Adventure of the month

Remember the song "Gangnam Style"? It was that impossibly catchy tune that came with its own little horsey dance; the one whose video still holds the title for most watched on YouTube. That song, penned by S Korean rapper Psy, is about Seoul's ritziest neighborhood and the trendy folks who hang there. That alone is not enough for me to want to visit Gangnam. Streets lined with all the high end stores-the ones I can not afford but would not shop at even if I could- don't really call my attention either. But you know what does peak my interest? A giant Gangnam Style monument, that's what.  Built at a cost of $366,000, the 27x17 foot bronze monument is supposed to have a motion detector that flashes lights and plays the song whenever anyone approaches. Its location, in front of the heavily trafficked COEX convention center, where parts of the video were filmed, means that this thing must be going off constantly. Alas, during my visit, the crossed fists were the v...

Whenever I tell my friend, Ivon, about one of my latest escapades- how I managed to snag the last tickets to a concert; got bumped off a flight for big $$; ran into a celebrity while walking down the street- her response is always the same. "Que clase de reventada eres, coño", meaning that I am lucky AF. At least, I think that is what she means. I have exhaustively googled this phrase, even focusing on Cuban slang dictionaries, in search of that definition and nada. I found sites that translate it to busted, tired or even slutty...nothing about lucky. Still, she is a good friend so I am choosing to believe her. The truth is she might be right. While I do try to research my travels and do my best to be at the right place and the right time, I have to admit that a lot of my coolest experiences have happened as total flukes. Take for example, my second day in Seoul. I had already done the DMZ tour, so my plan was to get a 24 hr ticket on the Hop-On/ Hop-Off tour and explore ...

Before my most recent trip, I reached out to a friend with a pressing question.   Since you are my arbiter of what counts and doesn't count in the country list, here's a question for you. My next trip goes to China, S. Korea and Japan. I've been to all of those so no new countries there but- there is a DMZ tour from Seoul that takes you into a building that straddles the border. After signing all kinds of releases, you can go and stand on the N Korean side of the building. From the pictures I have seen, it looks pretty identical to the S Korean side but I imagine there is a line of some kind painted on the ground. While technically you are in N Korea, I'm not sure that this should count because you are not really stepping onto N Korean soil. It feels more akin to stopping in an airport. Then again, unless I buddy up to Dennis Rodman, this is probably the closest I'll be able to get to N Korea. Question: Does it count? I felt that my friend, the person who got me...

Last February, I was in the Montreal's Pierre Elliot Trudeau Int'l airport waiting for my flight. Apparently, all the Quebecois citizens in possession of a passport were sitting alongside me. It was the start of spring break and every single flight was oversold. The gate agents had morphed into auctioneers, offering ever-increasing amounts for anyone willing to give up their seat. Since I had nowhere to be in a hurry, when the game began for my flight, I jumped in early, with the caveat that my compensation not be locked into the current amount. I would play along as long as I got whatever the highest amount was. So I sat back, willing everyone to stay put, as he called $500, $600, $700... He finally got a taker at $1300. That is $1300 US Dollars to be used towards any Delta flight just for agreeing to go on a later flight! I have gotten vouchers in the past and the trickiest part, believe it or not, is using them before they expire. Sounds silly but they are good for o...