Kiwi-com-online-travel-agency-review

Kiwi.com Review: My Experience Using Kiwi.com (Is it Legit?)

Richard Cummings

kiwi-com-reviewIs Kiwi.com legit? In this review of the travel website Kiwi.com, I’ll share my experience with you: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

First, let’s all acknowledge that travel during these pandemic days is not going to be the most pleasant experience. If we manage our expectations thusly, our chances of being let down diminish.

Second, let me tell you a bit about me … because who you are, and what type of traveler you are, definitely affects whether you want to go with an online low budget travel agency like Kiwi.com.

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scariest-places-to-visit-on-vacation

Top 10 Scary Places to Visit

Richard Cummings

scariest-places-to-visit-on-vacationThere are many top scary places to visit but not all rank in the top 10.  However, these do.

If you want to do a world tour, or simply read about them, here is a list of the Top 10 Scary Places to Visit in the World!

1. Catacombs of Paris

Scary places are all about dead people!  You are sure to find an enormous amount of dead people in these catacombs.  Read more about the Catacombs of Paris.
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Uruguay (The Vices): Gambling, Prostitution, and Drugs

Richard Cummings

There are three things that are legal (well, one is semi-legal) in Uruguay that you may not be able to do at home:  Gambling, Prostitution, and Drugs.  With such vice-availability, I began to call Uruguay The Amsterdam of South America. 

Gambling in Uruguay

gamble in montevideo uruguayBack in the good ole’ USA, I have been to Las Vegas a time or two, or three, or more, but who’s counting.   And so, as I was reading up on Uruguay before I visited, I had read that casinos are legal in Uruguay. 

I’ll have to be mindful of this one, I thought.  I am going to South America to experience the culture, the people, the history…not another casino.  However, like any good investigative journalist, I had to take one for the team just to report back to you, the reader. 

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extend-uruguay-visa

Extend Uruguay Visa | How To Extend Your Stay in Uruguay Beyond 90 Days

Richard Cummings

extend-uruguay-visaIn this article, I will tell you how to extend your stay in Uruguay if you would like to stay for greater than the 90 days that you are allowed when you enter the country.

In the article, Uruguay: Visa Requirements, Visa Extensions, and Passport Information, I wrote about how you can simply pay at the airport if you have stayed beyond your 90 days. But, after living in Uruguay for some time, I have the need to simply extend my 90 days to 180 without going to the airport.

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spanish-pronoun-la-le-lo-se

Spanish Pronouns: “LaLeLoSe”, A Simple Explanation

Richard Cummings

spanish-pronoun-la-le-lo-seI am going to give you a simple explanation of Spanish Pronouns and when to use “La” vs “Le” vs “Lo” vs “Se”. In fact, it might be too simple so I will also give you resources that make it more complicated.

Spanish Pronouns: What Did She Just Say?

One of the most difficult things when learning Spanish is understanding the use of pronouns. And, learning these pronouns academically is only part of the battle. The other part is actually understanding native speakers when they string all of these pronouns together.

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uruguay-visa-requirements-extensions

Uruguay: Visa Requirements, Visa Extensions, and Passport Information

Richard Cummings

uruguay-visa-requirements-extensionsIf you want to visit Uruguay for an extended stay of longer than 3 months, read this article to find out what you need to do.

I initially planned to visit Uruguay for approximately 4 months.  However, when I read the Department of State’s Uruguay page, it said:

All United States citizens entering Uruguay for business or pleasure must have a valid passport.  U.S. citizens traveling on a regular passport do not need a visa for a visit of less than three months.”

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uruguay-arrival

Living in Uruguay, Arrival

Richard Cummings

uruguay-arrivalMy arrival in Uruguay began fortuitously — with Uma Thurman. Any trip that begins with Uma Thurman begins well.

Though I live in San Francisco, I began my journey to Uruguay from LA after staying at my friends Hermosa Beach house for July 4th.

On the way to the airport, the taxi was diverted from the main roads because they were filming a movie of some sort. Then, while proceeding to my gate for the flight to Miami at about noon on a Sunday, I spot this very attractive blonde women gracefully but hastily making her way through the airport with some guy who was probably just on the cover of Men’s Health.

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cabo-polonio-horses-beach-2

Cabo Polonio, Uruguay: Serenity Now

Richard Cummings

cabo-polonio-horses-beach-2When I am asked, “What is your favorite place in Uruguay, the answer invariably is Cabo Polonio.”  It’s a little slice of Heaven on Earth.

Like Heaven, it is also very difficult to get to-you have to pay attention to what you are doing or you’ll miss it.

My friend Vicky and I had decided to rent-a-car in Montevideo because we were visiting several beaches on this journey.  (See renting a car in Uruguay for more information.)  However, if you intend to just visit Cabo Polonio for a few days, it is much easier to take the bus from Montevideo if not but for one simple reason:  The bus driver knows where Cabo Polonio is!

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bidet-uruguay

Uruguay: Bills, Bidets, and Boundaries

Richard Cummings

bidet-uruguayThere are 3 main cell phone companies:  Ancel, MovieStar, and CTIMovil.

Like most South Americans, nobody here makes a phone call.  If you receive one, it’s important, or the person is rich and lazy.

It’s comparatively expensive to make a phone call.  Everyone WhatsApps everything-it’s kind of hassle.  It’s not uncommon for someone to say “oh, my phone is out of money.”  You refill your phone through phone cards.   Many people buy these at these stores called Abitab.  I could not figure out what these stores really did at first.  I thought they were just places that sold lottery tickets.  I have since learned that many things here are quite…Antiquated…

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uruguay-nightlife

Uruguayan Nightlife

Richard Cummings

uruguay-nightlifeI once read, when I traveled to Madrid, Spain many years back, that the Spaniards embrace nightlife unlike any other culture. I believe the exact statement was…”if you think New-Yorkers know night-life, you will quickly realize that the Spaniards know better”.

On my first day in Uruguay, after arrival, I ventured out at about 5pm to begin my language learning quest. And what better way to begin than at a bar, striking up conversations with the local patrons? I walked a few blocks and saw few bars but they were all closed. Must be the neighborhood, I surmised. I’ll go more downtown and hit the after work crowd. I passed many bars on the way there-nada. All bars were closed. When I got to Ciudad Vieja-the old city, a bustling touristy/work area, I found one bar with a couple of old cronies. Even the Irish Pub I found was closed.

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uruguay-freakonomics

Living In Uruguay–Richard’s Freakonomics

Richard Cummings

uruguay-freakonomicsThis is an article I wrote about the Freakonomics of Uruguay back in 2007. Some of the observations would no longer be accurate today (like the tattoo one!) ……but some would. Thus, I leave this article about Uruguayan Freakonomics here for a glimpse of the past and perhaps some revelations about the present.

I met a girl named Maria the other day which is not unusual because a large number of girls here bear that name.  What was unusual is that Maria had a tattoo, or as Vince Vaugh’s character in Wedding Crashers says, “might as well be a bullseye”.

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Why-Visit-Uruguay

Why Choose Uruguay?

Richard Cummings

Why-Visit-Uruguay“Why Uruguay?”                     

“Uruguay…why Uruguay?”  is the most asked question often accompanied by the confounded look of one trying to place Uruguay on their mental map.  But the question is the answer.Read More

punta-del-este-overhead-view

Punta Del Este, Uruguay In The Off-Season

Richard Cummings

punta-del-este-overhead-viewPunta Del Este, Uruguay is unlike any other beach town in Uruguay.

Whereas most beaches in Uruguay are more laid-back and filled with actual Uruguayans, Punta Del Este during the South American summer is the hub of South America’s (and the worlds) elite.

My first exposure to Punta Del Este was not in the summer.  It was at the end of September, the beginning of the springtime in Uruguay, when winter is slowly releasing its grasp on the cold weather.  We were fortunate to have a good day at this time of the year and decided to take advantage of it with a visit to Punta Del Este.

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renting-car-uruguay

Renting a Car (and driving it) in Uruguay

Richard Cummings

renting-car-uruguayRenting a car in Uruguay is a tremendous way to get around if you intend to see many places in a short amount of time.

If you are simply going to one place (like Punta Del Este) for several days, it is better to travel by bus.

Bus travel is the most common way to get around for Uruguayans and, unlike most of the people, the buses are extremely prompt, leaving the station at the exact moment that it says on the itinerary.

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