Hi, From Sandanski in south Bulagria, we took a train to Thessaloniki in Maceodonia. The ride took 3 hours including 2 stops for the border control. In Thessaloniki, we were hosted by a very nice couple for 2 nights. We had a great tome with them, having high level conversations and debates as Jenny, the lady is a very political person. So we were trying to solve both Greece problems with FYROM and Israel problems with tre West Bank and Gaza. Not too much of success. Thessaloniki is a charming and lively city, reminds of Tel Aviv with many shops, cafes, [View Full Entry]

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Hi, We are now in Sandanski, about 25km from the Greek border. Tomorrow we will cross the border and arrive to Thessaloniki. The big question now is if to do it by train or by bus, anyhow, it is about 3 hours. Since Greece should be much more expensive then Bulgaria (that what we have heard...), at least we found a coach in Thessaloniki for 2 nights. On our route west, however, in the Greek Macedonia, in towns such as Edessa and Kastoria (each has population of about 20k) there are very few couches to select from (maybe 4 in each) [View Full Entry]

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הי, לכבוד סיום הטיול ולכבוד חזרתי לארץ אני אכתוב בעברית. מקווה שיכולת ההתבטאות שלי תהיה לפחות כמו זו ב” [View Full Entry]

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Hi, I have just returned from a great cruise on the Yangtze river from Chongqing to Yichang for about 4 days. As I was proceeding east, the clear sky of the mountains of Sichuan and Yunan are replaced with hazy and polluted sky as east China is very industrial. As part of this massive industrialization, the Chinese are in the process of building a huge dam on the river that upon completion, in 2009, will be the biggest in the world. 5,000 thousands people are currently working in this project around the clock. The dam will cuase the river to be [View Full Entry]

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Hi, Emei Shan is a holy mountain with many temples and monestaries 2 hours south of Chengdu. I have been hiking there 3 days. In low height, the scenary is beautiful but as I proceeded up and up, the weather became more fogy and hazy so the visibilty was very bad. On one hand this is, of course, a misadvantage but on the other hands this fits my knowledege, based on Chinese movies that I have watched, that China is a fogy and misty country. Another annoying thing here is that all the trails are concrete and many many stairs so [View Full Entry]

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Hi, After an exhusting week of travelling from Yunan to Sichuan through monutains in elevation around 3,000 to 5,000 meters (though beautiful landscape and people), I have arrived to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. After no hot water, not to speak about running water at all, I have now good showers. After tempratures around zero, I got rid of my tiets, gloves, wool hat, etc. After Chinese people that they can hardly say more then 'hello', 'bye bye' and 'thank you', in the hostel here the people can speak fluent English. Life is much easier and comfortable here, in Chengdu. It [View Full Entry]

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Hi, Litang is situated in an area that once was Tibet, before the Chinese tore it from Tibet and attached it to Sichuan province. They did the same in other provinces such as Yunan, Gansu and maybe more. So the majority of the people here is Tibetian. Litang itself is a crazy place, it is the Wild West. Tibetian cowboys ride on their motorbikes (not Harli, just Honda) with their great customs. A coat made of yak wool is very common here. It seems that they do nothing, just hang out all day at the city center and chating with each [View Full Entry]

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Hi, Mama and Papa Naxi guest house is probably the best guest house in the world. This is not an exagaration, I have stayed in quite a few in my life. Several people that I have met during my travelling in China recommended me about this guest house. Normally, when there is one common opinion, it is normally true. Everyone was telling me about the family atmosphere and that Mama treats you like a real Polish mother, you should eat and a lot, until you explode. I have imagained Mama Naxi as a big and fat woman at her sixties, wearing [View Full Entry]

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Ni Hao, In this period of the year, it is low season in China, but still, many Chinese tourists over here. Not so many foreign tourists. The typical Chinese tourist travels with an orgonized tour, in a luxurios bus. They travel from one tourist attraction to another with the bus, take a lot of photos and hardly walk. Here, in Dali, the women even sometimes buy a typical Chinese custom, wear it and take photos with it. Very kitschy. So Dali is a very touristic city with many shops, restuarants, etc. But, still, a very charming old city. The potential of [View Full Entry]

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Hi, After 3 exhusting days of travelling from Laos, I finally arrived to Dali in Yunan province. While waiting for the passport stamping at the Chinese border, I was pushing with all the other people (in China acts as a Chinese) in order to save my rights. To my surprise, the policeman ordered us to stand in the line, otherwise he won't continue. Am I crossing back to China? The other evidence to the fact that I was back to China (except the stamp in my passport), was that on the night bus from Mengla to Kunming, the vomitting woman was [View Full Entry]

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