Travel to Nova Scotia

Warning: arsort() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 762

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 769

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 804

“U.S. citizens residing and traveling in Mexico should exercise caution
when in unfamiliar areas and be aware of their surroundings at all times.”

- US Department of State

If you were to investigate the most dangerous place for a Canadian to travel you would come up with enough enough facts to point to our NAFTA neighbor Mexico. Last Thursday 29-year-old Bouabal Bounthavorn was fatally shot after he opened the door of his room at the Hotel Riu and argued briefly with a man. His girlfriend was shot in the foot. This is just a month after a Canadian was run down and killed in a hit-and-run in Acapulco.

Now, this could be a drug deal gone south but this comes on the heels of the Brenda Martin case, Canadian woman held without formal charges in a Mexican jail for over 2 years. The fact that she may be guilty is overshadowed by the lack of due process in Mexico. There you are guilty until proven innocent. She has since been released to Canadian authorities and is now free in Canada. Now, if she was involved in bilking people out of money then she should pay. But in Mexico there’s no way to find this out because people rot in jails without receiiving a trial, fair or not.

The biggest murder case in the past few years is the murders of Dominic Ianiero, 59, and his wife Nancy, 55, of Woodbridge, Ont, in a five-star resort near Playa del Carmen on Feb. 20, 2006. Their throats were slashed, hardly a speedy death. Edward Greenspan, a prominent Canadian attorney, described Mexican attorney-general Bello Melchor Rodriguez as “arrogant, pompous and downright rude.”

Mexico is the worst possible outcome of NAFTA. If Canada had not been a British colony it might have suffered through the graft, corruption and pure poverty of Mexico. Because it seems like living south of the U.S. is no great perk and the U.S., who wants Iraq to be a pure democracy, keeps forgetting to look south to fix this rich country with all the wealth at the top. If they truly wanted stop illegals into the country I would suggest they start with the Mexican government. Their elections are as bad as those anywhere in the world.

And Canada is definitely not the only country whose citizens have been hurt. In the last few years dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped and a lot of these incidents remain unresolved. As well, new cases of disappearances and kidnap-for-ransom go on all the time and now one can be considered safe from kidnapping regardless of occupation, nationality or race.

When there are so many safe places going to Mexico is like playing Russian roulette. And their legal system doesn’t want to do anything about it.

brenda martin, canadian authorities, canadian woman, dangerous place, edward greenspan, illegals, martin case, mexican attorney general, mexican jail, star resort, traveling in mexico

Warning: arsort() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 762

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 769

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 804

I grew up in Western Canada near an aboriginal community and played hockey and baseball with the kids. I took for granted the heritage around me but did learn some of the stories of how “the Hoodoos” were formed and other legends. It wasn’t until I formed a relationship with a German national that I realized what other people thought of the culture that was before my eyes.

Since 1996, Aboriginal Tourism Canada has been generating international interest in native activities and industries. In 1999 aboriginal activities in tourism had brought in close to $270 million in business and expectation are that it will be $1.2 billion in 2009. As of today, the industry employees 14,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit workers.

My German friend said her favorite activities were the Pow Wow and learning aboriginal lore: healing, natural foods, etc. She says acquaintances of her have traveled North America staying with Sioux, Blackfoot and Mi’kmaq peoples. They said it was as close to actually be one of the people back in the 1800′s as you could get.

In the North there are activities such as building igloos and ice fishing as well as mushing a dog sled team.

It’s a shame that we locals don’t appreciate the First nation’s lore as much as our European friends do. With the vision of the ATC this soon could change.

For more information go to: Aboriginal Tourism Canada

aboriginal community, aboriginal tourism, building igloos, heritage, hoodoos, inuit, mi kmaq, tourism canada

Warning: arsort() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 762

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 769

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 804

It used to be that a Canadian passport was the gold standard of passports the world over. Canada was viewed by friendly countries as a great friend and defeated enemies as a benevolent victor. The passport of this country was honored as a bastion of freedom and not-quite-the-Americans.

Agencies like Israel’s Moussad and the CIA used Canadian passports because of the reputation of this reputation because their agents would hardly be questioned while carrying one. The other places like Hong Kong, who saw the “Red Chinese” taking over their Island in 1997 as a death knell, had their wealthy citizens buying their way into Canada to get the valued passports. This way, when the time came, they could load up and fly back to “their new country.” Other countries, even European ones, found the value of the Canadian passport in the same way.

No, Canadian citizenship is a flag of convenience. But the real taxpayers are asked daily to bail out “citizens” who live back in their native countries if they get into trouble. These are ones who criticize Canada for not coming to their aid when their own crackpot leaders begin a killing spree.

But we in Canada are not to say a word or we are perceived as “unfriendly.” However, now our great, dark-blue passport is a far cry from the symbol of a valued country. Because too many unsavory types and “paid-up” Canadians” are using it.

However, if this is true, why is it one of most stolen passports in the world?

canadian citizenship, canadian passport, canadian passports, cia, crackpot, flag of convenience, hong kong, moussad, native countries, wealthy citizens

Warning: arsort() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 762

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 769

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 804

While going through the Canadian Tourism Commission site I came across an interesting item that pertains to U.S. travelers. The American going abroad, or to Canada or Mexico, can register before going on a trip. This travel registration is a free service provided by the American government to U.S. citizens who are “traveling to, or living in, a foreign country.” According to the State Department this registration allows the traveler to record information about upcoming trip so that the Department of State can be of assistance in case of an emergency. This also applies to Americans residing abroad.

If this smacks of “Big Brother” the possibility of the government knowing more about you that you want is quite slim. They already have your passport number and every time you buy a ticket it is scanned for peculiarities to see if you are a leaning toward a “eventful excursions.” (This is called “The no-fly-list”) So will offering more info more detrimental to the traveler or, as the U.S government says, “a big part of your travel planning and security.”

Here’s how it works:

1. Create an account: Click on the “Create an Account” link. Follow the instructions provided which makes you create an account by selecting a username and password.

2. Fill out the form: The account will also include basic information about the traveler and an emergency contact who is not traveling with you.

3. View your profile: Now the traveler can add trips or overseas residences to register with a specific US Embassy or Consulate in the area that the person will be visiting. There are two buttons: “Add Trip” button or “Add Overseas Residence” buttons.

4. Confirmation: An email will be sent to ensure that you are registered correctly.

I am not an American so I really am not able to comment on this. But it can’t be any worse than the security systems in place now.

american government, big brother, canadian tourism commission, confirmation, department of state, emergency contact, going on a trip, passport number, security systems, travelers, travel planning, travel registration

Warning: arsort() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 762

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 769

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/sykesa/kimkinrade.com/wpblog/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-pro.php(240) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code(1) : eval()'d code on line 804

Here’s a great site for those of you who want to try hostels. With the average price of an air ticket going up 20% staying in a posh place for a few hours a night is not on the radar for a lot of people. Hosteling is not  just for the young backpacker anymore although they always formed the core of the hostel stayers in the past. But that’s okay because a wide variety of people makes a hostel an interesting place to stay.

Hostelworld.com is a site where you can book rooms in a hostel online at thousands of hostels worldwide. On this site there are hostel reviews, photographs and detailed descriptions of all our hostels the world over. You can get reservations at international youth hostels, various independent hostels, backpacker hostels and , as well, budget hotels in every corner of the world.

You can sign up for a newsletter and to track your next trip online.

Give it a go: Hostelworld.com

air ticket, budget, detailed descriptions, hostels worldwide, hostel reviews, hotels, independent hostels, interesting place, posh place, radar, youth hostels