Moderators: playgirl, JUS, rodbox
The bags are packed and I'm off for 10 days on a 9 hour flight to do a three city tour:
City 1 has a population of a little over 5 million and is the fastest growing major city in the continent in which it is sited. It's the centre of its nation's telecomms and IT industry (which is why I'm going there). The temperature today is 26C which is about normal for December and I hope to get the chance to walk around the many parks that give it the nickname of The Garden City.
City 2 is similar in many ways - they are both state capitals although city 2 is smaller at 4 million population. However this city is newer, founded around 1600 and is again an IT and pharmaceutical centre. There's a near 50:50 split between the two main religions which has been an issue especially when the country gained independence. It also has a thriving film industry producing 300+ films per year.
City 3 is massive (12 million+ people) and ancient (>2500 years old) and situated in the north of the country so a little cooler. It's cultural and historical riches of which there are many (it is home to 3 world heritage sites) are slightly spoilt because the pollution is so bad you need an oxygen bottle just to breathe. The country's most famous person was murdered here and the city is twinned with London.
Anyone fancy a guess?
City 1 has a population of a little over 5 million and is the fastest growing major city in the continent in which it is sited. It's the centre of its nation's telecomms and IT industry (which is why I'm going there). The temperature today is 26C which is about normal for December and I hope to get the chance to walk around the many parks that give it the nickname of The Garden City.
City 2 is similar in many ways - they are both state capitals although city 2 is smaller at 4 million population. However this city is newer, founded around 1600 and is again an IT and pharmaceutical centre. There's a near 50:50 split between the two main religions which has been an issue especially when the country gained independence. It also has a thriving film industry producing 300+ films per year.
City 3 is massive (12 million+ people) and ancient (>2500 years old) and situated in the north of the country so a little cooler. It's cultural and historical riches of which there are many (it is home to 3 world heritage sites) are slightly spoilt because the pollution is so bad you need an oxygen bottle just to breathe. The country's most famous person was murdered here and the city is twinned with London.
Anyone fancy a guess?
I'm on an unexpexted rove today - my plane from Delhi was diverted and I was stuck here overnight. "Stuck" is a very unfair word as it's a beautiful city and is number 4 in Europe in number of tourists after London, Paris and Rome. Some glum faces around as last night it got down to freezing which is a very rare occurrence here. The most famous architecture here was designed by a very famous architect whose name frequently comes up in quizzes not because of his exquisite buildings but because he died by being run over by a tram. Where am I?
I'm off with Little Miss Wildrover for a week's holiday. We are currently in the city ranked second in the world behind Dubai (city defined as > 250,000 people) for the % of inhabitants born outside the country in which the city is located. A staggering 60% of the city's population are immigrants and 3/4 do not speak the country's mother tongue as their first language.
The climate is classified as tropical monsoon and it's around 20C and sunny today which is normal for January. Since the year 2001 a program of skyscraper building has been encouraged by local government and over 50 buildings over 400 feet high have been built since then making the skyline very impressive. Little Miss W and I are having dinner tonight at a restaurant owned by a famous singer who had a UK number 1 in 1999 and earlier this year announced he was gay (although I think a lot of us had guessed!) City and singer?
The climate is classified as tropical monsoon and it's around 20C and sunny today which is normal for January. Since the year 2001 a program of skyscraper building has been encouraged by local government and over 50 buildings over 400 feet high have been built since then making the skyline very impressive. Little Miss W and I are having dinner tonight at a restaurant owned by a famous singer who had a UK number 1 in 1999 and earlier this year announced he was gay (although I think a lot of us had guessed!) City and singer?