March 2025 – North American Darrell

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – walked like an Egyptian!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sharm El Sheikh means literally “bay of the Sheikh”), alternatively rendered Sharm el-Sheikh, Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm El-Sheikh, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea.

Its population is approximately 13,000 as of 2023. Sharm el-Sheik is the administrative hub of Egypt’s South Sinai Governorate, which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, St. Catherine, and Mount Sinai. It was historically a fishing town and military base, and was developed into a commercial and tourist-centric city in 1968 by Israel. Today, the city and holiday resort is a significant centre for tourism in Egypt, while also attracting many international conferences and diplomatic meetings.

When I purchased my Wizz all you can fly pass, I knew that I would get to visit places that I would have never dreamed of in my life. What a perfect situation for me to see parts of the world that would never be possible on a budget.

Since I had already been to the Kingdom of the United Emirates in the past, I was familiar with what to expect to a point. There is a large portion of Muslims and beautiful mosques in which they worship. Just like everyone, we like to judge, but the Muslim people that I met were amazing to me, except my taxi driver from the Airport. Every place has assholes!!

In my opinion, the Mosques here were nice but not comparable to what I saw in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Keep in mind that this is a small tourist town, and Cairo would have much larger complexes due to population.

I could tell, waiting in line to check in, that this was a vacation spot based on the passengers. We did not look or walk like Egyptians, LOL.

Sidenote: I almost missed this flight as there were two agents checking passports for several flights out of London, Gatwick. Thankfully, they pull us to the front of the line after sweating it out for over an hour. Honestly, I checked in online and thought I was in the clear and should have arrived sooner.
I am glad I went, as there was zero doubt it would be worth it. My flight from London was 10 euro, and my flight out of there to Naples, Italy was also 10 euros on my pass.
Do not plan to return to Egypt anytime soon.

The above was the beach at my hotel and a castle next door dubbed “The Sandcastle.” That is exactly what you would think of when you saw it.

Below is the walk to the outdoor mall from my $20 a night Sharks Bay Hotel.

The plan was to take a four-hour bus ride to Cairo and experience the Pyramids.

After two days, I had had enough of these shysters and headed to Naples, Italy, as Pizza was waiting for me. A LOT of pizza was waiting …

In closing, I 100% need to mention that I left my jacket on a chair after airport security leaving Sharm El Sheikh for over an hour. I had my $600 camera and $175 headset (replacement price) in the pockets for the flight.

I frantically ran to security, where they recognized me and handed me my jacket with everything still in the pockets. He insisted that Egypt was safe, and I thanked him for his honesty.

There are not too many airports in the world that would have done that as it was turned in. It left a very good feeling about Egypt, but unfortunately, it was too late, as I was leaving.

I will never forget that thankful feeling you left me with, Egypt, Thanks!! 🙌

Naples, Italy – stop one on the big boot tour!!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza, you visit the home of the pizza!! There are several variations and so far, the stromboli and fried pizza were amazing.

As my travels wind down, staying at hostels and become more and more comfortable. The average hotel in Naples is between $75-$100 euros which is equivalent to the USD. The current hostel I am staying in is $28 euro and I have met some great like-minded people.

I do not remember EVER paying for a museum as it is really not of interest. Since visiting Athens, Greece and now Naples, Italy it was just too much to resist the history. Here are some pictures and videos of the Napoli Museum, where I spend my first day in amazement.

The weather and been cold and rainy so unsure how to spend the next day or two here before heading to Rome,

Below are some of the amazing options posted at the hostel:

(That is another beauty staying in hostels as they always have recommendations on the cheap).

Istanbul, Turkey – Cheap travel option on the Mediterranean!!

Since buying the Wizz, visiting Turkey has been on my radar since I purchased my All you can fly is pass. BINGO!

I was able to catch a flight from Athens, Greece, across Europe, so why not? The best part is that I was able to overnight in London again. Something about sitting in a pub in London is cool to me. Fish and chips and local pints!!

Visiting Egypt had a certain edge to it, and I never really felt comfortable. It was mostly in my head, but the fact that I was so close to Gaza and the locals tried to rip you off at every opportunity kept me on my toes.

First off, I did meet some amazing people, but they were the minority. I can tell you that if Egypt were not a great Country in general, I would be out my $500 camera and $120 headset.

I left it in the security line in my jacket and returned an hour later to find been waiting for me. I also met one good Uber driver who did not take advantage of me due to the color of my skin.

First impressions are at the airport when you clear customs, and the taxi drivers are waiting in force. Wifi was not available, so I was handicapped immediately as I did not understand the currency and could not get an Uber, which was my fault.

I walked out to dozens of aggressive drivers, and I was at their mercy, and they smelled blood. I was able to understand the basics, like only riding in a marked taxi due to a story I remember back in my work travels.

A woman I worked with had a meeting in Egypt and took a personal car that could have ended her life. She was taken to a party where there was nothing but local men. Luckily, one of the men demanded she be taken home, which was a Godsend.

I miss you, Bea, as you are one of a kind!

Here are some videos of my time in Istanbul, starting with a walk from my amazing USD 18 a night hostel. It was so comfortable after a long couple of travel days and a fun pub stop in London.

I did not have any plans other than to try to live like a local for a few days. As part of my experience, I ended up at a ferry port by absolute luck and visited three islands. I met a local who gave me a historical tour of the biggest and furthest South Princess Island, Adelar. Here is the ferry ride and a tour of the island.

It was a great few days trying to understand what makes things tick!

Funny story: I was at the Istanbul airport, and I was noticing a lot of people with bandages on their heads and noses.

Ironically, I flew into and out of Istanbul from London with a guy who was getting this done.

We had a short conversation about something, but did not discuss his intentions until we met again, leaving.

I jokingly asked him if MMA was in town, as everyone looked beat up like him. He explained that Istanbul is famous for hair restoration, and it is less than half the price of most places like London.

I think it is less than $5K USD if you are interested in getting that flow back boys! LOL

Athens, Greece – My big fat Greek weekend!

Feta cheese – they put that amazing shit of everything in Athens. This is an amazing Armenian Family that kept the Greek dishes coming over the weekend.

The Greek salad with a slab of feta and olives and lamb gyro were the best ever!!

Now the important part is over, the food, I can explain Athens a bit more.

I was able to travel to Athens, Greece, the third weekend of March 2025. I left Asia after 70 days touring Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Singapore. It was a 12-hour flight from Singapore to Athens, but I booked it several months ago, so it was only a couple hundred dollars.

It was a long flight, but I was able to make do with the onboard amenties. 😁

After those long flights, I am always discombobulated (more than normal). I needed to navigate the metro system to get to my hostel which was extra challenging.

I always tailer my accommodations to the price of the city and Athens was not cheap.

I ended biting the bullet and booking an amazing room in a hostel for $50 a night. I know you’re thinking, $50 a night is cheap but multiply that by 84 nights which is the length of this trip. That would have been $4,200 USD for accomodations alone!!

Anyway, I was able to catch up on my sleep, regroup and reenergize.

I knew I would only have the weekend in Athens, so I booked a three-day pass on the double-decker bus that stops at all of the tourist traps. I tend to do that when there is a lot to see in a city in a short amount of time as it is worth it.

One of the biggest draws on the tour and in Athens is the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

Here is a clip for the wiki that explained to the both of us:

The Acropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek: ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, romanized: hē Akropolis tōn Athēnōn; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών, romanized: Akrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon.

The word Acropolis is from Greek ἄκρον (akron) ‘highest point, extremity’ and πόλις (polis) ‘city’.[1] The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was also more properly known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as early as the 4th millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site’s most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.

The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored by the then Turkish rulers in the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian bombardment and exploded.

Another big draw was the temple of olympian Zeus:

Here is more wiki history that I did not know either:

Dedicated to Zeus, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, also called the Olympieion, was the largest temple in ancient Greece. Though the Parthenon is better preserved, the Temple of Olympian Zeus was an even more monumental structure in its day. The temple dates to the sixth century BC but was not completed until the second century AD by the Emperor Hadrian. In front of the Olympieion, not far from the entrance, stands Hadrian’s Arch at the end of Dionysiou Areopagitou.

It’s easy to imagine the grand impression this temple made in its complete form. More than a hundred enormous marble columns once supported the grandiose sanctuary. Only 15 columns remain standing, and another surviving column lies on the ground, but the ruins’ monumental presence gives a sense of the massive size of the original building. The gigantic structure was a befitting shrine to Zeus, the ancient Greeks’ most all-powerful God, known as the King of Gods.

Greece is also known for its amazing islands which is dealed here if you are interested:

I did not leave the mainland but toured the amazing coast on the bus for hours.

It was pretty cool to hear the references between the enargual Olympic games in 1896 and the 2004 modern day Olympics during the tours.

They would share the new venues, in the city and oceanside, and I was also able to see the very first venue, The Parathion.

Asia – getting fat eating with two sticks!

I have loved Thai food since visiting Thailand back in 2022 but forgot how much until returning in 2025!

I have since visited many Asian countries and fell in love with their food. Vietnam Pho/Bahn mi/noodles, Cambodian Amok/Hhmer curry/noodles all held the title until I was reintroduced to Thai again.

The Thai pad and variations of soup won my heart and my belly over once again. Here are some choices from a food court in Bangkok. You could eat three times a day for 365 days and not try them all in this food court. It was almost impossible to choose:

Here were some of my favorites from around Samui:

Mango salad (tope left)

Tom yum Coconut spicy soup (middle left)

Chicken Pad Thai (top right)

Tom yum chicken spicy (bottom left)

Iced cold Chang (bottom right – it was so hot, ice was needed to keep it cold)

Singapore – Amazing city but don’t chew gum here!

Don’t say I didn’t warn you: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

“The sale of chewing gum in Singapore has been illegal since 1992. Some motivations for the ban included stopping the placement of used chewing gum in inappropriate and costly places, such as the sensors of subway doors, inside lock cylinders, and elevator buttons. Since 2004, an exception has existed for therapeutic, dental, and nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. It is not illegal to chew gum in Singapore, but it is against the law to import it and sell it, apart from the aforementioned exceptions. According to a BBC News article, it is legal for a traveler to bring in a small amount of chewing gum for personal use, and there is a fine for spitting the gum out in an inappropriate place”

This was my sixth time at the Changi airport in Singapore but the first time I had left the lobby.

I found a hostel in the center of the city and bought a two-day metro pass to explore the city by subway. The hostel sucked but it was the only thing I found affordable is the very expensive city unless you want to pay $100+ in the hood. There are tons of options on booking.com

Here was my route to the hostel and absolute shitty cubby I slept in for two nights. The walls were made of paneling so anytime someone touched them the room rattled. I lost my shit on some people which kept it quiet for the most part. 😁

The first thing most people think of in Singapore is the Marina Bay Sands and the Garden by the Bay metal trees. It was amazing to see the building and landscape in person. Unfortunately, that is as close as I am going to get for 600+ a night.

That is about $560 a night more than I paid at the hostel! LOL

Singapore really did not do much for me. It is an amazingly clean city with nice infrastructure, but I did not find much else appealing. That does not mean that you would not like it, as that is my personal opinion, and you do not need to leave the airport again. Pretty sad when one of the coolest parst I can find in a city is the airport.

Keep in mind, this is not just an airport, it is one of the nicest airports in the world, including:

Entertainment Corner, World’s tallest airport slide, Butterfly Garden, Movie theater, Swimming pool with views, Changi Airport Skytrain, Rain Vortex, and Indoor Garden area.

I cannot find the pictures and video I took of the falls, but it is an amazing sight, and it’s hard to believe you are in an airport.

Koh Samui Island, Thailand

The first time I visited, prices were down since they were just opening up after COVID.

This was the view from my Airbnb. I only planned to stay a few days, but ended up staying ten days as it was so incredible.

It was a better experience as it was quieter as opposed to the busy season this time around. As always, I found a way to find a good time! 🤓

The Island is the biggest of the three chains of islands of Ko Tao, Koh Phagan and Samui so there is always a lot of options. The beaches are spectacular, and marijuana is now legal, so everyone is having a great time, all the time. I never was a big pot smoker but when in Rome …

See you again next year, Samui! 🙌

Ko Tao Island, Thailand! It is paradise!!

I spent the second week of March 2025 in Ko Tao, Thailand, and most of the third week in Koh Samui, Thailand.

(The plan was to spend a couple of days in Ko Pha Ngan, but I put in a few days in the bathroom with my bi-yearly food poising, bug, heat stroke bullshit). Some people say I am insane to travel like this and agreed for three days. LOL

I respond the way I always do when I feel better, LFG!I respond the way I always do when I feel better, LFG!

This is the second time I have visited Ko Tao and Koh Samui. I was here for six weeks during my paid sabbatical from PayPal in January 2022. I did a lot more touring during that time, so I knew exactly where I wanted to go this time.

That is my ultimate goal traveling, find amazing places that are affordable that I would like to return longer term.

Lima, Peru – The beauty of Mira Flores!

I have to so many amazing places in my life, I tend to forget some of them.

I wanted to share another post on how affordable and amazing Peru can be as an option to visit to get a bigger bang for your dollar The country is impoverished, but the affluent Mira Flores district is amazing.

I visited Lima, Peru three times on my Volaris all-you-can-fly pass as it costs less than $100 each way on standby. The first time, I did not know the area, so I stayed in the city and commuted to Mira Flores on the local bus. I say this everywhere I go but this traffic was insane.

The second and third time, I stayed on the same Airbnb on the cliffside oceanfront.

Mira Flores has something for everyone and all ages. It is a great place to stay active, and you can see people walking, running, biking, and rollerblading. There is tennis, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, and even BMX track

Flight: I used my Volaris all-you-can-fly pass from Los Angeles, which stopped in Guatemala City and San Jose, Costa Rica. I have also flown from Mexico City directly to Lima. The pass goes by miles, so the total miles were under USD 100.

Accommodations: I loved my oceanside Airbnb for $20 USD, which is less than $500 a month with the monthly discount, and the hosts are amazing. You can find it by clicking the link, keeping in mind that it is a single bed and shared bathroom.

The best local beer and meal: I loved the ceviche and a dark Cusquena. There are also North American restaurants like Chili’s and Fridays, with meals half price if you need a comfort meal.

Would I return? YES – Mira Flores is almost perfect! There are tons of activities, the comforts of home at less than half the price, and the cost of living is incredible. Miles of scenic walking, biking, and running paths along the ocean and super friendly locals.

My weekly laundry washed, dried, and folded is a few dollars.

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap/Ankor Wat, Cambodia

I am getting more comfortable navigating Asia every day. I nailed the bus trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and an Uber to my hostel. It was almost like I knew what I was doing, which is rare for me.

I chose to stay at the Poolside Villas in Phnom Pehn which was phenomenal. The rooms were $21 a night and the food/drinks were very cheap with beers $1.50/$1 happy hour and most meals under $5.

As my travels take me into March, I am starting to feel the pressure of running out of time in Asia. I am scheduled to leave on March 21st, and I still have not done some things.

For that reason, I took Cambodia by storm and did as much as possible in ten days.

I want to share my day trip to Angkor Wat which was amazing!

Angkor Wat (/ˌæŋkɔːr ˈwɒt/; Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត, “City/Capital of Temples”) is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia. Located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres) within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor, it was originally constructed in 1150 CE as a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Vishnu. It was later gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century.

Angkor Wat was built at the behest of the Khmer king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology and is surrounded by a moat more than 5 km (3.1 mi). Enclosed within an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west with scholars divided as to the significance of this.

Here are some of the many videos I took, and the rest can be found on my YouTube channel by clicking here.