A Life of Travel: From S. Africa to Azerbaijan to a Mystery Destination!

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It's Tuesday and it's time for a travel newsletter...

update

Right now I write to you from a country that I had never been to before. However, I am not able to tell you where I am until my next newsletter.

The reason?

My first Wandering Earl SURPRISE TOUR starts in 5 days. And if I mention where I am right now, it might give away the region where the Surprise Tour is taking place. Several of the guests on the Surprise Tour don’t want to find out the tour destination until they arrive at their home airport and check in for their flight!

So, in order to keep it all a secret, I can’t tell you where I am this week :)

As for this upcoming Surprise Tour…it really is all a surprise. Twelve crazy guests signed up without knowing where the tour will take place or what the itinerary will be! I have another sold out Surprise Tour in November and I’m offering a third one next year as well.

Also, while I can’t say where I am right now, I can tell you where I’ve been recently.

I spent 2 excellent weeks in South Africa leading one of my tours there. This tour finished in the Hluhluwe region, where we had 3 days of safari experiences based out of the remote Bayala Game Lodge.

This was incredible as we managed to see the Big 5 - buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant, lion and leopard - as well as cheetahs, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, all kinds of antelopes, a jackal, python and so much more!

Every game drive topped the previous one and it was such a perfect end to the trip.

Baku, Azerbaijan

After South Africa, I flew to Baku, Azerbaijan because I had never been there before, it was relatively easy to reach via Dubai and I had some free time in between tours.

Baku was fun. It’s a smallish and very safe city with its own style of modern architecture (such as a skyscraper that rotates), a quaint and relaxed historic center, delicious cuisine served in atmospheric restaurants, a wide boardwalk along the Caspian Sea, plenty of friendly people and an overall vibrant feel both day and night.

It’s an ideal city for a few days of random wandering and excellent eating!

Fainting on an Airplane

For those that wrote to me about my fainting episode on my long-haul flight from Atlanta to Cape Town, I appreciate your feedback and concerns! Luckily, I’ve been feeling 100% since that and on my long flights from South Africa to Baku, I had no incidents at all.

It was definitely interesting to hear from so many readers (at least 30 of you) who have had a similar experience on a flight. A sudden drop in blood pressure, sweating and dizziness seems to be quite common. Luckily, most people did not experience it again or have any lasting effects.

eSIM cards for travelers

I mention eSIM cards a lot because I use them ALL the time while traveling. They are so affordable and reliable these days that staying connected in every country I visit has never been easier.

Now some of the major network providers are getting in the game, and that’s only good news for travelers.

For example, the major network Orange now offers eSIMs for travelers at very competitive prices. They have a 20 Euro/14 day package that includes 12 GB of data, unlimited calls and texts within Europe and 30 minutes of international calls.

As with all eSIMs, you can buy and download it from home, choose the amount of data you want and as soon as you arrive in your destination, you’re connected!

web design/development agency

As mentioned two weeks ago, Wandering Earl Tours has a brand new website. Many of you wrote to me asking who designed and developed the site, so here you go:

It was all done by Milos and his brilliant team at VVM Agency.

I highly recommend them. They were so easy to work with and managed to create a site that was far, far better than what I had hoped for. Also, for the amount of work they put into this project, their price was an extremely good value. It was a great experience.

around the globe

Check Your Plugs
Figuring out which plug adapters you need for your trip is now very simple with this website.

Norient Express
In 2025, Norway will introduce two electric trains that will take travelers on a spectacular 6-day journey through the country’s most breathtaking destinations.

Sri Lanka Visas
Starting on October 1st, Sri Lanka will allow many countries to visit without a visa. The US, UK, Australia, Japan and more are on the list. That makes it easier to visit one of my favorite beach towns in the world - Unawatuna, Sri Lanka!

No More Stamps
As of November 1st, 2024, the EU will no longer be stamping passports for international visitors as part of their new system designed to track how long you spend in the EU.

Dangerous Airport
Due to the need for a manual landing, only 50 pilots are certified to land aircraft in this country’s main airport, considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

Macau Skyscraper
Check out the different photographic perspectives of Macau’s new skyscraper - it looks like it’s something out of a science-fiction movie!

Impressie Travel Photos
The Independent Photographer has announced the winner and finalists of their summer Travel Photography awards, with stunning images from various corners of the globe!

where in the world?

A big congratulations to Natalia for being the only person to correctly guess the location of the photo in the last newsletter!

The photo is of a small pyramid in Kasumo, Burundi, located at a tiny spring that is considered by some to be the southernmost source of the Nile River (neighboring Rwanda also claims to have the same).

This week’s photo:

It’s time to guess…where was the below photo taken?

If you have a guess (the more specific the better), click reply and let me know. Anyone who guesses correctly will be mentioned in next week's newsletter 😄 

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Thank you so much for reading!

Derek
(my middle name is Earl)

WanderingEarl.com

Travel Insurance: My personal recommendation for affordable and reliable travel insurance is Safety Wing. It was created by travelers, for travelers, and it's rapid growth in popularity is well-deserved.

Affiliate links: Some links above may be affiliate links in which I earn a small commission if you click on the link and make a purchase. I only promote products/services that I genuinely use and love myself.