Off-Season in Whistler

There's just as much to do in the off-season on Whistler and Blackcomb as there is to do during the ski and snowboard season! Whether you're going up with friends, on a romantic getaway or with the family, there's something to do for you.


Elaine, who owns a Breakaway property up at Whistler says that her favourite things to do in the off-season are to explore the area through hiking and biking, shopping and eating at their favourite restaurants. "We love Sushi Village, the Tandoori Grill and the Spaghetti Factory," shared Elaine, "And not as much for the food, but for the patio, we adore Citta's (pronounced 'Cheetas')." During the summer, the kids would bike to one of the lakes and go swimming, where you can also picnic or have a barbecue!

On top of that, there's always hiking, festivals, concerts, special events and horseback riding, all which can be fun for the whole family! Don't forget about taking the gondola up Blackcomb for some hiking, and the Peak-to-Peak over to Whistler for even more.

If you're interested in something a little different, Wendy and Bruce Fougner, owners of Breakaway, recently did the RBC GranFondo to Whistler. After biking from downtown Vancouver up to Whistler, there was a band playing, a great beer gardens and medals that they handed out to everyone.

There's also a farmer's market every Sunday throughout the summer, which has a whole mixture of artisans doing everything from specialty treats to jewelry and art pieces. There are also activities available for young kids, like bumper cars, a bouncy castle and rope climbing. What are you waiting for? Head up the mountain all year round for something fun to do!

Vietnam Part 1 - Saigon, Hoi An and the Marble Mountains

Vietnam had been on my list for 10 years, so I could easily have been disappointed after all that time, but I wasn't. Vietnam is absolutely amazing! It is geographically stunning, the people are genuinely friendly, the food is delicious and the colonial architecture elegant. It has a complex history with memories and visions of war everywhere. Now a country at peace, it has been an emerging travel destination over the years, yet you still feel it is refreshingly unspoiled. And as I discovered, Vietnam is so much more than rice fields and conical hats!




My trip began in Saigon and finished 12 days later in Hanoi. The streets of Saigon were incredible with motorbikes everywhere! There are 3 million motorbikes on the street at any given time - imagine the round-abouts! I took my own cyclo tour visiting the War Museum, City Hall, the Rex Hotel and various other sights including the famous ones from the book/movie 'The Quiet American'. I also strolled down Dong Khoi street which was famous for its brothels and massage parlours. It is now a rather chic area of Saigon with fancy restaurants and shops. The buildings are all very elegant and more sophisticated shopping can be done here. 



Eating is easy in Saigon as there are outdoor night markets everywhere; food was wonderful and very inexpensive! An average dinner cost about $3.00USD - and that includes a large beer! 



We spent a day boating on the Mekong, which is well worth a visit. If you can get in a small boat and pole down the tributaries it is quite beautiful, very lush and very peaceful. We stopped at various islands and wandered through villages.




From Saigon we made our way to Hoi An. Once a bustling port town, Hoi An is now a lovely haven of cobbled stone streets where coloured lanterns hanging from colonial buildings. You can get anything made to measure here. There are over 300 tailors! But try not to spend your whole time shopping! Instead just wander the streets, rent a bike and cycle into the country - it is very flat, rent a boat and paddle to some of the nearby islands and wander through villages, visit the early morning fish market, watch the school girls bike to school wearing their immaculate white ao dais. Hoi An is a treasure, so enjoy! 




From Hoi An we drove north to the Marble Mountains and China Beach. It is definitely worth climbing the 200 steps to the top of the Marble Mountains. Get a beautiful view and poke your head into some of the cave temples. From there a quick stop to see China Beach – an untouched beach (at least at the moment). We continued on and went over the Hai Van Pass. If it wasn't foggy, which it usually is, the view would have been spectacular.

-Lesli

Egypt Part 3 - Hot Air Ballooning

I have always wanted to go hot air ballooning and thought I would give it a go over the Valley of the Kings. This was truly one of the highlights of my trip! I thought it would be a bit of a jerky lift off but we seemed to just float into the air. One of our first sights was Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, what a gorgeous setting at the foot of a limestone cliff-face. The view from up there gave a great perspective of the division between life alongside the Nile and the desert.

See Part 1 or Part 2


Instead of taking normal transportation into The Valley of the Kings, such as a bus, we rode donkeys - that's right - for 7 miles, seemed like 50! But we were a great spectacle for the Japanese tourists as we trotted in! We may even have attracted more attention than King Tut's tomb!

There were many tombs open to view. The walls of the tombs are covered in unbelievably well preserved paintings of gods and goddesses, and complex hieroglyphics depicting their life and afterlife. Most of the burial chambers were looted except King Tutankhamun, hence the fantastic displays at the Cairo Museum. But you will still find King Tut's body in his tomb. You pay extra to enter King Tut's tomb if you are so inclined.


From the valley we hiked up and over to Deir el Medina, which is the workers village. On the way you end up over top of Queen Hatshepsut Temple and get another fantastic view. In Deir el Medina you can still see the remains of the tomb builder’s homes and their own tombs that are almost more beautifully preserved than the king’s tombs. We then climbed back onboard our donkeys to make our way back to the Nile. On our way back we trotted through a little village, and the kids were just getting out of school. They must of thought we were a silly sight, but they were high- fiving us nonetheless!

We had a fantastic last dinner in Luxor and some last minute shopping. Silver and gold are pretty good purchases in Luxor. We were up very early the next morning for our convoy to Hurghada and the Red Sea. The winter winds had picked up so it was far cooler on the coast than I had expected. What to say about Hurghada, not much really. It is a seaside resort in either constant disrepair or expansion, hard to know which. What was wonderful was our day out at sea, snorkeling. The underwater life was fantastic and the sea was that gorgeous blue that just invites you in.


Once back in Cairo, I did some more last minute shopping and eating before saying goodbye to a great group of people I had spent the past 2 weeks with and reflecting on the fact that I had indeed seen the Great Pyramids, Abu Simbel , hot air ballooned over the Valley of the Kings and cruised down the Nile! Not bad!

-Lesli

Adventure Hot Spots in South America

From dazzling Angel Falls in Venezuela to the tip of legendary Cape Horn, South America has a superb collection of natural wonders, ideal locations for adventure. Add some fun to your South American vacation with these exhilarating options.

• Hang gliding from Corcovado - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  World renowned for its natural beauty, Rio is the perfect place for scenic hang gliding. The Pedra Bonita take off ramp is situated at an altitude of 520 meters in the Tijuca National Park on Corcovado. This mountain is also home to the statue of Christ which overlooks the city. You'll have a briefing before leaping into the blue sky with your pilot. The adventure will be recorded by a wing tip camera so you'll have a great memento of the event. The views of the mountains, city and coastline are breathtaking, as is the landing on Pepino Beach.
• Helicopter flight - Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil
  Get a fabulous view of the top attraction in South America by taking a helicopter flight over the region. You'll be captivated by this amazing natural sight as you hover above the National Park, rainforest, river and falls. Watch for a rainbow as the sun reflects off the tumbling waters.
• Horseback riding - Buenos Aires, Argentina
  Be in touch with nature as your ride through Parque Provincial Pereyra Iraola, just 30 minutes outside of Buenos Aires. Expert riders who know the terrain will guide you through this natural forest and biosphere reserve. No horseback riding experience is necessary.

• Surfing - Brazil and Chile
  The waves are just right for an exciting surfing vacation in South America. Florianopolis, Brazil and Pichilemu, Chile are the leading destinations offering some spectacular, scenic locations for this sport. Serious surfers can learn and improve their skills at surf camps and schools while the rest of us can enjoy a day at the beach to watch the world-class surfing action.
• Trekking the Inca Trail - Machu Picchu, Peru
  Hike the trail the Inca's used to reach Machu Picchu, high in the Peruvian Andes. Now this incredible trail has become so popular, there is a permit process in place to prevent crowding. (The climb is restricted to only 400 people per day.) Organized treks take you on the four-day adventure arranging porters, meals and tented accommodation. Everything runs like clockwork so you are free to thoroughly enjoy the experience. This is the most thrilling way to reach the spectacular ruins of Machu Picchu.
• Backpacking - Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile
  This is an epic journey as you backpack through stunning valleys, kayak crystal waters and walk on ice fields while surrounded by inspiring scenery. Torres del Paine is a leading hiking destination at the tip of South America. Remote and untouched, a multi-day trek here is an adventure of a lifetime.
• Mountain biking - Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia
  Ride from the high Andes near La Paz to Coroico on this 61 km road part of which is cut from the side of the mountain. No wonder it has gained a worldwide reputation for its spectacular but dangerous route. Recommended for experienced mountain bikers only and certainly not for the faint of heart.
• River rafting, hiking and more - Ecuador
  There's rafting for all levels in Ecuador where the rivers feature exciting rapids, calm pools, and amazing jungle scenery. Hiking the high Andes is another adventure not to be missed in this remarkable country. Combine these experiences with a Jungle Adventure by travelling on to explore the upper Amazon basin on foot, horseback, raft and motor canoe.
• Diving and snorkeling - the Galapagos Islands
  One of the greatest adventures you can have anywhere is diving and snorkeling in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. This is one of the world's top underwater environments where you'll see penguins, iguanas, four-eyed fish and many other unique sights. The Galapagos Islands are ideal for many other adventure activities, like sailing, birding, kayaking, surfing and hiking.
• Wildlife Viewing - the Amazon, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru
  Whether you stay at a jungle lodge or take river cruise, you're sure to see some amazing animals and marine life in Amazonia. Monkeys, sloths, parrots, river turtles, caiman crocodiles and the unique pink river dolphins are just some of the thousands of exotic species you'll encounter on wildlife viewing excursions.

Egypt Part 2 - Aswan and Luxor

From Cairo we took an overnight sleeper train to Aswan. It was heaven waking up with the sun reflecting off the desert dunes and peering out the window to see the Nile right beside us as we followed it south.

See Egypt Part 1


Aswan is an interesting town but very hectic. It is supposed to be famous for it's spice market but I have seen far better ones in Turkey and Morocco. An afternoon sail in a felucca is a great way to while away the afternoon before heading off to The Old Cataracts Hotel, of Agatha Christie fame, for a cocktail. And if you can, ask them for a peak at the suite named after her. Also well worth a visit is the Nubian Museum with excellent displays and the interpretation is far superior to the Cairo Museum.

Since the shooting in the Valley of the Kings in 1997 security is tight everywhere including police escorted convoys to various parts of the country. For this reason we were up at 3:00am for our 4:00am coach convoy down to Abu Simbel. But what a sight once there, as long as you can ignore the masses of tourists. Ramses II had the temples built to honor himself and his wife Nefertari. These temples were threatened by the damning of Lake Nassar. Various world organizations got together and funded the project, moving the temples to higher ground. There is a fascinating display of photographs of the work that took place over 14 years to accomplish this move.


From Aswan we boarded our lovely little cruise boat Melody and started to make our way up the Nile. The Nile is really fascinating as about 90% of Egypt's population lives on the Nile and the green belt spreads a couple of kilometers away from the river on both sides. Then it abruptly stops and becomes desert as far as the eye can see. So lots of life to see as we cruised by. We made several stops along the way visiting the temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu before arriving in Luxor and disembarking.

Luxor is a great little city. I had a good feeling about it right away. Not sure if it was because the grand colonnades of the Luxor Temple illuminated as the sun was starting to set or it's proximity to the Valley of the Kings, the fact that local transportation was by horse drawn carriages, or the fact that we had access to McDonald ice cream sundaes! By far the best sights are Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Adel was our fantastic Egyptologist guide who accompanied us to both Karnak and the Valley of the Kings and his wealth of information and passion for Egypt's history were very engaging!


Karnak Temple is over 2000 years old and must have at least 100 columns and fantastic reliefs with the colours still as vibrant as they were all those years ago. There are various sound and light shows in Egypt including one here at Karnak. It was worthwhile, if a bit long.

-Lesli

Egypt Part 1 - Ramadan in Bustling Cairo

Pyramids, pharaohs, King Tut, the Sphynx, all these images I grew up with had me in a constant state of excitement during my two week trip to Egypt. How would the sites be? Would they live up to my expectations? Are the pyramids as grand as they seem on TV? Are the carved statues at Abu Simbel as massive as they seem in pictures? The answer is absolutely yes to all of the above!


From the moment I arrived in Cairo I was just thrilled to be in Egypt. Cairo is a bustling city of 20 million plus people and approximately 3 million taxis. Cars, six abreast, squeeze along on 2 lane roads! The initial challenge was learning how to cross the street. I soon learned to look out for any locals crossing and attach myself to them and this worked really well.

I was in Egypt for the last week of Ramadan so I got to experience both Ramadan and the festivities that followed. The positive aspect of visiting at that time was learning all about it on a day to day basis – plus, nobody was smoking. The downside was that a lot of sites visited were open shorter hours but the number of tourists was the same. When Ramadan ended the streets were filled with women and children out celebrating which was great fun as our day-to-day exchanges were most typically with men.

I had just 3 days in Cairo but it deserves many more. One could spend days walking the maze of streets in the Khan al Kalili bazaar and exploring all the exhibits in the Egyptian Museum. Other sights worth seeing are Coptic Cairo, the Christian area, and the Citadel, with fantastic views of the city and hopefully a glimpse of the pyramids.


The pyramids were amazing and took my breath away. Each one made with over 20 million slabs. You marvel at how they managed to build them and still there are no real answers to that question. The Great Pyramid (of Cheops) is open for you to go inside, as long as you do not suffer from claustrophobia or mind walking bent over uphill for quite a ways!

-Lesli

Accomodations and more in Jordan & Israel!

Ready to go but don't know where to stay or what else to do? Our insider Tarek gives you an idea of the best accommodations, shopping and special interest areas of the alluring lands of Israel and Jordan.

Accommodation

"There is a wide selection of accommodation to choose from."

"An interesting experience is staying at a Kibbutz in Israel. These are collective agricultural communities, where you will gain a good understanding of this unique way of living."

"These are hotels I would recommend:

• Israel:
  Jerusalem: King David, American Colony, Mamilla, David Citadel, Dan Boutique
  Tiberias: Scots Inn
  Haifa: Dan Carmel
  Tel Aviv: David Intercontinental, Dan Tel Aviv
• Jordan:
  Amman: Four Seasons, Grand Hyatt, Sheraton, Kempinski
  Dead Sea: Kempinski, Movenpick, Marriott
  Petra: Movenpick, Marriott, Crowne Plaza, Beit Zaman
  Aqaba: Intercontinental, Movenpick, Kempinski"

Special Interests, Shopping and Beaches

"In both countries it is possible to arrange Archeological Tours; Pilgrimages and Christian Heritage Tours. These are very popular and give a focus to your visit which can be helpful in narrowing down what you want to see."

"Shopping for traditional items is always interesting in the markets and shops. In Jordan be sure to buy some local handicrafts like hand-woven rugs and cushions, pottery, marquetry work, embroidered items and gold and silver work. While in Israel you'll enjoy shopping for olive wood products, icons and antiques."

"Both countries have excellent beaches. The best in Jordan are at Aqaba and the Dead Sea with some fine resorts in both places. In Israel, the best beaches with good beach resorts are found at Eilat, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv and Herzlia."

Thanks to Tarek for sending such practical and up to date information on these inspiring countries. This is certainly helpful when starting to plan your unforgettable trip to Israel and Jordan.