Laos would be the first stop on a giant, eight-country, end-of-year mega-journey. The grand voyage had been in the works for almost a full year. This was the big one! And just getting to my first stop, the capital, Vientiane, would definitely be one long and complicated journey, but I sure had a good time…
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It looked and felt like a scene from many decades ago, and even though the themes of the area may have been centered around liquor and sex (and who knows what else), there was an air of playful innocence about it all; something straight out of a Porky’s or American Graffiti film. Now I Know…
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They warned me to keep the window all the way up or all the way down, or the weight of the donkeys would shatter the glass! I don’t think I purchased donkey-coverage insurance for the rental car, so I proceeded with extreme caution. Last Minute I tried for hours to make it work: a weekend…
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It is said that a former governor of the island who suffered from severe headaches, believing his malady was aggravated by the sun’s brilliant reflections off the white buildings, mandated that building exteriors be painted any color but white. Despite later discovery that the governor was a shareholder in the island’s only paint store, the…
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Get Outta my Dreams and into my CAR Here I was, over 130 countries visited, on my quest to see all 193…and almost all of the “tough” ones done. I’d purposely visited the harder ones first, to get them out of the way in the beginning. And this strategy had paid off: For example, if…
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I was attacked in the Congo…by a monkey. The Tale of Two Congos Country #133 for me was The Democratic Republic of The Congo, hereinafter referred to as the “DRC.” They say the visa for DRC can be tricky: it involves a signed and notarized invitation letter before you can even apply. I cover all…
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“Mom, what country would you least want to visit?” Her answer: The Congo. Motherly Advice I think the first time I’d ever even heard of The Congo, was decades ago, as a curious kid, when I was asking my mom general questions about “the world.” “What country in the whole wide world is the most…
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You Missed A Spot What do Vatican City, Haiti, Lichtenstein and Andorra all have in common? I once happened to be thiiiiiiiis close to all of them, yet completely ignored them. A travesty, really, as today I spend hours and hours–days upon days–planning and plotting the perfect trip routes to make sure I include as…
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