Photos from Brazil

Nous sommes de retour sur New York, depuis une petite semaine et il nous reste encore quelques photos a mettre en ligne. Pour le moment voici nos photos de:
Paraty (Brazil)
Pantanal (Brazil)
Salvador (Brazil)

Bogota: A pleasant surprise

We had low expectations for Bogota, but suffice to say, it's substantially safer and more pleasant than we imagined. In fact, thanks to smart urban planning over the past 10 years, its among the most livable cities in South America (in my opinion).

- Like New York City, street names/numbers are based on a cartesian number system.
- The city has extensive bike paths (designed as an alternative commuter transportation system), numerous parks, and practically every street is lined with trees.
- The city's TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit System is a clever, low-cost alternative to rail-based public transportation. Similar in concept to the Silver Line in Boston (but far more extensive), it consists of low-pollution buses with dedicated "busways" and whose system is managed and operated by public/private sector partnerships that promote competition. Its implementation is so successful that the US Department of Transportation recently comissioned a report to determine which of its characteristics can be applied in the US.
- Unlike Shanghai's Old Town, which is practically Disney-like in its authenticity, the streets and buildings of Old Town Bogota have been restored tastefully and retain much of their colonial charm. Also, the area has been rehabilitated to provide its residents with access to modern power, clean water and transportation.

Security
From a security perspective, Bogota reminded me a lot of New York City around 1993-1994. Completely safe it is not; but certain areas (particularly in the north of the city) are perfectly safe; and its clear that broad efforts are being made to improve things.
- There are there are a lot of policemen patrolling the streets;
- Slums are being reclaimed and developed into parks and public plazas;
- Significant investments were made in public education, which resulted in a 30% increase in students attending school and, more importantly, a reduction of violent deaths by 42%.
- Security for international flights leaving Bogota is insane. They unpack your suitcase, 3 X-rays, and they pat you down twice.

Obviously all is not perfect
- This is a country that has endured a civil war for many, many years; and only in recent years stabilized.
- Air pollution is magnified at the high altitude.
- There is a large wealth divide, which contributes to petty crime (ie, pickpocketing) still being a problem.
- Ground transportation (e.g, bus, car) outside the city still isn't safe, thanks to the FARC and guerillas.

Random Thoughts
- You would think Colombia's capital would be warm, but considering its altitude of 8661 feet (2640 meters) above sea level, its not. We wore sweaters everywhere.
- Obviously I have no credibility on this subject, but the city has a lot of great restaurants (Astrid y Gaston in particular).

The golden arches gone global

Anyone reading this blog probably knows that America's 42nd president and I share an unhealthy (literally and figuratively) obsession with McDonalds. Not surprisingly, over the duration of this trip, my lovely wife has severely restricted my consumption of this fine "food". Oddly enough, this has had a positive effect on my waistline. But, that didn't stop us from noticing, in passing, some differences between the restaurants in the US and around the world:

Decor - While US stores are clearly targeted at children (cheap, cookie-cutter design, lots of hard plastic), non-US stores appear to target a more affluent customer. Seating areas have stylish, modern furniture, wi-fi/internet kiosks, flat-panel TVs, powerful fans that whisk away the smell of burger grease, and less humiliating staff clothing.

McCafe - Presumably to attract affluent customers while fending-off the impending arrival of Starbucks, the company created "McCafe", a high-end coffee shop that resides within a dedicated section of each restaurant. Here, you can drink speciality coffees and pastries, read newspapers and/or magazines, and listen to hipster background music. We tried this once, and it really did taste as good, if not better than Starbucks (disclaimer: I know I have no credibility on this subject).

Desert only stands: As burgers are priced out-of-reach for most consumers in emerging markets (particularly those in warm climates), we noticed numerous standalone desert-only stands/kiosks, where you can purchase lower-priced items such as ice cream cones, sundaes, and McFlurrys.

McDrive and AutoMac - other names for Drive-Thru

There is so much sugar in the hamburger buns that the government of Australia classifies them as cake.

Speciality foods

India: There are no hamburgers (religious beliefs); Big Mac is replaced by the Chicken Maharaja; more veggie friendly options.

China/Malaysia: Lots of chicken options (fried chicken, chicken teriyaki, etc.)

South America: We saw signs for Especiales del Chef, which are haute-cuisine versions of McDonalds classics created by chef Pablo Massey (their equivalent of Emril).

South America: McNifico burger (looks like a Whopper)

Buenos Aires: Kosher only restaurant in a food court

Rio de Janeiro: Super Big Mac (Big Mac with 3 patties of beef)

Countries we did not see stores/franchises: Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia.

Bottom line: Rest assured, I know how pathetic this posting is.

Colombia for our final week

So, we've reached the last week of our trip, and after much deliberation, we chose Colombia as our final destination. We also considered Ecuador and Venezuela, but supposedly its a bad time to visit the Galapagos Islands (too cold), and more advanced planning is required to truly enjoy Hugo's place. The clinchers were recommendations by our friends Andres (of Colombian descent and who constantly raves about his motherland) and Fred (who recently returned from a 2 week vacation there).

Is it safe?
Both Fred and Andres claim the tourist trail is perfectly safe, as Alvaro Uribe, the country's president, has blanketed it with police and military personnel. Our first impression at Bogota airport: There are cops everywhere. And in Cartegena, we didn't walk more than 100 yards without seeing a policeman. Also, we saw police randomly search through the locals bags.

Getting around:
- The travel books claim renting a car is a bad idea, as is traveling by bus at night.
- If you're traveling wihtin Colombia, consider flying AeroRepublica: It is owned by Copa Airlines/Continental Airlines, and its fleet consists of brand new (and very comfortable) Embraers and ex-Continental aircraft.

Bottom line: We never felt unsafe during the day. Walking at night was a different story, which we don't plan on repeating.

Cartegena:
As soon as Colombia is removed from your country's "don't go there" list, Cartegena is going to be swarmed with tourists. And with good reason: it is an absolutely stunning UNESCO designated historical town. Yes, we know we say that about many places we've visited, but in the case of Cartegena, its our second favorite city (after Luang Prabang, Laos). Walking around really feels like a 16th century town -- far more than Old San Juan, and considerably more than Paraty, Salvador and Cusco.

Santa Marta/Taganga:
We next went to Taganga, a small fishing town on the northern coast. I'll let Marie tell the story about getting there and our initial impressions -- but suffice to say, it was rather nice in the end; a relaxing day on a decent beach, seeing lots of local families, very fresh fish, and all quite inexpensive.

Random thoughts
- Colombian coffee is really good. Even the coffee on our flight was good.
- Colombian elections are just around the corner, and its really wild to see how supporters get the word out. Guys walking on stilts with posters, screaming into megaphones, marching bands -- all part of the "Vote for ..."
- In the town of Santa Marta, practically every cab is a 1980s vintage Renault Alliance (shocking that they actually run).

Famous Colombians:
- Carlos Sanchez, the actor that portrayed Juan Valdez, the purveyor of fine Colombian coffee, retired in 2003. But, the Juan's legend continues to live on in the numerous Juan Valdez Cafes.
- Pablo Escobar, the purveyor of fine Colombian cocaine (so we're told), was killed by the government in 1993.
- Considering the Colombian contingent that came out to support him at the US Grand Prix, I would have expected to see more Juan Pablo Montoya, the Formula 1 turned NASCAR driver, paraphanaila.
- We saw plenty of street performers gyrating like Shakira, the singer/dancer.

Derniere semaine

Nous sommes toujours au Bresil. Mes parents et mon frere sont venus nous rejoindre une semaine pour visiter la region du Pantanal ainsi que Recife. Nick et moi sommes ensuite partis a Salvador, ou nous sommes aujourd'hui.

Le Pantanal est la plus grande plaine inondee du Bresil -- et peut-etre du monde (a confirmer). La faune du Pantanal est extrêmement riche, sans doute la plus riche de la planete. On y trouve plus de 650 especes d'oiseaux: herons, ibis, aigrettes, jabiru, jacana, toucan, etc...

Nous avons egalement vu de nombreux cochons d'eau (capybara), des singes, des caimans et peche de nombreux piranhas (plus d'une centaine !). Nous avons eu la chance de ne pas rencontrer d'anacondas, presents en grande quantite dans cette region (je deteste les serpents !!).

Apres plus de 15 jours au Bresil, nous partons aujourd'hui pour la Colombie, ou nous allons passer notre derniere semaine de vacances.

New Photos!

Comme nous etions en vacances en plein milieu du Bresil et sans acces a internet, nous avons une fois de plus pris un peu de retard avec nos photos. Voici donc enfin nos photos de:
- Iguazu Falls (Argentina and Brazil)
- Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Ilha Grande (Brazil)

Enjoy!

American Football vs. Brazillian Football

As Marie mentioned in her post, while in Rio, we went to see a soccer match against the Flamengos (their equivalent of the Yankees) and the Atleticos (average team). While there, I scientifically broke down the differences between American Football (NFL) and Brazillian football. As Marie mentioned in her post, its PASSION:

Pre-game: Equivalent - both include tailgating outside the stadium, lots of unhealthy food and beer, booing other team when they take the field.

Brazillian Football midfield play = NFL timeout. Brazillians are cheering optimistically. Americans are ZZZZZZ....

Brazillian Football Corner Kick = NFL Field Goal: Americans are happy they scored some points. Brazillians are equally happy they are one/two kicks away from a shot on goal.

Brazillian Football Shot on Goal = NFL Touchdown: Americans are extremely happy they scored maximum points. Brazillians are extremely happy they ALMOST scored.

Brazillian Football Goal = NFL Playoff Win: Crowd is in a frenzy, fireworks are set off in the stands, etc.
Brazillian Football Game Win = NFL team making it to the playoffs.

Post-game: Equivalent - Absurd amounts of traffic, drunk people in the streets, etc.

Commercial breaks: NFL: Time to get food/beer and use the restroom. Brazillian Football: What sport has commercial breaks?

Halftime: Similar, except no on-field activities in Brazillian football (since its the only stoppage in play, everyone is at the food stands/restrooms).

Penalty against your team: NFL: The referee is blind and/or an idiot. Brazillian Football: The other player is an actor, and the referee is betting against our team.

Events we did not witness, but can infer:
Scoring a goal against your own team:
- NFL (Example: Leon Lett): The bum should be released (dropped) from the team.
- Soccer: The idiot should be shot. (On a serious note, its one thing to say that in the heat of the moment -- its another to actually act on it, which sadly happened to Andres Escobar in Colombia in 1994)

World Cup Win There were more people in the streets celebrating when France won the 1998 World Cup (they were the host country) than when Paris was liberated at the conclusion of World War II.

Catching up

Sorry its been a while since our last posting. As Marie mentioned, we met up with her parents and brother, and visited Brazillian flood plains where there was no internet access (or TV).


Iguazu Falls:
- Coincidence? The world's 3 major waterfalls lie on sovereign borders (Niagara Falls - USA/Canada, Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe/Zambia, Iguazu Falls - Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay)

- Its pretty impressive; the best part was taking a boat ride up to and under the falls (and not surprisingly, get soaked). We wish someone would have told us to bring a towel!!!

- If you have only 2 hours, visit the Brazil side (great panoramic views). If you have a full day, visit the Argentina side (get closer, more activities, etc). The ideal is to allot 1.5 days and visit both. No views from the Paraguay side.

Rio:
- Safety: Many of the locals claim "Rio is like any other big city; you just need to know where not to go." We disagree -- its a lot more dangerous (you don't see residents walking around with pistols and sub-machine guns in other big cities). Apparently drug lords have a lot of power in Rio, and government corruption is rampant. Unfortunately, they severely limit the areas of the city you can visit.

- Fashion: Whether you look like Elizabeth Hurley/Brad Pitt or Mimi from the Drew Carey Show / Dom Deluise, the mantra appears to be "show the world what you're made of". Women wear (not a lot of) tight-fitting lycra, and on the beach, guys wear Speed-o's and nothing else.

- The locals worship the sun: Our first day in Rio was cloudy/rainy -- and the town really seemed quite depressing (no one outside, gray buildings, unsafe, etc.) But the next day, the sun was out and the city was transformed -- everyone was riding bicycles, rollerblading, walking, drinking capirinhas, etc. And on the beach, many people were swimming, working out, playing volleyball (both the regular version and a soccer-like hands-free version), etc.

- Recycling: You can't go 100 yards in Rio without coming across a set of waste disposal bins. Each set has a bin for organic waste, plastics, glass, etc. Its really a nice system that simultaneously reduces litter and encourages recycling.


Ilha Grande and Paraty:
- Marie disagrees, but to me, Ilha Grande appeared very similar to a Caribbean island in that its quiet, has decent beaches, and a few unremarkable shops and restaurants. While its certainly nice, if you already live close to or have access to decent beaches, its probably not worth a special trip (whereas Pulau Perentian in Malaysia is).
- On the other hand, Paraty is a very unique, historical town. While not a UNESCO site, it is protected from over-development by Brazillian law, and has a unique 16th century Brazillian/Portugese charm. The buildings are all one or two story and constructed of colorful plaster; only pedestrians and bicycles are allowed on the cobblestone streets; lots of art galleries, good restaurants, bars, music, and harbors with yachts that wouldn't be out of place in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Pantanal:
- We met up with Marie's parents and brother, and spent 4 days in Pantanal, a huge flood plain fed from the rains in Southern Bolivia and Paraguay. If you like sustainable travel (nature, bird watching and fishing, staff/guides are locals), this is the place for you. We went kayaking, horseback riding, hiking, and pontoon boating, during which we saw hundreds of birds, alligators, (capibar), cows, and horses. Also, to to Philippe's delight, in 4 hours of fishing, we caught roughly 100 piranhas and catfish.

Other stuff about Brazil:
- Brazillians love the soccer (football). Every restaurant, from the nicest to the dumpiest, has at least one television showing a football match.
- We thought Chile had a wide disparity between the wealthy and poor -- but Brazil takes it to another level. There are many Brazillian businesses that are doing very well (Banco Satander, Embraer, etc). In fact, according to Goldman Sachs, Brazil’s economy (in terms of size) will surpass Italy by 2025; France by 2031; UK and Germany by 2036. However, there is a HUGE community that is being left behind due to government corruption, lack of education, lack of security, and the influence of drug lords.

We haven't met the girl from Ipanema, but...

We've crossed the border between Argentina and Brazil about a week ago, at the Iguazu Falls. Having visited some of the world largest waterfalls (Niagara in Canada / US, Victoria in Zambia / Zimbabwe, Selfoss in Iceland and now Iguazu), I can't really tell which one is the most impressive, but the setting of Iguazu and the surrounding wildlife definitely makes these falls worth the trip (our photos will be online soon).

We then took a plane from Iguazu Falls to Rio de Janeiro, where we spent 2 days. At the beginning, we were a little afraid to walk in the city by ourselves. All the travel books said that it is one of the most dangerous city in the world, and just before we got there, we shared a taxi with an Israelian couple who told us they got mugged on their first day in Rio, in the middle of the day.
The first day, we took it easy -- walk on the Copacabana beach, and in the evening we went to see a football (soccer) game at the world famous Macarana stadium. Even if only about half of the 90000 seat stadium was full (mostly due to the rain and the low importance of the game), the atmosphere was electric, making any American football or baseball game very dull (oh I know I am not going to make friends by writing that, but it is very true). Here football is like a religion. People are extremely passionate about it.

The day after, we decided to go and visit the infamous Rio favelas with a local guide -- a lady who started an association about 15 years ago, to allow tourists to visit the favelas and at the same time train local young people to the tourism industry and therefore create opportunities for those kids. The money we paid for the tour help finance to local school. She said that after so many years, she is starting to see some changes. Kids do not beg anymore for money; they call her to ask for work. It was quite an experience. We walked on some very narrow streets where young kids were carrying guns and machine guns. She told us to avoid looking at them and just keep walking, as they can be a little distrustful, thinking we could be undercover cops (!) or journalists. For those of you who have seen the really good, but shocking movie City of God, which was filmed about 1 hour from Rio, we were told that the movie depicts the life of the favelas very accurately.

After the visit, we decided to be adventurous and went handgliding. I was very anxious at first, yet very excited. It was the first time I did anything remotely like this (the other time was parasailing in Cyprus when I was 12...). Nick was more familiar with this type of stuff as he went skydiving a few years ago (ask him about it! It's a pretty funny story... Not sure he'll do it again though). We jumped from the Sao Conrado mountain on top of Rio, about 500 meters high and went up to 800 meters (thanks to the wind that was very good that day). It was an amazing experience to see the city that way (Copacabana, Ipanema, the Christ the Redeemer...)


After Rio, we took a bus to Angra dos Reis (3 hours) and then a boat to Ilha Grande (2 hours). We spent 2 days in the paradisiac island of Ilha Grande, where we did a bit of kayaking and a lot of sleeping!

We are not in the little fishing town to Parati, a preserved Portuguese colonial and Brazilian Imperial town, where we are enjoying the laid back atmosphere, the good food and the local drink (caipirinha), which actually made me pretty intoxicated last night...

3 new albums online!

Avec un peu de retard, nous venons de poster 3 nouveaux albums:
- Patagonia (Chilean side)
- Mendoza (the wine region in Argentina)
- Buenos Aires

Enjoy!

Buenos Aires: What's not to like?

Of all the cities we've been to on the trip, the one that will meet with the most universal appeal is Buenos Aires: Its a really beautiful, cultured and CHEAP city.

Food: Combine high quality French/Italian/Argentinian recipes and wines, farm-fresh ingredients, cuts of meat even larger than a good American steakhouse, and cut the price by 2/3. (3/4 si vous habitez en France).

Architecture: 19th century European architecture; brownstone houses with 15 foot ceilings; lots of outdoor cafes, parks and museums.

Infrastructure: Tree-lined cobblestone streets, large boulevards, a subway/metro system based on those found in Germany/Austria, lots of taxis and buses.

People: 90% of Argentinians are recent immigrants of European descent (various nationalities, including Italian, French, Spanish, German, Polish, Russian, etc.) and have done a nice job of blending cultures while retaining their own identities.

Style: Those who take their cues from the fashionistas of Paris, Milan or New York will find themselves quite comfortable in this city. The shops in the neighborhood of Palermo looks identical to New York's Soho. And unlike Peru, there is no "native" clothing to be found anywhere.

So, what did we do? Walked around, ate a lot, drank a lot and slept a lot!


Freaky political coincidences
Both the US and Argentina have presidential elections coming up, so political information and posters are everywhere. But check out some really freaky coincidence regarding two candidates:

She:
- is a former attorney/current senator that will more than likely be the presidential candidate for one of the major parties;
- is a former First Lady (her husband is a former governor and president);
- met her husband in law school in the 1970s;
- is often referred to by her first name only (but occasionally with her maiden name);
- claims that she will bring change to a dysfunctional government.

If elected, she'll be the country's first woman president.

Who are we talking about? Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Mendoza: Ville de France en les 1970s

Bonjour, et bienvenue ma 2me post en Francais. Just a little bit of English beforehand.

Our journey from the Patagonia region of Chile to Mendoza consisted of 8 hours on bus (including 5 hours on one that reeked of spoiled-milk), an 8 hour layover in an industrial Argentinian town, and 2 red-eye flights. Believe it or not, this was the safest way to travel.

Arretter l'anglais

Je ne rappele pas France en les annes 1970s, mais je pense que Mendoza ressemble une ville typique de France de les temps.

Le ville est composee de rue de cobblestone, beaucoup de parcs, vignobles, et bonne restaurants avec menu Europeanne (et boeuf!!). Il y a magazins de France (Carrefour, 5 a Sec, Etam), et TOUT les voitures sont marques/modeles vieux de Francais. Nous avons vu beaucoup de Peugeot 404 et 504, Renault 11 et 12, Citroen 2CVs et Fiat 500s!!! Seulement 10% de voitures sont nouveau Peugeot 206, Renault Clios, Fiat Stilos et Chevrolet (Opel) Corsas.

For the Americans, think lots of 60s and 70s vintage French cars never exported to the US, as well as a lot of Ford Falcons, and the award-winning Renault Alliance, Encore and Fuego (yes, they actually run).

Beaucoup de residents sont Europeanne (Italianne, Espagnole, Francais), les persones sont blanche de peau. En une restaurant, un enfant a marche a mois, touched ma face et il dis "No blanco".

Pour les vignobles, nous avons pris une excursion sans guide de bicyclette (s'appele Bikes and Wines). Vous conduisez pour 12km et arret a 10 different de vignobles. Nous apprendons les raisins pour le vin Malbec (les specialites locale) est tres similiar a les raisin de le vin "Cote". Les rues sont beaucoup de traffic, allors c'est tres importante ne faire pas comme les Bretons et bois beaucoup!!! Mais, c'est tres jolie et tres bien.

Some more photos of Chile

Nous venons de mettre en ligne nos photos de la region des lacs au Chili.

Check out our photos of the lakes district in Chile... and us, climbing the volcano!

Fire and Ice

Well it's been a veryyyyy long time I haven't written in the blog. Believe it or not, we have been very busy. After spending a few days in Santiago, where I got pretty sick (stomach virus), we headed down to the lake district of Chile (9 hours by bus). Buses in Chile and Argentina are very numerous and quite comfortable. We stayed in a town called Villarrica and rented a car to explore the neighboring lakes, volcanoes, hot springs and mountains. One of the highlight of our trip was climbing the snow-covered Villarrica volcano, which took about 7 hours up and 3 hours down. We left early in the morning, supplied with waterproof clothing, crampons, backpacks, ice picks and a protective helmet. While extremely rewarding (it is not everyday that you get to see the crater of an active volcano), it was also very tiring to climb, in the snow, for that long. The inside of the crater was black, rocky, smoky (my lungs hurt for a couple of days after inhaling the fumes), and full of lava jumping up in the air every few minutes. Anyway, I think this will remain one of the most memorable experience of our South American trip (and not only because all the muscles of our body ached for the next few days).

After this, we headed down to Patagonia, where we explored the glaciers in Torres del Paine national park and around Puerto Natales by boat.

Now I am going to finish in French...

Apres avoir visite la Patagonie, nous avons traverse la frontiere entre le Chili et l'Argentine en bus. Ce fut une tres longue journee: 7 heures de bus, 8 heures dans la ville de Rio Gallerios et 5 heures de vol, avec escale, jusqu'a Mendoza ou nous nous trouvons actuellement.

Photos of Santiago and Valparaiso

Cela fait un sacre moment que je n'ai rien poste sur le blog. Je comblerai ce manque bientot. En attendant, voici nos photos de Santiago / Valparaiso.

Santiago: A throughly modern city set in a stunning backdrop

Coming from La Paz, which is as third-world as you can get, Santiago, Chile is nothing what we expected it to be. While not a beautiful city, its is thoroughly modern and would not be out of place in Europe or California.

Similar to Europe:
- The metro (subway) is identical to that in Paris, with the same carriages as "Les Lignes 1 et 6", ticketing system, and very similar station designs.
- The most popular vehicles are the Peugeot 206, Renault Clio and Opel Astra.
- The Autopistas (highways) use European signs and are comparable to France's Autoroutes in quality (and tolls!!!).
- While its not a terribly attractive city, walking in the streets has a distinctly European feel to it (we compare it to Berlin).

Similar to San Francisco:
- Geographically, the city is close to both the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains, making it excellent for wine production (whites in particular).
- The ocean, mountains, and wineries are all a 1 hour drive from the city.
- Its by far the most expensive city in South America, with the price of goods and services comparable to San Francisco.

Random thoughts:
- Que? Chilean Spanish has to be the most unintelligible version of the language out there. Lots of idioms, shortening of words, rapid speaking and mumbling. Think the combination of "New Yorker", Louisiana Bayou" and "Cockney" English.

- Since when did Samsung start making cars?

- 11 de Septiembre: We noticed Santiago has a road named "11 de Septiembre", although its not for the reason we initially thought.

Despite its long history of democracy, Chile has a vast divide between the wealthy and poor. To address this, in 1970, the people elected a Marxist socialist, Salvador Allende, as president. His goal was to improve the lives of the poorest Chileans by nationalizing certain businesses/industries and redistributing the wealth accumulated from the mining of copper. Well, a Marxist socialist running a Latin American country didn't sit too well with the US Government (especially with everything going on in Vietnam at the time). So, the US flooded the copper market, driving down the price -- which severely hurt the Chilean economy, as Allende didn't diversify the economy. As we all know, nationalized business + no wealth to distribute = no food + unhappy people protesting in the streets. So, on September 11, 1973, Army General Augusto Pinochet led a coup against the government, and claimed himself president. Pinochet, much like Stalin in Russia, greatly strengthened the country's economy, but through brutal rule, and the killing/torture of tens of thousands. Bottom line: We received very different answers when we asked locals about Pinochet. Some are thankful for his economic reforms; others can't forgive him for his brutality.

"Coca Si, Cocaina No" vs "War on Drugs"

In La Paz, we visited the Museo de Coca, which, in Lonely Planet's words "gives an educational, provocative and evenhanded look at the sacred leaf and its uses". In a nutshell, the problem is coca leaves, which have been an integral part of Andean culture for centuries, is the primary ingredient in the production of cocaine.

The scientific community broadly agrees that the raw coca leaf is a mild stimulant that provides the following benefits, all of which are important for high-altitude living (such as in the Andes):
- Stimulates the respiratory system;
- Increases tolerance for work;
- Inhibits the development of platelets;
- Regulates the metabolism of glucose; and
- Does not inhibit the consumption of nutrients.

Today, Bolivians export coca leaves for major corporations, such as Coca-Cola (hence the name), and pharmas (for pain killers). But, its the primary ingredient for cocaine and crack, which is a pretty big deal. Bolivians counter that cocaine and crack isn't a problem in their country -- over 50% of the world's consumption is in the US.

The UN, US and Bolivian governments all agree the production of cocaine and crack needs to stop, but they have very different approaches to stopping it. As part of the "War on Drugs", the UN and US believes in stopping it at the source; and provides South American countries with millions of dollars in "development aid" (read: cash) and "trade agreements" (read: allows them to sell goods in the US) to facilitate the eradication of coca farms. In its place, the US Gov't teaches the farmers how to grow fruits and vegetables for export.

What is often not mentioned are the provisions that allow Coca-Cola and the pharmas to continue receiving their supply of Bolivian coca leaves -- just not the Bolivians!!! As you could imagine, the locals are none too pleased about this. Hence why the current Bolivian government is proposing to address cocaine use at the consumer level (a common slogan is "Coca Si, Cocaina No"). Their take is (my paraphrase) "coca leaves have been helping our culture for centuries -- don't eradicate the leaves just because a few bad people make cocaine out of it". The US counters "If Bolivian police didn't accept bribes to allow coca leaves to be used for cocaine production, we wouldn't need to eradicate them".

La Paz and finals thoughts on Bolivia

La Paz:
Its a 3.5 hour bus ride from Copacabana to La Paz. Other than having to hop off and on the bus while a ferry takes the bus across the lake, its a reasonably uneventful trip.

Impressions:
- Walking around is tiring. The city is built in a bowl-shaped valley at an altitude between 9,951 and 11,930 feet and there are very few flat areas.
- Anyone who has lived in or visited India will feel right at home in La Paz. Between the noises, the buses, the traffic and the street vendors, there is so much controlled chaos.
- Like Copacabana, its cheap. We ate at the nicest restaurant in town; 3 course meal with wine was $9/person. A haircut was a $1.40, and spanish lessons are $3/hour. One could fly/stay here as a tourist and take lessons for 6 weeks, and it'd still be cheaper than taking lessons at Berlitz in New York.
- Saltanos - La Paz's answer to the donut: Take the pastry crust of an Indian Samosa, the filling of an Argentinian empanada and a little green chili. Sooo good, and it only costs about 40 cents.
- Crime is increasing: Check out what the US State Department and French Government websites say about Bolivia. While Marie felt reasonably safe, I was, at times, rather uncomfortable.
- Like many South American cities, shoe shine boys in the street are plentiful; however, La Paz's purveyors have an interesting twist: they all wear ski masks.


About Bolivia:
- Political Instability: Since its independence in 1825, Bolivia has nearly 200 different presidents. The latest, Evo Morales, is the first indigenous leader and a former coca leaf grower. Like Hugo Chavez and many other South American leaders, he is moving the country strongly towards the left, taking control of the petrol fields and other businesses.
- Modern, low-cost housing in Bolivia is often times constructed of bare brick and cement. Most westerners will think the buildings are unfinished (needs plaster, paint, etc.). But, the locals seem to like it this way.
- Global Warming: No country is more a victim of global warming than Bolivia. Much of the Andean glaciers, which supply the country's drinking water, and 80% of its electricity, have melted away. By 2009, scientists predict the demand will exceed supply. Doesn't help that its a landlocked country. While the rest of the world debates the effects of global warming, and the percentage of human contribution, this place is living it.

Our photos from Bolivia

Ca y est, nous sommes enfin a jour (ou presque). Nous venons de poster 2 albums photos de Bolivie:
- Lake Titicaca
- La Paz

New photos online!

Voici nos dernieres photos (2 albums):
- Machu Picchu
- Travel from Peru to Bolivia

Hello Bolivia: Copacabana and Lake Titicaca

After visiting Machu Picchu, we headed off to Lake Titicaca. The Lake shares a border with both Peru and Bolivia; however, we heard that Bolivian side was more interesting from a tourism perspective. So, we took a 10 hour "backpacker" train from Cusco to Puno, Peru (passing some of the most amazing landscape we've seen on the trip so far), spent a night in Puno and hopped on a bus to Copacabana, Bolivia.

Copacabana:
Copacabana serves as both the main border town between Bolivia and Peru, as well as the main tourist town for visiting Lake Titicaca. To be perfectly honest, the town isn't terribly exciting: all the restaurants are on one street and most have identical menus (lake trout, pizza, basic chicken and beef dishes). Lodging includes hippies on the street, backpacker dorms and one simple, but cozy hotel. But, it is the best place to go if you want to check out the lake. And its cheap!!! A 3-course meal with a glass of wine at the 2nd nicest restaurant is $8 per person with tip included!!! 2 pairs of wool gloves and hats will set you back a whopping $5.

One note about hippies: Both Cusco and Machu Picchu have a good number of hippies, but Copacabana takes the cake. Sooo many of these folks think they are the 2nd coming of Che Guevera (whom I commonly refer to as the guy on the t-shirt that rode the motorcycle). There was a young couple that sat next to us on the bus, whom we are convinced didn't shower or wash their clothes for least 2 weeks (ugh, the stench!). We also firmly believe we were the only visitors in city that has earned a paycheck.

Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol:
Let the record show that upon arriving at the lake, my Beavis and Butthead moment was much shorter than originally anticipated.

First thing that strikes you is the sheer size of the lake; at first glance you would think its an ocean!!! Second thing is the deep blue color of the water --- sooo clear and pure. The lake water is actually 1% salt -- which we learned is much less than oceans, but more than fresh water. Interestingly, while most have problems drinking it, the local fisherman boil it to make tea. Third thing is the elevation. The clouds appear to be quite low -- but that's because the lake and islands are at such a high elevation!!!

We chartered a boat to Isla del Sol (the spiritual home of the Incas) with Dougie and Louisa, a Scottish couple that took 2 months off to travel South America before starting their doctoral program. We hiked about 8km on the island, which doesn't sounds like much until you factor in the large elevation changes, and high altitude (4060m at the highest point). Turns out Dougie and Louisa actually hiked an alternate to the Inca Trail a couple of days earlier, and assured us the Isla del Sol hike and "Inca Stairs" from Aguas Calientes were as difficult as the Inca trek! Maybe we are in good enough shape to hike the trail? Eh, something to look forward to.

Marie thought the islands and lake reminded her of the Mediterranean Sea. So, if you enjoy that kind of thing, except a bit colder and a LOT cheaper, this place is for you.

Photos of Cusco online

Nos photos de Cusco sont maintenant disponibles. Attention aux ames sensibles (photos assez gores a la fin de l'album -- a ne pas regarder avant de passer a table).

Photos from Lima

Nous venons de mettre en ligne nos photos de Lima.

More photos to follow in the next few days...

"Quand lama pas content..."

A vous de completer...

Apres avoir recu un email de mon emmerdeuse de cousine Audrey, insatisfaite du retard que nous avons pris avec le blog, je me decide enfin a ecrire.

Nous sommes revenus hier de Machu Picchu, ou nous avons passe une nuit dans la petite ville d'Agua Calientes au pied de la montagne qui abrite Machu Picchu. Agua Calientes se trouve a 3 heures de train de Cusco. De la, il faut soit prendre un bus pour monter vers le site, ou escalader une montagne. Comme nous sommes restes deux jours, nous avons essaye les deux. La montee a pieds fut rude pour deux grands sportifs comme nous, surtout a 2400 metres d'altitude, mais la vue de la vallee est magnifique; et je pense qu'un peu d'activite physique etait necessaire afin d'eliminer les Pisco sours, bieres Cusquina, Casillero del Diablo (vin pas terrible, prefere de Nick) ingurgites ces derniers jours !...
Machu Picchu est magnifique, et beaucoup plus impressionant en realite qu'en photo. Le site est immense, perche dans les montagnes. Les amateurs de randonnees y sont dans leur element. Et je dois dire que j'ai commence moi-meme a prendre gout a la marche en montagne ! Comme quoi, tout arrive ! Mais attention, je ne suis toujours pas prete a camper !

Nous sommes desormais en route pour Puno, au bord du lac Titicaca. A 3830 metres au dessus du niveau de la mer, le lac Titicaca est le lac naviguable le plus haut du monde. Il se situe entre le Perou et la Bolivie. Nous pensons passer une nuit a Puno, ce soir, avant de traverser la frontiere demain par bateau ou bus a destination de Copacabana en Bolivie.

Les paysages que nous traversons sont splendides. Je suis etonnee de voir que les campagnes peruviennes sont restees tres typiques. Les peruviens portent toujours des vetements traditionnels, tres colores, et l'on rencontre beaucoup de lamas et d'alpaca.

Photos du Salvador disponibles !

Our photos of El Salvador are finally online!.

Maintenant, tu vas pouvoir arreter de m'engueuler, Audrey !

Cusco: A very picturesque town

Cusco, about 725 miles/1165 km from Lima, is the main city that people use as a base prior to visiting Machu Picchu. Normally, people have the option of driving or flying; however, the route between the two cities was heavily damaged by the earthquake, so a 1 hour flight is currently the only option.

At 11,151 feet/3,399 meters above sea level, visitors are advised to rest for 24 hours to get acclimatized to the altitude (similar to Leh, India). Upon arrival at practically any hotel/guesthouse, the locals will offer you "coca tea" (made out of the same leaves used to create cocaine - or so we're told), whose medicinal powers are said to help cure altitude sickness, hangovers and pretty much anything else you could imagine. Of course, thanks to Nancy Reagan, we only drank the tea.

Even though many people only use it as a launching point for Machu Picchu, Cusco should be considered a proper destination in its own right. The city has a remarkable blend of Incan and European influences: the grand plazas, numerous Catholic churches, cobblestone streets and outdoor cafes have a distinctly "old world" feel to them, while the colorful clothing worn by the locals, centuries old ruins, and backdrop of farmers herding animals across the Andes mountains add a splash of Peruvian culture. Its really neat.

The city can accommodate tourists of varying budgets -- you can find a guesthouse for $10 USD, or the royal suite at a 5 star hotel for $1500 USD. Not surprisingly, we picked housing on the far-lower end of that scale (except for Marie's birthday -- see below).

Cuisine is similar to Lima -- lots of meat. Guinea pig is the local specialty, although chicken, beef and pizza are found on practically every menu. And those raised in Ireland will feel very comfortable -- seemingly every meal is served with some form of potato.

Random thoughts:

Apparently the urban planners in the 16th century didn't anticipate the Cadillac Escalade -- the streets are extremely narrow, made of cobblestone and surrounded by buildings with high walls. By far the most common cars are the Daewoo Tico (a vehicle that could easily be confused with a riding lawnmower) and the Volkswagen Beetle, with the powerful 1300cc engine.

Buy your eyeglasses (or a backup pair) in Peru: Marie lost her glasses, and we had to purchase new ones here. All together: eye exam + frames similar to the ones she had + scratch proof lenses = $43 USD!!!!!

For Marie's birthday, we stayed at Hotel Monasterio, which as its name suggests, is a hotel built inside a former monastery. This was the first hotel we've seen that has its own church!!! Its also the only hotel in the world with pressurized rooms -- similar to airplanes, each room is pressurized to simulate the air at 9,000 feet, and also enriched with oxygen. This is said to help guests acclimatize to the altitude. However, as with the roads, the 16th century architects of the building didn't anticipate wireless internet; the stone walls are so thick its impossible for signal to go through them ;-)

Generally speaking, Peruvians are really short. Marie at 5' 6" (1.68m) is taller than most men. Our friends Jim and Raphelle were here recently, and we can't imagine what it was like for Jim, who stands at 6' 5" (1.96m).

Finally our photos from Moscow!

Nos photos de Moscou sont enfin en ligne !

Some of our captions may be incorrect. We researched to the best of our availability and would appreciate any corrections!

Les Sept Boules de cristal...

We have been a little lazy with the blog lately... Our trip to El Salvador really exceeded our expectations. We met there the nicest people, and the country, despite being the smallest of Central America has a lot to offer. It is also apparently a paradise for surfers (Gildas, Manu, when are you buying your tickets?)

We are now in Lima, the capital of Peru, where we spent the past 2 days. Lima is definitely not the most beautiful city. We feel that it's a mix of Miami and Las Vegas -- a lot of casinos and neon signs. Our guesthouse is located in the Miraflores district, one of the most upscale area of Lima. It's actually pretty nice. There are a lot of restaurants, bars and stores. We actually spent quite a lot of time in a... mall (yes, that sounds pretty pathetic... traveling so far to spend time in a mall!). Larcomar is actually a pretty unique shopping mall, on top of the cliffs, overlooking the Pacific coast.

Today, we explored the historic center of Lima from the Plaza San Martin to the Plaza Mayor, stopping at the Convent of San Francisco to visit the catacombs. It is quite pretty actually in comparison to the rest of the city.

Tomorrow, making slowly our way to the Temple du Soleil, we are heading by plane to Cusco, where we are planning to spend the next five days. We booked a pretty nice hotel to celebrate my birthday. Nick was lucky to spend his at the Lake Palace... I had to compete...

By the way, we are aware that we haven't posted any photos for a long time... We still owe you our photos from Moscow and El Salvador. It should come soon!

El Salvador: A great start to the 2nd part of our trip

As Marie mentioned in her earlier post, we had no intentions of visiting El Salvador. Rather, the cheapest flight from New York to Lima, Peru was on TACA airlines, and required a connection in San Salvador. Turns out It was only a couple bucks more to stop-over there for a couple of days, so we figured, why not? So, we booked the flights and then looked into what there is to see and do.

On the surface its not so good: Here is a summarization from travel.state.gov and other sites:
- Former war stricken country;
- one of the highest crime rates in the world;
- don't carry a wallet around;
- don't walk around at night; and
- limited tourist infrastructure.

What were we getting ourselves into? Well, it turns out we stumbled upon a gem of a country.

The Good:
The people: The friendliest people we've met on the trip this far (even more than Mongolia). Even though we speak broken Spanish, no one ever grew impatient and were always willing to help out.

The environment: Lots of volcanos, lakes formed inside volcanoes, lush green forests, beautiful black sand beaches and oceans that are apparently excellent for surfing.

The cuisine: Lots of chicken, beef and the tastiest chorizo ever. Suffice to say, its not vegetarian friendly, although you can find plantains, rice and corn.

Driving: The roads are in very good shape (thanks to partnerships and investment from Japan and the EU -- similar to Cambodia), and rental cars and gas are cheap. Terrible road signs and maps though.

Tourist Infrastructure: Hotels in San Salvador will meet most westerners expectations, the official currency is the US dollar, and overall stuff is pretty cheap. And the best part: There are NO tourists in the country.

The Bad:
Security: Its not unusual to see security guards carrying shotguns (especially around banks and ATMs). Police and army folks carry semi-automatic weapons throughout the airport. Turns out theft is mostly gang related. Having said that, its like any big city -- as long as you're aware of your environment and don't stroll in unsavory neighborhoods, things should be fine.

Public transport: There are no subways nor a rail system. Buses are either overpacked mini-vans or colorfully painted, smog-emitting, old US-style school buses. Taxis are easy to find, and reasonably priced.


The Verdict:
We're huge El Salvador fans -- highly recommended for any independent traveler. Go there before everyone else does!!!!

El Salvador: the beginning of the 2nd leg of our trip

After spending 6 days in France in my family and 6 days in New York, we are back "on the road". We reached El Salvador on Friday. To be honest, we didn´t plan to stop by this country, but our plane ticket to Peru had a free (or almost free) stop over. So far, we haven´t been disappointed. All the people we´ve met are extremely nice, perhaps because the country doesn´t have many tourists. In two days, I don´t think we have met any other foreigners in San Salvador.

Yesterday, while we visited the city, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant, where the owner, and El Salvadorian, spent 20 years in the US. He fought the war in El Salvador and then moved illegaly to the US through Mexico. He reached New York, where he found a job washing dishes, and made his way up and ended up working as a chef for the... Republican Club! Full of his experience, and some money, he came back to his country recently to start a new restaurant and be closer to his family. Very nice guy... got us a lot of free drinks and food.

Today, we rented a car and are hoping to drive around this small, but beautiful country, see some of the volcanoes and colonial cities. Tomorrow, we will probably drive to the beach.

More Russian stereotypes and completely random thoughts

Traveling on trains as much as we did, it gives a person time to think (insert joke here). Supposedly, many writers found inspiration traveling the Trans-Siberian. Rest assured, these musings won't win any literary awards.

Continuing on the stereotypes:
Russian cuisine:
IMO, its not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Most meals start off with soup and bread, followed by numerous small dishes (tapas portions), such as salad, fish, beef, potatoes, etc. Omul, a smoked fish common in Siberia, is really tasty. And western food (and fast food) is a common sight in Moscow.

Carry-overs from the Soviet-era:
- All the menus contain the size/weight of each portion. Apparently during the Soviet-era, food was rationed out, but its pretty cool now, because you can tell if you're ordering a little bit of food or a lot.
- Restaurants frequently don't have the item you want on the menu (we experienced this in Siberia, but not in Moscow)
- At "all you can eat buffets", you're only allowed to go up once and take one plate.

Customer service and hospitality:
The stereotype is best summed up by Aeroflot's (the national airline of Russia) slogan during the 80s, which was "We don't smile, because we're serious about making you happy". And its true we experienced many customer-unfriendly items, such as restaurants not having items on their menu, all the railway schedules are set to Moscow time (even the train station clocks in other cities are set to Moscow time), and of course, you've already read about our train facilities and immigration experiences.

Having said that, we do have a new appreciation for the message the fine folks at Aeroflot were trying to convey. Clearly its not an appealing tagline, but it does seem to sum up our experiences with Russian customer service. Once you move past the fact that very rarely do people smile (everyone looks really angry), and the difficulty in interpreting the tone of the language as friendly, most of the people we met were rather accomodating. Examples:
- Waitress at a restaurant: We ran out of that. And that too. Not that -- No, I bring you this - its good.
- Provodnista in train: Its not cold; the train temperature is always set to 18 degrees centigrade (64 degrees F); this is normal temperature. Oh, you have the sniffles. I turn off the a/c.

There was an episode of the Simpsons (Lost Our Lisa) where Lisa got lost on the bus and ended up in the Russian area of Springfield. If the Aeroflot slogan is the stereotype, the Simpsons episode truly captures the essence of what Russian customer service and hospitality is all about.


Getting there and around:
In order for foreigners to enter Russia, they must first get a letter of invitation from the country, then apply for a visa that has strict "valid from/to dates". Best to use a travel agent to facilitate these. And at Russian customs you have to declare practically everything, including mobile phones, cameras, computers and foreign currency. These are considered "temporarily permitted devices".

Getting to the major cities (e.g, St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Ekatinburg) is easy, since most major European airlines (and Delta) have flights, and Korean Air flies to Vladivostock on the Pacific Coast. But, anywhere else and you're either driving, taking the train, or one of 6 or 7 different Russian airlines. And while aviation safety records as a whole are improving, statistically Russian airlines continue to be the most dangerous (followed by Africa-based carriers, save South African Airways). Hence, why we're taking the train (frankly, I would love to take a Tupolev TU-154; its a very well engineered, albeit old plane, but Marie is afraid -- something about not wanting to die. Her dad summarizes her thoughts well, by saying "better to take a dirty train, than an unsafe plane").

Driving:
Like in Mongolia, Siberians drive their cars on the right hand side of the road (like in the US and France), but both left-hand and right-hand drive cars are prevelent. Moscow has only cars with the driver on the left-hand side. And the accident rate is amongst the highest in the world.

Completely random thoughts:
- Russia is the anti-Dubai: If Dubai is diversifying its economy through improved financial services, tourism, and trading, then Russia is doing exactly the opposite. Flush with money thanks to rising oil and gas prices, Russia is placing one big bet on its future.
- With Russians, one always know where they stand. If they like you, you'll know it -- and if they don't like you, you'll DEFINITELY know it.
- Marie's grandparents visited Russia in the mid-80s, and her grandmother said Russians have really nice eyes. We agree with her.
- We consider the fact that Marie and I have spent every moment together for 4 months (including a 6' x 5' room for 77 hours without showering) and not wanting to kill each other (that much) a good sign.
- If there was ever an "Ultimate Fighting: World Leaders", my money is on Putin. The guy is former KGB, jacked and always looks ready to kill. Bush would do reasonably well (apparently he works out everyday), while the odds would be against Sarkozy.
- My Indian skin has no problem with intense sunlight, but the wimpy American office worker can't deal with monsoon-like humidity. For Marie, its quite the opposite.
- Why is prostitution is rampant in countries that claim to have "conservative values"?
- No matter where we travel to, no one thinks we're married. Having passports from different countries certainly doesn't help (even though the last name is the same).
- I lost count of how many times on this trip Marie has said "If Frederic saw me wearing this..."

Moscow: Pleasant, expensive and pepper spray

After 4 days of a Soviet-era train sans-shower, we finally arrived in Moscow. The city was a pleasant surprise - really beautiful and a nice blend of pre-Soviet architecture with all the modern amenities. But, other than alcohol, its EXPENSIVE:
- a 3km taxi ride is about $25;
- A Hotel Ibis/Red Roof Inn level hotel outside the city-center costs about $200/night.
- a pair of Nike's cost about $180.
- A 2 course dinner at a decent, but by no means extravagant restaurant is about $100 for 2.

Predicting we were going to need a bit of luxury after the train, we stayed at the Sheraton Palace hotel (read: budget breaker) and as a result, didn't spend as much time in the city as we would have liked to.

Architecture
Pre-Soviet era Russian architecture is very unique, in a good way. The buildings that surround the Red Square and Kremlin are beautiful, as are the numerous gold topped churches, baroque-style government buildings, and grand old train stations. We were really surprised to see how many nice buildings there are in Moscow (in stark contrast to Irkutsk). On the other hand, there are plenty of Soviet-era buildings outside the city center, which are as glamourous as their reputation. Lenin's Mausoleum a far from pretty structure, was closed; but frankly, I didn't have much interest.

Pepper Spray
We were heading towards the subway/metro station, when we were innocent by standards of a young lady who shot a LOT of pepper spray at a drunk fellow. In case you were wondering, everything they say in that link (blindness, hard to breathe, burning sensation, etc.) is true, although since neither of us are under the influence of drugs, we were unable to validate that drug users can keep their eyes open. Maybe next time...

Random Thoughts
Apparently a common Russian marriage tradition is to pay your respect at the eternal flame near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Park. We saw lots of newly married couples in their wedding dress/tuxedos lining up and leaving flowers in tribute.

When photographed, Russian tourists love "striking a pose" in front of monuments.

Prostitution appears to be rampant in Moscow (or at least in the public eye more than any other place we've been to, except Bangkok). Even the Moscow Times (equivalent of New York Times) has ads for escorts and "night-clubs".

Kbac (pronounced kvass) is a Russian non-alcoholic beverage made of fermented rye-bread; kinda like their version of coke. My friend/co-worker Stas brought 2 bottles into the office one day (it wasn't received well). But, I must say the ice-cold Kbac in Moscow was pretty good. May have had something to do with being on the train for 4 days...

Trans-Siberian Railway: Irkutsk - Moscow

Our third, longest (77 hours) and final installment of the Trans-Siberian railway experience was from Irkutsk to Moscow. Train #1 (aka "Roissya") is the flagship service between Moscow and Vladivostock. Again, the Orient Express its not, but it was by far the nicest train we've taken to date:

- Here, our 6 foot by 5 foot berth consisted of: 2 reasonably well padded benches, centrally controlled air-conditioning, 4 reading lights, a radio channel that played Russian pop music, an in-room 15" television with 2 channels (1 Russian TV, the other was the train carriage hallway security camera), and 2 electrical plugs.
- The amenities provided were: 2 wool blankets, a package of fresh sheets and a pillow case, 4 feather pillows (which we couldn't use since Marie is very allergic to feather), and a daily breakfast package of tea bags, instant coffee, unedible "chocolate wafers", crackers and a bizarre vacuum-sealed mystery meat.
- Our "non-smoking" train carriage had: 2 clean, well maintained bathrooms that had running water and like the others, could not be used when stopped at a train station. Potable hot water was available at the end of each carriage.
- There was a dining car that served what I considered edible food on this train. Marie thought it was far too greasy to eat.

Disaster almost struck when we noticed I inadvertendly left the power adaptor at our hotel in Listvyanka -- that meant we wouldn't be able to recharge the laptop until Moscow (Russia uses the same power plug as France, and our laptop has a US plug). Worse, this meant Marie wouldn't be able to watch DVDs for the 77 hour trip. Thankfully, the friendly attendant in the restaurant car lent us his adaptor, so tragedy was averted!!! Take a look at the pictures to get a sense of how freaked out she was!!!

This train made 28 stops between Irkutsk and Moscow -- some for 2 minutes, others from 20-47 minutes. Thankfully, the schedules were clearly posted and adhered to (apparently in Russia, the railway personnel's pay is tied to punctuality), so we knew when we could hop off and for how long. One fascinating thing about Russian train stations are the elderly women that patrol the tracks, selling fruits, meats, home-made breads and other snacks.

Interesting to note that throughout our time in Russia, we saw many elderly women, but not that many elderly men. A quick check of the "The Economist's Pocket World in Figures" (a great reference book chock full o' world statistics and rankings - if you like CIA World Factbook, you should really pick it up) tells us the average life expectancy for males in Russia is 58.7 years, while for women its 71.8. Without knowing all the facts, I suspect alcohol and unhealthy diet could be two main causes.

Given the previous statement, you wonder if selling products to train passengers could be their primary source of income? In any case, we bought plenty of stuff from them, and they were all tasty.

Random thoughts:
- I tried the bizarre vacuum-sealed mystery meat -- it was NOT good.
- The author of our "Lonely Planet: Trans-Siberian Railway" book compares the journey to going on a cruise or laying on the beach (spend time catching up on reading, relaxing, etc.) Marie compares it to jail (6' x 5' berth, bad food, bathroom breaks and outside activity (train station platforms) at scheduled times).
- The train stations in Siberia (and more importantly, the people in them) reminded Marie of a refugee camp.
- So many of the cities and houses we saw wouldn't exist if it weren't for the Trans-Siberian railway. Apparently the railway was, among other things, a tool used to get Russians to relocate to Siberia (both voluntarily and involuntarily).
- We spent 156 hours (6.5 days) on trains traveling from Shanghai - Beijing - Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk - Moscow. I don't think we'll be traveling by rail anytime soon.

Bottom line:
It was long, criminally overpriced, and not terribly comfortable. Am I happy we did it? Yes. Would I take it again? Good question. For Marie, its an easy answer (I'll let you guess).

Siberia (Irkutsk and Lake Baikal)

I was very excited to visit Siberia. Maybe it had to do with growing up during the cold war and the associated propoganda, reading how the weather and people of the region severely weakened the armies of both Napoleon and Hitler, or watching Rocky IV a few too many times, but Siberia seemed such a far away, unreachable and unknown area. In some ways, many of our preconcieved notions were true, while some were completely off-base. We'll start with music, fashion and alcohol:

Music:
The stereotypes are true. Upon arriving in Russia, Marie walked into a store to purchase cold Pepsi and water. Sure enough, one of the other patron's mobile phone rang to the tune of "The Final Countdown" by the 80s superband Europe. We heard a remix of song in a restaurant the next day as well. So much of the music seems to be similar to the western rock and electronica heard in the late 80s/early 90s. As this is being written, "Be My Lover" by La Bouche is playing in the restaurant. While that may be perfectly normal for westerners to hear that in a "retro" club/bar, here its the cool places that play this stuff.

Fashion:
Didn't quite know what the stereotype was, other than it was bad and people wore big hats. While there were no big hats (it is summer), we did notice that Siberians guys LOVE wearing athletic jumpsuits (preferably Adidas) with white stripes on the sides. Also, Siberian women of all ages love using really unnatural red hair color (the more unnatural the better).

Alcohol:
The stereotypes are true. We noticed numerous people drinking beer/vodka in Irkutsk at 7.30am, and the beaches of Lake Baikal were full of beer chugging consumers. One surprising thing was that beer appears to be rapidly closing in on vodka as the people's preferred poison.

Lake Baikal:
Lake Baikal is the deepest fresh water lake in the world (over 1 mile deep at some points!!!), contains approximetly 20% of the world's entire fresh water supply, and more than the 5 Great Lakes combined. Its so huge and takes so much energy to warm up that even in the height of summer (when its 30 degrees centigrade outside), the water gets no hotter than 15 degrees centigrade. Apparently it gets so cold during the winter that people can drive their cars across the lake. Some scientists believe that down the road, its going to become another ocean. Lots of hiking and fishing in the area -- quite a neat place.

We stayed in Listvyanka, a small resort town on the shores of Lake Baikal. According to the pictures on the wall, some notable Russians stayed at our hotel including Boris Yeltsin (smiling and looks drunk) and Vladimir Putin (not smiling, looks angry).

Other odds and ends:
- I expected to see a lot of Soviet-era factories, apartment buildings and war relics. And while there were some, they were surprisingly few in number; they were clearly more small, wooden (and often times abandoned) houses and sheds. And the summer time, the scenery/landscape is very similar to that found in upstate New York, or Canada: lots of pine trees, ferns, grasses, and blue skies.
- Please help stop "The Paris of....": Just as Beirut refers to itself as "The Paris of the Middle East", Irkutsk is "The Paris of Siberia". It is not. The line has to be drawn somewhere. My friend/co-worker Anthony now sarcastically refers to Newark as "The Paris of New Jersey".

Bottom Line:
At the risk of offending some readers of the blog, people nostalgic for the New Jersey Shore circa 1993 will LOVE Siberia.
- 90s dance music;
- women with REALLY unnaturally colored hair;
- muscle-bound guys shirtless/wearing jumpsuits;
- picnics on the lake shore;
- poorly "pimped" out domestic cars (here its Lada, whereas in Jersey it would be the Camaro, Mustang or Monte Carlo); and
- massive, massive amounts of alcohol.

All our photos from our trip in the trans-siberian are online now

Vous pouvez voir nos photos de Siberie et de notre trajet en train jusqu'a Moscou (2 albums) en cliquant sur les liens a gauche.

Le transsiberien: payer pour (cher) pour decouvrir la vie en prison

Au moment ou vous lirez ce texte, nous serons enfin arrives a Moscou apres 9 jours de train entre Shanghai et Moscou, entrecoupes de stop a Beijing, Ulan Bator et Irkustsk.

Le trajet en train est long, long, long... et sale, sale, sale. Cela fait 4 jours que nous sommes enfermes dans ce train, depuis que nous avons quittes Ikurtsk, et je n'attends qu'une chose: arriver a Moscou.

Je me demande encore comment j'ai pu me laisser entrainer dans cette aventure...

Apres 4 jours sans shampooing (un record dont je ne suis pas fiere), mes cheveux sont si gras, que nous n'aurons pas besoin d'huile pour faire la vinaigrette. Depuis 4 jours nous ne mangeons que des chips, des biscuits secs, et du porc degoutant servi dans le "wagon-restaurant".

Le train s'arrete toutes les 5 ou 6 heures pendant un vingtaine de minutes, et il est possible de se ravitailler aupres de vieilles dames ou de stands. Serieusement, on se croirait dans un camp de refugies. Le reste de la journee nous sommes enfermes dans notre compartiment: une cellule de 4 metres carres. Heureusement que nous avons apportes un stock de livres et des DVDs.

Photos de Mongolie

Just managed to put the pictures of Mongolia online before going to bed (ah a nice clean hotel bed... after so many days in the train). Enjoy!

Our first photos from our Transiberian trip are online!

Nous venons d'arriver a Moscou (j'ecrirai quelques choses demain car ce soir j'ai un peu la flemme...)
En attendant, voici nos photos de Beijing (Pekin) et de notre premier trajet en train (Beijing - Mongolie).

Trans-Siberian Railway #263 - Ulaanbattar to Irkutsk

Our second Trans-Siberian (technically, Trans-Mongolian) railway segment was from Ulaanbattar to Irkutsk, Russia (the capital of Siberia). Just as airlines have different aircraft/service levels on a given route, the Mongolian and Russian train systems have different trains. Our original plan was to take a soft-sleeper berth on the medium-good train (by Russian standards). Its not Orient Express by any stretch of the imagination (the standard Amtrak and SNCF sleeper cars are far superior), but it appeared to be somewhat manageable. Unfortunately, that didn't jive with our schedule, so we ended up on Train 263, a Russian-built, Mongolian-managed commuter train that stops at virtually every station along the way. As you can imagine the configuration was slightly different:

- Here, our 6 foot by 5 foot berth consisted of: 4 lightly padded benches, a window that opened (no fan or a/c), 4 reading lights that only worked at night and that required the assistance of our provonista (cabin attendant that resembled Rosanne Barr, except less cordial) to turn on/off. In the accompanying berths were groups of REAL hippies (the don't wash their feet kind).
- The amenities provided were: 2 wool blankets, a package of fresh sheets and a pillow case (but no pillow), and pre-packaged "meal" containing warm, stale yogurt and a mystery meat that dogs wouldn't even eat.
- Our non-smoking train carriage had: 1 functional bathroom (the 2nd one was closed) which was NOT cleaned/maintaned throughout the trip, did NOT have running water or a shower, and could NOT be used when stopped at a train station. Potable "hot" water (more like luke warm) was available at the end of each carriage.
- No dining car on this train

In anticipation for some of these delays, we stocked up on a breakfast of champions (petit dejeuner des champions) consisting of Pringles, Cup-O-Noodles, Ramen, Haribo candies, Lu cookies and bottled water. We also purchased a considerable number of books, magazines and DVDs (assuming we could use our Mac to watch them). What we didn't anticipate was the lack of electricity, which made it impossible to read at night, nor watch more than 1 movie. We also didn't anticipate that the "hot water" would not be hot enough to make Ramen. Fun stuff.

Mongolian - Russian Customs:
If we thought the China-Mongolia border was rough, this one takes the cake. The process of going through Mongolian immigration and customs, Russian immigration and customs and waiting for connecting train carriages took 10 hours. Furthermore, Russian immigration questioned whether I was the person pictured in my passport, and 3 different people came to verify I am indeed who I claim to be. And finally, like at the China-Mongolia border, during this time the bathrooms are closed, there is no electricity in the train and yes, this is standard operating procedure. Someone really needs to introduce Six-Sigma to the Russian and Mongolian train people!!!

In their defense, after the first 5 hours, the train pulled up to a station to wait for connecting carriages to arrive; so, technically passengers are free to walk around. However, the provonistas do not tell passengers what time the train will actually leave (and of course there are no schedules posted anywhere). Also, its not possible to lock the berth with all one's luggage/stuff in it. All that was going through our minds was "we paid good money for this?" All in all, it took about 36 hours to get to Irkutsk.

Turns out the "better" train shaves 16 hours off the travel time!!!! Lesson learned: if you make this trip, do your homework before purchasing tickets!!!!

Mongolia: Come back in 5 years

Lonely Planet says "by no stretch of the imagination could Ulaanbaatar (the capital of Mongolia) be called pretty." That's an understatement. The city is composed of Soviet-era apartment buildings, factories and a whole lot of air pollution. However, it does have the all the basics a tourist needs in a city: good restaurants, numerous hotels and guesthouses, real supermarkets, clean asphalt roads, banks and ATMs, internet cafes, really cheap taxis and very friendly people.

Once you're out of the city though, its a whole different ballgame. The scenery (rolling hills, sand dunes, blue sky, clean rivers, animals and animal herders) is absolutely stunning. The phrase "off the beaten path" doesn't do this place justice. "Driving" (more on this later) in the countryside is like looking into the Old West in 1850.
- No houses (families live in one-room yurts);
- No plumbing (think outhouse);
- Sheep, horses, goats and camels FAR outnumber people;
- Small 'General Stores' provide the locals with whatever supplies they need.

Other interesting facts:
- Alas, Mongolian BBQ is a myth (weep): There is only 1 restaurant in Ulaanbattar that serves "Mongolian Barbecue", and when we described it, no one knew what we were talking about. Soup and mutton are staples of the Mongolian diet.
- As a people, Mongolians have been the friendliest we've met on the trip thus far.
- The Mongolian language uses the Russian Cyrillic written alphabet. Although the locals claim the languages are very different, to us they sound identical. And we found it extremely difficult to pronounce anything in Mongolian.
- The locals love Chinggis Khaan (aka, Genghis Khan) - during his time, Mongolia ruled most of Asia. His face is on all the money, and there is a hotel and a beer are named after him.
- Airag, a beverage made out of fermented mare milk, isn't nearly as appetizing as it sounds (note the hint of sarcasm).
- The same applies for homemade cheeses made out of fermented and unfermented goat and mare milk.
- Its the first country we've been to where both left-hand drive and right-hand drive cars are allowed.
- Its a large tourist destination for South Koreans (the closest non-communist Asian mainland country, only a couple of hours away via plane).
- As the country has about 25% unemployment, Mongolians are often times overqualified for the job they receive (e.g, college educated, but job only requires a high school education). A growing number are moving to South Korea to work, and send money back to support their families.

About driving in the countryside:
Apparently China, Dubai and Singapore have taken the lion's share of civil engineers. Words can't describe how bad the roads outside of Ulaanbattar are. Actually, they aren't roads; people just drive on grass and dirt and "make" their own road.

We hired a car and guides to bring us 280km southwest of Ulaanbaatar so we could go horseback riding on sand dunes. Those of you that have seen my pre-Marie residences know that I can peacefully co-exist with a little thing called dust. Well, lets just say thanks to the combination of being near the desert, long-term drought, 35+ degree centigrade (95+ degree farenheight) temperatures, lack of asphalt roads, an old Korean mini-van that lacked seat belts and an HVAC (heater, ventilation, air-conditioning) system, and a 20-year old driver that thought he was in the Paris-Dakar rally, even I was having trouble dealing with it. Marie, who is very allergic to dust, was practically on her death-bed. Our guides Doljoo and Tseveenee were wonderful, and really made us feel at home; and the sand dunes were amazing; but the journey to get there: not so good.

Bottom line:
If you really like nature, or ever wondered what "The Old West" was like, this is the place for you. Just wait until they finish construction on the roads.

Trans-Siberian railway: Beijing - Ulaanbaatar

Our first Trans-Siberian (technically, Trans-Mongolian) railway segment was from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We had our own 6 foot by 5 foot "soft sleeper" berth in this German-made train operated by Mongolian Railways.
- The berth consisted of: 2 lightly padded benches, a window that was not designed open, 4 reading lights and a centrally controlled air-conditioning system that only worked at night.
- The amenities provided were: 2 wool blankets, a package of fresh sheets and pillow case (but no pillow), and a thermos containing hot water for tea/coffee.
- Our "non-smoking" train carriage had: 2 bathrooms (mens and womens) that were very well cleaned/maintaned throughout the trip, but did not have running water or a shower, and could not be used when stoppeat a train station. Additionally, potable hot water was available at the end of each carriage.
- The train had a shared (and smoke-filled) dining car which sold bad cheap food and good cheap (albeit room-temperature) beer.

Traveling through the Chinese countryside provides a glimpse of the huge disparity between city life and those of the farmers and factory workers. As discussed in a previous post, life for these folks certainly doesn't appear to be terribly great. From that perspective, taking the train was very insightful, because we saw a side of the country very few westerners get to see.

Changing running gear:
Because they were paranoid about being invaded, the Russians designed their train tracks to be a couple of inches wider than the rest of the world. As a result, our train had to change running gear (bogies) at the border between China and Mongolia (Mongolia was under Russian control when the railway was built). Basically, while you're sitting in the train, a machine lifts the train car, pushes the Chinese gear to another track, rolls in the Russian/Mongolian gear and lowers the train car. The entire process takes an hour or two, and is very cool to watch.

What is not cool is that the process of going through Chinese immigration and customs, changing running gear, and Mongolian immigration and customs took about 5 hours, during which time you cannot get off the train, the electricity is turned off (hence, no air-conditioning or reading lights) and the bathrooms are closed. Oh, and this occurs between 8.30pm and 1.30am. In the US, airlines are fined big bucks for leaving passengers on the tarmac in these conditions -- here's its business as usual.

Having said all that, the trip took about 30 hours, and from my perspective, other than 5 hours of sitting at the border, was reasonably pleasant. Marie did not enjoy it as much (especially the sitting around), but found it manageable.

The Chinese Communists are just such great capitalists

One more catch up post (we're in Mongolia as this was written)....

The title of this post was a quote from Jim Cramer, the loud, crazy guy on CNBC. But, its only funny because its true.

Shanghai

I visited Shanghai back in August 2000, for the wedding of my friends Misi and Don. Man, how things change...

Back then, I was amazed at how modern Shanghai was. Maybe it was the propaganda the media feeds us, but back then I expected China to be a very backwards country. Instead, Shanghai turned out to be a rapidly developing city which blended the best of old Chinese culture and new Western civilization. Examples:
- The ultra high-tech Pu Dong district was newly opened, with Oriental Pearl Radio tower, its crown jewel.
- The brand new Pu Dong airport was as beautiful and efficient as any in the world.
- The subway was new, clean, and uncrowded with ice-cold air-conditioning (a true gift in the 90 degree / 90% humidity weather).
- The newly constructed roads seemed comparable in quality to Europe and America's finest.
- The Shanghai Grand Theatre (where Don and Misi's wedding was) was a modern counterpart to Carnegie Hall.
- The temples and old town didn't lose any of their old charm.

A sample of the things that have changed:
- The reasonably new Shanghai Magnetic Levitation train (aka, MagLev) between the airport and downtown city area travels at over 430 km/hr (nearly 270 mph). I think Siemens of Germany had a lot to do with the technology, but am not sure. Regardless, its a remarkable feat of engineering.
- The Pu Dong district is now home to the Jin Mao tower (3rd tallest building in the world), practically all multi-national corporations, numerous high-end hotels, the "Super Brand Mall", as well as the aforementioned Oriental Pearl TV tower.
- In 2000, the roads were filled with countless numbers of bicycles and one model of Volkswagen; and taking the way too overcrowded buses resulted in numerous bruises from the elbows of your fellow passengers. Now, very few bicycles exist, the buses are bigger, modern, and more frequent, and already wonderful subway has been expanded to more areas.
- In terms of cleanliness, building quality and appeal of stores, the malls/shopping plazas/restaurants are equal to or exceed the finest in the US.
- Ferrari sells more cars in China than any other country save the United States.
- The city just has a "buzz/excitement" about it.

To summarize, back in 2000, I thought New Delhi was about 8-10 years behind Shanghai in terms of progress/development. Now, its more like 10-15 years. No doubt this acceleration is thanks to China getting its hands on Hong Kong in 1996. But regardless, New York, London and Paris should watch out.

Beijing
As Marie mentioned in a previous post, Beijing was the first city on this trip Marie and I both visited prior to meeting each other. In the November 2003, she visited her brother, who was studying at the Beijing Aeronautical University, while I went up there for a few days after Misi/Don's wedding. My conclusion from that trip was, for all the glitz and glamour of Shanghai, Beijing was a sleepy old government town that had a ways to go (think Albany, NY). Horrible pollution, terrible congestion, old factories, communist-era architecture (save the amazing Forbidden City, Great Wall and Tiananmen Square). My stomach losing the battle to street vendor "pork-on-a-stick" didn't help (won't go into any more details, but lets just say it wasn't pretty). Well, a ways it has come.

As everyone knows, Beijing is going to host the 2008 Olympic games, which has fueled rapid construction. Marie mentioned some of the things that have changed; so I won't go into much detail. Suffice to say, we barely recognized areas we previously visited, and never could have imagined how things changed so quickly. I guess when the government can say "hey, we're putting a building up where your house is. Here's $500, get a new place", things become a lot easier.

Goldman Sachs has predicted that in terms of economic size, China will surpass Germany in the next year or two (if it hasn't already), Japan by 2015 and the US by 2041. Considering their track record, its hard to bet against them, but...

Reality sets in:

...the rapid economic expansion of China's major cities has come at the cost of the common folk.

- Energy and the environment: All that construction needs energy; of which China's primary source is coal (not the cleanest thing). During our entire stay in the country, there was a very unnatural industrial gray haze in the sky (we didn't see the sun once). Many ex-pats in Hong Kong are worried about their family's health, and many companies are opening office in Singapore to address those concerns. China has chosen to go with the same "build first, clean up later", model that was successful in Europe (for example, the Rhine River was a dead river, but is now vibrant and healthy). It'll be interesting to see if they can "clean up" on a much larger scale. Beijing is spending $13 billion USD to clean up the air around Beijing in time for the Olympics -- we'll all watch to see if it works.

Also, much has been made of China's obtaining oil from non-humanitarian regimes such as Burma, Sudan, and others. The government's position is these are sovereign nations, and have the right to rule themselves as they see fit (those who cast stones...China executed the head of food and drugs for taking bribes!!!). We'll see if anything changes under the additional pressure that comes with being a global power.

- Health Care: Most of China's inhabitants are rural farmers that historically, those in power, such as Mao, always catered to. Nowadays, the farmers aren't so happy. Families from major cities receive drastically better benefits than the villagers that make up the overwhelming majority of the population. And in the current model, once a villager, always a villager. If a person moves from the village to the city, they are not given "city" benefits. Even a child born in a city to a family that migrated from the village is considered a villager. At some point, that's gotta change -- will it take a revolution?

- Corrpution: Another thing the farmer isn't happy about is corruption. They see the developments in the cities; meanwhile, they don't have access to clean water, schooling, and medical facilities, and their local politicians are skimming the little funds that were directed towards them. With the proliferation of media and communications, from satellite television to mobile phones (China Mobile is the largest mobile phone carrier in the world, and practically everyone here has one), the people are speaking. Demonstrations in villages and small cities are on the rise, and if the government expects its meteoric rise to continue, its going to have to address this.

- Population Control: As many of you know, to control population, the Chinese are only allowed to have 1 child. In the not-too distant future this could be a problem (not enough young people to support the elderly), but its probably manageable as as many other countries have overcome this issue. Just saying it'll have an impact on GS's 2039 prediction.

Not surprisingly, GS's prediction assumes China's growth will gradually slow from the current 8% to 3.9% by 2040. Presumably, that will account for hiccups along the way. The key will be to see how the Chinese government and the financial markets recover from those hiccups.

One last thought on Dubai

Forgot to add in...the one thing that really separates itself from its city/state counterparts (e.g, Hong Kong, Singapore) it the multiculturalism. Singapore's inhabitants may be of many different races/religions, but overall -- the culture has been somewhat homogenized in that most everyone acts/dresses the same way (very Western).

Walking around Dubai, you'll see a mix of Westerners, Indian/Pakistani, Middle Easterners, and Africans. However, people seem comfortable allowing others to retain their native culture and religion and do not appear to feel the need to impose their beliefs.

For instance, the locals don't seem to care if a westerner wears an outfit from H&M or Zara and drinks alcoholic beverages; and ex-pats don't care if Muslims wear traditional head coverings/attend their prayer sessions 5 times a day; and more importantly, the reverse (at least that's the way it appears to be). While this seems perfectly normal to someone that was raised in the US or Europe, its a big deal in the Middle East.

Dubai: A really good deal

Another catching up post...

You may be asking "Why Dubai?" In a nutshell, we got a GREAT deal on a flight from Delhi-Dubai-Shanghai. Yes, we know it's not on the way to China, but read below to understand why we flew out of the way...

About Dubai:
Just as Singapore is the ideal "first Southeast Asian city" for westerners, Dubai is the same for the Middle East. The brainchild of Sheikh Mohammed Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who, like his Singaporean counterpart Lee Kuan Yew, is a true visionary.

Dubai is one of 7 regions in the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi is the largest). Interesting to note, only 3% of Dubai's GDP is from oil. In the late 1970s, the Sheikh noticed that the oil reserves were quickly drying up, and concluded for his region to survive, they needed other sources of income.

Great quote:
"My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel."

So, he took the oil money they had, and set off to create a world-class financial center, trading hub, and tourist destination.

Most people have heard about the craziness of the Burj Al Arab hotel, the Palm Islands and Oqyana, The World (all artificial islands), but there’s a lot more going on here.

To entice financial services companies, travel-related companies, and outside foreign investment, they've implemented very friendly personal and corporate tax schemes (e.g. no personal income tax). Most residents of Dubai are ex-pats from other countries.

To get tourists in the country, they created Emirates Airlines, considered one of the finest in the world. They only fly wide-bodied aircraft (Boeing 777, Airbus A340, Airbus A330), which can haul a significant number of people and cargo simultaneously. Also, they’re building the Dubai World Central International Airport, which will have 3 times more cargo capacity that Fed Ex's largest hub (Memphis), and 50% more passenger capacity than Atlanta, the largest passenger airport in the world.

Having said all that, things aren't completely rosey. Because there are very few native Emeriti, virtually all the construction workers are imported from Pakistan and India (using a foreign guest worker program not terribly different from the one Bush proposed; I personally think he is using Dubai as a model). While the foreign guest worker program is actually pretty slick, human rights activists claim these workers are treated miserably, and have very little rights.

About that deal:
Emirates has a "Free Stopover" scheme, which allows connecting passengers to stay for upto 3 days while paying the same fare as a direct flight. Pretty slick way to advertise your city, and get people to spend money there. We took advantage of this last November, on the way back from our honeymoon (36 hours in Dubai).

Our deal this time was in Emirates First Class, with lounge access, lie-flat seats, 19 inch personal TV with over 600 channels, noise-canceling headphones, chauffeur service to/from the airport, free hotel room at the 5-star Le Meridien Dubai, and a free dinner at the Sukothai restaurant all included in the flight price that wasn't that much more than the cheapest coach ticket on a "safe" airline (read: no Ethiopian Airlines). Guess they're really trying to get people to connect through Dubai!!! Considering we were looking at 6 days in less than luxurious Trans-Siberian train, it was a no-brainer.

Okay, so we did it, it was great, we didn't see much of the city other than malls(since we'd been there before), and got to Shanghai in comfort. Post on China coming shortly...