http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/The Travel Camel/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from The Travel Camel en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 14:37:34 BST Mon, 12 May 2008 14:37:34 BST ldquoA church made of bonerdquo I exclaimed. ldquoYes and tastefully done toordquo came Ralphrsquos reply. The bus taking both of us from the city of Palmyra in Syria continued to rumble along the dusty desert highway as visions of a bone church unfurled in my mind. I again questioned ldquoHuman bonerdquo and the answer though expected was still a surprising ldquoYesr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Alentejo/-vora/blog-271110.html On the surface the Gulf States are a wealthy land populated by modestly dressed men and women who follow the precepts of Islam and devoutly adhere to the Koran. However underneath this veneer there writhes debauchery of a most surprising kind. The initial foray into the Gulf States was Kuwait which might just have the worldrsquos most inefficient visaonarrival system. You would surmise http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Bahrain/Manama/blog-270980.html Syria is fast becoming one of my favourite countries as it possesses the four ingredients that make for memorable travel attractions culture food and people. The splendours of Krak des Chevaliers and Palmyra awakened me to the first two of these ingredients but for the final two I needed to plunge into the cities of Aleppo and Damascus.Aleppo reminded me of a smaller version of Cairo thoug http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-265444.html Within the troubled history of the Middle East the Golan Heights hold a particularly inauspicious name. Fought over in both 1967 and 1973 between Israel and Syria this piece of land was finally placed under UN control with the Syrian and Israeli forces staring sternly at each other from across the minefield laden noman's land. Quneitra was the arearsquos regional capital housing 37000 res http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Al-Qunaytirah/blog-262872.html It is fortunate that Travelblog does not limit the number of superlatives allowed within a single entry otherwise writing about the two powerhouses of Syrian historical sites 8211 Krak Des Chevaliers and Palmyra 8211 would prove a most difficult task.Krak Des Chevaliers or the Castle of Knights was constructed between 1000800 years ago by both the First Crusaders and then the Knights Hos http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/West/Krak-des-Chevaliers/blog-262300.html From the moment I stepped into Beirut International Airport I knew that Lebanon was going to be a very different travel destination. Armed military and police scoured the arrivals hall and I had to pass three passport checks in order to enter the country and on each occasion every page of my passport was checked twice once forwards and once backwards. The immediate impression of Beirut is t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/Beirut/blog-259697.html Great cultures are normally associated with large geographic areas with which to assert their tradition take the Chinese and IslamicArabian cultures as examples. However Japan restricted to a few small islands has managed to maintain one of the worldrsquos great national identities yet defy the ability to control large tracts of lands in order to maintain their heritage. Perhaps the rare http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-99212.html Preconceived ideas about foreign destinations are almost always incorrect but despite my genuine attempts to resist such thoughts the word 'Tokyo' the world's most populated metropolis conjured many words 'noisy' 'crowded' 'grimy'. From the very first moment of leaving Narita airport Tokyo presented a far different reality to my imaginings foremost was the quietness. With so many peo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-97710.html I want a vibrating bed exclaimed my travel companion Fi. No let's get a fluorescent room something more tacky came my reply. Our voices broke the still evening air where in the widened alleys adjacent to the neon glitz of the Shibuyu shopping precinct lies a place affectionally known as ldquoLove Hotel Hillrdquo where a plethora of accommodation awaits every type of tryst. The l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shibuya/blog-94949.html Why is it that I always seem to join the slowest queue at immigration Despite my quick departure from the plane my line moved like treacle rolling uphill as all the passengers who dawdled from the aircraft swiftly passed me to collect their baggage. Unfortunately every person in my queue had some 'discrepancy' in their visa form for serious immigration staff would leave their desks to obtain http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-90964.html They shadow our every movement and surround us with their ethereal presence. Ghosts according to the Taiwanese are everywhere and you should neither fear them nor be frightened for these ghosts are the relatives long unshackled of their corporeal form who are revered so greatly in Chinese culture. For one month a year they come forth from the unknown and walk the earth unseen unnoticed http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Keelung/blog-81204.html A feeling of dizziness descends upon me whilst sitting at my office computer it is Friday afternoon and perhaps the long week is having an impact. Though it should soon pass it doesnrsquot and gets progressively worse like I've just stepped off a sideshow ride. What is wrong My head continues to spin and now an awful nauseousness takes hold so I lower my head into my hands to wait for http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/blog-77927.html They converge on me like a swarm of buzzing biting insects cutting across my path on pedestrian crossings surprising me with a sudden appearance from behind a pillar and snapping at my heels whilst walking along a footpath. Scooters are in plague proportions in Taipei and they probably pose a bigger threat to the unwary foreigner than either typhoons or earthquakes. The second most densely p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/blog-77397.html I again strode to the soothsayer's lair to recount my tales. These travels to India had been far easier than my previous journey not once did I suffer from 'Delhi Belly' and the normal exhausting nature of travelling within India did not impact on me at all after 50 days I felt able to continue for considerably longer. I believe that if someone can travel independently and alone in India http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/blog-51169.html Bangladesh is the world's most densely populated country three times more than Japan one of the world's poorest and recently subjected to separatists bombing courts and police stations which all combines for a rollicking good time. My initial impressions of it's capital Dhaka a city with 12.5 million inhabitants was that it was far cleaner than any comparable Indian city and the poverty that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Bangladesh/Dhaka/blog-51165.html The final leg of the Indian journey commenced in Delhi where I met with Frank Huzur who published some of my Taj Mahal musings on my last visit see . During my time in Delhi Frank introduced me to luminaries of the theatre and journalism which was a great opportunity to meet some very interesting people. Most exciting though was that due to Frank's efforts my travelblog from Kerala http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Orissa/Puri/blog-48829.html After a 42 hour train journey that even had me jaded about my favoured form of travel I finally reached the north of India. Here the northern weather was devoid of the heat and humidity and the first kiss of winter was a welcome change.The major destination was Amritsar the capital of the Punjab and the home of the Sikh religion. The Golden Temple is the focus of their devotions and it is trul http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Punjab/Amritsar/blog-48682.html After some very interesting religious encounters indeed I decided it was time to visit some of the more usual destinations frequented by travellers. One of the stops was at Hampi which was the original site of the old city of Vijayanagar that was founded in 1336 and thrived as a political capital until it was ransacked in 1565. It is quite a strange place for the boulders strewn across the h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Karnataka/Mysore/blog-46603.html Said to be greater than the pilgrimage places of Mecca Rome and Jerusalem the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala averages 150000 pilgrims every day of the year surpassing even the numbers that attend the aforementioned holy sites. People regarded me with curious and suspicious eyes when I arrived at the nearby city of Tirupati for nonHindus andor foreigners are rare in fact I never saw ano http://www.travelblog.org/error/1/blog-46601.html In what some may think is a disturbing trend this journey to Kerala afforded me another opportunity to visit an exorcism temple the Sri Chottanikkara Devi Temple the third such visit to a exorcism related place in the past 18 months. Prior to the visit and due to my UN contacts I visited the Shilpa Society for the Mentally Handicapped in Cochin run by Dr Premila Hari Mohan. The doctor sta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Chottanikkara/blog-45405.html