Central Highlands of Vietnam - VietNam to travel

Geologically, the Central Highlands of Vietnam is a zone of dazzling common magnificence which stretches out from the Cat Tien National Park in the south the extent that Quang Nam in the north. For functional purposes most guests to the area will go between Dalat in the south and Kon Tum in the north.

This area is not gone by numerous travelers so the vehicle alternatives of the beachfront course are not accessible. We enlisted a vehicle with driver to fly out from Dalat to Hoi An in excess of five days and nowadays were without uncertainty the highlight of our time in Vietnam.

Related post: travel Vietnam

Going through Vietnam by means of the radiant Central Highlands is an astounding option to the much trodden beachfront course. To do so by open transport can demonstrate very difficult as nearby transport administrations are the main choice. Likewise it is vital for outsiders to convey allows so as to be permitted into parts of the Central Highlands.

We took this course as a 5 day private visit starting in Dalat and consummation in Hoi An. We went in a 9 seater Mercedes joined by an aide and driver. Each one nighttime our aide, Phu, and driver, Tam, stayed at the same place as us and took us out to nearby restaurants that they knew and which would be difficult to go to without a neighborhood association. This was a gigantic and most unforeseen expansion to what was the highlight of our time in Vietnam. In case you're going from the north you head inland from Hoi An and take after the course depicted in this area in opposite.

The following is a photograph of Tam (in white) who was our driver and Phu, our aide. The other photograph is of several explorers utilizing the administrations of the Dalat Easy Riders motorbike visits.

An alternate choice from Dalat (for the more dashing) is to collaborate with one of the Easy Riders who will convey you and your rucksack on the once again of his motorbike. This will be the same visit as the one portrayed underneath however in far less solace. We met individuals going with Easy Riders most nights, it appears they were paying around $55us for two individuals, ie. They all prescribed along  these  lines of getting around.

Costs are climbing in Vietnam yet as an evidence of the expense of such an excursion we paid $45us for every individual for every day to do this outing. There were simply the two of us so the aggregate for the 5 days/4 nights was $450us which was worth each penny. Convenience cost about $10us for every room for every night and was additional as was nourishment which was preposterously shabby, samples with costs show up underneath.

The outing is less expensive with Easy Riders however we were more satisfied with the solace and wellbeing of our vehicle.

On the off chance that you land in Hanoi then simply arrange your adventure through the focal point in the inverse approach to what takes after.

Between The Three Volcanoes | Tewfic El-Sawy

BETWEEN THE THREE VOLCANOES

(click on image)

During the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in La Antigua last week, I managed to squeeze in a few hours of street photography.

Using my Leica M9 and a Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 (and occasionally a Fuji X Pro-1 with a Fujinon 28mm f2.8), I walked the quaint cobblestones streets of La Antigua, not straying too far from its epicenter, Parque Central.

I titled this gallery as Between The Three Volcanoes, since La Antigua is cradled by three volcanoes; Acatenango, Volcán de Agua and the Volcán de Fuego.

Many of the photographs in this monochromatic gallery were made surreptitiously, using the shooting from hip technique I work with in the streets of New York City...aka shooting blindly (sort of). I don't see it as a furtive method, but simply as a way to capture the candid expressions of people in the public eye and in the streets.

Furtive or not, I seldom photograph (or show) pictures of the homeless or the handicapped wherever I go. In La Antigua, I photographed a person in a wheelchair being pushed by a woman who had the most interesting of expressions...but despite that, I decided against including it in this gallery.

I decided early on that I'd photograph in monochrome, and resist being seduced by the colors of Guatemala...whether the colors of the indigenous people's dress, or La Antigua's walls of red, mustard-yellow and orange. The Leica M9 has a setting with which my photographs were monochrome in jpg and color in dng...so I had the best of both worlds.

Some 10 years ago, I photographed in La Antigua (and some parts of Guatemala) during its spectacular Semana Santa, and comparing my photographs now and then, I am amazed by the difference and by the gradual evolution in my style. My photography used to be more for stock at that time, and now it's pure documentary-travel photojournalism.

I've chosen to feature this gallery on Medium, which allows photographs to be viewed is 1400 pixels on the long side.

18 day in VietNam - Grand VietNam

18 days heading out from North to South Vietnam on Grand Vietnam Tour and experience nearby life up close as we investigate the vivid slope tribe towns in Mai Chau, stay overnight on Halong Bay journey, find Hoian and surroundings and investigate the conduits and desire products of the soil plantations of the Mekong Delta. The trek covers all highlights of Vietnam – from Hanoi's beautiful Old Quarter to the shorelines of Nha Trang, the old French slope station in the focal high country of Dalat and the awesome markets of China Town in Saigon. It totally offers extraordinary experience for the individuals who need to find Vietnam inside and out.

Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam's clamoring frontier capital. Your driver and aide will reach you outside the stuff case of Noi Bai Airport and take you to your lodging in the downtown area. Toward the evening, revel in an introduction walk, going by some of Hanoi's principle attractions: the Opera House, Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. At night, enjoy a welcome supper of genuine Vietnamese sustenance at one of Hanoi's finest restaurants.

Related post: Vietnam travel packages

Today you have a full day to investigate Vietnam's beguiling capital. With its wide tree-lined lanes, French provincial structural planning, tranquil lakes and old oriental pagodas, Hanoi is a varied blend that offers something for everybody. Your city visit will take you to Hanoi's key destinations: the Ho Chi Minh Complex (Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and stilt house); the Presidential Palace; the adjacent One Pillar Pagoda; the Temple of Literature; West Lake; the calm Tran Quoc Pagoda & Quan Thanh Temple; and one of the city's exhibition halls (a decision between the History Museum and the Ethnology Museum). At night appreciate a customary Water Puppet Performance – an interesting Vietnamese artistic expression hailing from Southeast Asia's wet-rice society.

This trek to the northwest good countries of Mai Chau offers an equalization of social investment and physical action, set amongst some of northern Vietnam's most dazzling landscape.

Your driver and aide will reach you at your inn and take you along thruway 6 to Mai Chau: a residential community settled amidst a lavish valley and encompassed by emerald-green rice fields. Appreciate pleasant perspectives of the picturesque scene, sown with pagodas and rustic towns. Stop along the best approach to visit the Muong tribe and after that at Thung Khe Pass for a fantastic perspective of Mai Chau Valley. Eat in Mai Chau then use the evening trekking off the average vacationer track, along the Song Ma River. Trek through terraced rice paddies and little towns, finding the regular excellence of the valley and experiencing the society of the White Thai individuals, living in the locale. Stop at a Thai town for the night, eating with a nearby family and getting a charge out of a homestay in their long house.

Begin the day with a straightforward breakfast with your host family then take a short drive through the encompassing field, before setting off on a trek through rice paddies and down slowing down to visit the "Cum" and "Xam Khoe" towns. Submerge yourself in the lively neighborhood society and revel in a legitimate lunch at one of the towns. Toward the evening, drive again to the clamor Hanoi.

Use 24 hours on a conventional Junk Cruise in the astounding narrows: a regular wonderland made out of sticking limestone islands and shimmering turquoise waters. Land at the dock around twelve and board your garbage. Appreciate a gourmet lunch of new fish locally available as you cruise out into the enchanted narrows. Toward the evening, voyage around some of Halong's numerous islands, including Dinh Huong and Ga Choi. Along the way visit one of the straight's 3 biggest holes (Thien Cung, Dau Go or Sung Sot). Stop at an island bay with a shielded white-sand shoreline and take a plunge in the warm waters of the Gulf of Tonkin (climate allowing). Pass the night on your garbage, quieted to rest by the tender shaking of cool waters.

Up and about right on time and partake in Tai Chi on the top deck or basically unwind and appreciate the day break over the sound's towering islands. Delight in a morning container of espresso or tea, before embarking to investigate adjacent islands by skiff. Come back to the garbage for breakfast then exploit the sundeck and respect the stunning rock developments of Bai Tu Long Bay as you explore over to Halong City. Your driver will reach you at the Halong pier and take you over to Hanoi to get your in-nation flight to Hue. Upon landing to Hue airplane terminal, driver will be anticipate for you and exchange you to lodging in Hue City.

Revel in a whole day visiting the Vietnam's previous antiquated capital. Begin the day with a visit to the Imperial Citadel, home to the Imperial City and Forbidden Purple City – once the Emperor's private living arrangement. The Imperial City was made in the nineteenth century and demonstrated on the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Imperial Enclosure houses numerous royal residences and sanctuaries inside its dividers. Toward the evening, proceed your visit halting at the Imperial Museum, Tu Hieu Pagoda and energetic Dong Ba riverside market.

Use the morning on a private pontoon journey down the sentimental Perfume River to visit the notorious Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda), a rich seven-layered octagonal tower that has turned into Hue's most broadly unmistakable lan

Niqita Gupta | Baiga: The Vanishing Tribe

Photo © Niqita Gupta - All Rights Reserved

I came across some members of the Baiga tribals in Chhattisgarh, but they're mostly found in Madhya Pradesh, as well as Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.

The Baiga are known for an almost reclusive culture, as they don't interact with other related tribals in the region, such as the Gonds.  They are totally dependent of the jungle for their survival, believe in a hand-to-mouth existence, have no interest in education, rarely eat outside their community, or associate with others. Following a death in the family, the Baiga just leave the house and build another. The Baiga consider themselves as people of the forest, who can only live on the produce of the forest.

A distinguishing feature of the Baiga tribals is that the women are famous for having tattoos on almost all parts of their body. Both men and women get their hair cut only once in a life time, as they take immense pride in their long hair as a tradition.

Photographer Niqita Gupta features a gallery Baiga: The Vanishing Tribe, and provides us with a brief glimpse into their simple life.

Niqita is based in India and can work worldwide. From the dense tropical forests of Kanha where the Baiga tribe lives, to the private lives of drag queens in London, she strives to work with communities and examine their relationship with each individual. 

Trip to Rome. Eternal Rome.

Stretches of green midst clinically linear architecture settlements. The air-view above few feet in the sky offered spectacular view of Rome. Nature and architecture at its resonating best, Rome was the first European city we visited, and it surely did build high expectations for others to follow. For its architecture and more importantly the care with which it has been preserved, Rome is a benchmark for tourist cities in the world. 

A cradle for civilization with an architecture that is worth sustaining entire city's economy tourism on its own, some say Rome is Eternal because of its culture and architecture. Undoubtedly, it survived anciently, it excels today, and for sure shows path to other cities of future. Our trip in mid-January 2013 was primarily because we chose Italy for the weather it offered in that time of the year and its delicious food, and vegetarian options compared to its northern European siblings.

Day 1 - Post Noon

International airport at Rome is efficient and modern. Checking out is easy and hassle free. The drizzle and nip in the air welcomed us outside the airport. The local metro/train station is just on the opposite side of the airport and there is a very good public transportation system overall in Rome. The train to Rome city costed around 13 Euros pp . However, priced almost the same, the shared mini bus (also outside the airport) was more fun and we went ahead with our front seats. It wasn't sunny, yet the outskirts of Rome set the tone for our two days odd trip to Rome. Windmills and carefully mowed gardens accentuated the beautiful landscape. The bus dropped us just outside the Roma Termini, the main train station for the city. Hotel Milan, where we stayed was quite near to termini, and it simply is a blessing to stay close to the transport hubs. It gels well, the way we wanted to explore the city saving precious time and fatigue.

Just outside Rome Airport

A suggestion here: If travelling for less than 3 days in any city, stay as close to station, as possible. More so applicable for the Italian cities.You'd save a LOT of time.Trust me.

After laying down for a while, we felt rejuvenated enough to grab some slices of pizza around the neighbourhood restaurant. It was fresh, crisp and appropriately spiced. Neat and effective. Similar to food throughout our stay in Italy. As  dusk was approaching us with some vigor with clouds playing peek-a-boo with the sunshine, we had to have our plans in order, rather quickly. The reception in the hotel had functional travel maps which were useful for us to begin our journey. From Termini we took a red line metro to Barberini and walked our way post that to Fontana-De-Trivi. It was dark by the time we reached at fountain. It was amazing to see several people enjoying  and refreshing their senses around the place, both locals and tourists alike. Shops selling branded products were close by.

Fontana De Trivi: Refreshing and Vibrant

Relaxed, we next headed towards Palazzo Montecitorio and then to Piazza Navone, exploring the amazing city through its streets. The part of the city is quite up-market and products are expensive. (Btw: The squares in Italian cities are referred as Piazza and street names begin with Via.) Some steep steps above and  the view holds you to a marvelous architecture. It was around eight, and the shops as if suddenly closed with only exceptions being the bars and the coffee shops.

We walked our way through to Via del Corso (it was indeed expensive) to reach back Barberini and subsequently to Termini. We had not taken any pass for public transport for this day. Termini has some really good shops in its complex, which offered handsome discounts too, and more importantly were open. We had our dinner after shopping a bit and then headed few steps to reach our hotel around 10. The amazing city held its charm so much so that we decided to hit the Roman streets. Rome is a pretty safe city. A cup of cappuccino and some magical and authentic pizza slices down the throat gives you that amazing feeling.

Conversation at Reception

Once back, the receptionist at the hotel and I picked up the conversation, primarily as I sought some information for our travel next day. While shopping through the windows that evening, I just wondered if everyone could afford the super expensive Armanis and others. It was heartening :) to know that not many locals shopped in the city and actually went to company outlets once a month or so. One could feel the general restlessness about the extant recession and the death of the Italian Lira. 'Euro has ruined our life', he shared wryly also emphasizing that taking credit from institutions and repaying was getting difficult day by day. The talk with the men on street is worth a 100 books, and this bit of conversation re-affirmed that. We retired after a fabulous day. Chao.

Day 2

Few meters away from our Hotel was 'Piazza della Repubblica'. We took off for our early morning walk and it was a wonderful feeling to make the ideal start to the day. The morning freshness could still be felt  around, while birds flogged their way to create peace through their noise. The place was superb. The feeling even better!

We then paid visit to a local market, that sold dry fruits, winter-wear (jackets, mufflers etc.),vegetables and meat. Prices were fairly low, in fact you find the prices to be lowest in Rome. (It's downtown though!.). Complimenting our last day's exploration on feet, 'Hop-on, Hop-Off' bus was our choice for today. It's highly recommended that you take this mode to discover Rome at your leisurely pace. We took Green bus and should say we were fairly happy with its service (there are other services too). You can hold your breath with the Roma views and with a price tag of 13 Euros pp, it's simply worth it. The pamphlets of major bus services can be fund in the hotels while tickets can be bought in the bus or around the emanating station. The process is simple and there are multi lingual audio guides available on the bus. And yes, the deck seats are better any day! There are scheduled bus stops around the major attractions and one has to buy ticket only once for the day. The periodicity of the repeat in around half an hour. It is highly advisable to take a day tour followed by the night journey to view Rome(without alighting from the bus) in the last shuttle that runs around 7 pm from Termini.

Taking our first bus at 11am we had sufficient time to see the major attractions of the day. You can start earlier too. Colosseum, major art museums and also to Vatican. (The Vatican post would follow this.) In between, we grabbed our bites of pizza and several life(chill) saving cappuccino at one of the coffee shop  in the afternoon .  Our Indian snacks helped too. The night view that Hop-on and Hop-off offered us was astonishing! The monuments are lit meticulously and the do make your way for the night trip, something that is highly recommended.

We would love to go back to Rome several times. Rome still bequeaths with its glory and the more so, the way that glory has been preserved. We left for Naples around 10 in the morning through Tren Italia from Roma Termini, next day.

Blue skies making way for the Colosseum

Shop What
Rome is very expensive. Some Shopping ideas may include:

• Shopping at Segue 
• Kids wear 
• Winter Jackets

The suburban towns around Rome have company outlets that are far cheaper than main city.
Visit Italy during annual season sale that generally takes place in January.

Bottom Line

Best Time to travel is during the sale season.
Be equipped with appropriate winter wear, the chill can surprise you.
The public transport passes may not be needed if you are using Hop on and Hop off.
You'll find a lot of vegetarian options, especially with pizza and the chefs won't surprise you with their expression hearing 'vegetarian'.

Travel Facts

• Stayed : 2 days.
• Stayed at : Hotel Milan - Yes, recommended.
• Travelled with my better half and the journey could be easily divided in three phases. 
• Travelled in Egypt Air from Cairo in January 2013.

North Pole 2009: Catlin Team Gets Resupply and Back on the Move

Updates from the North this morning:

After remaining stationary for four days, waiting for the weather to clear, the Catlin Arctic Survey Team finally got their resupply yesterday, when a Twin Otter landed on the ice to deliver much needed food and other gear. Upon receiving the supplies, Pen, Ann, and Martin promptly got underway trying to make up for some of the time they lost while waiting for the plane. Conditions remain very cold, -40ºC and demanding, but they're happy to be on the move once again.

Christina Franco has updated her plans for the North Pole as well. You may recall that Christina had hoped to attempt to become the first woman to go solo to the North Pole, striking out form Canada a few weeks back. Unfortunately she was forced to abandon that quest when her stove suffered a double failure leaving her with no way to warm her tent or heat her food. She has quickly regrouped however, and will leave for Russia on April 2nd then on to Borneo on the 5th to begin a "last degree" trip to the Pole that will serve as a training for 2010, when she hopes to make another attempt at the solo journey. If everything comes together as expected, she'll be back out on the ice from April 10-21.

The Victorinox North Pole Team is reporting a lot of "new" sea ice as they make their way north, which they say is a lot less stable and melts more quickly, but is also free from snow, allowing them to ski much faster. As a result, they've been putting up good mileage the past few days covering as much as 6 nautical miles in a day. A few days back they also made a dispatch about how they navigate in the Arctic that is quite interesting. They talk about the lack of features and landmarks around them, and how they have to learn to trust their sense of direction and use the sun as a reference point. The wind can also be used, as long as you know the direction it is blowing, but it can be unreliable at times too. Finally, they talk about using a compass, but you have to figure out the difference between due North and Magnetic North. For instance, right now, the Magnetic North Pole is to the west of them, and it pulls the needle of the compass 77º off their actual course to the geographic North Pole. Interesting stuff, and another example of the challenges that these explorers have to overcome.

Finally, the Peary Centennial Expedition has enjoyed some flat and smooth conditions, paired with decent weather and temps as high as -20ºF. As a result, they've made good time and progress and have now crossed the 84th parallel. They have suffered a few minor equipment issues on their skis, but managed to repair them in the tent overnight, and should be good to go today.