…ad to pay the $100. Additionally, they needed two passport photos which in New York City run about $15. Also, there is no consulate or mission in New York, so I had to Fedex my passport and application, etc. to the embassy in Washington, DC. This added about another $40 to the total cost because you have to send priority overnight and pay for the return shipping as well. So that brings the total on bureaucratic nonsense to about $155 for my 2 day…
Search Results for: new zealand
My Quest Just Got a Little Tougher
August 13, 2007 by 2 Comments
…recently voted to change their country list around a little bit making the new total 317 countries, territories, enclaves, geographically separated landmasses and island groups. They do this from time to time as countries around the world change based on several factors like politics, wars and new independent countries. I have updated the country list on my site to reflect their changes. At its June Board Meeting, the following changes were made i…
Baku, Azerbaijan
August 17, 2007 by 1 Comment
…eeling of “This is really cool”. I had that same feeling flying into other new mysterious places like Sri Lanka, Western Sahara and Easter Island. Baku has not disappointed, it is a very cool and an extremely pleasant city. As you drive in from the aiport, Baku reminds me of Amman, Jordan because it’s very Islamic looking with a lot of oil/bank type things around but under a lot of contruction. As you get into the city, you notice the extreme boom…
The Colossus of Rhodes
September 12, 2007 by 6 Comments
…ps the most famous reference to the Colossus of Rhodes is in the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, written in 1883 and inscribed on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty in New York City’s harbor: Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her be…
The Parthenon
September 18, 2007 by 6 Comments
…tres to the south-east of the Parthenon, but will be soon transferred to a new building. A few can still be seen on the building itself. The Greek government has been campaigning since 1983 for the British Museum sculptures to be returned to Greece. The British Museum has steadfastly refused to return the sculptures and successive British governments have been unwilling to force the Museum to do so. Nevertheless, talks between senior representativ…
The Euro Difference
September 20, 2007 by 3 Comments
…eap quality goods has skyrocketed. For once, it is cheaper to buy stuff in New York than it is anywhere in Western Europe. With the addition of a lot of the Eastern Block countries to the European Union and the impending adoption of the Euro in several new countries throughout Europe, the costs in once dirt cheap Eastern Europe have gone up dramatically as well. Gone are the days where you could do anything you wanted to do in Prague or Budapest f…
Hagia Sofia
September 23, 2007 by 1 Comment
…to the beautiful and world famous Hagia Sofia-which was a finalist for the new seven wonders of the world vote that was held in July. Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque and now a museum. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the comp…
Try Someplace Random
October 22, 2007 by 3 Comments
I was coming back to New York yesterday on the train and I started chatting with someone who travels a lot for work and actually grew up in several places abroad. The conversation led to travel and she mentioned that she really wanted to go to Mongolia. I thought that was so cool because most people I meet and who tell me where they are dying to go say the Caribbean, Costa Rica or somewhere in Europe which are all great but hardly off the beaten…
Top 5-US East Coast Cities
November 6, 2007 by 1 Comment
…1. Miami, Florida 2. New York, New York 3. Boston, Massachusetts 4. Washington DC 5. Charleston, South Carolina…
People are Strange
November 6, 2007 by 1 Comment
…of sorts, most people would kill to have that chance but it made me realize in a way that people do things that they are comfortable with in general. As I always try to be spontaneous with things and take advantage of opportunities to do new things and go new places, not everyone is like that. In the end, with travel and in life you have to do what you feel comfortable with and it really doesn’t matter if you can’t explain it-sometimes you just kn…
