The video above is from the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, USA.

Villa D’Este Gardens, Tivoli, Italy

Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy

Jet d’eau, Geneva, Switzerland

Manneken Pis, Brussels, Belgium

Things To Carry Abroad
When you travel internationally, it is tough to think of all the things you may need while you are aboard. But you can certainly study and jot down the most essential things to carry while traveling abroad so that your trip isn’t messed up.

Below are a few tips to help you gear up for your trip overseas.

Luggage

Pack only those kind of clothes which are comfortable to use and light in weight. Remember you may roam to different places with your luggage so make sure that doesn’t make you tired. And be alert enough to always stay with your luggage so that you don’t face security issues. Carry two pair of your accessories such as glasses or contacts, watches, belts, etc; it’s wise to have an extra pair if one is misplaced. If you need medication every day, bring double the amount.

Visa and Passport

You certainly can’t enter a country without a visa, so this should be first on your list. You must check the requirements and ensure compliance. Some countries issue you a visa at your arrival, whereas some don’t which means you have to apply for a visa and confirm it before you leave. Pack your passport and important documents along with photocopies in a separate bag, not with your luggage.

Phone & Internet

You may need to make international call from mobile phones or landline to keep in contact with your loved ones. There are many calling services but make sure you opt for a service for making international phone calls, which is reliable and cheap while you are abroad.

If you are carrying a laptop then choose a suitable internet service because you will send emails, upload stuff or maybe just stay online all day long.

Money

Only carry the amount of money and other valuables that is needed as you may find thieves anywhere around you. A money belt is a great way to conceal and keep your money safe.
Get prior information about currency exchange facilities, ATMs and banks. It is advisable to have some money changed before you leave so that it helps you in transportation fare and other direct expenses.

Some things you’ll need while roughing it in the Amazon, a so to speak “Survival List”

1. Malaria pills
It might be unlikely that you’ll be bitten by a mosquito carrying the infection but to prevent is to have a comfortable journey. It’ll clear your mind every time you swallow the pills. Be sure to take the correct Malaria pills according to the territory you’ll be visiting – Malaria has grown resistant in certain areas and some pills may not work. View the Malaria pills needed for each country.

2. Insect repellent / Cortisone
Malaria might not be something you’ll pick up while visiting the lush and vast Amazon, but be certain that you’ll be bit and bit and bit by mosquitos. So you’re going to want to load up on some DEET or you can try natural insect repellent. And don’t forget the cortisone…because like I said before you’ll be bit; probably when you get out of the river (which happened to me) and the water washed away your repellent and then the bugs came. Not a pretty sight.

3. Flashlights – cranked
It gets dark there. Black. But the sky is lit up which is an awesome sight. And if you don’t have night-vision you’ll likely end up walking into a spider-web or impaling yourself by a broken branch. The best thing to prevent these unfortunate accidents is to buy a crank flashlight. Or you might consider carrying a few extra batteries for a battery flashlight but please make sure you don’t dispose your old batteries in the forest, and even a better idea is to use rechargeable batteries; they might more expensive but they will save you money in the long run as well as the environment.

4. First-Aid
You’ll get hurt. Probably bloody if you are accident prone like me. So buy a good first-aid kit that carries band-aids, antiseptic, wrapping, etc. Better to have than to need.

5. Sun Block
It gets hot there. Scorching. So block up with a high SPF.

6. Wellington Boots
These are very handy. You’ll likely be confronted with mud. Mud that is knee high deep. So get those rubber boots they are needed! And a side note: I bought my Wellingtons Stateside for 60 bucks expecting the price will match the quality but I was wrong they were worthless. So the day before entering the jungle I bought a $7 pair of rubber boots that were fantastic — I still have them in my closet for future trips.

Shooting Guns in Cambodia

image by tanvach

What’s more sexier than being able to unload 30 rounds with an AK-47 assault rifle? The chance to feel the cool steel at your palms, the quaking vibrations running up your arms, and the cacophonous pops being felt throughout your core. Nothing brightens up your travel days than destroying a target.

Shooting guns, machine guns, rocket launchers and tossing grenades are one of the exciting underground travel excursions that travelers may be confronted with in Cambodia. It is a pricey one though (e.g., $1 a bullet for a Russian K-57). It definitely beats the sex excursions that one may stumble on to.

A Tour of the Favelas in Brazil

image by Daniel Zanini H.

Favelas are the epitome of a socio-economic model: the Rich on one side, the poor on the other; the 9-to-5 workday and family morals on one side, the drug slinging and murdering on the other. It is where tourists are extremely, EXTERMELY, encouraged NOT to set foot into, and if you do venture in, go during the day and pray to your God.

But some travel tour agencies are offering a firsthand view of the shanty towns. Why, you ask? Well, simply to strip away the bad rap that the Favelas have received; it’s not all drugs and violence. Families live there, many of the dance schools that participate in Carnival are from there, it is like any other town except for all the drugs and violence (just kidding). If traveling is your addiction, then you probably know that with travel come growth and a very open mind to accept and appreciate differences from around the world. So why not visit the Favelas, just remember when the tour guide tells you to not look at the drug dealer when you’re passing him, DO NOT LOOK AT THE DRUG DEALER.

Scenic Drive: Death Road, Bolivia

image by thekjkev

Got you on the scenic part didn’t I? Well, I’m sure many things in retrospect are scenic when you’re confronted with possible death. And many people would agree with me after they’ve been through the Death Road (North Yungas Road) in Bolivia.

The visit to the Amazon isn’t the travel excursion you signed up for, it’s the way you get there from La Paz that is. The roads are narrow (3.2 meters = 10 ft.); there’s a lack of guardrails; it has extreme drop-offs of 6,000 meters (2,000 ft.); it is plagued with frequent rain, fog and dust that reduces visibility; and the roads can be muddy. But hey that’s fun, isn’t it!? And just because it’s so fun there are travel companies that will take you up there just for the shits-and-giggles. And if you’re into Mountain Biking, then this is your sport: the downhill is to die for (64 KM = 40 mile of continuous downhill riding)!

And as always, if you have any to add please comment below.

But it’s apropos that Death should be intertwined with time. We all base life on this measurement, all the way up to its end. It is how we determine our daily activities: wake up, breakfast, work, lunch, appointments, dinner, sleep…Time and life are tied in a convenient knot, they are subtly connected that impact mind, body and soul. It can stress us out when we’re running late, or it can drive us mad if it is going too slow. But there are cultures out there that time is superfluous. They use time only as a rough estimate. They don’t get to places on time, only on their time!

Costa Rica

image by Milenuts™

If you ever been to Costa Rica, I’m sure you’ve noticed a laid back attitude when it comes to time. Their philosophy is simple: PURA VIDA (pure life). These two words embody their tranquil outlook: no need to rush, no need to fuss about things that are uncontrollable, just relax and enjoy the experience bad or good.

Case in point: last visit to Costa Rica, my fiancée and I were coming back from Corcovado Park on the only road from the national park to Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. That morning as we hiked from our campsite to the “Collectivo”, the local bus, it rained, no, it poured a LOT. So as we trucked our way on the bouncy road the sky seemed to clear as we reached the Agua Buena river — which a few days ago was more like a stream — now it was a full-on raging river. The storm raised the water so much that we couldn’t even attempt to forge the river. So we waited. And waited. Played coins, smoked cigarettes, talked, joked for about four hours until the river lowered a foot. The Ticos didn’t mind. It was just how they lived. What can be done about the river? We can stress out, we can panic about arriving to our ferry late, but that’s all that the worrying will do: worry. Better to be positive than negative.

Here is a video of the car that was following us trying to cross the river. Pura Vida!

Italy

image by wili_hybrid

If you’ve ever been to Italy you might have noticed that Italians may look like they are running late to an appointment — well, they most probably are — you see them scurrying through Roman streets and sidewalks on their Vespas, or quickly walking through the narrow alleys of Venice, and you think you are in NYC or in Tokyo with the hordes of determined commuters to get to their destination on time. But you’re in Italy and it’s expected to arrive late, fashionably late. Though the transportation system is not contiguous to the Italians; surprisingly they are punctual, scary punctual. All the trains, subways, and buses that I took from Venice to Maratea were very on time -almost Germanesque!

Enjoy a video below of Italians asking for the time.

How To Tell The Time In Italy : English Subtitled: Very Funny. – Click here for more home videos

Miami – Cubans – Cuban Time

image by caribb

This one might not be a country then again Miami is not really part of the U. S. of A., and should be considered as its own country. If you ever visited Miami, or even better, have any Cuban friends from Miami, then one striking characteristic you will notice is that they have their own concept of punctuality, and it’s called Cuban Time.

What is Cuban Time? Below is a defintion of it by Urban Dictionary.

The length of time, usually between 15 minutes and 1 hour 42 minutes, it takes for a native of Miami, Florida to show up to any specific scheduled event, such as work.

Case closed.

As always if you have more to add, please comment below.

Did those people know I was flying overhead, wondering about their names? …but that thought would pass as another terrain came into view.

I enjoyed flying back and forth from Miami to Orlando at the age of 10 with my brother who was 12. What excited me the most was not that I was getting away from my parents to visit my Nana and Aunt; it was the actual process of traveling. The boarding of a plane, the buckling of a seatbelt, the liftoff, the tranquility of the world outside this humming metal bird. I was being transported. I felt and still feel that overwhelming push to move.

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Travel is just another verb. But its connotation embodies much more…

So Why do we travel?

For the Art

People travel miles to see works of art, monuments, buildings which represent a city, country, culture. Or they travel to see what the artist has seen, lived or experienced. Like in a Claude Monet painting (like the one above), a viewer gets a glimpse of what Monet saw on the French countryside. But to actually visit the artist’s subject holds more meaning; the experience of ‘being there’ gives you a closer relationship to the artist and his thoughts—it’s sort of like reconnecting to an old friend. Images become real; the world somehow gets smaller and a little more familiar.

For the Beer and Wine

image by monsieur rico

On shelves of your local grocery story you’ve probably stared at the plethora of alcoholic libations that traveled miles for you. Why not return the favor and visit where they were born? Alcohol may not be the first thought in many travelers’ mind , but, if you’re a drinker, it’ll most likely be a daily experience for the time that you are visiting.

You get to taste what the locals taste without the expensive price tag for being an imported beer.

To learn

image by Mil

You may travel to learn about a culture, learn their language, or to learn how they conduct business. Traveling and learning go hand-in-hand, you may not know you’re learning when you travel, but you pick up tidbits of information from locals, tour guides or street signs.

If you have any more to add, please comment below.

EAT EVERYTHING

image by Tesla314

When one travels, food is one of the top things travelers are thinking about. What kind of food is there to munch on? But if you are one of those travelers that are picky on what they eat or not as explorative as others, then you’ll be happy with what a cruise line offers.

It’s a smorgasbord of typical food you’d see from home (in the US). You’ve got your cheeseburgers, pizza, Salads, Fish, Sirloins, and you’ll find award winning dishes on the menu. There are no scary surprises. The only difference is that when on a cruise ship the food is practically non-stop. You can ask for several dishes at once, and at the comfortable price of $0 (it’s all free with the price of Cruise ticket). And some food stations are open till the wee hours, and Room Service is 24/7. For those gluttons out there, you’re ship has come in.

GAMBLE (at least 50 Bucks)

image by ***Yuna***

And just like food on a Cruise ship, gambling does not shut down. The casino is the perfect place to win a wad of cash or blow your savings.

Know your limits though, because losing your money on vacation is hard enough, but intentionally losing it for the shits-and-giggles when gambling is absurd. Set aside some gamble money even if you don’t intend to play with chance, because the colorful lights, the people cheering and the drunken circus of the casino area is very alluring, and it will draw you in unexpectedly to wipe you out. You’re going to want to arm yourself with indispensable cash that is meant to be lost. Remember, you’re there to have fun, not to jump overboard!

CATCH A SHOW

If at home you don’t go out to see a Broadway hit, Musical or a Dance Number, then on a ship in the middle of the ocean is your best opportunity to “why not” and take up a show. The experience may not be the same as s $80 production but the entertainment value is tantamount: the people are dancing and the songs are being sung.

UPDATE: The kids owning this video above set the privacy to private. We’ll be updating you folks with new sexy content.

Airline Seat Neighbor

Besides seeing your fellow traveler in vulnerable moments when on an airplane, there are passengers that like to take it to the next level…

Travel Industry Humor…?

Frightening, yes! But at the end it is load off your chest. Time to celebrate – you’ve arrived!

How All Airlines Should Be

An airline that I would frequent – if it was grounded 24/7

…if only Coach Was Like This…I’d Still Marry Him

And if you have any to add, please comment away…I’m sure I’ll be doing a continuation of this post soon…

Torrentz

image by studio muscle

For those folks looking to download Movies, Music, Audiobooks, etc., without paying for them, well you should focus your eyes on Torrentz – a site that indexes Torrents from other websites, which the user (you) will be able to download a torrent of anything that someone has made public and free, like a Movie DVD Rip. This is where you’ll be able to attain a good quality pirated film like Alice In Wonderland or a music album from Shakira.

BitTorrent

image by Steffe

Is this application in which you will be obtaining these Torrents. BitTorrent will take the effort away from your computer, saving you headaches and tantrums while you wait for a miscellaneous window to pop up. See:

“BitTorrent protocol allows users to distribute large amounts of data without the heavy demands on their computers that would be needed for standard Internet hosting. A standard host’s servers can easily be brought to a halt if high levels of simultaneous data flow are reached. The protocol works as an alternative data distribution method that makes even small computers (e.g. mobile phones) with low bandwidth capable of participating in large data transfers.”

Leawo

Leawo is the free downloadable software that can convert a video codec, e.g., AVI to an MP4, or to the many formats that are out there. This software is convenient for those outlaw travelers that just downloaded a movie and wish to watch it on their iPod Touch when traveling by plane to South America. Apple won’t notice the difference from the conversion – it’ll play like any legit video.

Twizzlers (or your favorite candy/munchie)

image by Erica_Marshall

I personally like to take with me a bag of these strawberry-strawesque munchables when I travel by car. Not sure if I’m fulfilling my oral fixation or I’m keeping my mind entertained, whatever it is, these guys disappear quickly, and they do make time fly. What I’ve learned is that if you keep your mind hooked to a consistent drizzle of endorphin-inducing candy you will be concentrating more on the road than about how boring and sleepy the road can make you feel.

A Cooler (and not for your beer)

image by wine me up

Hours of traversing Florida flat lands will make you thirsty. So what do you do? Go to the next gas station or rest stop? No, that’s a rookie move. You’re gonna want to bring your favorite cooler to house your apple juice boxes, premade kool-aid, soda pop, or boring water. It’s a refreshing feeling to know that sustenance is only a car seat away…you can also store your ham and cheese sandwiches (I blew your mind in this one, didn’t I?).

Audio Book / MP3 / MP4 / iPod

image by angie k

The radio can go so far. You’ll quickly find how frustrating it is to be looking for the newest Radio Station when you’re entering different cities. To avoid this Hide n’ Seek game it is advisable to come equipped with a music player that holds your favorite Crunking tunes.

What I like to do after I cut-a-rug on my car seat is to get lost in a dramatic retelling of the latest suspense novel. Audio books are an ideal pastime to let time slip away.

Coffee

image by the trial

I’m sure for those who who love Java and road trips this particular item is a must-have. What I like to do when I’m barreling a cruise-controlled-80MPH is to sip my hot coffee, then once I’m done, eat several Twizzlers, grab my water from the cooler – sip it, not gulp (you’ll see why from the item below)— and then break open the espresso shot can.

Road trips may offer an opportunity to feed the coffee-need. But be wary! If you consume too much, you’ll probably be wired during bedtime, so tread softly.

And for those folks that don’t enjoy a cup-of-Joe then let me suggest anything that has caffeine – stock up on that junk — caffeine’s good for the brain.

Cup to P… In

image by laura padgett

For those hardcore drivers out there this one is for you. I’m sure you’ve done it…I have!

You’ve been driving for 3 hours and you’re in the groove now. You’re bladder is getting to feel like someone’s blowing a balloon in there, but you don’t want to waste time stopping. So you see that empty cup in the passenger side, looking, all of a sudden, very practical. All you need to do from there is adjust your seating, unzip and relieve.

“Holding it” is not good for the bladder and it will probably lead to a speeding ticket; so it’s best to just ease off on the gas and break out the SOLO cup. Girls will have a particular harder time in this endeavor but it can be done – I’ve seen it.

Warning: don’t do this on a bad road, the car will undoubtedly smell like piss.

And if you have any to add, please comment away!