I was just a junior in college when I first decided I wanted to go to the tiny nation of East Timor (or its official name, Timor Leste). For some reason I had decided to study Portuguese at the University of Washington and my professor had just spent the summer of 2000 volunteering in East Timor shortly after their referendum for independence. This was a horrific time when bands of Indonesian troops raped and pillaged their way out of the country. Despite these tragic events, the videos we watched of my professor’s interaction with the East Timorese showed a warm and inviting people who were full of hope for a better tomorrow. Upon my visit eight years later, I had high expectations, and the East Timorese did not disappoint.

While East Timor may not be a tourist hot spot in the true sense of the word, I found it to be a truly amazing place for those looking to do something off the beaten track. Since there is no track here, that is certainly not a problem. If you’re inclined to listen to the US or Australian state departments, they will of course advise you not to go. They have to say that. Technically speaking, East Timor is currently enjoying a tense cease-fire from a rather unpleasant civil war. After the Indonesians left, the East Timorese decided to turn on one another, accusing their neighbors with better huts and prettier wives of being Indonesian sympathizers. As a result, the country is scattered with internally displaced persons (or "IDP") camps. These are essentially refugee camps full of East Timorese who were kicked out of their homes due to violence perpetrated against them by their neighbors. It’s really a tragic story. I was told by some foreigners living there that tensions were beginning to heat up again and there has been talk of rekindling the civil war. Given the troop presence on the ground throughout the country (mostly Pakistanis and Australians), I don’t see how that would be possible. But there you go, that’s my warning, now on to the fun stuff.

My journey started from Darwin, Australia. There are only two ports of entry for traveling to East Timor, Darwin and Bali. Air North, a regional carrier based in Darwin, operates the 80 minute twice daily flight to the capital, Dili. At close to $600 USD for a round trip ticket, the cost alone may scare many people away. Despite these criminally high prices, Air North’s flights are routinely sold out. They certainly take advantage of the monopoly they enjoy on this route and have no problem charging the good folks (most passengers are flying to East Timor to make a difference, not sit on a beach) an obscene amount of money and changing flight schedules on a moment’s notice. I was supposed to be on a 730 a.m. flight. I woke at 5 a.m., rushed myself to the airport only to sit at Darwin International (not much of an airport by the way) for close to 12 hours before my plane (more like a hang glider) finally took off. Oh, but they did buy me a $5 sandwich, so that made it all worth it.

East Timor is poor; in fact, it is the poorest country in the world outside of Africa. Poverty is everywhere and can be a bit overwhelming. Surprisingly, however, East Timor is also a very expensive country to travel to. Do not expect to get much for your money. The constant flow of NGO and military types have propped up an industry of overpriced restaurants (though I have to give a shout out to Kebab Club in Dili – best gyro plate I’ve ever had) and hotels. My "hotel" was $50 per night. One might expect a decent place for $50 in Asia’s poorest country. Well don’t. The room was completely dilapidated and crawling with unwelcome creatures. Malaria is a real danger in East Timor. One would be foolish not to prepare accordingly with a good insect repellant and some antimalarial meds. I would recommend Malarone. Lariam caused me to have some really psychedelic dreams (unless you’re into that sort of thing).

Once you get past the overwhelming poverty of the place, you can just feel the potential of East Timor. The scenery is beautiful and unspoiled (outside of Dili). I strolled along beautiful white sand beaches that looked as though they had not been walked upon for months. Remember, this is island is just a hop, skip and a jump away from Bali. One can only hope that the East Timorese take a better approach to development than the Balinese, but the potential is certainly there.

Dili itself doesn’t have a whole lot to see. There are a few interesting government buildings, a Resistance Museum that is worth taking the 5 minute stroll through (you can see East Timor’s Declaration of Independence there), but you better brush up on your Portuguese before you go. I just enjoyed walking among the people. I would implore you to do your best to buy what you can from the street vendors. The major shop owners are rarely East Timorese and very little of that wealth trickles down to the people. It may cost you an extra quarter for a bottle of water, but you’re likely helping to put food on the table for an extended family of eight.

The adventure truly begins when you step outside the capital. I decided to rent a car in Dili and drive the north coast road to Baucau. Being the economically conscious (some might say cheap) guy that I am, I decided to rent a Toyota Corolla. I drove one throughout my college years and it served me just fine. Well, I grossly overestimated the quality of the roads outside the capital. Nothing less than a Humvee should be driven on these roads. I found this lesson out the hard way as I blew out my second (and last) tire in the middle of the night in front of an IDP camp near the village of Metinaro. I have to admit, I was a bit scared when I was sitting in my car as it became totally engulfed by the camp’s residents. I had visions of my car being sold off for scrap while the villagers robbed me of everything I had. Wrong again. The locals took me in as if I was family. They were all extremely concerned for my well being, bringing me food, blankets and a village elder who happened to speak enough Portuguese for us to figure out how to get me out of the mess I was in. In hindsight, my car breaking down outside the IDP camp was probably the best thing that could have happened to me on that trip. It’s an experience that I will never forget.

I would recommend East Timor to anyone seeking something different. There really is no tourism to speak of there. I was told they get three tourists a day. This is the first time in my extensive travels where I actually felt that my mere presence was making a difference. Walking around some of the small coastal villages, I was pretty certain they had never seen a tourist before. They first gave me a look of bewilderment, but this quickly changed to a smile. I felt as if my being there caused them to think “see, the tourists are coming, maybe things are looking up.” I may be overstating it, but I certainly felt like my presence brought a certain sigh of relief. As long as you have your wits about you, East Timor is as safe as any other third world country. The only injury I sustained on the trip was a tired arm from waving at all the friendly faces clamoring for my attention. The sun is setting on East Timor’s unspoiled beauty. I strongly recommend you go see this wonderful place before it turns into the next Bali…it’s just a matter of time.

My trip started early at four-thirty in the morning in central Seoul. There I boarded the bus for my pre-arranged guided tour to the North Korean city of Kaesong. The bus ride from Seoul to the DMZ took about an hour. Once at the DMZ we had to register with Hyundai, the main overseer of all trips from the ROK to the DPRK. There we were given ID cards which were to be around our necks at all times & serve as our visas to North Korea.

We were told that we couldn’t take cell phones, books, or even our iPods into the North. Also we were not allowed to take pictures of the city, the streets, or any person. And that all of our pictures would be reviewed before leaving the North.

From there we boarded another bus this time to cross the actual DMZ & go to Kaesong. Just to inform you, the DMZ is the line of demarcation between South Korea & North Korea. It’s also the most heavily militarized border in the world, as the two sides are still officially in a state of war with one another. There wasn’t much to see from the bus though, & we had been told not take pictures. On the horizon however there was a huge flagpole with a South Korean flag, & just across from it a huge flag pole with a North Korean flag. A measuring contest of sorts.

After a few minutes in the DMZ we crossed into North Korea. There were some border formalities, not a big deal. I did get a stamp in my passport but I had requested it, as per usual they only stamp your visa card.

We were entering the ’special economic zone’ of Kaesong. The region had received a lot of investment from South Korean multinationals in the past, but in recent months all of the enthusiasm for bilateral cooperation between the two states has dissipated with the election of Lee Myung-bak in South Korea, & the shooting death of a South Korean tourist near Mt Kumgang.

It was on the North Korean side where we picked up our military escort. Several SUV’s filled with North Korean soldiers who would guide our bus through the streets & to the designated tourist sights. It’s hard to describe the scene that was outside of my window. The city was a virtual ghost town, there were large roads but no cars. People walking were spread out in great distance from one another & appeared as virtual refugees. Soldiers were everywhere, on every street, standing at attention. They could even be seen in some very unusual places, I saw one soldier in the distance standing at attention in the middle of some railroad tracks. And another just standing in an empty field, & one more standing under a tree next to a cow. Very strange. Another thing that was very apparent about the city, was that it was truly a Communist nation. I’ve been to so many in the past that are just Communist in name but where capitalist markets still thrive. However North Korea was different…

There were no shops, no stores, no products for people to purchase. Everything was rationed out, it remains the only country I’ve ever been to out of more than eighty that didn’t have soft drinks. Propaganda posters were also abundant, our tour guide took the liberty of translating a few, one of which said ‘Don’t buy American products’.

Our first stop on our tour was the Barkyeon Waterfall. As soon as we pulled into the sight’s parking lot, the soldiers & tour operators fanned out as to form a human perimeter so we couldn’t ‘escape’ into the countryside. The waterfall was however amazing, & the surrounding scenery was also beautiful.

We spent about two hours at the waterfall before we took the bus back into the city for lunch. On the way there we crossed over the country’s main highway connecting the city to the capital Pyongyang, again it was empty as far as the eye could see. The restaurant we were to have lunch in was part of a tourist complex & was completely surrounded by walls. In fact after our bus pulled in they shut the gate behind us. Lunch was good though, & it was set up traditionally for the area.

After lunch we went around to a few more cultural sights, nothing too special. It was a shame we weren’t allowed to transverse the city streets as they looked terribly more interesting than the places we were going. A few times throughout the day there were checks on our cameras as the tour operator had received ‘reports’ from the two North Korean observers on our bus that there had been illegal photos taken. Some of my photos didn’t make it through.

Our last stop in the North was a museum & souvenir shop. I didn’t even go into the museum as I was dying for some souvenirs. I bought a few things, mostly propaganda about re-unification, & the soldier being the pillar of society. I also bought a Kim Jong-Il stamp. Unfortunately I was unable to buy a Kim Il-sung pin which I had seen almost every North Korean wearing on their chest. Apparently it’s taboo for foreigners to even talk about that.

Only after the purchase of the souvenirs was I informed that taking the items (Communist propaganda) into South Korea was illegal & they would seize them at the border. Thankfully a fellow tourist on the bus had a backpack & offered to smuggle people’s souvenirs into South Korea.

A short while later we were back on the bus headed towards Seoul. All in all it was a once in a lifetime experience that was more than worth the two hundred US Dollars I paid to the tour company. I’m not sure the tour is for everyone, but if you’re adventurous & like going to places that few have seen, this is your trip.

 - Dakota Smith

I had been living in England with my girlfriend at the time so we decided to fly on EasyJet from London to Barcelona, I mean after all we just had to see the city where the opening shot of Justin Timberlake’s video for Sexyback took place.

Arriving in Barcelona, we quickly navigated our way through the airport to the bus stop located outside the terminal, where we caught the direct bus to the city centre. I had booked a hotel online a few weeks before that was located in the Universitat district. The room wasn’t cheap that’s for sure, $80US Dollars a night & it didn’t even have a private bathroom. But hey I wasn’t looking for comfort, I was looking for location, & that it did have. It was just a few minutes walk from Placa Catalunya & Las Ramblas.

Our first night in the city we walked down to Placa Catalunya to meet some of Jasmine’s friends who were in town. After that we all took an early evening stroll through the Gothic Quarter, the city’s cultural centrepiece. The Gothic Quarter is a labyrinth of narrow, winding streets extending past ancient walls, & palaces built by the Romans as well as the great gothic buildings that marked the highpoint of the city in the Middle Ages.

While in the Gothic Quarter we stopped at a small Cava (Barcelona’s version of Champagne) & cheese bar to stock up on well you guessed it, Cava & cheese! It was a popular joint frequented by students looking for cheap drinks before a night out. We found standing room long enough to hang out for a bit enjoying a €7 bottle of Cava & some cheese. Eventually we left & saw some more of the district.

After our brief walk we headed back to our hotel to get ready to go out later that night. Nothing welcomes you to a new city like drinking, but then again I also say that about mornings. We met back up with our friends & walked a few blocks to Chupitos. A happening little place whose name translates into "shots", there are over 500 different shots to choose from, & all for a flat price of €1,50. Cheap prices are a rarity on the Barcelona nightlife scene, so we took advantage of the uncommonness. It’s bewildering how many of the shots involved flames of some sorts, also one of the bar’s more unique shots is called the "Monica Lewinsky", it consists of a beer bottle places inside a dildo, & then shook until it foams, & then the customer is left to guzzle it down.

After leaving Chupitos we went to a few clubs which unfortunately did not share its gravity of price. But after a short while we took off back to our room as I personally was beat.

The next morning we set about doing the everyday tourist stuff, we went for a walk to the beach, we saw the Sagrada Familia, & of course Casa Batllo. Gaudi was a brilliant modernist architect whose hand can be seen in works all over the city, it’s as if in the late 19th century the city decided to hand him money & property with no constraints whatsoever on his visions.

The Sagarada Familia isn’t exactly the most photogenic of places if only because such a large portion of it is still under renovation. The expected completion date is somewhere around 2026 which would make it almost 150 years after constructions first began. I don’t know about you but I’m keyed up with anticipation.

The next day we planned the majority around Parc Guell, another one of Gaudi’s works. Parc Guell is located on a large hill soaring over Barcelona. At the top of the park is a terraced area offering beautiful views of the city. But the park’s true charm is in its amazing stone structures, & its stunning tiling. It was definitely the highlight of the tourist attractions. That & we got churros just after, & those are awesome.

Soon our time in Barcelona had expired, we said goodbye to our friends & made our way to the train station to catch our late morning ride to Madrid. Five hours later we arrived at Madrid Atocha, from there it was a short subway ride to the hotel I had booked online, again not cheap, but in a great location. We didn’t have long to spend in Madrid so we got straight to sightseeing. Our first night was spent having dinner & casually strolling down the high street, & to the opera house, as well as Plaza Mayor.

The next morning we decided to first buy the train tickets for our upcoming journey to Lisbon. It sounded easy in theory but what we didn’t know was just how disorganized Spain truly is. Taking a number in the queue for tickets at the Madrid station, three hours later we reached the counter, & got our tickets. Finally the real seeing of the sights could begin, first we walked from our hotel to Plaza Puerta del Sol, & then we continued on to the Palace of Communications. A stunning building that serves as one of Madrid’s most recognizable landmarks.

Walking past the Palace of Communications we reached Parque de Retiro. Madrid’s central park of sorts, from the main entrance in Plaza Indepencia you come to the pool in the centre of the park flanked on one side by l’Estanque, a beautiful waterfront monument. We decided to see the water up close, so we rented a row boat for an hour at a cost of about €4. It was a great time, Jasmine had a lot of fun rowing me around the water, & I had a lot of fun treating her as if she were my taxi driver.

After a few lazy hours in the park, we darted back across the city centre to Plaza Mayor once again, & then onwards to the Royal Palace. The palace is the official residence of the King of Spain, however he & his family don’t actually reside in the palace. To the west of the palace are the Sabatini Gardens, free to enter, they’re a tranquil place with trees, statues, fountains, & everything else you could want from palatial gardens. Jasmine & I spent a few hours in the gardens talking, & resting our feet.

Eventually night was upon us & we had to make haste & prepare to catch our overnight train to Lisbon. Riding the subway to the north of city we reached the station & boarded our 11PM train for Lisbon. Wanting to save money we had decided to get seats & forgo bunks. We had a rough night trying to sleep, but we saved over €100 so I still think it was worth it.

Early the next morning we arrived in Lisbon & took a taxi to our pre-arranged hotel. This was by far the nicest & cheapest hotel we stayed at during our trip. The price per night was only €40, & the room was thrice the size of the previous ones.

Unfortunately Lisbon just didn’t seem to stack up to the two other cities we had the pleasure of visiting. Lisbon while more affordable, seemed run down in part, vagrants littered the streets, & they weren’t passive in their shouts & demands that passer-bys give donate to their cause. It was not a city I would have felt safe walking in at night.

We spent our first day in Lisbon trying to find a restaurant that served something other than seafood (we’re both vegetarians), & then seeing the few sights that the city had to offer. The next day our plans came to an end before they had a change to begin as the weather took a drastic turn for the worse. It was the first rain we had encountered on the Iberian Peninsula, & it was heavy.

The day consisted of nothing more than lazing around the hotel room watching MTV & eating snacks we had worked through the rain to achieve. Early the next morning we were off to the airport & back to London.

All in all I would say the trip was a success. Barcelona was one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever been to, & I definitely would like the opportunity to spend some more time in its confines. Madrid as well goes down in my books as a beautiful & intriguing place. Lisbon as I said is the lackluster of the three, & the only one which I do not recommend.

Our entire week in Spain & Portugal had cost us $1500 US Dollars for two people, including all flights. That my friends is what I call a deal.

-Dakota Smith

Just like most people, I had always wanted to visit Egypt. The pyramids, desert landscapes, the Red Sea coast, the Nile. Eventually all this proved too much & I made the leap. I had been living in England with my girlfriend when I decided we should visit Egypt. The cheapest flight I could find was on ThomsonFly from London to Luxor and was about 200 Pounds R/T per person. The entirety of our trip was to last one April week, & I was determined to make the most of it.

Arriving in Luxor we were greeted at the airport by a representative from the hotel I had pre-booked on HostelWorld.com, Oasis Hotel. I booked a double room with a private bathroom & it was only $9 US Dollars a night. With a price like that I wasn’t expecting too much, but I was wrong. The hotel was great!

We spent our first few hours in Egypt getting settled in our room & recouping from the 5 hour flight. After a small dinner of Kosheri (a traditional Egyptian vegetarian dish) at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, we set about to visit the Luxor Temple (see below).

The temple is located right in the city centre, & is a nice welcoming to Ancient Egyptian antiquities. The walls are covered in hieroglyphics, & the avenue of Sphinxes is impressive. The entrance to the temple is 40 Egyptian Pounds or about $8 US Dollars, this sum however is halved by an international student card.

After a brief walk around the temple we headed back to our hotel room for some much needed rest. The next morning we awoke at the almost ungodly hour of 5AM in order to prepare ourselves for the upcoming day’s activity of hot air ballooning! I had been hot air ballooning before but this would be Jasmine’s first time, that & she’s afraid of flying so basically it’s guaranteed fun!

A van from the tour operator came to pick us up & then drove us to the Nile in order for us to take a boat across to the West Bank of Luxor where we were met by another van & taken to the hot air balloon.

Gently rising above the ground, hot air ballooning is an amazing feeling that I would recommend to everyone, it’s not often that you get the ability to float. Our view that morning was the Valley of the Kings, & the Hatshepsut temple below us, as well as the sun rising above the Nile to the east.

After a thankfully gentle landing 45-minutes later we headed back to our hotel to sleep away the rest of the morning. Awaking sometime around noon, we once again dined on our hotel’s roof, & then we were off one again to the West Bank, this time to get a closer look at the Valley of The Kings & the Hatshepsut temple.

We had hired a car for the day at a cost of around $20 US Dollars. Not bad if I say so myself. Our first stop was the Valley of the Kings, famous for its burial chambers of ancient Egyptian kings, including the most famous of them all King Tutankhamun (AKA King Tut). The layout of the place is more or less how its name implies, it’s a valley with dozens of underground walkways branching off to the burial chambers.

Once inside one of the chambers you can expect a long narrow corridor accompanied by a low ceiling leading down into the centre where there’s an expanse of space & generally the king’s sarcophagus. It’s a unique experience to say the least, walking down a dimly lit path, the walls covered in hieroglyphics. Some of the chambers even had built in booby traps such as large drop-offs on the pathway.

Next for our day’s lineup was a hike across the mountains to the Hatshepsut temple. The walking was tough as the way up was dominated by loose sand, rocks, & hot temperatures. However once we reached the top of the ridge things got easier. It was a fun day being up there almost completely by ourselves, hiking in the Egyptian desert. That & the views were amazing as well, with the trail having several good outlooks over the temple.

Once we reached the entrance to the temple we bought our entrance tickets & went it. I must say while the temple is quite nice to look at, paying the entrance fee was a waste of money. It’s under renovation meaning that all you can really do there is look at the walls of the temple up close, never being allowed to go in. Personally I would rather have saved the money & taken pictures from afar.

Finally after having been in the hot sun all day we decided it was time to go back to the hotel & rest. The next day we as per our plan, headed off to the bus station in the morning where we would catch our 10:30AM bus to Hurghada on the Red Sea Coast. What we didn’t know is that in Egypt the buses are often extremely late. And we didn’t get on our bus until two hours after our scheduled departure time. But hey at least the tickets were cheap enough! After five hours of driving through the desert we reached the coast, & a beautiful coast it was. The water looked appetizing even from the bus, & it was complete agony having to look at it through the bus window while we made our way to Hurghada.

Once in Hurghada we were met at the bus station from a representative of the hotel I had pre-arranged. The hotel was called El-Tabia, & it cost about $20 US Dollars per night. I can’t say I was pleased with the accommodations, the water at the hotel wasn’t working when we arrived, & it was quite an ordeal to get them to put toilet paper in our room. The staff seemed pretentious & rude, a complete contrast from the sweethearts we had encountered in Luxor. On the plus side though the hotel had an excellent location as it was across the street from the Ministry of Sound Beach Bar. Having a private beach & good beats is a must on any beach holiday.

The next two days we would spend the majority of our time at the MOS listening to music, eating pizza, & drinking diet cokes in the sun. Not bad. However our time in Hurghada & on the Red Sea was up. As we didn’t have much time in the country, we needed to get to Cairo & see the pyramids before it was too late.

Taking a bus was the way to get there, & six hours after we left Hurghada we arrived in Cairo. Where we were yet again met at the bus station from our hotel’s representative. Our hotel this time was the Delta Pyramids hotel in the neighbourhood of Giza. And was it ever deserving of having the pyramids in its name, we could see them from our room’s window, & they were close!

The next day we contracted a car to drive us around the cultural sights. First on our schedule were the pyramids! The pyramids architectural site is quite large, spread out over several square miles of desert. And while one can walk to the pyramids going by way of commercial streets, you’ll also have to suffer through blatant commercialization such as the Pizza Hut across from the Sphinx. The only true way to see the pyramids is to take a camel through the desert & see them from the opposite side!

I however am aware from previous experience that camels are the most uncomfortable animals on which men normally sit on, so I chose to take a horse. Jasmine however had a more romantic notion of a camel in the Sahara, so she got her very own camel.

We spent hours riding in the desert along with our private guide, I galloping, her trotting. The views of the pyramids were fantastic, later on we dismounted our animals & walked up to the pyramids to get the hands on experience. There’s not much inside them anymore, all of the interesting stuff having been moved to the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo, so all we did was touch the exteriors of the Pyramids. Or at least I did, Jasmine forgot to, take a girl to the last surviving ancient wonder & she doesn’t even touch it. As if one comes across the chance to touch something 6,000 years old everyday.

Getting back on the animals we then rode the short distance to the Sphinx. Now the first thing that strikes you about the Sphinx is that it’s not as big as you’ve always imagined. What you have to keep in mind is the context, the reason it doesn’t seem big is that it’s right next to the overtly huge pyramids. If viewed separately, the Sphinx would seem huge! And the fact that it was carved from one stone is impressive in itself.

Leaving the area around the pyramids we then drove to Memphis, the first capital of Egypt. There’s really not much there, but hey we didn’t have anything else to do. After that we had falafels, which are served quite differently in Egypt, much to our pleasant surprise.

Next up was a quick visit to the pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt’s first pyramid. Predating the pyramids at Giza by a few hundred years, Saqqara is much more antiquated in its look, but still quite impressive.

After visiting Saqqara our first day in Cairo was over, & we retired to our hotel room. Unfortunately the only place to eat around the hotel was at the hotel, & let’s just say their restaurant wasn’t so great, or so affordable either.

Anyways, the next day we awoke to a sandstorm. Yes Cairo was embroiled in a sandstorm, & quite a bad one as well. Thinking that our day wouldn’t be too adversely affected, we met our driver & headed to the Egyptian Museum to see the nation’s most treasured artifacts.

I would say the thing that struck me first about the museum was the heightened sense of security surrounding the facility. Egypt has a very large terrorism concern, as does much of the Middle East & North Africa.

The museum itself was a bit of a disappointment. Personally I found myself disinterested the majority of the time I spent there. I think that the blasé setting took away all of the charm that the artifacts may have once possessed. Even King Tut’s coffin seems uninteresting when it’s placed in a sterile museum.

After this we headed to the Muhammad Ali Mosque, one of the Islamic world’s premier architectural pieces. This however is where the sandstorm started hindering our day, it was horrible. The wind was whipping through the courtyard, & the surrounding area, there was nothing we could do other than squint & hope the driver would come back soon.

Going once more back to our hotel, we lazed around on the internet for a few hours, & then headed to the train station to catch our overnight train back to Luxor. Not wanting to spend the extra money on a sleeper, we just got seats which were more than comfortable, they were actually fantastic as far as train seats go. And then twelve hours later we arrived in Luxor. Where we headed back to our original hotel & got a room for the half day before our flight was to leave. What was surprising & charming was that when checking out later in the day the manager decided to comp us the room as we were return customers. Oasis Hotel, it is the best place to stay in Luxor!

And so, this marked the end of our time in Egypt. It was a fascinating country with more than its share of sights & charms. It was also an affordable country, & for that my pocketbook shall remain ever thankful. All in all the entire week in Egypt for two people including everything cost me $1500 US, not bad at all.

-Dakota Smith

Due to our schedules we would only have one week in March to visit all of Morocco. So careful planning was a must. Thankfully travel planning is more or less what I do, so I quickly devised a plan that would have to serve as out itinerary while in the nation.

Firstly we flew to Marrakech from London on EasyJet for the low fare of 59 Pounds per person. It was definitely a deal. Arriving in Marrakech we took a taxi to the famous town square Jemaa El-Fna which is where my walking directions to our accommodations started. However taking a taxi from the Marrakech airport isn’t as easy as it sounds. First you have to negotiate with them, according to every guidebook I had read before coming to Morocco a fare price for a taxi to the city centre is about 60 Dirham, or $8 US Dollars. The first taxi driver I asked at the airport quoted me the outrageous price of 180 Dirham. Three times the recommended amount! Eventually after some haggling we found another taxi driver who was willing to take us to town for 80 dirham. Not a great first impression of Morocco.

We decided to stay at a riad while in Marrakech, a riad is a traditional Moroccan house with an interior courtyard open to the sky. Finding the riad was no easy ordeal, it took us 30 minutes, & involved asking more than a few persons for direction. Eventually one nice man walked with us to show us where it was at. The streets of Marrakech’s medina are mostly pedestrian only consisting of small muddy alleyways with the occasional cart pulled by a donkey clonking it’s way through. It was on one of these streets our riad was located.

I had booked the cheapest one I could find online the Riad Medina Azhara which was about $68 US Dollars a night, what I didn’t realize is how nice it would be, it was amazing!  The central courtyard was beautiful with a small little pool, there were couches lining the walls where they would serve amazing mint tea. And our room was also beautiful. Jasmine was ecstatic with our accommodations. What can I say, I know how to treat my women.

After getting settled we went for a walk around the medina. Medina is the terminology used to describe the walled portion of Moroccan cities. Marrakech’s focal point is the Jemaa El-Fna square. It’s a large open space in the day, filled with fruit stands selling cheap orange juice, & everything else from snake charmers to story tellers. At night however the area transforms with dozens upon dozens of food stalls being set up offering seating & all kinds of food dishes.

The rest of the medina has an understated beauty, the smell of spices, & bazaars selling everything you could ever want. Towards the southern end of the medina is Palace el-Badi, which was reputed to be one of the most beautiful palaces in the world when it was first constructed in the 16th century. Now it’s only a shadow of its former self, however it is still beautiful. Climbing to the top of one of the palace’s walls affords you a stunning view of the city as well as the snowcapped Atlas mountains in the background.

During the rest of our time in Marrakech we kept a low profile other than visiting the El-Bahia Palace, which I thought was slightly disappointing.

After our few days in Marrakech were up we headed by bus to the Atlantic Coast & the town of Essaouira (pronounced essa-wera). Arriving at the bus stop just outside of the city gates we met a man advertising studio apartments so we followed him to his guest house, & the apartment was more than adequate, more importantly it was cheap. Just $15 US Dollars for a double.

Essaouira is famous as far as the Moroccan tourism industry’s concerned. It has a very different look than that of Marrakech’s, the buildings here instead of being a sand colour are whitewashed in true coastal style. However one drawback to the city is it’s incessant wind, which unless you’re a windsurfer is a bad thing. As a quick walk down the beach taught us, don’t walk down the beach.

We didn’t do much while in Essaouira, I think relaxing was the epitome of our Moroccan journey. After two days in the city we departed by bus back to Marrakech, & then walked to the train station which was conveniently located nextdoor & boarded our12 hour train to Meknes. We had decided to bypass both Casablanca & Rabat after having read about them both being modern European-esque. And modern is not a reason to come to Morocco.

Our train tickets were 2nd class, what we didn’t realize was just how 2nd class a Moroccan train can be. It was packed! Not only was there no place to sit, each car had dozens of people standing in the aisles, so it was almost impossible to walk. Finally when the train reached Casablanca the majority of the people exited the train allowing us time to find free spaces to sit, but just as the people had left the train more came on, meaning we once again had a full house.

It was an interesting trip, & shared our train compartment with some interesting characters, with the most attention-grabbing being the older veiled woman who loved the sound of her own voice, & insisted on talking to us albeit we didn’t understand as she was speaking in Arabic, but that didn’t seem deter her much. Thank logic, science, & reason for iPods.

After Casablanca the landscape started to change from a desert scene to a more forested green landscape with rolling hills. On the downside, the weather also started to change from a dry sunny day to a cloudy rainy day.

Our two days in Meknes were completely ruined by torrential rain. Well not quite torrential, but it was raining. Eventually we had to give up on the city as our itinerary could not wait, & we embarked on the hour-long train journey to Fez.

Fez is world renowned for its large medina & as being the cultural capital of Morocco. Personally I preferred Marrakech better. But Fez was okay, it didn’t blow my mind or anything like that. The streets were small & narrow, dominated by shopping, & everything of the sort.

After one whole day in Fez we left for the airport where we were to catch our Ryan Air flight back to London. Normally this is where I’d sign off & remark on my overall thoughts on Morocco, but things weren’t to end so easily. We showed up at the airport for the flight on time, we checked in, boarded the plane, everything was fine. But then the plane didn’t take off. Turns out they couldn’t get the plane’s hatch to close so they decided to disembark the passengers back to the single room terminal & let them wait it out. This wouldn’t have been so bad had we not spent our last Dirham, meaning we had to wait in the airport with no food or water. Six hours later they fixed the plane & we flew to London much later than we had originally anticipated. But hey who am I to complain, that’s what happens when you pay $76 Dollars for a flight.

Overall I’d say Morocco was a fascinating country, the language barrier became a problem as neither of us spoke French but it wasn’t insurmountable. I was most pleased with the southern portion of the country, it was what I had anticipated before I came, the northern part I felt was too atypical, & didn’t exactly fit my pre-ordained notion of Morocco. Our entire weeklong expedition in Morocco had only cost me $1100 US Dollars for two people including everything.

On the negative aspect, two weeks after we left, Casablanca was struck by suicide bombers exposing the shallow realm of calm that exists in kleptocratic Islamic societies.

-Dakota Smith

Question: My wife and I are searching for transportation options from Oslo, Norway to Grebbestad, Sweden (Approximately 200km south of Oslo on the west coast of Sweden). We would use a rental car if there was a drop-off option. We’ll have 4 pieces of luggage on our trip. Information on transportation between smaller towns/villages has been difficult/impossible. Please help.

Answer: Hi JJ. I’ve done some research and found that you can take a train from Oslo to Tanum which is located about 10KM from Grebbestad. From there you would probably hvae to take taxi, or try to arrange a local shuttle. The train trip takes about five hours & you can find information by clicking on the link below.

http://www.sj.se/

Destination of the month: Autumn has arrived & that means peak time for fall foliage seekers to head to the Northeast. It is the quintessential romantic destination and no place is better during the season than Vermont. Imagine your significant other & you travelling along small byways through mountains covered in beautifully coloured trees. It’s not to be missed.

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