David Grier

Frankly speaking, the first time I heard about the name of “David Grier”, it was a facebook (shame?) friend of mine who told me to become one of his fans, or friend him …. can’t even remember … I skipped the invite (so do I with all those funny- and not so funny- facebook invites that wants you to accept some blurry-not-even-understandable-by-the-developers-privacy-issues facebook application)… but anyway, this post is not about facebook privacy issues ….

Then I went on another online presence I have which is twitter and there comes up again this name from another online friend. I do admit I was not  scrutinizing twitter streams as I did before so, yes, I almost missed this one – the good thing is- you have other people looking out for you, then you only have to do some more research and then write a blog post … ain’t blog nice? lol)

So who is David Grier: he’s another South-african crazy man who have decided to do a challenge in Madagascar. Remember the story of Rian Manser who did a “around madagascar on kayak“? Well, maybe David Grier got inspired, since- instead of flying to Mada then kayaking, he decided to paddle from South Africa, then have adventures inside Madagascar and…paddle back to South africa… the adventure is still going on and you can follow him  on twitter

Talking about twitter, his twitter bio says he’s a chef … Is he doing this challenge in a quest for that rare spice that will add that “secret ingredient” to his recipe? I doubt it, but if he does that, then I won’t even ask for the bill if I were the one to eat at his table … It must be way beyond what I can afford …
So what the hell is he trying to achieve? Let me not try to interpret it as I may just screw his message. (that’s also a nice trick for not having to summarize what’s written on all of his multiple online presence)
On his facebook profile, his bio says:

Follow David’s progress on his latest Miles for Smiles initiative – a 5 month paddle, run and kite surf adventure to, across and back from Madagascar.

I already reported on what’s on his twitter bio, but you should definitely follow him on twitter as he regularly updates it (despite the challenging telecommunications issues that he surely faces, but hey- that’s proof that you still have connection even if you’re in the jungle in Madagascar …. well, at least in some parts of Madagascar)…It looks he’s uploading from his nokia phone- which is even better- no need to look for cybercafé and other internet spots…

Still on this telecommunication issue, my hats-off to David Grier as he can even upload some vids on his youtube channel ….Awesome (and a lot of patience too)… Well, in fact, it’s a channel to his “Madagascar challenge 2010″ AKA “Miles for smiles”

Guys, one post won’t cover it all, and despite my provoking title, I say it again: hats-off to David Grier for this phenomenal challenge…

So Madagascar-tourism-players, what about making Madagascar a destination for extreme-sports practitioners? Remember, we had our national Zoto who run across the country, now we have south africans challenging themselves;back to the eighties, we had the Camel Trophy 4×4 raid … there probably are other challenges that has already been done … Feel free to share them in the comments (or follow David Grier’s adventure)

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

photo credit: joiseyshowaa

So a cruise will land in Taolagnaro on march 28th 2010, bringing 900 english-speaking tourists to this wonderful city of  Madagascar for 9 hours. The tourism ministry even held a special session to “motivate” tourism actors in this city so as to shine and give the best of them during this 9 hour stop… I can’t help but wonder: isn’t it what those actors are already supposed to do for any lambda tourist (whether their number is 900 or 1)?
Then english speakers and english teachers are encouraged to actively participate into this “event”. This is awkward. I frankly don’t know if I should be happy that people recognize the importance of speaking english, or if I should be concerned because those tourists and the local counterpart would have to communicate by way of writing on a piece of paper the price while bargaining (I had this kind of experience being on the tourist side while buying something in Hanoï few years ago, and while it was memorable in some way, it didn’t help much – even though the vendor kept on smiling). Nonetheless, the experience can be interesting for both sides

Despite all those sarcastic comments I have, I fully concur with the idea that each opportunity to shine should be seized given that tourism has suffered a lot this last year. By the way, I am wondering how does Friendly Planet go with their scheduled 2010 cruise to Madagascar that they asked for.

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

Taxi aligned on the independence avenue- Antananarivo

Once you’re tired of walking around a city, as a tourist, you may be tempted to have a taxi-ride… So let’s try to give you some tips in order to make it a memorable and funny ride

The following isn’t about the”agreed” taxis parking outside big hotels and at the airport , we’re talking here about the usual ones that you can hire just by putting your thumbs up.

Fact One: we don’t have mercedes taxi cabs …

Used to ride the well-maintained 5 years-old-max air-conditioned cab? Well, be prepared to a drastic change over here The old-plain 1970’s 2CV  or 4L will try to get you to the destination   If not, you will generally find other 20 year old-vehicle where a screwdriver can be used as a mean to block the mirror from falling. If you are lucky, the cab may have some kind of radio hardly trying to air some malagasy music. For those who have no clue what a 2CV is, look at this thumbnail image on the left, it’s the first vehicle…Frankly speaking, 2CVs are not for those who want some kind of comfort during the ride, especially if you are tall. But it’s definitely worth a ride if you want to have a different sensation during your ride: plain-simple vehicle that hardly can climb Antananarivo’s hills and that is noisy when it comes to driving through some stone-paved roads (so do other taxi models too however …) It’s really hard hearing your ear-plugged mp3 player when driving through those stone-paved roads with most of the taxis by the way.

Fact two: they might not know exactly where you want to go

As surprising as it may be, I’ve found many taxi-drivers who don’t actually know where you’re asking them to drive you , and frankly speaking, unless you’ve written the name of the place you want to go to, your accent trying to correctly spell the name won’t help

If you’re in Antananarivo, although streets have names, don’t even try to refer to the place you want to go by the street names – very few taxi-drivers care about them (and citizens usually don’t too). They usually refer to a symbolic place- so you’re better off saying something like “next to ” than “rue Rapatsalahy Paul”…Moreover, the name of the street becomes a torture to pronounce when they are assigned a malagasy name Referring to street names in cities like Antsiranana may work though.

Fact three: On change and paying

In most cities, you won’t be charged on a per-mile basis. Unless you are in cities like Mahajanga or Antsirabe where taxi-fares are structured on a zone-basis (so you don’t bargain anymore), taxi-drivers establish their prices assuming different criteria (traffic-jam potential, fuel price, the place you want to go to or its surroundings and your “profile”). In cities like Antananarivo, they usually don’t go lower than 20% higher than the price of 1 litre of fuel per short ride. But given the fact that you are a tourist, you can expect that the price that they will announce  will be at least twice the regular price. One rule-of-thumb: you’ve got to bargain (unless in cities where fee-structure are already defined as mentioned earlier)

Now that you’ve agreed on the price, not only will most of the taxi-drivers  stop-by a gas-station during your ride, but they will ask you to pay for the fuel-refill I just remember a foreign friend who had his eyes rolling out of his glasses when he found out that I gave the money to pay the fuel-refill. The fact is that the majority of taxi-drivers only has the minimum fuel in their tank to get them to the next gas-station.

Fact four: Comfort and security is not the priority

We’ve already talked about the special use of the screwdriver, but as a general assumption, most taxi you’ll ride will not give you the best comfort you’re used to when riding a car (remember, those are usually 20 years old cars). This is where the fun comes as you can find a taxidriver who pretend to have his seat-belt on his chest while it is not tightened to anything below (he just want to fool the policeman as safety belt is mandatory for any car driver in antananarivo), you can also get into some taxi that has holes on their floor so that you can see the road scrolling between your legs, … and the list goes on …

As a rule of thumb, don’t you even lean on any taxi door during the ride.

Fact five: Communicating with the taxi-driver

Often times, your taxi-driver will be able to have small discussions with you, provided that you speak … french or in Malagasy

Fact six: We don’t have a Taxi-company

None of the taxi running in town are affiliated to a company, or an association. Most of them are owned or rented by their driver- they only have to possess a taxi-license given by the authorities. So concepts like “phone a taxi” usually don’t exist here (unless you personally have been given a taxidriver’s mobile phone number to call). Big hotels may have some “accredited” taxis that usually work with them, however, don’t expect to settle taxi fares to your hotel room.

Fact seven: being on a taxi sometimes doesn’t mean you’ll be the only one inside

In cities like antsiranana (AKA Diego Suarez), it’s common to see a taxi full of people. When you were used to ride a taxi alone (or two persons at max) in the backseat, in this city, you can find a 4L with 8 or more people inside … Guess how this all fit together

Sounds scary? It’s not. I’m just trying to unstick you from your usual habits of hiring a cab attitudes you’ve acquired while you were in your hometown.  The best way to handle this is to ask someone from your hotel to hire the cab for you, and if you are on your way back to your hotel, most taximen know where all the hotels are. Don’t worry, we don’t have highways in Madagascar, and most taxi drive below 40km/h (carefully chose however your taxi that will drive you to the airport as they may go over this 40km/h)

Other people will probably add to this list of 7 facts… Jump to the comment section and add yours.

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

In the aftermath of a military coup last March, Madagascar’s rainforests have been pillaged for precious hardwoods, including rosewood and ebonies. Tens of thousands of hectares have been affected, including some of the island’s most biologically-diverse national parks: Marojejy, Masoala, and Makira. Illegal logging has also spurred the rise of a commercial bushmeat trade. Hunters are now slaughtering rare and gentle lemurs for restaurants.

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

 

(cc) Marco Belucci on Flickr.com

Be warned, this post is not about Madagascar, it’s a self-inspection of madafan…
As this new year has started (well, we’re already on february), I just took some time to look back at what I want  Madafan to become and where does it stand now.
The goal is clear: I want madafan to become the reference for all travellers when they plan to come to Madagascar, or when they want to share their experience about their trip to Madagascar.
Easier said than done, I’m not even talking about the fact that I’m trying to promote a country that still undergoes a  political turmoil
Back to the title of this post: when I read back the articles posted  on Madafan so far, I just realized that I’m writing like  a marketer,  not like a blogger, you know the kind of “look, have you seen this awesome place”… a “brochure-like” kind of writing that tourism board are doing. Let’s make it clear:Madafan is not a tourism board agency… Showing the cool places from the “bright-side” perspective is a tourism board job – not madafan’s job (although Madafan can also do it) – BTW, thanks Sara LeHouillier for reminding me that I always look at the bright side – it’s a good thing, but not always helping  when you’re a travel-blogger, and you try to earn travellers’ trust, that you’re not trying to polish things before showing them off to tourists.
So what’s all this rant all about?
First, while continuing to showcase must-see places, Madafan will try to focus more on the “things tourists do not expect to experience”  while coming to Madagascar- actual facts, must-foresee things…you know, the kind of things not always written in guide-books that will  prevent tourists from saying “I should have known”  Second: while on the guide book topic, this year, Madafan will explore  some “call to action” from its readers… It won’t always be  “subscribe to my RSS feed” or “become a fan”… The fact is, Madafan has always avoided providing the usual facts about Madagascar you find in guidebooks- the main reason is simple: you can find it anywhere on  the internet and we don’t want to be a “me-too” …however, we will begin diatributing/selling madagascar or madafan-related materials soon…There probably won’t be lot of customers but there’s a beginning for everything… BTW, if you’re good at designing  madagascar-related artworks, we’ve gotta chat
That’s all for this 7AM rant, now let’s go back to implementing all of this

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

Analysts in Europe and the United States are using high resolution satellite imagery to identify and track shipments of timber illegally logged from rainforest parks in Madagascar. The images could be used to help prosecute traders involved in trafficking and put pressure on companies using rosewood from Madagascar.

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

Make the web better, save a lemur

Those last years, big guys find it trendy or fashionable to get an inspiration from a Madagascar-related item… We all know the dreamworks cartoons (Madagascar, Madagascar 2-escape to africa, Merry Madagascar), now we have my favorite browser AKA Firefox who codenamed its next release Namoroka – inspired from a park in the north-west of Madagascar

Not only do Firefox provide the best internet browser, but they also added a really cool bonus for us Malagasy people (and Madagascar Fans) by baptizing its next release with this Namoroka name.Firefox guys, you’ve given me a definite reason to be a faithful fan

But there’s more behind this action from Firefox as they are expecting to raise USD10000 from this launch that will be assigned to preserving the actual Namoroka park. If you want to join the ride, you’ve got up to the end of January to donate

This is kind of ironic, here in Madagascar a fox-like animal called Fosa is known for chasing the lemurs, while on the internet, Firefox rescues them.

So for those who want to know more about this Namoroka Park, it’s situated in the North-West of Madagascar, where it’s the least accessible place when it comes to roads.

View Larger Map

Namoroka is home to 31 endemic bird species and 106 endemic plants, but travelers will probably remember it for its “Tsingy”

Useful travel tips tell us that it’s better travellers go there between May and October (which is the dry season), and that due to taboos, you should not bring pork meats and peanuts.

Now, you know what to do:

- either spread the word about Namoroka Park

- be ready to download and use the 3.6 release of Mozilla Firefox

- or plan your next travel to Madagascar

Either way, enjoy your internet browsing

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

Although Madafan only started on April 2009, it’s good to see that
we’ve made some nice achievements:
- a nice and fully-featured wordpress theme, thanks to Justin
Tadlock’s hybrid theme framework (I could receive a free membership
access to his themes in lieu of a malagasy translation of the hybrid
theme)- so malagasy people, grab and use this wonderful wordpress
theme, Justin rocks,
- madafan author found its way to being republished on different major
travel-related networks including www.lonelyplanet.com/madagascar and
www.tipsfromthetlist.com
- Madafan is very active on different online social networks
- Madafan launched the first-ever collection of user-generated
travel-related videos about Madagascar
- and more importantly, we made new friends…

So what are we working on for the future?
- madafan continually feed (and invite people to help) add more videos
to the madagascar video collection on http://video.madafan.com. The
vision is simple: not only do we collect videos, but with geotagging
of media infos becoming popular, and with a better internet connection
that will cover the whole country sooner or later, Madagascar can give
a better touristic experience with useful infos, and why not bring
“augmented reality” to Madagascar. Imagine a tourist standing starting
a pangalanes boat-ride, and having wikipedia, flickr and any other
infos displayed on his mobile phone or laptop while actually enjoying
the experience, wouldn’t that be nice?
- Madafan is inviting selected authors to write on this blog, though
making it a group-blog.Madagascar is big and full of contrast and
worth-discovering places and activities: I can’t do the one-man-show
trying to cover-it-all, we have to rely on true experts and passionate
people to share their stories/experiences. You think you fall into
this category, contact us at http://www.madafan.com/contact-us
- we will finally continue to work on making madafan the top-of-mind
ressources for travellers when it comes Madagascar. In the eyes of
google, we are only PR 3 as of now, we will focus more on attracting
more targeted visitors to the site

Stay tuned, and get your feet wet by contributing one way or another
to the madafan experience

© 2010, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

Fort Dauphin was described last week by my German guests (one an experienced surfer and one a beginner) as the perfect surfing holiday destination for surfers with mixed levels of experience.  There are a number of surf spots right here in the centre of town all close walking distance, and thanks to our unique geography, with both north and south facing beaches, there is bound to be a break working no matter which way the wind blows, so there is something for experienced surfers and beginners alike.  If you want a change of flavour, Ambinanibe is only a 30-minute drive out of town but rewards you with a perfect shore break, long neat waves and superb scenery.  Our guests last week shared the Ambinanibe waves with about 20 dolphins and came home saying “best holiday of our lives!”  To be honest, it’s not the first time our guests have said that!

Another special treat that only happens here around Christmas is the Festival Sambaraha.  This annual event is organised by an enthusiastic group of university students who come from this area but study in Tana.  Each year they return home to see family, and as their contribution to the region of their birth, they stage a week-long party!  This extraordinary event is bound to challenge the supremacy of the Donia Festival as THE annual music and cultural event for Madagascar.  The events continue day and night at different (mainly outdoor) venues all over town, culminating in two main events on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  On the 24th on the main stage in the stadium this year we joined the 10,000-strong crowd of locals to enjoy Seva, Dadah de Fort Dauphin, and Ny Onja of Tinondia fame.  Thanks to fantastic lighting, the event went late into the night and everyone staggered home exhausted after 6 hours of dancing, to wake up the next morning to find Santa had been.  After a lazy Christmas lunch, a swim and a big afternoon sleep, we made it to the podium at the town hall for performances by at least 20 different local bands from all over the Anosy countryside, and finally danced until the early hours to arguably the most talented performers of mangaliba to ever emerge from Fort Dauphin, the wonderful Thominot and his group Hazo Lahy. Sporting events and a surfing competition finished off the festival and I really must congratulate the organisers for what was a really superb week-long event.  In 2010 the Festival Sambaraha will be bigger and better so if you want to escape the European winter and get away to sun, surf, music, sport and beaches, with plenty to do both night and day, then late December in Fort Dauphin is the place to make early reservations for 2010.

© 2009, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com

Share your Madagascar travel experience to the world (photo cc by audreym on flickr)

Madafan always wanted to be a platform where anyone who travelled or lived in Madagascar can share their experience, their recommendations
(as well as the “avoid it” places/activities) that Madafan readers ought to know, though setting-up a vibrant community of  Madagascar-fans.

We definitely aim to have everybody fom every corner of Madagascar write articles about what’s worth visiting in their town/region or small village. Articles highlighting not-so-well known places or activities are highly encouraged- while other perspectives on well-known places are highly appreciated. So if you feel inspired by a nice place to have a “composé and mofo gasy”, a nice spot for surfing,or tips for chosing your taxi brousse seat (the list can go on, you name it ) Madafan welcomes your input.

The idea is simple: you can write an article that we will publish on Madafan- you are given a bio box where you can sell yourself while the article itself should add value to Madafan readers. For example: you have a restaurant in Belo-sur-mer, you can submit an article about what are the “must see/do” in Belo-sur-mer, then Madafan will introduce you with the following “Yourname is the manager of Restaurant XXX in Belo Sur Mer. You can contact him at xxx@yyy.com or http://www.xxx.com. Don’t forget to stop by an enjoy his special grilled fish when you drive by Belo-sur-Mer”

Do contact us at http://www.madafan.com/contact-us/ if you are interested, we’ll be happy to help you get your article published (madafan editor can eventually help translating from french/malagasy to english). Do contact us, it’s a win-win-win solution: madafan wins by providing new useful content to its readers, you gain free publicity while having access to madafan’s network, madafan readers get insightful info they may not find from usual guidebooks…

Remember, article posted on madafan.com are automatically spread through the internet, and you may want to know that, from now on, any article published on www.madafan.com can automatically be published on
the well-known lonelyplanet’s website, on the madagascar section (check by yourself at the bottom-left of http://www.lonelyplanet.com/madagascar ). That’s a huge outreach campaign for your article.
Articles from madafan.com are also distributed to the travel blogger’s hub tipsfromthetlist.com where influential bloggers dealing with travel 2.0 are published.
Finally, every article of madafan.com are automatically published on twitter, it gets published on my facebook wall as well as Madafan’s facebook fan page, we are working on including it on different facebook groups…
To summarize, madafan is working hard on having its content (and your
articles) published on targeted groups of people interested in Madagascar (who either subscribe by e-mail, RSS or access those content on madafan.com website or other partners site).

Until the first flow of articles, wish you peace and love for these coming holidays. Contact us for more details at http://www.madafan.com/contact-us/ . This is Madafan’s christmas gift, hope you’ll like it and jump into this oneofakind opportunity.

© 2009, Madafan.com: Discover Madagascar. This post was originally posted/or syndicated from http://www.madafan.com