World Map of the Best Quality/Price Destinations, Through the Eyes of a Man Who Visited Them All

Using leverage for your dollar in choosing your next holiday destination is super important. People sometimes focus too much on the hype from what they heard of some places without comparing them to others. An example of this is the typical holiday in Maldives or Seychelles as a beach destination. Having visited both a few years ago, I liked the islands but it definitely isn’t’ better than Thailand or beaches around  Mexico and the Caribbean. Seems like all this publicity from Hollywood movies and advertisement in Forbes magazine worked out for them as people rank them as their “dream destination” while they can do a week to Punta Cana or the Riviera Maya for a fraction of the price. Same applies for Mountain destinations… why travel to the typical Swiss mountains or Western Canada, while you can get better quality mountains in Argentina and Chile for Cheaper and amazing ski! Or if you prefer hiking, why not choose to hike in the highest mountains in the world around […]

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Cities I’ve Been Map (188/195 Countries) – Update December 2017

Each year or so, I update my map with the app “Cities I’ve Been” app on Facebook, and have done so for the last 10 years. This was my way to track my way through the world when I was at the stage of going anywhere whenever I felt like it and wasn’t necessarily counting the countries I’ve been to. I’ve never really been a “Country Counter” until I was getting close to 150 and newspapers started asking for my current count, as well as I wanted to have a way to measure the distance I have traveled. As a world adventurer, my Travel Map is really what I am proud of, much more than my “countries Ive been” map. It is really not that really that hard anymore to travel the 196 countries as it once was with all the flights getting cheaper. There are more and more people reaching the count. There’s even an American girl who has done it in a year […]

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Visiting Angola – One of my Favorite Cities in Africa (my 188/195 country visited)

Angola was my last country of the 5 Portuguese colonies in Africa after Sao Tome and Principe, and I would have come much earlier if t wasn’t for the exhaustive visa procedures that are so hard that I had to wait to my 188th country to pay it a visit. Fortunately for my arrival, I had some contacts to receive me. Some Angolan friends from 5 years ago when I lived in Salvador de Bahía in Brazil. Young Angolan Capitan And what a reception! Thanks to my friend Karina (photo above) who warmly welcomed me with arms wide open, I had the opportunity to see Luanda as locals do it! With a carefully prepared plan she had prepared, Karina and I rumbled the capital from navigated to nearby islands, attending he nieces baptism as well as partying the night away in trendy Luanda Beach clubs to the music of local DJs! View of downtown from the Citadel Luanda was a surprise for me. Since the […]

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Top Itinerary to Libreville, Gabon in West Africa – (Country Visited #186/195)

Arriving in Gabon didn’t feel too unfamiliar after being in Brazzaville for a while. Both nations are actually pretty similar economically, being two of the most developed central African Nation and even in Africa. Gabon has one of Africa’s highest GDP per Capita and it was felt as soon as I arrived at Libreville’s shiny airport, definitely an upgrade compared to most African Nations I’ve visited. Gabon enjoyed rapid growth after independence from France, mostly because of its rich resources such as diamonds and gold, but mostly Wood. But most of its economic boom has come from the oil boom which catapulted Libreville into a model African Economy where people from all over the world come to work for a high wage. As soon as I wandered around the city I could see this, with nice roads, clean streets and nice cars all over the place. It feels more like a European city, on the surface, but definitely not underneath. With a president that has […]

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How to Travel to the Republic of Congo – a Wedding in a Great African Family – My Country Visited # 185/195

Ahhh “Brazza la Verte”, as it was called traditionally by the French (literally, Brazza the Green). After Experiencing its big brother the Democratic Republic of Congo last week, I was happy to see this new country that was acclaimed by the French as hosting their most important city in Central Africa, separated only by the Congo river to Kinshasa which was held by the Belgians. From the corniche of Brazzaville, we can clearly see the buildings of Kinshasa with its 9 million inhabitants, making them the two closest capitals in the world. As much as there are similarities between the two countries like having basically the same people, it does feel quite different on the ground. View of Brazzaville from the Sky First, the Republic of Congo is quite definitely the most French-speaking nation I have encountered in sub-Saharan Africa, many people choosing to speak French even over their native languages. This made it great for me since I could communicate much easier with the […]

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Traveling to Asmara, Eritrea – tips and tricks – (182nd Country Visited)

Wow, wow, and again… Wow! What a beautiful surprise that was waiting for me hidden among the mountains in my last stop in the Horn of Africa: Eritrea! This ex-Italian colony, also known as “The Rome of Africa” by the locals, definitely deserves its title! I could go as far as calling it “The Best Kept Secret of Africa!”… Arriving here was like a miracle after the desertic landscapes of Djibouti and Somalia. Just a few months ago I rated Algiers as my #1 most beautiful city in Africa. I guess we have a contender for the title, Asmara, the Capital of Eritrea, is definitely in my top 3 that’s for sure! Beautiful Asmara at Sunrise The city is by far the cleanest city I’ve ever been in Africa, as well as one of the safest! Being at about 2300 meters above sea level, I first felt like arriving in a Spanishish colonial town up in the Andes in Peru or Ecuador, but with a […]

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Visiting Sudan – Crossing the Sahara Overland – My #178 Country visited

After sailing upstream the River Nile for 5 days in Egypt, I was happy to finally arrive in Aswan, the last stop before continuing my journey through the desert to new horizons. With the Thermometer edging the 45 degrees Celsius, I boarded a bus destination Sudan, my 178th country visited in the world, making the count at 18 countries left. I first continue down to Abu Simbel on the border of Egypt and made it through Sudan, following the Nile and Lake Nasr, a man-made lake flooding the desert between Sudan and Egypt giving them massive farmland in what would normally be a massive patch of Sand. Pretty Clever idea, while pumping electricity through the dam! The ride through the desert was pretty rough, very difficult conditions. Over 24 hours following the Nile, we finally arrived in Dongola, a city pretty much desolated, between sand and mug houses. We then left the Nile continuing in a straight line through sand and dust lands all the […]

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Argentina’s top 5 Lists for Best Cities, best Nature, Best food, Best festivals

Here is a collection of my Top 5s for Argentina, following my previous series of articles on Argentina. Feel free to reach out if you have other ideas to improve my lists. Top 5 Favorite Buenos Aires Neighborhood 1. Recoleta 2. Palermo 3. San Telmo 4. Puerto Madero 5. La Boca Top 5 Favorite Cities 1. Mendoza 2. Buenos Aires 3. Cordoba 4. Rosario 5. Mar del Plata Top 5 Best Nature 1. El Chalten 2. El Calafate 3. Ushuaia 4. Bariloche 5. Las Leñas Top 5 Food & Drinks 1. Meat (Argentinan cut) 2. Malbec Wine 3. Empanadas de carne picada 4. Alfajor 5. Milanesa a la Napolitana Top 5 most Scenic Places 1. Iguazú Falls 2. Perito Moreno Glacier 3. Bariloche 4. San Telmo 5. Mar del Plata Top 5 Festivals and Events 1. Oktoberfest in General Belgrano 2. Buenos Aires Tango Festival 3. Carnival 4. Folklore National Festival in Cosquín 5. Vendimia in Mendonza Pin to Pinterest Enjoyed this guide? Help others […]

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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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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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