Bali Nine members: No luck with appeal

post from Bali Blog on 04 February 2007 11:35:00 PM. © Bali Blog

Three members of the Bali Nine drug smuggling gang, had no luck with Indonesia’s Constitutional Appeals Court. Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran and Scott Rush were attempting to get their death sentences ruled illegal, as the Indonesian constitution acknowledges the ‘right to life’.When this was going through, my thoughts were if Indonesia executes other criminals [...]

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http://www.baliblog.com/travel-tips/bali-nine-members-no-luck-with-appeal.html

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Developing ecotourism in Bali

post from Bali Blog on 04 February 2007 11:16:00 PM. © Bali Blog

Ecotourism does have a place in Bali’s future. While ecotourism is never going to reel in the big bucks, of package tours, it takes advantage of what is already out there, with the least amount of infrastructure needed.Meeting a lot of tourists in Bali, I sense people sometimes come away feeling they haven’t really touched [...]

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http://www.baliblog.com/travel-tips/developing-ecotourism-in-bali.html

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Flooding worse in Jakarta

post from Bali Blog on 04 February 2007 10:39:00 PM. © Bali Blog

The wet season is really hitting Jakarta hard. Looking at BBC’s website, 20 people have been killed and 340,000 are homeless.Jakart’a’s rain catchment areas have been expanded recently, but the city cannot expel the water fast enough. Rain is predicted for another week in Jakarta, so things may get worse. Here in Bali we had [...]

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http://www.baliblog.com/travel-tips/flooding-worse-in-jakarta.html

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Embassypages.com

post from Andy HoboTraveler.Com Travel Blog on 04 February 2007 10:12:00 PM. © Andy HoboTraveler.Com Travel Blog

Embassypages.com
Pokjara, Nepal Asia
Monday, February 5, 2007

Embassypages.com

This is one of my Top 10 Travel Sites of 2006 pages, not sure of the priority or number. I am sussing out the criteria better this year and realized when I said, this list of for the true travelers and not for tourist; I knew this page must be included.

I think there are at least 312 x 312 needed pages to cover the Visa, Passport, Entry Visa, and Tourist Card and in the end, the question is, what do I need to do to get permission to enter a country.

97,344 combinations with a guess of 312 countries, enclaves, islands and autonomous regions.

Therefore, if you are from Ethiopia and you want to go to Chile, which is one combination question. The answers would change by the minute.

Now, Embassypages.com does not give that specific of help, but I think it is as close as I have seen on any site. It will tell you

Embassies in the country, as an example, maybe the USA, England, and Germany have an Embassy, Consulate, or something that issues visas, maybe in the country.

Embassies abroad or where does the USA have Embassies, which countries does Ethiopia have Embassies in?

This person that made the site, I think from Denmark, has an extreme capacity for detail and organization, just a remarkable collection of information.

A little hard to find, but nonetheless a true guru type site, a bookmark, write down, never forget the link address when you travel site.

Knowing all the rules of entering a country is not easy, a rule of thumb, if they let you on the plane, you probably have a good chance of entering? hehehe

At the border, as Stellan my Swede friend riding a bike around Africa said, if you wait long enough, they will let you in, change of shift, etc.

Contrary to anything you think, most countries want you to enter, and will find a way to allow you to enter.

I do encourage this person to make a PDA version of this or computer version so I can download and use when I do not have internet access.

As a note, most Travel Agents has some computer way to show you whether you can enter a country, but beware, travel agents have to me a 50/50 success rate. Either they lie, or they do not know how to use, so you need to get collaboration.

Three down, seven to go.

Embassypages.com

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http://www.hobotraveler.com/2007/02/embassypagescom.html

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Sexiest Underground Voice

post from Going Underground's Blog on 04 February 2007 09:12:35 PM. © Going Underground's Blog

Zis train is for Olympia only

Yesterday I received the following email from Matt Jarvis

"Hi there, while travelling on the Olympia shuttle the other day I heard possibly the sexiest, most alluring voice ever on the Tube. A French female accent softly purred the destination before reminding us to "Mind ze doors". I noticed she was also very petite and to be frank; cute, as we passed her cab on the way to the exhibition.

The following day, she was back on the same run, so we were treated to her announcements again. Sadly, the PA was very poor on this train and I could not get a good enough recording on my phone. If she ever reads this, I would like to thank her for brightening up my day. Top Girl!

Just a thought, how about a competition to record the sexiest (Male or Female) announcement on the tube? It appears LUL have cracked down on the humorous varieties, so maybe this would be a good substitute?"

It's a thought! If anyone travels on that District Line to Olympia regularly perhaps you could record the French lady for us. Maybe she could be encouraged to make some of the announcements in French too just to add a bit of variety.

It's pretty hard to make recordings of unusual announcements, as they do tend to be one off, so you need to be fast or have someone in full flow. I still thank Nik Fox for the following recording of Richie Vennard with his whole raft of funny announcements on the Jubilee Line.

Let us know any lines where there are some good voices and perhaps we can do our own Tube Idol.

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http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/02/sexiest-underground-voice.html

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McFlight.de

post from Andy HoboTraveler.Com Travel Blog on 04 February 2007 08:12:49 PM. © Andy HoboTraveler.Com Travel Blog

McFlight.de
Pokhara, Nepal Asia
February 4, 2007

Airfare Booking Site
(Note, I have never purchased a ticket on this site, but I use all the time.)

I am again trying to get a complete thought, I have just stumbled time after time on the idea of what is the Top Travel Sites of 2006 in the English language, and now I have added for Travelers, not Tourist

I am working on criteria, but I will get this done this week.

Ok, McFlight.de is a German site, however also in English, you can buy a ticket and Airplane ticket in English. However, you need to click on the small English link.

One of my criteria is easy to remember, and McFlight.de is easy, the de on the end stands for Deutschland the real name of Germany, in the German Language, I have no idea how or why they change names.

I want a guide, I want to know more or less, what a good price to pay for a plane ticket is, and then I can either buy from an agent, or hopefully go directly to the site recommended.

It is amazing the extreme difference between McFlight.de and the normal run of the mill USA search for plane tickets sites. One very large difference is you have two choices, you can search for available tickets or seats available, or you can search for just what prices are available.

Therefore, you need to learn both ways, what is available, and which flights have seats. I then do a search on the air carrier and try to buy direct online.

Example:
This is real; I want to buy a one-way air ticket from Delhi, India to Accra, Ghana on February 27, 2007. Note, a one-way ticket for half the price of a normal ticket is normally available anywhere in the world and the travel agents lie.

I did all these searches on the same day, and from Nepal, sometimes airlines block ticket purchases from some countries?!

I want to know two things, what are possible good prices and then second if a ticket is available. A ticket possible, and I can get on a waiting list, however the normal site does not tell you this, they only tell the high priced available, not what price is possible.

Travelocity.com Nothing

Cheaptickets.com Nothing

Orbitz.com Nothing

Kayak.com HAS, very good, however for 1338 US dollars, nice they gave in dollars. A good site, maybe ok in the USA.
Kayak.com - I gave the link because maybe a contender in ways.

Mcflight.de, about 500 Euros or 750 US dollars.

Ok, now the available seats are with Ethiopia Airlines, I could book, however I do not. I go to Ethiopia direct and see what is up.

I find in the end, I can fly with Ethiopia Airlines from Mumbai to Accra for about 450 US Dollars. Ethiopia Airlines.
Flyethiopian.com

I find I can use a Low Cost Carrier from Delhi to Mumbai for about 59 dollars.
Goindigo.in

I find I could have flown with an Agent Ticket from Chicago to Accra for 750 US dollars.
(If you know the good price, then an Agent purchased ticket is better, they will warn you hopefully about Visas, need of onward tickets, military coups and other fun things, we HOPE.)

I am getting a ticket for around 550 US, could have purchased on Mcflight.de for about 750 US, but need to check many times, as seats come available.

However, I like Mcflight, it give me a fair and target price to pay. I can then go to a travel agent, or online and keep trying. It is a great site; however, E Tickets are not always possible.

It does not search the Low Cost Carriers.

I use it all the time, and is in my Top Ten Sites of 2006, what position I am not sure. I am sort of dwelling on what is necessary. Is knowing about the location with Wikipedia.org more important, than buying a plane ticket?

To choose this site, I had to overcome my prejudices, thinking it is in German first, and not mainstream, and second how I use is complicated. I am saying to myself too difficult and the normal public is not smart enough. However, when it comes to the bottom line, I use this site, and forget what I think, the - What I use - test is more important than what I think or feel, or prejudge.

I try to post all my idea on this page:
Around The World Airfares

McFlight.de

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http://www.hobotraveler.com/2007/02/mcflightde.html

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British pop star: Japanese porn is "very sick
and twisted"

post from Japan Probe on 04 February 2007 04:45:40 PM. © Japan Probe

Britsh pop singer Lily Allen isn’t a big fan of Japan’s adult films:Pop singer Lily Allen has revealed how she whiles away the time when touring overseas – by watching foreign porn movies.[..]“When I travel around the world there often isn’t anything to watch on TV, especially when they don’t speak English,” she said.“But watching [...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/JapanProbe/~3/86483694/

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Japan News for February 05, 2007

This morning’s Japan-related news links:Japan’s ruling bloc lost a key local election on Sunday, a possible bellwether of public support after a Cabinet minister caused an uproar by calling women “birth-giving machines.” The setback compounds the problems for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, which has also lost a minister and a top adviser in [...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/JapanProbe/~3/86472440/

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Koreans speak on Japan (Video)

Sometimes, even the most obscure and crappy YouTube videos relating to Japan can become topics of discussion on random Japanese sites. For example, this video entitled “Koreans speak on Japan,” which just seems to be a few Korean Americans expressing their dislike of Japan, has made it onto gamushara with the title “What the [...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/JapanProbe/~3/86462885/

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Folding Travel Hanger Lint Brush

How’s this for a multi-tasking travel gadget? It’s a folding hanger that doubles as a lint brush. A good little accessory for travelers who get annoyed with the near-universal four hanger maximum in most hotel closets.

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http://blog.travelpost.com/2007/02/04/folding-travel-hanger-lint-brush/

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