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A few weeks ago I was reminded why I started gastrotraveling.com and why I continue working hard to write fresh content. After all, isn’t my tagline simple enough?: “A Better Understanding of Food Through Travel” Well probably not. First of all, here’s what I’m not. I’m not a food critic, columnist, celebrity chef, or culinary expert in any way. What I am is a writer who is extremely interested in learning about the ever evolving way we interact with food and how it makes different cultures uniq
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482 Words About Uganda

We, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack (aka BorderJumpers), are traveling across the continent of Africa looking at innovations around alleviating hunger and poverty. We are writing a weekly diary whereby we share (in less than 500 words) observations from every country we visit.

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People here are very laid back and the feeling is contagious! We managed to go three days without a cup of coffee didn’t seem to mind.

You hear the words "Hakuna Matata" everywhere. Literally.Internet services down n
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NATJA invites journalists, editors, broadcasters, and travel industry professionals to their 8th Annual Conference & Marketplace in Reno, Nevada. This is a great opportunity for fellow colleagues to meet face-to-face, attend professional business development seminars, acquire great story leads and see the new and vibra...nt Reno/Tahoe area and its many new and exciting destinations.Featured Speakers will include:Peter Yesawich, CEO of Ypartnership, who will discuss the future of the travel indus
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Marmaris, A Turkish Resort Mecca

Once a sleepy fishing village, Marmaris has ballooned into one of the largest resorts on the Aegean coast, if not Turkey. Little of its history remains, as the town is now a modern development with tourism at its heart and soul. The population swells to a massive 200,000 in the summer, with most hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and shops catering to low-cost package holidays, although there are facilities for all budgets.Despite the development which reaches around 10km along the west of the bay,
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Istanbul: Two Continents

İstanbulArea: 5.712 km²Population: 10.018.735 (2000)Traffic Code: 34The god and human, nature and art are together in there, they have created such a perfect place that it is valuable to see." Lamartine’s famous poetic line reveals his love for Istanbul, describing the embracing of two continents, with one arm reaching out to Asia and the other to Europe. http://www.anzacdayonline.comIstanbul, once known as the capital of capital cities, has many unique features. It is the only city in the world
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The Storm Before The Calm

There is much to enjoy about early mornings in Kyiv: the cool air and peaceful blue tint in the sky (or whimsical snow in winter); the purposeful stomp of expensive shoes on the street as its businesspeople make their way to work; the unflustered rhythms of the metro before it becomes crowded; the melodious whirr of the coffee machine in the kitchen in my office, churning out triple espressos to be sipped before the working day starts. Unfortunately – due to my body’s own unflustered rhythms – n
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No Fly Zone for Family Travel and KidsMost Americans are not anti-kids, just some mean-spirited, presumably well-heeled ones who fly first class.As part of a thread on kids and families flying first class, one guy (maybe a woman) said:“ If I paid money for first class, I WILL GET FIRST CLASS. I don't want any ROTTEN CHILDREN anywhere near me…Or breathing MY FIRST CLASS AIR, THAT I PAID FOR.” (sic)Whoa!And he/she was not alone. Some said kids and families don’t belong on planes at all.Others said
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The Naked Traveler: Nude HolidaysJaws dropped (and pants too) a couple of years ago when German Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings for a nudist day trip from an eastern German town to a popular Baltic Sea resort.Apparently the 55 passengers will remain clothed until they board, undress during the flight, then dress before disembarking.The crew remains clothed throughout the flight for, well obvious reasons, I guessDon’t laugh!Nude Travel or “clothes-free vacations” i
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The second edition of the Lapathon, a race for a good cause organized by Lapa Rios Ecolodge will take place on May 1st. Start of the 18 kilometer race is the Carbonara School in Matapalo at 2:00 p.m. and the finish is at the Plaza in Puerto Jimenez. Participation fee is of 8,000 colones (about $15) and all proceeds from the race will go towards an educational project for children with learning disabilities in Puerto Jimenez. Prices include hotel stays and dinners at lodges, resorts and hotels ma
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A Few Words About Tanzania

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Kigoma, Tanzania.

Actually, we never even made it to Kigoma. Precision Air, one of only two airlines that flies to the remote region, had just suspended all flights for the next several weeks and the other airline was all booked.No worries, we headed to Zanzibar instead….Everywhere you look in Zanzibar there’s a bounty of fresh vegetables, fruit, and spices. One of the “Spice Islands”—a group of islands that supplied cloves, coriander, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla,

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Carbon Offsets: More Hype Than Help

Travel honchos in the travel and tourism industry are running a bit scared.With all the hand-wringing about Global Warming, the execs wondered if they are about to become the next Exxon Valdez of travel, villains in the making: major contributors to global pollution.Will the government, they worried, come out with a slogan: “Save the Planet. Travel Less?“Actually air travel pumps far less carbon dioxide into the world’s atmosphere than automobiles. But carbons
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When Women Travel Alone

Too many movies and books give us too many images of women as helpless victims. That’s unhealthy.But the truth is that a majority of women say that security issues are their number one concern when traveling alone.And given the choice, 79% of women road warriors say that they prefer to travel with a companion.It seems though, that the joys of travel are so strong, these women would rather travel alone than not travel.To which we say, “Travel On!”But take care, because there are real challenges t
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Music has always been part of the commonly shared culture found in the geographical region of west Africa, and the region has produced, in my view, some of the most talented and influential artists of music history. For millennia, the likes of the Jembe, Kora and Balafon musical instruments have influenced much of the music that we hear today on our radios.

For example, blues music has always been linked to the deep south of the United States, but have you ever wondered where the origins of blues
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Destination Brandwatch


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Palace on Wheels Luxury Train In India

Palace on Wheels

Journey on Palace on Wheels, the most famed Indian luxury train is sure to a lifetime experience. For the upcoming summer this train will close its journey on April 30. So, if you think of a Palace on Wheels tour before the summer season of this year book early. We are a Delhi based tour agency offering the best tour booking service. We offer complementary Delhi sightseeing tour and airport transfer.

Why does Palace on Wheels stand unique from other luxury trains of India? It is

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Burj al Arab HotelSo far no international classification for hotels exists, but that hasn’t stopped ambitious hotel marketers from slapping any number of stars, diamonds, cacti on their properties and touting them as 5 or 6 or even 7 star properties,
whatever that may mean in real service and amenities.


I think the ratings inflation trend began with the Xanadu-like building frenzy in Dubai, especially with the luxury hotel, Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs), built on an artificial island and bill

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Traveling is not all about sightseeing, great restaurants and experiencing new cities. While these things are great and can make for really enjoyable travel, they are not always in the plans for weekly business travelers. We travel more often because we have to, not because we want to.


For those of us who travel routinely, it can sometimes be mundane things that happen to us along our journey that get us excited. Or we create our own fun with little games we play with ourselves to get through th

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When Trip Advisor Gets It Wrong

When Trip Advisor Gets it Wrong

Unarguably, Trip Advisor has changed travel dramatically. It’s changed the way we look at… and book destinations and properties, from all-inclusiveresorts to family-run boutique inns.


But the review site can get it wrong, and when it does, given Trip Advisor’s enormous clout, it can cause damage to businesses.

Take the Salem Inn in Salem, Massachusetts.


Like most properties, the inn could benefit from an objective critique. But it doesn’t have “body fluids on the bed

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