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January 27, 2004
A safari alternative
If you're like me, you'd love to go to Africa. You also wonder why it costs such a fortune to visit the poorest continent. Well Safari's are very expensive, but why not try something different?
A friend of mine spent two months in Ghana one summer, living in a village and taking zylophone lessons for $25/week. Before you dismiss the idea, consider what Lonely Planet has to say about how friendly people in Ghana are. Also, English is spoken by many people.
Now I'm not sure exactly how one finds long term accomodation in Ghana. I imagaine that you get a hotel room, and then ask around until you find something. In Italy, the real estate agents sometimes have furnished accomodation which can be rented monthly.
January 23, 2004
Burning Man
I've always wanted to go to Burning Man. This is a 6 day festival in the desert at the end of August. In 2004, it will be from August 25-September 1. As a teacher with a new semester starting around then (in Korea), the timing is not so good for me, and I doubt I'll be able to make it. Too bad, I read somewhere that it's one of the best/biggest parties in the world.
January 20, 2004
Scripted and unscripted vacations
This isn't really a vacation idea or a vacation plan; it's a discussion about planning vacations or winging it.
A few days ago I wrote about my friend's vacaton to Vietnam and Cambodia. As I told my wife, I'm jealous. Partially because his vacation will be 3 weeks or so longer than mine but also because it won't be scripted.
Here I am going through my Lonely Planets, picking out the things I want to do in Bangcock, the things I want to do in Malaysia, the things I want to do in Singapore... Don't get me wrong, it's all interesting stuff, but it's not quite an adventure.
I remember going on a road trip when I was in college. It was winter, and our plan was to drive south until we were warm. Three weeks later we were in Orlando Florida having a great time as we did most of the way down there. Of course, it's easier to meander in your own country, but it's certainly possible to do it in a foreign country (as my friend is proving right now).
January 16, 2004
Vietnam and Cambodia
A couple of my colleagues are going on vacation together. Here's their plan:
Fly to Hanoi - They have a few days of hotel reservations.
Start heading south and eventually get to Cambodia.
Do Phnom Penh and Angkor wat.
Leave from Saigon 5 weeks after they arrive - They have hotel reservations here as well.
As you can see, it's a very loose travel plan. There are four weeks or so where they don't know exactly where they're going to be. They might spend the same money as my wife and I will on our Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore 12 day vacation. I wish I was a good budget traveler.
January 13, 2004
Finding the right hotel
My wife and I recently selected hotels for our next vacation. We're the kind of people who prefer to do things online; we don't like calling hotels and talking on the phone.
We used the GTA web site to choose our hotels. On the home page it asks which country your travel agency is in. I always click on Korea, but it really doesn't matter; just click on any country. Then you can search through all the hotels in whatever language and with the prices in whatever currency you want.
Now you can't actually make the reservations unless you're a travel agent. Just write down which hotels you want on which days and give the list to a travel agent. Any travel agent should be willing to make the reservations because they get a 10% commission.
Another hotel option this one for hotel managers might be (and I've never tried them) Hotel Marketers - Hoteliers: Hotel Marketers support the booking process for busy hotel managers. Use our unique hotelier products to market your reservations online.
January 7, 2004
2 travel plans: Australia vs. Thailand, Malaysia, + Singapore
My wife and I recently planned our february vacation. We had two main choices: Fly to Sydney and return from Melbourne (spending around 4 nights in each city with a train or bus ride between) OR Fly to Bangcock, from Bangcock to Kuala Lumpur, and home from Singapore (we'll have to take a train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore).
Flights and hotels for each came to about $1,700 or since we live in Korea, 2,000,000 Korean won. We'll have to spend more on sight seeing and eating and we'll be paying the credit card bills for a while...
Anyway we decided to do the Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore vacation so here's the plan:
Fly to Bangcock.
2 nights in Bangcock. On the third day take a bus to Hua Hin (a friend said the train ride was really boring).
2 nights in Hua Hin. On the third day return to Bangcock.
1 night in Bangcock. Then fly to Kuala Lumpur.
3 nights in Kuala Lumpur. On the fourth day take a train to Singapore.
2 nights in Singapore. On the third day fly back to Seoul.
I'll let you know how it turns out!
January 6, 2004
A folk music festival
A folk music festival can be a nice long weekend summer getaway. I've been to two: The Phily Folk Fest near Philadelphia, and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, which is kind where New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut meet.
Both involve camping out in the country, but the camping is better at the Philly Folk Fest because no cars are allowed on the campground. Tents are packed together and while it's crowded, the proximity means that there's a sense of community. At Falcon Ridge, you park and then set up your tent next to your car. It's convenient, but it made me feel kind of isolated.
Their were lots of drum circles and things at the Phily Folk Fest, but at the Falcon Ridge Folk Fest there was only one and it was semi-organized. It highlighted Tracy Grammer and only Dave Carter songs were performed. It was amazing, but it was a lot more somber than the party atmosphere at the Phily Folk Fest.
Speaking of parties, the Phily Folk Fest has been getting tamer the past few years. 5 years or so ago there were drugs all over the place, but the introduction of NARCs has been making the festival more family friendly.
If you're vegetarian or Vegan, the food at Falon Ridge is fantastic. I guess it would be for meat eaters too, but how would I know? I think there were around 20 food vendors, and there were lots of great choices: barbecue tofu wraps, fake eggs and bacon, fake BLT sandwhiches, vegetable dumplings, tofu curry, etc. I ate better than I normally do. Expect to pay 5-7 dollars for a meal, not including a drink. It'll be hot, so bring your own drinks and get used to hot water (or else you'll spend a small fortune on drinks). The food at the Philly Folk Fest is OK, but as a vegetarian I had to eat Chinese (Lo Mein noodles) a lot. I think they also had pizza and french fries, but the choices were far more limited than at Falcon Ridge.
I guess the music is why you really go to a Folk Fest. In 2003 I liked the line up at Falcon Ridge better so I went there. The previous 4 years I had gone to the Phily Folk Fest. I suppose you could do both: Falcon Ridge is in July and Phily is in August.
January 4, 2004
Snow festival in Sapporo Japan
I got a nice travel idea from the JAL (Japan Airlines) newsletter the other day. It's about the snow festival in Sapporo. Apparently snow and ice sculptures are built all over and some of them are really huge and/or intricate. I found nice pictures of the snow sculptures and information about the festival. My Lonely Planet Japan says that hotels can fill up during the snow festival, so If you're going to plan a trip, better make reservations soon. My wife and I thought about it, but we're thinking we'll go somewhere warm this winter...