What was your best memory in a foreign city and why was it so memorable?

KATHMANDU

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathmandu

I left my home city of Glasgow, Scotland last year to take part in a british government funded voluntary placement in the city of Kathmandu, Nepal. Living and growing up in a relatively quiet area of Glasgow did not prepare me for the noisy polluted city of Kathmandu. Stepping off the plane at Kathmandu Airport i remember seeing the mighty mountains of the himalayas peaking over the foothills surrounding Kathmandu. I got a real sense that i was about to enter into a different world and i that couldn't be further from the truth. Driving from the airport to my hotel in Thamel, the tourist district of the city is an experience i will never forget. The constant sound of cars beeping their horns while stuck in massive traffic jams, the plume of smoke from the exhausts rising up into the air mixed with the strong smell of incense burning in the hindu street temples. I remember streets lined with nepali people selling everything imaginable. The Nepali people wear very bright colours which just adds to the whole experience of Kathmandu. I remember looking up and seeing my first of many monkeys perched on a rooftop looking over the city. There were countless stray dogs mixed in with the monkeys, people,cars. Arriving at the hotel, my senses were in overload. I had never experienced anything like it. Walking to my hotel i came across countless street children huddled up sleeping on the dirty cold concrete pavement and other sadly inhaling glue and aerosol fumes. I also came across a disabled man with the worst deformed legs i had ever seen dragging himself along the pavement begging for money. This was the side of Kathmandu that made me extremely sad. I knew the city was the poorest in Asia, but nothing ever prepares you for when you actually see poverty with your own eyes.

Kathmandu also had a beautiful side. The many dirty rusting houses were mixed in with ancient majestic hindu and buddhist temples. Walking through Thamel, i remember again the smell of insense and spices with the sound of the nepali flute and singing bowl being offered to me from the countless street sellers.

The city for me was very spiritual and a place that will forever remain close to me. The things i saw during my visit to Kathmandu has changed the way i live and see the world, so much so that i have decided to pursue a career in helping combat poverty in Kathmandu and i hope to one day return and to start my own NGO to help the street children,homeless,disabled peoples and the people of Nepal to rise up and be part of the world.

Here are a few of my images from my time in Kathmandu

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21256871@N06/sets/721...

Last year I went to Bali, Indonesia with my aunt, uncle and dad and it was amazing. I saw so many types of people, religion, ethnics and shops. While we were out and about, I actually saw a shop called The Magician's Society or something like that and wished I could've went inside :P It looked so mysterious and intriguing. But the best thing from the trip was our timing to go there. Apparently, just one day before we were supposed to go home, the Balinese people had a celebration called Hari Nyepi. It's a day where everyone on the island would stay indoors and pray and there weren't to be any disruptions of any kind. It was so amazing, it's as if time stopped because we couldn't hear any vehicles passing by our hotel or anyone speaking loudly and anything else that gave an indication of people being there. It was like a good type of isolation, I guess. And on the eve of the celebration, the Balinese people would hold a parade through a selected amount of streets and we were lucky that our hotel were very near one of it. It was held at night and from afar down the street, we could see torches blazing, held by children and adults and behind them, a group of people would hold up these paper statues resembling demons. There were so many sizes, types and colors. Some were so big that they even had to lift up the wires of the electric poles thing :P This parade would then end at a certain point where all of the statues would come together and they'd burn them, signifying the end of the bad. Everything seemed so spiritual and it was enjoyed by all, the tourists and also the natives. It made me think that although with so many traditions and beliefs, we are actually all the same :)

Bosnia!!

Such an AMAZING and beautiful country. In particular, Mostar and surrounds.

Mostar still has so many memories of the wars in the 90's, such as bullet holes in buildings, and some that haven't been rebuilt yet. But the place is so full of character, and so beautiful. There is such a great vibe to the place, and everyone is so friendly!

I stayed at a backpackers that was more like your best friends house, which was run by a lovely lady called Majda. She made everyone feel like they were at home, and had another lady (perhaps family member?) cook breakfast everyday for us.

The best part though, was the tour that her brother, Bata organises. He i the craziest & most friendly tour host i've ever met!! He took us to the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen. We swam under them, through them, climbed behind them and in caves, jumped off rocks, sat in natural jacuzzis and SO much more. He then took us to a few other places, including an old village that looks like it came straight from a fairytale. Seriously breathtaking. I cannot begin to explain it!

I sound a little like a salesperson I know, but it was THAT good. I cannot wait to go back again next year.... With a bigger memory card, and loads more time!

(If only I could attach pictures to this post......!)

So the three of us packed and loaded up our three sports motorbikes and set off for Dover to catch the night ferry to Calais. At Dover it was raining and we were glad to get on board in the dry for a couple of hours. At Calais we left the ferry in brilliant sunshine for a fortnight's travel and camping to the South of France. My boyfriend and I and his mate made our way down to our first camp site. It was a bit tiring having to pitch the tents after riding for so many hours, especially in wet leathers. Oh well, we dried out and had a good nights sleep. We made our way down to The South Coast and the warm Med. Sea. This we took at a steady ride for about a week, camping at various sites on the way down, then we turned back for the following week. Again it was pouring with rain and we took a wrong turning off the main motorway and ended up in Paris. What a nightmare. Rain lashing down, riding on a cobbled road and not knowing where we were going. I'm sure most of the motorist didn't know where they were going either! Anyway, we stopped for a coffee and was offered a free meal which was wonderful. I didn't even see the Eiffel Tower nor the River Seinne. All I can remember of Paris was a bad smell and due to the fact that the cameras were well packed away in the dry, there are no photos of Paris. Not the best memory of a foreign city but certainly a remembered one.

Not sure if it's the best memory, but it's one of the ones that has stuck in my mind ever since I became aware of it.

On my first trip to the USA I spent just under a week in New York. An incredible city, and I'd love to go back there, but the one thing that stands out was something I read on a display in the Museum of the Natural American, in Manhattan.

I was shocked to discover that some 20 million Native Americans were slaughtered by the European invaders as they claimed almost all of the land as their own.

It makes Hitler's Holocaust look like petty crime.

I can see why no-one in the USA shouts about this statistic, but it was their ancestors, not them, so I don't hold it against them.

We were in Rome doing the usual touristy things and having a great time when my son noticed a poster for a free open air reunion concert outside the Colliseum by none other than Simon & Gurfunkel with the Everly Brothers thrown in for good measure.That warm moonlit evening we made our way to the concert and under the biggest full moon I've ever seen we were treated to all the old favourites and they had lost none of their magic.The holiday had already been great but that evening was magical,the full moon the,the music,the wonderful atmosphere.Doesn't get any better.

In the 70's, along with a few mates, I went on a fishing holiday to Athlone in the Midlands of Ireland.

The scenery was amazing, the digs were unbeatable, the fishing wonderful, the food was plentiful and tasty, the Guinness irresistible, the pipe tobacco was cheap, but the most exhilarating thing about Athlone was its people.

I've never felt so welcome in any other place I have visited.

Over the years I have tried to save up enough for a return visit, but now I've been made redundant through no fault of my own at 62 - I fear this will never take place.

But nothing can steal my memories.

I have been lucky to travel quite often to some beautiful destinations but the city that sticks in my mind has to be Bangkok.

The city never sleeps and there is someone in every inch of the space doing something! It is so exciting! You can see the river, people on the roadside selling fruit, bags, drinks and all sorts of food delicacies. The cars and tuk tuks are just here there and everywhere as it is so busy 24/7. Even at 2 in the morning the city was very busy. My son felt safe going to the 7/11 for an ice-cream at 3 in the morning! he did get some funny looks from the shop keeper - ice-cream at 3 in the morning!

Bangkok has it all. beautiful temples, amazing places to eat and shop, the river to cruise on and markets selling amazing things. surrounding Bangkok you have the rest of Thailand to explore which is another adventure in itself.

The Thai people are the warmest friendliest people I have ever met and seem so proud of their King, Queen and country. There are sky scrapers lining the skyline as well as temples that are lit up against the night sky.

We took a sunset cruise on the river and it was stunning. We ate gorgeous food and watched the city of Bangkok's slowly slide by. Temples were beautiful.

I quickly fell in love with the charm of Thailand and Bangkok has a special place in my heart.

St Petersburg was pretty amazing. You could spend years in the Hermitage museums without seeing everything; the churches and cathedrals had some amazing decorations and the Church on Spilled blood had some fabulous mosaics. The river and bridges were beautiful, especially lit up at night, and give a great view of different areas of the city. Their underground was great too, brass light fittings everywhere, marble floors, almost no sign of litter.

Some of the concrete Soviet tower blocks were pretty awful, but were gradually being replaced or refurbished.

When I went to Phuket in Thailand to have a relaxing lazy beach holiday as I'd heard of the lovely white sandy beaches and bright blue waters, but I hired a mororcycle and toured all over Phuket visiting the temples and meeting the local people, the view from the big Bhudda near Karon Beach is incredible and I intend going back this year to visit the islands and maybe see some of them beaches this time lol

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