Tuesday, March 19, 2024

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TRAVEL TIPS: SOUTH AFRICA

“A word to salvation…” If you travel with a minor, even your own child, you need a second official ID, beside their passport. That would be the birth certificate. If you don’t have it, the child will not board the plane.

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BACK FROM URUGUAY

“Don't listen to what they say, go see it.” ~ Chinese Proverb. (Independence Square, Montevideo, Uruguay)   As per the 2010 US census, about 57,000 Uruguayans live in the US....

FROM NEW YORK TO MONTEVIDEO

“Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo.”- Al Gore (Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo) Since there is no direct flight between the two cities, one is...

URUGUAY, SWITZERLAND IN THE AMERICAS

“Politicians should live like the majority lives, not like the minority.”  - Jose Mujica If you live in the United States, you have been hearing very little about Uruguay. Here,...

CARNAVALING IN URUGUAY

“There is a lot of fun to be had every year, and one fine way of getting it is called carnaval…” – Vanessa Pinhero (Carnaval at Isla Flores, in Montevideo, Uruguay.) The main event...

MONTEVIDEO, THE FAITHFUL CITY

“Montevideo is a beautiful city with a very European style. It's a small city, but with a lot of cultural movement and a lot of personality.” - Juan Campodonico  A tour of...

URUGUAY IN NUMBERS

“Uruguay has a free market economy, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending.” CIA World Factbook Surface area: 176, 215 sq. km (size of Washington State) Population: 3.4 million...

FUN FACTS ABOUT URUGUAY

“Health, wealth, love and the time to enjoy it.” (Uruguayan wine wish)                                                                                                (Palacio Legislativo, Montevideo)Uruguayans name their house, the same way everyone names their shop or their pet.President Jose...

THE WOMEN OF URUGUAY

European Educated Caustic Friendly   The Traveller (O. Robert Jeanlouie, Tuesday, February 18, 2020) *Join the Travel Club for Professionals on: World Travelers Facebook group or the next trip at TraveloGanza.com

TRAVEL TIP, URUGUAY

There is no real need to use a taxi in Montevideo, unless you are going far. Public transportation is safe, comfortable, available and cheap.   The Traveller (O. Robert Jeanlouie, Tuesday, February 18,...

GOODBYE URUGUAY

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” – David Mitchell.  Adios Uruguay, and yes, like the Terminator, I will be back.  Hasta la vista, baby! In Montevideo, the Southernmost capital of South America,...

THAILAND 2019, ANOTHER SUCCESS STORY

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

FROM NYC TO BANGKOK, THAILAND

“It is better to travel well than to arrive.”– Buddha In the warped context of international travel, a day does not necessarily last 24 hours. It takes 19.5 hours to travel to from New York City,

THAILAND, THE LAND OF SMILE

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ”– Saint Augustine

THE DAY THAT DID NOT END (IN THAILAND).

“Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you.” – Ghaniya Dewi Arassyi

BANGKOK, SIN CITY OF THE EAST.

” Bangkok, like Las Vegas, sounds like a place where you make bad decisions.” - Todd Phillips

SIAM NIRAMIT TOPPED THE DAY

“Behind every great amusement park is a great fan site.” Walt Disney Siam Niramit’s 80-min musical is a cross between a Disney fantasy and a Broadway production.

A WILD TUK TUK CALVACADE

“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.” ― Mario Andretti

IMMERSION IN MEDIEVAL THAILAND: AYUTTHAYA

“Every sensitive person carries in himself old cities enclosed by ancient walls.” Robert Walser. On Saturday, like Doc Brown, the group traveled “Back to the Future”.

THAILAND: ANCIENT SIAM & CROCODILES

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.” Winston Churchill Today was the last full day in Bangkok. So much seen and done. So much left to be seen and done.

PHUKET, THE PARADISE ISLE

"Tourism is a mortal sin." – Werner Herzog Americans heard of Phuket for the first time, on December 26, 2004.  The island drowned in the waves of a tsunami originated in the Indian Ocean killing 250 people, among them dozens of tourists.

FANTASEA FAIRY TALE, IN PHUKET, THAILAND

Phuket offers FantaSea, an enthralling theme park, located in Kamala Kathum. In 1998, it cost $100 million to build, today it would cost $1billion. The place is right out...

THAILAND: VISITING THE ELEPHANTS

A century ago, 100,000 elephants lived in Thailand. Today, the number has plummeted to less than 5,000. They are often killed for their tusks or used as attraction or entertainment, obviously without their signed consent.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THAILAND

Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that has never been colonized under a European power. In Thai language, Thailand is translated as “Land of the Free”.

THE WOMEN OF THAILAND

Educated. Extremely polite. Industrious and hard-working.

THAILAND, TRAVEL TIP

Always carry cash.  Street merchants, taxis, many restaurants, and most small businesses, even at the malls, do not accept credit cards.

GOOD-BYE THAILAND, KINGDOM OF SIAM

"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign." – Robert Louis Stevenson With low-cost housing, inexpensive healthcare, affordable grocery bills, round-year summer, magnificent beaches, cheap skilled labor force, a well-educated population, a basketful of ready-brides, Thailand has been among the premier destinations for those who want to work overseas or settle into an Edenic retirement. It is the ideal land for the expat (expatriate) and retiree.

HI FROM RIO JANEIRO, BRAZIL

It is 7:05 PM in Rio de Janeiro, cultural capital of Brazil. It is 5:05 PM in New York City, capital of the world.  I am here with 57...

CHRIST REDEEMER. PARADE OF THE CHAMPIONS.

A regular visit to Rio de Janeiro involves paying due time to the Christ Redeemer perched on top of Corcavado Mountain. The famous statue, 38-meter tall (with its pedestal),...

BRAZIL: THE COUNTRY OF CARNAVAL, FOOTBALL AND BEACHES.

“Brazil is not what you see but what you feel. Once you spend time here - a week, two weeks - you get in the vibe. It's really intoxicating.” Francisco Costa. Should we start with the clichés that Brazil is the Land of Carnaval, Football, and Beaches? Or should you know that Brazil started the internal trade of black Africans and was the last country on Earth to end slavery?

DANCING WITH MONOBLOCO. SWIMMING IN IPANEMA

Monobloco is the new sensation in Rio de Janeiro.  The trio electrico has adopted the Bahia concept of an ambulatory street party.  Their show has become a staple of...

RIO DE JANEIRO, CIDADE MARAVILHOSA.

Once simplistic way to conceive Brazil is to see Brasilia as the political capital, Sao Paulo as the financial capital, Rio as the cultural capital and Salvador as the...

SKY-RIDING TO SUGAR LOAF. FLYING TO SALVADOR.

In Moonraker (1979), James Bond (Roger Moore) was attacked by Jaws (Richard Kiel) in a cable car that was riding toward the Sugar Loaf Mountain, in Rio. The mid-air...

SALVADOR DA BAHIA, THE BLACK ROME

“No matter what, people should come to Salvador. Even people who are afraid to travel, who say, Oh, well, but I hear…” Anthony Bourdain. It is very difficult to explain Salvador.  It is almost impossible to explain why so many travelers fall in love with this city.  It is true that the city it the birth place of Denilson, Ze Roberto and Dani Alves,

LOVING PELOURINHO. ADORING COLISEU.

The international visitor has much to experience, alongside Salvador’s exotism. Pelhourinho, the Old City, by itself is worth a trip.  You will take a walk into the past century,...

CANDOMBLE TEMPLE. FLAMENGO BEACH DELIGHTS

The two large Arembepe buses could not come close to the Candomble temple.  They stopped 100 yards away.  The Group had to walk to the edge of an escarpment,...

THE FUTURE OF BRAZIL

On the international front, Brazil does not seem to be getting a fair shake.  The country occupies half a continent, is the first biodiverse, the fifth largest, the sixth...

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