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The sixteenth century Madrasa built by Sultan Abdullah Assaadi in Marrakech was an ancient destination for scholars in various fields including religious sciences. It is a stunning monument to visit. The visit costs a ticket priced at about $5. The entrance is very ornate, and it gets more and more beautiful as one goes inside the Madresa. The Ibn Yusuf Madrasa is considered as a historical treasure and a testament to the genius of Moroccan ancestors in architecture and decor

On a beautiful morning, I started from Marakkesh on a hi Atlas Mountain hike, which started at Imlil and proceeded to Imnane Valley. The trip organizer picked me up from the hotel, and drove almost an hour and a half to the starting point of the hike where another guide met me. It was 10 AM by this time and the sun was out although it was a little chilly outside. The guide got a bottle of water for me and we started off. The starting point was at about 5,500 feet and it was a

The Erg Chebbi desert is very close to the border between Morocco and Algeria. Touring it provides a great opportunity to see the nomadic tribes, like the Berbers as well as to see their ancient traditions, like gathering water from the desert. To get to the Erg Chebbi desert needs driving all the way to the east of Morocco, which is anywhere from 10 to 15 hours of drive depending on how many stops you take. Most hotels and kiosks around that area offer a 3 to 4 hour driving

At the desert hotel/tent site in Erg Chebbi , Merzouga desert, tourists are offered a sunrise camel ride for 200 dirhams which seemed like a great way to spend a morning in the desert. At 7:30am, the dromedary camel and its keep were ready and waiting. It was cold, about 4C, so holding on to the metal rod on top of the camel's saddle seemed hard, especially since I was not wearing any gloves. Soon I was comfortable enough to ride the camel without holding on to anything and i

Anywhere in Morocco, when you sit down for a meal, the first thing they bring to your table is some Hobs bread, a plate of olives, and some mint tea. The traditional Moroccan dish is cooked in a Tagine and therefore the dishes are named based on what is in the Tagine, e.g. Seafood Tagine. The Tagines are made of clay and have a cover. The food ingredients are place in the based and cooked in an oven. The restaurant I saw in Casablanca had a lot of Tagines placed neatly in the

The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a massive rock in the southern part of the Iberian peninsula. From the northern city of Tangier in Morocco, one can go directly to Gibraltar twice a month with a direct ferry. The company FRS also has a service from Tangier to Tarifa, which is in Spain. This service is offered multiple times a day and consists of a 45 minute ferry ride. From Tarifa in Spain, one has to take a bus to Algeciras, which is included in the round-trip

Next to the north Atlantic, right off the water is the modern and spectacular mosque Hassan II , built in late 1990s and is the largest functioning mosque in Africa. The striking feature of the mosque, its minaret, is 210 meters high and the second tallest in the world. The detailed carving and filigree on the minaret is astounding. Adjoining the mosque is a museum which looks quite elegant. When I visited during the late afternoon, I barely time to visit the mosque and was p

The Sahyadri mountain range has many forts from the period of Moghuls and Marathas. I learned about a very old fort named Dhodap and decided to go there for a hike. The drive to this area was about just over an hour, the road was in good condition. The four of us started at 5:30am. After waiting for a quick session of tea, we proceeded to the town of Dhodambe. Around 7:15am, we were in the small village, and the morning was very foggy. It was a new area to hike for all of us

I spent a month in Nashik which is in Maharastra state in India. I wanted to be with my ailing father and continue maintaining an active routine with daily exercise while there. Nashik has many holy temples in its vicinity and has Panchvati- the place where king Rama, from the epic Ramayana, spent his time in exile. The river Godavari also has its origin from a nearby place Trimbakeshwar near Nashik. There are Pandava caves and Chambhar caves situated on freestanding mountain

I was surprised to find that in 2013, LVMH setup a winery in Dindori, a town about 20km away from Nashik. It is situated in very serene surroundings a couple of miles inwards from the closest highway. The long entrance to the winery is lined with palm trees and looks pretty. There are many mountains in the area and the winery has a scenic backdrop. The area where the wine tasting is held is very elegant. Tasting can be done in the outside patio as well and the lawns outside m

One of the few forts not conquered by the Moguls is the Ramshej fort a few miles away from Nashik. We went to hike there and it is a quick half hour away from the city. The full moon was out and the mountaintop with the fort on it was shrouded in clouds. As we progressed on our walk, the fog cleared revealing the distinctive shape of the mountaintop. There were some stairs at the beginning which made for an easy climb. The steps ended soon enough and the rock face of the mou

Like most of my recent hikes, for the one to Harihargad , I started early morning at 5 AM with a few colleagues. We all traveled in one car, and it was the seven of us. The ritual of drinking tea at all hours of the day is very prevalent in India, so at 5:15 AM, we were at a small restaurant which specializes in tea. There are many such places around the whole state, and the tea supposedly is as good as "Amrut", the mythical elixir, which can bring a dead person back to life.

In the Saatmala hills of Maharashtra, there are a group of seven hills, with a moderately challenging hike ending in a big roundish cutout in the sheer rock face of the hill. The cutout is visible from long distances. Also in these seven hills is a significant pilgrimage site of goddess situated in Saptashrungi . It is nearly an hour and half drive from Nashik city to the start of the hike for Mohandari which starts in very tiny village of Mohandari. Starting at 5:30 AM we we

In Taharabad city, which is in the district of Nashik in Maharashtra, lie the ancient temples carved by monks of the Jain religion. Nashik city is about 140km away from Taharabad and we decided to do a half-day trip including the hike to the two peaks, Mangi and Tungi near Taharabad. This is also a ' Siddha Kshetra' , meaning a gateway to Nirvana in the Jain religious beliefs. Many sculptures of Tirthankaras in Padmasana , the lotus position is seen in this place. Starting

I don't have the capability to carry. Twenty two years ago, I went to climb Mt. Whitney with several friends and each of us carried tents, pots and pans etc., but I struggled and gave up the summit climb. For Machu Picchu or Kilimanjaro hikes, I hired porters. For the Aconcagua hike, I hired a porter to carry my gear. What's more, I also put all my clothes in their sack. Walking without enough layers, I caught the wind, developed altitude sickness and had to be helicoptered o

Ho Chi Minh, the president of Vietnam whose picture is on all of Vietnamese currency has a city named after him, and it was originally named as Saigon. It is almost to the southernmost part of Vietnam and at a population of close to 10 million, it is the most populous city in the country. As one walks around the city, it is hard to miss the busy, relentless traffic, mostly composed of mopeds and motorcycles. There is a fair share of cars, buses and vans. Vinfast, the car with

On a four day, 500km mini motorcycle ride across the picturesque Ha Giang region of northern Vietnam, I encountered many beautiful vistas and many kinds of road conditions. Some roads were well paved, had clearly marked lanes, medians and road markings following international standards like the one pictured above near Lung Ca, next to China border. Some roads were made of tar and were in great condition. Many roads also had guardrails on one or both sides. Sometimes the mount

Near Vietnam's northern border with China is the Đồng Văn province. It is a very beautiful, hilly region and has many UNESCO world heritage sites. Many international tourists land in Hanoi, rent a moped and ride a 1,100 km loop that includes Ha Giang. You can also take a luxury bus that takes 15 people in about 6 hours to Ha Giang and start riding from there. The bus costs only $20. It is super clean because as soon as you step on it, you are given a plastic bag to put your s

About 4 hours train ride from Taipei is the Taitung Highland. It hosts an international hot balloon festival for two months annually. To get there by the Taiwan's high speed express trains, you get down at Luye station which also show the balloon icon on the station name's board. Walking 4km or taking a 10 minute taxi ride brings you to the highland where the balloons are launched. There are two time windows of two hours each during the day for the viewing, the afternoon one

Two hours train ride on the express train from Taipei is a city called Hualien which has the Taroko Gorge National Park. The train itself is fast, clean, good looking and goes over 125kmph. The train stations are clean and also have a lot of food spots. As you get out from train station to the city, you see a nice picture spot that most cities have now a days, for people to pose and remember that they have visited that city. Next to the train station is the bus stop where al