Transportation in the Philippines

Perhaps the most unique thing about the Philippines is the transportation system. With the exception of a short light rail line in Manila, there is zero public transportation in the Philippines. Well, they call it public transportation, but the ‘public’ refers to who the service is aimed at not ownership like in the US. The …

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Top 10 Cultural World Heritage Sites

There are the top 10 World Heritage Sites of cultural significance I’ve visited so far on my trip, which Includes East Asia, the Pacific, SE Asia and Australia. 10) Temple Complex of Prambanan – Indonesia Prambanan is only about 20km from Borobudur, but it is centuries apart. Prambanan is a Hindu temple dating back before …

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Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

I’m in Jerusalem now having spent three days near the Dead Sea. I was able to visit Masada and finally got my chance to float in the waters of the Dead Sea. Let me just say that a Dead Sea float is one of the most overrated things I’ve done on my trip. You float. …

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The Danakil Depression: The Most Hellish Place on Earth

The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the lowest, hottest places on Earth. Geographically, it is part of the African Rift which extends from the African rift lakes of Malawi and Tanganyika, up through the Red Sea and into the Dead Sea of Jordan and Israel. Politically, it is part of the Afar region, …

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Day 12, West Africa Cruise – Sao Tome

Latitude: 0° 20.9204’ N Longitude: 6° 45.7471’ E On day 12, the G Expedition pulled into the tiny island of Sao Tome. I’ve spoken previously about the poor conditions and lack of a tourist infrastructure we found in Angola and Congo. On paper, Sao Tome is poorer than either of those two countries (primarily because …

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Help Eliminate Pretentious Travel Douchebag Syndrome

You have probably met them. They get back from a semester of study abroad or their 2-week vacation in Europe and all they can talk about is where they’ve just been. Talking about it isn’t so bad, but they somehow manage to drop the fact that they’ve just been abroad into every single conversation. ..and …

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Man In A Can: My Stay At A Japanese Capsule Hotel

I found myself in Tokyo without a place to stay. The hostel I was staying at was booked for the weekend and every other hostel I could find online in the Tokyo area was also booked. This was a condition I found during my entire stay in Japan. It didn’t make for very good seat …

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All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Traveling Around the World

With all due respect to Robert Fulghum, you can learn a lot more traveling than you can in kindergarten. Here are some of the things I learned from traveling around the world for five years: Be patient. You will experience flight delays, screwed up food orders and lost hotel reservations. Take it in stride. I …

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Day 24, West Africa Cruise – Banjul, The Gambia

Latitude: 13° 18.1922’ N Longitude: 16° 36.9651’ W The Gambia is the smallest non-island country in Africa. It is also one the rare countries which borders only one other country: Senegal. In fact, on a map, The Gambia looks like a finger being stuck down the throat of Senegal (if you don’t believe me, go …

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