PARIS

PARIS! Part One - in General

Eiffel Tower

Even designating the blog as "top 3 travel destination", Paris surely had the place among these 3 destination. 

Every second pair in the world dreams to spend honeymoon in Paris. 

Paris is the source of inspiration for painters, writers, poets, film directors, architects, musicians...

The capital city of France is one of the political and fashion center of Europe.

I'd say that everyone can find subject of interest in Paris. Even the laziest and the most boring people could not abstain from admiring beauty of Paris.

So, before you will visit this amazing City, let me share some of my impressions.

Basilique du Sacre-Coeur

Depending on where are you going to stop in the city, at first you will see one of the many sights of Paris. 

First of all it might be Eiffel Tower, because of its location and height. As it is known the landmark of Paris - Eiffel Tower is 324 meters in height. So, it is seeable from many parts of Paris.

However at the first you can notice Sacre-Coeur (full name "Basilique du Sacre-Coeur") beautiful Roman Catholic Church located at the summit of the butte Montmartre - the highest place in Paris.

Notre Dame de Paris

You can also see Notre Dame Cathedral (in French "Notre Dame de Paris") - Catholic Church built in 13th century. The cathedral is located at the site of Seine and it is the beautiful example of Gothic Architecture. 


Beside architectural beauty the cathedral has an important place in arts and literature. "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" (1831) of Victor Hugo is one of the best proofs of it.

Palais du Louvre. View from Eiffel Tower

If you have a chance to travel to Paris, you have to visit Louvre Palace (in French "Palais du Louvre") where is located famous Louvre Museum ("Musee du Louvre").

In Louvre Museum you can see the perfect pieces of art, "Mona Lisa" (also known as "La Gioconda") of Leonardo da Vinci.

Musee du Louvre

BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS. Part One - In General

Brussels, the capital city of Belgium is one of the famous cities and tourist attractions in the world. Brussels hosts the headquarters of the European Union (EU) as well as the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The population of Brussels is approximately 1,150,721.

The city has a lot of museums, monuments, and historical places that are never to be missed. Though the city is not big and easy to explore even on foot. It is famous for Beer, breweries and chocolates as well.

Top things to see in Brussels

Grand Place in Brussels

Grand place listed in UNESCO World heritage site list with Town hall and Mason du roi.

Grand place was built in 13th century. It is one of the most memorable building in the world surrounded by many historic buildings. 

Town hall which dates back to the 15th century is one of Belgium's finest civic buildings with its numerous sculptures adorning its wall, also because of its perfect proportions and the incomparable beauty of its tower.

Town Hall

Maison du roi

Maison du roi or Broodhuis, the Museum of the City of Brussels faces the Town Hall, on the other side of the Grand place. It is sheltered in a building of neo-Gothic style, result of the reconstruction made in the 19th century. The museum is devoted to all aspects of the city's history.

Manneken Pis

Manneken pis the famous bronze sculpture of a boy peeing in a fountain. Before seeing the manneken I was sure that it might be very big sculpture, but I was totally disappointed when I saw this little boy (61 centimeters tall). 

Despite of its size the "Manneken pis" is the landmark of Brussels. You can buy everywhere souvenirs in form of peeing boy. 

Cathedrale des Saints-Michel

et Gudule is a remarkable 

archeological site of Brussels. 

Its history covers 12 centuries. 

Initially built in Romanesque 

style, the church was later styled 

in Gothic architecture, because 

of its growing significance.

ISTANBUL - MAGNIFICENT

ISTANBUL - MAGNIFICENT

Istanbul

Istanbul is a city like no other, with it’s unique architect and elements from Byzantine, Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Turkish civilizations, Connecting  the two continents of Europe and Asia. It is the largest city of Turkey (lots of people mistakenly think that Istanbul is the capital of Turkey, but the capital of the country is Ankara). Population of Istanbul overstepped 14 million people. 

Istanbul is rich with historical sites. The historic areas of the city were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 80s of the last century. Istanbul is one of the most important tourism spots in the world - more than 4,5 million travelers visit Istanbul each year.

Things to do in Istanbul

Things to do in Istanbul are lot, its difficult to decide, but there are things you must not miss. 

1) Visit city's sights. These include:

• the Sultan Ahmed Mosque - known as the Blue Mosque for blue titles adorning the walls of its interior. One of the most notable feature of the Blue Mosque is its six minaretes. It was built in the beginning of the 17th century.
• the Hagia Sophia - is a great architectural beauty and an important both for Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires. Once it was a christian church, later a mosque and now it is a museum. It was added to world heritage list by UNESCO. 
• the Topkapi Palace - was the residence of the ottoman sultans. It contains important holy relics of the muslim world. It was added to world heritage list by UNESCO. 
• the Dolmabahce Palace - built in 19th century is one of the most glamorous palaces in the world. It was the seat of government during the late Ottoman period.  
• the Galata Tower (Christ Tower) - is a medieval stone tower built in 1348. The nine-story tower is 66.90 meters tall. There is great panoramic view of istanbul. 

2) Enjoy Turkish Hamam:

Me in Hamam

Hamam is the Turkish version of a stream bath. 

A bather first relaxes in a separate room where he should get his body to perspire, either by lying or sitting on the hot marble or pouring hot water on bathers body by sitting next to one of the basins. 

After staying in the room around 10-20 minutes, bathers are invited in the next room (so called "hot room") that is hotter than the first one. 

After performing a full body wash and receiving deep massage, bathers finally retire to the last room (so called "cooling room") for a period of relaxation. 

Prices vary from 30 to 100 Turkish lira for one person.

Grand Bazaar

3) Visit Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar: 

The Grand Bazaar (Bazaar means the market) is one of the largest covered markets in the world with 60 streets and 5000 shops. It attracts between 250000 and 400000 visitors daily. It is well known for its jewelry, hand-painted ceramics, carpets, embroideries, spices and antique shops. 
Spice Bazaar is one of the oldest bazaars in the city. It is the second largest covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar. These ancient shopping malls provide a taste, smell and sight of life as it was centuries ego. 
It is recommended to bargain in Bazaars. Remember - bazaar is typical Asian place and as it was in ancient times traders are trying to get as much money from travelers as it is possible. Therefore, you should do your best in bazaar. For example, if the offered price is 100 Turklish lira you can offer 25 lira. Hopefully you get the thing for a half price.

Roasting chicken Doner

4) Taste delicious Turkish Cuisine. 

Turkey is famous with its cuisine. Therefore being in Istanbul you can enjoy delicious food, including: 
You can eat well-known Doner Kebab (Doner Kebab is sliced lamb, beef or chicken, slowly roasted on a vertical rotating split). 
You can taste Gozleme or Lahmacun (Gozleme is a food made of lavash bread or phyllo dough folded around a variety of fillings such as spinach, cheese and parsley, minced meat or potatoes and cooked on a large griddle). Gozleme is something like Turkish pizza. (Lahmachun is a thin flatbread covered with a layer of spiced minced meat, tomato, pepper, onion or garlic).

Preparing Gozleme

There is huge choice of Turkish sweeties such as Bakhlava, Lokum, Helva, Cezerye and many others.


And do not forget about Fish! Turkey is surrounded by seas. Therefore in Istanbul you can find fresh and well-prepared fish. Fish are fried, grilled or cooked slowly by the poaching method called "bugulama". 

The Netherlands! Amsterdam - In General

AMSTERDAM! Part One - In General

One of the favourite attraction in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest Dutch city and the capital of the Netherlands. The name Amsterdam is derived from AMSTELREDAMME - a dam in the river Amstel. Amsterdam also has been called the "Venice of the North", because of its 1500 bridges and tens of miles of canals. 

Around 5 Million tourists are visiting Amsterdam each year. Coffee Shops, Museums, Canals, Red Light District, Nightlife - these are the most attractive points for tourists to visit Amsterdam. 

Things to do in Amsterdam

Cheese Boutique in Amsterdam

4) Taste Traditional Dutch Cheese

Nowadays, the Kingdom of Netherlands is the largest exporter of cheese in the world. There are hundreds of sorts of cheese. 

Luckily, in many cheese boutiques you can taste almost all sorts of cheese before making the purchase. 

Prices vary from 25 to 100 Euros for 1 kilo of Dutch cheese.

Canal Tour Boat

3) Take a Canal Tour

As it is known the total length of Amsterdam Canals is more than 100 km. The 17th-century canals were declared as a UNESCO monument in 2010.

You can start your canal tour from various places, but the most popular starting point is located in the city center, just in front of Amsterdam Central Station. 

Prices of a tour varies from10 to 15 Euros. A tour duration is approximately 1 hour. 

Red Light District

2) Visit Red Light District  

Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands. Therefore operating the brothel and "windows" is legal as well. Amsterdam's Red Light District (De Wallen) is an area for legalised prostitution. This district has become a famous turist attraction. Sexual services are mostly offered in several hundred small, one-room apartments. These apartments are rented by sex workers who offer their services from behind a glass door or window. These windows and doors are illuminated with red light. 

Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

1) Visit Amsterdam's Museums


Amsterdam is rich with museums. There are over 50 museums in Amsterdam. The most important museums are located on the Museum Square ("Museumplein").
If you are in Amsterdam you have the chance to see the famous works of Dutch and other well-known artist. So, it is recommended to visit Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage and other museums.


More detailed information about museums in Amsterdam you can find in our future posts.

Thailand! Part two - Thai Massage

Thailand

Thailand! Part two - Thai Massage

Thai massage (Thai name "nuat phaen boran") is part of Thai traditional medicine. It is a style of deep massage that involves stretching. As usually it is performed on the floor or on the firm mat. For better performance the client should wear comfortable clothe that is offered by the masseur.

As usual oils are not used in traditional Thai massage. Massage is done by one, two or several masseur. During the massage the client is put into several yoga-like positions. A full Thai massage session lasts minimum 2 hours; it includes rhythmic stretching and pressing of the whole body and it includes pulling fingers and toes (sometimes ears as well), walking on the client's back, cracking the knuckles, and arching the client into cobra position ("bhujangsana"). 

Massage salons/parlors

In Thailand almost everywhere you can see adverts or signs of massage. Because of huge choice of salons/parlors you have to know how get proper massage. 

There are mostly 3 types of salons/parlors:

1) Traditional Thai massage;

2) Soapy massage;

3) Mixed (Indian, Chinese etc.) massage.

The most of salons/parlors in Thailand are offering traditional Thai massage. You can distinguish this kind of salons from soapy massage salons by the following:

1) at the doors or inside of windows of the salon that offers traditional massage you can see elder ladies;

2) owners of the soapy massage salons desire to make known about their specialization. So, there will be something that shows unambiguously what type of parlor this one is it. For example words "private rooms" next to the words "Massage", or if there might be a picture of young girls outside of the salon.

Soapy Massage

As it said above Thailand is well known for its traditional massage that is type of healthy and non-sexual massage; however soapy massage or sexual massage or massage with happy ending is also very popular in Thailand. Around 45% of men tourists visit Thailand for this kind of massage. 

Thailand! Part One - In General

Thailand

Thailand! Part One - In General

Even Ronal McDonald reminds you where you are

One of the best places to visit in the world is Thailand. Tourism is  one of the main contributors in Thai economy; that is why this Asian country is perfect travel destination for all kind of tourism, including family tourism, active tourism and sex tourism as well.

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, has around 10 million visitors per year;

Pattaya - 4,5 million visitors;

Phuket - 3,5 visitors per year.

More than half of tourist come from the Asia Pacific region, mostly from Japan and Malaysia. Thailand is very popular destination for British, Australian and German citizens.

More than half of Thailand's visitors are return tourists.

Thai Massage

Are you in Thailand for business trip, holiday, with family or alone, Thai massage is always in "to do list". 

Island Koh Chang. Massage at the seaside.  

Traditional Thai massage ("nuat phaen boran") is deep massage and it involves stretching. It is performed on the floor and traditionally no oils are used. However, nowadays you can receive all types of massage at Thai massage parlors. Almost everywhere you can see the sign of "massage". Starting from foot massage and ending with soupy massage (body to body massage) you can enjoy 24 hours.

Prices vary from 20 Baht to 150 Baht for 1 hour.

30 Baht (THB) is equal to 1 US dollar.

For more information about massage in Thailand visit 

Thai Food

Thai cuisine is one of the famous cuisines in the world. Strong aromatic components and spiciness of Thai food is well known. Rice, noodles, vegetables, fish and various herbs (such as lemon grass, cilantro, mint...) are the main ingredients of Thai cuisine. You can enjoy delicious dishes in many good restaurant. However, almost everywhere on the streets various food is offered for sale. Because of hygienic reasons it is not recommended to buy food (except fruits and vegetables) at the streets. 

Grilled Insects

Baked see food

Smoked see food

Fruits and vegetales 

Transport in Thailand

Bangkok has modern and developed transport system with its air train, metro and bus lines. However if you are outside of Bangkok or just want to enjoy real public transport, you have to catch "tuk-tuk" or songthaew.

Songthaew

Tuk-tuk  is auto rickshaw widely used in Bangkok and other cities. It is popular where traffic is a big problem. Also it is much  cheaper than ordinary taxi. It is strongly advised to agree about price BEFORE starting your journey.   

Songthaew is a vehicle used as a shared taxi.

Prices vary for different cities.

For example fare for one trip in Pattaya costs 10 Baht for locals and 20 Baht for tourists.  

Tuk-Tuk Taxi

CUBA! Part One - in General

CUBA! Part One - in General

Cuba is one of the best travel destinations in the world with its wonderful beaches, 

famous beaches, beautiful girls, Salsa, fresh fruits, easygoing people.

The most tempting things about traveling to Cuba is the prices of hotels, food and entertainment.
Prices of 4 star hotels vary from 50$ to 100$ for double room (breakfast inclusive).
As it is known Cuba is located in Caribbean Sea, so it takes from 10 to 13 hours from Europe (depending from departure point) to reach the capital of Cuba Havana. Prices of two way tickets vary from 1000$ to 1500$. For example ticket price from Rome or Paris to Havana costs around 1220$.

TRAVELER TIPS!

Before booking the ticket to Havana take into account the following important information:

Museum of the Revolution

1) Citizens of the USA are not allowed to visit Cuba;

2) You will not get visa stamp in your pass - instead of this the Cuban border control officers give you the "paper" that is the equal of visa. You have to keep the paper all the time with you and give it back at the moment of leaving the country;

3) After revolution in 1956 the ruling party is Cuban Communist Party - it is not recommended to speak about politics and particularly about government;

4) There is not easy to find internet access in whole country as well as ATMs. So it is better if you bring cash instead of credit cards.

5) The climat in Cuba is tropical - so, it is recommended to plan your journey from the start of December to the end of March.

In the streets of Havana you can see many old cars, mostly built before 1956.

TRANSPORT IN HAVANA

Walk as much as you can to see everything in this unforgettable city. 
However if you can't walk a lot, you can find buses, coco taxi and some other means of transportation.

"Coco Taxi" - the cheapest taxi in Havana

You can find alternative means of transportation in the city center

Buses in Havana are always overcrowded

PARADISE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS 

If you are photographer or just like to take pictures for fun Cuba is the paradise for you. 

Hear are some portraits we made in Havana.

Enjoying the bamboo cocktail

Unhappy Woman

Living conditions for many families is the same

Future of the Nation

Dreaming Lady