Kellen James of Shanghai CHINA

40. Featured Traveller 

Kellen James

TESOL Teacher : Science and P.E. Teacher : Traveller  

(Shanghai, CHINA)

                               

“A beer at every destination is quite a sensation; it causes a creation of massive amounts of elation ” 

Kellen is an example of a happy-go-lucky type of person. A young man who appreciates anything and anyone while on a journey. Very easy going!

Flag of the People's Republic of China

When asked of his favourite destination, he did not give a direct answer, instead, he expressed his love of the diversity and uniqueness of each individual places.

Although the question seems tough and not easy for him to share, he did a revelation about Barcelona to be truly unforgettable with Japan South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil to be his next to explore.

Michael Johnsen of California U.S.A.

30. Featured Traveller 

 Michael Johnsen

Information Technology : Traveller
California U.S.A.

"Travelling comes in three ways, it's either business, pleasure, or both" ~ 
Freddie Miranda 2013 

Flag of the USA

Pops, as he is fondly called, started travelling for more than forty years for work. His passion in international travel started twenty years ago and keeps growing. He will continue exploring Australia and New Zealand but will make sure he is back to Germany in September during the Oktoberfest. Pops is half Danish and half Italian having grandparents who all came from Europe. He has been visiting both sides of the relatives for years and every country between and around Denmark and Italy.

For the record, Pops has travelled to Mexico, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, England, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Singapore, China, Malaysia, South Korea, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama and Czech Republic.

His work took him to Asia where he travelled to Singapore and Malaysia for a span of twenty years. He'd been to China eleven times which he admitted is a combination of both work and pleasure. It is interesting to know that while in China, he travelled all over the country by train and that is what he is sharing with you in the second part of his journey.

Taiwan- beautiful island blending East and West

Written by Ruth Sheffer

The lure and magic of the East with the comforts of the West - what could be more tempting?

After living in China for a while, the attraction of modern toilets and a clean environment could never be overstated. So with this in mind we hopped on a ferry boat to the island of Jinmen and from there onto a small domestic flight and soon found ourselves in the heart of the capital city, Taipei.

Maobitou Rock Formations & Cliffs - TAIWAN

How can I describe Taipei - bustling, cultured, fascinating, illuminated? 

All of these are true, but not enough to capture the charm of the city. It has a great subway system, cheap and easily navigated even by those who don't read Chinese characters. It has skyscrapers, the famous Taipei 101  being one of them, it has Asian markets full of cheap knock-off goods, but also exclusive glitzy fashion stores for the fashion conscious, and it has every style of restaurant imaginable, from the hole in the wall noodle guy to the fancy elegant upscale seafood place. 

It also has a fascinating history and enough museums to prove it, and finally it has art galleries and exhibitions. We were lucky enough to be there during a Hello Kitty exhibition in a building formerly a tobacco factory.

15 Friendliest Countries revealed. Are they really that friendly?

Friendly People of Austria

Once again, the World's Friendliest Countries has been released for 2012.  While I quite agree with the results, am just not sure for the rankings that these countries got out of the 15. I have visited 10 of the countries listed and yes, most of them do deserve the honour. They are indeed friendly. I have not been to Cayman Islands, Spain, Bermuda, South Africa and Mexico, so I cannot talk about them in this blog.  

In my opinion, the countries  who should get the Top 5 Friendliest spots are: (1) New Zealand (2) Canada (3) Australia (4) Malaysia  (5) United States.  The rankings I have here is based solely on my travel experiences to these countries; pleasing local people, polite, helpful, honest and welcoming.