Exploring Sri Lanka – Passport Magazine

Sri Lanka - Pixabay

Sri Lanka offers broad sandy beaches, astounding cultural and historic sites, stunning wildlife refuges, and misty hilltop tea plantations, all within relatively short and smooth-paved driving distances from each other.

Just over 30 miles from the southern tip of India, across the narrow Palk Strait, lies the island nation of Sri Lanka. This small country is similar in size to Ireland, but with delightfully dissimilar weather (temperatures generally between 75 and 80 Fahrenheit year round). Formerly known as Ceylon, the island offers broad sandy beaches, astounding cultural and historic sites, stunning wildlife refuges, and misty hilltop tea plantations, all within relatively short and smooth-paved driving distances from each other.

With its winning combination of ease and exoticism, one might assume you’d find Sri Lanka on any avid traveler’s must-go list, but this is a country that for a quarter century (beginning in 1983) suffered the ravages of a civil war between the island’s two largest ethnic groups, the majority Sinhalese and the Tamils, who represent 15% of the population.

Accusing the national government of discrimination and demanding the establishment of an independent country, the Tamils’ tenacious guerilla-style attacks and bombings kept the nation perpetually on edge.

By Jim Gladstone – Full Story at Passport Magazine

Sri Lanka Gay Travel Resources

Life Lately & Upcoming Travel – Globetrotter Girls

Dani - Globetrotter Girls

In my monthly round-ups, I am looking back at my travels over the past four weeks, what went well and what didn’t, and what’s next for me.

I can’t believe how much my life has changed in April… going from frolicking in the Caribbean to hectic city life in NYC, dealing with immigration bureaucracy, apartment hunting and job interviews! Trying to establish a life here has been more time-consuming than I thought, hence the delay of my monthly round-up, but let’s look back at April 2017.

April may have been the best month of 2017 so far. I spent the last thirty days between two of my favorite places in the world: Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula and New York City, and added my second new country of the year to the mix, which I happened to fall hard for: Cuba.

I started the month in Valladolid, continuing my second Yucatán road trip. While I’d been to Valladolid in the past, the stops that followed where mostly new to me: Rio Lagartos with its pink lakes; Izamal, Mexico’s Yellow City; Campeche, a coastal town filled with pastel colored Spanish colonial buildings, and Bacalar with its spectacular lagoon, which I somehow blissfully ignored when I lived in nearby Xcalak a few years ago.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Gay Denver Hot Spots

Gay Denver

As the largest city in a 600-mile radius, LGBTI men and women from all over the West have flocked to gay Denver.

Take a trip with Eli as he finds out why people love being LGBTI in gay Denver, Colorado and showcases some of the top gay hotspots.

The 30-something local, who works as a creative director in pharmaceuticals, knows the Mile High City’s gay scene inside out, and will also be introducing readers to some of his hot friends. To find out more about the scene, visit the LGBTI portal on the Visit Denver website.

By David Calderon – Full Story at Gay Star News

Denver Gay Travel Resources

The Facade of the Sagrada Familia – Keep Calm and Wander

Sagrada Familia Barcelona - Alain

From afar, the Sagrada Familia is a towering Gothic structure that dominates the skyline of Barcelona. But if you get closer and look up, you’ll find yourself wondering on what the symbols on its facade mean or stand for. However, if you’re a devout Christian or Catholic, these symbols are easy peasy for you, right? I went to a Catholic High School, so, I’m kinda familiar to some of them.

The facade of Sagrada Familia is divided into three main gates. As you can see in the following photos below, they’re not your ordinary church doors. They’re grand and replete with tiny, detailed sculptures of religious origin.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

In the Gay Maldives – Passport Magazine

Maldives - Pixabay

While Sri Lanka is benefitting from a rising tide of tourism, the Maldives (www.visitmaldives.com), an archipelago nation of nearly 1,200 tiny islands scattered 642 miles to its southwest in the Arabian sea, has been sounding the alarm about literal rising tides.

The award-winning 2011 documentary, The Island President, is a compelling, well-worth-watching account of the efforts of Maldives’ then-president Mohamed Nasheed to help generate international awareness and action around climate change.

As one of the world’s lowest-altitude countries, with an average height of less than five feet above sea level, the gay Maldives would be one of the first nations in the world to be completely submerged if the oceans continue to rise with global warming.

Some calculations, which don’t necessarily take into account coral growth and the degrees to which islands can rise with sea level, not strictly be overtaken, suggest that this holiday paradise could become a real-life Atlantis in less than 50 years. But the film’s hook is really more a conceptual stroke of genius than an imminent death knell.

By Jim Gladstone – Full Story at Passport

River City Cottage – Wanganui, North Island, New Zealand

River City Cottage

Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:

Jan and Kate warmly welcome LGBTI travellers to our 100-year-old cottage in the heart of the historic river city of Whanganui. Here you will find a peaceful haven, friendly and informative lesbian hosts, and quiet, warm and comfortable rooms.

Guests must love animals, as we have two friendly old dogs and two cats, and 6 hens. Guests must also be ok with sharing a bathroom. We welcome children, and we are pet-friendly.

We have Ultra Fast Broadband Wi-Fi, which is free to our guests, and provide complimentary tea and coffee. You can opt for breakfast of fresh homemade bread and locally made jams and spreads and/or eggs from our chooks and free-range organic sausages. We serve real coffee! You are also welcome to use the washing machine, and share our kitchen if you wish to self-cater. We have a lovely deep bath for your use.

Our Bed and Breakfast is a great base from which to explore Whanganui, being one block from the river and cycleway, and an easy 10 minute walk to the centre of town. There you will find an array of great cafes and eateries, and the art galleries and boutique shopping for which the city is renowned. We love our city, and love to share it’s delights with our guests.

Stroll to the River Traders Market on a Saturday morning, paddle a waka or take a trip on the paddle steamer, visit the famous Sarjeant Gallery or the New Zealand Glassworks and enjoy the relaxed pace of life you will find here.

Whanganui is a great place for cyclists. The New Zealand Cycle Trail runs through the city, and we are a vital hub on the Mountains To Sea leg of the network. We can store your bikes safely while you stay.

If you are travelling by car, we are located 1.5 hours drive from Mt Ruapehu and the skifields, and the Tongariro Crossing. We are 2 hours drive from New Plymouth and Mt Taranaki, and 2.5 hours drive from Wellington.

We offer a free shuttle service to and from the airport or bus terminal.

See the PROPERTY Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

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

Ten Interesting Things About Peru – Nomadic Boys

Peru - Nomadic Boys

Our greedy Frenchman loves his chips. If he could have his way, Seby would happily spend his entire day gorging on several plates of freshly made chips.

He has Peru to thank for this heavenly potato comfort food, specifically the Incas.

The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes, as far back as 8,000 BC. When the Spanish conquered in the 1500s and discovered the flavours of the potatoes, they shipped them back to Europe, thus causing the evolution of Seby’s favourite food.

These are our other 10 other cultural and interesting facts about Peru you need to know.

#1 LAND OF THE INCAS: a mighty and influential Empire

Peru is famously known as the Land of the Incas. They came from the Peruvian highlands in the early 1200s and ruled for over 300 years until the Spanish conquered them in 1572. At its peak, the Inca Empire was one of the largest in the world, covering modern day Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

Cusco was the most important city in this massive empire and Quechua was the main language spoken within this ancient civilisation.

The influence of the Incas is still prominent today. As well as the potato, Quechua is still spoken by almost 5 million Peruvians, and of course they left behind spectacular world wonders like Machu Picchu.

#2 CUY: the Inca guinea pig delicacy

Guinea pigs (cuy or cuyes for plural) used to be considered an important food source in ancient Peru, well before the Incas arrived in the 1200s.

This tradition has survived and today in most rural Andean households across Peru, families will keep tens and hundreds of cuyes scurrying around their kitchen floor. It’s estimated that Peruvians consume around 65 million cuyes every year.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Peru Gay Travel Resources

Gaudi’s Casa Pedrera, Barcelona – Keep Calm and Wander

Casa Pedera

In Barcelona, there’s a house that the locals fondly call Casa Pedrera (or the Quarry). If you look at its facade, it really looks like a rugged quarry. However, its original name was Casa Mila. Anton Gaudi, Catalan’s most beloved architect built it for the wealthy Mila Family. This house was one of his last projects before he concentrated himself on building the city’s most iconic structure, the Sagrada Familia.

Before you enter Casa Pedrera or Casa Mila, look up and you’ll see the billowing edges of Casa Pedrera. They do look like a quarry, right? And, do you see those twisted, wrought-iron balconies? They’re awesome, eh?!

When you get inside (after paying, of course), you’ll be ushered into a simple courtyard with a staircase like this. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to take these stairs that lead to private apartments.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

Classic Cuba – Globetrotter Girls

Classic Cuba

I have so many thoughts and emotions about my Cuba trip, I am still processing everything I’ve seen and experienced on this spellbinding little island. Visiting Cuba turned out more challenging as I thought it would be, but it was so worth it. I have yet to go through the thousands of photos I took and sort my thoughts, but I’ll be sharing a number of Cuba articles shortly.

For now, let’s just say that Cuba isn’t like any other country I’ve ever visited, and yet, it felt strangely familiar. Why is that, you wonder? I grew up in East Germany, a Communist country, just like Cuba still is. In fact, Cuba was one of our socialist allies, and while with the collapse of the Communist bloc, life for me and 16 million other East Germans took a huge turn (for the better), Cubans still live so many aspects of the life that I remember from my childhood.

Before this little teaser for my upcoming Cuba content becomes too much of a ramble (I’ll be talking about this ‘walk down memory lane’, which this trip inadvertently turned into for me, in an upcoming article) – for now I just want to say that I was fascinated by the spirit of the Cuban people, the lust for life, their ability to find joy in the little things, and about seeing how life spills out into the streets everywhere.

By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls

Cuba Gay Travel Resources

The Red Pyramid – Keep Calm and Wander

Red Pyramid

This is what you see inside the Red Pyramid in Egypt. It is said to be the world’s oldest true pyramids. This is located at Dahshur, 20 kilometres away from the famous trio of Pyramids in Giza. Don’t be fooled by its name though. The whole facade of the pyramid has nothing red on it. It derives its monicker from the red limestones that you’ll see when inside.

Be also aware that going inside the Red Pyramid is not for those with weak bones. You’ll be going down on a 63-meter tunnel with your back hunched all the time. If you’re claustrophobic, don’t even dare to try.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

Egypt Gay Travel Resources