Julio Moreno of California U.S.A.

34.  Featured Traveller 
 Julio Moreno

English Teacher : Traveller

California USA

"Seeing the world, one world heritage site at a time"

It is with great pleasure to introduce a Mexican-American friend from Los Angeles, California who teaches English in South Korea. Julio was born in Mexico. He moved to the United States with his family at a young age of 3.

Flag of the USA

Aside from Mexico, South Korea and the United States which are destinations he has lived in, he explored other countries and has travelled to Canada, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Italy, Vatican City, the Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Peru and Indonesia and hopes to one day visit his top five of his dream destinations, namely, the Maldives, Palau, North Korea, India and Antarctica.

Julio admits he is a penny pinching accountant when it comes to travel, and according to him, it is not about getting the cheapest thing, it is about the best value. He continues by saying that he knows few people who are as thorough with planning and budgeting as he is. "Let's start with planning. I plan everything, including bus schedules, special activities, quickest routes, best things to see, things to eat, etc. Then, once everything is planned, I keep the plan in my back pocket. It is like my own personal guide book, but I am by no means tied to it. If I find something better, I am definitely willing to change plans", he adds.

As of this writing, Julio is due to be back from his third trip to Japan. It is a week of discovering Tokyo and its neighbouring cities. On his return, I am pretty sure he has many more stories to tell about this country. Meanwhile, let's join him in reminiscing his experiences with the friendly people of Osaka and its neighbouring cities.

Connect with Julio and read more about his Travel World Heritage by following him on Facebook.

* * * * *

My favourite place that I have visited is Japan, so I would like to run you guys through why I think it is such an awesome country.

First and foremost, my idea of a perfect destination is kind of an illusion. I want to find a place that is unique by developing independently of the outside world, but at the same time welcoming of outsiders. Imagine being a traveller in those old medieval movies (minus the bubonic plague and all) where you arrive in a new town and someone offers to show you around, despite being a complete stranger. Japan is the closest to that in my opinion. It is built with its own agenda of weird and unusual trends by our standards, yet it is very much welcoming to visitors.

Downtown Osaka JAPAN

In September of 2012, I took a trip to Osaka with the intent of visiting the World Heritage Sites of Kyoto, Nara, and the Horyu-Ji temple. By my third day, all of the locals I had met had been overly polite and helpful. Maybe it was because I had just come from Italy (yeah I said it), but I was impressed. When I arrived at Nara, a 70-year old woman named Keiko approached me and asked if she could show me around. She insisted that she didn't require any money and just wanted to kill some time. It turned out, her husband was a biologist studying the area, and she had to tag along.

Pahiyas Festival 2020

You don't want to miss the Pahiyas Festival this year, 2020, do you?

Lucban is considered a third class municipality in the province of Quezon, the Philippines. This town is made popular and associated with Pahiyas Festival. It is situated at the foot of Mount Banahaw de Lucban and approximately 26 kilometres from Lucena City and 160 km from Manila via this city.

People of Lucban

They call themselves Lucbanin. They are warm, friendly, and simple life. Most of them are religious and have been visiting the old church that was built since the year 1700s. 

My latest visit became memorable not only because of the festival, the food, and the like but because of the warm reception of a family whom we met for the first time. Their gestures are full of sincerity. The family has a huge house, yet, simple and humble.

If your travelling includes meeting local people, Lucban is the place for you and Lucbanins are the people you have to meet.

A Quick Trip to Nafplio, Greece: The Highlights

Written by Kate Power

Nafplio was once the capital of Greece, way back between 1823 and 1834, but the town’s history dates back much further. Legend says it was built by the god Poseidon’s son Nafplios and the daughter of Danaus, Anymone and soldiers from Nafplio were instrumental in the Trojan War. It was an important town during Byzantine times and the influence of Venetian and Turkish invaders can be seen throughout its architecture. Today Nafplio is popular as a holiday destination for Greeks and visitors from abroad. It’ll impress history buffs who come to discover the historic fortress and anyone looking for a romantic getaway in gorgeous surroundings. Nafplio is sometimes known as the jewel in the crown of the Peloponnese, a landmass south of Athens that sits right on the water.

Nafplio Tilt Shift Photo Credit: Mendhak Flickr

Start your visit to Nafplio holiday with a lazy walk around the Old Town. The twisting cobbled streets and colourful houses are more typical of an Italian city than traditional Greece; there are neoclassical mansions draped by Bougainvillea trees, small iron balconies with sunset views and Turkish fountains.

6 South American Snowboarding Hot Spots

Written by Jessica Socheski

Photo Credit: Pantherfile

North America and Europe are not the only places to shred some serious powder. South America contains some of the world’s most diverse snowboarding terrain. And, for serious snowboarders, South America’s ski season is during the southern hemisphere’s winter. This means that the prime time to snowboard actually falls during the traditional summer months when it is hot and sunny in the northern hemisphere.

For any of the nomadic boarders who follow the snow, check your snowboard gear guide and get ready spend the summer and early fall in South America after a full winter and spring in the north for year round snowboarding. When in South America, check out these six hot spots (or should we say cool spots) for the best mountain snow all “summer” long.

1. Portillo

The oldest resort in South America, Portillo is an isolated area in the Patagonia. Legendary for its 14,000 acres of available terrain, boarders must commit to a full week at the lodge if interested in snowboarding this mountain. Because of this requirement, the mountain is almost always quiet making the experience feel as if the mountain has never been explored before. Plus, the area is so expansive that to fully experience the mountain, one week is barely enough time.

Antonis Iordanoglou of Athens GREECE

33. Featured Traveller 

 Antonis Iordanoglou

 Travel Writer : Journalist : Product Manager : Traveller

 Athens GREECE

"A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it" 

~ John Steinbeck

It is amazing to have Antonis a part of our travel blog. A seasoned traveller and a journalist in his own right. 

Flag of Greece

He has travelled to Italy, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, France, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey, Gibraltar, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Singapore, USA (East Coast, South Carolina, Jacksonville, Miami , Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans, Florida Keys, Saint Augustine, Orlando) Cuba (Avana, Guantanamo bay), Bermuda, Azores, Gibraltar, Atlantic Ocean onboard and will continue travelling to China, Australia, Argentina and Russia.

Although Antonis has already wandered the four corners of the world, he still believe that the beauty is in his own backyard. And yes, there is no denying that he will not stop promoting his country to travellers whose goal is to discover places that they have not seen before.

Antonis travels using almost all means of transports and you will see him mostly on motorbikes and on foot. To him, budget is the most important thing although he usually travels on assignment or with invitation from local authorities.

Paleochora GREECE overlooking the shore of the Libyan Sea

Curiosity lead him to find more places to explore.....

He is obsessed in discovering the off-the-beaten-track and always choose the road less travelled to make his every trip worthwhile.