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 […]
Read More...Tag Archives: Travelling
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 […]
Read More...
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 […]
Read More...
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. […]
Read More...
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 […]
Read More...
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 […]
Read More...
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 […]
Read More...
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 […]
Read More...
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 […]
Read More...
3 Best Argentina Itineraries You Must Do On Your Next Trip
Itinerary 1: Buenos Aires and Surroundings This is what most people will do, having only a week or less of vacation. Buenos Aires by itself is a great city to spend a holiday and provides a great base to explore the surrounding attractions! After Spending a few days in Buenos Aires, it is worth spending a day or two in Mar del Plata, considered the best beach in Argentina. It’s pretty cold to be a holiday beach (sea lions love the area for its cold waters), so best months to visit are December and January. Outside these months the beach is pretty empty, but being a city of over a million people, it will always offer the usual city life. Uruguay offers the best beach options south of Brazil, and Argentians know this. No wonder you will see them all invading their northern neighbor in the Summer! So including a side trip to Punta del Este in Uruguay in January is a must, with a […]
Read More...