Freeyurminds Blog on RealTravel

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) journal: Never to Return!!!

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:58:52 GMT

I only spent two day in Vietnam an that was only because we missed the bus thee first day. Imagin walking down a street that has many hotels with signs that say vacancy but when you enter to inquire you are told no vacancy. This is what our experience was unpon arrival in HCMC.

I had a woman holding a vacancy sign in her had but when I walked up the sign was quickly flipped over and when I inquired of room availabilty her response was no vacancy. I of course asked her about the sign that she was hold in front of me. She then put the sign down and waived her sands staing no vacancy. ...

Siem Reap journal: Angkor Wat?

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:47:24 GMT

Some time in your life you must find a chance to go to Angkor Wat. This place was made by hand not machine thousands of years ago. I cannot describe the feeling you get walking through such an amazing thing as Angkor Wat.

Bangkok journal: The Land of Smiles

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:45:46 GMT

Bangkok is an amazing city, very metropolitan but if you just venture down the wrong block or look down the train tracks you see tragic lives. I have really enjoyed my time here meeting new people and learning about real struggle. I will try to revisit some the temple that I saw the last time that I was here.

There is something different about Bangkok, I noticed that there were a large number of Africans in the city. Being African American myself, you kind of noticed when you see someone that looks like you. Two years ago I saw maybe 3 black people my entire two weeks here. I just ...

Southeast Asia journal: Descrimination Abroad!

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:45:46 GMT

I was really excited to be back in Southeast Asia but I noticed there was something different. I couldn't put my finger on it but something was not quite right. I was searching for a memorable experience and got way more than I bargained for.

During this adventure I travled to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It seem as though with each country I visited things just got worse and worse...

Phnom Penh journal: Eveything is Available if You Are The Right Color

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 03:02:06 GMT

So we flew from Bangkok to Phnom Penh which is a 1 hour flight. I was very excited to be back! We got cheated on our bus tickets, they should have been only $3.50 but we were charged a gringo tax so cost us $7 each. You may laugh at the amout but I was livid. That ticket guy and I should never meet again because I don't like being cheated even for a penny.

PP was used as a hub for many segments of this journey. On our way back from Seam Reip driver took us to a hotel and before he could even open the door they said that they were full. Then, we went to another hotel and everything ...

San Juan del Sur journal: City by The Sea

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 01:54:29 GMT

This little beach town was great for relaxing because the atmosphere was just chill. I drank beer and ate pizza everyday. Take a look at the pics.

Granada journal: Colonialism at its Best

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 01:35:18 GMT

I was very happy to arrive in the city of Granada because I has heard so many good things about it. Again, the pictures really speak for themselves. There are several places to stay in Granada but many were booked when we got there so make reservations should you ever have the desire to go there.

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca journal: Puerto Viejo And The Carribean Coast

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:01:37 GMT

I've been to Puerto Viejo before so I knew waht I was getting into. This place takes chill and laid back to a whole knew level. Eveything about it is pura vida (pure life) which is a typical Costa Rican saying. This is the way life is lived in Costa Rica.

Although developers are taking over most of Costa Rica PV stills remains as I remember it. We stayed at Rocking J's and he was of course hanging out as usual. We pretty much chilled the whole time we were in PV.

La Fortuna journal: Volcano Arenal

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:53:46 GMT

Volcano Arenal is one of the top ten most active volcanos in the world. It is unbelievable that sitting right at its base is the little town of La Fortuna. There is way too much develope that has happened since the last time that I was there. There really isn't much to say about the area, the pics say a thousand words.

San Jose journal: What happened to CRB?

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:35:41 GMT

I have been staying at this hostel for the past few years and before now I have never left unhappy. A pool, hammocks, 2 kitchens, live music, and there used to be a great staff. But, this time someting has changed; cleanliness is an issue. All new staff with all new attitudes, I cannot say that I had a great experience this last time that I stayed. I have even moved to a new hostel looking for the magic that has been lost at CRB. IMHO I must be made to feel that my money matters when there are so many other places to stay.

La Fortuna journal: Wow is the best thing that I can say about this place.

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:25:59 GMT

Super clean and all the amenities you can ask for. A pool with swim up bar, pool table, hammocks, A/C, excellent staff, great view, and WiFi. What more could you ask for, oh yeah it's only $11pp. There is no better view of the volcano unless you are at the volcano itself.

Panama City journal: Carnival in Panama!

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 07:32:47 GMT

What I thought was going to be a cheaper version of the Rio de Janero Carnival turned out to be a big street festival. I did see a free Winsin Y Yandel concert though. Panama city has been pretty cool, lot of drinking and meeting tons of new people.

I'm stayng very close to downtown PC and it is kind of a business distric which means that its a safe area. I find that PC is reall chill and laid back until the sun goes down. These people love to party it up until the wee hours of the morning. I haven't really recovered from the 14.5 hour bus ride it took to get here. Oh yeah, I ...

San Jose journal: Down Town San Jose

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:34:25 GMT

What can I say, this is my 7th time being in Costa Rica and it feels like putting on an old glove. Katia and I visited a few museums while waiting for Fabby to arrive. The Jade, Children's, and National Museum of Costa Rica to be exact. Before goingto visit these museums I thought that jade was sooo great but now, I think that its just some stupid rockgem stuff that acient people very pretty. Although the detail of the carvings were magnificent. (I was still over the stuff after 30 min) I know that sounds stupid but try going to a museum dedicated to the stuff and you might feel the same ...

Trujillo journal: Bus Ride From Hell

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 11:04:28 GMT

This trip started with an 8hr bus ride from Lima to Trujillo, this was no ordinary ride. The bus was a double decker coach bus and we had the best seats in the house(upper deck right above the driver), big mistake. The bus drivers in Peru love to drive these buses as if they were driving formula 1 race cars. We were weaving in an out of traffic passing cars, trucks, and other buses sometimes two at a time. It is a very scary situation when you wake up and you find yourself driving in the wrong lane but you don´t have control of the wheel. I will not speak about the wicked child that sat ...

Trujillo journal: My best explanation for this hostel is that once you enter you are on your own. I´ve never been to a hostel that had me answering their door while the owner sits and has breakfast.

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 05:44:52 GMT

Huacachina journal: Sand, Sand, & More Sand

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 18:10:55 GMT

I went sand boarding today and it was probably one of the scariest hings that I´ve ever done. They start you out with an insane bugy ride through the dunes and then you surf three small hill. After falling, tumbling, and smashing very hard into the sand a couple of times I finally got it, off to the more serious stuff. These hills had to be above 300 feet tall, so my brain kicked in and on my belly I went. Once you we got down the hil we had to walk to the bugy and it was never close. We tackled six practice and three killer hills then it was off to more dune bugying.

The tiny city ...

Iquitos journal: Amazon...what?

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:44:21 GMT

Just imagine walking into a room filled with a billion mosquitos, add 100 degrees, 12 thousand gallons of humidity, and mud lots of mud. Are you still with me? Cut that room in half and you now know what every step we took felt like in the jungle. The Muyana Lodge was wonderful but once you left the confines of the lodge you were fair game for the mosquitos. For our 2nd and 3rd day we had the entire lodge to ourselves.

Mosquitos: I can´t stress enough of how crazy these devil bugs were. I think that they drink shots of repellant for fun because IT DOES NOT WORK. We went on a two ...

Lima journal: Lima

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:05:15 GMT

I finally arrived in LIma after a self induced 12hr layover. So after not having slept for over 24hrs I spent the entire day exploring the city and it´s suburbs. Due to the hospitality of Anna, I ate, drank, drove, and walked until I couldn´t anymore. I even tried beef heart for the first time in my life after much pressure and coaching.

The city of Lima was crazy busy due to the celebration of it´s 427th year anniversary. I´m off to Ica tomorrow to try sand boarding.

Iquitos journal: This place gives you a true feeling of the Amazon without putting you totally at nature´s mercy.

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:59:27 GMT

Paracas journal: Paracas National Reserve

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 09:49:42 GMT

So on our way back to Lima we decided to stop by Reserva Nacional De Paracas. It was supposed to be a real treat, we had no idea though that it was a gigantic desert with scattered site. We ate lunch at the most disgusting restaurant ever, look at the picture and never eat there should you find yourself in Paracus.

We really weren´t up to driving around the whole place so we only saw pinguins and brwon pelicans. BTW use el baño before you go because they are muy terrible!