My vivid phantasmate of Tunisia

... T-shirts, sun lotion, reindeer, passport, camera... hmm, didn't I forget something? That tiney winey thing that means everything?

Ahh, the endless WORK before travel! But good planning + good packing = very good journey!

You've just come to my Tunisia '08 travel blog! My name is Eric Bolikowski (my friends and family know the more lengthy version of my name...), and through the 5th to 30th of July 2008, I'm going to try and preserve my one-man backpacker travel experience for posterity, as well as sharing my experiences with those who might take interest in them :) I will try to update the blog every four or five days, when I pop by an internet café.

The first stage of my journey will take me by train to Oslo, where I'll drop off a ton of baggage... I'm moving up there in August for the Norwegian civil service.

Then, I will travel by plane to Tunis (capital of Tunisia), through London. Last time, two years ago (that's where the pictures you see come from) when I last traveled to this lovely country, we had to stay one night in London as our flight from Haugesund was late (RyanAir, of course), and the bus we had to take to switch airports went in the wrong direction.

This time, I'm going with the SAME airline all the way from Oslo to Tunis, namely British Airways, which I hope will be reliable enough to get me there. Though I once again, have to switch airports, which can be a stressy nightmare sometimes.

Once in Tunis, however, things will be as ravishing and pleasant as they'll ever get this summer! I will revisit some old friends of the family in Sidi-Bou-Said (very close to Tunis), a fantastic, small and touristic, yet stunningly beautiful village, through a spectre of colourful flowers, and a coherent white paint that resides throughout the village, along with light-blue doors and windows. The uniform look helps create a simply fresh feeling - one feels vividly refreshed when strolling through the streets of Sidi-Bou-Said, and even more so while enjoying a delicious shisha (water bong) with a cup of mint tea. Oh, if only all of my dear friends could savour that wonderful feeling :) Check the picture on the left.

On the second day in Tunisia the results of my high school education, taken through an international pre-university course called International Baccalaureate (IB), will be published on the web! Likewise my fellow IB peers, I will be shaking when I log in to check the results! But I will not let them spoil the wonderful journey that I have ahead of me in any way! And I have a good feeling with respect to my results.

It would also seem that I am (not entirely confirmed yet) invited to an Arabic wedding! No need to say that it is quite an experience, with Tunisian culture, music and food dominating the event. And gosh, DO I LOVE the Tunisian food?? Especially the pastries.. yummy. Check the picture on the right for some remote sampling. If you ask me kindly I might just make some when at home once.. yes, I'm thinking of bringing home a DIY Tunisian Pastry book home!

One of the last things I'm thinking of doing while in the proximity of Tunis, is visiting the Medina - i.e. the market! In the jungle of tight and cramped streets that compose this separate and very old part of Tunis, you find all that a Tunisian heart may desire; carpets, shishas, clothing, Arab music, furniture, glass, jewelry, shoes, chess boards, food & pastry ad infinitum. The unique and buzzing atmosphere and the tradition of having to haggle for anything from shisha fruit tobacoo to large carpets distinguishes this from anything you can see anywhere in Europe, perhaps with the exception of larger Arab communities in great European cities, especially London or Paris. It's also an interesting experience to haggle, especially when challenging one's own predispositions to compassion, while it is in fact can even be rude not to haggle. Yet with a flow of naïve tourists, many merchants make for easy pickings. While visiting, I'll find a shisha for Bartosz, who readily enjoys puffing away with the one I brought back home for myself two years ago, and whom I promised to get one!

Time to round up this blog entry! The last thing that I have on my agenda so far, is the Northern coastal town of Tabarka. I'll head there after staying a few days in Sidi-bou-Said. Once there, I will enjoy the last few days of a Jazz festival, the sun, and try to do some scuba diving as well.

Well, then I'll start packing again. My train to Oslo leaves tomorrow morning, and tonight I'm meeting my dearest friend Solveig.

Until next time! I'll probably be in Sidi-bou-Said or Tabarka upon my next blog entry.

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