The Treasury in Petra, Jordan When I left Microsoft in 2008, I was planning a major trip. It was my … Continue reading Petra Jordan Prehistoric Nabataean Caravan-city and Wonder of the World (4 of 7)
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.
Continue reading “Thailand Trekking: Traveling by Elephant in the Land of Smiles”
I really, really love South East Asia. Going to Manila was a huge treat. One thing that’s always important to me whenever I visit a place is to see the place in it’s authentic beauty and warts. I want to see the best and not best of a place. We were staying at the amazing Shangri la hotel, one of the most beautiful hotels in Asia. They are famous as having 5 and 6 star hotels in the big capitals in Asia.
Paul (black t-shirt) and I (in the red shirt, yes flash, and yes Big Bang Theory) were happy to pose with the staff. Beautiful hotel. Very posh. We were definitely very pampered. One thing you should know about Manila is it is very easy to spoil yourself. Manila is very modern, and you can get anything you need. My friend Dux Raymond Sy, who is very popular in the SharePoint community grew up in Manila. It was great to meet his family. Dux moved to the U.S. and if you talked with him you’d have no idea where he came from in fact he speaks perfect English. No accent at all, and smart, very smart guy. We were all in town for Sharing The Point Asia which would get us to China and Vietnam as well. Fabulous tour.
We had a day in the nicer parts of Manila, and had some amazing food. I was then very anxious to try other foods. One early morning Michael, Dux and I escaped early to catch the sunrise over the sea. We got up early enough we could get the first catch. We had squid in it’s ink, prawns, and very fresh sushi. Amazing seafood breakfast.
Continue reading “Cultural Philippines in the heart of Manilla”
The largest religious complex in the world. Angkor Wat is one of the most amazing structures in the world.
Sure, Karnak in Luxor, Egypt is the largest religious structure, but Angkor Wat stretches over miles and miles including many many buildings. I’d like to see a comparison of Tikal to Angkor Wat. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site for good reason. The complex itself was built 1110-1150. It’s estimated it would take 300 years to do today, but took 40 years back then with thousands of workers brining in stones from all over. Ok, read more on Wikipedia article on Angkor Wat beyond my research… If this was the only building that was constructed it would still be one of the most amazing in the world, but it is among 74 others in the complex of buildings many many miles apart.
This is definitely a bucket list item. A New Seven Wonders runner up. One of the most amazing places in the world!
Continue reading “Secrets of Cambodia from Angkor Wat to the Killing Fields”
I had seen most of Western Europe when I visited the Balkans, but I wasn’t prepared for the beauty and raw elements of war I would see. Mountain views, lakes and valleys that would rival the best of Switzerland, rivers that rival the beauty of Idaho’s and untouched wilderness, the bridge in Mostar rival the arches of the canals of Venice, but evoke an emotional response. The worst of the war torn parts remind me of some parts of Beirut. Even the West Bank has been more cleaned up than some of the pits out of the buildings in Sarajevo. The stories of the rebuilding of the Synagogue in Sarajevo… How many times can a building be rebuilt?
In contrast, Roman emperors vacationed in Croatia. 
Dubrovnik and Split are incredibly scenic and would rival that of any ports in Italy or France, and a fresh seafood or fish dinner would cost you much less. I guess what I’m saying is, I loved it. Belgrade and Sarajevo are the hidden gems of Europe, the passion and life, and recent history to blow your mind. The travelers looking for secrets in Europe. Here’s a great place to start. It’s the Balkans. Some of my best friends in Europe. There’s something that goes deeper here. Relationships are stronger, and go deeper, you can feel it.
My trip started in Zagreb the capital of Croatia with a night tour. We met up for a great dinner and ended up walking around parliament, and old town Zagreb. Zagreb itself did avoid much of the conflict in the Balkan conficts/wars that happened back in 92-93.
Remnants of the war are still visible. There are more reasons to come and visit than the incredible night life. There are fresh memories that will teach the world a lesson… this lesson is war is not kind to anyone. War should be avoided at all costs, and the horrors and nightmares of war are real. Those who only vacation at Disneyland or Disneyworld and spend their vacations with the Grand Canyon as the ultimate bucketlist need to come for a visit. This land has a lot of lessons to teach.
When we got close to the Republik of Srpska we came across these signs. After spending time at the Cambodia land museum, I have been convinced that land mines do more danger to the citizens that have to live with these than any good they do for the military. There are some crazy stats on how much the people are impacted by these.
Now before you think it’s all doom and gloom, that’s totally not the key take away. It’s the opposite. In fact my friend Michael, who I was traveling with, recently wrote about his experience on this same trip. I highly encourage reading about his writeup on the former Hapsburg empire – Serbia, Romania, Bosnia & Herz, Montenegro, and Croatia. This trip started with a fellow colleague who lived in Croatia, Toni Frankola, a speaking team of Michael Noel, and Paul Swider.
This place is amazing, but as an American tourist, that gets a rise out of seeing something unlike anything I can find within the US or Western Europe. I get excited. This was one of the best Europe vacations I’ve ever done. I’ve seen Dubrovnik and Mostar on the front page of Bing on multiple occasions. They really are spectacular. The castle in Belgrade was an awesome place to walk around. The cultural music and dancing we got at night was spectacular. Very fun environment. I think it was a good thing for Toni as well, as he recognized some of the tunes, and was surprised to see the similarities between Croatia and Serbia. Good stuff.
Continue reading “Rediscovered Europe: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina”
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!