Adventure Travel

Image by Quiplash! via FlickrYet, despite dire official pronouncements and travel sanctions, a brave few are venturing where no man has gone before. Why not romp through the poppy fields of Afghanistan? Play golf on dirt-and-oil "browns", fly kites, check what's left of the Bamiyan Buddhas, and dodge rocket-propelled grenades.

Wild Frontiers (www.wildfrontiers.co.uk) is one outfit that can get you there to "follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo" and Alexander the Great, if not Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. ( a good friend of MR.Laden, probaly knows where biny is, G ) Don't fret about car bombs. Travel is by donkey.

Iraq Tours (www.iraqtours.net) offers a picture of a fighter jet taking off on its home page with the caption, "Enjoy a wide variety of sightseeing tours in Iraq." Among the places you might wish to visit is the fortified Green Zone, also referred to as Little Venice on account of the numerous waterways criss-crossing the area between the palatial homes once occupied by Saddam's family. As in Venice you might get that sinking feeling but this is perhaps the safest spot in the country. One of the largest and biggest spending international tour groups – the US Army – is based here. And boy they're having fun.

Iraq Kurdistan Tourism (www.tourismkurdistan.com) is seeking capital, ideas and travellers to leverage its mountain views, rivers, idyllic sheep farms, and relative peace from Kirkuk and Erbil to Mosul. Taking a leaf from the US, the Turkish Army was among the first to respond. It conducted long hikes, took pictures and let off fireworks. The overjoyed local population threw up its hands in welcome and ran, in the opposite direction.

If all this does not slake your curiosity, what about Palestine (www.visit-palestine.com)? The tourism department is promoting trips to places like Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, Nablus, the Dead Sea and Gaza. Roll about in Dead Sea mud without paying a penny, or visit historic Gaza for a crash weight-loss programme involving a scientifically calibrated zero-calorie diet – courtesy Israel – and lots of walks. Everyone walks. There's no petrol. This is how the other half live their healthy, well exercised lives. It's time people around the world had a chance to enjoy all this. Perhaps one day I'll get you to Mars. – www.SmartTravelAsia.com

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/6/15/lifetravel/21426110&sec=lifetravel

http://snipurl.com/2iorv

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All bad ideas, but if you insist on travel adventure on the cheap, Join the US Army.

Bill


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