Ok, so we are now in Vietnam. It is extremely hot! Very humid an for most men this can be really annoying and uncomfortable.
Well you will be happy to know there is a solution to help you stay dry.
Balla Powder to the rescue! I have the tingle formula which is lime and mint and does provide some tingling sensation, but most importantly it leaves you feeling fresh and comfortable.
The Great Rift Valley
Below you will find my article in the Moose Jaw Express on my African Safari Experience at Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha, Kenya. They are both located 2-3 hours outside of Nairobi. I had a wonderful and really amazing experience and hope you will enjoy the article and the pictures as much as I did.
Mk
Safari Adventure
Moose Jaw Express.com
14 Jun 2012
One of my lifelong dreams has been to go on an African Safari; not just the safari at DisneyWorld but a real African Safari! This past Sunday, I was given a very rare, maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity to do just that. Arriving in Nairobi, Kenya,…read more…
I will start doing a weekly or bi-weekly column for a small community newspaper which I am very excited about! My column will be called “oh, the places you go”. I have been lucky enough to travel a lot and have learned a lot about how to find good travel deals, what to see and do as well as what to eat – there is a whole world of travel to explore. Everything from Hotels to Restaurants to Airplanes and Airports.
I have put my first column below which will be published next week – Enjoy!
Mk
Life is full of beautiful adventures and I have been able to experience my fair share! Over the past 9 years of doing International business and managing a global sales network, I have been lucky enough to travel to more than 44 countries or 17% of the world. I have been blessed to experience many cultures and see some amazing sights. Traveling more than 100,000 Miles each year does take its toll, but travel is my ultimate adventure in life. Travel does something amazing to people; it opens up your eyes, gives you a heart, helps you understand people and moves you to your inner-core.There are many things to consider when preparing for travel. Everything from where you book your flights and hotels to the ultimate decision of whether to do it yourself or to go through a travel agent. Yes, travel agents are not extinct and if you have a really good one, it could be worth your time. The world is a BIG place; there are so many places to visit, but at the same time it is so small. Did you know that within less than 12 hours time you could be in Europe or Asia? You can be almost anywhere in the world in less than 18 hours. (From Regina!) – 18 hours sounds like a long time, but after a few glasses of wine and a couple melatonin tablets, you are set and ready for your adventure.My next adventure will be this upcoming week, doing a quick stop in Frankfurt, Germany; followed by a few nights in Bahrain and then a few nights in Milan to eat some pasta…and then back home. Of course, there will be work involved but there is always great pleasure when exploring different unusual cultures and learning about the people. The one or two trips that I make to the Middle East each year are always the ones I look forward to most. The Arab culture is very mysterious to me and seems very much like Aladdin, taking you on a magic carpet ride. The Middle-Eastern culture is warm, friendly, kind and they really appreciate the fact that you have made and effort to visit their country.A couple years back, I visited Cairo and Alexandria to attend the Cairo Book Fair. I spent one of my free days visiting the Giza pyramids; which are astounding by the way! While I was there, I met a kid named Ebrahim who wanted me to come visit his cousin’s bazaar which was about a five minutes walk. It is quite common to be asked to come to people’s shops when traveling. But many times I am hesitant to go. This time, I had a good feeling and stopped to talk to him for a few minutes. While we were relaxing at his cousin’s shop and enjoying a cup of tea, I talked to him about his family, his life (he was currently on his way to join the military), culture and food. Food is always my favorite thing to explore when I travel! In many cases, food makes the country (we will explore that another week!) I asked Ebrahim about Camel and if they eat it? He said, “Yes, Absolutely!” Next thing I know he was on the phone with his mother and had invited me to his house for lunch. I kindly rejected, However, he convinced me to come. It was absolutely the most rewarding experience in terms of interacting with people of another culture. On the 10-15 minute journey to his house, it was apparent that we were not going for 5* dining, in fact, the adventure there included walking through what I thought was nearly a garbage dump. Arriving at their apartment, his family kindly welcomed and greeted us. They invited me into their living area where we sat on pillows and visited for a few minutes having tea. About 20 minutes later, his mother came with a huge silver platter of Camel Stew, rice and a tomato dish. To date, it has been one of the most delicious, memorable, heartfelt and unique dining experiences I have ever had.Every time I hear the media trash-talk the mid-east region, it makes me feel disappointed. If only they could personally experience the culture and the people, they would never say such. Most countries, except a few, are extremely safe (in fact, more safe than many of our Canadian cities). Take a chance and be different; jump into the unknown; have faith and trust others. Next time you want a real adventure and something magical, consider the mid-east or gulf region, you will not be disappointed – Places like Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and UAE will give you luxury and adventure! Don’t forget, having an open heart and an open mind will take you far in life – oh, the places you’ll go
I have some favorite travel sites and tools that I want to share with you – try using some of these next time you travel!
Flight Booking
For myself, there is a procedure I do when looking for flights, I use quite a few sites to check flights and rates:
If I know where I want to go I like to check a few travel aggregators websites such as Travelocity.com, Expedia.com or Kayak.com to see what options I have and what prices are showing, Once I have an idea of my route I will usually then go to my preferred airline and check them out. If I find what I like I usually prefer to book with the airline directly, however when doing multi-leg trips you may be forced to book with the travel aggregator, as sometimes the airlines for some unknown reason wont be able to book the same trip for you? – As in my last booking for YVR-HKG, HKG-SIN, SIN-HKG-YVR. The Airline was going to cost about $600 more than Expedia? – Sometimes if you are booking direct flights, you can find discount codes on forums such as FlyerTalk.com which may help save you 10-20% on flights!
I also often like to use a travel agent, if you are not sure what the best option is speak to a travel agent, but DO NOT go to travel agents like FlightCentre, they are awful! I shouldn’t say all of their people are awful, but all of the people I have dealt with are a) not well traveled nor experienced well enough with finding the best deals. – When I use a travel agent, I like to use someone who is well traveled and experienced and who has been in the business for quite some time. – I guess I do expect lots from the people I buy some and I have an amazing travel agent in Richmond, BC who I often use if I am booking a complicated trip.
If I am not sure where I want to go, for example if I am in some country on business and have a few days vacation time or have a long weekend. Maybe I want to find a good deal to go explore another city. What I really like to do is go to http://www.Kayak.com/explore – this allows me to set my departure location and then set my budget, I am then able to see what options I have! – Also Kayak.com has a fantastic app for the iPad as well! I have had some great success’ with this site and have found some banging deals in the past!
My key note for booking flights is the following: If you are booking a flight, do try and book direct with the airline directly as they are most likely to be able to help you more efficiently if you have a problem or need changes.
A couple other tips: – Look at flights that go to nearby airports (ie. Tokyo Narita or Tokyo Haneda / Vancouver, BC or Bellingham, WA or Seattle, WA). Another option is to look at booking two one way flights. I have seen this being cheaper, but usually it is not and sometimes you might have to then fly with two different airlines.
Hotels:
1. PriceLine.com – PriceLine is known for its *Name your own price deals, this is exactly what I do, i have gotten 5* hotels for as low as 81 in Singapore, and 3* hotels for as low as 37 in downtown Vancouver. – It works in most places around the world, however in some countries it is not as good.
2. Agoda.com - Agoda is a pretty decent site for booking hotels, it seems to lack a little modern technology but they have great rates and they also have a fairly decent rewards program.
3. DesignHotels.com – Although, I have not yet used these people yet. They have access to some of the coolest and most unique Boutique Hotels in the world. If only I could get the approved budget to stay in some of these swanky places! – I am very keen on one of my next personal trips to try out one of these hotels!
4. StarWoodHotels.com – When I can find a good deal, I like to stay at StarWood Hotels – Le Meridien, Sheraton, Aloft and a few other brands. BTW, Aloft hotels are one of the coolest brands ever – I’m a big fan!
Car Rentals
1. PriceLine.com – PriceLine is known for its *Name your own price deals, this is exactly what I do for car rentals. It is fairly easy to score a good deal on a car if you are not too picky about which vendor you rent from.
2. LastMinute.com - LastMinute.com usually has some fairly decent deals to score on car rentals!
Travel Review Sites
1. TripAdvisor.com – TripAdvisor is awesome if you are are looking for reviews of hotels, attractions and even has travel suggestions based on your travel interest.
2. AirlineQuality.com - Check out this site if you are looking for reviews on Airlines, Airports, Seating, Travel Lounges, etc.
3. FlyerTalk Forum – FlyerTalk is a great forum to learn about anything travel from places to eat, reward programs, hotels. It is a full travel forum with something for everyone! If you have a question about anything, these are the best people to ask about anything!
Other Useful Sites
1. http://www.SeatGuru.com – When I travel, I know I always book my flights according to what seat I can get – YES, it makes a HUGE difference when sitting in cattle class for 10-12 hours at a time.
2. http://www.SeatCounter.com – This site has ‘been under maintenance’ for quite some time, but when it is working it is extremely useful to find out how many tickets are left for each cabin class. This can help you determine the best fares as well as to find out if there are any upgrades available to get.
3. http://www.LonelyPlanet.com – Lonely Planet, also has a fantastic App for the iPad which is worth the mention, it is called 1000 experiences and gives some good travel inspirations. With lots of great photo’s and a little information on the places it is a great place for inspiration!
4. http://www.Fodors.com – Good travel information and a place to find some inspiration.
I hope you will find the sites I have reccommended to not only be useful in booking your next vacation but hopefully they will allow you to explore and be inspired! Get out and see the world, you only got one life to live!
Mk
Ps. If you have questions about any of the sites listed, please let me know. Also if you love travel and have some other favorite or suggested sites, please send them to me!
So with all the turmoil in Egypt lately, I decided to take a quick look at my pictures from Egypt. Two years ago in February 2009, I had the opportunity to visit Egypt for a little over a week to visit some business partners, clients and also to attend the Cairo book fair. I remember arriving and thinking…God, this is such a mad house! The people crossing the streets was like playing a game of frogger with your life. Take a couple steps into the road, hold your breath and hope to God that nobody takes you out! Egypt was one of those places where I have learned a very learned to let go when traveling and to trust people…I know it sounds crazy since we are not supposed to trust anybody…but hey…what the heck being adventurous and exploring is learning about the people and trusting people who say they want to help you are sincere… Let me tell you about it! I got three stories for you!
1. Cairo Museum – I went to visit the Cairo Museum, some old man came up to me and told me he was a professor at a University and that he could guide me around the museum for about $7, I think tour guides go for around $20 if I am not mistaken…in any case I was hesitant…I agreed. He took me through the museum and we made our way through it in good time without wasting too much of the day, we saw all needed to see including some mummy’s, etc. There clearly were no picture spots, however he gave the guards candy and they told me I could take pictures…lol quite funny! – Anyways, it was a great experience at the museum for what it was… *Note: If you do visit the Cairo Museum, do not expect too much – for being a world known museum, I thought for the most part the layout, signage, etc. was pretty lousy – I heard they were re-making the museum, I hope it will be as amazing as the artifacts.
2. Walking around – I was walking around and hoping to find a taxi for a tour of the city – Some guy came up to me and told me he would give me a full city tour for about $15. – We hopped in his unmarked car and he took me all around town, near the pyramids, to the city of the dead, and to a bunch of other places which I can not recall the names but have pictures! I distinctly remember thinking to myself what the heck am I doing, getting into a strangers vehicle in Egypt and letting him tour me around town…who knows he could have taken me around the corner and robbed me, let alone kill me! Clearly that did not happen, so I was blessed to have a positive experience and see some of the local sights!
3. Making friends at the Pyramid – This was a strange experience, non-the less it was one and remains as one of my best travel experiences ever! I am walking around the pyramids and some guy comes to me and says come see my cousins bazaar…I was very hesitant and was like no no no, its my last day and I am leaving home tonight. So really I have no time, I cracked and went…in any case there was nothing that I liked, however while I was there they invited me for some tea and we sat and visited for about 15 minutes or so, I then asked them a very random question about Camel – do you guys eat camel? They told me they did…next thing I know Ebrahim was on the phone with his mom and invited me to his house for Camel Stew! Seriously!!! Ok, so I told him I could not go, I am short on time and really got to be heading, again I cracked. He told me he lived extremely close to where we were and that I would have enough time. So I went with the guy and we walked for about five minutes into really slummy dodgy area…we then got into this minivan sort of thing that had about 8-10 arab ladies in it and took off down the street for about five minutes. We stopped and got out and then walked down this covered alley and into the door – sure enough, Momma I’m home, this is my new friend from Canada! – He then continued to introduce me to his family (Mom, Dad, Sister, Auntie, Niece and Brother. They were all so kind and giving…so giving that they told me I could marry their Daughter (Aya), I thought that was funny because my girlfriend/fiance’s name is Aya.
The food we were served was delicious! it was a Camel Stew with tomatoes and served with Rice on the side. We sat on the floor and they served it to us on a huge silver platter. I know they probably do not have much, but they gave me what they could and made me feel welcome.
To me experiences like the ones I have had are what make life special and amazing! I will always have very fond memories of Egypt and hope one day I will be able to go back and experience the culture and enjoy the wonderful people who make up the country.
