Month: April 2017

I used to hate skiing – but then I went to Livigno, Italy

~ thegiramondo ~ 6 Comments

You know how sometimes, you try a certain thing once and immediately know “This shit isn’t for me”? Might be any activity or experience you could think of, like cage diving with a shark or eating fried maggots from a street food market – whatever. You could simply decide that you never want to go back doing that same thing, even if the shark DIDN’T eat half your leg or the insect snack DIDN’T give you three days of diarrhea. You could have simply hated it for itself. For me, this activity has always been skiing. Tried it once, no thanks, I’m good for the rest of my life. At least that’s what I thought until a few weeks ago. I guess it’s time to give these maggots skis a second chance!

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Buddhas, bikes, balloons and bargains: Bagan for beginners

~ thegiramondo ~ 32 Comments

The ancient city of Bagan, Myanmar, is a big player on travelers’ bucket lists – a really big one. It’s wide-stretched plains sprinkled with pagodas, temples and monasteries are definitely not something you would want to miss. I personally had been more excited to go to Bagan than to any other place in Myanmar – and have not been disappointed. But as always with places as fabulously famous as this one, shenanigans and pitfalls are a thing. Buckle up for a ride of disorientation, lack of energy, wanting to face palm other tourists and some useful information also.

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How not to miss sunrise in Bagan for scaredy-cats

~ thegiramondo ~ 2 Comments

The red dust swirls up around our ankles as we step on the deserted street. It’s still dark and we’re yawning like you only can when it’s 4 am and you’re not still up, but already.

As we walk towards the rental place, I feel my heart beating uneasily in my chest.

A little girl greets us with a smirk as we approach. My stomach rumbles audibly as she asks “You want two?”, pointing at the motorcycles.

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