Close your eyes and think of Ireland: what do you see? Is it rolling hills of ethereal green and the Ring of Kerry, or perhaps tall, stark, jagged precipices descending into crashing waves, like the Cliffs of Moher? On a recent escorted journey through Ireland with Insight Vacations, I found all these and more, but what captured me beyond the green, grassy countryside were the furry and feathery fauna of the Emerald Isle. Beautiful, … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2016
An Alternative Journey from England to Ireland
David and I had been discussing visiting Ireland for a number of years. We both tend to gravitate towards cooler weather climates - and Ireland in late October would be a good break from our warm Malyasian weather. We arrived into London and rather than continuing via airplane from the UK, we chose to travel by train and fast ferry, in hopes this alternative would create a more memorable travel experience then being crammed into tiny seats … [Read more...]
Here Be Dragons: The “Sacred Terror” of the Alps of Switzerland
"Placed on this planet since yesterday, and only for a day, we can only hope to glimpse the knowledge that we will probably never attain." -Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, 1796 Dateline: Mount Pilates, Switzerland I've penned a few books that have been placed in the category of "wilderness travel." But perhaps the first to stock this shelf was the eighteenth-century mountaineer Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, who wrote in his opus, Voyages … [Read more...]
Another Day of Caribbean Island Hopping
I began my morning in the brand new Antigua International Airport on my way to Princess Juliana Airport in Sint Maarten. To call an airport 'International' in most of these small Caribbean Islands is probably redundant as most of the airports have flights connecting to other Caribbean Islands. Princess Juliana Airport is well known for Maho Beach, a small strip of sand that lies at the foot of the runway where sun bathers look up at times … [Read more...]
Knoxville, TN: Holding on to the Stories
“When an old person dies, it’s like a small library burning.” -- Alex Haley, author of Roots, spoken to his friend John Rice Irwin, founder of the Museum of Appalachia[i] Until I went to Knoxville, Tennessee, I hadn’t experienced a place with such a strong sense of preserving the past. Not just the events or places of the past – I work as a tour guide in Philadelphia and we have that here – but the importance of each individual life gone by, … [Read more...]
Iceland’s Wow Air to Begin LAX Service on June 15, 2016
(Los Angeles, California – January 13, 2016) WOW air, the ultra-low-cost transatlantic airline from Iceland, has announced fares from Los Angeles to Iceland for as low as $99 for flights including taxes. Travelers also have the option to continue their trip to WOW air´s 21 European destinations including London, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Flights to the other European locations start as low as $199 … [Read more...]
An Afternoon in Brooklyn’s Park Slope
I recently spent a Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn’s Park Slope. There were a handful of places I wanted to visit to make the nearly 30 minute trip from Washington Square Park worthwhile. I played U2’s The Joshua Tree on my new iPhone 6S and boarded the D train to the Atlantic Av-Pacific St. From there, I intended to transfer to the 2-3 line, but there was a delay, so I boarded the Q train and took it one stop to 7 Av instead. This area was new … [Read more...]
Mayor Garcetti Announces Fifth Consecutive Year of Record-Breaking Tourism
More Than 45 Million People From Around The World Visited Los Angeles In 2015 (Monday, January 11, 2016 – Los Angeles, California) Los Angeles tourism surged to its fifth consecutive year of record-breaking growth in 2015, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today. A total of 45.5 million tourists visited the city last year, according to the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board — an increase of 1.3 million over 2014. These latest numbers keep the … [Read more...]
Street Foods Of Cuba
What’s one of my favorite parts about traveling? Street food. It's one of the best ways to deliciously see what locals eat in their daily lives (plus it's always best budget option). Like most countries, street food is available all over Cuba, sold from stands, windows, wheelbarrows and carts. Now, before I arrived in Cuba, I already had my doubts on the food because of what other travelers have said in the past. So I didn't arrive with high … [Read more...]
The Ease of Acquiring an ESTA Visa with Estas.net
I am on the road usually 5-6 months a year; my travel schedule has been this way for a number of years. As a result I meet people from around the world - some of which are interested in visiting or moving to the United States. I've had friends apply for traditional visas in the past - it can be a stressful process. One of my friends had to apply several times before he acquired the coveted tourist visa. We had been planning a climbing trip in … [Read more...]