My first experience with Chernobyl was a fly over. I was flying out of Belarus to Ukraine and my friend Michael mentioned we were flying over the area where Chernobyl happened. My curiosity and thoughts went wild. Then it was a couple of b movies, TV show, and Hollywood Horror Flick that really got me…
Yep. I was able to secure a visa and go to the off the radar and relatively unknown (to the west) land of Tajikistan. If you have the opportunity to go, you should too. My trip was really a quick one, but what was expected to be a day trip to Khujand, what I expected…
If you haven’t traveled to Turkmenistan, you’re not alone. I bet they really don’t see many visitors due to the challenges of getting approval to visit. You can read about it on the Lonely Planet guide to Turkmenistan or trust me, there is no such thing as independent travel. You’re required to have a guide…
Oh Kyrgyzstan, how I love thee. What an incredible culture. I really really enjoyed the people and mountains of this vast rugged territory. The loyalty and incredible friendliness of the people still strikes me. I really enjoyed visiting these amazing places that were important sites of the silk road and played an important part of…
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…
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…
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…
I flew into Montego Bay (a fairly cheap flight from the east coast of the US), and while I had some commitments for work, I arrived early so I could see one of the most amazing islands in the world. World Famous Jamaica!!! Known for Bob Marley, Music, the Reggae movement (read more in my…
I’ve been wanting to go to Jamaica really bad. When a few of my friends were asking when we’d go, I knew I was going to be in Orlando and said why not? At first I was planning on a dive, but most of my friends that were joining weren’t divers, so instead we made this…
Everyone I know who have ever visited Iraq were there for military reasons. When I told a local in Iraq I was a tourist, they said… “Tourist?” What’s that? Tourism is really a foreign word, but no longer. The Kurdistan region of Iraq is open. Visa restrictions in Iraqi Kurdistan aren’t bad for many western…
