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It's Tuesday and it's time for a travel newsletter! update Marrakech Nine days ago, I flew from Miami to Marrakech, Morocco in order to meet with my Morocco tour team to review this year's upcoming Wandering Earl Tours that we have scheduled in that country. I also surprised our Wandering Earl group that was in Morocco over the past two weeks on one of our tours and I joined them all for dinner on the rooftop of the Bazaar Cafe, located inside the city's sprawling medina (old walled city). It was a super fun meal as I had a chance to interact with everyone on the tour and to hear how much they enjoyed themselves while bouncing around the country! And of course, I managed to find the time to squeeze in a hammam experience at the Les Bains d'Azahara. A hammam was very much needed and I loved every minute of the sauna, exfoliating scrub, soap cleanse, tea break, foot massage and full body massage. In my opinion, going to a hammam is a must-do activity when visiting Morocco! Casablanca After a few days in Marrakech, I went to Casablanca next. This is where I began greeting the arriving participants for a photography-based tour that I have organized. It was wonderful to meet all of these interesting photographers, as well as the photography instructor who is accompanying the group, and help them get settled before the trip began. Then on Saturday, I handed the group over to my excellent tour leader Dara, she took the reins and off they went to explore Morocco photographically. Istanbul I then went to the airport and flew to Istanbul. Starting tomorrow, I'll be running another photography-based tour, right here in this great city. My local team is ready, we have a ton of activities planned for the next 7 days and in the morning we'll begin! No Sleep Naturally, with the above schedule, sleep has been low on my priority list. Between early morning flights, 1am and 7am meetings, and full 18 hour days focusing on the tours, I think I'm averaging 6 hours per night...maybe. But now I've started to catch up, I'm feeling almost 100% and I'm ready to go because after all, travel is my life and this is what I do. It's also going to be a very fun week in Istanbul! Upcoming Surprise Trip Yes, after Istanbul, I'll be taking a surprise trip :) It's an idea that randomly arose and then somehow, the details were put together quite quickly.
I won't be announcing the destination until it happens but I'm VERY excited about what's in store with this experience. More details will be shared right here in this newsletter! The very cool group from the latest Wandering Earl Tour of Morocco! new tours
IndiaA few weeks ago, I announced a Wandering Earl "Wander Across India" tour for this coming November and it already sold out. So I've now added a new departure - Wander Across India February 2023 - and bookings are open! As always, my India trips are based on my personal travels to that country (I've been 40 times) and every day of the itinerary is full of activities you won't find on any other tour! MoroccoI've also opened up a new Wander Across Morocco departure for Sept/Oct 2022. If you've ever wanted to visit Morocco, I welcome you to experience it the Wandering Earl way! This trip involves so much local interaction, off the beaten path experiences, some of the most spectacular nature in the world, beautiful accommodations, a wide variety of food to enjoy and some of my personal favorite locations in the most random non-touristy places! travel tips
Crazy ATMs
ATMs are getting trickier around the world. Now, you really need to pay attention in order to avoid extra fees. First, you should always choose "Decline" when the ATM offers to do the conversion between your home currency and the local money for you. You will always get a better exchange rate if you allow your home bank to do the conversion instead. Second, pay attention to local fees. Here in Istanbul, for example, if you're not careful, you'll end up paying huge ATM fees. The ATMs display it in small print only, or on a screen that is hard to read. At the Istanbul airport or the tourist areas of the city, the fee is 200 TL ($13 USD) or more, or even 6% of the amount you want to withdraw. I went to take out 4000 TL ($257 USD) yesterday and they wanted to charge me 342 TL ($22) USD for a fee. I then walked 15 minutes and found an ATM that had a fee of only 20 TL ($1.28 USD). Ask For Deals
It always pays to ask for deals with everything when you travel. When I made the booking at the hammam above, I asked if they had any deals. It turns out, between 10am and 2pm, they offer their Royal Package for almost 50% off. While booking an excursion in Berlin for later this summer, I also asked if they had any deals and instantly received a 30% discount. When I was in Roatan, Honduras a few weeks ago, we asked every restaurant if they had any specials, and there always were discounts that weren't advertised(sometimes on food, drinks or both). Saving money is often as simple as asking. AirFlyI don't know how I wasn't aware of this device. Every time I'm on a long haul flight I think "why isn't there a small device to plug into the headphone jack of the entertainment screen that allows me to use my bluetooth headphones to watch the movies?". Well, turns out there is such a device and it's called AirFly. around the globe
Rath Yatra FestivalThe Hindu festival of Jagganath Puri Rath Yatra takes place in the summer and involves chariot processions that will blow your mind! It's the only known festival where deities are removed from the temples and taken to the devotees instead of devotees going to the temples to worship the deities. Historical WalksI walk everywhere when I'm in a destination. But now I need to add these rewarding historical walks to my list. The 88 Temple Pilgrimage Trail in Japan is high on the list! Ultimate Road TripsIt's simple - road trips are awesome and this list of road trips around the world contains some of the best. Craco, ItalyConsidered the 'capital' of ghost towns in Italy, the 1000 year old settlement of Craco is now in ruins, one of 6000 abandoned villages throughout the country. This short video takes you on a tour of Craco's sad history and fate. Dogu ExpressDespite many visits to Turkey, I had never heard of the Dogu Express. It's a train that runs across Turkey, from Ankara to the eastern city of Kars. For train enthusiasts and other adventurous travelers, it seems like an opportunity you wouldn't want to miss! Photo InspirationGiven these photography tours that I've been organizing, I'm now a sucker for photo galleries that focus on places I just might want to visit! I love looking at them. And these beautiful landscape photos I found the other day did the trick. The Veddas of Sri LankaMaking up less than 1% of the Sri Lankan population, the Veddas are the country's last indigenous tribe, and almost nobody has heard of them.
This week I want to congratulate to Marcia, Iwona, Anja, Aleta, Karen, Rafael, Dave-Lynn, Morgan, Penny, Sabrina, Robin, Hemang and Neil for correctly guessing the location of the above photo!
The image is of the town of Hoi An, Vietnam. I don't know if I've ever met anyone who didn't thoroughly enjoy their time in Hoi An. And while you can find no shortage of recommendations online, I'll simply mention Orivy, one of my favorite restaurants on the planet. This simple place, set in a peaceful courtyard on the outskirts of the town, cooks up some of the freshest, tastiest Vietnamese food in the entire country. Go there and you will not be disappointed!
(Hopefully they will survive the pandemic and soon be open again once the country opens up!) And now... This week's photo Where in the world is it? The Rules
1. Try to figure out where the above photo was taken. 2. Reply to this email with your guess.
3. The more specific the guess, the better!
4. The location will be revealed in next week's newsletter.
Good luck :) |
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