Arriving at Wuhan, China before the coronavirus

After a long flight, the plane landed in Wuhan, China. If you asked me about a month ago that I would be going to China, I probably won’t have believed you. Well, I had to believe it because I was here. In the land of the dragons, kung fu and panda bears.

Southern China airlines screen letting us know we are near Wuhan photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

For those who don’t know, if you are coming from certain countries you can go to China through Wuhan’s international airport visa free. You get 144 hours to travel around all of China. Which equals about 6 days of time. The crazy thing is that Wuhan is just a train ride away from almost all the major Chinese cities. So this is a great way to get into China visa free (as of 2019, hopefully it doesn’t change). If you want to see if your country applies for the 144 hours entry click here. Definitely, visit after the virus dies down.

Advertisement for gold at the Wuhan Airport photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

After going through customs, my first impression of China is it’s not as communist as I thought. Actually, the economy is very capitalist. They love capitalism so much that they do not provide free toilet paper in public bathrooms. You have to buy it in a vending machine. Nor do they have the water hose. I had to learn the hard way. Which is a topic for another story. Still, China is a lot nicer than I expected. Compared to Cuba, which runs on a pure Communist system.

Once you get out the Wuhan Airport you see this sign photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Finally, I completely got out of the airport. I didn’t really had any plans to visit China. So everything was last minute on this trip. I just wanted to make sure I get to see the Yellow Crane Tower. Everybody kept telling me about it, even Google. A notification came on my phone suggesting I should visit the tower. Google knows everything…. Had to ask one of the Wuhan subway workers for directions. She didn’t speak English and I had no idea how to even read mandarin. So, we spoke through google translate. Through my surprise, it actually worked. I was having a full blown conversation with someone who doesn’t speak any of the languages I spoke. Yay, thank you technology.

Wuhan Subway train photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Getting tickets on at the ticket machine was easy. They translate everything in English. When I got on the train, I was surprised to see how advance China is. You hear it in the news; yet, seeing it in person is another experience. Their subway system is a lot more advanced than most cities in the USA. I got a few looks from the locals. It wasn’t of hate like you get in other countries. It was more of curiosity. They don’t get much tourists that look like me in this part of China. I must had looked like a rare limited edition Pokemon card to the people of Wuhan. Had a little girl wanting to take a photo with me. She got shy and the mother just smiled. The mother thanked me. No words were exchanged just simple hand gestures. It hurts me to think that the mother and her child might be sick or possibly worse as I write this.

Street of Wuhan photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

As I stepped outside of the subway station, I was instantly hit with air that made my eyes tear up. Little did I know, Wuhan has an air quality issue. The first three minutes were just me rubbing my eyes trying to keep them open. Still kept walking around just wandering. Eventually, I found a Starbucks. I knew people had to speak English there. Walked inside and started asking for directions like a wild crazy lost tourist. My adventures in Wuhan were just starting! Couldn’t wait to see what this place had to offer.

As I wrote this, I kept holding back tears. I try to keep everything positive for you all. It just hurts knowing that the people who were so kind to me are probably in a hostipal somewhere on their death beds. Please remember to enjoy life. It’s a gift and not a right. So, enjoy it doing the things you love with the people you love.

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels!

Check out our eBook “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come true without breaking the bank. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe

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January 29, 2020 51

Dublin: Being Persuaded by the Irish Charm

After getting rested, it was time to explore. The sun was just about to set and the colors of the skies were in full bloom. I was surprised as to how beautiful Dublin is. I know every European city has a certain sophistication; However, something about Dublin is truly memorizing. The friendly atmosphere mixed with the upbeat smiles really made me enjoy my time in the Irish capital. It was a lot better being here than being in New York City. Comparing the two is somewhat interesting. New York’s I don’t care about you attitude verses Dublin’s friendly and upbeat attitude. If you have any self respect, I’m sure you know which one I would prefer.

A Dublin street photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I started walking just to see what was around. No goals just taking in the moment. I had all of tomorrow to see the tourist attractions. Right now, it was only about getting to enjoy the environment. One of my biggest problems while traveling is not really appreciating the fact that you are in another country. Sometimes it just feels unreal. Doesn’t really process in my mind where I am at all the time. Yeah, I know took a flight to another part of the world but sometimes it doesn’t fully sink in. It’s clear that the language and culture is different; yet, it’s almost like you are not living in the present and only thinking about the future. I’m usually focused on getting to see all the touristic sites. So much to a point that I do not value being very far from home. I was not going to let that happen here. Luckily, it was hard not to be in the present while in Dublin.

The beauty of Dublin photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The Irish charm is hard to resist. Just look at the photos and I’m sure you can understand. Classic Irish music blasting from pubs (for us North Americans that means bars). It almost made me want to live here. Well at least, reconsidered living in New York City. Before coming to Dublin, I was never really interested in seeing this part of Europe. Well of course, all that changed during my small time exploring around. The turns of the small European style streets mixed with the looks of people not being stressed out and enjoying their lives is hard not to like. I lived in smaller america cities and been to small towns in Canada. Dublin has that small town feel with the big city lifestyle. People here act like there are from a small town. The smiles I kept getting when I asked random questions. All this made me smile and enjoy the present. No thinking about what I’m about to do and only thoughts about what is going on now.

The River liffey during sunset photo courtesy Of Hugo Morel

Ran back to see the river liffey before the sun went down. From the picture above, it is clear why I wanted to see the river. The pictures can only capture half of how beautiful it was in person. I truly recommend everyone to visit this place. I have been convinced Dublin is one of my favorite cities in Europe. Also, it comes close in beauty when compared to Paris. Can’t wait to see and explore more!

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels!

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January 25, 2020 41

The Corona virus outbreak: Knowing someone is looking out for you

For those who are aware of what’s going on in the global news. There is a virus getting passed around China and Southeast Asia. It started last month in December. Someone infected started spreading the virus internationally. The first case of an international infected person was in Thailand. Eventually, more case were found throughout South East Asia.

Asian woman with mask

Chinese studying the virus

The reason why I’m writing this is because I was in Wuhan last month. Actually went there twice in one week. This means I was there when the outbreaks first started happening. Currently after about 30 days, I feel amazing and healthy! I have no signs of the sickness. Another close call that I have escaped. Looking back on all my experiences, I’m truly blessed. Someone or something has been looking out for me on all my travels.

Wuhan_dot — The yellow dot marks where Wuhan is on the Chinese map

As I write this, an estimated of 1, 723 people are infected. Currently there are screenings for flights coming from Wuhan. I went to get a medical check up and nothing showed up as alarming. All this is mind blowing when I sit down and think about it. About a year and half ago, I was on that Dubai Flight full of sick people. How I traded seats with two different people to seat away from those who were infected. Still to this day is hard for even me to believe it happened. Which at the time of the flight, I had no idea what was going on. As crazy as this sounds, I always follow my gut feeling. If I do not feel anything wrong, I’m usually at peace. That “sixth sense” has helped me out on multiple situations. Which a lot of you have read some of them. The one time I didn’t paid attention to that feeling, I broke my arm.

Regardless of what is happening, I will be posting about my time in Wuhan, China. So please do not read the posts with negativity. I really enjoyed my short stay there. It is a beautiful city with very friendly people and a rich culture. I hope when things die down, some of you will get the chance to visit this part of china. It will make you rethink about the Chinese stereotypes and what is heard on the news.

Happy early Chinese New Years everyone! Much Love and safe travels!!

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January 22, 2020 33

Arriving at Dublin: Just follow the river

After about a 2 hour and 45 min ride, I was in Dublin. Ireland’s capital and most talked about city. Couldn’t wait to explore this beautiful gem. Of course, when I got off the bus it was at the wrong stop. Great way to start your journey. Was about a 25 minutes walk from my accommodation.

Bus leaving me in Dublin photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Got into a nearby mall and asked a security guard for directions. You know that moment after traveling for about 7 to 8 hours, you aren’t really thinking as clearly. Didn’t even cross my mind to a buy local sim card. I was just focused on laying on a bed. I was told to just follow the river.

The river liffey photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I decided to just walk it. It was only 25 mins and needed to get the blood running. Also, thought it was another way great way to see the city and take photos. Glad to say I wasn’t wrong. The clouds kept moving over the sun making the atmosphere really look the British Isles.

Another view of the river liffey photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Followed the river and kept walking. I noticed how friendlier people are in Dublin compared to limerick. The locals here go out their to help others. I was genuinely surprised, when I got lost for a second. Yes, I get lost even following a river. Ironically, the person I asked was a taxi driver. He offered to drive me for free, since it was about 3 minutes away and he was heading in that direction.

Realizing I was lost next to the river liffey photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Took the chance and walked across the street to his parked car. I honestly felt bad that he was so nice to me, that I gave him 20 usa dollars. I know it would had been less if he would had just charge me; However, I never had someone genuinely want to help me for free like this. Coming from California and living in New York, when someone is this nice to you it’s usually a scam. If this was New York City, I probably would had been played as a fool in this situation. Funny thing, he rejected the money I gave to him the first few times. Eventually, he accepted the money. If he was a scammer, he would probably had been the best I ever met. Got dropped off and my Dublin journeys were just about to start. Couldn’t wait to see what the Dublin hype was all about.

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels!

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January 18, 2020 42

Visting Orvieto, Italy (saying goodbye)

Our lengthy trip across this Southern European country was about to end. We had one more place to visit before leaving. A part of Italy I didn’t get to see on my first trip to this pasta loving country. I was excited but also a little bitter. Something about Italy makes it harder to leave the second time around.

Look over italy photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

For those who don’t know about this small Italian city. Orvieto lays on top of a hill. What makes this place so special is being able to see the Italian landscape and it’s white wines. This place is very famous for it’s classy alcohol. Ironically at the time that I was here, I did not this was a major site for the Etruscan civilization. They were the ones who built this city originally and was very important to the Etruscans. I wish I knew during my time here. Looking back, it was probably best because it would had made it even harder leaving.

The cathedral to the left photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Some much history runs through these buildings. In the usa and the Americas, most buildings are about 500 years. Hard to believe some of the buildings here are 4 times older. It makes you think about humanity. We have short lives but our structures are our legacy. Picture what all this would look like in 2000 years. Imagine how the USA, Russia, China and all of Africa would look like in 2000 years. Sadly, we won’t see it in person. Unless, medical doctors find a way to keep human bodies a live 200 times more of it’s normal capacity. Which I hope they don’t. However, if they did would that make us still human?

Another look of the Italian countryside photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

As the wind was hitting my face, all I could think about was leaving. I have a lot of emotional tides to this country. A place where last time I was here, I escaped a major earthquake, got dumped, learned more about the Italian culture and meet some awesome friends. It is just hard to say good bye. The more countries you go to, the more you realize each country reminds you of a certain emotion. That emotion is usually associated with the experiences you had in that country. Italy has been a place where I had grown so much as an individual. I learned it’s better to be in the moment and socializing than being on your phone texting. Also many more life lessons that I know I would keep learning in other countries. However, it’s still hard to feel like you are saying good bye to personal growth.

The cathedral photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

What made me feel at peace is knowing I will continue to grow better as a person. With every new country, culture, person, langague and religion encountered will help the development of that growth. Good bye Italy, until we meet again!!

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels!

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January 15, 2020 32

First Impressions of Limerick, Ireland

When I got to limerick, it had a very different environment than I was expecting. Once again, I was thinking the “normal” Ireland that Hollywood engraved into our minds. Couldn’t really be mad that I was wrong. It felt so good to be away from the New York hustle.

20190831_052449 — Limerick bus station photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Limerick is Ireland’s third biggest city. Think of it as the Irish Chicago without the skyscrapers, traffic jams and hot dogs. Limerick was surprisingly very calm and quiet. This part of Ireland really feels like the suburbs. I know mentioned that in the past post. However, there is no other way to express the environment. It’s a place that most would love to raise a family in.

20190831_052534 — Train station at limerick photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

When you get off the airport shuttle from Shannon airport, you are dropped off at the central bus and train station. To get to Dublin, you can take either a bus or a train. If you take a train, it would cost you about 35 euros. Which, I did not see the value. I spent about 15 USA dollars for my bus ticket to Dublin. That was probably about 11 euros at the time. It’s more economically to use the bus. If you use the train, you are saving about an hour of travel time. Using the bus takes about 3 hours including traffic. However, you probably won’t see traffic until you are near Dublin.

20190831_065332 — Sitting outside of the Colbert station Photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Had about an hour before my bus was scheduled to leave. I had to explore what was nearby. Sadly, there wasn’t much activity going on near the station. It felt like a small city. I know this wasn’t downtown. So, I can not judge. Yet, there’s sense of emptiness. Maybe it’s because I lived in New York City for such a long time. It might be the background noise that I miss. Whatever it was, limerick didn’t have it. For some reason, I liked it. The slower pace of limerick, made you enjoy more of the moment.

20190831_065515 — Outside of limerick’s Colbert station photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Sitting down on a chair people watching near the station getting lost in my thoughts. Enjoying the minutes go by slowly. Truly the vacation I didn’t know I needed. First time in awhile, I felt at peace. No rushing to get to point A to poin B. This is what feels to just live your life away from the hustle and bustle. The more I travel outside of the USA and New York City, the more I realize how much a small vacation is needed for mental health. Ireland felt like a refreshing spa. Something everybody needs when living a stressful life. Hopefully I would still enjoy Dublin as much as I enjoyed limerick. Couldn’t wait to see what Ireland’s most famous city had to offer.

Thank you so much for reading!!! Much love and safe travels!!

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January 11, 2020 40

Who were the Italians before Rome?

When we think about Italy, we automatically think of Rome. However, Rome wasn’t the only ancient civilization in Italy. There were actually quite a few. However, none influenced Rome like Etruscan. Hopefully, this post will spread some light on a civilization often living in the shadows of rome.

493px-Etruscan_civilization_map — The Etruscan civilization map brought to you by google

The Etruscans dominated Italy before the rise of rome. In fact, rome was once under the rule of the Etruscans as shown in the picture above. Not much is known of their history because they spoke a language that was not indo-European. The Etruscans were from what is now known as turkey. Which is why thier language was different than their neighbours.

Map of Italy in 400 B.C. brought to you by google

Italy was divided by many civilizations before rome eventually unified them all. However, the Etruscans were one of the first pre-rome Italians to unify mulitple Italian states. Plus, they are probably the one few in history that can say they conquered Rome’s capital.

An Etruscan Tomb brought to you by Google

As mentioned before, most of the Etruscans’ language and culture died out when Rome conquered. Since, most just adopted Latin and Roman customs. Eventually, the Etruscan simulated into Roman society and were forgotten. Within generations, you couldn’t tell the difference from an Etruscan and a Roman.

An Etruscan an pot brought to you by Google

What we know about the Etruscans’ culture is through tombs, art and what they left behind. A lot of their pottery was heavy influenced by Greece. They even had gods similar to the greek. The Etruscan religion had some influence to the Roman gods as well. Romans learned how to build arches from the Etruscans. The Etruscans even laid a foundation for the roman sewers. The city of Roman and the Roman architecture are imprints left behind by the Etruscans.

Thank you so much for reading!!! Much love and safe travels!!

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January 8, 2020 27

Off to Shannon, Ireland!

Never been to Ireland nor had an interest in really going, besides seeing Dublin. However, when you see cheap tickets to Ireland it’s hard to say no. Only paid 250 for the roundtrip flight. After a crazy day, I was off to the land of the green leprechaun.

20190831_041948 — Shannon airport photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

It took about 5 and a half hours from JFK to reach the Shannon airport. It’s a rather small airport. Still gives you that classic European vibe. It was interesting to see signs in English and gaelic. One tip to know is that flying into Shannon is usually alot cheaper than flying into Dublin. I compared the prices before and after buying my tickets. You will usually save about 200 dollars, if you fly into Shannon.

20190831_044005 — Irish flag outside of the Shannon Airport photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Got outside and it was a weird feeling to finally see Ireland. For some reason, I expected Ireland to be that sterotype the media throws at us. I was expecting Irish music blasting and a pub nearby with people partying to sunrise. Yeah, in Shannon you don’t really get that unless you go to downtown, the main streets and/or the tourist sites. The place is pretty quiet and calm. It’s more like a suburb than a major City.

20190831_051108 — Irish road toll stop photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I got on the shuttle bus that would take me into the main part of the city. It was about three euros and it was going to be a short ride. Irish people in general are friendly. Most of the time they are very helpful. Had no idea there were different types of shuttles from the airport. In case your Wi-Fi connection is off, you can always ask an airport staff and they would be more than happy to explain the different routes with the corresponding numbers. However, the locals from Shannon aren’t as nice as the people from Dublin. So, you might find someone having a bad day.

20190831_051243 — The green grass next to the Highway photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The green grass of Ireland. Makes you think twice about what the green on the Irish flag means.

The ride to Shannon’s transportation hub was probably the longest 30 mins ride of my life. I was so excited to be in Ireland. Made me wonder how I would look to the other people on the bus. An Afo-hispanic/American in the middle of Ireland sitting impatiently like I had to go to the bathroom. Luckily for me, everybody minded their own business. All thanks to smart phones. Whether or not that is a good thing for the progress of humanity, we can only find out in the future.

Thank you so much for reading!!! Much love and safe travels!!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

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January 4, 2020 36

Happy New year everyone!!!

We want to give you a warm welcome to 2020! Truly hope that all your goals become a reality! Saw that some of you have accomplished your goals and beyond! We are sending only positivity your way!

I have a lot of countries to go over with you all! Countries like China, Norway and Morocco. I can not wait to share them with everyone of you! Keep on a lookout for our YouTube channel! New styles of content coming on that platform and on facebook! Also, for those coming to New York City we will have something special in store for you later down the year. Lastly, more guidebooks coming your way with some extra content!

Remember this, one year can really change your life. Keep working on your goals and keep pushing closer towards your dreams! Life is truly amazing when you can learn to smile and have hope for a better future! Stay safe everyone and much love!! Also, shutout to Rochelle for becoming a doctor last year! Here is the link for her website! For an inside look of Jamaica from a local, definitely check her website out! Wishing you all tons of health and success this year as well!

January 1, 2020 35