seunajia: [i][/i]


Commandante!
Love Che, His book by Jon Lee Anderson, have you read it?
My love for history (Che) and tourism might just drag me to Argentina or Cuba...

i havent read much about Che yet, but i intend to. I consider Che and Malcolm X my role-models.
We need a che in Nigeria right now more than the cubans did then, i pray we get one soon

zaboy: interesting...i have traveled to Europe and Asia a couple of times. But my ultimate dream is a road trip across Nigeria and the whole of sub-saharan Africa. Who knows? i might be inspired to be the next Che Guevara after that...

Oh oh! I also wish one day I will travel to some countries in africa, europe and asia but I always lazy to travel.

Cool thread…
My traveling experienced started on a road trip to Onitsha, the Benin Ore road was in a state of abysmal hence I swore not to ply the road again, that was in 2006, I later traveled down to obudu ranch, fun place to be, cool weather, memorable site seeing… fast forward to 2010, had my honey moon in Madrid & Almeria. I enjoyed my time in carboneras, the language barrier was over shadowed by the friendliness on Spanish peep, would love to be there again.
Madrid is a beautiful city but from my experience I will say there cops are lousy, always staring at every black dude like a suspect.
Visited Houston, I felt so much at home in that city, easy to navigate, concentration of our own very 9ja, went to a store where I bought 9ja coke, fanta, mili, peak milk and lotta items as if I were in ojuwoye market. Am definitely gonna be there next Christmas again.
Amsterdam…on landing, got interrogated by this immigration officer for over two hours, it was just a couple of month Abdulmutallab flew to Detroit from schipol hence the thorough screen. The screening made me sick as I was left alone in a room for about 40 mins, almost missed my connecting flight. Swore never to travel to Netherlands but how wrong was I, due to be there in another 24 hours and hoping for a better welcome from their immigration officers.

:/

:/

@Malaika
You are so lucky. Are you able to sneak me in your boot when next you do the road trip? I so wanna explore southern Africa.

malaika: There is so much to do in Livingstone/Victoria Falls. I’m glad that they are now developing the town into more than a dusty outpost and backpacker’s haven, although that means the town would somehow lose its ‘colonial look’ charm but good for the locals trying to make a living. Many locals are converting their homes into budget lodges, while hotel chains like Protea Hotels are entering the fray on the higher end of the scale. Restaurants are cropping up here and there and fast food chains have taken hold. My two favourite restaurants from when I was last there: Ngoma Zanga, a traditional African/Zambian cuisine restaurant. In Ngoma Zanga customers sit on cushions on the floor, the tables are very low, and the first drink offered to customers is a traditional African sorghum brew, the kind that makes you see stars almost immediately. There’s a live band and a dance area where patrons leave their tables intermittently to go and shake themselves to make space for more food. Their food speciality is grilled bream fish served with the local starch, tomato salsa and vegetables like eggplant, pumpkin leaves (chibwabwa) and other delicious local greens. The other restaurant I love is inside a lodge called Ngolide. It is an Indian restaurant and they make authentic Indian dishes. The chef we met last time was ‘imported’ directly from northern India.
The awesome Vic Falls can be viewed from Zambia or from Zimbabwe. It’s a short skip over the border between the two countries and it’s perfectly safe on either side. The mist from the falls is quite heavy and can drench you in seconds, you can rent a raincoat or umbrella to stay dry – but where’s the fun in that? The falls can also be viewed via helicopter or microlite flight. Other activities: elephant back ride; bungee jumping for the strong of heart; booze cruise for exuberant youth (I don’t recommend this for the more sedate traveller like me); the more serene sunset cruise on the Zambezi, chefs prepare delicious 3 course meals and supply a wide selection of drinks, game viewing while on the boat and round it off with a spectacular sunset over the Zambezi while the boat drifts slowly towards the falls (but never gets there thankfully!). For the ladies of leisure, many of the upmarket hotels have spas; there’s a new mall now in Livingstone and I’ve seen a beauty bar there too and they offer the works: hands, feet and massages, very welcome after a long drive.
We normally spend 3-4 days in Vic Falls before proceeding north towards Zambia’s capital Lusaka. There are many towns dotting the 560km stretch from Livingstone to Lusaka – the town of Choma has a very interesting museum on the history of the Tonga people of Southern Zambia. I was amazed at how similar their cultural dress and customs are to the Zulus until I read that they were a group that ran away from Zulu King Shaka’s persecution centuries ago and settled there. Before or after each town is a police checkpoint. The police are very thorough in going through your documents when they see that the vehicle licence plate is not local, but they are very friendly and never ask for bribe, rather they will direct you to the nearest office to obtain a missing document. There are many roadside markets too and it’s nice to stop and browse the stalls. Sometimes we branch off to Lake Kariba and spend a day or two in one of the lakeside lodges before eventually reaching Lusaka for family visit.

Your experience makes me want to definitely try this. Is knowing the local languages a requirement to having hassle free trip? My presumption was that road travel across Africa could be dangerous and border control could make it not worth the effort.

:/

Love this thread so here goes;

i have traveled to Gambia and Senegal actually lived in the area for about a year. That year was fun most of the time.

since i moved to the U.S i have been obsessed with the Caribbean which is why all the vacations i have taken in the past 6 years have been to that area.

While living in the U.S i was able to get a visa to Costa Rica which was an amazing trip. Like someone said yes black people do burn in the sun when i got back home my mom was like YEPA!

The year after that i went to Bahamas and stayed at an amazing hotel RIU hotel. The water was so pretty you actually could see fish swimming around you and if you had bread, they became your friend we stayed for a week

The yer after that we went to dominican republic. That was fun too but the airport was crazy, you had to pay $25 visa fee and they didn't ask you any questions you just gave them the money and they stamped you in the hotel had a pool that stretched the whole length of the hotel so where ever your room is located you had pool access

the year after that we were at Jamaica and we stayed a Montego bay which was fun. I have no complaints about where we stayed the water was incredible and we went on this cruise while we were there and had the best boat party ever (Duns river cruise)

the year after that we went on a cruise which left from NY. I currently live in the DC area so we caught a bus to NYC to board the ship. Men, that boat was packed and everything you did you had to pay for. Drinking water, alcohol, even just going to a special party on the boat. This was annoying to me. The only good thing was that we saw lots of countries in one 9 day cruise. We stopped at: Puerto Rico, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Marteen, and the British virgin island. The best stop was at St. Marteen, i plan to return there.

I was in London i think 2 years ago after like almost 20 years and it was so so i wasn't impressed

I have also been to Cancun Mexico like 3 times, i went there for a birthday and since then i always try to get there at least once a year for a quick weekend stay to recharge my batteries

This year we are returning to dominican republic but im planning to eventually visit Barbados, Thailand and for sure i want to get to Nigeria one of these days its been too long. I guess im used to the all inclusive hotels where they feed you and get you drunk all though your vacation


Airlines: my fav is KLM hands down second to Lufthansa, Then i like air Canada. The airlines in the U.S are crap especially spirit they charge you for every bag you check in overload or underload. They also wanted to start charging for carry on luggage imagine that




sorry for the long essay

@Initiator
i have been writing my "autobiography" for the past 2+ yrs but it is still and always will be a "work in progress", lol! i only do it because of family and friends so that they will have an idea (or a bigger picture) of what i have been going through all these yrs....and also to not forget the marvelous and crazy things that happened to me along the way. sadly, it is also a Xrated version, where i leave very little to the imagination. my kids will have to be 25yrs old before they can read it (and my mother will never read it, and will keep on viewing me as her "baby", lol )

so where were we? yes Japan......

so, here are some few other things that amazed me over there:
[b]- when i first arrived over there, i put all my garbage in one plastic bag and placed it near the garbage place downstairs, and one of my neighbor brought it back to my door. i had no idea that garbage needed to be separate, in a military fashion! lol
- you could loose/forget your wallet, bag, valuables etc in the subway, and find it back INTACT the next day. a person would find it and bring it back to the lost and found dept of that station, 99% of the time. your good luck would run out if a FOREIGNER finds your stuff.
- their love for Karaoke although most cannot sing.
- their cyber cafes where you can spend hours comfortably. if you missed your last train, thats the best place to spend the night. many of the cyber cafes in Japan offer sofas for 2, TV, Playstation3 + games, free soft drinks, and very cheap meals and snacks. yes, i can also confirm that you can even make sweet love to your woman there too since they are in private booths, lol!
- SUSHI SUSHI SUSHI!!!
- Akihabara aka electronic town (in Tokyo), is just an amazing place to go shopping. you have to spend the whole day there as it is HUGE! sadly for all visitors, although most products are very cheap, they are mostly for the Japanese market.
- take a trip on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to kyoto, and enjoy the scenery of that country.
[/b]
sadly as great as japan is, there are a lots of things that would have you scratch you head in wonders:
[b]- grown a.ss men reading mangas, like their lives depended on it.
- people sleeping in their seats in the subway, and waking up like an alarm clock at their stop.
- young girls selling their soiled panties to specific stores to make extra cash. the panties has to be worn for a specific amount of days, then the gal takes it off and it is placed in a sealed plastic bag to keep its "freshness", the name and sometimes photo of the gal is added to the package and then sold to Japanese men for se.xual kink.
- having vending machine in specific areas of the city selling these soiled underwear, and men standing in front of these machine checking which one to buy WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD.
- the insane practice of having to go to the karaoke with your colleague, as part of team building etc.
- hostess bars....where Japanese men PAY to sit and talk with women.
- grown a.ss men crying on public TV after making a mistake.
- subways and trains having female only compartment (during rush hours) because of the constant groping by Japanese men. since it is not in their culture to express themselves, most women are silent when it happens to them, thus making it a vicious trend.
- capsule hotel (although visiting one of them is recommended to understand these places). this is a cheap and great place for drunks who stayed too long in the city and missed their last train
- Japanese women never shaving down below simply because Japanese men love hairy women.
- the lack of green spaces like parks etc in Tokyo[/b]

as for those who doubted that Japanese have all the fun, then see the pic below for one of their craziest invention to date (that we men would certainly love, lol):

while in Japan, i had the pleasure to visit Seoul a few time (closest visa run country), and lets just say that: nothing to write home about......but then again, after living in Tokyo for some time, my expectations of Asian countries were very high.

anyway so then i moved to Poland, but not in Varsaw where my Polish GF thought it was too "crazy" but to a small city (best known for its universities) called Wroclaw. i would never forget the warmth of these people and how her friends and family welcomed me, i was there new pet. i think all their neighbors knew me as they went ahead and introduced me to EVERYBODY. i found myself eating some stuff that i would silently pray that i will survive the ordeal, but i had to just smile and eat it, lol! my gf quickly told everyone that i was her "husband" although we were NOT married (god forbid), but everyone surely had a field day watching play romeo and juliet in the city.

sadly, i quickly realized that men did NOT like that, and i found earlier enough that some became quite physical about it.....and sadly this is one of the negative side of traveling and dating local women: their local men would hate you (and her too) for it. i once got punched by a total stranger, just because i was walking with 2 Polish women on my arms, and when the cops came, i was the one they wanted to arrest because the guy got a beat down. even when the girls said that it was "self defense", the cops wouldnt listen and they were ready to arrest me. what saved my sorry black a.ss was the manager of the shop who came and told the cops that this guy is the one who just punched me for no damn reasons and show them the video surveillance tapes.
here is a fact: MANY EAST EUROPEAN WOMEN LOVE BLACK MEN, MOST EAST EUROPEANS MEN HATE US FOR THAT SIMPLE FACT.

i also lived in Prague for a few yrs...... and at the time, it was the fast rising BEST capital city in East Europe. very cheap, easy to settle in, great city to visit and discover, cheap low cost flights from anywhere in Europe, great history, fantastic scenery, great place to party, fantastic women. what more can anyone ask for?
many chose Prague for their bachelor parties and as the old saying goes: what happens in Prague, there are pics and vids (and also STDs) to remember you how great the place was, lol!
sadly, after joining the EU, prices started to rise and it is NOT as great as it used to be (money wise). one of the great thing about this city was that there was a constant demand for black faces in their filming industry (aka castings). many production companies used to chose the Czech Republic to shoot commercial/Hollywood movies etc (Prague has one of the best movie studio in Europe). so movies such as Bleep (with Vin Diesel), MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, THE BOURNE IDENTITY, HELLBOY, GI JOE RISE OF THE COBRA, CASINO ROYALE, ALIEN VS PREDATOR, RED TAILS, VAN HELSING, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN, just to name a few, were shot in the Czech republic. sadly, after they joined the EU, it became cheaper to shoot movies/commercial in places like Hungary/Croatia etc.

here is also another fact about this city, many British student are studying medicine in Prague, which seems to be the cheapest/best alternative to doing it in the UK. as for the people brave enough to try absynthe, remember: there is absynthe and ABSYNTHE, and over there they mostly sell the REAL DEAL (not the diluted version sold all over the world). too many found that out at the cost of their health, so BEWARE!
sadly, the Czech Republic is also known for its big s.ex industry. brothel, prostitution and po.rn shoots are very common, and many chose this destination for THAT purpose only. there used to be a brothel named K5, (maybe its still in business) where tourist simply had to sit at a table and type in a computer pad what kind of woman they wanted.......and then they will be "served" with the best possible match (or matches), lol!
there are LOADS of Nigerians and Ghanaians in the Czech Republic, they even have their own football team.

since Prague is in the middle of Europe, you are always a short driving distance from any surrounding country: Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Austria and good old Germany. so going away for a weekend is highly recommended. there has been a rise in Neo nazi attacks lately but i had never encounter any while living there. the only time i have been face to face with these mofos was in France (twice), and thanks to baba god, i came out in one piece....although, facing a gang of white guys armed to the teeth, hell bent on getting some "nigga/sand nigga", is not something to dream about while riding the metro (but that is for another topic)

after Prague there was Sydney............. let me pause for a minute so i can wipe my tears, just thinking about the place makes me shed a tear lol. at the time of moving to Australia, i thought i was searching for "paradise on earth", and i really believed that i had found it in Australia. Australia seemed to be the country with the MOST positive and the LESS negative i had found in any country (at the time). all countries have good and bad, but this country had the best balance.

what can i say about the place: genuinely warm people, open minded society, closeness to the sea and beach living, about an hour drive out of Sydney and you are "in the countryside", their lay back attitude to life, the remote location of the country. i think at the time i was so bias that i thought the only thing wrong about the place was the damn 26hr flight to get there.
until you have driven across the country and discovered the outback, there is no way you can truly make up your mind about how great the country is....and with the huge size of the place, a road trip all the way to Perth via all the main tourist attraction (and back) wouldnt/shouldnt last less than 20days. i mean the country is the size of western Europe, what do you expect?

getting a legal visa to LIVE in Australia is no small joke (and probably most people drawback) and there is a big incentive that pays people to rat illegal workers and their employers. so, my Nigerian brothas and sistas, watch out. there is a fair amount of Nigerians in Oz and it is very easy to meet them during the weekend at specific clubs and parties....and if you ever thought the Brits were heavy drinkers, think again as the OZs are right there at the top!

it took me a while to open my mind and see that there was a "bit" of racism there, but not towards me, but mostly towards Aborigines. people use to say to me:" we love black people but we hate Aborigines" and i was like WTF?! i never understood why there was so much hatred for them. they clearly aint no different than us. today, it has changed a bit, and there is a LOT of racism geared towards African, Arabs and Indians (many Sudanese have lately immigrated there after the "war" and they dont make it any easy on us all.

many think of Australia as deadly snakes, giant spiders, kangaroos etc but unless you go to the outback, the closest you will get to see such animals is the ZOO.
the only reason why i moved to Beijing was because i thought i would continue discover the world and then come back to settle in Australia, when i will be done, if i only knew lol.

stay tuned

MRbrownJAY: @Initiator
i have been writing my "autobiography" for the past 2+ yrs but it is still and always will be a "work in progress", lol! i only do it because of family and friends so that they will have an idea (or a bigger picture) of what i have been going through all these yrs....and also to not forget the marvelous and crazy things that happened to me along the way. sadly, it is also a Xrated version, where i leave very little to the imagination. my kids will have to be 25yrs old before they can read it (and my mother will never read it, and will keep on viewing me as her "baby", lol )

so where were we? yes Japan......

so, here are some few other things that amazed me over there:
[b]- when i first arrived over there, i put all my garbage in one plastic bag and placed it near the garbage place downstairs, and one of my neighbor brought it back to my door. i had no idea that garbage needed to be separate, in a military fashion! lol
- you could loose/forget your wallet, bag, valuables etc in the subway, and find it back INTACT the next day. a person would find it and bring it back to the lost and found dept of that station, 99% of the time. your good luck would run out if a FOREIGNER finds your stuff.
- their love for Karaoke although most cannot sing.
- their cyber cafes where you can spend hours comfortably. if you missed your last train, thats the best place to spend the night. many of the cyber cafes in Japan offer sofas for 2, TV, Playstation3 + games, free soft drinks, and very cheap meals and snacks. yes, i can also confirm that you can even make sweet love to your woman there too since they are in private booths, lol!
- SUSHI SUSHI SUSHI!!!
- Akihabara aka electronic town (in Tokyo), is just an amazing place to go shopping. you have to spend the whole day there as it is HUGE! sadly for all visitors, although most products are very cheap, they are mostly for the Japanese market.
- take a trip on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to kyoto, and enjoy the scenery of that country.
[/b]
sadly as great as japan is, there are a lots of things that would have you scratch you head in wonders:
[b]- grown a.ss men reading mangas, like their lives depended on it.
- people sleeping in their seats in the subway, and waking up like an alarm clock at their stop.
- young girls selling their soiled panties to specific stores to make extra cash. the panties has to be worn for a specific amount of days, then the gal takes it off and it is placed in a sealed plastic bag to keep its "freshness", the name and sometimes photo of the gal is added to the package and then sold to Japanese men for se.xual kink.
- having vending machine in specific areas of the city selling these soiled underwear, and men standing in front of these machine checking which one to buy WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD.
- the insane practice of having to go to the karaoke with your colleague, as part of team building etc.
- hostess bars....where Japanese men PAY to sit and talk with women.
- grown a.ss men crying on public TV after making a mistake.
- subways and trains having female only compartment (during rush hours) because of the constant groping by Japanese men. since it is not in their culture to express themselves, most women are silent when it happens to them, thus making it a vicious trend.
- capsule hotel (although visiting one of them is recommended to understand these places). this is a cheap and great place for drunks who stayed too long in the city and missed their last train
- Japanese women never shaving down below simply because Japanese men love hairy women.
- the lack of green spaces like parks etc in Tokyo[/b]

as for those who doubted that Japanese have all the fun, then see the pic below for one of their craziest invention to date (that we men would certainly love, lol):

Confirmed Talk!!!!

MRbrownJAY: while in Japan, i had the pleasure to visit Seoul a few time (closest visa run country), and lets just say that: nothing to write home about......but then again, after living in Tokyo for some time, my expectations of Asian countries were very high.

anyway so then i moved to Poland, but not in Varsaw where my Polish GF thought it was too "crazy" but to a small city (best known for its universities) called Wroclaw. i would never forget the warmth of these people and how her friends and family welcomed me, i was there new pet. i think all their neighbors knew me as they went ahead and introduced me to EVERYBODY. i found myself eating some stuff that i would silently pray that i will survive the ordeal, but i had to just smile and eat it, lol! my gf quickly told everyone that i was her "husband" although we were NOT married (god forbid), but everyone surely had a field day watching play romeo and juliet in the city.

sadly, i quickly realized that men did NOT like that, and i found earlier enough that some became quite physical about it.....and sadly this is one of the negative side of traveling and dating local women: their local men would hate you (and her too) for it. i once got punched by a total stranger, just because i was walking with 2 Polish women on my arms, and when the cops came, i was the one they wanted to arrest because the guy got a beat down. even when the girls said that it was "self defense", the cops wouldnt listen and they were ready to arrest me. what saved my sorry black a.ss was the manager of the shop who came and told the cops that this guy is the one who just punched me for no damn reasons and show them the video surveillance tapes.
here is a fact: MANY EAST EUROPEAN WOMEN LOVE BLACK MEN, MOST EAST EUROPEANS MEN HATE US FOR THAT SIMPLE FACT.

i also lived in Prague for a few yrs...... and at the time, it was the fast rising BEST capital city in East Europe. very cheap, easy to settle in, great city to visit and discover, cheap low cost flights from anywhere in Europe, great history, fantastic scenery, great place to party, fantastic women. what more can anyone ask for?
many chose Prague for their bachelor parties and as the old saying goes: what happens in Prague, there are pics and vids (and also STDs) to remember you how great the place was, lol!
sadly, after joining the EU, prices started to rise and it is NOT as great as it used to be (money wise). one of the great thing about this city was that there was a constant demand for black faces in their filming industry (aka castings). many production companies used to chose the Czech Republic to shoot commercial/Hollywood movies etc (Prague has one of the best movie studio in Europe). so movies such as Bleep (with Vin Diesel), MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, THE BOURNE IDENTITY, HELLBOY, GI JOE RISE OF THE COBRA, CASINO ROYALE, ALIEN VS PREDATOR, RED TAILS, VAN HELSING, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN, just to name a few, were shot in the Czech republic. sadly, after they joined the EU, it became cheaper to shoot movies/commercial in places like Hungary/Croatia etc.

here is also another fact about this city, many British student are studying medicine in Prague, which seems to be the cheapest/best alternative to doing it in the UK. as for the people brave enough to try absynthe, remember: there is absynthe and ABSYNTHE, and over there they mostly sell the REAL DEAL (not the diluted version sold all over the world). too many found that out at the cost of their health, so BEWARE!
sadly, the Czech Republic is also known for its big s.ex industry. brothel, prostitution and po.rn shoots are very common, and many chose this destination for THAT purpose only. there used to be a brothel named K5, (maybe its still in business) where tourist simply had to sit at a table and type in a computer pad what kind of woman they wanted.......and then they will be "served" with the best possible match (or matches), lol!
there are LOADS of Nigerians and Ghanaians in the Czech Republic, they even have their own football team.

since Prague is in the middle of Europe, you are always a short driving distance from any surrounding country: Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Austria and good old Germany. so going away for a weekend is highly recommended. there has been a rise in Neo nazi attacks lately but i had never encounter any while living there. the only time i have been face to face with these mofos was in France (twice), and thanks to baba god, i came out in one piece....although, facing a gang of white guys armed to the teeth, hell bent on getting some "nigga/sand nigga", is not something to dream about while riding the metro (but that is for another topic)

after Prague there was Sydney............. let me pause for a minute so i can wipe my tears, just thinking about the place makes me shed a tear lol. at the time of moving to Australia, i thought i was searching for "paradise on earth", and i really believed that i had found it in Australia. Australia seemed to be the country with the MOST positive and the LESS negative i had found in any country (at the time). all countries have good and bad, but this country had the best balance.

what can i say about the place: genuinely warm people, open minded society, closeness to the sea and beach living, about an hour drive out of Sydney and you are "in the countryside", their lay back attitude to life, the remote location of the country. i think at the time i was so bias that i thought the only thing wrong about the place was the damn 26hr flight to get there.
until you have driven across the country and discovered the outback, there is no way you can truly make up your mind about how great the country is....and with the huge size of the place, a road trip all the way to Perth via all the main tourist attraction (and back) wouldnt/shouldnt last less than 20days. i mean the country is the size of western Europe, what do you expect?

getting a legal visa to LIVE in Australia is no small joke (and probably most people drawback) and there is a big incentive that pays people to rat illegal workers and their employers. so, my Nigerian brothas and sistas, watch out. there is a fair amount of Nigerians in Oz and it is very easy to meet them during the weekend at specific clubs and parties....and if you ever thought the Brits were heavy drinkers, think again as the OZs are right there at the top!

it took me a while to open my mind and see that there was a "bit" of racism there, but not towards me, but mostly towards Aborigines. people use to say to me:" we love black people but we hate Aborigines" and i was like WTF?! i never understood why there was so much hatred for them. they clearly aint no different than us. today, it has changed a bit, and there is a LOT of racism geared towards African, Arabs and Indians (many Sudanese have lately immigrated there after the "war" and they dont make it any easy on us all.

many think of Australia as deadly snakes, giant spiders, kangaroos etc but unless you go to the outback, the closest you will get to see such animals is the ZOO.
the only reason why i moved to Beijing was because i thought i would continue discover the world and then come back to settle in Australia, when i will be done, if i only knew lol.

stay tuned

How old are u? 75? ' cos with all this experiences u should not be less than that

MrBrownJay's posts on Japan sound so familiar. Haven't been there but I have Japanese friends. I'm enjoying reading your experiences.

omega25red:
The year after that i went to Bahamas and stayed at an amazing hotel RIU hotel. The water was so pretty you actually could see fish swimming around you and if you had bread, they became your friend we stayed for a week

Sing with me. . .

I want. . . . I want to go to Riu. . .
I really want. . . I want to go Riu. . . . everybody!

I love Riu mehn.

initiator:

My next stop is actually Tanzania and Kenya - want to do Mount kilimanjaro and mount kenya. That is
some adrenalin to take me for years.
have

Karibu.Make sure you are in good shape. Tourists are always advised to practice for a while before they go mountain climbing.
Its not a joke those 2 mountains lol.
I only went halfway.

ogbeche77:
How old are u? 75? ' cos with all this experiences u should not be less than that

lmao! some people r just adventurers.

Will be back to share my travel experience in and around Agege.....................

Pelumiv: Will be back to share my travel experience in and around Agege.....................

I take Sango beg u.. Abeg keep dat experience 2 urself..

ogbeche77:
How old are u? 75? ' cos with all this experiences u should not be less than that

kai, and yet i am not finished with the traveling tales.......... and you already labeled me a pensioner?!

so let's see CHINA. i first moved to Beijing for a year and let me just say that it was a bit different than i expected. Beijing is the Capital, the ancient city, the place that makes all Chinese proud and i can surely understand why. the traditional side of China is very apparent there, but it has also a modern side, dont worry oh. one of the biggest attraction in Beijing is the FORBIDDEN CITY, it is right in the center of the city and is an amazing place to visit. you will clearly feel amazed by ancient Chinese dinasty etc. you probably seen the red building where there is the huge picture of Mao on it, thats the entrance to Forbidden city, right opposite of Tiananmen square.the funny part is that 90% of the people coming to visit these places (on any given day) are Chinese.

i loved the food, you would go to a restaurant and have the table set like in the old Kung fu movies. like bowls of different items (vegetables, meat, rice etc) placed on a round moving table top....and everyone tucking in. most people think that Chinese eat dog and cat (they do) but such food is mostly found in Korean restaurant in China..... true story though: i once let my window open and my cat wondered around (i lived on the 15th floor) and then it disappeared. a few days later i went to throw my dustbin and found the remains of his bloody fur in a plastic bag. some of my neighbor had caught and ate my damn cat!

i also love the way everyone is looking at you in amazement, whether you're black or white. until a few yrs ago, we were all considered "demons of the west" by the chinese gov and it was very difficult to visit China, but now it is totally different and most people can get a chinese tourist visa. so, many people still have a hard time having us living around them. Beijing is full of migrant people who came from remote areas, so many have NEVER seen a foreigner, not even in their dreams. it is therefore not unusual to see a person stopping just to stare at you and you shouldnt take offense to that. lol

sadly, Nigerians are not well viewed in Beijing because most of the drug dealers that are/were peddling drug in Sanlitun (the bar/club district) were Nigerians. their technique was to hassle anyone and everyone on the streets, so it is NOT uncommon to have people tell you openly that they are afraid of Nigerians because they are all criminals. what do you expect when most drug dealers they arrested and show on TV are Nigerians?

also, you gotta love SHOPPING IN CHINA!!!! there is nothing you CANNOT find in China, they have it all, and contrary to what most believe, only a tip of the iceberg is CHEAP counterfeit stuff. yes, you have shopping centers that only caters for that stuff, if thats what you are looking for, but there are also the good stuff, aka the NIKE shoes that were made to NIKE standards but fell of the truck on their way to the US.

think about it, Nike pays about $10-20 or less for every shoes that is made in China, so when that same Chinese manufacturer take these same pair of shoes and sells them for $30 on the streets of China "illegally", many will think it is some cheap counterfeit stuff .....while in fact it is the exact same shoes that are found in Nike stores all around the world, just cheaper........ but then again, you can also find the cheapest BS version for $15.

one thing that can be tiring in China is haggling. you MUST haggle with any salesperson, even if it is in a big shopping center. they see you as a foreigner and will automatically double/triple the price, and you have to haggle the price back down to the original price. it sometimes can take a while but you gotta do that or pay the "laowai" price (foreigner price).

thanks to their booming economy and newly found riches, you can see everywhere the nouveau rich driving fancy cars and dressing for the part, but at the same time you can see through the charade that these people have no idea what class is......its just a facade.

one of the problem with Chinese is that they have NO savoir faire or savoir vivre, it is not uncommon for them to jump queues without a care for other people, OR spit on the floor, wherever they are........lift, taxis, offices, etc. taking a local plane will have you cry your eyes out as many people use the vomiting bag to spit in it. i was once told by a Chinese person that this is due to the fact that it is said in China that if you have spit in your mouth, you MUST NOT swallow it, if you do it will turn into a worm inside your stomach, lol! so this is why they all spit in public. the Chinese gov knows that this is not nice as they made it illegal to spit in public during the Olympic games (ONLY during the Olympic games though, so that foreigner wont have such a negative view of China lol)

as you can all understand, Chinese are all about face, they want to look the part, their "image" is all that matters to them and they cannot be viewed as anything but GREAT. that communism shiit has many people messed up because the youths of today dont want to conform to this old fashioned way of life. they want to voice their minds, dress with mini skirts and low tops, party like there is no tomorrow, take drugs, have s.ex as much as they want and with whoever they want, they want to travel and see the world etc. this is the new generation but their parent (who have been brainwashed with Mao's teachings) are definitely against such lifestyle.

so you best believe that most parents will be against a Chinese dating a foreigner. the parents of my ex gf once said to her:" how can you humiliate us like that? why do you want to punish us like that?" after she told them that her BF was black, lol! but then again, many Chinese women dont have a problem dating a foreigner, and the ones who do, simply do so in private. the problem in China is that they "supposedly" have much more women than men, therefore there are many single desperate women over there. if you ever thought Nigerian women were desperate to get married, then go to China to really understand what desperate to marry means. they are desperate to BE IN A R/SHIP, period!

oh and i forgot, many Chinese women simply want to leave the country, so, many are throwing themselves at Foreigners, simply in the hope that the guy will marry them and take them away from China. it is NOT easy for a Chinese person to travel out of the country, on their own. i have seen some "King Kong looking" white guys with some of the finest looking Chinese babes out there, but we all know the deal, lol!

most karaoke joints in China double as LovePeddler houses, and if you are doing business with someone, taking that person to a karaoke joint is considered normal. due to Chinese culture, "bribing" someone is also very normal. it is seen as a sign of respect to hand someone a gift, whether he is your bank manager or the minister of finance. my ex's father was the top man of one of China biggest bank, and i was once shown a room in their house where they stored all the gifts that he received. from TVs, watches, DVD players, cases of wines, electronics of all kinds, statues etc all still in the box, filled that room. the gift of choice though was CIGARETTES. a 3rd of that room must have been cartons of cigarettes. accepting the thank you gift is not illegal, it is when that person does what they are not suppose to do that it becomes illegal and a possible death sentence.

here is also something that most probably dont know, Skiing in china is the BOMB!!!! they have many skiing stations in China, cheap as hell and it is expanding like crazy. one of the great factors there is that there is not so many people on the slopes, so you dont have to wait at the lifts. as soon as you get down, you are straight on the lift on your way up again (if you go to any top ski resort in the world, you will know that this is almost impossible). Harbin city has the biggest and best ski resort in China (called yabuli) but you better come prepared as you will freeze your [b]a[/b]ss off, as the normal temperature in the winter over there is about -10 to -30 (hey, its just on the other side of the border from Siberia). but snowboarding there is second to none!!!!

as for Beijing Nightlife, it is DEEP, DOWN and DIRTY!!!!! Chinese like to party and they dont miss an opportunity to do so. forget what you heard, on any given weekend, the city is filled with people dancing the night away.....from hip hop to reggae, to house to salsa, they got it all. this is a city of almost 20million people, so you know that there will be some partying happening wherever you are.

sadly China is a VERY polluted country, in the summer, you can barely see the sun as there is always a type of fog in the air, and the Chinese gov dont really care about it. i traveled on 3 different occasion to a city called Lanzhou, considered one of the most polluted city in the world, and let me just say that it is a sore to the eye. many people walk around with face masks, but because there are many huge factories there, many people from the countryside flock there for work. you get some funny ailment after staying in such place, and you can really feel that your body isnt functioning at its peak.

but there are also great cities in China to discover: Xian (the city with the terra cotta warrior). Urumqi the Muslim capital with the best meat to eat in the whole country. the great wall of China outside Beijing HAS to be seen, (although after climbing all the way up the wall, there isnt really much to see). Dalian, one of the preferred destination for Russian tourist in China. Guangzhou where most Nigerian doing business in china lives, and the center for all the manufacturing and shopping for export. Hainan this island paradise is the number ONE destination for Chinese on vacation. Hong Kong, which to me is too small, too crowded, too expensive and overrated. Tibet, one of the untouched places in china....simply breathtaking.....but if you think you can just walk there then think again, you have to have a special permit before you can go anywhere near Tibet (you can get such permit from special travel agent dealing with tours but going off the beaten track without a guide is IMPOSSIBLE) i was lucky to go there for a commercial shoot, and let me just say that it was true story: me and a mate was offered two women to "sample" after spending a few hours at a bar. one was the bar owner's wife and her friend or something. i only refused because the guy i was with chose the better woman and the wifey was below average (but that will also be for another topic)........ and last but not least the great city of SHANGHAI!!!!!!

after a yr living in Beijing, i decided to move to Shanghai, and let me just say that the city is completely different than Beijing. first, there they speak Shanghainese (a somewhat different version of the Mandarin spoken in Beijing, also known as putonghua) and although it is almost the same language, i had to learn to "speak" Shanghainese, while i was thinking i was the shiit in mandarin, lol. now for any person trying to learn Chinese let me give you a clue: mandarin has 4tones, meaning that a letter can have 4 different sound, so MA, could mean four different thing, depending on the accent over the A (and believe me, it aint easy to differentiate each tones). while Cantonese language has NINE different tones, so anyone out there who speaks fluent Cantonese has my upmost respect!

as you arrive at Shanghai airport, the best option to go to the city center is to take the MAGLEV fast train (magnetic levitation). there is only 2 active of its kind in the word, "supposedly". modern and fast, you really get the idea of this Chinese mega city.
Shanghai was built by the French and British so you can clearly see that from the city who is much more to "European standards", more people speak English there, people are more used to see Foreigners,i also think that there are much more foreigners living in Shanghai than in Beijing, but that is just My own opinion. in shanghai, Nigerians are not looked down upon like in Beijing, dont ask me why. being the biggest city in China, you can easily loose yourself in that city.

as for the myth that Asian women have tight totos, it is TRUE. they are generally tight down below, even after having a few kids (yes i have checked some Asian mother for clarification). black men are generally feared for the coochie damage that these lady will endure, and they also love to keep their hair down below. btw, another true story: my first girl in Asia (Tokyo)chatted her up, we went home, kissing, handling, bla bla bla and then when we were ready for the showdown, she then took off her skirt and i look down and she was so hairy that her panties had a bulge in them that made her look like she had a small dikc....... hairy like an animal!!!!! and these women expect us to dive in there and munch?! haba!!!!

i dont know if it is still happening, but i remember that there was a law in China that made it impossible for anyone to send money abroad via western union, unless you already had USD in hand. the catch was that you couldnt go to a bureau de change and buy USD with local currency, unless you had a receipt that proved that you came in China with foreign currency and changed it into Yuan in a bureau de change THERE. yeah, they certainly dont want anyone to run away with their currency. lol. the biggest note there is 100rmb, about 12euros, so if you think of leaving the country with a few thousand Yuans, you better think again. lol!

the best looking women in China are in Shanghai, the biggest international sport event in China is the F1 Shanghai grand prix, the best nightlife in China is in Shanghai (the bund), one of the safest city in China is Shanghai, so if your are an expat moving to China, you better ask your employer to move go to shanghai!

so in all, if you want to feel the ancient Chinese culture then stay in Beijing, but if you want to discover the modern China then go to Shanghai.

ok stay tuned for South America

^^^^^^ Mr brownjay

you have written well... can you tell me what year you were in Japan..

Re-reading your write up about Japan pointed out some stuff that do not

exist, well at least in my present age. Been here 9years btw

stayed about 2 yrs up till 2004, what is the points that you believe do not exist....let me guess: used panties vending machine?! lol

If u,ve been to the modern city of Agege which is not far from the capital of Lagos............

MRbrownJAY: stayed about 2 yrs up till 2004, what is the points that you believe do not exist....let me guess: used panties vending machine?! lol

You got that right!!!

dont lie. you havent see that vending machine before.

its a myth. btw they are places called soaplands where

you go jerk off in front of a girl or do the real thing.

Great thread; wish he could travel but the financial implications.

moonraker:

You got that right!!!

dont lie. you havent see that vending machine before.

its a myth. btw they are places called soaplands where

you go jerk off in front of a girl or do the real thing.

bro, here is the story. it was about my 2nd or 3rd trip to Japan, my gf/guide had taken me to Kabukicho as i told her i wanted to go to the "wild" side of Tokyo. we walked around and as we were walking down a street, she pointed to a store and told me that this was a place where the sold/bought used panties. then she asked me if i wanted to go in, i declined because i thought that it would be shameful for me to walk into such perverted place (even as a tourist). there was a vending machine right next to the store outside, similar to the popular coffee vending machine, and she said that when the store is closed, men can still buy these panties from that machine. she then AGAIN asked me to go closer, but as someone with a conscience, i didnt have the balls to go closer to something that sick......and possibly have people believe that i was a used panties buyer, lol! supposedly, there was also a few around Akihabara.

as for soapland, sadly i never been to one. i had heard about them back then but the word out was that foreigner were NOT allowed in them..... but they seem to have blossomed in the last few years.

otokx: Great thread; wish he could travel but the financial implications.

Bros, Calabar, Tinapa is just some hours from you in PH, thats travelling, you'd be surprise you will have a lot to talk about with trips
like that!

semid4lyfe: @ MBJ, Biko, do quick release that your autobiography

@ topic, too much ''ajebo'' levels for here. . .Maybe I should post my experience traveling on a thug boat pulling logs of timber felled in tropical-riverine rain forests of Ondo state to Ebute-Metta, Lagos and many other rugged trips just to give this thread some flavour

Oya Mr Semid we are waiting