Pluckerz Corner

Travel: Madagascar

Have you watched the animation Madagascar and wondered where this place was or if it was even real? Well, it is a real country in the African continent. Suitable for those who want to get away from the busy and hectic city life and escape to a land filled with an assortment of flora and fauna. Eco-travelers this place is for you. 

 
Flag of Madagascar

About Madagascar

Madagascar is an island located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa. The country is a large island on its own and is divided into 6 provinces. Those 6 provinces are, Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, and Toliara.

Madagascar is the fourth most largest island country in the world. Its is famous for its vanilla, peppers, and lemurs (King Julian in the animation Madagascar 1 & 2). It has also a rich history line dating has far back has the 7th century. 

The country gained its independence from France on the 26th of June 1960. Madagascar is a place with many mixtures of cultures. People from various ethnic backgrounds can be found in Madagascar, from Africans, Indians, Arabs, and many other loads of ethnic groups can be found on this wonderful island. It truly is a melting pot.

 

Important Facts

Official Currency: Ariary (MGA)

Official Language: Malagasy & French

Other Spoken Language: English

Capital: Antananarivo

Traveling Around Madagascar

The most inexpensive and common way to travel around Madagascar is by road. You can select to rent a vehicle of your own and take it around. Mind you that the roads in Madagascar can be pretty bad, almost all being of very low grade. A good idea would be renting a 4WD vehicle. This would settle most of the problems but it does come at a higher cost. Take note as well that since road conditions are rather bad, most companies are only willing to rent you the car if you use their drivers.

Traveling by taxi can also be an alternative. There are two different types of taxis in Madagascar, Taxi-Brousse and Taxi-Be. Taxi-Brousse is basically how most local folks travel around the country, from one town to another. Taxi-Be on the other hand, runs around the capital Antananarivo. These taxis are slightly larger then a mini-van.

Local Delicacies

Romazava & Kitoza

Madagascar cuisine consist mostly of rice with some form of accompaniment. The accompaniments may vary from seafood, meat, and vegetables to even sugar or making rice into a drink. Rice is the main diet in Madagascar.

The most famous among accompaniments for rice are, voanjobory (peas flavored with pork), kitoza (seasoned dried strips of local cattle), trondro gasy (white fish cooked with zucchini and tomatoes), romazava (beef with mixed greens sauteed with ginger, tomatoes and onions) and many other various kinds of seafood, beef, chicken or greens.

For other dishes with rice, one should try the Koba (banana with rice and seafood), which is a popular snack. There is also the Toaka gasy, which is a drink made out of sugarcane and rice.

Top 10 Things To See & Do In Madagascar

• Andohahela National Reserve (Home of the baobab tree)
• Watching the whale migration around Baie D'antogil (Happens from June till September)
• Go scuba diving (You might discover a pirate shipwreck)
• Experience the Antadroy Culture (Visit the Antandroy village)
• Andringitra National Park (Discover the legend of 2 waterfalls yourself)
• Visit the Lost Palace and Royal Rova (Can be found in Antananarivo)
• The Tsimbazaza Zoological and Botanical Garden (Filled with glorious tropical gardens)
• The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga (A world heritage site)
• Ankara National Park (Explore caves and go lemur sighting)
• The Andringitra Mountains (Go hiking and explore the vast flora & fauna)

Madagascar is truly a magnificent country. I really do hope that some day I will be able to visit this magical land and just enjoy every bit of it. From the various flora and fauna, their local delicacies, and to their many different cultures, Madagascar is a melting pot of sorts.

Here is a website that I thought might come in handy to you guys who are planning to travel to this country. For those of you who have been there, please feel free to leave a comment. Thanks and enjoy. =)

http://www.madagascarhotels-direct.com

http://www.madagascar-travel.net

Travel: Stuttgart (Germany)

This post is dedicated to a friend of mine, Lisa Schickell, who I recently met online. She is from Stuttgart, Germany and after knowing her, I began to read quite abit about her wonderful city and country. So I decided to write a little post on this lovely place. =) I hope you guys enjoy it.

Germany Flag & Stuttgart Coat Of Arms

About Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemburg in southern Germany. It is the 6th largest city in Germany. Stuttgart is also different from most German cities due to the fact that it is spread out across many hills, valleys, and parks. This may come has a surprise to most visitors/tourist because Stuttgart has a reputation as an industrial power house and being the "Cradle of the automobile".

In total, Stuttgart has 23 city districts - 5 inner districts and 18 outer districts. Stuttgart is also a city filled with history. The first ever known settlement of Stuttgart would go back as far as the end of the 1st century AD (an establishment of a Roman fort). It was also a city that went through many wars (World War 1, World War 2 and the Cold War).

But through all their difficulties, Stuttgart still emerged from all of those hard times and turned itself into an industrial power house of today and for the future. On March 2008, the city unveiled a new logo and slogan, describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" (The new heart of Europe).

Important Facts

Official Currency: € Euro

Official Language: German

Other Spoken Languages: English, French, Russian and Spanish

Traveling Around Stuttgart

Transportation is not a problem at all in Stuttgart (since it is known as "Cradle of the automobile"). They have a large bus network, a light rail system (Stuttgart Stadbahn), a rack railway system (the only one in the whole of Germany), and taxis.

But the most efficient mode of transportation would be the light rail system and the bus.

The public transportation is provided by Statbahn (U-bahn) and S-bahn. It is best to use the U-bahn for short distance travel and the S-bahn for longer travels (and also to the suburbs). Tickets can mostly be used for any mixtures of buses and trains that may be required to complete a journey. There are also night buses (after midnight) but they are rather infrequent and go on odd routes. In total, there are 6 S-bahn lines and 12 Statbahn lines. Most lines will lead via Hauptbahnhof, ending in a centralized layout.

Stuttgart's Light Rail System

Local Delicacies

There are loads of local delicacies in Germany and honestly I don't think I would be able to cover all of them. So I have picked out the most famous ones.

We will start of with Käsespätzle. This dish is normal a main course but it can also be a side dish which is a type of Swabian dish. It is basically a traditionally self made noodle and topped of with melted cheese. It often comes with a side salad.

 Kasespatzle =)

Next we have the 'national dish', gaisburger marsch, which is a stew of diced beef, potatoes, fried onions, vegetables, and spätzle (noodles). There are also other local dishes such as the schwäbischer rostbraten (slices of roast beef served with fried onions, sauerkraut, maultaschen and spätzle), maultaschen (small pasta squares filled with meat, spinach, eggs, onion and parsley, served with potato salad) and Wein zwiebelkuchen (onion tart with sour cream and diced bacon).

Gaisburger Marsch & Wein Zwiebelkuchen

All and all, there are loads of local delicaceis in Stuttgart. But don't forget their wide selection of beers, wines and other alcoholic beverages. =D And trust me, there are loads of beers in Germany (Oktoberfest!!!).

Top 10 Things To See & Do In Stuttgart

• The Mercedes-Benz Museum (The name of the place says it all =D)
• Wilhelma Zoo & Botanical Garden (A great place for the family and young adults)
• Palace Square - Schlossplatz (A beautiful place filled with statuary and fountains)
• Television Tower - Fernsehtrum (A 712-ft tower where on a clear day you can see the Black forest and the vineyards of the Neckar Valley)
• The Wurttemberg State Museum (One of Stuttgart's oldest standing structures)
• Mineralbad Cannstatt (Visit this place for its mineral springs and enjoy a relaxing moment)
• The Stuttgart State Theater (A place for music lovers. Be entertained by ballet dancers, individual musicians, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, and many more)
• State Gallery - Staatsgalerie (A place for art lovers. Filled with collections dating as far back as the 14th century all the way through the 20th century)
• Carl-zeiss Planetarium (A wonderful place to see the stars =D)
• Christmas Market (This runs from the last Thursday of November right up till the 23rd of December. It has loads of things there and their decorations are simply amazing)

So, I do hope that someday I will be able to visit this lovely place in Germany. Of course there are loads more things to see and do there, but for now, I hope that this little piece of information will help you guys out.

Here are 2 good site that contain some information about Stuttgart. Please do feel free to comment and tell me more if you have been to this wonderful country. =)

http://www.essortment.com

http://www.stuttgarttravelguide365.com

Travel: Malta

I've been wanting to go to Malta for a while now. Many people would say it isn't worth it cause its so small a country and stuff but, I find it really unique and it has loads of things to offer wary travels from around the world. So here is a little bit about the small island in the Mediterranean.

 

Flag of Malta

About Malta

Malta is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea that lies south of the island of Sicily, Italy. The country is divided into 3 main islands that are inhabited (Malta, Gozo and Comino).

Although small in size, Malta has a long and rich history. Their history goes back from the Neolithic age all the way till the Second World War. They've been sieged by the Turks, conquered by the French and taken over by the British. But through it all, today, Malta has become a freight trans-shipment point, financial center, and tourist destination.

Malta gained their independence from the British in 1964 but still remained a commonwealth country. In May 2004, Malta become a member of the European Union.

Important Facts

Official Currency: € Euro

Official Language: Maltese & English

Other Spoken Language: Italian & French

Capital: Valletta

Traveling Around Malta

Their are many modes of transportation in this tiny island. You can choose from their public transportation's (buses, taxis, ferry, boats), renting a car or motorcycle, or if you prefer something a little more stylish, maybe even a seaplane or helicopter ride around the country.

But the most convenient mode of transportation would either be by bus or motorcycle.

For buses, even the longest rides won't cost you more then €1.30 and a standard bus ride would probably cost you around €0.47. Buses are very frequent and most run till about 22.00. During Fridays and Saturdays however, bus services can operate till around 3 in the morning. Do keep in mind that most buses leave out of Valletta, so if you want to head back into the capital, remember to ask your bus driver.

 

Malta Buses (No 2 will look alike)

Local Delicacies

Maltese celebratory meal is the Fentaka (which means Feast of Rabbit, marinated overnight with bay leaves and wine). The meal will began with a spaghetti in rabbit sauce, then followed by a rabbit meat stew (or fried).

 

Rabbit Spaghetti and Rabbit Stew

However, do bare in mind that most traditional Maltese dishes are rather humble in nature (most of the time fish and vegetable base)

As for their beverages, Malta has their own soft drink called Kinnie (non-alcoholic drink made with bitter oranges and slightly reminiscent of Martini). Their local beer is Cisk (4.2%) and has a sweet sort of taste. Malta also does produce their own wines. Though not as famous as wine from other countries (France, Australia, etc.) they are rather inexpensive (60-95ct a bottle) and are actually quite good in quality and taste. 

  Maltese Official Soft Drink and Beer

Top 10 Things To See & Do In Malta

• Ride a Maltese Dghajsa (A water taxi that will take you around the Grand Harbour)

• Visit one of their sandy beaches (Ghadira Bay, Golden Sands, Xlendi Bay & many more)

• Fort Rinella (Where the world's largest cannon sits)

• Hagar Qim Temples (Temples from the Neolithic ages)

• St John's Co-Cathedral (Once the conventual church of the Knights Of Malta)

• The Armoury (Where the original armour of the Knights of Malta are displayed)

• The Hypoguem (The worlds only known prehistoric underground temple)

• The Knights Spectacular (A 2-hour musical about the great siege of 1565)

• The Blue Lagoon (A lagoon with crisp, clear, turquoise waters)

• Ggantija Temples (The oldest standing structure in the world)

I hope that I will be able to visit this little gem of an island in the Mediterranean Sea. In the meantime I hope you guys find this information helpful.

For more information on Malta (including accommodation), I have sourced out 2 very useful sites that may help in planning your trip to this wonderful country.

• http://www.101malta.com

• http://www.holidays-malta.com

 

Travel: Places I Would LOVE To Go...

In this section of my travel log, I will be posting on various places in the world which I would love and hopefully see in person someday. But till then, I'll be reading up on those places and giving you the insights (as best as I can) on those beautiful (and maybe even weird) places. Hopefully the information that i can provide will be useful to you guys.

By the way, if any of you are going or planning to visit any of the mention places, or if you've been to them, feel free to comment and share your views with us...

So enough blabber from me and off we go to find out more about them...