28 Days in Ethiopia 2011 (Part 2)

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Sarah
Part 2: 12-day Discovery of Southern Ethiopia (January 22 – February 2) 

Mursi girls

Ethiopia is an intriguing African country which has fascinated me for years. It has a long history and is world famous for its rock-hewn churches, unique and colourful tribes and their culture. It is also one of the poorest countries in Africa scarred with wars and famines in the past thirty years.  I joined a 26-day an adventure tour called ‘Ethiopia Encompassed’ including a 15-days northern highland trail with star attractions such as Lalibela, Gonder, Simein Mountains National Park (all World Heritage Sites) and a 12-day tour in the south to discover the tribes and their culture.

 

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28 Days in Ethiopia 2011 (Part 1)

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Sarah
 Northern Highland Trail (January 8 – 22)
Ethiopia is an intriguing African country which has fascinated me for years. It has a long history and is world famous for its rock-hewn churches, unique and colourful tribes and their culture. It is also one of the poorest countries in Africa scarred with wars and famines in the past thirty years.  I joined a 26-day adventure tour called ‘Ethiopia Encompassed’ including a 15-days northern highland trail with star attractions such as Lalibela, Gonder, Simein Mountains National Park (all World Heritage Sites) and a 12-day tour in the south to discover the tribes and their culture. Read more »
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21 Days in Iran 2010 – 11 (Part 3)

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Sarah

 

Off Beat Track : Western Iran (January 2 – 5)

Zendan-e Soleiman

 

Persia has captured travellers’ imagination for centuries. Iran has been on my ‘must – see’ list for decades. I joined a classic 10-day tour to Central Iran and visited Tehran, Shiraz, Yard, Esfahan, Kashan and Qom (ie the ‘In the footsteps of Empire’ route as described in the Lonely Planet) from December 23, 2010 to January 1, 2011. In addition, I spent another ten days before and after the tour to explore Western Iran. Read more »

Categories: My Middle East / Near East / Central Asia trips | 1 Comment

21 Days in Iran 2010 -11 (Part 2)

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Sarah
 Central Iran : In the Footsteps of the Empire (December 23 – January 1) 

Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Pasargadae

 

Persia has captured travellers’ imagination for centuries. Iran has been on my ‘must – see’ list for decades. I joined a classic 10-day tour to Central Iran and visited Tehran, Shiraz, Yard, Esfahan, Kashan and Qom (ie the ‘In the footsteps of Empire’ route as described in the Lonely Planet) from December 23, 2010 to January 1, 2011. In addition, I spent another ten days before and after the tour to explore Western Iran. Read more »

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21 Days in Iran 2010 – 11 (Part 1)

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Sarah

 

 Off Beat Track –  6 Days in Western Iran (December 17-22) 

Choqa Zanbil

 

Persia has captured travellers’ imagination for centuries. Iran has been on my must – see list for decades. I joined a classic 10-day tour to Central Iran and visited Tehran, Shiraz, Yard, Esfahan, Kashan and Qom (ie the ‘In the footsteps of Empire’ route as described in the Lonely Planet) from December 23, 2010 to January 1, 2011. In addition, I spent another ten days before and after the tour to explore Western Iran. Read more »

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30 Days in Nepal 2010 (Part 2)

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Sarah
5-day Poon Hill Trek  (November 20-26)

Machhapuchhre (6997m)

Trekking, in my view, is the best way to discover a mountain kingdom like Nepal. I made my first trip to Nepal as part of a study tour to India, Nepal and Bangladesh in 1978 and have longed for a Himalayas trek ever since. Everest is said to be more a pilgrimage than a trek and a personal challenge. I joined a classic 2-week trek to the Mt Everest Base Camp (EBC) and Kala Pathar (5545m) followed by a short 5-day trek to Poon Hill in the Annapurna region.
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30 days in Nepal 2010(Part 1)

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Sarah

 

Everest Base Camp / Kala Pattar Trek (October 28 – November 18)

Mt Everest from Kala Pattar

 

Trekking, in my view, is the best way to discover a mountain kingdom like Nepal. I made my first trip to Nepal as part of a study tour to India, Nepal and Bangladesh in 1978 and have longed for a Himalayas trek ever since. Everest is more a pilgrimage than a trek. I joined a classic 2-week trek to the Everest Base Camp (EBC) and Kala Pattar (5545m) followed by a short 5-day trek to Poon Hill in the Annapurna region.

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Categories: My Asia trips, Trekking | 3 Comments

21 days London- Hong Kong Overland September 13 – October 3, 2010

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Sarah

Europe-Asia Marker, Yekaterinburg, Russia

I love trains. A Trans-Siberian journey has been on my must-do list for three decades.  My dream finally came true when I left London for Hong Kong upon completion of my assignment in London. As I only had 20 days and wished to visit as many places as possible, I gave up the idea of taking the classic 9289km-long Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok.  Instead I made my journey overland following the Moscow-Beijing line and then tried the newly completed high-speed Wuhan-Guangzhou line. Ieft my office in London after work at 6:15 pm on Monday, September 13 to start my 12000km journey and visited ten cities en route. I finally reached home at 5:15 pm on Sunday, October 3. Read more »

Categories: My Asia trips, My China trips, My Europe trips, My Russian trips | 2 Comments

19 days in Australia October 6-24, 2010

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Sarah
 

I first visited Australia in 1988 to visit my elder brother and his family. I have been a frequent visitor and spent one year at the Griffith University in Queensland ten years ago.  This time, I flew to Sydney on 6 October in order to attend my niece’s wedding on 8 October. I love the sea and snorkeling and booked two last-minute back-to-back cruises in the Whitsunday from October 15 to 21. Read more »

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