Ancient Native American Civilizations in the United States

This is another category I hope to be adding to as I seek out and visit additional areas. Updated: July 19 2020 Ocmulgee On the outskirts of Macon Georgia are the Ocmulgee mounds. The mounds are built by people carrying […]

Great Zimbabwe Ruins

I ventured to the less traveled part of Zimbabwe just to see the impressive Great Zimbabwe Ruins. The word Zimbabwe means great stone house. The country is named after this mysterious ancient city that was abandoned when the Portuguese arrived […]

Sri Lanka Buses. Traveling around Sri Lanka on cheap and colorful buses.

Recently (summer of 2019) I spent several weeks traveling through Sri Lanka. I did all transfers by public bus except the Kandy to Ella portion. There are two types of buses, the red government buses, and the personalized private buses. […]

Teotihuacan- Ancient City Built By An Unknown Civilization near Mexico City

While many think this is an Aztec city, it is actually much older. Founded around 400BC it peaked around 300AD. It had been mysteriously abandoned for centuries when Aztec people named it. It is unknown who lived in this city. […]

Maldives Great Diving On A Budget

I wanted to experience the spectacular diving and waters of the Maldives. I did not want to spend a few month’s travel budget on a few days at a private-island resort. Transfers Required Most any visit to the Maldives will […]

Ukraine: 2 fascinating Abandoned Places: Chernobyl & Tunnel of Love

Chernobyl The excellent HBO miniseries has me thinking about the day trip I took to Chernobyl. Yes, you can visit Chernobyl. Reportedly the radiation I was exposed that day  was less than that on a transatlantic flight. A new confinement […]

Tibet- Traveling to Tibet as independently as possible.

I finally made it to Tibet in October 2018 after a decade of thwarted attempts. Here are some tips for a basic Tibet visit. I have not included overland options to/from Nepal. You cannot just buy a ticket! Often people […]

ATMs: Scams The reverse engineered Bank Tricks: The ATM heist.

Stop paying too much to withdrawal your own money. It is very simple once you understand the possibilities. I don’t haggle with local artists mercilessly, or beg small, family run businesses for minimal savings. Under no circumstances do I hand […]

Uzbekistan- Now it is easier than ever to visit.

Now is the time to explore Uzbekistan. I had an amazing two weeks in Uzbekistan. It exceeded expectations. It was interesting and fun. It was comfortable, yet still felt like a unique and less explored destination. An independent traveler, with […]

Cuba- Visit by plane from the US.

 I traveled to Cuba by plane in July 2018. So observations, policies, etc are from that time. A Tale Of Two Currencies There are two classes of people in Cuba. Those with access to hard currencies and those without. There […]