Hello,

Thanks for visiting. Currently this website is an archive of my world trip I took during the entire year of 2009. Since then, I have been to many new places. I’ve also returned to some of the places written about here and I actually ended up moving to one of them. Anyway, my contact details are to the right. Until I decide to blog again, please drop me a line.

Best Regards,

Keith

I have recently accepted a job as an International Product Manager with Tyrolit.  Tyrolit is the parent company of the company I have worked for, Diamond Products. 

As long as the paperwork goes through, with my work permit and everything, I’ll be moving to Zurich, Switzerland, in what looks to be sometime in May. 

I’ll be in the U.S. up until then spending time brushing up on the equipment I’ll be supporting, mainly concrete saws.

I have put my life out in the public over the past year or so, but will most likely be taking this blog down soon, to re-post in another form later, possibly once I begin my new job.  I also have considered working on a book of my travels.  I’ll still be in touch on facebook and twitter and may use this site for other purposes.

This was a great adventure I’ll never forget and I hope to have more great adventures in my new position and throughout my life.

-Keith Moller

A lot of people ask me if I am done traveling.  I am pretty much done with my trip throughout the world, but I will never stop traveling.  Even before my trip, I traveled a lot and I will continue to travel as long as I am willing and able.  I have heard about or discovered places that I would love to see and experience some time in the future.  The more I traveled, the more places I realized there were to experience and see, the more time I wish I’d had to spend in all kinds of countries and the more interesting ways I learned about how people were traveling.  Within the United States alone, there are many places I’ve never been, but will go to one day. 

There are 2 other questions which people ask me all the time.  1. What is the favorite place you’ve been to?  2. Did you ever feel in danger or an unsafe situation?  I cannot honestly say I have a favorite place.  I can tell you what is more expensive, which places have the best weather, where people speak English, where people are nice and some of the first places I’d go back to.  However I haven’t pinpointed my favorite place.  I might have to just say it’s home here in the United States.  My appreciation for the U.S. has grown in magnitudes throughout the past year.  In my opinion, it really is the best country in the world.  At the same time, it is the place which answers the 2nd question: The most unsafe I have ever felt would probably be in some of the neighborhoods I’ve been through in Atlanta, GA.  There are also places in Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland where I have felt more insecure than anywhere else I’ve been to in the world.  This obviously has to be because I have spent more time, feel more comfortable and can understand these places much more easily, so I take greater risks.  You have to look at the world in the same context you look at the places you live and frequent.  Most of the time, you try and avoid danger which means you avoid the unsafe places.  Countries get bad reputations, but this is usually due to isolated incidents or certain neighborhoods/areas which a smart traveler would never find themselves in.  Random crime happens everywhere.  You could have a friend with a crazy story about how he was robbed abroad, or I could tell you how my brother has had his car broken into multiple times in San Francisco.  The world in general can be dangerous; even just driving down the road you are playing a statistical end-game, which actually puts you at a higher risk of dying than all kinds of activities including terrorism, skydiving and flying.  One thing, however, I often forget to mention because I think I became so accustomed to it, are the “hawkers,” “touts,” “sellers” whatever you might call them, which exist in mostly poor and third world countries.  Most of these people are not dangerous, but just want to make some money off of you.  They ask you to buy whatever the hell they are selling because they need money and to eat just like you do.  I can see how they come across to people who first encounter them, and remember having to learn a saying in Chinese, meaning “Don’t want” to ward them off in Shanghai, but it’s part of life and makes things interesting.  In fact, sometimes I have found these people a great convenience to get a drink or something to eat and you can always negotiate with them.

I do like big cities though, where you don’t really need a car and everything is within blocks of your home.  In my order from where I’ve been and what I like, these are: 1. New York City, 2. Shanghai, 3. Hong Kong, 4. Chicago, 5. Paris, 6. London, 7. Berlin, 8. Buenos Aires, 9. Rio de Janeiro, 10. Istanbul.

So over the past month or so, I’ve had a pretty enjoyable time back home in the U.S.  I spent the holidays with my family in Florida, and then New Years with friends in Key West.  Man, that is a crazy place which I hadn’t been to in a long time.  I’ve been fishing somewhat with my dad and I’m learning to scuba dive.  Currently I am on a trip to California to visit my brother and go skiing with friends.  I’m also working on employment, but wont say anything until I know what I’m going to do for sure.  I’ll probably keep updating my blog, pictures, etc., but maybe not as often as I have done in the past.  I am really looking forward to some trips this year, including one to South Africa, where I plan to attend the World Cup and cage dive amongst great white sharks.

I arrived into Cartagena, Colombia, from Panama, after dark, on the night of December 16th.  I took a taxi to my hotel in the Bocagrande district and then ate a pizza before calling it a night.  Cartagena is one of the new world’s oldest cities as it was founded by the Spanish in 1533.  Today it is Colombia’s largest port and a major tourist destination, which is probably why I had heard so much about it.

 
On the 17th, I woke up to explore the town.  I walked down to the long, wide Bocagrande beach and took in the great views of the Caribbean Sea.  I then hailed a taxi to the old town.  The old town of Cartagena looks a lot like many European cities,  with cobbled streets, old churches and small alleyways.  I entered through the main gateway, the Puerta del Reloj, and saw among other things, the Church of San Pedro Claver and the Church of Santa Domingo.  I went through several plazas as well, which were filled with art for sale along with other trinkets and jewelries.  The town was very colorful and quaint.  There are several expensive restaurants and hotels which cater to tourists.  Not to mention, much of the old buildings and homes have been renovated and refurbished.  There was a nice festive atmosphere as Christmas was right around the corner.  Christmas trees, nativity displays, etc. were all over town and even at my hotel.  It was very hard for me to feel the Christmas spirit though in the 90+ degree heat.  I found some lunch in old town and then proceeded to walk along Las Murallas, or the thick fortress walls built to protect the town from invading forces.  I was reminded of my walk along similar walls in Xian, China.  From the walls, I glimpsed the huge stone fortress called Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas.  It was a great, imposing site in the distance, with a huge Colombian flag hoisted on its flag pole.  I then made my way back to my hotel via taxi and ate some dinner, which really was just leftovers from my huge lunch.

That night, I decided to check out first hand, the famous Colombian nightlife.  Beforehand, I was on my computer in the hotel lobby, and two Colombian kids, brother and sister, 11 and 12 came up to me and started practicing the English they were learning in school on me.  This was big fun.  In fact, my whole time in Colombia, I struggled to find people who knew English, especially in Cartagena.  Fortunately, that night, at the first bar I went to, I met a couple of friends who did.  (Well actually only Francisco knew English.)  Another thing Colombia is famous for is the extremely friendly people.  From my experience, I can assure you, this is absolutely true.  Everyone I met in Colombia was “so nice” and even went out of their way to make me feel welcome and safe.  Francisco took me to another couple bars that night and it was a great time with all the friendly, beautiful Colombian people even though most did not know English.

When I woke up the next morning, I decided to have a day at the beach.  As such, I grabbed my towel, left my valuables and took a small amount of cash with me.  I rented some sort of beach cabana, which it seemed everyone was doing and just relaxed, having a few of the weak Colombian beers, Aguila.  I went swimming, and later had one of the many beach vendors make up some lobster ceviche.  For jus under $10, I had a whole Caribbean lobster mixed in with lime juice, onions, ketchup and mayonnaise.  It was damn good.  Later, I had to have some shrimp ceviche.  Ceviches of several kinds are very common in this part of the world.  On the beach and in Cartagena as a whole, I did not meet any United States Americans or Europeans or see any that stood out.  Later, at the airport, talking with a Colombian woman, we concluded with the season being so close to Christmas, it was probably keeping people in their home countries.  Also, Colombia still has a steep hill to climb to rid is self of the stigma of being a dangerous place.  I can assure you, there is nothing to be afraid of, other than random crimes that can happen to you in your home town.

After my day at the beach, that night, I met up with Francisco at some super nice hotel amidst some company Christmas parties and live Colombian music.  We had a couple drinks and then went to meet up with his friends at a karaoke party at one of their houses.  This was pretty interesting.  Not only did I get to see some local neighborhoods and houses, but to experience a party with the locals.  Almost all the karaoke was in Spanish and songs I did not know, but I still had a great time and met some cool people.

On Saturday, the 19th, I flew down to another great Colombian city I had heard so much about, Medellin.  Medellin is Colombia’s 2nd biggest city.  It is set amidst the Andes mountains, covered in rainforest.  Being only about 5 degrees above the  equator and at a high elevation, Medellin has perpetual spring-like weather.  It is a beautiful place, full of beautiful women.  Not only do they have good genes, but plastic surgery is extremely common.  It is the fashion capital of Colombia and once was the drug capital.  However, crime there has been greatly cleaned up over the past decade and it is safe as most big cities in the world.  One of the best times to visit Medellin is during the months of December and January.  This is when, the whole city is decorated with Christmas lights and over the river are temporary fountains lit in many colors.  It is pretty amazing.

When I arrived into Medellin, it was cold, rainy and dark.  I promptly took a 45 minute cab ride into town to my hostel.  The hostel was a pretty crazy place full of mostly Europeans, complete with a bar and a pool.  I stashed my bags there and when to meet up with my friend Paulina, who is from Medellin.  I had met her earlier in the year in Buenos Aires.  I met up with her and her friends in the Lleras area which is the “Santa Rosa” area of Medellin.  The Lleras is packed with restaurants, bars and people all around nice small squares or parks which themselves were filled with Christmas lights.  Everyone was extremely welcoming and we had a great time bar-hopping.  I stayed up pretty late with everyone in true Colombian/Latino fashion before making it back to my hostel.

The next day was Sunday, so I went to watch the NFL games at a local spot where I met some cool United States Americans.  They did business in and frequented Colombia.  We all agreed to try and keep this place a secret from other people from the United States.  (But I have to write my blog.)  As the NFL games were winding down, a soccer game was being put on many of the TVs.  This was not just a soccer game, it was the championship game between another team and Medellin!  The next thing I knew, Medellin had one the game and the whole city went crazy.  I was again in the Lleras area where the streets were closed off and people were everywhere throwing flour, streamers, beads and other party favors.  It was quite a celebratory scene.  I joined in, and again made some new friends and stayed up late.

After that night, I had to get the hell out of my hostel.  A lot of the people there were crazy, party backpackers and the sleeping quarters were not the best.  Not to mention, it was now 3 days before Christmas Eve and time to start winding down.  I found a good deal on a room at the Sheraton and moved over there.  In fact, as you might expect, a lot of things are well priced or cheap in Colombia, compared to the United States.  That day, I walked the city a bit, going through the Parque Barrio and seeing the old churches of Candelaria and Metropolitana.  I also went through the Parque de los Pies Des Calzos where people were walking through shallow pools of water having fun.  Unfortunately, I realized this day, my camera was damaged beyond repair.  I’m pretty sure it was the sand from the beach in Cartagena.  I did manage to salvage some photos from Medellin, but mostly night photos or ones from other people.

  Monday evening, Paulina invited me over to her brother’s apartment where they were having a Christmas party with mostly friends.  However, as her brother was much  older, most everyone there also had children.  On top of that, only Paulina and a couple of teenagers spoke English.  Nevertheless, I was shown great hospitality and had a lot of fun.  Shortly after I showed up, our chiva arrived.  A chiva is an open air, school-like bus, which is very common throughout Central American and Northern South America.  Some are used for public transportation, while others are used as party buses.  The whole party, kids and all, boarded the bus and we were off listening to Bambuco music, driving around.  The men had some rum, which apparently is called “ron” in Colombia, and they made sure I drank plenty of it.  We rode all around Medellin, where I saw all the amazing Christmas lights and waterworks.  Everything was quite elaborate and impressive; definitely cool to see.  We drove into a town just outside of Medellin where we stopped to walk around.  All the while, I was learning about Colombian culture and talking to more and more people in the party as they tried their English on me.  (I really need to learn Spanish.)  We didn’t make it back until 2am and the kids all seemed to be wide awake.  It’s very much a part of the Latin culture to stay up late, kids and all.  I think it’s great, especially during the Christmas time of year with all the parties and celebrations.

I spent the next couple of days in Medellin doing some shopping, swimming and relaxing at my hotel and hanging out with friends.  Not to mention a little more partying, because after all, I was in Colombia and that is what they do.  I still can’t believe how beautiful the women were and how unbelievably nice everyone was.  This country alone, inspires me to learn Spanish.  Colombia is an awesome country and I wouldn’t worry about going there at all.

On Christmas Eve, I flew up to South Florida (only 3 hours away) to spend Christmas with my family and then New Years with friends.  I’ll briefly write about my past couple weeks in the U.S. soon.

I can’t believe it’s already 2010.  I haven’t forgotten about updating my blog, but just haven’t gotten around to it with all the hectic holidays.  I hope everyone is doing well and look for updates soon.   -Keith

Leaving Costa Rica, I found had found a cheap last minute airfare on TAM Airlines to get to Panama City.  The only catch was, I had to fly up through San Salvador, El Salvador.  Somehow this fare turned out to be a mistake and I was in first class, but I didn’t mind at all.  I arrived into Panama City late on the night of the 12th and just stayed in a hotel by the airport.  The next day, I updated my blog, did some laundry and enjoyed the weather.  I also moved back into a hostel.

On Monday, I went out exploring the old part of town (where I was staying), Casco Viejo.  In this area, there are many old buildings; a lot of which are being restored and turned into nice places to live, restaurants, museums and hotels.  There is a bunch of construction going on and a large police presence.  The police are seriously geared up, having large guns and body armor.  They also use some nice motorcycles and four wheelers.  As I explored the old town, I went by the Independence Plaza, the Church of San Jose and the Presidential Palace.  I walked along the Paseo Las Bovedas esplanade where there were many people selling small trinkets who were doing their best to stay cool in the humid 90+ degree weather.  I first saw some nice  views of the newer part of town which is line with skyscrapers and cranes.  Panama City is definitely very modern.  Towards the end of the esplanade, you can you can see many ships anchored, waiting to get into the Panama Canal.  At the very end is the Plaza de Francia where there is a memorial to the people involved in the various efforts to create the canal.  From here I wandered into a more modern part of town and found a crowded shopping street, complete with food stalls and all kinds of cheap merchandise.  That evening, I went out in the El Donaldo neighborhood and watched some Monday night football.

 
The next day, being in Panama City, I of course had to go see the Panama Canal up close.  I found a taxi who took me over to the Miraflores Locks.  There I saw the locks in action and could see some ships in the distance.  At the visitor’s center, I watched a short documentary and toured the small museum.  The Panama Canal is definitely an amazing feat of engineering.  The canal was not as wide as I had imagined; I’m happy to have seen what it looks like in real life.  Currently they are working on expanding the canal to accommodate larger ships.

From the locks, the cab driver took me to the mirador or lookout which is a 150 meter high mountain with views of all of Panama City, the canal and the Bridge of the Americas.  This is also where a huge Panamanian Flag is positioned high above the city.  I took many photos before my driver took me down to the causeway which connects 4 islands and is at the Pacific entrance to the canal.  Here I walked around, ate some food, looked at boats and did some shopping.  I then grabbed a cab back to my hostel, but not before getting caught in a tropical downpour.

That night, I ate and went out in Casco Viejo.  I saw several Panamanians hanging out in the streets and their homes.  You can see inside a lot of the homes and because it is so hot, they keep their doors and many windows open.  A lot had Christmas trees and other various decorations.  For me it is always so hard to think about Christmas in the type of heat I was experiencing down there.  After hanging around Casco Viejo a bit, I decided to check out a casino.  The place was packed and I met some interesting people from all over the world.  You can tell that Panama City is a very international city that truly is at the crossroads of the world.  The next day, I woke up early to share a cab to the airport to catch 2 flights down to Cartagena, Columbia and the Caribbean beaches.

I spent the weekend of 12/4-12/6 in Atlanta, where I used to live, seeing some old friends: customers, colleagues, relatives and others.  It was great catching up with everyone and seeing how things haven’t changed too much.

On Monday (12/7), from Atlanta, I took a direct flight into the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose.  I had been told and read that there was not too much to see in San Jose, but lots to do and see throughout Costa Rica.  Nevertheless, instead of taking a long journey via a bus or taxi to one of the coasts, I decided to spend a night in a San Jose hostel.  I probably should have headed straight for a coast, but didn’t really have a clear plan.  After eating some Mexican (or so it seemed) style food, I decided to check out the casinos which I heard were many.  As any good observer would tell you, in casinos and throughout San Jose, there are many beautiful girls, but you can’t always tell their motives and professions.  I found a decent one casino, the Gran Casino Colonial, and proceeded to play my favorite parlor game: Black Jack.  I stayed until 11 and, no joke, won just over $800 (yes, subtracting what I put down.)

The next morning, I woke up with still no idea where I was going.  Almost who’d been there before told me to go to the Pacific Coast.  I knew a specific place which my dad always talks about, called Los Suenos which is famous for its big game fishing.  I talked with a guy who worked at the hostel and he suggested I head towards the park Manuel Antonio which is about an hours drive south of Los Suenos.  Making my way to the bus station, I needed to take a taxi.  I had heard a lot of people take taxis all over Costa Rica, so I asked him how much to Los Suenos and he said $80 and about 2 hours drive.  So instead of waiting at the bus station for a bus and with my new found cash flow, I said, “Deal.”

Driving through Costa Rica was beautiful.  It is mountainous and covered with rainforest which of course include all kinds of wildlife.  I read that Costa Rica is home to 4% of the species on Earth which is a lot for how small a country it is.  On the way west, we stopped for lunch at some small restaurant to eat.  I invited the driver to join me, which he did, but he knew about as much English as I know Spanish so you can imagine how that went.  After a long, winding, third world style drive through the countryside, we finally made it to Los Suenos and the Marriott resort.

That afternoon, I walked all around the resort grounds and made my way down to the marina.  This is why my dad had heard so much about Los Suenos.  The marina had to be about 95% sport fishing yachts and like the resort, set against a spectacular setting, with mountainous islands, a beach and the blue Pacific ocean.  I ate some sea bass ceviche their and watched their promo on the resort and a fishing tournament they’d had.  They are catching a lot of sailfish and marlin out of this marina.  I thought about trying to go out on a charter, but decided against it, because I did not want to spend the money and I fish like that on my dad’s boat in Florida.  Possibly one day I’ll be back here with him to fish out of here.

That night, at the resort casino, I met 3 Americans who’d just graduated from some college in Colorado.  They were down for at least the next 3 months to hang out, surf and enjoy Costa Rica with various friends and family who’d be stopping by to visit.  They were about to begin living the life.  I hung with them most of the night.

The next day, I decided, I was already at this resort, so I might as well enjoy it and enjoy myself as my travels are winding down.  I opted to spend most of the day at the pool, where I met 2 American girls down on vacation from Chicago.  Costa Rica is full of Americans who are either working, studying/researching or traveling or vacationing.  I later joined the girls for dinner down in the town of Jaco, where we checked out the beach as well.  Jaco is what you read about: a beach/surf town full of young travelers along with Costa Ricans who are trying to profit from them.  The beach is very nice and has a great break for surfing.  The set up of the town kind of reminds me of a beach town in Thailand.  We had some beers at a beach bar and then ate a “multi-ethnic” dinner off the main strip.  I did visit the resort casino that night, but called in early.

The next morning, I looked into some tours.  Of course zip-lining was at the top of my  list, but as I thought more about it and saw the prices I decided against it.  I have zip-lined before in the U.S. and I was kind of scared.  Probably if I had a partner in crime, I would have done it and maybe ventured out more while in Costa Rica.  The next couple days, I just chilled at the resort, went to the spa and saw the most amazing sunset I’ve ever seen up on mountain I cannot remember the name of.  I needed some down time as the fast pace of my travels as of late was taking its toll.  Costa Rica was the perfect place for this.  I know I will return very soon (maybe in January) with a better plan as it is truly a special place.  It is closer to the U.S. than most people think.

  After another long minibus ride back to the airport, I took a couple plane rides down to Panama City to continue my short trips in Central America.

On Thursday (11/19), my brother, Erik, and I flew Emirates Airlines up to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  Emirates is one of the nicest airlines I have ever flown.  There are plugs for computers and all your gadgets, on demand movies and television, video games, flight status, even pay internet and telephone coverage.  You could call someone in any seat on the plane and even watch the video feed from a camera mounted on the front of the plane (embedded at right).  This was all in economy class.  I’ve seen these services on a few other airlines and I’m sure several more have similar setups, but along with this there were no extra charges and the staff was very friend and accommodating.

In Dubai, we breezed through customs and a taxi took us to our hotel.  On the way, we noted we were back in the first world, where traffic laws are obeyed, the cars are less than 10 years old, there is no incessant honking, there are no dogs and everything is fairly litter free.  We were staying near the old town of Dubai, near Jumeirah Beach, at a Holiday Inn Express.  There was a lot of construction going on outside and throughout much of the city.

 
That afternoon, we began walking towards downtown and the world’s tallest building: the brand new Burj Dubai (Tower of Dubai).  On the way, we stayed true to being tourists, stopping to check out the Jumeirah Mosque.  We then kept moving towards  downtown where the skyscrapers are all clustered around one road with the Burj Dubai at the far (western) end.  We made our way into them and then went into a metro station.  We found the whole line was fairly incomplete, although all the future stops are listed.  So we kept on walking, dodging between construction sites and making improvised street crossings.  Eventually, we made it to the base of the Burj Dubai, which is an unbelievably tall building.  Unfortunately, it does not open until the beginning of 2010, so we were unable to go inside.  You can see that they are still putting the finishing touches on the tower and its surroundings.  Next door is a large mall and at the base is a large, clear, artificial lake; complete with Vegas style water shows and probably gondola rides in the near future.  Around this lake are cafes, restaurants, hotels and condos/apartments.  It is an extremely nice, new area.  Erik and I walked around, took lots of pictures and eventually sat down at a hookah cafe to smoke some flavored tobacco and take a break.

                   
After admiring the Burj Dubai, which is about 1000 feet higher than the next 2 highest buildings in the world: Taipei 101 and Shanghai World Financial Center, we decided to head down to the Dubai Mall in the “new” part of town.  The Dubai Mall is the largest mall outside of North America.  Inside, there is probably every store imaginable, every type of restaurant and even an indoor ski resort among other things.  We went as close as we could to the ski resort without paying.  It’s pretty neat and there are other winter sports available inside like sledding and tobogganing.  The prices are reasonable; about $80 with gear to ski all day.  If you had to live out in the desert, that’d be fun to go to every now and then.  We walked around the mall a bit and I ended up getting a haircut.  We then ate some cheap dinners in the food court, which had almost every American chain you can think of.  In fact, Dubai has just about everything we have in America.  It feels like Las Vegas, with big hotels, wide roads, the desert landscape, expensive restaurants and the tourists and taxis.  Where Las Vegas has the nightlife and casinos, Dubai makes up for it with beaches and water sports on the Persian Gulf.

We took the metro from the Dubai Mall back to our hotel, where we rested a bit, before going out to a few bars in hotels around downtown and the old town.  These had been suggested to us by some friends of friends who’d been there.  We met some nice expats from Europe and the Middle East, but didn’t get a full feel for Dubai until the next day.

                  
On Friday, we dressed for the beach and headed to Dubai’s other extremely famous building: the Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs) Hotel.  To get into this hotel, you have to be a guest or have a reservation at one of the restaurants.  We expected this and that we would need to be dressed better, but even so, we had our taxi drop us off at the entrance.  There were plenty of tourists hanging around taking photos, while there is a water park right next door.  We went up to the security gate and were told, based on what we were wearing (T-shirts, bathing suits, sandals), we could go to a certain beach restaurant inside if we had a reservation.  I called the number they gave me and basically figured that with the food we’d be required to buy and us having some drinks, we’d probably end up spending about $500 between the two of us.  Instead, we walked along Jumeirah Road deciding we’d find a spot on the beach nearby.  We went to the hotel right next door, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and paid to access their beach, marina and sports complex.  This place was perfect.  There was a nice marina and beach with great views of the Burj Al Arab.  We walked around, hung out on the beach and went swimming in the Persian Gulf having a perfect afternoon.

When evening began to fall, Erik and I decided to go have some drinks and checkout the outdoor bar at the end of the marina break wall.  We were among the first people to arrive and proceeded to enjoy some drinks and the great views.  While hanging out, it seemed a steady stream of people kept showing up; more and more well dressed, with some buying VIP tables.  Eventually, the place became packed, full of nice, good looking, well-dressed people, while Erik and I were definitely the most underdressed.  We began talking to some and started sharing a table with a group of British expats. (Almost everyone was a British expat.)  Most people were in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties and all very friendly.  They informed Erik and I, that in the UAE, Friday and Saturday are the weekend days, while Sunday is like Monday and the beginning of the work week.  We had not idea that we were hanging out on a day like Saturday.  In Dubai, the big thing to do, is go to a hotel buffet with a group of friends and hang out all afternoon.  These buffets include all you can eat food and all you can drink for a fixed price.  Most people had spent all afternoon at some hotel buffet and had just come out there when they shut down for the day.  They said, usually it isn’t so easy to get out to this particular bar, so Erik and I were especially lucky to get in T-shirts, shorts and sandals.  We learned all kinds of information about Dubai from these British expats, who told us the city was was a lot more happening before the economic downturn and that there were probably 3 times as many people living and working there.  Most had been there for over 3 years, and said they never see young Americans there; only people over 50 on vacation.  They said, the  professionals working there are mostly British, with some other Europeans and Aussies & Kiwis sprinkled in between.  They attributed the distance and a fear of the Middle East to the lack of resident Americans.

Erik and I might have stayed longer if we were prepared and had been dressed a little better.  Anyway, we were already going to be late for a birthday party we were invited to by a couple of English girls I had met in Thailand, who I’ve kept in touch with over Facebook.  We cabbed it back to the hotel, cleaned up, and went to meet them out at the party at yet another hotel buffet in the old town.  Here, again, everyone was friendly, cool and mostly British, not to mention the food was excellent.  We had a great time.  Once the buffet and open bar closed, we moved on to some famous multi-club spot in Dubai and proceeded to enjoy ourselves as we stayed up fairly late.

The next day (Saturday), waking up late, Erik and I decided to check out a famous buffet near the racing club of Dubai.  We spent much of the day over in this outdoor mall-like area.  That evening, we met up with a couple guys from Tyrolit, who my dad had put us in touch with.  They took us to dinner out at the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Island.

Palm Island is a whole lot bigger than I expected.  I thought it would be like an exclusive, gated neighborhood, with hotels on the outermost breakwater.  In fact, it is much larger; a whole town, with apartment buildings, store, restaurants, police and fire stations; everything a city needs.  A four lane tunnel lead out from the mainland and everything, as expected, is as modern as can be.  The Atlantis hotel looks just like the one in the Bahamas, except there is no casino there.  Gambling is strictly prohibited in the UAE, and I was surprised that not even one hotel in Dubai had one.  We ate another nice meal out at the Atlantis and talked some business about Dubai and the Middle East.  Erik had an early flight out Sunday, so we decided to call it a night after dinner.

Erik flew out the next morning, while I left Dubai later that evening.  Dubai is truly a fascinating city, which has captured the imagination of the world with its unique building projects and heavy self-promotion.  It is worth a look and a lot of fun, but being brand new, with all the foreigners and comforts of the U.S.A., it makes it hard to find a unique character or culture.

Leaving Dubai, I flew back to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with my immediate family.  We relaxed, ate some good food and caught some fish.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I went back to Ohio for my 10 year high school reunion.  It was great to see old friends and classmates.  However, Facebook has taken some of the novelty and suspense out of such reunions.  Nevertheless, it was still a fun and interesting time.  Finishing out my year of travels, I’ll be stopping in Atlanta this weekend (12/3), then am headed to Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia before Christmas and New Years in South Florida.  I should be posting about Costa Rica towards the end of next week.

I flew into Mumbai from Delhi on Saturday (11/14).  My brother did not make it in, until very late that night.  Because of this, we just rested and woke early to explore the city.  Our hotel was in the Colaba neighborhood very near to the harbor.  We walked down to the Gateway of India which is right near the Taj Mahal hotel which was attacked by terrorists just over a year ago.  In this area and throughout much of Mumbai, we were hounded by touts, beggar kids and deformed people.  We did our best to ignore them, but every now and then you find yourself answering one of their questions.  I believe this is because, as a westerner we find it difficult not to be rude to other people.  In this way, as in many poor countries, the touts and beggars are using our courtesy against us.  So as not to encourage the behavior, we did not give out any money.

From the Gateway of India, we followed a walking tour I had in my guidebook.  We went by the Sailor’s Home, Majestic Hotel, Institute of Science, the Prince of Wales Museum, the University of Mumbai, the Ambassador hotel and a large park where everyone was playing cricket.  It was hot and considering, it did not smell much different than most big cities which are on the ocean.  Nevertheless, the traffic is crazy and there dogs and people everywhere.  For some reason, Erik thought he’d be alright wearing pants, even though I warned him.  Sure enough, after about 2 hours of walking, he could not believe the heat and we headed back to our hotel.  On the way, we went inside the Taj Mahal Hotel (the Taj) to check it out.  The hotel is air conditioned and has a few high-end shops.  There are also nice restaurants and a great looking pool.  It is a typical 5 star hotel, made even more famous since the terrorist attacks last year.

After Erik changed, we played some cards on the rooftop of our hotel, then went down to Leopold’s Cafe to eat some food.  Leopold’s is a landmark restaurant in Mumbai where they say all travelers find themselves at one point or another while visiting.  This cafe was also attacked last year, and a bullet hole can still be seen in the marble at the front entrance.  The place was packed, while the food was multi-cultural and very good.  After eating, we haggled with some street vendors over various souvenirs and ate some street food.  We eventually ended up back at the Taj drinking beers.  There we met some nice Indians, who were working there, who told us a little about the city and where else we should go.  We tried to play some more Gin Rummy, but by the time we had dealt the first hand, a waiter came over and told us, this was not allowed.  We later found out that it is illegal to play cards in public in India because everyone assumes you are gambling.  That night, Erik and I did some bar-hopping and experienced the fairly low-key Colaba neighborhood nightlife.  We were surprised that we did not run into more westerners or backpackers.

The next day, we hired a car to drive us around Mumbai and show us some more sites, after talking down a tout near the Gateway of India.  He first drove us to the  Dharavi slum, which is the largest in all of Asia.  I have read that it has quite a significant economy going, producing various textiles and reworked metal among other things.  We really only went to the edges, but it is what you would expect a slum full of people to look like.  There we saw, a huge center for laundry, Dhobi Ghats, where out in the open amid concrete basins, they hand wash clothes, then hang them to dry.  I was told this is where much of the laundry of the city is done and was probably where the laundry I turned into my hotel had been sent.

 
From Dharavi, we went by Sassoon Dock, Mumbai’s Ghandi museum, The Oberoi Hotel, Chowpatty Beach, Mahalaxmi Temple, and Nehru Park on Malabar Hill.  We also went by the Parsi Tower of Silence, however, tourists are not allowed in.  When the Parsis die, their corpses are laid out here in the open for vultures to feast on.  After the tour, Erik was still feeling jet lagged, so we went in for a nap.  That night, we again went out, dodging the people and families sleeping on the streets along with the rats and dogs.  We went in fairly early though, because the next morning we were taking a 4:55 am flight down to Goa.

Goa is a famous beach area of Indian and about an hour’s cheap flight south of Mumbai.  The beach town was made famous back in the 60s and 70s when hippies came here along with their drug and peace-loving culture.  Goa is probably the most liberal are of India, which is a very conservative country.  As so, it’s okay to play cards in public and show some skin with your bathing suit.  From the airport, we had a crazy 45 minute taxi ride to our hotel on Calangute Beach.  The driver made Erik fairly nervous, showing him third-world driving at its best, passing at high speeds, having close calls with oncoming traffic.  I thought it was pretty entertaining.  Arriving so early in the morning, Erik and I had an entire day to kill.  We checked into our hotel, which thankfully let us into our room right away and also had a pool.

Erik and I went straight to the beach, which is very large with nice beige sand.  The  water is a little brown and brackish, probably due to a few rivers flowing out nearby.  We walked south along the beach and were offered jet ski rides, boat rides, parasailing, clothes, drugs and food.  There were all kinds of Indians; tourists and townies hanging out, enjoying the beach and the boats, with most fully clothed from head to toe.  We walked into a restaurant and had an early lunch, then proceeded to explore the town.  The town is a beach town, but it’s India, so there are stores, restaurants and markets along with cows, dogs, chickens, touts and people all over.  Needless to say, Goa is not the party town Erik and I had imagined.

  North of our hotel we saw a lot more Europeans enjoying their holidays.  We stopped into a few places for drinks, but realized we had both developed the “Delhi Belly.”  I would describe this condition as a mild case of food poisoning, which we probably developed from by eating street food or drinking melted ice.  Fortunately, I had some antibiotics with me.  Because of the “Delhi Belly”, we did not stay out too late that night, but definitely got a good feel for Goa.

The next morning, we went swimming in the Indian Ocean and our hotel pool, enjoying the warm tropical weather.  We then checked out of our hotel and took another crazy taxi to the airport for our afternoon flight back to Mumbai.

We stayed ne last night in Mumbai where Erik had used his hotel points to book us at the 5-star JW Marriott on Juhu Beach.  There we hung out at the pool and checked out the beach where very few people were swimming.  We ate some great food and saw many rich Indians.  With a nice sleep, the next morning, we jumped on an Emirates flight over to Dubai in the UAE.

I left Cairo on Saturday afternoon (11/8) and had a layover in Manama, Bahrain, on my way to Delhi, India.  I did not arrive into India until around 6 in the morning on November 9th.  I slept much of the day and watch some TV shows I had downloaded, on my iPhone.  That evening, I ate a nice Indian dinner which was the beginning of my 10 days enjoying cheap, great Indian food.  The hostel I was staying at was very small, and I’m pretty sure I was the only guest there.  It was in an apartment type building, down a back alley, which I had booked off the internet.  There wasn’t even a sign out front.  It was like I was sharing a 6 bedroom apartment with the 2 guys who ran the place.  These guys were really nice, and helped me to arrange my next few days in India.

On Sunday, I hired a private driver for just over $10 (500 rupees) to drive me around Delhi and see the main sites.  We first stopped by the Lakshmi Narayun Hindu temple where I was unable to take pictures.  We then went by the India Gate, the Parliament,   and Rashtropati Baven (the president’s house).  These are all on the Rajpath (Kingsway) which is a grand boulevard laid out like the Champs Elysee in Paris and other such boulevards in capitals throughout the world.  I would say, it is somewhat incomplete, as a lot of things appear to be in India.  I then moved on to the Mahatma Ghandi museum which is probably the most interactive museum I have ever been to.  I also liked how there were live guides in each room telling history and explaining how to use the exhibits.  On the same grounds of the museum, was the room Ghandi stayed in for his last 144 days along with a small monument, marking where he was assassinated.  His last footsteps have been recreated in stone.  After the Ghandi museum, my driver and I went over to the Indira Ghandi (no relation) museum which was the place of her old residence.  She was a very influential Indian prime minister.  On this property, there was also a memorial to her last steps and the place she fell dead after being shot in 1984.

After eating some lunch, I was taken to the Qutb Minar complex, where I saw the victory tower of red sandstone and white marble, some tombs and some ruins.  The complex was built during Islamic rule centuries ago.  Among the other sites I saw that  day, were the Lotus Temple, the largest mosque in India: Jama Masjid, and the Red Fort, which the British symbolically controlled until 1948.  That day, I was taken through the streets, both by bicycle rickshaw and taxi.  I saw much of the life and crowding of Delhi, both in terms of people, animals and traffic.  There were cars, dogs, cows, motorbikes, bicycles, motorized rickshaws, elephants and pedestrians everywhere.  A lot of India is like this, and it is quite an experience.  With the mix of all these elements, there is much trash, pollution and smells.  There are people selling everything and hounding tourists like me, not to mention, beggars of all ages.  I expected much of this, but as always, real life is never the same as your expectations.

That evening in Delhi, I contacted a friend of my brother’s, Sunny, who did some school with him back in the U.S.  Sunny was born in India and still lives in Delhi.  He picked me up and we went out for dinner and drinks with a couple of his friends.  All of them had studied at colleges in the United States.  They told me a lot about India as we had an enjoyable night.  However, I was informed, Friday and Saturday are the most exciting nights in India.  Most Indians rarely eat out, choosing to save money and enjoy family meals at home.

  The next day (11/11), I began my trip through the rest of the Golden Triangle.  Because most things are very cheap in India, I had hired a private driver to drive me between cities for the next 3 days.   The driver’s name was Mithu.  He was 23, though he had the maturity of a 35 year old.  He was from the region of India which borders the Himalayas and was living and working in Delhi to make more money.  I spent many hours in the car with Mithu over those 3 days and learned a lot about India; the lifestyles, religions and cultures.  Not to mention, I witnessed much of these aspects of life as we passed through the countryside.  Leaving Delhi, the poverty and degradation become much more apparent.  Plastic trash is all over the place, buildings run-down, people are barefoot, people are begging, and farm animals and dogs are amongst this all, going to the bathroom wherever and whenever they please.  There are modern restaurants, facilities and hotels throughout, but the poverty is never too far away.

  Mithu drove me south, towards Agra where the Taj Mahal is.  We did not arrive until late afternoon as traffic seems to always be an issue and there is really no freeway.  The guide we met in Agra (who I had paid for in a complete package including hotels) said we must see the Taj Mahal this evening as, in the morning, it would be too foggy.  We then sped over there to maximize my time.

The Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world and truly a magnificent, spectacular building.  It was built by Emperor, Shah Jahan (completed in 1653) as a memorial/mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.  As so, there are only 2 people buried at this massive monument: Shah Jahan and his wife.  Apparently, Shah Jahan was supposed to build an identical, but black Taj Mahal on the other side of the Yamuna river, which the Taj sits on the banks of and where he was to have been buried.  In fact, his burial at the Taj Mahal minorly disrupts the symmetry of the place.  You can see that construction may have once began from looking across the river, but in the end, the emperor spent the last 8 years of his life imprisoned by his son, who as I was told, did so because his father was squandering their resources on such elaborate buildings.  However, I think the tourist industry alone, surrounding the Taj Mahal, has brought India a lot of money and prestige since then.  I was very impressed by the site and its focus on symmetry, along with the inclusion of most world faiths in the symbolism and architecture.  There is an expression of unity and singularity of god, no matter what religion; a concept I saw and was told about throughout India.  The artwork on the Taj Mahal of various colorful stones, inlaid into the white marble is like nothing I have ever seen before.  The stones have been laid in intricate designs into the chiseled marble, making a flush surface.  I had to later purchase a couple items which were made in this same style.

The next morning, I woke early to have yet another guide tour of Agra’s other main site: another Red Fort.  This is where Shah Jahan spent the last 8 years of his life, imprisoned, but with a nice view of the Taj Mahal.  The fort itself, was constructed by his ancestors and is loaded with Mughal architecture.  Now-a-days, you can only tour the palace, as the Indian military used most of the rest of the fort grounds.

From Agra, Mithu and I departed on yet another 5+ hour car journey through the  countryside, on our way to Jaipur: the 3rd vertice of the Golden Triangle.  In between, we stopped at Keoladeo National Park and bird sanctuary.  I rode on a bicycle rickshaw for a little over an hour while my driver provided me with details about the bird, the animals and the land.  I saw all kinds of different birds, antelope, deer, monkeys, a jackal, and even cows and dogs which weren’t supposed to be in there.  The driver was so calm and serious, it was almost kind of funny.  I wish the weather could have been warmer, with no rain, but unfortunately it did not change that day.  I was supposed to see the sunset in Jaipur over the Amber Fort, but it remained cloudy the entire evening.

After checking into the hotel, with nothing much else to do, I had Mithu take me to some street food stalls in town to eat some snacks.  There was no meat at the stalls because a lot of Indians (especially Hindus) are vegetarians.  We ate all kinds of vegetable based dishes from throughout India, visiting several stalls.  I became fairly full, and paying for all of both mine and Mithu’s food, did not spend over $2.  Everything tasted great and I did not become sick later.  That evening, I caught up on my journal and blog and was able to completely skip dinner.

The next morning, I woke early to have a guided tour of Jaipur.  My guide, Makeesh, was very friendly, spoke great English and answered a lot of my questions about India.  We first went by Hawa Mahal, which was constructed for royal women to watch parades and festivals and is the most famous building of Jaipur.  It is painted pink like much of the old city, which has been this ways since 1876 when Maharaja Ram Singh did so to welcome Prince Edward of England as a sign of hospitality.

After the photo-op at Hawa Mahal, we headed over to the Amber Fort.  The palace here was complete with swimming pools and a heating and cooling system among   other innovations.  It seems like it would have been a cool place to live in back in the old days.  From there, we went by the lake palace and then the city palace where the current Maharaja still lives with his extended family.  We also visited the Jantar Mantar observatory which was built by the famous Maharaja, Jai Singh, who Jaipur is named after.  At the observatory there are several sun-dials, including the largest one in the world.  There are also other large instruments to view the moon and the stars.  It is too bad the sun was not out while I was there.  Finally, I climbed the Iswari Minar Swarga Sal minaret to get an overview of the whole city of Jaipur.

After purchasing a couple tailor-made silk shirts, I was fairly tired, so I went back to my hotel for a rest.  I later ate dinner there on the rooftop restaurant where I hung out with a Norwegian couple and saw an interesting puppet show.

   The next day (11/14) I once again woke up very early to depart back for Delhi.  We had yet another long drive up to the airport.  There, I took a flight over to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to check out India’s largest city and to meet up with my brother who was beginning a week’s vacation.