Off to Thailand…Hopefully: Red Flags On the Journey to The East

Winter was here in NYC. The cold breeze with the white snow looked like a scene out of any of the Home Alone movies. I was sitting in my office desk hoping to be elsewhere. Thinking of all the warm climates that New York City did not offer. Eventually, I got a notification for tickets that the price had dropped. It was for a flight from NYC to Bangkok priced at 450. I just had to buy the tickets for a return in mid-December. Nobody knew was brewing around the same time in that part of the world. Hard to believe, it would cause so many deaths.

Of course, I jumped on that deal. I was off to Thailand at the end of November. Well, I wished things were that easy. Sadly, nothing is very that easy. Looking at my passport, I realized it would expire in March 2020. That meant, most countries wouldn’t allow me in because I’m high risk of missing my return flight. The flight was just a week away. There was no time to spare. Or, so I thought.

Paying extra to get my passport renewed photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Started applying for a new passport at the nearby FedEx store. In case something were to happen, I can always get the overnight option. It’s funny looking back, there were so many obstacles thrown at me. Maybe that was a sign that I shouldn’t have gone. However, me being stubborn I ignored all these signs and pushed through.

time in egypt photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

europe stamps photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Belize stamps photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

more europe stamps photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

dubai stamp photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

my time in south america photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

This trip was going to be epic. One week in Thailand and then, a few days in Malaysia. Hopefully, I can squeeze Cambodia as well. Gave Fedex the most valuable item to a traveler, their passport. Did all the paperwork. It was time to wait. Three days passed by, my flight was in 4 days. I decided to randomly check my passport status. Logged into the website and I saw the process on hold, reason: missing paperwork. I started to freak out a little. Had to find the solution quickly or I won’t be able to go to Asia. I remember I did all the paperwork right, one of the FedEx employees even double-checked it. It was weird that I could be missing a few pages. This was another sign that I probably shouldn’t have gone on this trip. Ignoring the sign, paid for the overnight service to make sure I could get the passport in time.

Flying to Asia photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Friday came, my flight was tomorrow and the new passport arrived. I was super happy and excited. Had to do last-minute packing because I wasn’t 100 percent sure that I was going to be able to travel. Packed like a wild person. After a few hours, I was ready.

It was Saturday, the time of my flight arrived. Got on the plane, looking at the plane tickets. I noticed that I never actually flown on China Southern Airlines. Nor have I heard of a place called Wuhan, China. Had to google the city before the plane took off. Found out it was the third-largest city in China. Looks like I will have a good time exploring Wuhan. Glad I had the chance to be there twice. It was time for take-off and I was off to a journey to the east that the world will never forget.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe everyone! Wash your hands! Much Love!Thank you so much for your support!!

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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We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!Here are links to hotels and other deals.For Hotels, make sure to click here. For apartments make sure to click here. For Resorts click here. For villas click here. For bed and breakfast and for Guest houses, make sure to click the links.

September 19, 2020 0

Heading towards the Wuhan Airport

My time was almost up in Wuhan. The clock was ticking. Saying good bye to a place that treated me so well would be hard. The bright smiles and the honesty I experienced was hard to replicate elsewhere.

Spongebob in wuhan photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

On my way back to the train station, I found this shop. It’s clear Pokemon and Japanese cartoons are big here. What surprised me was seeing spongebob. I could just picture all the censoring that show gets just to be aired on Chinese televisions. That show is not for kids at times. There’s a lot of hidden adult jokes. Plus, spongebob’s friend Patrick does nothing all day. Not sure if the Chinese government would let people do that.

The ticket machine of wuhan metro photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Went to the subway, it was business as usual. The subway ticket machines have the option to translate everything to English. So, I had no difficulties getting around. Just hard to think as what happened in current events. I was litterly in the belly of the beast when it comes to this virus. I was probably in a subway cart with someone had the corona virus. If not that, the subway cart at one point of the day had someone infected riding it. It’s almost hard to believe.

I decided to get off at a random stop. I just wanted to see a little more of Wuhan and how the locals really live. The place I went was non-touristic. Expect the Highway, everything was very calm. Very few people on the streets.

The apartment buildings photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The whole area was calm. It was just in front of a freeway. However, not many car passed by. I sat to reflect my on journey in Wuhan. I have had some amazing moments here. Been treated with respect everywhere I went. People with smiles trying to help me out without having bad intentions. This is a place, I would have to visit again. I have nothing but love and respect for the Chinese people.

As the sun was setting, I had to walk back to the subway station. Every time I leave a country, I always reflect on how much I grown as a person. The negativity I was expecting when I came here was all in my prejudice thoughts. I wish I could see a little more of china before leaving. At that moment, I wanted to get off in another stop to see just a little bit more of Wuhan.

Much love and safe travels! Please keep clean everyone!! Wash your hands!!

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

March 25, 2020 8

No Pandas Bears at The Black Bamboo Garden in Wuhan

After going around the yellow crane tower, there was a sign that kept getting my attention. The garden of black bamboo. Never heard nor seen bamboo being the color black. So I wanted to see it in person. Also, I knew panda bears ate bamboo. I was hoping to see a few of them around. Honestly, I thought they were just running around normally in China. Sadly, I was wrong.

The entrance to the garden photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

When you are at the entrance of the garden, you see a huge sign. Had no idea what it meant. However, I’m sure you all knew what I was wishing it said. “Don’t feed the pandas!” Or “Warning!! Panda bears nearby!” Of course, it probably means something about the black bamboo. Being ignorant to the whole situation, I was enjoying the sign with excitement. Like a kid thinking it was going to the ice cream shop. Sadly, the parents didn’t mention they would stop by the hospital first to get the flu shot.

The walkway in the bamboo garden photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The moment I stepped inside, I felt a strong sense of calmness. Like this area has some special energy to it. It almost like, I was walking like into a cave away from all the hustle and bustle of Wuhan. I almost forgot that I was in the middle of a major Chinese city. The sound of the leaves being blown by the wind. Insects making noises to let you know there are there. It was a nice breath of fresh air from being in a major city.

A rock to sit on photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

All that was missing to make this moment priceless was traditional Chinese music playing in the background. Well that and of course, a Kungfu Panda voiced by Black Jack. Disappointment hit me when I realized pandas were not here. As childish as this sounds, I was hoping to pet one of those black and white bears. This why you shouldn’t have expectations when traveling. Don’t come into a place and expect the location to look or be a certain way. It might ruin the trip for you. Luckily, pandas weren’t going to stop me from have a good time! However, I really wanted to pet a panda.

A cluster of green bamboo photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Black bamboo photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Walked further into the garden and saw the black bamboo. Saw them earlier, just not in a group. They look almost painted. It was interesting to see them. Yet, it was like something was missing from this. I’m sure I was still salty over not seeing Panda Bears in China.

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

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

March 11, 2020 18

Wuhan, China pre-coronavirus: On the journey to find the yellow crane tower part 2

The further one goes into this park in Wuhan, the more you are reminded of China’s Communist past. One of the cool things about going into parks are the statues. The historical meaning of them have always made my inner nerd happy (yeah, I got an inner nerd….so what?). I truly wished I could had read Mandarin at the time I was here. I would loved to have know what these statues meant.

Statues of national pride photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Being an outsider in a forgien country is always interesting. However, being an outsider that doesn’t speak nor read the local language is a whole other experience. You can only really guess what the signs mean. In order to survive, you have to learn to adapt and read people. It’s a skill that everybody should learn! These survivor skills have helped me in so many ways. I have gotten out of some diffcult situations because I read the energy people were throwing out. Put me any where in the world and I will survive.

The garden at the park. (My shadow looks like it gained 100 pounds) photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Kind of got lost while looking for this “epic” landmark google told me to go. Nothing wrong with the landmark, I was just annoyed about google knowing where I was going. To the point, I had a few notifications from the “know it all” empire. It’s like they are saying, “hey, we know where you going at all times because we got you on a gps.”

Anways, started asking people where this yellow crane tower was. I kept getting pointed to the same direction. I was surprised at how well some of the locals knew how to speak English. The others that didn’t just pointed. It’s really crazy how warm and welcoming the Chinese were to me. To be blunt, I was expecting some form hostility. Not even from the immigration officers at the airport, not once was I treated with disrespect. I’m sure you all can understand why I feel the way I do. Hearing about the virus on the news is one thing; however, meeting the people effected in a warm light can really cause conflicting emotions.

Old man statue photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

After some time, I eventually found this statue. Once again, my feeling of wanting to read the local langague pop out. There was a level of disconnect. I felt this before in other countries. If only humans didn’t have to sleep, imagine the possibilities of learning.

The area where the statue is located was a square. Looked like a lovely place to just relax and let the minutes pass by. It was calm like people didn’t have a care in the world. An atmosphere some people around the world can only dream of. Makes me wonder how the park looks like now during the civil unrest.

Entrance to the museum with interesting flag photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Kept walking and I found this entrance. It looks like some type of museum. I loved how the flag looked. One of the people that told me where to go, tapped my back and waved no. Well, more gestured no. She pointed me to the right direction. After about 2 mins, it was clear I found the yellow crane tower.

Ps: Update on some of the friends I met here. So right now, they are doing fine. Worried but they are doing fine. Currently, there is a civil unrest. The people of Wuhan feeling like they are not being told the truth about the media. There has been alot of push back on censorship. They are speaking through social media before the government can censor. This started because a doctor died from the censorship. He was told to be quiet about it. For you want to read more about this here is the link.

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.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

For Hotels, make sure to click here. For apartments make sure to click here. For Resorts click here. For villas click here. For bed and breakfast and for Guest houses, make sure to click the links!

February 12, 2020 15

An Inside look of Wuhan, China pre-coronavirus: On the journey to find the yellow crane tower

After looking like a crazy lost tourist, I was able to make some new friends at Starbucks. Looking back, it kind of hurts to think that these kind people are probably in a hospital now. It’s crazy how everything can change in such a short time. I was here in December 2019. Fast forwarded a month into the future and the corona-virus took over. It’s really sad to think about. However, getting back into the story, my new friends gave me directions and sites to see in Wuhan. They were surprised to see someone that looks like me in this part of china. I was seeing a pattern, I started to noticed they do not get travelers from all over the world here. The more time I spent in this central Chinese city, the more I enjoyed it. I’m just lost for words at how nice the people were to foreigners. Especially me being an american citizen, did not expect this type of treatment.

China’s verison of forever 21 photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Following the directions of my new friends, I ended up in a commercial strip. Saw stores from all over the world. Brands, I was familiar with and others not so much. As shown in the picture above, you can see a lot of local stores take inspiration from American brands. It’s really hard to believe this is a “communist” china. I even saw people openly wearing cross necklaces and the Muslim hats called kufi. China is not like what the media tells us. I keep getting told that most Chinese have to be atheist. From just looking around, I see that people practice religion here. To what level of freedom, I will explain in another post.

Sign pointing where the yellow crane tower exit is photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Got back on the subway, the original subway worker that I asked directions from. It looks like what she said got lost in translation. I ended missing the stop I was supposed to go. It wasn’t that bad because it was only like two stops away. I followed the poster pointing to what exit I should take. As seen above, everything was in Mandarin. Expect for some reason, the word “exit” was translated. I guess they want tourist like me to figure out the yellow crane tower might possibly be that way.

Got out of the underground and I was taken to the front of a park. I really wished I knew what these signs meant. They looked very important. Luckily, there were pictures of what not to do on the right. Still, the red banner made me wonder. Are they saying, “we don’t like Americans!” Or maybe, “All Americans eat cheeseburgers and french fries for breakfast!” Jokes aside, it could be government propaganda or just stating the park’s name. Which, I still do not know the name of this place. If any of you can read Mandarin, please let me know what the banner says. It would be greatly appreciated.

Art- I have no idea what that means photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Walked more into the park, everybody seemed at easy and stress-less. I’m sure a complete 180 degree to the current events happening right now. Still, it’s hard to believe how peaceful everything was. Old people watching the birds and kids running around without a care in the world. Everybody was just enjoying their day. An atmosphere, I just had to sit down and enjoy. For once on my recent trip around Asia, I felt relax. No one wanted to scam me and no one harassing me. Wuhan, China isn’t so bad, it’s actually very enjoyable. I just hope everything calms down, so that you all can experience this someday.

The beautiful nature photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The one thing that stood out to me about china is the natural beauty. You see it on the subway. The leaves and plants look so beautiful. I always thought China was nothing but apartment buildings and packed streets. So far, I have been wrong! Couldn’t wait to see what else China had to offer.

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.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

February 5, 2020 34

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!

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.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

January 29, 2020 51

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!!

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.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.