I am finally in The Horn of Africa, in the country so-called “The Dubai of Africa”. At first sight, I can’t say that this was obvious as there is no high-rise and the center of town seemed quite run down, but digging a little more into it and talking with locals and tourists alike, I can see how Djibouti has a vision for its future. Stuffed in between bigger Countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea, and playing the “international card” with its 7 or more Military bases (including American, French and the first Chinese foreign military base), Djibouti has opened its arms to the world. And very quickly after my arrival, I could feel that there are many foreigners in town. There is still a big French Feel to the country, being an ex-colony of France, still, almost everybody speaks French in the capital which felt funny to be in the middle of Africa with people listening to French-Canadian music you hear every day on Quebec […]
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Guide to Visiting Juba, South Sudan: My Country #179 of 195
Following my road up the Nile River, I couldn’t continue my Sudanese adventure without venturing through its breakaway republic, and youngest country in the world: South Sudan! And already before arriving here I felt like I already had an initiation to the country. Khartoum already counts a large population of South Sudanese, fleeing the civil war that has struck the country since 2013. Most of the South Sudanese I’ve met in Khartoum seemed very young and wealthy people sent by their parents to live better lives while the situation calmed at home. But arriving in Juba, Capital of South Sudan, I definitely experienced a different situation. Overview of Juba, South Sudan South Sudan is not even 15 years old, yet is has been through several civil wars and political struggles that still today leaves the country in uncertainty. To me, it doesn’t seem like a real country yet, still struggling to get any kind of stability. Poverty is striking everywhere, just next to overpriced hotels […]
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Guide to Sudan: Land of the Real Pharaohs?
My first taste of Sudan felt like a melting pot between Ethiopia and Egypt! Sudan is Muslim, they speak Arabic as a first language, they dress with traditional Islamic thawb, and physically they look much more African where the Egyptians look more Arabic. there are however many tribes around Sudan and I could easily tell who was from South Sudan, while my friend Yassir originally from Khartoum could just as well distinguish people from western regions close to Chad, and eastern borders too. Sudani Village through the country side I was very surprised by my first encounter with the Sudanese on the bus entering the country. everybody was so friendly and helpful, taking full charge of me and the older men making sure that “Canada Man” as they would call me, was always alright and aware of what was happening. Always very a friendly attitude, these old men really felt like they were responsible of the whole bus, even though they were only passengers! They […]
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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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Guide to Travel to Afghanistan in 2017: My Personal Experience…
Afghanistan… Another one of those countries that raise eyebrows when mentioned. No wonder as we have all been brainwashed by the media for over 15 years of war with news every other day of a car bomb explosion or another suicidal terrorist attack. Afghanistan has its share of problems and war, but in my personal view, that is not a reason to rule it out of my destination list. Most often the best experiences that I live are in those countries considered “off limits”. And Afghanistan has turned out to be an incredible experience well worth time, which I will remember forever. Qargha Lake just outside of Kabul First of all, there was American army guy in the airplane that gave me an interesting insight on the situation in Afghanistan. His view was pretty clear on the aftermath of the American occupation of Afghanistan, as well as the reasons Donald Trump announced an extra 4000 Troops on the ground just a week ago. “Look, it’s pretty clear […]
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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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