highways and crowded border crossings but we decided to just make it all part of the adventure rather than complaining about how long it was taking.  Engage your drivers in conversation on the long trips - they have a lot to say and are a wealth of knowledge about where you're going and some of the things you'll experience.  You'll be amazed at the things you'll learn. 

Manage Your Animal Expectations

Of course everyone wants to see the Big Five when they go to Africa.  This list includes the lion, rhino, elephant, leopard and Cape buffalo - it's somewhat of a random list but was originally coined by big-game hunters who considered these five the most difficult animals to hunt on foot.  Chances are pretty high that you'll see at least a few of these animals but there is no guarantee so don't consider your trip a bust if you don't check all of them off your list.  The animals are not waiting in a receiving line to greet you and as your trackers will tell you, sometimes they can be elusive.  Remember, you are not in an episode of Wild Kingdom, but in the real wild kingdom and it is unpredictable.  You will be amazed at the skills of your trackers in being able to find some of the animals during your safari but even the most skilled guides can't conjure a rhino out of a hat.  Your guides do their best during your bush drives to communicate with one another about sightings and will deliver amazing viewing experiences, but you might not see them all.  Don't be disappointed though - that's how it works in the wild.  

Pack - and then Unpack

Africa is just another country - not the moon - so don't pack like you are going there.  The last thing you want is to be hauling around a massive suitcase with clothes for every occasion.  Safaris are casual and even more casual, which is one thing I loved, even at the most luxurious of lodges.  You could wear the same khakis and top you wore all day to dinner and no one would bat an eye.  Not to mention, after 2-3 game drives or bush walks a day, everyone is too damn tired to really critique your outfit at the bar.  That is not to say that a fresh t-shirt and jeans aren't a welcome change after a hot day on the savannah but don't go overboard.  As with all travel pack and then unpack half of what you packed and you'll be happy.   We traveled with utility duffle bags, which I would highly recommend.  For one, you can't pack that much so they stay pretty light, and secondly they get bashed around between flights and all the various transport so a sturdy canvas duffle is a better bet than that Samsonite.  

The Year of Walking Dangerously

There is only one thing worse than being a driver and having to contend with the insane traffic in Dubai, and that’s being a pedestrian. I read in Saturday’s national paper that 26 people have already been killed this year crossing roads in Abu Dhabi. Twenty-six people in only 72 days – and that is just in Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, according to the Dubai police, one person is killed every 48 hours in a traffic related accident. And, if that isn’t shocking enough, 97 people have died in various other kinds of road accidents in that emirate; 26 of these were pedestrians.

Apparently this is not a new problem either – last year 2022 pedestrians were hit by vehicles across the country, according to statistics from one of the Emirate ministries. The UAE has one of the world’s highest death rates (per capita) due almost solely to traffic accidents. They compared this to the number killed last year in NYC, which was 136, kind of a huge difference given the population size. I’ve noticed that many drivers here seem almost totally unaware of other drivers on the road, so fast, aggressive driving, sudden lane changing, swerving, cutting others off, never signaling and tailgating are the norm. It is even worse because many locals have all the windows of their vehicle tinted black, including the entire front windshield, so you have no idea if they see you, and even worse, you can’t give them the evil eye when they cut you off because you can’t see them. It is crazy and extremely frustrating. And don’t get me started about the Indian truck drivers who basically still think they are driving in India. They can barely stay in their lane and their philosophy is basically if their vehicle is bigger than yours, you’d better watch out.

I always thought Quebec had the worst drivers I’d ever seen (in NA that is, the Italians are a whole different story) because it always seemed that as soon as they spied you strolling across the street they would speed up to try to peg you. The drivers here make Quebec drivers look like the Sunday church crowd.

What I’ve noticed is that in the UAE, many drivers don’t even slow down at pedestrian crossings, despite all sorts of consequences – fines, demerits, even jail. It’s so bad that people are actually afraid to cross the street – hotels warn tourists to be extremely cautious when trying to cross the road – not exactly the promotional banner you want to be waving to encourage visitors.

While I’m on the topic of driving, there are a couple other unusual things about the Dubai road system, the first being the use of U-Turns (or as Sharuk, my affectionately named GPS navigation voice - says “make a legal u-turn at the next light). The U-Turn in the UAE is a standard part of the road system. Most intersections throughout the city have two left turning lanes, one for the U-Turn and one to turn left into the street – of course, you never quite know which drivers will decided at the last minute that they need to make a U-Turn, cutting you off or nearly pushing you into the median. The problem is, if you miss your U-Turn, you probably need to drive another 5 miles before you can even consider turning around so there is no easy way to avoid the U-Turns.

The other irritating thing is the length of the traffic lights in Dubai. At minimum, most lights are 3 minutes long, but often longer, depending on the intersection. Usually each lane has a minute or longer to allow its vehicles to move through the intersection and so you must wait while all 4 directions take their turn. The best advice I’ve received is to put your car in park/neutral and have a magazine handy, because if you have to wait at 5 lights in one trip, you could use that 15 minutes much more productively than just staring at the red light for 4 minutes thinking you are going to lose your mind if someone doesn’t move soon! I have taken this advice, and while it might not be particularly “productive” I’ve found these spare few minutes to be a great time to catch up on my celebrity gossip, so I am now keeping a copy of the latest trashy tabloid nearby, just for some mindless entertainment! It’s better than most of the drivers who whip out their blackberries the second the light turns!

At the end of the day, I think maybe staying home might be the best solution. : )

To Cover or Not to Cover?

I just read the most interesting factoid in last month’s issue of National Geographic Traveler. I bet you will never guess what all the of the following cities have in common: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Athens, Berlin, Cairo, Dresden, Dublin, Geneva, Lison, London, Marseilles, Milan, Moscow, Rome, Seville, Toronto, and Warsaw? If you live in Ohio you might know the answer, because all of these are cities and towns in that state. Kind of amazing. I didn’t believe it at first, so I actually looked some of them up and sure enough, they were all listed, so I guess it must be true – we all know the internet doesn’t lie.

Not that this fascinating bit of trivia has anything to do with Dubai, except for the fact that not many people really know where it is either. Most people think it’s in India or in that vicinity, and when they discover it’s not there, and that it is actually in the “Middle East”, they immediately ask me whether it’s safe, whether I feel safe and whether I have to cover my head/face. My answers are yes, yes and no. I have learned a lot about covering in the short time I’ve been here, from many of the Arab women I’ve met. We have several working in our office, one who is an Emirate and the other is from Kuwait - and one wears a full black abaya and one only wears a head scarf. She tells me that Kuwait women are very liberal and that many do not wear a scarf or cover at all, and she hadn’t until 2 years ago when she got married, out of respect for her husband but that it was her choice.

The whole covering thing seems very mysterious and a bit oppressive to we westerners, but it’s really not that big of a deal over here, I’m learning. There seem to be a million different acceptable ways to cover, some wear the full abaya, some only a head scarf, some are ornately adorned, some are very plain, some women cover just their hair, while others cover their entire faces, except for their eyes. One of the major misconceptions about the hijab (covering of the body, except the face and hands) is that women are forced to wear it by their parents, husbands or other male family members. In fact, the exact opposite is true. What parents or men want has nothing to do with it. Arab women feel that they exert their own liberation by making a choice about whether to cover or not. When a woman is covered, men cannot judge her by her appearance but are forced to evaluate her by her personality, character and morals so she is deliberately making that choice. I thought that seemed very reasonable and logical – and on a very practical note, I thought it would be awesome on really bad hair days!

Anyway, now that I’m used to seeing them, I’ve been studying Arab women to see how differently they express themselves despite covering. And, like everywhere, women here spend a lot of time and energy on the details and on those things you CAN see – eyes, lips, nails, hands (lots of beautiful hennas), beautifully adorned abayas, feet, you name it. They definitely show their personalities through what they wear and through careful detail to all the other pieces just as much as any western woman does.

Of course, some countries in the Arab world are definitely more stringent in what they condone and tolerate with respect to women, and not all (like Saudi Arabia) are so lenient. I would say in general though, our western perspective on this is definitely more skewed towards very conservative, when in fact, their sense of individualism is much more similar to ours than you would think.

Journey to the Sandbox (or Welcome to Dubai)

So, my great adventure to the middle east is officially underway and I admit, the first thing I had to do when I arrived was look at a map to see where Dubai was actually located in the UAE. Until it became my actual destination, I hadn’t really given much thought to exactly where it was – I just kept hearing it was the “New York of the Middle East”, which doesn’t really give a good description of location.

I now know that Dubai is one of 7 emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates. The others are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. Dubai is definitely the most westernized, with a very high percentage of ex-pats compared to the other emirates, I think as high as 75-80%. Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate and also the most powerful, since it is the capital of the UAE as well.

I’ve officially been here for 5 weeks now, just enough to start forming an initial impression, but not nearly long enough to know if there is any substance beneath that, which will be my mission to try to figure out in the year to come.

For western visitors, I think the UAE is a good choice if you are uncertain or worried at all about this part of the world. It is safe, with very little crime, all the comforts of home (and then some), and is also quite exotic. Dubai itself, which gets the lion’s share of press, is first and foremost a shopping mecca – rather than having a mosque every kilometre (yes, we are back to metric here), they have a mall, which is spiritual in its own way to some! The glitz factor is high, with hundreds of designer boutiques, swanky top-chef restaurants and high-end hotels. It is amazing how all the Emiratee women, although they are completely covered, are adorned head to toe with designer goodies - handbags, sunglasses, shoes, jewellry - anything visible and not covered by their black abaya is generally sparkling and expensive.

However, I was relieved to see that it is still possible to practice my limited bartering skills at some of the local souks (markets), haggle over the price of a pashmina, or head out to the desert sands for a camel ride under the starry skies. I think in general though I will have to venture to the other emirates if I want to experience a little more of the cultural aspect of this region. For example, the emirate just to the north of Dubai, Sharjah, is one of the most conservative emirates – unlike Dubai, where you can drink and buy alcohol, in Sharjah it is completely banned, even for expats.

Apparently this is the best time to be in Dubai as well, from a weather perspective. Coming from the depths of winter in North America, it seems like perma-vacation to me right now, with warm temps and sunny skies every day. However, everyone keeps warning me not to get too comfortable because the coming months will bring blistering temperatures, as high as 140F and above 50C. I guess this shouldn’t be unexpected given it IS a desert, however, the problem is that Dubai is right on the Arabian Gulf, so it is also extremely humid. I can’t quite imagine what it is like to be in heat that intense, but I’m sure I'll be telling everyone very soon. Apparently it is against the law to work if it gets above 50C, so despite what the thermometer on your car dashboard might say, the official government temperature never goes above 49!

Pura Vida in Costa Rica

I’m a little late in posting this, but I thought I better get back at it, before too much time passes. I was looking back at all the travel posts I have, and I can’t believe I still haven’t posted anything about my love of Costa Rica. I first discovered CR about 6-7 years ago when my sister and I went backpacking there on vacation for 3 weeks. We loved it then (except for traveling with a strange friend of hers who was a total buzz-kill) and I love it even more now. My friends from Grand Cayman liked it so much they moved there full-time, and as a result I have been there multiple times over the past few years and it’s definitely one of my destinations of choice to get away.

I bought some property down there about 3 years ago, partly as an investment, partly to have a reason to go there more frequently, to visit my friends, and to see how much I really like it. There are a ton of Canadians living there and it’s becoming a more popular destination than Florida for retirees. The people (Ticos) are so warm and friendly that it is easy to just slip into the lifestyle as though you’ve always been there.

There are tons of gorgeous spots in Costa Rica, and the country isn’t so big you can’t get around, but the roads make it quite a challenge. On the mainland, everything is paved, so it’s okay (once you get used to the daredevils in the passing lanes and the teetering semis climbing the winding hill roads), but over on the Nicoya Peninsula, which is where I head, the roads aren’t paved yet, so that’s a whole different story. In the dry season, it’s not too bad, mostly washboard bumps and very dusty, but in the wet season, many of the roads are impassable thanks to the hundreds of raging rivers that are created in the paths of the roadways. I generally go in January and in April, which is still the dry season, so don’t usually encounter this, but last year my friends were trapped in their little town for a week, because the river had cut off the bridges on both sides of the town – and she was 8 months pregnant, to boot!

I bought property right along the west coast in a gorgeous little spot called Nosara. It is on the lower third of the peninsula and about a 5 hour drive from San Jose, or a quick 40 minute flight. The Costa Rican government is learning from the mistakes they made on the mainland allowing too much development, so Nosara is one of those spots where they have restrictions on building, so much of the land and coastline is still very wild and pristine. No structures are allowed to be built within 300 m of the water, which rules out the big hotels who want to build on the beach, so the beaches are virtually untouched. At night, everyone in Nosara gathers at the beach to watch the sunset, which is a blazing orange ball of fire sinking into the Pacific. It’s amazing and very comforting, a real sense of community.

My Life on The Blue Planet Run....

It’s amazing how our jobs sometimes take us in directions that we never expect, exposing us to interesting people and cultures, curious new places and unusual experiences that really give us an entirely different outlook on life.

My job managing our company’s sponsorship of the 2007 Blue Planet Run has done just that – and even more importantly, has contributed greatly to the enhancement of my blog, because even though it was for work, it definitely gave me an opportunity to add some great travel experiences to my journal.

If you’re not up to speed on the Blue Planet Run, you will be soon. It is a global relay run around the world, being run by a team of 20 fantastic runners – non-stop - 24/7 across 16 countries for 95 days – to raise awareness and funding about the problem of access to clean, safe drinking water. Each runner runs 10-mile legs each day, with an exchange of the baton at the end of each shift. The run kicked off from NYC on June 1, with Hilary Swank lending us some celebrity caché at our event. It was a fantastic start to an amazing initiative and we are all hoping for success as the run circumnavigates the globe.

The runners have actually been on the road for just a month now (hard to believe after nearly a year of planning), and I was fortunate enough to be able to travel with the team on the first leg of the route through Europe, which was a great experience – first, the run team itself is just fabulous – some amazing folks of all ages and all ethnicities, which makes it very diverse and interesting, and second, the route goes through most of the major countries in Europe, so it was really cool to get to explore Europe a little more off the beaten track – although I think the runners truly got the full experience! While the teams were rising at midnight to plod through the French and German countryside on the 2-6 am graveyard shifts, I’m happy to report that I was admiring the inside of my eyelids!

To Ski or Not to Ski - there IS no question!

Time for my annual trip out west to visit family and make sure my ski legs don’t get too rusty – although I did have a major wipeout at Lake Louise my first day that left me with a battered knee. I haven’t had a good wipeout in years and I must say, it’s not something I’m really missing. I was bouncing down a great run on Ptarmigan on the backside of Louise and must have caught an edge or something b/c I really fell hard and twisted my leg. I figured a couple days of ice and some Advil would do the trick, so hopefully that’ll be the case. The snow was so great that it was totally worth it.

I met two of my Irish friends in Calgary who flew over from Dublin for some real snow here in Canada and true to our word, we did not disappoint. The snowfall this year has been spectacular with more than usual, so the mountains were in amazing shape to impress my visitors. We spent a couple days in Banff with some friends of mine, skied a couple days there and then headed to Panorama, which is in the Columbia Valley, the next set of mountain ranges over from Banff National Park. It’s great there – a little less touristy, generally warmer (although not always as much snow), and a little more off the beaten track so it’s worth the extra hike to get there. In any case, my brother lives there, so it’s a good excuse for a visit. He is starting to teach my 3-year old niece to ski and once she’s on skis I think we’ll all have met our match – I can just tell that she has her aunt (and her dad’s) passion for skiing and the outdoors, so we can all hardly wait til she’s zipping around on her own.

We had several good days of skiing at Panorama, although my friends had a few mishaps that provided some challenges for them, including a bad case of agoraphobia, which resulted in my brother having to make a toboggan rescue to get one of them off a steep slope – somehow I don’t think taking up skiing is probably the best thing for someone who is afraid of heights AND of wide open spaces… unless you master skiing blindfolded, I think the general concept is going to be challenging. In any case, we made the best of it, and I still got a ton of great skiing in, so that’s what counts.

We headed out for a day of cross-country one morning, but with the spring thaw and cold temps at night, the track was sheer ice – and given that you have pretty much no control over x-country skis in a narrow track at the best of times, trying to manage it on mountain trails (aka big hills) with an icy track didn’t seem like the best plan – unless I wanted to ensure my knee injury lasted a bit longer… We settled for drinks on the deck of the ski chalet in the sun, watching the ice melt – an excellent compromise.

Perfect Spot to Greet the New Year

There's something about basking in 30 C weather (90 for all you Americans out there), sipping mojitos and doing absolutely nothing that makes celebrating birthdays relatively painless.... not that I'm particularly hung up about birthdays or numbers of birthdays anyway, but everyone else seems to think it's a huge deal, so I thought my annual trip to Grand Cayman would be a great place to ring in the new year AND celebrate my birthday... and it was!

My friends there continue to keep upgrading their home and environment, so it's become like a 5* resort now... they have a great boat, a lap pool and are about a stone's through down the canal to the ocean - I never have to leave the property now!

As usual, I had a fabulous, very relaxing visit, and was re-energized after a crazy and hectic fall... it was really nice to just be lazy, visit, cook, swim and bake in the sun... I did get some great diving in towards the end of my visit, b/c there were quite gusty winds for the first few days, which made it difficult to get out. I met some new friends down there, who are avid divers, which was excellent, because it's always nice to have someone you trust down there as your buddy. I did 2 boat dives the day before I left, off a very small boat, which was a cool experience... there were only about 7 people so not a lot of commotion under the water and everyone knew what they were doing, so they were really good dives. We swam along one of the long fingers of coral that run perpendicular to Cayman, and there were tons of cool swim-throughs, and loads of fish - the visibility is amazing there too, at least 100 ft, sometimes more on a good day....

Anyway, we rang in the New Year, playing Cranium and drinking champagne and setting off fireworks on the back dock. It's great to watch the fireworks from all the neighbours and the big hotels there - especially b/c there is no artificial light so it's very dark and you can see the lights really well..

We got out on the boat several times, which was great - it's nice not being at the mercy of tour-boats - we went out to a couple of great sandbars and to Stingray City one night after all the crowds had cleared - we were the only boat out there, with about 50 rays... it was very cool.

Anyway, there are definitely worse ways to celebrate a birthday, that's for sure (like staying in grey, gloomy, snow-bound, sunless Michigan - for one)

Happy New Year! Nuovo Anno Felice

Visit to the Cape

I had a chance to visit Cape Cod this weekend, and now that I've been there, I can see what all the fuss is about... it is stunning - and the good thing is that because we went so late in the fall, there were really no tourists, so no traffic and everything was very quiet and low key.

I went to stay with some friends from Greenwich who recently bought a little cottage up there - I was in NY for a course the following week, so it was great timing. The one thing I guess I knew, but didn't really understand, was just how many people live along that eastern coast - we drove from Greenwich to the Cape and I could not believe the traffic along that highway... we had to pass through New Haven, then Providence (R.I.) and finally got to the Cape - and my friends live way at the far tip, closest to Provincetown - so it seemed to take forever to get there, for really what is a pretty short distance.... I can't imagine doing that haul in the summer when half of the city is escaping up there.

Anyway, it was well worth the trip - we had a very relaxing weekend, and did a couple great runs along the dunes along the coast - there were hardly any people around so it seemed like we had the entire place to ourselves. We went right to the very tip of the Cape, where there are several interesting lighthouses that have been there forever... I have to say that it was FREEZING out there though - with the north wind blowing like crazy on the bare dunes... I guess that is a great place to go whale watching - when the weather is little warmer!

The Cape is known for the unique quality of its sunlight, so is a haven for artists, who flock their to capture the light on dunes at all times of the day and night....

The Terracotta Army, Xi'an, China

The next day I ventured out of Xi'an about 60 miles to visit the famous Terracotta Warriors, which have a very interesting history. The Army of the Terracotta Warriors was discoverd in 1974 by some farmers who were actually digging a well. They discovered some life-size pottery figures molded from clay and as they kept digging, kept uncovering more and more members of the army - further excavations yielded three huge pits and over 7000 members of the army - soliders, archers, horses, etc. Some of the excavation work is still being done as they continue to discover more additions to the massive army.

The biggest pit is the size of about 3 football fields and contains most of the soliders, in various stages of assembly and repair. Each warrior has its own individual expression, so every single one is different - the detail and intricacy of each solider is amazing, right down to individual hairstyles (that depict rank in the army), clothing and footwear. This pit is by far the most impressive, with all the soliders lined up in battle formation, with the generals in the lead and horses bringing up the rear. In all there are 7 pits, but the first two are the largest, with the most excavation.

There is a massive ongoing effort to continue to excavate and restore the terracotta figures, that continues even now. I heard that it takes about three months to restore just one solider - each is so unique it takes its own team to properly reassemble it.

The Terracotta Army is just one part of this excavation. About a mile west of the pits is the burial mound of another famous emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, who was apparently a tyrant totally preoccupied with death and what kind of legacy he would leave behind. So, he went to great lengths (and expense) to construct a massive tomb, enlisting 700,000 people over 36 years in the construction of the tomb.

From there I went to visit the Tomb of Ahzo Ling, which is right near the Warriors, alongside a mountain top, so you have to climb to the top of this big staircase that is cut into the side of it to get to the actual tomb. It was very scenic, and on any other day, probably would have been very enjoyable, but there was no shade anywhere and it was about a 500 stair climb in the scorching heat so I was thinking no wonder it was a tomb - I'd probably be dead from heat exhaustion by the time I reached the top!

All in all, I really liked Xi'an - it had a very small town feeling, even though it is still very large. The one thing is does have in common with the other big cities is the traffic problems though - and I nearly missed my flight due to the gridlock traffic jam we got stuck in on the way to the airport. I don't know how my driver managed to wangle his way out of that mess, but he earned a big tip from me getting me to the airport on time... Word of advice - don't ever try to drive yourself in China!!

Shaanxi & Xi'an, China

From Shanghai, I flew east to the dusty, dry province of Shaanxi, to visit the famous city of Xi'an, best known recently for the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors, which was the main reason for my jaunt down there.

Xi'an was again, very different from both Beijing and Shanghai - very different feeling - a bit more frontier town, neither really cosmopolitan or very political. I had originally gone to see the Terracotta Warriors, not realizing that there were a ton of other amazing things to see there, so I ended up having a very full trip there. The only downside was that it was freakishly hot for April in Xi'an and the temp was 38 degrees C on the day I spent travelling in a taxi without air conditioning for the entire day of sightseeing... I hadn't really planned on that, so it was a bit of a test.

I stayed in a very cool hotel, the new Sofitel in downtown Xi'an, which was very funky and ultra-modern. I had no problem lining up an English speaking driver who was my guide for a couple of days and very entertaining (which was a good thing, given I wasn't paying for air conditioning). We started by doing a brief tour of the city itself, stopping at the Xi'an City Wall, which runs 9 miles around the entire old city of Xi'an. This is unusual, because most of these kinds of city walls were destroyed, so this is a bit of an anomaly, built in 1370. It is 40 feet high and there are many places to climb up and walk on the wall to get a great view of the city, both inside and out.

From there I visited the Great Goose Pagoda (known as the Dayan Pagoda) which is apparently one of the finest surviving pagodas in the world. It is about 200 feet high with ricketly wooden stairs leading to the very top, which gradually gets smaller and smaller. It's especially enjoyable to climb the stairs in sweltering heat with hoards of tourists, but it had to be done. The gardens around the pagoda are stunningly beautiful, with perfectly manicured rose and flower gardens, and many other smaller pagodas - the entire thing looks like a picture.

The Shanghai Experience

From Beijing I flew to Shanghai, which is about as different as you can get from the historic, sombre environment of Beijing. Shanghai is the biggest city in the country, and by far the most dynamic and growing - with over 15 million people. I landed at night, and would highly recommend this, as the drive into the city is amazing - there are hundreds of skyscrapers and each one is lit up at the very top with different colours, each emphasizing the unique architecture of each building. It's fabulous.

I wasn't exactly "roughing it" in Shanghai, as I checked into the ultra-luxurious Shangri-La hotel, in Pudong, on the bank of the Yangzi over looking the historic Bund on the opposite bank of the river. My 45th floor hotel room had floor to ceiling windows the entire width of the room with a fantastic view of the entire city - which is very cosmopolitan and bustling... much different than Beijing. The Bund is a riverside promenade lined with grand colonial buildings that are a direct contrast to the modern glass and skyscrapers in the commercial zone just across the river. In the mornings, it is very common to see tons of residents come out to do their morning exercises along the waterfront of the Bund.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much sightseeing time in Shanghai since I was working the entire time I was there, however I did manage to sample a bit of the nightlife, some fantastic restaurants and of course, the trip wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the infamous Xiangyang Market (where you can get the best knock-offs and fakes ever!) On our last day, we all trooped over there to put our bartering skills to the test - and we all came home loaded with some lovely fake Coach and Vuitton bags - one of my colleagues even bought an entire set of Callaways, complete with bag, putter and balls - for $100! All part of the experience...

I managed to get up the Oriental Pearl Tower, which is like the Eiffel Tower of Shanghai - it's a free-standing structure that looks like a needle with two pearls threaded through it and is sort of represents the birth of modern art in China at the start of the 20th century.

Definitely need to get back to Shanghai to really experience some of the sites of the city - a week is just not enough time, however, the 95th floor of the hotel did have a particular nice martini bar, which was well used by our team at the end of another hard day!

The Great Wall

Once you've been to the Great Wall, there's no question about why it's one of the Seven Wonders of the World.. it is unbelievable - and for that matter, so is China. I kicked off my trip to China with a stop in Beijing first - partly for work and partly to see some of the historic sites, the Great Wall being one of them. The VP of the agency I'm working with was gracious enough to take me out to one of the less touristy parts of the wall, Mutianyu. It is definitely less touristy, but it's also VERY steep.. like crazy steep... one of the sections we climbed was over 700 steps - I lost count after that...(maybe it was the altitude!)

I did manage to cram a lot of sightseeing into a short period of time while I visited Beijing, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the gorgeous Temple of Heaven. Oh, and I did work while I was there, which was the original purpose... It is not that difficult to get around, if you recruit an English speaking guide so you can navigate in a taxi, otherwise forget it. The traffic is unbelievably bad - it's like one massive traffic jam, with 10 million cars not moving - and the smog is also incredibly bad - it's like a big thick cloud hanging over everything, so even when the sun is shining, it's still kind of gray and hazy...

There is so much to see and take in that it is hard to digest it - so much history, so many dynasties and emperors - it's endless. The Forbidden City is very impressive, sitting right on the corner of Tiananmen Square - and it is massive... it takes at least an hour and a half to get through it, and get something out of it. There are three inner palaces once you get through the main gate and everything inside is huge - even enough housing to keep over 3000 concubines!

The eating situation can be a bit of an adventure, especially if you don't read or speak Chinese, and you decide to venture past the big hotels... if you're really lucky you end up pointing to something on the menu that might actually be recognizable - like chicken or fish... otherwise, good luck - I know that shark's fin soup is considered a delicacy in China, but I swear, if I had to eat one more bowl of that stuff (good fortune or not), I was going to gag...

Even though I consider myself a fairly adventurous eater, there are a lot of very unusual menu offerings, so you sort of have to just trust your Chinese friends and drink a lot of tea to wash it down... Watch out for bones in the chicken though!

More Mountains...

The weather and skiing were so great - I just had to capture a few more snaps...

Be sure to bring your toque, eh?

Because your head will definitely be cold without it! Even better if it comes with a free bottle of Big Rock Honey Brown Ale. As we discovered, apparently Big Rock Brewery feels that everyone will enjoy their beer (and probably ski/snowboard better) if they get a free toque as part of the package so the oh-so-stylish blue toque joined us on the trip after our stop at the liquor store in Banff.

Good thing too, because we definitely did some outdoorsy stuff, which is what you SHOULD do in Canada's winter wonderland! In addition to a couple days of snowboarding and skiing (and only one semi-serious head injury resulting in temporary memory loss), we crammed in some winter hiking and exploring in White Swan Provincial Park and some snowshoeing in Panorama's back country.

We spent an afternoon exploring the frozen lakes in White Swan Provincial Park, which is a bit south down the highway from Invermere & Fairmont. We didn't really know what we'd find there in the middle of winter, but we virtually had the entire park to ourselves, save for a couple of diehard ice fishermen who were perched (no pun intended) on their snowmobile in the the middle of the frozen lake. We also agreed that ice fishing has got to be one of the most boring sports on the planet, although probably a great excuse for escaping from the family and drinking beer.

After a few hours and some excellent action shots on the ice, we discovered these awesome natural hot springs (Lussier) on the way out of the park, set down beside a mountain stream. It was pretty cool (well, hot actually) because it was totally au naturale - just three small pools of boiling hot water sitting right in the shore of the stream, which was glacier fed and freezing. We even ventured from hot to cold, although I was not as successful at doing the full dip - the water in the stream was painfully cold and apparently I'm a bit of a wimp!

There were some interesting characters at the springs though - there was this older hippie guy who I think was totally wasted - and definitely could have used a good meal because he was a bone rack. Anyway, he was obviously a regular - he even carried his own thermometer with him and was quite happy to share his knowledge about the springs. By the way, he was SANS toque.... He must be from the US or something...?

FYI

Toque
Pronunciation: 'tOk
Function: nounEtymology: Middle French, soft hat with a narrow brim worn especially in the 16th century, from Old Spanish toca headdress 1 : a small hat without a brim made in any of various soft close-fitting shapes2 : TUQUE3 : a tall brimless hat worn by a chef -- called also toque blanche

Sunny Alberta & Beautiful British Columbia - CANADA!

Those descriptors pretty much say it all when you get to the western Canadian provinces and they especially hold true at the end of March when spring is just peeking around the corner, the snow is soft, the skies are blue and the weather is great for getting outside.

I planned an impromptu trip out west with a friend who had never seen the Canadian Rockies in all their splendor (poor guy) but who is now a convert – that usually happens once they get out there – all thoughts of Toronto being the most amazing spot in Canada get put into perspective once you experience that first glimpse of those soaring snow-capped peaks.

We planned a quick trip out west – only 6 days, but definitely action packed as both the weather and the snow conditions cooperated nicely.

We landed in Calgary and headed west to Banff, which is the main town in Banff National Park, about an hour or so away from Calgary, right in the heart of the Rockies. We stayed in a funky new hotel up in the mountains and overlooking the town site, with great views – and an excellent hot tub! Nothing like a good hot tub under the stars on a cold night..

We skied Canada’s second biggest resort (next to Whistler) on Wed, Lake Louise, which has always been my favourite ski hill in the Alberta Rockies. It didn’t disappoint this time either as we had mild weather and a nice afternoon for skiing. And, because it was mid-week, the hill was deserted – on some runs, we were the only skiers, so it felt like our own private mountain. A good friend of mine from grade school runs the ski school operations and has for years, so we hooked up with him and had a great afternoon of skiing.

We stopped in at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise (which is a lovely hotel nestled at the base of the mountain) for dinner before heading further west to Radium, Invermere and Panorama Ski Resort, where my brother works.

The Columbia Valley is a massive sprawl of flat land at the base of another stunning range of mountains, the Kootenays. Once you round the corner into Radium, you’re greeting by this huge open expanse of land bordered by snow-capped mountains on either side.

We stayed right up at Panorama, which is another 10km up the mountain, but well worth the hike. It is a totally self-contained resort that still has a very small-town cozy feel to it. The mountain itself is not too big, definitely not a lifestyles of the rich & famous type place, but more family oriented – and there are tons of outdoor activities to take advantage of… which we did!

Beyond Jaipur

Today we decided to head north of Jaipur, to explore the barren hillsides and visit the legendary forts and palaces of the ancient city of Amber. We drove way up into the hills on a twisting, turning dusty road until we reached Jaigarh, the “victory fort” which watches over the old capital city of the region, Amber, which lays in the valley below. The fort is unbelievable, like most Forts in this part of Rajasthan, it’s built on a seemingly impossible narrow ridge running about 3km and is still in amazingly good shape. We hired a guide to show us around, who ended up staying with us most of the day and who was very knowledgeable about Amber Fort and Palace, but also quite a lot of Indian history in general, so he was definitely worth the 300 rupees (~$8) we paid for the entire day!

We started out by having a look at what is apparently the world’s largest canon, cast in 1726 and has only been fired once. It is about 20 ft long and is massive – it’s on wheels but I doubt it has ever been moved from that spot and it took 4 elephants to pull it up the mountainside.

The Fort itself is very impressive, with two temples and a large palace complex built over 200 years by different rulers that lived there. I thought the most interesting thing was the intricate system they devised for collecting and storing rainwater from the monsoons, so it would last them through the dry season. They had enough storage room in the massive underground caverns to serve 1000 men for two years – it was amazing to see the system they had put in place with these massive cement waterways leading to huge storage tanks beneath the fort. From there we headed to the Fort Palace of Amber, which is the palace below. Of course, the best way to get to the Fort from the village below is by elephant, so naturally we hopped on the nearest ride and rumbled our way to the top, enjoying a slight shower when our elephant sneezed midway. I’m not sure what exactly comes out of an elephant’s trunk when it sneezes, but I know there was a lot of it and there’s really no way to control it once it starts!

Amber Fort was built from 1589-1615 during the reign of Maharaja Man Singh I and is really a spectacular reminder of that era of grandeur. The main gate into the palace is a massive stunning fresco of colour and in several of the rooms of the fort, the walls and ceilings are embedded with thousands of exquisite tiny mirrors, coloured glass mosaics and marble carvings. It’s really hard to describe how amazing it is and how much detail there is in every single room – it’s fantastic. There was a “women’s quarters” in one end of the palace, which housed all the apartments of Man Singh’s 12 wives and concubines. Even more interesting though, behind the apartments was an intricate maze of secret tunnels leading to each of the wive’s rooms, so none of the wives would suspect which of them their husband was visiting. All I know is that with 12 wives and that huge palace of tunnels and mazes, Singh definitely was getting his exercise (oh, and did I mention, it’s about 50 C here in the summer and no air conditioning?) Sounds like fun to me (NOT)!

The fort and palace are excellent examples of the combination of Rajput and Mughal art and architecture, built of red sandstone with marble trimmings (Mughal style) but also housing bastions for self defence (Rajput)

We headed back to Jaipur around 4 pm and I wanted to get a little shopping in – real Indian shopping, not shopping like a tourist, so my Indian friends took me to the mecca of the Indian shopping streets so I could experience it. The good thing about shopping with real Indians is that the shopkeepers instantly know they can’t get away with inflating prices, although they still try. I bought some artwork and what I actually paid was less than half what they originally asked. My friend took one look at the number they had written down, crossed it out, subtracted 50% and then took another 300 rupees off for good measure and that was that! Definitely an appealing way to shop!

Jaipur - the Pink City

The Jaipur region of Rasjathan lies on the eastern edge of the Thar Desert and the dry mountainside is dotted with forts, palaces, pavilions and temples. The region was once ruled by Rajput kings and so has a rich history that is kept alive today through its amazing architecture and traditions and culture.

Jaipur is much bigger than Udaipur and has a much more cosmopolitan feel to it, although still not as developed as Bombay or Delhi. It is often referred to as the Pink City because most of the buildings that line the street are a pink clay or plaster so the entire city is sort of a pink hue.

Jaipur is a labyrinth of shops, palaces, dusty streets, temples and historic buildings. The city streets are crammed with life, with elephants and camels jockeying for space with motorbikes, cars, rickshaws and farmers carting their wares. It is a fascinating shopping destination, with tons of small shops lining the streets, particularly in the touristy areas, but also the domestic shopping areas – on the surface (like most of India), it appears totally chaotic, but amazingly everything co-exists in a peaceful (well, maybe not peaceful..) harmony.

Anyway, I arrived in Jaipur in the morning and met one of my colleagues and a colleague of his, who is from Bombay, which was awesome because traveling in India with two Indians is definitely the way to go! Speaking Hindi automatically gets you reduced prices, personal service and excellent food.

We started with a visit to one of the main squares in Jaipur – Badi Chaupar, which is right on the main street. It’s a hub of activity all times of the day and night, lined with colorful shops filled with food, jewellery and clothing. This is the hub for some of the most interesting sights in Jaipur, including the famous Hawa Mahal or “Palace of Winds”. This pink stucture was constructed in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh and it’s ornate façade has become somewhat of an icon for the city. It is about 5 stories tall but is only one room deep and the face is covered with windows and balconies filled with perforated screens, designed so the purdahed (veiled royalty) ladies of the harem could watch what was happening in the street below without being seen. We walked up to the top, where we had a great view of the activity in the streets below, plus the hilly countryside surrounding the city.

From there, we toured the adjoining City Palace, which is now a museum, but part of it is also the permanent resident of the maharaja and where he stays when he is in Jaipur. The palace is an interesting blend of both Rajput and Mughal architecture with open, airy style public spaces leading to private apartments where the kings resided. We had an excellent young guide who gave a great tour and explained the history of the building and the chronology of the royals who had lived there.

From there we crossed over to one of the five Indian observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh II. The one in Jaipur, called Jantar Mantar (technical instruments) is the best preserved in India and was built due to Jai Singh’s keen interest in astronomy. This outdoor observatory was built in 1728 and consists of 16 large sculpted instruments, including a 75ft high sundial that are used to forecast the time, the expected date of the arrival of the monsoons, how long the days & months are, and how to read astrological signs, etc. The instruments are all made from huge pieces of cement because Singh believed the larger the instrument the more accurate the results would be. It is an amazing collection and on a sunny day (like it is most days here), you can tell a dozen things from these pieces. If you’re a mathematician or scientist, this would definitely be right up your alley.

In and Around Udaipur

I decided to spend the day in Udaipur today, since I hadn’t seen anything in the city yet. The city is called the City of Lakes, and with good reason – there are 5 man-made lakes in and around Udaipur, which makes the city very scenic and interesting to explore. The main features of the city center around the Maharana (king) and his all his palaces. The first and most obvious is the City Palace, which is a huge structure in the middle of the city, on the edge of Lake Pichola. It’s massive and now is divided into three parts – one is still the current Marhana’s personal residence, one is a public muscum, and the third is a hotel. In historical times, this was where the king spent his winters. The second, the Lake Palace, appears to be floating in the middle of Lake Pichola, directly across from the City Palace. This palace is also known as the Summer Palace and is where the previous king used to spend the summers. It is now a luxury hotel afloat in the water (called the Lake Palace Hotel), so I took a quick tour out there – you can only access it by boat, but it really is quite nice and very exclusive. The last palace is perched high up a mountain overlooking the city and the other palaces – called Saganngargh Palace, or Monsoon Palace, and is where the Marharana spent the monsoon season. I visited all three palaces, but saved the Monsoon Palace for late in the day, just before sunset. There is a narrow winding road to the top and the palace itself is really in ruins, but it is the best view of the entire region and in the shimmering pink of the sunset, it was fantastic.

The highlight of the day was an invitation to dinner with my driver Kan and his family, who live in the working class area of Udaipur. He lives in a two room apartment, with his wife Bimla and two kids and their lifestyle really epitomize how the poor working class live in India, although by his village standards he has really come up in the world. To put it in perspective, his monthly income is about 3500 rupees, which is about $75 USD, for his family of four. His home consists of two small rooms, one is a bedroom and central sitting room for the family, with a bed as the main piece of furniture. The second room is a tiny kitchen with a small cookstove on the floor, hooked to a propane tank. I was greeted like royalty into their tiny home, which soon overflowed with all the neighbours from their street, who were all curious to visit the foreigner! It was amazing. The women go to the market every day to buy their food, because no one has a fridge, or even running water and the women squat on the floor to prepare and cook the meals. It was amazing though – people are people no matter how you slice it. I got there and amid a bit of translation, some broken Hindi (from me), a little English and lots of hand waving and sign language, we all communicated just fine. The women were anxious to play dress up with ME – and took turns pulling out all their best saris and Indian dresses and suiting me up. I tried on 4-5 gorgeous saris, complete with bangles, jewellery and even a bindi for my forehead! We had lots of laughs as I tried to maneuver my way around in the layers of clothing. I can’t believe the cook, clean and do everything in all those clothes – especially when it’s hot. I felt like I was suffocating with all those clothes on. However, it was loads of fun and they were all laughing at me trying to elegantly get in and out of all the garb! At the end of it all, as I untangled myself, Bimla insisted that I take one of her gorgeous blue and red satin saris, and wouldn't take no for an answer, so I am the proud new owner of a lovely real Indian sari!

We had an amazing meal, although it is a bit of a chaotic way to cook and eat. No one eats together – the meal is cooked and handed out as it is ready, and each person just takes their share and eats when their turn comes. Being the guest, I was first and I ate by myself, in the tiny kitchen, sitting on a mat with 4 other women and Bimla still at the cooker. We had a fantastic home-cooked meal though – fresh japatis (like a bread pancake), a spicy vegetable curry dish, rice and dal, and warm rice pudding for dessert, with chai. I was totally stuffed, and overwhelmed by their hospitality. All the women sat on the floor of the kitchen, drinking tea and taking turns eating dinner, while the kids and the neighbours wandered in and out, grabbing some food and sitting outside. It was amazing - and a real taste of how most Indians probably live.

All in all, it was a great way to finish my stay in Udaipur, and not at all the way I had expected to spend the weekend, but it was even better. Definitely a highlight!

Udaipur, Venice of the East

I arrived in Udaipur, supposedly the most romantic city in the state of Rajasthan. The city, about 500,000 people (so very small by Indian standards) lies around Lake Pichola and is nicknamed the Venice of the East. The city is an interesting mix of lovely hotels, marble palaces, lakeside gardens and temples and really is quite lovely, especially after the chaotic busy-ness of Mumbai. I arrived late so didn’t see too much, but the terrain is very mountainous, but also arid and desert-like, so very dry, and especially now, before the monsoons, it is particularly dry and barren looking. Rajasthan is considered the land of princes and palaces and is known for the colourful traditional dress of its local women, which is a dramatic contrast to the brown dry mountains of the countryside.

I hired a fantastic local driver to help me with some sightseeing today (Sat) because navigating the local country roads is definitely not something I wanted to do on such a short trip – not to mention, all the signage is in Hindi, which makes reading a map a bit challenging. My driver’s name was Kan, and he is a local Rajasthany, from a small village about 120 km away, so to him, Udaipur is the big city. He had an excellent knowledge of English, a good sense of humour and was very helpful in suggesting things to do and see. We headed out to see the Kumbhalgarh Fort, aboug 85 km away (but about a 2 hour drive) through very mountainous terrain. Along the way, we saw interesting glimpses of rural life. Remote mountain villages, with mud and plaster huts, trains of haughty camels and bejeweled women in billowing colored skirts carrying everything imaginable perched on their heads along the road. We didn’t have to get far out of Udaipur to really be in the country and there were dozens of small villages along the road where it was amazing to see the way people lived – no running water or electricity, tiny one room homes filled with 10 or more people, and such hard work to accomplish every simple task. Definitely makes you think twice about the ability to just flick on a light switch.

We zigged and zagged high up through the Aravalli mountain range on a narrow one-lane road to the foot of the ancient fort of Kumbhalgarh, also known as the Eye of Mewar. It finally appeared on the horizon, situated along the crest of a mountain ride and encircled by a series of seemingly invincible walls, battlements and ramparts stretching 36 km – apparently the second longest continuous wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. Then, high above the Fort, on the summit of the mountain, in solitary splendor – the imperial Badal Mahal – or Cloud Palace. I stopped to take a picture from the mountain before the Fort and it was stunning to see. There were steep mountains in all directions and the Fort itself seemed virtually inaccessible.
My driver stopped for a break and I climbed up the steep path to the palace. I realized as I got to the top (breathless) at 3600 ft, why it was called the Eye of Mewar. In centuries past, it had protected the rugged land from invaders from as far away as Delhi because you could see forever.

After leaving the Fort, we drove for another two hours, through the steep mountains, to an amazing Jain temple, called Ranakapur Temple. It takes a bit of an effort to get there, but it is well worth the trip. Jainism is sort of another form of Hindu-ism, except much more strict. The Jains are a passive and non-violent community of people who respect life in every form and practice rigid fasting and many strict forms of self-denial. You can’t wear or bring anything leather into the temple, for example, because of its connection to cattle.

This particular temple is the largest Jain temple in the world and is quite amazing. The entire temple is made entirely of white marble and every inch of it is ornately carved. There is so much detail in the carvings, that it’s impossible to describe without actually seeing it. There are detailed carvings of all the Jain gods and their stories, plus there are 1,444 ornately carved pillars and hundreds of small alters with the different Jain gods featured in each. While I was in the temple there was a Jain service happening, with incense burning and offerings and chanting and many Jain holy men (sadhu) in white saris. It was a very intriguing place to experience, but given that I know practically nothing about this religion, I left with a lot of questions about this unusual practice.

Nearby the temple there is a very small rural village where several of the local villagers specialize in hand weaving by loom. They have elaborate hand looms and their work is exquisite. We stopped to see the colourful carpets and talk to some of the weavers, who are all from the same family (and caste) and have done this for generations (of course I bought a rug (durry). After you see how much work it is to make one, you really can’t not buy something!

We drove back to Udaipur in the late afternoon as the sun was setting, stopping along the road at a little stall for some masala chai (which is the best tea I’ve ever had – it’s amazing and sweet with the taste of fresh ginger and a little sugar – yum!) It beats Starbucks, hands-down and a cup of steaming hot chai tea is about 10 rupees… (5 cents or so).