Photo Blog - MatevzH

NEW BLOG

2009-08-09T12:54:00.000+02:00

Please note that this blog is no more updated!

The story continues on http://blog.hribcek.si/

Thank you!

Matevz

Cile / Bolivija - nekaj statistike

2008-12-30T09:00:00.001+01:00

Bilo je lepo, bilo je kratko in sedaj je cas za vrnitev v resnicnost...

... za konec nekaj statistike...

letalska karta - 1150 EUR
porabljeno denarja (brez letalske karte) - 880 EUR
najdražja enodnevna zadeva - 57 EUR (80 USD) vzpon na vulkan Toco pri San Pedro
najdražja večdnevna zadeva - 78 EUR (110 USD) tridnevna pot oz. izlet med San Pedro in Uyuni
najdražje prenočišče na noč - 11.4 EUR (16 USD) La Cupola v Copacabani
najcenejše prenočišče na noč - 3 EUR (4.2 USD - 30 bolivianov) Hostal Marith v Uyuniju
dvigov na bankomatih - 7x
najdaljši transfer - približno 1600km, 23 ur - bus Santiago - Calama- San Pedro
skupaj narejeno po cesti - približno 3000km
kilometrov na kolesu - približno 110km
najbolj "mučni" transfer - 160km, 7 ur - bus po makadamu Uyuni-Potosi
največja višina - 5640m vulkan Toco, najnižje 0m Arica :)
najvišje spanje - Laguna Colorada, Bolivija, približno 4500m
največja višinska razlika v enem dnevu - 4000m - transfer La Paz (4000m) -> Arica (0m)
najvišja temperatura - 36C San Pedro, Čile
število različnih prevoznih sredstev - 22 (letalo, bus, trajekt)
presedeno na letalu - 36 ur (skupaj z letom iz Evrope)
presedeno na avtobusih (brez džipa) - 52 ur
število različnih prenočišč in postelj - 12 (od tega 9 v dormitorijih)
število sostanovalcev v dormitorijih - 27 (od tega 13 žensk)
sostanovalci - 13 različnih narodnosti, najbolj pogosti nemci (7) in avstralci (5)
najbolj fajn hostel -Hostal Sunny Days, Arica
število posnetih fotografij - približno 1576 (9,74Gb - skupno dSLR + kompakt)
čas posnetih filmčkov - 58 minut (234 filmckov, 6Gb)
objavljenih postov (skupaj s tem) - 14, fotk 76 :)

Do naslednjič... :)

Hasta la vista America...

2008-12-27T01:30:00.005+01:00

Takole... avtobus me je pripeljal mimo nacionalnih parkov Sajama in Lauca, vulkanov, jezer polnih flamingov in planjav cred lam v Cile... Zacuda je cesta kar naenkrat postala slabsa (ja, bolivijci so zgradili vsaj eno dobro cesto, cilencem pa to itak ni v interesu), na meji pa zelo striktna kontrola s cilenske strani... V obratni smeri stevilni tovornjaki polni odrabljenih cilenskih avtomobilov in avtobusi polni cilencev s tehnicno robo... kot da bi bil na kaki yugo meji pred 20 leti...

Kljub neverjetni pokrajini sem vesel, da sem nazaj v civilizaciji... Nasel sem perfekten hostel za stopover - Sunny days Arica, ki ga vodi novozelandec, ki je zaradi ljubezni ostal v teh krajih. Poleg tega, da je v blizini plaze je notri zanimiva druscina sopotnikov... Tako smo imeli bozicno vecerjo v avstralsko-novozelandski-ameriski-nemsko-svedski druscini... Vsak je nekaj kupil in pripravil (jest sem se izkazal z ze pripravljenim sladoledom za desert), ampak vecerja je bila pestra in okusna... Prav fajn si je bilo pogreti kosti na toplem soncku... In naslednji dan mi je bilo kar zal, da odhajam naprej. Fenomenalni zajtrk, odlicna druzba, in dan je hitro minil... Pa se v pristaniscu imajo celo kolonijo morskih levov in pelikanov, ki se mastijo ob ostankih rib, ki jih cistijo ribici...

Poleg vsega sem se odlocil kar leteti iz Arice v Santiago, saj so mi tri ure in pol leta nekoliko bolj ustrezale kot pa 28 ur avtobusa... Poleg tega je bila cena ista :)))

Ja, potovanja je skoraj konec. Jutri letim nazaj proti domu, in tokrat se kar veselim. Sej, v Arici bi ostal se par dni ob plazi, vendar me je vreme v La Pazu toliko psihicno dotolklo, da se veselim odhoda domov. In zadnji dan v Santiagu sem prav uzival. In Santiago je se enkrat dokazal, da je pravzaprav zelo evropsko mesto. Malo sem se potikal po hribckih ter gondolah, sprehajal po dolgih ulicah, uzival v lokalcih Providencie, gledal mumije v muzejih, ... bilo je fajn... Tudi na potovanju je bilo fajn... videl sem skoraj vse kar sem si zadal, bil sem z lastnimi mocmi na vulkanu, naucil sem se gledati zvezde in se kaj...

Ampak vseeno... gremo domov... hasta la vista America... se se vidimo... :))) Prej ali slej...

Blisc in beda La Paza

2008-12-24T03:11:00.003+01:00

La Paz... najvisje glavno mesto na svetu. Najvisje mednarodno letalisce na svetu. In naj verjetno se kaj...

Pravzaprav, blisca je malo. Vsaj tak obcutek sem dobil. So relativno bogati deli mesta, so relativno cisti cisti deli mesta, in razviti center. Vse skupaj pa je zavito v neko tancico bede in 0gromno ljudi zivi na cesti od miloscine. To so seveda vec ali manj potomci starodavnih ljudstev na podrocju andov. Po drugi strani smo pa sedaj v dezevni dobi, tako da je resnicno malo sonca, in le redko se odpre pogled na spektakularno hribovje v okolici mesta. Zato se pa bolj speti vse, kar je povezano z bozicem in prav zanimivo je hoditi po bozicnem sejmu na aveniji Montes...

Ali mi je mesto vsec ali ne tezko recem. Sem indiferenten. Trenutno je zanimivo prav zaradi tega bozicnega dogajanja. Moram pa priznati, da komaj cakam, da grem iz La Paza, oz. Bolivije nazaj v Cile. Tole slabo vreme je totalno depresivno...

Torej, hasta luego Bolivija... jutri ob 6:15 bus, ki me bo cez Ande koncno pripeljal do pacifiskega ocenana... Menda je Arica surfers paradise, zato lahko racunam na malo boljso farbo :)

Copacabana

2008-12-23T19:39:00.005+01:00

Yiiiii... gremo na Copocabano... Zal ne tisto v Braziliji, ampak "originalno" Copacabano v Boliviji. Mesto je na zanimivem kraju ob jezeru Titicaca, med nekaj manjsimi hribcki. Skozi stoletja je bilo to sredisce romanj (in je se), danes pa je tudi plac za zure in poroke za bolivijce. Tako da se tam vedno kaj dogaja.

Kraj je ime dobil za casa inkov, ko so temu kraju dali ime Kota Kahuana oz. Copacahuana (v ajmarscini pogled na jezero). Kdo bi si mislil, da bodo brazilci to imeli povzeli, in jo naredili svetovno znano :) Kopalcev je bolj malo, mogoce sem jih nastel vse skupaj tri. Voda je mrzla, in niti ne pretirano cista. Zato se bolivijski turisti raje zadrzujejo na plovilih, ki so vseh moznih pogonov, oblik in velikosti.

Vglavnem, v okolici je ogromno vecjih in manjsih inkovskih ostankov, se najpomembnejsi so na otokih Isla de la Sol (otok sonca) in Isla de la Luna (otok lune). Isla de la Sol je bila za inke sveto mesto, saj naj bi se tu rodilo kar nekaj njihovih bozanstev, med drugim tudi sonce. Isla de la Luna pa je bilo mesto, kjer je po legendi sla luna v nebo... No, dovolj o zgodovini... Kar sem se odlocil, je bil trek pocez cez otok Isla de la Sol, po slavni inkovski poti. In sedaj resnicno spostujem inke, saj le ti nio bili samo odlicni gradbeniki, ampak so naredili neverjetne poti. Tudi zahtevne... Pot gre namrec po vrhu otoka (tukaj prebivalci tako severnega kot juznega dela otoka pridno pobirajo "pristojbine" za hojo, ki omogocajo vzdrzevanje poti in WCjev ob poti - aja, WCja ni bilo niti enega). Titicaca je na visini priblizno 3800 m nad morjem, medtem ko so najvisji hribcki na otokih visoki okoli 4100m. Mogoce se slisi mala razlika, ampak visina zmatra... in je bilo kar naporno hoditi tisti 8-9km po zgocem soncu...

Da se pride na otok je najprej treba prestati uro in pol mucenja na barki. Kdo bi si mislil, da bo to tako naporno. Nazaj grede smo se "ustavili" tudi ob plavajocih otokih, ki pa so po moje en cisti "ponaradek". Takoj se je videlo, da imajo leseno osnovo oz. ogrodje, slama pa je polozena samo gor zaradi lepsega. Ja no, po treba iti se na perujsko stran preveriti kako je s tem.

Drugace pa se o Copocabani... Kot sem ze omenil, je to romarsko mesto. In k tamkajsni katedrali nosijo blagoslovit vse zivo... od buso, avtomobilov, pa do zivali in seveda otrok... Definitivno je to biznis, in zupnik hodi naokoli po parkingu in skoraj sprica avtomobile z vodo iz vedra. Nekako tako kot nase Brezje :)

Za konec pa... dobre postrvi imajo v jezeru. Je pa zanimiva barva mesa teh postrvi, je namrec rdeca kot losos... Tko da, zdej ne vem vec natancno kaj sem jedel... :)

Most dangerous road - La Paz - Coroico

2008-12-21T03:00:00.000+01:00

No, sem lani po prevozeni cesti med Lehom in Manalijem ze mislil, da sem se peljal po najbolj nevarni cesti... ah... pa sem se zmotil... sej, je bila nevarna in naporna, ampak (stara) cesta med La Pazom in Coroicom pa vse prekasa...

In toliko sem slisal o spustu s kolesom, da sem to prakticno moral storiti... in sem :) in prezivel :) no, menda par turistov (obstaja italjanski ovinek, francoski ovinek, izraelski ovinek - ponavadi je bil vedno udelezen zraven se kak avto) ni imelo te srece... vsako leto je v prepad padlo kar nekaj vozil, najhujsa nesreca je stela 100 zrtev...

Vglavnem... zacne se na prelazu na visini cirka 4700m , in potem se v naslednji 60-70km spusti vec kot 3000m visine... slisi se noro... prvih nekaj km je spust po asfaltirani cesti, ki ni nic posebnega... ok, ob strani je par 100m prepada, ampak ni panike... bolj moti megla in dez... aja, in mraz, tolk da me je v prste na roki zeblo in sem komaj bremzal...

No, po nekaj policijskih kontrolah (ki niso tam da preverjajo tehnicne sposobnosti avtomobilov, ampak da iscejo narkotike in prepovedane substance) in 30km se cesta usmeri strmo navzdol... asfalta konec, samo se makadam... pred kratkim so namrec odprli novo cesto (ki jo je sofinancirala tudi EU), ki naj bi to pot naredila bolj varno... je pa daljsa in se vedno spektakularna... no, mi smo sli po stari cesti, estrada de la muerte... :))

Vglavnem... naslednjih 30km je bila cesta SPEKTAKULARNA... nekaj casa s 1000m prepadom... mestoma dobra, mestoma ozka (in prepadna), cez njo tecejo potocki, reke, padajo slapovi... vglavnem... uzitek :)) Zal smo v dezevni dobi, tako da nas je kar nekaj casa pral dez, scasoma so se pa odprli nori pogledi... Aja, promet pa... dol gre po zunanji strani (torej levi), gor pa po notranji... razlog? Da lahko voznik bolj varno zapelje k robu prepada in ne pade vanj...

Zdej... vse to se slisi super... jest sem pa osebno ostal malo "prazen" in nekako mi adrenalin ni pognal po zilah... Zakaj? Ker je tura tudi za zacetnike in so nekatere gospe vozile kot jajcih (in jih je bilo treba vsak ovink cakat), ustavljali smo se na nekaj metrov... potem, glavne atrakcije... prometa in srecevanja tovornjakov na najbolj ozkih predelih ni vec... tak da... bilo je lepo, bi pa raje tole naredil v zakljuceni druzbi, z mogoce enim, najvec dvema postankoma... tako se je pa vse skupaj razvleklo na 5-6 ur... stalno te ob cesti opozarjajo krizi, da ne delaj neumnosti, pa vendar... malo zanimivo bi ze lahko bilo, pa se vodic je bil po pravici povedano slab, saj ni povedal nic pametnega kje in kaj se kaj zgodilo (vec sem izvedel od drugih vodicev, ki so imeli svoje skupine na cesti).

Za konec pa pika na i... in tukaj sem resnicno uzival... ena decva iz nase skupine pa ne, ker je stalno mizala (celi 2 uri). Zakaj? Nazaj smo sli po taisti cesti smrti... in moram recti, da sem jo sele iz avta zacel mnogo bolj spostovati, saj se pri voznji navzdol nisem imel casa ozirati po prepadih navzdol... in kako blizu to prepada pelje... eh...

... pot iz Sucreja do La Paza...

2008-12-18T21:23:00.002+01:00

Sucre fajn... hrana odlicna... sokovi odlicni... letalisce hmmm... nisem vedel ali je to bus postaja ali kaj drugega... smesno... menda je to eno najbolj nevarnih letalisc na svetu... se dobro, da smo odletali in ne pristajali...

celotni proces je smesen... najboljsi rentenski pregled :) Odpres torbo, nekdo malo pogleda notri, in to je to... ufa... to so pa res standardi... in zaradi 1,5 litra vode ne delajo problemov... Vglavnem... kakrsni busi, taka letala...

Zaenkrat samo nekaj fotk iz Sucreja... :)

... par fotk s poti med San Pedrom in Uyunijem...

2008-12-18T15:15:00.004+01:00

Bilo je lepo, bilo je fajn, in da ne izgubljam besed samo nekaj fotk... mimogrede, na prvi sliki je vulkan na katerega sem se povzpel... vem, da ne zgleda wau, je pa vseeno visooook...

Bolivija - prvi vtis...

2008-12-17T22:14:00.005+01:00

Na hitro... mogoce vec, ko dobim boljso vezo... mogoce tudi kaka fotka vec, vendar sele iz La Paza. Jutri me caka let tja, tko da upam, da bo vreme lepo zaradi (menda) lepega razgleda.

Bolivija je... svet stran od Cila... kot da bi iz razvitega sveta stopil v tretji svet... ogromno cest makadamskih (se zdej me boli hrbet po vec urni voznji iz Uyunija), internet pocasen, ze na prvi pogled manj razvito, ljudje obleceni v narodne nose... Nekatera mesta so taka, da si niti ne moras zamisljati, da ljudje tam zivijo, druga prekrasna... hkrati pa je zato Bolivija zanimiva in lepa, ce niti ne omenim pokrajine v Andih...

Prve tri dni sem prezivel v 4WD Toyoti Landruiser, na poti od Cilenske meje do mesta Uyuni. Pokrajina fenomenalna, in pravzaprav je bilo toliko stvari, da jih je tezko opisati. Od jezer polnih flamingov, vicun (andskih srn), pogledov na vulkane (aktivne in neaktivne), visokogorske puscave, do puscave iz soli (salarja) pri Uyuniju... Poleg sonca in vulkanov so nas spremljale crede lam, ki so prav hecne zivali... Zanimivo nerodne :) Vse je zacinil se nas voznik, ki je stalno prepreval en in isti CD (ocitno je nesrecno zaljubljen), sele tretji dan je nekje nasel en CD z reagee muziko v spanscini in anglescini... Ma, bilo je fajn... Tudi v skupini smo se odlicno ujeli (2x francoza, 2x poljaka s katerima sem sel ze ze na vulkan dan poprej). Bili smo stalno na visini preko 4000m (mislim, da najvec na okoli 4900m) in in mi trije ki smo plezali en dan prej smo se odlicno pocutili... druge je pa matrala visina, se posebno na neaklimatizirane sopotnike v drugem dzipu... Tako, da je moja potujoca lekarna delovala :) Spanje je bilo zanimivo in zelo mrzlo. Niti zamisliti si ne morem spanja v tistem zatociscu ob Laguniu Coloradi sredi zime, ko temperature padejo tudi 15 ali 20C pod niclo... Drugo noc je bilo prav zabavno spati v hotelcku iz soli... (dobesedno).

Mesto Uyuni sem izkoristil za pocitek, potem pa se vceraj premaknil direktno kar v Sucre. Izpustil sem mesto Potosi (kjer je bil najvecjih rudnikov srebra na svetu, in ki si ga lahko ogledas). Po eni strani skoda, saj je mesto bilo vcasih bogato in je menda ohranilo svoje atribute, po drugi strani pa je resnicno depresivno, poleg tega rudarji se vedno delajo v podobnih razmerah kot so pred 100 leti... (in umirajo hitro).

Po 10 urah voznje na chicken busih (ja, ko kupis karto za en bus, ni nujno da bo potem tisti bus - pac to je Bolivija) sem trenutno v mestu Sucre, nekdanjem glavnem mestu, kjer je bila podpisana neodvisnost Bolivije (ja, Bolivija se imenuje po Bolivarju, ki je zelel zdruziti latinsko ameriko - in taisti Bolivar je bil doma iz Venezuele. Je imel pa general Sucre eno izmed glavnih vlog pri osvobajanju teh krajev)... Mesto je klasicno lepo kolonialno mesto, z nekim posebnim sarmom... Hkrati ima super male hotelcke, restavracije, ter neverjetno dobre sokove (in super razgled z enega izmed hribckov, kjer delajo fenomenalni sok iz maracuje. Toplo priporocam) . In prav hecno je gledati Sucre tako kicasto bozicno okrasen in en kup bozicnih dreves (ja, tudi v Calami, San Pedru, Uyuniju so imeli bogato okrasena drevesca)

Po soncu, ki me je spremljalo v prvem delu poti sem prvic dozivel tudi dez... ma kaki dez, je prav treskalo in grmelo. In to v Potosiju, pa danes na kratko se v Sucreju... se vidi, da sem prisel v dezevno dobo...

Oki... zaenkrat je to to... hasta luego...

... in pocivajmo v Cilu se en dan...

2008-12-12T22:29:00.002+01:00

Pravzaprav nimam kaj veliko za povedati... za se en dan sem obtical v San Pedro de Atacama... in ker je bilo vroce, soncno in nasploh nobenega bazena v blizini sem sel na eno "aklimatizacijsko" turo...

No, aklimatizacijska tura je bila izlet na bliznji vulkan, na visino cirka 5600m nad morjem. Ocitno sem se v zadnjih dneh kar solidno aklimatiziral, tako da mi danes ni bilo problema hoditi 3 ure in tistih 600 in nekaj visinskih metrov (ja, z avtom se je pripeljalo na skoraj 5000m, saj gor vodi stara rudarska pot - ah, so bili norci ti rudarji. Zdej pa to pot vec ali manj uporabljajo astronomi, saj se v blizini gradi najvecji center za opazovanje zvezd na svetu...). Tokrat je bila dobra druzba, tako da je vzpon hitro minil...

Takole... bilo je hladno. Bilo je vetrovno. Bilo je zabavno. In bilo je fajn... :)

Dovolj o tem. To je moje zadnje oglasanje za xx dni... Jutri grem v Bolivijo cez salar de Uyuni. Potem do Sucreja, kjer me naslednji cetrtek caka letalo v La Paz (ja, raje sem kupil letalsko za 70US$ kot pa da bi se 16-20 ur fijakal po bolivijskih cestah). Kako naprej? Bomo videli...

Gejzirji, jezera in se kaj...

2008-12-11T22:20:00.004+01:00

Ker je Cile se ena izmed tistih dezel, kamor brez avtomobila ne mores, je bilo treba vzeti tour za ogled. Tako sem sel v zadnjih dveh dnevih na dva taka izleta. Gejzirji El Tatio so res zanimivo dozivetje. V polspancu se poberes iz postelje ob 4h zjutraj in zunaj na hladu cakas minibus, da te pobere... Trpljenja se ni konec, saj v cisti temi, voznja na slabi cesti traja dve uri... In zbudis se na temperaturi -10C, na visini 4300m (tukaj cilenci pravijo, da so to najvisji gejzirji, vendar ze ce malo pogledas po LP Bolivija, so tam menda se visje) :))) Sele ko posije sonce se malo otopli, kljub temu pa je kar mrzlo... Najbolj pogumni se pa ob soncem vzhodu sli v bliznji bazen, ogrevan z vodo iz gejzirjev... Nisem bil med njimi, ker se mi res ni dalo slaciti ob svinjsko nizkih temperaturah...

Drugi dan pa se en "turisticni" ogled bliznjega salarja in jezer na altiplanu... Bilo je lepo, moram pa priznati, da nisem bil ne vem kako navdusen. Poleg tega bom veliko podobnih stvari videl tudi na poti v Bolivijo... Ampak vseeno... bilo je kar fajn, koncno sem videl flaminge v naravi, pa Vicune (neke vrste andsko srnjad).

Tako... hasta luego... verjetno tekoce ne bom vec objavljal fotk iz Bolivije, saj se mi je pokvaril citalec kartic... tak da... :))) Sem pa bil tudi len in neodlocen, tako, da sem zamudil petkovo turo za Salar de Uyuni oz. Bolivijo... Torej, grem v soboto... kar pomeni, da bo treba jutri prelenariti se en dan v San Pedru, potem pa malo pohiteti, da izvedem nacrt in pridem nazaj do Santiaga pravocasno...

Jutri bom verjetno iz cistega dolgocasja objavil se en post, upam, da bom do takrat malo bolj naredil nacrte za naprej... :)))

Kolesarjenje na kvadrat - v vrocini

2008-12-11T19:00:00.002+01:00

Takole... tukaj res ni nikdar dolgcajt... Vse kar delas zaznamujejo tri stvari... vrocina, veliko voznje in zgodnje vstajanje...

Kot navdusen kolesar, sem seveda moral sprobati kolo... na termometru je kazalo 36C, ura 3 popoldne in vamos... malo iz San Pedra srecam se tri norce s podobnimi nacrti... in gremo... najprej v Valle de la muerte (Dolina smrti), ki je znana po velikih sipinah, negostoljubnosti in seveda vrocini... Pot gre vseskozi navzgor, nekaj casa se pesek ugreza skoraj do kolen, mi norci pa se vedno naprej... Za nas pa vrh se ni konec, pravzaprav smo sele na zacetku poti :) Treba je iti se v Valle de la luna (Dolino lune), kjer je menda pokrajina podobna lunini, in podobno neprijazna za zivljenje kot v prvi dolini... No... vse bi bilo vredu, ce ne bi bilo do tam 15km... najprej navzdol (in veter je bil tako mocan, da je bilo treba skoz fejst poganjat), potem pa nazaj navzgor... No, in ko smo prisli na razgledno tocko je bilo vse poplacano, saj smo prisli tja ravno ob pravem casu in to z lastnimi mocmi... Se soncni zahod.

Zdej po pravici povedano... soncni zahod kot soncni zahod... in ni nujno, da je najlepsi na drugem

koncu sveta... Je bila pa pokrajina zanimiva, in najlepse je prislo sele po soncnem zahodu... Ko je sonce vrglo se zadnje zarke na bliznje vulkane in jih obarvalo rdece... Se obrazlozitev ene fotke... tam za mano zal ni sneg, ampak... bel pesek... delu doline luna, ki se ji rece amfiteater...

Potem pa se kolesarjenje nazaj v San Pedro, kjer smo bili v temi... na sreco je polna luna, tak da samo imeli umetni svetilnik, ni pa bilo prijetno (bilo je ze posteno hladno)... So pa vse turisticne agencije tole odsvetovale delati na lastno pest :) In sjora, ki mi je posodila kolo je ze grdo gledala, saj je hotela zapreti trgovino petnajst minut prej :)

Pogled v zvezde

2008-12-09T17:08:00.003+01:00

Kaj delati v San Pedro de Atacama prvo noc. Zurati? nah... Spati? ne... Gledati zvezde? itak :)

Puscava je znana po tem, da imam zelo malo dezevnih, oz. nasploh oblacnih dni v letu. Tukaj je tudi razmeroma malo svetlobnega onesnazenja. Zato je idealna za gledanje zvezd, oz. observatorije. In, moje prvo dejanje je bil torej pogled v zvezde. Le te si je mozno pogledati s pomocjo francoskega astronomista, ki se je preselil v ta del Cila, da bi lahko vsako noc zrl v zvezde... Edini problemcek je bil, da se je "izlet" zacel sele ob 0:30 ponoci. Kar pomeni zelo pozno.

Vglavnem, zadeva je ZELO poucna, in skozi teleskope vidis en kup razlicnih zvezd in zvezdnih meglic, zraven pa se vso razlago kako je kaj nastalo in podobno. Da ne omenjam kako se je "sprehajati" po luni s teleskopom... Vglavnem, super poucno, pa se francoz je bil ob treh zjutraj zelo zabavno razpolozen. No, zdej vem, da je ozvezdje Oriona obrnjeno na glavo na nasem delu poloble, ter kako najti se druga ozvezdja... Videli smo se saturn, s svojimi krogi, da niti ne omenjam juznega kriza... wow, zdej se znam orientirati po zvezdah... vsaj na juzni polovici zemlje :)

Imel sem pa tudi sreco. Zaradi polne lune (ki bo 12.12) bodo sedaj za 4 dni prekinili oglede, potem pa v januarju in februarju pridejo oblaki (dezevna doba v boliviji in celotni amazoniji), tako da biznis zaprejo za dva mesta in gredo na pocitnice v Evropo...

Se link do Space Obs.

Vroce v San Pedru de Atacama

2008-12-08T21:38:00.007+01:00

Dovolj velikih mest... dovolj pocivanja... hocem se voziti :)

In voznjo sem dobil... in busi so tukaj taki, da se lahko vsi evropski busi skrijejo. Ker sem sel pot za 24 ur, sem izbral nekoliko drazji salon cama (skupaj je bilo cirka 50US$), ki je bil res udoben. Ceprav, se vedno ni narejen po moji meri, ampak po meri nekoliko manjsih Cilencev. Ampak vredi, ne bodimo pikolovski.

Sel sem v mesto Calama na severu Cila, ki je mesto rudarjev, saj je tukaj v blizini najvecji rudnik bakra na svetu (vsaj tako pravijo). In ta rudnik, Chique je v medijsko pozornost katapultiral Che Guevara, ki ga je na svoji poti obiskal in bil tudi sokiran nad izkoriscanjem ljudi. To naj bi bila tudi prelomnica v njegovi "karieri", ko je postal "socialno" bolj razumevajoc :) No, od takrat se je precej spremenilo, rudnik ni vec v ameriskih rokah, ampak je bil v 70tih nacionaliziran, in od tega rudnika se vedno zelo dobro zivijo okoliska mesta, se posebno Calama. Calama je zanimiva za tistih par ko cakas na povezavo busa. Zal pa sem prisel sem na en zelo neprimeren dan. Torej, 8.12, cerkveni praznik, ko je bilo vse zaprto... Kar tudi pomeni, da nisem mogel iti pogledat tega monstruma od rudnikov... Tko da, zal razen lepe storije nimam nobenih drugih vtisov.
Sem pa ob pohajanju po Calami na glavnem trgu nasel zanimiv lokal. Club Croata. Zunaj hrvaski grb, napis Hrvatski, Croacia... ok, pa gremo tja na kosilo... In bilo je res dobro. Ni bilo pa ne duha ne sluha o hrvaski hrani. Nimam pojma kaj sem jedel, ampak bilo je dobro :) In ko vprasam kelnarja ce kdo govori hrvasko rece da ne, da to je ime lokala ze dolgi cas... Bil je pa zanimiv lokal. Osredni del lokala je bila TV, in vsi gostje s(m)o ob obedu tudi gledali TV :)

Sledila je kratka voznja (2 uri, kratka za cilenske razmere) do San Pedra. Ha, sploh nisem vedel, da je toliko turistov v Cilu :) Vse je bilo odprto, za nas gringote je vsa infrastruktura. Namestil sem se v Hostalu Sonchek (ja, slovensko pribezalisce v Cilu, kjer pa zal te dni ni gospe Mojce) in se odpravil raziskovat... Pravzaprav, tukaj sledim nacelu take it easy, in bom verjetno ostal tukaj vec dni kot prvotno nacrtovane tri. Malo bo treba kolesariti, potem pa se iti na kak izlet... ampak o tem kdaj drugic vec...
Se to... glede na to, da sem sam, budget conscious popotnik (ja, eni bi rekli gorenc) sem si rekel, da grem probat v eno lokalno gostilnico... Nobenega blescega napisa zunaj, samo ene par miz in kuhinja tako, da si lahko videl kaj je gospa pripravljala... Notri ene par domacinov, en sam gringo. Lastnica zelo prijazna, hrana pa vec kot odlicna... njam... eno juhica je bila res perfektna. Pa se brez doplacila sem v spanscini dobil zgodbo o cerkvi v San Pedru, kako je gospa nezadovoljna z novim zupnikom, in da bi ona rada veckrat sla v cerkev... :)) Glede na to, da sem tukaj se nekaj dni, me bo gospa definitivno se videla...

Da pa se ni konec dneva... pa grem zvecer gledat se zvezde... :))) Aja, sem ze omenil, da je tukaj VROOOCE :)))

Buenos dias Chile

2008-12-06T23:53:00.004+01:00

Pa smo tukaj. Na poti spet po 18 mesecih in po priblizno 23 urah premetavanja po letalih in letaliscih. Ampak OK. Adria je bila tocna v Zurichu. In letalisce me je res presenetilo, saj je glavni terminal res kul, tisti "mednarodni" s katerega smo pa mi leteli pa malo manj (zalogo angleskih knjig imajo resnicno slabo)... Svicarji so se izkazali tudi pri letu, tak da je bil let cisto prijeten ob zvrgolenju stevilnih sopotnikov iz Brazilije (ja, do Sao Paola je bilo cisto polno, potem pa se je letalo spraznilo). Je bil pa prav poseben obcutek leteti cez Ande, ki so tukaj (sredi poletja) se seveda precej zasnezeni... Pa ze dolgo casa nisem slisal ploskanja ob pristanku :)

Prvi stik s Santiagom je bil podoben kot tudi v drugih latinskoameriskih mestih. Relativno vroce (ceprav proti Braziliji je tukaj prav mraz), zunaj pa tecnarijo stevilni taksisti. Vglavnem vrvez. Zacuda sem si narocil tudi prevoz iz hostla, vendar... nekdo pac ni pogledal kje ga mora iskati in ni imel pojma kaksen kombi iskati :))) Ker se ne najdemo, grem zato lepo po gorenjsko najcenejso varianto :) bus in metro. In oboje me ze takoj preseneti. Urejeno, cisto, in zelo prijazni ljudje. Ce odstejem taksiste, ki so bili nadlezni pa so ostali zelo prijazni. Sicer je moje znanje spanscine malo omejeno (mam mesanico portugalscine in francoscine s kako redko spansko besedo), se pa ne sekiram, saj mi gre vsako uro bolj. Na info tocki sem se zmenil (ne, niso govorili anglesko), isto na busu, karto sem tudi kupil za na sever...Vredi, to bom v ponedeljek videl kam se bom pripeljal... :)))

Prijazne ljudi sem ze omenil. Druga stvar, ki me je res presenetila pa je dejstvo, da je to zelo mlado mesto. Ne vem, obcutek imam, da je ogromno mladih. Vsaj na ulicah, v sopingu, na metroju... povsod... Vidi se, da je tukaj pomlad in bo kmalu poletje, in to je tudi cas ko vrabcki civkajo...

V Santiagu je tudi precej zelenih povrsin, vsaj ob reki. In to je fajn. Poleg tega nimam obcutka, da bi bili tukaj tako paranoicni (upraviceno ali ne) pred kriminalom kot so v Braziliji ali pa v Limi. Kar je tudi fajn. Nasploh sem se pa moral ene parkrat uscipniti, da sem se sploh zavedel, da sem v juzni ameriki. Brez problema bi bilo lahko to kako vecje mesto v Evropi...

Ok, da ne bom predolgo... Priletel sem v pomlad/poletje, tukaj je bilo cez dan zelo znosno (tko, od prsta enih 25-28C), vreme prekrasno, okolica pa tudi zanimiva... Je sicer malo smoga, tak da vidljivost ni nekaj bas, ampak meni se ne zdi toliko hudo... Danes mi tudi ni ratalo z gondolico naokoli po bliznjih hribih, no, pa imam vsaj cilj konec potovanja...

Plani za naprej. Kolikorkoli je Santiago lep, imam tokrat samo 3 tedne casa, tako da... jutri sibam naprej, pa si ga potem bolj ogledam na koncu potovanja... Naslednjic se bom pa verjetno javil ze iz San Pedro de Atacama, dalec na severu. Karto za bus cama ze imam, tako da mi ni resitve... Ne vem pa, kdaj bom malo pocival... :)

Aja... je pa 4 ure razlike s Slovenijo... kar pa niti ni tako hudo... :))) Jah, svinja sanja kukuruz... Se vidi, da se mi ni prevec dogajalo danes, tak da neumnosti pisem. Res je pa ena zadeva. Zaenkrat mi se ni kliknilo v "travel mode"... Do Bolivije bo ze...

Chile - Bolivia

2008-12-04T23:19:00.002+01:00

Plan: Santiago - Calama - San Pedro - (Bolivia) Salar de Uyuni - Potosi - Sucre - La Paz (& Coroico & Copocabana - Tititaca) - (Chile) Arica - Santiago

LJUBLJANA 05DEC 1820
ZURICH ARRIVAL TIME: 1935
ZURICH 05DEC 2240
SANTIAGO ARRIVAL TIME: 1145 +1

:)

Od Delhija preko Jordanije... do Slovenije...

2007-07-28T05:42:00.001+02:00

Ja, zadnji dan v Delhiju je bil fajn. Najel sem si "avto" za par ur (350 Rs za malo vec kot stiri ure - kar je malo manj kot 1500 SIT) in se potem cel dan vozil okoli. Na kosilu z Markom in Tjaso iz nasega veleposlanistva, potem pa se vecerja s Sameerjem... Vmes pa se malo sedeti v Gurdwari in nakupovati zacimbe....

No, let v proti Jordaniji je bil v zgodnjih jutranjih urah, tako da ni bilo kaj veliko od zuranja in poslavljanja od Delhija. Na letalisce je bilo namrec treba iti ze ob 2:30... ah... kdo se je zmislil te zgodnje jutranje ure. Medtem ko je Delhi povecini se spal, pa je bilo letalisce kot mravljisce...

Jordanija... prvi vtis... ZELO vroce... sicer je vrocina popolnoma drugacna kot v Indiji (kjer je vroce in vlazno), tukaj pa je samo vroce in zelo suho. Mogoce je bilo zato lazje prenasati 40C in vec... Ker je bil let naprej v Evropo sele cez 24 ur. Hitro skozi vse formalnosti, nas pa se hitreje spakirajo v bliznji h0tel (od Royal Jordanian Airways), ki je namenjen transfernim gostom. Pravzaprav bi lahko ostal skozi hotelu (se celo bazen je imel), ampak vseeno, gremo raje na krajsi izlet po Jordaniji. Zal je obisk Petre odpadel, saj je predalec - zato Amman in Mrtvo morje... Nas vodic (oz. voznik) po Ammanu je bil... legendaren... valjda je dober voznik, ampak o vodenju in samem Ammanu pa ne ve prakticno nic. Samo mesto zgleda zelo moderno in urejeno, vsaj za bliznji vzhod :))) Ker so bile temperature okoli 40C se tudi nobenmu ni dalo prevec sprehajati po mestu.

Zato je bila naslednja tocka mrtvo morje, najnizja tocka na svetu (menda 420 metrov pod morjev - kar ironicno, se manj kot en teden nazaj smo bili na locirani vec kot 4 km visje!!!!!). Vseeno se je bilo pa potrebno spustiti po cesti vec kot 1000m , da smo prisli do morja. In ce je bilo v Ammanu vroce, je bilo pa tukaj kot v kotlu, kot v savni :))) Morje je zelo toplo. In ce ga poskusis ni niti pretirano slano - bolj grenko, ker je verjetno zelo alkalno. Plavanje pa... bolj lebdenje kot plavanje. Sej, meni je bilo vsec... Je bil pa en velik problem... ker je bila voda zelo topla in ker je bilo zunaj vroce, se pocutis kot v savni... in svicas...

Aja... domacini so bili bolj pametni... namakat so se prisli ob soncnem zahodu... takrat ko vrocina ze malo popusti... oni ze vedo zakaj :)))

Takole... sedaj se let do Dunaja... par ur voznje s kombijem in bomo doma :(

Monsunski Delhi

2007-07-25T06:09:00.000+02:00

Po razburljivi voznji v Manali sem sedaj ze v Delhiju.

Torej. Manali. Je ena izmed tock kamor se indijski turisti zelo radi zatecejo poleti. Je precej hladneje kot pa v nizini, in efekt monsuna je manjsi. Pravzaprav je veliko za poceti, od raftinga poleti do smucanja pozimi (ja, menda imajo tudi zicnico). No, vecina se jih odpravi na 'spektakularni' izlet na prelaz Rohtang nad Manalijem. Poleti je ta prelaz vec ali manj skozi zavit v meglo, saj monsun prav ob tem gorskem masivu prvic tresci v visoke hribe Himalaje. In kaj dela obicajni indijski turist? Nic posebnega. Sposodi si kozuh (!!?!), gre na vrh prelaza do snow pointa (tam kjer se zacne sneg - sneg je tukaj precej nizje kot v Ladakhu), gre na treking v megli s konji ali yaki... vglavnem, podobno kar delajo ostali turisti... samo meni se zdi malo brezveze vse to delat v eni hudi megli... ampak, kolko ljudi tolko cudi...

Manali ni poln samo indijskih, ampak tudi drugih turistov... Nekateri uzivajo v hladnejsem zraku (in lepih gozdovih), drugih gredo na trekinge, tretji so prisli ali gredo proti Ladaku... en kup jih je pa 'spiritualnih' zadetkov... prevladujejo pa izraelci... no ja...

Ker zmanjkuje casa v Indiji se je bilo treba dokaj hitro premakniti proti Delhiju. Ceprav bi tukaj lahko ostal par dni, saj je klima cisto prijetna (ok, ce prides iz Ladakha zelo vroce in vlazno). Se zadnjic v tibetansko restavracijo (in bilo je dobro hehe), nabavil novo knjigo za na pot in bus... (no, prej smo imeli s tuktukom malo nesreco - nic cudnega, kaj pa tako drvi)... no, bus... Volvo spalnik... ki ni bil Volvo, ampak OK... Sicer so postelje narejene za indijske mere in jest sem nekoliko 'izven', ampak se je dalo kar lepo spati... lepo sem dal iPod na usesa in opazoval pokrajino (knjige zaradi ovinjkaste ceste nisem mogel brati). Fajn obcutek, ko si tako na poti. Je bilo pa zanimivo enkrat sredi noci, ko se bus na hitro ustavi in se potem slisi GONG... pogledas ves skrokan skozi okno, in so vsi, od voznika, kondukterja do pomocnikov skocili ven in eno zmolili ob templju... super, bo se krishna z nami... :))

Da prihajamo v monsun smo ugotovili na prvem WC postanku... lilo kot iz skafa. Delhi je bil sicer zjutraj oblacen, potem pa... zopet se je ulilo... Noro, zacne se kot kapljica, konca pa s poplavo... in po 10 minutah naliva cesta rata 'potocek' in potem 'reka'. In ko hoces iti kam, res nimas druge izbire kot da zabredes v to zlobudro... bljak... da ne govorim potem ko neha dez padati ostane na tleh blato in vsa svinjarija... :)) Sej, je pa to dobro za eno stvar. Vsaj prinese ohladitev in zgleda kot da veliko indijcev dez niti ne moti. Ce njih ne, potem tudi mene ne bo :)))

Cas je bil potem za klasicne destinacije... najprej Connaught place (browsanje za vsem mogocim kicem), potem Dilli Haat (spominki) in na koncu kaos Paharganja... ki je bil zvecer ena sama mesanica blata, turistov in krav... :)))) Danes pa je v nacrtu zelo lahek dan... verjetno en 'giro' okoli Connaught place (to je pravzaprav center New Delhija - vsaj angleskega dela), potem pa malo sedeti v Bangla Sahib Gurdwaro... in potem mogoce se kaksna pijaca z ljudmi, ki jih poznam v Delhiju...

Uf... to bo naporen in vroc dan... sicer pa... ura je 10 in rabim zajtrk... pravzaprav uzivam v Delhiju... :) ce vsaj ne bi ze malo zmanjkovalo rupij...

Cesta Leh-Manali...

2007-07-23T07:32:00.000+02:00

Vstajanje zjutraj je bilo zgodnje... Se zadnja noc v sotoru in spanje pri jezeru Tso Kar in bujenje s cajem ob 3:30... Potem pa na slavno cesto Leh-Manali... del poti smo seveda prehodili, tako da smo ze opravili vec kot 10km in nam ni bilo treba preko drugega najvisjega cestnega prelaza v Indiji (menda na svetu) Tanglang La (5325 m).

Zato se je pa v temi zacela nora voznja... kljub temu da je to glavna cesta je izgledalo kot da je ni... Vglavnem, ta cesta je legendarna... Odprta pa je samo med julijem in zacetkom oktobra, drugace je prevec snega na prelazih... Prvi je bil 'dvojni' prelaz Lachulung La (5059 m), potem spust v dolino po noro prepadnih cestah, potem nazaj v osrcje himalaje na Baralacha La (4892 m) in na koncu se gorski cilj pred Manalijem Rohtang La (3978 m), ki je bil zavit v meglo... Vsak izmed prelazov je nekaj posebnega, in serpentin,da pri 100 nehas steti... Neverjetna pokrajina, ki se zelo spremeni, ko se peljes iz Ladakha proti drzavi Himachal Pradesh... ko gres iz tibetanskih planjav v osrcje Himalaje... noro...

Obicajno se pot naredi v dveh dneh, mi smo jo pa prevozili v 14 urah in pol... predvsem na racun tega, da nam ni bilo treba na en prelaz... Da ne govorim o tem, da se ti skoraj pred nosom podre most... NORO!! Ena najlepsih in najbolj razglednih cest... in najslabsih... vredno truda!!! :))

Zdejle sem ze v Manaliju in prav cudno je spet dihati zrak poln kisika na visini 2000m... In spet smo v monsunski Indiji... :)

Treking uspesno koncan

2007-07-22T18:37:00.001+02:00

11 noci v sotoru, 10 dni hoje, skoraj 100 prehojenih km, najvisja tocka prelaz Gongmaru La (5250mnv), temperaturni ekstremi (med 25C podnevi do 5C ponoci), zgoce sonce, dez in nalivi, tablica pojedenih lekadolov...

To je samo nekaj statistike... Treking je za mano. Bilo je tezje kot sem pricakoval. Preprosto zato, ker pred odhodom na treking nisem razmisljal v kaj se spuscam. Nisem bil ne fizicno pripravljen, se manj pa psihicno...

Bilo je fizicno naporno. Najbolj me je zmatrala visina. Predvsem druga in tretja noc sta bili naporni. In potem vzpon na 5250m visoki Gongmaru La. Na vrhsem se komaj priplazil, a kaj ko je bilo potem do naslednjega tabora potrebno prehoditi se kar nekaj km in se spustiti cirka visinskih metrov. Sicer pa, z vsakim dnem sem se potem bolje pocutil. Tako da bi lahko zadnje dneve se kar hodil naprej. Ja, lahko... Problem je tudi v tem, da je bil trek psihicno naporen. Vsak dan ena in ista rutina. Vse skupaj je bilo kljub super in zanimivi pokrajini skrajno monotono... Pac meni ni bila motivacija pivo zvecer na skrajno neprimernih in odrocnih mestih...

Poleg vsega tega je Ladak dezela ekstremov. Cez dan je zgalo sonce, in v Ladaku (ter Zanskarskih gorah) skoraj ni drevesa kamor bi se lahko skril. Ponoci je pritisnil mraz in vcasih je bilo se v topli spalki premrzlo... Vreme se je znalo hitro spremeniti, in en trenutek ti je bilo vroce, drugi trenutek pa si premocen in premrazen hodil naprej proti taboru... Yep, ni bilo enostavno. Samo kaj, ce bi bilo vse lepo in vse postlano z rozicami potem to tudi ne bi bilo izziv... mar ne?

Po drugi strani pa... pokrajina je bila fenomenalna. Barve neverjetne, nebo modro kot se nikoli ne, zvezde so se posebno zarele ponoci, 6-tisocaki pa so se blescali v soncu oddeti v sneg. Pravi uzitek je bil hoditi od doline do doline (preko nekaj zelo visokih prelazov) in opazovati kako se spreminja pokrajina - od tipicne Ladaske oz. Zanskarskih gora - do skoraj tibetanske... Noro... Zivali ni ogromno, pa vseeno... ogromne crede modrih ovac (nimam pojma zakaj so imenovane modre), divjih oslov, orlov, skalnih golobov pa do radovednih svizcev... Zanimivo...

Vseeno pa... sem komaj cakal, da se je trek koncal. Dovolj sem imel spanja v sotoru. Hotel sem odklop in dobil sem odklop. Prebral sem dve knjigi, pa lahko bi se... verjetno :) Bi ponovil ta trek? Bi... ampak ne danes, enkrat v prihodnost... v mogoce nekoliko drugacnih okoliscinah in drugacni druzbi (vseeno, trek je bil odlicno organiziran in vse je laufalo tako kot je moralo - kampi na fenomenalnih mestih in zelo dobra hrana). Tokrat meni nekaj ni kliknilo v glavi in mogoce zato nisem uzival tako kot bi lahko in mi je bil trek tudi psihicno kar naporen. Mogoce se mi zato tudi ni dalo toliko fotkati... ne vem. V vsakem primeru pa... odlicna in nepozabna izkusnja.

ps: na fotki sem na prelazu Gongmaru La, ko mi je glava naravnost razbijala... v ozadju sestisocak Kangjaze... :)

Treking je pa sel takole... :)

1. dan
Po ogledu nekaj samostanov in med drugim tudi Hemisa (kjer naj bi hranili zapise kristusovega "potovanja" v Indijo) in zanimivega Gotsanga (ki leži na 4000m in kamor gredo samo najboljši menihi, ki prakticirajo posebna znanja - najprej jih dajo za 3 leta, 3 mesece, 3 dni in 3 ure v "samico", z njihovimi jogi znanji pa znajo med drugim tudi posušiti mokre rjuhe z golimi telesi - ze vidim, kje bi lahko to bilo lahko to uporabno) smo prišli v vasico Šah Sumdo (3.500m), kjer smo se utaborili. Smo v narodnem parku Hemis, kjer znanstveniki že vrsto let preučujejo življenske navade snežnih leopardov.

2. dan
Prva etapa je bila kratka. Hodili smo po slikoviti dolini mimo še zadnjih hiš na naši poti. Po približno treh urah hoje smo se utaborili pri kraju Čuskjurmo (4.200m). Aklimatizacijski pohod na 4.500m... Tukaj me je prvic malo zvilo ;)

3. dan
Še vedno smo sledili dolini, ki se zoži v kanjon z ostenji nenavadnih oblik in divjih barv. Na koncu etape se dolina odpre in pred seboj smo zagledali cilj naslednjega dne – prelaz Gongmaru. Tabor se imenuje Larsa (4.750m), na uravnavi pod prelazom. Ponoči je bilo zelo hladno in deževno, in po pravici povedano sem tukaj ponoči čutil višino. Hoje je bilo za 4-5 ur.

4. dan
Vzpon na sedlo Gongmaru la (5.250m) je bil kratek, a počasen, saj razredčeni zrak ni dopuščal hitenja. Vlekel sem se kot polž in s težavami prišel na vrh. S sedla se odpre širen razgled - na severu nešteti vrhovi Karakoruma, na jugu pa vlada 6.500 metrov visoki Kang Jaze s svojimi seraki. Zložen spust nas je pripeljal na travnike Nimalinga, kamor domačini priženejo svoje črede, vključno z velikimi ljubitelji višin in mrazu - jaki. Po prečkanju sedla čaj v zasilni restavraciji v taboru Nimalinga. Preko razglednega travnatega hrbta smo se spustili v dolino reke Marke. Na njenem začetku je bil naš tabor Tahungce (4.150m). Obiskat nas je prišla tudi večja čreda modrih ovac, ki je imela svoj šov v ostenju na taborom... Malo manj kot 7 ur hoje.

5. dan
Začeli smo navzdol po dolini reke Marke, kjer poteka eden najbolj priljubljenih ladaških trekov. Skupinam, ki potujejo ob Marki gor in dol, smo se na višini 4.100m umaknili v samotno dolino, kjer je malo verjetnosti, da koga srečamo. Značilnost hoje so številna prečenja rečice Langtang in včasih so bila prečkanja prav "zanimiva"... beri skoraj mokra, saj je bilo v dežju treba skakati po spolzkih kamnih :) Žal je kmalu po odcepu iz glavne poti začelo deževati in nas je pralo do tabora. Na srečo je na koncu dneva posijal sonček, ko je bil užitek opazovati svizce na bližnjem pobočju. Tabor Jakrupal (4.700m, 6 ur).

6. dan
Po uri hoje smo zapustili dolino Langtang in se po stranski dolini povzpneli na prelaz Zalung Karpo La (5.100m). Spet smo bili na več kot 5000 metrov visoko prav v osrčju Zanskarskih gora. Tokrat sem vzpon opravil z odliko, očitno sem se aklimatiziral. In to še tako, da sem za sprehod šel še na en bližnji vrh, oz. sedlo, kjer mi je na števcu kazalo 5400m :) Prelaz je obenem tudi razpotje, od tu je mogoče sestopiti proti Zanskarju, mi pa smo nadaljujevali pot v dolino reke Sore. Tabor Tsokra (4.372m, 6h).

7. dan
Pred nami je bil zelo slikovit dan. Mimo zimskih bivališč nomadov Kharnaka pod ruševinami utrdbe (Khar) na nedostopni vzpetini, po kateri je območje dobilo ime, smo vstopili v kanjon med ostenji, ki še najbolj spominjajo na Dolomite. V soteski je sotočje rečic Sora in Khurna, kmalu za njim pa smo se utaborili. Noč je bila brez oblačka in videti je bilo vse zvezde v našem osončju... Naš tabor se imenuje Čangmačan (4.300m, 4h)

8. dan
Po kanjonu nas je čakala bolj prostrana pokrajina, ki napoveduje bolj planotast svet. Smo bili na meji med Himalajo in tibetansko planoto. Ustavili smo se pri osrednjem svetišču nomadov Kharnaka, posvečenem njihovemu osrednjemu božanstvu Kala Buskjom. Po treh urah hoje smo se utaborili ob zimski naselbini Dat, ob fenomenalni pokrajini. Zvečer spet opazovanje sončnega zahoda skupaj s svizci (4.650m).

9. dan
Območje za Datom se imenuje Ramertang in je prava tibetanska ravnina. Tu se že začenja območje visoke tibetanske planote. Ramertang je tudi prebivališče kjangov ali divjih oslov, avtohtone živalske vrste tibetanske planote in seveda smo jih na daleč tudi videli (en se je drl in se tudi malo približal). Budistična tradicija prepoveduje ubijanje, zato kjangi niso posebej plašni. Ravnina je bila ubijajoča v pripekajočem soncu, tempo po ravnini še hujši, no vzpon na Jar la (4.950m) je bil kratek, razgledi pa, kot vedno na prelazih, obširni. No, po dolgem času spet en prelaz, kjer v bližini vidiš cesto. Pred nami so bile široke doline in obli hrbti visoke planote, za nami pa še zadnji pogled na ostre vrhove Zanskarskih gora. Tabor Lungmoče (4.635m, 6h).

10. dan
Začeli smo se spuščati proti reki Zari. Dokaj neatraktiven dan brez večjih vzponov. Bolj bežanje pred dežjem :) No, enkrat so gostoljublje s čajem ponudili nepalski delavci v bližnji zimski nomadski naselbini, drugič pa... huda ura... Tabor Zara, 5h.

11. dan
S terenskim vozilom smo se odpeljali proti cesti Manali - Leh, ki tu prečka obširno visoko planoto Mare. To je, poleg ceste proti Kašmirju, edina kopna povezava Ladaka s svetom. Obiskali smo poletni nomadski tabor, in potem z glavne ceste kmalu zavili proti nomadskemu območju Samad Rokčen v okolici slanega jezera Tso Kar. Smo v pravi visokogorski puščavi in utaborili smo senedaleč od jezera, ob edini tekoči vodi daleč naokoli. Vse lepo in prav, samo jezera je videti bolj malo... Tabor Pangunagu.

12. dan
Zgodnji odhod in celodnevna vožnja po slikoviti cesti preko več prelazov do Manalija. Naporna vožnja do Manalija je trajala od zgodnjega jutra do poznega večera. Nagrada za napore je razsežna nenaseljena gorska pokrajina, prečkanje pogorij, ki nas locijo od ravnin Indije, nenehne spremembe pokrajine - iz visokogorske puščave preko prepadnih gorovij mimo zasneženih vrhov do bujnega zelenja himalajskega predgorja. Meni osebno izredno zanimiv dan in pika na i potovanju :)

V iskanju bude... in v cakanju na treking

2007-07-10T18:47:00.000+02:00

Danes je bil v nacrtu izlet po dolini Inda navzdol... proti Kargilu in Srinagarju. Glavni cilj je bil izlet do samostana Alchi. To je edini preostali samostan iz časov druge širitve budizma v 11.stoletju. In zakaj je ravno ta samostan prezivel? Enostavno... je v eni dolini, ob neprehodnem kanjonu Inda, dalec od trgovskih poti... tako, da so ocitno vsi osvajalci pozabili nanj... Na zunaj ni nekaj posebnega, je pa notranjost zanimiva. Imas sicer obcutek, da menihi samo pobirajo denar, ker pravzprav ne vedo nic pametnega o zgodovini ali o samih detajlih samostana... no, naj jim bo, tukaj sedijo ze skoraj 10 stoletij in se rahlo dolgocasijo :)

Samostan je oddaljen cirka 50km stran od Leha. Seveda v teh razmerah to ne pomeni pol urice voznje, se posebno ce je potovalna hitrost med 20 in 30km na uro... Cesta je ponekod izjemno speljana (npr. nad sotocjem rek Ind in Zanskar), drugje je siroka dvopasovnica, ki potem preide v luknjasto makadamsko cesto... no, zanimivo... in rahlo prasno in utrujajoce... se dobro, da gremo pes proti Manaliju, saj bi bilo dva dni na taki cesti zelo naporno. Potem pa se... tovornjaki, pa turisti na enfildih (legendarni indijski motorji) in mera je popolna...

Za konec postanka v Lehu pa se... tukaj bi (kot vedno heheeh) lahko ostal se par dni... neturistnicni del mesta in market sta zanimiva, hrana dobra (in imas na izbiro poleg indijske tudi tibetansko in kasmirsko - da izraelske in italijanske niti ne omenjam). Pogledi kot vedno fantasticni. Glede visinske bolezni moram potrkat na les, ker me trenutno nic ne matra, tako da tudi fajn... ziveti na 3500m je kar fajn :)

No, jutri pa na treking... aklimatizirani vec ali manj smo... glavne stvari so nabavljene, hrana bo vegetarijanska, za nas 8 pa bo skrbelo se vsaj enkrat toliko oseb in 15 konjev... ha... no, ni ravno self sustainable, pa vseeno... bomo jutri videli za nadaljnih 7 dni zadnje naselje... :) seveda interneta ne bo vec... mobitel pa itak ze nima signala odkar smo pristali (menda je ena vojaska fora). Aja... fotk ni sploh, saj nisem se nasel racunalnika, kjer bi lahko pomanjsal fotke... poleg tega, pa bi verjetno takoj zafilal linije celotnemu Lehu, ker tukaj dela vse RESNICNO posasi... no, sej smo res bogu za hrbtom...

Novo jutro, nov dan... in prekrasno vreme v Lehu

2007-07-09T18:31:00.000+02:00

Tako. Vcerajsni dan je bil kar malo zalosten. Oblacno, dezevno, mrzlo. Danes popolno nasprotje. Sej po eni strani je bilo prav, treba se je bilo aklimatizirati na visino. In prvi dan je najboljse pocivanje in spanje!!! :))

No, danasnji dan je pa druga zgodba. Modro nebo, soncek... vidijo se vsi sosednji hribi. Noro, sesttisocaki so na dosegu roke!!! Zato, danes je bilo treba narediti par lahkih vzponov. Prvi je bil vzpon do bliznje Shanti Stupe. Stupa sicer ni nekaj zgodovinskega (zgradili so jo japonci leta 89, kot 'verigo mirovnih pagod' po celem svetu, je pa od tam lep razgled... in kar oster vzpon :)

Popoldne pa se vzpon do Palace Leh, ki lezi tocno nad Lehom. Pravzparav je to miniaturna verzija palace v Lhasi, bila pa je zgrajena enkrat v sredini 16 stoletja. Pravzprav sedaj nihce ven ne zivi notri, ker je kar v slabem stanju, kraljeva druzina pa zivi v palaci v nekaj kilometrov oddaljenem Stoku. Sicer pa, ne pravijo zaman Ladaku mali Tibet...

Kar je bilo pa bolj zanimivo (in kot aklimatizacija se malo visje) pa je bil bil vzpon na bliznjo Tsemo Gompe. Prekrasni pogledi na vse strani (pravzprav je to utrdba in tempelj cirka 200 visinskih metrov nad Lehom) in se posebno na juzno stran... proti Zanskarskem gorovju...

Vglavnem... danes nic pretresljivega razen prekrasnih razgledov na vse strani... jutri pa po samostanih v dolini Inda... mogoce me pa kje se vzamejo za njihovega :)))

Aklimatizacija v Lehu

2007-07-08T18:25:00.000+02:00

Se eno zgodnje vstajanje... ob 2:45 :) Letalo v Leh je ob 5:20, do takrat je pa treba priti do letalisca, se cekirati in podobno... Tale domestic terminal v Delhiju je ena prava avtobusna postaja... in rules are ment to be broken :) Npr. pise, da se ne sme jemati tekocin... ok, pa je nisem dal v mali rukzak, jo bom nesel v roki in kar bo bo... in noben ni nic rekel... Da ne govorim, da ti s kredo (!!?!) ob cekiranju s kredo napisejo na rukzak kam ga je treba poslati :) In da moras eno uro pred letom iti ven iz terminala identificirat tvoj rukzak :) Zabavno... no, vsaj ves da bo prtljaga prisla s tabo...

Let v Leh je bil kratek... mogoce uro in pol... zal se je nekaj zgodilo kar nisem hotel... oblaki... nebo se je zaprlo... tako zal ni bilo nic od fantasticnih pogledov,ko smo leteli cez Himalajo... Pristanek je bil... tudi zanimiv... ene par ostrih ovinkov in ze smo v dolini Inda... ja.. morjo obvladat, okoli Leha so vrhovi visoki grebeni visoki vsaj 5000 metrov.

Zal nas je slabo vreme kar spremljalo... ko smo pristajali, so se se videli sesttisocaki naokoli, kaksno uro po pristanku pa se je ulilo... eh, ne bi verjel, ce ne bi pristali v puscavi... ja, v Ladaku ni dreves, razen tam kjer zemljo namakajo... Ocitno deluje tole globalno segrevanje tudi tukaj in prinasa padavine, ki jih obicajno nikdar ni bilo... Aja, je pa ena velika razlika z Delhijem. In to ni visina... je temperatura... in cez dan ni sla nad 19C, tako da je bilo kar prijetno... Ok, tudi ni bilo sonca, pa vendar... Dejansko pa mesto resnicno zivi samo od junija do septembra vsako leto, saj je drugace nemogoce razen z letalom priti sem. (na katero koli stran gres, bodisi proti Srinagarju, bodisi proti Manaliju, imas cestne prelaze nad 5000 metrov, ki so zelo hitro zasnezeni). Ja, poletja so tukaj zelo kratka...

Danes je dal aklimatizacije in tezkega pocivanja (beri spanja), zato tudi nisem kaj prevec hodil po okoliskih templjih (ki so vsi par sto visinskih metrov nad mestom). Turistov je kar veliko za tako odrocno mesto. Se vidi, da je to izhodisce za trekinge in vzpone nad bliznje sesttisocake (ja, tudi dva sedemtisocaka sta dokaj blizu, ceprav geografsko lezita ze v Kasmirju). Dobis pa tukaj skoraj vse kar isces... od alpinisticne opreme (ceprav, razne budne Mammut in North Pole so mi sumljivo 'kitajskega izvora', do spominkov iz Tibeta... Ljudje so tukaj seveda popolnoma drugacni kot pa Indijci, in imajo vec skupnega s Tibetanci kot pa z Indijci... poleg tega je tukaj tudi ogromno beguncev iz Tibeta...

Se to... vceraj sem preventivno vzel Diamox, torej tableto, ki naj bi nekoliko blazila ucinke visinske bolezni (pac, pristajamo na 3500 metrih). Ma, ne vem... ocitno deluje... ker se pocutim odlicno, samo problem je, ker je to zdravilo diuretik, tako da je treba vsako uro na WC... mislim, da ga ne bom dolgo jemal :)))

No, da ne bom vec bluzil naprej. Itak nimam kej pametnega za napisat. In predno spet zmanjka elektrike :) Pa se fotk nisem mogel uploadati... GSM pa itak ne dela in ni signala.. maila tudi nisem nic bral tako da... mam malo odklopa od zunanjega sveta... :)))) Itak bom pa sedaj v Lehu se tri noci, tako da...

Delhi aka Welcome to the jungle

2007-07-07T18:02:00.000+02:00

Da nadaljujem tam kjer sem zadnjic koncal... Spal sem bolj malo, in ze je bilo treba zjutraj vstati... Voznja na letalisce nic posebnega, pravzaprav kar je bilo najbolj razburljivo, je bilo iskanje knjige za branje trekingu... Imel sem fiksno idejo kaj bi bral (ker sem seveda knjigo, ki sem si jo pripravil doma, doma tudi pozabil) knjigarna na letaliscu zalozena samo s sundom...Torej, na koncu je pristal v moji torbi roman o obsesiji 'The Zahir' od Paola Coelhota in potem se eno knjigo z naslovom 'The seven year icth'. Kaj pa vem, nekako blizu mi je tole... Sicer pa, ocitno sem bil res obupan, da sedaj govorim o knjigah :)

No, let v Amman... Hrana dobra, stevarda bi pa enkrat brcnil v rit zaradi prijaznosti. Zal sta oba leta nekoliko kratka in komaj zaspis te ze zbudijo zaradi pristanka. Tako je tudi drugi let iz Ammana v Delhi trajal samo 5 ur. In potem pilot naznani... dragi potniki, pristajamo na letaliscu Indira Gandhi, trenutna temperatura je 32C. Caki mal, ura je 5:30 v zjutraj in 32C??????

Yep, Delhi... hot and humid... welcome to the jungle... Pristali smo na zelo poseben dan... 777... menda je v Indiji norija! Porok na ta zelo simbolicen dan, torej 7 julij, 07... In ze voznja do Karol Bagha. Indija spet taka kot se jo spomnim izpred leta in pol... rikse levo in desno, obcasno kaksna krava... isto... samo malo bolj toplo :)

In potem kosilo... njam... nekaj kar sem cakal ze kar precej casa... Paneer tikka masala... ok, zdej sem imel v dveh dneh ze kar overdose indijske hrane :) Se dobro, da sem si na letaliscu v Evropi privoscil eno ornk pizzo...

Popoldne pa malo po Delhiju... se enkrat v Jamo Masjid (takrat ko sem zadnjic bil sem bil precej slabe volje zaradi fotoaparata), potem pa se v Rdeco palaco (Red fort). Po pravici povedano, je tista v Agri precej lepsa. Vsaj lepse poglede ima. Vglavnem nic zelo razburljivega. Ko bom spet v Delhiju bom imel se dva dni casa za taksne in drugacne zadeve, ogledovanje in pohajanje...

Before departure...

2007-07-05T23:45:00.000+02:00

So... in 5 hours I have to wake up :( Packing took much longer than expected...

2 hours ago i still had a huge mess on my floor... So, for the next time I have to remember... I have to START packing earlier, not late in the evening before departure...

I just wonder what have I forgotten... hopefully nothing important...

Anyway, in 24 hours i'll be veeery close to Delhi... oh, well... another day sleeping around airports... :)))

So, next time... hopefully from Delhi or Leh... :))

... and next destination is... Ladakh / India

2007-07-03T21:40:00.001+02:00

So, two more days. And I'll be off again. After long six months again on the road. This time to northern part of India, to a mystery land called Ladakh.

Ladakh is a special place. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya in the south and the Karakoram in the north it liest athwart two other, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar range.

Because of the Great Himalaya barrier in the south Ladakh is sheltered from the rain-bearing clouds of the Indian monsoon and is today a high-altitude desert.

So, whats the plan. This time trip will be a bit more strenuous. Goal is to a 1o-11 days trekking. At the beginning i will fly to Delhi and then on to Leh at 3500m above see level. And then back on the ground to Delhi, crossing the Zanskar and the Great Himalayan range.

After a few days of acclimatisation to the high altitude trekking will begin. Before getting back to a road, we will cross some high passes, with Gongmaru la (5.100m) and Zalung Karpo La (5.050m) right in the heart of the Zanskar range mountains from the village of Sumda towards the valley of the river Tsarap.

It should be interesting. It should be difficult. And i will probably be able to clear my head :)

Walking on Karavanke mountain range

2007-07-01T22:27:00.000+02:00

Before going to a next trip i got a small backup camera. So, gotta test it on altitude whether it works. Photos taken on Karavanke range, going up Trupejevo poldne (1931m) and on the top of Dovska baba (1891m)...

Basically, both hills are not very high. And ascent is not tecnically difficult. But it is a nice walk, just a training before my trekking during the next holliday.

Thailand

2007-06-19T19:33:00.000+02:00

Thailand. My first association of Thailand is an old, small, bald, sleazy guy with a young girl. And only then beaches and paradise on earth. Unfortunately, Thailand is still that, a magnet for sleazy guys. And fortunately much much more in a positive way…

When you step over the border from Cambodia you are hit with a shock. From a country where development is forgotten, to the country who looks like the most developed western countries. Beach is nice, overrun with expensive speedboats and backpackers who are looking for some fun and easy sex.

Still, Thailand is more. Bangkok really has two sides. A developed one, with huge skyscrapers and the newest metro, and the one less developed, more traditional. It is still ruled by the king, and one can observe that everywhere. Though the most intriguing question is, how old is the king? Nobody really knows, and you are observed by him from huge billboards, being aged from 25 to 60 years old…

And than Khao-San road. Backpackers headquarters in SE Asia. Short, bustling street, where foreigners feel like at home. Cheap drinks, food and lots of familiar faces. And nothing thai behind the façade. Like anyone there cares about Thailand…

North of the country is better. Though as touristy as touristy is Bangkok. Still, unbelievable how and where people live. Far away from tourist trails and civlization.

Yes, I will probably come back some day. Probably not alone, just to enjoy at one special beach… Yep, beside everything, beautiful beaches and romantic places are still the highlight… just to forget the everyday hustle and bustle of the western world…

Cambodia

2007-06-18T20:30:00.000+02:00

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a special country, formerly known as Kampuchea. It witnessed one special civilization, Khmer Empire. A civilization which flourished in the area from the 9th century to the 13th century. The Khmer Empire declined yet remained powerful in the region until the 15th century. The empire's center of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals was constructed during the empire's zenith. Angkor Wat, the most famous and best-preserved religious temple at the site, is a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power.

After the brutality of the 1970s and the 1980s, and the destruction of the cultural, economic, social and political life of Cambodia, it is only in recent years that reconstruction efforts have begun and some political stability has finally returned to Cambodia. Don't know why, but always when i hear Cambodia, a movie "Apocalypse now" springs to my mind... That river. That rain.

Even the first contact with Cambodia is interesting. The border crossing that majority of us are not used. And then the first larger town, Stung Treng. Yep, you can clearly see, that this is completely different country that Laos. A lot of garbage on the streets and extremely bad road. It seems that time has stop in 80s and only now rebuilding begins...

Phnom Penh is a bustling city. But two decades of brutality left also some scars to the city itself. If Vientiene in Laos was busy, this was incredibly alive. And dusty. Tuk-tuk galore. Tout galore. Even though i was there in »a winter«, it was hot and humid...

Siam reap is the center of the tourism. Yep, as Angkor was a center of power a few decades, Angkor is today a tourism headquarters. Incredible number of temples, big, small. Here you can see, how strong the nature is (for example Ta Prohm). Unfortunately, people are just flying in, for day or two, to experience the magic of the khmer. And then they fly away. And just a few kilometers away, on the rim of the Tonle Sap lake and on the floating villages, people are living traditionally, far away from the dollars of the tourism.

Laos

2007-06-17T23:06:00.000+02:00

From Luang Prabang to Don Det. Laos is still pristine and undiscovered. Ok, Luang Prabang is swept with tourism. But still, it has a special charm... an unbelievable number of Wats, lively markets and bustling river. There is lots to do around, from sightseeing trips to nearby "caves" to amazing waterfalls... And don't forget to try the food specialty, "mekong algae"... eh, crunchy but not really to my taste...

Vang Vieng is a "drunken" backpacker paradise... From watching TV shows to getting drunk on and off the nearby river. Yep, tubing is the main attraction, though i kept away from it. But if you rent a bicycle, you can go and see amazing scenery and villages by yourself... drunken backpackers do not stray far away from the river...

Vientiene is a capital, one of the most laid back capitals i have seen.. Nice to relax, though probably one can get really bored after a few days... But for me, probably the most enchanting place were the 4000 islands down in the south, near the border with Cambodia. Don Det was the place (although with lots of tourist) that still kept some tranquility with the breathtaking sunsets over mekong...

Yep. There is still lots to see in Laos. And it is a safe and friendly country. And if you stray away from the tourist path you will definitely encounter one of the most pristine countries in the world... Definitely still on my list to re-visit it some day... as i haven't seen some places, especially in the north-west of the country...

Link to more photos: http://matty.breg.si/photo/asia/laos/index.html

My first solo photo exibition!

2007-06-03T18:10:00.000+02:00

So, i managed to get my first and very own photo exibition, managed by KUD Dolsko in a very interesting place. The opening was nice. With live drum music and some food... Here is the link to the invitation and below is a slideshow of presented photos...

I selected a few photos from my stay near the lake Bunyonyi. Of course, those photos wouldn't be possible without Edirisa and Bufuka primary school... Big thanks!!!

Saint Emilion

2007-06-02T20:57:00.000+02:00

Let the photos speak...

Bye Bye Zanzibar (and Tanzania)

2007-05-15T12:31:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 18.12. 1998

So, one month has passed. And a maiden trip overseas in almost over. Bought many souvernirs. I bought a wooden elephant, Adi bought a huge lion. Last evening we tried lobster in our familiar open-market restaurant.

Coming back to Dar was a bit of shock... after peace of Zanzibar we came to hustle and bustle of Dar. Our bargaing tactics improved and were excellent and soon we got a taxi to airport. Actually, we came to the airport some 4 hours before the flight. But that didn't puzzle us. We had some food on us, and therefore it was time for a picnic just outside the airport... not that was the best looking place to have picnic, but it was certainly the most convenient :) we even bought some fresh fruit for the trip...

As I can remember from the airport, are x-ray controls and uncomfy chair in the waiting lounge :) Flight back was also uneventful, though I really missed "european" food... not, that BA has such good food, just i missed some junk food... :) When we arrived to London it was early morning, and our flight was in the evening. Lets go again to the city centre... This time we had a breakfast with us. And we made ourselves another picnic... in Victoria Coach station... not because it was nice, but because it was handy :) We opened coconuts (usually smashing them to the curve) and cut pineapples... Later we went around the city, but december in London was cold. And coming from +35C to 10C was a shock... Lunch was in all-you-can-eat Pizza hut... not extremly tasty, but it was unlimited. I other guest around were just wondering who are these two maniacs that are stuffing themselves with pizzas... Probably Pizza Hut didn't make too much of profit out of us...

Later in the evening we had a flight back. Problem one. We sat in the plane for 1 hour, when we were informed that we have to change planes, as this one is having technical difficulties. So, we set off London some two hours later. Originally we were due to arrive to Ljubljana around 11 pm. But of course we didn't, and my uncle that was waiting for us went home. Problem two. We couldn't land in Ljubljana due to fog. So we landed in Trieste, some 120km away... and we finally arrived to Ljubljana city centre, at 3:30am... Problem three. It was -15C. It was coooold. And what to do when waiting for a train back home. No problem, we went to 24hours fast food joint (burek) and stuffed our veins with more greasy food... nice... felt really being back home :)))

Until next time... :))

Back in Stonetown

2007-05-11T20:18:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 16.12-17.12. 1998

In the last "Stonetown" entry I almost didn't mention anything about the town itself. Stone town is regarded as Zanzibar's capital. The town was named after the coral stone buildings, largely built during the 19th century. The town is known for it's narrow alleyways, large carved wooden doors and covered balconies. The doors are part of the Swahili culture and were largely influenced by Arab and especially Indian motifs. The large brass studs on the doors became decoration after having served as spike covers to protect the inhabitants from elephant raids during the Indian wars. The town currently house over 16,000 people and is home to 51 mosques, 6 Hindu temples and 2 Christian churches. The people are extremely diverse and fascinating.

What is annoying in Stonetown, are the touts... they see you from a far, almost smell you. You really cannot avoid them, but when you are a few days on Zanzibar its easy not to get hassled (especially if you did most of tours, have a hotel and already have a ticket back to Dar). And some are quite friendly...

In any aspect, Stonetown is a "souvenir" shopping paradise... You can get everything you can get on the mailand, and more... and for lower prices :) But, our time on the island ticking away, and soon we'll have to depart back to the mailand. Actually, we decided to stay an extra day, and go the airport directly from the island and not to see more in deep Dar itself... so, i leave myself Dar es Salaam for the next time..

I was struck by one thing in Zanzibar. If Thailand is a paradise for men, Zanzibar is for women. Its really not uncommon to see a woman with a young black guy. When we were staying in Paje, a woman came with "a driver". Well... he looked like 18 or younger, she was 50+. They shared the room, while... well... he didn't eat with her. When she went back to the room, he also went. Ok, don't know who was using who, but i guess those boys like the mzungu attention for a few days. She gave him money, food and more...

Paje

2007-05-10T22:48:00.001+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 9.12. - 15.12. 1998

After a few days of doing nothing every paradise gets boring... so, we decided to head for a few days to a east cost beaches... but there was one problem... at that time it was impossible to do that trip in one day... so, we had to stay another night in Stonetown... again... :)

We hit the market... again :) (i already bought extremly useful sandals there). We wanted some fruit, and bananas were the name of the game... different sizes, colours... so, let's get the biggest one... a red one... well... seller was noding a bit, but she clearly didn't speak english, neither did we speak swahili... so... only when we tried banana was clear what she wanted to say. That was clearly not a banana to eat raw, but to cook... it tasted, well, like a paper... strange, anyway, impossible to eat...

Next day we caught one of the first transfers to east cost... Jambiani was our first destination, but, we didn't like two things... prices of accommodation and the fact that there are huge amounts of seaweed on the beach. After seeing plenty of guest houses we settled down in Paje, in so called Paje Ndame Village. Well, if Nungwi was bustling with activity, Paje was almost deserted, without tourists... There was nobody in our guest house, and a few japanese in neighbour guest house. And actually, we were alone for next two days :)

But, that didn't stop us. Yes, stay here was quiet, but nevertheless enjoying. We rented the biggest room they had (actually, it was with double bed, but it was soooo big, that it almost seemed like a separate bed). Every morning we had great breakfast in adjacent restaurant, for lunch we just picked up coconuts from the ground and bought some pineapples from local market. We were also regular visitors to a local shop; drinks and cookies... It was also one of the rare places that had TV and basically a spot where people were coming to. So, it was a great place for observing life in a village.

Problem was what to do in a such of place. Fortunately i got a book in our Narrow street hotel (of course, i returned it back afterwards), so that was time spender. We we constantly playing a table game (though i really cannot remember the name right now). So, cycling was on a menu... So, cycling was on a menu... Adi got Super Olympic mountain bike (32 gears), I got Super OK mountain bike (27 gears). Both are like extremly heavy, and thats maybe even better :) Cycling on a beach is something special, cause you have to find a right line, as you need to avoid soft sand... Of course, cycling during the low tide is easier... Not only that, cycling on a main road is also difficult. Sand is a main issue, but as a keen cyclist we managed it without too many falls.

One day, we cycled to the north, further of Bwejuu. Soon we hit Breezes Beach Club. It looked really nice, and beach was combed and this was one of rare places without seaweed (probably they take it away every morning). Ok, one place that we cannot afford. Next was Club Vacanze. Again, combed beach and almost deserted. Sea was great for swimming, but there was nobody on the beach. Again, it was one of the places that we couldn't afford. And then we found people, laying around the pool.. mostly overweight Italians. But again, i wonder... why do people come across half of the world and then lay beside the pool? Couldn't they do that somewhere closer to their home?

But again, also Paje has some problems. First of all, at low tide sea goes away for 500 meters or even more... There are plenty of sea urchins, so you have to be very careful when going to the water. There is also plenty of seaweed, as there are many seaweed fields around Paje. And every day they take away a truckload of the harvest. As i heard, they sell it expensively to Japan...

And last, but not least... Anti-malarial drugs are beginning to have an efect. Lariam is a powerful drug, that reduces my sleep. So, i saw many sun rises... and its was incredible so see sun rising over the indian ocean. Unfortunately, lack of sleep makes you tired...

Nungwi

2007-05-09T19:23:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 3.12. - 8.12. 1998

Its time to hit some beaches... The fishing village of Nungwi straddles the Northern tip of Zanzibar and its shade is a welcome relief after the barren stretch of road that leads there. There are a number of local guest houses in the village and on the West side of the cape there is a number of guesthouses and a couple of loud bars. There are fine sandy beaches around the cape and excellent diving and game fishing off the coast. I would say this is one of the best beaches on Zanzibar, as there is no seaweed and the tide doesn't go out for miles...

We stayed at Amaan Bungalows, close to the beach and nearest bars... so we were really using the next days to relax and relax... Snorkel gear was readily available (though, if i ever return to Zanzibar, i have to bring my own, as their gear was a bit worn out), and maybe next time i will also to Padi diving course there...

Eh, days soon passed, having breakfasts on the waterfront, cristal clear water, great sea food and plenty of night life. Oh, bonus was that it wasn't overcrowded... Yep, and the sun was veeeeery strong, and good suncream was essential... I stayed more in shade, while Adi was often baking on the sun :) So much, that he ran out of the sun cream ;)

Dolphins ????

2007-05-08T18:02:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 3.12. 1998

So, our third "pre-planned" trip was to see some dolphins. Dolphin tours run from Kizimkazi in the south of the island. We passed Jozani forest, but we decided not to stop to see the Columbus monkeys, as we saw them near Arusha (though, those monkeys on Zanzibar are very rare red Columbus monkeys - oh well, next time).

After a long and dusty drive we finally arrived to Kizimkazi. The village seemed to have no tourist infrastructure and wasn't overrun by tourist. We embarked on a small boat and got our flippers, goggles and snorkels. Oh, did I mention that we were the only two people on a tour. Great... Some 30 minutes later we came to the spot where the dolphins are usually lurking around. Yep, we saw some, but it wasn't really like "swimming" with the dolphins as it was advertised. What made a day, was snorkeling on the coral reef. Incredible fish, corals, colours... :) we almost had to be dragged out of the water into the boat, as it was time to return back to the village...

Lunch was waiting for us... rice and fish curry... i guess they were suprised a bit, but we ATE a lot...

When we came back to Stonetown, usual itinerary followed... dinner at the gardens and another extra day enjoying in Stonetown... actually we met some sailors next day, and had a few beers together... funny, don't know why, but prostitutes almost "smelled" them... after a few hours, when the things went too dodgy we rather retired back to our hotel...

Lets roll some spices on the spice tour

2007-05-07T19:00:00.001+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 1.12.1998

Over the centuries, Zanzibar’s cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and many other spices brought the sultans of Oman across the Indian Ocean by dhow on the seasonal trade winds.

For 15 US$ dollars, a full-day Spice Tour was available. It was said that will introduce us to most of Zanzibar's spices and fruits, and not only that, we'll see a few historical sites - old slave market and cave, ruined sultan's palace, baths and if you are lucky, a few historical sites too - such as the old slave market or a ruined sultan’s palace.

Our tour was by dala-dala (pick-up trucks converted into buses) and included good lunch of traditional Zanzibar food. On a way towards the “core” fields of Spice tours we went past the Livingstone house. This was used by Europeans whilst starting their expeditions to the mainland, including David Livingstone in 1866. Next stop was Mtoni Palace, built back in 1840 by Sultan Seydi. It was from here that the Sultan built and controlled his great African Empire and there were over a thousand people associated with his court here, including the royal family, Arab and Swahili merchants, scribes, concubines, servants and slaves. Well, today you can just vaguely imagine its former grandness. The palace was abandoned by 1885 and quickly fell into disrepair and during was damaged during the first world war.

The exotic spices and fruits are grown in the plantations towards the middle of island and there’s ample opportunity to dazzle the senses as you taste and smell them and guess what they are. We walked through the maze of trees and the smells were exceptional. Lemongrass, ginger, cardamom and cloves were just a few of the highlights. Other spices include nutmeg, vanilla, tamarind, menthol and plenty more... Oh, the island was once the world's leading producer of cloves (3/4 of the total world supply) and the clove industry was the foundation of the golden age of Zanzibar. Suddenly a short rain came, and we had to hide… under giant leaves… I don’t even need to mention those unknown fruits that we tried on a way…

Next stop were "slave caves". It is reputed to have been discovered in the early 19th century by a slave boy working on the estate of a wealthy Arab plantation owner. The boy found the entrance whilst searching for a goat which had fallen into the cavern. As a source of fresh water, the discovery was a blessing and from that day Hamed’s slaves regularly collected water from the pool for use on the estate. According to a guide book there is no evidence that the cavern was ever used to conceal slaves after prohibition. Well, stories differ and to us slave caves were presented as a gruesome place "to store" slaves.

However, just a kilometre away is another cave, that was used for "hiding" slaves... Following the abolition of slave trading in 1873, Arab merchants were resentful of what they saw as British interference. Black-market prices for slaves shot up and a thriving illicit trade developed, aided at sea by loop-holes in the treaties and the inability of the British to effectively patrol the whole of the Indian Ocean. On land the trade was more difficult to conceal. So, these slave Chambers were constructed by an important slave trader of the time, to hide slaves in transit from the mainland to the Zanzibar plantations and export further afield.

The day finished on a nearby beach. Nice, and no jelly fish this time :) All in all, it was a really nice day and tour :)

Prison island (and a few giant tortoises)

2007-05-04T18:19:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 30.11.1998

Prison Island (Changuu) is the most popular island to visit from Stone Town as it is only a short boat ride (about 10 minutes) away from town. Actually, everybody seems to visit this island... The island was in the 19th century owned by an Arab who used it, as the sign says, for housing "recalcitrant slaves". Basically, unruly slaves were to the island for discipline. Later it was owned by a British General who actually built a prison and it was used it as a quarantine station.

The island offers the largest tortoises we have ever seen, and visitors can take a walk around the island sightseeing the old prisons and various other historical artifacts. That is it... I must say i was a bit disappointed. OK, giant turtles were quite intriguing (they were brought to the island around 100 years ago!!!), but otherwise... So, after a short walk around the island we hit the beach. It was said, that this was one of the best beaches on this side of Zanzibar... well... it could be good, but there was one big problem... the temperature of the sea was just right, water blue, but... we were soon bitten by many jelly fishes... eh, every paradise has a problem...

Karibu Zanzibar, the island of spices

2007-05-03T19:08:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 29.11.1998

Let's go to Zanzibar... All I ever knew before is, that is an island faaaaar away with sexy name... Oh, and beside that, Freddie Mercury (Queen) was born there...

So, the our boat was already waiting for us... At first, I was thinking to go with a dhow, but as this is supposedly illegal and as it takes too long (just a few weeks before i saw Michael Palin travelling from Dubai to Mumbai on a dhow), we kinda agreed on something a bit faster... actually, we bought tickets a fast boat, Flying Horse, for 30US$... (two ways). Actually, this was quite expensive, especially compared to what the locals pay... but ok, i will earn (someday in the future - hopefully) much more money than them... 2 and a half hour trip is quite uneventful. Ok, you can feel when we hit deeper waters, as the waves became bigger and bigger, but that was it... To keep us awake and not bored, a movie "Jungle Book" was on... but it didn't do the trick :)

Funny, but when you arrive on Zanzibar, you have to do again border formalities... (at first we just walked through, and only after 5 minutes of walking, we were turned back). Actually, Tanzania is almost artifical form. Its an union of Tanganyika (mainland) and of Zanzibar (though don't ask me whether Pemba or Mafia Island fall under Zanzibar or Tanganyka). But the border is straightforward, they just check whether you have a valid Tanzania visa and give you a stamp (and they check yellow fewer certificate). Unofficially i heard, that this border control is to restrict poor from the mainland massively going to the relatively reach island...

Remember our friend John from Arusha? Yep, he was there with us.. and he immediately offered us a hotel... Narrow street hotel. We checked it, it was great, almost luxurious after spending last 10 days in holes or tents... Two rooms and nice cold aircon device, though it was a bit on a pricy side - 20US$. Quickly i opened the Lonely planet and picked another recommended guesthouse... and guess what? Yes, it was cheaper with 15US$, but luxury devices, as fridge, TV made us splunge into the narrow street for extra 5 US$... (actually, it was not a bad decision to go with that John - he really bargained us a good price - a tout from the street quoted the price 30US$, while in the hotel said 25US$).

And we really liked the atmosphere of Stone town, so we decided to stay here for a few days... Yep, Foradhani Gardens was our open-air restaurant with cooked seafood right in centre of Stone town on the waterfront. Though gardens are not much during the day, but in early evening they just sprawl with activity...

A few next days will be busy... :)

Back on Video Coach express... this time without video...

2007-05-02T19:53:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 28.11.1998

Last night it was raining, so Arusha transformed into Finland - a land of thousand lakes (well, all the potholes were full of water). It was an early start, as this time we decided not to make again a mistake of starting late - so, departure was around 6:30 :)

This time we got an extra baggage... a guy, presumably one of the owners of the safari agency that we went with, is also going with us to Zanzibar... some "business" to do... lets call him John (or was he David??). Thats OK, as he arranged us a bus tickets, and they were of quite lower price than the other way around... OK, bus was... well... different from our first Coach. First of all, there were much more sits in the bus (5 seats in a row), and secondly... there was no TV, despite the name Video Coach... :)

Funny, but i guess the sits in the front row are reserved for mzungus. So, we got another mzunga for companion for the next 8-9 hours... And that was OK, as she was quite interesting, a stewardes from Switzerland travelling around Africa - alone... This time i felt much better, as people were not so much staring at us. I guess, after almost 10 days in Tanzania we also got a bit "adjusted"...

Trip itself was uneventful. No puncture, nothing really special... Of course, this wouldn't be Africa unless... There was a woman sitting infront of us (dare I say, "big momma"). Apparently going on some kind of business or just visiting family in Dar. And she had a HUGE bag... Full of roasted fish... and she was constatly eating them, and at the end we smelt like rotten fish :)

But that was not annoying, just funny... Annoying was entertainment. On a way to Arusha we were watching either film, either music videos... This time we got music... Volume was turned to the max, and loudspeakers were really under pressure... Problem was, that there was ONLY one cassette, and that it was playing whole 9 hours... So, ladies and gentlemen... let me present... BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS...

Damn... i stopped listening reagge after that bus ride... Interesting was, that people will still singing the song... even when the cassette played for the 10th time...

We arrived to Dar just before darkness... Again Jumbo Inn, and a short walk around Dar... but not too much... we decided to go directly to Zanzibar, and maybe do some serious exploring in the last days of our trip...

Arusha wilderness...

2007-05-01T18:03:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 27.11.1998

We came late night back to Arusha... so, we have some for planning our future trip. Let's climb Kilimanjaro... :) Cool, lets do it... And it hit us... well, guys... basically, you cannot afford it... it costs 500US$+ for just a few days, and you already spent almost half of your budget in the first week... damn... what a disappointment, no Kilimanjaro... Mount Meru is cheaper and lower, but the weather isn't favorable, and we are a bit not interested to stay in Arusha for a few more days...

What about trip to the west, towards central Tanzania and Lake Victoria... not a bad idea, but we were put of by reports of extremely bad roads and 24 hours trip on a bus... We were even thinking about going to Usumbara mountains, but at the end we reached no decision... So, it was a time for another Kilimanjaro beer and a strange, but tasty pizza in the restaurant just across the road...

At least we had a chance of a tour around Arusha... we weren't staying in the best part, its kinda doggy, there near the stadium. But we liked it. And the guesthouse was quite lively, lots of foreigners, though encounters with them were brief. Honestly said, Arusha isn't the place to go sightseeing for a week. Streets are in terrible disrepair and some potholes are bigger than cars... and after rainy day, Arusha transfers from dusty to muddy... At least they had a nice market, where we got loads of fresh fruit and some souvenirs...

Then, we decided to do some trekking around Arusha, towards Mount Meru... We desperately wanted to see Tammy falls (as recommended to us by a friend from airport), but locals weren't too anxious to take us there... they were mentioning military, ransom, danger, ... so, still don't know what is so special by these falls and why it was dangerous to go there... So, we agreed a day trekking with a local guy, to some native villages, waterfalls...

I was surprised. Just a few minutes from the guesthouse, we were in completely different environment... small houses, african cows and smiling children and fabulous landscape... What a contrast to Arusha, now i could imagine how people can stay in Arusha for more days... We started venturing into the forest, and so close to the town you could already observe columbus monkey in the trees... Great landscape, passing different villages, house and people doing the ordinary business (i guess they weren't used on seeing mzungu there, as that day trip wasn't on itinerary of big agencies...). After a few hours we came approached some men, who were, deep in the forest, cooking their own "fire water" - i guess that was a bit on a illegal side. Funny guys, i guess that was for their entertainment and of course profit. Well, drink really tasted like fire... and probably it burned away my liver... they were drinking it pure in large quantities, but i would prefer mixing it with a lot of water or juice... Adi was more daring tasting it, and he almost regretted it :)

After a few hours we arrived to a small village... interesting stuff... apparently our young guide will marry a girl from this village... but unfortunately he doesn't have enough money, yet, to buy a few cows to get her... From there we hitch a ride on a pickup... well, the pickup was so full, that it eventually broke up... sooooo... we had to push it... hehehe... fortunately after a couple hundred meters the road went downhill, so we all jumped on... just... I didn't even think whether the brakes work???!!! Apparently brakes worked...

Dusty safari continued... crater and a few tse-tse flies

2007-04-30T15:22:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 25-26.11.1998

Ngorongoro crater NP
Finally we came to Simba Camp on the crater rim. Ngorongoro is a huge crater, 20km in diameter... From rim you have great views on the crater and mountains beyond. We were quite high, as I believe altitude was around 2700m above sea level. Besides, we had the best hotel, a thousand stars one...  I thought on the rim will be quieter than in Serengeti... how I was wrong... again  Strange voices, sounds, roars, throughout the night... again... Night was very chilly, no wonder as were quite high up. Infrastructure in camp was almost non-existent. Yes, there were some shacks called toilets and something that resembled a shower.

After another tasty breakfast we headed down the crater. Road was narrow, twisty and steep... For fans of adrenaline... As soon as we came to the bottom, first animals emerged... I was astonished... The only animals that are apparently are missing are giraffes (the reason was that they can't climb down into the crater) and female elephants (???!! We saw plenty of elephants, i just wasn't particularly looking which sex they are .Incredible, this crater is just unbelievable, and concentration of animals is huge. You can see all different animals, we even saw some rhinos (from a DISTANCE). But we saw them. Only leopard was still hiding, that means no Big 5  Hyenas, lions, cheetahs... nothing was uncommon. We drove around the crater, and one could observe that there is really a lot of food for carnivores... Its like going to supermarket ;-) There is a lake in the middle of crater, so plenty of water is available (and therefore the shores are abundant with birds, also flamingos, and that was a friendly addition to mainly green and brown colors of the plains).

[b]Tarangire NP[/b]
After not so short drive from Ngorongoro we came close to Tarangire NP. This will be our last night out, and we were pleasantly surprised by accommodation. This time no tents, but a proper rooms with a proper showers. And everything clean. Wow, like we came back to the civilization... I had a first cold on my trip, and I was immensely annoying, so it was good to have a room to retreat from others... Here we found out that idea changing a safari company (and losing 100US$) was not so bad... There were some guys with our old company, and they were sleeping outside in tents... And that was not the end... The skies opened during the night, and they woke up half way in water... And they were not so happy with organization... but, but, they saw Lake Manyara NP (i believe with lions climbing on trees), where we just drove past...

Tarangire NP is renowned by two things - elephants and tse-tse flies (yep, those sleeping disease carrying ones). There were really plenty of elephants - in all shapes, sizes and ages... Incredible. At one point one bull even wanted to charge our car, and a few moments were really scary... (we approached too close a small family with some young ones). Lazy lions were all over, and even snakes were not uncommon... so, all in all a pleasant day, with many interesting moments... but frankly said, after a few days, all of us were a bit fed up with all the animals... so, i guess that it was just a right time to start going back to Arusha...

Žalost / Sadness

2007-04-23T16:16:00.000+02:00


Tudi ti si prisla
mrzlih lic
do ognjisca
v dan neskoncnih sanj,
moja kri v tebi vre
a gres, zbezis
- rad te imam -
toda jutro vabi
v dan neskoncnih sanj
nazaj!

A first time on safari...

2007-04-20T19:58:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 22-24.11.1998

Lets go to safari. The car came for us in time. Driver was only like 10 minutes late and that was excellent in »african« time... Jeep was quite big, made for 4 tourists including the driver, cook and a guide... Well... there were 6 of us, so, we had to squeeze a bit. Other 4 tourists consisted a couple from UK (he did some voluntary work for a few months in a village near Moshi) and two girls from Denmark (quite annoying, but they had an interesting gadget, a digital camera!!!).

Some kilometers from Arusha roads suddenly became gravel, and soon it was time to turn towards the national parks (if we continued on that road we would come to the western part of Tanzania, quite many hours later). On »safari« highway we passed many small villages, Lake Manyara, and some of the most unbelievable »moon« scenery...

Serengeti...
Sometime in early afternoon we finally came to the big plains of Serengeti... On a way towards our camp we saw many zebras, giraffes, and plenty of other animals that i really don't know name of... We even saw a few lions and a cheetah family resting in a shade... Nice...

»Serengeti highway« was incredible... in bad condition, but still, some really speed through it... And our jeep was flying and madly bouncing, and we were just holding for our life inside... Almost all cars are 4WD vehicles, with empasis on jeeps... so, seeing a Mercedes limousine was a surprise... What was not surprising was the fact that it broke down 

Safari trips include several »game drives«. The point is, that you see big 5.

That means, you sit in the car and try to see as many animals as possible, with a special emphasis. A lot depends on your guide, cause those guys have an incredible vision!!! Usually the best drives, and the game is the most active, early in the morning and late in the afternoon... During the heat of the day, all animals try to hide in the shade, and there is little possibility to see any hunting... Actually, did I mention heat before? It was really hot, though different, more dry, heat from Dar.

We went on a budget safari and that meant camping... setting your own tent, while all food and drinks is included in the package (ok, you have to bring your own water, and there was no possibility to buy either beer, water or anything else - the last possible place to buy water was at the Serengeti National Park entry gate). We were taken to a camp somewhere in the middle of Serengeti, I have completely no idea where we were... far away from civilization for sure, as the night was really full of shiny stars (and there was no light pollution anywhere close). The camp itself didn't have any fence, so, this was not the most reassuring thing. But, it should have guards awake (and i stress AWAKE) during the night... Tent was funny... well... a bit on a small side, for two tall guys... but ok, we at least won't be cold during the night... The night? Well... interesting one... actually, excitement started only then... First of all, all the tents were around a small campfire, where cooks were preparing the food (there were in total some 10-12 tents around). And then we went to sleep... a few minutes later our »guards« went asleep as well... Then the fun started... First came baboons, then hyenas... And they were all trying to get remains of our dinner, which were thrown on the fire (!!!??!). So, the animals started fighting, and were making the most impossible sounds... When they were not fighting you could hear bones crushing sounds... And hyenas... they are just like huge dogs... and as there was no fence, they were passing a few centimeters away from our tents... all that meant an unforgettable show that kept us scared and awake whole night... I shouldn't forget our guards, guides, drivers, cooks... they were all sweetly sleeping, probably that was like a lullaby for them...

Dar Arusha Video Coach Fast Express

2007-04-19T22:49:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 21.11.1998

We woke up early. Yep, mosque effect... Actually, we started taking it out easy... we decided not to catch the first bus, but the one at 8:30 am. Why should we go so early, as everybody says its only 7-8 hours to Arusha... Oki, at least we can have a proper breakfast.

Of course... bus didn't leave at 9am. It left when full, at 9:30am... We got the best seats, thats infront, either because we overpayed them, either because nobody wanted to seat infort and look at the road :) More probably both. It took us long time to travel out of Dar. Not only that we were constantly picking up the passengers, we had several stops to buy food and supplies. It looked like we were going on a trip for several days. And the bus driver knew where to stop for fresh bananas, pine apples (heh, he bought LOADS of pine apples). And finally we we on the road... speeding, being the kings of the road!!!

Road out of Dar was BAD, full of potholes, but later on, on the plains it was just good. To good, as the driver though he is Ayrton Senna (but thats a common belief everywhere in third world). At first, I was quite uneasy sitting in the bus, as everybody looked at us. Not looked, stared... But when the TV programme started, two mzungus were just not interesting anymore. How to describe the TV programme? Well... it started off with some music videos (funny people dancing even more funny dances, everything filmed on an amateur camera by an amateur) and then with a couple of bloody and violent movies. Don't recall the movies, but I remember to see a title of Missed in Action, number unknown... :) But it was, good... after 30 minutes nobody cared a bit of us...

After a few hours of driving... tire bust... heh, probably we were just too fast. But it was a good chance for "discovering the bushes" and emptying our bladders. In meantime all the male passengers tried to help changing the wheel... Except us... :) Funny...

When coming nearer and nearer to Moshi, sun slowly went down... Then we figuered out, that either we are terribly late or just they forgot to add a few hours on the "travel time" that they mentioned to us... Anyway, but coming late to Arusha was not the worst thing. What worried me was... well... our headlights were not working... OK, from time to time, they started working, but most of the time we were just driving in the dark... damn, now i know why they let us sit infront...

In Arusha we followed an advice of our friend from the airport, and we hopped off at Golden Rose hotel and not the bus station (just to avoid the hassle of touts). We went to nearby Mashele guesthouse, which was not a bad one... Funnily, the guys from Paradies safaris found us an hour later... they wanted the rest of the money for the safari, and we wanted to meet the lady... Well, the lady didn't arrive, as she had some other business to do, a safari will be delayed for one day... so... we decided to... let our 100US$ go and get lost and find a new safari company... There were some disagreement by those lads at Paradies safaries, but eventually they resigned with quite a nice bonus... And only a few days later we found out, that this was not a bad idea...

So, it was time to get a new safari company. And that wasn't difficult, as touts were like ants. The only problem was, that we wanted to go as soon as possible on a 4 or 5 day safari... even tommorow...We got someone that would take us the next day, and the price was right (it was actually lower than the one in Dar) and he got some recommendation from our language. We also agreed to pay ANY money, when the jeep comes to pick us up and when we are happy with the jeep. That was cool, but without knowing we screwed some other people, who were promised to go in "four" and then they got some extra passengers... At least beer was tasty and cheap... :)))

Well, later, much later I was browsing to get some information about our safari company - Stonechat... actually, it was on a black list and has probably disappeared and reappeared under new name... While paradies safaris is still alive... Nevertheless, we enjoyed next few days...

Coming to Africa

2007-04-18T21:23:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 20.11.1998

Africa... first stop... Entebbe... where the hell did I hear that name from? Ups... some decades ago an abducted plane landed there, and some people never left Uganda... Again, since the beginning of 80th, this should be a relatively safe country. One thing struck me... the african heat when stepping out of the plane during our one hour stop. Soon, we were in the clouds again, passing Victoria lake and Kilimanjaro...

Final stop... Dar es Salaam.. To be honest, i didn't know much about Tanzania before. Fortunately i bought myself a Lonely planet just a few days before. And let me say, its my first trip outside Europe. And let me add, we both are completely unprepared and without any previous travel experiences. But, why complicate things, lets enjoy... And we did... when getting visas we were pleasantly surprised, as the citizens of Slovenia we had to pay only 20US$, while all the dutch and those EU citizens had to pay 50US$...

So, whaaaat next... ufff... luggage delivery is chaotic. Everybody can walk in. So, if you are not fast enough, your bag can disappear... even if it is worth nothing. But we were fortunate. Everything was waiting us. So, what next. I guess we have to get a taxi or something. And at least 50 people was trying to catch our look, and they were shouting taxi, taxi, cheap, ... Crazy... Frantically i open LP for the first time (yep, that was a first lesson - get basic information about your destination in time) and start searching for transport. Prices are outdated, so it doesn't help us really much. And the guys are yelling their prices from 10-12.000 Tanzanian schillings...

Jambo, jambo, jambo... Officially, "jambo" means "hello" in Swahili. But to tourist in Tanzania, it means "look at me, I want to sell you something.". And that doesn't stop with taxi drivers...

And then we see something familiar. A lone traveller, from our country... We started talking, and actually we waited for his plane to depart. That guy, lets call him David (and there is no chance that i remember his name, sorry) has been in Tanzania several times, and as usual business he buys in region of Arusha souvenirs and etc. and then sells them on stalls around Slovenia. So, he has an unofficial business going, not sure whether everything was completely legal. Who cares. He gave us lots of insights. We got a first impression of the country that was very helpful (and that we couldn't get from any guidebook), how and where to change the money and so on... Even, for the first time he bargained a taxi for us to take us to our hotel - Jambo Inn... Starting price was at the beginning 12000 TSch, and eventually dropped to 5000, which was very fair price... at least for us...

Jambo Inn was... well... khm... interesting place... one of those low-budget hotels near main Dar bus stop. It was clean, with quite short beds and keylock was in a strange state (like somebody already broke in a few days before). The only downpoint was, that its quite near the mosque and its very loud speakers...

----

Buying a bus ticket was funny. At the end we didn't buy it, we just decided to buy it in the morning, or the day we decide to leave Dar. But before, we got shown at least ten different busses, from Kilimanjaro express to Kilimanjaro express video coach... They were pulling us apart, to see even more busses... They let us »hear« the sound of the bus... And the ticket office was... well, just a shack, made of old bus tires...

----

Later in the evening, after a tasty meal downstairs, somebody knocked on the door, actually a doorman.

He cried »There is a woman outside«.

And?

»She wants you.«

Damn. We haven't even settled in and prostitutes are coming for us. I was never a magnet for women, so i'm not really accustomed to that. Where the hell are we? But OK. The last thing i want to have in Tanzania is sex, so...

»She wants to speak. She mzungu«

Ok, i dressed (and was already figuring out a blonde swedish in trouble and nowhere to sleep), and went downstairs. She looked like... well, probably a woman, with dreadlocks, at least when hearing a pitch voice I believed she was a female... Came back up to the room a minute later and said to Adi... She wants to speak with us regarding the safari. She is a white german woman, a bit on a ugly side, should we go down or hide?

We were feeling adventourus so we went down to see what she has to offer. And basically, this was the first tourist trap lesson (yep, lets do it the hard way). She explained, that she is organising a safari, that she is a guide, originally from Germany and she now lives here... We were quite happy to speak with someone in german or english, so after a few beers and a presentation of »Paradies safaries« we'll make a deal. We'll go with her on safari from Arusha, just we have to catch a bus next morning... We cashed out 100US$, got some kind of contract and someone brought us also a bus tickets for the morning bus... Well... only then i opened the LP. It said there... »beware of touts«, »don't give money infront«, »check the blacklist«, ... Paradies safari wasn't on the black list, but paradise safari was... so... what the hell... oh, well... tommorow is a new day... lets enjoy our first night in Tanzania and worry tommorow...

London calling...

2007-04-17T22:19:00.000+02:00

MEMORABLOG: 18.11.1998

Its was a cold November morning. My alarm started ringing at 4:30 am with the song »L'ombelico del mondo« - the belly of the world - loudly. Anyway, it was a short night, as packing was done into long night hours. So, i picked up Adi some 30 minutes later, just as he was just getting his hair cut (at 5am in the morning hehe)... actually, he didn't even go to sleep, funny (straight from work, but hey, he was seriously tired afterwards in the day)... My dad then drove us to the airport, and i got seriously annoyed by his slow driving... But OK, better safe than sorry, as our trip was just starting ;)

So, our first stop was London, an overnight stop and British Airways arranged us a nice, but overpriced hotel (arguably, it was payed by BA, so i didn't care - but the breakfast was really miserable - so, i really would recommend Russel Square hotel). Actually, we were quite surprised, how London is expensive... i had some 30 pounds, and Adi had some pounds less... so we had to survive 3 full days (2 going there, and 1 back) in London with that... impossible... We were actually typical tourists, just without any aid. No maps, no money, nothing. But we managed to get a right in a double decker, we saw Trafalgar Square, Buckingham palace, Big Ben and eventually we got lost in Soho... Food was miserable... all that we could afford was fast-food... When traveling from the airport Adi had a misfortune and his backpack got torn THE FIRST DAY of our trip, so... But I liked London. I liked the buzz around London, and surely i will come back some other day...

Some adrenaline rush was made by our visit to Victoria Coach Station, as we almost missed the bus... Well, not almost missed, but we were some 15 minutes early... and the bus was just leaving... damn, isn't that a bit early? Not really, that bus is 1,5 hours late, so the next bus, due to go in 15 minutes, will be canceled... that would also mean missing the plane... but OK... it was the cheapest and apparently also the slowest transport to Gatwick...

Start of memorablog - Tanzania (and Zanzibar)

2007-04-16T22:16:00.000+02:00

So, memorablog. Last time I found some notes from my first trip on African contintent - Tanzania. I decided to write a memorablog of my maiden trip and of course add some photos... So, for next few posts i will transfer back to November 1998...

How everything started... nothing too dramatic...

At the end of September 1998 i was finishing my graduation thesis. And in Ljubljana I met with my best friend Adi for a drink . While drinking beer and watching people going by, he explained his idea to go traveling to Zanzibar... Zanzibar I asked??? Thats somewhere faaaaar away? Yep, Africa he replied...

Well, i was interested to go with. But, I didn't want to go only to the beaches, i wanted to see the world. I wanted to see wild animals... yes, lets go then backpacking to Tanzania.

A few days later we reserved ourselves flight tickets towards Dar Es Salaam. We got some medications and antimalarial drugs, and that was it... No particular planing. No experience. We just knew, that we will end our trip on Zanzibar, enjoying white sand beaches drinking cocktails and beautiful women... And in meantime we'll see Kilimanjaro and some elephants...

Lets go ;)

The world's most dangerous tunnel... (and breathtaking road)

2007-04-10T21:48:00.000+02:00

I received today another "friendly" mail with photos of the most dangerous road on the world (i actually received same "powerpoint" presentation last year) - called Stremnaya, located in Bolivia... There is just one "mistake"... its not located in Bolivia, but in China...

The road really looks stunning... carved into the rock, with plenty of tunnels... and of course, i started to look where actually this road is... and it is located in China in Taihang mountains and it is called Guoliang Tunnel road...

Guoliang Village was almost cut off from its surrounding towns and villages before the construction of the tunnel. A ladder on a precipitous cliff, also known as the Heavenly Ladder, was the only route in and out of the village.

History behind the road is incredible, as the villagers cut alone the tunnels... "Before 1972, the path chiseled into the rock used to be the only access linking the village with the outside world. Then the villagers decided to dig a tunnel through the rocky cliff. Led by Shen Mingxin, head of the village, they sold goats and herbs to buy hammers and steel tools. Thirteen strong villagers began the project. It took them five years to finish the 1200-metre-long tunnel which is about 5 meters high and 4 meters wide. Some of the villagers even gave their lives to it. On May 1, 1977, the tunnel was opened to traffic." source

Guoliang Village was almost cut off from its surrounding towns and villages before the construction of the tunnel. A ladder on a precipitous cliff, also known as the Heavenly Ladder, was the only route in and out of the village.

If you are interested where it is located, just click here.

So, what about the most dangerous road in Bolivia? Is there one? Yes, sure there is... its called "El camino de la muerte" or by more pleasant name "Yungas road". It runs from La Paz to Coroico to Bolivia. In some 70km it plunges down 3600 meters... Its twisty and dangerous, as there is a cliff on one side, and a huge drop of 800m on the other side... In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank named the La Paz-to-Coroico route "the world's most dangerous road." as there are more than 100 deaths per year... Marko has taken excellent photos on this road...

So, until next time... both roads are high on my itinerary... so, maybe my next trip will be to Bolivia or China...

Venice carnival

2007-02-12T10:24:00.000+01:00

Living so close to Venice, its really incredible that visited a Venice carnival for the first time in 2007. Why? Probably because it was always associated with huge crowds... but ok, we have to go over our fears... someday... but it was true, terribly crowdy.. and it was just an opening day... i don't dare to imagine what will be one week later...

More photos...

90. rojstni dan

2007-01-06T18:58:00.000+01:00

Mama, vse najboljše za okroglo obletnico!

Spet doma

2006-12-20T19:59:00.000+01:00

"Spet doma,
tam glasneje govorijo,
spet doma,
tam hitreje pijejo.
Spet doma,
tam pozdravljajo glasno,
to je vas,
to je vas,
morda zato !"

Heh... spet doma... nazaj v realnost... :) Sicer pa, takih transferov bi jest se... zakaj? China Airlines so se mi spet priljubili... pa ne zaradi dobre hrane, marvec zato, ker letalo ni bilo polno in sem se lahko zleknil na 4 sredinske sedeze... bolje kot business class, temu se rece uzivancija... 12 ur je minilo, kot da bi trenil z ocesom... Na Alitalia so neki strajkali, ceprav mi ni bilo jasno kaj in kako... ampak ok, glavno da je slo letalo pravocasno... Tokrat so se izkazali tudi na italijanskem letaliscu, saj mojega rukzaka niso zgubili in se je celo pripeljal drugi na tekoci trak...

Edino nekaj se je zgodilo, odkar sem se odklopil z azijske hrane... nekoliko lacen sem... ze v Rimu na letaliscu sem pozrl eno porcijo paste in cetrtino pice... danes za zajtrk dve veliki sirovi zemlji... in tako dalje... ocitno so bili nudli res hranljivi... :) Ce ne bi v Ljubljani skoraj laufal z 20kg v rukzaku na vlak bi verjetno zmazal se en velik in masten burek... njam...

In danes prvi sluzbeni dan... jet lag povzroci, da se zbudim ze ob 4h... nato pa par sestankov in "samo" cirka 300 mailov brez spama... fajn... :)

Jutri je nov dan... sicer dopusta sedaj ne bo 6 mesecev, bom pa po glavi mlel Micro$ slogan za Windowse "Where do you want to go today"...

Bangkok cruisin

2006-12-18T14:10:00.000+01:00

Zadnji dan v Bangkoku. Pravzaprav zadnja dva dneva, saj je bus prisel ze v nedeljo ob 6h zjutraj. Sej je bil OK, ampak sem nekoliko izven tajskega standarda tudi po VIP merah :)

No... kot prvo, da ne bo pomote... Fotka ni iz Bangkoka ampak iz "krizarjenja" po Tonle Sap v Kambodzi, in ker mi je vsec sem jo pac moral nekam dati :) Za konec..

Bangkok je zanimiv. Lahko se sprehajas ure in ure in vedno vidis kaj novega. Samo ven je treba iz backpackerskega zavetisca, oz. Khaosan road, ki je podobna tistemu v Phnom Penhu, samo malo manj dodgy... Zato pa tajke v minicah vabijo v precej lokalov, in predvidevam da se brez problema tudi tu dobi druge usluge in ne samo masazo (ok, sex turizma je na Tajskem ogromno, in tudi ce si slep mu tezko ubezis - samo o tem kdaj drugic)... Sej ulica je OK, samo se ti zmesa, ce vsaj malo ne pokukas ven...

Vceraj sem obiskal tudi shopping district Bangkoka (ja vem, bozicno nakupovanje). Za kontrast, najprej poulicni market v Chinatownu, kjer je body contact nujno potreben, saj se je treba riniti skozi mnozico ljudi. Potem pa se supermarket v Siam okrozju, kjer dela klima 100 na uro (pravzaprav je tam supermarket ob supermarketu - in to vec kilometrov - imam obcutek da se ljudje hodijo predvsem hladit in druzit, podobno kot Braziliji). Da ne govorim o tuktuk voznji nazaj na mojo backpackersko ulico... kljub temu da smo imeli tri kolesa, smo kar nekaj casa preziveli na dveh... nooorci...

Sem pa danes zakljucil dan na najlepsi mozni nacin... soncni zahod ob reki, na bangkoski univerzi (ne vem, mogoce je to znamenje, da moram dokoncat magisterij)... zdej pa bo treba pocasi zapravit se preostale bahte (kar niti ne bo tezko), spakirat se zadnjo kramo v ze tako pretezak nahrbtnik in odrinit na letalisce...

Torej... bilo je lepo. Vendar se je treba vrniti v realnost... ali pac ne???

Bangkok, nasvidenje do naslednjic... Ma, kaj... Azija, se se bomo videli :)

Treking - kao #2

2006-12-18T13:37:00.000+01:00

Samo se par fotk iz trekinga... :) Splavarjenje, en slon, hot springs ter za konec se (pre)mlada dolgovratka...

Treking - kao

2006-12-16T12:11:00.000+01:00

Tako... tridnevni treking je za mano.

Prvi dan je bil... khm... skoraj nocna mora... Turistov za umret, to kar smo pa delali pa ravno za tajsko... snake show, kjer sem po prvi predstavi in mucenju kobre raje odsel ven in prisel nazaj kasneje, potem pa se slonji show, kjer so sloni delali vse mogoce za njih nenaravno... od igranja nogometa do slikanja... ceprav, se kdo naj mi rece, da bo slon narisal prav profil slona, ce mu njegov vodnik ne bo pomagal... ja, mogoce so sloni res inteligentni, ne verjamem pa da so tudi tako kulturno izobrazeni... manjkal je samo se kaksen opicji ali pa pasji show...

Potem pa... treking :) sli smo z asfaltiranih cest. Bili smo v vec terencih (suzuki samurai) in zacelo se je tako, da je cesta postajala vedno bolj strma , potem pa pride lokalni vodic... ki svetuje, da prestavimo v 4WL (avtomobile smo za spremembo vozili turisti, to pa lahko nekako enacim z varcevanjem agencije na "uradnih" voznikih - no, in ko so koncno prisli uradni vozniki, turisti vec nismo hoteli izpustiti volana iz rok)... kar pomeni, pogon na 4 kolesa z reduktorjem... in zacela se je ZURKA!!!! Noro, ampak tezko opisem kaj ti navidez terenci zmorejo... prav vsi terenci so bili do konca razstelani, razmajani in se kaj... volani so imeli luft, amortizerji uniceni, vse je skripalo... najprej je bilo nekaj zbetoniranih vzponov (in to bolj strmih in daljsih kot pri nas na Kredo), potem pa se isto po makadamu... gor in dol, luknja ob luknji... vglavnem, cesta ni zasluzila ime makadam. Ce bi padal dez, oziroma ob manjsem nalivu bi bila pot popolnoma neprevozna in predvidevam, da so v dezevni dobi te vasice vec ali manj dosegljive samo pes... Da ne govorim o tem, da je ena izmed voznic (lokalka, da ne bo pomote in zamer) zapeljala s ceste v jarek... in takrat je bila ze posteno tema... in po taki cesti v temi je kar strasljivo voziti... pa ceprav se gre samo 5kmh. Spanje spet v eni vasici - v stari osnovni soli, kjer nas je zopet pricakal za nekaj metrov beton (in neverjetno, lezeci policaj - kdo zaboga bo pa tukaj hitro gonil!!!!!). Je pa tukaj po pravici povedano kar mrzlo, saj smo na visini preko 1000m in kar dalec na severu... pa se jutro je bilo zelo vlazno...

Drugi dan se je zurka nadaljevala skoraj do popoldneva... ja, po koncu tele poti sem bil dodobra pretresen in premesan... Sledilo je splavarjenje, ki je bilo kar dolgocasno in ne ravno zelo zanimivo... Potem pa se je jahanje slonov, ki je bilo podobno neudobno kot v Indiji... Smo pa jahali skozi fantasticno pokrajino, sloni pa so ob poti posmukali in pozrli vse kar je prislo pod njihove rilce... :) Ceprav, po pravici povedano... vodici so kar slabo delali s sloni in jih veckrat posteno udarili, in takrat me je malo prijelo da bi podobno naredil z vodicem... no ok, se ena hladna in vlazna noc ob potoku v vasi, kjer smo jahali slone.

Zadnji dan naj bi bil spet bolj umirjen, brez vecjega off roada... Videli smo ene par etnicnih skupin, ki zivijo tam okoli (npr. ljudstvo, kjer imajo zenske okoli vratu obroce - dolgovratke), in vsi so tako skomercializirani, da jih pravzaprav vidis samo za pulti spominkov... pa se to jih vecina ni njihovih, ampak narejenih bog vedi kje... No, zadnje dejanje je bilo kopanje v vrocem izviru, kar se je kar prileglo po skoraj skoraj treh dneh brez vode...

Sedaj pa... cakam na bus za bangkok... mogoce bo tokratni kaj boljsi... :)

Chiang Mai

2006-12-13T12:23:00.000+01:00

Nocni bus do Chiang Maia oz. takozvani VIP bus. Kao. Prej razpadajoca skripa, ki vozi enkrat hitro, drugic pocasi, kjer vse skriplje in kjer klima dela na -20C (v pozitivo mu stejem samo, da iz klime ne tece voda, tako da ni treba v narocju drzati lavorja - ja, take stvari se tudi dogajajo - konkretno v Kambodzi). Mislim, hladno za pop*****. Po moje tako hladno ni trenutno v Sloveniji... Dobro da sem podobne stvari predvidel ze prej in sem se dobro oblekel...

Chiang Mai je vec ali manj prijetno mestece. Danes sem prisel sem ze ob 6 zjutraj in kljub pomanjkanju spanja sem ze kmalu pohajkoval okoli... Da ne govorim o tem, da sem ob 11h zacel s kuharsko solo... sej je bilo fajn, okusno, samo kaj ko tega doma ne bom moral ponoviti... kot prvo ni vseh sestavin, kot drugo pa... pomanjkanje znanja... pravijo da vaja dela mojstra... bomo ze videli, najprej moram kdaj riz skuhat ne da bi se zasmodil :) Aja, jem pa "spring rolls", verjetno najboljsa stvar pa je bil danes zeleni curry s piscancem... sem dobil zraven tudi kuharsko knjigo, samo mislim, da mi vecino jedi ne bo uspelo ponoviti :(

Jutri se po vsej verjetnosti pricne tridnevni treking. Malo bolj turisticna varianta, saj nas bodo vec ali manj okoli prevazali z dzipi (spet, kao dzipi Suzuki Samuraji), malo se bo jahalo slone, malo se bo splavarilo in eno noc prespalo nekje na prostem pri domacinih. Je pa v okolici precej plemen, tako da bo znalo biti zelo zanimivo. Bomo videli, sicer je pa danes ponoci trznica v Chiang Maiu, in menda predstavniki teh plemen tudi tu prodajajo svoje izdelke... (predvidevam, da gre za dokaj turisticno zadevo). Let's be surprised... :)

Na kratko v Bangkoku...

2006-12-13T12:08:00.000+01:00

Slo je na hitro. Skozi Bangkok s krajsim postankom v Chiang Mai. Bangkok me je resnicno presentil in mi je kot mesto zelo vsec, edino skoda, da verjetno ne bom moral biti dlje tam. Ce bi imel se kak ekstra dan dopusta, bi si naslednji teden kar podaljsal bivanje tukaj... Casa za ogled bo vec ko se vrnem nazaj cez nekaj dni...

Vseeno, najvecji lezeci buda mi ni usel, isto tigri pri menihih... Tako zdolgocasenih mack se nisem videl v zivljenju... verjetno so jih ravno pred navalom turistov dobro nahranili... Se levi v Masai Mari so bili bolj zivahni...

Spet na poti - na sever

2006-12-12T14:04:00.000+01:00

Tale plaza ti res da prevec za razmisljat... in potem ugotovis, da imas samo se priblizno 7 dni potovanja... In v planu imam se kratek ogled severa Tajske (ker en teden na plazi bi se mi zmesalo), zato imam sedaj kratek stopover v Bangkoku pred nadaljevanjem v Chang Mai, kjer me caka 3 dnevni treking. Ok, treking v velikih narekovajih, saj je tisto bolj vozenje okoli z dzipi...

Pravzaprav sem kar malo presenecen nad JV Azijo. Zaenkrat sem videl delcek treh dezel, ki sicer mejijo druga na drugo, so pa hkrati izredno razlicne. Laos me je resnicno ocaral, se posebno sever. Tja bo verjetno se treba iti. Bolj razvita od Laosa pa hkrati precej bolj hard-core za popotnike. Ceste so resnicno obupne, nekatere glavne prometnice so ziva groza... V spominu mi bo ostal Stung Treng, prvo mesto v Kambodzi, ki sta ga krasila Mekong in neverjetna umazanija (ter kuza, ki je okoli prenasal na pol mrtvo podgano). S samimi ljudmi nisem imel ogromno stika, vseeno pa so se mi zdeli bolj prijazni v Laosu. Vidi pa se, da je Kambodza izredno obremenjena s svojo ne tako oddaljeno preteklostjo, saj je prav vladavina Pol Pota povzrocila tako stanje...

Tajska je pa... khm... se popolnoma razlikuje... po razvitosti. Ko prestopis mejo je kot, da bi se na enkrat vse spreminilo. In se res spremeni. Kar naenkrat so ceste dobre (pa ravno sem se navadil na makadam in luknje na cesti), na cesti je ogromno avtomobilov, vse poteka hitreje, umazanije kar naenkrat ni vec... Sicer je vse nekoliko drazje, samo zato pac dostikrat dobis tudi boljso kvaliteto (no, ceprav na Ko Sametu tisti bungalov ni bil ravno vreden denarja - je bila pa ta nesreca, da sem bil tam ravno cez vikend in da je Ko Samet zelo popularen kot vikend destinacija med bangkocani).

Da ne govorim o glavnih mestih. Vientiene je laid-back mesto, brez pretiranega prometa in kaosa. Phnom Penh je kaoticno mesto z ogromno prometa in prahu v zraku. Vseeno pa dobis obcutek, da mesto zivi. Bangkok pa... zahodna metropola, kjer je skoraj vse spolirano... pa vseeno ima zanimiv pridih daljnega vzhoda...

In takole razmisljam... ja, Vietnam res zna biti naslednja destinacija...

Pocitek - na Ko Sametu

2006-12-11T07:49:00.000+01:00

"Smisel zivljenja je lezanje na plazi,
z mozgani na off in civavo na strazi..."

Vsak rabi malo pocitka... in tokrat se ravnam po zgornjem nacelu... pred naskokom na sever Tajske se skok na Ko Samet... na rajske plaze...

Nasvidenje Kambodza, dobrodosla civilizacija...

2006-12-09T12:43:00.000+01:00

Ja, tako kratka razdalja in taksna razlika v razvitosti... ceste so spet normalne, in ni se treba vec voziti 4 ure za 100 kilometrov... Nihce se vec ne vozi na strehah, vse skupaj nekam drvi... Dokaj nezapleten prehod meje, je pa zanimivo kaj je v Poipetu med mejama... Casino, saj so igre na sreco prepovedane na Tajskem... nekaj podobnega kot so bili vcasih duty free shopi na nasih mejah... in to nek mali casino, ogromne stavbe... Je pa dejansko to mesto takoj za pozabiti... Ah, pa se vse stvari so drazje na Tajskem... skoda...

Pot v Battambang...

2006-12-08T12:38:00.000+01:00

Fantasticno... 8 ur z ladjico... najprej po jezeru Tonle Sap in potem se po reki do Battambang... Vseskozi plavajocih vasic, ribicev... noro lepo in sem kar brez besed...

Angkor

2006-12-07T12:17:00.000+01:00

Po skoraj dveh tednih koncno v Siam Reapu, verjetno najbolj turisticnem mestu v Kambodzi. Samo po sebi je mesto dokaj nezanimivo (ceprav je ob reki prav lustno), je pa v blizini ogromno templjev iz casov Kmerskega kraljestva, vkljucno z Angkor Watom.

Phnom Penh

2006-12-06T16:50:00.000+01:00

Potim se. Soba je vroca, brez zraka. Nekako vrti se mi prizor iz filma The beach (obala), ko Leonardo de Caprio caka v Bangkoku na naslednjo akcijo in potem po nekem cudeznem nakljucju dobi pod vrata listek z mapo skrivne obale. Kot da bi prisel v totalno drug svet, ki je tako razlicen od umirjenega Laosa. Ma kaj Laosa, severa Kambodze... Mesto resnicno zivi, utripa, je vse to kar sem pricakoval... umazanijo, urejeni kaos in ogromno prahu... Eh, bluzim... malo delirious... je bil vceraj slovenski overdose tukaj, pa mi nekako to ne pase nekje dalec na drugem koncu sveta... in sem se moral umakniti...

Drugace pa... soba je 4US$. Povsod letajo scurki... fajn... tasty. Zjutraj en scurek nebogljeno lezi na hrbtu in miga... Zasvicam takoj ko se obrisem po tusu. Tale backpackerski district okoli jezera (ne vem iz glave imena, je pa smrdeca mlakuza polna komarjev, verjetno malaricnih) je resnicno ogaben, tuk tukovci vsiljivi, na vsakem metru vsaj trava ce ne kaj vec... Vseeno, hrana pa ni slaba, pa se dolgo je odprto...

Ampak vseeno... I like it... feel like home(pa ne me narobe razumet)... feel like in India... rad imam neurejeno urejeni kaos.... Tudi drugii deli mesta zivijo... in tudi kot glavno mesto precej bolje funkcionira od umirjenega Vietneana... vsaj zdi se mi tako.. .in tukaj bi brez problema prezivel vec dni, samo iz tega dela mesta bi bilo treba iti... npr. predel ob reki Sap je veeeeliko bolj privlacen in na koncu koncev tudi pristen... drugic :)

Drugace pa... imajo zanimivo trznico z enim kupom uporabne in neuporabne krame - Russian market - tako se imenuje, ker so menda rusi tja hodili kupovat na kile... (se zdej mi je malo zal, da si nisem kupil enega novega rukzaka, ki ga dobis za smesne denarje).

Poleg vsega tega vecina obiskovalcev Phonm Penha obisce tudi dva opomnika neprijetne zgodovine, povezana s Pol Potom in rdecimi kmeri - Polja smrti in zapor mucenja...

Eh... grem raje nazaj v sweaty hostel, sanjat o obali... Sicer pa... soncni vzhod ob hostlu je cisto romanticen... ce vsaj smrdelo ne bi in ce bi bil s pravo osebo...

Izmuzljivi delfini v Kratie

2006-12-05T16:39:00.000+01:00

Eh... vrocina je tukaj... soparno... zjutraj ogled delfinov na Mekongu... ogled bolj v narekovajih, bolj vozakanje z ladjico v krogih kot poa kaj drugega... Prvi sok... Kambodza ni samo precej bolj umazana kot Laos, ampak tudi drazja... no ja, bo ze... se vedno je poceni... scurki for free...
Potem pa pocasi transfer v Phnom Penh... minibus vreden Ko to tamo pjeva... npr. meni odspredaj manjka (!!!!) sipa, vse skupaj je zelo cudno in zavore so ocitno bolj slabe... da ne govorim o preperelih sedezih in obilici prahu v busu... voznik je bil fajn nataknjen, ker je dobil ocitno premajhen denar za celo pot, ampak OK... in potem nas skipa dol v Kompong Thomu in je treba iti na drugi minibus... vglavnem, zabavno in nikoli dolgocasno v 7 urah in po 340km...

Pa se sopotniki v minibusu so res face... aja, na strehi pa se je ves cas (!!!) peljal en kamboski decko... menda je bil sefe :P Samo prihod v glavno mesto je trajal in trajal... traffic jam za vec kot uro... kdo bi si mislil... pa se nas voznik se je precej zgubil... to je pa takrat ko se kmete poslje v mesto...

Odhod v Kambodzo

2006-12-04T17:42:00.000+01:00

Treba je pocasi zamenjati drzavo... Obisk se zadnjih slapov v Mekongu (menda najvecji v Aziji), potem pa pocasi naprej proti meji... pravzprav, je pot kar psihicno naporna, saj sedim spredaj... Prvo presenecenje pa cirka 5,6 km pred mejo... S siroke makadamske ceste, kombi zapelje dol s ceste, na ozek makadam, kjer se komaj srecata dva avtomobila... luknje vecje od avta, ampak vseeno... to je GLAVNA cesta med Laosom in Kambodzo... smeh... :) Tudi meja je en obicajen smeh... nasa kombija sta ravno zmotila obmejne policiste, ko so balinali... in ker smo prispeli izven uradnih ur (uradne ure so zelo relativen pojem) je bilo treba placati 2 US$ za formalnosti... no, da ne govorim, da je itak dal napacno stempiljko in da predno je bilo vsega konec je vecina policistov ze metala balincke... :)

Prvo vecje mesto na poti je Stuang Treng... Treba je iti s trajektom iz predpotopne dobe cez reko (most gradijo ze vec let, sedaj je nekako zgrajen nekje na polovico). Totalno nasprotje Laosu. Umazanija vsepovsod, mrtve podgane na ulici, ampak... se vedno okusni fried noodles...
Potem pa naprej do Kratie in to 3-4 ure po verjetno najslabsi cesti v zivljenju... Makadam, makadam in se enkrat makadam... pol poti ga prenavljajo, pol poti je samo preluknjan... eh, to so menda slavne kamboske ceste...

Don Dhet

2006-12-01T17:11:00.000+01:00

Se vedno v Laosu... tokrat na skrajnem jugu... Na 4000 otokih Mekonga, na otockju Don Dhet (oz, nekaj takega, kjer elektrike se dolgo ne bo). Pravzaprav je otok pravi raj, vsaj zame, kjer se lahko ubezi obicajnem backpackerskem kaosu - po bljak soku v Vang Viengu - ok, slednji je bil dober za zurat). Sicer pa, ce je Vang Vieng poln pijanih backpackerjev, pa je Don Dhet poln zadetih od trave... zdej, kakor komu ljubse... meni izredno ne lezi ne eno ne drugo...
No, relaksacija, voznja s kolesom dpo bliznbjih slapovov, visenje v viseci mrezi z najlepsim pogledom na soncni zahod delajo cudeze... in vse to za resnicno smesno ceno...

Trenutno sem v dokaj cudnem razpolozenju in resnicno rabim umik od ponorelega sveta... se posebno slovencev... pa brez zamere...

Vientiene

2006-12-01T17:02:00.000+01:00

Cas v Vang Viengu se pocasi izteka. Kajak je za mano, tudi fotooprema je prezivela v kajaku. Sicer sem se malo p*zdil na mojega krmarja (ki je bil ocitno se vecji neznalica od mene - ampak ok, decko je cisto vredu - sorry Djorje, i ja nisam neki biser), na koncu sva vse lepo speljala... sicer, so se tudiu dfruge posadke prevrnile, in je povsod razna tehnika ostala suha (razen pri paru, ki je pozabil zavezati vrecko). No, zvecer sem nekoliko zaglavil v enem lokalu in v pogovoru s Pjerotom in ostalo klapo, tako da je preostalo do busa za Vientiene le 2 uri... kar pomeni, prakticno nic... Eh, je bil vsaj powersleep v jutranjem busu... :)

Vientiene... zanimivo mestece, zeloooo umirjeno... Sicer je moja utrujenost tudi veliko botrovala k temu... Pravzaprav je to glavno mesto se bolj zaspano kot Ljubljana, ima pa res ene par stvari, ki so vredne ogleda!

Vang Vieng - zadnjic :))

2006-11-30T17:24:00.000+01:00

Samo par fotk... eh, se zadn jic oglasanje iz legla razvrata...

Vang Vieng - zopet

2006-11-28T12:45:00.000+01:00

Veliko aktivnosti, zaradi full suspension kolesa iz Spara za 15k sit totalno ozuljen po rokah in riti ter rahlo zmatran od veslanja... zato, vec fotk :) ... ps: ja vem poziram...

Vang Vieng in backpackers worst nightmare

2006-11-27T14:22:00.000+01:00

Cas je bil za menjavo kraja. Po 6 urni voznji me je tako zaselo v Vang Vieng. Pravzaprav na prvi pogled nic dobrega. Mesto je zgrajeno ob letaliski stezi, ki so jo uporabljali americani ob bombardiranju Vietnama, Laosa ter zelo skrivoma tudi Kambodze. Po pravici povedano, malo zanimivega kar pomeni arhitekture. Se huje pa je, da tole izgleda kot najvecji backpackers hangout. In res je tako hudo kot zgleda. Meni osebno neatraktivno mesto v zelo lepi okolici (kjer je glavna zabava pocasna plovba na tubah - oz. gumah po pocasni reski navzdol in ustavljanje po raznih barih. In res je prepolno annoying backpackerjev, vseeno pa najdes zanimive ljudi... kot npr. starejsi par iz amerike, ki sta po upokojitvi sla potovat za 6 mesecev...

No, moje glavne aktivnosti tukaj so posedanje in kolesarjenje... je tudi en kup kraskih jam, ki pa niso niti pod razno tako lepe kot slovenske... mogoce tudi kaksni kajak bo padel... bom videl jutri... fotk pa zal se vedno ne morem uploadat :(

Luang Prabang

2006-11-25T13:11:00.000+01:00

Ja, do danes zjutraj je slo vse narobe. Najprej prtljaga, potem pa se zelo annoying sosedi. Ti se hoces odpociti po vec kot dnevnem popotovanju, sosedi americani pa hocejo zurat (ok, pridejo iz zura) ob treh zjutraj. Nic ne bil problem, ce le stene ne bi bile lesene in resnicno tanke... skoraj vidis skozi... obcutek imam, da to potem se bolj odmeva. En daljsi in glasnejsi pogovor je potem sledil se cez uro, visek pa so dosegli ob petih... vglavnem... od prijetne noci potem ni bilo nic...

Zato je bil pa toliko bolj prijeten izlet do bliznjih slapov Kwang Si... ja, no 40km oddaljenih, po ne najboljsi cesti. Izlet je bil se celo adrenalinski, saj je tuk tuk dozivel nesreco... heh... guma ni pocila, ampak je skoraj odpadlo celo kolo... ocitno je os dokoncno rekla svoje. In voznik ne bi bil voznik, ce ne bi probal ali bi mu uspelo zadevo popraviti, na sreco pa je bilo na hitro nepopravljivo... Na sreco v roku tricetrt ure pride zamenjava (siguren pa sem, da pokvarjeni tuk tuk ze to popoldne spet vozi turiste). Glede slapov pa... sinje modra barva vode, zjutraj se celo nekaj meglic, prav misticno. Spodaj pa tolmuncki, kjer se da kopat... res pa je, da je voda zame malo mrzla...

Po izletu me je cakala neprijetna zadeva... na letalisce vprasat ali pritljaga je ali ni... in po dveh dneh koncno dobra novica... rukzak me caka, in cas je za akcijo :) Jutri naprej...

Torej... moje mentalno stanje se je v Luangu sedaj izrazito izboljsalo... pa se samo mestece mi je kar vsec... sicer je za moj okus le nekoliko prevec turisticno, ampak ok... je pa varno in zelo poceni...

ps: upam, da mi bo jutri uspelo poslati tudi kako mojo fotko...

Prihod v Laos in veliko razocaranje

2006-11-24T12:14:00.000+01:00

Takole... pa sem v Laosu. V Luang Prabangu... to je dobra novica. Slaba novica pa je, da ni mojega rukzaka, niti nic ne kaze, da bo v naslednjih dnevih tudi prisel. Da grem od zacetka.

Kot prvo so nekaj zakomplicirali v Trstu, v smislu, da ne morejo prtljago cekirat do Luanga. Ok, v Rimu je potem nekoliko nekompetentna usluzbenka precekirala pritljago do Luanga, in ze tam sem imel slab obcutek. In res, grem v Bangkoku vprasat kje je moja prtljaga, oni pa da nic ne vedo in da jo iscejo. In ista zgodba se potem 4-5x ko grem vprasat. Vedno, not yet found, please come later. Vglavnem, namesto, da bi v Bangkoku na transferju prijetno pocival (je le 6 ur razlike) sem se moral ukvarjati s prtljago. Ocitno bi res moral iti ven (in pac placati se eno vizo), saj bi bil tako vsaj preprican, kje je (oz. ni). Do 10h (pristali smo ob 5:30 po tajskem casu) seveda rukzaka niso nasli... in vedno manj imam upanja, da ga bodo nasli... sicer bomo videli jutri...

Sej, cunje se dajo nadomestiti, in tukaj si bom brez problema nakupil majice, hlace in spodnje perilo. Ni mi pa vseeno za potujoco lekarno (na sreco sem imel vsaj antimalarike) elektroniko, saj sem imel tam vse polnilce in rezervne baterije, sedaj pa seveda ne morem vec normalno uporabljat niti fotoaparata... Eh, kaj mi sedaj pomaga vsa ta tehnika, ce pa ne bo energije ki bo to poganjala... da ne govorim o lucki, lonely planetu, in podobnih zadevah. Ne vem, jutri bom videl kako in kaj. Ce na jutrisnjem letu opoldne v Luang ne bo mojega rukzaka ga po moje ne bom vec videl... Vsaj ne na tem potovanju... Sicer pa sem ze gledal, kaj bi kupil... :) in pravzaprav vse razen elektronike in zdravil lahko nadomestim tukaj... sicer bom zgledal smesno, ampak ok :)

Anyway... ta neprijetna dogodivscina je prevladala nad vsemi lepimi vtisi iz Luang Prabanga. Zanimivo mestece, okoli katerega se vije Mekong. Po pravici sem danes rahlo zmatran, saj nisem normalno spal ze kar nekaj casa, pot sem pa je trajala prakticno 26 ur...

Nauk zgodbe pa je... nikdar vec ne letim preko italija ali uporabljam katerokoli italjansko firmo, se pa manj pa China Airways... Sicer pa jutri je nov dan, mogoce bo prinesel kaksno dobro novico...

Next travel destination is... #2

2006-11-19T23:12:00.001+01:00

... south-east Asia...

Only a few days left, i'm flying on Thursday from Trieste via Rome and Bangkok to Luang Prabang. Well, it seems again one of those memorable flight journeys, which will again take more than 24 hours... nice :)

Main goal is to travel that "backpackers" circle is SE Asia - Laos, Cambodia and to finish off in Thailand.

Off course, my travelogue (as usual, slovene only) will start in a few days... I'll try also to publish photos...

Can't wait... on a road again... almost after 11 months ;)

Airline meals

2006-11-14T22:47:00.000+01:00

source: www.airlinemeals.net

... njam... so, all that you ever wanted to know (or don't know) about food on airplanes...

Preview first-, business- and economy class dining menus and lots of pictures of actual airline meals. More than 300 airlines are represented (including staff meals), including our famous national carrier Adria Airways.

http://www.airlinemeals.net/

Well... about good and bad... Personally, i liked the food on Air France (on a way to Egypt and back) and Emirates (to Dubai). Varig (at least for short flights) is also among the best. Czech Airline did excel with huge sandwich (and you could get another one if you were hungry - not like Adria Airways, where the small doesn't deserve the name bread). I have flown the most with Lufthansa... well, it depends what you get. It can be quite tasty, but on the other hand... I remember early morning meal just prior landing to Rio de Janeiro (almost in a half sleep)... My stomach just turned when smelling eggs and bacon... Probably it was not a bad meal, just timing was completely wrong...

But ok... I don't look for great food on the flight, as "economy class" is my mode of air transport. I just need something eatable, that won't give me an extended stay on the toilet... And if somebody gives me a discount, i will skip my meals and bring my own pretzels... Just don't forget to chew them...

Trieste pier...

2006-11-12T22:27:00.000+01:00

Water

2006-11-10T20:29:00.000+01:00

... near the Peričnik waterfall...

Lost luggage...

2006-11-09T18:14:00.000+01:00

I survived my first airport "adventure" since the new liquid rules were introduced. And at least on Brussels airport it was soo bad. Ok, I had to check-in my suitcase due to oversized shapoon and shower-gel, but OK...

Do you ever wonder whats going on with your luggage during air travel and airport transfer? Here is the answer...

Well... as far of statistics... Of the two billion bags checked every year, about five of every 1,000 are mishandled, and about .002 percent goes unclaimed. If your luggage gets lost and you don't claim it, it usually goes to luggage heaven aka "lost luggage capital of the world". Its interesting what kind of things people leave behind and never claim... From computers to fairy licious costume... Ok, the latter is obvious why... :)

Hand luggage...

2006-11-03T18:20:00.000+01:00

Well... apparently there are new rules for hand luggage at all EU airports. New rules on what is permitted in hand luggage will take effect on 6 November 2006.

Here is a short instruction from our national carrier...

Liquids, gels and aerosols are only allowed in hand luggage in small quantities (no more than 100 ml per item) and if correctly packaged. The same rules apply at all airports in all 25 EU countries (departing or changing airplanes). Similar rules for hand luggage apply in the US and Canada.

The new rules cover liquids such as water and other beverages, gels, pastes, lotions and the contents of aerosol cans. Toiletries such as toothpaste, shaving cream, hair gel, lip gloss and creams also fall under the rules. So, no more taking your drinks to the airplane or transfer premises... You will have to buy overpriced drinks there...

These are the rules for liquids in your hand luggage:

1. You can only take liquids and gels in containers of no more than 100 millilitres on board the aircraft.
2. These containers must be carried in transparent plastic bags.
3. There is a limit of one transparent plastic bag per person.
4. The volume of the transparent plastic bag may not be greater than 1 litre.
5. The transparent plastic bag must be re-sealable.

You may bring a suitable plastic bag from home. And apparently most airports will have free plastic bags, at least at the beginning.

There are two exceptions to the above rules:

1. Baby food needed during the flight (hmmm... i guess parents will again need to eat half of the dose, just to check if it is OK);
2. Medicines needed during the flight.

Good thing is... You can still make purchases, including duty-free purchases, after ticket and/or passport control and on board European airline flights. Liquids and gels that you buy after ticket and/or passport control or on board will be packed and sealed for you as necessary by the shop or cabin personnel. The seal is valid for one day. If you must change planes, you may not break the seal until you reach your final destination.

To sum up... do I agree? Not really. It will just make cues much longer (especially on Ljubljana airport) and more hassle. Will I feel safer, knowing there are no "dangerous" liquids on the board? Not really... But i guess others will... Beware when making purchases on non-EU airports or non-EU airlines... If you have after the flight still one connection flight to catch, it is most likely that you will be unable to take home any of the stuff...

But OK, i'm flying this sunday to Brussels, so, i will use the last day of good-old-days... :)

Perception of beauty

2006-11-02T18:49:00.000+01:00

... is our perception really distorted? Can photoshop really make people more beautiful?

Source: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/

Heh... there is already a parody on the video above...

Greg's digital archive includes some of his examples how digital retouch can improve photos... those are really extreme ones... and he shows that PS can distort much more than only humans...

1 November

2006-11-01T08:58:00.000+01:00

... its an All-Saints day... the day when traffic jams near graveyards are not uncommon...

Mojstrovka

2006-10-31T22:32:00.000+01:00

... another beautiful day... so, lets go climbing... Goal was to reach a 2332m high summit of Mala Mojstrovka over north face (so called Hanzova route).

Summitpost.org says... "One of the sweetest and most attractive Slovenian ferrata trails leads through very steep north face of Mala Mojstrovka. Its name is Hanzova Pot trail. When one observes the face from the Sleme it seams impossible for ordinary mortals to tackle the face but Hanzova Pot safely takes you to the summit offering on the way great fun and action. Anyway this is not for inexperienced mountaineers and especially not for those that suffer from aerophobia."

The last time i was there was in november 2004, but that was an ascent via the normal route, albeit in winter conditions...

Autumn colours

2006-10-29T22:32:00.000+01:00

A short walk near my home... on a beautiful day...

Horses

2006-10-28T20:13:00.000+02:00

Autumn flowers

2006-10-27T22:15:00.000+02:00

... from my parents garden :-)

Bled

2006-10-22T21:57:00.000+02:00

A beautiful autumn day... at the Lake Bled.

Reflections

2006-10-18T23:16:00.000+02:00

Ljubljana on a sunny October day :) Well, apparently only saturday was bad (and that was a day for a trip to Italy). Otherwise is sunny, albeit a bit cold. Still... Ljubljana in autumn...

Jof di Miezegnot

2006-10-14T19:44:00.000+02:00

Well, we had great weather all week... So, let's go on a short trekking on saturday... to Jof di Miezegnot , 2093 meters high, with interesting remains of First world war (Isonzo front).

Location:

Of course, weather went sour, with clouds (and fog) at quite low level... So, one of the companions was also a doggy called Lucifer, or shortly Feri... maybe he had something to with the weather... ? So, instead of excellent views all around we got more that we bargained for... cold weather with dense fog :) Visibility at the top was around 5 meters :(

[EDIT: next day it was sooooooooo nice]

So, no nice panoramic photos, just some Feri-ones...

Too busy...

2006-10-10T20:29:00.000+02:00

... and I really need to clean my office... :)

Driving...

2006-10-09T23:12:00.000+02:00

Going home... and... Kratwerk's Autobahn coming to my mind :)

Barcolana

2006-10-08T22:59:00.000+02:00

The biggest regatta in the Mediterranean. Barcolana in the Gulf of Trieste.

For me personally, too far and not particularly interesting. But thats just me :-) At least the boat that won was exceptional...

Day in night

2006-10-07T22:49:00.000+02:00

Well... full moon... spooooky effect... All photos were taken around midnight... :-)

Photos taken near my home in Dovje, Slovenia (google map)

Autumn fruits...

2006-09-29T22:22:00.000+02:00

... from my parents garden...

Sleeping in airports...

2006-09-20T22:03:00.000+02:00

Well, most of the travellers spent at least a few hours sleeping some of the hourse in the airport terminal. Some strive for the most comfortable, others for the most silent place. Its not easy always to find the best and the safest place.

If you plan to spend a night in the airport, here is one useful page... http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

Sleepinginairports.com's top five
1. Changi, Singapore: Free Internet access, reclining chairs in designated snooze spots, a luxury spa and lounge so quiet that students visit just to study for exams.
2. Amsterdam Shiphol, The Netherlands: Comfortable chairs and a casino to while away the hours.
3. Auckland International, New Zealand: Few announcements, couches and a mini-theatre.
4. Helsinki-Vantaa. Finland: Showers, couches and Internet.
5. Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong: Overstuffed chairs, children's play area , courteous staff.
Top of the pops at the worst end is Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), an airport in which one of the contributors for Sleepinginairports.com witnessed 7 seven being killed in a gang shoot-out. When in Port Moresby, be sure you're wearing your bullet-proof vest and run. Others getting honorable notion are Bombay and Delhi (India), Cairo (Egypt), Boston and Chicago (USA).

My experience is... Munchen was a place where i spent long hours this year... And it was fine... safe and quiet (ok, mind the occasional "echo of high heels" due to the echo friendly structure). In Frankfurt you can also find nice benches to sleep on. Dubai is also popular with sleeping... though it can get really crowded, and the best places are taken early... I remember there were also nice comfortable chairs in Manaus (Brazil) airport - unfortunately i had to spend most of my time on the toilet... damn... On the other side, i would pass Ljubljana airport to sleep... small, nothing to do and not really comfortable chairs. Probably at least Dar es Salaam should be added to a negative list... where a traveller doesn't feel to safe, but ok, if you don't fell asleep, it could still be a nice night... An award for the smallest place that looks like a small bus station (ok, i heard that they enlarged it recently) in opinion goes to the Treviso airport (Ryanair calls it Venice airport - yes, if only it wasn't some 40-50km away).

Tamar trip

2006-07-31T20:41:00.000+02:00

Piknik

2006-07-27T20:25:00.000+02:00

Korcula, Croatia

2006-07-16T20:12:00.000+02:00

No comment. :-)

Travel photography

2006-06-22T19:39:00.000+02:00

Well, i think i need to write something about the travel photography. I love to travel and to take nice photos. So, i often get a question. What kind of equipment is the best for travelling, what camera, ...

Basically, there is no clear answer. Equipment depends on several factors. Whether somebody wants to travel light, whether focus is on taking photos, location, time, and not the least money. Analog/digital? Compact/SLR??

My travel equipment depends on location and how i will travel. If i'm backpacking, i will surely pack less equipment than when staying with someone or travelling with a group.

My basic digital gear consists from:
- Canon 20D
- Canon 28-135IS
- a few CF memory cards
- Image tank 40gb
- an extra battery with charger
- small tripod (very light)

Almost always I will add something wide. If I want to travel really light, my kit lens, but since I have 17-40, thats my companion. When going to safari, tele zoom lens is indispensible... For low light photos 50/1.8. I only rarely take with me my Sigma flash. But at the end of the day, most of my photos are taken with 28-135IS... Surely, I have a really good backpack for photo equipment, Lowepro Compu trekker. But, as i usually travel quite light, i don't take this backpack when going out of Europe.

So, here are a few links...
http://www.danheller.com/tech-travel.html (Dan Heller is one of my favourite travel photographers)
http://www.fodors.com/focus/
http://www.photo.net/travel/traveltips
http://www.photographers.co.uk/html/travel-camera-gear.cfm
http://www.photosecrets.com/p00.html

And by the way, if you are still travelling with analog equipment and using films, read this warning!

Rome

2006-06-18T22:12:00.000+02:00

Rim... no, pravijo da vse poti v Rim. Zato je bilo treba končno tudi obiskati večno mesto... Mesto zanimivo, malce kaotično, tipično italijansko in seveda zato tudi privlačno. Hrana odlična, seveda glavna dieta je bila pizza, običajno tudi kakšni špageti. Pravzaprav me je mesto presenetilo, poleg tega je ravno prav veliko tako da se da veliko kar prehoditi... Kaj pa je negativno? Definitivno cene prenočišč... za manj kot 100EUR na noč je praktično nemogoče kaj dobiti, razen če se ne spi nekaj kilometrov iz centra (kar pa je škoda)...

Link: http://matty.breg.si/photo/europe/italy/rome/index.htm

------------

Eternal city of Rome. Actually, one of the few famous european capitals that still (until last weekend) avoided me. Yes, it was so close, yet too close to visit... :)

Its nice, worth a visit for more than a weekend. City is a bit chaotic, but thats Italy. Food is excellent, so is wine. Probably the only drawback are the prices of accomodation, as it is difficult or even impossible to get anything under 100EUR. But still... this city got to be on the intinerary of every traveller in Europe...

Preživela scena - fotografska razstava

2006-06-18T11:10:00.000+02:00

Z malo zamude, pa bolje kot prepozno. 11. maja je bila v Galeriji Krvina otvoritev razstave oz. fotografij Matjaža Bevka z naslovom Preživela scena.

Pravzaprav skoraj vse pove komentar Radota Miklavčiča: "Matjaž z uporabo moderne digitalne tehnike in navezovanjem na stil starih mojstrov, svojim umetninam skuša vdahniti drugačnost in razpoznavnost. V zgodnejših delih se osredotoča predvsem na ženski obraz, pri fotografijah, ki so nastale v zadnjem času, pa je postala pomembnejša zgodba, ki jo podobe pripovedujejo. Fotograf gledalca večkrat preseneti z rekviziti in dodatki, za katere se na prvi pogled zdi, da ne sodijo v kompozicijo. Prav to pa gledalca spodbuja k razmišljanju in poglabljanju v "preživelo sceno". Dodatno mistiko daje fotografijam Špelin prepoznavni styling."

No, ko sem že pri Matjažu in Špeli... ravno v začetku februarja smo imeli pri njiju doma krajši photo session.

Fotke z razstave: http://matty.breg.si/photo/misc/otvoritev-mb/index.htm oz. direktna povezava do kolaža predstavljenih fotk

Vse to in še več se pa nahaja na Špelini novi spletni strani: http://makeup.yb-visual.com/

--------------

Photo exibition - Survived scene

Matjaž Bevk presented himself as a photographer and Špela Kolar as a stylist. With the use of modern technique and old style and unusal objects Matjaž tried to inspire with something different and distinguishable. Špela gives the photos special touch with her recognizable styling.

Link: http://matty.breg.si/photo/misc/otvoritev-mb/index.htm and photos presented.

Needles to say, we had with Matjaž a photo session, just a few months ago.