Mohamed Amine Bouhouche of Algiers ALGERIA

23. Featured Traveller 

Mohamed Amine Bouhouche

Student at KFUPM : Founder/CEO/Project Programmer : Traveller 

(Algiers, ALGERIA)

                               

“Travel is all about making memories that will last forever”

From A Traveller's Desk finally had the chance to interview MoeAmine (Mohamed's nickname) in spite of his busy schedule in his university, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He hopes to finish his Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering in the year 2015 which is five more semesters to go. Aside from being active as a student, he is the Founder, CEO and Project Programmer of KFUPM Resources, a project he believes will be the main source for the university, KFUPM students in particular but will definitely be a useful reference to staff and instructors in general.

MoeAmine is from Algiers, the largest city of Algeria which he said still is his favourite place to be.

The Three Most Visited Sanctuaries in Italy

Written by Shaiya Ong

Vatican City remains to be the most visited religious sanctuary in the world, with over 1.1 billion Catholics flocking the place all year round; not to mention other religious denominations who are intrigued by the place.  In any case, there are other religious destinations in Italy that are also gaining prominence among tourists and local travellers.  This is a list of them.

Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel

Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel 

This is located near San Giovanni Rotondo, a place where the archangel apparently appeared in the years 490, 492 and 1656 allowing it to become a consecrated shrine.  Popular persons in the religious realm were also noted to have visited the place, which includes St. Gerard Majella, St. Bridget of Sweden, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. William of Vercelli.  This and news of being miraculous site has made this sanctuary one of the most popular in Italy.

Padre Pio Shrine 

Padre Pio Shrine  

Padre Pio is known for his supernatural powers, particularly his stigmata in the year 1919.  His body was exhume in April 2008 and eventually placed in display at Santa Maria delle Grazie sanctuary in a glass coffin before it had its final resting place at the crypt of the church.  Due to the large volume of pilgrims who go and visit the shrine, architect Renzo Piano designed a place for worship that allows 6500 people to sit and another 30,000 to stand outside and hear daily masses, but it is still not sufficient to the seven million pilgrims who visit this place annually. It is open to the public and remains free up to this date.

San Gabriel Sanctuary

Sanctuary of San Gabriel

Approximately two million visitors go to this place each year.  It is located at the foot of Gran Sasso Mountain in Teramo and is dedicated to the young saint that exhibited uninterrupted supernatural experience during his lifetime.  It is in proximity with other two popular sanctuaries in the place.  Loreto, and San Giovionni Rotondo.  Many who come and visit also include these other two sanctuaries to complete their pilgrimage.  The place is quite popular because of the 300 year old painting of the Our Lady of Sorrows.

Most visitors of Italy remain to be religious pilgrims who vowed to see up close these sanctuaries.  Many of them prefer arriving at Rome airport to begin the journey with a mass at St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican City.  So if you haven't decided on your Italy itinerary yet, why not add a few of these sites in your list and experience why some prefer to spend money just to fulfill a pilgrim to this places.

Author Bio: 

Shaiya is a freelance writer in the Philippines who once endured the extreme task of becoming an educator to university students. She is happier to have been given the liberty to take time at her own pace. She is now enjoying moments travelling to places she dreams of visiting and cherishing precious time with her family. 

Thailand: Touristy Tigers and Happy Elephants

Written by Cindy Chang

Travelling to Southeast Asia was my first big overseas holiday. I went to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with my boyfriend at the time, who I will call Mario for the purposes of this blog.  Having grown up watching movies like "The Lion King" at every possible chance I got (every day of the school holidays, until I could recite the whole movie line for line...), I loved animals.  I wanted to be Jasmine from Aladdin, and have a pet tiger.

18kg snake at the floating market

So my trip to Thailand, to me, was an opportunity to find me a tiger.  And an elephant.  In Thailand, there are two main places that you can go pat a tiger. In Bangkok there is the Tiger Temple, which is supposedly a 'temple' where Buddhist monks rescue tigers. It was an absolutely awful experience.  Overall, we spent about eight hours crammed in a tiny minivan and were herded through a number of other mediocre tourist attractions before finally stopping at the Tiger Temple.

Wesam Shaker of Baghdad IRAQ

22. Featured Traveller 

Wesam Shaker

Business Owner : Independent Representative : Traveller 

(Baghdad, IRAQ)

                               

“There are days when I intentionally don't write.  For instance, I never write when I'm travelling, because travel is a situation where I can learn more by looking and listening than by working”

We are featuring a lad who is passionate about travels at the young age of 26.  Wesam holds an office in Baghdad that pertains to tourism.  

It took this author a while to have this interview finalized due to Wesam's busy schedule on running his office and travelling most of the time. 

He has travelled to United Arab Emirates, Syria, Malaysia and Turkey and will continue visiting other countries like Italy, Egypt, Greece and Thailand.  He finds UAE very interesting and reveals that he wants to go back and explore more of Dubai and its neighbouring towns and cities.

September: The Perfect Month to Visit Sabah

 Written by: Shaiya Ong

Sabah is quite close to the Philippines, so it only takes a few hours before you reach it by plane. If you are more adventurous, then you may wish to go to Labuan, Zamboanga in the Philippines and take a boat trip to reach Sabah.  It is a perfect destination for anyone residing in Southeast Asia and a trip worth engaging for anyone who loves adventure and nature.  You will appreciate the beauty of the wildlife more once you set foot in the island.  It may be small, but it is an advantage to anyone who wishes to explore several areas offered by the region.

Sabah in September

Why visit during the month of September?