Tagged With "International Tourist Zones"
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Re: 7 of many reasons to choose Bulgaria for your next trip
I'm glad you liked the article. I would be more than happy if the post make you visit the country. @DrFublefinger I believe the best time to come to Bulgaria is september-october from the weather perspective, but if you want to see the charm the blooming trees give to the city, you should come in the spring. The summer is really, really (I mean really) hot and dry! The country lies between the strongly contrastic continental and Mediterranean climate zones, so it has an unusually variable...
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Re: An Hour from Rome
It's amazing what you can find so close to major tourist destinations. I really enjoyed this post and photos...beautiful!
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Re: Iran: Friendliness, Culture, Modernity - So Far Away From The Clichés!
That's a fascinating look at a country rarely visited by people in North America. I especially enjoyed your lovely photos, which share so vividly the experience with all of us. I have two specific questions: 1) What is the tourist infrastructure in Iran like? Easy to find hotels or hostels? Restaurants? Public transit? 2) I've always enjoyed those Iranian people I know, but I'm not sure if the bulk of our readers (Mostly from the USA and Canada) would receive the same welcome from the...
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Re: Thinking Cuba? Tickets not so easy yet!
I've also heard that there are concerns not enough hotel rooms exist in Cuba for the expected flood of American tourists. Besides flights, it's important to have a room reservation at hand. I truly hope the flood of tourist money will be of benefit to the Cuban people whose plight I have great empathy for.
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Re: Thinking Cuba? Tickets not so easy yet!
Mac. Cuba has already changed since my first visit 15 years ago. Buses and cars are everywhere now thanks to those intrepid Chinese salesmen. Living standards are rising rapidly thanks to the tourist dollar. Fields of Sugar Cane are now rare. Castro has decided that Cuba's future lies in tourism. Bicycles prevail in most Towns and a horse and buggy are common. When I first went to Cuba it was painfully poor. It's like going back in time to a 3rd world country. But with safety and very civil,...
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Re: How to Irk the Brits
I find the guy bothered by people stopping to take photos a charmer. Hope I don't run into him over there, but I'm never without a camera when I'm abroad. When I see a tourist taking a photo either in Calgary or nearby Rocky Mountains, I'm always intrigued by what their subject matter is and the angle of how they're capturing the image -- that sort of thing. Hardly a bother!! I guess they don't realize how important we tourists are to the economy. According to Visit Britain website, tourism...
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Re: How to Irk the Brits
Interesting. I work in San Francisco near the Ferry Building and frequently jaunt down to Pier 39 on my lunch break for exercise. Tourist alley, especially now that they have a new cruise terminal between the Ferry Building and Pier 39. Just today I nearly fell into a couple who stopped to take a picture of Coit Tower, speaking in an English accent. I moved on and got out of their way. 'Tis different when the shoe is on another foot, I suppose.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 25, 2015: A Moment in Rural India
Just part of the life that many locals have on our travels. Something we often miss by doing the tourist spots. It's good to get off the "beaten track".
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Re: The Historic Fort and Town of Galle, Sri Lanka
How did you discover Galle ? Did you read of its existence prior to your travels ? Or merely stumble upon it and get the urge to explore further. It appears to be untouched by tourism - or is it on the tourist itinerary ? After all these invaders what language do they speak now ? Good collection of photos - gives a real taste of this town.
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Re: Where the lost bags go: Scottsboro, Alabama
I happened to stop by the store today. it's really is a tourist attraction now. It's huge and a lot of the merchandise has never been used and their original tags are still on. I didn't think the prices were that cheap ,but I was amazed at the high end merchandise people have lost including lots of electronics.
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Re: Boarding Etiquitte and Carry-on Bags
I usually try to get a seat in a zone where I'm guaranteed bin space. I usually have a laptop bag for my computer and travel documents, which goes under the seat in front of me. The rest of the items, including spare eyeglasses, camera, medications and clothes go into my carry-on. I can't take the small risk of these items getting lost so I need that carryon with me. It's rare that gate-checked bags get lost but they can. Generally for trips of a week or less, I can get by with just a...
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Re: Whoa! Not so fast on that shrinking baggage size!
That's good news! But rather than saying airline consumers were a lion, I think I'd have used "the sheep have bleated -- loudly"
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Re: U.S. plans big increase in "pre-clearance" sites
If you've ever used one of the foreign country based US customs clearances, you know that this is easy to do. So this is a wonderful idea and will help improve tourism to the USA>
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Re: U.S. plans big increase in "pre-clearance" sites
That’s especially true for high-volume areas like Heathrow…I’d far rather use my waiting time there to be cleared than have to spend extra time waiting AFTER my flight at JFK!
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Re: Great Falls of the Potomac
Looks like lots of snow melt feeding the river. And not another tourist anywhere in sight.
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Re: Mosaic Floors, Paphos, Cyprus
I love this blog. I had the pleasure of spending 7 months in Cyprus in the early 80s and made several trips to Paphos (my favorite spot on the island). This was before the tourist resort invasion and there was only a couple of smaller hotels in Paphos. The town still had all the old charm, the harbor had some great family owned restaurants and the Tombs of the Kings was a pleasant 30 minute walk in the countryside. Sadly, like so many charming little places it has been caught up by the...
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Re: Dole Plantation, Oahu, Hawaii (Where Gumbo was #169)
I just discovered a useful website for information on visit Oahu, including on the best tourist attractions, called " Live your Aloha ". Check out their link.
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Re: Hotel desks disappearing in mobile age
I like having a desk in my hotel room. A sofa or easy chair would work, but I dislike working in bed. I hope we're given some options.
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Re: Sadly ironic: big tech fail
The tourist information office, Visit Manchester was one of the best I've ever been to.
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Re: Exploring the Baltic Coast. 1) Poland
Thank you for this. Poland really is wonderful and the people are some of the most generous in the world. I spent some time there in the 1980's, and at that time a tourist, could live on a dollar a day, although the government forced tourists to exchange more. Even though it was so cheap for me, my Polish friends insisted on paying and life there for them was expensive.
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Re: We're more than Tokyo, Japan tells tourists
Tokyo can be a very intimidating city for a traveler because of it's massive and crowded metro system and it's lack of English speakers. I think that's why more people don't venture out past the tourist sights in Tokyo.
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Re: Neighborhoods in Santiago de Cuba
I'm not familiar with Santiago de Cuba. Casa particulares will provide you with meals and drinks. Stores and Restaurants are hard to find and most food is still rationed to the Cubans. Cuban water is safe for the locals but carries a high mineral content, which may cause gastro problems. Bottled "Montero" water is available and low cost. Quite nice too. Santiago de Cuba is not on the tourist lists for us Brits. Most Cuban food uses - Rice -Beans - Eggs - Chicken - Pork (No Beef) - Fish...
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Re: Are ATM's at European airport going to cost you more?
I believe the facts are somewhere in between, but the direction is not good. I can't, at the moment, find the piece I saw a few months ago about the transition, but my memory is that Travelex machines are to go in as lease/concession arrangements that exist expire. In some cases, the existing deals are quite long. At the moment, I can confirm that there are still bank-based machines in place at Berlin Tegel, and I'll have the opportunity in the next couple of weeks to check Prague and...
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Re: Discovering Balkans: The true spirit of Belgrade
Great piece! For burger lovers, that Pljeskavica is hard to beat when they serve it as a burger. It's grilled and they use a combination of meats and spices. Belgrade was on the tourist map in the 80's in comparison to years later. And don't be surprised if you see dishes being broken at dinner.
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Re: Subyard-Okhla Market, Delhi
One of my favourite parts of travel is experiencing the customs and lifestyle of where you are, away from the tourist areas. People tend to think of things from the perspective of how things are "back home". That is never the case and it is what makes travelling so wonderful. You get to experience the whole mosaic of humanity, see the differences in how others live and learn that we are all more similar than different. Thanks for a small look at one aspect of daily life in Delhi.
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Re: Signs of Halifax
So is Halifax cleaning its act up ? Wonderful collection of signs on show here. Is the area on the way to becoming a tourist Hot-Spot ? Would it get a Travel Gumbo "Must go to ........!" Badge ?
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Re: Have you a reservation, sir? Thailand considers selling tickets to country!
I think this idea will backfire. A dollar or so a day fee will not discourage anyone from visiting as a sex tourist. A $16 fee might discourage some from even visiting the kingdom. So the sex tourists will likely still fly in for their weekend jaunts. Good serious tourists, say young backpackers on a budget, might be offended by the extra fee and bypass Thailand for one of its neighbors.
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Re: A visit to Great Basin National Park
Thanks for the note, PortMoresby. I've visited a lot of the US parks, but Big Bend is still on my "to do" list. They do white water rafting trips there, which appeals to me. One of the things that a lot of folks enjoy about these "orphans" is that they are so sparsely peopled, with few tourists. I think the US Parks system is the USA's biggest tourist asset. I'm certainly a huge fan. Seems whenever I'm in a US Park, more German is spoken than English. The German folks certainly are aware of...
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Re: Sometimes a Trip is just a Walk in the Park
I don't disagree. Just pointing out the nature of human beings and, like world peace, we can wish for it while not actually expecting everyone to join in. But lessons are learned from war too and how would we feel about every tourist in town flocking to OUR park.
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Re: Need help planning Morocco trip
To add to Mac's suggestions, with the week you have I'd recommend either a combination of Fes & Chefchaouen OR Marrakech & Essaouira. The first gives you an interesting medina experience combined with a very pretty mountain town and the Roman ruins of Volubilis between. The second a large city with all it has to offer plus a much smaller and very beautiful seaside fishing town with good tourist infrastructure. For that time of year I'd recommend Marrakech/Essaouira. If you're passing...
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Re: Gallarus Oratory, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
Three more comments concerning Dingle: 1. Leaving the wharf/tourist area in Dingle and walking uphill into the central part of the town was very interesting in that we could interact with the locals and leave the hustle & bustle of the lower part of town. We stopped at a neat cafe for coffee called the Frog St. Cafe and we were the only non-locals in the place. 2. Between Dingle town and Slea Head is the Stone House Restaurant, which overlooks the bay and an ancient fort. The restaurant...
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Re: Not Again!? British Air Tax Increase confirmed
Not a huge increase this time, but there's nothing like encouraging less of an activity (in this case tourism) than charging more for it. I can only imagine that this is hurtful to the tourist traffic in the UK. With those kinds of fees, people will avoid UK airports (say flying in the the Netherlands or elsewhere) and that means less UK jobs, and so on.
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Re: The Big Island of Hawaii (Part 1). Volcanoes Park
Great pictures, and great memories. This was our favorite part of Hawaii...especially the "end of the road" where the park highway suddenly comes to an end against a pile of lava from a few years ago. It's a big tourist attraction, yes, but it seemed much less so than many other places on the islands.
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Re: The Big Island of Hawaii (Part 1). Volcanoes Park
Thanks for the comment, PHeymont. It's a great destination partially because the tourist industry can't control it. The volcano will do what it wants and as the flow of lava over the road reminds us, we have little power to stop it.
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Re: Tokyo on the Cheap
Originally Posted by DrFumblefinger: A nice piece, Rob. I've always been intimidated at tackling Tokyo on my own, but you've helped me summon up the courage. I especially want to visit that fish auction. When is the best season to travel to Tokyo? Maybe answer this from two perspectives 1) Best weather 2) Least busy with tourists. I would answer Spring for both cases. Fall would be my second choice. The summer can be humid and the winter a bit chilly. While foreign tourism is up, most likely...
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Re: Where the Food IS the Tourist Attraction
Absolutely fascinating PHeymont !! I keep going back to the Amish Markets near Lancaster PA. As a Brit tourist I don't recognise half the food on sale there. So I enjoy the samples ! Amazing colours and smells of freshly produced local food ! I could do to a tour and just include markets !
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Re: Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, Redux
A reminder of the destructive power of nature. I'd be worried about the soles of my shoes melting and welding themselves to rock ! Is the access a tourist has only to dormant areas ? Fascinating blog from what must be the most "lively" location on Earth. Once again DrF , educational and interesting !
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Re: Old Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey, California. Where Gumbo Was, #74
Looks a bit like the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf. Lots of tourist attractions to help part you from your savings. But the Sea Lions waving their fins to catch some sunlight make it all worthwhile. Yes - I know - the kids love it - but watching who gets pushed off the floating boards to make room for the big fella is absolute poetry. Then he in turn pushes another Sea Lion off. Fine explanation of the "pecking order" Looks like a great location to spend the day - and pedestrian friendly...
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Re: Coastal California: A Village, a Hamlet, and a Wide Spot in the Road
The Stage Stop is one of those buildings that's become invisible, even while being half the commercial district of San Gregorio. Maybe this illustrates the fact that we see things differently when we're in the picture zone, that it was the first time I really looked at it. I assume it was a gas station, looks like a pump rusting there on the left. But even I'm not old enough to have seen it in action.
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Re: The Architecture of Old Sana'a, Yemen
Indeed, confusion is especially common in societies where cultural homogeneity is encouraged or even required. I found it to be true, even though I wore local dress, in Pakistan. Again, skin color seemed to be the issue, the only clue, and while not hostile, men in particular seemed completely at a loss about what to do when they encountered me, even though I was in the company of local friends, in essence my bodyguards. Both Pakistan and Yemen have been off the tourist track for years now...
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Re: Tuktoyaktuk: A village on the Arctic Coast of Canada
Thanks for this post, Tom, and I also appreciate your involvement with TravelGumbo. A few questions. The town seems too small for even basic tourist services. Did you just camp, or was there someplace you could stay? Also, a question about waste water. With permafrost, how is this drained from the homes so that it doesn't freeze in the pipes?