Why shouldn’t we visit Yellowstone? - my Dad asked me when I had planned our trip to the north-west of the USA. I had not heard anything about supervolcanos before but was happy to include it in our travel plan.
At the end of the day, the Yellowstone became one of the key points of our 3-week-long trip. So, let me introduce you to the Great Destroyer and Great Creator of new conditions of life, one of the most terrible threats to humanity and in the meantime one of the most beautiful places in the world. This is Yellowstone the Supervolcano.
“Remain in your seats! Speak slowly! In no case leave the car!’ - our ranger whispered the instructions that all of us already knew by heart. "We are extremely lucky! You see - all the pride is resting on the road!" - Leo couldn’t help expressing his emotions. He deserved his fame as one of the best big cat finders - people tell that it is because of his name.
Lions were enjoying a sunbath and didn’t pay any attention at us. “It is only until you are keeping
During my last trip to South Africa, I had a one-day stopover in Tunis city. I love stopovers: they allow me to see and explore much more! And this day in Tunis was amazing: I have never been to this country, despite it is so close to Malta.
But I was impressed by its authentic culture and sincere hospitality, and will definitely come again! Not to mention that this stopover helped me to save half of the cost of my air tickets to South Africa. So, here is a 1-minute video about the charming city of Tunis. I didn't take my camera, so it is a mobile-sized video story.
Borneo is the third-largest island in the world, covered with prehistoric forest and inhabited by amazing animals, many of which you can not find anywhere more. In the same time, Borneo has good roads, beautiful beaches, and even a cat city! Borneo is wild, Borneo is huge, Borneo is unbelievably beautiful!
Everyone knows what a panda is, but do you know anything about Malayan bears, also named Sun bears?
I heard nothing about them until my visit to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, where I saw the sign that attracted my attention. Following the directions, I found a wooden platform from which one can observe a piece of the forest with these cute, little jet-black bears.
They are the smallest and rarest representatives of the bear family, with short tails and extremely long tongues that can reach 25 cm!
The island of Nusa Penida near the well-known Bali is not that popular but has its own charm. Being unspoiled by the crowds of tourists, it reminds of Bali like it was 20 years ago: rural, calm, authentic and full of secret treasures, especially inside the ocean. Nusa Penida - it is warm-hearted people, yummy mangos and the incredible underwater world!
Despite my wide travel experience, in India I passed through something exceptional. The magnificence of palaces and extreme poverty of huge part of inhabitants; stunning beauty of wildlife; artful design of history, culture, and religion of one of the most ancient and mysterious civilizations in the world... It is impossible to describe in a couple of words - better to see the film!
We had a private tour perfectly organized by ADI Voyages, and the "cultural shock" that a lot of people afraid about was reduced to a minimum: we had a spacious air conditioned car, 4-5 stars hotels, highly experienced driver and an amazing guide, Sujit Singh (www.adi-tour.com), a wellspring of knowledge about every particular part of Indian life, culture, gods, food, and wilderness, both in present and in the past.
Can't forget my adventure in Amazonian rainforest I experienced a year ago. It is a little video story about the great forest and great people; now narrated.
When you come to the place where you remember yourself as a child and where you've been last time 20 years ago, you can get quite a strange feeling. It is like a dream, where real, possible and unreal things merge all together. So please don't ask me what dried snakes might do near dried fruits, why the cow frolics in the Astronomical Observatory, and why the ladies decide that the place on the roadside just opposite the house of... You Know Who is the best for a quick picnic. It is just dreaming, is not it? :)
How do they drive in India? Watch the video to have an idea :) And, if you are crazy enough to try that, at least see some tips below!
Travel tips
1. In India, they drive on the left, so be prepared.
2. Even if you are a fan of self-driving, in India it's better to rent a car with a driver - at least, for the first time. In the event of an accident, the foreigner is always to blame. Even if the local one was driving on the opposite lane, all his neighbors will be there to confirm that you are the offender. And first, you should manage to find the police, which is not so easy in remote places.
3. Take the map with you. The most of the road signs, if they exist, wrote in Hindi; GPS works properly not in all places of the country.
4. Sometimes the driver should pay road taxes or some fees, but nobody could explain to me exactly where should one do that and how much shall one pay. Our driver did it in some strange sheds out of the roads and telling that in these places they used to pay taxes "online".
5. It is a real nightmare to find a parking space in tourist centers. The rules of parking are not clear either. Ask the locals.
6. Besides all the above, there is no big difference between renting a car with a driver and without. While the rental cost for the car, depending on the class, will be 15-45 euros a day (plus insurance), the driver's services cost about 3-4 euros per day. So believe me, taking a driver you'll save your money and your brains.
7. If you still decide to try self-driving in India you should have an International Driving License. Moreover, you better show the original of it only in a car rental company but not to the wardens. If they take your driving license you hardly can get it back, but if you drive without the license you just would have to pay about 4 USD (200 Indian Rupees) as a fine. If the policeman tells you other amounts, let say, 40 USD or 400 USD - what is quite possible - you simply have to bargain. This also applies to any other fines, as well as to any other situations in India.
Our trip has been organized by ADI-Tour. With them, we had an experienced driver and a brilliant guide providing us with a lot of great information. Highly recommended!
The hot August night, full of the mixture of smells of spices, sweets, and garbage, is quickly covering the ancient city of Kandy. The streets are overcrowded with people: they stay, sit and lie - on the streets, lamps, rubbish bins, on top of each other, on the roofs of the ramshackle houses. Sometimes the roofs fall under the weight of the people. We are also sitting on the chairs placed up to one of the roofs at our own risk, and looking forward to what will happen next.
"There were the most extraordinary creatures that I have ever seen... In size they were enormous..They had slate-colored skin, which was scaled like a lizard's and shimmered where the sun shone upon it...I do not know how long we stayed motionless gazing at this marvelous spectacle."
(Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, 'The Lost World')