Saudi Arabia has long been in my sights as a unique and difficult country to visit, especially as a non-muslim. Having only heard stories of the mysterious country I had no idea what to expect. The first challenge was gaining access aka getting a visa. As Saudi Arabia does not have tourist visas, the only … Continue reading A Week In Saudi Arabia
With my limited knowledge on Sudan, I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of accommodation in the capital city of Khartoum. I found there was a Corinthia Hotel which surprised me. The luxurious Corinthia brand is based out of Malta and I did a feature for them during my visit then. Could the Corinthia … Continue reading Experience: Corinthia Hotel Khartoum
In a past piece on New Zealand in 10 days, we touched on Christchurch as a nice city to fly into. It’s the largest city on the south island, and the airport is a good hub for international flights, which means a lot of tourists will ultimately pass through it as they begin their New … Continue reading A Few Days In Christchurch, New Zealand
Dili in Timor L’este isn’t known as a major tourist destination so I was curious to see what kind of hotel offerings the city had. I found Novo Turismo centrally located and had great reviews, so I contacted them and arranged my stay. Coming from Darwin, I had a quick flight to the capital city … Continue reading Experience: Novo Turismo Resort and Spa, Timor Leste
Hyatt properties are a safe bet when searching for luxury, convenience, and professionalism. That’s why I chose to stay at their fairly new property in Manila in the “City of Dreams” development. Opened at the end of 2014, this casino resort is made up of three hotels, clubs, restaurants, and a shopping mall. Outside of … Continue reading Experience: Hyatt City of Dreams Manila
There are hotel experiences and then there are experiences that define your trip due to a hotel. This is the latter. With a sudden hiccup in my visa application process for Nauru, I was forced to change my itinerary. This led to my revisit of the Solomon Islands. For the week that I was suppose … Continue reading Experience: Hotel Honiara, Solomon Islands
Visiting Iraq for the first time was a daunting concept. I heard the safer area was Kurdistan, so I headed to its capital Erbil. After some further research I found not only did the city have plenty of hotels, but also ultra luxurious ones. Divan, a luxury Turkish chain, was quick to reply and organized … Continue reading Experience: Divan Erbil, Iraq
Eritrea has managed to escape me on several trips. On my first trip to the area during the Horn of Africa tour, I planned to visit Eritrea after passing through Sudan. I applied in Djibouti, where the Embassy explained that they weren’t even getting replies from their own country. I wanted to try again in … Continue reading Onward to Eritrea
Time to tackle country 189, Iraq. Though this sounds daunting, Iraq has a little secret called Kurdistan. Like Somaliland in Somolia, Kurdistan is a self governed state within a state. Internationally it is recognized as a part of Iraq but for all intents and purposes it is a separate country. As much as I’d like … Continue reading Peaceful Iraq Egypt Revisited
From Montego Bay I spent a day driving down to Kingston with an afternoon visit to Ocho Rios. The route south on the new highway was a breeze and took just under two hours. I was headed to the country’s largest and capital city. Arriving in the evening, I checked into the Courtyard Marriott Kingston. … Continue reading Kingston, Jamaica