Blogs of the World

Konichiwa! Kyoto blog with an American accent

Konichiwa! Alive in Kyoto is written from Kyoto, Japan, by Nils Ferry who is originally from California. He’s a Kyotophile and he offers a good insight to Kyoto through his posts and his amazing pictures.

My favourite section is the Japan/Kyoto category for its beautiful photos and/or descriptions of very Japanese elements such as sakura, the Shichi-Go-San ceremony or the Fire Festival.

This is a great blog to do a little bit of research before a trip, but also to enjoy learning about Kyoto from wherever you are, for example, your comfortable armchair.

Read more:
More blogs froom Japan on Blogs of the World
Okinawa, the far South in Japan
Tempura is Japanese… or is it?

marta June 17, 2010 1 comment

Blogs of the World / India

Flavor of the Indian Markets!

Focused on the traditional Indian markets, especially from the southern part of India, “Indian Bazaars” struck a chord somewhere with me, evoking memories of innumerable such bazaar trips back in India. Kiran writes on the blog featuring a different bazaar (Hindi for market) each time – including arts, crafts, spices, fishes, flowers and antiques.

In Kiran’s words:

“Craft and Spice Bazaars of rural India have often fascinated tourists from the western countries. However, I have been writing mostly about the simple selling spaces in urban India that people frequent for their day-to-day needs – whether it is vegetables, or flowers, or clothes or puja items.”

Indian Bazaar poses questions on various aspects of the market scene in India like “How do urban dwellers perceive bazaars? Are they still places that excite us?”. The blog describes the typical Indian market scene in a unique and compelling manner.

The post on Sassoon docks detailing the fish market in Mumbai and the nitty gritty aspects of shopping in India is a great place to start with!

Arwa June 10, 2010 1 comment

Bangladesh / Blogs of the World

An eye on Bangladesh

Every month we feature a blog from Rising Voices, which supports local groups and underrepresented communities around the world in using citizen media to join the global conversation.

Today’s blog is from the Nari Jibon project in Bangladesh and is called Rafiq’s Eye. Unfortunately it’s not being updated any more, but there are some great stories where we can learn more about life in Bangladesh.

In this blog Rafiq shares stories of his life: his mother and his wife and children:

In my student life (specially when I was studying in college and university) I saw many unhappy families, bad relationship of husbands and wives in their conjugal lives that lead me to make decision of not getting married. I really decided not to get married but when I saw Tora (My wife later) I forgot about my decision.

Outside of family life, Rafiq also writes about issues facing Bangladesh such as keeping the Bangla language alive and living through a cyclone.

Too bad we won’t hear more stories from this blogger!

liz June 3, 2010 0 comments

Blogs of the World / Indonesia

A slower pace of life

Sash Milne has achieved something which remains a dream for many – her job as a screenwriter allows her to work from anywhere in the world. She currently lives in Batu Karas, a remote village in Indonesia, and her blog Barefoot Ink is all about slowing down to the pace of life over there, with some travel stories as well.

We asked Sash some questions about life in Indonesia.

How did you end up in Indonesia? And why Batu Karas?

I ended up in Indonesia because I was feeling trapped and a bit uninspired living in a big city in Australia. A friend of mine got a job in Batu Karas and asked me if I’d be interested in moving there with her.

Batu Karas is a tiny village on the south coast of Java – it’s extremely remote; no supermarkets, no shopping, no movie theatres within 8 hours of the village – it sounded perfect. I made my decision quickly and within a few weeks I had packed up my life and boarded a plane to the island. I’d never been to Indonesia before in my life, and it is the best decision I have EVER made!

What’s the biggest difference compared to life in Australia?

The biggest difference in terms of my lifestyle is the speed at which life travels. Life is slow and relaxed in the village whereas in Melbourne life was fast paced and I was forever rushing to get from one event/job/meeting to another. Now, there is nothing to rush for, life goes at a relaxed pace and every day achieving one thing is a massive event – there is little to do so it took a few months to really slow my brain down, but now, I wouldn’t have it any other day. It’s exhausting doing nothing!

Could you describe a typical day?

My typical day starts with a hot cup of tea on the beach around 6.45am accompanied by good conversation and a cigarette with some local friends. Then, depending on the surf we go in the water or I go home to do some work. Around 10 I meet friends for breakfast of eggs or noodles and then it’s time for the beach. In the heat of the afternoon I work (write) under the fan in my bedroom until low tide, which is when I get my longboard and head out into the surf to cap of the end of the day. The evening involves chess, delicious food and bonfires with good friends.

What language do you use to communicate?

We use a combination of Indonesian and English every day. Some of the locals speak very good English (the younger generation) but are very encouraging when you try to speak their language. The villagers communicate with their local language (Sundanese) on a day to day basis – but it is an extremely complicated language and I just can’t seem to get a grasp on it!

Is it difficult to blog from there? Do you have any problems with internet access, electricity…?

It’s not too hard to blog from Batu Karas, I have an internet connection at my home which is very slow, so uploading photos takes some time. It’s all about patience, the electricity goes off often and the internet often struggles – but when you’ve slowed down to a snails pace that’s never much of a worry!

What about the culture and religion?

I love that the village where I live has such a different culture and religion to where I come from. It is something to be celebrated and I feel extremely lucky to have been welcomed so whole heartedly by friends who are very willing to answer any of my questions about their religion, culture and customs so that I can grow to understand what they believe and what it is that is the foundation for their lives.

Intrigued about life in Batu Karas? Check out Sash’s day in pictures, explorations of the surrounding villages or this post on a rare newspaper and a Javanese theatre artist.

All photos in this post courtesy of Sash Milne.

liz May 27, 2010 2 comments

Blogs of the World / The Netherlands

Greetings from The Netherlands!

A Touch Of Dutch is an expat account of living in The Netherlands, maintained by Isabella. She is an American lady and her blog seeks to offer an interesting take on living an expat life and learning a new language.

The blog covers varied topics, particularly the differences in the American and Dutch culture. My favorite post is the one where the supermarkets in Holland are compared extensively to the ones in America. An excerpt from this entry :

“When I first came to the Netherlands, I had the impression that all Dutch supermarkets were 7-Eleven-sized. It was because my then-nearby supermarket was a corner market in Amsterdam, and I never had the time to go anywhere else. Then we relocated to Small Town, NL where I found larger supermarkets. A larger variety which was sufficient-enough to fill my needs, but at the time most still seemed smaller somehow..”

How much smaller? Check out the rest of the post to find out.

Arwa May 25, 2010 0 comments

Blogs of the World / Bulgaria

Truly Bulgaria

Great places in Bulgaria is written by Katya, with the aim of providing “a truthful source of information about alternative travel opportunities in Bulgaria.”

If you’re planning a trip to Bulgaria this site could be useful – it’s full of suggestions on out of the way places to visit as well as practical tips for first time visitors. You can also read something about Bulgarian customs, such as this unusual way to celebrate New Year.

We asked Katya some questions about Bulgaria, blogging and studying abroad (she has previously studied in the USA).

To start, please tell us a little bit about yourself

I am a student, a blogger, a wife, a sister, a daughter, employee and …. I think that’s pretty much it:)

Why did you start your blog and why this topic?

I started the blog out of pure desperation. I was in a bad period – I had quit my job, my plans for business fell apart, I did not know what I wanted to do. I figured I had lots of pictures and stories from all the places I have visited and I can put them together into something useful. I found out that there was not enough information in English about the travel opportunities in Bulgaria. There are tons of websites selling property or tourist packages, but no quality travel information.

In your opinion what are the top three places to visit in Bulgaria?

Number one – Rilla Mount Lakes; number two – the village of Trigrad and its caves; number three – the old town of Sozopol at the seaside.

What’s the best thing about living in Bulgaria?

The fact that it is a small piece of land but you have everything there – the mountains and the sea, the lakes, the rivers, the rocks, the caves. Also the people – most of them still haven’t fallen victim to the “glits and greeds” of the commercial spirit.

When you were studying abroad what did you miss from home?

I missed it all, but that does not mean I didn’t enjoy the US. On the contrary I loved it!

What did you like about the USA?

I had a great time in the US! I traveled a lot and experienced a lot. I love the variety of the US in every possible respect: nature, food, environment, people, entertainment, culture – you name it! Sometimes more than one can handle