3rd Year Travel Anniversary!!

On 25 March 2017, I departed my home in CT to cycle across the southern tier of the USA, which was the beginning of a 3 year travel adventure that came to an abrupt end last week.  I was planning on ending in April anyway, but still wasn’t expecting to end so abruptly. The few trips that I had planned for April were canceled (obviously).

I’m still in Niger for a minimum of 14 days at an AirBnB, but probably a lot longer, laying in bed playing on my laptop. Fourteen nights will be the longest that I’ve slept in a single bed (sequentially) in the 3 last years. I moved around a lot. Towards the end, however, moving everyday or every 2nd or 3rd day started to wear. I started making an effort to stay in one place longer or take rest days in-between tours.

While change was guaranteed daily, there was one constant from day-to-day travels: my 3 bags (weight approximately 60 lbs. or 25 kg). They contain all my personal necessities for the 3 years, soon to be diluted by my 2 packed storage rooms of personal possessions back in the US. I’m gonna miss the ultra minimalist life style a lot.

I have mixed feeling as the travels and adventure are coming to an end*. When I travel I’m always greater than 95% happy all the time. However, this COVID-19 self-isolation and social distancing ain’t traveling.

It’s been a great 3 years. I’ve met many amazing people, and seen and experienced a lot. My brain power isn’t sufficiently large enough to quickly recall all the places I’ve visited and experiences, but when I scroll through my pictures, I’m always pleasantly surprised as they quickly bring back lots of great memories.

I tried to find an anniversary cake for the 3 candle celebration, but instead choose 3 mangoes! It’s mango season here! Thank you all for following the adventures! My last adventure; returning to the US!
*previously this sentence read: “I have mixed feeling as it’s all coming to an end.” I changed it! 😅

Review of Hawaii

Highlights and Observations

1. Amazing Beaches and Beautiful Landscapes
2. Excellent Food in Waikiki most with an Asian Influence
3. Definitely would like to visit again during off season and explore the mountain and forested areas, possibly even camp.
4. Really enjoyed the Waikiki Aquarium and Honolulu State Art Museum. The aquarium had an audio guide that was very educational. And the art museum was at the level of a small national museum, not a state museum.
 5. The state seemed to unique blend of money and liberal culture with traditional pacific island culture.

 Challenges and Improvements 

1. Never visit during the peak season. Everything is over priced and super crowded.
2. Fairly average scuba diving, if I visited again, I probably would not scuba dive.
3. Very cold at night on the "big island" due to the hight altitude. I was not expecting it.

 If ever returned to Hawaii, I get tickets ahead of time to visit: 
1. Pearl Harbor Memorial
2. Doris Duke's Shangri-la

Review of Equatorial Guinea

Highlights and Observations 

1. Playing with the Chimpanzee was the highlight of my trip.
2. Driving along the four lane highway for over a 160k through the middle of the jungle with virtually no other cars was absolutely bizarre.
 3. Another bizarre experience was staying at the 5 Start Grand Djibloho Hotel located in the village Olaya where the president was born. Using the oil wealth of the county, he wanted it to be the next capital of the county. Except the oil wealth that built the 5 Star Grand Djibloho Hotel and numerous surrounding, still vacant, office buildings has evaporated due to lower oil prices.
 4. Another causality of lower oil was the newly built airport in Mengomeyén. It's completely finished and fully operative, but closed due to lack of demands for flights.

Challenges and Improvements 

1. It's very difficult to tour the country. Virtually no tourist industry exists in Equatorial Guinea.
2. The tourism that exists revolves around the wealthy oil industry. Everything associated with it is very expensive.
3. There's clearly a very cheap inexpensive local non-oil economy where most of the inhabitants of Equatorial Guinea live and work, but it's difficult to gain access. The people that live and work in this economy are not familiar with tourism.
 4. Another barrier of entry to the local non-oil economy for me was the language. The official language is Spanish and my Spanish is very limited.

Review of Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste was average. Everything was okay, just okay. The diving was okay. The food was okay. Dili was okay. There really weren’t any “wows” to discover. But it does seem like a great place to get off the grid. Definitely now a lot of tourist yet. There might be a reason though.

Review of Papua New Guinea

I have mixed feels about Papua New Guinea. Mostly because was limited to Ports Moresby.  I should have spent more time and explored other regions of the country. The Eclectus Parrot was probably the highlight of my visit, other than meeting a new friend while scuba diving and being invited to a dinner party. The sunrise views from my hotel room were also memorable as well as the National Museum and Art Gallery.

Review of South Pacific Tour

Highlights and Observations 

1.  Overall, the island nations are overly abundant with beauty! I wished we spent more time in the South Pacific scuba diving, kayaking, hiking, etc. and less on culture or history. Most of the cultural or historical sights were underwhelming. They were mostly traditions villages and marginal museums, except for 2 U.N.E.S.C.O. sights. The historical timeline of each island basically isn’t too complicated or different from each other; it basically consists of 4 eras: pre-missionary, missionary, WWII (Japanese vs. Americans), and today. And similar to many developing counties in African and South American, the indigenous inhabitants don’t have the means or interest (typical at their stage of economic development) to invest historical and cultural museums. 
2. The thrill of traveling through the South Pacific was damped by a group of old white British people who didn’t have the capacity to appreciate diversity. They view the countries we visited through their narrow viewfinder and applied their British filters. Instead of learning from or appreciating the culture, they insist on judging the culture. They’d ask questions like “does your government provide a means to recycle your disposable waste?” Most of the population in these countries is living on a diet of coconut, rice and fish. Their recyclable waste isn’t their main problem. Or the Brits would critique the food service based on Western standards: “The food was severed sequentially and not together. We ate our toast first, because we didn’t know eggs were coming.” “They didn’t provide salt. We had to ask for it. When they provided it, the meal was almost finished.” Maybe meals in the South Pacific are eaten in sequential order, but in the order it’s cooked. Maybe it isn’t customary to add salt at the table. Moreover, it seemed like the locals were trying to be accommodating to Western tastes and eating habit to please the tourist, but were falling short and therefore being criticized. The people on the tour put the shortcomings on blast; they loved to complain. It was their hobby. They complained about everything. Listening to complainers can be exhausting. Lesson to be learned: don’t travel with old white people who are set in their ways.
3. 100% Anti-Technology Group: a) all group members except myself printed a stack of paper with their flight information, I saved my flight information to a folder on my phone; b) there was no means to contact each other when we were not together physically, since no WhatApp or Messenger group existed, because most people did not have phones and those who did, did not have the necessary apps; c) no use of Maps.Me or any type of electronic maps; d) no sharing of personal photos on Instagram or FB, instead most of the participants still send postcards; e) no SIM cards for immediate online information like country stats on “Google”, or recommended restaurants or “things-to-do” on TripAdvisor or Wikitravel; f) no Kindle downloads of Lonely Plant offline. There is so much information available to today electronically, since the tour participants were not taking advantage this information, it was like traveling with cave people. 
4.  From the trip I obtained a cursory understanding of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. I also learned a lot about the food and tried a lot of new foods that I’ve never tried before. 
5. Both the UNESCO sight of “Rai Mata” in Vanuatu and “Nan Moda” l in Micronesia were highlights for me along with trying Kava in Micronesia and visiting the Mt. Yusur Volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu. Not surprisingly Vanuatu and Micronesia are also my two favorite country visits on this trip. 
6. The slow pace of the tour and decent WiFi in the most of the hotels allowed me catch up on organizing my life and coordinate future travels plans. 
7. My first time to visit a clam farm. 

 Challenges and Improvements 

1. The $50 for Internet access at the Wallis hotel was too expensive. 
2. Trip notes should include the cost and usage limits of the WiFi at the hotels, if WiFi is not included, or provided in limited quality, with the room. 
3. Too much time spend on Wallis there wasn't enough things to see or do there. 
4. The zoo/park and Martine Museum in New Caledonia were boring. Visiting the art museum and aquarium would have been better activities, in my opinion. Or at least more suitable to my interests. 
5. The transport vans in Port Vila, Vanuatu were of extremely poor quality. There had no shocks absorbers. Sitting in the back, I felt every bump. It was extremely uncomfortable. 
6.  Not enough physical activity on the trip. But that was partially my fault, I had the full itinerary prior to signing up, I recognized there wasn’t a lot of physical activity. The trip did, however, covered most of the countries that I wanted to visit and that’s why I signed up. In retrospect, the trip was clearly suited for old retirees. The focus was nice hotels and lot of cultural village visits and traditional dancing.

Trans Africa - Complete

I left Africa a few days ago, after spending the last 10 months there. It has been fun, educational, informative and eye-opening. I’m going to miss the continent. It has always been, and still is, my favorite continent.

Most of my current trip through Africa was on an Overland Truck (i.e. cook groups and camping) but I did manage to include few three-to-four star hotels here and there in the larger Africa cities along the way. For me, “overlanding” is a great way to experience the rural spaces between the large cities and provides exposure to the smaller communities, not just large cities. One can miss a lot of local culture by flying in and out of countries. Even though I do it all the time. And did it on this trip. I flew in and out of: Mozambique, Burundi, Djibouti and South Sudan.

As you would expect, I'm always asked "what were your favorite countries"? My "personal" favorites are: 1) The Gambia (I liked the people a lot. They were somewhat aggressive towards tourist, but in a friendly, humorous way.); 2) Ghana (It reminded me of how Kenya was in 1985. The tourist attractions were a bit “unfinessed”, but I liked that.); 3) South Africa (I’ve been to Johannesburg and Cape Town before. I expanded by exposure of the country this time by traveling from Kruger to Port Elizabeth. It was absolutely amazing - mountains, vistas, beaches, game parks, diversity of people, etc.); 5) Mozambique (scuba diving, coastline and beaches) and 6) Kenya (Not only this visit, but previous visits combined, has made me fond of Kenya. e.g. Taking the overnight train to Mombassa. Returning for my friend’s wedding, etc.). These are my personal favorites, not universal favorites.

In general Africa has been good to me. A number of the countries I visited are designated “orange” (Mauritania, Sudan, Burundi) or “red” (South Sudan) by the US State Department, but I never felt unsafe in any of them. Other than getting scammed at an ATM in South Africa - they got my card information, but no money - and my iPhone pick pocketed in Ethiopia, I had no major issues. Both of the incidents were due to me feeling a little too at ease and letting down my guard. Many African countries have a history of corruption, but I did not experience it. I was asked a few times very casually by officials for “donations, but I would say “no” and that was that. I felt less safe in Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa (immediately post-apartheid) in the 90’s than any place I visited in 2017-18. The places I’ve visited previously in Africa during the ‘90s have certainly improved, expect for Zimbabwe.

Overall it was a great trip. I got to traveled with some amazing people, made some friends, but also met and traveled with a few duds. On this trip, I visited 34 countries (5 of which I’ve visited previously) on mainland Africa. I’ve visited 2 additional counties, Egypt and Malawi, on prior trips. I expect that some day I’ll visit the balance of 11 countries*. All of which are located in North Africa (except one), but I don’t want to rush visit them. Eventually I’ll get there, in due time. I also would like to return to the DRC to raft down the Congo River, but perhaps not until after the recent outbreaks of Ebola is resolved.

 *Wish list: Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Central African Republic, Chad, Algeria, Tunisia, Liberia, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Somalia

MisAdventures

In early 2005, seeking a break from work and the mundane, I escaped DC to meander around Asia and Australia for nine months. The trip was the inspiration for this blog. The countries that I visited: Turkey, Syria, Jordon, Egypt, Iran, India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Australia

The following summer, still meandering, I cycled across the U.S. from West to East with bike4peace.org and then visited Poland with my father. His parent emigrated from there post-WW1 and never returned.

The spring of 2007 inspired another cycling trip from South to North along the Underground Railroad Route. The logic being why not, I already owned the bike and the gear.

During the fall of 2007, I escaped to South America for four months, visiting: Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

Now I'm back in NJ. Doing what? As Joseph Cambell would say "I'm following my bliss". I'm TRYING to be a screenwriter/filmmaker.  What does that mean, exactly?... In a year or so, I'll be looking for a job in Financial Modeling again!

2009 included a Sustainable Agriculture and Urban Garden Trip to Cuba. A goal of mine was to visit Cuba before Castro died and I achieved it.

2010 I visited my final continent, Antarctica, along with a trip to Russia with my nephew, Alex.

In early 2010 the BLISS was almost over, as I set out to find a real job once again. Actually, I started looking forward to some structure back in my life (aka like a "normal" person, but perhaps not that normal).

In 2011, I traveled to Iceland to scuba dive, and to Norway, Greenland and Iceland (again) aboard a Arctic Cruise and one additional scuba trip to Belize.

In 2012 while still working full time I squeezed in dog sledding trip to Ontario, Canada, a scuba diving trip to Palau, Thanksgiving in Florida and a climb/hike up Mt. Aconcagua, plus a side trip to Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

Working full-time limited my adventure time. Only 3 trips in 2013: a trip to Japan, the Red Sea specifically to dive, and Spain with my niece, Breana. 

2014 included trips to Paris, Central America and scuba diving off of Socorros Islands, Mexico and numerous weekend trips to Ivy Universities. 

2015 included weekend trips to Philadelphia, Toronto, Los Angeles, Charleston, Georgia, Hartford and scuba diving in Garden of the Queen, Cuba and a short hop to Panama before scuba diving off Cocos Island, Costa Rica.

2016 included a trip to Paraguay and Uruguay, a weekend in Nashville; a Maine Summer Trip; mountain climbing/hiking up Mt.Elbrus in Russia; Great White Shark Cage Diving, Guadalupe, Mexico; Thanksgiving in the Pacific Northwest and a trip to Jackson Pollock's studio.  2016 also included a helicopter flying lesson, sky diving, a Mary J. Blige concert, and Rihanna concert. 

2017 will be the start of a two years travel adventure, starting with Southern Tier Cross Country Cycling, Eastern Europe, Sailing the Greek Islands, Mongolia, Silk Route, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Middle East, UK, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and a Trans Africa Trip, which will continue until July 2018.

The Trans Africa Trip finished early August 2018, afterward I returned to the USA, then headed to my friend's Alfred's wedding in Nairobi, Comoros, Djibouti, South Sudan, Silk Road (Western China), South Korea, Toga to swim with the humpback mommy whales and their babies, South Pacific, Singapore, Myanmar, cycling in Vietnam, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste (for Xmas), Bali (for New Year).

2019 starts out with trips to Borneo,  Brunei,  New Zealand, Iraq Cyprus, Malta, Libya, Tunisia, 4 Small European Countries, Algeria, Cabo Verde, Somalia, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mauritius, Afghanistan, Seychelles, DRC, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Palestine, Yemen, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tomé & Príncipe, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Trinidad & Tebogo, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Columbia.

2020 started out strong, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Mali, Burkina Faso, Maldives, Chad, Central African Republic, Niger then COVID HIT!!!  

2021first trip during COVID was to Yemen, Mexico City, Isle de Mujeres, Idaho, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia. 

2022 starts with back to Africa - South Sudan, Timbuktu, Liberia - then Philippines were I finally caught COVID, next Spain Degustation "Foodie" Tour, hopefully Jamaica.

Adventure plans for 2023, swimming with Sperm Whales in Dominica, the back to back trips to Haiti and Dominica Republic. 

Other highlights of this blog include: Toilet Diary ; Seven Wonders of the World; my other interests Art, Horticulture, Broadway Shows, Aquariums and Scuba Trips; highlights of family and friends Undergrad Friends, DC Friends, Reine Family, and hanging with T'Shawn.