On our recent family holiday to Vanuatu we spent quite a bit of time in the produce market in Port Vila. We had this recommended to us by regular reader Julie. The food is fresh, run by locals for the locals, making it very cheap by Australian standards. The market for most of the time was full of locals with few tourists. We chose to visit on days we knew the cruise ships were not visiting. Apparently on these days not only is the place swarming with tourists but the price of ‘everything’ gets trebled! So we visited on the quieter days and stocked up on tomatoes, pawpaw, mangoes and oodles of bananas. At this time bananas were very expensive at home with much of Queensland (the banana producing State) devastated from Cyclone Yasi. Bananas were a luxury item, so here we gorged on the most divine sugar bananas and one large bunch (bottom photo) was no more than AUD $1.70.

Ho Chi Minh City Centre

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon until 1975, is situated in southern Vietnam within the Mekong Delta. It is the largest city in Vietnam with more than six million people. It is a vast metropolis that is heavily populated with motorbikes and vespa’s and has come a long way since it’s early fishing village beginnings.

There are many places to visit that invariably relate to the Vietnam-American war, such as the War Remnants Museum, Revolutionary Museum and Presidential Palace. However, other places of interest for the visitor include the bustling area of Cholon where you can find the Ben Thanh Market. The Jade Emperor Pagoda and Reunification Palace are also significant landmarks of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam – A Country Guide

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TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Ho Chi Minh City

One Great Reason to Visit Ho Chi Minh City

One great reason to visit Ho Chi Minh City, especially if you love bustling city life, is to experience the electric atmosphere filled with chaotic vespa drivers!

Ho Chi Minh City

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Wild Boar on the Menu!

This guest post is by Angela Pearse. Angela is an Auckland-based travel writer who loves Italian travel destinations. Angela has supplied a number of posts for Travel Tips Plus of both Italy and Japan.

Greve in Chianti lies slightly off the well-beaten tourist track between Florence and Siena in the region of Tuscany. Originally just called Greve it was renamed in 1972 after inclusion in the Chianti wine district.

The heart of this market town is the triangular piazza which features a 13th century church and a bronze torso in remembrance of Giovanni da Verrazzano, a local explorer who discovered New York’s harbour. The piazza also houses an impressive collection of specialty shops which sell local products including meat, wine, olive oil and cheese.

The Chianti region is renowned for its wines and extra virgin olive oil while restaurant menus commonly feature wild game such as rabbit, pigeon, venison and wild boar. Both black and white truffles are also a Chianti delicacy.

Rick Steves’ Italy 2010 with map

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One Great Reason to Visit Greve in Chianti

One great reason to visit Greve in Chianti is to sample prosciutto (and a glass or two of Chianti) in one of the oldest and renowned butcher shops in Italy, Macelleria Falorni.

A day in Greve in Chianti Tuscany Italy

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Local Water Seller

The “Red City”, in which Marrakech is often referred to is centrally located in Morocco. Situated midway between the mighty Atlas Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, Marrakesh has an approximate population of more than a million. Unofficially, it is believed it could be nearly two million. The population is a mixture of Arab, French, Belgians, Berbers and Tuareg.

The famous Market Square of Djemaa el Fna and also one of the busiest in Africa is a treat for the senses. Here you will experience snake charmers, water sellers (in their very traditional and colourful attire), story tellers and people from all walks of life, making it a fabulous place for people watching.

Atlas Mountains in the background

Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakech and quite a recognisable landmark with its square minaret. It was completed during the reign of Sultan Yacoub el Mansour (1184-1199), making it one of the oldest of three Almohad minarets remaining in the world. The other two are in Rabat, Morocco and Seville, Spain.

Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent became a feature to Marrakech when he purchased the ‘Majorelle Gardens’ during 1980 that had belonged to the French artist Jacques Majorelle. The gardens represent everything that is Moroccan with lush palms, fountains and splashes of vivid blue paint, pots and tiles adding a rich array of colour.

If you’re requiring accommodation whilst in Marrakech, I highly recommend this boutique hotel Riad Orangeraie - take a look at what’s on offer. It looks simply divine.

This ‘Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide of Marrakech’ will set you in the right direction to see all the grand sites of this exotic city.

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TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Marrakech

One Great Reason to Visit Marrakech

One great reason to visit Marrakech is to experience toothless Snake Charmers wrap a snake around your neck encouraging you to kiss it to bring ‘Good Luck’!

The Colours of Marrakech

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Piazza del Comune, Montefalco, Italy

Montefalco is a medieval town found upon an outcrop north of Rome in the region of Umbria. The town is surrounded by ancient stone walls and found within a maze of cobbled laneways, medieval towers, historic buildings and churches from a number of periods, including romanesque, gothic and renaissance.

Sagrantino, is the local wine and is famous in Italy and abroad. It can be tasted in the town’s numerous wine bars or by visiting the outlying wineries around Montefalco. The extra virgin olive oil, too, is renowned.

Montefalco is an excellent base to explore the wider Umbrian region. It’s close to Perugia, Assisi, Spello, Spoleto, Norcia and Castelluccio. A little further away, but no more than 2 hours, you can reach Siena, Rome and Florence.

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One Great Reason to Visit Montefalco

One great reason to visit Montefalco is for the historical beauty and the appeal the old world town oozes.

Montefalco

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