After two weeks in Dubai, we moved to another Emirate of the seven United Arab Emirates: Sharjah. It’s a short taxi ride away from Dubai, depending on where you stayed in Dubai. Sharjah surrounds the main portion of another Emirate called Ajman (pronounced: ADZH-man). ‘AED’ stands for their currency, the Dirham. Things to Do in Sharjah The following is a big list of things to do in the Emirate of Sharjah, irrespective of if I’ve done this activity. Some of them we wanted to do but the activity was closed because of COVID-19. At other times, we found out tooContinue reading
Manama, Ajman — Visiting the Inland Exclave + Al Dhaid as a Day Trip from Sharjah
On the 25th of February, 2021, Jonas and I traveled from Sharjah City to Manama in the United Arab Emirates. Manama is an exclave of the Emirate of Ajman. To travel there, we needed to take a bus from Sharjah’s bus station to Masafi and disembark halfway. We also visited the town of Al Dhaid in the Emirate of Sharjah. Doing the Research on Manama During our stay in Sharjah, we visited the Al Jubail bus terminal to figure out how to travel to Umm Al Quwain. During this exploratory trip, we also learned that this is where bus 116Continue reading
Ajman in an Afternoon (United Arab Emirates)
During our stay in Sharjah, we decided to take a day trip to Ajman (pronounced: ADZH-man). This was our third emirate out of seven. Even though it’s the smallest emirate, I think Ajman has enough to offer for a couple of days, depending on one’s interests and ‘disposable’ income. We visited Ajman on Monday the 22nd of February, 2021 on this 4.6-kilometer long walk. Sharjah to Ajman Our accommodation in Sharjah is only about 10 kilometers away from Ajman. Even though we prefer to stay in each emirate a couple of days, we couldn’t really find a good reason; theContinue reading
How To Hitch A Ride On An Ocean Passage
Sailing across an ocean is an adventure of a lifetime. Being able to harness the wind and current to get to a destination is something everybody should experience at least once. I’ve taken many new crew members on my sailboats before on long ocean passages, and for the most part, they all enjoyed them. Some even have gone out and made a career out of sailing. Although finding the right boat and Captain is where it can get a little tricky. In this article, I will tell you my secrets on finding these opportunities to have fun and stay safe.Continue reading
Two Weeks in Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
This is a diary-style post about what we did during our two weeks in Dubai before moving on to Sharjah within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I tried to make it a bit informative if you’re traveling to Dubai, but I usually don’t write about cities that are already well-written about. Everything written here happened in 2021. Jonas had already visited Dubai for three days back in 2010 and told me it was a very misunderstood place. Saturday 30th January: Sleep Sunday 31st January: Walking to the Waterfront Monday 1st of February: Supermarket Time Tuesday 2nd of February: Downtown DubaiContinue reading
Transnistria: A Time Capsule of Soviet Nostalgia between Moldova and Ukraine
After stumbling across Heidi’s blogs about Transnistria and Gagauzia on A Southern Space Cadet, I (Iris) wanted to invite her to write a guest post for Mind of a Hitchhiker. I really enjoy her love for unrecognized or partially recognized states. Enjoy her guest post, learn something new, write a comment, and make sure to check out Heidi’s blog and give her a follow on social media! Featured photo: House of Soviets: Tiraspol with an appearance from Dieter the Panda, my travel mascot Transnistria’s time capsule Transnistria is an unrecognized state nestled between Moldova and Ukraine. Its “capital”, Tiraspol (Тирасполь),Continue reading
Hello, Dubai?! Leaving Malaysia for the UAE After 339 Days (Semi-Live Blog)
You know I’ve been ruminating on it. But after 339 days, it’s finally time to leave Malaysia. We’re traveling to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is a semi-live blog that I’ll update throughout the journey. I’ll edit in photos once I’m back on my laptop. The Weeks Before Departure to Dubai On the evening of the start of ‘MCO 2.0’, Jonas and I were smoking shisha at Chimney Hookah Café in Johor Bahru (JB). We’d just made the most of our last day without stay-inside-order and we finished it off with a banger. One thing had beenContinue reading
Immigration Scare 2021: Are We Done, Malaysia?
As you might know, Jonas and I have been in Malaysia for nearly a year. But we aren’t expats, nay, we’re ‘Tourists stranded in Malaysia‘ (TSIMY). The Malaysian government basically granted us amnesty to stay in the country during the COVID-19 crisis. They call the special rules ‘the MCO’, which have an end date that has been extended by weeks or months every time the deadline approaches. This is stuff I’ve detailed in my pandemic diaries. Every time they extend the MCO rules for the pandemic, we might hear the news that we have to leave. Thus far, the government’sContinue reading
Johor Bahru: The Best Vegetarian + Vegan Restaurants
Johor Bahru (JB) is a great place to hang out for vegetarians and – to a lesser extent – vegans. During this pandemic, we tried out many veggie places in person and by delivery. These are our recommendations. Click here to scroll down to the map of Johor Bahru with all the vegetarian-friendly restaurants. Click the + below to learn more about the meaning of the emojis, dietary restrictions and intolerances, and a disclaimer. Note that we stayed in Johor Bahru during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants aren’t ranked in a specific order. Life Ricette 🥬🛵🚶♀️ Click here to order LifeContinue reading