As I exited the taxi a tall, dark, man wearing flashy sunglasses and brown tunic that nearly reached his ankles, approached me. This was Fawaz, my work exchange host for the next two weeks. While he appeared intimidating at first, maybe because of his height alone, his warm smile and outstretched hand made any first impressions quickly fade away. The head scarf he wore was similar to the "desert scarf" that had recently made its way in style in … [Read more...]
Rila Monastery – November 2014
Rila Monastary is located about 2 hours outside of Sofia, the capital city. You can hire a taxi (be sure to bargain - and note that hiring taxis from public transportation places such as bus or train stations are usually higher in price), take a bus or go with a number of Bulgarian based tour companies that visit the monastery (Traventuria, Tandem Travel, Bulgaria-Guide). The road past the small village of Rila is narrow and winds up a river … [Read more...]
No Rest for the Weary – Trekking in Ala Archa, Kyrgyzstan
Armed with a variety of informative paragraphs gleaned from Goats on the Road, A Monk Bought Lunch, Backpacking Man and Wandering Earl and not much else in the way of plans we set off to explore the beautiful country of Kyrgyzstan. After 36 hours of planes and airports I landed in the warm air and darkness of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at 5am. Hopping into a taxi where I was treated to music from the band Abba, silence from the driver after … [Read more...]
VW Bus Bar, Naughty Squirrel & Riga Latvia
We first popped into Riga on a bus from Tallinn - the old town is a short few minute walk away but we didn't yet know this. After we located the word "old town" in Latvian on the Internet and showed a taxi driver our phone screen - he just laughed and pointed in the direction of where we needed to walk. Two minutes later we walked into the Riga Old Town Hostel & Backpackers Pub where we immediately spotted the reception; it was located inside … [Read more...]
Club Med: An Unpaid Advertorial Paradise Lost: A Travel Survivalist Kit
Crashing a Club Med in French Polynesia, nonpaying guest intruder John M. Edwards discovers life is no picnic. . . . I awoke on the rooftop of Tahiti’s international airport with a heavy jackboot nudging me in my ribs--! “Monsieur, Monsieur, allons-y!” All of the other sleeping backpackers, alerted by a piping yelp evocative of a vicious French poodle being savagely rogered insensate, rubbed the sleepy seeds from their eyes and gloomily … [Read more...]
Cebu Will Always Be A Paradise!
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller “Book a ticket now and just fly!” - this is what happened on 24th of May, year 2014, my friends and I decided to explore several islands of Cebu, Philippines. Plane ticket booked. Next in line: Do the research. My little knowledge about the place gave me the enthusiasm to go online and start moving my fingers on my laptop keyboard for my research. What is the … [Read more...]
How to Brave the Budapest Baths
Spa guy John M. Edwards feels frigging fantastic! If you're in Magyarorstag (Hungary), do as the Daubians do: Say goodbye to "bliss" and splash around au Naturale in the "eau de vie" of a real thermal spa, with a Red Bull in Hand... When you first arrive in Budapest for both (clandestine) “business and pleasure”-- feeling like a dumb foreign doppelganger soaking with sweat and stinking of brimstone--say no to the Four Seasons Hotel showers and … [Read more...]
The Lost Girls
The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett and Amanda Pressner The odds that these three girls would all meet and then decide they would travel together for a year in 2006 (by the way, they were still friends at the end of the trip), all while busy building careers in New York - and then write a book about their adventures is slim to none! But this is exactly what Jennifer, Holly and Amanda accomplished with the release of this book … [Read more...]
Postcard from Cahuita: Wish You Were Here on the “Rich Coast” (Costa Rica)
John M. Edwards succumbs to the lures and snares of Costa Rica’s Caribbean “ecotourism,” instead of “narcissism,” in a relatively wealthy country translating literally as “Rich Coast.” I stood in a state of stupefaction, eavesdropping on a few randomundocumented locals who looked like they were engaging in a slapping fight—except with warm smiles of nonrecognition on their faces, maybe ganja buzzes. “Hey, mon, wha’appen!” “Wa’appen, … [Read more...]
Arriving on a little piece of Paradise, Ko Yao Noi Island
A power boat in southern Thailand greeted us as we arrived by taxi from the Phuket Airport. The blue waters beckoned and invited us along for the journey. Boats in this part of the country are great melting pots. Europeans, Americans (north and south) and plenty of folks from all parts of Asia were coming to Ko Yao Noi for a variety of reasons - to get away budget style, to park it at one of the small luxury properties, for honeymoon or ferrying … [Read more...]
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