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[ the traveling man ]
(for Top X Top 10 of all photos click here) |
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1. South America Fall 2005
I started out in Bogota, vibrant capital of flowers, before following the path of Romancing The Stone in colonial Cartagena de Indias, where I enjoyed the coronation festivities of Miss Colombia. A short visit to Medellin, former epicenter of Pablo Escobar's drug cartel, then I returned on a long bus ride over treacherous mountain roads to Bogota. World Heritage-listed Quito in Ecuador was next, with glances at the equator monument, volcano Cotopaxi, and the highest point of the famed Panamericana highway, before I flew to the magic wonderland that is Galapagos, a group of islands far offshore the mainland and playground of amazing animals and their Darwin-loving admirers. I continued into Peru, with a stop-over in gigantic Lima, getting ready to embark upon the spectacular Inca Trail hike to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Finally, I made my way south from Cuzco to Lake Titicaca, bouncing around on the floating islands of the Uros people. I made it into Bolivia, crossed the lake from Copacabana via Isla del Sol, and ended up in my final destination for this trip, La Paz.
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(South America Top 10 photos)
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2. Europe/North America New Year's
I headed back to Germany so I could collect my birthday presents and have mama cook for me! Just kidding... it's of course always fun to make mama happy with my presence over Christmas, so I visited Berlin and headed north to the towns of Friedland and Anklam, my old stomping grounds. Plenty of stuff kept me busy there, most importantly visiting my old buddy and my not-so-little-anymore god-daughter, who will turn 9 in April. After the holidays I spent a fantastic day of sight-seeing in Berlin, then returned via London and Toronto to Montreal, Canada. Two quick nights there, then I finally made it to Toronto, where I should have made my first big trip to back in 1990 but I failed to get on a plane one week before Germany's reunification - I didn't have the right passport, just yet. I indulged in my passion of ascending every tall structure in the world by conquering the magnificient CN Tower on a perfectly crisp, clear, and sunny winter day, then checked out the much-hyped Niagara Falls (not even close to Iguazu and Victoria). Ten days in sunny and warm California round off this portion of my tour.
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(New Year's Top 10 photos)
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3. Bermuda Winter 2006
On my way to the Atlantic Ocean, I stopped over for a day in New York City - actually the first time since 09/11. Pretty impressive to witness the status of Ground Zero four years later but many other things have changed, most noticeably the Times Square area. Reaching the remote rock that is the island of Bermuda brought back memories of Easter Island, even though there was plenty of old British style and a bustling daily life around this time. I criss-crossed the entire place on ferries, busses and on foot within a few days, making sure that not all of my money got lost in the infamous Triangle.
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(Bermuda Top 10 photos)
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4. Arabian Peninsula Winter 2006
My journey through the Gulf States begun in Oman, exploring the old city of Muscat and its historic surroundings. Overland through deserts and mountains, I made my way to the Emirate of Dubai, the world's capital of glitz and duty-free. I rewarded myself with a visit to the Burj Al Arab, likely the only hotel to top the adjacent properties of the Jumeirah group. Via Qatar's capital Doha I jetted Gulf-style into the Kingdom of Bahrain, achieving my ultimate goal to have visited at least 100 countries and to become eligible for membership in the exclusive Travelers' Century Club. Offshore development and the famed King Fahd Causeway to Saudi Arabia leave you speechless but the true highlight had to be the completion of my clandestine Operation Kermit Storm to reach war-torn Kuwait City.
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(Arabian Peninsula Top 10 photos)
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5. South Asia Islands Winter 2006
After two relaxing days in Rome, Italy, I established Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific home as my base for southern Asian islands. I first went west, via Bangkok to Colombo, to venture out into the amazingly diverse island state of Sri Lanka. Contrasts abound, with strong military presence in its capital due to Tamil Tiger confrontations as well as mind-boggling devastion along the country's shore from the tsunami that had hit many Asian island nations December 26, 2004. Further west, I indulged in a little luxury on several islands of the Maldives before back-tracking to Hong Kong and embarking upon my Philippine adventures. I explored the Visayas on my way to the country's pride, Boracay, and contiued north via Mindoro all the way to Luzon and the nation's capital, Manila.
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(South Asia Islands Top 10 photos)
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6. Netherlands Antilles Spring 2006
A monster trip, even by my own standards, sent me from Manila via Hong Kong, Anchorage, Toronto and Miami to the Caribbean island of Curacao. Two relaxing days soaking up European street cafe lifestyle, Dutch charm and sun on the beach were followed by a little hop across to Aruba, the island's bigger and better know sibling to the west. More sun and fun there, beach life and creole restaurants, and it was time to close the books with this final chapter of my second world tour.
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(Netherlands Antilles Top 10 photos)
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