Geisha Makeover in Tokyo – Nomadic Boys

Geisha Makeover “As Sayuri was standing beneath the Cherry tree, speaking to the one man she loved but could not have, a sprinkle of delicate pale pink petals fell upon them like snow…” At this point, Sebastien GRABBED the remote control, interrupting the most beautiful moment of Memoirs of a Geisha to declare: “STEFAN! One day, we too, will become geisha!” Fast forward a few years and we find ourselves in the unassuming Studio Geisha Cafe in Morishita, suburbia Tokyo, ready for our own Geisha makeover and experience of a lifetime. “50% of our customers are in fact Japanese (mainly heterosexual) men who simply want to transform into something completely different”. Michiru, a former model/actress, set up the Studio Geisha Cafe with her husband to provide people the chance to live out their dream. She’s used to Japanese men who want to be transformed and we were fortunate to be her first foreign male geisha makeover.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

]]>

Cairo Graffiti – Windows to a Troubled Egypt

Grafitti-in-Cairo-9 On January 2011, Egyptians from all walk of life gathered at Tahrir Square in Cairo to protest the country’s declining state. Poverty, government corruption and unemployment were (and still is) rampant. These drove citizens to protest against the rule of Hosni Mubarak who governed the country for three decades. Going around Tahrir Square nowadays, one will find graffiti splattered on abandoned, dilapidated buildings. And few are on fences and doors. Most of the graffiti themes are still deeply rooted on the reasons why Egypt Revolution happened five years ago: hunger, injustices, unemployment and political bureaucracy.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

Egypt Gay Travel Resources

]]>

Trinity House Inn – Gay 100 Islands Bed & Breakfast

Trinity House Inn Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay: It is with great pride and enthusiasm that we welcome you to the Trinity House Inn. Our completely restored Inn offers individually appointed guest accommodations, fine dining, sofa lounge, open air rocking chair porch and sun verandah and award winning Victorian Waterfall gardens. Trinity House Inn is for those who appreciate old-world charm and hospitality, together with the genuine beauty of surroundings and the quality of comfort it brings. From the beautiful profusion of summertime flowers gracing the front steps to the distinctive lines of the bronze blue herons poised just inside the vestibule entrance to the exquisitely restored 1859 dwelling, the intrinsic beauty and old-world charm of Gananoque’s Trinity House Inn is readily apparent for all to see. Today’s look encompasses one of exceptional attention to detail, from the proliferation of wonderful antiques throughout to the silky elegance of the rose on the pillow. Enjoy a leisurely stroll through our Victorian perennial gardens with ponds, statues and a small waterfall where the chefs harvest herbs and flowers for your dinner. The Innkeeper gave the suites names like ‘Camelot’, ‘Beau Rivage’, ‘Prince Regent’ and ‘Aubrey’ to commemorate favourites among the Thousand Islands. Each of the eight guest rooms are individually appointed and offer modern amenities for the sophisticated traveller.

See the Trinity House Inn Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals in Ontario

]]>

Nomadic Boys: Cruise and Exclusive Interview

Nomadic Boys PASSION-16-600x400One of the places we’ve always wanted to visit are the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, one of the most pristine and diverse ecosystems on the planet. This is bound to be a very exciting adventure and we would love to share it with you… We’ve teamed up with LGBT specialists Ishpingo Tours to offer an exclusive gay cruise to these enchanted islands between 13-22 October 2016. Spaces are limited aboard the luxurious M/Y Passion yacht, so make sure you book your tour with us ASAP and do not forget to use the promo code NOMADIC5 to receive a 5% discount. Sign up here – five spots left: http://ishpingotours.com/tours/nomadic-boys-luxury-galapagos-cruise/ Now, on to the interview! Nomadic Boys Hello PR boys. We are gay couple, Stefan and Sebastien. We quit our jobs and London life in early 2014 to eat our way through Asia and have since made travelling a long-term lifestyle. Stefan, 33 is a former lawyer, of Greek Cypriot origin, born and raised in London. Sebastien, 34, is an IT geek, originally from France but moved to London to work in the finance industry. London is where we met. Nomadic Boys Purple Roofs: How did you guys first meet? Nomadic Boys: We first set eyes on each other on Tuesday 24th February 2009 at the GAY bar in Soho, London. Sebastien was meeting friends to talk about moving to Spain to start a new life and Stefan was meeting a work colleague about a possible career move. We were too shy to speak to one another and it was Stefan’s friend who helped break the ice. The rest is history. We have been together for over 6 years. After 2 years, we bought our flat together, renovated it and enjoyed a happy life in London. We figured if we can survive that, then surely we can survive travelling together long term. Nomadic Boys PR: What gave you the idea to start Nomadic Boys? NB: Sebastien was on the verge of leaving London and Stefan had hit a lull in his legal career and was looking for something new. We talked about moving to new places long term and earning money along the way to fund this and to make long-term travelling a new lifestyle/career. In around 2012, we agreed to go for it and start in Asia. So, we started planning and saving up and set 2014 as the year we would be financially ready to leave London. We set up the blog before we left London in June 2014. It was a mutual decision and has become our baby. The blog has been an excellent way to keep a record of our travels. It’s great because it forces us to be more involved with our travels, such as what we are eating, when and why was a particular building built and making a strong effort to meet locals. The main 2 things we both love are picking up recipes from each country we visit (http://nomadicboys.com/category/world-recipes) and trying to meet local gays and gain their point of view of the gay scene: http://nomadicboys.com/category/gay-stories Nomadic Boys PR:  When did you know it was going to work? NB: Since we set up the blog, it has grown exponentially in terms of traffic and followers, particularly amongst the LGBT community. We have recently started to be contacted by hotels, tour companies and other tourist related businesses offering sponsorship and advertising. Nomadic Boys PR:  Has the concept changed over time, or is this pretty much what you planned all along? NB: It started as a way of recording our travels as our big trip in Asia was something we’d never done before and we therefore wanted a place online to record our discoveries, show off our photos etc As the blog has grown, we’ve become more organised with the type of articles we do and when. Comparing our latest blog post to our first one makes us cringe, but a great benchmark to see how far we’ve evolved. Nomadic Boys PR:  What was the most amazing thing that has happened to you guys so far? NB: We have loved Mongolia, Nepal and Cambodia the most. But overall, we’d both agree on the Philippines because about a year into our travels, this was also the same time the blog really started to take off. In London, we have many Filipino friends and heard a great about the country from them. We therefore arrived in the Philippines with extremely high expectations. These were not only exceeded but also left us with a craving to return. We have fallen in love with it, particularly the Filipinos who we have a massive soft spot for: their faces just exude this a genuine friendliness and warmth. Nomadic Boys PR:  The scariest? NB: The scariest will always be the Trans Siberian. Stefan is more up for roughing it and has travelled alone extensively before, particularly in Latin America. For Sebastien however, this was his first big trip outside of Europe and from home comforts. Stefan’s goal was to “break” Sebastien into the world of backpacking by throwing him on the deep end and start with the famous week long train journey. That’s 1 week of no washing and roughing it on a train. It’s awesome, but those tantrums from the Frenchman throughout the experience were the scariest thing we’ve encountered so far on our travels Nomadic Boys PR:  The most surprising? NB: We were invited to speak on the morning show of a government owned radio station in Malaysia. Malaysia is not the most gay friendly country when it comes to its laws – it’s illegal! But as long as you don’t say the word gay out loud, you see a whole different experience then what you would imagine is the reality. The radio DJ was as camp as Christmas, extremely hilarious with some delicious tongue in cheek lines, but as long as we avoided THAT word [gay] it was absolutely fine! http://nomadicboys.com/that-time-we-were-interviewed-on-malaysian-national-radio-traxx-fm/ Nomadic Boys PR:  What are the biggest challenges to being a travel writer/blogger? The biggest rewards? NB: At the end of the day, it is a small business you are trying to build and like any new business, it needs a lot of time investment to get anywhere, particularly in the first year. We spend more hours behind the computer then we ever did before in our former jobs. But this is our baby, and watching it evolve has been the most rewarding thing we have achieved together. Nomadic Boys PR:  How long do you plan to do this – is it a life-long passion? NB: Our dream is to be able to continue travelling using income from our blog (and other jobs we do along the way to compliment this) once our savings run out. It is extremely hard work keeping on top of it along with travel plans but heck we are not complaining and it has been extremely rewarding. 24 Business card selfie for TBEX Asia, Bangkok, October 2015 PR:  I noticed you guys seem to have left Asia behind, for now. What’s coming up next? NB: We are back home in Europe to spend quality time with family and then head over to Latin America from July. Follow our Latin discoveries on our gay travel blog. Nomadic Boys Find the Nomadic Boys on social media: http://facebook.com/nomadicboys http://instagram.com/nomadicboys http://twitter.com/nomadicboys https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC99ODSH8UaA1JAIrQmxXTig Nomadic Boys Nomadic Boys Nomadic Boys Nomadic Boys Nomadic Boys Nomadic Boys]]>

Wainwright Inn B&B – Gay Friendly Bed & Breakfast in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Wainwright Inn B&B Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay: We Welcome You to the Wainwright Inn B&B … the Berkshires Bed and Breakfast originated in 1766, offering personalized service and fine home cooking by the owners; Chris and Barb . Nestled in the heart of the Southern Berkshire region in the town of Great Barrington. Walking distance to the town’s best restaurants, shops, theatres and other attractions. The Inn is a four season getaway easily accessible from Boston and New York. We invite you to relax in our gracious setting and enjoy the hospitality of a true New England Country Our house was originally built by Captain Peter Ingersoll in 1766 on the site of an older house built in 1720s by his father Moses Ingersoll, and was known as the Troy Tavern and Inn. The colonists undoubtedly met right in our living room, planning their participation in the siege of the British troops in Boston. During the American Revolution, our house served as a fort and colonial armory. In 1790 the house was bought by David Wainwright, a statesman and state representative. The house became known as Wainwright Hall, and later became home to his daughter Electra and son-in-law Ebenezer Pope. One of their sons, Franklin Pope, remodeled and added our porches. Franklin Pope was an engineer, inventor, and patent attorney who did extensive work on the telegraph and electrical systems in Great Barrington, assisted by his brothers Ralph and Henry Pope. Franklin Pope with Thomas Edison was co-inventors of the ticker tape. Wainwright Hall, as it was known at the turn of the century, was a tourist destination featuring the best amenities of its day. Successive owners have added to the charm and the diversity of the Wainwright Inn B&B, keeping it a well maintained Great Barrington Landmark. Come see the Wainwright Inn as it once again serves the traveling public.

See the Wainright Inn B&B Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals in the Berkshires

]]>

Gay Camping

camping Recently, I went camping with a group of gays in the middle of what I was told later was Maryland. I haven’t been camping since at least the seventh grade. That was back in Arkansas when I had my brief flirtation with the Boy Scouts. We met in the basement of a Methodist church. I was initially drawn to the neckerchief, knee-high socks thing, but Troop 71 bordered on the paramilitary side of things. I assumed ‘being prepared’ was knowing how to whip up a quiche for unexpected company, not how to trap and skin wild animals. So I decided that pleated green shorts weren’t for me, and I didn’t make it past the pussy willow badge. Needless to say, camping left a sour taste in my mouth. But I thought I’d give it another try. And just in time for my friend Luke’s biannual camping trip, comprising 25 rather ab-y and affable gay boys, and me with my shirt on. We started out Friday afternoon and after some driving stopped at a liquor store in rural Maryland. This is where I saw my first Confederate flag in a long while. But it was a sticker in the shape of a heart and attached to a Volkswagen bug, so I wasn’t exactly sure what message I was supposed to take away there. But the liquor store did sell rose in a can, so I considered it a win overall.

By Brock Thompson – Full Story at The Washington Blade

]]>

Karnak Temple – The World’s Largest Open-Air Museum

Karnak Temple Karnak Temple in Luxor is both an interesting and photogenic archaeological site. There are so many things to discover here, and in fact, I saw a few people in the area still digging and brushing important stones / relics that could help them understand further on the history of the country. This is a vast open-air museum were broken pieces of structures, cracked walls and missing parts of statues are ubiquitous. From north to south and east to west, you’ll be feasting on hieroglyphs that covered walls, columns and altars. Statues of gods, goddesses and pharaohs are in every corners, standing like proud guards of the temple. This is simply a place you won’t miss when visiting Egypt.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

]]>

Life Lately & Upcoming Travels – Globetrotter Girls

Dani - Globetrotter Girls

Where I’ve Been

I began April in Mexico City, road tripped around Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and finished my month-long stay in Mexico on the tiny Caribbean island of Isla Mujeres. After a short stop in New York City (just enough time to say Hi to a dear friend and to stuff my face with a bagel, something I’d been craving for months!) I flew to Tucson, Arizona, where I am ending the month – but I am actually packing up my stuff right now, about to head out on a mini road trip to my next destination, but more on that below.

What I’ve Been Up To

This month was supposed to be a relaxing one, at least the second half, but somehow I never slowed down.. Story of my life, I guess. I ended my time in Mexico City with a near disaster (more on that below), but also with a great weekend that involved a return to Frida Kahlo’s house, the Casa Azul, and a fun day in Coyoacan, market madness and lots of craft beer. Then I flew to Cancun where I met up with my favorite travel buddy (again, after traveling together in Colombia a couple of months ago) to road trip around the Yucatan, which just so happens to be one of my favorite parts of Mexico. For eight days, we swam in cenotes (underwater sinkholes), beach hopped along the Caribbean and got our culture fix by visiting several Mayan ruins before a chilled out island getaway in Isla Mujeres. And with that, my 3-month winter escape to Latin America came to an end.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

]]>

Sexy Hotels in Berlin – Nomadic Boys

Axel Hotel Berlin “Du bist verrueckt mein Kind, du musst nach Berlin.” (“You are crazy, my child. You must go to Berlin.”) Hotel Q - StefanSo said one of the great composers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz von Suppe (1819-1895) during a time when Berlin was so famous for its liberal attitude and sexual freedom. Even after the Nazi era and the hard post WW2 years, the city gradually returned to its former glory as a place where whatever you’re into, you will find it. Berlin has an extremely relaxed attitude to sex and sexuality. This is the perfect place to visit if you’re looking for some cheeky romantic playtime with your lover. This is our list of our favourite 5 sexy hotels in Berlin.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Germany Gay Travel Resources

]]>

Hatshepsut Temple – Keep Calm and Wander

Hatshepsut Temple Hatshepsut Temple in Luxor is the scene of the murder crime in November 1997 when terrorists killed 62 people (most of them tourists). The temple is one the ancient monuments that spread across the ancient capital in the southeastern part of Egypt. Nowadays, it’s one of the most-visited tourist attractions in the West Bank of the Nile River. Perhaps, out of the hundreds of tourists that visit this archaeological site everyday, only very few know its gruesome past. Our tour guide didn’t mention it but when I asked him about it, he seemed agitated and responded curtly, “This place is safe now.” That doesn’t really answer the question, right? My badness for being rude? \0xD83D\0xDE00 I didn’t come here to see the crime scene but I was intrigued about the Hatshepsut, the Queen Pharaoh.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

Egypt Gay Travel Resources

]]>