TOP 10 OR MOST POPULAR PLACES TO VISIT . AVOID THEM

WHENEVER I SEE A HEADLINES IN A BLOG OR TRAVEL MAGAZINE 

Top 10 Travel Destinations In The World For 2019, According To TripAdvisor

I quickly make a mental note to avoid these places. Some are perennially on the list 

London

Paris

Rome

Barcelona

Tokyo

Marrakech 

Prague

Istanbul

New York City

Lisbon

Hong Kong

Cusco for Machu Picchu

Sydney

Then comes the fluctuating members of the list 

Tel Aviv has not only earned the dubious honour of one of the most expensive cities in the world, now it is also in this list of places to visit, could that be a coincidence?

Dubai is for mindless tourists, I don't even wish to discuss it!

I am sorry to see the backpackers have made 

Siem Reap

Hanoi enter the list 

same can be said of Playa del Carmen in Mexico

Jamaica would appeal to them as well, but most of Jamaican beach accommodations are  enclosed beaches with free food and drink, and don't go out of the resort

same people might also visit CRETE or BALI

both much safer

Phuket?

Kathmandu Jaipur attract the yogi style travellers with their mats and loose trousers 

Hurghada has become popular as a beach resort in recent years

so avoid these places in the year to come but the very popular destinations like 

London Paris Rome Lisbon Barcelona , if you have not been and if you are in Europe you have to visit these places 

If you don't wish to be in a place crawling with tourists, choose smaller towns or beaches which are not easy to get to. 

In this list of 25 places, I have visited all but six . Crete Hughada Prague Istanbul Kathmandu Jaipur

But have found ways to avoid tourists in 

Siem Reap Cambodia . (twice this year)

Marrakech 

Paris

London

Lisboa

People travel for various reasons so to each his own and i will never forget how lucky we are, who are travellers, to be able to enjoy what this world has to offer to us.

Iran is the country I want to visit but it is not advisable (as a Jew and a Pro-Israeli) at this moment 

If I had the company of local language speaker 

I would love to visit Ukraine

Kazhakstan Tajikstan Uzbekistan 

But I know in my heart that the newest country I may visit would be Georgia (even though I have passed through Tbilisi airport on my way to Tel Aviv)

My world at the moment consists of 

Easter Island

Argentina

Brasil

Colombia 

Cuba

Mexico

USA

France

Belgium

UK (mainly London)

Portugal

Israel

Qatar

India (only Cochin)

Malaysia 

Cambodia (Siem Reap)

Myanmar

so, I am sure we will run into each other, somewhere along the way...

A WEEKEND IN MIAMI TO REST AFTER A ROUND THE WORLD TRIP

 I had left my dual homes of Miami and Havana at the end of January for a trip that took me to a lot of places
Brussels
London
Easter Island
Bogota 
(brief return to Havana and Miami)
Mexico City
Montevideo
Buenos Aires
Sao Paolo
Quiberon
Doha
Fort Cochin
Kuala Lumpur
Siem Reap
Yangon 

It is nice to be in Miami, to find your balance before shooting off to the Fiesta Interminable of Havana, that moveable feast of Havana.
while here a visit to Amy at Star Nails to attend to the dirt accumulated by walks on the sidewalks of the continents.
My Sudanese Jewish friend has a salon and I stop by there to get a haircut

Nice to drop by the Israeli christian restaurant run by people from Nazaret and a little taste of the Israeli food which i had missed in my travels

Every time I am in Miami, I look forward to long sessions of talking and discussing and eating with my friends/family Dr M and G. Sheer pleasure.
This weekend was exceptional in that the weather was just gorgeous and a trip around the bay was exquisite.
Of course, we were sipping on a Sauvignon Blanc by Kim Crawford, a favourite.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy good friendships.

as the sun was setting we drove to Miami Beach and to the Italian Restaurant George's where a nice meal was waiting for us 
We had taken a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and that drop was finished quickly accompanying the seafood. 

It is the custom in Argentina to eat Gnocchi towards the end of the month, as the money would be running out for the working class.
We requested a pesto sauce which was not the best i have had.

Beware of the Green Monsters..
We had been chatting the three of us, drinking, eating, since 2 pm, on land and on water and when we got home we chatted till 1 am... which is just about the usual time for friends to talk after a two month long separation ..
Usually we have bagels and smoked salmon for breakfast but on a Sunday morning, in a predominantly jewish area, the crowds are large waiting in line to get into Bagel places.
So chose a Gourmet Diner with its creole chef who imitates french food ..haitian style

a lovely weekend
and the sun is setting.
As I was finishing this blog I received a message from my good aussie friends, who were waking up to the fjords of Queenstown in the South Island.
It would be nice to get together with them...

One of the unexpected pleasures in life are when dear friends walk into your path in unusual places.
As we were leaving the restaurant last night, i heard someone calling my name, and I had no difficulty recognizing my friend from Cuba, a poet by the name of Nuvia. We quickly tried to catch up the years that have gone by, good and bad news..Miami would have been the last place I would have expected to run into her.. but this is a Cuban town.

A lovely weekend in Miami
Last weekend was in Yangon
The next weekend would be in Havana..

Hasta la Victoria Siempre..

Sule Shangri-la Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar

So much has happened in the five years since my last visit to Yangon in Myanmar!
The surprise of this visit was my stay at Sule Shangril-la right in the heart of Yangon.
It is the best place to stay in Yangon if you are there for business or pleasure.

As the name implies, the hotel is a stone's throw away from the Sule Pagoda.
Yangon has the best preserved British colonial architecture (as does Hanoi of the French colonial) and within walking distance of the hotel you can admire a slew of the buildings in the British Colonial style.
On arrival at the hotel, I was warmly greeted by the front desk staff, later, I had a chance to chat with them, Ko Saw and May.

All the staff were young and enthusiastic, I told them they have to be proud of working at a Shangri-la hotel, my own experiences limited to Doha and KL.

 I was at the fifteenth floor and was very satisfied with the amenities. I slept well each night,waking up eagerly to go down to the Breakfast buffet.

Enjoying looking at the early morning mist .

and the newly found neon brightening the street below me in the early night.
At the restaurant I met Chef Ganesan, who is from Cennai (the old Madras) who has been here for 15 years. Tamil people from India are one of my favourite people, with their child like smiles and innocence and of course the deep history and great cultural contributions to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, KL, Singapore as well as Indonesia and Cambodia of the past
( I had written of this connection in another blog
https://medicoanthropologist.blogspot.com/2013/06/india-and-south-east-asia-pallava.html)

Genuine Tamil fare cooked up by Chef Ganesan. Like Kabuliwala of Rabindranath Tagore's story, he has left his family behind in Cennai (actually a village outside Cennai) but visits them once a year.

Zun Zun always had a pleasing smile and when I told her I liked Mohinga (the national Burmese breakfast noodle dish, much like Pho in Vietnam), she offered fix one for me which I appreciated.

I am a great fan of Concierges, and always look forward to a chat with Mr Safa at Double Tree at Kuala Lumpur. Imagine my surprise on meeting Moo Thow, the chief concierge, I noticed the prestigious clefs d'or on his lapel.

He told me of the history of clefs d'or in Myanmar and soon hope to be integrated into the world body as a full member. Currently they are independent but invited to attend the meeting at the SE Asia level.
I was happy to know that yet another concierge at the hotel 
Ko Ko has also clefs d'or!

The delightful person i had a chance to chat on the last day of my stay was Ya Min Htike, the Front Office Manager. Friendly and charming, she took me to the Executive Club Floor and offered me a cup of Burmese tea while i enjoyed the scenery from those heights.

All in all, a very pleasant stay in a city that has changed and is evolving. A lovely place to visit and while you are in Yangon, you must stay at Shangri-la

I will be, when I return at the end of May 2019.