For The Sake of Clarity - The Digital Tavern » Travelogue

Riding That Train, Italian Wine & Late Night Jazz: The Streets of LA

allan — Sun, 02 May 2010 19:02:56 +0000

Living in Southern California certainly has its benefits. The weather is perhaps the best in the country, there’s great live music, entertainment and most of the airports, even the smaller regional hubs are well served by the airlines. So when one needs to flee southern California, there are always many options.

Another benefit of Southern California is both its extensive [...]

The Old Trick Bag. The Plastic Version.

allan — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 04:25:55 +0000

I’ve been on a personal mission for quite a while. Actually, I’ve probably been on a number of personal missions, and probably for my whole life. The thing that strikes me today is my disgust of plastic shopping bags and my mission to avoid them at all cost.

And it’s cost that I think is important here. These [...]

Treating Wanderlust With Live Music

allan — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:43:25 +0000

Seems that the only traveling I find myself doing these days is either up and down the California coast. While my return to trip to Israel in December was an exception, I discovered this week that low mileage traveling combined with stellar live music can be quite satisfying to this nomadic wanderer. I got lucky. Lucky in several ways. First, [...]

Baja California. History. Water. Endangered. And Great Photography.

allan — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:53:12 +0000

Imagine California more than 150 years ago. Until Spain recognized Mexico’s sovereignty in 1821, California was a Spanish colony. This colony was separted by two missionary factions. In the North, Alta California was governed by the Franciscan missions and to the south Baja California was under Frandiscon mission rule. But the young sovereign Mexico soon had its hands full when [...]

Things Classic. Heritage. And What’s New Anyway?

allan — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:17:16 +0000

I guess I’ve been out of it. Well, at least out of this country. For three years. Wandering the byways of distant locales in search of some truth I already believed but needed to prove to myself, dodging erudite donkeys while avoiding potholes and pitfalls of solo adventure travel, lots has changed around here – in California – [...]

Back to Sudan? Almost. The Almighty Temple of Abu Simbel

allan — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:35:38 +0000

Egypt is the land of Pharaohs. Home to some of the oldest and most well preserved archaeological sites in the world. And it’s no wonder. Wit the massive Sahara desert to the west and the Red Sea to the east, Mediterranean to the north, it was very in accessible in ancient times. So while the shifting sands of the [...]

Sudan: When It Comes To Desert, I think of Sudan.

allan — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:34:41 +0000

Once you cross the Nile River and head north out of Khartoum things turn desolate. Come to think of it riding into Khartoum from the south things were pretty desolate. But strategically located at the confluence of the Blue and While Nile rivers, Khartoum is capital to the largest (in size) country in Africa. And while north of here by [...]

The Donkey Did It.

allan — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:26:41 +0000

Southern plains of Ethiopia. Below a new traditional home under construction.

As I moved to make time to get to Awasa I noticed groups of women carrying large round ceramic containers colored brown and with a narrow top and ringlet handles tied to their backs. The rounded belly shape seemed [...]

Ripped Off in Kenya & The Amazing Return

allan — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:27:50 +0000

What was supposed to be an early start for the Ethiopian border crossing now was looking to be a mid-afternoon departure. First things first. I had to get the bike unloaded from the lorry. My preference was to unload it somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of this Kenya border town. Getting both the bike and I suited for [...]

Indian Food & Genocide, An Unlikely Mix.

allan — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:29:14 +0000

He was very formal, personal and service oriented if not a slightly meek. When he brought me a bottle of the local beer in a 330ml bottle, I admitted my surprise. Most beer in Africa is served in 500- 1.0L bottles. Rarely does one find what we are accustomed to in the US: the equivalent to a 12oz can or [...]

The President of the World: In Tanzania

allan — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:29:10 +0000

Here in Tanzania, I ran into something completely unexpected: a welcome party for President George W. Bush. Elsewhere he may be one of the most unpopular political leaders in the world, but in Tanzania, George Bush has been welcomed as “the president of the world.”

I’ve spent most of the past two years riding around the world on my motorcycle, [...]

Getting Close To Wildlife, Or Wildlife Getting Too Close to Allan?

allan — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 17:30:50 +0000

There’s no question that visiting Tanzania’s world-renowned national parks is an expensive proposition. While budget travelers like me can camp and cook our own food, there’s no escaping the high cost of park fees. At fifty dollars for each twenty-four hour period or faction thereof, it’s easy to rack up a couple hundred dollars in park fees before paying for [...]

Ngepi Camp: Caprivi? Botswana?

allan — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:31:46 +0000

The Ngepi Camp sits at the beginning of the Panhandle of the Kavango River which flowing from Angola dumps into the vast swamp known as the Okavango Delta – a vast wildlife reserve of wetlands and bush, and the largest Most of the delta sits in Botswana but here at Ngepi camp we spent a few days riverside contemplating our [...]

Quest For Water In Kaokoland. Back In Time With The Himba

allan — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:31:41 +0000

The small settlement of Opuwo sits just south of the Angola border in Namibia’s Kaokoland. Due to its harsh terrain including bush, desert and mountains, this part of Namibia is more rural and seems somewhat trapped in a time warp, largely due to the presence of the semi-nomadic Himba people. In what might seem movie sets for pre-colonial Africa story [...]

Exotic Game in Sossusvlei

allan — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:52:25 +0000

Perhaps the trademark or signature image of Namibia comes from the glorious orange colored dunes of of the Namib Desert — perhaps most famously are those of Sossusvlei. Tucked into the central Namib surrounded by vast arid plains dotted with acacia and quiver trees and various desert shrubs such as sage or some sort of succulents, Sossusvlei is [...]

Xhosa, The Transkei and Coffee Bay.

allan — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:50:05 +0000

Tucked in cozy nook in the Amathole Mountains, Hogsback and the surrounding old growth forest, waterfalls and the canopy and odd shaped twists, turns and hanging strands of foliage and tree branches apparently was the inspiration for South African-born J.R. Tolkien and his wildly popular series of Fantasy books including The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. The scenic [...]

Getting Down and Things Done in Cape Town

allan — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:47:54 +0000

With a population of more than 3 million people, Cape Town is the economic and tourist center of western South Africa, and it serves as the legislative capital of the country. Like most of South Africa there is quite diversity and clearly visible contrasts on every street corner. Standing at the BMW Pavillion near Cape Town’s waterfront and looking across [...]

Welcome To Africa!

allan — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:46:17 +0000

There’s was a last minute panic in Buenos Aires before the taxi came to take me to EZE airport to board my Malaysian Airline flight bound for Cape Town South Africa. My cellphone rang and there’s Silvina speaking with a shortness of breath. Seems that there was one document that the cargo people at Malaysia Airlines wanted a slight modification [...]

Belem, Brazil: A Final Photo Essay

allan — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:33:35 +0000

With my bike safely crated and cleared from Brazilian customs, I got to spend a few more days riding a light enduro Yamaha through the narrow streets lined with colorful colonial buildings of Belém. Alex and Marden provided the continuing entertainment and Belém experiences: wandering the maze of vendors that make up the kinetic and frenetic Ver o Peso market, [...]

Belem: My Home In The Amazon

allan — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 07:32:42 +0000

The Portuguese landed in Belem at the mouth of the Amazon River yet still 120km from the Atlantic Ocean in 1616. Interestingly enough the voyage from Lisbon to Belem, due to prevailing winds and strong currents, took longer than the trip from Belem to Salvador. Today, with nearly 1.5 million people Belem is the economic center of the Amazon [...]

Rio.

allan — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:54:16 +0000

The beaches. The music. The fahvelas. The food. The friendly people. The shoeshine boys on the beach walks. The bikinis. The spirit.

Rio is gearing up for the Pan American Games. And Al Gore’s concert for awareness of global warming. I settle in to experience some of the usual sites, the architecture and culture, the food and the sunshine. With [...]