Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia,  Southeast Asia

By. Tyara P Hansel

The City
As a capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta sure has a lot of interesting to offer. Whether you’re an
adventurous traveler, party traveler or just looking for a new destination or your next family holiday, you will always find anything you want in the city. Jakarta is divided into five areas; Central Jakarta, West Jakarta, South Jakarta, East Jakarta and North Jakarta. Each area has its own uniqueness. Central Jakarta is popular for its business district, but it has also abundant of historical sites and museums. South Jakarta is possibly the hippest area of the city with numerous shopping centers (Pondok Indah Mall, Plaza Senayan, Senayan City, Lippo Mall Kemang and Lippo Mall Kemang –just to name a few), restaurants, bars and interesting hang out spots.

If you love some outdoor or aquatic activities, North Jakarta is the best place. From Ancol, you can take a boat ride to some beautiful islands of the city. Yes, you read that right. Jakarta has several islands that worth the visit, it’s called Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Island), with many islands to discover including Tiger Island, Pramuka Island, Pari Island, and Tidung Island. If you’re looking for a nice object to shoot, spend a day at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah –a miniature of the archipelago- in East Jakarta, or if you want to shop for more, take a cab to two humongous malls in West Jakarta: Mall Taman Anggrek and Central Park, I’m pretty sure you won’t leave the mall empty handed.

The Food
If food is your main concern, then you can relax. The city has a wide range of food available for every pocket –from modest street hawkers to an exclusive fine dining restaurant, so you’ll be good. If you don’t have sensitive stomach, you can try some of the low budget streetside food stalls, as they offer local dishes in a very affordable price. Soto Betawi (coconut milk soup with gravy, mixed beef, lungs, liver, tripe and celery, usually served with rice and emping crackers), Kerak Telor (traditional spicy omelette dish made from glutinous rice cooked with egg and served with fried shredded coconut, fried shallots and dried shrimp topping), Nasi Gila (sausage, chicken, meatballs and lamb ladled liberally
over white rice and garnised with a handful of crackers) and Gado Gado (traditional salad consist of vegetables, tofu, potatoes and peanut sauce dressing) are a must-try. Or else, you can just point at any international restaurant in the city –from Chinese, German, Korean, Thai, American, French, Middle Eastern, Indian to Japanese food, Jakarta got it cover. One thing though, never drink the tap water anywhere.

The People
People are mixed, some are nice and friendly, and

Cairo, Egypt

Cairo, القاهرة" - Al Qahira” Egypt

By Reham Rassmy

Cairo is the capital of Egypt, and one of the most beautiful cities in the Middle East which is famous for its unique history.

"Jewel of the East", as it is sometimes called, had been established by the Fatimid Commander “Jawhar the Sicilian” on year 969 AD.
When you visit Cairo, especially the Islamic places such as Khan El-Khalili, Al-Hussien, Al-Azhar, you feel like you are living in the old centuries and by the way, our famous late author (Nobel Prize Winner in Literature) Mr. Naguib Mahfouz, used to write his novels while enjoying his stay at Al-Fishawy coffee in Khan El Khalili.
Cairo and Giza are Known as Great Cairo, so when you are in Cairo you can visit the Egyptian Museum (known also as Cairo Museum), Old Islamic & Coptic Cairo, Khan-Khalili, a Nile Cruise at the sunset time, Pharaonic  Village, Azhar park, Whirling Dervishes shows in Saqiet El-Sawy, Cairo Opera House, many great Malls such as Citystars mall in Heliopolis, Tahrir Square off course where the Egyptian Revolution against the former president has occurred in 2011, Media production city in 6th of October, and much more..... are some of the places that are worth a visit when you are in Cairo, to name a few

In Giza you can visit: Great Pyramids, Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur if you have time , Don’t miss going there, it is worth visiting by all means.

A lot of Egyptians enjoy their weekends and vacations in the open air, they love having small boats at the Nile (felouka), enjoying traditional culture in Saqiet El Sawy, and many of them like going to malls where the most and various brands are exists.

Cairo has an extensive road network, rail system, subway system and maritime services.
Road transport is facilitated by personal vehicles, taxi cabs, privately owned public buses and Cairo microbuses. Cairo, specifically Ramses Square, is the centre of almost the entire Egyptian transportation network.
The best time to enjoy Cairo in a good weather is during October to April, so If you are travelling in Summer so Loose and light cotton clothing is absolutely essential. For women it is strongly advisable to dress conservative specially when visiting churches and mosques women should not wear shorts, mini-skirts or tank tops.
Bring shirts that cover your shoulders or T-shirts are fine, cover your legs with long, cotton skirts or jeans. If you follow this formula, it indicates a respect for the culture.

When you are hungry, you have various of traditional and tasty Egyptian fast food that is being served everywhere you go, such as Koshary (rice, lentils, caramelized onions, garlic and chickpeas, pasta and tomato sauce), fava beans (ful medames) and falafel, these are the most famous traditional food that you will find wherever you go. In addition to global restaurant companies, which offer their services everywhere.

Egyptian people are very friendly, helpful, and have a great sense of humor. Most of those people have graduated from universities and many of them speak good English and can communicate with you well if you need some help.
 If you want to visit a country that mixes traditions and modernity, I recommend for you my beloved Egypt, I am sure that this visit will remain in you mind for a very long time.
At the end, we have a famous saying that whoever drinks from the Nile he must get back again.

Almada, Portugal

Almada

Almada is a Portuguese city with around 175 000 inhabitants, being one of the most populated cities of Portugal. It has a big shore at west for the Atlantic Ocean and at North for the Tagus River, so it provides the city with a great potential for sun and sea tourism as well as country tourism. Almada rose as a city due to the industrialization from 19th century until the 70’s of the 20th century, its location near to the river allowed naval industries to supply jobs to families and give them good life conditions, although the city was very rural and behind the trends presented by the modern cities in Europe.

When Portugal adhered to the CEE, with the subsequent investment, the city of Almada also started to develop by developing the academic facilities like the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Monte da Caparica and the Superior Institute of Egas Moniz where the academic spirit is well represented by young and dynamic people that give energy to the city with good programs to integrate all the population and the traditional academic events, like traditional festivals every week. One of the biggest struggles in Almada in the social inequality presented in the city that causes some assimetries, in terms of income and also safety, insecure areas are mainly in the perifery of the city.

The beaches of Costa da Caparica are the biggest touristic attraction of Almada, sun and beach in the summer with temperatures over 35ºC and with sports like surf, kitesurf, windsurf and bodyboard and good restaurants with fresh fish and acessible prices, and pubs and discos where anyone can have a good time and with acessible prices too, in average 10 to 20 €. If you prefer other types of tourism, there’s always the monument of Cristo Rei, where you can visit the top of it and you’ll have a great view of Tagus River and the entire city of Lisbon. If you want cultural activities, Almada provides the tourists with a great offer, with two big libraries, the City Forum Romeu Correia and the Jose Saramago City Library, both equipped with Audiovisual rooms, lobby, bar, newspaper rooms and a room which purpose is to held conferences, seminars, meeting or even areas to children. Almada has some recognized names at cultural level, like the former footballer Luis Figo, or the music bands like Xutos e Pontapés and Da Weasel or even Sara Tavares and Melech Mechaya

Almada is full of parks and nature, the environment has been a huge bet on the local government, so we can say that Almada is a green city. The kind of transportation used in Almada is mainly subway or bus. People often use the train, but to cross the bridge to go to Lisbon, which is the capital and where the majority of people get a job opportunity. Almada has a big problem with unemployment due to this proximity to the capital, so only small businesses are available in this city and one of the biggest shopping centers in Europe, the Almada Forum, where tourist can do some shopping and consuming fast food if they desire, but it would be a waste, since due to the proximity to the river and ocean, Almada has tradition in good local resturants. The inhabitants of Almada are very friendly and will welcome tourists in a good way.