A View Of The Dubai Skyline
January 28, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Contests, Guest Post, Pictures and Video
Dave Brett, the winner of my Live The Backpacker Life Contest, chose Dubai as the destination for his free one week backpacking trip. Recently returned, he was kind enough to check in with this photo and his impressions of one of the world’s fastest growing cities.
Dubai is a city moving to the future and it’s great to see the contrast between the old sulk of Bur Dubai to the modern development of Jumeirah. Dubai’s a wonderful city to explore and indulge in mega shopping facilities and its eye for luxury. With many direct connections to Europe and bundles of cheap hotels, they turn Dubai into a long weekend for a taste of this Arab city. To make it an extra special trip, invest in a desert safari topped off with a sunset dinner to escape the city, and bash around the dunes in a 4×4 – which is a must. See the tallest building in the world, ski in the middle of the desert, shop in the biggest mall on Earth and visit the only 7-star hotel anywhere. In Dubai any thing is possible.
Thank you again Dave for sharing, your post spurred a change to my Gulf travels! You can hear and see more from Dubai on Dave’s travel blog, a city I’ll be in 2 weeks from now.
Those of you who missed this contest will have another shot to win some cash this March in my annual favorite; with a Macbook Air coming up later this summer. The best way not to miss another foXnoMad contest is to sign up for my bimonthly newsletter; that group usually has the advantage of finding out first.
[photo courtesy of Dave Brett]
A Taste Of Eating Out In Iraq
Getting to the heart of the cuisine in northern Iraq isn’t especially easy for tourists for two main reasons. One is that the culture of eating out isn’t particularly prevalent and establishments that cater to travelers are far and few between – mostly because tourists themselves are. You’ll find there’s a lot of surface to scratch, which can be a fun process that uncovers some unexpected meals.
Shawarma Sandwiches, Falafel Sandwiches, And Doner…Sandwiches
Throw a rock in Arbil and you’ll hit two sandwich shops. These small establishments are typically brimming with people (virtually always men) with a sandwich of sliced beef, chicken, or fried chickpeas in either hand. Incredibly warm and humid inside, payments are made upfront to a clerk (sitting strategically far from the hot rotating spits) who hands out color-coded, laminated numbers designating your order.
- Shawarma and doner are very similar types of fast food. In Iraq they consist primarily of small pockets of white bread filled with shaved beef, lamb, or chicken, along with a touch of lettuce, tomatoes, and spicy onions.
The process is quick as you’re shuttled across a short lunch line. Everyone eats standing up, except for the lucky one or two that finds an old plastic porch chair to sit in. Bits of salad, sandwich, and sauces drip to the floor which is conveniently hosed clean several times an hour. Iraqi sandwiches make even fast food look slow.
Colorful Juice That Packs A Punch
Flavored juice, that’s as bright as it is sweet, is churned out from vendors armed with blenders from block to block. Facing many of these juice shops are rows of small chairs – where sipping juice and people watching seems to be an favorite pastime.
Sit around long enough and you’ll see a variety of unexpected faces like those of Fijian UN workers, Chinese businessmen, and every other child wearing an FC Barcelona jersey.
(Incidentally the logo for the team is everywhere – on the back of trucks, hanging in storefronts, and stuck to billboards right outside of checkpoints.)
Although there is some fruit in each drink, the taste and sight of each flavor is strongly accented with food coloring.
Lots Of (Probably) Chinese Restaurants And Pizza That Isn’t Pizza In Sulaymaniyah
The variety of international food in Sulaymaniyah is instantly evident as there are numerous Chinese restaurants throughout the city; quite in contrast to the sandwich-filled landscape of Arbil.
- Strangely though, some of those Chinese restaurants don’t serve food, a fact Wandering Earl and I happened upon.
Also, there were several “pizza” places that, well, didn’t serve pizza but rather a variety of cold salads and elaborate sandwiches. Despite the spattering of places like the German Deutscher Hof Erbil in that same city, Arbil is a fairly monotone menu landscape.
Sweets And Alcohol – Plenty Of Both For Next To Nothing
Indulging your sweet tooth isn’t a problem as Iraqi candy stores have a seemingly endless variety of confections. Pistachio, orange, apricot, chocolate is infused into the local “mann al-sama”, which is similar in taste and texture to Turkish delight. Half a kilo (~1 lbs) runs about 5,000 Iraqi dinar, which is about $4.30 US. You have your pick of the lot to create your own custom mix and be offered a generous number of samples to train your palate if needed.
Travelers wanting to enjoy an alcohol drink in Iraq will be happy to know that finding it will be relatively easy throughout the north.
There are liquor stores stocked with just about every popular brand of adult beverage while beer can be found at many convenience stores. What’s most striking isn’t the availability of booze – but how incredibly inexpensive it is. Finding bottles of beer for well under a dollar and popular brands of vodka, whiskey, and wine for less than 10 is common.
Grounding Your Senses
Getting a good idea of what Iraqi food is like can be tough if you’re traveling through the region. There aren’t many obvious staples to base your frame of taste; along with a broad assortment of seemingly random grub making matters worse.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to eat dinner with anyone at home; I got the strong sense that there is a marked difference in cuisine behind closed doors. The food you’ll find out and about apparently strives to be give the locals a fast food alternative to a home-cooked meal – rather than adding some spice to native dishes – leaving travelers with a journey to find more than just a taste of Iraq.
Should You Get Travel Insurance?
The question of whether or not to get travel insurance tends to come at three main traveling junctures – right at the beginning of a trip, following a mishap (like getting robbed in Guatemala), or after years of traveling without incident. Travel insurance is one of those services you hope to never use and when you don’t, it can seem like you’re not getting a return on your investment.
Solving the conundrum of saving a bit of money against the (generally) unlikely event of incident while traveling isn’t simple and best answered with a big “it depends.”
Understanding Travel Insurance Basics
There are several travel insurance ground rules to begin with, keeping in mind that medical and coverage for your belongings are the two primary things people buy travel insurance for. I can’t stress enough that coverage varies and any policy or plan comes with a heaping tablespoon (or two) of exceptions, exemptions, and fine print.
- No Coverage At Home – Short-term travel insurance (less than 6 months especially) usually doesn’t cover you in the country you’re a resident of.
- Get Insured For As Little As A Week - Plans are generally flexible enough to provide coverage for your specific trip dates so you don’t have to purchase more time than you’re away for.
- Major Providers – World Nomads (good for making claims online), IMG (plans for continuous world travel), TravelEx, and Frommers recommends 8 others as well.
Preexisting Conditions – Most travel insurance plans won’t cover any preexisting conditions and others will require you to be a member for up to a year or more before providing it.
- Caps On Electronics – Many travel insurance plans limit what you can claim on electronics (~$500). They also don’t cover your data so be sure to protect your laptops and setup a backpack security plan. (Limits on stolen cash float between $100-300.)
- Paperwork Is Required – You’ll need receipts for big-ticket items that might get stolen, police reports, and documentation for any claim you make. Your DSLR can’t be reimbursed if there’s no proof of you ever having one.
There is no shortcut to understanding a travel insurance plan. It’s always in your best interests to read the fine print, not hesitating to call or email the company for anything you’re not clear on.
Some Other Big Caveats
Don’t get me wrong, there is likely a travel insurance plan out there for you (at a price) but these are the common restrictions that are expensive to get around. Aside from the caps on electronics and restrictions on preexisting conditions, travel insurance isn’t likely to cover the following:
- Travel To Every Country – Travel insurance companies cover the major travel destinations along with many others but don’t count on countries like Iraq to be on the list. Generally speaking, international borders define coverage, so trouble in a small section of a country might eliminate it entirely.
- Certain Situations Not Covered – Unpredictable events like political demonstrations (e.g. Thailand’s Red Shirt protests), riots, terrorist attacks, outbreak of war and what might happen to you during them aren’t covered.
- HIV, Pregnancy, And Mental Conditions – Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), in particular HIV and related costs, are not usually covered.
- Travel Warnings – If a travel warning is issued by your government for a particular nation your coverage may change. Find out what criteria prospective insurers use to determine how safe a country is.
- Prescription Drugs – Usually requires special coverage, if at all possible.
Travel insurance policies don’t cover immunizations for the most part and you’ll have to be careful with the wording of any specific coverage. The word “theft” may mean many things to you but for most insurance companies having something stolen from a hostel locker or a friend’s car won’t count.
You May Already Have Coverage
Making online reservations with a credit card may entitle you to some basic insurance, covering the cost of a canceled flight or car rental. Business travelers and contractors should never fly without knowing who’s insuring your personal belongings. Chances are if they’re used for work (even just a tiny bit), you can get them insured by your company.
Local Emergency Service – Some countries, particularly those in Western Europe, will provide emergency medical coverage if you, let’s say, break a leg. Do not take that to mean that you’ll be treated and sent off on your merry way for free however – typically all this means is you’ll be treated, even if you don’t have proof of insurance. A few stitches might not dent your travel budget but emergencies that require surgery or hospitalization are almost never covered – so you might be stuck with a huge bill once you recover from that coma.
- Reciprocal Agreements – Your country may have reciprocal health care agreements with others – Australia has 8 – which means another government might provide you with (some) health insurance coverage while visiting. Check if your country has any reciprocal agreements with the places you’ll be visiting and call your embassy for details.
Don’t ever assume you’ve got coverage – unless you can verify otherwise. Check the national department of health equivalent or the embassy website if you think there’s a reciprocal agreement in your case. Otherwise, ask your boss if you’re on the company dime and give your credit card company a call to see how they might (already be) able to protect you.
How Much Basic Travel Insurance Costs
Take these prices with a grain of salt and like all things insurance can change based on many factors. That said, generally you can insure a 1 week trip for around $50-75; a 6 month trip for around $300-500; and find plans for a year of extended travel starting at $800 on up. That unscientific sample was drawn from prices for a single traveler using the US, India, South Africa, and a few European nations as home and averaged out across several popular companies.
A decent rough calculation of how much travel insurance will cost you is to take your total travel costs and add 20% for an upper value.
Do You Use Travel Insurance?
- Yes I do regularly (60%, 12 Votes)
- No, I've never used travel insurance (30%, 6 Votes)
- Yes, I have before but not consistently (10%, 2 Votes)
- It's rare (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 20
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So, Is Travel Insurance Worth It?
Travel insurance, as you can see, is a complex solution to a simple problem. (Multiplied for traveling families and older travelers.) Start by considering the things you want to insure – laptops and other electronic devices that depreciate quickly probably aren’t worth the capped protection but for appendicitis or a dislocated ankle it might save you tens of thousands of dollars.
It’s presumed that new travelers are more prone to theft or certain types of mishaps while it’s easy for experienced travelers to get complacent. The fact remains the chances of you suffering a medical catastrophic or otherwise are remote whether at home or on the road. The longer you travel however, without any insurance at all, the greater the odds of bad luck hitting you without a backup.
That misfortune could be a stolen camera or getting hit by a car. It’s a gamble of if it happens and how lousy. You can only look at unused insurance as money lost, or being on the road without it as cash saved – until something bad occurs. The difference is in the first case you’ll likely be much better off afterward.
[photos by: liako (bikers on world's most dangerous road), Teeejayy (woman in thick glasses), HB Art (stack of papers), tatiana.nyanko (teddy bear nurse), Jeremy Brooks (dollars and cents), orangebrompton (balancing act)]
Your Personal Introduction To The Travel Blogosphere
The universe of travel blogs that comprise the gigantic, loosely organized travel blogopshere make Earth seem like a tiny place to explore in comparison. Travel blogs are an incredible source of information about and at your destination. Although you’re reading a travel blog right now, grasping just what a travel blog is and how they can benefit you can be a tough concept to wrap your brain around.
The travel blogosphere is best looked at through a telescope, not a microscope, and once you start putting the constellations together your begin to uncover a vast travel tool at your disposal.
Wait, What Is A Blogosphere?
Don’t be thrown off by that term, “blogosphere” simply means a large group of blogs that are related by topic. In this case it’s travel, but even that’s a pretty liberal definition as you’ll see shortly. There are no entry requirements to having a travel blog – there are many free and inexpensive options – but if you’re blogging about anything even close to travel you’re in.
- Lifestyle design and minimalism tend to fall into the travel blog camp.
There are also corporate travel blogs, those attached to some business entity, usually designed to promote a specific brand.
Some Of The Big Players In The Travel Blogosphere
There are over 7,000 travel blogs that focus on a variety of topics like photography, eco-travel, and others about specific destinations like Medellin Living. Much like living organisms, travel blogs are born, live, and die – with the average life cycle lasting about a year. Many travel blogs pop up around RTW trips and peter out once the travels come to an end.
Regularly updated travel blogs older than 18 months are the exception, not the norm.
Though many metrics can be used to measure travel blog success, there are a few personalities with large audiences you’re likely to come across quickly without much digging.
- Everything Everywhere – Named one of Time Magazine’s Best Blogs of 2010, Gary Arndt is a “one man National Geographic” who’s blog concentrates on photography from his travels.
- Nomadic Matt – A well-known full time blogger and backpacker, Matt Kepnes’ blog focuses on budget travel.
- Almost Fearless – Christine Gilbert has documented her transition from corporate manager to digital nomad to help others wanting to make the same leap.
To find even more blogs you can see what I was reading in 2008, 2009, and the full list. (Travel bloggers feel free to leave your links in the comments.) From the biggest sites to the smallest, most travel blogs are run primarily by a single person or traveling couple. Despite their prevalence, travel bloggers are interconnected enough to give the large online community a small-town feel.
How Travel Blogs Benefit You
The strength of travel blogs is in their variety. Chances are, on one Google search or another looking for travel information, you’ve stumbled upon a travel blog. The individual nature of travel blogs (not the corporate ones) generally means you’re getting unbiased, firsthand travel advice.
- Get Very Specific – Learn Ecuadorian slang, the best way to get around Kyoto, things you won’t hear about Angkor Wat, how to take great food photos (from a) moving vehicle, or how your pets can earn frequent flyer miles.
- Instant Information – Sure there are tools to help you create a travel budget but travel blogs (and bloggers) can tell you in real time how much it costs to travel in Lebanon, Guatemala, or what to order in Aleppo, Syria.
On top of that many travel bloggers are very accessible through contact pages, comments, Twitter, Facebook, or all of the above. As cheesy as it sounds, there’s a travel blog out there with the information, stories, or pictures for you to learn from or be inspired by.
Tapping The Resource
The state of the travel blogosphere is changing on many levels but one certainty is that it’s growing…and fast. Travel blogs are much like the modern version of paper newspapers and magazines with audiences in the hundreds of thousands. Blogging is steadily replacing conventional media because it’s a direct – however navigating the travel blogosphere isn’t – at first. Look directly to the right and you’ll see a few of my favorites under “Links”, check out this list of best travel blog lists, ask away in the comments below to get started.
You’ll not only get my response but probably those from several other readers as well for your very own gateway to personal travel advice, photography, and videos.
[photos by: Dave Bleasdale (blogosphere), ShaneRobinson (laptop on a plane), pieremario (you button)]
