I went to Swaziland once. I arrived in Mbabane the day after the Umhlanga, the annual reed dance where tens of thousands of young women from all over the country dance bare-chested in front of the king. My bus passed the sports ground where the dance had been held. The bunting was still up. The grass was flattened. But the girls were gone.
I was reminded of the Umhlanga by EHalford's post on the forum where she asked myWanderlusters about the things that have missed by a whisker on their travels. Wild animals featured highly. DrG didn't get to see a pack of wild dogs in Africa. Schuengy failed to spot any wolves in Yellowstone National Park. And Howellsy missed out on humpback whales (as well as the Northern Lights, the Rennie McIntosh Museum and Johnny Depp when he popped into Howellsy's local on the only night of the week Howellsy wasn't in). I feel their pain. Share your near-misses here.
Another popular post on the forum came from Liz Cleere. She asked myWanderlusters to draw up an itinerary for their local town. If your going to Kochi, Bishop's Stafford, Windsor, Sheffield. Matlock, Leiden, Rayliegh or Kingston-Upon-Thames any time soon, you really should check it out.
Keithruffles is off to the Baltics soon and wanted the lowdown on couchsurfing. JayR asked what it was. Arantha and VickkiRed raved about it. And DrG threw in a note of caution about his mate being rolled. Personally, I've had nothing but positive experiences. Indeed, it was my host in Moscow that showed me the cheapest place to eat in the Russian capital. What has your experience been?
Polite requests for help this week come from Gamble, who wants to know the best guidebook for South-East Asia, scheungy, who needs advice on preventing malaria in China and Melissa T, who is heading to Scotland and wants to know what the trains are like. Help them here.
Good news from just back from – the sun is out in Istanbul! After Hmoat01's soggy visit a couple of weeks ago, Julia 69 reports that all is bright and cheerful on the Bosphorus. Unless you're flying in or out of Sabiha Gokcen. Nightmare traffic awaits.
AlycewithaY is back from Lisbon. She discovered the 28 tram and El Guincho beach and is raving about both. And Explorette has returned from Carcassonne with a detailed itinerary of how to make the most of this walled city and the local area around it, including Castlenaudry, home of the cassoulet.
Over at experiences, LS13 tells how taking a photo in Mozambique saved her life, Rhoda1 leaves Bangladesh for Darjeeling and is shocked by the tourist hordes, and majandginger reports on ten days in Mexico with Project Amigo.
There's a new lens-slinger in town over at photo galleries this week. His name is Mark Sykes and his photos from Las Vegas, Valencia and North Yorkshire will blow you away. And have you asking 'How'd he do that?'
Not to be outdone, PeterJ2002 has posted a series of quality images from the temples of Bagan. Sam_j_young takes on a trip down memory lane with a gallery called India 2002. And gweniep deserves a very special mention for her photo of a couple of caped crusaders batbombing their way through Europe.
It also begs the question: Are those mask protecting identities? Or dignity?
More like this
Read previous From the Editor blogs here
Want to explore all that myWanderlust has to offer? Check our our online community here
Want to ask myWanderlust members to help with a travel dilemma? Post your questions on our forum here
Just back from posts make the Wanderlust team green with envy... Check out most recent entries here
