Visiting Santa Claus’s lair while traveling in Finland was one of the highlights of my arctic trip but a refrigerator magnet just didn’t seem like a sufficient memoir for such an amazing stop. I settled on buying a fur of one of Santa’s “former workers” when the opportunity presented itself. For $130, it turns out that one can purchase a full reindeer hide at the...
It was Sunday again. Like in the movie Groundhog day, I had lived an entire day that was being repeated all over again. Such is the paradox of crossing the international date line from New Zealand to Tahiti. I had half expected to find myself in a place that looked like a Gauguin painting, but the area near the international airport didn’t feel like a tropical...
I knew two things about Samoa before my plane landed. “Talofa” means hello and one of American most iconic movie stars, Dwayne Johnson is half Samoan. Oh yeah, Samoa is an island. I knew that too. I’m not alone. There’s not a lot of information for visitors about this gem in the Pacific and what one finds is often hopelessly outdated or just...
Catchy title, huh? Its actually true (in a way) but more on that in a moment. Most of my friends thought I’d lost my mind when I told them I was going to Somalia. Maybe they’ve heard me say that I consider Mogadishu to be the scariest place on the planet. Maybe like me, they’d seen the movie Black Hawk Down with scenes filmed in Africa that were truly terrifying...
DIVING IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS There’s not a lot to do in the Solomon Islands if you’re not a diver or world war 2 history buff. Over 900 islands spread throughout its archipelago with infrequent and/or expensive transport make traveling a challenge. That’s the bad news. The good news is the coral reefs and tropical isles of this country are stunning. If...
Surprisingly enough, I never met one person in Kashmir who knew the song. Led Zeppelin Poster Art Led Zeppelin’s 1973 rock ballad was written by a band who had never visited Kashmir and the lyrics were inspired by a drive through southern Morocco. Robert Plant wanted to capture the desolation of the area in verse and Kashmir seemed like a better name than south...
Looking for travel answers? I’m available (although possibly in another time zone somewhere on the Earth) and happy to answer questions about where to go, where not to go, what food to try, what country has the best places to visit and all that. I’ve been to all the continents, the 7 wonders of the world and 211 countries. I’m not finished by any...
I’m now putting together cheap flights and travel suggestions for my clients. Here’s my latest post for my friend Joy…. September temperatures are 75-86 degrees in Okinawa, October about 5 degrees less, so either month is a good time to travel. The prices change constantly, so below are the lowest sample prices: GETTING THERE: The least expensive...
It’s the worlds largest island that’s not a continent and the least populated country by size in the world. There’s hardly any roads and most of the country is a giant ice cap. So, why go there? Good question. You might have heard the story that Greenland was given its name by Erik the Red (Leif Erikson’s dad) to attract more people, but...