In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, continues on his trek along the Via Egnatia crossing from Turkiye into Greece and experiencing Alexandroupoli & the Turkish Border. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Turkey.
This is my fifth post from the Adventures Abroad Via Egnatia tour led by our friend Victor Romagnoli in the late spring of 2023. The first four posts were from Turkiye including the last one from Edirne, which turned out to be a very interesting and untouristy place. As noted in the previous posts the Via Egnatia was a Roman road that led from the shores of the Adriatic in Greece to the city of Constantinople, now Istanbul. The theme of the tour was to follow in the footsteps of the many millions who would have taken this route as soldiers, pilgrims or merchants. The first place the road entered modern-day Turkiye was at Adrianople, now Edirne. Going in reverse order in this post we'll cross over into Greece heading for the city of Alexandroupoli and it won't be as easy as it sounds. Read on to find out why.
Hmong and Khmu Villages in Laos
9 Day Laos Tour — TOUR CODE: LA1 9 Day Laos Tour
TOUR CODE: LA1
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, makes a couple of impromptu stops along the bumpy Laos roads and comes away with valuable insights into the culture and way of life in a region, not many travellers experience, Hmong and Khmu Villages in Laos. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Southeast Asia.
In this post, we move on from the small, historic city of Luang Prabang where we began this Adventures Abroad tour of Laos. We spent three days there, concluding with a cruise on the Mekong River yesterday. Our destination for the end of today is another small city, Phonsavan which will be our base for exploring the Plain of Jars tomorrow. Day 4 of the Adventures Abroad itinerary describes this as strictly a travel day with no planned activities, but that turns out not to be the case as our local guide Ta, has different ideas. We will have time to make impromptu stops at the small villages of two of Laos' minorities, the Hmong and the Khmu. These types of unplanned extras often turn out to be among the best parts of the trip. Join us and find out if that is the case today.
Edirne - Turkiye’s European City
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, embarks on an exciting leg of his tour, exploring the historic and impressive city of Edirne - Turkiye’s European City. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Turkey.
This is the first post in which I am referring to what was formally Turkey as the newly designated official name Turkiye which is pronounced "Tur-key-yay" making it a three syllable word from the former two. This was another of the many changes brought about by President Erdogan and for once, I'm not going to criticize this one, but neither am I going to go back and change the spelling in the many previous posts from this fascinating country. So let's get on with today's topic, the city of Edirne. This is a city I have long wished to visit as it is somewhat of an anomaly. While Istanbul strides two continents and is truly an international city, Edirne is the largest and most historic city that sits entirely within the borders of European Turkiye. I wanted to see whether it was more influenced by its European neighbours or was more like an Islamic outpost on the wrong side of the Bosphorus. So let's find out as we continue the Adventures Abroad Via Egnatia tour with our tour leader Victor Romagnoli.
Mekong River Cruise
9 Day Laos Tour — TOUR CODE: LA1 9 Day Laos Tour
TOUR CODE: LA1
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, shares his journey as he gets onboard a boat and navigates along one of the most significant waterways in Southeast Asia, join him on his Mekong River Cruise. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Southeast Asia.
This is my third post from the city of Luang Prabang in northern Laos, our first stop on this Adventures Abroad tour of this exotic country. In the first post, we visited some of the temples that have made Luang Prabang one of the great centres of Buddhism in Southeast Asia and in the second, we participated in an alms giving ceremony and visited a famous waterfall. In this post, we'll leave the city for the day and board our own private boat for a Mekong River cruise up to the sacred caves of Pak Ou. I hope you'll join us.
Bosphorus Cruise - Leaving Istanbul
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, has an exceptional travel opportunity and heads off to a local ferry for a Bosphorus Cruise - Leaving Istanbul. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Turkey.
This is my third post from the Adventures Abroad Via Egnatia tour led by veteran guide and good friend Victor Romagnoli. In the first post, we explored the ancient walls of Constantinople and some interesting Istanbul neighbourhoods. In the second post, we visited several mosques, the spice bazaar and then took a cooking lesson. All told it's been an action-packed two days in this wonderful city that Alison and I love to visit, but alas, it is time to hit the road. Well not exactly. In fact, we'll be leaving the city by way of a ferry taking a Bosphorus cruise almost to the Black Sea where we'll find our bus waiting for us. So please join us as we ply these ancient waters once frequented by Hercules, Jason and Ulysses.
Alms Giving in Luang Prabang
9 Day Laos Tour — TOUR CODE: LA1 9 Day Laos Tour
TOUR CODE: LA1
In his latest blog post, Dale Dunlop, The Maritime Explorer, participates in a truly unique experience, Alms Giving in Luang Prabang. If you are interested in what Adventures Abroad has to offer, please check out our Small Group Tours to Southeast Asia.
This is my second post from the Laotian World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang on the Adventures Abroad tour of Laos. In the first post, we visited four of the most important Buddhist temple complexes in the city. In this post we are going to become more than just gawking tourists and become active participants in an alms giving ceremony that dates back more than five hundred years. Afterwards, we'll go to the market to see what's on display. Should be an interesting morning. Finally, we'll visit one of Luang Prabang's natural attractions, Kuang Si Falls.
