Unique – Traveling Epic!

Magical Avatar Stone Forest Hallelujah Mountains in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park China

May 28, 2019May 28, 2019Posted in Asia, National Park, Photography, Tourism, Travel, UNESCO, UniqueTagged china top travel, glass elevator, heavenly pillar, stone forest, wulingyuan, zhangjiajie, zhangjiajie national parkLeave a comment

Avatar Forest, Stone Forest, Hallelujah Mountains in the movie Avatar were inspired by Heavenly Pillar in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Wulingyuan, China

The First National Park in China. It is in Wulingyuan, China in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. It has some of the most incredible hikes. There’s also the world’s tallest outdoor and glass elevator.

This incredible national park is only 1 hour away from Tianmen mountain. It’s the same train stop, same airport, and that’s not all. The Grand Canyon of China is also nearby! China has been working on improving the ability to get to this very, very beautiful area. Today there’s no direct high speed rail from Beijing or Shanghai. We ended up taking the overnight sleeper from Yichang to Zhangjiajie and later flew out from Zhangjiajie back to Beijing. I loved every minute in this beautiful natural area of China. It’s becoming more popular, so try to avoid holidays and weekends.

Avatar Forest – Forest Does this look familiar from the movie?

Stone Forest

I couldn’t get enough panoramas of the Stone Forest and the amazing natural bridges. The views were spectacular every few feet.

The World’s highest outdoor elevator.

Glass elevator

While we were waiting for the elevator we saw this guy. Not sure where his troop was.

While waiting for the elevator Dean took some pictures.

This beautiful pagoda is the entrance of the park.

While there is a lot of construction going on in in Wulingyuan, China with beautiful new hotels, the older buildings and community are quite cultural and beautiful. Very easy walking. These National parks are some of the most beautiful in the world. Surprisingly it seemed like more than 80% of the tourists we saw were Chinese. We got recommendations on how to spend our time. You could easily spend the entire day… scratch that 3 days if you wanted. We did a highlights trek seeing the Heavenly Pilar that inspired Avatar, the bridges, the stone forest.

There are a lot of local ancient cultures in China. While Beijing is interested in consolidating cultures and making them all Chinese. You’ll see a variety of ancient cultures and tribal clothing including in a part of the park where you can see some of the old ways, customs and culture.

Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi’an China – Guards of the Largest Tomb in the World

May 14, 2019August 4, 2019Posted in Asia, Tourism, Travel, UNESCO, Unique, WonderLeave a comment

The story of the Terra Cotta Warriors is an incredible one. I’ve been wanting to go to see the Terra Cotta warriors for years… since before my first trip to China. Xi’an is a short 3 hour bullet train away from Beijing or you can take the overnight train and get there in about 12 hours… the flight is even quicker. We ended up looking at all options.

Ying Zheng took the throne in 246 B.C. at the age of 13. By 221 B.C. he had unified a collection of warring kingdoms and took the name of Qin Shi Huang Di—the First Emperor of Qin. He is credited for the first version of the great wall. Beijing was not the capital of China at the time.

The terra cotta warriors are the guards of the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi—he was the first emperor of China in 221 B.C. The tomb itself has not yet been excavated due to mercury poison concerns, but understand this… it is the largest mega tomb in the world.

For almost four decades, archaeologists have been excavating the site. So far, they’ve uncovered about 2,000 clay soldiers, but experts estimate there are more than 8,000 in total.

For over 2000 years the story of the thousands of warriors and horses was lost to the world. While the tomb was known, but was also known as extremely dangerous we didn’t know there were pits of thousands of warriors over a mile from the actual tomb of the emperor. A group of farmers were digging a well when they came upon the greatest discovery of the century… if not since king Tut’s tomb… what they found was extraordinary underground treasure: an entire army of life-size terra cotta soldiers and horses, interred for more than 2,000 years. Over the past 35 years, archaeologists have located some many pits, a complex of underground vaults as yet largely unexcavated, across a 22-square-mile area. Some are hard to get to, but three major pits are easily accessible, enclosed inside the four-acre Museum of the Terracotta Army, constructed around the discovery site and opened in 1979. In one pit, long columns of warriors, reassembled from broken pieces, stand in formation. With their topknots or caps, their tunics or armored vests, their goatees or close-cropped beards, the soldiers exhibit an astonishing individuality. A second pit inside the museum demonstrates how they appeared when they were found: some stand upright, buried to their shoulders in soil. The third pit has horses and chariots made from bronze. Our guide explained there are many thousands of warriors and more that are purposely still buried that are filled with color that burns off in the days after it is exposed to the air. For this purpose they are waiting to unbury a large quantity of warriors and more. Read more about the history of the terra cotta warriors on Smithsonian magazine.

The Back of Pit #1

The warriors look different and there are different warriors indifferent groups with different skills and even different shoes.

Scientists work in pit #2 to uncover and put the warriors back together. Think about it… they’ve been doing this since 1979.

Meeting the man. This was the farmer who was digging the well in 1974 when he found the terra cotta warriors. Still blows my mind.

In addition the actual tomb is still unexcavated. Imagine us saying we haven’t been inside the pyramids, and as well haven’t yet been inside King Tuts tomb. We know there are traps and danger with large amounts of mercury. “The tomb was filled with models of palaces, pavilions and offices as well as fine vessels, precious stones and rarities,” reads a translation of the text.

The account indicates the tomb contains replicas of the area’s rivers and streams made with mercury flowing to the sea through hills and mountains of bronze. Precious stones such as pearls are said to represent the sun, moon, and other stars. Modern tests on the tomb mound have revealed unusually high concentrations of mercury, lending credence to at least some of the historical account. Chinese archaeologists are also using remote-sensing technology to probe the tomb mound. The technique recently revealed an underground chamber with four stair like walls. An archaeologist working on the site told the Chinese press that the chamber may have been built for the soul of the emperor.”

Experimental pits dug around the tomb have revealed dancers, musicians, and acrobats full of life and caught in mid-performance, a sharp contrast to the military poses of the famous terra-cotta soldiers.

But further excavations of the main tomb itself are very very slow, at least for now.
I expect when China is really ready for tourism they will excavate the main pyramid. It will absolutely be the reveal of the century if not the mellenium. China has the largest pyramid in the world under wraps due to danger…. what would it take for them to decide it is worth the risk?!!

“It is best to keep the ancient tomb untouched, because of the complex conditions inside,” Duan Qinbao, a researcher with the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Institute, told the China Daily.

When will the world be ready for the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in China, this UNESCO mausoleum was constructed over 38 years, from 246 to 208 BC, and is situated underneath a 76-meter-tall tomb mound shaped like a truncated pyramid

Prambanan Indonesian Historical Javanese Temples

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019Posted in Asia, Bucket List, Culture, History, Religion, UNESCO, UniqueTagged hindu, indonesia, temple2 Comments

Indonesia has been my favorite country for many years. This trip started with my son saying if he could go anywhere in the world he wanted to go to Singapore. I had been planning that if and when I got back to Indonesia I wanted to see the incredible great temples of Java… the temple complex of Prambanan. When built there were 1000 temples, the complex is 240 temples for which

Prambanan is the largest and most beautiful Hindu temple complex in Indonesia. It is the masterpiece of Hindu culture of the ninth century. Prambanan is a collection of massive Hindu temples built by the Mataram Kingdom, rulers of central Java and defeaters of the Sailendra Dynasty in the 9th century. Built in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator, the Preserver and the Transformer. Consisting of Brahma as the creator god, Vishnu as the keeper god, and Shiva as the god of destruction.

The complex was laid out in the form of a mandala, and features the towering, broad spires that are typical of traditional Hindu temple architecture, and represent the holy mountain where the gods live… enjoy!

A mix of modern and ancient traditions and dance

Preserving the culture

Roadtripping West Africa: Lagos Nigeria to Accra Ghana

December 18, 2018December 19, 2018Posted in Adventure, Africa, Extreme, Food, Photography, Road Trip, Travel, UniqueTagged african road trip, benin, ghana, nigeria, togo1 Comment

I had a blast on Two recent road trips in West Africa. Immersive experiences in cities not use to tourists. The world’s past and future are tied up in these budding African cities. Nigeria and Ghana are going to be so important not just to Africa, but to the world. They represent where the developing world has been and the potential for tomorrow.

Road Trip from Nigeria to Ghana with stops in Cotonou, Benin and Lome, Tome and final destination of Accra Ghana

Before I left home I had to make sure to get both the Nigerian and Ghana visa ahead of time, Benin (e-visa) and the Togo visa on arrival at the border.

Day 1: Lagos, Nigeria

Downtown Lagos, Nigeria – The hustle and bustle of street markets are everywhere. Lagos is filled with energetic youth… Africa’s promise.

The beginning of the road trip… City bus ride

The key information in roadtripping in West Africa is understanding how people move.

1. The first thing to understand is the key is finding the bus depot/bus garage. In any given African city there’s the main bus stop where everyone gathers who wants to go to the next major city. Early in the morning starting not later than 6am the people will gather and start to fill up the big buses. The big ones often only go between the capitals, but there are the smaller bush taxis that go between all the major cities. Buses don’t necessarily leave on a schedule, but instead leave when the bus is full. Each seat will be filled or paid for and the tops and any given space is filled and then they are on their way.

Transportation in Africa isn’t like your traditional Western countries

Moto taxis are guys who drive their motorbikes around. In some countries the drivers where little vests

Tuk tuks are for local rides.

In Western Africa you’ll see everything. Contrast of old dirt roads and brand new buildings and infrastructure

My friend had some business we needed to attend to in Lagos before we left, but getting around the city on a bus wasn’t too difficult. We did have to get to the right bus stop to find the bus that would take us to Contonou.

The bush taxis can be quite crowded. They don’t leave until their full and they get stacked up.

Day 2: Cotonou, Benin

A Celestial religious group complete with White Robes and Caps. They even have their own radio show.

Outside the royal Palace.

Large statue of the old Tribal King in Togo

VooDoo is the official religion. Superstition is rampant, and faith runs very deep.

The green grass isn’t always what it seems. You’re looking at the royal courts at the Imperial Palace near Port Novo, Benin

A friend recently asked me if I’ve ever been scared while traveling. This was clearly one of the the scariest experience I’ve had while traveling. It was on the border of Tome and Benin. I was dealing with a strange situation of the immigration officer trying to figure out why I had a visa and exit stamp in two different places. It was just then that I saw a big truck barrel toward the border crushing people as it went and then topple over into the embankment crushing a small stand as it went. People screamed and rushed to the place where the truck lay. Immediately after the commotion they locked the fence to the border and the people gathered together to roll the truck off of a child. A motorbike with a casket arrived at the scene and the locals sobbed as they put the child in the casket and marched around. I felt so very vulnerable. No ambulance rushed to the scene. No police came to the aid, and instead the border police brought out their clubs and worked to clear the road and scatter the people. It was a very sad scene. I did think to myself I could have been crushed if I had only finished with my visa 30 seconds to 1 minute earlier.

Day 3: Lome, Togo

Goat intestines, millet porridge and okra spicy dipping sauce… great local breakfast.

Old traditional style on the façade of a building in Togo

Major western African port with big and small boats

The men relax on the fishing nets and the children play

While I was looking for the Voodoo market, I was not willing to pay 5000F just to get in and take a photo. I found a nearby voodoo market that didn’t charge to take photos. So I didn’t get the baboon heads and strange bones and all sorts of odd stuff they sell. It seemed like it was either becoming tourist trap or was one. I don’t know when the last time they sold a baboon skull. I started feeling bad for being there anyway. 5000 is about 7 dollars. Very pricey.

Why were these cats in such a small cage at the market. Sad.

The cutest kids waiting for their parents to work in the market

The hustle and bustle of the market in Togo

Intestines simmering in chili sauce

How many watermelons can you balance on your head?

National Monument of the struggle in Togo

Day 4: Accra, Ghana

Our bush taxi stops for a moment and the locals bring up selling, fruit, nuts and snacks

On the shores in Accra Ghana… at a fishing village

Fresh grilled

Accra Ghana LDS Temple

Water Urns outside an impromptu squatter tent village

The scattered littered beaches of Accra Ghana. I have high hopes this will change. There are many who live on these beaches who struggle.

My friend Ifeatu and me at the national monument in Accra Ghana

Modern Apartments in Ghana

Ghana is changing fast! Accra is a leading city in Western Africa

Beautiful beaches and pier in Accra outside the old fort with beautiful little fishing villages that could easily be seen as squatters, but these locals have been here for generations.

As I reflect on this road trip, I think about the crazy foods, old religions and voodoo that’s on the edge of tourist fascinations and the sights, smells, and sounds… I saw so much and experienced so much in just a few days.

I was happy to have shared much of my experiences with my good Nigerian Biafran friend Ifeatu Osegbo travel blogger on that other city.

Tribal Adventures in Papua New Guinea

January 1, 2018January 1, 2018Posted in Adventure, Culture, Extreme, Oceania, Travel, UniqueTagged papua new guinea, tribal encounters2 Comments

The tribal chief would explain to us that when he was a boy he was wandering through the forest and he and the other boys heard a sound. Large bats up in the sky. They were afraid. This was first contact. What an incredible story to hear how their entire tribe would be transformed with World War II. War planes would later land and change their lands forever adding roads, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and more. Papua New Guinea has an ancient and very modern history. They hold onto tradition and have a rich culture which provides an insight into the past I haven’t seen elsewhere to such depth. I have lived with tribes in Mali, Swaziland, and Fiji and LOVE the opportunity to connect with these tribes on their terms.

Yotube my footage: Massive Tribal Sing Sing in Papua New Guinea in Mt Hagen

All of the photos and videos you see linked here are mine captured during my trip. Enjoy, but if you want a copy of any of these let me know, I have higher res ones. In addition, I created a number of fun short videos you can see in a single playlist Joel Oleson Travel Youtube Channel Papua New Guinea Tribal Playlist and visit these videos be sure to like and subscribe!

It started with a friend of a friend on Facebook, named Felix. I explained to him I wanted to have a true tribal experience and he replied quickly saying we could visit his tribe in the hills.

Felix from Port Moresby, PNG

He was an Exchange Administrator who had even done SharePoint in the capital. He had a good job. We had arranged to meet Felix at the airport and continue on. He said he wasn’t able to get off work, but that his brother Saki would be there. Saki has been out of work, and had ample time to take us around. His english was very good and he was very well educated. Come to find out, Felix and Saki’s dad is the tribal chief. When we arrived at the village, the villagers surrounded our van and cheered. It was an incredible feeling.

Some of our new friends from the Sari Hill Tribe (Kali Clan and Puman Clan) … Saki is in the middle with the hat. The boy with the gun is a gangster (just kidding, it’s a toy gun, but for real he was our body guard as was a half dozen other guys)

The tribes and clans in Papua New Guinea still operate on foundation of offerings of pigs and tribal war rules. We stayed with a tribe that was very peaceful, loving, and trusting. They worried about our health and safety at all times and made sure we had plenty of villagers to be with us.

We attended a funeral

At a funeral the mother’s tribe traditionally puts mud on their bodies and adds ferns to the waist line. Marriage is very frequently across tribal lines which create alliances and offerings that create stronger bonds in the community. A bride price could easily be dozens and dozens of pigs.

View the video on Youtube: Traditional Funeral March in Papua New Guinea

Colorful rainbow umbrellas are popular among the villagers. The people sometimes look Mauri, native Australian, they love their beatlenut which is another form of currency.

Shoes are optional. Don’t get me wrong. These are some of the happiest peaceful people on the planet. They live off the land. I wouldn’t call them poor, as they have some of the most beautiful land in the world, and they have fruit on the trees and yams and sweet potatoes in the ground. With a few pigs for trade, they are doing great. The family, tribe and clan bonds go very very deep. The wealth of the tribe contributes to the wealth of the individual and visa versa It is commune style living.

We saw a sing sing in action as tribes from across the island gathered in Mt Hagen in anticipation of the Prime Minister of PNG.

Mudmen

You can identify a tribe based on their paint and look. These tribesmen are from Mt Hagen.

Their beautiful features are some times from endangered birds so that creates controversy, but these guys don’t seem too concerned. There is a hierarchy of needs.

Some of the war paint is definitely designed to look scary. Shaving the heads down the middle too. Yikes.

I love how the kids get into the tribal dancing too. Traditions being passed on.

Saki recognized some of his friends, he was showing us how it was done… drumming on the SharePoint mug

Youtube: A Walkthrough of the Beautiful Tribal Sing Sing of Papua New Guinea in the Highlands

Catholic Church Singing in the Small Village in Highlands Papua New Guinea has a Tribal Sound and Feel

I have to imagine the tribes are in different stages of living off the land or embracing western society, but it is great to see them coming together to sing and dance.

There is one serious thing the tribes and clans still need help fixing. It is the tribal to modern warfare. It was a great education to see how problems would have been settled in the past. I’ve heard even in the capital some Enga people still don’t trust the judges to settle issues if they feel marginalized and wronged.

Enga is still known to have tribal fighting. This is a clip from the museum in Wagga.

The tribe where we stayed has not been involved in a war since the mid 90s. They have decided it is better to pay the bigs and kina than retaliate. The tribal warfare goes back many many years, but it has become more dangerous due to the escalation in weapons. All tribes have weapons including bows and arrows, how most of the wars start. We did visit a tribe where their huts and buildings had been burned to the ground. It was sad to see, but they were happily rebuilding.

Left: Rebuilting their houses and huts. Right: Traditional look of the tribes we were visiting.

We spent one night in this hut. It was Felix’s Uncle’s house. We all slept in one big room on the elevated floor on mats around a fire in the middle.

On our last night the kids caught a cecada massive flying bug, and asked us to eat it. Saki explained that’s what they use to eat and they still did. He popped one in his mouth. They found another and another and before long I was crunching down on what I can only describe as a cream puff taste. Michael thought it tasted like peanut better.

Youtube video: The kids brought me a treat! A large Cicada, of course I’d give it a try….

I’d love for you to see some video as well… go to my Joel Oleson Travel Youtube Channel Papua New Guinea Tribal Playlist and visit these videos be sure to like and subscribe!

YT Video: Cool Dancing Music with PVC pipes with Funny Dancer

Traveling Haiti Emperors Palace and Citadel

April 8, 2015November 20, 2016Posted in Caribbean, Extreme, Food, Island, North America, Philanthropy, Travel, UNESCO, UniqueTagged Adventure travel, citadel, ecotourism, ecotravel, Extreme, Haiti, Sans Souci, Unesco2 Comments

When I told my friend Michael I was going to be visiting the REAL Haiti and not some resort and looking for a real adventure, he called me crazy at first. He says I don’t know anyone but you that would be looking to take their family to Haiti on spring break. My kids had a break coming up and two new UN countries was sounding really good. There were plenty of ways to spend a week in Dominican Republic and people seem to not have an issue with the idea of a vacation there, but when I mentioned Haiti, people get confused. Even in DR people were confused. Why would we want to visit Haiti? That’s truly what makes it a treat. It’s virgin travel territory. There are so few tourists. There’s this assumption that there is danger and security issues. Sure crime rates are high, but the murder rate is actually higher in DR. That’s not to say I don’t love DR. Great place. Save that for another travel post.

My trip to Haiti started with a border crossing. One of the most fascinating border crossings in the world. While crossing I saw a nude guy bathing in the river, as well as a baptism off in the distance in the same river. People were crossing back and forth across the river as if there was no border. I’d later find out that this no mans land of the border has a lot of vendors that live on one side and work on the other without actually going across the final border crossing. They vendor there wares which may simply be a sack of used clothes.

The Haitians are clever people that see the world in a different way.

It was only recently that I started seeing the cactus fence. Very clever. The animals stay out because otherwise they get poked by the spikes.

My favorite part of Haiti was simply the unexpected. There was so much to experience that I had not seen anywhere. While I have participated in Carnival festivities in Trinidad and spent plenty of time across the caribbean islands, I found a culture, and a people that are so fascinating and resourceful. With 40% unemployment, and a non functioning system to really take care of them, the people find ways of keeping busy and really begging really doesn’t make sense since everyone around them is in a similar situation.

There were a few things that really surprised me.

These beans were awesome! These beans have probably been boiling for days.

Add some fresh rice and chicken and stewed veggies and you have an incredible street meal for less than 2 dollars.

Before I went to Haiti, I had imagined it as a place with no trees across the country with only mud and dirt. There are plenty of trees, they are a valuable commodity. I saw a group pushing a big tree across the border and over the course of my time I saw them push the tree more than 10 Kilometers.

Voodoo is a strong tradition in Haiti… So are zombies. I jumped out of the car to take this quick photo with these boys in a small little village. I was happy to see that even in the most dire circumstances, the people knew how to have fun.

I’m not sure why this kid has ripped pants that seem to not have much left of them. We simply stopped to see what was going on after seeing some of the zombie looking guys.

Had I not had a driver who was use to being stopped on the road with a whip and a chain stretched across the road, I may have freaked out. The masked men dressed head to toe might have looked like criminals, but apparently this is like trick or treating in the road. Due to the holidays, they’d stop the cars and ask for money or food. Some would dance and

Hulk mask is a nice touch, so is the cool whistle. His buddy with the goggles is definitely pulling off a great trick or treat vibe… right?

The back pack makes it easy to put the food or goods. It’s like the sack during trick or treat.

This was the first building I saw as we pulled into the UNESCO Herigate site of Sans Souci

These Haitian monuments date from the beginning of the 19th century, when Haiti proclaimed its independence. The Palace of Sans Souci, the buildings at Ramiers and, in particular, the Citadel serve as universal symbols of liberty, being the first monuments to be constructed by black slaves who had gained their freedom.

This bust gives you a bit of the glory days for this once amazing palace built for the first emperor of Haiti. King Henri I. The history of the building, takes one back to the founding of Haiti and it’s amazing fight to independence. This is where slavery began its end… as they held off and defeated the Spanish, French, and English. The only island in the Caribbean to have done so.

Henri Christophe (Henry Christopher) (6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820) was a former slave and key leader in the Haitian Revolution, which succeeded in gaining independence from France in 1804. In 1805 he took part under Jean-Jacques Dessalines in the capturing of Santo Domingo (now Dominican Republic), against French forces who acquired the colony from Spain in the Treaty of Basel.

We rode motorbikes up to the Citadel. It was one of the steepest and craziest roads to drive on. Drivers really didn’t want to take us. We got 3 quotes for $100 to drive us to the Citadel. The motorbikes were $10 to drive the crazy road, but we negotiated them down to $6 which still seemed steep until we actually started the trek.

The Citadel – Citadelle Laferrière another UNESCO Heritage site… rising out of the clouds. Largest fortress in the Caribbean. What would end up being the seriously craziest ride negotiation ever, would end with this view. I had left my family back at the emperors palace and needed to get back. We were then on to Cap Hatien for the night and a night we’ll never forget in joining in Hatian Carnival. Simply getting to the Citdel is a real challenge. Getting from the town where the palace is to the horses is $10 by motorbike, and then once you get to the donkeys/horses, it’s $15 by horse or a steep walk of 45min-1hr or so. Negotiation is possible, but very difficult to get more than 50% off.

Cap Hatian – view from our hotel balcony.

Wandering through the streets of Cap Haiten Haiti, I found this group of kids gathered around this open window watching what they said was a Jackie Chan movie on a 20 inch TV from the 80s. There were nearly 20 kids. It was a Bollywood movie and not even in French, but they were watching it intently.

Haitian Carnivale! The crowds came out by the thousands and filled the streets. People dressed up in whatever fun outfits they had. In largest conga lines I’ve ever seen in my life, the crowds started to slowly move at a snails pace. After a half hour of hearing the music we could see lights up a head. Preceding the carnival float was a UN truck with armed men that would slowly push the crowd forward. That scene was a bit scary. The army men didn’t seem to be enjoying themselves very much, but the people were relaxed and having the time of their lives.

Seas of people. The tall truck had popular musicians playing carnival songs. As was related in Port of Prince as the tall lighted trucks passed under power lines, the people would use sticks to lift the power lines over the truck.

Something I really loved about my trip to Haiti was the kids. So happy.

Is Haiti worth visiting? Oh, Yes! Is it setup as a tourist destination. Far from it. This is virgin travel territory. The taxis barely know how to negotiate. They aren’t use to negotiating very well. There really are 2 price levels. Those at the local level and those at what I refer to as the Mafia level. There are a few that artificially inflate some of the services. We negotiated a ride from the Dominican Republic border to take us to the Emperors Palace Sans Souci and the Citadel and to then take us to Cap Hatien hotel, and then back to the border. The first offer was $200 which was too much. When we agreed on a $65 price and started driving, the driver changed and by the time we got to the palace, he was telling us that was only for 1 day and not for both. We ended up paying $65 per day reluctantly after some fierce war of words. That was really our only challenge. We never felt for our safety outside of the van driver situation confusion. My friend Michael had a couple of years of high school French, which was very useful. We did find some who spoke spanish in our wandering around the city. There are still some very poor conditions, but the food was amazing. The Creole food was great, amazing flavor.

The hotel conditions were quite simple. Our night with approximately $20 in gourdes. Not something you could book ahead online. There’s a big delta between what is available online verses on the ground. This place was near the bus station. Notice no glass window and no air conditioning. The bathrooms were shared, and no sink in the bathroom. It was definitely an adventure.

Getting back across the border and having a chicken foot breakfast while in a mass of crowded vendors like a mosh pit was another first for me. They setup a temporary city on the border and much to my surprise didn’t even get in the passport control lines. I happened to have arrived on a morning they setup an impromptu market at the border for exchanging goods.

If you want to go to a place where you can make a difference, or where people don’t don’t frequently visit… Haiti is adventure travel. It’s fascinating and could use your assistance to grow. There are good people there looking to have a better life and you can make a difference.

Biking the World’s Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia

December 11, 2014November 20, 2016Posted in Adventure, Bucket List, Extreme, Favorite, Nature, Road Trip, South America, Tourism, Travel, Travel Tips, Unique, VideoTagged Bolivian Adventure Travel, Death Road, featured, Ruta De La Muerta, Travel Bolivia, World's Deadliest RoadLeave a comment

It started out as an idea. What would be the coolest thing to see in Bolivia? I’d heard and seen the dangerous road featured on SciFi and National Geographic programs, so getting a glimpse of the road was my objective. I’d also heard about some other things featured on Sci Fi, like Puma Punku and Tiuanaku, but I’ll save that for another post. In my search for information on seeing the world’s most dangerous road, I came across Gravity Bolivia, a high adventure extreme sports adventure travel site for the adventure traveler. If you’re going to go… you have to go with them. Best in safety equipment and support. On this one, I believe it does matter. I usually don’t endorse, but on this adventure, you have to be extremely careful.

In their own words…

“Quite deservedly, this mountain bike ride is our most popular and World famous. Gravity has been featured guiding and riding this road in more than 60 magazine and newspaper articles, (as well as six television shows and on the lips and Blogs of almost every backpacker and adventure traveler in South America), this downhill mountain bike ride is not only famous, but so is GRAVITY!”

My brother in law Jeff, who had never even been to South America joined us on this adventure. He said it was absolutely the craziest, scariest, best adventure, day of his life. He rode on the middle bar of one of our instructors this wasn’t the original plan. They didn’t have a small enough bike, but they accommodated in a serious way.

The ride is one of a kind with the most spectacular descent of 3,600m/11,800 feet from snow-covered high-altitude mountain ranges down to the Amazonian Jungle with most of the 64kms (40 miles) of downhill riding on the road locally known as “The Death Road” or “Camino de la muerte!” The true stories you’ll hear are real. This road is not a joke. It’s serious with sheer cliffs with 3000 ft (1000 meter) drops. The long ropes they carry aren’t long enough for the longest drops and there isn’t a survival rate on those drops either.

Why would someone ride on a road called the death road? For me, I wanted to do the investigation, read the stories and determine if it was something I wanted to do. Initially I simply wanted to see what the fuss was about, but when I heard I could take it at my own speed and with instructors who would tell you about the turns along the way, and give you professional equipment I was slowly convinced I could do it.

On the site they say the ride is for “Confident beginners to experts, average fitness and above, and in particular, those looking for a long, world-class, downhill mountain bike ride.” The Trip Advisor ratings for Braving the World’s Most Dangerous Road and scores for this ride were off the charts at the level of Chernobyl. Here’s what I said in my review “I just got back from a whirlwind tour of 3 capitals in South America and the thing that stands out above all was my ride down the Worlds Most Deadly road. I was a little scared, but I did my homework and read all the reviews and looked into the various companies that do this ride.
First off Gravity is quality. The whole time my needs were met. Andy our guide watched out for us. He told us at each stop what to expect and how to handle it. He wasn’t pushy and allowed us to take things at our own pace.”

I don’t want to tell anyone they have to do this. I don’t want any responsibility at all for convincing anyone to put their life in their own hands. It’s liberating, and will scare you, but it’s also likely one of the most dangerous things I’ve done. That being said, I know I was riding a good 40 miles an hour down the hill at times and feeling an incredible rush. My front brakes needed to be adjusted part way down the mountain, and a guy in our party hurt his arm and shoulder scraping them on the road.

La Paz is an amazing place. When we landed at the airport I was pleased to find they had reduced their visa fees. I got a Bolivian visa for only $60. Only 3 years ago I was looking at $160 x 3 since I was with my wife and baby and at the time none of us had the yellow fever shot. This time we were all ready and got our visa on arrival and yes at the new reduced fare. As of Nov 16, 2014.

When we got off the plane an older lady fell on her face, and after a quick jog, we were all dangerously out of breath. Don’t push it here. When you first get off the plane, the Swahili mountain words of wisdom come to mind… “pole, pole” comes to mind. “Slowly, slowly.” Chewing the cocoa leaves and sucking out the juice (a local remedy) do the trick for helping alleviate the high elevation headache, or bring your high elevation pills. We decided to ride on day 2 of our stay in Bolivia. That was intentional and smart. It allowed us to acclimate at the world’s highest capital.

These cliffs are no joke!

The ride is beautiful. The jungle really sucks you in, and the views are out of this world. We stopped 15 times along the route to take pictures, drink liquids, and take in the amazing view.

Michael Noel, Jeff Beaulieu, and Joel Oleson geared up and ready to ride. Bike, gloves, jacket, pants, helmet and goggles all provided by Gravity Bolivia. We all made it. Incredible experience.

GoPro3 Youtube Highlight Video of our Crazy Experience

World’s Deadliest Road Highlights from Helmet and Chest Cam

“Mountain Biking for 64km down the World’s Most Dangerous Road (WMDR, aka Yungas Road, aka Camino de las Muertas, aka Camino de las Yungas) in Bolivia. The trip starts at an altitude of 4650m and ends at 1200m. I tried to edit this down to the highlights of the journey. Taken from my GoPro3 with myself, Joel Oleson, and Jeff Beaulieu sharing camera duty throughout the ride” uploaded and edited by Michael Noel http://sharingtheglobe.com

I facebooked a video of the narrowest part of the road as we drove back on the road. In a lot of ways it was more scary riding the bus back on that crazy road than on a bike.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152932118078783

I’ll be uploading more video to my youtube channel in the coming weeks. You can subscribe to my traveling epic youtube videos. I’ve gotten over 1.4 million views across the channel.

A Day as a Tourist in Afghanistan

June 9, 2014March 9, 2016Posted in Asia, Bucket List, Culture, Extreme, Religion, Tourism, Travel, Travel Tips, Unique, WarTagged adventure, Afghanistan, Blue Mosque Afghanistan, border, burka, excursion, islam, Mazar-e sharif, muslim, Shrine of Ali, Termez, tour11 Comments

When I started planning my trip across Central Asia, I always had the idea that it would be fascinating to visit one of the most talked about places on the planet. A place where tourists really don’t get. In 12th century Spice Route Afghanistan was an important stop to visit the shrine of Ali, even Genghis Khan felt it was worth a visit or a razing. If you think about it, Afghanistan hasn’t been as safe as it is now, for the past decade, and even before that it may have been since the 50’s that it was a place that outsiders could visit. After getting all my visas for the variety of places I was going I got in a good conversation with my traveling partner about the possibility of visiting the city of Mazar-e Sharif. I had a friend on Facebook who I connected with over the past couple of years and have been asking him all about life in Afghanistan. Zaki, my good facebook friend said he’d be willing to show me around his town. It really came together and Zaki fulfilled his promises. Not only that, he ended up spending a couple of extra hours waiting at the border for us to get through. After getting through security and walking across the bridge at Termez going through Uzbekistan and Afghanistan security we finally made it and what an adventure it was.

Is there really anything to see in Afghanistan? Oh Yes!!

Shrine of Hazrat Ali, also known as the Blue Mosque – The Shrine of Hazrat Ali, also known as the Blue Mosque, is a mosque located in the heart of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. It is one of the reputed burial places of Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in law of Prophet Muhammad. The site includes a series of five separate buildings, with the Shrine of Hazrat Ali being in the center and the mosque at the western end. The site is surrounded by gardens and paths including an area with white pigeons. You can see more of them in my pics in this post. Read more about the Ali shrine on Wikipedia

Our driver, the head of security in Mazar-e Sharif, and the uncle of our friend Zaki.

We all piled into Zaki’s uncles taxi and headed out from the border for the city. We decided we didn’t have enough time to make it to Balkh, but we were anxious to see the Blue Mosque and Shrine of Ali.

On the drive to Mazar-e Sharif, about an hour from the border, we drove by a number of homes build by mud bricks and natural elements.

The sands of the desert working their way to the road. It won’t be long before the sands need to be handled.

Peace to Afghanistan!

This little guy was persistent. He didn’t speak a word of English and I don’t know what he was saying, but he was carying a can of hot ashes and mumbling something in a persistent manner. He wouldn’t let go of my clothes. I’m sure he was very poor and hoping for assistance, but not sure what I could do to help.

These young boys were a joy to talk to. While language wasn’t our forte, I had some real moments where we exchanged smiles and introduced ourselves.

My friend and I with our Afghan Friends Zaki and Hamid in front of the Shrine and Blue Mosque of Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan.

IT University. Talking with Ahmad professor at the technical college in Mazar-e Sharif.

Mother in Burka with her sons…

Burka with Arm holes and lady with Hijab

Burkas

One of the differences between Afghanistan and all of neighbors to the north is the Burka. In terms of cultural differences I found it to be the most start contrast. I’ve been around a lot of Hijabs (head scarves) in a variety of places, and even ran into a lot of Saudis in black full burkas in Kuala Lumpur, and Dubai. I haven’t gotten use to it. It’s really a fascinating thing. The women cover up when they go out. It not only keeps the sun off their faces, but keeps them from being attractive to men outside the home. The thing that really surprised me was seeing women that would pull up the burka to interact with their kids at the park. I wasn’t expecting that. Based on what I’d heard and gathered on TV I was really worried they were going to get in trouble. In this far north town in Afghanistan, there were plenty of women in the city that both wore and didn’t wear the burkas. It did seem like most that didn’t wear the full burka would wear the hijab.

I grew out my beard for months in planning on my visit across Central Asia and “the Stans” coming to Afghanistan hoping to blend in, but ended up not noticing too many beards. I did see some good beards, but for the most part the young men in their twenties would shave, and the older men involved in business seemed to shave into mustaches.

I wore an Uzbekistan hat and a shirt I also got in Uzbekistan a couple days earlier. I’m sure it confused the locals, but at the time I wasn’t going for American, even though I’m sure I came across as traveler or tourist which may not necessarily be a be a best practice.

The locals were a mix of stand offish, and quite a bit curious. I only had a couple of stares that came across as mean ones. I ended up in a line at the mosque and park to visit the toilet, or what was really just a line of Turkish style toilets or better said, hole in the ground. First time I’ve waited nearly 5 minutes in a toilet line for a squat style toilet. The conditions weren’t great. A few more public toilets would be a good thing when they decide to open up the town as a tourist attraction.

Why did I decide to come to Afghanistan?

I have been told that I’m crazy for wanting to visit a country at war. In reality, I found a people very in need of outside love. They are ready for outside investments, education, access to more. I’m sure there are many challenges to getting the right kinds of services in. The youth are very anxious to better understand the world, and connect. I’ve had a number of facebook messages since my visit. There’s so much hope. I pray for my friends Zaki and Hamid, and the Admad at the technical school. Be anxiously engaged in a good cause. Hamid wants to be involved in security, and Zaki wants to be successul in consulting and IT. Personally, I’m very anxious for this area to blossom.

This far north the risk wasn’t as great. It really is tightly controlled. We saw the drone balloon, and there were reminders that we were being watched. Even crossing the border we went though a couple of check points, and got some strange looks, but overall, it wasn’t as challenging as I thought it would be getting in and out.

Getting the visa for Afghanistan took less than a week, the easiest of the visas on our Central Asia tour.

I felt like we timed this right. We spent an afternoon, I wish we could have seen Balkh which was another hour and has so much more history, but based on our plan of get in and out while seeing what we could in daylight, we did pretty well. I have no regrets really. I have been blessed in my life to live where I do and I hope the time I spent in this part of the world has helped me and my perspectives and outlooks on life, and I hope that the time I spent with my new Afghani friends helps spread peace and inspires them in their righteous pursuits.

These pigeons look like doves. They bring peace and happiness to the people. They make people smile and laugh.

So do I recommend Afghanistan?

I think for those who are real travelers, yes. Mazar-e Sharif has a lot to offer as does Balkh based on my research. At this point, our strategy of in and out, worked quite well. We weren’t there long enough to cause a stir, which I find has been a great strategy for us. Whenever we feel like we might be going to an area involving any kind of risk, we play it safe and not spend too much time in any one area, and we don’t back track. We’re always moving. That’s been a great strategy for us. We try to be unpredictable, so no one could plan anything. I don’t have a death wish, it really was a fairly safe and calculated risk. On my pursuits to see and connect with folks in every country in the world, this was an important one for me. I still have strong feelings for the people I met. It really makes this place very real to me now. I think that’s really important. When there’s a war on the other side of the world in an unknown place that’s being fought in a way that’s unimaginable, it’s easy for ignorant people to say, just bomb the place. I have friends there, and it means something to me. The only way to find peace is to find empathy and understanding. Travel has helped provide a mechanism for that. I’ve never met a military person who would want to go back to Afghanistan to visit, but I would. I have friends there that are great people who are making a difference for life in there town.

I admit I am a bit of a travel junkie, and I believe that there are good people everywhere as do many of those that visit every country in the world… a pursuit of mine.

You can read about some of my extreme travels to Iraq (Kurdistan), Tunisia, Venezuela, Egypt

Traveling the Silk Road from across the “STANS” Introducing Central Asia

June 2, 2014March 9, 2016Posted in Animals, Asia, Bucket List, Culture, Favorite, Food, History, Middle East, Nature, Photography, Religion, Tourism, Travel, Travel Tips, UNESCO, Unique, WarTagged 12th century, Afghanistan, Bukhara, desert, Kazakstan, Kyrgystan, precolumbian, Samarkand, silk road, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Unesco, Uzbekistan, Yurt4 Comments

I recently got back from traveling across Central Asia. Some things have changed and some things haven’t. The road is now mostly paved roads, but you will still find sheep herders, and wandering camels in some places. When I shared with my friends I was going to Central Asia and even mentioned some of the countries by name… Most don’t know what I’m even talking about even when I added Silk Road or Central Asia. I needed to fill in the detail between China, Russia and Turkey. In this post, I want to give you some of the highlights and background.

My friend Michael and I have been planning to travel the silk road and visit “the stans.”

Our plan involved spending time in each of the following countries:

Kyrgyzstan – Serene Kyrgyzstan Land of Mountains
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Afghanistan – A day as a tourist in Afghanistan
Tajikistan

I plan to share some of my experiences from each of these amazing and diverse countries. Each of them is different in their own way and I saw amazing and fascinating things in each of these places. There are incredible people in every country. I continually get asked if I ever felt threatened or at risk. No, I didn’t. I did have some moments where I was feeling eyes watching me and moments where I felt like I was out of place, but I really enjoy that feeling of being the minority and feeling odd. If I’m traveling and I’m not feeling that then I’m not challenging myself enough. This trip was the most logistically challenging. It took over 3 months just to get visas and I still didn’t get all the visas I wanted. I missed out on Pakistan due to my Jamaica and trip to Quebec and Montreal earlier this year. The only country that didn’t require a visa for US Citizen was Kyrgyzstan, and the hardest to get into ended up being Turkmenistan who assigned us a monitor and required traveling company which ended up being our most expensive of the trip. In addition Pakistan was a challenge for time. The visa would have been an additional 4-6 weeks and I couldn’t surrender my passport long enough make it with my Jamaica plans.

Samarqand, Bukhara, and so many of these places stir up the magical and mystical old world of East meets west. Where Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and a variety of old faiths like Zoroastrianism met through caravans and trade routes. I had the incredible opportunity to visit some of these places and soak up the influence of this melting pot of culture, religion, food, and history. I plan to share the highlights and some favorite stories, but wanted to get this post out as a placeholder. I’ll link to the subsequent posts from this one to be as a landing page of the best of Central Asia.

Turkmeni ladies of the desert selling camel hair trinkets on the side of the road

Desert Yurt in Turkmenistan

One of the friendliest camels I’ve ever met. This friendly hairy camel enjoyed posing with us.

Old Dome in Merv

Merv, Turkmenistan

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Blue Mosque and Shrine in Mazar-e Sharif Afghanistan

Countryside in Uzbekistan

Wandering Sheep in Uzbekistan

Old Shakrazabh, Uzbekistan

Ark of Shakrazabh, Uzbekistan

Georgetown Guyana Picture Guide On the Road Less Traveled

April 21, 2014April 21, 2014Posted in Caribbean, Culture, History, Road Trip, South America, Tourism, Travel, UniqueTagged amerindian, black water, british, capital, dutch, georgetown, guyana, hindustandi, independence, queen victoria, temple3 Comments

In my travels across South America, I had the opportunity to visit some rarely visited parts of South America. The former colonies of the Dutch, France, Portuguese, Spanish and the British. Guyana was both Dutch and then most recently a British colony but became independent from the UK in 1966 and in 1970 became a republic. The official language is English, the only country in South America where that’s the case. While I’ve been to Belize a central american former british colony that speaks English, it wasn’t the best trip. It is one of my least favorite. It was a mainland drive and I had a run in with the police. On my trip across Belize I found more depressing moments than not. I do plan to give it another chance sometime in the future. Guyana had a few sad moments, but I don’t let poverty keep me from visiting a place. I feel I both gain a greater appreciation for what I have, and I find what really matters in life. Our families, relationships, faith and shared experiences. I met the family of a couple of my local friends I met first on facebook through SharePoint the technology that I work with.

This post on Guyana will be part of a series on that part of the world. When I was looking to visit I found very little written on it. I’ll add the links as the stories go live.

Road less traveled series…

Traveling Georgetown Guyana Land of Waters

Paramaribo Suriname

Saint Laurent du Maroni French Guiana

“Guyana was originally colonized by the Netherlands. Later, it became a British colony, known as British Guiana, and remained so for over 200 years until it achieved independence on 26 May 1966 from the United Kingdom. On 23 February 1970, Guyana officially became a republic. In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.” – More on Wikipedia article on Guyana

Georgetown is pretty raw. It’s a fascinating colonial town, but much of it looks like it hasn’t had much care since 1966. This isn’t going to be a history lesson more than sharing what I saw and experienced.

Welcome to city hall… GeorgeTown

One of the most fantastic experiences was wandering the city. I’ve collected 5 things to see in Georgetown and surrounding.

Guyana Light house and Beach

Back side of Georgetown City Hall

1. StarBroek Market… Fresh Meat and Food Market, Ferry Terminal and the heartbeat of the town. The name of the market is the old name of the city during dutch times. The beautiful architecture is an important part and key attraction of the city. It is organized chaos. This country really doesn’t get much tourists and you can tell that by the reactions you’ll get at the market. They aren’t pushy, they are simply surprised to see you. The homeless people sleeping near the docs are really sad, but it gives you a temperature on the city.

The market is raw, and it’s a great way to see life in Georgetown.

Ferry system in Georgetown to cross the great river

2. Capital and Grounds

In the national library we met a guy who wanted to show us something really cool… The real signed documents for independence!

The actual signatures of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on the Independence documents

Judicial Court including statue of Queen Elizabeth herself

3. Promenade Gardens – a nice walk through the city will lead you to the gardens. Everything is all pretty close and an easy walk.

Gardens… While we didn’t end up spending so much time here. I hear there are places where you can see manatees. Virtualtourist Georgetown page has some more info on that.

There are some nice walking areas of town where you can get a feel for the bustling of the city while enjoying the people watching and soaking up the atmosphere.

A common site in Georgetown and a dose of reality is the sleepers. Homelessness is a global phenomenon, and I don’t mean to be unfair, but this is the reality of Georgetown. Lots of them.

You can tell by the look of this horse that they’ve had some tough times.

You need to be ok with seeing a lot of poverty to visit this city, but believe me… there is hope. There is a generation of powerful youth with a bright hope for the future.

I had lunch with five bright young people that represent hope. They are the future of Guyana.

There is a hindu influence that is also felt. There are really 3 major groups of people that I came across while in Guyana. The Blacks (former slaves), the Indians (former british labor), and the natives or AmerIndians. All groups have been exploited and feel marginalized, but it was both my lunch with the technical group shown above that gives me hope and my visit to the Amerindians that also made me excited about the potential. The teens were dancing to native songs that were designed to carry a positive message of pride in being an Amerindian. Any travel to a country should and must involve really getting into the culture and trying to understand the people.

4. Local Small Temples and Churches

Small temples and mosques from the Hindustani locals as seen on a short drive through the city.

4. Amerindian Village – Ask Elvis…

In the city there are a few reminders about the original inhabitants of Guyana. They call the native people Amerindians. They are comfortable with that name as well.

On a drive outside of Georgetown we saw a coconut stand and fresh coconut juice sounded refreshing. In our conversation with “Elvis” we found an Amerindian village just down a small unmarked dirt road. Our local friends had no idea the village even existed. Elvis is the little guy between the two big white guys. My friend Michael Noel, Sharing the Globe is the one with the massive camera.

The kids danced and sang songs of Amerindian bride and culture. I really enjoyed seeing this. Loved it.

Pickup game of stick ball or crickett. I did try a whack at it, but all I got was laughs. You gotta love an impromptu gave of cricket with a stick.

How can anyone have racial prejudice? This cute little amerindian little girl melts my heart.

5. Black Water Creek Park – an excursion about an hour outside the city is this beautiful palm tree surrounded creek with calm waters is setup as a swimming area with nice little huts. It’s a beautiful escape, and the water is really funky. Our local friends took us out here and we had an amazing time wading through the black water.

My hopes and dreams for Guyana are in the youth. Thanks Kevon for showing us your amazing country!

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