"Been There" Virtual Travel Quiz? Round #77
See Round #20 for info about and rules for the contest.
Round #63 won by BKMD
Submitted by Smiling Sam. A woman of one of the Karen tribes which reside in both Myanmar and Thailand. Picture was taken in Chiang May, Thailand on the Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand tour.
Round #64 won by AlanS
Submitted by Portolan. Katzenzungen Castle, home of the 350+ year old vine of Versoaln. Versoaln isn’t just Italy’s oldest vine, it is one of the oldest in the world – and the largest in Europe. Located in Tisens, South Tyrol, it is 350 years old, and its branches form a 300-square-meter pergola. It produces a white wine that goes by the same name as the vine, Versoaln.
Round #65 won by BKMD
Submitted by MCD. The Boboli Gardens of Pitti Palace - Florence Italy. The Abundance, 1608 - 1637, by Sebastiano Salvini - Giambologna - Pietro Tacca. White marble with wheat bouquet of bronze.
Round #66 won by AlanS
Submitted by BKMD. A photo taken during the Israel & Jordan tour a short distance from the Movenpick Resort in Jordan of the window of a small shop. The window display featured a female mannequin wearing a “Burkini,” a full body swimsuit which covers all but face, hands, and feet, and is designed to be worn by Islamic women.
Round #67 won by JohnS
Submitted by Sealord. Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
Round #68 won by BKMD
Submitted by JohnS. A high drop, “Squatty Potty” at Bhadrapur Airport (BDP) in Bhadrapur, Mechi, Nepal.
Round #69 won by Johns (and BKMD)
Submitted by Kathy M. Folding parking preventer. Zagreb, Croatia. This style is also known as a Wide Arm Fold Down Bollard.
Round #70 won by Smiling Sam
Submitted by BKMD. Isla del Sol, village of Yumani, Bolivia, the Inca Stairs. 12,552'- the stairs add 200 meters in elevation, at the top.
Round #71 won by connorlaker
Submitted by sidecar. It is Toledo, Spain. It is known for being the City of Three Cultures: Christian, Muslin, & Jewish. Also, the sister city of Toledo, Ohio (A few miles from where we live. "Holy Toledo"
Admin. Toledo has an incredible history of conquest. In your free time (is there anything else now? ) read the “short” Wikipedia history of this incredible city
Round #72 won by SueMS (w/a pre-opening PM from Sealord)
Submitted by DavidB from the UK. It is a red Jammer in Glacier National Park. The photo was before our run along the 'Going to the Sun Road’ to Lake Mcdonald lodge. The Red Buses of Glacier were made by the White Motor Company and are Model 706. That is a Dept. of Interior logo in the lower left of the license plate with buffalo in its center.
Round #73 won by Portolan
Submitted by connorlaker. Crawford Market, Mumbai, India. Relief scenes above the entrance arches are all are about gathering food. Photo was taken on Portrait of India trip.
Round #74 won by Kathy M
Submitted by BSP51. She is getting ready to “spin the bull” in Milan’s Vittorio Emanuele Galleria. The bull was shown with big genitals and thought to bring good luck. Men spun around three times with a heel and women touched them to improve fertility. Unfortunately, heels damaged that part of the bull and left a hole. However, the bull still attracts curious and superstitious people.
Round #75 won by JohnS
Submitted by Smiling Sam. The Pöstlingberg, a 1,768 ft high hill on the left bank of the Danube in the city of Linz, Austria. It is a popular tourist destination, with a viewing platform over the city, and is the site of the Pöstlingberg pilgrimage church, and the Linz Grottenbahn. It is reached from the city centre by a tramway. Photos taken on the Berlin, Danube, and Krakow river cruise tour.
Round #76 won by SueMS
Submitted by Sealord. It is one of two 3500 years old Egyptian Sphinxes portraying Amenhotep III wearing the dual crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. They were originally from a temple in Thebes but are now located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. They arrived in 1830. By the time the initial purchase proposal made it from the Embassy in Cairo to Nicholas I of Russia and then to the Russian Academy of Arts, both had been sold to a French buyer. As a result of the French Revolution, Saint Petersburg got the sphinxes after all. They can be seen today on the waterfront in front of the Imperial Academy of Arts.
Round #77 is officially open. Submit your photo in a reply [Leave a Comment] to this announcement.
Comments
Nobody seems to be posting on this one so I will post another. I am getting close to running out of things to post.
Where are these Tauck travelers and what are they doing?
Digging a latrine? And standing in line to use it.
Sure looks like the man is using a small wipe on his arm- mosquito repellent? The guy on the right is holding a small box of them? Uluru?
Why would they have to stand in line to get a mosquito wipe? Wouldn’t they simply pass them around? Why does the van have its windows covered? Perhaps they are inline to get a shot, which is done in the van. He then comes out of the van and is holding a bandage over the shot. The vans windows are covered for privacy. The people go into the van one at a time.
Can’t make out the license plate on the second car to get a location.
I've heard that, sometimes, Tanzania will not let you across the border unless you have proof of immunity to yellow fever. And, unless you have a waiver from you doctor, they will give you a shot right there (at a hefty price}.
Could this be the case here?
Looks like Debra Grant (our 2x tour director for this and K&T) and women waiting to use the Tauck rolling latrine (women only) as used on the Nepal and Northern India tour. Men were expected to use the bushes. Fourth vehicle in my picture enroute to Bandhavgarh National Park, India.
Scott
Sounds plausible. Why is the man standing in line? I didn't know such a thing existed. JohnS?
Portolan is the winner of this round. I knew someone who has been on this trip would figure it out. This was on the Northern India and Nepal trip.
The road infrastructure in India is spotty at best and does not lend itself to travel on the typical Tauck bus. The trip to Bandhavgarh National Park was 5+ hours and there are no facilities en route. Holding it for 5+ hours was not really an option for most of us in this age group. We were transported in a caravan on these Toyota mini vans. Tauck employed a traveling latrine. Men were strongly advised not to use the latrine and only let the women use it. Men were recommended to use the other facilities. Us machismo types followed the recommendation.
Well, the man isn't in line for the latrine. Looks like he might have gotten something from Debra (sanitizing wipe?, insect wipe? {though we didn't have insect problems in February}, antiseptic {I slide down a gravel slope while headed to the men's latrine in the bushes and lost some skin off my hands}).
John may have the actual answer.
Scott
I'm pretty sure the guy in the line for the latrine was just being scolded for not following protocol.
Probably just getting a wipe since there were none in the men's room.
This post does NOT make me want to take this trip!
I thought I read the tour has changed since then. Does anyone know? That tour won’t be on for a while anyway, so maybe toilets will be built by then!
I heard they might do way with the latrine van . Depends!
Don't get overexcited about the use of the latrine van. The problem is that the trip from Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh National Park (which is quite remote) takes about 6 hours and is not suitable for a large bus (with a toilet). I'm assured by my wife that the latrine van was very nice. I should probably have labeled it the powder room van since latrine carries, for some, a bad vibe.
I think there is no prospect for toilets that you'd want to visit being available or built along this route.
My sliding down a slope (probably a descent of 4 feet and distance of 12 feet) was my own fault and mentioned as a bit of humor.
The trip as Portolan explains, is about a 6 hour drive on roads that change from paved with many potholes to dirt and gravel. You will go through villages that show some of the downside of India. You will see some of the poverty and poor living conditions. This is the only way to get to Bandhavgarh National Park. The Toyota vehicles used to transport the travelers are comfortable and new and air conditioned. The end result of Bandhavgarh National Park is worth the 6 hour trip. I am sure most others who have taken the trip agree.
I”d love to take this tour and difficult roads would not bother me. One of my favorite parts of the Spotlight on India tour was seeing all the life and villages from the bus. When the. Northern India and Nepal tour was first offered, there were quite a few Negatives about the long bumpy rides.
I’d rather be in jail than spend six hours in a mini-van.
Sealord - Your room awaits you.
Thanks.
At least it's in a more populated area - Venice.
I have been on this tour and found the traveling 'Powder Room' fairly nice. Before going on the trip I had read that there were no facilities along the way and was a bit leery that the ladies would also need to find a bush. They stopped a couple of times to allow all travelers to stretch our legs. The safari in Bandhavgarh was worth the drive.
I've wondered how they were able to build this grid. With the holes going in both directions on each line, it appears that they would need to bend the iron. This appears to be unlikely due to the mass. Any engineers who can give an answer?
Here's my conjecture. Thread horizontal bars through the two vertical bars on the right first, then thread the three vertical bars on the left through the mesh started in step one.
That gets one or two bars. It then turns direction again once you go up another level.
It must be great, since the tour spends 3 nights there. How far and how long a drive is it from the Mahua Kothi, A Taj Safari to the airport?
AlanS: it appears from both my personal trip calendar for departure from the lodge (7:30 AM) and the time stamp on my photo of arrival at the airport (11:00 AM) that it was 3 to 3-1/2 hours.
Sealord: many jails have far worse toilet facilities (and also, as noted by another, men could use the Tauck mobile powder room if necessary...just way more efficient to use the bushes if that satisfied the need). Really, I don't get the concerns voiced here. My wife and I were both in our very late 60's for this tour and the leg from Khajuraho to Bandhavgarh National Park was not that unpleasant. As noted above, the vans were very comfortable and we stopped at intervals (every couple of hours). And, also as noted by another poster, the park was worth it. But, if it's not people's cup of tea, they should take a different tour. It'll be their loss.
There are a couple of ways- the easiest is just slide it together (using two sub-assemblies):
There are other ways to do it using using split bars, etc. and old fashioned blacksmith "welding" techniques but that requires a lot more work.
It is a mental challenge until you think outside the bars.
Thanks. Once you explain it, it's fairly obvious.