Lee Abbamonte
Try to become the youngest person to travel to every country in the world
A Tale of Two Concerts
By Lee | December 15th, 2011 | 
2 Comments » 
When I was a kid my favorite band was Guns N’ Roses (GNR). I would argue still that their debut album, “Appetite for Destruction” is the greatest rock and roll album ever made; even better than Led Zeppelin IV. The trials and tribulations of the volatile band are well known and their break ups and replacing of band members has been scrutinized for years. Axl Rose, the charismatic and talented front man retained the rights to the name Guns N’ Roses and was also the man who wrote almost all of the GNR music. He has recently launched a new US tour with all his new, young band mates playing old GNR favorites and some new music. I saw their show Sunday night in Broomfield, Colorado just outside of Denver. It was pretty awesome.
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Chichijima, Ogasawara
By Lee | December 14th, 2011 | 7 Comments » 
Arriving into the harbor on Chichijima, the main island in the Ogasawara archipelago, was like arriving in the new world. After a long and arduous journey aboard the Ogasawara Maru we pulled into the gorgeous port to throngs of islanders welcoming us to their island. It was very nice to be greeted so warmly after such a long trip; plus the weather couldn’t have been better. So as we disembarked, we sought out the information desk to arrange accommodation for us for three nights and four days. After finally agreeing on a place and price we hunkered down along the water in Omura for what would be a great stay.
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The 25.5 Hour Ferry to Ogasawara
By Lee | December 5th, 2011 | 7 Comments » 
The Ogasawara Archipelago is located about 1000 km south of Tokyo. The entire area is administered as a single rural municipality, Ogasawara Village, which itself is a subprefecture of Tokyo. The archipelago consists of four island groups: the Mukojima (Bridegroom Island) group, the Chichijima (Father Island) group, the Hahajima (Mother Island) group, and the Volcano Islands (also known as the Iwoto, or Iwojima, group (the Sulfur Island group)). Chichijima is located at the approximate center of the archipelago and works as the hub of the village.
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#300 Jeju Island
By Lee | December 3rd, 2011 | 5 Comments » 
Three years ago, when the Travelers Century Club added Jeju Island to the list of countries that I had to visit to achieve my goal I was a little annoyed. I had already spent some significant time in South Korea proper and Jeju wasn’t exactly the easiest place to get to. You really had to make the effort to get there. In fact, at the time I had never knowingly heard about it. However, as I did my research on the island and what there was to see, I got a little excited. As they recently started marketing it around New York City on billboards and busses, I was intrigued; and when it was recently voted one of the seven natural wonders of the world, I was stoked. So as I planned this trip, which was to originally include Wake Island, I started with Korea and Jeju in mind.
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Road Trips
By Lee | November 21st, 2011 | 3 Comments » 
The Road Trip. Few things garner as much excitement and romance as this age old institution. As Americans, we are always told about great roads trips across the country. We’re led to believe it can change your life and is a highlight of growing up, and almost a right of passage. I agree that driving across the United States is an amazing experience. However, after reading an article about a road trip from Darwin to Broome last night in Australia, I started thinking about some other great road trips that I’ve done and want to do. The freedom of the road, having your own vehicle, the feeling of being able to do what you want, when you want is second to none. Amazing scenery adds to the allure of a trip with some good friends. Just writing this right now makes me want to get on the road and go somewhere! But here are some of my favorites and my wish list.
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The Language Barrier
By Lee | November 2nd, 2011 | 4 Comments » 
The language barrier is one of the biggest fears for most people when they travel to new and foreign lands. It can be very intimidating and cause some headaches and surely some stress. It can take seemingly forever to accomplish a simple task because you cannot figure out what to do either from written or spoken words. To be honest, not speaking a language or understanding some parts of it can be the most frustrating part of your trip and it can in fact ruin it for some people. But that is a shame. You should never let a little thing like language get in your way of enjoying yourself and getting to know a place and its people. Always remember that people are people; language is language and to quote Casca from the great William Shakespeare’s classic play, Julius Caesar, “It’s all Greek to me”.
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A Historic Time for Libya
By Lee | October 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments » 
What a day to be alive! It’s a truly historic day for Libya and the world. A strange day as well filled with emotions for many around the world that have ever been affected by Moammar Gadhafi or witnessed the atrocities that he and his brutal regime committed. I feel a strong sense of connection with the Libyan people after my August visit and I felt compelled to write my thoughts and feelings after this historic and strange day. But the most important thing is that Libya and the world are free of the horrible tyrant forever who has blood on his hands for the past four decades of murder and terror.
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African Overland Trucks
By Lee | October 19th, 2011 | 16 Comments » 
Nouakchott, Casablanca, Timbuktu, Arusha, Khartoum, Lilongwe, Swakopmund, Freetown, Bujumbura, Conakry, Fez, Lalibela, N’Djamena, Mombasa, Sfax, Ziguinchor, Laayoune, Brazzaville, Yamoussoukro, Abu Simbel, Harare, Lubumbashi, Mbabane, Ngorongoro, Douala, Ouagadougou. These names sound made up. They sound like a fairy tale that parents tell kids about far, far away lands and other dimensions. They sound exotic. And truth be told, most people, including many of you reading this right now, don’t know where half of these places are. That’s because they are all in Africa. They encompass the whole of the Dark Continent. They are places most people will never see. They are places most people would have no idea how to see, even if they wanted to. In reality, there is only one way to see all of these places without dealing with an unheard of logistical nightmare. A Trans-African overland truck.
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Study Abroad
By Lee | October 18th, 2011 | 10 Comments » 
Most people say that college is the best time of your life. That can certainly be true if you make the most out of the experience. As far as I am concerned, there is no better way to do that than by doing study abroad. It was the best thing I ever did. It changed the course of my life, my focus and what I wanted out of my college experience and my post graduate life. It opened my eyes to a whole new world. If and when I ever have kids, it will be mandatory for them to study abroad and I cannot possibly recommend something more for college kids. It is the best experience of college and actually has long lasting implications. Although it was always hard to convey to friends who didn’t study abroad; I knew then and still know now, that it was a life changing experience. It shouldn’t be missed.
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Solo Travel: Absolute Freedom
By Lee | October 14th, 2011 | 22 Comments » 
Traveling alone, whether you’re a man or a woman, is one of those taboo things for some people and is the most adventurous way to travel for others. It can be the single most rewarding travel experience that you will have or it can be lonely and depressing. Solo travel can make it easy to be outgoing and meet the locals and other travelers or it can make you go further into your cocoon and sit on the Internet all day chatting with your friends back home. It’s all what you make of it. Solo travel is all about your attitude. If you go into it with a positive attitude and excited to go out there and meet people and do cool things, then that is what will happen. If you are timid, scared or depressed that you’re traveling alone and feeling sorry for yourself then you will have a bad time. It’s that simple. Mix attitude with basic common sense and solo travel can be the best thing you’ve ever done for yourself.
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