Travel plan idea blog

Appreciate nature, travel, do good

For people who love nature, paying bic money for eco-tourism is one possibility. Camping on your won is another. A third is doing some volunteer work. Here are a couple of American organizations that tend to Mother Nature. I'm sure those of you from outside the US can find similar organizations.

American Hiking Society (1422 Fenwick Lane, Silver Spring, Md. 20910; www.americanhiking.org) is a nonprofit that wages a never-ending battle against the degradation of our nation's hiking trails. To that end, it offers one and two-week volunteer vacations during which its participants pull weeds, remove fences, dig trenches and perform other useful tasks in some of America's loveliest national parks. Like the other organizations we've listed, this idealistic group partially relies on donations from both individuals and the corporate world.

Wilderness Volunteers (P.O. Box 22292, Flagstaff, Ariz. 86002, www.wildernessvolunteers.org) sends youthful, vigorous volunteers (mainly in their 20s to 40s) into the forest areas of America's national and state parks, to repair the damage done by heedless visitors. They restore hiking trails, clean up debris and fire sites, plant strategically located trees and even take inventory of plant and wildlife species. Although the volunteer pays a modest fee for the weeklong stint, grants and contributions cover most of the other costs of Wilderness Volunteers.

Bad experience on Virgin Atlantic

A writer wrote to the Miami Herald trouble shooter about a flight that was delayed due to a late passenger, turned around due to engine trouble, would not let passengers use cell phones or toilets while back on the runway, and was piloted by a captain who made some mistakes during passenger announcements. I can almost understand everything except not letting people use the bathroom. That's crazy.

Cambodia

Days 1-3: Most flights to Cambodia will land in Phnom Penh. You'll want to visit the Royal Palace during the day. The Palace grounds are opened to the public except when the King is in residence. The Silver Pagod with its Silver tiled floor is in the Palace grounds. Inside the Silver Pagoda is a solid gold Buddha encrusted with 9584 diamonds and weighing 90 kilos and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha. The compound also houses Wat Phnom Mondap, containing Buddha's footprint.

The National Museum is near the Palace. On display inside are more than 5,000 works of art, ranging from the 7th to the 13th century. There are also lotus ponds where visitors can take a little break.

When you visit The Independence Monument, look from across the street. Getting too close is illegal. Wat Ounalom, Wat Phnom and Wat Moha Montrei are other well-known tourist attractions.

Days 4-6: You don't want to miss Angkor Watt while you're in Cambodia. While this travel plan allows three days to visit the jungle temples, a previous discussion featured a longer trip to Angkor Watt.

Days 7-9: How about realxing on the beach? Sihanoukville has rooms starting at 5.00 and Sokkha Beach has the best sunset. You can hire a boat to take you to Koh Rong island. Koh Rong Samlem has 8 or 9 beaches including some very nice, sheltered beaches on the north side near Koh Kon. Rocky reefs around both islands harbor a variety of sea life in both shallow and deep water. Good for divers and snorkelers.

The best online information on Cambodia comes from Canby Publications.

Lonely Planet taking some heat

The popular Lonely Planet is taking some heat for their new Blue List book. The New York Post (Dec. 20, 2005) writes that the book contains "three pages of anti-American cliches, portraying us all as obese, idiot war-mongers obsessed with dieting, nude vacations and raucous St. Patrick's Day celebrations." I suppose it's worth noting here (as the Post does) that Lonely Planet is an Australia-based company.

Christmas in Rome

As long time readers may know, I'm working toward my dream of buying an apartment in Rome. So I thought I'd check out the latest news in the Eternal City to see what I'm missing.

The first story I found was about people putting wishlists on the Chrismas tree in Termini (Rome's transportation hub). If I were in Rome now, my list would be up there.

I don't like to dwell on bad news, but have to mention this Newsweek article on maintaining Rome. Berlusconi is accused of cutting support on preservation and the arts while conuing to support profitable soccer teams and national TV stations (in which the prime minister holds personal stakes) with generous subsidies.

Winter in Japan

A few cool things to do in Japan this Winter. This 12 day travel plan can be adjusted but it's a start:

Jan. 29 - Feb. 3 in Tokyo, Feb. 3 - Feb. 6 in Nagasaki (for the Lantern Festival), and Feb. 6-12 in Sapporo (for the Snow Festival)

Nagasaki Lantern Festival:

Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture
Sunday January 29th - Sunday February 12th, 2006

For two weeks, approximately 12,000 Chinese lanterns are displayed in the Shinchi Chinatown, Hamaichi and Kanko Dori arcades as well as other locations in downtown Nagasaki. Scores of large displays including "A Dragon and Phoenix," made of 10,000 pieces of Chinese pottery and a peacock-shaped display are exhibited in Minato Park and other areas, to the delight of visitors.

The 57th Sapporo Snow Festival:

Sapporo City, Hokkaido
February 6th - 12th, 2006

Hundreds of beautiful snow statues and ice sculptures will line Odori Park and other sites around the city for the annual snow festival.

Soccer and food in Madrid

I was just reading an article about how Madrid is a great weekend getaway for those who love soccer and food. Of couse for soccer you have Real Madrid with Brazil's Ronaldo, France's Zidane and England's David Beckham. With the food, there's no chance for me to even give an overview here. Plus there are the other attractions and there's the Madrid card:

Madrid has gone out of its way to accommodate these weekenders and offers the 'Madrid Card' that allows reduced price entry to all the city's iconic sights.

The wonders of the Prado, the medieval splendor of the Palacio Real and even bus and metro travel are all heavily discounted in the package. But before the sites and the food comes the football ...

You can read the whole story on CNN travel.

Recommended places in Amsterdam

I've never been to Amsterdam and these recommendations don't come from me. They come from football fans (I saw an off-topic thread about Amsterdam on a football mssage board). Here's a summary of what the football fans recommended in Amsterdam:

Coffee shops:

For "coffee" Dampkring (by Dam Square) has a great selection and relaxed vibe. Don't be afraid to ask them questions. They want you to get something that will have you coming back. Go to "De Dampkring" for the Buddha's Sister.

Go to "The Noon" and sample the Blueberry. Go to "Katsu" for the Super Sage. Abraxis is another coffee shop that was recommended.

Barney's is a good coffeeshop to hang out at because it serves food too. Try their Sweet Tooth. Their breakfast food was also mentioned for being good and reasonably priced.

Museums:

The Anne Frank Musuem is a must and the Van Gogh is a close second. The Riks Museum was also recommnded.

Transportation:

Make sure you get on the trams. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy and fun. Be careful not to get too close to the little bicycle paths that are next to the roads, the cyclists freak out if you wander there when they are about 100 feet away.

Food:

If you like Chinese food, you won't find better food outside of Nam Kee in Chinatown. It's better than anything I've had in New York.

Accident in Chicago

National Transportation Safety Board and FAA officials from Washington are on their way to Chicago to investigate a plane that slid through a fence in Chicago's Midway Airport onto a road. A 6 year old boy died and at least 10 people were injured.

The airport area had 7 inches of snow, but Aviation Department spokeswoman Wendy Abrams said runway conditions at the time were acceptable.

James Burnett, a former NTSB chairman, said the weather would be a focus of the investigation: "When you're looking at a runway overrun, it almost always involves a runway condition that's improper," Burnett told WFLD-TV. "But that's not the only thing."

Russia vs. Eastern Europe

There's an interesting Newsweek article about how tourism in Russia is declining. If you've seen the pictures of Moscow and St. Petersburg you may be surprised.

However there are a number of reasons:

Tourism officials cite red tape, poor infrastructure, poor service, security fears—and, most recently, cost. A weeklong visit to Moscow or St. Petersburg has tripled in the past four years to $1,700, many times more expensive than any of their Eastern European neighbors.

For example the article cites Poland and Turkey being 3 times less expensive than Russia.

Part of the infrastructure problem is caused by a lack of hotel rooms. Hotels are bein torn down but new hotels are not being built. Another issue is the lack of English signs.

Then there are the increasingly difficult visas, increasing numbers of robberies, and extortion from police. All in all, it's easy to see why people are choosing Poland and Turkey.

Stag parties in Eastern Europe

Here's an interesting article about how stag parties in Eastern Europe are becoming more popular for British men and how the locals don't appreciate this brand of tourism:

And as thousands careen around East European capitals each weekend, locals are starting to grumble about a distinct lack of appreciation for local sensitivities. The impression of the British as a genteel people is rapidly waning. In Prague, for example, locals have complained about being overrun with bawdy Brits drinking cheap lager and scoping out prostitutes. As many as 1,200 stag groups are thought to descend on Prague each year and British visitor numbers to the city jumped more than 50 percent last year. The mayor, Pavel Bem, has already sought to rein in the red-light district and wants visitors to respect local customs. Bars and restaurants have started to refuse large groups of men, according to city hall spokeswoman Jana Kobesova.