Quebec City, One of the Most Photogenic City in North America
Many will say I might be biased to make this statement as I was born in Quebec City, and it does sound like a justified comment. But anyone who has visited the beautiful old town of Quebec City will testify of the beauty of its “New France” architecture and the European feel that its Fortified walls and narrow streets give. It has been 3 years that I haven’t been to my home Country while circling the worlds most beautiful cities, and every time I come back to Quebec I am always blown away by its beauty. Even though I have studied for years in the Old Quebec at high school at the Petit Seminaire de Quebec, the oldest French speaking seminary in the Americas, whenever I am back in the city, I try to put myself in the skin of a tourist and visit some corners of my beloved city as if I was a First comer or a tourist. This year, as it is the 150th […]
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The 5 Languages I Needed to Travel 90% of the World
The Single most powerful tool you have as a traveler is the power to communicate in different languages with the local population. This is what will make the difference in your experience in that country you’re visiting abroad.Yet many people are scared of going to countries that don’t speak their native one and will exclude them entirely from the choice range. When you leave home to this new holiday adventure, would you rather be a simple observer or a full-blown participant? Well, the answer was pretty clear for me when I started traveling, and this is one of the reasons why I am still on the road after more than 10 years, keeping things interesting! I am now learning my 7th language and still have plans to learn more. See it like this: Not knowing English nowadays is like not being able to read 30 years ago. Let me tell you that with the world’s borders getting smaller and communication between nations easing up, not […]
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My Colombia Top 5 Lists for Best Activities, Food, Things to do, People, Cities
Very few countries around the world are as rich as Colombia in terms of activities and culture. In South America, I believe it is one of the most complete of any country and definitely ranks top 2 with Brazil in my book. It is a pretty large country too and with so much to do and places to go, I have prepared a list of my ”top 5 everything” for Colombia so you can prepare your itinerary, in consequence, depending on the amount of time you plan to stay in the country. Whatever happens, make sure to plan a lot of time because transport is always slower in Latin America, especially in Colombia as it is very mountainous and that alone slows down transit times! Top 5 Favorite Cities Medellin Cartagena Cali Guatape Santa Marta Top 5 Best Nature Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona Cali Mountains Guatape San Andres Bogota Top 5 Parties and events Mundial de Salsa in Cali Carnival de Baranquilla Feria de las flores, […]
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Top 3 Best Colombia Itineraries You Must Do On Your Next Trip
With around 5 visits to the country, Colombia has quickly climbed the ranks of my top 5 favorite countries in the world. I love Latin culture myself and the authenticity of the Colombian culture is always amazing to me, it is very easy for me to feel at home there. I have favorite destinations, mostly in the mountainous area around Medellin, but I also love Colombia’s beach area around Santa Martha and the beautiful Cartagena is always a joy to visit! Since I always get many questions on Colombia, I have prepared my top 3 itineraries for you to better prepare your next trip! 1: The Layover: Bogota and Around For a quick stay or for people on short transits, it is common to arrive in Bogota and stay only in the capital for a couple days. It is actually a nice city, I’ve stayed here on a 4 days layover to catch my Brazilian visa back in 2005. The city is quite high in […]
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World Map of the Best Food per Country, Through the Eyes of a Man Who Visited Them All
This is part of my series about maps of the world where I compare each country I have visited in different categories. The point of this analysis is that after having visited almost all the countries (173/196) I believe I have finally acquired the experience and the credibility to be able to put them side by side and give an honest comparison. Of course, many of them are personal views following my personal tastes and is only a generalization. But since I get so many questions all the time about “what are my favorite country, for this, for that, for everything… “ I decided to represent my results graphically for people to get a better understanding of my opinion. Eating is definitely one of the best parts of traveling! Local food is a great way to represent local culture and its creativity, in the form that is decodable only by our senses! It plays such an important role that it is, with accommodation, probably the […]
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Blablacar, a new useful cheap travel service in my toolbox
I was recently traveling from Budapest to Vienna and since I had heard about how blablacar was getting popular in Spain, I installed it and decided to give it a try. It seems to be an interesting solution, being basically the Airbnb or Uber of share riding and can ultimately drive the cost of my travels even lower. Trains in Eastern are cheap and many times there is only one option available between two cities. But back in Western Europe if you don’t shop around you can easily pay 3 to 4 times the price by traveling by train. The Budapest to Vienna train was about 35 euros and the Bus a little less, about 20. After checking with blablacar, there were about 5 drivers making the trip, for an average 15 euros. That’s very good savings while traveling on a budget. Back in the days when I was just a student and traveling ultra budget that would have cut down costs and definitely helped […]
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Why Colombia Should Be Top of Your List to Settle as a Digital Nomad
With the recent increase in security in Colombia due to agreements between the Colombian Government and the long-term Guerilla named FARC, tourism in the country has enjoyed a decent increase in popularity. Also made famous by the Medellin Cartel leader Pablo Escobar in many films and T.V. Series, Medellin stands as the highlight of most people’s itinerary, together with Cartagena. Many people started asking me lately for tips about this beautiful country and where they should go while visiting. I have mentioned many times that my favorite country in South America was Brazil, but in the past few years, I have had a preference for Colombia and having stayed there several times, it is one of my top destinations for a great living place as a Digital Nomad. The Quality /Price ratio is super high in Colombia! You get an amazing lifestyle with great infrastructure and accommodation choice, at a very low cost. Transportation on the ground is very cheap too, with choices of taxis […]
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World Map of The Most Beautiful Countries, Through The Eyes of a Man Who Visited Them All
This is part of my series about maps of the world where I compare each country I have visited in different categories. The point of this analysis is that after having visited almost all the countries (173/196) I believe I have finally acquired the experience and the credibility to be able to put them side by side and give an honest comparison. Of course, many of them are personal views following my personal tastes and is only a generalization. But since I get so many questions all the time about “what is my favorite country, for this, for that, for everything… “ I decided to represent my results graphically for people to get a better understanding of my opinion. The world is truly a marvelous place! And humans are truly an amazing species! It is pretty incredible what human intelligence and creativity have been able to do in different places in the world, under different climates, different geography, and different beliefs. This creativity has resulted […]
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My Thailand “Top 5 lists” for Best Cities, Festivals, Friendliness, Nature and Beaches
Very few countries have as much to offer than Thailand in terms of activities and fun factor for your holiday. Adding to the fact that it is still a very cheap country, it is no wonder it ranks as my number one “Quality/Price” destination in the world. Nowadays, the country has adapted to satisfy the whole range of tourism, from backpackers to luxury tourism and is now one of the best places for digital nomads to head first to settle in their new life. I know many of them which never made it further than Thailand itself. Through my 10+ visits to Thailand, I have accumulated a lot of experience and knowledge about this wonderful country and continue to highly recommend it to anyone asking me for a nice place to spend their holiday. Many people usually just ask me my top 5s list… so to make it easy I have prepared my top 5 list of everything. Top 5 Favorite Cities • Koh Samui […]
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How the Story of Otto Warmbier in North Korea Could Have Been Mine, Yours, or Anyone of Us Present at the Wrong Time…
I’m usually the one saying to people “don’t believe too much what you see on the news, it’s not what it seems over there”… While I do believe that most people are definitely too paranoid as a result of all the negative news about some countries on TV, it’s true that for some destinations, extra caution is required… I was in North Korea in December 2015, exactly one month before Otto went on the same trip, with the same tour company, at the same hotel I was. He basically booked the same tour as I did from a company called Young Pioneers, which is one of the few tour companies that are licensed to organize such tours in North Korea. There are about 20 of them, but they all redirecting people to one single government-run company in North Korea. On arrival, all tourists are joined together in one tour bus and escorted to the same hotel in the middle of an island in the middle […]
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