7:30 am flight Wednesday to Singapore then bused to our hotel on Bencoolen Street. Great location for an easy walk to Chinatown. Checked out all the cool junk on Trengganu St then stopped for a lunch of Chinese dumplings and
Singapore, July 4, 2018
Yogyakarta, Java, July 3 to 4, 2018
Spent the morning poking around the antique shops in the Prawirotaman area of Yogya. Found several wooden carvings that we just couldn’t pass up. Of course, then we had to figure out how to get them home. Purchased a bag
Yogyakarta, Java, July 1 to 2, 2018
Started the day seeing the sights of “Yogja”. Hired a becak (bicycle rickshaw) for the morning and toured the city. Started with the huge palace of the sultans of Yogya, the kraton. Next stop the Taman Sari, a splendid pleasure
Borobudur, Java, July 1, 2018
Best laid plans went astray. 8pm flight turned into 11pm flight and we didn’t get into Borobudur until about 1:30 am. Had to be up and ready to go for the sunrise at Borobudur Temple by 4am, so not much
Bali, June 28 to 30, 2018
Took the Patagonia Express fast boat from Gili Air to Benoa Harbour on Bali. Seas were a bit rough so it was a slightly queasy ride (for Cindy). Checked in to our hotel on Jimbaran Beach and overhead folks talking
Stranded on Bali by Mount Agung Eruption
The feature image is of the eruption of Mount Agung that stranded us on Bali for a day and a half. Of course “stranded” meant hanging around the beautiful hotel pool and Kuta beach, and fine dining at Un’s Restaurant.
Gili Air, June 25 to 28, 2018
Arrived in Gili Air (Water Island) late afternoon from the Lombok mainland. Spent the next few days lazing around the island. Gorgeous hotel, the PinkCoco, in a stunning location with incredible sunsets and pool. Boated over to the island next
Lombok, June 21 to 25, 2018
Fabulous 2 weeks in Perth with our daughter and our new granddaughter came to a tearful end. Flew to the Indonesian island of Lombok via Bali. Arrived late at night and woke up the next morning to explore Kuta beach.
From Perth to Lombok
Fabulous 2 weeks in Perth with our daughter and our new granddaughter came to a tearful end. We “Scoot”ed off from Perth and arrived in Indonesia. Winter in Perth was OK but the beach on Lombok was better!
Off to Australia again (and Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong)
Visited our granddaughter (our very first grandchild!) in Fremantle for a couple of weeks, then time in Indonesia on the islands of Lombok, Gili Air, Bali and Java, then Singapore, and a layover in HK. Our first stop was in
Our last day in Nepal
Friday, April 6, 2018 Spent the morning visiting the suburb city of Thimi, about 3 km from Bhaktapur. Tried to find the famous potter’s square but to no avail. Did find a few interesting temples and got to see what
Bhaktapur, Nepal
Thursday, April 5, 2018 Another amazing Durbar Square, plazas and areas opposite the old royal palaces, and our hotel was just steps away. Explored Durbar Square, nearby Taumadhi Tole & Potters’ Square, and finally Tachupal Tole. Most areas were severely
Nagarkot to Bhaktapur
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 Up early to try to catch one of those famous ‘sunrise over the Himalayas’ shots. Got some colourful pix, but not exactly mountain vistas. Went for a short hike on a nearby “Nature Trail” then taxied
Back to Nepal
Tuesday, April 3, 2018 Very early morning drive back to Paro to catch our flight back to Kathmandu. Gorgeous views of the Himalayas. Headed out to the Kathmandu Valley to try and catch some more mountain vistas but clouds and
Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan
Monday, April 2, 2018 Spent the day taking in the sights of Thimphu. First stop was the Memorial Chorten (stupa) built in 1974 in memory of the 3rd King of Bhutan. Everyone walks around it at least 3 times every
Punaka to Thimphu
Sunday, April 1, 2018 Took a pass on a long, hot hike to Khansum Yuelle Namgyel Chorten. Instead visited a nunnery nearby our hotel. Great views of the valley below. Also saw the Queens’ father drive by with his cavalcade,
Paro Tshechu to Punaka
Saturday, March 31, 2018 The most important day of the Paro Tshechu is the big reveal of the largest silk Thangkha of Guru Padmasambhava at 3am. We weren’t quite so devoted so we waited until 6am to go. Most impressive
Tiger’s Nest
Friday, March 30, 2018 Early morning start on our hike up to Taktsang Monastery aka Tiger’s Nest. High altitude made hiking challenging as did the steep, rocky trail. Amazing views made it all worthwhile. Monastery itself is iconic, perched on
Paro Tshechu
Thursday, March 29, 2018 Skipped lunch to go straight to the Paro Tshechu (a Buddist religious festival) as it was supposed to end at 3pm. Festival was not what we were expecting. Lots of colourful costumes and all the spectators
Our 100th Country!
Thursday, March 29, 2018 Early morning flight to Bhutan, the “Happiest Place on Earth “. Awesome view of the Himalayas including Everest. Landed in Paro and we’re quite excited to celebrate our milestone goal of visiting 100 countries.