TravelswithCharie

Jazmin Gaite and Al Manahan in Viña de Mar, Chile Where and when was your first trip outside of your home country? My first trip was  with my  ex-husband   to the US in 1985 to plan our relocation from the Phili ppines to the United States. It  was a trip around the US to scout for a place to relocate. Our trip took us to California, Illinois, New York, Washington DC, Missouri, and Florida. By this time, all our 3 children have been born, but they were 3, 5 and 7 years old. We decided to settle in California and in the City of Los Angeles as it is a bigger city with lots of business opportunities. After settling in California, I spent most of my time raising my  3 kids and taking care of my  retirement home business  s o there was no time nor money to spend on leisure or  travel. I made sure all the 3 kids were finished with college before starting to travel. My first trip for pleasure was with my mother after my father died. As soon as we buried...

Bengt Enbuske in the northwestern mountains of Sweden Where and when was your first trip outside of your home country?   My first trip was to Norway in 1965 with my parents. My first solo trip was in 1972 to Gran Canarias. My first far away trip was in 1974 to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Actually, Finland was the first country I visited but it’s almost my home country. I live close to the Finnish border.  I have always been curious about the world and always had dreams to visit different places. And some places are “you must see it”. What is it about traveling that appeals to you the most? Experiencing the world, new countries, cultures, nature, peoples, amazing places and finding friendly people who are almost everywhere. Often in underdeveloped countries you find poorer people who are the most hospitable.   How many UN recognized sovereign countries have you visited? How many continents have you been to? I’ve been to all 193 UN countries (as of 2018) and 40 other countries ...

Hazel Borres Apuhin skydiving in Dubai What inspired you to travel? I am often told that I got this itch for travel from my grandfather. I haven’t met him but he was once known as “the man with a sea fever” and was featured in a local newspaper in 1970’s when he and my two uncles tried to sail to America in a wooden outrigger. They were unsuccessful and found themselves on Taiwan shores, pretended they were fishermen that were carried out there by a storm. I was always inspired by my grandfather's stories growing up and I know he lived a great life and I thought to myself that I wanted my life to be well lived and different from others too. While in my teens, my mom used to tell us her experiences in the various countries she lived in and how different their culture, their food and people’s mindset in these countries were. This also fueled my curiosity and thought to myself that I will be traveling and seeing the world someday. What is it about traveling that appeals to you the mos...