New Hampshire A Quirky Little State with a Lot to Offer

June 30, 2008 at 6:19 am · Filed under foreign-travel.info

No one from outside the state knows quite what to make of New Hampshire; tucked up in the northeast region of the country between the more famously bucolic states of Vermont and Maine, it doesn’t really have an easily defined identity.

The state shows up once every four years on the national radar screen because of its first-in-the-nation presidential primary, though the Iowa caucuses have managed to steal a little of the Yankee state’s thunder in that regard. Everybody outside the state thought us native-born New Hampshirites were nuts when the Old Man in the Mountains, that wonderfully distinctive Great Stone Face in Franconia Notch, succumbed to centuries of erosion and the cold, and we mourned his passing as if he were a beloved family member - which he was, a sort of spiritual guardian watching over us protectively, now gone forever.

We show up on the news once in a while when some crackpot goes on a crime spree and then heads for Canada, generally right up the middle of the state on I93, and ends up getting caught somewhere around Colebrook. Other than those odd happenings, the state doesn’t really figure largely in the national consciousness.

Too bad. The little state has a lot to offer. An odd mixture of industrial and rural landscape, the mostly landlocked state boasts a ten-mile stretch of coastline featuring the carnival atmosphere, in the summer anyway, of Hampton Beach, and other more quiet beaches like Rye. Further inland, Manchester features a mixture of old brick factory buildings and more modern architecture, with spectacular mall shopping opportunities as well as more cultural offerings ranging from galleries to nightclubs and including the Verizon Wireless Arena, site of sports competition and other events, including bands on tour nationally. The city also boasts its own international airport, a sensible alternative to congested Logan in Boston. Nearby Nashua, the birthplace of the PC (personal computer), has Massachusetts-style residential and commercial sprawl, also with lots of places to shop, and an ever-growing housing market.

To the west, the Monadnock Region operates at a slower pace than the industrial center, but has its own thriving tourist trade, with plenty of bed-and-breakfasts, lakes for swimming and boating, covered bridges, and cultural events, from summer theatre to concerts on town commons. This area of New Hampshire has traditionally been a favorite for people with the means to “summer” in the region - the “summer people”, the vernacular calls them, or more recently, “flatlanders”.

Heading north, the traveler heads through Concord, the state capital, and within an hour comes to the Lakes region, with the largest lake, Winnepesaukee, a magnet for tourists. It and the surrounding smaller lakes, formed eons ago by glacial activity, offer a lively summer culture, with boating, fishing, swimming, and plenty of summer events. Further north still are the astonishing White Mountains, tall, jagged mountains reminiscent of the European Alps which stretch almost across the entire middle of the state from west to east. Popular in summer, they’re packed in the winter with skiers looking for challenging ski conditions. Some areas, like Waterville Valley, host ski events with Olympic caliber competitors; every so often, the state manages to produce an Olympic champion. From the mountains, past the presidential range and north of the town of Berlin, the land flattens out on its way to the Canadian border and Montreal.

And, of course, there’s Loudon, north of Concord, with its yearly motorcycle race, the oldest in the U.S.; for five days seemingly every highway and back road in the state teems with lines of motorheads, some on rice burners or Beamers, but mostly on Harleys, heading for the rally and then back home again, transforming the entire state into two kinds of people: the guys and gals on motorcycles and the rest of us who watch them ride by. The race takes place at what is now New Hampshire International Speedway, which in recent years has offered official NASCAR races throughout the racing season - a big story in itself.

Something for everyone, indeed. Maybe the reason New Hampshire doesn’t have a clear identity in the national psyche is that we have a lot of individual identities, distinct regions with their own flavor and a lively mix of people who manage to express their interests in an amazing variety of ways - all of which makes for an interesting visit to this little state.

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and Topics. She has published numerous articles in local and regional publications on a wide range of topics, including business, education, the arts, and local events. Her feature articles include an interview with independent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a feature on prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com

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Morocco Marriage of Old and New

June 29, 2008 at 8:45 am · Filed under foreign-travel.info

Anyone desiring an adventure in a foreign land should consider Morocco in northwest Africa. The marriage of old and new gives depth and interest to a visit.

The vista from the water appears as if from the Arabian Nights with sand dunes casting shadows in the moonlight as the ocean laps on the white beaches. Ancient towns drowse in the African sun as robed men and women travel by foot, by donkey, or by car. Europeans and Americans pass by in late model vehicles. Morocco’s combination of the most modern life with the most ancient of entities fascinates, interests, and excites me as I travel.

The sun causes the city to shine like a pearl nestled by the Atlantic. Casablanca (which means white house), the gateway to Morocco, meets the eyes first in this place of adventure and beauty. From the contemporary, busy harbor to the center of the city, swarm multicolored, diversely dressed people. A flock of bright-hued, short-skirted girls with long hair flying clack by in their chunky heels. Behind glides a somber group of burnoosed Fatima faces veiled and mysterious. A young Frenchman, in the latest style, saunters by a beggar in robe and dirt. A half-naked toddler, all dark eyes and watery sores, stares at another child dressed in clean clothes riding in a stroller.

In the midst of the metropolis, I visit moderately tall high-rise buildings and many of the latest stores. Then after a short walk or ride in any direction, I discover lovely old villas arrayed in yellows, reds, blues, greens — all flowers and plants. Tucked in here and pushed in there, dirty and cramped stores attract my attention. A little farther away stand shacks of straw, cardboard, mud, or tin, where misery, filth, and poverty of unbelievable depth live. The contrast between the rich being so rich and the poor being so poor shocks me.

When I leave the city, a modern ribbon of asphalt runs into fog-wrapped foothills. Along the roadside, a native man upon his donkey rides before the less-than-animal woman trudging behind. A dark-faced man with a smile-flash of white tries to take all the road with one small bicycle. A European whizzes by in a bug-like car; a limousine, chauffeur driven, majestically rolls past bearing a powerful sheik.

In towns or cities, such as Marrakech, easily accessed commercial areas provide for business needs. Behind low walls, villas or modest homes line wide boulevards. Along narrow winding streets that cars cannot maneuver, doors from windowless houses open directly onto the roadway. The dwellings abut each other, closely packed side by side. Children run chasing and kicking a ball, as veiled women return from market carrying the day’s needs in net bags or in bundles upon their heads.

Beyond the town boundaries, a donkey and a camel yoked together plow a field. The camel will not cooperate; the donkey has to turn him. In the field next door, an American-made tractor does the work in much less time.

Here and there small settlements break the skyline with most of the huts made of wood, mud, or tin; the out-buildings, of straw. Occasionally a more affluent home of stone, built around an open courtyard, appears. Little beauty such as flowers or trees brighten the outside of the drab humble “home.”

In Morocco exist the wealthy and the indigent; but even more evident are the modern and the ancient ways. The rich, the poor, the old, and the new bring a flavor of enchantment to a country of Arabian Night mystery.

Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught English, composition, and creative writing for twenty-five years, honing her skills as she studied and taught. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/, a site for Writers, and her portfolio is http://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel. Her books, Hidden Lies and Other Storied and Walking the Earth, can be found through Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.

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Get More for Less

June 28, 2008 at 2:13 am · Filed under foreign-travel.info

The last few trips we have organised have been quite an eye opener for us as we have avoided holiday packages and gone in search of somewhat more customised experiences.

All this came about as a result of travelling on a package tour to Nepal and India some five years ago. There was nothing wrong with the tour mind, except that it was expensive and the person we thought was our guide turned out to have little knowledge of either country and was there primarily to shepherd us and carry our passports for us.

On our package, travel arrangements were dealt with by local operators who clearly knew their business and had designed the itinerary, booked the accommodation and transport, recruited English speaking guides, (real ones) and done all the other work necessary. Our package seller in New Zealand had simply located the local operator and, presumably, worked with them to design the tour and add their mark-up. Oh and of course recruited (and paid for) a New Zealander to ride herd.

Now if, like us, you feel able to carry your own passport, the package tour adds little or no value and substantial cost. Worse yet is that you travel at the pace of the party and can neither dwell on the interesting parts nor skip the boring bits such as visits to carpet/jewellery/craft ‘factories’ that are thinly disguised sales pitches.

For some, the up side of package tours is that you will meet and get to know quite a few new people from your own country, some of whom you’ll love and others you can’t abide. Our experience is that being independent involves you, of necessity, with the locals and as an added bonus enables you to adjust your visits to places you want to see and at times when there are few or even no other people about.

We designed our trip to Africa to be completely independent with our own driver and guide as required. This enabled us to see ancient monuments such as Abu Simbel alone and found us camping in remote parts of Tanzania with just the locals for company. Much of the time there were no other native English speakers in the vicinity and so you find out that many of the locals have excellent English skills, good enough for us to communicate with them anyway.

If you’ve ever been in a tour party and seen a couple moving through with their own guide and wondered how they arranged it and if it was terribly expensive, now you know.

My career has been in computers and communications industry since I starting work in 1970. During this time I have worked for many large companies both in New Zealand and overseas. In recent times I have worked as a freelance consultant

I have lived in New Zealand for the past 30 years

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