Personal Travel Companion

Enjoy a flaming volcano while sitting in a beautiful jungle hot spring.   No, not a the fun drink with tiny umbrellas (though you can probably order one), I'm talking about the real deal.  Arenal in Costa Rica is an active volcano surrounded by pefect jungles, hot springs, quaint towns and all this is ready and waiting for you to enjoy.

Want to see all the great monuments, temples and ancient statues of Thailand in one day?  Well you can, sort of.  Sometimes known as the Worlds largest outdoor museum, The Ancient City (Muang Boran in Thai), just outside Bangkok, is an 320 acre model of  Thailand and it's most beloved architectural treasures.   The "city" is shaped to match the borders of Thailand and features 109 of Thailand's most famous historical attractions.  While this musecum of architecture is not exactly a "road less traveled" destination, it is a great way to spend a lovely day learning the history of Thai culture.

Pictures of the floating markets of Thailand have been iconic images of South East Asia for years.  Rural farmers paddling long boats through crowded water canals, stacked high with a colorful assortment of fruits and vegetables makes one think of exotic and beautiful places where few have traveled.   Yes, it is exotic and it is beautiful.  It is not however, a place where few have traveled.  In fact it's a place where you should arrive early in the morning so as to avoid the onslaught of tourist buses which will pour in by 9-10 am.

Utila Key is a small (very small) island which sits about two miles off the island of Utila (not so large itself).   The Key is actually two small keys (Jewel Cay and Pigeon Cay) attached to each other by a foot bridge and path which runs down the center of the island from end to end.  The island is only about 1/3 mile long and 50 yards wide (just an estimate from my own memory as information on this relatively unknown destination is hard to come by). The population consists of about 700 locals (mostly fisherman and their families).  There is a church, a school, two small groceries, three sodas and some incredible scuba diving.  No hot water and only limited fresh water as fresh water is obtained via large buckets on the roof of each building which captures the rain.  Be prepared to shower under a thin drizzle of water as quickly as possible.