greece - Travel With A Butterfly

Unlike the city of Dubai, Athens is a city to walk around in. In fact, I would say Athens is a city where you’re supposed to roam around in. Pretty much everything around here is centered around the Acropolis.

If you’ve never been to Greece before, you may feel a bit nervous or worried; after all, it’s a city that’s been in the news for it’s near bankruptcy, for its austerity measures, for always needing bailout money, and for its high unemployment rates. I remembered back when I was still working in a brokerage department, markets were falling because of the potential for Greece to default, because of the future that if Greece left the Eurozone, a lot of countries would follow suit, and because of the fear that it would create a domino effect of defaults in Eurozone. This was back in 2011. Continue reading Roaming In Athens

Travel

Dubai Is Not A Walking City, But A Dining City

ByRyan Lee

I once read a blog saying that there were many cities where you’re supposed to walk and take in the experience of the new travel destination, but Dubai was not one of them.

I concur.

Our final destination was supposed to be Athens, Greece. However, there were no direct flights available when we went just before Christmas from Hong Kong; there had to be a stopover. After looking at multiple choices, we settled on Dubai. Why? Well, the feedback we’ve gotten from Dubai was that it was a city where you can spend two to three days there and it was enough. My own opinion on that later.

So, we arrived quite early at 5:35am to the Dubai International Airport. Contrary to all the lauding and praise of the airport, I was not amused. Nothing suggested modern, forward, or unique. Sure it was in light desert colors, giving it of Middle Eastern theme, and sure there were restaurants and shops that were open at 2am when we were on our flights back to Hong Kong, suggesting they were probably opened 24/7, and sure it’s gigantic, but it didn’t stand out. I mean, I would take the HK Airport or Singapore Changi Airport over Dubai Int’l Airport.

The feel of Dubai was a simple, laid back city. The restaurant service, the walking pace, everything felt very leisure, in a non-rushed pace, which was quite an annoyance at first just coming from Hong Kong and trying to get out of the airport asap. Even the metro felt it was driving at a “colloquial” pace. Not saying it’s casual or unprofessional, just saying it’s the way of life here. Continue reading Dubai Is Not A Walking City, But A Dining City

Misc.

Luxurious Airbnb Places Around The World

ByRyan Lee

Got a bit of dough to throw around? Want to impress your girlfriend/boyfriend? Want some motivation in your life? Look no further. I’ve provided ten accommodations from Airbnb from around the world that will guarantee to make your wallet thinner. I selected these accommodations based on pricing, uniqueness, and feel… some of the accommodations I saw, as expensive as they were, didn’t seem very “luxurious” and felt too “homey” for me. I set out to find accommodations that define luxury.

Important Update (Nov. 8, 2022): Upon trying to repair the broken images on this page, I realize that 9 out of the 10 Airbnb links redirected you to their homepage airbnb.com, presumably because the original airbnbs aren’t listed anymore. I apologise if you have been brought here. But don’t worry, I will be continuing to do top 10 airbnb places in different cities again soon. Continue reading Luxurious Airbnb Places Around The World