It is always fun to catch up with other LA Travel writers and the perfect venue for this was Union Station downtown at the Jet Set Extra social. I caught the metro from its furthest west side reach - Western & Wilshire so didn't have to worry about traffic on this Oscar Awards night. While the networking part of this event was obvious - the speaker's panel was the highlight. Trends in social media were discussed. It was interesting to hear … [Read more...]
The Wende Museum, Culver City
I've been visiting Los Angeles and Orange County museums for a number of years - taking advantage of the variety and numbers of museums in the area whenever time permits. A few days ago I had the opportunity to visit the Wende Museum located in a suite in an unassuming business park in Culver City. All visits are arranged in advance by appointment only. Wende, in German means "turning point," making reference to the fall of Communism. The focus … [Read more...]
The Faces of Mardi Gras – Biloxi, Mississippi
There is nothing like throwing thousands of beads to thousands of people. On the simplest level - Mardi Gras is all about the beads! I just returned from an International trip and headed to Biloxi Mississippi for their annual Mardi Gras parade. No rest for the weary! … [Read more...]
Giant Prawns & Birthdays
Syy got up at 330am this morning to drive an hour to pick up some huge prawns from local farmers. The government provides the baby prawns and then these farmers raise the prawns until they are full grown. The "prawn" market is only in a certain town and each farmer apparently only has a limited supply. Oh and for some reason the market is only open in the wee hours of the morning! Anyway, tonight we celebrated several family birthdays by … [Read more...]
Back to Thailand
We landed back in our home base of Thailand after an amazing time in Africa - enjoying such a variety of activities and experiences that only this continent can deliver. This was in my top 5 best trips taken so far. My heart is still in Africa while my body is in Thailand enjoying the Thai spices of life which include the food and the 5+ hour spa's in Bangkok. We arrived back in Bangkok mid day from Ethiopia. Lucky we had our yellow fever cards … [Read more...]
We are in Namibia!
I have acquired a Namibian souvenir in the form of a haircut or perhaps, lack of hair. That is what I get for going into an African barber - leave with a totally shaved head - most of the people here have very short hair. So now I fit in well. We are in the Caprivi Strip - a narrow band of the country bordered by Angola, Zambia and Botswana. It has a convoluted history - at times under Italian, German and South African control. Namibia became … [Read more...]
Chobe National Park
Today we visited the interior of Chobe National Park with our intrepid guide Shime - a Botswanan who hails from a small village 7 hours away near the city of Maun. We are staying at the luxurious isolated Ngoma Safari Lodge located on the edge of Chobe on the Namibian border. The Chobe game drives are the main activity offered by Ngoma - and along with their lodge, these drives are first class. Their guides are super knowledgeable, have eyes … [Read more...]
Crossing from Zambia to Botswana
We arrived yesterday from Zambia crossing what is one of the muddiest border crossings I've been through - the divide between Botswana and Zambia near the town of Kazangula. Guys were hanging out just to carry any extra luggage on their backs through the muddy quagmire. The ferry after the Botswana customs was nothing more than a metal floor hooked to an engine - along with one other tourist, we were the only ones on this ferry. Oh and the money … [Read more...]
A man named Bottles and a dog named Egg
We were on the Zambezi River (Africa's 4th longest) for most of the day. First we headed out on Jet Extreme with the owner, Bottles. He set up shop on the Zambezi in the late 1990's after traveling overland through Africa. We passed through a spread out village - all the homes were made of earthen walls and thatched roofs. Electricity appeared to be non existent - just homes in the bush among the corn fields. Small children ran after our vehicle … [Read more...]
Livingstone Zambia
Greetings from the Jollyboy Backpackers Guesthouse. Long gone are the old days of backpacking - where amenities were basic and services on the light side. Here you have excellent Internet access (by sub Saharan Africa standards), a pool, full kitchen and a variety of falls and safari related activities to choose from. The backpackers lodge in Victoria Falls we stayed at even had several onsite masseuses! The "no man's zone" - the area between … [Read more...]
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