The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: Sweet 16
There were a blend of close finishes and strong victories in the second round of The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 that have left quite a few underdogs in the Sweet 16. This week we get our second battle of Italy in Bellagio vs. Florence, watch little Lubeck take on Istanbul, and wonder if Prague will maintain its dominance in this round.
There are now only 16 cities left and we’re two weeks from the Final Four. Decide who advances and which cities will be out by voting below before next Monday, March 21 at 09:00am US EST. There is $200 on the line – who will win it? (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)
The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Jerusalem vs. Edinburgh
- Jerusalem - (Judy) (52%, 133 Votes)
- Edinburgh, Scotland - (Betsey) (48%, 122 Votes)
Total Voters: 255
Loading ...The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Porto vs. Bratislava
- Porto, Portugal - (Stephen) (76%, 140 Votes)
- Bratislava, Slovakia - (Molly) (24%, 44 Votes)
Total Voters: 184
Loading ...The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Cuzco vs. Chiang Mai
- Chiang Mai, Thailand - (Jeremy) (53%, 89 Votes)
- Cuzco, Peru - (Katrina) (47%, 80 Votes)
Total Voters: 169
Loading ...The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Istanbul vs. Lubeck
- Istanbul, Turkey - (Natalie) (58%, 185 Votes)
- Lubeck, Germany - (Stina) (42%, 135 Votes)
Total Voters: 320
Loading ...The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Prague vs. Kyoto
- Prague, Czech Republic - (Jeruen) (66%, 106 Votes)
- Kyoto, Japan - (Todd) (34%, 55 Votes)
Total Voters: 161
Loading ...The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Paris vs. Budapest
- Budapest, Hungary - (Stephanie) (52%, 80 Votes)
- Paris, France - (Amy) (48%, 75 Votes)
Total Voters: 155
Loading ...The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Florence vs. Bellagio
- Florence, Italy - (Ashley) (73%, 94 Votes)
- Bellagio, Italy - (Daryl) (27%, 34 Votes)
Total Voters: 128
Loading ...The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 - Sweet 16: Rio de Janiero vs. Reykjavik
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - (Rachel) (57%, 97 Votes)
- Reykjavik, Iceland - (Dave) (43%, 73 Votes)
Total Voters: 170
Loading ...You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.
A few of you have asked so just for the record, the cities with the higher seeds from the preliminary round are always listed first (e.g. Cuzco vs. Chiang Mai). Leave your votes and next week this competitive group of cities will be narrowed down to only 8.
Don’t worry if you missed this contest, I run several throughout the year. You can be the first to find out about the next one by signing up for my email updates, RSS feed, or bi-monthly newsletter.
5 People Who Purchase My eBook In March Will Receive A $100 Apple Gift Card
When I first was coming up with the idea of The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers, early on I knew I wanted it to be an ebook that gives back. Both with updates, my promise of 6 months free tech support, and the occasional gift for you readers. To keep the The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers a unique and alive ebook, this month, 5 random people who purchase it will receive a $100 gift card to the Apple.com online store.
How To Get Your $100 Apple Gift Card
All you have to do is pick up a copy from this link, the buttons directly below, or from any of my affiliates. So, along with 6 months of free tech personal tech support, information on extending your wireless range, plus more – you may end up with $100 to spend toward a new iPad 2. I’ll take all of the sales at the end of March, then run them through a program that will randomly select 5 people.
Keep in mind that if you purchase directly from the Kindle store or Barnes & Noble, you won’t qualify. You need to go here so I can make sure I don’t lose track of your purchase.
I’ll Be In Bulgaria Next Week
It’s been a turbulent past few weeks for me, putting my travel plans in a bit of flux lately. My only firm plan is that I’ll be in Sofia, Bulgaria next week to talk blogging at the Trends & Innovation Travel Summit. Also, hopefully I’ll get to meet Story Musgrave, a US astronaut who has spent over 1,200 hours in space. After the conference I’ve set aside some time to see more of Bulgaria, which will be my first trip there. Following that, anything is possible but I plan on sticking around the Middle East through sometime in May.
foXnoMad, Now In Jumbo And Mini-Versions
Many of you have probably noticed the slight design changes I’ve been making over the last 2 weeks or so, including larger photos within my posts and wide-screen pictures for single images. On the opposite end of the size-spectrum, there is now a mobile version of foXnoMad; making browsing from smart phones quicker and easier on your thumbs. In the near future I have further plans widen the scope of my writing and get a bit more personal throughout as well.
$100 Gift Card Or Save $100 Over The Next Year; Plus Your Personal Computer Consultant (aka. Me)
This won’t be my last surprise with The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers, so new and existing owners will have more chances to get back from the ebook that gives you ways to call landlines for free. Nowhere else can you also get the personal tech support of a professional hacker with my expertise – for 6 months – at a one time cost of $37.
Knowing your data is safely backed up when your laptop decides to bungy jump off a coffee table in Paris is well worth it.
Happy hacking…and travels,
-Anil
[photos by: yuankuei (plane taking off)]
How You Can See More For Less With Your Own Car In Bahrain
Generally most budget travelers shy away from renting a car to do the bulk of their sightseeing. And, in a relatively expensive place like Bahrain, the imagination of what the costs may be are enough to scare many away for considering it. Personal transportation in Bahrain however is inexpensive, the cost of fuel nearly negligible, along with very navigable roads giving you access to a number of remote sites.
Competition For Business Working In Your Favor
The large number of car rental companies in Bahrain helps to put a constant downward pressure on the costs and complications of getting your personal ride. A foreign license is all that’s required for an innocuous process and some light negotiating can realistically get you a car for 8-10 Bahraini dinar (~$21-26) per day.
Gas Won’t Kick Your…Gas
In general, around Bahrain when you pick up your rental car it will have a nearly completely empty gas tank. Your first stop, as was mine, is a mandatory straight shot to the closest gas station (as you don’t want to have to push your vehicle all over Manama). Gas is pumped by attendants at the stations and after a short wait behind a fairly long line of cars I was greeted by one of them.
Having a long day of driving all around a country that exports nearly 49,000 barrels of crude oil a day, I rolled to a pump looking to fill the tank full. As I handed over 15 Bahraini dinar (~$40), the young Pakistani man’s eyes widened as he wandered into confusion. “You don’t need that,” he said, “unless you want to buy gas for everyone waiting in line.”
Gas costs roughly 29 US cents per liter, or approximately $1 for a gallon.
Getting To Remote Places
In and around Bahrain’s capital city Manama, public transportation consists primarily of taxi and small buses that crisscross town. The bus routes aren’t the easiest to navigate and don’t visit many popular attractions in Bahrain while taxis between all of the country’s spread out attractions can get pricey fast. (Taxis can be hired for an entire day at around 25 Bahraini dinar ~$67 however.)
- One good example is the Tree of Life, which is located in the middle of a vast expanse of oil fields in central Bahrain’s desert. Buses don’t go anywhere near it and in a taxi you might miss the life within the temporary villages of oil workers all around. Getting lost, as I often do, I got to watch a soccer game between two groups of workers who lived on either side of a dirt road. Nearby to ask directions again, I also spent some time chatting with a young group of guys who were barbecuing and smoking shisha in an spontaneous picnic area in the desert sand.
Whereas in many other parts of the world a rental car can act as a barrier for travelers looking for that ever-elusive connection with a place, in Bahrain an automobile can put you in direct touch with an entire nation. The country’s main island is small enough (~750,000 square kilometers) that you can literally get anywhere in the country within an hour or two.
Places In Bahrain That Will Make Glad You Rented A Car
Aside from the previously mentioned Tree of Life and Bahrain International Circuit, you’ll thank yourself when you pull up just south of Zallaq Beach or the Al Areen Wildlife Sanctuary close by. You may even come across Al Fateh Fort (built by the Persians during the 17th century) which overlooks Bahrain’s famous golf courses, stroll through the side streets near Askar’s coast, or watch the spectacle of modified cars that make Arad Fort’s parking lot look like The Fast And The Furious on many evenings.
Driving in Bahrain, except for the occasional tricky roundabout, is relatively orderly and the speed limits seemingly a strong suggestion but not much more. It’s rare when a private vehicle can work for you on so many travel levels including your wallet, watch, and wanderings; something travelers should consider taking advantage of in Bahrain.
A Panorama Of The Bahrain International Circuit
March 8, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Car, Pictures and Video
When there are no races going on at Bahrain’s International Circuit, the sparse crews are renovating and preparing for the next one. New paint, carpet, and asphalt was being laid down in preparation for a few upcoming races that aren’t to be – at least in Bahrain. Since I wandered around the lifeless track in February, the decision was made to cancel the Bahrain F1 race in light of the recent protests.
Unfortunately this vantage point is about as far as you’re allowed to go. It seems a shame that there isn’t some kind of tour that would drive you around the track to get some different views. What tours are available are usually by reservation only and fairly expensive.
Bahrain’s International Circuit (specifically each major race) is a very important part of the tourism industry here, made even more evident by the fact that almost every road sign throughout the small island points you there. I should have figured however that without a race going on, it would be a disappointing experience. There’s hardly anything to do but walk around and take pictures from limited angles – yet when every sign in the country is pointing you in that direction, you can’t help but but imagine a wonderland where guests are given race cars to break the track in.
