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Chama (Zambia)

Chama is the town that is the government seat of the Chama district in the Eastern Province of Zambia.

Chama is populated by the Senga and some Tumbuka peoples. Chisenga is the primary language, though Chitumbuka is widely understood and spoken, as is Nyanja.

Get in
Chama is connected to the rest of Zambia only by a notoriously bad untarred road from Chipata via Lundazi. The road is tarred up to Lundazi, its condition depending on the season.

Eat
Chama is (locally) famous for its rice, a welcome alternative to the usual nsima.

The local Senga people also are known for eating mice, or "mbewe", during certain seasons.

Electrical power in Chama is sporadic, and so cold drinks are hard to come by. Most shops carry a small selection of bottled soda -- Sprite, Coke and Fanta -- and sometimes beer. Mosi (the Zambian label) and Castle (a common South African beer) are often available. Carlsberg is also often available, as it is bottled in Malawi and carried over the border for sale in the bars and shops of Chama.

Sleep
A couple of small guest houses offer accommodation for a few dollars a night.

title: Chama (Zambia)


text:
Chamarajanagar (district)

Chamarajanagar is a district in Karnataka State.

Cities

 * —

 * —

 * —

 * —

 * —

Other destinations

 * —

 * — a wildlife sanctuary and is also known as B R Hills
 * Male Mahadeshwara Betta

Understand
It is just because the 9th Chamaraja Wodeyar (1774-1796 CE), one of the kings of Mysore, was born here.

By road
From the state capital Bangalore, the State Highway 17 can be used to reach Chamarajanagar via Mysore, Chamarajanagar is at a distance of 65 km from Mysore. The distance from Bangalore to Chamarajanagar is about 185 km. The Bangalore-Kanakapura-Kollegal-Chamarajanagar road can also be used with the distance being the same. Chamarajanagara district is connected to Tamil Nadu by National Highway 948. This highway connects Coimbatore, Satyamangalam, Hasanuru to Chamarajanagara. The Karnataka state highways 38 (SH-38) connects Kollegala town to Germalam, a village near Karnataka border. The Karnataka state highway 79 (SH79) connects town of Kollegala to border village Palar via Male Mahadeshwara Betta. There is road from Hanur in Chamarajanagar district to Anthiyur in Tamil Nadu via Ramapura and Burgur. Traffic in above mentioned state highways is sparse and through dense forests without much facility for refreshing and refuel.

By rail
Chamarajanagar has a railway station. Some long-distance trains come to Chamarajanagar. The Tirupati Express (214) is the only long route train from Chamarajanagar.

Mysore, 61 km away, is well connected by railway to major cities in India.

The project to construct a new railway line from Chamarajanagar to Satyamangalam, Gobichettipalayam, Erode is progressing slowly. It will reduce the distance between Bangalore and Chamarajanagar and other cities of Tamil Nadu. The proposal to extend the railway line further to Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu has not been got environmental clearance.

By air
The nearest airport is at Bangalore. The airports at Coimbatore or Calicut are more distant but can be used for reaching Chamarajanagar. Once opened the airport at Mysore will be the nearest.

See

 * Flower Farms of Gundelpet You can see acres and acres of sunflower and other varieties of flowers farmed by the local farmers during rainy seasons. The locality is very photogenic and is in between Gundlept and the Kerala Main Road.
 * Male Mahadeshwara Betta . It is an important piligrim centre for Hindus. The temple of Lord Mahadeshwara swami is located here.
 * Flower Farms of Gundelpet You can see acres and acres of sunflower and other varieties of flowers farmed by the local farmers during rainy seasons. The locality is very photogenic and is in between Gundlept and the Kerala Main Road.
 * Male Mahadeshwara Betta . It is an important piligrim centre for Hindus. The temple of Lord Mahadeshwara swami is located here.
 * Male Mahadeshwara Betta . It is an important piligrim centre for Hindus. The temple of Lord Mahadeshwara swami is located here.
 * Male Mahadeshwara Betta . It is an important piligrim centre for Hindus. The temple of Lord Mahadeshwara swami is located here.

Eat

 * Hotel Bhagya Vegetarian, Chamarajanagar.
 * Mayura Vegetarian, on the right hand side of the KSRTC bus station.

Stay safe
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (B.S.N.L) provides mobile signal connectivity here. Do not go inside the national park or reserved forest area without the permission of Karnataka forest department. Many of roads traverse through forest area having wild animals and hence it is advisable not to get down from the vehicle, feed them or shout at wild animals. Fill the fuel tank of your vehicle before travel so that you are not stranded in remote areas of the Chamarajanagara district.

Konanur village
Konanur can be accessed by bus by getting down at Hegguvadi gate and taking the left road. This junction also has access to villages like Mukkadahalli and Kanagagiri. Another option is to travel by train from Mysore. The southern end of the platform is the exact beginning of the village and you can find a level crossing here. When you turn left and explore the village, the first landmark is a government primary school called padashala in Kannada. There is one village council or panchayat office here with the Indian national flag flying on it. The road takes you to a small tea shop with wooden benches and the village atmosphere inside. Food is cooked with wood and the people sit and chat in a friendly manner. The teashop sells tea, idlis and pooris for breakfast and closes by ten o’clock. Maybe they open again by evening. There is one small shop attached to the tea shop where a lady sells bananas and provisions. When you move further from the teashop, you reach the village center with a big tree and cemented seating place where the elders sit and chat. The village has no bus facility and feels quite alienated from outside influences. When you take the right turn from the village center, you reach a lake or what is locally called the Kere. There are four temples in front of the lake and the smaller one is very cute. Another temple has a bull over it and looks very photogenic in the mornings when the sunlight falls on it. When you come back to the village center and take the right diversion, you have another hundred meters of houses and the village ends with an old temple and an attached little cubicle like temple outside. There is a second railway level crossing on the Mysore side of the station. When you cross the railway track and come to the other side of the village, there are big papaya farms, banana farms and potato farms. A new white building is coming here and it looks like a school. The farm has a road in the middle which takes you to the highway.

Kavalande Village
Kavalande is a cluster of three picturesque villages called Dodda-Kavalande, Chikka-Kavalande and K.R. Puram. When you come from Mysore, the easiest way to reach Kavalande is to take a train from Mysore to Chamarajanagar. There are trains at 4:50AM, 7:10AM, 8:50AM, 12:20PM and 2:40PM. These trains are slow trains or what is called in India ‘’Passenger trains’’. When you reach Kavalande railway station, Dodda Kavalande is at a short distance of 300 m. There is only one restaurant here and that is at K.R. Puram junction around one kilometre on Chamarajanagar route. But many tea shops and bakeries serve coffee and buns. There is one police station, one branch of Indian Overseas Bank and one post office in the very heart of the village. The road on the back of the police station takes you to the Muslim section of the village with its mosques and madrassas. You can also find a little temple where tree worship is practiced. You can visit Chikka-Kavalande village by taking an autorikshaw and paying ₹50 to take you across the railway gate. This little village has a big temple and a little primary school. Another 2 km away is the Devanur village with its big temple and Math. Coming back to the village center at Dodda Kavalande, you can visit K.R. Puram by autorikshaw. This third village has one Math, one little temple and one ancient stone temple. The people of K.R. Puram are from higher caste Hindu and have a refined and clean lifestyle in spite of being villagers.

 * Melukote
 * Nanjangud
 * T. Narsipur
 * Somnathapura
 * Mandya
 * Mangalore

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Chamarajanagar (district)


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Chamarel

Chamarel is a city in Mauritius.

Do
An adventure park has also been opened at Chamarel.

title: Chamarel


text:
Chamba (Himachal Pradesh)

Chamba is a town in the Chamba district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

Understand
Chamba is a hill town perched at an altitude of 1,676m above sea level in the Ravi River valley. There are temples all around town and up on the hillocks. The Chowgan is the most important part of the town with lush green grass.

In 920, Raja Sahil Varman (or Raja Sahila Verma), King of Bharmour, shifted his capital here at the urging of his daughter Champavati. The town was named Champa, after Champavati, and over the years became 'Chamba'.

Get in
The Himachal Road Transport Corporation operates long distance services throughout the state and from locations in the neighboring states, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi.

The nearest railway station is at Pathankot, 120 km away.

Get around
Chamba town is not big so walking around the town is the best option.

Do

 * Minjar Mela. A seven-day festival held in July-August. People from nearby villages come to attend a thanksgiving ceremony to Varuna, god of rain, for the blessing of the harvest.

Eat
There is a considerable Tibetan population in the region so Tibetan noodles, soups and dumplings are available in town, primarily opposite the post office building.

Chamba has several restaurants.

Drink
Chamba town has a few outlets (shops and bars) where you can buy cheap liquor. Beer is generally served at Cafe Ravi View after 8PM.

Budget
There are several cheap lodges in town:

Go next

 * Bharmour
 * Dalhousie — popular hill station, very fascinating, with beautiful colonial architecture
 * Khajjiar — popular hill station, a favourite destinations for Bollywood, as many filmmakers come to shoot sequences for their movies
 * Saho

title: Chamba (Himachal Pradesh)


text:
Chamba (district)

Chamba (Punjabi:ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਲਾ ਚਮ੍ਬਾ) is a district in Himachal Pradesh.

Cities

 * — famous for Chaurasi Temple and the Hindu pilgrimage of Mani Mahesh

 * — headquarters of Chamba District

 * — a quiet resort hill town situated among five hills, facing the Pir Panjal range of snow-capped mountains

 * — a small town on the road from Dalhousie to Chamba. It looks like a huge lush green field during the summer.

 * — famous for its Shiva Temple with a big Limgam

 * — a small town in Bhattiyat valley. Chowari is also called as "Valley of Naag"

Understand
Chamba district had a population of 519,000 and a literacy rate of 73% in the 2011 census.

Chamba town is on the banks of the river Ravi which is a tributary of the trans-Himalayan river Indus. The hub of all activity in Chamba town is the Chaugan, a fine grassy sward, about half a mile long and eighty yards wide, and here is held the Minjar fair, every year, in the month of August.

Weather
Summer is hot with temperature ranging between 25° and 38°C. Winter is cold with temperature ranging between 8° and 22°C.

Talk
The main language of the region is Hindi, Chambyali, Bhattiyati (similar to Dogri) and Gaddi.

By train
Closest railway station is Pathankot in Punjab, which is 120 km from Chamba town. There are frequent buses to Chamba town from Pathankot. Private taxis too operate in the region. Taxis to various destinations can be hired from outside Pathankot railway station. Bargaining is a must. Being on the way to Jammu Tawi, there are regular trains to Pathankot from various cities in India. After that you can opt for toy train on Pathnkot-JoginderNagar Narrow gauge line.

By road
Chamba is connected with Pathankot which is 120 km away via SH-33. There is also a way to Kangra via Jot-Chowari (126 km) and via Banikhet (164 km).

By plane
Closest airports are Pathankot and Kangra. Air Deccan operates daily flights between Pathankot and Delhi.

See
There are various temples of interest in Chamba
 * Akhand Chandi Palace — the Palace of the Raja of Chamba, Sahil Verman
 * Bansi Gopal Temple — Shikhara style temple near Chamba palace
 * Champavati Temple — temple of goddess Champavati constructed in Shikhara style
 * Chamunda Devi Temple — temple is dedicated to the goddess Chamunda
 * Hari Rai Temple — Vishnu temple near Chaugan gate
 * Laxmi Narayan Temple — he main temple of Chamba

Do
You can trek in the hills north of Chamba and further up the Chamba valley. Treks can be arranged through Manimahesh Travels by the Laxsminarayan Temple complex.

Eat
There is a considerable amount of Tibetan population in the region so Tibetan/Chinese noodles, soups and dumplings are available.

Local delicacies include Madra, which is made from red kidney beans in a gravy of curd (yoghurt). It is prepared on special occasions and is prepared and served on order at Hotel Aroma Palace's restaurant.

Stay safe
The crime rate in the area is negligible.

Go next

 * Bharmour
 * Chowari
 * Dalhousie
 * Khajjiar
 * Saho

title: Chamba (district)


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Chambéry

Chambéry is a beautiful town in the Rhône-Alpes region of France and the birthplace and historic capital of Savoie.

Understand
Throughout history, it has been both Italian and French. It lies in a valley in the Alps surrounded by the Bauges and Chartreuse mountain ranges and provides almost 360-degree views of the French Alps. To the north, it is bordered by Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake in France. Chambéry has long been a "crossroads to the Alps" dating all the way back to the 11th century. For many years, it was ruled by the Duchy of Savoie before being annexed to the King of France. Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man (the French version of the Bill of Rights) while living in Chambéry.

Chambéry is a charming, peaceful place to visit with beautiful architecture, good food and wine, and friendly people. There are many vineyards in the area that visitors can enjoy, and on Saturdays, the city public market is abuzz with the freshest cheeses, meats, and local produce from the Alps. The area offers many recreational activities to choose from in all seasons, from skiing and snowshoeing, to sailing and rock climbing. The famous Tour de France bicycle race comes through the area in the summer. Chambéry also boasts the Savoie Technolac research park and the Universite de Savoie, and a mountain research center.

By train
Trains run hourly from Lyon Part Dieu, taking 90 min via Bourgoin-Jallieu, La Tour-du-Pin, Pont-de-Beauvoisin and Lépin-le-Lac-la-Bauche.

From Paris Gare de Lyon trains run every 2-3 hours, taking 3 hr 30 min via Mâcon and heading to Annecy. Otherwise change at Lyon.

Chambéry is on the main line between Paris, Turin and Milan, but these trains are suspended because the line is blocked by landslide at Modane further east. This is expected to continue until summer 2024, with longer workaround routes meanwhile.

is the railway station, 500 m north of town centre.

By car
It is linked by motorways to
 * Lyon via A43 in the west
 * Grenoble via A41 in the south
 * Aix-les-Bains, Annecy and Geneva via A41 in the north
 * Torino, Italy via ... and the tunnel of Fréjus in the east

Get around
Chambéry is compact in size and is easily explored on foot in a short amount of time. The medieval section of the town is quite well preserved. There are also local and regional buses. If you wish to explore the mountains or go on a wine tour, car rentals are available in town.

If you want a bit of exercise, you can also rent a bicycle and explore a bit further. Bicycles can be rented from the Vélostation in front of the train station: Agence Ecomobilité  Only €3 for a half day and €5 for a full day. Open Monday-Friday 6:30AM-7PM and from 9AM-7PM on weekends and holidays.

Cycle paths: a cycle route goes from the centre of town north to the Lac du Bourget (mostly a cycle lane which is separate from the road) and another goes south into the vineyards (mixture of separate cycle lane and quiet country roads).

See

 * The medieval quarter of Chambéry holds many well-preserved streets and alleys. The most famous was the 8th-century Rue Basse du Château, which was tragically destroyed by a fire on January 1, 2001.
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums
 * Museums

Do
Shopping, eating, drinking, visiting vineyards, hiking, boating, skiing, snowshoeing, rock climbing, horseback riding

Buy

 * A light, yet sturdy knife from local company "Opinel"
 * Cheap shoes and clothing from the store Axo. Hard to find (ask the locals for directions) and terribly disorganized, but the prices are very good. A pair of ballerina flats usually goes for around €8.

Eat
Some foods to try are Fondue savoyarde, tartiflette, crêpes, and goats cheese (Saint Marcellin).

Go next

 * Aix-les-Bains
 * Annecy
 * La Feclaz

title: Chambéry


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Chamberlain

There is more than one place called Chamberlain:

Canada

 * Chamberlain (Ontario) — A town in Ontario.
 * Chamberlain (Saskatchewan) — A town in Saskatchewan.

United States of America

 * Chamberlain (South Dakota) — A town in South Dakota.\

Uruguay

 * Chamberlain (Uruguay) — A town in Uruguay.

title: Chamberlain


text:
Chambersburg

Chambersburg is a city in Pennsylvania.

Understand
This town is located on the Lincoln Highway and an hour away southwest of Harrisburg.For a small town, Chambersburg offers a wide range of activities for people of all ages. Since the town is 15 minutes away from Shippensburg University, many students spend most of their weekends in Chambersburg. This town is also the home of Wilson College. It is a town that has been around since 1730 and has been growing ever since.

By car

 * When traveling from Philadelphia, take I-76 W toward Harrisburg.
 * On 76 W, take exit 226 for US 11 toward I 81/Chambersburg/Carlisle.
 * Continue on US 11 and take the exit to I-81 S toward Chambersburg and get off at exit 16.

title: Chambersburg


text:
Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve

Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve is in Northern Territory in Australia, on the edge of the Simpson Desert.

Understand
Chambers Pillar was discovered in 1860 by John McDouall Stuart, the first explorer to cross Australia. It is a 50-m formation rising above the surrounding flat desert plains. It was used as an important landmark for early explorers of the area, and it still bears the graffiti of some of them.

History
Chambers Pillar was named after one James Chambers, who was a sponsor of John McDouall Stuarts expedition. It was first recorded by McDouall Stuart in April 1860.

Landscape
Chambers Pillar is 160 km south of Alice Springs, along the Old South Road. The road is unsealed, and does require a 4WD as it is quite sandy. There are deep sand drifts further down, and steep jump-ups when crossing rivers.

Climate
Like most attractions in Central Australia, the best time to visit are during the cooler months of April to September, but as rain is common, you should check with authorities before setting out.

Safety
You are travelling in a remote area. Ensure you carry plenty of water, a decent hat, sunscreen and suitable clothing!

Get in
The only sizable town in the vicinity is Alice Springs, 160 km to the north. From Alice Springs it is a dirt track (the Finke Road) to the Maryvale station, and from Maryvale on it is a 4WD-only tough and sandy desert track. Do not ignore the 4WD-only signs, the last part of the track can not by any means be tackled by regular vehicles. A few kilometers after Maryvale, an extremely steep climb over some rocky terrain will deter most conventional vehicles (even with a 4WD, you will probably have to use the lowest gear), and just after this hill the last kilometers are

Fees and permits
Camping fees are payable at the Honesty Box at the start of the walking track to the Pillar. Park rangers regularly patrol the park and check camping permits.

Eat
There are no facilities, bring your own food.

Lodging
No places for lodging at Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve.

Camping
You can bring your own tent and camp, but there are no facilities (except a rudimentary toilet) in the reserve.

A campground is open to the public. there is 12 camping bays, 10 of which have fire pits. Each bay can accommodate two vehicles and trailers.

Stay safe
We are in the desert here. Take plenty of water with you, even for the short walk to the pillar. The track to the pillar from Maryvale is quite remote, if you have any mechanical problem there you would have to wait some time before anyone comes by (as the pillar is a tourist attraction, it would probably not too long anyway... at most a few days...), so take some extra food and water just in case. If you run into mechanical trouble, do not leave your car.

Go next
From the Pillar, the only solution is to head back to Maryvale Station. Between Maryvale and Alice Springs, you can make a stop at the Ewaninga Rock Carvings.

title: Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve


text:
Chamblee

Chamblee is a city in Metro Atlanta.

By plane

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the nearest international airport.

Connect
City of Chamblee, 5468 Peachtree Road, open Monday - Friday 8:30AM-5PM,

title: Chamblee


text:
Chambly

Chambly is a historic and modern city surrounded by the territory of Carignan forming a half-donut on the west side, on the west bank of the Richelieu River. Chambly is located in the Regional County Municipality (MRC) of La Vallée-du-Richelieu, in administrative region of Montérégie, in Quebec.

Chambly had around 31,000 residents in 2021. Visitors come to the city to see the 18th-century Fort Chambly, and to go boating on the Chambly Canal. This city has above all a historical, residential, commercial (along route 112) and recreational tourism vocation. Recreational tourism activities are mainly: hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, nautical activities on the L'Acadie River and on the Chambly Basin, etc. Resorts are developed there on the neighbouring islands, as well as along the L'Acadie and Richelieu rivers.

The main attractions of this city are its historic area around the Chambly basin: old fort of Chambly, Richelieu canal (and the locks), along the avenue Bourgogne and Martel street; and the islands located between the course of the L'Acadie river and the Richelieu river (Chambly basin): Goyer, aux Lièvres, Demers and au Foin.

History
Descendants of European immigrants have lived in Chambly since the 17th century, but Chambly was not incorporated as a city until 1965.

In 1609, Samuel de Champlain passed through the area that came to be the site of the town of Chambly. Chambly is home to the massive Fort Chambly, built with local stone between 1709 and 1711 in the style of Vauban's classic French fortifications. It was built at the mouth of a large basin, on the site of successive wooden forts dating back to 1665. Fort Chambly was the largest in a series of fortifications on the shores of what is now called the Richelieu River. It soon came to be known by the name of its first commanding officer, Jacques de Chambly, to whom the surrounding seigniory was granted in 1672. It was intended to protect New France in general (and Montreal specifically) from attack from hostile natives and the English. A small local population clustered around the fort, and the entire area eventually became known as Chambly as well. Chambly is also known for the Chambly Canal. It was built in 1843 to bypass several kilometers of successive Richelieu River rapids between the towns of Chambly and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Part of a series of waterways connecting the Saint Lawrence River and New York City, Chambly Canal was built to facilitate commercial traffic between Canada and the United States. Trade dwindled after World War I, and as of the 1970s, traffic has been replaced by recreational vessels. Today the canal is enjoyed by tourists and more than 7,000 pleasure boats in the summer, and ice skaters in the winter.

Local information

 * Town of Chambly municipal council website

By car
Chambly is about 30 km from Montreal. Take Autoroute 10 E out of Montreal, turn left onto Autoroute 30 (direction Sorel-Tracy), then right on to Route 112 (Boul. Cousineau).

By bus
From Montreal's Centre-Ville terminal, take Exo bus 400 or 401 ($7), and transfer at the Stationnement incitatif Chambly to Exo bus 13 ($4). (Dec 2018)

Get around
Its principal roads are Route 112, Route 223 (Chemin du Richelieu, along the Richelieu River) and the northern end of Highway 35 (becoming Boulevard Fréchette).

Buy
Its main commercial areas are along boulevard Périgny (route 112) and avenue Bourgogne.

Eat
Several restaurants or dining rooms in the Montérégie have transformed the mode of meals at the tables into take-out or delivery service. In general, restaurateurs have demonstrated great resilience by updating their website, integrating interactive and automated applications for remote orders, as well as the display of the menu, opening hours, their mode of operation (e.g. by reservation, drive-thru), sanitary measures required, other services (e.g. catering, shops, accommodation, access for the disabled, wi-fi, take-out food, delivery), contact details and often the history of the restaurant or site.

Go next

 * — A municipality with a rich built heritage. Thanks to the Richelieu River, its port was one of the busiest between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River, serving local agricultural and forestry operations. In the 21st century, its economic vocation is centred on recreational tourism and agriculture.
 * — Crossed by Route 112, Highway 10 and Chemin des Patriotes, Richelieu has a heritage circuit describing the great history of the seigneury and the locality, as well as the built heritage. The building of the Oblates marked its history. Recreational tourism activities are intense on the river and the bike paths.
 * — Recreational tourism activities are mainly: hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, etc. The city has around twenty parks (including 4 rest stops), several of which are accessible by the cycle path. The Parc de Montpellier has a magnificent body of water with a fountain.
 * — City with a great road, rail, river and military history. In the summer, boating is developed there and catering.
 * — The city of Carignan resembles an imperfect half-donut around the city of Chambly. There are many recreational and tourist activities: hiking (via the green trail that joins Saint-Hubert), cycling, nautical activities (on the Acadie or Richelieu rivers), its municipal parks, etc.

title: Chambly


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Chambord

Chambord is a town in Centre-Val de Loire in France. It is famous for the royal Château de Chambord. The domain of Chambord may count as one of the most impressive in the region.

Get in
From Paris (north): motorway A 10 towards Blois, exit n° 16 towards Mer, then secondary road D 112 to Chambord. From Tours (south): motorway A 10, exit n° 17 towards Blois, then secondary road D 33 to Chambord. From Blois: bus Parking - There is a large free car park available near the Château.

See
This second most visited château in France (after Versailles), is a dream place to visit. The château to end all châteaux, a masterpiece of the French Renaissance. Climb the double-helix open staircase to the royal hunting exhibits. Higher still are the terraces, where roofs and chimneys form a strange fairy-tale village up in the air. Look down along the canal and beyond the canal to the wildlife reserve.

Be sure to visit the 3D-movie room on the ground floor (accessible to disabled people). A virtual visit of the château using computer animation, giving you a fantastic insight into the château's construction, history and architecture.

Enjoy the magnificent 1000 hectares (2,500 acres) of the National Wildlife Sanctuary, where you can picnic, cycle (rental available everyday April to November) or just stroll to the free observatories and watch the animals. Maps are available at the reception.

A twice daily Horse Show takes place in the stables of the Marshall of Saxony near the château (11:45AM & 4:45PM May to September daily, except Mondays - 2007). Entrance fee - The royal castle is so impressive that it takes at least one hour to visit (€8.50 low season, €9.50 high season - 2007).

Audio commentary - Hand held audio devices are available in many languages to guide you around the Château (€4.00 - 2007). You will need one per person as they are held against the ear - just enter the 3 digit codes shown around the Château to listen to very informative commentaries of the areas you are in.

Buy

 * There are a number of souvenir shops near the Château.

Eat
There are a number of cafe's and a restaurant in the grounds of the Château. The nearby town of Blois has good restaurants.

Drink
Drinks are available on site and there is a bar in the stable area.

Sleep
The nearby towns of Blois and Amboise on the Loire River have a number of reasonably priced hotels.

Go next

 * Travellers wishing to see more of the Loire Valley can continue further east into the adjoining Centre-Val de Loire region, studded with additional historical cities and chateau's at sites such as Bourges and Saint-Benoît-du-Sault.
 * The nearby town of Blois is well worth a visit. Enjoy a 25 minute sightseeing trip around the town in a horse-drawn carriage (€6 adults €4 children - 2007), starts from the Place du Château in Blois. Also here you will see the most incredible clock ever! - Maison de la Magie. The clock was designed by Robert-Houdin a famous French diplomat and inventor (Houdini was named after him).  A short walk to the Cathedrale Saint Louis will be rewarded by its gargoyles and the gardens behind, with views of the Loire river.

title: Chambord


text:
Chàm Islands

The Cham Islands (Cù lao Chàm) are off the Central Coast of Vietnam. Approximately 9 nautical miles offshore and to the east of Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province. This covers an area of 235 km2 which includes eight islands and surrounding waters. There are eight islands in the Cham Islands: the largest and only inhabited island Hon Lao (covering an area of 1,317 hectares with a hilltop elevation of 517 m), Hon Cu, Hon Kho, Hon La, Hon Dai, Hon Lo and Hon Tai.

Understand

In May 2009 the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Cu Lao Cham - Hoi An was created. It includes Hoi An Old Town, most of metro Hoi An, the river inlet, the ocean between Hoi An and the Cham Islands, and the islands.

However, since this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve was created, domestic mass tourism has led to increased destruction of the islands, its communities, and the environment.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status is supposed to ensure preservation and with it an improvement in the sustainability of the environment. As soon as UNESCO status was awarded in 2009, mass tourism by mostly domestic Hanoi tourists, exploded and resulted in the islands being fished out in summer 2010 due to the massive increase in visitors. In 2011 the situation got worse.

One of the most blatant examples of destruction within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is the "birds nest" business in CLC. Not a single local islander is employed in this business. The numbers are staggering: birds nests sell for around US$4,000 per kg. All this is happening inside a United Nations sanctioned site.

History
Humans have inhabited Cu Lao Cham for at least 2,500 years. These islands were sacred in the eyes of the Cham people.

The Cham are a Malayo-Polynesian people who had settled in Sa Huynh, Central Vietnam, around 200 BCE. The Champa Kingdom was created in Hue region around 200 CE and lasted until 1835.

The commercial capital of the Champa Kingdom was Hoi An from which during 7th-10th centuries the Champas controlled the spice trade between the Spice Islands in Indonesia and China, India, and the Persian Gulf states. The Champas, who owned vessels very similar to those seen in Hoi An waters today, ruled the spice trade routes long before the Chinese junks or Portuguese vessels entered these waters.

Hoi An was a major trading port, on a par with Macau and Malacca, from the 16th-18th century. Early influences were Chinese and Indian and by the 10th century some Champa had converted to Islam through Arab maritime influences.

The leeward (from NE monsoons) anchorage in the capital village of Bai Lang makes the bay ideal for shelter of larger vessels. The depth is approximately 15 m in the channel between Hoi An and the Cham Islands and in Bai Lang Bay averages 10 m. Larger cargo vessels unable to enter the Hoi An River inlet would anchor off Bai Lang and lighters would then carry cargo ashore to warehouses in Hoi An.

Chinese, Japanese, and other northern merchants would sail their vessels down from the north on a "broad reach" during autumn and winter (riding on storms blowing NE monsoons) and wait for the trade winds to turn during spring and summer into a more gentle southerly breeze which would again send them on a "broach reach" back up north (and sometimes into seasonal typhoons!) While they waited for winds to change some foreign merchants lived and did business in Hoi An.

It is recorded on a 700 CE Chinese chart that vessels sailing the "Nanhai Trade Route" used a fresh water source at Bai Lang. Nanhai means "south sea"; these ships were based in ports on the Pearl River, in Guangdong, China.

Landscape
Cham Island topography is mostly mountainous, without rivers, except for the biggest island of Hon Lao, where there are some rocky fresh water streams with natural forests. The highest point is at 517 m on the top of Hon Lao, other islands peaks are lower with elevations from 70–200 m.

Flora and fauna
Hon Lao Island and many of the other islands of the archipelago are extensively forested. On the east side of Hon Lao and some other rocky islands such as Hon Co, bird's nests (for making "bird's nest soup") are harvested and traded.

A wonderful natural product from Cu Lao Cham is the six leaf tea which is grown and harvested. It is reputed to be a detoxifier.

Marine ecology
According to surveys, there are 135 species in 35 genera of corals found around Cu Lao Cham. Six species in the Sea of Vietnam were first recognised here. There are 202 species in 85 genera and 36 families of fish; and 4 species of lobsters and 84 species of mollusks identified.

The Vietnamese Government, together with the Danish Government, funded the Cu Lao Cham Marine Park Administration which created Vietnam's second marine park. The Cu Lao Cham Marine Protected Area (MPA) includes eight islands and 5,175 ha of water surface with 165 ha of coral reef, 500 ha of seaweed and sea grass beds, which provide habitat for various valuable fish species.

The waters around the Cham Islands are an important fishery. Several species of high economic value, such as lobsters, groupers, snappers, craps, shrimps, and clams, occur in the area. The islands' coral reefs provide shelter, nurseries, and food for marine creatures.

Weather
In February 2012 at least 7 people drowned in a boat accident at the river inlet. Tourism to CLC is only possible with safe reliable transport provided by boats. This is not being provided. Pier facilities are very poor at the Bien Phong river inlet and the two villages on the islands.

Even during "calm" season there are days of serious squalls when speedboats are unable to safely operate. The islands are 10 nautical miles offshore and by far the most hazardous part of the journey is at the river mouth which has an average depth of only 0.9 m in the spring.

The climate is influenced by tropical monsoons. If compared to the mainland, the island are cooler. The average temperature differential between the hottest and the coldest months is 6.7 °C. The islands are more humid than in the mainland. The average humidity is 85.7% and the lowest humidity is 81%. The average wind speed is higher than that in the mainland at 3.6–4 m/s. Typhoons and heavy storms mostly appear in the islands during September–October.

Dangerous floods can occur throughout Hoi An area from September–December during periods of heavy rains, strong onshore NE winds (prevailing conditions during September–December) and during 1–2 days around lunar calendar days 1 and 14 of each month. The river has nowhere to go as the ocean forces its way inland, and average water levels are also rising each year.

A changing climate has resulted in rising sea levels and a serious loss of beaches. Since 2005 approximately 30 metres have eroded on Cua Dai Beach. There may be no future for resorts and hotels along the beach. One good typhoon and the isthmus which extends from the inlet towards Da Nang will easily be breached. In 2011 the "calm" weather season had been reduced to mid-June to mid-August, compared to at least 6 months less than 5 years ago.

Get in
Because of the extreme shallow water conditions at the river inlet to the ocean, which has an average depth of only 900 mm, breaking swells from September–December (during NE monsoon season) makes the Cham Islands almost inaccessible; during January–May only sometimes accessible; June–August almost always accessible. Weather conditions also change during the day: mornings are calmer, with stronger winds and waves after about 13:00.

Summertime squalls are frequent in late afternoons (look towards Laos and see if dark clouds are forming); beware of being caught on an unsafe boat in a dangerous squall. In Vietnam few boats operate to international standards or are designed for rough waters.

Most days about 07:30, weather permitting (normally not during September–December), a light blue coloured 20 m long, wooden, top heavy, flat bottomed ferry leaves Hoi An public pier with all manner of cargo aboard bound for the Cham Islands. Foreign tourists pay an inflated price (compared to local prices of 20,000 dong) of at least 100,000 dong one-way.

If you are at the old ferry stop at Bien Phong (Border Patrol) at the entrance to the river inlet to ocean, you will sometimes be asked to show your passport and valid visa. For some reason this does not happen with speedboats.

The old ferry goes to the largest village, "Bai Lang", on the largest island, "Hon Lao", and returns to Hoi An departing about 15:00. Journey takes about 2 hours.

There are daily tours to the Cham Islands operated by some travel companies, which include minibus transfer from Hoi An or Da Nang. Departure from Cua Dai beach dock at Bien Phong (Border Patrol), which takes 30 minutes by speed boat and 1.25 hr by wooden boat. Generally, they only operate May–August because the speedboats cannot operate in rough weather.

Fees and permits
Generally for day trippers travelling with a dive operator, a snorkelling permit is issued by the Cu Lao Cham MPA (for a fee of 30,000 dong) for each tourist. This is probably the easiest way for a tourist to travel there.

Get around
Most tourists travel on a boat with a dive operator or ferry company. Travel between the two villages and the beaches between them is best done on foot.

See

 * Island forests are beautiful and host a large wild monkey population. Natural forest covers about 25% of the island.
 * Hiking is only allowed on the road between the two villages.

Snorkelling & diving
Cham Islands Marine Park Administration (MPA) has a number of protected areas were only snorkelling is allowed. Snorkelling permits are required for snorkelling in these areas (income goes to MPA to support marine protection).

The best season for snorkelling is during the calmer summer months of June through the end of August when ocean sediment is settled and sunlight is strongest.

There are more jelly fish, so wear a T-shirt in the water for protection.

Normally April–June is also reasonable snorkelling, if one can get to the islands as the weather can be rough sometimes.

Autumn and winter (starting 1 September–April) is normally rough weather with monsoon storms lashing the coast. Tourists rarely can go to the islands or go snorkelling.

Eat
The larger village, Bai Lang, has a few restaurants. The smaller village, Bai Huong, only has one or two small coffee shops.

Go next

 * Try also My Son for more adventure when in Hoi An

title: Chàm Islands


text:
Chamonix

Chamonix (officially Chamonix-Mont-Blanc) is a resort in the Haute-Savoie region of France, bordering Italy, at the foot of Mont Blanc. It's regarded as the birthplace of mountaineering and as one of its capitals.

Understand
Traditional mountaineering was a practical business of hunting and farming, and of leading travellers over the passes by the safest route, tugging their pack-mules through the sleet. In the 18th, scientific enquired people to climb the highest peaks. In 1760 the scientist Horace Bénédict de Saussure put up a prize for the first ascent of Mont Blanc. In those days the mountain lay in Savoy, an independent country that included Nice, Aosta, Piedmont and Sardinia. Not until 1860 was the territory definitively incorporated into France and Italy, with Mont Blanc marking the border.

De Saussure himself made several attempts, but the first successful ascent of Mont Blanc was on 8 Aug 1786 by Jean-Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard. Over the next century all the great Alpine summits were conquered, culminating in the Matterhorn ascent of 1865. Mountaineering was now the opposite of getting over the pass safely: a new breed of paying clients wanted to climb as high and as hard as they could, and peaks were climbed in a spirit of "because it's there". Railway connections made the area more accessible, lifts took the hard slog out of getting up the slopes, hotels and other amenities developed, and Chamonix hosted the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924. Almost a century on from those games, fashions in skiing and other winter sports have come and gone, but the Chamonix area's preeminence is assured, especially as global warming drives visitors away from lower resorts.

.

By plane
Most visitors fly into Geneva which has global connections, and is the usual route for budget flights. There are frequent buses from the airport to Chamonix (90 km) run by Chamexpress, Transalis and Alpybus. By car, follow A40 (Autoroute Blanche).

A private helicopter transfer between GVA and Chamonix run by Heli Securité takes 20 min and €2000 per person. They also do speedy inter-resort transfers.

You could also fly into Turin and drive through the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

By train
From Paris and other points west, the usual route is via Geneva (3 hr 15 min from Gare de Lyon) then to Martigny (90 min, frequent trains towards Brig) to join the mountain railway. The other approach is via Annecy then bus to join the mountain railway at St-Gervais-les-Bains. In winter St Gervais has direct trains from Paris.

The mountain railway is a single track metre-gauge line between St Gervais and Martigny, passing through Chamonix and crossing the border at Vallorcine. The trains, which run hourly year round, also call at les Houches, les Bossons, les Praz de Chamonix and Argentière. The line is jointly run by SNCF and SBB.

The main railway station is, in town centre. Trains also stop at, 500 m southwest.

By bus
Flixbus runs between Chamonix and Geneva downtown (two per day, 90 min), Turin (two per day, 3 hr 30 min) and Milan (two per day, 4 hr).

SAVDA run buses through the tunnel six times a day to Courmayeur in Italy, 45 min, with frequent onward buses to Aosta.

The stop for all inter-city buses in Chamonix is outside the main railway station.

By car
Coming from Geneva or anywhere in France, take A40. From Switzerland, take A9 to Martigny then the mountain road over Col des Montets into France. From Italy, take A5 up Val d'Aosta into the Mont Blanc tunnel, emerging in France at Chamonix.

Get around
The Chamonix valley is a long straggly affair, and includes everything from Servoz through Les Houches, Chamonix, Les Praz, Argentiere and Vallorcine up to the Swiss border; the term isn't used for St Gervais or other points lower down the Arve valley. Booking accommodation (including hostels and campsites) entitles you to a Carte d'Hote which allows free travel on trains and buses between Servoz and Vallorcine. Skiers with lift passes likewise travel for free. Otherwise, you can buy a Carte d'Hote for €10 from Chamonix Town Hall or Tourist Office, or buy a day ticket on the bus for €3.

By rail
See "Get in" above for the valley railway between St Gervais, Chamonix and Martigny.

By bus
Buses run along the valley every 30 min between Les Houches, Chamonix, and Le Tour above Argentiere. Buses run from 06:00 to 20:30 and there's also a late bus "Chamo'Nuit" until midnight. Buses only reach Servoz four times a day. Chamonix has its own frequent town shuttle, "Le Mulet". "Mont Blanc Bus" operates all buses in the valley and publishes their schedules at chamonix.montblancbus.com.

By cable car
See "Do". Riding over to Italy involves five cable-cars: two to ascend Aiguille du Midi, one to cross Vallée Blanche to Punta Helbronner, then two stages of the Monte Bianco Skyway to descend to Les Paluds near Courmayeur. Check ahead that all links in this chain are working.

See

 * Mountains and glaciers - Chamonix's most impressive sights are free and impossible to miss. To get closer, you'll need to go up in one of the cable-cars, see "Do", or mountain railways, see "Get around".

Cable cars
Be prepared! It's very cold and windy up there, even in summer. Fog, blizzards and thunderstorms may suddenly sweep in, at any time of year. And suppose the cable car breaks down while you're up there? So you need at least to carry (if not initially to wear all of) anorak, pullover, thermal undies, gloves and sunglasses.

Check the webcam or at the base station about conditions up top: there's no point going up just to see the inside of a cloud of drizzle and sleet. It's vexing if you've come a long way to take the ride but if conditions are marginal, ask yourself which would be worse: standing at the base station wishing you'd gone up, or shivering up on the mountain wishing you'd stayed below.

The cable cars are quite popular in the tourist seasons, so consider reserving your places beforehand. Prices given in the listings are for simple return trips, but if you're taking more than one ride, it's cheaper to buy a Mont-Blanc multipass, available for 1–10 days, for instance, 1-day pass costs €65, 2 days pass - €77.50. The cable car operator is Compagnie du Mont-Blanc S.A, +33 04 50 53 22 75, see their website for times & prices, sights and hikes from the cable car stops. There is also an interactive map depicting all chair-lifts in the valley.

Crossing to Italy
It involves five cable cars: the two-stage ascent of Aiguille du Midi, the ride across Vallée Blanche to Punta Helbronner on the Italian border, then the two-stage descent towards Courmayeur:

Snow sports
The town is renowned for winter sports, and there is a wide choice of skiing areas. Most pistes are over 2000 m altitude so winter snow is as reliable here as it can be anywhere.

Three ski areas can be accessed directly from Chamonix: Brevent, La Flégère and Vallée Blanche. There are no pistes connecting them, but buses run along the valley between the base cable car stations. Other extensive areas are Les Houches lower down the valley, and Grand Montets and Le Tour / Vallorcine higher up. The "Mont Blanc" ski pass is valid for a total of 700 km of pistes, including the neighbouring valleys as well as Courmayeur in Italy. In order of difficulty they are:

Mountaineering

 * Mont Blanc is very high and very cold and windy. The ascent is strenuous and hazardous, and involves 3 days and 2 nights on the mountain; so this is proper mountaineering, not just a hike. The most popular ascent route is Voie Royale, reached by the Mont Blanc Tramway from St Gervais. Two routes from Chamonix are 3 Monts and Grands Mulets, both accessed from l'Aiguille du Midi cable car.

Hiking

The hiking paths offer splendid views of the highest massif in Europe. Tour du Mont Blanc is a classic hiking trail that takes about ten days to walk. For shorter visits, take the telepherique to the top of a nearby peak and hike down. Or try hikes between two telepheriques, for example between the Brevent and la Flegere or between the Mer de Glace and the Plan de l'Aiguille

There is a fantastic view on both the Mont-Blanc/Aiguilles de Chamonix range, and the ribbon of the Fiz limestone range. Take the Brevent telepherique, then walk down the crest to the Bel-Lachat mountain hut, then walk down to the Rocher des Gaillands or (if slightly more courageous) to the Aiguillette des Houches and down, or walk up the steep lane from the Gaillands to Plan-Lachat, then Bel-Lachat, then on, up along the crest to the Brevent (about six hours and rather hot in summer: start early, but it is really worth the effort).

Several great glacier hikes exist. Even if you can't get right up to the glaciers and touch them, you can still get close enough to get some amazing views.
 * Glacier des Bossons - depart either from Les Bossons (at the base of the ski jump) by foot or by chair lift, or drive up to the entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel for a shorter, flatter hike. Warning, do not attempt to "touch" the glacier here, it is possibly the most dangerous place in the valley.
 * Glacier d'Tour - depart from the town of Montroc, near the ski resort "Le Tour".
 * Glacier de Trient - depart from the top of the Col de la Forclaz, in Switzerland (before descending to Martigny). One hour, flat.
 * Glacier de Bionnassay- depart from the top of the Bellevue cable car.

The first three could feasibly be done in one day if you are up early and have a car, but Bionnassay will require a half-day.

Events

 * Alpine Skiing World Cup: in 2018/19 none of the races were held in or near Chamonix.
 * The Climbing World Cup is often hosted by Chamonix, including in July 2018, however the 2019 event was in Denver.
 * Ultra Trail du Mont Blanco (UTMB) is one of the largest Trail running events in the world held each year in Chamonix. The Main course follows mostly the Tour du Mont Blanc

Buy
The town has a lovely collection of sporting, alpine and local shops. (including some fleece shirts for as little as €8). The best place for shopping is the main street,.

Eat
It's France. The food is all good, though it can be quite expensive in the touristy places. Open a can of Ravioli from the supermarket and eat it with your freshly purchased Swiss Army Knife. If you've been hiking all day, it'll be the best meal you've ever had. Other regional specialties (Quand meme!):
 * Fondue
 * Pierrade or Pierre chaude - a hot piece of slate on which you cook your own slices of meat at the table.
 * Raclette - like fondue, this is a multi-person event that involves more melted cheese, potatoes and cold cuts.
 * Croute savoyarde - a toasted piece of bread soaked in white wine and then baked with melted cheese and possibly mushrooms or tomatoes.
 * Tartiflette - potatoes and bacon smothered with melted roblochon cheese.
 * Toasted goat's cheese salad with nuts.

Drink
Drinking in Chamonix is relatively expensive. Expect to pay around €5 in most places for a pint of beer, though most places will sell pitchers which can work out cheaper. There are many happy hours during the late afternoon.

The Microbrasserie de Chamonix (MBC) has different kinds of microbrews, in an American/Canadian ambiance (serves onion rings and hot wings, for example). Otherwise, most places serve standard pilsners, such as Heineken or 1664. Just ask for 'un demi pression' for tap beer, or a 'demi panache' for a mix of half beer, half Sprite, a refreshing alternative with less alcohol. A pint is called a "serieux" or for better value, order a "pitcher". Although most people working in the tourism/hospitality industry will speak some English, making the effort to speak a little French is always appreciated. So throw in a little bonjour (hello) or merci (thank you) when you can.

Sleep
Chamonix and its surroundings are stuffed with hotels and chalets, ranging from basic and cheap to de luxe. In winter the mid-range places are often booked out to ski package tour operators. Short stays may be available, but chalets often book by the week, so these prices are given where available.

Stay safe

All high mountain hiking, climbing, and skiing, is potentially dangerous. Bad weather may turn an otherwise easy hike into an unpleasant slog or even a disaster, and sun glare can cause sunburn or snow-blindness. Always check the forecast, and be prepared for worse than forecast. Carry a cell phone, switched off to preserve the batteries, though there is no guarantee you'll have a signal in a crisis. In the winter, keep your phone in a warm inner pocket. Batteries can fail to work when cold. The highest peaks, especially Mont Blanc, should not be attempted by people lacking mountain climbing experience and equipment, even using the easiest route (voie royale).

Avalanches are likely after heavy snow or in high winds - the pistes will be protected by preventive explosions, but check before hiking or skiing off-piste.

Altitude symptoms are possible if you ascend rapidly: the Aiguille du Midi cable car whisks you from 1000 m to 3840 m in a very short time. Even a fit healthy person may experience shortness of breath, which may degenerate into outright altitude sickness, and those with cardiac or respiratory ailments are especially likely to become very ill.

Go next

 * Saint-Gervais-les-Bains further down the valley is the usual base for climbing Mont Blanc.
 * Courmayeur in Italy is relatively quick and cheap to reach by car or bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel, or go the expensive but more scenic way by several cable cars.
 * Martigny in Switzerland is much more of a valley town, with main roads and railways linking it to Sion, Brig, Montreux and beyond.

title: Chamonix


text:
Chamorro phrasebook

Chamorro (Fino' Chamoru) is the native language of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Although the English language is now the common language on both Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands, people still use the Chamorro language. Chamorro is also used on the continental United States by people from the Marianas and some of their descendants.

The number of Chamorro speakers fell by 75% through the 20th century to about 58,000 in 2016. Younger people are less likely to know the language. The use of English has caused the language to become endangered. Various representatives from Guam have unsuccessfully lobbied the United States government to take action to promote the language.

A large number of Chamorro words have Spanish etymological roots (e.g. tenda "shop/store" from Spanish tienda), which may lead some to mistakenly conclude that the language is a Spanish Creole: However, Chamorro very much uses its loan words in a Austronesian way (e.g.: bumobola "play ball" from Spanish bola "ball, play ball" with infix -um- and reduplication of root). However, Chamorro can also be considered a mixed language (Hispano-Austronesian) or a language that resulted of a contact and creolization process in the Mariana Islands. Modern Chamorro has many elements of Spanish origin: articles, interjections, prepositions, numbers, days dates and time.

There are speakers of Chamorro throughout the Marianas archipelago. It is still common among Chamorro households in the Northern Marianas, but fluency has greatly decreased among Chamorros in Guam during the years of American rule in favor of American English. Chamorro is still widely spoken in the northern islands like Pagan, Saipan, Luta, and Tinian.

Vowels
Chamorro has six distinct vowels. They are: å, a, i, e, u, and o. Note that å isn't usually distinguished in written Chamorro. Therefore you can't tell the difference between båba 'bad' and baba' 'open'.

 * Å : like English a in car (IPA /a/)
 * A : like English a in cat (IPA /æ/)
 * I : like English ee in meet or i in pit.
 * E : like English e in met or ee in meet or even i in pit.
 * U : like English oo in tool or u in put.
 * O : like English o in low or u in put.

All vowels are cardinal, like in Spanish, not like in English. The vowels I and E are similar because I sounds like 'ee' in meet when stressed, or 'i' in pit when unstressed. E sounds like 'e' in met when stressed, 'ee' in meet when unstressed or even 'i' in pit when unstressed. U and O are similar because U sounds like 'oo' in tool when stressed, or 'u' in put when unstressed. O can sound like 'o' in low when stressed, or 'u' in put when unstressed.

Consonants
Chamorro has B- as in boy Ch- as in cats D- as in de F- as in Feh G- as in Geh H- as in Heh (short e sound) K- as in Keh L- as in Leh M- as in Meh N- as in Neh N- like the 'n' in senora Ng O- as in "oh" P- as in "peh" R- as in reh S- as in seh T- as in teh U- as in oo in soon Y- as in tzeh

Basics

 * Hello!. : Håfa adai! (Hah-fuh-day)
 * How are you? : Håfa tatatmanu hao? (Hah-fuh-tah-taht-mah-noo-How?)
 * Good : Maolek (M-Ow-Lick) or Very Good : Todu maolek (toe do mau lek)
 * What is your name? : Hayi na'an-mu? (Ha-zi-nuh-un-moo?)
 * My name is John. : Guahu Si Juan.(Gwah-Hu-C-Wan.) or Si Juan Yu. (See-Wan-dzu.)
 * Thank you. : Si Yu'us ma'ase. (C-zu-oohs-Muh-ah-seat)
 * You're welcome. : Buen probechu. (Bwen-pro-bet-sue)
 * Goodbye. : Adiós. (Ah-Deh-Oss)
 * Good morning. : Buenas días. (Bwenas-Dee-as)
 * Good evening. : Buenas tatdes. (Bwenas-taht-des)
 * Good night. : Buenas noches. (Bwenas-no-tses)
 * Good night (see you tomorrow) : Esta agupa'. (eh-stah-ah-goo-pah)

Problems
Note that the letter Y is pronounced more like 'dz' as it is in some dialects of Castilian Spanish, and that Ch is usually pronounced like 'ts' rather than 'tsh'. Note also that A and Å are not always distinguished in written Chamorro, often being written simply as 'A'; nor are N and Ñ always distinguished. Thus the Guamanian place name spelled Yona is pronounced 'dzo-nya', not 'dzo-na' as might be expected.

Numbers
Modern Chamoru uses number words of Spanish origin: unu, dos, tres, kuatro, sinko, sais, siette, ocho, nuebi, dies, onse, dose, trese, katotse, kinse, disesisáis...; beinte (benti), trenta, kuarenta, sinkuenta...: sien, dos sientos, tres sientos... kinientos...; mit, dos mit, tres mit...

The Old Chamoru version used different number words based on categories: "Basic numbers" (for date, time, etc.), "living things", "inanimate things", and "long objects".

 * 1 : uno
 * 2 : dos
 * 3 : tres
 * 4 : kuattro
 * 5 : singko
 * 6 : sais (but pronounced "sayce"
 * 7 : siette
 * 8 : ocho
 * 9 : nuebi
 * 10 : dies
 * 11 : onse
 * 12 : dosse
 * 13 : tresse
 * 14 : katotse
 * 15 : kinse
 * 16 : diesisais
 * 17 : diesisiette
 * 18 : diesiocho
 * 19 : diesinuebi
 * 20 : bente
 * 30 : trenta
 * 40 : kuarenta
 * 50 : singkuenta
 * 60 : sisenta
 * 70 : sitenta
 * 80 : ochenta
 * 90 : nubenta
 * 100 : siento
 * 500 : kinentos
 * 1,000 : mit
 * 1,000,000 : miyon

Clock time
ora

Days

 * Sunday : damenggo
 * Monday : lunes
 * Tuesday : mattes
 * Wednesday : metkoles
 * Thursday : hubes
 * Friday : betnes
 * Saturday : sabalu

Months
Ineru- January Febreru- February Matsu- March Abrit- April Mayu- May Hunio- June Hulio- July Agostu- August Septembre- September Oktubre- October Nubembre- November Disembre- December

Colors
agaga' - red kulot kahet - orange amariyu - yellow betde - green asut - blue lila - purple kulot di rosa - pink kulot chukulati - brown apaka - white attelong - black

Bus and train
Car-Automobit

Directions
Lagu - North Hayan - South Luchan - West Kattan - East

Money
Salape - Money Peso(s) - Dollar(s) Cento(s) - Cent(s)

Eating
MEATS

 * guihan - fish
 * uhang - shrimp
 * pånglao - crab
 * ayuyu (pronounced ah-zoo-zoo) - coconut crab
 * asuli - eel
 * påhgang - clam
 * tapon - baby clam
 * do'gas - sea shell
 * mahongang - lobster
 * konehu - rabbit
 * chåda' - egg
 * påbu - turkey
 * kåtne - beef
 * månnok - chicken
 * katnen babui - pork
 * fritådan babui - pork chitterling
 * fritådan guaka - beef chitterling
 * fritådan månnok - chicken chitterling
 * chachalon - pork rind

STARCHES

 * kamuti - sweet potatoes
 * mendeoka - tapioca
 * suni - taro
 * lemmai - breadfruit
 * nika - sweet yam
 * batåtas - potatoes
 * hineksa' - rice (cooked)
 * pån - bread
 * titiyas mai'es - corn tortilla
 * titiyas arina - four tortilla
 * pugas - uncooked rice

OTHER INGREDIENTS

 * donne' - chile pepper
 * donne' pika - hot pepper
 * pimenta - black pepper
 * mantika - lard
 * friholes/*abichuelas - beans
 * asiga - salt
 * asukat - sugar
 * mantekiya - butter
 * konsetba/*yam - jam, jelly
 * miet - honey
 * mantekiyan kakaguates - peanut butter
 * kesu - cheese

FRUITS

 * laguana - soursop
 * åtes - sweetsop or sugar apple
 * chandia - watermelon
 * melon - melon
 * bilembines - star apple
 * lalanghita - tangerine
 * kåhet - orange
 * aga' - banana
 * ubas - grapes
 * papåya - papaya
 * åbas - guava
 * mångga - mango
 * chotda - green bananas
 * ibba' - star gooseberry
 * anonas - custard apple
 * piña - pineapple
 * granåda - pomegranate
 * kikamas - sweet turnip
 * makupa - mountain apple
 * tupu - sugar cane
 * alageta - avocado
 * mansåna - apple
 * månha - young coconut
 * niyok - coconut
 * kåhet må'gas - grapefruit

VEGETABLES

 * tumåtes - tomato
 * nappa' - Chinese cabbage
 * ilotes - corn on the cob
 * mai'es - corn
 * puntan kalamasa - pumpkin tips
 * kundot - squash
 * friholes - beans
 * siboyas - onion
 * birinhenas - eggplant

BEVERAGES

 * hånom - water
 * leche - milk
 * kafe - coffee
 * binu - wine

SNACKS & DESSERTS

 * chukulåti - chocolate
 * kande - candy
 * krakas - crackers
 * inafliton batåtas - potato chips
 * kakaguates - peanuts
 * empanåda - spiced corn turnover
 * kek chamorro - Chamorro cake
 * brohas - sponge cake
 * apigige' - grilled young coconut w/starch
 * kalamai - corn pudding
 * påstet - baked turnover
 * buchibuchi - fried turnover
 * buñelos aga' - banana doughnut
 * buñelos dagu - Yam doughnut

Driving
Paseo - Stroll, cruise

title: Chamorro phrasebook


text:
Champagne

Champagne is a region in France. It was a province in France before the revolution, but the historic province of Champagne now lies mostly in the Champagne-Ardenne region. The region is about 160 km east of Paris.

Get around
Champagne is traversed by the main motorway / freeway between Paris and Germany, and by the main routes from the UK, Belgium and Holland to the South of France

Do
Champagne is also the world famous region for growing champagne, a type of sparkling wine. There are many tour operators that specialise in providing private individuals, couples and groups with wine tasting opportunities and wine vacations to the Champagne region.

Drink
Champagne.

title: Champagne


text:
Champaign-Urbana

Champaign-Urbana is a metropolitan area in central Illinois, composed of the towns of Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy. The community is the site of the main campus of the University of Illinois, one of the great public universities of the United States.

Understand
Champaign-Urbana is a community of about 220,000 amongst the corn and soybean fields about 150 miles (250 km) south of Chicago. The area was first settled by Europeans in the early 19th century. Urbana was founded in 1833, Champaign in 1855 and the university in 1867. Starting out as a farming community, the area's development was largely influenced at various times through the years including the Illinois Central railroad, the university, now-defunct Chanute Air Force Base in nearby Rantoul and others. Today, the cities are growing, cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse, with a modern urban feel in the area's core.

Most residents of Urbana know that their town was there first, and that Champaign (originally named "West Urbana") started because a major north-south railroad was built three miles west of downtown Urbana, prompting the building of a second town along the tracks.

Today Champaign-Urbana is defined by some amount of traditional industry such as Kraft Foods, Hobbico, and others, a growing technology and information sector, and the university. The university is the county's largest employer and a very large institution of 43,000 students. It would be short-changing Champaign-Urbana to call it merely a college town. But there is no doubt that the center of gravity of the arts, entertainment, and intellectual communities rest with the university.

Champaign-Urbana is a very open-minded community with regard to social issues, in stark contrast to much of the surrounding area. Urbana is seen as the more politically liberal and pastoral of the two, and Champaign is seen as having more of a big-city feel. Champaign-Urbana residents are proud of their oasis of culture and big-city amenities amongst the cornfields, of the less intense traffic, sprawl and lower cost of living here compared to major cities, the University of Illinois Fighting Illini sports teams, and its burgeoning arts scene.

By plane

A typical taxi fare between the airport and Urbana west of Vine Street is $14 for the first person and $10 for each additional person (not including tip).

Car parking at Willard Airport (short- or long-term) costs a maximum of $5 a day. In contrast, all parking at nearby (45 min away) Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, Illinois is free. Passengers with car problems should contact the parking booth attendant for free assistance provided by Crash and Rescue (for example, jump starting a dead car battery).

It is possible to bicycle to Willard Airport from Champaign-Urbana via country roads. You can bike south on First Street in Champaign or Race Street in Urbana and then head west on County Road 1100 N which runs directly into the airport. The distance is 8.4 miles from downtown Urbana and 7.0 miles from downtown Champaign. There is an outside bicycle rack in front of the terminal.

The nearest major airports are in Chicago (O'Hare and Midway ), Indianapolis, and Saint Louis. Land carriers such as Illini Shuttle, Greyhound, Burlington Trailways, Peoria Charter, and Amtrak connect Champaign-Urbana to these other cities and airports. The Amtrak does not go directly to the O'Hare, but it goes to Chicago Amtrak Union Station, from which one can catch the Blue Line CTA to O'Hare.

By train

Champaign-Urbana is on the Amtrak system, and is served by three regularly-scheduled train routes, the 58/59 City of New Orleans, the 390/391 Saluki and the 392/393 Illini. All trains run Chicago to Carbondale and the 58/59 continues southward to Memphis, Jackson, and New Orleans. Here are the daily arrival/departure times:

 * Northbound: 6:10AM (train 58), 10:14AM, 6:49PM
 * Southbound: 11:25AM, 6:15PM, 10:34PM (train 59)

The train is an excellent option for traveling between Champaign-Urbana and downtown Chicago for anyone flexible on time, with tickets costing as little as $11 each way if booked far enough in advance. Trip time to Chicago is about 3hrs and connects to the Amtrak national network there. Amtrak, the commercial bus lines (Greyhound, Burlington Trailways, Peoria Charter, and Illini Shuttle) and the municipal bus system (CUMTD, DMT) all arrive and depart from in downtown Champaign. The Amtrak service is subject to notoriously long delays (sometimes over an hour) because freight trains have priority over the tracks and there is only one set of tracks along most of the route between New Orleans and Chicago. It is not uncommon to sit for half an hour on the train with Chicago visible in the distance. Trains rarely have WiFi and it can be spotty when passing through rural areas.

Trains rarely sell out except at peak times due to student traffic.

By car
Interstate 74 runs east-west. 120 miles east is Indianapolis and continues to Cincinnati. To the west are the cities of Bloomington-Normal and continues to Peoria, Galesburg, and the Quad Cities of Davenport/Moline/Rock Island/Bettendorf. Interstate 57 runs north to Chicago and south into Southern Illinois, joining up with I-55 to Memphis. Interstate 72 runs east from Hannibal/Quincy, Springfield and Decatur, terminating in Champaign.

By bus
All of the following buses and trains (Amtrak) arrive at Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign which is also a hub for public buses (CUMTD, DMT).

 * Danville Mass Transit. Operates a Champaign-Danville bus, using city transit-style buses. There are 7 weekday round trips and 5 Saturday round trips.
 * Greyhound Lines runs frequently between Chicago and Champaign-Urbana, and from Springfield and St. Louis.
 * Greyhound Lines runs frequently between Chicago and Champaign-Urbana, and from Springfield and St. Louis.

Get around
Most of Champaign-Urbana is laid out on a grid, aligned with due north, making navigation not too difficult. The exception is the oldest part of downtown Champaign, which is rotated east from the main grid. (This is because Champaign first developed parallel to the railroad).

However, street addresses can be ambiguous if not given with the city name. For example, there are four Green Streets: East and West in Champaign, and East and West in Urbana. Therefore, if you drive eastward from Champaign to Urbana along Green, you will start out on West Green, go through East Green, and then you'll be back on West Green again—but in Urbana. Other examples are the two Washington Streets, which have nothing whatsoever to do with each other, and the two Elm Streets, one of which goes east-west, and the other, north-south.

By bicycle
Champaign-Urbana has a lot of bicyclists who cycle for transportation and recreation. The flat geography of the community makes it easy to get around on bicycle. While there are few on-street bike lanes or marked bicycle routes and the University of Illinois campus bike path system is considered by some to be obsolete and a bit chaotic, traffic on non-arterial streets is usually light and conducive to bicycling.

in downtown Urbana provides a shop for do-it-yourself bicycle repairs and also recycles and sells bikes at low prices. Two other bicycling organizations are the Prairie Cycle Club and Champaign County Bikes.org.

Bike rentals are available from the University of Illinois' Division of Campus Recreation which rents bicycles (including tandems) to students and to the general public starting at $15/day for students and members to $20/day for others. Rentals are also available from Neutral Cycle bike shop. VeoRide e-Bikes can be found on most streets in downtown and campus.

The Champaign-Urbana Bicycle Map shows recommended routes for bicycle travel in the community. It can be obtained at no cost at many locations in Champaign-Urbana.

The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission publishes maps of greenways and trails that includes bicycle paths in Champaign-Urbana and surrounding areas in Champaign County.

Every Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus is equipped with a bike rack that will carry two bikes on the front of the bus (see instructions for use ). Additionally folding bikes may be carried on buses as per the transit district policy.

Bike theft is a constant concern. Many thefts occur each year of bikes that are either unlocked or only locked with a low quality cable lock. It is easy to avoid being a victim by properly using a high quality lock. Most thefts are likely crimes of opportunity, where a thief will quickly move on if they can't easily steal your bike.

By bus
Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is an award winning municipal bus system. The adult fare is $1.00. Students, faculty, and staff of the University of Illinois need only show their university ID card to ride. Routes that serve campus with 10 to 15 minute frequency are the 1 Yellow, 5 Green, 10 Gold, 12 Teal, 13 Silver, and 22 Illini. Most community routes will drive through campus, but with limited frequency. iStops are designated stops for boarding and alighting that do not require passengers to pay a fare or show their ID card. These iStops are positioned along high density corridors found mostly in Campustown. Designated Stops require riders to show ID or pay a fare, but also designate where passengers may board and alight.

The front of every bus is also equipped with a bicycle rack that can hold two bikes.

Routes that serve the community are: 2 Red, 3 Lavender, 4 Blue, 6 Orange, 7 Grey, 8 Bronze, 9A and 9B Brown, 11 Ruby, 14 Navy, and 27 Air Bus. On evenings and weekends, the decennial series of the routes operate (i.e. 20, 30, 50, 60, 70, 100, 110, 120, 130, 220, 270) along with the 180 Lime which serves southwest Champaign and the 190 Plum which serves Parkland College on Saturdays. Community routes operate on 15 to 40 minute frequency, but vary by time of day. The 27 Air Bus runs every hour due to the length of its trip.

MTD's Hoppers run along the heaviest traveled portion of a route and operate at either 10- or 15-minute frequencies. This gives passengers the freedom to travel without a schedule. Hoppers connect downtown Champaign, downtown Urbana, and the University of Illinois. There are four Hopper routes: GOLDhopper, GREENhopper, ORANGEhopper, and YELLOWhopper. The GREENhopper is the only one of the four routes that only operates when the university is in session.

SafeRides is a late-night pick-up service provided to and funded by University of Illinois students. The Yellow, Green, Teal, Silver, and Illini run past 3AM during the academic year. Vans are dispatched through the night to safely transport small numbers of students (1-3) within the designated community zone until 6:30AM.

The 280 tranSPORT operates before and after all home men's football games. The Urbana tranSPORT serves the Parking Deck on University & Goodwin, Ceramics Building on Springfield & Goodwin, Krannert (east side) and Campbell Alumni Center (west side) on Gregory Street, Gregory & Goodwin, and ends at Memorial Stadium. The Champaign tranSPORT serves the Hill Street Parking Deck in downtown Champaign (north side), Green & Wright, and ends near the intersection of Peabody & Fourth.

In addition to providing service to Champaign and Urbana, the bus also serves the village of Savoy. The 334 West Direct operates within a designated area that is not served by fixed routes. It provides a connection from the outlying areas west of I-57 to fixed route service.

All buses have GPS locators "Stop Annunciators" to meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements for blind travelers. Transit vans are used for SafeRides, Direct Services, and for ADA Paratransit.

CUMTD uses GPS to track buses with a suite of STOPwatch services to provide real time information to passengers. STOPwatch.WEB provides arrival times for every bus stop in the District on cumtd.com. STOPwatch.WIDGET is a downloadable application that tracks buses on your desktop. One of the most passenger-friendly utilization is STOPwatch@theStop, which provides real time "Next Bus Arrives..." signage at certain high-traffic bus stops throughout Champaign, Urbana, and the UI campus. Other STOPwatch services include STOPwatch.MOBI for smartphones and STOPwatch.SMS for texting. Learn how to use these services on MTD's STOPwatch page.

By car
Most of Champaign-Urbana is easy driving. However, the campus area is complex. Many streets are one way, traffic lights are set to favor pedestrians, parking is limited, and some streets are restricted to buses, so it's easy to get sucked into frustrating loops. Hassles can be minimized by avoiding the rectangle inside Green Street, Fourth Street, Florida/Kirby Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue.

In general, there is little congestion to speak of. The exceptions:
 * Brief rush hours on weekdays
 * Prospect Avenue in Champaign, north of I-74
 * Home football games
 * Parent-student weekends
 * Move-in-day at the dormitories, in late August

There are Zipcars available in Champaign-Urbana.

Do

 * Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding countryside is an attractive place for bicycling. The Prairie Cycle Club has organized rides of varying distances and intensities throughout the non-winter months.

Bars
There are three "scenes" that contain most of the best known bars in town. These are campustown, downtown Champaign and downtown Urbana. Closing time is 2AM, set by local ordinances, but may be earlier based on individual businesses.

Since the real St. Patrick's Day often falls within the University's Spring Break, local bars often celebrate "Unofficial St. Patrick's Day" the 2nd Friday before. The event goes off much like a normal St. Patrick's Day, and attracts party animals from all over Illinois and other Big Ten schools. Be aware of it if you plan to travel to Champaign-Urbana in early to mid-March as parking can be scarce and drunk driving checkpoints are common.

Campustown
Campustown contains roughly a dozen bars. Almost every bar has daily and weekly specials, too numerous to mention here. Here you can expect a clientele that is uniformly college-aged, if it is not Homecoming weekend. Most bars here have a pretty open floor plan and what seating there is tends to be in a loud and exposed area, in contrast to more of a "lounge" establishment. Most bar are 19+ to enter (sometimes with cover for those who are underage. Generally, all ages can be on the property for food and non-alcoholic drinks during the day and evening until 9PM.

Champaign
Downtown Champaign contains maybe a dozen bars and is growing, vibrant scene. It has a more varied clientèle with people of all ages, although the median age still probably isn't any higher than thirty. The atmosphere is more upscale than campustown in almost all cases.

Maybe the most upscale establishments in downtown are Soma and The Wedge. These bars are new, have had the most thought put into their aesthetics, but still have drink prices pretty much in line with the other establishments and attract trendy as well as less trendy people.

Urbana
Finally there is Urbana, whose bars are mostly contained within downtown. Ages of patrons are similar to downtown Champaign or older, and the atmosphere is a little more laid-back in comparison.

Sleep
Many national chains have a hotel in the area, though only a couple are within walking distance of campus. The area also has a fairly decent Couchsurfing community, but a lack of visitors. Because of this you are likely to find plenty of couchsurfers willing to host you in their homes and show you around the city.

Other hotels include:
 * Hampton Inn
 * Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express
 * Marriott Courtyard
 * Hilton Gardens
 * Best Western
 * Red Roof Inn
 * Baymont

Connect
Champaign-Urbana has a large number of free Wi-Fi hotspots.

Go next
A number of day trips are an easy drive from Champaign-Urbana, but many day-trip destinations are notable for their eccentricity or are otherwise offbeat.

 * Monticello, 20 minutes west via I-72. Features Allerton Park, is a University facility containing a Georgian-style mansion, large formal gardens, and some lovely nature trails.
 * A variety of Amish tourism destinations surround the town of Arcola, a 30-minute drive south on I-57. This area represents one of the largest concentrations of Amish in the United States.  The attractions can be surreal, and include an Amish theme park (almost a contradiction in terms) called Rockome Gardens where it is possible to pay to play tic-tac-toe with a chicken.  Other destinations include local Amish businesses selling specialties like Shoo-Fly Pie, Apple Butter, quilts, and hand-made furniture.  (Amish goods have a reputation for being extremely well-made, not for being bargains.)  More information and directions are available from the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center.
 * The town of Arcola is home to the official Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum, as well as the world's only Hippie Memorial, a 62-foot monument erected by local eccentric Bob Moomaw (worth driving by if the weather is good). Arcola also boasts the world's largest broom and brush museum.
 * Rantoul is 12 miles north on I-57 or US-45. On the south side of Rantoul is the site of the former Chanute Air Force Base. Now it is the site of the Chanute Air Museum. The museum contains traditional indoor exhibits as well as a broad collection of aviation equipment and aircraft from the World War II era up to a F-15A jet.
 * Chicago is a little over two hours north by car.
 * St Louis is a few hours away by car.
 * Memphis is 7½ hours away by Megabus or ~7 hours away by car.

title: Champaign-Urbana


text:
Champasak

Champasak is a province of Southern Laos. It's best known for a series of Khmer ruins, collectively named a UNESCO World Heritage Site as the Champasak Cultural Landscape.

Cities

 * — provincial capital
 * — the largest city
 * — the largest city

Understand
In ancient times, the area belonged to the realm of Chenla, one of its capitals Shrestapura was presumably located at Vat Phou. From the 10th to 13th century, it was part of the Khmer Empire. Later, the region was populated by Kuy people who speak a language distantly related to Khmer.

The Lao proper only arrived around 1700 when, after the disintegration of the Lan Xang Empire, people from Vientiane migrated south and settled in Champasak. The new polity was first ruled by a popular monk and later by a daughter of Lao king Sulinyavongsa. In 1713, Champasak was recognised as the third Lao kingdom after Luang Prabang and Vientiane. It was subdued by its powerful neighbour Siam in 1778.

After the Franco-Siamese War of 1893, Champasak was separated: the left bank of the Mekong became a French protectorate, the western parts (including the capital) remained under Siamese overlordship, until they too were annexed to French Indochina in 1904. Pakse was founded by the French in 1905 as the new administrative centre. Prince Boun Oum of Champasak relinquished his right to rule in 1945, in favour of a unified Kingdom of Laos. In the Lao civil war, starting 1958, he was the head of the rightist faction that had its stronghold in Champasak.

With 45 inhabitants per square kilometer, Champasak is one of the most densely populated areas of Laos (which does not mean a lot, as the country as a whole is very sparsely peopled). The development index is slightly above Lao average, but considerably higher than in the neighbouring provinces of Salavan and Attapeu.

Get in
Pakse is the transport hub of the region, with an airport, bus service and limited boat access off the Mekong. For Champasak and the south, there are more expensive minivans (110,000 kip return to Si Pan Don) from a couple of travel companies ('Pakse Travel' and 'Explore Asia') in Pakse town centre (nearly always packed with bleach blond 20-somethings. Don't expect any leg room).

From Pakse southern bus station, a songthaew 20,000 kip) to Champasak (20,000 kip, ~2 hr) or  Than Bhan Khop (2 hr 15 min), to near the crossing to Wat Phu (30-min walk to Wat Phu entrance).

 * Motorbike - rent a motorbike in Pakse and ride it here. Get help riding your motorbike on and off the ferry if you are not comfortable, as it can be tricky. Also, you can ride up the road to Wat Phu and stop and taste the various foods the street vendors sell (little to no English spoken).

Get around
Most places in Champasak, including Wat Phou, can be visited as day trips from Pakse.

See

 * Khone waterfalls on the border with Cambodia.
 * Khone waterfalls on the border with Cambodia.

Eat
There are restaurants at many hotels. Street vendors can be found along the road to Wat Phu.

Go next
It seems that buses from Champasak-Pakse are only available in the morning, 07:00-08:00, 20,000 kip.

title: Champasak


text:
Champlain Valley

The Champlain Valley is the fertile (mostly rural) strip of land that borders Lake Champlain's eastern (Vermont) and western (New York) shores.

Understand
This region borders Lake Champlain which is a large, fresh water lake stretching over 100 miles in length and nearly 12 miles wide at its broadest point. Named for French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, it divides New York State and Vermont, and stretches north across the Canadian border into Quebec province. After the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain is the next largest fresh water lake in the United States. Flowing south to north, the lake is connected to the Richelieu River in the north (flows into the St. Lawrence River near Montreal), and to the south Lake Champlain connects to the Champlain Canal, and by extension the Hudson River. Lake Champlain is therefore connected to the Atlantic Ocean indirectly at both extremities. Exceeding 400 feet deep at its most profound, the lake nevertheless freezes solid in many areas during the dead of winter. The principal cities on Lake Champlain are Burlington, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York. Ferries and bridges allow automobiles to cross the lake at various points.

Do
Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is a network for hiking, walking, skiing, snowshoeing, birding, tracking, and picnicking in and around the Champlain Valley in New York State's Adirondack Park. CATS trails encompass a rich tapestry of preserved wildlife habitats, pastoral farmland, historic villages, scenic woodlands, and a diverse aquatic system of streams, rivers, wetlands, ponds including the Boquet River and Lake Champlain.

Eat
There are many restaurants in Burlington, Vermont. A notable place for dining is in the church street marketplace. Ben and Jerrys has hometown ice cream there.

Go next
Some New York cities are easily accessible by ferry across the lake.

 * Crown Point
 * Essex (New York)
 * Plattsburgh, NY
 * Westport, NY
 * Willsboro, NY

title: Champlain Valley


text:
Champotón

Champotón is a city of about 30,000 people (2020) in the state of Campeche, Mexico, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Champotón is a picturesque place that combines the peaceful atmosphere of a small town, natural attractions and tourist services.

Understand
This was a Maya city for hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1500s. It is the third largest city in the state, after Campeche and Ciudad del Carmen, at about 30,000 people. Today it is mostly known for its fishing industry and seafood.

By car
Champotón is about 65 km south-west of the state capital of Campeche by a modern highway, MEX-180D, which is a toll road. The drive should take less than an hour.

By bus
Autobuses Sur Mexico (known as Sur) has hourly buses from Campeche to Champoton. The second-class buses stop briefly in Seybaplaya and Villa Madero. The fare is less than M$100.

By combi
There are also combis that make the trip for M$40. Look for the red and white vans in Campeche that say "Champoton" on the windshield. Combis begin their trip in Campeche at Calle Republica del Salvador 72, in Colonia Santa Ana.

Get around
Champoton is a fairly compact city and walking is the best way to explore it (especially the malecon). Taxis are available to get you around town.

See

 * The is the city's waterfront with a wide seaside promenade for pedestrians to enjoy the sea breeze and views.
 * Champotón River: With a length of 57 km, its immense natural attraction makes it the ideal place to practice sport fishing, photographic tours to appreciate the flora and fauna that inhabit the region and various ecotourism activities . In past times, the Champotón River was used as the only means of communication between the various towns that were on the river bank.
 * In Champotón, there are outstanding examples of the region's colonial past, such as the Baluarte de San Antonio, an old fort from the colonial era, also known as Castillo de Moch-Cohuo, which dates back to the time when Campeche was plagued by dastardly English and French pirates.
 * In the center of the town is the church of, built by Franciscan missionaries in the 17th century; its stone façade is relatively unadorned but features a bell tower, the main church consists of a single nave with a barrel vault, the church preserves a number of old images, including a large painting of the Virgin Mary.
 * In the surroundings of Champotón there are also some ex-haciendas, which are beautiful examples of civil architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries. The haciendas of Haltunchen, Ulumal, San José Carpizo and San Luis Carpizo stand out, the latter is on the outskirts of the town of Champotón and has been rebuilt to house facilities that are used in the training of Marine Infantry personnel.

Do
Champotón is a pleasant enough place to stop for a relaxing meal or an overnight sleep in basic accommodations while en route elsewhere, but has few attractions for visitors.
 * Beaches: Although there are no proper beaches in the town of Champotón, approximately 15 km to the south begins an extensive sandy strip with important beach areas, such as Punta Xen and Chenkán, which have a turtle camp. The camps at these two sites are intended to carry out various actions aimed at the protection, conservation, research, environmental education, community participation, and monitoring of a joint area of 40 km of hawksbill and white turtle nesting beaches. The beautiful beaches of gentle waves in the municipality of Champotón are the ideal place for the arrival of thousands of turtles that come to lay their eggs.

Eat
Fresh seafood is available at numerous restaurants along the coast. There are several good restaurants in town.

Sleep
There are a few small hotels and pensiones in town.

Connect
Celular coverage (Telcel) is good in Champotón, though it's mostly 4G as of 2023. It will often drop to 3G on the highways to nearby cities.

Go next

 * Campeche to the north-east on Highway 180.
 * Ciudad del Carmen to the south-west on Highway 180.
 * To the south, 161 leads to the charmless crossroads town of Escarcega, which links to Quintana Roo and Chetumal to the east, and Palenque and Villahermosa to the west.

title: Champotón


text:
Chanderi

Chanderi is a city in Madhya Pradesh in India.

Get in
The closest railway station is 40 km north at Lalitpur. Chanderi is well connected with Lalitpur by road.

See

 * Janki Nath Temple
 * Baiju Bawra's Samadhi
 * Khandar Giri Atishay Khetra

Buy
The hand-woven sarees of Chanderi are famous around India. The cotton and silk sarees are embellished with zari weaving, a thread made from fine gold or silver used to brocade the clothing. Note that the prices match the reputation and quality.

Sleep
There are a couple of private hotels which charge ₹400-₹500 and are negotiable.

title: Chanderi