http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Ali/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Ali en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 11:16:07 +0000 Mon, 20 May 2013 11:16:07 +0000 7 nights in Iceland is not enough. It is impossible to loop the entire country taking in the sites and photographing everything in 7 nights. It is impossible because drive in any direction and 10 minutes later there is something else that blows all expectations that you must stop for. This is why Iceland has 24 hours of daylight in June so that ill prepared tourists like me can actually accompli http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Iceland/blog-735149.html I39ve spent most of the last 10 years hiding on islands or mountain tops the last 3 years in Kuala Lumpur. I39ve avoided blogging conferences. Well maybe not avoided but most of the conferences happen in the USA. I39m living here out in Malaysia. Well a few weeks ago I was approached by MITBCA Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Conference and Awards could we do some cross promot http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-715509.html TravelBlog is 10 today. Now it39s a globally recognised site with around 300000 accounts millions of photos and blogs. The site is improving every single day and 2012 is going to be a great year for TravelBlog the best yetBehind the scenes it39s been 10 years of work I39ve written hundreds of thousands of lines of code designed interfaces updated many servers employed staff and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-704147.html Somehow I39ve managed to avoid the Similans for nearly 5 years each year after hearing reports from friends I39d promise myself a trip during the next season November to March is the best time for diving off the West Coast of Thailand. I39d then either be in South America or recovering from dengue I deserve a little more sympathy for the second reason. This year life has been about b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Similan-Marine-NP/blog-608974.html How many people can say they discovered a new speciesAt a guess something along the lines of number identified species which depending on definition is between 2 and a 100 million wikipedia. Lets say for simplicity that there are 10 million species on this planet and that half were catalogued by a handful of early biologists pretwentieth century and another 4 million during the twentiet http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulawesi/Lembeh/blog-609890.html Blog lag means I post in April 2011 about events in December 2009. My brief excursion through Java ended with the short hop over to Bali and a few days in Ubud.These are photos taken in the Monkey Forest in Ubud well worth the entrance fee and the dollars for the bananas purely for the entertainment. These little guys will do anything for a banana. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Ubud/blog-464732.html Summary If you think you have a rough job think again. This has to be the world's worst jobWanted Sulphur CollectorDedicated and determined individual required to collect sulphur from the interior of an active volcano. Must be physically fit at the moment as you will be required to walk 16 km daily ascending and descending a tricky slippery rocky sheer track of about 800m whilst balancin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Ijen-Plateau/blog-464724.html Until now Java had remained a mystery to me. The most populous island of one of the world's most populous countries home of coffee volcanoes and a programming language. With only 9 days planned a route from Yogjakarta to Bali emerged I'd forsake diving for volcanoes what with the rainy season in this part of the world the underwater world would be choppy and murky anyway.Luckily I was tre http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Mount-Bromo/blog-464704.html Despite waking at 4am jumping in a minivan before 4.30am and being at the temples before 6am I missed dawn at the temple. The golden glowing images with silhouettes of Buddhas and stuppas stretching as far the eye could see weren't waiting for me.Instead thousands of bus loads of local tourists and school kids clambering around loud speakers intermittently directing people not to climb on http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Borobudur/blog-464593.html Whale Sharks Nature's Biggest FishIn 7 years of diving I've missed more whale shark sightings than the average diver with something like 700 dives completed I've never seen one. I'd stopped believing.Each season on the Perhentians I'd miss the whale shark either being on a visa run taking a morning off or the boat would be broken I missed seeing these beautiful creatures time and time http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Terengganu/Pulau-Tenggol/blog-418298.html It's 6.30am I'm awake eyes wide no time for coffee and I'm heading up to the dive shop the streets of the sleepy village of Tulamben are quiet the only sounds are from the ever present cockerels and the hiss of scuba tanks being tested and filled.Tulamben is famous worldwide to divers as the village where you can shore dive the Liberty wreck. Thirty meters out from the rocky shore and 30m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Tulamben/blog-400703.html Happy New Year out with the old and in with the new again. I wish everyone happy and fulfilling adventures for the next year.I'm in Edinburgh for the New Years in Scotland the celebration is called Hogmanay and has it's own associated traditions first footing visiting friends homes singing Auld Lang Syne or more accurately singing the known few words and mimingdroning the rest I t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Midlothian/Edinburgh/blog-358972.html I don't often get time to update my blog now but sometimes I'm lucky enough to see something or do something so amazing that I just want to write it up straight away. Yesterday was one of those days.Nusa Penida is a rocky rugged island off the southeast of Bali virtually uninhabited undeveloped a sanctuary of wilderness on land and a deep water wonder under the sea. I thank the Blue Planet http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Nusa-Penida/blog-329275.html Uspallarta is both the name of a small village and a remote pass between Mendoza and Santiago Chile. Travelling between Santiago and Mendoza was a joy beautiful craggy mountains twisting roads that double back on them selves over and over looping up the mountain.After arriving in Mendoza I headed back to the village spent an afternoon on horseback taking photos when I could convince the be http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Uspallata/blog-274247.html Sitting in a hostel common room in Bariloche Argentina I'm debating where to go next south into the increasing chill north a wine tour in Mendoza east to the coast where soon the whales will return or west into Chile across the Andes and to the small town of Pucn where an active Volcano can be climbed.So many options and unfortunately my time in South America is in it's final few weeks http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Villarrica-Volcano/blog-271558.html Picture a flat flooded landscape strange piglike pigsized rodents grazing on the short grassy islands beautiful gaudy macaws glide above cawing noisily cows wallowing neck deep in tea coloured water. Sunsets that reflect golden hues in every direction a world you could invert and almost see the same. I ride a stocky pantanal horse a mongrel breed that descended from those strong enough to http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Pantanal/blog-259240.html As the cold winds blow in from the south the year continues it's cycle in the southern lands at latitude 41 degrees it's autumn. Bariloche is a chocolate box beauty and the gateway to Patagonia famed for it's skiing and hiking it's hills mountains and lakes.Visiting a ski resort inspired my lust for snow I've missed the mountains and skiing for too many years now. But walking past so many c http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Rio-Negro/San-Carlos-de-Bariloche/blog-270323.html Photos from the Iguau Iguazu parks and my days there. The birds are from the Iguacu bird park and are fairly used to close contact with people hence it's easy to get up close. The butterflies cayman kuati and new friends are from the Argentinian side of the falls. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Paran-/Foz-do-Igua-u/Igua-u-National-Park/blog-260357.html Waterfall photos from Iguazu National Park both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides.I took a second trip to Iguacu Iguazu the most spectacular waterfalls I have ever seen the first trip was back in November secretly I wasn't happy with the photographs with a new camera Nikon D300 and it's first serious outing I messed up the settings left the ISO on the value I'd used for a nigh http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-260349.html During my time in Rio de Janeiro I took two trips to the big island Ilha Grande it sounds so natural in Portuguese but translated Big Island clumsy. It is virtually road and car free a natural relaxed paradise just a few hours from the hustle of big city Rio.For most of it's history as part of the country of Brazil Ilha Grande was a high security prison off limits to the public the m http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Ilha-Grande/blog-258885.html