Hanoi by Josh

Hanoi

The city of Hanoi is a hive of constant activity and vibrant culture, abuzz with the whizzing of commuters on their tuk-tuk and scooters. The city boasts a wide variety of restaurants and bars where you can experience the unique south-east Asian flavours and foods of Vietnam. With a population of over 7.5 million, the city is always energetic and unlike that of Sydney, with the streets a controlled chaos of everything from bicycles and scooters to tour busses.

The city also boasts many cites to visit, including those such as Hoan Kiem Lake, a centralised lake which houses the Ngoc Son temple in its centre. For an in depth immersion into the culture of Vietnam, a short trip the old-town provides an authentic experience into the hustle and bustle of the lives of those who live in Hanoi, as well as offering the opportunity to barter with the different market stalls.

For the history buffs there is also the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which provides a living part of history of the city of Vietnam and Vietnam itself. The large grey-stoned building proudly boasts it Soviet influence, whilst the contents, including the preserved body of Ho Chi Minh.

The city is definitely a must see, don't limit yourself to just the one city, as there are many other unique areas such as Hoi An which are a must see also.

To view my previous posts, follow the links below:

Angkor Wat: https://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/angkor-wat.html

Pnom Khulen National Park: https://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/phnom-kulen-national-park.html 

Halong Bay: https://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/halong-bay.html

Golden Temple by Akash

Golden Temple

The Golden temple also known as Sri Harmandir Sahib or Sri Darbar Sahib is the holiest Gurdwara of Sikhism, located in the city of Amritsar, India. It was founded by the fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das in 1577. The fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan later designed the Harmandir Sahib to be built in the centre of this holy tank, and installed the Adi Granth.

The Golden Temple

Harmandir Sahib

As it can be clearly seen from the picture above and the name itself a big portion of the temple is made of Gold and precious stones. The Golden temple is also the largest free kitchen in the world serving vegetarian food to about 100,000 – 300,000 people every day regardless of their race, colour or religion.

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In case you missed my previous post follow the link below:

https://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/taj-mahal-by-akash.html

Trolltunga, Norway by Tori

Trolltunga is one of those places that 100% needs to be visited at one point in your life.

Trolltunga is basically a large slab of rock that sticks out about 700m above lake Ringedalsvatnet and the surrounding canyon. The cliff also stands over 1, 100 meters above sea-level creating the most breath-taking views.

The large granite formation has been moulded and sculpted by nature over the past 10, 000 years and is only available to visit from about mid-June to mid-September.

The hike to the cliff is around 10-12 hours long and covers 23 kilometres but is still frequently visited by thousands of tourists even though there is little to no safety railings; there are a few small metal hooks have been placed into the rock to act as footholds.

Since my trip was during the cooler winter months, I wasn't able to make this journey but will certainly be apart of my travels in the near future.

- Tori

This brings us to the end of our glance into Norway! Also check out the other Norway posts at Introduction to Norway , Aurora borealis, and  Norwegian culture!

Be the first to see when Travel Buddiez posts an update on our twitter page

My details: Victoria Porreca (44920216)

Taj Mahal by Akash

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Agra, India. It is representation of love by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum and is the centre piece of a 42-acre complex which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a fortified wall.

The great Taj Mahal while passing through the entry gates

The Taj Mahal was originally commissioned in 1632 and was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The cost to build the beautiful mausoleum was 32 million rupees at that time which roughly translates to 52 billion rupees (over US $820) in present day. It is believed that every worker’s hands were cut after the construction of this master piece was completed, so that no one could ever build something so iconic.

The Taj Mahal going through restoration

When I visited Taj Mahal it was going through the process of restoration, which is kind of maintenance. Due to it being so iconic and old it goes through restoration process often. Visiting Taj Mahal was surely one of my greatest experiences as I was stunned by the beauty and the history behind it.

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In case you missed my previous post follow the link below:

https://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/mehrangarh-fort-by-akash.html

Iran part 4: Sports by Poorya

Iran

Part 4 : Sports

By Poorya Mahdavi

Sports in Iran like any other country is a huge topic that is followed intensively by all people, with activity's such as soccer, weightlifting, basketball, volleyball, futsal and many other sports. Tehran was the first city to host the Asain games in 1974 out of the whole of West Asia.

In the photo above, my cousins (centre and right) and I (left) are outside the Azadi stadium waiting for the gates to open for everyone to enter to watch the showdown of two of the most popular Iranian soccer teams going head to head in a grand final fixture, the two teams Persepolis (Red) played a team known as Esteghlal FC for the league final, however unfortunately the team we were supporting didnt come out on top and lost the game in the closing moments 1-0, the experience all in all was a great opportunity as I saw first hand how big the sport of soccer was in Iran as the stadium was completely sold out, which was incredible as the Azadi stadium is the worlds forth largest soccer stadium.

Apart from soccer, another sport that is considered very important to many Iranian's, is weight lifting, this is all thanks to a very important man known as Hossein Reza Zadeh, who is regarded as one of the greatest weight lifters of all time, he holds the world record for two types of weight lifting super heavyweight class, first being the clean and jerk and total where he lifted an incredible amount of 263.5 kg, a small youtube video regarding his time as a weight lifter can be found here.

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Incase you missed last weeks blog here is a link for it right here!

Part 1: Introduction

http://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/iran-by-poorya.html

Part 2: Architecture

http://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/iran-part-2-by-poorya-mahdavi.html

Part 3: Cuisine

https://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/iran-part-3-cuisine-by-poorya-mahdavi.html

Norwegian Culture by Tori

Welcome back! This week we'll chat about the Norwegian culture and day to day life. Do you want to read about the Aurora borealis first?; read last weeks blog using the links at the end of this post!

The Norwegians live a very care-free, stress-free lifestyle. From taking regular long-weekend vacations up to the ski fields for a family retreat to actual government schemes which stress personal and relaxation time, the Norwegian lifestyle is very comfortable.

They have a range of recreational activities that are usually done as a family unit like bike rides and soccer but many people there are very skilled at long and short distance skiing; not surprising considering the geography and their national sport.

One in particular that we were lucky enough to try out was dog sledding. Dog sledding is literally 5 dogs connected with harnesses and ropes, pulling along a wooden sled which held 2 people; the driver and the passenger. We followed closely behind our guide who led the dogs through the pitch black countryside for around 2 hours.

Dog sledding is a major part of these northern European countries and countries close to the Arctic circle and is still used by people who live in under these same extreme temperatures.

We also got to go out on a small boat a few days later hoping to see some Killer whales. They didn't come up to the surface for very long or very close but we did see glimpses of the whales.

After all this, I can easily say that Norway is such a beautiful and unique place and can't wait to visit again.

- Tori

Don't forget to read other Norway posts and stay updated:
Introduction to Norway 
Aurora borealis

Be the first to see when Travel Buddiez posts an update on our twitter page

My details: Victoria Porreca (44920216)