Taking Part in 2 Afghan Weddings, VIP with Afghan Ministers
I couldn’t have expected a better way to sample Afghan culture! Weddings are, in my opinion, one of the best ways for the traveler to immerse himself in the real essence of what local culture is all about. Not only the food but especially local customs and traditions are always omnipresent at weddings. I had many opportunities to join weddings around the world throughout the years, in Vietnam, Moldova, and twice in Iran. And now I was invited to a Pashtun and a Tajik Wedding, which are both very traditional people. When I arrived in Kabul, I was quickly amazed at those massive “wedding halls” that are everywhere in Kabul. They are covered with flashing lights, sort of like a Las Vegas Hotel, but with Chinese Christmas lights all over. After asking my driver about them, he told me it is currently wedding season and Afghan people traditionally love to invite as many people as they can to weddings, hence the size of the buildings. […]
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Travel Tips to travel to Kabul, Afghanistan – (177th Country Visited)
And here I am, in my last country of Asia: Afghanistan… After visiting Pakistan’s Pashtun city of Peshawar, I really got interested in knowing more about Afghanistan. But in these war times, I must admit I was a little nervous about the situation. Nevertheless, I had planned my visit thoroughly and had a friend to receive me on arrival, with plans to stay in and close to the Capital: Kabul. Outside this area, it is considered unsafe as the Taliban control many areas and many roads. And the story all started on the plane from Dubai, where I was sitting next to this “army looking” guy. A little chat with him would make me discover a highly ranked American army guy who has been in Afghanistan for 8 years, very interesting way to start my trip and get his view on the situation out here. “Be very careful out there” he would say to me, and with a reason. But this was coming from a […]
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My #1 Financial Tip for Travelers: Forget the Miles… Get Yourself a No FX Credit Card!
This one will surprise many because as crazy as it seems to me, nobody even thinks about doing this. Banks are some of the richest companies in the world, with billions of dollars of profit every year! how do they achieve this? With interest! Yes, they charge you an incredible amount of money that is extracted every time you take out money, pay for something, etc. So what is my number one tip? Get yourself a “No Foreign Exchange Fee Credit Card” in your home country! Credit cards are an extremely useful tool for the traveler! they make cross-currency transactions painless and avoid getting tons of change in your pocket. I use it more and more now as Visa and Mastercard have done a great job expanding to even the most remote countries in the world. The only problem is that as soon as you buy something in a different country in a different currency, they will add a percentage on that exchange rate […]
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2 weeks Traveling Pakistan: My Experience and Impressions
Never would have I imagined Pakistan to be the way it was! I had pictured something similar to India and Bangladesh. But it is far from it! It has its very own flavor and culture, its people are particularly friendly and its landscape is breath-taking! Kind of a mix between Iran, Afghanistan and India and Nepal at the same time. What I hadn’t imagined is how big of a role the mountains take place in their country. It is very much their pride and each holiday local tourism rush to the north to enjoy their Kashmir region. I have seen the Himalayas from different angles before in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, but the mountains in Pakistan are in my opinion the most stunning! If Pakistan could take a breath with all the hate and bad news it endures around the world, it could rival with countries like Switzerland, Argentina or even Canada in terms of Adventure mountain destinations. Pasu near Hunza Valley I had the opportunity […]
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While in Pakistani Kashmir, Participating in Eid al-Adha Celebrations was an Incredible Experience
After more than a week in Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar, it was finally time for the “cherry on the sunday” of my Pakistani trip: Going up north to the Pakistani Kashmir in the Himalaya Mountains. My Destination: Hunza Valley, one of the jewels of Pakistan, where stands some of the highest mountains of the world. For the occasion, I had to hop on a local government bus NATCO (Northern Areas Transport Company) for a 22 hours journey. I’ve done many long public transport journeys around the world, but this one was especially painful as I was sitting in the back of the bus where it was just impossible to sleep for the bumpy roads, and the driver blasting music till 4 am didn’t help. Even a Flat Tire was at the Rendez-Vous. Flat tire about 5 hours from Hunza I was a little nervous for the journey since it coincided with Eid al-Adha holiday. I had been told that roads would be very crowdy and public […]
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The Digitalglobetrotter Makes the News in Pakistan
I had an Interesting interview while I was in Peshawar, the city in northwestern Pakistan on the border of Afghanistan. I had the chance to do a road trip for a day and for the occasion, synchronized with Ali Sheikh, editor for The Frontier Post, a local newspaper in English to talk about my adventures around the world as a digital nomad, as well as my opinion on my trip in Pakistan so far. This region was previously known in the news as it was a gateway for the Americans during their invasion of Afghanistan. It has kept a different identity than the rest of the country as it is the capital of the Pashtun People. I even had the pleasure to try local food in a Peshawar Restaurant (second picture). Very interesting article in general. Pakistan is an amazing country and I was happy to be able to give my thoughts about it, especially about the friendliness and hospitability of its people. After the […]
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Visiting Pakistan: My Country #176/195
I arrived safely in Lahore in Pakistan’s Punjab province, after a transit in Dubai and Karachi. Immediately after exiting the airport terminal and roaming in my taxi it’s congested streets towards the center, I smell of deja-vu hit me with my previous adventures in India, Bangladesh, and Sri-Lanka. And with a reason. They used to be part the same British colonial Empire prior to the Indian Independence Act in 1947. Similar yet very different as the main religion here is Islam, which means dressing code is very different, food is much more reliant on meat and Islamic customs must be followed even though it doesn’t seem too conservative at first sight. Lahore was the perfect city to arrive! Eith 10 million inhabitants, it’s second to Karachi in size but much more livable and modern than its southern sister. The first thing that got me was the warm welcome of its citizens, being extremely helpful and kind to me. Lahore Fort Special thanks to Ahmad which […]
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Travel Guide to IRAQ: Visiting a Country During War Times
“Where are you going next” I was asked many times while traveling in Turkey. “I’m going to Iraq”… And quickly the blank look in their eyes would follow with the same interrogation! “But Why?” would usually follow? Why I came here is pretty simple. I had the same philosophy for the last 10 years. I go everywhere, and only once I am there I discover what there is to see, and usually, I am blown away that these things are not more “popular”… Most people dream to go to the same places… New York, Paris, Venice, London… While I do agree these places are nice, I believe most people have just been brainwashed to believe these are the nicest places to see and do not push further to seek what other destinations can give them. I am a professional marketer, I know how these things work. It’s not their fault, they hear about New York, Paris, and London in Music, Movies, TV, Magazines, Publicity, Social […]
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Visiting Iraq: My 175th Country Visited
Two years ago I was celebrating my 150th country visited in Iceland. That’s only 25 new ones in 2 years, as reaching new countries at this stage is getting increasingly difficult. Now I finally reached my next milestones: Iraq. So I arrived in Erbil, in the Kurdistan région of northern Iraq 2 days ago in one of the worst times of the year to visit, in mid-August. This means 45 degrees temperatures in the shade… But it I’ve seen this before and since it’s dry heat, it doesn’t seem that bad. I am sitting in its incredible 7000 years old citadel as I am writing this. It feels incredible to be here, as of all the countries I’ve visited, this is most probably the oldest historical site I have seen! Just 2 weeks ago I was stunned by the beauty of the ancient Romain city of Timgad in Algeria, which is about 1700 years old… And this place is more than 4 times older! It’s […]
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9 Days in Turkey… Is it the Next Big Thing for Western Tourism?
Seems like everybody is talking about Croatia these days… It’s just the everybody’s next holiday list, forgetting all the other beautiful beaches of Europe has to offer like in Spain, Malta, Italy, France, Portugal, etc… It’s just the new trend and everybody want’s a piece of it. With its beautiful coast, tons of festivals, amazing cities and the help of some extra marketing from joining the European Union and of course Games of Thrones, it was the perfect recipe to reach mass tourism! But just a decade ago when I first came to Croatia, it was still just a “post-war” country and still a “Best Kept Secret” to the few who had discovered it. But what will be the next big thing after Croatia’s hype fades away? I just spent a nice 10 days of peak summer season in Turkey and wanted to see why all the Russians chose it as their favorite holiday destination. And for a reason! Turkey is amazing! It’s a big country […]
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