Think With The Pocketbook as you Travel…

As Sveta and I travel, we have come to the understanding that the best countries to travel to are the ones that understand about the pocketbook. A pocketbook of money that is…

When you pay to go vacation somewhere, then in essence you are paying their bills and in essence you are their boss…

Now Russia is a country that fails in the tourist business and as much as I would like to talk good about the “Russian Tourist Industry.” I just can not do that and not be lying, but Russia has money coming in from fossil fuels and that is that…

I am talking about countries that have discovered that people who travel have money and those people will spend that money on just about anything. I also am talking about countries that make it easy to cross their borders and not treat you like a common criminal when you do try to cross their borders. The boarder crossing is the beginning and end of any successful trip to any particular country and that my friend is the maker and breaker of a vacation…

Russia has brownie points on the border crossing and starts people out pretty good, especially compared to the Western worlds border crossings. I cross Russian borders all the time and find the experience amongst the best in the world. Then from that great start, “The Snowball rolls downhill and gets bigger all the way to the bottom!” I am perplexed as to why Russia has great border crossings, but everything in between sucks as far as a tourist standpoint is concerned? Visas are not part of this article and that is a whole other story…

Final word on Russia (As this article is not about Russia!). Russia is a great place to travel a la carte and do try to get away from Moscow, if you desire to see the real Russia…

I am talking about a country like Georgia. Tunisia and Turkey to name a few. They understand that a tourist is a paying customer and pays the bills. I will mention that Georgia is a tad more authoritarian than most, but it is easy to get around and have fun…

So as I sit in Tunisia and look around at how they treat the outsiders. I realize how many rules they bend for us outsiders to be here and enjoy life. Even as we flagrantly break their rules left and right. I mean social, moral and legal rules that their people have to follow…

I will say that it is strange to see women in a full burgq, along side women in string bikinis. That is a daily sight here and it is a daily sight within the hotel also. Now to be fair the hijab is by far the most used female head covering and in most cases is very attractive…

Sveta talks about a girl that came to do step aerobics and she was in her hijab! Sveta said she was so cute and was so hard working, that she was amazed. Sveta talked for days about this gal and I can tell Sveta was impressed…

The Tunisian people accept us heathens from the West and do not say a word…

I understand that they are silent, because of the almighty Euro! They want those Euros converted into Dinars and then converted into cash flow in the country. Money talks and I find that money breaks all barriers, especially when things political are left out of the equation… (Hint – Hint – Hint!)

Actually I was impressed by the tolerance that is shown by the Tunisians. They sometimes show by their facial expressions what they are thinking, but they are very polite and calm…

I guess money talks…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

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