November 2008 Archives

I recently purchased the AMOD AGL3080 GPS Data Logger, a GPS-based device designed to provide location information for digital photos. I originally purchased it for one of my other hobbies, flying.  I take the device with me whenever I go flying and use it to track my flightpath so I can create a visual track of my flights (see example).  This past week I finally used the device for its intended use, geo-tagging photographs.  

Prior to setting off for France I reached out to iKangaroo through Twitter for advice on places to check out during my brief visit.  He suggested a walk along the Canal St. Martin which was featured in Amilee and also walking through The Marais district including a pass by St. Paul's.  I decided to add a visit to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur to the itinerary and figured this long walk would be a great opportunity to test out the GPS Data Logger.

The device is small and easily strapped to the front of my daypack.  After turning it on I reset it so it would reacquire satellites on this side of the world.  As soon as the satellite was acquired it began tracking every step we took.  

Whenever I would stop to take a picture I simply clicked the waypoint button on the device and it would log the time and location of the photo.  After an enjoyable day of walking my wife and I returned to the hotel where I downloaded both the GPS logs and my digital photos.  The program provided with the hardware synced the photos and data logs and in a matter of minutes we were able to see a track of our walk and click on each spot where we took a photo.  

This is an invaluable tool for those jam packed trips where you see so many sites that you start to question which site was which, especially helpful for trips like Paris where I must have photographed 20 churches.  Now that my photos are geo-tagged I can simply layer them over a Google map and find the specific spot where the photo was taken.  Instead of manually identifying the location of each photo I can now easily publish my photos on a Panoramio or Flickr maps sharing with others the exact spot each photo was taken.

For any traveler that fancies themselves as part time photographer I cannot recommend this device enough.

If you're looking for a city with an amazing vibe, Mexico City is the place to be.  This city is packed with the sounds of salsa music, fascinating history, and delicious smells from street-side food vendors.  I recently visited here during the Dia de Los Muertos celebrations and discovered a rich, traditional culture still thriving upon the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan.

Mexican life is busy and exciting in the city.  The markets stretch on for several streets where you are sure to find interesting and cheap bargains.  From Halloween costumes to jewelry, I was lost in a maze of authentic goods.  Food is sold practically everywhere.  Stalls are set up next to each other in the marketplace and if you're hankering for an ear of corn slathered in spicy chili mayo, you only have to look in front of you. 

The history of Mexico City goes back centuries.  I was suitably awed by the Catedral Metropolitana, which is set in the city's main plaza, the Zocalo, upon Aztec temple ruins.  This massive cathedral took almost two and a half centuries to complete and it was well worth the wait.  Its architectural style built over the years includes renaissance, baroque, and neo-classic.  Scaffolding, however, is prominent due to the cathedral sinking lower and lower.  All of Mexico City is sinking, due to being built upon a lake and these scaffoldings are necessary to keep older buildings in place.

The Zocalo is at the center of the Centro Historico and official government buildings surround the perimeter like silent guards.  It is also where Dia de Los Muertos celebrations take place, an annual celebration of loved ones who have passed on from this life and return for one night only, November 1, to reunite with family still living.  At this time of year, death is not to be taken sadly.  Skeletons are featured in a most artistic way and are made out of everything, such as paper mache to actual human remains.  A costumed character called Mictecacihuatl, or 'The Lady of the Dead' walks through the throngs of people, pausing for photos in her ostentatious black veils.  Everywhere there are respectful displays of skeletons with statues of the Virgin Mary praying.  Marigold petals, the official Day of the Dead flower, are strewn generously over these displays.  This square is an especially fantastic place to visit during nighttime festivities when concerts and fireworks entertain thousands of people, both alive and otherwise.

I managed to venture outside the city limits for a day exploring pyramids at Teotihuacan.  About a 50-minute drive north from Mexico City, this ancient place holds gorgeous ruins from an unknown civilization.  Even the Aztecs were impressed enough to adopt their building techniques.  You can climb the Pyramid of the Moon and Sun as long as you're careful not to fall down the steep steps.  But once at the top, the view of fellow ruins and surrounding mountains is a magical site.

Traveling to Mexico City really opened my eyes to what a rich and warm culture Mexicans enjoy.  I highly recommend this iExplore's Southern Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula tour to anyone looking for excitement, great food, amazing history, and a glimpse of what the real Mexico is all about.

Dubai is literally a city that is being built overnight. Work crews construct highways, public transit systems, and some of the worlds' tallest buildings from dusk until dawn, and beyond. Highway signs point to destinations that have not been built and taxi drivers are still learning where everything is located.

I began my journey in Dubai at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort. I was in quick need of an alcoholic beverage following my 14-hour long-haul flight from Atlanta. My taxi pulls up to the resort, which is actually more of a mini-city than a hotel. The concierge and valet run around feverishly to illustrate their level of efficiency and hospitality as I enter the Madinat property. The resort is the definition of opulence as I see man-made waterways transporting hotel guests to various parts of this Arabian-styled "super-hotel". Complete with two grand boutique hotels, courtyard summerhouses, a traditional souk, and a wealth of restaurants and nightclubs.

The next morning, I decide to spend some time on the infamous Sheikh Zayed Road. A 7-lane highway that cuts directly through newly constructed downtown Dubai. Some of the tallest and most uniquely designed buildings in the world line this street. An incomplete high-speed monorail hovers 40-50 feet above this super highway, which is said to eventually provide public transit service for all of Dubai and neighboring cities. This is a very ambitious yet essential task to easing the ever-worsening traffic that is quickly becoming a staple of this city.

I enter the Four Points Sheridan, which is a 45-story colossal building that actually seems petite in comparison to its neighbor, the 170-story Burj Dubai. The roof deck is the most amazing part of this hotel, with a never-ending pool and a Caribbean inspired bar that has pina-coladas and margaritas down to a science.

Yearning for a taste of traditional Middle-eastern culture, I decided to drive to the Eastern shore of UAE, which is bordered by the Sea of Oman. Once you are 15-20 minutes outside of Dubai, you quickly see how under-developed this tiny city-state used to be 10-15 years ago. There is nothing but desert on all sides and the only sign of civilization is the occasional carpet dealer on the side of the highway.

After 2.5 hours, I reached the town of Dibby, which has only 2 hotels. The rest of the town is a mix of fish markets and falafel restaurants with a population of approx. 1,500. The main attractions in this city are the public beaches. These vast swaths of sand are cluttered with abandoned cars, washed up artifacts and unique photo opportunities. I took a camera and a journal with me and was able to spend the entire day without the least bit of boredom.  

If you decide to take a trip to Dubai, I strongly recommend seeing many of the amazing sights that have become symbols of this modern metropolis. However, taking a small day-trip outside the city has the possibility of opening your mind to the unpredictability and the simplicity of this once quiet coastal sheikdom.

Check out iExplore's Dubai Experience, a fully customizable and privately-guided 7-day tour.

Shortly after booking my ticket for an upcoming trip to France I started to panic about my ability to truly enjoy the destination on the limited amount of French I learned years ago in high school.  I started looking for some online resources that might help me prepare.  I was pleasantly surprised with what I found.

The first site I stumbled upon was a community based language training site, Livemocha.  In a matter of minutes I was registered for free and began relearning French with the French 101 class. The site does a great job of combining different learning styles be it visual, oral and written.  One feature I particularly enjoyed was at the end of each lesson there was a reading lesson in which I would read a phrase into my computer microphone and community members would critique and provide constructive feedback on my pronunciation.  In return each time I entered and audio submission I was given the opportunity to critique someone who was learning English.  This was satisfying knowing that I was able to help someone learn English.

I look forward to become more fluent in French through classes like Livemocha.  In the short term I needed a refresher to help me with the basic terms and phrases needed for my upcoming trip.  So, I next performed a search of French podcasts through iTunes. Again, I was satisfied with the results. Alexa is the host of an excellent podcast "The French Ecole Podcast" that I would recommend to anyone interested in learning the language.  

Another useful podcast was from the folks at SurvivalPhrases.com.  As their name implies they offered a series of podcast lessons focused on giving travelers the necessary phrases and terms words to not only survive but thrive in your vacation destination.
 
If you have plans to travel to a destination that speaks a language foreign to you.  I highly recommend you checkout many of the great language tools online.  Let us know if you have found a website, podcast or application that has helped you learn a new language!

Since iExplore's inception in the late 90s, Peru has always been one of our most popular destinations.  Turns out our customers aren't the only ones that are intrigued by the beauty and history of Peru.  In their November 10th issue, OK Magazine's travel section points out that A-lister movie stars Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Molly Simms have all recently traveled to Machu Picchu.  Left out of the article was the fact that Diaz later  apologized to the locals for wearing a communist bag.

Sure, OK Magazine might not be your de facto source for travel information, but we were happy to see their selection for recommended places to say.  They commented, "The intimate, 85-room Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel, is the area's top property, bringing understated luxury to an unbelievably rustic and natural setting.  The Una Spa at Inkaterra is a favorite for many of our clients looking for a way to unwind after hiking the Inca Trail.


Three of our Peru Itineraries include a stay at the Inkaterra Hotel:

• iExplore Peru - Machu Picchu & Amazon Basin
  
• iExplore Galapagos & Peru Silver
  
• iExplore Peru & Bolivia
  

iExplore offers several other tours to Peru including the popular Inca Trail hike all of which could include a night at the Inkattera Hotel if you are interested.