What the Heck is Hairtail? A Food Decoder for 2012 Silk Route Riders

For our first few weeks in China a lot of our meals will be in local restaurants and hotels.  When we eat as a group in China we will order for the entire group.  However when you are out cycling and want to stop at a restaurant you will need to order on your own.  

In larger towns and cities restaurants may have english menus or pictures of the food on the wall that you can point too. You can also walk around the restaurant and point at what other people are eating, a slightly embarrassing but effective method of ordering. In many of the small villages we cycle though you will have to make due with hand signals and making animal noises to place your order.

Smartphone owners can always use one of the travel apps we recommended in a previous post but others might find this food decoder handy. 

Our local guide, Zabi (pictured above in the green jacket), provided us with this food decoder to help make the ordering process a bit easier.  Print it out and carry it with you on tour, I think you'll find it comes in pretty handy.  

I've reached out to Zabi to find out what 'agaric' and 'hairtail' are, if you know please tell us in the comments. 

Paul 

The Best Smartphone Apps work offline. Here are 4 You Probably Haven't Heard Of and One You Probably Don't Use Enough

Image via Wikipedia

Travel can be intimidating.  You don’t speak the language, you don’t know local customs and you have no idea how much things should cost.  Figuring that stuff out is certainly part of the fun but wouldn’t it be nice if it was just a little easier?  

Google Translate, maps, Wikipedia and other apps are great resources but try using them when roaming and your cell phone bill could rival the GDP of developing country.  And if you traveling in out of the way places you might not have a data connection at all.  

On a recent trip to China I tested several phone apps that work without a data connection to see how helpful they would be.  I was in China for 3 weeks scouting a new route for our Silk Route Bike Tour.  I travelled from Shanghai to Lanzhou though urban and rural areas alike. All 5 of these apps served me well.  

When You Don't Speak the Language

Jibbiggo : Free app, $4.99 for each language pack  in the Android Market, also available for iPhone
Jibbigo is a lot like Google Translate except that it works offline.  The app itself is free but you have to pay for each language pack you download.   The app uses about 14 MB of space on your phone.  The Mandarin language pack I bought used 1.6 MB.  This is the one downside to offline apps, you need to have adequate storage space on your phone.  
Best Use
Your not going to use this app to have any in depth conversations but if you need to ask for a toilet in a hurry or order at a local restaurant it will do the trick.  Over time you’ll even begin to pick up words so you can rely on the app less and less.  It even has a history function so you don’t have to type in phrases you’ve used before.  
One word of caution is to choose the words you want translated carefully.  For example when I was looking for a bathroom I typed ‘washroom’ in to the app which translated to ‘shower room’ in Mandarin.  When I entered the word ‘toilet’ however I got the right translation

When You Need to Navigate

NavDroyd  $6.93 in the Android Market
NavDroyd uses Open Street Maps (OSM) to help you get around a city or country.  Like Jibbigo you first install the app and then download the maps for the countries you are interested in.   It used about 9 MB for the app itself and 56 MB for my maps of China.    
Best Use:
The most useful feature for me was the ability to attach a ‘pin’ to my location.  This allowed me to pin my hotel on the map then wander aimlessly through cites like Shanghai, Nanjing, Xian etc… without having to worry about how long it would take me to find my way home.   I’d also use it to ‘pin’ items I wanted to return to later like a restaurant that looked good or market stall where I wanted to pick something up on the way back to the hotel.   The level of detail was good enough that helped us to find a route around Lake Tai, something our paper chinese maps could not do.  

When You Need To Change Money

XE Currency Exchange  Free in the Android Market
Perhaps not useful for everyone but on our tours we cross a lot of borders at some pretty obscure border crossings.  This often means dealing with some black market currency traders and it pays to know the official exchange rate.  XE Currency allows you to update the rates when you have a wifi connection and then stores them offline for you.  

Guidebooks and Info

Kindle   Free in the Android Market and on Itunes
There are countless travel apps on the market and I’ve found many of them useful.  But rather than clutter my phone with dozens of individual travel apps I’ve begun using the Kindle App.  When Combined with a web service like Readability it really becomes a powerful travel tool.  

Best Use
An easy use of the app is to download any guidebooks on the places you will be visiting and store them on your phone.  Read them on the plane and use the Kindle’s notes and highlights feature to save the relevant bit for later reference.  There are not a lot of guidebooks for Kindle yet but there are a few.  
Used with the we service Readability  the kindle app really becomes powerful.  It allows you to send almost any web page to your kindle in a reader friendly format.   You’ll need the paid version of Readability ($5 a month) but it is well worth it.  You can then search the web for all the relevant bits of information you’d like to have on your trip and with a few clicks of the mouse send them to your phone to be referenced later.   Brilliant. 

Taking and Storing Photos

Light Box  Free in the Android Market
Light box is currently my favorite photo app.  It works as well as the stock camera app and it has several filters that allow you to alter your photo immediately after taking it.  
Best Use
My favorite feature is the ability to caption and geo-locate each picture immediately after taking it.  After a photo is taken a text box appears, type a quick description and save the photo.  Later, when you have a wifi connection you can upload the photo to Twitter or Facebook using the previously typed caption as the text for the post.  My only gripe is that when I download the photos to my laptop the text does not become the file name, that would be a nice feature.  

So there are five of my favorites, tested and approved!  I realize they are mostly for  Android phones but that’s what I use and I hate to recommend something I haven’t tried myself.  What are your favorites?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments.  

Paul

Paul McManus designs and guides long distance bike tours for Tour d’Afrique Ltd.  His next trip will be the Silk Tour Bike Tour from Shanghai to Istanbul starting in May 2012.  Find out more at www.tourdafrique.com.  

Related articles

• Google Translation Updated with Version 2.3 in Android (techcular.com)
• 8 tips for learning Mandarin Chinese (matadornetwork.com)
• Lonely Planet teams with Jibbigo for offline translator apps for travelers (gizmag.com)

A 20 Room Hospital for 250,000 People

Arrow Web Hospital Helps 76,000 People a Year

The Arrow Web Team

Arrow Web Hospital has been a partner of the Tour d'Afrique Foundation since 2009. Founded in 2005 by four friends with money out of their own pockets the two room clinic has grown to a 20 room hospital in just 5 short years. Today their are still the only affordable health care provider in Africa's second largest slum.

A bit of History
In 2005 when Arrow Web first opened its small two room clinic they were the only provider of affordable care in Kibera, a 2.5 square km slum in Nairobi that is home to more than 250,000 people.

In 2005 Arrow Web treated 3990 patients.  By 2010 they had moved to a 20 room hospital and treated  76,643 patients!  They added a dental clinic, eye care clinic and pharmacy to their services.   

They also began to realize that no one hospital was big enough to assist all the patients in the catchment area.  They needed an outreach program that could provide basic health care services by visiting people in their homes.  

How We Got Involved:

In 2009 Rebecca Cherono, managing director of the Great Rift Valley Development Association, recommended we donate bicycles to Arrow Web to help support their newly created outreach program.  In 2009 we donated 15 bicycles to Arrow Web.  It was also the first time I would meet Bram Simiyu, co founder and project coordinator at Arrow Web, a man who continues to impress me with his dedication to this day.  Bram a a few friends started Arrow Web, with money from their own pockets, in 2005 and have grown it to a full service hospital in just a few short years.

In 2009 Arrow Web’s outreach workers assisted 9561 people though the delivery of medicine, health education and basic health services to the people in Kibera.  In 2010 we donated 15 more bicycles to to the program and Arrow Web’s outreach volunteers increased their reach to assist 24,745 patients in their catchment area!  

Though all of the credit for the programs success goes to Bram and his team at Arrow Web,  we are very proud to be a part of their success.  

How You Can Help:
By raising funds for the Tour d’Afrique Foundation you are helping us support the efforts of organizations like Arrow Web.  But of course the hospital needs more than just bikes.  If you’d like to contribute to Arrow Web Hospital directly to support the activities of the hospital you can do so by visiting the website listed below.  

Paul

Related Links:

Donate to the Tour d’Afrique Foundation:
Help us provide more bikes to Health Workers in Africa, visit our donation page.    

Learn More About Arrow Web Hospital:
Arrow Web Website: http://www.arrowkenya.org/index.php

Related articles

• Looking Back at Our Achievements in 2010 (arrowwebhospital.blogspot.com)
• A Busy Week (arrowwebhospital.blogspot.com)
• Tour D'afrique Donates 15 Additional Bicycles (arrowwebhospital.blogspot.com)

A Schedule of Our 2012 Bike Donations in Africa

Our 2012 Bike Donations In Africa

The Tour d'Afrique Foundation Donates Bikes to Health Workers and Outreach Organizations Across Africa

Below is a list of our 2012 Bike Donations in Africa.  The list is a work in progress and changes may be made but this should give you some idea about the recipients and the dates of the ceremonies.  More up to date information about each donation will be provided to you on tour.  

If you are fundraising for the Tour d’Afrique Foundation these are the organizations and projects that your efforts will support.  If you have questions or would like more information about any of these project please email us at info@tourdafrique.com

2011 Donation In Gondar, Ethiopia

Riders Pooled their money and in addition to bikes, donated school uniforms

Gondar,  Ethiopia

Date: Sunday, Feb 12, 2012
Time: 9 am - 12 pm, including coffee ceremony
Partner Organization: LINK Ethiopia
Bikes donated to: TBD

Link Ethiopia is a charity working to support education in Ethiopia and to increase cultural awareness between young people in Ethiopia and the UK.  

Details:
This is a special donation ceremony organized by 2010 Rider Tony Nester who has worked with the school for the past 5 years. Riders will be picked up from the hotel at 9 am and taken to Arbatu Ensesa School where the donation ceremony will Occur.  Bikes will be donated through LINK Ethiopia and school uniforms will be handed out to students of the school.  Ceremony will include a tour of the schools (they have a really neat garden), an exhibition football match with the kids and a Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.

Read more about Link Ethiopia here: http://www.linkethiopia.org/index.html

2011 Bike Donation in Bahir Dar

Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Date:  February 14, 2011
Time: Tuesday Feb 14th, 2012
Partner Organization: Anti Malaria Association (AMA)
Bikes donated to: AMA

Use of Bikes:   Bikes will be donated to AMA’s health outreach workers.  Health outreach workers provide basic health services and health education to the underserved populations in the Bahir Dar area.  

Anti Malaria Association:  AMA is a non-partisan, non-religious, indigenous NGO committed to empower the community in order to improving the health status of the very poor. Focus is on preventing the spread and mitigating the impacts of malaria, HIV/AIDS and other major communicable diseases and providing reproductive health services through it's outreach programs.

Details:  This ceremony will take place the day the tour arrives in Bahir Dar at our Hotel.   TdA will be donating bikes to AMA so they may reach more people in their health outreach efforts.

Learn more about AMA here: http://www.amaethio.org/

Wheels of Africa Bike Outreach with Kids

Nairobi, Kenya

Date: March 11,2012 Time: 9 am - 11 pm.  
Partner Organizations: Wheels of Africa, Great Rift Valley Development Agency (GRVDA), Bikes donated to:  Arrow Web Hospital, others TBD

Use of Bikes:  
Bikes will be donated to Arrow Web Hospitals heath outreach workers who provide basic medial services and much needs health education in the Kayole-Soweto Slum of Nairobi.  Arrow Web outfits each bike with a hospital sign and a rear rack to carry a basic medical kit.  

Out First Income Generation Project: 

Wheels of Africa (WoA) is a Nairobi based bike charity formed to champion the culture of cycling in Africa.  They host various cycling events, teach cycling at local schools and provide bike mechanic services through their Bike Doctors program.  

For the past year we have been working with WoA to organize a shipment of bicycles to Nairobi so they can start a community bike shop. The bikes arrived last week and we look forward to visiting the shop on tour.


Details of the Donation Ceremony:
Usually one of our larger donation ceremonies, details for this ceremony are still being worked out but most likely it will be held at our camp in Nairobi on the rest day.  Bike donations will be made to Arrow Web Hospital and at least one other Nairobi based organization.  

Learn More about Wheels of Africa here: http://www.wheelsofafrica.or.ke/
Learn More about Arrow Web Hospital: http://arrowkenya.org/



Livingstone, Zambia:

Date: April 14, 2012
Time: TBD
Partner Organizations:
Safari Par Excellence (SafPar), The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF), African Impact

Bikes Donated to: TBD

The Happy Africa Foundation supports community and conservation projects in eastern and southern Africa.  Bikes will be donated to THAF for distribution to Home Based Care Workers that they organization supports.

African Impact helped to establish the Happy Africa Foundation Foundation and provides much of the charity’s resources, in terms of staff, logistical support and its administration at all of its projects.

Safari Par Excellence operates the Zambezi Waterfront where the donation ceremony will be held as helps up to organize the donation ceremony.

Details:
Details for this donation ceremony are still being organized.

More about Safpar: http://www.safpar.net/
More about THAF: http://happyafricafoundation.org/
More about African Impact: http://happyafricafoundation.org/our-partners/african-impact/

4 Pieces of Unconventional Travel Wisdom From an Unconventional Guy

Image by Tour d'Afrique via Flickr

A guest post by my Co-worker, Miles McDonald:

With the end of the year coming I’ve made a pre-emptive New Years resolution.  I am going to better the world.  How?  By sharing some travel wisdom accrued over the last 20 years as a traveller and as Tour Guide for Tour d'Afrique.  

It pains me to part with this wisdom, but in the end the knowledge is greater than any one person and should be shared.  



On Speaking the Language:

• If you don't understand what someone is saying to you in a foreign language, just smile and nod your head as if you do understand, and reply in your own language about whatever you think they may be saying.  Never admit that you don't understand.

On Getting Lost:

• If you have arrived somewhere you never planned to go simply pretend that it was always your destination and act relaxed.  Never admit that you don't know where you are.

One Eating:

•  If you are unsure of cultural norms while sitting to eat with locals, simply say you are not hungry and refuse to eat.  Never admit that you do not know the local customs.

On Meeting other Travelers:

• If another foreigner asks you for information, pretend you are a local and that you do not understand them.  Never admit that you are a foreigner.

Some people may think there should be at least 10 tips above, and if you’re one of those people, I suggest you add your own travel tips to the list and re-post this.  

Miles

A Bunch of Random Tips for the Silk Route Bike Tour in No Particular Order

Image via Wikipedia

I learned a lot of things on my scouting trip to China.  Here is a random assortment you may find helpful if you are joining us on our Silk Route Bike Tour. These tips obviously apply to China. I'll share some tips for the other 6 countries we'll be riding through later on.



-Shanghai has two Airports.  One is largely domestic, the other largely international (but not exclusively).  Be sure you know which one you fly into because they are 30 km apart.  

-Most of our hotels in China do not have laundry service.  Local laundries require 24 hours to wash your clothes.  

-Don’t ever stop in middle of a road/bike path, unless you are fond of being run over by an electric scooter. 

-Bring a bell or horn.  A really loud one. Also bring mirror and handlebar bag that has a map case.

-Wean yourself off of coffee before coming.  Get used to drinking tea.  

-Carry the name of each hotel we stay in written in Mandarin with you each day. Believe me, at some point this will save your ass. Especially if you follow the advice at the end of this list.

-Internet in most of the hotels we stay in is cable only, no wifi, so iPad and Mac Air users are out of luck 

-If you enter your hotel and the lights don’t work it is because you didn’t insert your key card into the automatic cut off switch at the door.  

-Hotels charge for dirty towels and sheets.  A lot. They will check your room thoroughly before you check out. So don't clean your bike with a towel and don't steal anything.

Image via Wikipedia

-SIM cards and phones are cheap in Shanghai, you should plan on getting one. 

-Every time you take a cab take picture the cab’s ID and phone number, just in case you forget something.

-You will have to carry your bags upstairs at most hotels in china so pack accordingly.

-Always carry Toilet paper. (this is a good rule for all our tours actually).

-If you don’t like noodles, I hope you like rice.

Image via Wikipedia

-Drink bottled water or boiled water.  A lot of the water is not safe to drink.

-Learn to use chopsticks. Long chopsticks were easier for me to use than short ones. Wooden ones were easier to use than plastic or metal. I've heard the reusable plastic chopsticks restaurants use are rarely cleaned well so its best to use the disposable ones or bring your own.

-Buy a filter mask for dust and smog (if you have allergies or asthma take extra precautions)

-No skinny tires.  All tires should be 28mm or wider.  You've been warned.

And Finally: Get lost.  It’s fun and China is very safe and fun to explore.  Just get found again before I have to come looking for you!

-----------------------------------

Well there you go. I told you they were assorted!  More coherent info about preparing for the Silk Route Bike Tour coming soon, including a food decoder and some awesome language tips.  

Been to China? Have some tips of your own? Love to hear them in the comments.
Paul

5 Quick Links: The Silk Route

               Karakol Lake photo by Christine McDonald via Travelling Two Blog



For obvious reasons I read a lot of things about the Silk Route these days. Here is a selection of a few posts from my favorite travel bloggers and one bonus link I think is neatto. If you like what you read, please let them know in the comments.

Turkish Recipies - From the Expat blog Turkeys for Life. These guys post some great pics and stories with insights from their lives in Turkey. This is a good post of turkish recipes... yum!
http://www.turkeysforlife.com/2011/12/turkish-food-recipes-2011-favourites.html

If you click on just one link, make it this one.... 


Beautiful Panoramic Photo of Disco ball Mosque - from Uncornered Market, This panoramic shot of the "disco ball mosque" is captivating.
http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2011/12/shah-cheragh-mosque-shiraz-panorama/

Tehran Markets, in Pictures - From Angela Corrias at Chasing the Unexpected - My favorite thing to do in any country is visit the local markets. Angela does a good job of capturing Iran's

http://www.chasingtheunexpected.com/2011/10/tehran-in-pictures-local-markets-and-sweets-shops/

Cycling the Pamir Highway - 10 Questions with Christine McDonald on Travelling Two's blog. Great stories and advice from people who have been there and done that.
http://travellingtwo.com/resources/10questions/pamir-highway

Video of Turpan, China - Not a travel blog but a series of videos from the Silk Road Music Project. Part 10 of a series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sEWIKW15Ss&feature=youtube_gdata

Want more?  You can follow me on Twitter where I post lots of links pertaining to tours I’m researching or follow me on Google Plus.

Bonus Link: 

The Worlds Cheapest (and lightest?) Multi Tool for bike repair - DIY -
http://www.biketinker.com/2011/projects/worlds-cheapest-multi-tool/



Paul