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MM212   
One new place each year, at a minimum...


Real Name: Momo
Lives In: New York City, US
Birth Date: December 13, 1972
Member Since: Jan 12, 2006
Last Login: Nov 07, 2009   19:33 UTC
Member's Time: Nov 07, 2009   18:01 EST
VT Rank: 151
Deals Rank: Unranked
Travel Interests: Architecture, Photography, Archeology, Skiing and Boarding, Food and Dining

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Back in NYC

by MM212 - last update: Nov 7, 2009

Cathedral of St John the Divine - NYC, Nov 09
A note first:

All of the pictures in my travel pages were taken with my own hands and camera, except, of course, those of me. Please take a look and drop me a line if anything intrigues you.

Currently adding to New York, Daulatabad & Khuldabad

And I will be working on the following pages from my recent travel:
Portofino; Santa Margherita; St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat; San Remo; Firenze; Pisa; Siena; Ostia Antica; Buenos Aires; Courchevel; Aurangabad; Khuldabad; Ellora; Ajanta; New Delhi; Jaipur; Amber; Fatehpur Sikri; Agra; Delhi

New Pages & Updates:
France: Paris; Villefranche
Italia: Venezia; Bologna; San Gimignano; Portovenere; la Spezia
(photos only)
Brasil: São Paulo; Rio de Janeiro
India: Bombay; Elephanta Island
England: London


Je parle français
e parlo italiano
وأتكلم عربي
y hablo español (con muchos errores!)

And visit again to see the progress. Thank you!


...I would travel the world!

Magic Carpet

If only I had one...

Who am I?

Someone who grew up in multiple cultures, exposed to multiple languages, and has roots in several countries. As a result, I am a cross between a true world citizen, a nomad and a chameleon, not belonging anywhere in particular nor fitting any stereotype.

Where am I?

New York City has been home for the past 14 years. It is a fascinating city with perhaps the most direct flights to destinations around the world, giving it easy access, distance notwithstanding, to the far reaches of Earth. New York City is wonderful, but I take every opportunity available to leave the city and see the world.

About Travelling...

While I have been travelling since childhood, my earlier travels had been confined to five countries. Since the beginning of the '90s, my goal had been to visit at least one (any) new place each year. I was successful for a good part of the following decade, but quickly realised there were more places I wanted to see than there were years left in my life expectancy! By then, in 2004, I caught the proverbial travel bug and there was no turning back. With a mixture of pure luck (short sabbatical, business travel) and determination (regular holiday travel), I've been travelling more than I had imagined.

Where do I travel?

The Mediterranean region, by far, appeals to me the most, yet I definitely enjoy travelling everywhere. I am most fascinated by architecture, ancient civilisations, history, local cuisine and culture, especially in areas that have been dominated by different empires throughout their history or have existed where civilisations came in contact. These areas tend to have the richest heritage and traditions (e.g., Istanbul, Lebanon, Andalucía and Mexico City). I like to mix with the locals, sample their food, understand their traditions, learn their history and admire their architecture, and if possible at the end of the day, return to an elegant and comfortable hotel. Although I find first-time visits most exciting, I tend to enjoy even more returning to places I've already seen. In addition to personal holidays, my work has allowed me to travel frequently to the Middle East and Europe, as my travel history indicates.

Add VT to the mix...

VT has definitely altered the way I travel. Not only has it nurtured my desire to travel (thanks to other members), but it has also enhanced the way I travel, look at things and photograph them. With digital photography, I now take photos of most things I encounter with the hopes of finding something intriguing to share with VT members. I am certain many of you VT members would understand...


Casa Batllò - Barcelona - Feb 2005

Upcoming Trips

We all seem to agree: there are so many places, but such little time. I find myself always attempting to maximise travel given the negligible amount of holiday time allowed...

Dec/Jan: Beirut, Damascus, Rome for a night




Three incredible years now on VT (as of the 12th January 2009)! In 2008, I made 11 distinct trips, 8 of which were outside of North America, in a total of 15 countries (not counting the Frankfurt Airport). These trips included four new countries (Oman, Jordan, Argentina, and Brazil) and 8 or 9 new locations. Not only were there many highlights, including Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and second visits to Syria and Barcelona, but also a couple of surprises, such as a day trip to Beirut and a day in Amman. Although I made fewer trips than 2007 in total number, they tended to be longer and to cover more countries. The trend, though, was very similar to the past couple of years. 2009, however, is likely to be rather different, with business travel largely over for me, but the dream of taking several months off now a reality!
Jaipur - February 2009

Recent Travels

Below is a summary of my recent travels with first time visits in italics:

2009
October: Jeddah; Paris
September: Jeddah; Riyadh
August: Maine (Brooklin - Blue Hill - Castine - Stonington - Acadia National Park - Ellsworth - Bangor); Jeddah
July: la Côte d'Azur (Cannes - Antibes - Saint-Tropez - Villefranche-sur-mer - St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat - San Remo)
June: la Côte d'Azur (Cannes - Juan-les-Pins - Èze) into July...
May: Roma - Vatican - Ostia Antica - Napoli - Siena - San Gimignano - la Spezia - Portovenere - San Remo - Cannes - Portofino - Santa Margherita - Pisa - Roma
April: London; Roma - Bologna - Firenze; Venezia
March: New Delhi; Paris; Miami
February: Paris (again) - Courchevel - Paris (and again); Bombay - Elephanta Island; Aurangabad - Daulatabad - Ellora - Khuldabad - Ajanta; New Delhi; Jaipur; Amber; Fatehpur Sikri; Agra; Delhi into March...
January: Rio de Janeiro; São Paulo; Paris
2008
December: Paris; Buenos Aires; Rio de Janeiro for New Year's Eve
November: Washington, DC
October: London; Muscat; Bahrain; Kuwait; Abu Dhabi - Dubai; Paris; Genève
September: Jeddah
August: Amman
July: Barcelona; Côte d'Azur (Cannes - Biot - Juan-les-Pins)
June: Muscat - Mutrah; Dubai - Abu Dhabi; Bahrain; Kuwait; Frankfurt airport; Barcelona - Sitges
April: Washington, DC
March: Syria (Damascus - Hama - Apamea - Aleppo - Saint Simeon - Mushabbak Church - Hama - Homs - Damascus); Lebanon (Beqaa Valley - Beirut); Paris
February: Paris (again); Bahrain; Dubai - Abu Dhabi; Vail, Colorado (skiing)
January: Paris
2007
December: Egypt (Cairo - Saqqara - Pyramids of Giza; Luxor - Karnak - Necropolis of Thebes; Aswan - Philae - Kalabsha; Abu Simbel; Cairo again); Rome ...for New Year's Eve...
November: Reykjavík; Paris; Madrid
October: Washington, DC; Upstate New York
September: Jeddah; Paris
July: Cannes - Antibes - Mougins - Avignon
May: Riyadh; Kuwait; Bahrain; Dubai - Abu Dhabi; Jeddah; Paris
April: Rome; Cairo - Pyramids of Giza
March: Dubai - Abu Dhabi; Jeddah; Kuwait; Dubai (4 hours)
February: Colorado (Vail - Beaver Creek - Edwards (skiing))
January: Paris; Washington, DC; London
Lisboa - March 2003
2006:
December: Marrakech - Vallée d'Ourika; Milano; Syria (Damascus - Maaloula - Krak des Chevaliers - Homs - Palmyra/Tadmur - Hama - Apamea - Aleppo - Al Barah/Serjilla - Damascus)
November: Dubai - Abu Dhabi; Bahrain; Riyadh; Kuwait
October: Jeddah; Riyadh
July: Côte d'Azur (Cannes - Juan-les-Pins - Fréjus - Saint-Tropez - Nice); Washington (x2)
June: Dubai; Kuwait; Bahrain; Beirut
May: Doha; UAE (Abu Dhabi - Dubai (into June))
April: Madrid - Toledo; Fort Lauderdale (Florida)
March: Dubai - Abu Dhabi; Jeddah.
February: Park City (skiing in Utah) - Salt Lake City - Wyoming; Washington DC.
January: Paris; Puerto Vallarta.
2005:
December: Dubai again, end of Middle East trip...
November: Venice; UAE (Dubai - Abu Dhabi); Lebanon (Beirut - Tripoli - Baalbek - Aanjar - Byblos); Kuwait; Bahrain.
October: Washington, DC; Jeddah; Medina.
August: Amsterdam - Rotterdam; Genève; London; Côte d'Azur again.
July: Cairo; Côte d'Azur (Cannes - Èze).
May: Washington, DC.
March: Lebanon (Beirut - Baalbek - Aanjar - El Arz - Tripoli - Byblos - Tyre - Sidon); Paris x 2 again; Mexico City.
February: Vail (skiing); Paris x 2 ; Barcelona; Andalucía (Granada - Córdoba - Málaga - Seville ...into March...).
January: Rome - Pompei




Prior to 2005

For a complete travel history pre-2005, click on my travelogue: Travel History

Some memorable trips below (some pages still incomplete):

August 2004: Istanbul

March 2003: Lisbon/Belèm - Sintra




Wishlist (not in any order)

Upper Egypt (DONE - Dec 2007!)
Buenos Aires (DONE! - Dec 2008)
Rio de Janeiro (DONE! - Dec 2008)
Jordan (Amman done in Sep 2008 - Petra/Jerash not yet)
Florence (DONE! - April 2009)
Greece
Sicily
Malta
Tunisia
Iran
Tibet
Peru
South Africa
Fez/Meknes
Berlin
Munich
Prague
Budapest

MM212's Albums
Title [Click to view]Travel YearPictures
Arches- 8
Faces- 8
Wings- 8
Lamps- 8
More Lamps + Travel History Up To 2004- 8

Comments for MM212
omidamini Sat Nov 7, 2009 09:17 UTC
 Thanks for add me to your friends list.
lina112 Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:32 UTC
 Thank you very much for your birhtday wishes. Lina
Trekki Tue Oct 20, 2009 05:32 UTC
 Thank you Momo for having walked through "my" Tashkent :-)) Oh yes, it is well worth a visit, but go soon, I think that it might become full of tourists in the next years (and loose a bit of its charm then).
call_me_rhia Tue Oct 6, 2009 19:19 UTC
 paris... i'm hoping to spend new year's eve there... plus it's one of the few places I can easily reach without flying. But rome sounds tempting, too. Where will you be heading this time???
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