Street vendor, Addis Ababa

By way of contrast with the photos I posted yesterday, today I have shown some scenes of the shops and buildings of some of the ordinary people living in the bustling city of Addis Ababa. There are thousands of street vendors like the one shown above, selling everything from fruit and vegetables to clothing to shoes to whatever you want.

Shops in suburban Addis Ababa

Many of the shops are tiny – perhaps only a few square metres in the front room of a house. Bakeries, butcher shops, furniture shops, car repair garages, cafes, clothing shops, sheep and goats for sale, shoe shops – the list could go on and on. In any one street you can find thousands of different items for sale. It’s all very colourful and diverse with pedestrians moving along the street – or on the road – all the time.

One interesting thing we observed in moving through the streets and looking into shops; they are generally very clean. The street may be rough with potholes, drains, animal excrement and the like, but most shopkeepers take a pride in their shops and the wares they are selling. Even in the poorest areas they attempt to give good service and a good product.

Shops in suburban Addis Ababa

Shops in suburban Addis Ababa

Shops in suburban Addis Ababa

It was with a certain amount of interest then that I read a recent post on my daughter’s site. She has listed an amusingly helpful list of 20 things to do at the airport. Only a few days ago we farewelled her at our local international airport in Adelaide. She is now in Ethiopia for a semester of teaching. On her site she will regularly write about her experiences.

Links:

• 20 things to do at an airport
• Rose’s Travel Jottings – my daughter’s travel experiences in Europe and Ethiopia
  
• My travels in Nepal
• My travels in Thailand

I thought about that sentence for a few minutes. I guess travel anywhere has been hazardous in many different eras, and nothing has really changed, except perhaps the types and nature of the threats. In 2005-06 when I travelled to Thailand I thought very little about any hazards and I had a great time. I would think twice about going there at the moment with their political problems. (Read about my experiences here.)

from Thailand I went to Nepal for a month. This was a life changing experience, but the Maoists were very active at the time. On one occasion I was confined to my hotel for 24 hours because of bombings a short distance away from my hotel in Kathmandu. It was risky but I survived. Every tourist needs to sum up the relevant risk factors relating to their travel destination and make a call. In reality, there is probably more risk in driving to my local supermarket for shopping than the risks involved in travel to most overseas countries. Far more people die in car accidents than plane crashes, for example.

I recently had my attention drawn to an Australian site which gives Australians advice when planning an overseas holiday. Aussie Travel Advice is an independent travel site especially set up to help Australians. Go and have a look here.

Ama Dablam, Nepal, 2006

Over recent weeks the local television stations here in South Australia have been running a series of advertisements from the Ministry of Tourism and promoting Incredible India, their official tourism web site. The web site is actually very good.

It covers pages that will help you to get to know India, its people and cultures, its geography and history and its festivals and fairs. Other sections include a Help Desk and a facility to read the information in different languages. There is also a Holiday Ideas section and a Search button.

Links:

• Incredible India – official Ministry of Tourism web site.
• India Ink – a blog about travelling in India and other countries.

For me, however, the cycling is secondary. I mainly watch the race to see the magnificent French countryside and their wonderful architecture. I can sit there for hours watching the scenery on television. The outcome of the race unfolding being of much lesser importance to me.

I would love to explore the countryside in France. There seems to be so many beautiful places to discover and enjoy. I would particularly like to go hiking through parts of the country so I could get a personal appreciation of both the people and the environment.

One region that would be high on my list of places to see would be Provence. There are many blogs covering this region of France but I wish to mention just one: chez mistral. This charming blog has a focus on the food, wines, places to stay and things to see in the Provence region.

Perhaps one day I will live out my dream.

A major feature of his blog is the photography, whether that be of a Cormorant sitting on a jetty, a wind-whipped seascape, a delicate spider’s web or a panoramic mountain scene the quality shows a master at work.

Pete is currently travelling overseas. His latest articles feature a long journey through India during November through to February. It makes fascinating reading, complemented by wonderful photos from India.

So instead, I travel vicariously via travel blogs. Possibly one of the best travel blogs I’ve come across is called India Ink. This blog is written by Basia, an instructional designer who lives in Chennai. Being single, she has been able to spend many holidays in different parts of India, as well as many other exotic locations. Some of these include Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe (she was born in Poland) and the USA, where she grew up.

Basia has written about her impressions of the many places she has visited. These accounts are wonderful; I especially loved her piece about taking a luxurious bath in the Everest View Hotel after struggling up the mountains while trekking in Nepal.

In my opinion, the main strength of her blog, however, is the photography. It is brilliant. She never hesitates to not only take the spectacular, but she focusses her camera on the bizarre, the unusual and the ordinary things of life in these cultures.

Highly recommended.

Links:

• India Ink – India and beyond – the good, the bad, the ordinary and the spectacular.
• Travels in Nepal – from my travel blog
• Travels in Thailand – from my travel blog

The View from Fez is a blog which has six different contributors. Fez is the third largest city in Morocco with a population of nearly a million. This blog, like so many of its type, has many beautiful photos, well worth the time lingering over them. But this blog is far more than the photos.

It includes a wonderful array of impressions of life in Morocco. It features the people, the culture, the customs and the festivals of this fascinating city. It also has hints for tourists and articles about what to see.

Links:

• Fez, Morocco – the Wikipedia article on the city
• The View from Fez – a blog about Fez, Morocco
• My Marrakesh – another blog from Morocco
• Travels in Nepal – my travel experiences in Nepal
• Travels in Thailand – my travels in Thailand

The View from Morocco is a blog that takes an eclectic look at life in Morocco, a look at all its fascinating mysteries and beauties from shopping though to trekking in the mountains. It includes wonderful photos, hints for the traveller, places to go and see and even recommended restaurants to visit. Goodness – it even includes such diverse things as cycling in Morocco through to genuine Moroccan recipes!

Someday I hope we get there.

Links:

• The View from Morocco

• Travels in Thailand - from my journal written during my trip to Thailand.
  

• Travels in Nepal - from my journal written during my trek in the Everest region, visits to Chitwan National Park and impressions of Kathmandu.

• My Marrakesh – a blog about lifestyle and design in Marrakesh, Morocco, including beautiful photography.

My wife and I often dream of visiting some very exotic places. We love watching the several travel programmes currently shown on local television. Armchair travelling is by far the cheapest form, followed closely by vicarious adventures via books and magazines (but not expensive if borrowed from the local library).

This is where the internet can be so useful. One can instantly travel to so many exotic and wonderful destinations with no cost, no danger and no inconvenience. Mind you, it isn’t quite the same as being there, but still very enjoyable.

One blog I recently found was a wonderful site called My Marrakesh. It’s about lifestyle and design in Marrakesh and has some beautiful photographs to complement the writing. Well worth a visit.

Morocco is one country my wife would love to visit. Her dream is to travel by train from Marrakesh to Casablanca. Sounds wonderful. Perhaps one day we will make it. I’ll just have to keep on writing so I can take her on the journey of her dreams.

Links:

• Travels in Thailand - from my journal written during my trip.
  

• Travels in Nepal - from my journal written during my trek in the Everest region, visits to Chitwan National Park and impressions of Kathmandu.

• My Marrakesh – a blog about lifestyle and design in Marrakesh, Morocco, including beautiful photography.