Halal Friendly China: Emperors, Noodles and Super-Highways

The guys as Serendipity are in unison that China (the halal friendly way) is an awesome spectacle of Emperors, Noodles, and Super-Highways. Of course it’s fair to say there is an air of communism about the place, however China still maintains it’s grasp on tourism and rightly so, otherwise there is so much to miss out on.

Our Muslim friendly tours encompasses one of the oldest civilisations in the world. China has thousands of years of history to explore, from Tiananmen Square to The Silk Road, the country has oodles of the ancient, the weird and the wonderful.  The Great Wall of China is an incredible feat of engineering as it’s historical importance, and a short climb is well worth the experience. Beijing is also home to the oldest mosque in China, home to millions of Muslims that live in the city; the Niujie mosque which was first built in 966 during the Liao dynasty. At that time, it was forbidden to from constructing other than in the Chinese style, and hence today the Nuijie mosque is eclectic and the most unique place of worship in the Muslim world we have come across.

Shanghai, the largest city in Asia, is the modern capital and home to some cool architecture, as well as the amazing 400/kph bullet train. A short hop away is Xi’an, home to The Terracotta Warriors, is also home to the largest Muslim population in China. To really experience the Muslim diaspora in this country, then a visit along the Silk Route or into Tibet will make your halal friendly holiday complete. We’ll take care of obtaining your travel permit to Tibet, and you can spend a couple of nights marvelling at the Patola Palace. The small but friendly Muslim community provides great company, and is one of the highlights of our Tibet itinerary.

For more on our Muslim China Tours visit our site

www.serendipity.travel/china

The Great Wall that goes on and on and on....

Halal Friendly Sri Lanka

The past weekend saw the Sri Lankan New Year celebrations, so we decided we’ll provide a halal friendly insight into this awesome little country.

Located off the tip of India, Sri Lanka’s subtle nuances set it apart from it’s famous neighbour. This compact island has a multi-ethnic culture, combining Buddhist culture, with Tamil, Malay, Dutch, Portugese and a significant Muslim population.

Boasting eight world class UNESCO heritage sites, including the Imperious Sigiriya rock (a must see on any trip to Sri Lanka), the fortified city of Galle, and the virgin Sinharaja Rainforest; Sri Lanka is so much more than a beach and flop destination. Surprisingly, Sri Lanka is also home to some of the best wildlife experiences outside of Africa. Yala National Park hosts the highest density of Leopards anywhere in the world, and spotting one of these elusive cats is a thrill not to be missed. Along with the largest land mammal on earth; the Elephant, Sri Lanka also is one of the best places on earth to view the world’s largest mammal; The Blue Whale. Some of the best sightings have been seen off the south coast and provides nature lovers with an unparalleled experience for exceptional value.

Heading inland, the hill country of Nuwara Eliya lies 2500m above sea level, a great place to cool down and sample some of the best tea in the world. Kandy, a town full of hubbub and culture is only a couple of hours away, as is Pinawella Elephant Orphanage, home to sixty placid giants and a must do on a trip to Sri Lanka.

Why we like Sri Lanka

Unlike its larger neighbour India, Sri Lanka doesn’t feel claustrophobic or over-populated even in the capital Colombo. The main attractions lie away from the coast and strongly recommend spending 4 or 5 days exploring the interior of the country and the rest of your time on the coast to get a real feel for the country.

Halal Friendly Sri Lanka

All the hotels we suggest provide halal food, however note that they do serve pork in some of the hotels. Rest assured, they do cook and prepare pork products separately to halal products as many of their guests are Muslim from the Middle East, and Muslims in Sri Lanka. Ensuring the hotel food is halal is important as with many of the hotels we suggest there are limited food options outside the hotels unless you’re in a main city such as Colombo.

There are many mosques around the country, however sparse in the rural areas north of Habarana. In the coastal areas, Colombo, Galle and the East coast there are significant Muslim populations.

There are only a handful of hotels providing private swimming pools in individual rooms, and they do fetch a premium. We suggest Serene Pavilions with their large one bedroom pavilions, or the Saman Villas in Bentota as an alternative.

Overall, Sri Lanka is very accessible for Muslims to enjoy a halal friendly holiday

For more information or for a suggested itinerary, visit our website for halal friendly travel inspiration.

http://www.serendipity.travel

Travel Tale #5 – The stale bread versus the Chinese cracker-pot

Travel Tale #5 – The stale bread versus the Chinese cracker-pot

The “Moslem” halal meal on British Airways was supposed to be today’s topic but I’m saving that for another day. This travel tale all started when a friend of mine shared his concept of airline food. I honestly feel that sometimes there is a vendetta against airline food, and in most cases I can understand why. The nostalgic aroma of economy tin foil over molten hot cauliflower is often one that doesn’t dissipate with time. I particularly enjoy the bits on the side though, and have a quiet liking to uncovering the desert which tends to be a no-no in normal life, but because you’re stuck 30’000ft in the air, its acceptable to indulge in double chocolate mousse otherwise you will die of starvation. The little bread roll that comes on the tray has somewhat petrified my friend, so much so that the mere taste may in fact put the whole meal in jeopardy. This made me think, in what kitchen in the world is that scarily perfectly round roll made to taste exactly the same on whatever flight you go on? I want to know, and I will find out the secret to the most consistent bread roll on the planet. Watch this space.

My favourite story though is one a colleague told me about on a China Air flight in business class. She loves the crackers and cheese, but for some reason the cheese outnumbered the crackers. You may think this is well…crackers, but she kindly asked for one more cracker to have the remaining twenty five pieces of brie left on her foldable tray. When she asked for this extra cracker she was met by the Chinese air steward’s frown saying – “only one packet per person”. My colleague was a little shaken by her abrupt defiance in extending one more 12p packet of crackers to her business class client. If she was asking for a kilo of camembert she would understand, but the 12p packet of crackers was the tipping point of this rather irate stewardess. After a bit of banter, the answer was still the same as the initial one – “grrr…only one packet per person…grrr”. So the lesson learned here is don’t annoy a Chinese air stewardess otherwise you will be frowned at for six remaining hours of flying, and that China Air has a one cracker policy  – who would’ve known.