Sharon
Sharon Tamari Joined: August 16th 2005
Logged in: June 22nd 2009
Logged in: June 22nd 2009
Travel Blog Posts
Thessaloniki
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, pubs and restaurants in the main sqaure and the sea promanade, crowded with people all day and night. Not too many sights to see, though. A lot of churches and at least one sinagauge that ... read more
Sofia by night
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) so finding one would be almost impossible, I guess. Shame, this is going to be expensive...also in Bulgaria, BTW, in towns having similiar population, we could not find any. On the other hand, our CS ... read more
הי, לכבוד סיום הטיול ולכבוד חזרתי לארץ אני אכתוב בעברית. מקווה שיכולת ההתבטאות שלי תהיה לפחות כמו זו באנגלית. להלן סיכום רשמים, מסקנות ותובנות אליהן הגעתי לאחר כמעט 3 חודשים בסין, בחלקן יתכן ואחזור על נושאים שכתבתי בעבר: 1. "תה ואורז יש בסין ולנו יש קדחת". בעוד שלנו כבר מזמן אין קדחת, בסין התה והאורז עדיין רווחים. אחד המנהגים היפים בסין הוא שבתחילת כל ארוחה מגישים תה. לפעמים זה רק מים חמים אבל גם נחמד. חינם אז חייבים לשתות. ארוחה טיפוסית בסין מורכבת ממספר מנות מוקפצות הכוללות סוגי ב... read more
Chonging by night
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 wider and higher so the 3 gorges will not be as high as before. This is why it was an opportuntity for me to see the 3 gorges before they are gone. The river has ... read more
Emei Shan
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 the climbing is very difficult. The mountain is very touristic by Chinese tourists. They normally hike in the trails near the bus stops or the cable car stops as through the mountain there is a ... read more
A cute panda
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 is so good to be again in a big and a modern city. Its only problem is the polution. The sun, stars and moon are not seen, normally. In Chengdu, like in any other big ... read more
In Litang
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 other. Only the men, the women probably make the living. The atmosphere here is very relaxed and the people are very friendly. The childern practice with 'hello' and 'bye bye' while I practice with the ... read more
Lijiang
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 the traditional Naxi clothes. To my surprise, she appeared as a thin lady with a short-cut hair, wearing regular clothes. She is the dominant figure in the couple and very energetic. Papa stays in the ... read more
In Dali
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 the local Chinese tourism is around 700 million. The other 700 million are too poor to travel. While travelling, the relatively rich Chinese hardly see the poor villages and people around. Their situation is in ... read more
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 travelling with me again (might it be the same woman that following me in all the buses and vomits???). In the first part of the ride (for about 6 hours), the road was very curving ... read more
