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OMG! An OVEN in Asia!!

soultravelers3 — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:27:33 +0000

OMG! An OVEN in Asia!!

I love my big kitchen in Asia
and let me tell you that big
kitchens are very rare in Asia

I love my big kitchen in Asia and let me tell you that big kitchens are VERY rare in Asia and an oven is non existent in most apartments and homes. Most kitchens are tiny as street food is the name of the game here.Cooking in Asia is done outside mostly.

Remember when we used the toaster oven to bake cookies our first Christmas in Asia...we were thrilled and lucky to have even a toaster oven.

Most of you know we have been on an organic eating,super healthy kick for a bit, addressing my travel health issues and curing cavites naturally. So when we decided to eat no grains for a while, we thought it was worth spending sixty bucks to buy an oven so I could cook yummy things made out of coconut flour that we could eat.

I got one wth a super low heat too, so I could use it as a dehydrator for things like making my own coconut flour easily ( story coming) from the cheap and abundant healthy coconut here.

It's crazy! I may be the only one in tropical Asia to have both a crock pot ( for bone broths) and an oven in my kitchen and both of them going almost every day. Actually, the crock pot is usually on at night.

So now we have invested in an oven, crock pot, blender and juicer..all cheap here and we can store them all with friends when we leave, so they will wait for our return.

This is so not me, but I am loving cooking, baking, fermenting delicious and super healthy real food and my family is loving it. Mozart's worldschooling now includes lots of cooking and baking too.

We are all enjoying the homey feel to this place and getting healthier with good food.

More recipes coming as I have time.

I also love it that I get to experience the specatacular sunsets here from my kitchen windows as it usually sets while I am making dinner. Sweet gift...just like the gorgeous sunrises over the Andaman Sea that start our day from our bedrooms.

Completing Mandarin immersion here, ( we leave when she finishes the 6th grade level in reading and writing which isn't too far away as she plows through it with her new tutor) has this world traveling family slowed down a bit, but we are taking full advantage of these domestic adventures and loving it.

Nyungwe Forest: A Hidden Gem in Rwanda

Laurel — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:04:03 +0000

Be honest, have you ever heard of Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda?

I hadn’t, which in retrospect is rather surprising given it’s the largest high altitude montane forest in East and Central Africa. Even more impressive to me, it’s also home to an incredible 13 species of primate – 25% of primate species found in all of Africa! So it was rather surprising that I had never heard of Nyungwe Forest.

Black and white colobus monkey in Nyungwe Forest

Not only that but four species of primate are habituated (used to people). As a result, the park offers guided tours to see chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, Blue monkeys and Mangabeys. I did guided tours to see the chimps and the colobus monkeys and loved every single minute of both tours – so much so that I’ll be writing in more detail about them in a later post – with some photos of the cutest baby monkey I have ever seen!

I watched this 30 year old male chimp for a full hour.

Nyungwe Forest is not just for primate lovers though. It’s also an exceptional place for bird watching. It’s home to 275 species of birds and 25 endemic birds, including the Turaco. You will hear its loud call before you see it, making it relatively easy to seek out. It’s a crested bird, who when it spreads its wings reveals beautifully colored red feathers!

Turaco, a bird endemic to Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda

I would also recommend one of the guided hikes offered. No solo hiking is allowed in the park, and there are scheduled hikes (check with the park office), or book your own in advance.

I was rather excited when David my guide asked if I wanted to take a small detour to see the source of the Congo River while on one of the guided hikes. Of course I did. But somehow it looked rather different from I had anticipated:

The source of the Congo River is much smaller than I was expecting.

There’s also a three day hike which is the furthest source of the Nile. After seeing my disappointment over the wee source of the Congo River, David warned me that while the hike is beautiful, the Nile source was even smaller than the Congo source. Still, I would love to come back and spend more time in the forest. There’s nothing like hearing pant hoots from wild chimps or with a little bit of luck come across a monkey or two!

East Africa’s only canopy walk is in Nyungwe Forest.

Nyungwe is also home to East Africa’s only canopy walk. If you’re afraid of heights forget it. David said that about half of visitors take the detour after taking one look at the bridge which towers over a valley in the rainforest. This includes the Prime Minister of Rwanda! Of course being a politician, I’m sure he had a good excuse.
I spent two days in Nyungwe but wish I could have spent three more. I would have loved to have done the Blue monkey and Mangabey guided treks which are only done in the morning. I also would have liked to have done a full day hike or perhaps even the three day hike to the source of the Congo.

The only downside to Nyungwe is that it’s not cheap. Guided hikes start from $40, a trek to see Colobus, Blue monkey or Mangabeys is $70 and a visit to the chimps will set you back $150. Discounts are provided if you do the activities over multiple days. accommodation is also not cheap. There are only three different options. I stayed in the cheapest, which was VERY basic, with a shared bathroom. It cost $70 a night, which was a LOT for what it offered. I didn’t see the other two hotels, but my guide Omar from Amahoro Tours told me that the one hotel had rates starting from $200 a night, while the other was over $300.

Still, I felt my money was well spent to see the primates. Nyungwe is one of only a few places in the world where travelers have the incredible opportunity to observe rare primates in their native habitat. In addition, a portion of the money goes back into the local community and community members are given jobs in the park. As a result, poaching is relatively rare in Rwanda, unlike in most other parts of the world. Conservation has a price.

Amahoro Tours, a locally owned Rwandan company can arrange your own personalized trip to Nyungwe. Omar, my driver guide was kind enough to even stop when we saw monkeys on the side of the road!

Thank you to Amahoro Tours for their support in my visit to Nyungwe Park. As always all opinions expressed are my own.

The Rooftop of Maui — Haleakala Volcano Crater

Nellie Huang — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:11:21 +0000

Rising above the island of Maui is the gentle giant, Haleakala Volcano. Standing at 10,023 feet (3,055 m) above sea level, it covers almost 75% of the island. While it’s no longer active, it remains a sacred spot for the native Hawaiians, and one of the most visited sights on Maui.

According to Hawaiian folklore, the demigod Maui went to the top of the volcano and captured the sun, agreeing to release it only if it promised to move more slowly across the sky so that the island could have more daylight. The sun agreed, thereby giving the volcano summit approximately 15 minutes more sun than the coastal communities below. Since then, the mountain has been given the name Haleakala, or “House of the Sun.”

Naturally, the Haleakala is the star of the show on Maui and loads of tourists flock to its summit to catch sunrise each day — but we’ve been told that it’s just as nice at sunset and some say, even nicer. The crater is often in the shadow at sunrise; whereas in the afternoon, the sun is behind us, revealing the colors of Haleakala crater.

We drove up to its summit in the evening, emerging from the thick layer of clouds to clear, bright skies and a sweeping view of the dramatic Haleakala landscape. From the summit, we gazed down upon the massive crater that plunged 2,600 ft (800m) deep and stretched almost 7 miles (11.25km) wide — splashes of orange-red iron rocks and clusters of green pasture sprawled across the crater floor. Indeed, Haleakala lived up to its name, as the rooftop of Maui.

How to Get There:

There is no public transportation available either to or in the park. The best way to get there is by renting a car. Park headquarters and the summit can be reached by car, via a series of corkscrew bends. It takes approximately 1.5 hours to get there from the Kahului airport and two hours from Wailea resort area.

The Haleakala National Park is open 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. Restrooms and drinking water are available. There is an entry fee of US$10 per vehicle. Opening hours for the headquarters Visitor Center near park entrance: 8:00am – 3:45pm; Haleakala Visitor Center near the summit: 6:00am.

Disclaimer: Our trip was made possible by Visit Maui, but all opinions expressed above are our own.

The post The Rooftop of Maui — Haleakala Volcano Crater appeared first on Wild Junket.

Latest News and Work Updates

Lola Akinmade — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:29:44 +0000

I’m long overdue for a latest news and work updates post. Been busy on many fronts but more importantly, I’ve been prioritizing my workload and inching closer to a more balanced work <-> family time ratio.

Image Bank

As you may have noticed, I’ve been sharing a lot more postcard photos from my image bank which is a work in progress. I’m currently editing and sorting through thousands of photos from countries I’ve explored – many of which will end up in the image bank as well as National Geographic’s image collection.

Once I reach a good enough point in this seemingly never-ending task, I’ll open the photos up for purchase as well for those of you who are interested.

Slow Travel Stockholm

Since my last update, I’ve launched Slow Travel Stockholm. It is a spinoff of Slow Travel Berlin which was founded in January 2010 by my friend, British guidebook author, travel journalist and photographer Paul Sullivan.

In a nutshell, “Slow Travel encourages us to slacken our pace, re-consider our motivations (and itineraries) and embrace a “less is more” instead of a “fast is better” ethos. It emboldens us to take pause. To think. To saunter instead of rush and enjoy the details instead of blurring past them.”

The aim is to establish a repository of eclectic information about the city from a range of perspectives to encourage deeper, more varied exploration and promotion of small, locally-minded businesses and services.

It’s a project I’m passionate about and since we’re still in our infancy, we’re looking for equally passionate contributors. Right now, we’ll be publishing twice a week until we gain some momentum.

Freelancing – Writing/Photography

I’ve also been freelancing and have a few confirmed pieces below with a few more in the pipeline (will share once the others are finalized). Overall though, I still have too many pieces in the “No Word” or “Interested” stage (please refer to my annual pitching charts). Much more than I’m comfortable with and I hope the next six months turns things around on that front.

Upcoming pieces: BBC Travel, Qatar Airways, National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel (IT), Fodor’s, Women’s Adventure, Sweden.se.

Awards

Extremely honored to have been chosen as the regional award winner representing Africa in the Hot Mommas® Project.

So what’s the project about?

The Hot Mommas® Project is the world’s largest women’s case study library, providing free online access to stories of diverse female role models and mentors. It is the recipient of a National Coleman Foundation Case Award, and was founded by the instructor of the nationally award-winning Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership class at the George Washington University School of Business. The Hot Mommas® Project is included in the mission of the school’s Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

Needless to say, I’m extremely honored and it looks like I might be heading to DC this fall to pick up the award. Special thanks to my friend @dcIfy for the nomination. Definitely humbled as I also consider her a role model.

Check out the full press release here.

I also picked up two Solas Awards for narrative travel writing earlier this year.

Interviews

A few personal musings about life, my work, the travel industry, and Sweden below:

World Travel Market

Powderzine

Black Women Living Well

Travels

The first few months of this year took me to Marrakech & Casablanca (Morocco), short trip to Amsterdam (Netherlands), Swedish Lapland, Berlin (Germany) and Lagos (Nigeria).

Lots of upcoming travel kicking off with Dublin & Cork (Ireland) for the Travel Classics conference as well as Belfast (Northern Ireland). Then it’s off to the US & Canada for TBEX Toronto. Most of June & July will be spent exploring Sweden and soaking up our glorious summer days and then it’s off to the Balkans and Turkey (more on that later).

Also in the very early stages of a return trip to South Africa but for now, I usually go month by month in terms of my travel plans with the prefix -> “God willing”.

What have you guys been up to lately? Any upcoming travels? Please share below.

Postcard: Cherry blossoms in Kungsträdgården

Lola Akinmade — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:15:23 +0000

You can click on the photo for more options or view more Cherry blossom photographs over on Slow Travel Stockholm.

Have you seen cherry blossoms this season? Please share links to your photos below.

Learning Spanish in Spain

soultravelers3 — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:43:49 +0000

Learning Spanish in Spain

Is immersion the easiest way to
learn a language? Raising a bilingual
or trilingual kid with travel can

Is immersion the easiest way to learn a language? Raising a bilingual or trilingual kid with travel can greatly help the process. I've written a series on how to raise a biilingual or multilingual child ( something that is very rare in America with monolingual parents like us) with tips about language learning at home or abroad.

”One free lunch in the world is to learn another language in early childhood.” Pinker - MIT Linguist

Growing up bilingual and then trilingual, ( and deeply triliterate as well) has been amazing for our 12 year old. We've almost completed our Mandarin goals and she wants to learn French next. We can't wait for that and also to spend more time in Spain, Provence and all of Europe again ( maybe more in Tahiti too). Our ultimate family adventure gives us many homes to return to with friends waiting.

There are many extra advantages of becoming a bilingual or trilingual from birth, so we started when she was in the womb with both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. It's definitely been worth the effort for our global kid.

BILINGUAL READING AND WRITING

Proper bilingual or trilingual reading and writing is a much more complicated process, especially if neither parent is fluent in the secondary languages. Without using local foreign school dips, added to our homeschooling, ( or worldschooling as we call it) I doubt if we could have easily raised such a fluent triliterate kiddo.

Mozart was already very fluent in verbal Spanish before we arrived in Spain when she was five, but she was not reading in Spanish, though she was an advanced reader in English. She was even beginning to fall behind a bit in her Spanish as her English ( in an all English country) got stronger and stronger. We found out that this is typical for all bilingual kids after about age four as they succumb to the dominant languge ( even when the parents are native speakers of the 2nd language).

Foreign local schools are a fantastic way to become multi-literate and multilingual while deeply immersing in a culture. it's really been an awesome experience! In 20-20 hind sight we see it was one of our smartest decisions on our non-stop-almost-8-year world tour. We also spent lots of time in Barcelona with Spanish ( only) speaking friends and all around Spain, so that reinforced the language as well understanding various accents.

Locals consider her a native speaker, but deep fluency doesn't come quickly and there was a reason we spent those four years and she completed the first 4 grades in Spain. We continue with her Spanish and keeping in touch with Spanish speaking friends even in Asia and as we travel the world. We won't leave Asia until she is reading and writing Mandarin at a 6th grade level.

She was barely six when she started her first day of school in Spain. We're monolinguals who have worked hard to raise her as a very fluent trilingual /triliterate from birth, but her Spanish was becoming more receptive because she was living in an English dominated society in California. Now she is as fluent as a native speaker and still enjoys reading and talking in Spanish daily.

We are eclectic unschoolers and mostly do child led learning, but decided to put her into a local school in Spain for five months for several years to immerse deeply in the language, literature and culture. It was also a way to give her consistent friends and a base as we travel the world.

The school in Spain that we went to was very flexible. We traveled Europe by campervan for 7 months and then got a rental apartment in sunny Adnalusia for the winter, and put her in school for just 5 months. We usually arrived in late November and left in late April. The hours were relaxed, just 9am to 2pm and sometimes we'd take time off for short trips.

This allowed us to also participate fully with local traditions and festivals like Three Kings at Christmas, Semana Santa and Carnival which became part of us. Also time for learning Flameco starting at six and being part of an ancient village ( while skipping the summer heat of Spain).

WAYS TO IMMERSE THROUGH TRAVEL

Not everyone can spend the time that we did ( over 4 years with the school dips) on our world trip, but long term immersion travel can be arranged in various ways for most people who want to make this happen. Some do home exchanges, sometimes just moms and kids go, some dedicate a year and some do it over the summer.

I encourage every one who is raising a bilingual or more child, to find a way to do long term immersion as it will make a huge difference and doesn't have to be expensive since slow travel can cost less than staying at home.

CREATING AN IMMERSION ENVIRONMENT

If you can't right now, here are the key tips for creating an immersion environment no matter where you are:

• One parent only talking in the other language

• Playing music in the other language/s

• Reading books outloud in the other language/s

• Watching TV/movies in the other language/s

• Playing tapes of the parent who speaks the language when they are away

• Making sure she was always responding back, not just understanding

• Helping her know how to respond if needed

• Reading and writing daily when the child is old enough

• Have friends talk to her only in the other language/s

What else would you like to know about learning Spanish in Spain? Have you done any immersion travel?

Hiking the Luxembourg Ardennes

Laurel — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:41:57 +0000

View of Vianden Castle from Vianden, the starting point for my hike.

You know it’s going to be a good day of hiking when your trail includes a visit to Luxembourg’s most famous castle and a jaunt into Germany. I love my two peak hiking days, but a two country hiking day? This would be a first.

My hike starts in the medieval village of Vianden. I will be hiking the Nat-Our Route 5 Vianden-Falkenstein trail for a total of 12 km and 684 meters of elevation gain. The elevation is not gained all at once as is typical of hikes in the Alps, but over the course of the hike as the route goes up and down the rolling hills.

The trail is part of the NaturWanderPark delux, named not for its luxurious or elegant features, but because the trail is in both Luxembourg and Germany (in German, Germany is Deutschland, hence the de part of the name).

The first part of the trail leads up a steep hill to Vianden Castle, Luxembourg’s most famous castle. I didn’t stop, but returned to it later. The castle with roots back to the 10th century is also one of Europe’s largest west of the Rhine. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Travel tip: I tested an audio guide that had just been released and really enjoyed it. I would recommend purchasing one as it will make your visit to the castle more meaningful.

I continued on along a ridge with views overlooking Vianden Castle:

Looking down at Vianden Castle

Then it was a gradual decent into the forested slopes and back up again where my reward was views over the Our (pronounced Or) River:

View of the Our River and valley

I crossed a bridge and found myself in Germany, indicated only by a small emblem:

A sign at the German/Luxembourg border.

While I love the idea of a two country hike, to be honest, this part of the hike, looked more or less identical to the part in Luxembourg. Still a two country hike sounds rather impressive, especially to this Canadian.

Without a doubt my favorite part of the hike was walking along the ridge of Löctgesberg. This part of the hike is at the edge of the forest and you are offered views of the Our River snaking along in the valley:

The Löctgesberg, my favorite part of the hike

I ended in Vianden where the hike had started. Viaden is a village that was known for its’ craftsmen in medieval times. The village first referenced as far back as 698 is worth exploring in its own right – or at least grabbing a drink at one of the several cafes/restaurants that line the Our River.

Our River seen from Vianden

I enjoyed my hike in the Luxembourg Ardennes. It’s much different from hiking in the Alps – my usual terrain, but offers its own rewards: i.e.: castles, medieval villages and views of the idyllic country side. It’s very peaceful, but you can easily work up a sweat should you choose to. The 23 different trails in the NaturWanderPark delux ensures there is something for everybody’s ability. The Luxembourg Ardennes is not just of interest to hikers either. There are also plenty of mountain bike trails. There was a mountain bike enthusiast in my group who was itching to come back and try out some of the trails.

In addition the Luxembourg Ardennes also offers numerous thematic trails. There is the the Remembrance Path which traces the different places of confrontation during the Battle of the Bulge or Geological Paths, which point out places of nature and geological interest. There’s even a Cultural Trail in the town of Wiltz!

Chapel seen while hiking.

The Luxembourg Ardennes would not be the first place I would think of when it comes to hiking, but I was pleasantly surprised by the number of trails, the thematic trails and the condition of the trails. It’s definitely worth exploring.

See the Luxembourg Ardennes for further info.

Travel tip: I stayed/ate at Hotel-Restaurant Dimmer, in Wallendorf-Pont which is a great base when hiking in Luxembourg. The dinners were especially delicious!

Thank you to the Luxembourg National Tourist Office for making my visit possible. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Postcard: Biking through the desert

Lola Akinmade — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:00:48 +0000

Shot of the amazing Ann Lombardi of The Trip Chicks making a quick stop as we rode through the desert towards Al Qusayr.

You can click on the photo for more options or view more photographs from Egypt in my image bank. I’m still loading hundreds of photos so it’s an incomplete set right now.

Have you been to Egypt? What did you think? Please share below.

Postcard: Cigarettes and desert wells

Lola Akinmade — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:00:30 +0000

This portrait of one of our guides operating a centuries’ old well in the Eastern Desert was shot during a jeep safari in Egypt.

You can click on the photo for more options or view more photographs from Egypt in my image bank. I’m still loading hundreds of photos so it’s an incomplete set right now.

Have you been to Egypt? What did you think? Please share below.

Postcard: Lounging in the Eastern Desert

Lola Akinmade — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:06:19 +0000

This photo was shot during a jeep safari through the Eastern Desert in Egypt. You can click on the photo for more options or view more photographs from Egypt in my image bank. I’m still loading hundreds of photos so it’s an incomplete set right now.

Have you been to Egypt? What did you think? Please share below.