Archive for the 'War Zone' Category
Like everywhere else in Vietnam , Da Nang has changed immensely since TotalAdventure’s first trip in 1993. 50 story buildings, many of them luxury hotels, dot the skyline in a city known as a large US Army base in a major combat zone, especially in the late 60s.
We climbed to the top of the Marble Mountains ,where we took in the view of China Beach , an R&R spot for the US Troops, and the South China Sea.
While the Marble Mountains were surrounded by US Troops, the caves within them were major operating bases for the Viet Cong. This large cave was a hospital for the wounded. The Americans could not penetrate. Instead, they bombed the mountain from above, finally opening these holes after months of round the clock raids. By that time it had been vacated. The cave is now a Holy Shrine.
Da Nang restaurants have excellent seafood. This is apparently stonefish, which if stepped on means immediate death or loss of a leg.
TotalAdventure Returned to Vietnam for the first time since 1993, The younger member of our team was not born till 8 years later. Needless to say, Vietnam has transformed from a poor, war-torn agrarian country to a leading Asian Tiger.
Our First Meal – Bahn Mi and 333 Beer !
We started out our first full day, Saturday,June 9, visiting the Reunification palace, where NVA tanks smashed thought the gates on April 30,1975, ending the American puppet South Vietnamese regime.
Elaborate meeting lounges paid for and built by American taxpayers.
The more phones, the more important the official.
Benevolent Uncle Ho Oversees All.
In The Cao Dai Temple.
Amazing Skyline Of Corporate Towers,
TotalAdventure Team Took Off From Miami on the evening of June 6th. We flew out over the dark Atlantic, across France in the early morning, onwards through Eastern Europe and the Black Sea across to Turkey and then over Iraq. Due to diplomatic problems, Qatar Airways cannot fly over Saudi or Bahraini airspace , adding about 45 minutes to the 14 hour flight.
Over War Zones,Former And Curent.
The Skyline By Night. In Ramadan,Doha comes alive at night.
June 7th was a day in the Holy Month of Ramadan. We did not eat or even have a glass of water while walking around in the the 42 C ( 108 F) heat. But after sundown it was time for Iftar – the Breaking of the Fast. We enjoyed delicious Lamb Kofta along with Iranian bread.
The Holy Quaran.
Sheikh Al-Thani .
On the morning of June 24 TotalAdventure flew from Bucharest to Belgrade,Serbia and then took a 6 hour van ride to Sarajevo,Bosnia. The alternative would have been a 2 day train journey. Rail lines in former Yugoslavia are still heavily damaged from Allied bombing during the 1990s wars and are only now starting to be rebuilt.
The Balkans in Bosnia are quite beautiful,belying the centuries of warfare that have been taking place there.
20 Years later and damage is still evident throughout Sarajevo, a four year siege of bullets and shells.
Air Serbia to Belgrade.
A Shrine In Western Serbia.
Along the river in Sarajevo.
Above Sarajevo.
Hundreds of thousands were killed over a four year period.
All the stones in this area of the graveyard have the same departure date. Graves are everywhere, including in city parks.
In Ramadan there is a sixth prayer call of the day – after Iftar – when the daily fast is broken.
Iftar Tea.
Iftar Approaches.
Iftar Meal – Lamb Sausage.
Mostar ( Bridge) in Mostar. It was blown in half during the war and rebuilt a few years ago. See the video to watch men dive from it.
Bombed Buildings In Mostar.
Shrine To Slobodan Milošević in a Republika Srpska bus station. Republika Srpska consists of t Serbian controlled areas of Bosnia. For now, a tense peace exists.
Destruction Everywhere.
Kosovo is Serbian !
A Peaceful Summer Day in Mostar. The temperature was about 38 C ( 101 F).
Our land based journeys now behind us, it was time to move on for the final phase of of our journey – Turkey. We arrived at sleepy TGD about an hour before the flight.
Unfortunately June 28th was to be another bloody ISIS attack – this time at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, one of the busiest in the world. TotalAdventure landed about 12:30 PM , passed passport and visa control and then transferred to the domestic terminal to board our 90 minute flight to Bodrum. The attack took place about 8 hours later – not in the part of the airport we transited, but killing 41 people. 
Flying over the Ukraine , then later Afghanistan on Singapore Airlines SQ 25 from Frankfurt to Singapore on March 13, 2014, on ArcticTropic’s voyage to Myanmar. Flying over war zones is usually routine when the fighting units on the ground either do not have access to high altitude missiles or have no need to use them in their local conflicts. Eastern Ukraine is in a busy air corridor from Northern and Central Europe to South Asia. Obviously that has now changed.
Kalemegdan Castle overlooks the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers – the most important trade and military corridor in the Balkans. It is also where the Military Museum is located.
Serbia has been at war for almost all of its’ 1000 years of history.
World War II was unimaginably brutal.
In May , 1999 a $ 2 Billion US Stealth Bomber was shot down during the Kosovo War – just outside Belgrade. The pilot forgot to put on the “invisible switch”.China ( their Embassy was bombed by the same plane) then bought the wreckage from local farmers and now have a Stealth Bomber of their own.The Serbians are extremely friendly to Americans considering the rather recent hostilities.
Entrance to the Main Castle.
Kalemegdan Castle from below.
Kurdistan – ” The Other Iraq” has been safe for years, other than sporadic ,targeted attacks. Even in Saddam’s times Kurdistan was safe after 1991, since the airspace was under Allied control. There are thrice weekly flights from Frankfurt to Erbil. Pleas let us know about any providers or destinations in Kurdistan or any other part of Iraq, as the ground situation appears to improve daily.
A drive into the Heart of Darkness. The Congo is one of the few areas of the world that is becoming LESS developed , as the jungle reclaims Colonial development – hence all the better for exploration. ArcticTropic is open to any suggestions for listings of exploration leadership enterprises.