(I took a hiatus August-Sept. to help care for my mother in Virginia, so will resume the blog where I left off) July 16-19, 2023 There have been “horror” stories over the last 2 years about how long it is taking to get a passport renewed. In addition to current …
July 13-15, 2023 (Sung to the tune of Jingle Bells) Jungle trek, jungle trek From Bukit Lawang See the monkeys See the birds And orangutans! Since we were in Sumatra, I really wanted to see the Orangutans in the wild. Two-night/ three- day treks with transportation from Medan and river …
Indonesian rupiah: US dollar 14,500:1 July 11-13, 15-16 I failed to provide a little background on Indonesia. The country spans across close to 9000 inhabited and named islands (and a total of close to 18,000 islands) called home by 270 million people. Many of the islands have been inhabited for …
July 3-11 Indonesian Rupiah: US Dollar – 14,500:1 Surf’s Up! “You don’t surf? Why are you here?” was the most common question people asked us. Nias is a surfer’s paradise – the west coast of the island faces the Indian Ocean (and the area of Sorake Beach was one of …
June 21-July 3, 2023 Money: Indonesian rupiah – 14,500 = $1 US The Island of Sumatra is known for its incredible flora and fauna. Orangutans, the Sumatran Tiger in the south, orchids, exotic birds and monkeys – and the Asian hornet – also called the “murder hornet”. This particular insect led to …
June 18-21 US Dollar: Malaysian Ringgit – 1: 4.6 In a lot of ways, Kuala Lumpur is trying to be Singapore, but without the budget. Luckily, it has a more relaxed feel with more relaxed people. And less than half the cost. Our very nice AirBNB apartment in the center …
June 16-18 Exchange rate: 1.3 Singapore dollars (SD) to 1 US dollar. Singapore is an independent city-state that sits at the tip of the Malay peninsula. It’s demographic make-up is 74% Chinese, 14% Malay, 9% Indian, and 3% “other”. All the signs, and announcements, are in English. The city, a …
May 28-June 16 For our long rest/recovery stay we decided on the 4th largest of Thailand’s islands – Koh Phangan – which translates to “sand island”. We chose our 19-night accommodation based on glowing reviews on AirBNB, and a “long stay discount” bringing the cost down to about $20/night in a …
May 21-28 Thailand has 1,430 islands in its territories, of which, less than 50 are inhabited, and fewer than 10 are commonly visited by tourists. As I mentioned before, we originally planned to go to Phuket – the largest, but weather drove us to the 2nd largest – Koh Samui. (We …