Greencaviar Travel

Anyone following my blog may have noticed that I've posted many photos since the beginning of 2014.   Yes, I have taken an interest in photography.   And one of my aspirations for 2015 was to travel to Morocco and take pictures of the Sahara Desert on the edge of Erg Chebbi.     The wide set of golden, salmon and reddish sand dunes that reach up to 1150 feet is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular landscapes in Morocco, if not the world.   Most people go there to take a camel ride into the dunes and get a taste of nomadic life (a shortstop for tea with the Berbers).    Well, to make the pictorial more dramatic, I rode the camel into the dunes at sunset. When I posted some photos on Facebook about how much fun I was having at the Sahara Desert, someone responded with some negative comments and ragged about the climatic history of the Sahara that is challenging assumptions about the global climate tipping points.   Well, I did not go to Morocco to do some scientific res

Morocco Road Trip, Part 1: From Fez to Erfoud I must admit, I came to Morocco with one thing in mind: to photograph the golden sand dunes of the Sahara Desert at sunset, and I’m not even a photographer. To get to the Sahara I expected an arduous road trip, a few stops here and there, one night at a hotel, one journey and then another. However, the whole trip was totally a pleasant surprise. We stayed in Fez for a couple of nights and visited the oldest (8th century) Medina. Tired from exploring and walking through a maze of more than 800 very narrow streets of El Bali Medina the day before, I expected to sleep during the whole journey to Erfoud where our five-star campsite (hotel) was located near the Sahara Desert. Well, I did not sleep during the ten-hour journey because I was so enthralled by the scenery - a gradual collection of landscapes that meld together to create a real sense of Morocco. This segment of the journey gives the literal meaning to the saying, “It’s not t

The last time I visited London I was at summer school about 1 ½-hour drive or 60-minute train ride from London, so the chances to go exploring London town were few.  Back then, I spent my weekends in London mostly at the West End to watch some shows. Since I was in Europe, I felt it was time to take another visit. This time I thought I would do the tourist thing. I took the Eurostar from Paris to London early morning. As soon as I arrived at St. Pancras station, I hopped on the ‘Hop-on, Hop-off’ bus, got some tickets for a boat ride and a lift to the Shard.  Seeing so many new buildings juxtaposed to the old buildings (pictured below) was a surprise (and I'm keeping my opinion to myself). Although the elevator ride to the Shard was pricey, it was so cool and the view was fabulous, especially seeing St. Paul’s Cathedral from above and the snaking Thames River beyond. (Click HERE to watch the video on You Tube or click the thumbnail below). After the Shard, I went t

Paris: The City of Lights Anyone following my blog would know that I traveled for pretty much of 2014. I just returned from a visit to Morocco and found many interesting and exciting places to blog about, but it is hard to keep up with writing and blogging while traveling.  Although I mentioned in my blog  An Introspection: From Dead Sea to Shining Sea   that I would focus on slower travel, it has not happened yet.     In the meantime, I am in Paris for a little R & R, so I have not planned on   doing anything touristy or visiting the museums.   However, Paris seems to find me and give me a dosage of visual art.    As I was going for a walk one lazy afternoon, Paris tried to give me plenty of reasons to come back and for calling it my favorite city. Here’s a video that I put together from that simple stroll around the city (Thanks to iMovie).    Click Here to watch it on You Tube or click the thumbnail below. PHOTO GALLERY: NOTE:  All photos

I just returned from a visit to Morocco and I can say that Morocco is one of the most exciting and colorful places you could possibly want to visit.   I would like to paint a picture for you, but my words could not possibly do justice to this colorful country that has a lot of history and amazing culture.   So let me just describe the places I saw through photo essays. PART 1:   Kasbah Des Oudaias, Rabat As tourists, we were able to enter the Royal Palace ground and some of the historical places in Rabat, the administrative and capital of Morocco.  Seeing the ocher-colored gates and walled fortresses, one could easily see that Rabat is an old and colorful city, but nothing surprised me more as we entered the gate of Kasbah Des Oudaias.  Kasbah des Oudaias The Kasbah des Oudaias is a picturesque place with houses and streets that are in the shades of ocher, white and blue.     According to our guide, foreign-born artists took residences here and painted their houses i