United States Utah: Top 10 Vacation Destinations
When I tell friends they should visit me in Utah. They often think I’m joking. Many of my European friends … Continue reading United States Utah: Top 10 Vacation Destinations
Category: Family
Floating Islands of the Uros and Nazca Lines of Peru
The Nazca lines are unique in that it built or put together thousands of years ago and then only discovered … Continue reading Floating Islands of the Uros and Nazca Lines of Peru
Machu Picchu Spiritual City of the Sky and Wonder of the World (5 of 7)
This post is in a series of 7 posts on the 7 Wonders of the New World
- Great Wall of China – Sacrifice of a Nation
- Christ the Redeemer Statue – Religious Icon of Rio Brazil
- Taj Mahal – Sacred Mausoleum of Agra India
- Petra Jordan – Nabataean Cave City of the Desert
- Machu Picchu – Lost Sacred City of the Incas
- Chichen Itza – Ancient Mayan Temple Pyramid
- Colosseum Amphitheatre of the Ancient Roman Empire
The lost city of Macchu Picchu. What an amazing and historical place filled with mystery. The Jewel of the Incas is spectacular. Definitely one of the coolest places to hike, explore, and take in the spirit. Lots of great photos to take, people to meet, cultures to explore. (Pictured below is the city of Cuzco with a nice llama in the foreground along with my baby Dean, a favorite among the locals.)
I flew into Lima, Peru which was already a pretty long flight. Lima is a fascinating city it’s own right. It was my first city in South America, but what a great first experience it was. All of the modern amenities, great hotels, great museums, lots to see. I hope you like cathedrals, and gold, and the mysteries of the Incas. There’s some great food, great get aways. Lima is on the coast, and there are some awesome restaurants and great board walk. Too many think that south of Mexico is more Mexico. In the U.S. and likely much of the world has Mexican restaurants helping the world appreciate burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, but it takes a little digging to find Argentine and Brazilian steak houses. What of Peru. What you definitely find in South America is very distinct cultures, very different food, and even clothing. If you haven’t made it yet to South America, I recommend Peru as a great place to start. Peru has Amazon Rain forests, Andes Mountains, and desert and beaches. (Pictured: Agnes, Michael, me, David, Tony, and Jose)
Continue reading “Machu Picchu Spiritual City of the Sky and Wonder of the World (5 of 7)”
Thailand Trekking: Traveling by Elephant in the Land of Smiles
I grew up really LOVING “Ripley’s Believe it or Not”, reading the comic strip, reading the books, and later watching the shows. I imagined myself having a job like his. Travel the world and capture images and stories the bizarre and fantastic. My trip to the golden triangle of Thailand included amazing animals including elephants, tigers, monkeys, and cobras, with people so far removed from my world, from indigenous people living off the land, to refugee hill tribes are simply happy to find peace. The refugees escaping oppression and seeing extreme contrast in Thai joy and Burmese oppression. Visiting the hill tribes especially the long neck Karen tribe was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. What a joy to spend time in the “Land of Smiles.”
The big question is why did they start putting these rings on their necks?
There are a number of reasons to describe why they have the rings on their necks.
- The rings actually coils make them more beautiful are a sign of beauty and wealth
- The coils are designed to protect their necks from tigers!
- The coils make the women unattractive to the nearby tribes.
Continue reading “Thailand Trekking: Traveling by Elephant in the Land of Smiles”
Rock the Kasbah, Marrakesh Morocco
Let’s go back in time… to a more simple time, with rich flavor, and a close knit community. Imagine the … Continue reading Rock the Kasbah, Marrakesh Morocco
Chichen Itza Mayan Masterpiece Pyramid Perfection and Wonder of the World (6 of 7)
This post is in a series of 7 posts on the 7 Wonders of the New World
- Great Wall of China – Sacrifice of a Nation
- Christ the Redeemer Statue – Religious Icon of Rio Brazil
- Taj Mahal – Sacred Mausoleum of Agra India
- Petra Jordan – Nabataean Cave City of the Desert
- Machu Picchu – Lost Sacred City of the Incas
- Chichen Itza – Ancient Mayan Temple Pyramid
- Colosseum Amphitheatre of the Ancient Roman Empire
When I was planning our Cancun vacation, my wife was thinking… we’ll chill on the beach at an all inclusive resort, and I was thinking… we’ll grab a rental car and pick up as many of the Mayan temples as possible within a 2 week period. Finally I can see one of the 7 finalists of the new 7 Wonders of the World – Chichen Itza. As a traveller I was anxious to see real wonders of the ancient world. I love temples, I love archeology, and I love the mystery that surrounds these massive new world temples. I also was incredibly interested in Tulum on the coast, and my ultimate Tikal the Mayan Capital. We know so little about the Mayans, but I was surprised to find out they weren’t totally wiped out. There is a group of Mayans that give the tours in Tulum, and they speak the ancient Mayan language. It’s so, so sad that the culture has so much of who they were. They lost everything. A few documents recently were rediscovered in Germany referred to as the Mayan Dresden Codex. 
Which some point to as the source of the 12, 21, 2012 apocalyptic date or the beginning of 1000 years of peace, but “A German expert who says his decoding of a Mayan tablet with a reference to a 2012 date denotes a transition to a new era and not a possible end of the world as others have read it…The interpretation of the hieroglyphs by Sven Gronemeyer…He said the inscription describes the return of mysterious Mayan god. Continue reading on Examiner.com German Mayan researcher’s 2012 conclusions. Cool. Beginning of the end of the world or return of a Mayan god… Bearded white god? (By the way, ask to see the rock carving of the bearded god at Chichen Itza. It’s pretty cool. If it’s Lief Erickson or Jesus or insane stone carver it’s mind numbing given the carvings all around it. Seriously fun stuff. You gotta enjoy the speculation and not get too caught up either way, since we can’t know.
While I don’t think the end will happen in December 2012 (No one is suppose to know the day or hour when Jesus is coming back Matthew 24:36), I have used it as an opportunity to be prepared for disaster. In my church, we have been asked to have a year supply of food on hand in case of disaster. It has paid off with members all over the world. As recent as the tsunami in Japan and earthquake in Hati, the members who obeyed have been blessed. As a member of the LDS Church there is a fascinating Book of Mormon back story of Christ in the Americas and Artists often paint pictures of Christ appearing to the righteous people in 3 Nephi 11 with the back drop of Tulum. There are Mormon tours all over this region. In fact we discovered that more 
than 30% of the guides in Tulum were Mayan members of the LDS Church. It’s understood that there really hasn’t been any LDS revelations on the locations, and anything discovered is purely speculation. Our guide at Tulum was actually a Mormon Bishop named Mosiah. It was a quick tour, which really didn’t add any info on what we had already got from our tour in Chichen Itza. He shared pictures of Tulum where light shines through specific building on April 6th, and sold us a tree of life medallion. Great stories. Amazing place. While I didn’t necessarily subscribe to all he shared, I was fascinated with the history of the Mayans, he being one himself. The PC accepted story is that Mayan calendar simply points toward a new era. Great. Others are looking for the Age of Aquarius.
These grandios temples are mucho bueno. Very incredible. Left: My trooper, Dean at Chichen Itza. This is 3 of 7 New Wonders for him. He’s been to Machu Picchu and the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
Travel Tip: I do recommend highly recommend seeing Chichen Itza. I do recommend getting a negotiated tour there. There are some inscriptions and history that you’d miss otherwise. There are a lot of things to point out in the area. There are half a dozen buildings and a great ball court area, and you need to know more about the rules of that game and what happens to the winners and losers. Those stories you must hear. There’s a lot of inscriptions and interpretations and stories you need to hear. We got the 2 hour guided tour, that we negotiated on the spot after we arrived. It wasn’t too outrageous. There are a lot of people that can give tours, so shop around and negotiate. Don’t take the first rate you hear. Many hotels in Cancun can arrange transport and tour as well. Just don’t over pay. There is a lot of cushion. In relation to Cancun both Tulum and Chichen Itza are both day trips. There is a toll road all the way to Chichen Itza from Cancun. You’ll pay 20-30 USD for that trip one way! We decided we’d take the scenic route on the way there, and hurry back. It is a difference of about an hour. You can get to other ruins as well including Coba. I didn’t make it to Coba, we were with my wife’s family and Jeff got sick, so we missed out on that one, but that’s ok because my eye was on the ultimate prize of Tikal, Jaguar temple the largest temples in the new world. In contrast to Chichen Itza, I do not recommend the tour in Tulum. The buildings are a lot smaller, things are close and if you did this one after doing Chichen Itza there’s a lot of overlap. Our tour may have ultimately been 15 minutes of explanation and he didn’t even walk the whole thing with us. Don’t miss the views from either side of the temple near the water. There are some great photo shots by of Tulum by the water. Another reason to do your research of Tulum ahead of time and get the guided tour at Chichen Itza.
Post Revolution Egypt – Am I Safe?
It seems like Egypt has for the most part fallen out of the news. Is it safe?
A couple of quotes from an article on Egypt welcomes tourists and affirms safety.
Travel warning lifted
“Ambassador Scobey met with the heads of U.S.-based travel associations NTA, USTOA, ATTA and ASTA, along with tour operators and journalists, at the American embassy in Cairo.
The group was on a six-day, fact-finding trip to investigate travel safety in Egypt and Jordan. I traveled with the delegation as they met Egyptian officials and toured Tahrir Square, the Egyptian Museum and other cultural attractions.
“Our recent visit to Cairo confirmed that Egypt is safe and ready for tourists,” said Lisa Simon, president of the NTA, in an email. “The Egyptian people welcomed us with a renewed spirit and pride resulting from the revolution – they’re ready and anxious to show off the ‘new Egypt.’”
British tourists “never stopped” coming to the resort areas and were motivated by great deals, according to Egyptian tour guide Mina Mamdouh Edwar.
Before the revolution about 270,000 Americans visited Egypt each year, compared to nearly 3 million Russian and 1.5 million British visitors, said the Egypt Tourism Authority’s Samy Mahmoud.
“Foreigners have been coming back steadily [and] there have been very few problems,” noted Ambassador Scobey.”
While the elections press on, Egypt itself is definitely on sale. Tourism is such a huge part of Egypt’s GDP. Egypt has had to borrow money to sustain the governing that is going on.
I personally toured Tahrir square, Egyptian Museum, about a dozen Pyriamids, Kahili Market from the north into Alexandria to the far south in Abu Simbel. The people are very welcoming, and they want to share their “New Egypt!”
I was there over a year ago, so it’s only gotten better in the last year. This picture was a rare one of a couple of tanks. Life is back to normal.
As a traveller looking for the place without the crowds I think you’d find there are tons of reasons why you’d want to go while it’s still fresh in others minds, and would consider somewhere else.
If I told you there were no police or the police was the army, but you are in one of the safest places… you might not believe me. I visited Egypt following the Jan 24 Arab spring. In fact I visited in Spring 2011, in April. The taxi driver we were working with was picking up people at the Libyan border and providing transport. Now you’ve got resolution in Libya and Tunisia. Syria is having issues, but that’s north of Israel. Look at a map, it’s not that close.
If you are considering a trip, I’ve got a few twitter friends who live in Cairo that could give us the on the streets update. You can ping me on twitter @joeloleson or just add it to the comments.
My kids got into the spirit of it. In fact, Jared pictured on the right is wearing the shirt of the revolution.
In Arabic #Jan24 and New Egypt. You can see the guard here is pretty excited about his choice of clothes. Another worker same day asked if it was ok to take a picture and post it to facebook!